Hope used to jump the fence and sneak into Luna Park too.
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Well thanks Penny Trains and K4sPRR for the info on the bridges. The "City of Bridges" and Bob Hope...things I did not know.
The bridge in the foreground is the Lorain-Carnegie (SR10) bridge then the NKP and in the background is the lift bridge for W3rd St. The view today would include the I-90 bridge. In this area there are five lift bridges, either roadway or railroad, over the Cuyahoga River.
Sorry Miningman, not all in the photo are railroad bridges.
Excerpt from Have Tux Will Travel
Before I sign off on the crazy things Whitey and I used to do, we were great at hopping freights. The trains ran about three or four blocks from my house, so we'd run up there and climb on and ride a few blocks, then get off. The habit grew on us. Before long we were riding all the way to Willoughby, about twenty miles. Then we rode back. Finally, we rattled as far as Ashtabula, which was fifty miles away.
We didn't ride the brake rods. We sat on top of the cars or in a coal-car gondola. We were a tremendous worry to our mothers because two kids about twelve or fourteen years old flying around were bound to have a lot of close calls jumping on and off.
Once we went out to Ashtabula wearing shirts, pants, and tennis shoes. Ashtabula had a big train yard. The Twentieth Century came through there and stopped. So Whitey said, "Why don't we ride the blind back on the Twentieth Century?"
The blind was the car right behind the engine. It's also called the blind baggage. You can crawl into the space that separates the blind from the combination water and coal tender. We edged over near the track and Whitey, who was fearless—I was the coward of the twosome—waited until the train got in. When everything was clear, we ran alongside, jumped on, the engine snorted and we were gone.
One of the things about that space between the two cars is that it widens when the engine's pulling and narrows when it's stopping. The engineer picked up water on the run going back through Willoughby and we were drenched, but the wind of the train's rapid movement dried us in about three minutes.
The train began to slow down about ten miles out of Cleveland, so we thought we'd better get ready to jump off. When the space opened up I got out, but when Whitey started to come out it closed on his knee. He screamed horribly, frightening me to death.
He groaned, "My knee, my God, my knee!" and fell backward. I held onto him and said, "How is it?" And he said, "I don't know. I think my kneecap is crushed." I thought, Well, were going to stop at 105th Street and I’ll get off and get the station master.
I wasn't too large at that time, but when we stopped I got off and took Whitey over my shoulder, stumbled over to the side of the tracks, and laid him down. One of his aunts lived five blocks from the station and I ran all the way to her candy store on St. Claire Avenue and said, "Whitey's been hurt; he's crushed his knee. He's over there by the tracks at the station. Good-bye."
When I ran out I ran home instead of back to Whitey, I was so scared.
Luckily the station master noticed something lying beside the track and they picked Whitey up and took him to the hospital. They put him back together in one piece and eventually he joined the gang on the corner once more. He was even a flash foot racer.
But the next day I was still so scared that I just went around saying, "Whitey's dead. He's dead."
https://archive.org/stream/havetuxwilltrave011650mbp#page/n45/mode/2up
Many of the high railroad bridges are still there as are the lift and draw bridges. Some operate, but a lot were abandoned in place. Most prominent are the Detroit-Superior high level bridge which is now called the Veterans Memorial bridge. Detroit and Superior are the streets at either end of the bridge btw. The DS had streetcar tracks on a lower level which due to the need for the ramps being blocks away at either end formed Cleveland's short but cool subway system. The Lorain-Carnegie bridge, another big high level bridge is now known as the Hope Memorial bridge named after Bob of course. And there's a brand new pair of bridges going up close to the mouth of the river to replace the old Main Avenue Bridge that was just dynamited.
In 1996 for Cleveland's bicentennial the city made a push to get Cleveland known as the "City of Bridges". I went to the party they had down in the flats where the newly restored Detroit-Superior bridge got it's new floodlighting turned on for the first time. The plan was to install a different colored lighting on all bridges for a certain distance upriver. I don't remember how far they got but 9/11 put an end to the floodlighting of bridges in Cleveland. (Too easy to target.)
The other attractions at that bridgefest were the brand new RTA Waterfront light rail line that connects Tower City Center (the old Cleveland Union Terminal) with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Burke Lakefront Airport and Cleveland Browns Stadium. Added later were Voinovich Park and the Great Lakes Science Center. Also at "bridgefest" (not an official name) was a parade of boats on the Cuyahoga that featured Bob and Delores Hope as grand marshalls.
RME- Holy Makinaw!
Man oh man, talk about "the power and the glory!"
Makes me wonder if the Nickle Plate bought the Wheeling and Lake Erie just to get their hands on more Berkshires. NKP loved the things and kept them in service as late as 1958.
Yes, American industrial might. Now it seems "we" can't get rid of it fast enough. I have to put "we" in quotes because not everyone here thinks it's such a good idea.
One day we'll be sorry.
Classic Trains Photo of the Day Friday Aug25/16- Totally jaw dropping scene. This is reminiscent of those Pennsy calendar drawings or a Norman Rockwell interpretation of America's Railroad's.
For myself, this captures the depth and power of America's industrial strength and spirit.
The caption describes that the area is the "flats" in Cleveland. Do the 3 bridges in the photo still exist? One is directly under the photographer, the other has the ex W&LE, NKP Berkshire crossing it and the third is in the background in the raised position. Who's tracks are on the other 2?, assuming the one above the photographer is a railroad bridge.
Man oh man, you guys really had it together back then! Hopefully it is still all in place, but I have some doubts. Others will know.
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter