Good evening Leon, a tall cold Keith's please if you don't mind,here's an extra twenty for the party fund as well. No Boris the party fund is not going to be used to pay down Pete's bar tab.(I've seen small countries with less debt than that
Tom-Great part deux of your new endevours.It's a 5x to be sure.Great coverage of three roads that are always going to be ingrained into the railroad history books no matter who ends up merging into oblivion.
Seems like old times today lots of posts comming in from all sides,and all top notch stuff as well.We had better be carefull we'll end up on teh most watched and posted to list again
Lars-I'm glad that you made it in on your natal day. I kinda figured that you would if you could.Nice to no that your first mates doing better,no worries about mentioning stuff were all in your corner
Great selections from the bookmobile as always.More proof that you are one of da boyz in dis here place
Shane-Thanks for the backup on the Bladwin and Lima diesels. For some reason I had thought that both of them were buying their engines for their loco's from other sorces. I have to say thought the centipedes were something,I wonder if any made it intoa museum some where
I figure that Nicks thoughts on the taggers leave nothing to doubt what about you One thing is though, the electrodes need to be hooked upto the energized 600v overhead
Pete-Neat photo's sir. I didn't get the picture blown up huge but I think that SP unit may be a GP15 of one varient or another. the apint looks nice and sharp on it too. Most SP engines ( even when the SP was the SP ) tended to be grubby and dirty.
I have heard that alot of the die hard railfans out there were not entirly impressed by the herritage paint jobs UP put out. For myself I give them full marks for trying. As the old saying goes you can't please everyone.
Nick-Some more great photo's.I'm rying to envision sea mines being placed ( hopefully not dropped ) into those cars Seems like a Gomez Adam's kind of thing to do.
As I said above, how do you think the perpetrators would enjoy the 600v overhead power being applied to your well placed electrodes. It'd be an "enlightening" experiance for a few seconds anyway
Rob
Classic Juice Number One The London & Port Stanley RY
Back again gents with a re-worked classic from old,the one that started off the various bays of classic's series from me.
The London and Port Stanley Railway or L&PS The L&PS was originally chartered by the Great Western Railway in 1853. It's purpose to run freight ie coal to the cities of London, St Thomas, Elgin & Middlesex ( all in Southwestern Ontario )Originally built to the great western's 51/2 foot guage. Fears of the Great Westerns practice of monopoply pricing the cities purchased the road and leased it back to the Great western to operate for 20 years thus limiting price increases. In 1872 this steam road's lease was up and also the Great Western as well ( swallowed by the greed of it's owners ) A second 20 year lease was granted to the Lake Erie and Detroit River Line( this became the Pere marquette) They ran as a mostly coal hauling road with summer passenger trains to the beaches. As the second Lease was comming to an end the Ontario government was activly pursueing a scheme to build a province wide electric interurban net work under the ospices of one Sir Adam Beck ( London Ont. MPP and father of the hydro electric commission.Indeed the hydro plants in Niagara falls are still Adam Beck 1 and 2 ) In 1913 when the second lease was up the L&PS was electrified new 80lbs rail and a 1500vDC system and catenery was strung. Five steel motor cars with monitor roof were ordered from Jewett in Ohio. 59 feet long 92,900 lbs cars with 4 125hp GE traction motors. cars 2,4,6,8 &10.Three wooden trailers non powered but with mu controls for train operation were ordered from Preston Car and Coach in Preston on. cars # 1,3,5. The L&PS interchanged with CN and CP in London and with the Michigan Central in St Thomas. Later in 1915 three electric boxcabs electrified the frieght operations these were built by Preston and numbered L1,2 and L3. Each was capable of moveing 50 loaded coal cars or other general merchandice ferried from Conneaut Ohio. in 1917 two more steel motors were purchased 72 feet long #12 and 14. For forty years the L&PS ran electric service only loosing money twice. Once in 1933 the next time in 1953. Hourly service was run on the 40 mile round trip road with three to 6 car passenger trains common. All cars were geared and capable of 70 miles an hour and mostly ran at those speeds as the L&PS was 90% private ROW with a few under/overpasses for hwy 3 etc. In 1956 Ontario Hydro was begining to change the power system in the area from 25 to 60 cycles and the city of London which still owned the ROW couldn't afford the rectifier upgrades as passenger numbers were decreasing. As a result in Feb 1957 passenger service north and south of St Thomas was ended.Frieght operations were dieselized in 1960 although up till 1963 electric service still ran on in the express service London to St Thomas. In 65 the city discontinued ownership and all power was shut off. Todays Port Stanley terminal operates whats left of this line in their excursion service. Several cars are still with us. Our Museum has #8 and trailer # 3. We also have locomotive L 2. The Delson Museum in Quebec has # 10 & # 12. And the Elgin county museum in St Thomas has # 14 and freight engine L 1. Photo's of these can be found in our Museums website and in several hard bound books. Hope everyone enjoyed.
A shot of number 8 at the museum.
Shot of number 8 and M&SC 107
Good evening Captain Tom, Gentlemen and especially Manager Emeritus Lars!!
Leon, I heard you had to work most of the day because Ruth got most of the day off! Tired? I bet. Well, I'll have a number 2 with curly fries. Tui!
Wow, is the Birthday party still going on? I can hear music from the Penthouse suite! Just the two of them? Hmmm.
Tom – I would say that book is now a well traveled book! Something for Pete to read again. I like your series Heralds – Drumheads – Ads – Covers ‘n Stuff! A lot of concentrated facts about the big roads!
Mail received!Rob – If you have to wait until retirement to make your layout look real nice again, well that is something worth waiting for! Both the layout and the retirement!! Glad to learn that the G-cars got a quick re-paint. If you get hold of those taggers, tie them to the rail and run over them!CM3 – Turn left at Cleveland? Hm, how about going southeast from Cincinnati? Do you know what class the best looking 10-wheeler is? I am curious. Pete – So you had camera problems at Rainhill as well as the Rendezvous last year??! I wonder why? Was it the same camera? Soda pop or beer? Hmmm. I guess it was beer since the Rocket slipped off the track! I have info on the #5 diesel somewhere. I’ll see if I can find it. Nice to see a locomotive in Southern Pacific livery! I haven’t seen any live for quite some time now. Lars – Very happy to see you again, Sir! Hope you had a very nice birthday! Good to hear that your Mrs is doing better! We are thinking a lot of you and so is (even more so) Ruth. I don’t know why. I’ll be here April 12th, during daytime! Thanks for the drink!A bunch of very interesting books (covers)! I’ll pick The Sunset Limited! Nick – Thanks for all photos! I have a question, the diesel locomotive #66232, looks kind of strange. The body seems to be very low. Is it some kind of special?You are right about cats, you don’t own them. They adopt you if they like you and let you take care of them. Yes, the TV reporter took me off guard. All of a sudden I had a microphone (visible in the picture) under my nose.
Chicago. June, 1993.
Eric
G'day Gents!
Something DIFFERENT because it's . . .
April Fool's Day
<Initially Posted on Page 290 (2006) of the Original Thread>
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements.
April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends and neighbours, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. In some countries, April Fools jokes must only be made before midday.
Origin
The origin of this custom has been much disputed, and many theories have been suggested, e.g. that it is a farcical commemoration of Christ being sent from Annas to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate, the crucifixion having taken place about the 1st of April.
What seems certain is that it is in some way or other a relic of those once universal festivities held at the vernal equinox, which, beginning on old New Year's day, the 25th of March, ended on the 1st of April. This view gains support from the fact that the exact counterpart of April-fooling is found to have been an immemorial custom in India. The festival of the spring equinox is there termed the feast of Holi, the last day of which is the 31st of March, upon which the chief amusement is the befooling of people by sending them on fruitless errands.
It has been plausibly suggested that Europe derived its April-fooling from the French. They were the first nation to adopt the reformed Gregorian calendar, Charles IX in 1564 decreeing that the year should begin with the 1st of January. Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair butts for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April.
However, it is unlikely that this explanation of April Fool's Day's origin is correct. Well before 1582 when King Charles IX of France brought in the new Gregorian calendar, French and Dutch references from respectively 1508 and 1539 describe April Fool's Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April.
Though the 1st of April appears to have been anciently observed in Great Britain as a general festival, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being there, as it is in most lands, a term of contempt. In France the person befooled is known as poisson d'avril. This has been explained from the association of ideas arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. A far more natural explanation would seem to be that the April fish would be a young fish and therefore easily caught.
The Dutch have their own reason. Back in 1572, the Netherlands were still ruled by the Spain's King Phillip II. There were roaming Dutch rebels who called themselves Geuzen, after the French "geux", meaning beggars. On April 1, 1572, they took a small coastal town called Den Briel. This event was also the start of the general civil rising against the Spanish in other cities in The Netherlands. General Alva of the Spanish army couldn't do much. Bril is the Dutch word for glasses, so on April 1, 1572, "Alva lost his glasses". Dutch people find this joke so hilarious they still commemorate April the first.
Hoaxes
Many media organizations have either unwittingly or deliberately propagated hoaxes on April Fools' Day. Even normally serious news media consider April Fools' Day hoaxes fair game, and spotting them has become an annual pastime. A number of serious journals would publish hoax articles in their April volumes. For example Datamation used to publish quite elaborate spoof stories related to computers.
The advent of the Internet as a worldwide communications medium has also assisted the pranksters in their work.
