Good evening Tom and gents! I'll have whiskey and NyQuil, the same for CM3 and buy a round of real booze for the patrons who don't have a cold. I only have a minute, so this has to be fast.
Most impressive silent Mike on your Flagler submission. Those old Railroad magazines are great, aren't they? I have some related pix to share this weekend, and as usual, thank-you for some mighty fine URLs.
What's all this fancy bar equipment about, sir knight Lars? I don't even want to speculate what's going on, so how about it? If you don't give us the dirt, you know we're going to make it up!
Here are a few pix of some models I actually own. It's nothing in comparrison to any of your collections, but I'm just getting started. Seeing all those great pix of the CanAm layout is fueling the desire for the creation of my train room!
Gotta run for now, and will comment on the many other fine posts as soon as I can!
According to a news report, a certain private school recently was faced with a unique problem. A number of middle school girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the maintenance man who had to clean the mirrors every night.To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.There are teachers, and then there are educators.
Evenin' Cap'n Tom & fellow travelers at the bar!
Leon, I'd like something STRONG tonight - make it a double hit of JD on the rocks! A round for the house too and give the critters some treats along with a small jar of pickled pig's feet for Boris!
Guilty without so much as a hearing, huh
Just because I received a "gift" shouldn't imply anything other than above board behavior! As I recall from my younger days, anything beneath the board most times resulted in lotsasand (re: boardwalks).
Anyway, I do recall meeting a gal named Elena, along with a few others. BUT you must keep in mind, my Mrs. was with me the whole time (well, most of it . . . .) <uh oh>
References to "domes" surely must mean passenger cars and not mine! <ditto uh oh>
Surely hope Ruth isn't sore at me over this. I'll be sure to "make it up" to her just as soon as I return. <awwwwright!>
A mighty fine looking bar and I can't wait to see it up close and personal. For now though, I'd appreciate keeping it in the crate 'til a suitable place can be found for it. I've been thinking about that corner in the back where it's rather dark. Would be a natural for the Manager's Private Bar! Yeah, that sounds just about right. How about it Bossman, will you permit it
Welcome to the Legion of the Full-Time Part-Time Employees of "Our" Place by the tracks, Wolfman Pete! I'm sure you'll do quite well filling in for Bar Chandler Rob as his assistant. I'll have to check to see whether there's still funds in the upstairs tub, but then again, Da Bossman would know better than I, as he's in sole control of that department.
In spite of the day being rather slow, the Can-Am pix are always a welcomed sight for me. It's a fine looking enterprise you've put together and I never get tired of viewing those shots. It will be a treat to see it all up close & personal this May for the Rendezvous.
Nice model from Pete and those from Doug are just begging for a "home," as in train room!
Not much to tell y'all from here as Phil, his Mrs. and I have been simply living the life of leisure. Not to worry CM3 I'm NOT Shane! about my being restored to reality. I'm still the same guy and will always consider myself as well grounded, in spite of this immersion into a lifestyle that I could most assuredly become fully accustomed to!!
Phil wants Cap'n Tom to know that he thinks those layout shots are terrific and wonders whether you'd consider yourself for "contracting out" to build layouts for others Now there's a thought! A monster layout for Elena and the girls . . . . <ooops> wrong topic!
On a more serious note, he passes his admiration for the guys who have provided so much material on the FEC railway. Says that it's hard not to become engrossed in the stuff. Maybe there's HOPE for him yet!
Not sure about the rest of the week, thinkin' about takin' the boat down to Key West in the morning. So, I'll drop these off for your enjoyment . . .
Until the next time!
Manager Lars
Good evening Leon, I'll releave you of a Keith's or two, mind you I'm staying on this end of the bar so to avoid the contaiminated menbers of the crew. I just got over the cold from H-E-double hockey sticks and don't wish another.Sorry 'bout the missing three days (daze) I got called off to help out our store in lower armpit Ontario ( sarnia ) at least the company payed the hotel tab
first off it was nice to have so much to read upon my return 5x for all the great pics and info, nice to see fer sure fer sure.
Tom-Great info on the ole FEC and all the Florida passenger posters on Sunday were a real treat, I can't say as I've ever liked the Citrus scheme on the Seaboard or the Purlpe n silver of the ACL but one thing can be said, I blind person would feel the heat from those paint schemessorry bout the hockey game last night ( not really ) my guys are on a role of late,looks like they may have another 90+ point season and still miss the playoffs the eastern conference is that close. I thought it was a fairly decent game from all sides, bit tentitive but whachagonnado I hear that St Loo is planning on lowering season's tickets prices next year ( I know we'll beleive it when we see it )
Doug-The three parter was definatly a keeper 5x a great read. I have perhaps a few pictures of some of those odder cars, Montreal funeral cars etc, I'll have to dig em up and scan them in over the next couple o weeks.nice to see so much of you these last few days ( even if you are coughing all over the bar )
Pete-Interesting steam pics, loved em as always. I would love top have some help "Chandlering" not sure that's a word but it is now It's been hard keeping up with all the orders for strange brews that the track gangs and the members of Boris' clan order when the pass through.I had heard that the local costabulary had lifted their ban on the bath tub but you'll have to check with Da-Boss first.
Mike-great batch of urls and a great read on Flaggler great to see you type one up once in a while.
Lars-Sounds like you are being truly spoiled in the sunshine state and why not I like the idea of your fancy bar gear being set up in the corner of the main room, hopefully the boss will concur.
eric-A fine sampling of shots both old an new sir Liked the shot of Amtrak at west Palm Beach the warmer side of railroading to be sure.To answer your question from a ways back. The Toronto Hamilton and Buffalo ceased to exist as a real railroad in 1987 when CP assumed full control ( they had bought out all the old NYC and it's susidiaries shares in the early 70's ) but had left TH&B people in charge, their own paint schemes on locomotives etc. By '87 the took over the daily ops and that was that. I'm sure that the TH&B survives on paper but it's refered to as CPR's Hamilton and Grimsby Subdivisions now. 90% of the trackage is still in daily use, even the old Art deco Hunter Street sattion in hamilton was restored three years ago and sreves as Go transit's Hamilton Bus and rail terminal.
Well Leon another round and I'll be off.
Rob
Good evening Captain Tom and all present!!
Leon, glad to see you again! How about my regular Sugar Cured Ham Sandwich? Good! On rye, please! Yeah, coffee.
Another beautiful day today! Like a real nice day in spring!
Tom – No gun shots last night, just a bunch of cops and a helicopter. sometime after midnight they all left. Before that they searched our carport. In the 2007 edition of a book called “Where to live in Arizona” our part of Phoenix is listed as a nice part! But one mile south of us a there is a bad area. I am afraid it will take until next week before we know what happened when the gun shots were fired a week and a half ago. Tonight it is quiet and nice around here. When I win the Powerball I promise I’ll fund at least an “Our Place” private car for trips around the country for the gang! A real nice car! When are you going to install that nice marble top bar? Elena must be a very nice lady! But I think Lars will be back soon to see Ruth. Don’t worry, be happy! But I think we should be careful not to say anything to his “Mrs.”Nice pictures of a very nice layout! It seems like the cold weather hit parts of your layout! I can see snow and that means very cold weather! At least we had 79°F today. No snow.Mike – Thanks for the interesting article on FEC’s locomotives, steam and diesels. Flagler Station in Key West is a must if and when I get there! Worthington feedwater heater was mentioned in the article so I thought a picture of one would be in place.
CM3 – I don’t think we have to worry about LLL. He will be back pretty soon to see Ruth!Pete – I spent about ten minutes tonight trying to find some info about the Coronation timetable but did not have any luck! After a quick look in a book, “History of Railways”, I think the Coronation made only one stop between London and Edinburgh, York. It says that the Coronation “was booked to run Kings Cross and York at an average speed of 71.9 mph — Edinburgh, the next stop, was reached in six hours from London”. Do you think that is correct? Nice model of No 70000 Britannia! Is that your model?
Eric
This is strange! Why didn't I see these last posts, before I posted? I reloaded the page before I posted, nothing new showed up and now they are there! Beats me!
Since I have to get up early tomorrow morning I will respond to the missing pieces tomorrow evening!
Good night Gentlemen!
Good morning Tom and gang. I only have time for one light breakfast this morning. It's too eary for me to figure out exactly what manager Lars is saying. Is he confessing or what? Anyhow, we all get to carve our initials in the fancy-schmancy bar, right?
Great to see Eric and Rob this morning. Here's a little something to read with your morning cofees:
Hobos and Hot Cotton by Charles A Roach Railroad Magazine Mar. 1947
Facts prove that strikes invariably cause railroads plenty of trouble. It doesn't make any difference what industry the strike involves, it displaces employed men and they, in turn, are soon broke and restless. So they head for the railroad to ride somewhere. Oft times to seek a job in other places, or just get away from where they are unable to find employment.
I well remember how the country was swarming with train riders back in 1894. That year coal mines throughout the United States were on strike. Then the Pullman strike helped put more men on the unemployed list. When A.R.U. men joined in, one of the worst unemployment situations I believe this country has ever had was caused. It cost the railroads millions from looted cars alone.
I was in the A.R.U. strike myself. And I wandered over several states looking for a job without finding one. Then, in one of fate's off moments, I struck a job. Under a fictitious handle of course.
Like thousands of others, I had wandered through the great wooded regions of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and part of east Texas, where a man could build a jungle fire and keep warm.
Thus, I rode into Hornbeck, Louisiana one night and discovered brakemen were needed - if they were not Union men and from some other road. I had no trouble explaining I had never made a trip on a train and was perfectly green at the duties. At four a.m. that very morning, I went out as a brakeman.
The Kansas City-Pittsburg & Gulf, later the Kansas City Southern, was a new road then, and braking on that pike was no easy job. There were plenty of merchandise cars in each train, and it was my duty to keep those merchandise cars from being broken into and their contents stolen by the wandering fraternity of which I had just been a member.
Jungle fires burned at each station. And in between and the men, being husky and determined as well as hungry, thought nothing of raiding a boxcar for food. There were no yard bulls then except at large terminals and no cops riding the merchandise trains. So it was all up to the three shacks and the conductor to keep cars from being broken into and the contents taken. If we failed, the road paid heavy damages to owners of the merchandise; in addition, there was a loss of reputation as a reliable carrier.
At that time air brakes were not in universal use, and the three brakemen on each train set brakes by hand, using a big stick for leverage to stop a car or the whole train. These brake clubs came in quite handy whenever a tough gentleman who did not have much regard for a brakeman's authority had to be handled.
One night shortly before I had mu most exciting experience on a railroad, I was designated as the swing man, or middle brakeman. We rolled out of Hornbeck on an extra about 9:30 p.m. with Bill Tanner as head man. By the glare from the firebox door as the fireman shoveled in coal, I saw that Bill was having a controversy with a couple of riders. It often took two men to make a good job of getting smart and tough men off, so I began to move forward. When I was almost about six or seven car lengths from Bill, I saw his lantern make a sudden circle and go out. I figured he had struck at one of the men with the lantern. That meant they had grabbed his brake club. Just as I got to them a big savage fellow hoisted Bill to throw him off the top of the car. I dived in. A sudden, well-placed smash of my club felled the big guy. Teetering on the edge of the car top, Bill yelled at me, "Look out, Slim. The other guy has a pistol." In a second, he moved and I could see by the light of my lantern a face glaring out from under Bill's right ar. The gun barrel came up, pointing at me.
