It's still fairly common to see 'Bankruptcy Blue' grain hoppers in CN trains out here. I think Illinois Central bought a big chunk of Rock Island's fleet after the final shutdown.
Some still say "The Rock" or "Route Rock", albeit in ever-fading paint.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Like seeing a ghost all right, the Rock Island's been gone since 1980.
Three, maybe four years ago I saw an old, moldy, rusty and crusty boxcar come thorugh Richmond with that "Rock" marking on it. That was a bit of a shock.
They say boxcars are on the way out. I don't know, some of them aren't going without a fight!
Dee-Leeted
Very nice. Imagine stumbling upon that on a foggy morning... like seeing a ghost! A "mighty fine line", ...once a household name.
I found my cellphone grabshot of the RI trailer.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Penny Trains Whenever I see that thing it just makes me want to yell out what the???????
Whenever I see that thing it just makes me want to yell out what the???????
Makes me want to get a can of "Raid" or "D-Con." Or a good, strong, flyswatter!
Miningman Jones--Nice pic on the Super C .. a photo worth further discussion as the thread implies. Perhaps the umbrella plant that built the Sardonicus Talgo Train could build your ultimate umbrella. Built in an umbrella factory! Mr. Sardonicus
Jones--Nice pic on the Super C .. a photo worth further discussion as the thread implies. Perhaps the umbrella plant that built the Sardonicus Talgo Train could build your ultimate umbrella.
Built in an umbrella factory!
Mr. Sardonicus
Who would have thought that Talgo would turn out to be a successful locomotive manufacturer in 1942!
Some good stuff from Arts and Culture Google:
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/dAJSHI2dUkr-Ig
11:09, some interior shot inside the Talgo II. Note the color temperature of those fluorescent light used inside the car was around 4500K "sunshine daylight" instead of those 6500K "overcast daylight" fluorescent light tube that overwhelmed the planet in the 1970s.
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
David-- Thanks for the enhanced Horseshoe Curve photo.. it is claimed to be the first photo of a scheduled train on Horseshoe.
Overmod One you won't forget for the rest of your life! (All joking aside, you might get one of those things to track reasonably well above 90mph with a proper pair of three-piece trucks, on any line that will accomodate a T1 at that speed. I am still in awe that interchange cars could reliably to do this on the Super C when it was still possible to run true 90mph peak freight service! Even ordinary AP cartridge bearings ought to take this without too much nastiness, but you could always get the South Africans to sell you something to puff a little fire around them now and again, strictly for effect and not to ward off hoboes, photo lines creeping too close, and other distractions. And if not, modify things just a bit and substitute a pair of modern disc-brake passenger trucks... Seat belts? You might want 5-point harnesses. (And a self-aligning BRS safety rig for when, not if, you got blown in the air...)
One you won't forget for the rest of your life!
(All joking aside, you might get one of those things to track reasonably well above 90mph with a proper pair of three-piece trucks, on any line that will accomodate a T1 at that speed. I am still in awe that interchange cars could reliably to do this on the Super C when it was still possible to run true 90mph peak freight service! Even ordinary AP cartridge bearings ought to take this without too much nastiness, but you could always get the South Africans to sell you something to puff a little fire around them now and again, strictly for effect and not to ward off hoboes, photo lines creeping too close, and other distractions.
And if not, modify things just a bit and substitute a pair of modern disc-brake passenger trucks...
Seat belts? You might want 5-point harnesses. (And a self-aligning BRS safety rig for when, not if, you got blown in the air...)
I forgot to mention the "beach umbrella" attach to the table on the "outdoor coffee car", could have invited the company that can make the strongest umbrella in human history; a solid roof would be too forgettable, predictable and unchallenging. Pennsy needed a car like this on the Broadway Ltd, that would have helped them to turn the table. A "waiver of liability" had to be signed before entering the car though. : (
A 90mph+ freight train! That was probably something a freight steam engine could never achieve...... of course someone could attach a single boxcar behind an ATSF 4-8-4s and called it a freight train, just as how the "official" steam engine speed record was made. The PRR Q1 once reached 70mph hauling 10000 tons on level track at 40% cutoff, PRR S1 was 3mph faster with 100 freight cars behind her, probably the fastest freight train speed record...... please enlighten me if there was any faster steam-powered freight train!
Imagine that banner was a very strong rubber band:
https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=km/items/view/227017
Overmod SD70Dude I know where there is a 'Conrail Mercury' intermodal container rusting away on the edge of a local farmer's field... Too lazy to key it up on this older computer -- is it white or one of the gray ones?