Well-known hoaxes
o The "Toot and Calm Horn" (after Tutankhamun), which calms rather than aggravates other drivers, so reducing the risk of road rage,
o MINI cars being used in upcoming space missions to Mars,
o IDS ("Insect Deflector Screen") Technology - using elastic solutions to bounce insects off the windscreen as you drive
o SHEF ("Satellite Hypersensitive Electromagnetic Foodration") Technology, which sees the car's GPS systems synchronise with home appliances to perfectly cook a meal for the instant you return home ,
o Marque-Wiper - mini-wipers for each exterior "BMW" logo coming as standard on all future models ,
o "Uninventing the wheel" to counter the "EU ban" on right-hand drive cars
By radio stations
Death of a Mayor: In 1998, local shock jocks Opie and Anthony reported that Boston mayor Thomas Menino had been killed in a car accident. Menino happened to be on a flight at the time, lending truth to the prank as he could not be reached. The rumor spread quickly across the city, eventually causing news stations to issue alerts denying the hoax. The pair were fired shortly thereafter.
By television stations
They told the truth on the following week's show, where outtakes of Redknapp messing up his lines were also shown.
Other prank days in the world
The April 1 tradition in France includes poisson d'avril (literally "April's fish"), attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed.
In Spanish-speaking countries, similar pranks are practiced on December 28, the Day of the Holy Innocents. This custom also exists in certain areas of Belgium, including the province of Antwerp. The Flemish tradition is for children to lock out their parents or teachers, only letting them in if they promise to bring treats the same evening or the next day.
In Iran, people play jokes on each other on April 3, the 13th day of the Persian calendar new year (Norooz). This day is called "Sizdah bedar" (Out-door thirteen). It is believed that people should go out on this date in order to escape the bad luck of number 13.
In Australia and New Zealand the April 1 tradition exists, however it is accepted that if somebody pulls an April Fool's Trick after 12pm (mid-day), then the person pulling the trick is actually considered the fool (this caveat may also exist in other countries).
Quotes about April Fool's Day
"April 1st: This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four." - Mark Twain
"You couldn't fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life even if you had an electrified fooling machine." - Homer Simpson
Nuisance caused to third parties by April Fool's Day
See also
References
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.
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AM Acknowledgments - LATER!
Enjoy!
Tom
THINK April 12th -
The 3rd year Anniversary of "Our" Place!
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; Coffee, please (New England Four Seasons Blend); round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
For all the DIYers in the group (you know who you are. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
Lars has appeared ! I know what you mean abt. candles; they make the cake heavy and also set off the sprinklers. Excellent selection of books.
Nick - Our mine cars look different, but then it's a different kind of mine. BTW, a few trees have been cut down the hill from the house so we can see the railroad. Got treated yesterday evening to 130 car MTY coal train behind two GE beasts. There are several grade crossings nearby so we got to hear the concert as well.
Rob - I'm afraid all of the Centipedes got turned into razorblades long ago. Thanks for the L&PS material.
Eric - Let's look; southeast from Cincinnati - to paraphrase Alice, "Follow the rathole." Remember, dogs have owners, cats have staff.
Pete - USRA locomotives were built in wartime, the Great War. The USRA was created to try and sort out an unholy logistics mess with men and materiel being moved to east coast. USRA developed a variety of standard locomotive designs and freight car designs as well which lasted well into the diesel times.
OSP - Nice selection of ATSF/UP/SP material. I guess the book relay is probably the longest traveled one so far. Sid Finch? One of the great sports hoaxes of all time. Go to CNN and hit the SI.com entry at the bottom of their web page. The SI site has a nice archive of old stories, including the original Sid Finch articles.
Work safe
Good morning everyone. Ruth you are looking tired but happy, have a coffee snf I'll man the abr for an hour while you have a nap. (he helps himself to the coffee adds the BK blast and gently puts the snoaring Ruth on the couch behind the bar ) Now Boris watch her and make sure she does not fall off,no spike cannot be used as a pillow.Have you fed the critters yet What we are out of feild mice well then use one of the reserve hamsters for Artie then.
Eric-Sadley I don't think we shall ever catch those young "artists" much as the membership would like to.Of coarse should,we a fitting punishment might be removal of all the poison ivy in the underbrush ( bare handed )
I had though you looked a bit startled in that cab photo,must have been a tad unnerving to turn around only to have the mic just about placed in your nose.
To aggree with everyone else, yes cats do treat their "owners" as staff, mind you I wouldn't trade ours for all the tea in China ( probably has lead in it anyway )
Tom-Hopefully you have survieved the onslaught of Junneau's practical jokes.Great re-read of the , history of the "fools" day , lots of interesting therories and examples there. One wonders how amny radio stations have gone almost out of buisness or at least faced heafty fines or court cases due to some april fool gone horribly wrong.
Shane-Sooo with the trees cleared we expect some fine shots of those coal drags To bad all the centipedes are gone,though I would guess that those monsters would ahve ceraeted a new set of problems ( storage mostly ) for any railway museum wishing one,espeacially if they were to have been kept operational.
Anyhow gent belly up for the next hour or so as I'll amn the fort while Ruth slumbers No Boris you don't need to get the cannon out of your shed it was a figure of speech.
A bit more "lite" reading while everyone enjoy's there breakfast's,hopefully free of joy buzzers,chattering teeth or black lip staining gum.I thoroughly searched the kitchen staff his morning but Boris tends to have more pokets than an hound dog has fleas,so watch every bite at least until noon.
CLASSIC JUICE # 11 CN'S ELECTRIC LINES The CNR had dabled in electrification over the years, Mostly in the pre-CNR days. The Grand Trunk on several occations dabbled with traction usually with predictable results ( they gave up and dieselized ) The GTR's first flirtation was in 1902. They purchased a small radial line the Hamilton,Grimsby & Beamsville.They did this to keep this interurban out of arch rival Canadian Northerns Hands who themselves were starting to amass a lot of smaller lines electric and otherwise. (The irony of this of coarse is that both these roads failed and were the main components of the Canadian National Railway.) Three years later GTW sold this electric line to Cataract Power( Ontario based electricity and traction company. The Brantford and Hamilton was part of this group as well ) after losing interest in traction. The very next year 1906 GTW purchased the Montreal and Southern Counties which had been incorporated in 1897 but has yet to start construction. The affair wasen't rushed no construction began really until 1909, even then it was slow and steady. The MS&C never reached it's intended target of Sherbrooke by 1925 when construction officially ended they were a 58 mile interurban. Sevice was discontinued in 1956. The only mainline electrification Grand Trunk ever undertook was the St Clair Tunnel, this was only done after two fatal incidents with crews of steam engines asphyxiating in the 6,032 foot tunnel under the river.The tunnel was built in 1891 but even though designers said that electricity was the way to do it the process was expensive so GT opted for athrasite burning 0-10-0's and a set of fans.The first accident occured in 1897 the second in 1904. So the electrification finally took place in 1906 completeing in 1908. A four mile electric zone !The tunnel bed was lowered by CN in 1941 to increas capacity and lesson ferry trips of frieght cars it was formally dieselized in 1958. Of coarse the whole tunnel was replaced in 1992. The last major attempt at electrification by the Grand Trunk occured in BC. This was to be part of the Ill fated Grand Trunk Pacific.The Line between Prince Rupert BC and Fort Frasor was to be electrified do to the tunnels. The line started in 1905 with the last spike of the GTP layed in Manitoba in 1914. Due to the lack of money the electrified portion never occured, Blasting of tunnels and some daylighting of the line was done instead at a far greater cost.The GTR bankruptsy of 1920 occured shortly after this second transcontinintal line was completed. CNR's other predessesor the Canadian Northern also flirted with electrification.Most notably they began construction in 1912 the Mount Royal Tunnel in Montreal even though the co was racked with debt. The CnoR felt that the tunnel had to be built because they had poor access to the city centre, as their terminus was Morell street well east of downtown where rivals CPR and GTW were located.With a population of 600,000 and being Canada's major seaport at the time the CnoR felt that money troubles or not they needed the access to Montreal to survive. The new twin tracked tunnel ( under the city and the competition )was 3.3 miles and length and was to be electrified.The electrification was to extend several miles beyond the tunnel . At Portal Heights the west side of the tunnel a station linking the CnoR with the CPR running above was to be built. A model town called Mount Royal was built to feed passengers to this new line.It ws laid out neatly with wide roads high quality houses etc and the roads were paved with the stone excavated from the tunnel.The idea was that the inhabitants of this new town were a ten minute ride to downtown via the CnoR's new electric line. The project looked good on paper but by the time it was completed in 1918 the CnoR no longer existed. IT had been combined with the Canadian government railways to form the new National Transcontinental and Inter Colonial Railway. which in 1921 was joined by the defunct GTW/GTP to become the Canadian National Railway. What happened to the Mount Royal line? It's still around, CN actually extended it catenery and all to St Eustache & Deux montagnes. This comuter line is still operated under the wire by CN for the Montreal transit authority ! The national harbour board electrics from the Port itself and the NS&T in Ontario were also members of the Canadian Northerns electric lines and thus became CN property in 1921. The Mount Royal tunnel was demolished in 1943 and replaced by CN's Central station now the location of Place Boneventure. In 1964 Montreal's subway system connected with the electric MU coaches and Via trains, At only 28 miles this electrified route certainly isn't the most impressive but it still operates today. heres how the rest of the CN electric lines panned out. Toronto & Eastern ( ex CnoR ) aquired in 1917 abandined in 1924 Chatham Walaceburg & Lake erie ( ex CnoR )aquired 1917 abandoned 1930 Toronto Suburban Railway( ex Cnor ) aquired 1917 abandoned 1931 * Shawinigan Falls Terminal RY ( ex GT joint CPR ) aquired 1950 dieselized 1958 Montreal & Southern Counties( ex GT ) service ended 1956 St Clair tunnel line ( ex GT )aquired 1920 dieselized 1958 largely unused 1992 Quebec Railway Light & Power Co (interurban ) Purchased 1951 dieselized 1959 Niagara St Cath & Toronto ( ex CnoR )purchased 1917 dieselized 1960 Fort William hump yard trolley built 1924 discontinued early 60's Cornwall Street Railway- bought and dieselized in 1971( freight only after 1953 ) London and Port Stanley bought 1966 already dieselized-largly abandoned Mount Royal Tunnel Line(ex CnoR ) began 1918 operated for STCUM since july 1 1982 Rob
Hey Guys lunch time anyone want one of the big sandwiches from the chopping block.Well Ruht's back on her feet so I'll have a lard reuben with all the fixn's and a couple of the crunchy pickles as well,a nice cold Keith's as well too my dear as always the change is yours
Here's something you guys might find interesting that I pulled off one of the other forums.
