Good afternoon barkeep and all present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Sorry for the delay today, but we have to do stuff to keep the diner running. We had some visitors from the mysterious east (Virginia) today. The house is still standing although we had some fearsome winds last night and it rained so hard it sounded as if we were in a carwash. Beautiful here today, though, with temps in the 40s. Gas is at $2.60, but I have not been outside since I got here this a.m.
Lars was by with comments and kind words - thank you. May all your domes be full. I appreciated your comments re ocean-going jobs - some of us have spent our lives underground - still rather do that than be in a flying machine.
Pete - That link worked in other places, but not on this page - go figure. Anyway, I'm glad you found the pictures, etc. The railroad in the shot you mentioned is on the north side of the Kanawha River - it is former NYC line which you have probably read about in previous posts. This is now NS and is still active; coal and chemicals are the main commodities hauled. The C&O (CSX) is on the south side of the river, out of the picture; it's very busy. Also enjoyed your wide range of comments. No, Boris, it's not a big stove; leave the kitchen staff alone.
James - thundersnow is always fun - we get it a lot here in the winter because the atmospheres gets all stirred up - it'll scare the !@#$ out of you if you're outside.
Eric sent a picture that's a puzzlement - I blew the image up as large as I could and said to myself. "Hmmm. C&NW cars, but what are the heavyweights at the end of the train - CP, SOO? The "wine red" color could be from either road. Then I looked around some more and there's a yard office. The tough part is the pair of office towers in the background - my guess is it might be some kind of shipper's train, but the hw cars, as I mentioned are a bit confusing.
BK stopped in as well. Forum gremmies are not as bad now as they were before, but every so often, something will appear - hang in there.
OSP provided all sorts of neat stuff for review/consideration. Golden State - yowsah! E-mail rec'd and thank you. B4 I forget, a buddy has gone to DC to see the Caps and Islanders play this evening. He's never been to a hockey game before and asked me what to expect. I told him, it's a whole lot faster (and a lot more fun) in person than it is on TV. I also told him it was an opportunity to consume expensive mass quantities, participate in fights in the stands (if he desired), and possibly see one or two on the ice. I also told him to keep an eye on the flat black thing as it can fly up suddenly and do REALLY bad things to you if you are not paying attention. I think he's ready.
Now, let's railroad.
The other day, while prowling the east wing, I found something interesting in the stack of stuff from the C&O in the immediate postwar period. It was a list of coaling stations.
The C&O mainline in WV had coal stations at the following locations:
Ronceverte
Hinton (2 stations) - mainline and yard
Quinnimont
Thurmond
Handley
Charleston
St. Albans - This was across the mainline until it knocked down in a wreck in the early 50s.
and
Huntington
Other facts and figgers for the Captains of Industry at the bar.
Largest WV installations were at Hinton (800 tons) and St. Albans (500 tons); average car capacity back then was approx. 40 tons, so do the math. IOW, there were lots of carloads required just for those facilities.
Biggest one on the system was at Russell, KY - 1000 tons.
Some places had joint coal service; for example (check out these Fallen Flags)
Potomac Yards - RF&P
Waynesboro, VA - N&W
Louisville - Big 4
Muncie, IN - NKP
Stony Island, IN - NKP
Wellston, OH - B&O
Ludington, MI had a pair of coal stations; one for the railroad and one for car ferries.
As a nod to the Canadian contingent, C&O had four coal stations in Canada - all, as you might expect, in Ontario
Sarnia
Chatham
Blenheim
St. Thomas
Have a good weekend. Glad you enjoyed the southern horoscope.
Work safe
2007 BIRTHDAY WATCH LIST
(rev. Mar 2nd)
January 14th (Eric - 64)
OKRA (Dec 22 - Jan 20) Are tough on the outside but tender on the inside. Okras have tremendous influence. An older Okra can look back over his life and see the seeds of his influence everywhere. You can do something good each day if you try. You go well with most anyone.
March 13th (Doug - 51)
BOLL WEEVIL (Feb 20 - March 20) You have an overwhelming curiosity. You're unsatisfied with the surface of things, and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of everything. Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner hunger. You love to stay busy and tend to work too much. Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, so don't worry about it.
March 31st (Lars - 67)
MOON PIE (March 21 - April 20) You're the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch. A cinch to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies. Big and round are the key words here. You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested in the idea. A Chiltin would be a good mate but it's not going to be easy. You always have a big smile and are happy. This might be the year to think about aerobics. Maybe not.
May 18th (Tom - 69)
POSSUM (April 21 - May 21) When confronted with life's difficulties, possums have a marked tendency to withdraw and develop a don't-bother-me-about- it attitude. Sometimes you become so withdrawn, people actually think you're dead. This strategy is probably not psychologically healthy but seems to work for you. You are a rare breed. Most folks love to watch you work and play. You are a night person and mind your own business. You should definitely marry an Armadillo.
August 11th (Pete - 56)
CATFISH (July 24 - Aug 23) Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the heart, although one's whiskers may cause problems for loved ones. You Catfish are never easy people to understand. You run fast. You work and play hard. Even though you prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life, you are liked by most. Above all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.
September 8th (Rob - 36)
GRITS (Aug 24 - Sept 23) Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself. You like to huddle together with a big crowd of other Grits. You love to travel though, so maybe you should think about joining a club. Where do you like to go? Anywhere they have cheese, gravy, bacon, butter, or eggs and a good time. If you can go somewhere where they have all these things, that serves you well. You are pure in heart.
October 18th (BK - 67)
BOILED PEANUTS (Sept 24 - Oct 23) You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately, those who know you best, your friends and loved ones, may find that your personality is much too salty, and their criticism will affect you deeply because you are really much softer than you appear. You should go right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours is a charmed life. On the road of life, you can be sure that people will always pull over and stop for you.
December 29th (CM3 - 61)
Not on the list Send me an Email with your birth date (month-day-year) Corrections too!
Tom (Siberianmo)
Proprietor of "Our" Place, an adult eating & drinking establishment!
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of Bathams and I,ll have the Steak and Fries later please RUTH.
It is a bit windy here in Mid-Mo but nothing like the bad weather JAMES and the people of Duluth are and have been suffering.Keep safe James and I will look forward to when the weather settles down and you are able to get to the bar again.
ERIC Thanks for the photo of Stockholm Central station, it will be good to read Tom,s 'feature' on the station. Liked the quiz photo but if CM3 doesn't know the location I have not a chance, my only guess is it perhaps near an airport just by the tower in the background.
That is a very interesting question on the naming of British locomotives. At the start of steam locos they carried a name and not a number. I guess this carried on from the stagecoaches and ships. In the Victorian and the Edwardian times some railway companies named some of their passenger locos whereas some companies did not. After the 1923 grouping all the big 4 companies named their large express passenger locos built after 1923. I believe this was for publicity purposes. I guess a part of this was that in the 20s and 30s the railways in Britain were always in the eyes of the main stream media and a named loco would be more remembered than if it just carried a number. I think that there are people all over the world who have heard of the Flying Scotsman but I bet not many would know her number(s)( 4472, but she also carried 1472,103, 60103,by the way[:))]).Also on some classes there would be a naming ceremony which would bring publicity to the railway
I must admit that I dont know if other countries apart from Britain and Ireland that went into the wholesale naming of locos, it would be interesting to find out..
I did notice on Tom,s and my trip to Chicago some of the Metra locomotives carried painted names of towns around Chicago, although I gather that not many locomotives in North America carried names, although I recall a pic posted at the bar of a locomotive named City Of St Albans.
I will do a longer post on the names on locomotives of the big 4 and the BR Standards, also the names of the BR diesels. there was a period in the late sixties when the naming of locos was banned by the BR board and this was overturned and today many locos and units carry names.
BK Sorry to hear about the computer problems, but it is great to see you in during this very busy time for you.I am sure you will have a great amount of fun with Tom's quiz.
Sounds you are hosting a great party and I am sure you will have a great time.
LARS I have made sure the Private Bar was well stocked in the Penthouse but it seems BK cannot make it this weekend, oh well it it is all ready.
Thanks for the kind words and the pics.
The one of Box Tunnel with the HST is on the London to Bristol line of the former Great Western Railway. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the engineer who was in charge of building the line. Box tunnel, although very hard to construct is known, for the fact that the sun only shines directly through the tunnel on one day a year, and that day is Brunel's birthday. The tunnel was built in the 1830s for the Great Western who at the time ran on the broad gauge where the track gauge was 7 feet 1/4 inches.
CM3 Real glad your house and you are OK after those high winds and rain, it seems as though 2007 as started off with real bad weather all over North America, lets hope it settles down soon.
I had to do the google search, as you suggested, to get the link to the lock and dam but it was well worth it thanks. It is good to hear that the railroads on both sides of the Kanawha River are still very busy with traffic,
I hate to show my ignorance,, but was the ' coal stations'( it is not a term I have heard of) for use of the C&O locomotives.If so it were they all of the same basic design and method for coaling the locos.
On British Railways at some of the large loco depots there were two different coal bunkers with a higher grade coal to be used by the express passenger locos and the other bunker for the frieght locos I wonder if there were different coal used for the two types of traffic over here..
TOM Real glad the worst part of the storm skirted around you. I feel real sad for those people of Alabama who felt the full force of that tornado.
Glad you liked the link to Blue Peter as you say the A2 class were handsome looking locos, the 8 wheel tender also adds to their apperance in my opinion.Hopefully it wont be too long before Blue Peter is running again. They are building from scratch a A1 class locomotive. This class were designed by the same designer as the A2s and of a simular appearance, the main difference being that the A1s had 6ft 8in driving wheels against the A2s 6ft2in driving wheel diameter. There were no A1s saved and Blue Peter is the only surviving A2.
Those swing and lifting bridges, while marvels of
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Friday night! Yes, Leon, it is time for a Rumpsteak Café de Paris! Medium! The usual to drink. Thank you!
Little bit of a quiet day here today, but still interesting reading!
Tom – Let the bandits shoot each other!The pix that you don’t know the location of was taken in Boone, IA. Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad. That is the one that bought a brand new steam locomotive from China 1984 for $350,000. See picture below.