SD70Dude I know where there is a 'Conrail Mercury' intermodal container rusting away on the edge of a local farmer's field...
Too lazy to key it up on this older computer -- is it white or one of the gray ones?
It's light grey. It looks like the number and some other writing is still there but I can't quite read it in street view. I'll have to stop and take a quick look the next time I travel that way.
SD70DudeI know where there is a 'Conrail Mercury' intermodal container rusting away on the edge of a local farmer's field...
As far as I remember, these were special dedicated service, largely for USPS, and at one time for specific city pairs in lanes as painted right on the trailer side. (I think the Mercury referred to the Roman god of speed and swift completion of appointed rounds, rather than the NYC Detroit train ... but always prepared to hear a better story!)
Someone like Don Oltmann could probably comment on what special construction or gear was used in these to make them intermodal in this service, above and beyond what made a trailer a "Trail Van". Certainly an interesting part of history ... but probably not interesting to enough people quite yet. And as with so much else in the railroad industry ... gone or scrapped before that interest progresses to spending money and volunteering time.
zugmann Now the BJ's wholesale club near me had a beautiful Rock Island trailer. That's gone, but another ex-RR trailer is in its place. I forget whose, it wasn't as original as the RI one, but you could still read the old markings.
Now the BJ's wholesale club near me had a beautiful Rock Island trailer. That's gone, but another ex-RR trailer is in its place. I forget whose, it wasn't as original as the RI one, but you could still read the old markings.
I know where there is a 'Conrail Mercury' intermodal container rusting away on the edge of a local farmer's field. I'll have to keep an eye on it, maybe one day it too will be considered a desirable antique.
No idea what brought it to Alberta.
It's here, you can even read the writing on the side in Street View:
53.561230, -114.738298
Up in the Peace River area (northern Alberta) CN was still using at least one wood-sided stock car for material storage as of a few years ago.
OvermodThose should be preserved, or at least offered or sold to museums with a relevant mission or interest. You might post this over on RyPN and have anyone with actual interest PM you from there...
Not my department. I don't own them, and most of them are still being used for storage. Unfortunately when they sold the yard, it was lock, stock, and barrel. I wish I would have had known a day or two when we moved, I would have grabbed some signs off the building. There was also a baggage car body and an old reefer car body on site that are gone.
zugmannOld PRR intermodal-type container that was in our old yard before it was all ripped up/scrapped.
Those should be preserved, or at least offered or sold to museums with a relevant mission or interest. You might post this over on RyPN and have anyone with actual interest PM you from there...
We had a "Southern Intermodal Freight" van trailer over at the NS intermodal yard adjacent to the Memphis Coliseum for heaven knows how many years. Then the yard was ripped up for reconfiguration a couple of years and all the sentimental stuff pulled out.
Except this -- they ran it around the side and parked it carefully adjacent to one of the access roads. Awaiting its preservation opportunity when someone concerned with the modern history of effective railroading comes to see.
Somewhere, someone was talking about these. Old PRR intermodal-type container that was in our old yard before it was all ripped up/scrapped. Still several around the other yards, but I don't think this one survived. Nothing good was in it - one of the supervisors cut the lock, but it didn't have the new in box PRR position signals that I was hoping for.
Jones1945Place some small tables and chairs on both ends, convert the shed into a kitchen, that will give us a new outdoor coffee shop; hook it to a PRR T1, traveling at 100mph, all axlebox on fire, priceless travel experience.
The Horseshoe Curve photo improved with MS Photo Editor Automatic Balance:
Jones1945 Yes, they were indeed impressive. I have started reading the book "Union Pacific Streamliners" by William Kratville, Harold E. Ranks recently, and am really impressed by UP's management. They made a wise choice of choosing power and put a lot of effort to make their passenger trains the best of the best. I wish UP kept the pre-war livery color.
Yes, they were indeed impressive. I have started reading the book "Union Pacific Streamliners" by William Kratville, Harold E. Ranks recently, and am really impressed by UP's management. They made a wise choice of choosing power and put a lot of effort to make their passenger trains the best of the best. I wish UP kept the pre-war livery color.
A very informative book loaded with a lot of details. I picked up my copy in 1977 and am still running across something I hadn't noticed in previous readings. One example is that the locomotives drawings usually have a table of tractive effort versus speed that I first noticed in the last year or so.
- Erik
Jonesy-- 100 mph behind a T1 drinking a cappuccino sitting on the deck of a CGW transfer caboose... fine, you go first, I'll take pics. Recommend a seat belt.