The Henry Ford Museum just agreed to purchase a GG-1 that I drive by every day.
Kinda cool!
http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_091040024.html
<personal foto>
Tuesday ‘n our sandwich menu is scrumdiddlyishes! Order one . . .
Runnin' really late today . . . but I see Rob has been busy, busy, busy - must be his day off. Hmmmmmm, not working on the model RR, eh Procrastinator!
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Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative):
Monday - March 31st: <all times Central daylite>
Page 5 - Nick <nickinwestwales> at 7:43 PM <1:43 AM Tuesday GMT>: In a rare "last man standing" challenge, our man Nick returned with some fotos, chat, good cheer ‘n everything that makes this guy a most special character at "Our" Place!
Really some interesting fotos - especially the ones with the sea mines cars . . . never saw anything quite like those!
Also that's quite a "beastie" in the familiar livery . . . a GM, eh Huge monster.
Yeah, great little trains of Wales kinda fits the imagery. All well done, Mate ‘n thanx for the ROUND!
Page 5 - Nick <nickinwestwales> at 9:36 PM <3:36 AM Tuesday GMT>: Back with a B'day greeting for my bride, which by the by she thanx you for.
If I had a sister <which I don't> ‘n she dated a guy named Fabio - I'd intercede . . . ‘nuf said. <yikes>
Many thanx for the "Red Dragon" explanation - makes sense now. So tell me - where was the LAST dragon slain Surely they all at one time resided in the UK . . . <grin> but they seemed to have been eradicated from the landscape . . . I hear they do "appear" every now ‘n then on those mid-nite rambles back to the abode. Any truth in that <uh oh>
Ahhhh, so Sgt Dixon was a "goody two-shoes" of sorts. What's in a name, eh Fabio - Sgt Pepper - Boris, etc.
No four legged cats in my life - can't be in a room with one for more than 10 minutes or so - begin to tear up, itch ‘n head for the exit. Not always like that, began pretty much when everything else in my makeup went "south" at the turning to age 50. Been simply wunnerful ever since. Thankfully, dogs still "work" in my life . . . Lawd knows what a lonely existence it would be without ‘em . . .
Mention of the Ghost of Doug brings to mind something Pete ‘n I discussed recently. As much as we miss the man <'n we do> one just has to ponder whether he misses us. Doesn't appear so . . . RIP to a guy who "did it well" - no one did it better.
Surely hope you'll be able to spend a wee bit of time with us on April 12th - we're "shooting" for a daytime event - but given the time zone differences - any visit will be a good one from Wales.
Page 5 - Rob <trolleyboy> at 11:11 PM ‘n 11:46 PM: Yes, we surely had a banner day of it on Monday - a most unusual, but appreciated outpouring on a day where we most times have to fight off the <yawns>.
I'm hoping that when we visit ExpoRail that you don't make the vocal reference to the place as "Delson" - for there's a staffer or three who will quickly "correct" you - they seem to prefer being called ExpoRail at Saint-Constant. Hmmmmmm. Can't say it impacts me either way, but when in Rome . . . .
I remember #8 from our visit to Halton County . . . nicely refurbished interurban, fer sure, fer sure.
The rantings on the part of some about loco paint jobs kinda gives me pause to laff out loud. What's the fuss I mean it's THEIR railroad ‘n THEIR equipment for cripes sakes. I appreciate seeing a Southern Pacific rolling along on the UP trackage - just like every now ‘n then perhaps a Rock Island will sneak in too. Gives the train rider something MORE to appreciate while riding the rails. Same for the right-of-way bystanders - no harm, no foul, eh
Thanx for the two visits!
Tuesday - April 1st: <all times Central daylite>
Page 5 - Eric <EricX2000> at Midnite: Great looking X2000 shot in Chicago - too bad the Amtrak "snuck in" at the rear . . . but sure looks sleek . . .
Good to have you back in "rare form," stirring the pot once again with Lars, Ruth ‘n the Penthouse Suite! Some guys will just not let go . . . <uh oh>
A fine inclusive Post from our Resident NOCTURNAL Desert RETRIED Swede!
I know there's MORE out there . . . but the harder I try to catch up, the behinder I get! One of those daze . . .
Reminder: Ruth has the bar from 9 AM until Leon the Night Man comes in at 5 PM ‘til closing.
Thursday is Fish ‘ Chips Nite!
Friday is Pizza ‘n Beer Nite! - and - Steak ‘n Fries Nite!
Saturday is Steak ‘n All The Trimmings Nite!
Dinner begins at 5 PM so come early ‘n often!
Cindy is our Saturday bartender!
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" cider they can handle!
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of Coors Light please RUTH. No of course not it is April the 1st. Whats this you say "I have ordered it so now I have to drink it", well that will teach me.
NICK Great words for Lars.
Many thanks for the photos. I guess they would have used narrow gauge ‘Simplex' type diesels to haul those armament wagons about at the Royal Navy Depot, great to see those wagons in such good condition. I guess it is rare to see a class 37 about nowadays like the pair at Didcot, one in Loadhaul livery. Yes the first Thomas book I had as a kid featured the Tal-Y-Lyn look-alike.
I too would not fancy traveling on a sharply curved West Country branch line in one of the pacers. I wonder why those class 153 units can't be used.
I keep think I have seen line drawing of a locomotive similar to the mystery WHR loco, but can't remember where at the moment.
When you saw the Stones perform Paint It Black, was Brian Jones still part of the line up, I believe he played sitar on the original recording. Yes I miss the jokes at the end of Doug's posts it seems the jokes you know are the same as mine.
ROB Glad you liked the photo of the SP diesel ,it was taken on a mobile phone so it would not enlarge too well. I guess it was here to work the local which seems to work in the evening when it is dark, but I will have to go down and see if it is still here, although there was another pair of smaller UP diesels there as well. I have only seen one pair of smaller diesels at here at one time before. Pat's Place is very near to year to where the local freight is made up so the bride probably won't believe me if I say I am going down to photo a loco.
Many thanks for the re worked Classic Juice #1 on the London & Port Stanley Railway. # 8 looks a very stylish car and capable of a good turn of speed at 70 MPH. I like the numbering scheme with even numbers for the motor cars and odd numbers for the trailers. I see some non-powered cars and the boxcabs were built in a city called Preston, a bit of a co-incidence as the English Electric Company in the town of Preston in England produced smaller electric locomotives and tramcars.
It is good to see the examples of the L&PSR that have been preserved.
Many thanks for the CN's Electric Lines As we have talked about it a bit earlier I wonder if there ever will be a push to electrify a long distance class 1 railway again, I guess the price of diesel fuel will be have to be a lot higher before it would be even considered.
Many thanks for the link to the article telling of the good news for the GG1; it is good they are going to show the GG1 in the PRR red livery when it is on exhibit.
ERIC I am glad the Penthouse Suite is off-limits to me this morning.
Rainhill was that cameras last day if I remember right. I do wish now I had a decent camera when I first took color slides, with the slow speed of the film then it seems the only good photos were taken on real sunny days. I seem to recall they did have a beer tent at the cavalcade at Rainhill.
I will look forward to the info on #5.
After a while of not seeing many ex SP locomotives about, I have seen 4 in SP colors but with UP numbers and the one in full SP livery in the last few days.
Thanks for the photo of the X2000 at Chicago.
CM3 The bride very often uses that saying about WD 40 and Duct Tape.
Those USRA look modern locomotives, I would not have guessed they had been produced for the Great War. It seems the locomotives produced in wartime had a lot longer life than originally planned. Some of the S160 type shipped over in WWII had a long life in Europe, as did some of the British locos. The American 0-6-0 Tank switcher type the (English) Southern Railway bought after the war to work in Southampton Docks lasted right to the end of Southern steam in 1967
TOM Belatedto your bride, Sorry I missed it yesterday.
Sometimes I think I ought to leave the puter on during the thunderstorms to see if it would put some life into it and speed it up a bit, but when the speakers start crackling I think it is time to turn it off.
Many thanks for the links to the Heavy and Light USRA Mikados. It seems they were a very successful design, which had a long life on many railroads; they must have been a great design for all those lines that built copies of them.
Really enjoyed reading about the origins and the many pranks that has been on April 1st. In my part of England it was considered that pranks were only up to midday as well.
One of the best railway pranks played was when, a few years ago now, the very popular with Great Western fans the 4-4-0 ‘City Of Truro' of 1904 was at the Severn Valley Railway for overhaul so she could steam again. Anyway the magazine had the locomotive painted with easily removed paint, in BR black on one side and the magazine said this was how Truro would look after the overhaul (withdrawn in the 1930s the engine had always been in GWR livery).
Anyway despite a few clues in the caption, the magazine was inundated with letters from GWR fans saying they had ripped up there SVR membership cards and really berating the National Railway Museum, who own the locomotive as well as threatening to write to their MPs about vandalizing a national museum piece.
Eric stirring the pot surely not..
For April 1st I have some odd looking locomotives,
A Cockerill of Belgium Vertical Boiler Tank loco No 1625 at the Middleton Railway in Leeds England.