Nice ad for Southern Pacific! Take the Golden State to Arizona! Those were the days! I bet the station in Palm Springs doesn't look like in that picture any more. If it still stands.Tonight I learned a lot about the travelers at this bar by reading the Birthday Watch List! I wonder if you really are a night person? I have a feeling that you get up early in the morning taking Juneau out for a walk! BK – Don’t worry about the video tape. Our manager is very discrete and would never sell it to any outsider! Lars – Everything below 75° F is too cold for me. We will finally be back in the 80’s next week! Only 66° F today. Thanks for the nice pictures. A pretty recent picture of the X2000 heading north and a Great Western High Speed Train! CM3 – The picture you can’t identify is from Windsor, Canada. The cars are three sleepers from C&NW and two private cars. They were part of our tour in Canada with the X2000. See picture below of the complete train set. I am sorry the text is in Swedish but I think you can identify all locomotives and cars.I had my compartment in the first car, Lake Bluff. In Canada did we run demo runs during daytime and traveled to the next city during night. Every evening at seven we were served dinner in the private cars. Very nice way to travel!
Interesting facts about C&O coal stations. I wonder how much coal they burned an average day? Pete – I don’t know where the airport is at in Windsor, Canada. I should know since I flew from Washington D.C. to Toronto and then to Windsor. Thanks for the info on the naming of locomotives! Naming was used in Sweden in the 1800’s. I don’t know when they quit naming them but it was probably in the 1880’s. My guess. Some dmu’s and emu’s in Sweden have names today (and numbers). Interesting about the Box Tunnel and the sun shining through it!
Eric
Good morning Tom and friends. I'll have a light breakfast and then need to be running to the stable to take care of horses and stalls. On a side note, this weather is not being kind to my new home. I had to come home early Thursday to move boxes in the basement after a six-foot crack in one of the corners started letting water in! You could see and hear the water coming down! That's pretty much stopped now with the colder weather, but needs fixin'. Fortunately the bride caught this early, so we did have too many boxes get wet, and have already dealt with soggy contents. The other bad thing is that these high winds are ripping the shingles off some of the roofs in the neighborhood, and we're included in that too. We've lost a substantial size area above one of the kids, rooms. Nice eh?
I'll be back later after taking care of some business, but here's the last segment of my Penn State coal posts:
Battle Over Coal by Michael Bezilla
A three-car consist on the daily-except-Sunday freight to State College in 1963 attests to the absence of coal traffic.
Bellefonte Central management, which had little taste for PRR's clandestine tactics, nevertheless joined PRR as a co-complainant. A PUC examiner presided over three days of hearings in Bellfonte. A local newspaper, the Centre Daily Times, observed that "most of the truckers' violations, if any, seem to rest in the more remote realms of PUC regulations."
A parade of truck owners testified that either they held common-carrier certifications (which PRR's embarrassed lawyers conceded they had overlooked during a review of the commission's Harrisburg files), or had ceased hauling coal to the university once they suspected they were violating the law.
After the examiner dismissed complaints against those parties, the dispute came down to an issue with Davidson Brothers Trucking Co., based in nearby Wingate. The Davidsons, who had won the bulk of Penn State's coal business, explained that they had subcontracted some haulage to owner-operators that were not certified as common carriers, under an assumption that such status was not required because the consignee was a state institution. The PUC later declared that assumption to be wrong and fined the brothers $100. The Davidsons themselves were not certificated - but neither were they fined for hauling Penn State coal on their own.
The committee said that title to the coal belonged to the brothers until they actually unloaded it on campus. The coal did not pass into university ownership at the mine load-out, contrary to the railroaders' contention. Since the Davidsons owned the coal that was in their own trucks and in their subcontractors' trucks, they (unlike their subcontractors) were not acting in the role of a common carrier and thus need not be certificated. The PUC dismissed the railroads' complaint.
Making a case rested on obscure interpretations of arcane commercial law was impossible. Patchell and the "brickyard specialists" on the board who he had rallied to his cause admitted defeat.
The university promptly paved over the Atherton Street grade crossing and cleared land on the eastern edge of campus for a coal stockpile that would be accessible only to trucks. The stockpile contained more than 5,000 tons of coal by summer of 1961, a year in which the power plant burned approximately 42,000 tons. Penn State reported it had spent $71,400 on trucking coal in 1961, $37,500 less than it would have paid the railroads to haul it.
As McClellan and Patchell had foretold, the loss of Penn State coal doomed rail service to State College. The end came with agonizing slowness. Trains continued to run to the community for another 15 years, although Bellefonte Central lost money on these operations every year after 1959, as measure by its own calculations and an ICC formula.
Revenue from National Gypsum's huge lime and limestone plant in effect subsidized the railroad's service to customers on the west end. The "Gyp," as the plant was known locally, loaded as many as 4,000 cars annually. The railroad maintained State College service in hopes of landing another big customer or persuading the university to reverse its stance on coal. A number of enterprises - most notably a glass plant and a building-supply distribution center - considered sites along BFC but ultimately went elsewhere.
The prospect of recapturing the Penn State coal business surfaced briefly. In the late 1960s, the university planned to use more low-sulfur coal to meet increasingly stringent federal air-quality standards, but was concerned that the relatively small producers of central Pennsylvania might be unable to meet its needs. Rail delivery of coal would not allow Penn State to buy from larger, more distant producers.
The Walker administration ordered a study of the issue.
By then, the track leading to the power plant had been torn out, so new rail delivery arrangements would have to be made. One plan called for a railroad-served stockpile to be created on the western edge of campus, and the coal trucked in from there.
PRR successor Penn Central and the National Coal Association teamed up to study the feasibility of using a system of conveyors to send coal over Atherton Street from hopper cars stored in the State College yard. The latter plan also included a larger, all-weather stockpile at the plant, and new unloading equipment to reduce smoke and noise.
But in March 1970, McClellan received a letter from National Coal Association field engineer Fred Callowhill summarizing the study's conclusion. "There is little doubt that rail delivery of coal to Penn State is out of the question," Callowhill wrote. "First, coal delivered by rail is $8.30 per ton versus truck delivery at $6.90 to $7.20 per ton. Add to the rail figure the coast of unloading, which is not a factor with truck. Second, the area planned for the new coal handling equipment has been allocated for a new chilled water plant. We are sorry to report this but rail is just not practical."
Instead of using rail, the university chose to increase its trucked-in stockpile, building it up during periods of low demand for low-sulfur coal while it reached nearly 60,000 tons, enough to supply the power plant for more than a year.
That was the end, as far as McClellan was concerned. "In view of the apparent permanent loss of the coal traffic," he wrote to President Walker on April 3, 1970, "we will be compelled to make more realistic appraisal of the matter on continuing rail service into the State College area." McClellan pointed out that the State College end of the line accounted for 5.5 percent of the railroad's gross operating income in 1969, and concluded: "It is economically illogical that we have been maintaining approximately 75 percent of our total track mileage to serve an area that produces these percentages of our revenue."
The number of carloads BFC brought to State College had steadily declined throughout the 1960s. In 1970, only 189 carloads were delivered, including approximately 30 cars carrying mostly food and paper products to the university. The railroad posted a net operating loss that year of about $5,600 (the fifth consecutive year of deficit operations), which it attributed to having to maintain State College service.
BFC started ICC proceedings to abandon 13.5 miles of track leading to State College, and ran its last train over that segment in 1974. Thereafter, the short line's fate was tied exclusively to the National Gypsum plant. That facility closed in June 1982 after losing many of its core customers d
Courtesy: http://www.viarail.ca/
"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sundays!
G'day Gents!
A brisk walk in the falling snow, temps in the mid 20s (F) and winter has returned to mid-continent USA. Awwwwwwwright! However, there'll be a warm-up and all of this shall pass . . .
Today is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Pete at 9:53 PM yesterday: Was hoping to see ya as the flurry of activity for most of the week seemed to have diminished at week's end. Another informative AND inclusive Post from the Wolfman!
I should have clarified something for you in my comments regarding the Locks ‘n Dams. Winfield is the name for TWO of ‘em - #25 on the Mississippi and #24 on the Kanawa. Two separate ACoE (Army Corps of Engineers) Districts and of course, two different river systems. However, in my "former life" part of what I was responsible for included both of them for security purposes on the water.
That "box tunnel" elaboration is fantastic as is the way it was engineered. Imagine THAT! Sun shining thru it annually, but only on the construction engineer's birthday - simply amazing!
Good scoop on the naming of the locomotives!
Have been a bit surprised at the rather "quiet" response to the 4-part QUIZ. Really appreciate your enthusiastic support!
Eric at 2:00 AM today: I'm totally confused regarding the photo "quiz" question.
Thought I too was talking about the same one that CM3 honed in on. Anyway, thanx for the "scoop."
The Pix with the labeling is great - what a consist!
Those Southern Horoscopes are a great "fit" for the B'day Watch List - good suggestion from the Larsman, eh Glad you ‘n Pete enjoy the incorporation.
Night person, Moi
Well, once upon a time . . . no more. And it hasn't a thing to do with early rising. ALWAYS been up at the "crack of dawn" and way before at times. But now if I make it past 10 PM, THAT's something to "crow" about!
Doug at 6:16 AM today: Good Grief! Another "set back" for you - basement problems surely can ruin a guy's day! And roof problems too. <geesh> No rest for the weary, eh
Surprised, but pleased, that you made it in - you surely have "bigger fish to fry."
We've had lotsa "stuff" these past weeks, not to mention the 4-part QUIZ. So IF you find free time, be sure to check back through the Pages for what you've missed.
Hope there'll be sufficient interest in all the work you put into your continuing epoch! Especially since Saturdays are pretty much relegated to ENCOREs and now Photo Posting. Then again, come Monday, our "nucleus" will pick up on "what's what" - that's one great thing about having guys who take the time and make the effort to read what's happened ‘round here.
Received your Email . . . I think there's two different subjects; not at all surprised at the response given the 'tude regarding these 'open forums.' Take heart, we're not abusers!
Cute "funnies" . . .
QUIZ answers will be Posted before NOON . . . watch for ‘em!
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!
Tom
Answers for the "Our" Place Knowledge QUIZ!