I could almost feel the leaden slug entering my body. I swung my club and dived at him, all in a split second, without any spoken warning to Bill to side step. The pistol barked just as my brake club met bone. Bill had jumped aside in perfect timing. As the bad actor slumped unconscious to the bouncing car roof, I grabbed up his pistol.
Bill spoke first. "Gosh, Slim, that was a close one." I handed him the gun. The two slug-boys were out until we reached Leesville, where we rolled them to the edge of the car and over the cinders. The next trip north I saw them both, their heads bandaged, standing on the depot platform at DeQuincy, some twenty miles from where we had put them off.
It was out policy to search the train together. Two men could handle most any group or pair, except when they swung under on the rods as the train pulled out from the station. These smart guys could crawl half-way out from under the car while it was speeding along, reach up, break the seal on a merchandise car and climb inside. Once in , they'd gather what edibles could be found, and anything else they could sell or trade. Then before the train stopped on entering a station, they'd hit the ground and then be out of sight of any trainman hoping to catch them. No usual hoboes, those men.
Once in a while a lone rail encountered a tough pair.. Such a situation was thrust upon me one night as our train highballed it for Beaumont, Texas. We had stopped at DeQuincy to pick up some cars and set out others. There were no signs of any sneak artists up to this point and the road seemed clear for a peaceful ride into Beaumont.
Bill, the head brakeman was up on the engine, as I started to walk back to the caboose for a cup of java. About half way back, I glimpsed two men sitting on the running board as unconcerned as if the train belonged to them. Neither made a move to get away as I approached. Sensing trouble from the indifferent way they acted, I growled in my harshest manner, "What the hell are you men doing on here?"
The man nearest me chuckled boldly, "Riding - can't you see?"
"Well, you're not riding far," I said.
"We stop about three miles down the line. You get off there and stay off."
The two huskies rose to their feet. One, I observed, was quite short in spite of his breadth. The other wore a bunch of black whiskers on his chin. Above the whiskers his face was that of a young lad not over twenty.
He said, "We have to get to Beaumont tonight, and you can't keep us from riding on this train." His voice seemed rasping, and a little nervous, like a man getting up his nerve. Yet he spoke as if he had some way of making the trip, regardless of whatever action I took.
A scuffle on top of a moving box car at night is not a safe thing to undertake, no matter how sure-footed you are. I moved a step or two just as the short fellow dived at me. At the same instant the whiskered lad flashed a knife. With a good grip on my brake club and with my left hand holding my lantern, I was ready to slug it out with him, knife or no knife.
But before I could get in a lick, the short lad jumped on my back. He was a husky, strong-armed fellow and clung so tight I could not shake him off. All the time he was trying to get his fingers around my throat. Seeing I was in a difficult situation. I dropped on my back hoping to be able to stay on the running board, and smash the short man's head against the hard boards. But as I went down, the whiskered lad lunged with the knife. My club had dropped as well as my lantern and I was using both hands to prevent being choked, which put me practically at the mercy of the whiskered fool.
As I fell, I drew my feet up, and kicked out at whiskers, striking him in the mid section hard enough to set him back on his heels. Before he could regain his balance, one of his heels struck a raised ridge of the car roof. He kept going backward, letting out a wild screaming yell as he went off the car top.
That left just one more to get rid of. I began to claw at the short fellow to get him around in front where I could smash his face with my fist. No good. His ..... (to be continued)
Denali Star - from my personal collection
G'day Gents!
Another FA cold day here in mid-continent USA with the temps in the teens for the AM trek with Juneau the Wonder Husky. Expected to reach the mid-20s (F) today . . . Petrol up at "Collusion Corner" is not at $2.18 rounded as the price jumped from $1.98 in the blink of an eye. Then again, thanx to the speculators and the extortionists who run the cartels, world prices are nearly back to the $60 per barrel level. It was nice while it lasted, but this nationwide cold snap has the markets "atwitter" over it all, eh Sickening, just sickening.
Had an unusual experience with Dell ‘puter company that I'd like to share with those of you who are interested in these sorts of things. I've been having a "running gun battle" with D-Link over problems with my wireless capability for the laptop I like to use. Seems that the card bus adapter makes the system crash more times than not. When it isn't plugged in, the laptop works just fine. Plug it in, and zap - there she goes. D-Link said my operating system must be "corrupt.' I said the only thing "corrupt' is the manner in which D-Link handles things like this - and it went down hill from there.
Got a Dell tech on line and we discussed the situation. He transferred me over to another tech who diagnosed my laptop with a remote link up. Amazing. Anyway, Dell says they are sending me a new motherboard which should take care of the problem with the card bus adapter! I said "huh," and they supported their contention that although the device in question isn't theirs, they want to ensure that I am pleased with the Dell product. So replacing the motherboard should do just that. Amazing, eh Very happy with Dell - and very happy that I have an extended warranty to cover all of this!!
Yeah, I know
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS!
Pete at 5:52 PM yesterday: Congrats and many thanx for taking on the awesome responsibility of Full-Time Part-Time Assistant Bar Chandler!
This shouldn't require any more than 25 hours per day of your time on Thursdays thru Saturdays! <grin> Anyway, I DIDN'T know we had any warm English brew in the place. We've got to put a stop to THAT practice. What have I done Kinda like hiring the wolf to guard the hen house, eh
Sorry to learn that your bride is not feeling well. Seems like she's had a wintertime perennial cold, eh Perhaps you should introduce her to "my friend Jack!" That ALWAYS works for me! But then I have to be reintroduced to another friend called "Ty" from the Tylenol family!
That's a mighty fine model you have there, Sir Pete and my offer to help you construct a layout is still valid. Models like yours "deserve" a place to be run . . .
Doug at 6:52 PM yesterday: A rare early evening visit from our Illinois Connection! Great to see ya and of course we appreciate the business! Nyquil ‘n Jack - what a great way to shake loose a cold! <yeeeeee haw!>
Really some fine looking steamers, Doug! You too NEED a train room and NEED it NOW! C'mon, it's ONLY money! So the college fund takes a "hit" - your kids will understand! Yeah, right. <groan>
A GREAT lesson in that story! Now that's one to pass ‘round . . .
Lars at 7:33 PM yesterday: An even rarer appearance by our Manager during mid-week! Also great to have you stop by and liven up the joint!
Don't quite know what to make of your "story" and the bar and the gals in Florida, etc.
Not to worry, Mate - your bar will be safeguarded by Boris. It has been put back in the crate and will be here for you whenever you're ready to set it up. I should mention that ALL of the accutrements are included in the crate - when set up, it will look exactly as the Pix shows. It's really rather "rich" for this place.
Yeah, I think the corner back where it's dark is a good spot for the "Manager's Private Bar." It will brighten up that area and all I ask is that "whoever" you invite to share it with you, keep in mind that exclusion is not what we do ‘round here. So, should the guys wish to be "served" at it, make it available. If agreed, we have a deal!
Me, travel to construct someone's layout
I don't think so. Not what I'm "into" - Pete of course is an exception if he wishes my services. Tell Phil that there ARE people who do this very thing. They actually build other people's layouts, to "specs" and then some. They charge accordingly, as I've heard this ‘business' gets into the 5 figures! Can you imagine that
Well, I can - for I KNOW what my layout and room cost me - and I did all the work (well most of it - the bride helped here ‘n there, and I did have the services of a contractor friend for the drop ceiling. Anyway, if there's a buck to be made, there's a line up of people out there to make it! That's the American way, eh
Nice book covers, Mate! Hope your voyage to Key West is a pleasant and safe one . . .
Rob at 10:24 PM yesterday: He lives! He's baaaaaaaack! The man from Ontario who swings so well from the trolley wire has returned! <yay> Never know what's happen' with our Canadian C
On this day, February 8th, in
Canadian Railroading history:
Posted: 08 Feb 2006, page 241 of the "original" Thread . . .
Hinton train collision
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements.
The Hinton train collision was a railway accident that occurred on February 8, 1986. Twenty-three people were killed in a collision between a Canadian National Railway freight train and a VIA Rail passenger train. It was the most lethal Canadian rail disaster since the Dugald accident of 1947.
The vicinity of the accident
The accident took place on a stretch of Canadian National Railway's transcontinental main line, near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. Nearby towns are Jasper to the west and Edson to the east. Passenger service on the line was provided by VIA Rail Canada. Slightly over half of the 100 mile (160 kilometre) stretch of track between Jasper and Edson was double-tracked, including 11.2 miles (18 kilometres) of trackage from Hargwen siding west to Dalehurst siding. Traffic on this line was controlled with Centralized Traffic Control (CTC)
Prelude to the accident
On the morning of February 8, 1986, VIA Rail's No. 4 train, the Super Continental, was travelling from Jasper east to Edmonton on its transcontinental journey. It consisted of 14 units in the following order:
1. Diesel locomotive
2. Diesel locomotive
3. Baggage car
4. Coach
5. Dome car
6. Sleeping car
7. Sleeping car
8. Diesel locomotive (inoperative)
9. Steam generator car
10. Baggage car
11. Coach
12. Lounge car
13. Sleeping car
14. Steam generator car
The unusual make up of the train was the result of two separate trains being joined together in Jasper. The first seven units had originated in Vancouver, and the next six units had originated in Prince Rupert. The last unit, the steam generator car, was added in Jasper on its way to Edmonton for maintenance. One hundred fifteen people were on the train; 94 passengers, 14 stewards and seven crew.
Canadian National Railway's westbound train No. 413 consisted of three locomotives, followed by a high-speed spreader, 35 cylindrical hoppers loaded with grain, seven bulkhead flat cars loaded with large pipes, 45 hoppers loaded with sulphur, 20 loaded tank cars, six more grain cars, and a caboose; a total of 118 units. It was 6,124 feet (1,866 metres) long and weighed 12,804 tons. In the front locomotive were engineer John Edward (Jack) Hudson, aged 48, and brakeman Mark Edwards, aged 25. In the caboose was conductor Wayne Smith, aged 33.
The freight train left Edson at 6:40 am, and took the siding at Medicine Lodge to allow two eastbound trains to pass. It departed Medicine Lodge at 8:02 am and reached Hargwen at 8:20 am, where a section of double track started. The remote dispatcher at Edmonton had set the switch so that the train was routed onto the north track. At the same time, the Super Continental stopped at Hinton. It left on time, five minutes later, at 8:25 am.