M636C-- The locomotive on the right is one of those famous 'Alligators' #9043. I am going to assume that the smokin' locomotive two behind GP35 #3436 is one as well but we may never know for sure, but c'mon it's gotta be!
Interesting, that shot of those three pre-war diesels.
The one on the left looks like it's looking for something.
The one in the middle looks like it found it!
The one on the right looks like it could care less.
Oh well, a function looking for a form I suppose.
I can confirm that the lead unit on the right hand train as viewed is an Alco.
The third unit on the left train as viewed could be an Alco but the hood looks more like a GE to me...
At least one Alco...
Peter
Miningman Some random selected pics perhaps worthy of discussion. 1) You have to admit this is pretty darn impressive. The size, the styling, the commitment to cutting edge technology at an early point in time.
Some random selected pics perhaps worthy of discussion.
1) You have to admit this is pretty darn impressive. The size, the styling, the commitment to cutting edge technology at an early point in time.
Miningman 2) Nice angle and view on the tender of Pennsy's streamlined Pacific. Very classy paint scheme with the pin stripes. Shows off how big that tender really is.
2) Nice angle and view on the tender of Pennsy's streamlined Pacific. Very classy paint scheme with the pin stripes. Shows off how big that tender really is.
The tender was later replaced by a smaller 8-wheel one. Wiki says the original tender of 3768 "was originally made for a class L1s locomotive with the designation 180-F-82. Later, it was assigned as 180-P-75 for class K4s No. 3768; the tender was rebuilt again and received the designation 180-P-85 for S2 6200 use". Once the BLI's HO scale 3768 arrive, I can compare the size of it with the S2's 16-wheel tender.
Miningman 3) Here it is from the front really smokin' it up and working hard, that stack showing a lot of muscle.
3) Here it is from the front really smokin' it up and working hard, that stack showing a lot of muscle.
From 1936 to 1940, PRR #3768 was the only streamlined steam locomotive of PRR west of Harrisburg! NYC had thirteen (two K-5. one J-1-a and ten J-3-a) by 1940.
In 1941/42 NYC had fifteen, PRR had nine (one S1, two T1, five K4s, one Q1). When fifty production T1 arrived in 1945/46, Pennsy had fifty-eight (Q1 was de-streamlined) but NYC started de-streamlining the Dreyfuss engines.
Miningman 6) A really nice transfer type caboose on the Chicago Great Western another sad fallen flag famous for its monster F unit lashups and monster trains. Virtually none of its track exists today.
6) A really nice transfer type caboose on the Chicago Great Western another sad fallen flag famous for its monster F unit lashups and monster trains. Virtually none of its track exists today.
Place some small tables and chairs on both ends, convert the shed into a kitchen, that will give us a new outdoor coffee shop; hook it to a PRR T1, traveling at 100mph, all axlebox on fire, priceless travel experience.
4) Only one of these is an Alco. Can you fiqure out which one it is? ( should have saved this for the quiz)
5) The last train service. It's 1961 and this is the Pennsy's Northern Arrow, just arrived in Mackinaw City, Michigan. Sections from St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago are all part of what to me looks like a pretty well patronized train. The E looks a bit beat up though.
So long Northern Arrow. So long.
Penny Trains At least the final resident of the erecting hall was ENTIRELY worthy!
At least the final resident of the erecting hall was ENTIRELY worthy!
"The dance is over but the melody lingers on."
Ah yes, Maestro Livio Dante Porta, a genius himself and a true Spanish gentleman of the old school. (OK, I know he was Argentine, but you know what I mean.)
Flintlock76I should have said something earlier, but those "before-and-after" shots are so heartbreaking I just don't have the words.
You want heartbreaking, I'll give you heartbreaking -- Livio Dante Porta setting foot in the works near the beginning of the ACE project and saying 'gentlemen, remove your hats, we are standing on holy ground'.
Would that it could have been different.
[quote user="Penny Trains"]
Where most useful things go...
http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/2016/04/lima-oh-locomotive-works.html
...to oblivion in the name of progress.
[/quote
I should have said something earlier, but those "before-and-after" shots are so heartbreaking I just don't have the words.
Especially when I think of the works of absolute genius that came out of the Lima Locomotive Works! It's like finding Michaelangelo's studio intact and then demolishing it for a disco! Well, almost.
Ah, what can you do? Big antiques like "The Locomotive," that's what Lima residents called the shops, have to earn their keep in one way or another or they just don't stay around very long.
Might have made a helluva "wedding factory." Or something.
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