At the top of Mount Snowdon in Wales a Hunslet rack diesel locomotive.
I'm afraid I have no details on this narrow gauge locomotive I think it is at a Slate Quarry near Bleanau Ffestiniog in Wales.
A Traction Engine on rails. This Aveling & Porter 2-2-0 is at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road.The Metroplitan Railway(later part of London Underground) had a simular loco that worked the tramway from Quainton Road to a Brill. I believe the top speed was 8MPH.
Well RUTH see you are still smiling so a round please
Pete.
Well a quick good evening. I see that Leon has had one customer to keep him in giggles today.Never tell him that you want something and then change your mind,as Pete just found out.<uh oh> enjoy that Coors lite
Tom-I'm not procrastinating I'm thinking ( about procrastinating on the layout ) Se the difference I'm actually not off today but going in on a one day midnight shift with tomorrow as my day off yup don't try to make sence of it cause it'll drive you mad. So since I had a wee bit of time on my hands today I figured I would keep us moving along here at the bar.
Pete-That'll learn you as they say up in the north country.Leon has a one tracked mind so if you order you get it. I'll draw you a draft of Harps though to wash that "pee-water" down with though,and put them both on your tab ( what a guy eh )
That is an intersting fact about EE being based out of Preston in England. Preston Ontario technically does not exist anymore. It's about twenty miles from Brantford but it and two close by cities Hespler and Galt were merged into the new city of Cambridge in the late 70's. It's still a hotbed of manufacturing. All three cities were textile mill towns and all along the Grand and Speed rivers there are a ton of old stone mills all now apartment lofts or retail spaces. The CPR still has a huge preasance there as the major industries of Babbcox and Wilcox ( boilers ) adn Toyota ( assembly plant ) are located in Cambridge.The Preston Car and Coach's remaining building still stands on CPR land abandonned, our museum took the last remaining stuff out of the plant building in the 60's,we were envited to do so by the CPR( just the original wagon body building as a fire destroyed three quarters of the plant in 1917 essentially finishing them,they were out of buisness by 1922 although by then they were owned by Brill)
I think you would have to see a sustained 8 dollars a gallon or more to see any raiway company undertaking a major electrification project at this point.I'd love to see mainline electric action but not at that kind of cost
Here's a couple new pictures,well not new but not posted here before,got them from grandad's things.
A CN RSC24 not sure where or who took the shot,photo is from the late 70's as by '78 these loco's were gone.
A CN RSC13 another victim of the late 70's purge of all FM and 244 powered alco loco's from CN'ss roster. These engines were built for the light branchlines primarily on the east coast.Again I don't know who took teh shot or where.
Hi Tom and all,
The usual round of Tui`s for all the guys` please Leon.
Rob. Nice lot of pics and the continuing Classic Juice episodes, great reading and info. The chimney repair was just the replacement of the top section of the stainless steel pipe which had fused to the cowl, could`nt get the cowl off to clean the chimney, not too expensive, I HOPE? E-mail received with thanks!
Eric. Some of those steel bridges on the NI Main trunk are slowly being replaced by ferro-crete structures` as they re-align some of the old right of way over time. Nice lot of steam pics from your North Freedom trip,the SF Kadachrome SD45 and the X2000 pics with you featured in the cab pic. That was a really humane thing you did for the sick cat, well done!
Pete. Forgot to mention that we went up to Napier for the brilliant one dayer that was drawn on the last ball, it was a very thrilling match to watch, did`nt have time to go up to watch the final test in Napier in which England won the series, we watched a lot of it live on Sky Sport TV each day. The Toon have also WON again, 4-1 against Spurs no less, lets hope they are now into a winning games mode! Enjoyed all of your pics, the last of the Rocket 150 Cavalcade, the diesels and the unusual small industrial locos`, all definate keepers! As you will have read in my gist to Rob the chimney was fixed OK, just had to hold on to the bottom section when the fitter was removing and replacing it after putting on a new cowl.
Nick. A very nice varied and colourful selection of pics from you, took me back to the old days` when I was stationed at Bude in Cornwall in the late 50`s, used to do a lot of exploring of the Devon and Cornwall railway systems`, had an Austin A40 Devon in those days`. It was great to see the Toon win the game against Spurs 4-1, hope they can keep it up from now on!
CM3. I`ve got my fingers crossed about the sewage lines`, in the 26 years since we built this place we`ve only had to have a joint fixed in the water main supply, and the chimney work done, so we`ve been very lucky.
Lars. It was so great to see you in again, just like old times with a nice lot of covAHS from the Larsman Mobile, many thanks for that! Nice to read that those dizzy spells have been sorted out and that things are looking much better now. Hang on in there!
Tom. No matter the trials and tribulations of owning a home, it is most certainly much better than renting one. Good to read that your bride got home safe and sound. Really enjoyed all your great pics and all the info, the steam loco pics were great, the weekend flicks` selection, the nice selection of Heralds, Drumheads and RR ads, and your very interesting write up on the origins of April Fools Day, a feast of information to get through. Very interesting to read just where Pete`s book got to during it`s circulation amongst us, sounds like another "Around the World in Eighty Days`" story in the making! See we are over the 1,000 hits mark on the new page already, it just shows how popular Our Place still is to all our visitors`.
See ya, Allan
God evening Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, good to see you, a ham sandwich and a cold Keith's, please!
Geez, what happened to this evening? Well, I am finally here.
Rob – I completely missed your article on The London & Port Stanley RY last night! Very interesting! But I think it was a bad idea to order steel motor cars and mix them with wooden trailers. Obviously nothing bad happened though. To bad the city of London couldn’t afford to upgrade the rectifiers. A tiny bit better is what happened to CN’s electric lines, at least the Mount Royal Line! Still operated under the wire!!Good looking motor car, #8! Does the museum run it often? I was interviewed on TV and radio a number of times but the photo shows one of the very first times it happened. Yeah, you better be careful when it comes to tea from China. Interesting news about GG1 #4909!! I read the article and found one error. This guy, Christian Overland said the GG1’s era lasted from the mid 1930’s to the mid 1980’s and added “That’s unheard of in the world of locomotives.” That is not true, Swedish State Railways class D (that Ron is building a model of) lasted from 1924 until 1988. Thanks for the CN photos! Tom – I just learned that it was the Mrs. Birthday yesterday!?! Belated Happy Birthday to her!!!Interesting facts on April Fool’s Day! The big thing here in Phoenix today was a radio station, KTAR, who told their listeners that during the night it had been decided to make toll roads of three of the freeways in and around Phoenix, starting tomorrow morning! A lot of people (at work) believed it and they were very angry.I like the 1996 joke, Lincoln memorial was sold and renamed to Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial! The Penthouse Suite? I think it is time to remove the switch Manager Lars installed months ago. we missed a lot of stuff! Me stirring the pot? No, I am just trying to help Manager Emeritus Lars. I think. CM3 – You are right, cats have staff, not owners. I am a member of that staff. Must be nice to be able to see the railroad from the house! Or is it too close, I am thinking about the use of the horn? We have a BNSF track about 1 1/2 mile from our house with a lot of grade crossings. We can hear the concerts every evening pretty well. Pete – So you screwed up one camera at Rainhill and another one at the Rendezvous last year!? That must be an expensive habit! I can’t even recall last time I saw an ex SP locomotive in SP livery. It must be many years ago. I would say it is smart to turn off the computer if there is an electrical storm. I do. Many years ago I had a TV set that got too much power during a thunderstorm. Didn’t work after that. Thanks for the pictures! That narrow gauge locomotive in Wales must be the ugliest locomotive I’ve ever seen! Wow!Allan – Ferro-crete bridges? That is a good name! Talking about North Freedom, I have a bunch of pictures from my first visit there in 1981. I have to find them and see if any of them is worth scanning. GE U25B Southern Pacific #3100 from 1963.
Wednesday's Witticism
Folks that always ride in a high lope miss the fun along the trail.
Mid-week again ‘n time to fill up the coffee mugs with our freshly ground ‘n brewed special blend - check out the pastries in The Mentor Village Bakery case ‘n if there's room - order a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board!
"They" say we've set an all-time record for rainfall in March . . . 8.4 inches. We have a "monster" storm system heading up this way with perhaps 3 to 5 inches of rain expected on Thursday-Friday. That basement of ours will require all kinds of attention in order to keep the leak contained . . . it NEVER ends. <groan>
Comments from the Proprietor
Appears that our Manager went a bit on the "wild side" with a feverish pace for Posting. But, no complaints - the bar was the beneficiary, just a shame we haven't the clientele to appreciate all the effort.
Sad to note the disappearance of "Our" Place II ‘n "my <original> other Thread"> from the Forum's first Page . . . in time, many will never know those Threads existed or partake in the wonders Posted on each . . .
Page 5 - CM3 Shane <coalminer3> at 8:29 AM: Sid Finch - yeah, a household name <noooooooooot>. Anyway, here's a link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_finch
Sorry to burst your bubble, Mate - but SOME dog's absolutely do NOT acknowledge being OWNED. Ever live with a Siberian Husky You'll get a chance come Rendezvous III!
Good chat, good cheer ‘n good times from our Resident WVA Connection! Thanx for the quarters ‘n ROUND!
Page 5 - Rob <trolleyboy> at 10:52AM - 11:56 AM ‘n 12:32 PM: A trifecta from our Manager who apparently is on a quest to accomplish ‘something' - exactly what, is a mystery to many! <geesh>
Yeah, there have been some absolute nightmarish April Fool's Day pranks pulled by those in the media . . . Also would like to find some related to railroads. I'll have to dig around ‘n see what's in the Ether . . .