At 8:29 am, the dispatcher set the switch at Dalehurst, where the section of double track ended, to allow the Super Continental to take the south track. This switch setting would have caused the freight train to see signals indicating a stop. A two-light signal 13,600 feet (4.15 kilometres) east of Dalehurst showed yellow over red (meaning slow down and prepare to stop). As the train approached this signal, it was already going full throttle at 59 miles per hour (96 kilometres per hour), faster than the 50 mile per hour limit on this stretch of track. It did not slow down after passing the signal.
Further west, there was a three-light signal, 490 feet (150 metres) east of the switch at Dalehurst that showed three red lamps, indicating a stop. The freight still did not slow down, instead jumping the switch and entering the section of single track occupied by the Super Continental. Had the Super Continental been even a minute early, it would have been past the switch at this point, but unfortunately it was not. Seconds after the freight jumped the switch, at 8:40:52 am, the two trains collided, 1,270 feet (387 metres) west of the switch. As the freight train's momentum was greater than that of the passenger train, it ploughed through the first few cars of the passenger train.
The aftermath
After the crash, diesel fuel spilled from the locomotives and ignited, and the locomotives, the baggage car, and the day coach were engulfed in flames. The two crew members in each of the locomotives were killed.
Eighteen of the 36 occupants of the day coach were killed. The death toll might have been higher except that the contents of a grain car were propelled on top of the car, helping to smother the fire somewhat. Had the sulphur cars, for instance, been at the front of the train, the death toll might have been higher.
The observation dome car behind the day coach suffered serious damage, and was also hit by a freight car. One of its occupants was killed. The others were able to escape either through a broken window in the dome or through the hole left by the freight car. The two sleepers following the dome car derailed and were thrown on their sides. There were no deaths in these cars, but there were several injuries. The three passenger cars at the rear of the train did not derail, but there were some injuries.
Good Afternoon Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please (with a splash), more bricks for my boots, round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Lovely day today - five degrees with a beautiful red sunrise (all former naval persons knows what that means). K9s ran a QUICK plow extra and then back to their appointed crates, blanket piles, etc. Dog's life indeed. We are still fighting the dreaded winter cold.
Now for comments and some additional material.
Thanks to all for Florida material, and for Canadian items as well.
Lars posted fine report from the Super Bowl. Food and drink? Miners can handle that just fine. One of the toughest nights I recall in a long time was when we partied hard with a bunch of shaft sinkers from Wales. Oh well. BTW, I like the fine piece of furniture; next to arrive will doubtless be the ceiling mirrors. The Mentor and Southern Narrow Gauge folks are having a lot of fun deciphering the waybills.
Eric - keep your head down, buddy!
We have been talking a bit about FEC 4-8-2s. All of them were acquired between 1923 and 1926. FEC 301-315 were blt. at Richmond in 1923. They were the smallest of the FECs 4-8-2s, with 25x28 cylinders and 68-inch drivers. FEC 401-452 were blt. at Schenectady between 1924 and 1926. All of them had 26x28 cylinders with 73-inch drivers. The final batch, FEC 801-823 came from Schenectady in 1926. They had 28x30 cylinders with 69-inch drivers. FEC 4-8-2s wandered far afield. For example, FEC 4-8-2s wound up on the Western Pacific, Cotton Belt, and a bunch went to the NdeM.
The FECs 4-8-2 were not the only ones to "travel." Most know about the B&M 4-8-2s that went to the B&O. Here's something way more ORO. The New York, Ontario and Western sold some of their 4-8-2s to the Savannah and Atlanta in 1945. Other NYO&W Mountains wound up on the Bangor and Aroostook, also in 1945.
Now for our trivia question for the day. Which railroad got the first 4-8-2s built, and which road got the last? Extra points (and another bottle of your choice for bldr dates.
Work safe
Hardly a soul in sight, but Ruth tells me CM3 was in around noon . . . Saw where parts of WVA had considerable snowfall and the ski slope operators are in "heaven." Dropping temps though are taking "tolls" - stay warm Shane!
Ah, a quiz! Let's see . . . the first of the Mountain type locos went to C&O #316 in 1911. The last went to the B&O #5594 in 1948. Do I "win," <huh> <huh> <grin> Source:
www.steamlocomotive.com/mountain/
Pretty much everything one might need to know about the Mountain steamers!
Would've Posted some Pix of a few 4-8-2s, but PhotoBucket is experiencing some problems . . . <geesh> Is there anything regarding 'puters that isn't
Later (maybe)!
Tom
Hi Tom and all.
I see you are a lot happier today RUTH so I 'll have a Bathams Bitter and the Fish 'n' Chips later please.
DOUG Hope the cold is getting better. Thanks for sharing those great models.
Another great story from the Railroad Magazine , what a cliffhanger to finish this installment definatly looking forward to the next part.
LARS Glad you are able to visit the bar again from Florida.RUTH seems a lot better after you have been in.The private bar is causing a lot of interest among the track gang.
Thanks for the book covers with the Florida theme, the 'Last train to Paradise' looks a good read.
ROB It will be a pleaure to asssist you in the Chandeling . You will have to teach me the Our Place secret on getting the beers and spirits exactly the right temperature for every customer.I would hate to get it wrong for any of BORIS's clan.
I shall look forward to your pics of those unusual trolley cars.
ERIC Very glad it is quiet again in your neighbourhood .Thanks for the pic of the feedwater heater, they were not common in the UK espcially in the later years of steam.
The model is one I brought over.It is one of a limited edition of 2000 produced by Hornby it was a present although I can't recall what year I got it.
That does sound right about the Coronation stopping just at York, no doubt it was to change the loco crew, as York is roughley half way between London and Edinburgh. The LNER was running a non-stop train between the two capitals using the corridor tender fitted to certain A4 locos,why they did not do this with the Coronation I do not know. I read that the loco was not changed at York.
After the railways were nationalised in 1948 the Eastern Region of British Railways re -introduced a non-stop service between London and Edinburgh which lasted into the early 1960s when diesels took over the main services. They made a British Transport film of the train .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_Express
CM3 Any chance of hearing more about that night with the Welsh Miners, if it can be published that is
TOM The bride is still not too well and is thinking about the JD cure. We are getting some work done to the basement wall and hopefully it will be the start of making it fit for other uses.When we are ready to have the layout there your help will be much appriciated. I got my friend in the UK to send over a Brit modelling mag and there are some good ideas in it.I bet those snow covered mountains on the Can-Am are very refreshing in the Mid-Mo summers.
With the loss of the frieght train crew, in the locos, the reason why the train passed those signals causing the Hinton Collision disaster will never be knownThanks for the encore from a year ago today.
I found a book called Red For Danger in my stuff from England it details the major railway accidents in Britain up to 1958, and how they affected the improvements made to railway safety over the years. I will have to let you borrow it. Recently in one of the railway mags they looked into an accident in England that happened in 1906 and the cause of which has been a bit of a mistery, but looking at evidence that was not told at the enquiry it thinks they are pretty sure what the cause was.
The bar chandelers hours don't seem that bad,at least it could have been 8 days a week, as someone sang about
Glad you had some joy with the Dell people. Is it just me but trying to get good service nowadays is getting harder and harder, when you want something doing as opposed to buying something .
I think you have won CM3's quiz, I wonder what the prize will be
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house.
Excerpt from Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society article by Eugene L. Huddleston:
Today, there is essentially no system. The model in use on a particular railroad is given its manufacturer's designation, which is often very awkward itself, as "C44-8W" Class designations for steam revealed more information about them. For example, on C&O the alphabet was followed straight through; all Consolidations (2-8-0) were "G"; all Mallets were "H". ("I" was skipped because of confusion with "1".) Hence, we know that the J-1 and K-1 arrived after the first Mallets; that they were the first in their class; and that the J-1 was built before the K-1. The names designating the types, independent of the companies they were built for, developed with little logic but always with an interesting association. The K-1, a 2-8-2, was a Mikado, the name derived from the fact that the first important order for 2-8-2s came from the Japanese Imperial Government for its Nippon Railway in 1897. It is said that the name "Mikado" owes more to the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, "The Mikado," than to the Emperor himself. During World War II some railroads tried to change the name of the type on their roads to "MacArthur" but the name change never caught on.
The name "Mountain" has more logic to it, for the type originated as a passenger locomotive designed for mountain service in 1911. According to Alco's Bulletin no. 1011, the C&O's Superintendent of Motive Power, J. F. Walsh, "christened" the three new locomotives the Mountain type because they would go in service over C&O's Mountain and Allegheny Subdivisions. (C&O and Alco officials could confer closely on the new engines, for they were built in Alco's Richmond, Va., works.) The name is not so appropriate when one considers that on most roads that eventually ordered the type they were considered dual-service machines and operated in freight service over fairly level terrain. That must be why the New York Central, which called itself the "Water Level Route," changed the name of its 4-8-2 type to "Mohawk," for most of its 4-8-2s, first ordered in 1916, went into freight service. C&O, as long as it ran passenger trains, never, as policy, mixed its passenger with its freight power. (Of course, while the "American Standard" type 4-4-0 ruled American rails through most of the nineteenth century, it served in both capacities.)
C&O 316 (540)
http://www.chessieshop.com/gallery/photos/cohs7721.jpg
B&O 5594
http://www.railroadheritage.org/slideshow/images/8.jpg
CV 601
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=-865848423&id=55
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/people/index_view.cfm?photoid=-861835690&id=28
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/people/index_view.cfm?photoid=775793097&id=26
http://www.divisionpoint.com/photos/CV_U1A/CV_601b.jpg
Florida East Coast oldies
http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/imfile/01130.jpg
http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/flkeys03.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/rrltarchbrg.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/rrloco429.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/rrloco431.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/rrltfirstkw.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/rrltno153.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/wcbosses.jpg
http://www.keyshistory.org/flagler.html
Railroad Magazine
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_193711.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_193909.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_193904.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194209.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194211.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194210.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194401.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194509.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194510.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194704.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194803.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194808.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_194902.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_195209.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_195212.jpg
http://www.philsp.com/data/images/r/railroad_195301.jpg
Mike
G-day Tom and all present.
Leon- Could I get a turkey sandwich and a coffee please.
Now I'm starting to feel like an idiot. This is going to be a little
I thought we had our internet all set out and ready. I found out that our internet died on Monday. We have been trying to get it back. So we have slowly checked off with our cable company with what is going so bad in the house. So right now the internet is on and off untill we get set back up. Our modem has gone bad "again."
Just a heads up. I am truely sorry for all the problems and I feel really bad at the moment.
I will try to get on as soon as possible.
Happy railroading.
James
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, how about an early breakfast? Yeah, Blackberry Pancakes!! That sounds good! Don't forget the whipped cream. Lots of it!
Thursday! Which means it is Friday tomorr... today! I love Friday afternoons!
