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Milwaukee Road's rail line to Alaska

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Posted by schlimm on Sunday, August 13, 2017 2:57 PM

Murphy Siding
Read?  What a concept. Last week we were walking through a busy restaurant. There was a kid about 10 years old with his family that had his head down in cellphone zone-out position. As we got closer, I could see he was reading a book! Yee-gads!

It's a more common event than some think, often using tablets and e-readers.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:42 PM

Norm48327

 

 
tree68
The various lakes in the central Adirondacks provided ice not only for local use, but for use by the NY Central for icing reefers. When I tell folks on the trains that tidbit, it's usually a "I'd never thought of that before" reaction.

 

Larry,

Why is it that people aren't aware that the amenities of today weren't available to the generations before us? I would hazard a guess they didn't read their history books.

 

Read?  What a concept.

Last week we were walking through a busy restaurant. There was a kid about 10 years old with his family that had his head down in cellphone zone-out position. As we got closer, I could see he was reading a book! Yee-gads!

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by MidlandMike on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:27 PM

CMStPnP

...

Second, my memories of ICE and the Railroad were excursions on those really old Bluewater Michigan Chapter Cars that had a Block Ice rack underneath and blew in outside air over the ice for A/C.     Wonder if that was a Bluewater invention or if the railroad cars they picked up always did that back in the day.  ...

 

I traveled on a few Michigan fan trips, some of which were Bluewater.  On one trip (can't remember if it was specifically Bluewater) they air conditioned the car with a compressor off a refrigerator truck fed by a diesel tank.

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 10:00 AM

Gramp
So you really couldn't get to Hell on a handcar?

Not directly.  There would be a bit of a hike involved.  GTW ran through Pinkney, a few miles north.

Hell:  N 42 26' 5" W 83 59' 5"

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Posted by CMStPnP on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:30 AM

First side note before I get started:   Railroad Tie Tongs and Ice Block Tongs look awefully similar, so much that I wonder if they were one in the same.

Second, my memories of ICE and the Railroad were excursions on those really old Bluewater Michigan Chapter Cars that had a Block Ice rack underneath and blew in outside air over the ice for A/C.     Wonder if that was a Bluewater invention or if the railroad cars they picked up always did that back in the day.    The system worked well but the problem was the cars had to keep rolling at a specific speed or they would not blow air over the ice and it would get very hot inside the car........same deal if the train was very, very late and the ICE melted (which also happened on the trip I was on).

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Posted by Gramp on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:26 AM

MidlandMike

There was a Hell, Mich. which was just off the GTW.

 

So you really couldn't get to Hell on a handcar?

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:15 AM

tree68
 
Norm48327
Why is it that people aren't aware that the amenities of today weren't available to the generations before us? I would hazard a guess they didn't read their history books. 

I would opine that things like icing reefers probably isn't found in most history books.  Even things like the ice man, delivering a block of ice to place in a home's icebox, don't get the exposure.  I suspect the White Lake ice house I mentioned existed as long as it did because it took electricity a while to reach such areas.

This might also be indicative of the fact that many people have no idea where their food comes from.  I often tell people about the "salad shooter" and the great possibility that the salad they have with supper tonight may have travelled on that train.  Thus, they have no idea that said service predates mechanical reefers, therefore requiring cars to be iced at regular intervals.

In defense of that shortcoming, there's a lot of history to be taught - at some point things start to drop off the list... 

You can't understand where you are at, until you know what it took to get there.

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:09 AM

Norm48327
Why is it that people aren't aware that the amenities of today weren't available to the generations before us? I would hazard a guess they didn't read their history books.

I would opine that things like icing reefers probably isn't found in most history books.  Even things like the ice man, delivering a block of ice to place in a home's icebox, don't get the exposure.  I suspect the White Lake ice house I mentioned existed as long as it did because it took electricity a while to reach such areas.

This might also be indicative of the fact that many people have no idea where their food comes from.  I often tell people about the "salad shooter" and the great possibility that the salad they have with supper tonight may have travelled on that train.  Thus, they have no idea that said service predates mechanical reefers, therefore requiring cars to be iced at regular intervals.

In defense of that shortcoming, there's a lot of history to be taught - at some point things start to drop off the list...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Norm48327 on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 8:01 AM

tree68
The various lakes in the central Adirondacks provided ice not only for local use, but for use by the NY Central for icing reefers. When I tell folks on the trains that tidbit, it's usually a "I'd never thought of that before" reaction.

Larry,

Why is it that people aren't aware that the amenities of today weren't available to the generations before us? I would hazard a guess they didn't read their history books.

Norm


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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 7:02 AM

CMStPnP

I think everyone missed the point of the article which was more the ICE HARVESTING then the name of the station.

We can go there, too.  

I think ice is a little heralded commodity - many thousands of tons of it were hauled by the railroads in the days before mechanical refrigeration came to be.

The various lakes in the central Adirondacks provided ice not only for local use, but for use by the NY Central for icing reefers.  When I tell folks on the trains that tidbit, it's usually a "I'd never thought of that before" reaction.