Many thanx for the GG1 foto ‘n link! Enjoyed reading the latter . . .
Haven't read through your Classic Juice <yet> - but thanx for providing it!
Page 5 - Pete <pwolfe> at 4:06 PM: Our Bar Chandler dropped by with another one of his Hallmark < I3 > Posts!
Four of the strangest, weirdest ‘n most odd locomotives I've ever seen! Very appropriate for April Fool's Day!
Your tale of the reaction of Brit steam aficionados to one of their favorite locos pretty much illustrates how sometimes a joke can really be totally misinterpreted ‘n over reacted to. Hope they put away the tar ‘n feathers . . . <yikes>
Absolutely NO NEED to go overboard with congrats - best wishes ‘n all of that for the spouses, 2nd cousins, uncles, aunts ‘n assorted other blood relatives of the guys at the bar. Nice if you catch it - but certainly not a transgression if you don't. BUT, Carol thanks you! <for some strange reason, she thinks you're an "okay guy"> <grin>
There's a saying, "You reap what you sow." Apparently you did that very thing with the Coors Light order . . .
Many thanx for keeping AWAY from the Penthouse Suite - your visit ‘n of course the ROUND! <grin>
Page 6 - Rob <trolleyboy> at 4:56 PM: Turned another Page ‘n who do we find at the top but our Manager - beginning to become a "thing," eh Also noted that you made the 100th Post at our reborn-reborn Thread! A CASE of Coors Light coming your way . . .
By the by, what you refer to in disparaging terms are "fightin' words" to Coors lovers . . . the water, contrary to your thinking, comes from the mountain streams in the Rockies <commercials don't spread falsehoods, do they??> <uh oh>
Nice looking fotos from your Grandad's "things" . . . Just curious, when did CN go to the "Zebra" markings
I do believe you became just wee bit "punchy" with all of those Posts, for you've confused Leon with Ruth behind the bar. See it works like this: Ruth comes in at 9 AM and remains ‘til 5 PM when Leon takes over ‘til closing . . . . Manager needs to KNOW that!
Mnay thanx for all the attention you gave to the bar today - also provided me with a respite, fer sure, fer sure! Have one on me next time you're in - something to eat as well!
Page 6 - Allan <Gunneral> at 9:26 PM <3:26 PM Thursday in NZ>: And who should appear at the bar Our Resident Downunder NZ Kiwi! Great to see ya again . . .
A fine < I3 > Post to keep everyone included in the conversation . . .
Air travel in the U.S. ‘n Canada at this time of year can be a crap shoot in terms of on-time departures ‘n arrivals ‘n weather conditions. And as we get further into the spring sesason, it gets a bit more "hairy" as the severe conditions crop up even more . . . makes for some "white knuckle" flight experiences. <uh oh>
Yes, we do seem to be "popular" with those who "peek in," but say nothing. While those numbers may be impressive, they really are meaningless to a Thread like ours - I'd much rather have the interaction . . .
Many thanx for the visit, chat ‘n TUIs!
Wednesday - April 2nd: <all times Central daylite>
Page 6 - Eric <EricX2000> at 1:51 AM: And a visit from our Resident NOCTURNAL Resident Desert RETIRED Swede!
In with a fine < I3 > Post, chock full o' facts ‘n stuff . . .
Passed well wishes along to the bride - says thanx to all ‘n she had a very nice day with "her special person." Hmmmmmm, wonder WHO that might be
Nice looking SP "U-boat" . . . haven't seen one of those in awhile . . .
Rendezvous III Email sent the other day . . .
Visit, chat ‘n business most appreciated! <KaChing> <KaChing>
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle!
It's our OPTIONAL Toy ‘n Model Trains Day! here at the Tavern by the Tracks. And time again for an installment of the construction of my Polar Express shelf system - #3 in the series.
So here they come in spates of six . . . BUT only on Wednesday!
(1) Berkshire up close ‘n personal!
(2) Polar Express against the night sky!
(3) Some modest scenery ‘n a Pennsy girder bridge!
(4) Taking shape on the Polar Express shelf system!
(5) Polar Express crossing the NYC girder bridge!
(6) The perspective of it all!
Missed the first two
Click the URL - the #1 is on Page 200 of "Our" Place II
http://cs.trains.com/forums/201/991960/ShowPost.aspx#991960
#2 is on Page 2 of this Thread!
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Sox win! Sox win!
It was sunny awhile ago, now its cloudy and then it's going to be sunny later on today followed by several days of rain as what is parked in the middle of the country heads this way.
Pete was by with a menagerie of strange beasts. All interesting and the last shot proves that you can use a traction engine for anything. I have a Case operators manual somewhere in the east wing which explains how to burn just about anything to get it to work; pages on firing with straw are most useful - again something for the museum. I go to steam rallies in NY every so often and they have all kinds of tractors there powering everything form threshers to sawmills - good stuff! Rack diesl is a fine piece of equipment as well - your picture gave a good idea as to how it works.
Allan visited with comments - good luck on your fashionable dwelling.
Rob - More CN material and some RSCs - good stuff there. The 244 was rushed to production with all sorts of problems. Later Alco prime movers ran a lot better as you know. However, if you got a good 244 it worked o.k.
Eric - Tracks are close but not that close. It will all vanish as soon as the rest of the trees leaf out, which may be in July the way things are going this year. Grade crossings are close by, but not as close as the old Piney Creek branch which was about ¼ mile away. They tore it up and turned it into a rail trail. There is a shopping mall where a mine tipple used to be when I first moved here - progress! A nearby mine reopened within the past few weeks which is why there is an upturn in traffic; nothing like it used to be but we'll take it.
Nice shot of the U25; an innovative locomotive deserving of preservation. I'm sure the crowd remembers their distinctive sound, plus the smoke.
OSP - All dogs are owned; we just don't realize it (lol) I know what you mean with your comments, they are good trainers. K9 Korps has his routine and we'd better stick to the schedule. Most enjoyable Polar Express shots. I have had the pleasure of seeing the prototype in action. I still like the die cast engines way better than some of the other ones.
Well good afternoon Ruth. You seem much more awake and functionall today than yesteday for some reason, Anyway the bossman said I can have a snack and drink on him ( no Boris you cannot throw it on him,back to your shed and take the menagerie with you <sheesh> )
So what to have o the bossman ahh what the heck just a high piled Montreal smoked meat with three extra crunchy pickles and a Canadian ( the most common beer I'll drink )Coors lite indeed ! We'll use that case to prop up one of the sagging tables on the other side of the bar.
Tom-I'm glad that you enjoyed your respite yesterday , figured that you needed it,my pleasure to help you out. Hopefully you and Cindy took that oportunity,(For a game of chess, What are you guys thinking Keep your heads in the game )
I'm glad that you liked the shots of those old CN loco's. As best I can figure the Zebra paint job came in in 1960 the same time as the all black scheme with the bloody nose and tail and the bent noodle.Innitially the zebra stripes only found their way onto cab units F's FA's and C-linners ( looked better than the plain all black white the coloured ends the rest of the hood units got ) Then by the early 70's all loco's started getting the zebra stripes,it was thought it made them more grade crossing visible,with passenger loco's getting the varient with the red-orange from the cab being worked into a diagonal stripe onto the carbody where as pfreight cabs just had the orange end in a straight line at the edge of the cab/body. To know what I mean look at the cab of that FA1 I sent your way at the end of rendezvous 1 you'll see the orange angles up in a stripe behind the cab signifying a passenger unit,feight cabs would not have had that angled orange stripe. Of coarse all engines started loosing the zebras in the mid -ninties when the first CN North America paint scheme came out with the map herald.Later simplified without the map herald.
Loved part deux of the Polar express I still have to say that that is the best wallpaper / backdrop that you could have found for that project.
Here's to hoping that the water stays away and you don't have to man the pumps to much.
Shane-It's to bad that the 244's got the bad rap, they did. it was an excellant engine,save for the crankshaft problems.MLW/Alco essentially provided new crankshaft under warrenty for all the effected units (which was alot ) the bad press and cost killed them.I can't say as I ever heard a U-boat live in the flesh. I saw a few one's run through on Conrail,but half the time they weren't running
Eric-The wooden trailers were not as bad as one thought. They did have a full steel underframe and support ribs on the body,so they were more of a composite car.Expensive to do at the time and Preston was only just starting to make cars like that,but at the time the L&PS was a government funded RR so the cost factor was not an issue.
A word to the wise. I'd drop any attempts at circumventing the switch. lars has round the clock security on it,in the form of Leon when he's not tending bar ( apparently he does not sleep )and a detachment of the Mentor Fusliers,All are trained to shoot on sight The upside is that with the fusiliers those old muzzle loaders take time to load and you have a better than even chance of walking out of the way of the shot itself,but then ther is Leon's big hands as the second line of defence,a much tougher proposition,everyone thinks he's a kindly big oaf,however just ask the second classers or the track gangs if he goes into his full bar bouncer mode.( I'd rather deal with a ninja ! )
Allan-Thanks for the kind words on the write ups. If only half of those who look in read them I feel it's worth the effort. I know all you guys do but one has to think and surmise that the lookers do read some of the stuff ,Glad to hear that the repairs were not as involved or costly as they may have been.Coarse if you haven't git the bill yet so maybe having a case of Tui around might help
Good afternoon again Ruth, just a top up on my beer if you don't mind.Since it's wednesday here's another couple 'o' model shots to keep the day sliding along.
.
A pint of Bathams please RUTH.
ROB Congratulations on posting the 100th reply and turning page 6 at Our Place MkIII
Interesting info on Preston, now part of Cambridge, good to see it is still a manufacturing town. I am not sure now if there is still the old English Electric works still in Preston.