Doug – Nice pictures of your models! But it seems to me like the SP #4328 (Class Mt-3) has its tender coupled the wrong way. Maybe Boris did something while you visited Our Place? I think manager Lars was very close to confess everything today. I am looking forward to the rest of the story, Hobos and Hot Cotton! Lars – All I can say is You have the right to remind silent..., you know what I mean. Besides that, Ruth is not very happy right now! You better bring something nice for her next time. Thanks for the book covers! You don’t happened to know at what special occasion the picture of the Florida East Coast Railway was taken? Rob – Glad to hear you have recovered from the cold! You have been missed! Thanks for the info on the Toronto and Buffalo! I am glad that at least so much of the trackage is still used!Tom – Glad you got help with your computer! It is very frustrating when things don’t work the way they are supposed to and you can’t figure out why. I am working real hard on winning the jackpot. I actually won $4 the other week! Yes, a private dome car sounds like a great idea. The little I have traveled in private cars (in Canada) made me long for more! I know, there is no guarantee a nice area will stay nice forever. As soon as I have found out what really happened these two evenings I’ll let you know. Interesting story about the Hinton train collision! The “deadman’s pedal’ was/is not that safe. It is too easy to manipulate.CM3 – OK, I’ll try to remember to keep my head down. But first I have to try to give the correct answers to your trivia question. The first railroad to get 4-8-2s built was C&O in 1911 built by Alco’s Richmond Works (2 locomotives, #316 and 317). The last one was Baltimore & Ohio 1948 (#5592-5594). B & O built those locomotives in its Mount Clare Shops. They rebuilt older locomotives. I know Tom already answered the questions, but he missed the builders! Hmm, I just noticed that Mike gave the name of the builder of the first 4-8-2s. But not the builder of the last ones! Pete – Thanks for the info on the Coronation! I never checked on the map exactly where York is but if it is about halfway the stop makes sense from more than one reason. I agree with Tom, your model needs some tracks to run on! A total of 2,201 4-8-2 Mountain were built. Mike – Thanks for all url’s! Both the first and the last 4-8-2 !! Fascinating pictures from the Florida East Coast Railway down to the Keys! James – Good luck in getting your internet connection back up and running! See you again soon!
*Idiot of the Week #3
A man wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America walked into the
Branch and wrote this: "Put all your muny in this bag." While
standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began
to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the
police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of
America and crossed the street to the Wells Fargo Bank. After
waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo
teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he
wasn't the brightest light in the harbor. She told him that she could
not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of
America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a
Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking
somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left. He was arrested a
few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.
Don't bother with this guy's sign. He probably couldn't read it anyway.
STAY ALERT!
They walk among us .. and they REPRODUCE ..!!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A warmer start-up to the day here in mid-continent USA as the temps are already in the 20s (F).
Friday "specials" on the Menu Board in the form of <light> ‘n <traditional> breakfasts! The Mentor Village Bakery case is chock full o' good stuff! The coffee is freshly ground ‘n brewed, so draw a mug and kick off the end of the week right here at the Saloon by the Siding!
Have another morning appointment to keep, so I'll get right to the business at hand . . .
Pete at 5:33 PM yesterday: Glad you picked up on Doug's submission - it is well worth the read!
Thanx for the comment on the Hinton train collision - surely was a bad day for those pour souls, eh I'd appreciate checking out your book one day . . . thanx!
Dontchajustluv those names like "Elizabethan" <grin> Anyway, interesting link . . .
A word of advice regarding the planning and construction phases of model railroading. Try not to depend solely on books, magazines and other sources for plans. Let YOUR imagination rule! Then you can consult with these plans to adapt what you'd prefer to this ‘n that contained in layouts that appear to approximate YOUR ideas.
I've built more than a few pikes in my time and all had their shortcomings, as does the Can-Am. However, they ALL represented what I wanted at the time. To my way of thinking, this is the main criteria to meet - it MUST meet YOUR expectations, otherwise you've simply copied from someone else. Just my thoughts . . .
Bar Chandler has its origins from the Ship Chandlers found these days at major sea ports. They provide everything from "soup to nuts" (as in bolts) to the Captains of the vessels requiring supplies. The Bar Chandler in this establishment has similar responsibilities and must ensure that we NEVER run out (or dry) or the things that keep us up ‘n running as a tavern! I know you can handle it.
Hurry up 'n get well, Mrs. Wolfman!
Mike at 7:24 PM yesterday: Another educational extravaganza from "silent Mike" with a narrative followed by a spate of URLs for all to enjoy. Those Railroad magazine prices are something else - from 15 cents to 25 cents to 35 cents. Not quite like the progression of today, although the percentages just may be the same. Hmmmmmm. Anyway, interesting covers . . .
James at 9:26 PM yesterday: You've had quite a few of these kinds of situations. Looks like you're in need of help. Perhaps we can dispatch our "crack team" of ‘puter techs to check out your system. Boris has been taking classes over at the Mentor Village Day Academy and has completed the course of instruction in how NOT to destroy a keyboard. He does have a propensity to POUND instead of type. Then again, if you had hands like he does, POUND is perhaps more appropriate.
Just be sure to check through what you've missed and we look forward to a more responsive and inclusive visit.
Eric at 12:30 AM today: ‘puters - can't live with ‘em and certainly can't live without ‘em! Anyway, the "motherboard" got installed yesterday afternoon and all's apparently "well" with the laptop once again. No more "crashing" when in the wireless mode. <yay> Surely does pay to have the extended warranty. It's pretty much paid for itself in replacement parts since I've had this machine (2003). My guess is that I won't be offered an extension! <groin> These things have a "life" of 5 years and then "they" expect you to purchase another . . .
Anything you can share with us regarding the "dead man's pedal" will be most appreciated! That collision at Hinton is a sobering story, fer sure, fer su
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; bricks for the boots (again); round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Six degrees this a.m. So guess what happened yesterday? We ordered some windows for the house. Contractor agreed to store them until later this spring when we can get them installed. So they call the house yesterday and said, "We can install the windows tomorrow." Needless to say, Mom got them straightened out right quick. I guess they had a crew with nothing to do. Gotta love it; a foot of snow on the ground, windy, and they want to open five holes in the house.
Pete stopped by.
The 4-8-2 question got some response. We have co-winners; our ‘steamed proprietor and Eric.
Mike sent some material re C&O 4-8-2s. See if you can find some pictures of Rutland 90-93. These were built at Schenectady in 1946 and are an interesting contrast to the CV 600s.
Continuing on that vein, the shots of CV601 were beautiful. Then we had Coolidge - too much. The shot of the CV train crew beside the special's engine will give viewers an idea of how large these engines were.
Let's move to the Railroad Magazine covers. There's a lot here to look at. The November, 1937 issue was a nice color rendering of a DL&W 4-6-2; yes, they did come in that livery. The April, 1934 cover was a good portrait of VGN electrification in and around the GWCMA (Greater Wyoming County Metropolitan Area). The location for that picture was (is) not too far from beautiful, downtown Elmore, WV. The January, 1944 cover was SP in the Sierras and was a nice one as well.
The Sept 1945 cover was of a CNJ car float; the setting is, of course, NY harbor. The tug, however, has NYC-style paint, but the hull and superstructure really don't look all that much like a NYC vessel; maybe it's a generic picture of a tug. The October '45 cover is, no doubt included for LBL (Luxury Box Lars).
April, 1947 is a painting of Starruca viaduct at Lanesboro, PA. Been there - it's a most interesting place. The Erie was above and the D&H down below. The tag line on the cover mentioned that "King Anthracite" was tottering - actually, it had been tottering for nearly two decades. March, 1948was more D&H as near as I can tell (could have been Reading, but the front end of the locomotive was D&H style).
The August 1948 cover was of the C&Os steam turbine locomotive which was built for the Chessie (the train which never ran). The background is a generic version of a city. However, IIRC, there was at least one coal dock built as shown in the picture; I think at Clifton Forge. I don't have my C&O stuff with me so I am (Lord help us) relying on my memory.
February, 1949 was pure Erie - location was probably based on Meadville, PA although the coal dock was a little different. We also had generic DL&W, Erie material in the Sept. 1952 cover (or maybe CNJ). The location is New York again. I remember being at Hoboken Terminal ‘purt near 40 yrs ago and seeing similar skyline scenes. Power in the station included Es, GPs and RSs (all E-L).
Last (but not least) B&M item shown in the December, 1952 issue. Colors on the engines should have been red and gold, but I'll bet the color on the cover had changed as the red they sued back then was extremely unstable and sensitive to light. Yes, they were still using ball signals then.
Note to James - Make sure you back up whatever you do on your ‘puter; it'll vanish forever if you don't.
Again, thanks to all for sharing.
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please (we'll take a sandwich also - as long as it's not Boris's catch of the day), round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Here's something from approx. 1905 that I found as a set of notes. Thought you'd be interested in a snapshot of Fayette County, WV railroads back in the day - more than a few fallen flags here.
By 1920 Fayette County, West Virginia, had an extensive network of railroads. The following is a short description of these lines, where they went, and what they carried.
Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O)
The main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio was double-tracked along New River with one exception. Between Hawks Nest and Sewell, the eastward main line of the C&O was on the west side of the river, and the westbound main was on the east side of the river.
Nine branches of the Chesapeake and Ohio operated in Fayette County.
The Powellton Branch, completed in 1905, ran 8 miles from Mount Carbon to the head of Right Fork (2 miles above Powellton). This branch served lumbering and coal operations.
The Paint Creek Branch, which ran 20 miles from Paint Creek Junction (Kanwaha County) to Kingston, was finished in 1911. Less than half of the branch's mileage was in Fayette County. This was a busy stretch of railroad that served extensive coal mining operations. NOTE: Much of this trackage is visible from the WV Turnpike today, if you know where to look.
The Gauley Branch operated from Gauley Junction, 14.2 miles north to Greenedale (Nicholas County). The road was completed in 1894 and carried coal and lumber.
The Mill Creek Branch operated 3 miles from Hawks Nest to Ansted to serve several coal mines. It was finished in 1890, and built as a broad gauge railroad.
One of the more interesting branches on the C&O was the Keeneys Creek Branch (sometimes called Keeney Creek). This line, noted for its steep grades and switchbacks, operated from Keeneys Creek to Lookout (7 miles by rail). The branch was built in 1894 to serve several large coal operations. NOTE: Partes of ROW are visible
Two branch lines connected with the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio at Thurmond. The Arbuckle Creek Branch, built in 1904 ran 5 miles between Thurmond and Minden. It served coal mines. The Loup Creek Branch was finished in 1894, It ran between Thurmond and Price Hill and also served area coal mines. NOTE: This is still operating today; owned by R.J. Corman
The Laurel Creek Branch covered 7 miles between Quinnimont and Layland. It was finished in 1904 to service coal mines. NOTE: Abandoned, but ROW is visible.
The 10 miles of track between White Oak Junction (on the Loup Creek line) and Lochgelly constituted the White Oak Branch. It handled coal traffic.
Kanawha and Michigan (K&M) - NOTE: Later NYC is now NS
Part of the K&M was in Fayette County. The main line of the Kanawha and Michigan extended from Gauley Bridge northwest to the Kanawha County line near Smithers Creek (Cannelton). The K&M was completed in 1894. It had a diverse traffic base including lumber, coal, coke, salt, chrome ore, and lime. There was one branch of the K&M in Fayette County. The Smithers Creek branch ran from Cannelton to Marting (approximately 5 miles) to carry coal from local mines.
