Cool! As the man said, "IT IS BAH-LOOOOOON!"
And here I thought Lionel was the first to combine trains and balloons
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Isn't this site great? Hardly a day goes by that I don't learn something new!
Thanks Bob!
How are balloons and trains related?
Well, a French Colonel, Charles Renard in the 19th century invented a system of logarithmically spaced "preferred numbers" to drastically reduce the number of rope lengths that the army needed to stock for balloons. His scheme became international standard ISO 3.
Two railroad track gauges (that I know of) satisfy ISO 3 whether measured in inches or millimeters. They are the "Irish" gauge of 63 inches or 1600 millimeters (in the R5 series of preferred numbers), and the 800-millimeter (31.5-inch) gauge used by a number of rack railroads (in the R10 series).
Renard went on to invent the Renard Road Train. It ran without rails, but had mechanisms that made the cars nevertheless follow the locomotive's path precisely.
Bob Nelson
Penny Trains Well they did have baloons.
Well they did have baloons.
Well yes Becky, that is true.
As a matter of fact, we could stretch things a bit and say the first American aircraft carrier was the USS Fanny, a steam-powered tug modified for balloon carrying and support.
Balloons promised much in the Civil War but of course didn't pan out. In a war of movement like the Civil War the balloon crews and their support equipment just couldn't keep up with the army.
Didn't work out too well out West either...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_BhX0UdAo
Major Darn it all! I'll be in Virginia but doing a re-enactment over in Prince William county.
Darn it all! I'll be in Virginia but doing a re-enactment over in Prince William county.
Well that sounds like fun too! (Except for the heat this time of year! Hoo, boy...)
At least you'll bring some "real-world" expertise to the proceedings Major! I'm curious, Civil War or Revolutionary War?
Just don't try to call in an airstrike. That'd be "farb."
Bumping this back to Page One.
The VTC train show is coming up this weekend, July 12th, at the East Rivanna Fire Hall, 3501 Steamer Dr., Keswick VA. That's in the Charlottesville area.
So if you're going to be in the area try and stop by. Admission $5 for adults, children under 12 free. Runs from 9:00 to 3:00. Food and drink available on site.
Refer to the video I posted to get an idea of what it's all about!
You're welcome Becky, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I did spend more than a "dime or two" there myself. VTC does some good shows, I've had better luck with finds there than I've had with the past several Greenberg shows I've been to. That's the thing with train shows, you never know, do you?
Wayne
Boy, I could have spent a dime or two there! I had to miss a 3-day show this past week so thanks for posting the link!
Sure, we all do! And here's one you can visit without leaving the comfort of your home. It's the Virginia Train Collector's meet from August of 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx8QqQmvN00
Have fun!
PS: There's another one coming up on July 13, 2019, if anyone's interested, same location.
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