Before we leave the 1800s:
Ashtabula1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Not too far from me is (was) the Ashtabula depot and the site of this bridge disaster. The failed bridge was designed by the president of the Lakeshore & Michigan Southern. Guess he thought he could save a few dollars for the stock holders by "doing it yourself".
Ashtabula Howe Truss Bridge by Ashtabula Archive, on Flickr
Many of the trapped passengers perished by the fires caused by the coal stoves in the wooden cars.
Wreck Of the Lake Shore RR Bridge by Ashtabula Archive, on Flickr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtabula_River_railroad_disaster
More recently it looks like this:
NYC Main over Ashtabula River by Edmund, on Flickr
The Lakeshore Limited and CSX still use the route today between Chicago and Albany and New York.
Here's another great video from a three-rail modeler:
I hope everyone is doing fine. My thoughts are with you and your wife, Kevin. Hoping for the best news.
[edit] How did I get to the top of the page? I wasn't here this morning??
I think a Hot Fudge or Tin Roof Sundae is in order.
hot-tin-roof-sundaes by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
Just makes the 1800s era. 'Bon Accord' of 1897
https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/works-no-807-aberdeen-corporation-gas-works-bon-accord-0-4-0st/
At Beamish Musum, County Durham
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good Morning All,
It's been a while between all the thrash here and track weekends. At this point, the layout is in pieces on the floor of the new (to us) unfinished basement while I unpack boxes, move stuff to where it is going to go and do the nitpicky stuff needed to make us happy. The new house is awesome and I like it and the area more each day. Better yet, we got moved out of the old house and after a few repairs and a thorough cleaning put it on the market. It sold in three days for more than we asked and the closing will be in September (they are getting an FHA mortgage so those take time).
Before the theme runs out this is the Lyman viaduct on the old Airline Railroad since incorporated into the New Haven now ConnDot system. The longest span in Connecticut at the time it was part of a Railroad that took a more direct route between New York and Boston that was substantially faster than the New Havens Shoreline route. J.P.Morgan the then owner of the New Haven bought it out and that was that. The viaduct started out in wood then was redone in iron and finally filled in before the whole line was abandoned in I think the 50's. Just a mile or so from the shop here in Newtown are a pair of short abandoned railroad tunnels for the old line and the Shepaug Railroad that went to Litchfield back in the 1800's.
All for now, we're still thrashing here in the shop as we get ready for another onslaught of race weekends with about 2 dozen cars in two weeks starting Labor Day then 4 races at different venues in one weekend Whew.
Hope you all are doing well as I haven't caught up posts in some time. Ciao,J.R.
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee please, Brunhilda.
Kevin, I haven't watched any Olympics this year, which is unusual for me. I tried a couple of times, but turned channels fairly quickly. I don't know why. I usually love watching them.
Track Fiddler, I thought the Batman Corvette was pretty neat. I would have loved to drive around in that when I was younger.
MisterBeasley, have fun with the new kitten.
Sparky Rail, I'm looking forward to seeing some of your photos.
Douglas, I agree. I don't mind someone using the sites I visit for advertising. I do mind someone listening in on me, in my own house, without my knowledge. I'm sure somewhere, back when my wife got the phone, that in the fine print we didn't read there's some form of legal permission.
Brent, and any others I've forgotten, I'm enjoying the photos of early railroading.
Ed, that's an interesting set of pictures of the train accident. Thanks!
Any other diners I haven't mentioned, I hope everything is going well with you.
David, I'm glad you were able to get out and have a good holiday. As far as cruises, our first was on an old ship about ready to be scrapped -- the Bermuda Star. In spite of that, I think it was actually our most enjoyable cruise. That old ship had large rooms, wide hallways, and comfortable lounges. Our room was actually larger than our home bedroom. You don't find that very much on newer ships. I don't have a good picture of it -- this photo is of the three daughters as we left the ship in Mexico for a tour:
Our state doesn't have much trackage left of the old Rock Island RR that came through the southern part of the state. This is near Lincoln:
Time to head outside and cut the grass.
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
For York1John.
https://www.midshipcentury.com/bermuda-star
A lovely looking ship of her time.
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilda, large coffee with lots of cream, please.
Seeing some of the 1880s photos is kind of neat. It was a vastly different world then. Kevin: First, sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. I hope she gets better and recovers.