Virginian Railway (VGN)
Only 28 miles of the Virginian ran in Fayette County from Deepwater to just below Herberton. There was a short branch of the VGN in Fayette County from Bishop to Oak Hill. It provided the VGN with a connection to the C&O. NOTE: Presently operated by NS
Manns Creek Railroad
The Manns Creek operated as a coal and lumber carrier for 10 miles between Sewell and Landisburg. NOTE: Driving trail at Babcock State Park.
Sewell Valley Railroad
The Sewell Valley operated from Meadow Creek (on the C&O main line) north and west to Rainelle and Wilderness (Nallon). The Sewell Valley, completed in 1916 was a lumber and coal carrier. NOTE: Still in operation
Kanwaha, Glen Jean and Eastern (KGJ&E)
The KGJ&E operated 15 miles of trackage from Glen Jean via Macdonald to Pax where it connected with the Virginian. A branch line ran from Macdonald to Tamroy. Completed in 1913, the KGJ&E was primarily a coal hauler.
Back from this round of visits to assorted "docs," and I've been "issued" a "pass" for the next three months. Looooooooookin' better . . .
Okay - to the business at hand. Is that CM3 The Shane Man! who has provided TWO excellent Posts this AM
Now, THAT's certainly worthy of note. So . . . as we said in the "service" - duly noted!
CM3 at 9:41 AM 'n 11:01 AM today: Oh, I'm NOT at all suprised that a contractor, sub-contractor or sub-sub-contractor would "think" that removing 5 windows in the dead of winter with the temps cold enough to freeze the hind end of the Devil himself is perfectly "ok." No one EVER said that THINKING has to be part of the things they do. <geesh> Smart move to make the purchase when the prices are lower, smarter to wait for installation at a later date. We did ours in early spring - just before the bugs came alive to do mating dances and the like and before the interminable heat sink that the mid-west can be. Good luck!
Co-winners Co-winners! Fine. What ever happened to first to answer Hmmmmm. I can live with it, but . . . <grin> Nice work, Eric - I think.
Excellent work with the amplifying info on those magazine covers provided via "silent
Mike" and his URLs. Well done!
LBL - aka: Luxury Box Lars. Hmmmmmm, wonder if that moniker will STICK Best have a
Nice spate of "fallen flags" from Kanawha (can-awwwwwwwwwwww) country. Definitely never heard of many . . . would be nice to dig up some Pix in the Ether for Posting here.
Many THANX for the two rounds 'n two sacks o' quarters for Herr Wurltizer's Coal Scuttle!
Later!
Hello Tom
Well I'll have a Harvey's bitter and a round for the house. Finally got time to call in properly!
I know there is some complaining about lack of visors, but I must say if you want to review a weeks posts there's plenty to keep you informed - I've still got a couple of pages to review.
First of all, and before I forget, a note for Pete:
Pete, I see from my Rob Foxon film schedule his night of railway films is in Rugby on 21st Feb at 19.30hrs at The Benn Hall (details from 0116 289 0531) - if any of your mates are interested I thought they might want fair warning. I must say I always enjoy his screenings of archive film and in my view they are not to be missed, always great film extracts from the classic era!
Anyway - back to business:
Tom - thanks for re-posting the Sherwood Forest oil stuff - I had heard there had been oil extracted here but no idea it was started under war time conditions, must have been a culture shock for the oil workers who came to help. I don't think that much was extracted, but I guess every drop was vital and saved imported oil, helping to reduce the risk to life of the Merchies otherwise having to bring it to us. Nice they tracked down one guy who was still alive to tell his story.
It occurred to me your run down of the Amtrak services at St Louis was not too bad for North America, I must say - when you see Mike's pics of the station though it must have been a spectacular building back in the day!
Levis - interesting info - when I was in Quebec last year I took the ferry across to enjoy the view (plus a ferry ride is always of interest) and realised the ferry dock on the Levis side was clearly an old railway building (still had a Via logo on it actually) - the line of route seemed to be a cycle way - well used in fact. I suppose The Ocean took a more northerly route to take in Levis?
Also - I got some pictures showing and guess what - it was your shots of the Can - Am train room - that is one layout to be proud of!
Lars - regaling us with holiday high life - all I can say is - this is off topic and no doubt you will be tweeted on your return sir <grin, grin> - seriously though, glad to hear you are enjoying yourself so much sir, nice to read your descriptions!
James - Class 442 does indeed source power from the third rail like the L - but that is more equivalent to our London Underground network in its role, with the former Southern Railway third rail system being a more mainline railway, capable of taking freight service too etc if required, so in some ways yours is a fair comparison, in other ways not, but you make an interesting point. I've ridden the L on a number of occasions and happen to think it is one of the world's great transit systems - and a superb way to see Chicago of course.
Doug - interesting info on the Nebraska Zephyr, and nice informative transcripts too. I enjoyed the story of the ‘Royal' streetcar.
Mike - Stylish picture of the Florida East Coast to compliment the other postings on that topic. The Coronation Scot loco you pictured is, as Pete says, being re-streamlined now - in fact there is a picture of the altered tender in my Friends of the National Railway Museum journal which just arrived.
Pete - do you think that picture of Edinburgh Mike posted was of the Waverley Station or perhaps Haymarket? It did not look quite right for Waverley.
Eric - You have done good research on the UK Class 185 DMU. The class 158 is a design dating from the late 1980s and is used on some long distance services on secondary main lines - I must say they are not that comfortable as they have too cramped seating for the job they are expected to do (ie you could be on one for 4 hours from east to west coast of England), and the air conditioning is not up to the job in hot weather - which being UK is not that hot anyway!
The Class 175 is a newer design, but has not proved so popular with operators - it was introduced soon after privatisation for semi fast services in parts of England, but I must say inside they are well designed with a good interior layout that is not at all bad.
You pictured a Swedish Class X3 saying it was built in the UK - I wondered who by? I had not seen it before. Perhaps you know the answer.
There is a big fuss building up here in the national media about overcrowding on certain services as the govt are trying to get operators to squeeze a quart out of a pint pot - more people are travelling but they do not want to incur the capital costs of new vehicle construction or leasing so many serviceable units are standing idle in storage whilst people are angry at short trains and congestion - this will need a fix in due course - but it is the result of having a notional private railway which is virtually under total govt control because the private operators want too much subsidy to run things and govt wants to pay less. This is also forcing fares up which has also had a lot of bad publicity recently. The politicians will only act though if they feel pressure at the ballot box I guess.
Pete - yes my early 80s trip on the Settle - Carlisle was indeed when the line was under threat - that was why I went to see it to see what all the fuss was about and I must say I loved the route and the scenic splendour. I have recently joined the Friends group that supports the line - they send out a very informative journal every quarter. Many stations on the line have been restored by this group as they have raised the money - recently they raised enough money to restore the traditional clocks on every station building on the line - very impressive.
That Peak hauled service you mentioned would indeed have been all that was left of the Thames Clyde Express (or its overnight counterpart). That was terminated in early 80s in run down of the route - and in fact to this day Nottingham has a very poor northbound service with only really the 2 car services running to Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool each hour, with nothing more than a snack trolley on board (occasionally not even that!). There is talk of a restored service to Leeds soon, but the idea of through trains to Glasgow is now long forgotten - a great shame - there would certainly be the market for a decent Intercity northbound service.
It was interesting to read Al's comments on the CN that you posted, by the way.
Also - I ‘d never have got that re-numbering on the Bluebell - seems strange idea to me but if it helps pull the money in so what!
I just thought - don't show Tom that Pendolino cab run or he may not want to ride the London - Scotland sleeper as I've been advocating! <grin>
Bye for now - I'll try and call in again sooner rather than later next time!
DL
All isn't lost - DL made it "in" before week's end with a marvelous submission! Back in rare form, indeed! Thanx for the round . . .
That stop at Levis, Quebec aboard the eastbound "Ocean" was quite the highlight, especially when in either of the dome cars. Just a spectacular light display from across the seaway. The 20-25 minutes passed very quickly without the train ever moving an inch. It was that captivating.
Yes, the route was pretty much on the southern bank of the Seaway, whereas today the train jogs a bit more south, far from the scenic views. Wondered what that area in Levis looks like today - thanx for the update. My guess is the station is long gone, and perhaps that's where the condos were constructed. Don't know, as the info I've amassed comes from VIA Rail employees who also lamented the loss of that CN right-of-way. I'm very thankfull that my bride and I had so many opporunties to view Quebec City from the dome . . . surely a highlight long gone from today's "Ocean," sans domes at that! Except of course during the "tourist season" with their "token" Park car for those willing to pay increased bedroom prices. <growl>
As much as I enjoy DMUs, and I DO, they really weren't meant for long-distance travel, although many a road used them that way. We took a most memorable journey from North Vancouver, BC up into the "hinterlands" of the Province aboard BC Rail's "Cariboo Prospector." (and yes - that's the way BC Rail spelled it!) Anyway, the train made a daily 12-hour run up to Prince George. On that day, we took it as far as Lilooet, pretty much in the center of BC. It was a wonderful experience - chronicled more than once on the "original" Thread. Perhaps I'll rerun it here for an Encore! Saturday . . . . The RDCs were in great condition materially and mechanically. We were served fine meals at our seats - breakfast 'n lunch going up and dinner on the return. Choices of entrees, etc. Just a fine experience and the food was far above 'airline' cuisine! <swg>
In retrospect, I suppose the trip would've been more complete had BC Rail used dome cars, for the scenery was (and is) breathtaking in places. BUT, the RDCs made it most worthwhile for me, fer sure, fer sure. Shortly thereafter, BC Rail was no more and the RDCs have been scattered about North America. Pity.Methinks the Pix you saw of the Can-Am are those from my RailImages account and not PhotoBucket. I'm guessing that the 'puter you are using doesn't have the most current browser to interface with PB, but with RI it's okay - for some strange reason. Anyway, glad they came thru and thanx for the kind words! The mountain run for my RDCs is patterned after the BC Rail route we experienced . . . in fact, everything on the Can-Am can be "traced' to a real rail journey taken by us in recent years (1990 thru present).
Not to worry, when it comes to the trip to Scotland, we'll take the sleeper for the "night run" and return in day light, as you 'n Pete have suggested.
Hope to see you next week after a most relaxing 'n enjoyable weekendl!
A pint of Bathams XXX, as it is the weekend, please RUTH and some Steak and Fries for later.
A busy run up to the weekend at the bar.
MIKE Thanks for the info on the 4-8-2s and the great links.Liked the pic of # 601 "City of St Albans", There was an LMS pacific with the same name. I gather though that the naming of locomotives was not as popular in North America as it was in the UK
Great old Florida East Coast pics and the History of the Railroad link is well worth reading, how they carried on building the line, after the hurricanes and the loss of life is remarkable.Liked the pic of the surveyor on the wooden stand and his boat.
