Open Platform Observation Cars

[Redwards]

Firelock76

And Redwards, have you ever read Ludovic Kennedy's "Pursuit," the story of the hunt for and sinking of the Bismarck?  Magnificent and melancholy.  Mr. Kennedy was there on HMS Tartar as a young officer, but not there at the finish, Tartar having had to break off to refuel.

 

Yes sir, a fantastic book.  I enjoyed reading about battleships almost as much as trains in my formative years.

--Reed

 

[MidlandMike]

Firelock76

DaveK and Miningman, I got this from my brother-in-law "Big B" who was darn-near a regular commuter to Newfoundland for a number of years and a big Newfoundland Railway fan, so take it for what it's worth.

"B" told me that in the late 80's the Province of Newfoundland was presented with a choice from the Canadian government.  They could keep a revitalized Newfoundland Railway or they could have the Trans-Canada Highway, they couldn't have both.  As the railroad never made any money, except during World War Two, it was an easy but sad choice, the Railway had to go.

...

 

The Trans Canada Highway was completed by 1971.  I drove it across Newfoundland in 1982.  I think the cross island "Bullet" was gone by then, but there was still some local and St Johns commuter service.  I am guessing he might have been talking about upgrades to the TCH in the late 80's.

[Firelock76]

MidlandMike

 

Firelock76

DaveK and Miningman, I got this from my brother-in-law "Big B" who was darn-near a regular commuter to Newfoundland for a number of years and a big Newfoundland Railway fan, so take it for what it's worth.

"B" told me that in the late 80's the Province of Newfoundland was presented with a choice from the Canadian government.  They could keep a revitalized Newfoundland Railway or they could have the Trans-Canada Highway, they couldn't have both.  As the railroad never made any money, except during World War Two, it was an easy but sad choice, the Railway had to go.

...

 

 

 

 

The Trans Canada Highway was completed by 1971.  I drove it across Newfoundland in 1982.  I think the cross island "Bullet" was gone by then, but there was still some local and St Johns commuter service.  I am guessing he might have been talking about upgrades to the TCH in the late 80's.

 

Pretty much.  When we were there in 1992 the portion of the Trans-Canada from St. Johns to Placentia was unpaved.  Smooth and easy to ride on, but dirt surfaced just the same.  When we came back five years later in 1997 it had been paved.  What it was like in the rest of "The Rock" I don't know, we didn't tour any further than the Avalon Penninsula.

[RME]

Firelock76

Pretty much. When we were there in 1992 the portion of the Trans-Canada from St. Johns to Placentia was unpaved. Smooth and easy to ride on, but dirt surfaced just the same.

Oh, my lord.  We took a family vacation to Newfoundland in 1968, in a two-year-old Lincoln Continental, going across on the ferry to Sydney and then up the west coast from Corner Brook to L'Anse aux Meadows (which was still holes in the ground at that early time).  We had Goodyear Double Eagle tires (those tire-within-a tire things, if I recall correctly) so there were no flats -- but when we got down to Corner Brook again, you couldn't tell the color of the car.  Took more than 20 minutes to wash it, too.  Gave me some insight into American driving in the era before the Good Roads movement gained traction.

On the other hand, that was when much of the narrow gauge was still working, including Geeps with those funky outside frames.  I remember paralleling a passenger train at night -- headlight beam out front and rows of cheerily lit windows, almost like an illustration out of a children's book.  (I also remember some 'neighborhood kids' putting rocks on the track to hear the explosions when a locomotive ran over them).  Hard to believe all that is gone.

[MidlandMike]

Firelock76

 

Pretty much.  When we were there in 1992 the portion of the Trans-Canada from St. Johns to Placentia was unpaved.  Smooth and easy to ride on, but dirt surfaced just the same.  When we came back five years later in 1997 it had been paved.  What it was like in the rest of "The Rock" I don't know, we didn't tour any further than the Avalon Penninsula.

 

I don't remember any unpaved sections in 1982.  Placentia is off the TCH.  I noticed on my Rand-McNally that the section from St John's to the Placentia turn-off is now an expressway.

[Firelock76]

MidlandMike

 

Firelock76

 

Pretty much.  When we were there in 1992 the portion of the Trans-Canada from St. Johns to Placentia was unpaved.  Smooth and easy to ride on, but dirt surfaced just the same.  When we came back five years later in 1997 it had been paved.  What it was like in the rest of "The Rock" I don't know, we didn't tour any further than the Avalon Penninsula.

 

 

 

 

I don't remember any unpaved sections in 1982.  Placentia is off the TCH.  I noticed on my Rand-McNally that the section from St John's to the Placentia turn-off is now an expressway.

 

OK, my memory might be shaky on this one.  It was probably the section after you turned off the TCH to get to Placentia.  I sure know it was a dirt road all right, at least in 1992.  In 1997, hard-surface.  Hardly matters at any rate, it's there, the railroad's gone.  But not forgotten!