My hometown Rugby had two very large factories, one was the British Thompson Houston and the other English Electric. The BTH became part of Associated Electrical Industries in the late 1950s and in the late 1960s EE joined the group. In the 1970s AEI was taken over by General Electric Company (not the American one) and now are owned by the French firm Alstom or were when I was there, I believe my works is under another name now. I have a feeling that the GE company of America was involved in the BTH from the start in the late 1890s but I am not sure. Unfortunately the two factories in Rugby are very much smaller than when I first started there.
Many thanks for the photos Locomotives always look good in the snow.
Thanks for the info on the Zebra stripes on the CN locomotives and the great model photos; I like the livery on TH&B Rly #56.
Leon is one reason I keep well away from the Penthouse Suite.
ALLAN Yes it was a good win by the England Test team. It is very rare that a one-day match is drawn, as you say it must have been an exiting finish. It will be interesting to see what changes are made to the Toon team in the close season. It should be an interesting game against Sunderland on April 20th. I see the three North East teams are 12th 13th and 14th in the league.
Glad you enjoyed the photos. I enjoyed doing the two cavalcade photos as they brought back some good memories.
It must have been great to see the Devon and Cornwall railway scene in the late 1950s while all those classes of Great Western and Southern steam locos were about. I really think that those closures of the mainly ex Southern Railway branch lines in the area was one of the biggest mistakes of the Beeching plan.
ERIC We only hear the loco horns on the main line if we are outside, the bride says I have infected her with the train disease as she can now tell the difference between the Amtrak locos hooter and the UP ones
Yes I have not had a lot of luck with cameras, I think the one at Rainhill was a cheap one and I got a better one that lasted a while.
I wonder, in the future, if the scientists will ever be able to harness the great power there is in thunderstorms or better still create the conditions that cause them as a way of generating electricity.
Glad you enjoyed the photos; I love taking and seeing photos of the out of the ordinary locomotives and cars.
Great photo of the SP U25B.
CM3 Glad you enjoyed the photos. Interesting info from the Case operators manual. I have visited a steam rally near here, which had a selection of Case engines as well as other interesting equipment. I have a couple friends in the UK who are very interested in the traction engines and other ‘non-flanged wheel' steam as one of them calls it. As you say it is a great sight to see one of the engines gently rocking as it powers a belt driven piece of equipment.
I hope the boss doesn't ‘Tweet' me here are a couple of photos from the rally.
I'm afraid I don't know about the great equipment in the photos, although the last one was gas powered I believe it was very old and a rare tractor. Any info you have would be great
TOM Glad you liked the photos of those odd locomotives. I think all those were able to have a good laugh about the City of Truro prank afterwards.
I think you are trying to say your bride does not know me as well as you do.
That saying "You reap what you sow" generally is one of the truest in my opinion.
Real glad I did not do the 100th post seeing the prize almost as bad as one of my quiz question prizes.
Many thanks for part 3 of the Polar Express Shelf System construction. The snow and the trees really add to the layout and doesn't # 1225 look great. I do hope folks do enlarge the photos to get the best effect..
Hope the traction engines are OK. I was looking for some model photos and found them.
Well RUTH a round please.
A beautiful DRY day - blue skies, temps in the upper 50s - great day for outdoors! But not to last as "they" say tomorrow 'n Friday are going to be wet, wet, wet. <arrrrggghhh>
I see Rob is still mightily proactive at the bar <'n over on "my other Thread> with all kinds of fine Posts! Also, a visit from CM3 Shane this morning helped to cheer up the day!
Oh yeah, anyone other than Moi notice that "some Posts" have disappeared from our Forum Wonder what's going on Yesterday the "old" Threads were about to disappear from Page one - in fact "my old other Thread" did - now it's back! Hmmmmmm. Apparently the Hall Monitor is 'active' again - wonder "who did wrong" this time <grin>
And Pete just dropped by with an afternoon contribution! <nice> PLEASE check your Email . . . thanx!
Specific comments to all in my next round of acknowledgments . . .
Now Arriving on Track Number Two!
Hard Cover Classic Train Books for the Can-Am Library!
Number Five
America's Fighting Railroads - WWII Pictorial <wanted>
Book Description: This magnificent memoir is filled with photographs of various types of locomotives hauling military movements and wartime freight in the US, plus passenger trains turned troop carriers. Highly recommended.
Trains - A Photographer's Journey (soft cover) <in the library>
<Note: This was our 1st RR BOOK RELAY>
Book Description: The powerful red electric engines of the Glacier Express easily climb the snow-covered Swiss Alps. Ancient steam engines of the Guayaquil & Quito Railway labor up the slopes of the Andes in Ecuador. Luxurious passenger carriages from another era amble across the great western desert of China at dusk. On the other side of the globe, the engineer of a sleek Amtrak engine waves a casual good-bye out the window of his massive machine as it leaves the station. TRAINS is a photographic journey to the world of railroads. For five years, photographer Graeme Outerbridge traveled the globe by rail photographing everything that caught his eye-hulking engines, stations both lonely and bustling, dark tunnels, high-speed expresses, railroad workers, signs, signals, and the landscapes that the trains traversed. His images reveal the universal language of forms and colors that trains have created, and are as evocative as a lonesome whistle in the night. 225 photographs in full color, 10 1/4 x 9 3/4" GRAEME OUTERBRIDGE is one of Bermuda's most distinguished photographers and a three-time winner of the Gold Award of the Bermuda Lily Design Awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and past chairman of the National Liberal Party of Bermuda, and his work has been widely exhibited. He has published two previous books, including Abrams' Bridges.
TRAINS is a photographic journey to the world of railroads. For five years, photographer Graeme Outerbridge traveled the globe by rail photographing everything that caught his eye-hulking engines, stations both lonely and bustling, dark tunnels, high-speed expresses, railroad workers, signs, signals, and the landscapes that the trains traversed. His images reveal the universal language of forms and colors that trains have created, and are as evocative as a lonesome whistle in the night.
225 photographs in full color, 10 1/4 x 9 3/4"
GRAEME OUTERBRIDGE is one of Bermuda's most distinguished photographers and a three-time winner of the Gold Award of the Bermuda Lily Design Awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and past chairman of the National Liberal Party of Bermuda, and his work has been widely exhibited. He has published two previous books, including Abrams' Bridges.
Canadian Pacific in Color, Eastern Lines <wanted>
Book Description: "CPR Operations in the steam to diesel transition years (1949-1968) from Nova Scotia to Ft. William, Ontario are illustrated in full color."
All Aboard! For Glacier <wanted>
Book Description: Glacier National Park and the Great Northern Railway became synonymous in the early 20th century. Original photographs, posters, menus, postcards, and other rare materials support this fascinating pictorial history of the creation and promotion of the park by Great Northern as railroad barons raced west and competed for precious territory to expand their empires.
Illinois Central - Color Pictorial - Passenger service <wanted>
Book Description: Illinois Central's passenger service from the 1940's to the 1970's is the focus of this book. In addition to the Chicago to New Orleans mainline the IC had important routes to Iowa, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Louisville and Shreveport. With numerous branch lines the IC operated 6,700 miles of track. The forward begins with a synopsis of the early passenger services, the success with the doodlebugs and the decision to order the Green Diamond. From there chapters include the Chicago Terminal and Electric MU Suburban Trains, the Chicago to New Orleans route, Chicago to Florida service, Chicago to St. Louis, Chicago to Iowa and finishes with the Carbondale Connection. Over 250 color photographs with captions, text, advertising reproductions, and system maps inside the covers.
Maine Central in Color, Vol 1 <wanted>
Book Description: From the 1950s to Guilford in more than 240 color views of this New England classic the authors provide a detailed tour of the Maine Central. <from: goldenspike.us>
Book Description: From the 1950s to Guilford in more than 240 color views of this New England classic the authors provide a detailed tour of the Maine Central.
Missed any "Click" the link then go to the Page indicated
#1 . . . Page 163
#2 . . . Page 179
#3 . . . Page 186
#4 . . . Page 196
Well howdy folks,some catching up to do here ,and to qoute LARS`s come hither line to Ruth on monday " This may take some time & will prolly get a bit strange at times".......
So Leon,a pint of whatever it was that got me thrown out last time,and set `em up for the lads and here we go again (Helter Skelter da da da da dada da etc)
ROB- I Like the Addams Familiy image-the set up at Trecwn mine depot merits a submission all of its own and given the amount I have to get through tonight is best left as such-but worth the wait..........R.E electrodes-the bit I forgot to mention is-we stand them on a rubber mat and attach the earth strap with a BIG crocodile clip to ...well,you can see where this is going.......Good stuff on `The Juice`-very interesting reading-good call -that Geegee looks in need of serious TLC-looks suspiciously like some of my former vehicles.....last thought on graffitti-the `Romans go home ` scene in the utterly brilliant "Life of Brian"
ERIC-Yes those `66`s do look weird,as I understand it,they are S.D.40-2`s with the upper works re-arranged to fit a double cab layout and a much reduced loading gauge,but am open to better info............I trust the man with the mic suffered considerable discomfort when it was subsequently surgically removed .....nice pic btw-looks `right` against the background
TOM-an excellent `All Fools` piece-nice one
CM3-Sounds like you have a nice new view to enjoy whilst sipping your pre-prandial brew of an evening-as ever,your neat & economical prose both entertains & inspires.....good job done !