Many thanks for the Railroad Magazine coversand thanks CM3 for the details of the covers.I could not see the year on the covers, are these magazines in your collection.
Enjoyed the description of the lines in Fayette County.Am I right in thinking of those lines just three are in operation today .
JAMES.Hope you can get the cable problem sorted soon and you are back with us.
ERIC Looks like you and Tom will have to argue about the prize for CM3's quiz. That was a lot of 4-8-2s built. Do you know which was the most popular wheel arrangement in the U.S..
I am really hoping to get the layout set up as soon as the basement is in shape.
DL Great to see you inThanks for the info on Rob Foxon at Rugby, I will send Alan an e-mail.
That pic Mike posted is of Waverley station in Edinburgh.Although the pic is taken from a different angle and further back than usual. The Sir Walter Scott monument tower is on the left.What is different is the North British Hotel, just to the left of the station they are building the hotel which was opened in 1902 so that dates the pic pretty well. A great photo that is over 100 years old now. I have read that they are building two new platforms at Waverley now.
You are right about the 158 units any thing over 2 to 3 hours in one is too long . I think these units used to run a Manchester to Penzance via Hereford through service. I pity anyone who had to make the whole journey in it. I don't know if that service still runs.
What chance has the railways got when they increase the passenger numbers they have not got the rolling stock to cope, although there is stock storedSo they raise the fares to put people off going by rail. Madness.
On to better things.I'm glad you have joined the Friends of the S&C.It will be good if you can keep us up to date on the line. The last I heard there was an increase of frieght on the S&C although I haven't heard anything lately.As you say I think there would be good passenger numbers for a service from the East Midlands , possibly Leicester via Nottingham , Sheffield and Leeds and the S&C, if not all the way to Glasgow at least to Carlisle and a good connection north, although a fairly fast train stopping at only the major stations on the old Thames Clyde route in Scotland with decent stock would no doubt be appriciated.
Thanks for the round.
TOM I think I shall be OK as full time-part time assistant Chandler as long as it doesn't involve any typing, although it would be a good idea to join the class BORIS attends anyway.
Another good one of Idiot of the Week
Yes there were some really great names for trains on both sides of the Atlantic, sadly a trend that seems to have died out in the UK. If say, you was in Glasgow and you were travelling to say London, Aberdeen or Leeds doesn,t it sound better to say you are going on the Caledonian. Granite City or the Queen of Scots rather than the 4:00pm the 5:30 pm or the 1:15..
With the layout I was thinking of an Irish theme but with the apparent lack of Irish locos and stock availiable, I will probably have a rethink. It will depend on how much room there is.
Good evening Leon , I think a keith's and perhaps some of the assorted peanuts and pretzels that we have as finger foods around here please. Also here's a bit of extra change for the coal scuttle as well ( no Boris no transylvanian nickels this time )
Tom-it's stilla wfull even after all these years to read about that Hinton wreck. I noticed that the History channels Disasters of the Century episode about it was on again last week.Hopefully the lessons have been learned, always hard to predict tough.
Yes I thought that it's a bit odd that the Blues haven't had a visit from our guys in four years, though by the looks of the schedule , the teams haven't played at all since 2005. Thsi every two years thing is for the birds, espeacially with two teams with the "past" that they have.
Nice to see that Dell fixed you up, still one wonders allowd at the "help desk" help one gets from any company anymore.Idiot of the week #3 was another good choice too BTW.
I was thinking of you this afternoon when I was on my way to work, I popped in at the Hobby shop just down the street from my store. They were having a sale on their existing stock of LL RDC's. I picked up a dominion Atlantic RDC 1 for $59 CDN, a deal I couldn't refuse, it will run well with my CPR RDC 3 in the same marroon ended paint scheme.
Pete-Ypu will find that the chandlering hours will grow on you after a while ( not unlike Boris's sent when you are doing an in reefer inventory with him )As to getting the drink temperatures right for Boris's clan it;'s simple. Whatever they want needs to be at room temp for ten minutes then five the bottle can or whatever to Boris and he will hold it under his armpit for an additional 10 minutes and it will be perfect. See not that hard at all
Eric-I would say that the first order of business when you win powerball is to buy a new house.Oh and if you don't mind me helping you spend your millions.. VIA rail still has a few RDC's on sight for sale which would go along well with the business car
CM3-A couple fine post from you as well great info on steam locomotives from the hills thank-you
Doug-Loved the cliff hanger, can't wait for the next installment.If I recolect correctly I think our museum may have one or two of those "brake clubs" in it's collection, along with some switching poles.
DL-Nice to have you back again and with the usuual high caliber post I can't remember if you made it out to Delson or not when you were in Montreal last year if you did I imahgine that you took in the LNER locomotive that they currently house.
Mike-Nice to see that you were in a typing mood again good info and some interesting urls as always.
Leon- Could I get a coffee for now, thanks.
Tom-If Boris could come and take care of my problems, that would make things so much easier. The only thing that wouldn't strike me so happily would be the fact that he bangs on the computer. The Laptop probably wouldn't appreciate it so much.
Idiot of the week That's double the dots. Unbelievable. How dumb do you need to be
EL and L. Well, I will have to remember that. I didn;t know that they had different spellings for the "EL"/"L." Interesting.
I got a look at the different drawings of the E-units. I think the Atlantic Coast line E7 was the most impressive. I like the Purple and the white. It just looks good. Thanks for sharing.
The Florida Special. I am impressed. That is the longest post I have seen from you. And what a lot of information too. The pictures were also really nice. Thanks for the article, it was great. Enjoyed it throughly. Five thumbs up!
I really liked the layout pics. Your layout is really quite nice. The passenger trains look great! Thanks for sharing.
Doug- I liked the picture of you with Woodstock Willie. Nice picture. The 20th Century railroading was article was interesting. I really like the picture of the old time steamer from the front. Reminds me of the William crooks here in Duluth. I also enjoyed the article of the Nebraske Zephyr. That E5 is one of a kind. I think, if my memory services me correctly, that that's the only one left in exsistence. I think. It's a precious locomotive. Thanks for sharing.
I also liked the pictures of the Florida Speacial. As I have read about it, it must have been train ride of a lifetime. It sounded like a fun ride.
I got a look at the model pics you had posted. The two steamers, one Reading and the other Southern Pacific, Are really nice looking. But I noticed that the tender on the SP steamer was backwards. Did the railroad build them like this or was it placed like that? Just wondering. Otherwise they look great.
Pete- I am afraid to say that I have no info on the Chessie system passenger train. But I will have to put it on my agenda, so I can find some info on it. I will get back to you on that.
I enjoyed looking at the pictures of the Bluebell railway. It's really cool to see some steam still running. Unfortunatly, I can't see much of that anymore. But some good news has risen. Here in Duluth, a 4-6-2 Pacific SOO line steam locomotive has found it's home and we hope to have it running here by next fall. So I will have to get pics of that for you guys.
Mike- There was a good selection of pics from you. From page 17 you had posted a few pics. I really enjoyed the pics with the Milwaukee road Hiawatha passenger train and the city of Chicago. Those were some really nice pictures. I also liked the Super Chief pictures. Very cool.
Some more of your recent photos were of the railroad magazine and the Florida East Coast oldies. Those were some of my favorites out of the group. The rest were also really nice. Thanks for showing.
Eric- Alright 50 to 60 miles. It was 4 years ago. And I guess I remember it being shorter than what it was. But what ever the case it was fun. Seeing the four Alco PAs sitting there idling was quite a sight. I will always remember that classic "Galup" of the Alco engine. I could listen to that all day if I wanted. they look and sound so great. I have a question for you. When you took the ride, did you have the Alco's on the train, or steam? And how fast do they get going?
BTW: I also like the X2000 sitting at Palmbeach.That is such a nice looking passenger train.
Hello again Leon , I think another Keith's is in order while I drop off a bit o new info.
CLASSIC DIESELS # 38 LOCOMOTIVE DESIGNATIONS PT 1 ALCO / MLW
Reading Mikes post on the difficulty of the diesel locomotives designations lead me to doing a couple posts on the more widespread ones, so here goes. We will start with my favourite manufacturer of diesel locomotives ALCO / MLW.
As with most locomotive builders the terminolgy for their products started out silmpe and then got a bit more involved as more and newer designs came online. ALCO created the designations and MLW their Canadian counterpart for ttte most part carried through te same designations for their designs with the occational differences as the two companies gradually became separate entities. I'll attempt to unraval the designs. Most likely I'll miss a few so apologies ahead of time.
The first basic engines were the early switchers and cab units designed to compete with EMD's early offerings.
DL109 / 110's were passenger cab units introduced by ALCO to compete with EMD's early E units in the earlyb 40's. These units were built exclusivly by ALCO and were sold only to US roads.
HH660 and HH1000's were the first end cab switchers built by Alco again just before the war. The HH stood for High Hood as the hood was the same height as the cab the number differences were the HP rating of the enginbes themselves 660hp or 1000. again these units were only built by ALCO for US companies.
S1,S2,S3,S4 & S6 locomotives were the frist conventional switch engines,also some of the most popular of their creations with units being built in the US and by MLW in Canada. The S1,S3's were 660 hp units with the S2's and S4's being 1000hp units. The S6 ( built only by Alco ) were 1000hp unit but used the new 251 engine . In Canada additional enhine types were built the S11 using the old 537 motor and 800hp the S13 using a 1000hp 251 and the RS23 a 1000hp 251 but these units had road trucks an AAR type B similar to the regular RS type units.
The FA 1 FB 1, FA2 FB2 were the 1500 then 1600 hp cab units built to compete with EMD's F series, all used the new 244 engine.Passenger units with the 244's were designated the FPA 2's and FPB-s' these caame equipped with steam generator equipment for passenger car heating.they were built by both ALCO and MLW with MLW going one further with the design bringing out the FPA-4's engined by the more reliable 251 engine. The A's were cab wquiped the B's were cabless boosters.
The Pa1, PB-1,PA2,PB2 and PA3's were the six axles passenger units built by ALCO only for the US roads, and are agueably the most beloved of the early passenger engines.
The next series of ALCO locomotives also using the 244 power systems were their RS series.The RS1 was a 1000hp unit the first true road switcher it was followed by the 1500hp RS2 and the 1600hp RS3.Sub vrients with and A1A-A1A configuration were also built the RSC2 and RSC3 locomotives. Later CC trucked units were built in the RSD4 and 5 series. The RS1's and the 6 axles varients were only made by ALCO MLW bult RS 2's and #'s for the Canadian roads. The next unit in the RS family was the 1800HP RS11 and it's six axles runningmate the RSD12 built only for US roads by ALCO. In Canada MLW built the RS10's with 1600HP 244's and the RS18 with the 1800hp 251 engines instead.
After the RS11's Alco concentrated on using the 251 engines only.The RSD15's were the frist of this new batch, followed by the RS27's ( 2650hp } RS32's (2000hp) and the RS36's (1800hp) it was found that these older units were not selling well in the face of the latest EMD and by this point GE locomotives co none of those units were built by MLW for Canada. A new more modern series the centruy line was designed.