The picture of the Florida and Southern loco is kind of odd in that I don't see a sand dome on it anywhere. Is it possible that they didn't even use sand?
There were lots of train wrecks and disasters back then. Funny, no one has mentioned anything about the Johnstown, PA flood disaster. A dam upstream through negligence and poor engineering had collapsed and the man made lake drained sending a mountain of water downstream about 20 miles to Johnstown. The PRR went through the valley and rolling stock and trees were picked up in the cascading torrents. Imagine sitting comfortably in your chair at home and a boxcar in a wall of water crashes through the side of your house. The debris and over one hundred people were caught in the jam that piled up at the stone arch PRR bridge and caught fire because of the oils and things in the pile. It was a huge disaster. I think it was 189 victims that died that day. BTW, the dam that caused it all was never rebuilt. It's all now a national memorial. Just a tragedy.
I hope everybody's day is well.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Morning all, the sunshine continues and so do the fires. A week of heavy rain would be nice about now. The trainroom awaits!
I hurt my back three days ago, probably an arthritis-related micro-fracture. I am going through withdrawal not being able to exercise. It is slowly getting better and in the meantime, I started selling more crap on FB-marketplace. I use to give all this stuff away to charity or take it to the transfer station as I couldn't be bothered putting in the time to sell it. When covid hit I had a lot of extra time all of a sudden. I am amazed at what people will buy. I figure I have made at least $2000.00 in the last year. I had a 10'H x 11'L piece of chain link that was at least 30years old. Put it on FB @ best offer and got $20.00 for it. I was going to drop it at the metal recycle place next time I was out that way.
David, I started reading about the Uganda after your post yesterday. I find ship history so fascinating. My Dad had a good friend that use to photograph ships that came into Vancouver, those guys would all gather in the middle of the Lions Gate Bridge and shoot away. I would ride my bike over the bridge to work and would have to dismount and push my way through the ship hounds as there would be so many.
The ship in the background of the James Bond movie Dr. No was called the Evangeline, a year later it was sold and renamed The Yarmouth Castle. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about its demise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4cAnMZc79U&ab_channel=GordonLightfoot-Topic
John, it is great to see you travelled with young kids. We did as well and our kids were well-seasoned travellers. My daughter at age 10 went to Toronto for a school competition all by herself and did not think anything of getting on the plane by herself for the first time. When I went to pick her up, she grabbed her bag off the carousel and walked over to me and said let's go like some well-travelled adult. It sure made me smile seeing such confidence.
Just sold the bar fridge my daughter had in her University dorm room for $30.00 more than we paid for it. We bought it used three years ago for $70.00 and I just got $100.00. Does anyone want to buy a bridge? Photo above.
The Norwegian Bliss has to leave at low tide to fit under The Lions Gate Bridge.
Here is another interesting photo.
https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/three-of-the-worlds-largest-super-post-panamax-cranes-pass-news-photo/52723075
We had a U.S. aircraft carrier come in once and they had to take an antenna off so it would fit under the bridge.
The first passenger train to lick the Pacific Ocean in Port Moody came from Montreal in 1886. The trip took a week. The line would eventually continue 33km down the inlet to Vancouver the following year.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good afternoon all.
Flo - A RBF please. Thanks.
Kevin - Sory to hear about your SisIL being ill. Hopefully she can fully recover.
Ed - I had seen something somewhere about the Ashtabula Train disaster. That occurred after the Erie PA "Gauge War" of December 1853.
Erie Gauge War - The "short" version of the story is this: In Erie PA, and vacinity, there were three seperate railroad companies who laid track, The Erie & North East Railroad, from Erie east to the NY border in North East Pa, where it became the Buffalo & State Line Railroad, and the Franklin Canal Company, from Erie west to the Ohio border.
The E&NE laid their tracks at a 6' guage, (1829mm for our metric friends) while both the Franklin Canal Co. and the B&SL used 4'10 "Ohio Guage" tracks. (1473mm)
This essentially made Erie PA a mandatory stop for all trains, freight and passenger, and a second mandatory stop at the PA/NY border. Passengers would frequently be forced to stay overnight due to missing the outbound trains.
When the B&SL bought up 2/3 the E&NE stock, it was announced that the 6' gauge would go away, in favor of the 4'10" "Ohio Gauge" rails. Erie city council passed an ordinance that barred any tracks not already in place from crossing any city streets.
