PRR8259I'm glad your formative memories were of happier railroads in happier times than some of ours. John
John,I had boots on the ground when PC came into exsistence and after the normal start up mess it wasn't to bad to work for but,begining in '69 things started to get bad and I was glad when I got laid off in the summer of '69..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I can remember Day 1 of the PC. I was the Fireman on crew 7A which signed up at the South End of Edgemoor Yard, in Wilmington, DE. The crew switched the Ralston Purina Grain Elevator and the Brandywine Branch.
The Managers were running around instructing the crews to use "Penn Central" when initiating a radio transmission, and that anyone persisting in using "Pennsylvania" would be disciplined. That should have told us something, eh?
The Morning "Conrail" came into effect, there was no such nonsense.It was more like "Same circus, same clowns". The fear and trepidation was felt by the likes of the CNJ and Reading employees who were entering uncharted territory.
My Pennsy pride came from having prior - prior seniority rights over both PC and Conrail employees, but after I retired, it occurred to me that my Pennsy time of one year was a mere drop in the bucket compared to my time at PC, CR and Amtrak. I chose to model the PC because there was a time when PC ran all passenger trains, no matter how poorly, and I could not do that with CR. Beside, where else could you prototypically run Baldwins along side of GP38s?
Boris
Paul3 That's PC realism. I think most of them just look at the roster and go wow, look at all the neat things PC had, and ignore the malaise.
That's PC realism. I think most of them just look at the roster and go wow, look at all the neat things PC had, and ignore the malaise.
Why not? It's our little world, and we can model it however we want.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
Exactly! I like RS-27's and Proto 2000's model is really very well done, with better QA/QC than a lot of more recent offerings. CR used them until they had a major failure. One RS-27 (PRR/PC/CR 2407) actually outlasted most of the Alco Centuries in actual service. Renumbered, for the final two weeks, to CR 5099, that RS-27 made it to the final shut down day for all Conrail Alcos, in late November of 1979. I guess dumb luck...it was a good runner.
And those Sharks! Gotta love the Sharks...
There's so much to like about the roster.
John
wojosa31I was the Fireman on crew 7A which signed up at the South End of Edgemoor Yard, in Wilmington, DE. The crew switched the Ralston Purina Grain Elevator and the Brandywine Branch.
Boris, One of the sad parts is a lot of modelers doesn't know the left hand seat in the early diesels was for the fireman and the caboose was for the conductor and rear brakeman.
I never had enough seniority rights to bid on a study job..I filled the spot when the old hands marked off.
You're right, Larry.
I remember first reading, in Trains magazine, about the addition of either another seat in the cab of steam locomotives or a doghouse on the tender, for the "convenience" of the front-end brakeman.This 4-8-2 was among the last-built steamers for the CNR, and I caught this photo, on an excursion run in the mid-'70s, as the loco was being turned and readied for the return trip. Note the folded-down seat, visible through the open doorway... (click on the photo for an enlargement)
In the few years it ran in this service, it replaced one of the daily RDC runs between Toronto and Niagara Falls on Wednesdays and Saturdays - regularly-scheduled mainline steam in the '70s! It didn't dawdle, either, as allowable track speed was, as I recall, 79mph.
Wayne
I really like the Lake State Railway (LSR). I have been looking at that for a few years now and their website is ecellent too. One of the early railroads I thought would be interesting is the Boyne City, Gaylord, and Alpena Railroad. I don't think I have ever seen anyone doing that one.
Robert H. Shilling II
Great thread! Are there plenty of others who model the N&W? I picked that line b/c it was VERY popular in southern VA and I like how it represents the coal industry. As many know, coal is still king in VA. I live in VA and want to replicate a part of the state few know about.
I was very close to getting a vanity license plate for the N&W Historical Society. One other reason I like the N&W is the historical society responded to me quickly with information. Finding enough material on a rail line is often easier than the models themselves!
Frisco, Katy and the Rock Island appear to be somewhat under represented in the hobby.