The first of the centruy locomotives brought in a new hp wheel arrangement designation to ALCO. first came the C424's C for Century 4 being a B-B truck arrangement and 24= 2400hp, next came the C425 both were built for both canada by MLW and for the US by Alco. The first big Alco came out at the same time in the form of the C628 C= century series 6= C-C truck arrangement and 28=2750hp. The C628 were not built for canada by MLW. mext came the C420 ad the C430's a 2000 and 3000hp road switcher built only by ALCO for US customers. the next big alco's were the C630's and C636's 3000-3600hp six axle units built for teh US market by Alco, then ALCO went out of the locomotive business. MLW continued on and changed the designations for te lates t big alcos to M630 and M636 M=Montreal built. This was followe dwith a one off AC traction M640 for CP only ( 4000hp unit ) and a M630W model for BC rail only it was a 3000hp M630 with a full width wide cab nose.After 1974 MLW was purchased by Bombardier and continued to build locomotives mostly for the Canadian market. the first was the M420 a four axles 2000hp switcher with a full width cab and nose alter it was redesigned as the HR412 still 2000 hp but with neew microprocessor controls and the final was the HR616 which was a 3000hp full coweled six axle road switcher.The LRC passenger locomotives were also produced for VIA rail by Bombardier in the late 70's and early 80's. By 1986 Bombardier discontinued locomotive production.
Not a complete list but I hope it's helpfull
Leon- I will have another coffee before the night is over with. Thanks, keep the change.
I am going to redeem my self of the days I have missed with this.
Pete asked for this awhile back.
THE CHESSIE SYSTEM!
The Chessie System was a holding company that owned three American railroads, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), and the Western Maryland Railway (WM), from 1972 until 1987, when the B&O and C&O were merged into CSX Transportation. In 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form Jacksonville, FL based CSX Corporation.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Chessie System was the creation of Cyrus S. Eaton and his protégé Hays T. Watkins, Jr., then president and chief executive officer of the C&O. A chief source of revenue for the Chessie System was transportation of coal mined in West Virginia.
The signature symbol of the Chessie System was its "Ches-C", a large emblem incorporating the outline of the C&O's famous "Chessie" the kitten logo. The Ches-C was emblazoned on the front of all Chessie System locomotives, and also served as the "C" in "Chessie System" as emblazoned on the locomotive's flanks. Chessie System locomotives were painted yellow, vermilion, and blue. The Chessie System itself did not own any locomotives or other rolling stock; rather, a locomotive would be placed on the roster of one of the three component railroads. While all three companies shared a common paint scheme, actual ownership of the locomotive was denoted by a large "C&O", "B&O", or "WM" above the roster number. These markings could be found beneath the cab windows on either side of the locomotive.
THE CHESSIE'S FAMOUS LOCOMOTIVES!
Chessie had three famous diesel-electric locomotives in its fleet: B&O 1977 (an EMD GP40-2) was meant to celebrate the B&O's 150th anniversary (this locomotive became B&O 4100 and B&O 4163; for a short time there were two B&O locomotives numbered 1977), B&O GM50 (another EMD GP40-2) was painted gold to celebrate GM-EMD's 50th anniversary as a diesel locomotive manufacturer (GM50 got repainted in 1984 and became B&O 4164), and B&O 4444 (3rd to last GP40-2 owned by Chessie, last unit was B&O 4447) was the locomotive that pulled Ronald Reagan's 1984 presidential train through Ohio.
The Chessie System operated and exhibited a former Reading Railroad 4-8-4 steam locomotive (#2101) on a national tour as the "Chessie Steam Express," beginning in 1977 (also in celebration of the B&O's 150th anniversary). The 4-8-4 had previously been used as one of three locomotives pulling the American Freedom Train. The train was painted in the Chessie System motif and consisted of the locomotive, two tenders, and eighteen to twenty passenger and baggage cars. The locomotive was severely damaged in a fire in March, 1979 while stored in a Chessie System roundhouse. It has since been cosmetically restored, and is on display at the B&O Railroad Museum, in Baltimore, MD
So by the
Another winter's morning, no snow, but temps were at 12 (F) as we made the trek with Juneau the Wonder Husky ‘round the "mean streets" of our subdivision! <grin> Expected to remain below freezing today, with a warm up on the way for tomorrow.
Saturday at the bar means rest ‘n relaxation along with a mug of hot coffee, fresh pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery case along with a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from the Menu Board!
Pete at 7:13 PM yesterday: A rather long period between customers, but always glad to have our Assistant Bar Chandler, Wolfman Pete on board!
No argument at all regarding the "prize" for Shane's "quiz" - Eric may claim it. I'll remain content KNOWING that mine was FIRST! <swg>
Nope - I have no idea regarding the most popular wheel arrangements for the "Mountain" locos in North America. I'll leave that to the steam fans to address . . .
Named trains probably hold far less significance, much less relevance, to those who travel the rails today. Of course there are exceptions, but speaking in general terms, since most of us use the airways rather than the railways, those names are simply "garnishments" and most people I know NEVER eat the parsley! <grin>
We have an arrangement with the Mentor Village Day Academy for employees at "Our" Place. So all you need to do is check with the "headmistress" - Claudette - and she'll take good care of you! <ooooooooh> Boris is still working toward achieving his certificate in ‘puter destruction instruction . . . he's rather "hard" with his "toys" you see. <groan>
Regarding your layout thoughts: Is there a place where Irish ‘n British rail converged Meaning perhaps at a ferry landing That might be a good thing to consider as the focal point for your layout. Then you could "get away with" having a bit of both in terms of locos ‘n rolling stock.
Rob at 10:46 PM ‘n 11:34 PM yesterday: Good choice for a Dominion Atlantic RDC1. LifeLike of Canada did a fine job with those and I've got two (as you know) from my trip to Dartmouth/Halifax when I hooked up with "Fergie" . . Dayliner # 9058 ‘n 9059. Good price too, especially in CDN $$$. I think mine came out to just about that price in US $$$, so they were more in yours at the time. Anyway, fine looking machines and they run great as well. Good luck with it!
Fine advice for our Assistant Bar Chandler - I'm sure he'll put it to fast ‘n frequent use!
I'm still somewhat baffled by the NHLs decision to separate the Maple Leafs out of the old Norris Division. Those rivalries were great. We still have the Red Wings ‘n Blackhawks, (two of the original 6) but Toronto is sorely missed. I think I understand what "they" were trying to do, but I honestly believe they screwed both franchises with that realignment. Didjanote that the Blues beat the Red Wings 1-zip the other night Now that's an accomplishment fer sure, fer sure. Also noted that the Leafs dropped one to the Predators the same night by one goal. Hard to believe that Nashville is going so well, much less "in" the NHL!!
Really enjoyed your latest Classic Diesels as I like ALCOs as well! Well done, Mate!
James at 11:33 PM ‘n 11:47 PM yesterday: A fine "rebound" Post from you, Sir!
Not much to say about the layout other than I enjoy it and am glad you and others do too. It's one of those creations from my "minds eye" that brings back memories of train trips here ‘n there (mostly there!) so that I can "relate" to pretty much everything in front of me. The scenes are separated by the mountain range so that one has to walk around the layout in order to see it all. Can't do that from one vantage point. Something a friend of mine had suggested back when I was in the planning stages. All of the "elevations" are on the flat. The scenery rises ‘n falls, giving the impression that the track does. Another thing picked up at one of the train shows in this area. Anyway, as with all layouts, it will NEVER be truly complete . . . but the major purchases have been made and when I "go" it will wind up with an organization where there are sufficient numbers of people to appreciate it.
Your 2nd visit was just as informative as the 1st and glad to see that you've ‘caught up'!
Chessie System "stuff" is always of interest ‘round here. We've run the B&O ‘n C&O on the "Railroads from Yesteryear" Tuesday Theme a few times. So, having the Chessie is a "neat way" of putting it all into perspective.
Reminder: Ruth has the bar from 9 AM until Leon the Night Man comes in at 5 PM ‘til closing. Tonight is Steak ‘n All The Trimmings Nite - serving begins at 5 PM!
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle!
ENCORE! Saturday - ENCORE! Saturday first Posted on page 143 of the "original" Thread
Here's a Post from "my" past with another thread that may be of interest here. Definitely a tale of Classic Trains! I don't know why, but as of late, I've been thinking about an RDC (Rail Diesel Car) trip I took with my wife and a couple of friends back in very early spring of 1999. We were visiting Vancouver, BC and on what was supposed to be an "off day" - (they do what they want, we do what we want), I looked into booking a trip aboard BC Rail's "Cariboo Prospector" (that IS the way they spelled it) from North Vancouver to Lillooet, BC. The round trip was to take the entire next day with a 7 AM departure and return at 9 PM. When the other couple found out what I had in mind, they too wanted to come along. So, I booked the four tickets and off we went. The consist awaiting us that chilly March morning was four RDC's - from my pictures, it appears that we had two RDC3's and two RDC1's. The livery was the blue/white striped with blue red heralds. For those who may not know, an RDC3 was designed as a combined passenger, baggage-express, and mail car. Over the years, BC Rail (formerly Pacific Great Eastern Railway) had these cars "rehabed" to provide a food preparation area in the baggage area. The coach portions were outfitted to include swing down tray tables (similar but larger that what the airlines use) along with much more comfortable seating than I recall when commuting aboard the Boston & Maine's RDC's back in the 1960's. The RDC1 was initially designed to seat 89 passengers. BC Rail's version appeared to be about the same, but with the upgraded seating. Our seats were in the RDC3 for both legs of the journey. That morning was a gloomy, low overhanging cloudy start to the day. As we wound our way out of North Vancouver and followed the route to Squamish, I was a bit saddened that my wife would not get the beautiful view of the inlets off of Howe Sound. Really a picturesque place to see ...... From the train at Squamish we could see the industry of the area along with a couple of steam loco's (and I'm sure many of you will provide commentary on those!!). As I recall, only a relative handful boarded and off we continued to Whistler, gaining elevation as we got into the mountains. What scenery! This was becoming a great day - as the sky cleared up almost as soon as we got into higher elevations. Waterfalls, gorges, cascading mountains - all of it at about 8 mph - as the engineer slowed the train to permit picture taking. Really something to see and keep etched in the memory banks (and of course, photo albums!). We had about a 10 minute stop at Whistler - so I got off the train with my friend's wife (who was in dire need of a cigarette) whereas I wanted to snap some photo's of the RDC's (what else!). Surprise, surprise! There was about 4 feet of snow awaiting us - of course the platform was cleared - but the snow was all around us. Absolutely wonderful to see and experience - and the temperatures were more than tolerable. I wanted to stick around a bit, but the RDC's sounded the horn and we climbed back on board. Now, I could go on and on and on about everything we saw along the way to Lillooet, but let me just say that the descriptions would somehow all sound alike - breathtaking, beautiful, stunning, great, fantastic, etc. ...... About 45 minutes south of Lillooet, we passed by two large glacial lakes - Anderson and Seton lakes. With sheer cliffs dropping nearly straight down to the water, we all marveled at just how those mountain goats managed to get where they were (much less back to where they came from)!! Unbelievable. Each lake has a story connected with it - perhaps for another session (unless someone wants to "jump" in to expound on them a bit ......) Lillooet sits in a valley and the town is within reasonable walking distance from the train station, which by the way is a great place to see. We had about 2 hours before the return trip, so we headed into town to see the sites. We learned that Lillooet's history really goes back to the "gold rush" days when this was the staging area for the hordes of people heading north to stake their claims. We also met some very friendly and forthcoming folks who were more than willing to answer the questions so many had. My wife and I decided to hike up one of the hills - all developed - just to get some photo's looking down on the town. Glad we did, for those pictures really are now keepsakes. One of the people we met came out of her house and asked if we had "see the bear?" Hmmmmmm - apparently there had been a bear meandering around, but had not been seen for about an hour or so. That was comforting[:0] The return trip was also something to remember, but alas, much of it was in dusk then darkness. The meal served on board and at our seats was fantastic. We had a choice of entrees and the food was plentiful, hot, and tasty. Forgot to say the same about our breakfast ....... Well, BC Rail no longer runs those RDC's or anything else. The trains all the way to Prince George (Lillooet is about half way) no longer run. Sad times for many along the route. I know, from friends we have in BC, that it was a heated debate right up until CN took over ...... The RDC's? Well, they've been "dispersed," another way of saying "sold" and from the best of what I've been able to ascertain - have all seen much better times. A couple have been relegated to tourism trains in the U.S., others as spare parts, and one or two either have or are supposed to wind up in a RR museum. There had been a rumor that VIA Rail wanted to purchase them, for the "Malahat," but apparently that fell through - budgets being what they always are - "insufficient"! So, that's it! Another chapter in riding Canadian Passenger Railroads comes to a close. But - wait, not so fast. My model railroad - Can-Am layout - has a mountain line. It is a point-to-point run, with LifeLike Proto 1000's RDC's in the BC Rail livery, making the run whenever I want them to! Even have mini-versions of Anderson and Seton Lakes!
