A Smoky Photo O' The Day

[Firelock76]

I really should pay more attention to the daily photos.  Anyone catch this one?

http://ctr.trains.com/photo-of-the-day/2018/10/rush-hour-on-the-erie

Wow! What a show that must have been!  Erie's Jersey City terminal back in the steam days.  Imagine the "Big Show" from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, as the homeward-bound commuter rush got under way. 

Man, for those who cared and paid attention commuting back in those days wasn't just a trip, it was a RIDE!

Just look at that Teddy Roosevelt adminstration vintage Erie K-1 in the foreground, Russian iron boiler, "Order Of The Red Spot" number board and hardly showing it's almost fifty years of service at all.  Just magnificent!

 

[Miningman]

Was wondering when someone would jump on that one. It is a good shot highlighting the Russian Iron and it's blueish tone. 

I start my day every weekday with the Photo of the Day. Housecoat, coffee, dog let out ( it's fenced) then it's time. Every weekday, and such  anticipation! Never miss it. There's been some kind of big problem with it over on Trains ( nothing like Classic POTD anyway, boring and more boring) but thankfully not on Classic. 

By the way the Classic Forum itself has been whupping the Trains Forum in terms of meaningful content, real contributions, superb photos, great debates, historical facts and plain old education that boggles the mind. 

Thanks for posting this. I was going to put up the PRR E6s 4-4-2 #759 at the high platforms at 30th St Station in Philly. Quite the powerhouse for a smaller locomotive and very speedy. As Overmod has previously pointed out, it was this locomotive that defined the Pennsy in many ways, with the T1's being essentially 2 of them together as one locomotive, at least on a philosophical bent. So perhaps rather than the K4 it was these Atlantics that really are the meaning of the Pennsy.

How a great and important Railroad like the magical Erie is no longer with us is simply still quite unacceptable to me. I know all the reasons, all the stuff, and I say balderdash and poppycock. That's all there's to it and I won't hear no more. 

Also thanks for bumping all those toy train posts. How many times you got to tell this person to go to the Classic Toy Trains thread. Think we are up to six times.

Tomorrows guess for POTD is Norfolk and Western.

Also you have to edit the title because there are certain things like '&' you cannot use in the title only. You have to spell out ...'and'. 

[Firelock76]

I thought you'd like that one Vince!

And you're right about that Pennsy Atlantic shot.  That locomotive looks formidable, brute force and no-nonsense about it.  The PRR Atlantics were kind of the gold standard of their type and were only supplanted by the K4's when passenger trains got just too big and heavy for them, although they had a pretty good second career being utilized in the manner we see in that 30th Street station photo.

Food for thought.  Is progress really worth it?  Some of it is of course, but sometimes you have to wonder.

Wayne

PS:  Oh, those folks confusing "Classic Trains" with "Classic Toy Trains?"  Eh, they're not the first and won't be the last. All we can do is kindly point them in the right direction.  There's some fun stuff on the "CTT" site anyway, worth a look from time to time.  Hey, we all had toy trains at one time or another, didn't we?  Some of us still do!

[daveklepper]

I should have read this post before starting a new one on the E-6 Atlantic.  I had the good fortune to ride behind one, age 19+.  I went from Fort Monmouth, using the Little Silver Station at the army camp's back door, to Princeton, the summer of,  1951.  I was expecting to ride a PRR doodlebug to P. Junction, then the two-car MU "Dinky" shuttle.  Apparently, the doodlebug was being serviced that day, because an E-6 showed up with a combine and a coach, a real train.  I was thrilled.  The endpoints of the train were Red Bank and Trenton, and the route was via Sea Girt, what became the "Freehold Secondary Track." Monmoth Junction, and then the NEC.

And yes, I and my parents did have occasions to depart Jersey City on the Erie in the steam days to suburban destinations, and once without my parents, but on a camp train, to Port Jervice.   Pacifics were used on all these trains.

And if you can call a T1 two E-6s, you can surely call a K-4 an elongated E-6!

My only other ride on the "Freehold Secondary Track" was on a fairwell to K-4s fantrip run by the Branford Electric Raiway Associatoin (Shore Line Trolley Museum).

[Jones1945]

Miningman

By the way the Classic Forum itself has been whupping the Trains Forum in terms of meaningful content, real contributions, superb photos, great debates, historical facts and plain old education that boggles the mind. 