This did not stop the railroad from attempting to relay the tracks, so the city swore in 150 "special police constables" with the city authorization to destroy the newly laid rails. This they did, by removing railroad bridges across two downtown streets.
The citezns of Harborcreek Pa (between Erie and North East) also took matters into their own hands, destroying trackage, bridges, and a level crossing. The railroad got a federal injunction granted, but the citizens and officials in Harborcreek ignored it.
On Decembr 27, 1853, a train of railroad officials was forced to stop outside of Harborcreek by a mob again ripping up tracks. One B&SL railroad official fired a shot, wounding and knocking out one in unruly crowd. The crowd, thinking their person was killed, attacked the train, which began a full speed retreat backwards before stopping on the NY side of the border. The stowaways from Harborcreek were forced off the train, and sent, on foot, back into PA.
The war was officially ended on Feb. 1, 1854, with the first successful run straight through, without stopping. But disruptions continued on, until the state finally sent law enforcement to Harborcreek in Jan. 1855, to stop further attempts to remove trackage.
So the line from Buffalo through Ashtabula had a very eventful handful of years back then... First the gauge war, then the Ashtabula bridge disaster in 1876, which was the deadliest train accident until 1918.
A lighter note - I caught this Hummer at one of our feeders this morning.
Hummingbird 1 by Richard W, on Flickr
Hope all are well, best wishes for those who are not, and all enjoy the day!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Rick, thanks for the Gauge War information. We had a member at the model RR club I once belonged to that was well versed in some of the stories. He told of how the Erie had changed gauge overnight in the town of Corning, N. Y.
This will interest some:
Your hummingbird photo is great. I've only seen two hummingbirds this summer (or the same bird twice?) Usually there are dozens by the feeders.
Now, Blue Jays! I have swarms of them. They will empty both my feeders in a matter of hours. Funny how bird sightings go in cycles like that.
Mr. B. Congrats on getting the kitten, if indeed she did follow you home. Let's see some photos soon
Good evening
We have a hanging petunia plant off the porch and would see hummingbirds come and go frequently through past seasons. But for some reason not anywhere near as much this year. Kinda strange.
Tom, I would love to see your 69 Camaro posted here sometime. We go to a lot of car shows every summer. I love looking at all the old classic muscle machines
BATMAN
Do you think the smoke stacks will clear the bridge this time Captain?
Well, I seen the bridge clearance sign said 181 feet-two inches, so I certainly hope so Mate
I know we all love trains but here's one for you dog lovers out there.
I don't think these people need a lock on their front door with Dane The Bruiser around
There is five things I have loved in this world besides women. Classic Trains Planes and Automobiles. Clipper Ships and an obedient pet
Make it a great evening gentlemen
TF
I've been AWOL. I'm finding the whole forum less and less interesting. Threads seem to go on forever.
Kevin sorry to hear about your SIL, we will keep her in our prayers.
Mr B if you haven't gotten your cat, check out the shelters, they are full of cats all the time.
Xfinity service is terrible in my neighborhood. Neighbors are constantly complaining about no internet, fuzzy TV pictures. Xfinity claims my home, in the geographic center of the neighborhood is not in their service area and want $2,100 to run a cable 300' I get my service via an antenna from the top of a nearby mountain. Not terribly fast but reliable.
A small local company is laying fiber optic cable. I expected they would have a machine that would lay a trench. Instead is is pick and shovel (and there is a reason it's called Rockingham County)
They did a foxhole every 15' and run the cable between the holes.
Since everyone wants to stop and look at the train wreck, here is the worst one from Great Britain.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
In case you missed this pcture Brent posted on July 30th......
Brent was logging in. ....
Reminds me. Where is Bear?
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Man!!! Them is some big logs! I did miss that one of Brent's Garry. Thanks for the Refresher
I was wondering just the same thing a few minutes ago Garry?
Where has the Bear been? I miss him around here!
Logging in:
Stacked by Edmund, on Flickr
Track fiddlerWhere has the Bear been?
Haven't seen Doctor Wayne much lately, either. Not so much in the Diner but in other threads.
I would categorize that guy on the top stack of logs in the Paul Bunyan group. I would think they needed to round up a few more horses that day too Ed
And some kind of Jerry-rigged brake system in case the horses went down a hill
Your right! Although I can't seem to remember Doctor Wayne much in the Diner if at all. I have missed him in the surrounding threads with his awesome pictures around here lately.
A few more.