See ya'll later! Tom ENCORE! Saturday - ENCORE! Saturday
G'day Cap'n Tom & fellow travelers at the bar!
My, my, this place appears to be deserted as the noon hour approaches. Ruth, my deAH, I'll take a JD on the rocks 'n a Lars Special - a ham ‘n Swiss, mustAHd ‘n buttAH with two large pickles form the barrel. Of course a saucer of brine for Tex, a tray of seed for Awk, ice cubes for Frostbite and a small jar of pickled pig's feet for Boris! Oh yes, a round for the house - whenever we get some business!
Phil and I made our round trip to Key West aboard his boat and it was a fun trip. Got together with another of our former shipmates down there and spent a nice afternoon swapping tales of this & that. He and his wife will be coming up to Marathon before we leave, so there will be more opportunity for our version of a rendezvous.
The Mrs. returneth late yesterday afternoon. She put her ‘stamp of approval' on things back home and feels better for it. She also felt that our daughters-in-law shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the care for weeks on end. Giving them a break was behind the trip. Anyway, she's back and I'm on good behavior!
Back for a just a few comments on this Saturday as my Mrs. has "things" planned for me today in this Florida paradise. Wonder what in the world she thinks I could "do" down here in someone else's home Oh NO! Shopping. That's IT! She wants ME to take her SHOPPING. Arrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh, no way Jose!
Cap'n Tom, I've given considerable thought to the placement of "The Manager's Bar" and have a request to make. I think it would be far better placed in the "Penthouse Suite" and I'd like to donate it for that purpose. Really. Putting it over in the corner where it's dark will most certainly take away from the ‘ambiance' of this joint. After all, it is just a bit "over the top" in elegance and hardly fits with the "early Mentor" motif in furniture and other trappings of the bar. <grin> So, I will arrange to have it installed atop this building inside the "Penthouse Suite" for use by those who are fortunate enough to "win" a night or two of use, or for those who somehow sneak the keys away without notice!
Now, I'm NOT guilty! Got that There have been NO confessions or other statements to implicate myself in this "soap opera" whirl wind of a tropical liaison. Not me, didn't do it. In the words of a recent President, "I did not have . . .. . . " oh fuhgedaboudit!
So, when are you going to change the weekend format for "Our" Place Figured you'd combine the Saturday ‘n Sunday stuff pretty soon. As mentioned earlier on, I think it's really a good idea and why not We simply haven't the following anymore on weekends. Saturdays appear to be the logical choice for Encores and pix. Go fer it, mate!
I recall reading that trip of yours aboard those RDC's. Good story and you're fortunate to have had such an experience. BC Rail was a first class operation and I was saddened to learn of their demise. Also that Hinton collision story is rather sobering, huh Just like out at sea, a collision surely can ruin one's day (and career!).
Been noticing the appearance of Rob now ‘n then and I hope this means a return to some degree of regularity. Not talking about laxatives, mind you, just speaking of presence here at the bar!
Got your e-mail on the Rendezvous, Cap'n Tom, and I'm a "go" for whatever you set up! Hotel arrangements look fine to me. I'll get a reply out shortly . . . .
Some interesting stuff from all the guys and it's gratifying to note that we haven't been totally abandoned. Eric is still with us at Fort Courage <grin>, CM3 I'm NOT Shane! came through with a "double header" for us on Friday as did James!
Eric, that book cover with the crowd at the station was taken upon the arrival of the first train into Key West.
Really enjoyed the gobs of input on the 4-8-2's and associated posts for the FEC and so on. Great week's worth of most relevant and interesting material!
Then of course Pete, our Asst Bar Chandler keeps us interested through his always fascinating and inclusive posts and in particular responses to DL. So, we may not have the numbers any longer, but we surely have the nucleus, huh
Of course, didn't mean to slight Mike, who has one into the "silent mode" or Doug from his sick bed. Both have kept up their respective "ends" and have done so in fine form! Speaking of posts that is! I wouldn't know, and don't care to know about the "other"!!
Spent a bit of time going through all of those Urls from Mike and read all of the stories from Doug. So I'm caught up!
So gents, good to spend a bit of time with y'all and hope that I can make it back for some pix tomorrow. Not sure, but we'll see. I expect we'll have one more weekend down here, then we head back north. It's a great place for relaxation.
Phil sends his regards to the gang at "Our" Place and laments that we haven't an operating railroad down here to attract you guys to. A rendezvous in the Keys! Now that would be different, huh Plattsburgh on the other hand wouldn't be all that bad, but surely not in winter! <grin>
Ruth, I'll have a JD on the rocks, then I'm off to do the bidding of "the boss!" Ah, domesticated retired life!
Go ahead and take off for the rest of the day, Ruth. I'll handle things 'round here 'til Leon comes in. Really another slow Saturday.
Good to see Manager Lars again. Quite a narrative run down on "things" in the Keys and expect he'll never be quite the same once this get-a-way is but a memory. LBL - Luxury Box Lars that fits!
Two comments: Yes, I am going to roll the Sunday Pix Posting into Saturday. Tomorrow will be our FINAL Sunday for Pix. The bar will be CLOSED up tight on Sundays with only those messages rolled up and slipped through the mail slots on either set of front doors accepted for Posting. Just the way it used to be - way back when.
Saturdays will be ENCORE! - and - Pix Posting Day! all beginning NEXT WEEKEND!
Regarding "The Manager's Bar" - whatever you prefer is fine with me. Using it in the Penthouse Suite will really add something special to that already intimate place high atop "Our" Place. I'm sure the guests will really appreciate the use of it. Many THANX!
Appreciate the regards from Phil 'n tell him we're pretty much "set" for Rendezvous sites and years. I expect next year - IF - we still are on the Forums, we'll head up to Chicago. I'll be pleased - IF - we can make it through May of THIS YEAR! Wouldn't mind a visit to Marathon in the Keys and also would enjoy seeing Plattsburgh as well. Perhaps not bona fide Rendezvous sites, but visits nonetheless. Who knows, eh
Just curious, what type of vessel does Phil have And were you the "Engineer" Did he keep you below decks where all good "snipes" belong <grin>
ENJOY the shopping with your Mrs. - methinks she's "onto" YOU! Just a senior citizen version of "sitting in the corner" for being CAUGHT! <grin>
An Email has been sent to all planning on attending our 2nd Annual "Our" Place Classic Trains Rendezvous in St. Louis this May.
I checked the Birthday Watch List and there aren't any dates coming up - next one's are in March - the 13th is Doug 'n the 31st is Lars!
Here's a couple of Pix from my "collection" that haven't been seen at this joint in some time . . .
Mt. Robson - Highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 ft/3,953 m. Taken from the observation dome of VIA Rail's Strathcona Park Car - eastbound "Canadian."
Mt. McKinley, highest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet (6,194 m)
Taken from ARRs southbound Denali Star on the observation deck of their Gold Star Service ultra dome car.
Enjoy!
Good evening Leon, I see that you are barley still awake this evening. i'll trouble you for a keith's oh and maybe some of the sauteed mushromms if there ios any left over from steak night.
Tom-I'm glad that the Alco piece yestreday was boss approved figured it would be right up most peoples alleys.Not a bad thought to combine the weekend fun again seems like the logical thing to do, you need at least a day off as well.at least we won'y have Al throwing those really long and heavy epistals through the mail slots anchored by rocks anymore ( even Boris couldn't keep up with the breakage )
The RDC I picked up is the 9058 at well. I liked it particulary becuase it's in the original marroon paint job with the yellow warning chevrons on the ends matches my CPR RDC 3's scheme exactly, they run well together, I'm in the process of adding a few paying customers to it's interior.Have you seen the new rapido trains passenger cars. CP marroon, CNR supercontinental and the later grey and black schemes , VIA blue lines and two different ONR schemes, they are nuts on perfect for the Candian prototypes. NYC and PRR cars are comming soon from them as well, along with fully operational sound equiped Turbo trains in all te various paint schemes.
Enjoyed reading the BCR RDC story again, I can't remember if I told you or not but railfare books has done another printing of the "Self propelled railcars of the CNR " it will cover doodle bugs early gas electrics and RDC's, price isn't too bad either about $39 CDN for the softbound I'd add about $15 for the hard copy.
I don't know what to tell you about the NHL. At leasst the games are entertaining again, I'll leave it at that. I still think there are about 12 teams too many
James-Great comback with the C&O piece as always fits in well around thie her joint.
Lars-Yup I'm back with at least a bit of normalcy ( whatever that is ) knocking on wood I haven't had any forum issues for about a good three weeks now.Seems like your shopping trips must be a pennance for something.
I could go for a Rendezvous in Plattsburg, close enough to alot of rail actuivity among other things it would be interesting. It's nice to hear that you are getting to see alot of your old mates, thats an important thing I should expect.As alway's we'll keep your stoll warm for you, and one for Phil should he want to use one
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