PART I - Skill level: NOVICE
(1) Four letter word for the Red Head who tends bar during the daytime at "Our" Place? RUTH
(2) Cloven-footed Cyclops who watches over "Our" Place? BORIS
(3) Night bartender at "Our" Place? LEON
(4) Pizza Nite & Steak ‘n Fries Nite at "Our" Place? FRIDAY
(5) Steak ‘n All The Trimmings Nite at "Our" Place? SATURDAY
(6) Fish ‘n Chips Nite at "Our" Place? THURSDAY
(7) Flying Circus at "Our" Place? AWK
(8) Ankle Biter at "Our" Place? TEX
(9) Wears a tuxedo all of the time? FROSTBITE
(10) First mascot of "Our" Place? JUNEAU
PART II - Skill level: APPRENTICE
(1) Site for the 1st Annual "Our" Place Classic Trains Rendezvous? TORONTO, ON, CANADA
(2) RR Theme Day at "Our" Place? TUESDAY
(3) OPTIONAL Toy ‘n Model Trains Day at "Our" Place? WEDNESDAY
(4) Only remaining Charter Member at "Our" Place? trolleyboy ROB
(5) What "Our" Place customer "digs" the Milwaukee Road RR? JAMES
(6) Who at "Our" Place lives in central Missouri and is from Rugby, England? pwolfe PETE
(7) What "Our" Place customer resides in England? DL-UK
(8) Site for the 2nd Annual Classic Trains Rendezvous? St. LOUIS, MO, USA
(9) Challengers for the "Our" Place Annual DARTS Tournament? 2ND CLASS SALOON
(10) The name for the Mentor Village Theatre? EMPORIUM
PART III - Skill level: JOURNEYMAN
(1) What "Our" Place customer can "relate" to the Central Vermont Railway (CV)? wanswheel MIKE
(2) Who at "Our" Place provides "chapters" of nostalgia on the railroads terminating in Boston? coalminer3 CM3
(3) What "Our" Place customer can "relate" to the Baltimore & Ohio RR? LoveDomes LARS
(4) Who at "Our" Place ‘loves' RDCs? siberianmo TOM
(5) What "Our" Place customer routinely "peaks" the Groan-O-Meter? barndad DOUG
(6) Who at "Our" Place was a railroad engineer outside of North America? EricX2000
(7) What "Our" Place customer claims dual-citizenship of the U.S. & Canada? BudKarr BK
(8) Erstwhile companion of Inspector Clueless of the Local Constabulary? Mr. DOYLE
(9) Chairman of The Mentor Village Second National Bank? VITO THE HIT
(10) President of the Our Ladies of Perpetual Motion ‘n Knitting Circle Social Club? CINDY
PART IV - Skill level: ORACLE
(1) Who are the "Three Horsemen" of "Our" Place? BK - LARS ‘n TOM
(2) Who are the original "bookends" of "Our" Place? BK ‘n LARS
(3) trolleyboy Rob ‘loves' these diesels (manufacturer)? ALCO
(4) siberianmo Tom ‘loves' these locomotives (type)? GG1
(5) coalminer3 CM3 has a "nickname" - what is it? SHANE
(6) pwolfe Pete has a "nickname" - what is it? WOLFMAN
(7) The URLMeisterMonster has a second "nickname" - what is it? SILENT MIKE
(8) City ‘n State for our "Desert Swede"? PHOENIX, ARIZONA
(9) Island where LoveDomes Lars resides? STATEN ISLAND
(10) Canadian Province where BK lives? ALBERTA
So, how did you do
Here's the way to determine what level you've reached:
Passing grade for each part is 80% - therefore, no more than 2 misses are permitted.
In order to claim the "title" of ORACLE, you would have had to "pass" the previous three parts; for JOURNEYMAN - the previous two and so forth.
Example: "passing" Parts I, II and IV results in achieving the title of APPRENTICE because th
Ahoy Cap'n Tom 'n fellow travelers at the bar!
Ruth my deAH, how about a "snort" of JD on the rocks and slide the snack tray down my way, wudja please
Gotta a few things to attend to around here but figured I'd best get to the bar B4 events overtake me. Happens all the time, huh
Let me lay claim to the title of ORACLE of KNOWLEDGE at "Our" Place!
I'm almost embarassed to admit to the one question I missed. So, I won't! <grin>
Nice job Cap'n Tom and I'm glad you brought it up first for I am very surprised at the light participation. We've always had one or two who consistently sit these things out, but in comparison to the 10,000th Post Contest, this Quiz thing apparently didn't "do it" for many. But I'm happy you came up with it and it was enjoyable to do. Thanks! A five- for you, Sir!
Another accolade for our leader as the B'day Watch List looks GREAT with those horoscopes included! Thanks for pickin' up on my suggestion. Not sure I agree that mine "fits" but then again, we all proabably are wonderin', huh
Nice to see Doug this morning but feeling rather glum for our chum from the Land of Lincoln. New home problems added to by storm damage. <yikes> <double yikes> Don't even REMIND me about basement and attendant water problems. That's a nightmare continuing in my dreams on a regular basis. <arrrrrggggghhhhh> Wish you the best to over come all of this, Doug and I surely hope that this latest set back doesn't impede your participation with us further. Surely need to have you here. BUT we all understand the deal. Hang in there, mate! Enjoy a lager on me - Ruth give the man whatever he prefers!
Pete 'n Eric, good stuff from you as always and I'll tell ya this, you guys really are keeping the fires burning here at my favorite pub. Always find some super interesting material from both of you. That "sunshine" through the tunnel story is quite amazing, Pete. Thanks for it!
Eric, I too was a bit confused by the pix questions. I either missed one or just didn't quite "get it." No matter, the pix are good to look at!
X2000 is a great sight anytime, anywhere and any place. Just wish the place could be here in North America, specifically near where I live!
Some "blasts from the past" from me. This goes way back to early 2006 from a Photo Posting Sunday . . . page 220 on the "old" thread:
GN #1320 GN #1321 GN #1322GN #1323Don't you just love those domes?
GN #1321
GN #1322
GN #1323Don't you just love those domes?
and from the following page . . .
Wabash #200 (1956, Moberly, MO) #200 as Amtrak #9560 (1972, Newport News, VA)Former Wabash #201 as N&W #1611 Former Wabash #201 as Amtrak #9561
Former Wabash #201 as Amtrak #9561
Ruth, I see that the Penthouse Suite is available for tonight . . . Why no, I was just making "small talk." Ahhhhh errrrr, another "belt" then I better skedaddle . . . <grin>
Until the next time!
Lars
Afternoon Tom and friends. I'll take the lager from Lars right now, buy a round for the house and chip everyone for their next drink. Got E-mail from Tom, and am in agreement with you on just how much we can expect in this forum. Thanks for your concerns (and Lars') for our little problems over here. We're dry at the moment and the contruction office is closed today anyway, so there's really nothing to do. I've got some catching-up to do here for sure, but wanted you to know that the quizes were really great! I can only claim the "Journeyman" title myself, and don;t want to admit where I might have fallen if the answers (multiple guess) weren't right in my face! My bad. Terrific idea putting the questions and answers together, but the question about the groan-o-meter being "peaked" didn't quite fit. I feel that I have proven on more than one occasion that I don't just "peak" the thing .... I break every industrial-sized spring in it!
ENCORE! Saturday ‘n Photo Posting Day!
at "Our" Place!
We are CLOSED on SUNDAYs!Starting Sunday at the Mentor Village Emporium Theatre!
. . . Sunday, March 4th thru 10th: Money Train (1995) Starring: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake & Chris Cooper - and - Night Train To Venice (1993) Starring: Hugh Grant, Tahnee Welch, Malcolm McDowell, Kristina Söderbaum, Rachel Rice. SHORT: The Three Stooges - Three Sappy People (1939).
Money Train (1995)
PLOT SUMMARY:
A vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares; his foster brother, a fellow cop, tries to protect him. The two foster brothers (Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes) work as transit cops. While one's life is as good as it gets, the other's is a pit. After losing his job, getting dumped by his brother, and getting the crap kicked out of him by a loan shark for the umpteenth time, He implements his plan to steal the "money train," a train carrying the New York Subway's weekly revenue. But when things go awry, will his brother be able to save him in time?
from: amazon.com
Night Train To Venice (1993)
The Orient Express, on it's night trip from Munich to Venice, is full because of the beginning of the carnival in Venice. Between the passengers are a journalist, an actress and her daughter, an elder dancer, five neo-nazi punks and a strange man that seems to have some kind of influence over them through their dreams.
SHORT: Three Sappy People (1939)PLOT SUMMARY: Featuring Moe, Larry & Curly
Millionaire Rumsford has about had it with his wife Sheri's eccentric behavior. He calls the office of psychiatrists Ziller, Zeller and Zoller to help. The call is taken by the Stooges, who are actually phone repairmen. They assume the doctors' identities and try to cure Sheri, but fail when a cream puff fight breaks out. During the cream puff fight, Lorna Gray, who played Sheri Rumsford, had a cream puff accidentally lodged into her throat. Curly mentioned his wife, Gertie, who was actually Shemp's wife.
During the cream puff fight, Lorna Gray, who played Sheri Rumsford, had a cream puff accidentally lodged into her throat. Curly mentioned his wife, Gertie, who was actually Shemp's wife.
from: threestooges.net
Enjoy! Tom
Hi Tom an all.
A pint of the Winter's Bourbon Ale please RUTH on this rather chilly day.
ERIC Thanks for the answer to the picture quiz and the photo of the train with the X2000. As you say a great way to travel.It looks as though the train is by a locomotive depot as there are locos in the right background.
Great pic of the Chinese steam loco, it seems the run down of steam in China was very rapid with I believe nearly new locos not seeing hardly any use.
DOUG I am real sorry to hear about the problems you are having caused by the weather to your house.We are waiting for a company to dig up in front of our house and waterproof the basement.
Many thanks, despite the problems you are having, for posting the last part of the very interesting posts on the Penn State Coal, It is amazing really that the Bellafonte RR still continued to supply the Penn state with other goods for as long as it did. I wonder how many trucks it takes to supply the 70,000 tons they use now,Surely if the rail line was still there today they would go back to getting their coal by rail today.
I wonder if it is the same loco in the two pictures although the photos were taken 16 years apart, they look simular, but in a different paint scheme.
Those questions do make one think before one answers and thanks for the drink.
LARS Great words forTOM and DOUG. I remember your basement problems, it seems like yesterday but I suppose it is quite a while since it happened now.
I can claim the ORACLE status too. I think I will confess the one I got wrong to Tom.
Yes Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a remarkable engineer indeed. Many of his structures can still be seen today having stood the test of time. Like the bridge over the River Tamar which separates Cornwall from Devon at Saltash,near Plymouth and the bridge over the River Thames at Maidenhead west of London on the Great Western Main line which carries trains at 125 MPH a speed that could only be dreamt off when it was constructed.