TOM-Dragons-extinct !!!!!!!!!!- Why pish & tosh dear boy,only last week an Argyll black was spotted taking a lamb from a field outside Stirling,Cornish bronze`s are regulaly to be seen around Redruth & Tintagel,Munster greens are a constant hazard to Zeppelin flights to & from Mentor and in this rugby season the Welsh red is to be seen almost everywhere.....As to the glorious 12th-would I be anywhere else-as we speak the charcoal is being prepared for a whole Elk B-B-Q,the biggest P.A system that money can hire is being set up on the Zeppelin field ready for RIPTIDE to show how it`s done and those sweet young things from Our Lady of Perpetual Motion bible college have promised something truly memorable....................As to Fabio-apparently he is an aspirant blues singer who is desperate for me to accompany the girls over to To. in may so we can `go and do the clubs`-some of which he owns -In this instance,an offer I CAN refuse
PETE-Coors light-I had no idea you were a designated driver ....no idea what the Trecwn power was,but will look it up......I think those 37`s were the last ones I`ve seen-when we moved here they used pairs of them to work the oil trains out of Milford (24 100ton tanks)but that is now a single `60 turn-glad we share a common memory of the `Skarloey` Railway -Now -Paint it black-I am hoping that was a tongue in cheek remark -Was only 9 when Brian left us ( at the house where Winnie the Pooh & Christoper Robin once lived ) -last time I saw them,Ronnie played the melody on an electric sitar that looked like a Rickenbacker semi-acoustic that had ben carved up with a jigsaw-sweet sound though ---Now your pix-that first one would make a wonderful large scale model,have a pic of the Snowden Hunslet at the Llanberis station-will look it out,the quarry engine is-originally a Bagnall steam engine,one of three,two were `converted` to run on D.C overhead (named The Coalition & The Eclipse)-I would imagine only the cab & chassis remain of the original-the pic I have shows one of them still in service in 1970-they were at Llechwedd quarry,above Blaenau,Aveling & Porter-one of these wonderful beasts used to work the sidings at Croydon `B` power station on Waddon marsh in south London-last I heard it was at the Amberley chalk pit museum near Dorking but that was a while ago-might well be the same one-can`t be too many of them around...Line drawing-was this the one ..?
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I think this may be a similar loco
And for those of you who have never seen a Simplex petrol tractor:-
Not exactly elegant but functional (gotta love that track )
Right-hope this doesn`t cause problems with format-(pix seem to do it for some reason )-back in a bit with some wednesday pix.....
Okey Dokey-lets have some more of that lovely beer please Leon and I think some selections from the golden oldies end of Herr Wurlitzer-I`m thinking Robert Johnson (the man ) ,Muddy Waters(Too much) ,John Lee Hooker(have mercy) and anything with Willie Dixon on the big bass fiddle............MMMMMMMMMMMMM-lets groove
Right-I`ve been giving out over the last few weeks about my layout-heres some pix which have done the rounds before,showing some of my Brit trains:-
Here we have a selection of Swindon power
Here`s some from Derby works
And heres a mixed bag...
A selection of coaching stock-older
And more modern..
And a selection of the little diddy freight wagons we have over here
Whoops-sorry-hit the wrong button there-was supposed to be this one for `old stock`
Right-got it sorted eventually-
O.K then boys-its sleepy time for me-just hit day 8 of small monkeys school holiday and frankly I`m starting to fade a bit-doesn`t help having spent the afternoon with one of her little buddies,his incredibly cute little sister and his mom-a very foxy divorcee who seems to enjoy my company as much as I do hers--must be my age or something-oh Lordy....................thank goodness I have a couple of gigs coming up-I need some distraction---anyway-enough-take care one and all-see you for the supper menu tomorrow
Oh-and a last contribution to the fools day madness(although somewhat late)
On which happy note I shall wend my weary way home...have a good one chaps !!!
Good evening Leon,I see that you have not needed to break any heads outside of the penthouse suite which is a good thing I think just a pint of whatever Nick was drinking it looked interesting ( hope I don't regret this )
Tom-Yes I figured that I might as well keep it chugging along over here, though it seems the guys have been doing not to badley again today in that regard.
Interesting shopping list of books,I think we might still have that CPR one in stock at the museum Lots of nice wants in that group sir I think the hall monitor just relocated a couple Classic trains posts again so that's why we floated up again. You know what they say about cream rising to the top however.
Pete-Ahh so you now understand the need and depth of the security on the penthouse suite,you see it was able to sink in before it got painfull.
Neat info on your old hometown and it's factories.All the more reason to be happy that your retired by the sounds of it.Not unlike my hometown of St Catharines. GM had three parts plants there at one point and 15,000 employess. Down to two plants ( one really only half open ) and about 5,000 employees tops.
Interesting shots of the steam and other antique tractors and farm implements. There is a steamfest of similar equipment in the Town of Milton just down from our museum every August. Really neat machines to see them in action.
Nick-Ah yes great pictures of models and real today.I see you have yourself a Deltic which is good. I don't suppose one could be a true Brit modeller without one.Kind of like someone over here not having a caboose ( even if it's just in a display case )
Some rather disqueiting visuals of that jumper cable and aligator clip set up sure to "bring a rise out of them eh Anyhow great looking Brit traction there should look great once it';s all up and running.
Always remember that when springs breaks on, it's best to have all the little friends over ( I know it causes headaches at the time ) but hype them all up on chocolate ,cola and ice ceam and send them back to mommy and daddy. that way everyone suffers equally
Hello again Leon , another of those intersting brews that Nick recomended,I can still feel my eyebrows Here is a bit of reading for those of us not seeing double due to some of that wicked ale brought in by the Zepplin. I now know why Nick see's all those dragons
CLASSIC STEAM # 28 ONTARIO's DROWNED RAILWAY Some of the most histroic sections of Canada's most historic railway now lie below sea level.In 1958 the St Lawrence Seaway's new system of dams and locks between Cardinal and Cornwall was completed.As the waters began to rise, they began to engulf the old locks of the first seaway. This manmade flood also poured into the foundations of the historic Loyalist towns that once harboured the fleeing refugees from the US revolution..This flood then swept away a large portion of Canada's first major railway project, the Grand Trunk.Even though the new seaway was a technical marvel, and a much needed transportation link, it destroyed a nearly 200 years worth of history. One hundred and two years earlier an equally ambitious scheme was completed, the building of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1856 trains began running between Montreal and Toronto. In order to more efficiently compete with lake shippers, the builers of the GTR located their stations well back from the shoreline ( often one or two miles from the river and lake ). The cost of bridges and fill which would have been needed for a closer to the shoreline routing was the main factor in this alignment. Stations were built at intervals of approx six to eight miles from each other along this new line.( depending on the demands of farmers and mill owners along the way )also the needs of the steam locomotives of the day were taken into account as well.Most of these stations were attractive stone structures with shallow pitched roofs and rows of arched windows.Along this route such ststions were built at Prescott, Lancaster,Cornwall, Morrisburg,Lansdown, and Gananoque Junction. A similar but larger one was built at Brockville as Brockville was a major division point at the time. While most trains were through trains, a local between Brockville and Montreal was inaugurated Oct 16, 1856. Because it was a favourite with the Mohawks of the St Regis reserve near Montreal it was nicknamed The Moccasin Through the 1950's, as the plans for the new seaway system neared completion, it became evident that the colourfull little riverside communities were doomed, and the railway would need to be relocated. The new route took it even farther from the river, passing primarily through swamps and young forests. The stations that had for a century served the comunities of Iroquois, Morrisburg,Aultsville,Farren's Point,Moulinette and Mille Roches, and Waleswould be replaced by more modern buildings at the "new" communities of Morrisburg, Iroquois, Ingleside, and Long Sault. While the old GT stations at Moulinette and Farran's Point were simple wooden shelters, those at Aultsville,and Milles Roches were larger wooden stations. The Wales station was a soliid brick building, while the one at Morrisburg was one of the classic stone ones. The GT station in Cornwall was an expanded version of the original stone stations. While several of these buildings sites were inundated others were not. The original location of the Morrisburg station remained well inland from the new river flood line, yet they removed the building anyway.Similarly, the old stone station at Cornwall, although in no danger of being "drowned" was also replaced with a newer building a few blocks further north. The five new stations were uniform in style, a mondernistic flat roofed pattern with extensive use of glass and decorative brick. double entery doors with sapcious waiting rooms that had open ticket counters, parcel lockers, and telephone booths.The four "local" sattions at Long Sault,Ingleside,Morrisburg,and Iroquois measured about 60' by 20', while the Cornwall station was 150' by 40'. It remains the only one of the five that VIA still stops at. The Morrisburg station still stands but is a private residence now,Iroquois is vacant and vandilized the other two burnt down and are gone. The old shoreline is still evident and bits and pieces of the old drowned ROW can still be seen if you know where to look and what you are looking at.These areas remain open to the public as part of the St Lawrence Park's system. Rob
Good evening Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, my friend, how are you doing? Yes, I would like my weekly favorite, Rumpsteak Café de Paris! . Tui, please!
A stop at Our Place before hitting the sack! To see what is going on and fill my empty stomach.
Tom – Glad to hear that your bride had a very nice day with “her special person”. Who that person is? Don’t ask so many questions.
You are right about Juneau, he is the boss, no doubt. Which is okay!Very nice pictures of the Polar Express train and system! But was the Polar Express a NYC train??? Hmmm. Or did it just have track rights? I agree with Rob, you have the perfect backdrop to that train!!Some very interesting books! Especially the first one, America’s Fighting Railroads! I have a book, Steel Rails to Victory, with photos from around the world during WW II that is very interesting.CM3 – It seems like your house is located in the right place, not too close and not too far from the tracks! According to hte information I got, that U25 is operational! They did not run it when I was there though. Rob – I am still not convinced about those wooden cars, even if they had a steel underframe. But it is history now. Are you telling me Leon has a bad temper? We’ll figure out a way to take care of that switch. Thanks for the model photos! Are they also from the old layout or from the new one?
