And only 40 years after those tobacco smoke enema prescriptions from 'doctors'. We've come a long way, Baby!
What an interesting ad, the New York Central at the height of its power, and showing its routes through industrial America at the height of it's power, long before the "Rust Belt" phenomenon began.
What interesting time capsules those old ads are. Really makes you stop and think.
Ever see any films of those Niagaras in action? Awesome!
Probably Keifers and Centrals shining moment, for a year anyway. Then the sharp precipitous fall off the cliff. Steam was doomed and the end already in sight quite quickly when the ad appeared. Same thing over on the Pennsy with the Duplexi. Passengers disappeared en masse ( or so they tell us), trucking and the St. Lawrence seaway strangled the mighty Central in a gruesome way. One heck of a lot of capital down the drain, along with employment, know-how, service and standards.
Too much lost, too fast. We have what we have and we are what we are today.
What is left of the middle class flocks to see steam in action. The big guys all say no, save Union Pacific.
I'm thinking it's our very last hurrah.
By the time the 5550 is on the rails half of us will be gone. 2/3 of the remaining half will be in wheelchairs and walkers or the chemical biological mushy computer will be impaired greatly. Leaving us with a tiny core of younger healthy enthusiasts and some functional old ones.
The whole picture parallels the New York Central ad. At our height of ability, know how and capital soon to fall of a cliff.
That was nice — shall we have another?
Alco_NYCRR-for Victory by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Yes, very nice gmpullman. One of Centrals 600 Mohawks hauling an oil train due to Nazi U-boats causing havoc along the East Coast and Gulf waterways. Never seen this ad before.
New York Central and Alco, inseparable. Hard to fathom they are gone.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Making Of A Legend- The Niagara Story
Thomas R. Gerbracht
https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-niagara-story.pdf
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Jones1945 The Making Of A Legend- The Niagara Story Thomas R. Getbracht https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-niagara-story.pdf
Thomas R. Getbracht
That's an interesting link....
But isn't the illustration incorrect?
6000 had smoke deflectors with a vertical trailing edge....
Peter
You are right Peter. The illustration is not from the article though.
Well heck they should have, it's looks great like that!
. (non-deletable double-posting, again)
M636CBut isn't the illustration incorrect? 6000 had smoke deflectors with a vertical trailing edge....
Probably resolvable with reference to Tom GeRbracht's definitive reference "Know Thy Niagaras"
Suspect the 'original' deflectors were derived from those on Mohawks -- 6000 and 6023 looked very wrong without the deflectors in place. There is a picture in the road-testing-Niagaras article of 6000 after suffering a 'grade crossing accident' that resulted in the top half of the deflectors being amputated; a copy of the diagram for locomotive 6000 shows the angled-rear deflectors applied, and it remains to be seen if the change to the 'production engine' style deflector took place as a result.
Link to that NYCSHS article (PDF download):
https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/roadtestingniagaras.pdf
Page with this and the two 'halves' of the early Gerbracht piece on the Niagaras:
https://nycshs.org/nycs-research-information/
Never mind the Niagaras, did you see the photo of that library?
My God, you could lock me in there for the rest of my life and I'd never be bored!
By the way, I said the same thing to the proprietor of a place called "Baldwin's Book Barn." The man said it was the nicest compliment he'd gotten in years.
If you're ever in West Chester PA you've gotta see this place! Five floors PACKED with used, rare, and collectable books!
www.bookbarn.com
When I asked about any railbooks in stock the proprietor told me they do get railbooks but they don't stay very long, very fast turnover on those titles. Typical for most used booksellers everywhere I've gone.
I also cracked him up when I walked up to the cash register muttering...
"Literacy! It's a CURSE!"
I found a Baldwin's Book Barn video. Prepare to be amazed...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8XrfrS-Wa0
Flintlock76 ...By the way, I said the same thing to the proprietor of a place called "Baldwin's Book Barn." The man said it was the nicest compliment he'd gotten in years. If you're ever in West Chester PA you've gotta see this place! Five floors PACKED with used, rare, and collectable books! www.bookbarn.com When I asked about any railbooks in stock the proprietor told me they do get railbooks but they don't stay very long, very fast turnover on those titles. Typical for most used booksellers everywhere I've gone. I also cracked him up when I walked up to the cash register muttering... "Literacy! It's a CURSE!" I found a Baldwin's Book Barn video. Prepare to be amazed... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8XrfrS-Wa0
...By the way, I said the same thing to the proprietor of a place called "Baldwin's Book Barn." The man said it was the nicest compliment he'd gotten in years.
Thank you so much for posting that link of the Baldwin's Book Barn, Wayne! It is such a special and lovely place! Those thick stone walls and the house itself looks amazing. I wish I could run a bookstore like this; maybe I could own a little private railroad connecting the store to the downtown as well. (Let's forget about the maintenance cost, in my sweet dream ...)
You're welcome Mr. Jones!
Anyone who's a reader and visiting the Philadelphia area should make a side-trip out to West Chester to see this place, it's that good.
Valley Forge National Park isn't far away either, but that's a whole 'nother subject.
Among the first words in locomotives
https://www.facebook.com/markdalton17/videos/10150713266878820/
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
"Great oaks from tiny acorns grow!"
Not the 20th Century Limited, but everything's gotta start somewhere!
Flintlock76 "Great oaks from tiny acorns grow!" Not the 20th Century Limited, but everything's gotta start somewhere!
Yeah, that's pretty amazing really. Just how did they do this?
No CGI or green screen back then. This had to be real.
At 3:16 as the train emerges from the log tunnel the "boiler" has an angled hood which looks to me like there may be a farm tractor under there. Also, look closely at the rear axle of the "locomotive". It looks like there may be a gear box in the center. The REAL last word in locomotives :
My favorite rail movie. I wonder how they did this one? Surely not cats and dogs. Pup-pulsion is outlawed these days!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
I love it! Grew up watching "Our Gang" on WPIX NY, it was B&W talkes coverted to TV format and it was a hoot. Of course the TV I was watching was a handy-me-down B&W set so they were "picture perfect" to my eyes. This one takes the cake, rolling on the floor laughing!!!
Penny TrainsThe REAL last word in locomotives :
Certainly one of the last times CAT power actually helped propel a locomotive...
Zing!
Speaking of "The Little Rascals / Our Gang" films, anyone remember this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9-C5dSUKTc
Found it not too long and laughed myself into hysterics! I'd forgotten how funny it was!
An Happy Easter everyone!
MWEEP.....MWOOOOOW! One of the best!
While we are on the subject of WOW!, there is the poor freeloading dog and Tabasco sauce that I think is here
It's a remake of this (from 1923, and regrettably almost never seen nowadays)
Is West Chester near Reading? My niece and her husband live in Reading.
Fr.AlIs West Chester near Reading? My niece and her husband live in Reading.
West Chester is a suburb of Philadelphia, reached by a SEPTA line out of 30th St. This was a delightful line to ride out to Swarthmore back in the days of the MP54s.
To return to the Niagara, I had Edson's NYC Roster out for a question on Hudsons and found a photo of S-1a 6000 fitted with standard smoke deflectors. It was dated February 1952 and the locomotive had dual sealed beam headlights.
Confusingly the photo is cut into empty space in an S-1b diagram on page 225.
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