Many areas still do ice cutting each winter, more as a show than anything else.

It wasn't a rail facility, but the ice house in White Lake, NY burned at one point, leading to local lore about the huge pile of ice that took a long time to finally melt.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 6:53 AM

CMStPnP

I think everyone missed the point of the article which was more the ICE HARVESTING then the name of the station.

 
Perhaps, but we had a lot more fun with station names.  And I also can take Metra to Manhattan, Hollywood or Beverly Hills (Five stations).
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by CMStPnP on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 8:09 PM

I think everyone missed the point of the article which was more the ICE HARVESTING then the name of the station.

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 3:06 PM

The East End of CSX's Cumberland Terminal is in Mexico.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 2:46 PM

MidlandMike

There is a Paradise, Mich., but unless there was a logging RR, you couldn't get there by train.  There was a Hell, Mich. which was just off the GTW.

You beat me to it.  As I recall, there was a news item when it became possible to direct dial from Hell to Paradise...

At one time, you could take a train from Carthage (NY) to Copenhagen (NY).  The village of Copenhagen is located in the township of Denmark...

You could travel to Mexico (NY) by rail at one time, too...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, August 7, 2017 9:31 AM

B&O on it's P&W Subdivision went to Mars.

Remeber as a kid (1953-54ish), attending a Pittsburgh Division picnic that was held at a facility at Mars that was adjacent to the tracks - A Westbound coal train was climbing Bakerstown grade - 1 mallet on the head end and 2 mallets on the rear end shoving - cinders fell from the sky for 10 minutes after the train's passing.

  

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Posted by M636C on Monday, August 7, 2017 8:50 AM

My favourite such destination is Hell, just north of Trondheim in Norway.

I could have visited it but didn't realise how close it was when I was in Trondheim.

Postcards are sold for English speaking visitors of the freight forwarding shed at Hell station, preferably under snow in winter.

The signs on the shed read "Hell" and "Gods Expedition"....

Peter

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Posted by MidlandMike on Sunday, August 6, 2017 8:01 PM

There is a Paradise, Mich., but unless there was a logging RR, you couldn't get there by train.  There was a Hell, Mich. which was just off the GTW.

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, August 6, 2017 7:40 PM

You could go to Denmark, S.C. on three roads--ACL, SOU, and SAL. You can still get there by Amtrak.

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Posted by SALfan on Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:32 PM

mudchicken

Lets see.... Moscow,KS; Siberia,CA; Bagdad,CA; Paris, TX; Nowhere & No Name, CO; North Pole, CO, Earth, TX, Cairo, IL ... worked or visited in all those places. (and two placenames that the software is pre-disposed to sensor)

 

There is a Paris, AR also; went there a number of times.

There is also a Two Egg, FL.

The towns of Wewahumpka and Coleman are near each other in Central FL.  Federal Bureau of Prisons built a prison complex between the two, but nearer Wewahumpka.  They chose to call it FCC (Federal Correctional Complex) Coleman; guess FCC Wewahumpka just didn't have the right "ring" to it.

 

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Posted by Maine_Central_guy on Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:19 PM

Maine central ran through China and St. lawrence and atlantic runs through Paris and Norway.

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Sunday, August 6, 2017 8:35 AM

SALfan

On the Strasburg RR, you can take a train from Intercourse to Paradise.  Kind of a short trip, but fun.

 

that's the best trip yet

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, August 6, 2017 7:58 AM

The FEC could have taken you to Jupiter, Florida.

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Sunday, August 6, 2017 12:44 AM

mudchicken

(and two placenames that the software is pre-disposed to sensor)

Are any of them on here?

http://www.estately.com/blog/2016/09/the-complete-list-of-lewd-sounding-town-names-in-america/

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Posted by mudchicken on Sunday, August 6, 2017 12:09 AM

Lets see.... Moscow,KS; Siberia,CA; Bagdad,CA; Paris, TX; Nowhere & No Name, CO; North Pole, CO, Earth, TX, Cairo, IL ... worked or visited in all those places. (and two placenames that the software is pre-disposed to sensor)

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by SALfan on Saturday, August 5, 2017 11:37 PM

On the Strasburg RR, you can take a train from Intercourse to Paradise.  Kind of a short trip, but fun.

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Posted by Victrola1 on Friday, August 4, 2017 2:29 PM

You may no longer take a train to Gravity, Iowa. You can fly there, if you have a helicopter. 

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, August 4, 2017 7:42 AM

What's the big deal?  You can take Metra to Mars or Metro North to Vahalla.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Milwaukee Road's rail line to Alaska
Posted by CMStPnP on Thursday, August 3, 2017 9:04 PM

Interesting reading I grew up near there and never heard of this station or the one mile long spur as a kid.    Allegedly some of the rail is still in place.

http://www.dupyrail.com/alaska.html

http://www.dupyrail.com/pewaukee.html

 

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