I grew up in Lynn Valley which is a suburb of Vancouver and it was pretty undeveloped and we had lakes and forest galore to play in. Huge trees were still plentiful as were the stumps leftover from an earlier time.
We had many lakes to swim in a short walk from the house. They would also freeze in winter and we played hockey on them.
This was our favourite swimming hole. You could slide off both sets of falls into the big pool below.
gmpullmanHaven't seen Doctor Wayne much lately, either. Not so much in the Diner but in other threads.
Wayne posted on Big Blue July 30th.
Good Grief
Dr. Seuss, The Lorax and the Truffula Trees never had it so good
That swimming hole looks like a beautiful place Brent. Everyone has some really fond memories but you might have a few more than I don't
Post Hog!
Although they've been extremely impressive I need to log-out for a while
Being a Mustang guy I'm not very fluent with my Camaros. Is this a 68 or 69 Tom? The car looked like a piece of candy.
You can tell by one look this is a very expensive paint job. I would have left out the thinner top graphics. That saying, there's such a thing as over doing a good thing. Maybe a small hot pink shadowed by purple and blue wild cherry on top?
It was a nice looking Camaro though.
Remember building model cars in the 1950s? We'd put on every decal that came in the box. I loved the flame decals that would go to the back of the wheel wells.
Post Hog! Post Hog!
Oh what the hey! Let's get back to the logs then. Maybe a short silent movie would be good
Nothing better than a good fast Flume
I always loved putting the flame decals on my Revell models John. Those were the best ones
They were a bit tricky as I remember. The ends were fragile and you always tried your hardest not to rip them.
I ripped a few trying to re-adjust them when they were getting too dry. I tried to re-wet and put that piece back on not to show.....
...... but it always did
I always preferred the flames that ain't too loud.
Ghost flames are best but this guy did better than the sticker that came standard on the Pontiac Trans Am as far as I'm concerned.
The lighting and reflections for my camera was not my friend that day. To see it with your own eyes always looks better as these were rather impressive.
And if you zoom in closely you can see my Mach 1 parked a block down in front of the big off roader.
Hanging around for a while taking a sip of my beer enjoying one of my favorite Olds 442's
Henderson puts on a really good car show
I was thinking of walking across the street to Red Owl to get a deli sandwich but Judy lured me over to a taco stand.
PH
I'm getting back to my normal self. I'm running on all eight cylinders again Ed! I'm heading back up to Wisconsin in a week for a week or two.
11 is racktime though.
Nighty night my Friends
gmpullmanI hope everyone is doing fine. My thoughts are with you and your wife, Kevin. Hoping for the best news.
Thank you Ed. They are going to try to take her off of the ventilator tomorrow. My undertanding is that if she can breathe without the ventilator that they will try to wake her up over the weekend.
I am getting all my information second and third hand, so I really don't know any details. My wife is hanging in there.
York1Kevin, I haven't watched any Olympics this year, which is unusual for me. I tried a couple of times, but turned channels fairly quickly. I don't know why. I usually love watching them.
I did not think I would be able to get into them this year, but when they started, I was drawin right in.
I have enjoyed the games much more than I thought I would.
up831The picture of the Florida and Southern loco is kind of odd in that I don't see a sand dome on it anywhere. Is it possible that they didn't even use sand?
Hmmmmm... Two thoughts...
1) Florida is so flat that they did not think sand was needed.
2) Sand is naturally everywhere, so no need to carry it on the locomotive.
Track fiddlerHanging around for a while taking a sip of my beer enjoying one of my favorite Olds 442's
I worked with a guy back in the 1980s that had an Olds 442. That brought back some memories.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Brunhilda.
A weekend of thundery showers is forecast.
I hope to get to a local model railway show tomorrow.
If we are still in the 1800s -- two films of Caledonian 123.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require
Track fiddler I was wondering just the same thing a few minutes ago Garry? Where has the Bear been? TF
Where has the Bear been?
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning
Good to hear from you Bear. Glad to hear you and your better half are having a ball on your holiday Look forward to seeing your pictures when you return. Always did enjoy others you have posted as New Zealand sure is beautiful over there.
My friend had an Olds 442 as well Kevin. A 68 if I recall correctly. That red car was a beast and had really good brakes installed. I remember him romping that thing up to 60 just to stop at the next stop sign again. Crazy Kids!
I'm hopeful your sister in law is improving. Her and your family remains in our prayers.