Brunel did not want to have to grade the railway over the bridge to get the height required to give the clearance over the river, so he used very flat arches on the bridge. Other engineers at the time said the bridge would collapse when the wooded supports used in the bridges construction was removed. The bridge had been in use for some time before the supports were due to be removed. On that day a crowd gathered to see if the bridge would collapse when the supports were removed or when a train passed over it. What they did not know was that the supports were no longer in contact with the bridge and it had stood on its own since it was completed. Class or what . A bit more on IKB in my post later.
It is great to see those classic dome cars again Many thanks
TOM I guess it is the Winfield locks on the Mississippi that has the swing bridge on it It would be good to see a pic of it..
Last year was the 200th anniversary of Brunels birth and there were some celebrations in the UK. Not only did the great man build railways he was a pioneer with iron ships.One of his ships as been rescued and is being renovated in Bristol. I have found a great link that gives a history of the ship.
http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/history/
As LARS says a for the quiz I throughily enjoyed it.Hopefully a few more will have a go I know BK is going to. Well I got 39 out of the 40 questions right, quite why I thought Mountain Man Mike was the President of Our Ladies of the Perpetual Motion 'n Knitting Circle Social Club perhaps I'll never know. But every time I see that title I lose concentration.
Looks like two more good features on at The Emporium this week.I dont believe I have seen ether film, they seem to have good plots. It seems getting into a cream puff fight with the Stooges can be dangerous.
Well RUTH I,ll have another while I get some pics for this week, back in a bit.
Pete.
Hi Tom and all. Back again RUTH, another beer please and I,ll have some Steak later.
This weeks pics are from Alan,s recent trip to Germany. This is at the start of the trip on the HARZ railway. they were taken at Quedlinberg. I,m afraid I do not know about the locos.
They should enlarge.
ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!
from Page 151 (30 Oct 2005) on the "original" Thread
"These are a few of my favorite things!" Click to enlarge! VIA Rail's "Ocean" and Revelstoke Park Car at Central Station, Montreal, QC, Canada Eastbound "Ocean" and Chateau Argenson Bedroom Car at Moncton, NB Eastbound "Ocean" and Revelstoke Park Car at Moncton Eastbound "Ocean" and Tom & Revelstoke Park Car at Moncton Eastbound "Ocean" at Moncton Eastbound "Ocean" and Kent Dining Car w/Eddie the Attendant at Moncton Eastbound "Ocean" ready for departure at Moncton Between Moncton and Sackville, NB (spent the night in Sackville at the Marshlands Inn) This turned out to be "Our" Place's 3000th Post!
Enjoy!
Good Day all, remember me? Greetings from Talifar Iraq...Sorry for my abrupt October departure, 72 hours notice for a nine month deployment dosen't leave much play time...So today I managed to borrow a laptop for my recently alloted 20 minutes a week to catch up on my traffic, ISP over here for personal use is severly restricted and even then dicey...Enough of my goings on, rounds and eats on me for the next week, not counting tomorrow, gotta do something with all this pay collecting in the bank, otherwise the misses will spend it!!!.
Good to see Love Domes, Pete, Tom and some new faces keeping the bar humming along..Do I have some catching up to do or what??? Even my RR mags may or may not appear depending on if the locals target a mail convoy or they deemed a luxury item..
I regret not being up to date, and will most likely remain so until my return stateside in June, whereupon my regular presence will be restored. Great job on the Pennsy GG1, Geez, I have nothing to encore I think i'm overdue for a Boris hug!!!! I appreciated the oppertunity to briefly interact with the bar this afternoon...Great job from all and hope to be among you all soon.
Dave
Hi Tom and everyone a round for the house.
Dave, great to see you! I'm shocked but not surprised. Get home safe dude.
http://www.coldwar.ru/churchill/5.jpg
B&O Royal Blue 1947
http://67.15.20.45/images/4/47_5314JerseyCity.jpg.72617.jpg
B&O Harpers Ferry 1948
http://67.15.20.45/images/b/BandO6190HarFy.jpg.37399.jpg
http://www.southeasternandchathamrailway.org.uk/Gifs/Secr7.jpg
http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com/photochroms/ppmsc/08354r.jpg
http://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/heritage/juliuscaesar.asp
Surely a bit more activity than expected and ONE HUGE SURPRISE visit!
Lars at 12:00 PM today: Many THANX for the spate of DOMES!
Doesn't seem THAT long ago when we were first treated to ‘em, but time flies when one is having sooooooooo much fun, eh
An ORACLE! Congrats to you - c'mon, share with us the ONE you missed! <grin>
Doug at 1:42 PM today: I NEVER enjoyed running - never, ever! I recall having to go through THAT ordeal at oh-dark-thirty in Officer's Candidate School (OCS) back when I was nearly 33 years old and very much set in my ways. Arrrrrrggggghhhh, those college kids could surely outrun me. But I did manage to maintain respectability by staying in the middle of the pack . . . <groan>
Congrats on the JOURNEYMAN accomplishment. Surely wudda figured YOU for ORACLE, but then, "it" happens, eh
So, you've FINALLY owned up to the Groan-o-Meter "thing," eh But ya know, this place surely wouldn't be the same without your brand of humor. So, hard as it is for me to say this - THANX for the funnies! <groan>
Pete at 3:06 PM ‘n 3:38 PM today: A full-fledged informative ‘n inclusive Post from the Wolfman!
Always enjoy having you aboard and it surely helps the flow to have the support you are so willing to give, especially on the weekend. But then, you DO haves lots to MAKE UP for, eh I mean, you've "boondoggled" away so many of these weekends! <geesh> One would think your in-laws are more important that your bar-mates!
Figured you'd also make it to ORACLE - congrats! Also, THANX for sharing the info regarding the ONE you missed. I would have NEVER guessed that particular question would have tripped you up. CINDY - that's almost a <tweetable> offense. I said ALMOST!
Many THANX for sharing those 4 Pix from Germany via your friend Alan!
Dave at 4:06 PM today: He LIVES! He returned from the LEGION OF THE LOST! It's West Coast S Dave, a long-time member and aficionado for all things Southern Pacific. Our "West Coast Connection" and "man of intrigue" has found his way back. back!
Iraq - of all places. My Gawd man, stay safe!
We have someone very close to us who is presently in Taji (about 30 km north of Baghdad) serving with the Army as a Physician's Assistant. Just got there about 2 weeks ago for a year's worth of it . . .
Anyway, surely very, very happy to hear from you and yes, you have a bunch of catching up ahead. With only 20 minute windows to use your ISP, my guess is that ain't gonna happen!
You definitely OWE us a bunch of "freebies" for leaving without so much as a "fair thee well." I'll withhold the <tweeting> ‘til I'm convinced that you are serious about resuming your place at the bar come June! Let's hope we're still operating . . .
For those who don't know, Dave was one of our very best weekend customers and always "sprung" for the drinks along with free lunch for one ‘n all. He's a member of the now-dormant Order of the Stools - Permanent classification along with a couple of prestigous "awards" for his writing expertise - Silver Throttle Awards.
Consider yourself REMOVED from the Legion of the Lost and I'll restore you to the B'day Watch List, etc.
Mike at 4:58 PM today: Not-so-silent Mike has emerged! Some actual "words" for Dave along with a spate of URLs . . . . way to go!
That's IT for me for this day - see y'all on Monday!
Good evening Tom and friends! Tis I ... the barn weevil. I'll have another Lager, and dig out the Michigan quarters for Herr Wurlitzer. Just saw my horoscope, and it's just darn scary how accurate some of that stuff can be! Got some real nice dome pix from manager "Moon Pie"Lars today! Glad you liked the last installment of the Penn State coal story Catfish Pete. You know, I was wondering if the railroad would have channeled monies blown on fighting Penn State into actual rate reductions, if that story might have had a different, or at least a postponed ending. No mention was ever made about how much these different studies cost the university, so how much did they really save? I agree. The loco pix might have been the very same loco. Thanks very much for the great Alan (what's his sign?) pix!
I remember the old pix from Tom. I even recall using one to graft him into a picture of our humble little saloon by the tracks.
Hey .. what a coincidence! I was just thinking of West Coast Dave when I came across some Southern Pacific stuff today, and then he shows up! Bummer about being in Iraq. Hope you keep safe.
Great URLs from Mike as usual. Loved the color B&O shot, and the witt of Alfred E.
Am I the only non-oracle here? Sheesh. Here's another humble submission from me today:
Big Shoulders - Photos by Jack Delano. Text by Mark Reuter
In November 1942, a young photographer from the Office of War Information in Washington, D.C., set out for Chicago. Armed with credentials from the FBI and a letter of introduction by the Association of American Railroads, Jack Delano was assigned to document railroad transportation during World War II by taking "photographs of Chicago as a railroad terminal, showing yards, tracks, handling the trains, hump-and-retarder operations, inspection and repair of trains, signal systems, roundhouses and repair shops."
He and his wife, Irene, rented an apartment in Chicago, and Delano began his assignment by taking photos of wartime crowds at Union Station. He then ventured into locomotive shops and freight yards to get a behind-the-scenes view of railroading that was rarely, if ever, seen by the public.
The weather was not cooperative. December 1942 was bitterly cold, and he spent many nights at Chicago & North Western's sprawling Proviso Yard in sub-zero temperatures. He carried his clunky equipment in his arms and on his back, and he rode with crews to document the exchange of traffic between eastern and western carriers. While getting off a boxcar, he bent his Graflex Speed Graphic when he slipped on packed snow.
<An inspector has blue-flagged cars to protect them from being moved to Illinois Central's South Water Street Freight Terminal in downtown Chicago>
Nearly all of the photographs he took were in black and white, but he also experimented with color shots. These were Kodak sheet-film transparences, mostly 4X5 inches. The color transparences were sent back to Washington along with the black-and-white film, where the OWI documentary project, it turned out, was in crisis and the photography section was soon to be dissolved.
< The humpmaster governs the speed at which the pusher locomotive shoves cars over the hump by using a five-notch controller that triggers lineside signals to the engineer>
Unpublished at the time, Delano's railroad photographs were transferred to the archives of the Library of Congress, along with more than 150,000 other images produced by photographers at OWI and the Farm Security Administration.