Thanks for posting this. I was going to put up the PRR E6s 4-4-2 #759 at the high platforms at 30th St Station in Philly. Quite the powerhouse for a smaller locomotive and very speedy. As Overmod has previously pointed out, it was this locomotive that defined the Pennsy in many ways...

Well said, Vince. I noted that too. One of the article provided by Classic Trains for free actually answered some questions of my post. Thank you Classic Trains!

[Penny Trains]

Firelock76

those folks confusing "Classic Trains" with "Classic Toy Trains?

I'm guilty of that myself in a roundabout way.  Accidentally renewing one when it was the other one that needed renewing!    Gee, what a tragedy.    I just had to keep on reading for a year longer! 

Anyhoo.  I answer toy train questions whenever and wherever they come up because the future of train lore, both real and model, is based on the enthusiasm of the new learner.  History dies if nobody cares to learn it.  Not on a soap box here or anything just a bit of my philosophisizing.  (Is that a word?  )

[Miningman]

David Klepper-- Tell me, was there ever a concerted effort by various clubs and organizations to save a NYC Hudson, Niagara or an Erie Berkshire?

Also were there any organized fantrips or attempts to do so behind a T1 ?

[Firelock76]

Penny Trains

 

Firelock76

those folks confusing "Classic Trains" with "Classic Toy Trains?

 

 

I'm guilty of that myself in a roundabout way.  Accidentally renewing one when it was the other one that needed renewing!    Gee, what a tragedy.    I just had to keep on reading for a year longer! 

Anyhoo.  I answer toy train questions whenever and wherever they come up because the future of train lore, both real and model, is based on the enthusiasm of the new learner.  History dies if nobody cares to learn it.  Not on a soap box here or anything just a bit of my philosophisizing.  (Is that a word?  )

 

And that's some good philosophisizing Becky!  Is philosophisizing a word?  I think it is, I consider myself well edjumacated so I should know.

[M636C]

And if you can call a T1 two E-6s, you can surely call a K-4 an elongated E-6!

While The K-4 shared a lot of design features, the design of the K-4 is usually linked to the Alco demonstrator 25000 which became class K29s on the PRR. The K29s had a radially stayed firebox which wouldn't be acceptable to the PRR and a Belpaire firebox, similar in layout to that on the E-6, was substituted.

But the K-4 was otherwise based on the K29s

Peter

[Penny Trains]

Firelock76

edjumacated

B A bay, B E be, B I bickey bye B O bow bickey bye bow B U boo bickey bye bow boo.  I got edjumacated by dem stooges. 

[Miningman]

M636C-- Thanks for that. Here I thought it was a Baldwin thing all along. 

[Jones1945]

M636C

And if you can call a T1 two E-6s, you can surely call a K-4 an elongated E-6!

While The K-4 shared a lot of design features, the design of the K-4 is usually linked to the Alco demonstrator 25000 which became class K29s on the PRR. The K29s had a radially stayed firebox which wouldn't be acceptable to the PRR and a Belpaire firebox, similar in layout to that on the E-6, was substituted.

But the K-4 was otherwise based on the K29s

Peter

I almost forget the K29s! 

1912, from Hagley online archives 

[daveklepper]

Don't know about the Erie Birkshire, but yes the Hudson and Niagra, but the effort was too late. 

[Firelock76]

I was waiting for David to respond on this before I put my two cents worth in, after all he was there and he remembers.

The problem was back in those rapid dieselization days the railfain and rail preservation movement was in it's infancy and no-where near as organized as it is today.  I remember reading in an article by the late Ron Zeil about an effort by some railfans to get the Jersey Central to preserve another Camelback besides the one they'd donated to the B&O Museum.  The JC wasn't going to give it away, but was more than willing to sell it to them if they could raise the funds.  They couldn't.  It was sold for scrap.  I imagine that was the same cause for the fate of so many other famous locomotive types.

It's certainly one of the blessings of the Internet Age we live in that preservation efforts can be quickly organized and funded.  Imagine if the rapid communication offered by the "Net was around in the 50's.  What else might have been saved?

 

[daveklepper]

I don't recall any T-1 fantrips.  They were taken out of service suddenly, while there were still K-4s in use and for two or three years more, Js on the Sandusky line with rented AT&SF Texans in the future, even H-10s and Decapods had a year or two of a future.

The longevity of the K-4s on the NY&LB made one or more fan-trips possible.