<Towerman R.W. Mayberry operates track turnouts (switches) and the retarders that brake the free-rolling cars as they are classified in the yard>
Some of Delano's black-and-white images eventually resurfaced in the 1970s, most notably in James E.Valle's "The Iron Horse at War and Don Ball Jr. and Rogers E.W. Whitaker's Decade of the Trains, the 1940s. But even those who had discovered Delano's work assumed that all of his railroad photographs were monochrome. Delano, who had relocated to Puerto Rico and was busy composing music and managing the island's public television station, did not point out the existence of the color images to the few persons who contacted him about his Chicago project.
<An employee demonstrates night signaling with a fusee. The up-and-down movement means "proceed." Delano took this timed exposure at Indiana Belt's yard at Calumet City, IL.>
Professional photographers in the 1940s disdained color as contrived, but Delano was years ahead of his time. He used color as information rather than ornamentation. Thus we can see the exhaustion of the welder with grit-dusted amber cheeks, and feel the snap of winter as steam spouts above the ice-blue yards of the Indiana Harbor Belt.
<Silhouetted against a bright sky, a tank car rolls down the hump track into the classification bowl of C&NW's Proviso Yard in April 1943.>
His color images are both matter-of-fact and stunning. He shot many of them at night, finding that the intensely saturated colors of Kodachrome film - warm reds, deep blues, and strong earth tones - bathed in the blackness of dimly lit backshops, lent a painterly vividness to his portraits.
<Crews clean the switch points of ice and snow on a frigid January 1943 day at the Harbor Belt's Blue Island Yard>
Delano's leap into photography stemmed from his art-student background and lifelong social activism. As a student traveling to Europe on a scholarship in 1935, he was awed by the paintings of Goya and Van Gogh, especially by what he termed "the sympathetic way they rendered ordinary people."
<Delano used the gloom of C&NW's roundhouse to dramatically frame the workworn eyes and soot-caked face of "L. Logan, of West Chicago, boilermaker.">
He bought his first camera while in Europe. "I began to think that perhaps in photographs I could show the same concern and understanding of ordinary people that I found so compelling in the work of the artists I admired so much."
G-day Tom and all present!
Leon- Could I get a coffee and a turkey sandwich please.
I am going to work my way through the pages, starting with the first and working my way back, as Tom has suggested for me. I will go through a page a day.
Glad to meet you Dave. I can't seem to remember whether or not we have met before in the past. But in any case hope make it home safe from Iraq.
CM3- I enjoyed your small piece on the C&O coal line. I have only heard of a few of those cities. The rest I'm not so familiar with. Thanks for sharing.
BTW: We had a lot of that Thundersnow. It was crazy. I haven't seen a storm like this since the Halloween storm of 1991. Some of the Thunder coming out of this storm was quite loud. I was amazed.
Pete- I liked the pictures of the Quedlinburg station and those German steamers. Some pretty nice stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Eric- I noticed that Chinese steam engine you had posted. That was a really nice looking steam locomotive. I am quite amazed that they still used and made steam locomotives until last year. I also noticed a picture of a really strange passenger train consist. I never thought an SD40-2 and F40 would lead a passenger train. It was also interesting to see an F40 in the middle of the passenger train. Do you know why they did that? Was it a back up locomotive?
Doug- I am going to have to read the other Penn state coal articles before I read your latest article, but I am sure I am going to enjoy it. BTW: I got a kick out of the trick questions you posted. Some of those were really cool and really hard to figure out. I also liked the man standing on the scale. That was funny. Thanks for sharing.
BTW, I did get to read the "Big Shoulders" article. That was qute and interesting article. I especially liked all the pictures that Jack Delano took. some of those like the Hump yard tower operator, were pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.
Lars- I really enjoyed looking at all other the Dome cars. Ever since I took a ride on the Wisconsin Central's private dome car, I have taken a ride on as many as I could. There quite an addicting passenger car to ride. Thanks for all the pictures.
Tom- That is a nice Via rail Dormitory observation car you have a picture of. I seem to remember that the California Zephyr had some of those on the back of there trains also. Did the Burlington purchase these cars from the same company as Via rail did?
Mike- Thanks for all the pictures. You always seem to find some pretty nice looking pictures. And not just a couple either. Really enjoyed them.
Now it's time for some pictures.
I thought I would start off with a picture of the Santa Fe Passenger train, The Super Chief. One of the more famous pasenger trains here in the U.S. This one is a little more special. An A-B-A-A set of PA1s works it's way out of Pittsburg, California on March 24, 1965.
The one thing the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe was famous for, were there huge locomotive lashups. Here at Mojave, Californis, Six locomotives led by ATSF F45 #5970 crawls it's way up a big hill with its really long train on February 27, 1989. You can't even see the end of the train.
I thought I would end the picture posting with one of Baltimore and Ohio's EM1 Challenger type steam locomotive. This was located in Fairport Harbor, Ohio on April 11, 1952.
Happy railroading
James
No one here, the Sunday closing makes this place kind of deserted early Monday morning!
Had planned to show some pictures last Saturday but that was not to hapen! A number of things popped up and had to be fixed so I couldn't get to the bar until 25 minutes before midnight. I skipped the whole thing but now I am here!
Doug – Sorry to hear about the trouble with your new house. It seems like that kind of trouble is getting more and more common. Even if the builder has to fix all that it is still causing a lot of trouble. Thanks for the last segment of the Battle Over Coal story! The sad part of that battle is that in the end the environment was the loser. More than 70,000 tons of coal annually means a lot of trucks. I missed the 30 divided by 1/2 and 55 cents questions! It is true that a pound of bricks weighs the same as a pound of feathers but I would certainly not want to drop the bricks on my toes!Big Shoulders! Very interesting story and beautiful pictures! Thank you!Tom – Now I am confused too! Didn’t I show a this picture in my post?I don’t know if I just dreamed I posted it or if something else happened? Anyway, this is the picture from Boone, IA. I hope it is visible now. Your Southern Horoscope tells that you are a night person! Are you telling me that the horoscope is wrong? I passed (!?) and can claim the title of Oracle. Well, that is if I kind of stretch the truth just a tiny little bit in part I. Novice or Oracle, that is the question! OK, I am a novice!Two more train movies at the Mentor Village Emporium Theatre! I must admit I know nothing about them but I am sure the boss knows what he is doing! More nice pictures of VIA cars!! And the Captain himself! Looking at the last picture showing the line I have to show a picture that looks very similar from the old country.Lars – Thanks for the nice words! I can understand that you are confused about the pictures! So am I. I really don’t know what happened. I am/was quite sure that I also posted the picture above (top), but I can’t find it! Nice pictures of some very nice Dome Cars including two Amtrak cars!!Pete – The picture of the unusual consist with the X2000 was taken at a locomotive depot in Montréal, Canada. They were about to remove the three spleepers, the two private cars and the CP locomotive before we started our trip back to Washington D.C. I am afraid you are right about steam locomotives in China but as far as I know there are still a number of them in use. Nice pictures from Germany and the narrow gauge railway! I think the Class 99 locomotives are by far the most common narrow gauge locos remaining today.Dave – A surprise visit!! Good toy see you again even for a brief moment! Looking forward to your return whenever you can! Be careful out there!Mike – Thanks for the Url’s. I like the picture from Harpers Ferry. Below is a picture from 1993. James – The train in my picture was something different. It was from the Canadian Tour with the X2000 in 1993. The reason for the consist being put together that way was that the three sleepers and two private cars did not have any cables/lines so the X2000 (last in the consist) could not be hooked up with the F40s. In order to provide HEP one F40 had to go coupled to the X2000 and in front of the F40 were the rest of the cars and up front only one F40 to haul the train. That was considered being to little power so CP added one of their own locomotives. This was the consist when we traveled between the different cities where the X2000 was going to run demo runs. When we got to the city they just uncoupled the part of the train in front of the last F40 and we were ready to run the dem runs with teh X2000. Since all demo runs took place in non-electrified territory we had the F40 pushing X2000. The F40 could be controlled from the X2000. Nice pictures! The B&O’s EM1 is impressive!!
Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have a light breakfast please. Glad you liked the articles James, and thanks for the Santa Fe and B&O pictures. Nice post from Eric. I didn't even think about all the truck emisions from making so many runs. Enjoyed your pictures too.
Seems that everyone else has taken a turn with X2000 material. Here's mine.
X-2000 Tilting Express Train
The X-2000 awaiting departure at Stockholm Central Railway Station
Origin: Sweden: Swedish State Railways (SJ), 1990. Type: High-speed electric train. Gauge: 4ft 8 1/2in (1,435mm). Propulsion: AC at 15000V 16 2/3Hz fed via overhead catenary, step=down transformer and thyrister control system to four frame-mounted 750hp (1000kW) traction motors each driving one axle by a hollow-axle flexible drive. Weight: 160,850lb (73t) adhesive, 804, 450lb (365t) total. Axleload: 40,223lb (18.25t). Overall length: (Motor coach): 57ft 9in (17.6m). Overall length: Complete train, 541ft 5in (166m). Max speed: 131mph (210km/h).
Like the inhabitants of other nations, the Swedes have felt their trains must go faster to maintain competitiveness into the 21st Century, but being a small country (in population terms), those concerned seem to have made up their minds what to do about it more quickly and more definitely than others. In Sweden, the hilly countryside made the building of new lines too expensive and so tilting won the day. The ASEA company, not then amalgamated with Brown Boveri of Baden, Switzerland, to form ABB (now Adtranz), began work on a prototype tilting train, which by 1968 had reached a point where the naturally cautious railway company felt confident enough to place an order. In the event, the first of 20 such trains began public service in 1960.
A train is formed from a power car (which does not tilt) and up to six "business" and "touring" cars - the equivalent ff "1st" and "2nd" class. One touring car has a buffet/restaurant section and another at the other end of the train has a driving compartment. A double-length train is possible using two power cars and up to twelve carriages, though this has not yet been found necessary. The new trains plus track realignments and upgrading have reduced the total running time between Stockholm and Gothenburg from just over four hours to less than three and the service of "X-2000" trains is now hourly on this line; the resulting increase of traffic is 37 per cent. Other less frequent services are run by these trainsets northwards from Stockholm as well south-west to Malmo.
The tilting mechanism is controlled by an accelerometer at whichever end is in front of the train at the time and is measured at one bogie of each coach. The amount of tilt is dependent on the speed and radius but limited to an amount where a passenger sitting on a corner seat on one side of a coach is about one foot or 300mm higher or lower than a passenger on the other, in addition to any difference in height due to the super-elevation of the rails. Below 28mph (45km/h) the system does not operate.
An interesting feature is that, as well as the tilting mechanism, there is the "steerability" of the axles in each bogie. Each axle has an independent movement to enable it to assume a radial position on curves, which are almost continuous in hilly Sweden. This reduces the power required as well as wear on both.
During 1993 one of these trains was taken to North America and demonstrated between New York and Washington under its own power and working public train services. As well, the "X-2000" ran experimental trains on the Boston line and elsewhere, using Amtrak diesels. It is rumored that the Americans liked what they saw and that an order might eventually follow. Of course, the good experiences which the Americans had already had with Swedish electric motive power also counted. Some "X-2000" coaches have been demonstrated in Australia, for a Sydney to Brisbane tilting train.
This material is from Trains of the World by Brian Hollingsworth, who was a former civil engineer with Britain's Great Western Railway, and is author of more than a dozen books on railways and locomotives.
A smile to begin the week!
It was hard to have a conversation with anyone, there were too many people talking.
(A Yogi-ism!)
A new week and a great time to draw a hot mug of freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee, pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery and a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board!
Hope y'all enjoyed a relaxing weekend and are recharged ‘n ready to give the boss a full day's work for a full day's pay.
Should business remain at the pace we experienced last week, I'll reinstitute the RR Theme for the Day one week from this Tuesday. But it will all depend upon YOU and of course, your INTEREST! Any recommended roads
Still "smiling" over the return of West Coast S Dave from the Legion of the Lost and surely hope his comings ‘n goings keeps him out of danger. Then again, my guess is any place in that part of the world is a risky proposition, fer sure, fer sure. We'll be thinking ‘bout ya Dave and THANX again for the visit!
Surely speaks volumes for Dave when he even took the time to mention BORIS!
Consider this: There are many guys who have joined the Legion of the Lost who simply would not engage in the banter at the bar. Here's a guy a half a world a way in a hostile environment and he did. Get it
Guess not - for some.
Another smile: Surely appreciate those of you who made last week such a resounding success in comparison with the doldrums of recent times!
Doug at 7:17 PM Saturday: Another fine contribution from the "barn weevil" along with some great Pix. That is one "history" lesson I hope doesn't get lost in the Ether - well worth the read!
Those Southern Horoscopes quickly "fell into place," eh
Hey! The idea of the QUIZ was simply to determine how much about "Our" Place one can recall without having to resort to hours of research and so forth. Just one or two times through the questions and that's that. ORACLE is top shelf, but ain't nothing to be ashamed of if a lesser level was attained. <geesh>
Many THANX for the multiple appearances on Saturday!
James at 10:06 PM Saturday: Appears that you're off to a good start in playing "catch up."
Thunder snow, especially with lightning, is a bit unnerving to say the least. I can recall a time here in mid-continent USA when the temps got up into the 70s in late DECEMBER. A front came through with thunder, lightning and blizzard conditions. Next thing ya know, we had tornado watches ‘n warnings along with a "touchdown" or two. Bad times fer sure, fer sure. Probably aren't any "safe" places to live on earth when it comes to avoiding the wrath of Mother Nature. Glad you ‘n yours are safe . . .
Nice Pix - especially the Santa Fe Alco!
Too bad we no longer have the services of passengerfan Al (20 Fingers) who now is a Permanent member of the Legion of the Lost. For if anyone could address the "dormitory car" moniker, he surely would. So, let me see if I can make any sense out of it for you.
Those observation dome cars (some refer to as dome observation) that VIA Rail operates were all taken from Canadian Pacific's passenger car inventory when that road gave up running ‘em. They were all built by the Budd Company for CPR, and were not transferred from U.S. roads to Canada to the best of my recollection.
To my knowledge, they never were referred to as "dormitory" cars, but did bear the names of national parks in Canada - hence the descriptor: Park Cars (Banff - Glacier - Revelstoke, etc.).
In the U.S., the passenger railroads referred to their cars in whatever unique way best fit their needs for advertising. The California Zephyr cars probably were the most famous, but surely not the only ones to operate the observation domes. Check out this inventory for the various types and configurations of passenger cars operated on the Zephyr:
http://www.broadway-limited.com/products/calzephyrconsist.htm
Now to the descriptor, dormitory. Taken literally, it means housing for sleeping quarters. In the popular jargon, we think of it primarily associated with college campus life. For railroad cars it simply refers to those cars that have sleeping units incorporated within them.
So, there's a bit of a run down on the subject, one that surely falls far short of what the "rivet counters" and assorted other experts can offer. But it's ‘bout the best I can come up with on this day!
VIA Rail is the ONLY operating railroad left ANYWHERE that regularly assigns the observation domes to it's western long distance train consists. The clock is ticking on them and before too long, they'll be gone - gone - gone. I consider myself very fortunate to have traveled aboard ‘em so many times on so many trips over these past 17 years.
Here's a link for further elaboration on the VIA Rail passenger equipment:
Ruth, you look as magnificent 'n as radiant as evAH my deAH! A steaming mug of Joe with one of those "BK splashes" if you please. I'll hold off on ordering breakfast for a bit . . . .
Let me begin with my BACK to West Coast S Dave - the 'sleuth from the left coast"!
Sorry to learn that you're in Iraq. Hope the investigations center more on "them" than us! Anyway, a 9-month hiatius from family, friends 'n familiar places does take the starch out. Hopefully the time is passing quicky and B4 you know it, you'll be back in the "routine" of your investigator life in southern California.
I think Cap'n Tom really hit the nail on the head regarding a factor that has always ticked me off. I'm referring to guys past 'n present who absolutely refuse to engage in the banter at the bar and also are quite remiss with the recognition of others. That stuff shudda chased me away long ago, but if not for the guys like Pete - Eric - CM3 I'm NOT Shane - Rob and of course, Tom, I'd be history. Capn' Tom has a saying that goes like this: I dislike three things: Warm beer, wet toilet paper and rude people. I echo those sentiments, ESPECIALLY with the last one.
Thanks for the Via Rail spread, always looks fine to me and I see the "cameo" as well!
No wonder it's one of your "signature" pix . . . looks good to me and I'm envious that you've travled in those Budd obs domes so many times. Great cars, simply great! And you are correct, notmany roads refer to their bedrooms cars as 'dormitory.' Sleepers, bedroom cars, etc. seems to be the more accepted jargon. However, it was indeed a term used by some roads . . .
So, Dave, Boris awaits you with open arms. He cannot wait to gaze into your eyes from his Cyclops point-of-view <arrrggghhh>. Don't quite know what you did to EARN his "affection" but he's wonderin' where you are this morning . . .
Nice effort from Doug, who I see goes by the new handle of "barn weevil" - that fits! <grin>
Also good stuff from Eric and even James has returned to the fold (for the umpteenth time it seems) with a fine contribution.
Pete's buddy over there in Europe seems to spend his LIFE traveling aboard trains for the fun of it. Now that's the way to go! Too bad DOMES aren't part of the scene in the countries he visits. Guess it's pretty much a dead issue about getting him to visit us. Please let Alan know that I too appreciate the pix!
The flicks at the Emporium are new to me, but that's fine. The popcorn is always fresh 'n hot, the buttAH is REAL, the drinks are cold and it's a great place to spend some time in. Balcony seating is my favorite. Still can "get away" with "stuff" up there, huh
I noticed the Southern Pacific ad from Cap'n Tom on Friday. How coincidental that Dave showed up on Saturday!! Anyway, here's a spate of book 'n video covers to commemorate the return of our Left Coast Connection!
One more, Ruth along with a couple of crullers from the bakery case, then I'm gone-zo for awhile. Keep the change lovely Lady!
Good morning Ruth! No, I didn't lose my job. I had to come home so the concrete guy could fix my little 6 foot leak. I see guys on other houses addressing the shingle blow-offs too, so I guess I can't complain about the service.
I think I can manage to contribute to the Tuesday theme on a regular basis, and suggest we stay with the SP, since it seems to be going already. Here's a book review to add to Moon Pie's list:
Southern Pacific Passenger Trains by Brian Solomon
Brian Solomon is well known in the circle of SOuthern Pacific authorities, so expectations were high for his book. The passenger service of SP in it's heyday was revered and remains a popular subject. Unfortunately, some questionable decisions on organization and structure, combined with some poor editing, drastically compromise the quality of what could otherwise have been a worthy introduction to the topic.
SP's passenger trains are most commonly identified with two things: its renowned Daylight steamliners, and later, during the waning years of passenger rail travel, its infamous - some would say insidious - moves to degrade service quality in an effort to drive away customers. It is not surprising, then, that Solomon chose to devote roughly half the book - two of four chapters - to these topics.
The balance of the book comprises a personal account of SP's passenger operations by contributor Feed Matthews and a discussion od SP's primary "four scenic routes." Solomon chose to organize the book by beginning with Matthews' account and continuing with the Daylight chapter. This is an odd choice considering that Matthews discusses only the years 1945 through 1971; one would expect that a history od SOuthern Pacific's passenger service would start at the beginning of service.
With SP's heritage predating the transcontinental railroad, certainly something of consequence occured during that first century that could have been included in the first chapter to orient the reader. The fact that the era represented by most of the photographs in the book falls within the same years covered by Matthews suggests that Solomon's intention was to focus on the more-popularized portion of SP's hostory. This is a defensible choice to make, but it causes the book to not live up to its title.
Organizational issues aside, the book's editing is spotty. Matthews writes in a personal, meandering style that some might find endearing but others are more likely to find frustrating to read. A sharp editor wouold have toned this down to improve the chapter's integration with the rest of the book. Further incongruity is found in the final chapter, "Demise and the Coming of Amtrack (sic)," which reads like a short research paper, including a distracting reliance on block quotes from other sources. While style can be a subjective issue, the editing gaffes are less-forgivable in other areas. The aforementioned misspelling "Amtrack" actually appears in a large typeface in a chapter title, to say nothing of less-conspicuously-placed errors that even a computer's spell-checking feature should have caught.
Given the book's brevity and the predominance of photographs, the book serves its coffee-table duty. For the serious rail-history enthusiast who seeks more than a cursory look at the already well-known aspects of SP's passenger trains, many better options are available.
James Aslakesen, Portlans, Ore.
Good Morning Captain Tom & fellow sophisticates!
An early morning here in the Canadian Rockies and what better way than to share a few moments with my friends at the bar? Ruth, a round on me and we'll take two number three selections from the menu board. Tea for Lydia, a pot of coffee for me with a few "splashes" if you please! Keep the change of course! Most quality material dropped off these past few days and any talk of our demise is surely grossly exaggerated.
Permit me to add my back to Dave, who goes by the cyber handle of West Coast S. It has been quite awhile since you frequented the tavern, but more importantly you are now reinstated as a regular customer, perhaps with a "leave of absence" from the boss.
We had quite an active weekend here at the mountain retreat. When Lydia says she would like to have "a few friends in" for the week, begin the count at a dozen and go up from there!
Yesterday was pick up and clean up time. I have become quite adept at using the vacuum cleaner. Lydia is in charge of dusting the numerous knick knacks and furniture. I have no tolerance for it!
Add my concurrence to the anti-rude conversation. I believe my thoughts on that are well documented over on the former thread. I should add that as long as our Captain puts up with it, then so should we. However, perhaps one day someone will enlighten me with regard to why certain of our customers have frequented this place only to put forth their material without so much as a mention of the guys who make this place what it is and has been. Oh, look at me, I am on a and it is far too early in the morning for that! <grin> Point made? I hope so.
Captain Tom, my compliments on another fine effort to keep the ship afloat. Your Saturday endeavors, along with those from Doug and "cast" made the day appear quite successful.
I shall glady do my part to assist with the Tuesday Theme idea.
Neither of us are acquainted with the movies at the Emporium, but we shall take advantage of them this night. One thing about popcorn for me is the annoying "stick in the teeth" after effects I get from it. I have never really been enamored with anything approaching the status of junk food. Now if they served prime rib, well that IS another matter! <grin>
We got quite a laugh out of the reworked Birthday Watch List. Fine job and it shows once again that you DO try to accommodate the customers. My bookend Lars came up with a good idea for incorporation and of course, Shane provided us with the southern horoscopes!
Thanks to Lydia, I will provide my Soouthern Pacific material in honor of our left coast representative, Dave. Let us raise our chilled OJ in toast to our friend and wish him a safe tour and speedy return to his family and us! Cheers, Dave!
And now something on the Southern Pacific Daylight (Dave's RR of choice):
Drumheads of the Daylight
DVD of the Daylight
Southern Pacific Railroad #6018, an EMD E8 locomotive, leads train No. 99, the Coast Daylight, through Glendale, California in 1958. [Used under Fair Use Provision/wikipedia.com]
Not sure about tomorrow, but I hope to be back in mid-week. Perhaps we shall see Rob again as he is either without power from the Ontario storm or working or both! Was good to witness his return, brief as it was. At least we know his heart is with us!
Should also make mention of the fine material from Eric, Pete, Doug, Mike, James and of course - Tom. I managed to get through it all last evening, before Lydia dragged me away from the keyboard for something far better. Now, now, let us not get carried away with imagination, gentlemen! She had a couple of theatrical DVD's for us to view which up here in the mountain retreat is our form of adult entertainment!
Now for the revelation regarding the QUIZ! Lydia and I took the "test" on separate sheets of paper. We decided that in absence of any prohibition of going back through the pages for help, we would NOT do so. We wanted to do it "cold turkey." However, we both scanned the pages we had missed since departing in late-December, just to get up to speed. (I am still not at all close to reading everything!) Here then are the results:
Lydia is a Journeyman and so am I. Great job Captain Tom! Bring
Well, hello Tom and all in
Pint of Bateman's for me and whatever snacks might be on offer - I'll pick something please.
Dust settled a bit letting me do a bit of catch up - I've managed to go back over pages 22 - 23 - 24 so my comments will relate to that - sorry if the conversation has moved on a bit but there were good things there and I wanted to comment on them!
Pete - you mentioned the Rhyl miniature railway - I did not know that still existed so good to know it does. I think this was equipped by the famous model (not toy) manufacturer W J Bassett Lowke. His company specialised in models of trains up to large sizes as well as ship and architectural models. They had their HQ in Northampton, England. The owner was a keen ‘modernizer' and recruited the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (from Glasgow) one of the UK's most important architects to remodel his home in the town when he married. This has recently been restored and although I have not visited it I understand it has an exhibition of his models there.
Here is some info. The model trains made by BL were of superb quality and above the price of most toy purchasers at the time.
http://www.bassettlowkesociety.org.uk/
http://www.78derngate.org.uk/intro.html
What will also be of interest to you Tom is that I noticed models of ships by Basset Lowke form some of the model collection upstairs at the Halifax museum of the Atlantic which I visited not so long ago. Be sure to take Pete to see these on your planned trip!
Pete - you also mentioned the German town with the suspended cars on the overhead system - this is interesting and I have seen a good website - which I can't find because I can't recall the name of the town - do you know it - with that info the link will be findable!
Mike - nice pic of Currour in the snow - Pete has ‘captioned' this already - suffice to say it was when Scottish lines still boasted locomotive hauled passenger trains with comfy carriages - the current diesel units are rather cramped I'm sorry to say - great pic. Likewise I enjoyed the RDC pics on p23 and the great Rock Island Loco (F Type?) below the Chicago Board of Trade - nice pic!
Tom - really enjoyed the classic era nostalgia ads you have posted - I'm too young to have been there back in the day but the copy writers still have some power - I could jump aboard right now!
Good choice for the Movie - Strangers on a Train, one of Hitchcock's great ones. He certainly enjoyed giving trains a good role in his films (alongside Blondes of course, and rightly so) - North by North West is one of my favourite films of all time - do you know what the train is that is featured there (along side Eva Marie Saint if I recall correctly).
Eric - nice pic of you on the footplate - interesting dialogue about signalling this kicked off too.
Lars - good to follow your house hunting exploits from the sunny zones. It took me a while to realise the agents were not in the business of helping you find the home you want, but in the business of selling he homes they've got - these are not the same thing, and that can be an issue!
James - good pic of a mixed train a while back - these were uncommon in the UK - but on lightly used lines in Scotland I think they were more common.
Well, hopefully I'll be able to work through a few more pages and I also have some trip reports to post too, so I look forward to being back before too long!
Regards
DL
Good Afternoon Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. We're later than Amtrak today, but here goes.
Pete stopped by with some questions.
The practice of naming locomotives varied/varies from railroad to railroad. It was a lot more common years ago than it is now. For example, during the Civil War, the United States Military Railroad had many named locomotives. One railroad in recent years with named locomotives was the Boston and Maine; there was a contest and schoolchildren named them. I know I have some more about that in the east wing.
Coal stations are also called coal docks. The C&O had many different types - I'll get some more information together for you. In the meantime, you can go to the C&O Historical Society's website and spend a fun evening looking through the picture archives; you'll see what the C&O is favored by many of us.
Last - some roads did, indeed, use different sizes of coal for passenger and freight. You also had different types of coal burned by different railroads; for example, lignite on the Great Northern, bituminous on most roads, and anthracite on other roads such as the Reading and the Lackawanna; this accounts for variations in firebox types; you're not likely to confuse a Reading locomotive with a New York Central locomotive.
Eric - I think I did pretty well with the picture - IIRC, I mentioned something about a special operation with some CP cars.
Barndad visited - Joys of spring weather in the heartland - I hope you got the concrete squared away w/o too much damage. Thanks for more PSU and BC material. I wish the pictures in the Jack Delano article and the other piece you sent were accessible - every other one came through fine except the stuff you sent.
Lars stopped by as well. Enjoyed the album of dome car shots and the SP video covers and books. The Pentrex set is a good one; I bought the individual tapes yrs ago; the snow fighting one is a real snapshot of vintage SP. It has black widows in the Sierra, steam puliing tourist sleepers, and footage of the extraction of the "City" out of the snow after it got buried in the snow. If you have never read the book Fiddle Hill, see if you can round up a copy - an excellent depiction of SP in the Sierras.
Dave stopped by - be careful out there. A few of our WV units got back not too long ago and I have several; friends who are getting ready to head back over there (3rd deployment for most). We are all thinking of you and I can see Boris painted on the side of a tank.
Mike sent a spectacular shot of a Big Six at Harpers Ferry. 6190 was blt. Around 1926 (memory here; I don't have my B&O book here). It was blt by Lima. The Summer, 2006 issue of Classic Trains had a good story about them. Anyone check out ll the tank cars on the train?
James stopped by with more Santa Fe and B&O material.
To keep the record straight, EM1s were not Challengers. The EM1s, r/n 7600-7629, were built in 1944 by Baldwin. 115 thousand pounds tractive effort(!) truly a beast.
OSP is keeping a firm hand on the throttle and an eagle eye on the rail which is kind of hard to do with all the mascots nipping/flying/slashing at him. Thanks for encouraging words, summaries, neat pictures, etc. B4 I forget, I ran the table on the quiz (I'd better, I'll tell you). Nice choice of movies, too. Here's a possible double feature for those who like thrillers: "The Third Man," and "Double Indemnity." Last one is one of my favorites. If we can't do that how about "The Thirty Nine Steps," and "Vertigo?" My friend enjoyed his first NHL game Islanders and Caps in DC over the weekend - maybe we have another convert. IMHO, the NHL has a good product, but they are clueless re marketing and promotion.
Ziller, Zeller, and Zollar -excellent.
Pete's post appeared when I hit the rferesh button before posting this - good to hear from you, sir.
It's been quite an active Monday here at the Saloon by the Siding and Ruth surely needs a break. Go ahead, sweet thing, I'll watch things 'til you're ready to return . . .
Noted the presence of one of our old timers - CFournier Chris (Permanent member of the Legion of the Lost) was logged on. But he doesn't frequent this Forum or Thread as an active participant anymore. My guess is that he browses though . . . surely is a puzzling thing. Oh well . . .
Thought I'd catch up with the acknowledgements before the Posts overtake me. Putting totgether the morning epistle take too much time as it is!
Lars at 9:13 AM today: A surprise morning appearance by our Manager, but of course, most appreciated!
The SP material seems to have kicked off something good for Dave. Hope he's able to check 'em out.
VIA Rail travels have most times been the hi-lites of anything experienced on the rails. Of course, as a kid, the trips between NYC, Baltimore 'n WashDC were what memories are made of. Speaking for adult times, the VIA trips in those splendid observation domes simply cannot be rivaled. Even the Alaska Railroad's Ultra Domes - as spacious and modern as they are - simply cannot match up to the Budd Park Cars of VIA Rail. Now, travel aboard those &%#$ Renaissance cars (Chunnel Chuggers) well, that's 'nother story! <grin>
Glad you made it in today!
Doug at 11:01 AM today: Another surprise from the barn weevil. Two AM Posts on a Monday. Man oh man, that IS most welcome and surely makes things perk along quite nicely 'round here. Thanx!
So, what's NOT to like about SP? Aside from some rather 'serious' bashing that an old friend of mine had with 'em (worked for them for decades right up 'til they folded the tent), stories of the RR are most intersting and in keeping with what we like to do 'round here.
Surely hope this repair job is on the contractor!
BK at 11:37 AM today: What IS this
Surprise day at the Tavern by the Tracks! Now it's our Alberta Connection with quite a Post -many thanx to you 'n Lydia!
Both made it to JOURNEYMAN, eh
Well, that's a respectable level - but with "open book" you cudda "aced" it! <grin>
Wonderful supplemental Pix for the SP "stuff" of the day! Can't call it "theme," otherwise I get things totally bolixed up and who knows, even old 20 Fingers might come back and dump a few zillion words on us! <groan>
Thanx for your offer regarding the Tuesday Theme for the Day!
I'd prefer to have someone select a RR, then "go" with it as the FIRST offering. Then the remainder of us can chime in with whatever we find to supplement it. For those who work days and find it hard to get here during the early morning, it could be Posted the night before (Monday). Of course it would help greatly to ANNOUNCE the selection well in advance, in order to provide some preparation time for us all. Think about it!
I'm also the Chief Vacuumer 'round here. Awhile back I bought the bride one of those central vac systems. She liked it so well, that I now am "qualified" to solo! Hmmmmmmm.
Sounds as if your weekender turned out to be just a bit more than you had expected. I'd think by now, you've figured out the "system." <grin>
Part V of the QUIZ is still in the "thinking" stages. Don't want to run this into the ground, but I'll come up with something in the near future, if challenges to the knowledge base seems to flick the right switches!
DL at 12:49 PM today: And yet ANOTHER bright note arrives in the form of a fine Post from our UK Connection. Certainly apprecite your taking the time to resume activities and you covered a bit of ground there.
Yes, those ad writers were indeed creative people when it came to getting the word out about the railroads. Many of those ads were designed for magazines and the more pictorial ones for billboards. TV hadn't yet taken over the media. The RRs were in steep competition with one another, so the idea was to use as many "buzzwords" and "catchy phrases" along with carefully placed photos to capture the attention of the traveling public. Works for me too!
I am familiar with the ship model exhibit at the Halifax museum and will indeed direct Pete to it. Now, we are planning on a morning visit. But having experienced "life with Pete," up close 'n personal while he was here during the ice storms, it will be interesting to see just what time we get moving. Our train departs at 1:15 PM or thereabouts. I may have to call upon the services of a Canadian Navy chap I know who works underwater demolition to get him "started."
CM3 at 1:34 PM today: Not to be left out, our WVA Connection made it in as well and provided one 'n all with a typical offering, covering as many bases as were visible on the screen.
Once again I'm dazzled by the info you provide. I had NO clue regarding different sizes (and types) of coal for steam locos.
Many thanx for the round 'n quarters. It was a busy Saturday and I'm told that Herr Wurltizer was belting out the tunes. All the track gangs were in along with a biker group that passed through town. Was quite an evening . . . best not "go there." <ooooooooooh>
Congrats on achieving the highest level on the QUIZ -
PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #21
Initially Posted on Page 157 of the original Thread
Here's something to enjoy regarding the Southern Pacific (SP) from a 1951 advertisement in my personal collection.
Did you hear what the Colonel said about the "Sunset Limited" "WHAT A TRAIN, SUN! THE FLOWER OF NEW ORLEANS, THE BOAST OF TEXAS, THE SUNLIGHT OF ARIZONA, THE SENSATION OF HOLLYWOOD. ANOTHER OF SP'S WONDERFUL WAYS WEST!" We're happy to say that thousands of Americans are finding our "Sunset Limited" a new and charming way to go West. We think that you, too, will enjoy this sensational new "Streamlined Train With the Southern Accent." Especially with that New Orleans stopover. Luxury Pullman or Chair Car. Extra fare. Your connections at New Orleans from, or two, points like Chicago, St. Louis, Washington, New York, etc., are good and offer fine streamliners. (New Orleans is a gourmet's and shopper's delight as you know.) The "Sunset Limited" takes you in 42 delightful hours through the heart of Texas, Southern Arizona's winter resort country, Palm Springs & Los Angeles. There, you can connect with other great new S.P. streamliners, can return by another S.P. route. You see twice as much. The little map shows how. Why not try it this winter? Or next summer? And meantime, why not let us send you our New Orleans folder, and full information about this new way to California? Mail coupon below today "SUNSET LIMITED" New Orleans-Los Angeles via Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Douglas, Bisbee, Tucson, Phoenix, Palm Springs. Connects at New Orleans with streamliners to and from Chicago, New York, Washington, other Eastern points. SP AMERICA'S MOST MODERN TRAINS
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Leon- Could I get a coffee and a turkey sandwich. Plus a round for the guys. Thanks.
Alright, here's the thing. Most of the acknowledgements are from page 27. So I am slowly working my way back.
Lars- Well I was looking back among the pages and noticed that you had posted an MKT E7. Very nice picture. I have seen some MKT locomotives with Milwaukee road units. Cool picture. Also enjoyed the X2000 pictures. That is one nice looking passenger train and I'm sure it can carry passenger around quite quickly too.
Great looking book and video covers too. That Daylight movie from Pentrex looks like a really cool movie. Thanks.
Tom- I was looking at some of those RDC pictures.. What great looking RDCs. They still catch my eye. I just love how they look. Thanks for the pictures. I also saw your article on London's railways and that Victoria station. Now that's a wow. What an amazing looking station. That is one of the nicer looking stations that I have seen. I don't see to many stations like this in the U.S. I wish a lot of the old stations are now gone. It's really sad.
I did read the idiot of the week #6. I wonder how many people like him are out there. Unbelievable!
BTW: Thanks for the information on the Dormitory cars. I know what it should be called. A "Dome"itory. But alas. Thank you for the info. It helped. Also, thanks for all the passenger nostalgia. Some real nice passenger trains out there.
I have an offer for Tuesday's theme of the day. How about the Milwaukee road? Haven't had that topic for quite some time.
Rob- I haven't heard from you in quite some time. Glad you're back. I enjoyed looking at all your pictures of the RDCs. Especially that Pacific Great Eastern RDC. Thanks for the pictures.
CM3- EM1s not challengers. Hmmm. Interesting. They look like one. But I'm wrong so I will keep that in mind. Thanks for catching it. Anyway I saw your southern signs chart. I looked it over and found that I am "boiled Peanuts." Boiled Peanuts? Ok. But it was interesting indeed.
Eric- The Stockholm Central station is quite a nice looking station. Like I said, I wish the U.S. had ripped down most of the older stations. There are some really unique stations still around but many have all but disappeared. But that's life.
Oh and thanks for the information in the interesting passenger train set up. So those last few cars couldn't be connected to the cars in front of it. It's kind of funny to see that locomotive in the middle of the train. But it makes sense. Cars need lighting and heat/ cooling.
Doug- The X2000 tilting train. What an interesting concept. But that tilting probably makes it easier for the train to turn without all of the stress and friction on the trucks. It's a really good idea out to the test. Thanks for the article.
Budkarr- Good to hear from you after sometime. Hopefully you can come on back soon.
G-day Tom and all pesent!
Leon- I'm still working on my coffee, but thanks for offering me another cup.
I found something that might be of interest here.
An Alco RSC-2. Of course it's Milwaukee Road
Milwaukee Road #988 was built by the American Locomotive Co. at Schenectady, New York in January of 1947 (serial #75135). It is a model RSC-2, weighing 117 tons on six axles. Four axles arepowered and two are idlers to distribute weight. The Alco V-12, model 244 diesel engine develops 1500 horsepower and is equipped with 6-BLC brakes. The electrical system is General Electric.In November 1946, the Milwaukee Road took delivery of 18 model RSC-2 roadswitchers from Alco. The #988 was thelast freight unit built. "RSC-2" stands for Road Switcher C-type trucks. On the A-1-A trucks, the two end axles are powered by GE 752 traction motors, while the center axle is unpowered but spreads out the weight. This design made the locomotive ideal for lighter weight rail (60 lb. or lighter), such as is found on Mid-Continent's line. In all other respects, the engine is similar to Alco's RS-2 model.The Milwaukee assigned the new diesels to the Wisconsin Valley Division, at Wausau, Wisconsin to study the effects of an all-diesel division. By the summer of 1947, all steam was gone from the Valley. The #988 was soon transferred to the Iowa & Dakota Division. There it received the simplified Milwaukee orange and black paint scheme, and was re-numbered to #594 in 1959. In the early 1960's, the #594 was reassigned to La Crosse, Wisconsin as the La Crosse switch engine, making an occasional sidetrip to Winona, MN or Viroqua, WI.By the early 1970's, most of the older Alco's were shut down and scrapped. But as late as June 1976, the #594 was still holding the afternoon switch in La Crosse. #594 escaped the scrappers torch when it was purchased by the Kettle Morain Scenic Railway in 1976. The KMSR renumbered the engine #4. It was soon sold to Trans-Northern Inc. TN renumbered the unit back to #988.TN used the #988 on several of their shortline operations until early 1981, when it was shut down and stored on the Escanaba & Lake Superior. In late October 1985, a group of Mid-Continent members purchased #988 from TN. The engine arrived at North Freedom on January 3, 1986, and was used for the first time at Snow Train 1986.#988 has been painted back to its original 1947 paint scheme. Not many RSC-2's remain today. Volunteers are presently making repairs to #988's intercooler and several cylinder liners to return her to service.The irony is that the #988 replaced steam in the late 1940's, and now is being preserved by a steam-operated museum. Will it replace steam again in the 2000's? No, steam will always rule on Mid-Continent's Railway.
Information from: http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/DIESEL/milw988.html
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