Enjoyed your article on Ontario’s Drowned Railway. At least they relocated it. I am sure the old stone buildings looked much nicer than the new ones. Pete – I am glad to learn that your bride also has been infected by the train disease! Talking about Amtrak’s locos, I read in Trains that they have had a lot of problems with their Genesis this winter. Canceled trains and a lot of trouble.
Trouble, trouble.
I have been to some steam rallies and like your photos! That tractor in the last photo looks more like something home built! Nick – Removing the mic was painless, nothing to worry about. Just smile. A whole bunch of pictures today. Real trains/locomotives and model ones! You have a good selection of British locomotives and cars for your layout! What was the real size of those little diddy freight wagons?
Yessssssssss, it's the day BEFORE Friday ‘n time to fill the mugs, grab some pastries ‘n order a breakfast!
Rains are back as are the dropping temps . . . <ugh>
Page 6 - CM3 Shane <coalminer3> at 8:28 AM: Our Mornin' Glory from the hills of WVA brightened up the AM!
Cards won! Cards won! Much better effort than on Tuesday nite . . . they looked good.
Don't mean to keep beatin' the same tune - but yes, that Lionel Berkshire is a beauty, fer sure, fer sure. No one was more surprised <'n pleased> than I to discover the quality of it. "Smokes" too!
Page 6 - Rob <trolleyboy> 12:42 PM ‘n 1:15 PM: Our Manager made it back - not much "sack time," eh Anyway, appreciate the due diligence to the joint - it's most appreciated by all who frequent these parts.
Great insights regarding the livery of those CN locos - didn't have a clue of the background ‘n special features that only an Aficionado would know. There's always so much meaningful material at the Bar by the Ballast . . . ‘n to think that there are those who just "don't get it." Their loss . . .
I checked out that Alco model ‘n saw what you were speaking of . . .
The night sky wallpaper is exactly that - wallpaper. It took me a few days of searches to come up with what I had in my "mind's eye," but eventually found it. Carol did the hard work - I made cardboard forms ‘n she pasted the wallpaper to ‘em. Turned out quite well <if I do say so myself!>. Anyway, with rope lighting <blue> all ‘round the base-perimeter of the night sky - it looks really "cool" when the room lights are off ‘n the sky has that "cast" to it with the 5 illuminated cars of the Polar Express in operation - Berkshire headlight beaming ‘n green jewels glowing - super cool . . .
FINALLY got ahold of a friend of mine who is a contractor. He's done some quality work for us ‘n a friendship developed. He's gonna take on the job of excavating the outside of our foundation wall - has a small "cat" plus more importantly the KNOW HOW in what needs to be done. I called 3 foundation outfits over these past weeks and not one called me back! That says a lot. Anyway, expect to get going on this next week . . . I'll be the laborer - but only in between taking care of Juneau's needs!
Most apt description of Leon - our Gentle Giant. One doesn't wanna mess with the big man - no, no, no. Would serve ‘em right should they find out . . . <uh oh>
Spate of four model shots only require a bit of elaboration . . . many thanx for keeping the "flame burning"! Are these from your club layout Some fine detail in those fotos.
Page 6 - Pete <pwolfe> at 2:34 PM: First outta the box - there's an Email in YOURS!
Another fine < I3 > Post from our Bar Chandler with all kinds of good stuff to eavesdrop!
Perhaps there's not a guy at the bar who has experienced CHANGE as dramatically as you with the events that took place in your home town of Rugby. There's no denying that one can never go back - and for my money, looking back sometimes brings the pain. To have the vivid recollections of humming factories - people gainfully employed - quality products being made ‘n sold - then . . . Yeah, certainly illustrative of my <favorite> word: CHANGE. As with the tides - can't stop CHANGE.
While those CON-TRAP-SHUNS in your spate of fotos have nothing to do with Classic Trains <real or model> I'll NOT <tweet> you for putting ‘em up. Really something different - just a shame there aren't any descriptions. But then we do have our imaginations, eh
By the by, Boris "turned in" some lock-picking tools, electronics eavesdropping gear ‘n a mini-digital camera with a "pin-hole" lens <probably used through key holes> . . . have any idea WHO belongs to ‘em
Oh, had YOU made the 100th Post - you most certainly wudda received a DIFFERENT prize - TWO cases of Coors Light! <grin>
Page 6 - Nick <nickinwestwales> at 7:10 PM <1:10 AM Thursday GMT>: Argyll black - Cornish bronze's - Munster greens - Welsh red! Good grief - THEY live!
Can't believe you have turned down a trip to Toronto - just to think, Rob ‘n I are going to get together up there in May . . . but we're traveling to Montréal ‘n ExpoRail. Have a feeling that if you were anywhere close - we'd alter our plans. However, I think I'm following your drift on this . . . good judgment prevails ‘n most probably will pay a dividend <of sorts>.
Great news regarding the 12th - certainly appreciate your "rounding up" the entertainment for the adoring throngs both inside ‘n outside the Watering Hole by the Wayside!
Lawd help us IF Pete EVER becomes designated driver - I fear for my safety when he's designated WALKER! <grin>
Right on with your assessment of that GG1 <my favorite of locos!> - they are sadly in need of lots of TLC in many holding areas of preservation. BUT at least the "shells" are still out there . . .
Won't pretend to say I was able to follow all of your ramblings, but it was enjoyable eavesdropping your thoughts!
Page 6 - Nick <nickinwestwales> at 7:51 PM <1:51 AM Thursday GMT>: Back with some fine model fotos . . . many thanx for keeping the "flame burning" for our OP-SHUN-UL Toy ‘n Model Trains Day at mid-week!
That's a MOST IMPRESSIVE array of motive power - presuming all the same scale. Passenger cars ‘n freighters all impressive too. I really "dig" that maroon colored LMS loco . . . Can envision it pulling a long consist of passenger cars; yeah buddy!
Don't know if you've been keeping up with the "lastest" in Herr Wurlitzer's repertoire of music . . . here's just a sampling:
She Got The Ring And I Got The FingerIf I Can't Be Number One In Your Life, Then Number Two On YouIf I Had Shot You When I Wanted To, I'd Be Out By NowYou're the Reason Our Kids Are So UglyAll My Exes Live in TexasI Thought She Was Out Jogging, But She Was Running Around On MeIf the Phone Don't Ring, It's Me Not Calling You UpAll the Gals Who Turn Me On Turn Me DownIf Love were Oil, I'd be a Quart LowHer Teeth were Stained, but her Heart was PureAt the Gas Station of Love, I Got the Self-Service PumpHow Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me? I Wish I Were a Woman (So I Could Go Out With a Guy Like Me) It Don't Feel Like Sinnin' To MeI'm Gettin' Gray From Being BlueIf You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet? I Sat Down On a Beartrap (Just This Morning) Mama Get The Hammer (There's A Fly On Papa's Head) Heaven's Just A Sin AwayShe Made Toothpicks Out Of The Timber Of My HeartGuess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My HeartIf Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin, Wonder Whose I'd Find On YouI Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About YouLiked You Better Before I Knew You So WellGave Her My Heart And a Diamond And She Clubbed Me With a Spade
If I Can't Be Number One In Your Life, Then Number Two On You
If I Had Shot You When I Wanted To, I'd Be Out By Now
You're the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly
All My Exes Live in Texas
I Thought She Was Out Jogging, But She Was Running Around On Me
If the Phone Don't Ring, It's Me Not Calling You Up
All the Gals Who Turn Me On Turn Me Down
If Love were Oil, I'd be a Quart Low
Her Teeth were Stained, but her Heart was Pure
At the Gas Station of Love, I Got the Self-Service Pump
How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me?
I Wish I Were a Woman (So I Could Go Out With a Guy Like Me)
It Don't Feel Like Sinnin' To Me
I'm Gettin' Gray From Being Blue
If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?
I Sat Down On a Beartrap (Just This Morning)
Mama Get The Hammer (There's A Fly On Papa's Head)
Heaven's Just A Sin Away
She Made Toothpicks Out Of The Timber Of My Heart
Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart
If Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin, Wonder Whose I'd Find On You
I Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About You
Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well
Gave Her My Heart And a Diamond And She Clubbed Me With a Spade
Just caught your 8:04 PM <2:04 AM Thursday GMT> Post: AND again at 8:16 PM <2:16 AM Thursday GMT> Great looking old stock carriages!
I see some late Posts from Rob 'n Eric . . . will "edit in" my comments a bit later on . . .
<pant> <pant> <phew> Back again . . . .
Page 6 - Rob <trolleyboy> at 8:33 PM ‘n 8:43 PM: In with a twofer ‘n lookin' like he's trying to rack up the "count." <uh oh> Back in the olde tymes you'd have a bunch of stars by now. <grin> Those ‘n $2.75 might get you a ride on the TO subway, eh
Link to TTC fares . . . http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/fares.htm#CashFares
You're probably correct regarding those "relocated" Posts - thing is that if someone had responded to any of ‘em for "redirection" those kinds of responses get deleted. That's what he did to Lars 'n Moi some months ago . . . rather rude ‘n peremptory I'd say.
Noted the other day that you had logged 20 Posts in whatever period of time "they" count. Then all of a sudden it went to 18 . . . thought, hmmmmmm - Hall Monitor "at it" again.
Hard to believe that my hardcover RR book collection perhaps numbered 4 of 5 prior to my involvement on these Forums. Now I'm thinking of a special bookcase for ‘em. <gees> Does it ever end
Not far from where I grew up were three bustling shipyards. Once WWII came to an end, only one remained ‘n by the time I enlisted <mid-50s> it too had folded the tent. All of those skilled workers - all of everything that went into operating those facilities - gone, gone, gone-zo. <sad> But the realities of time marching on . . . called CHANGE.
Many thanx for the attention given to the bar ‘n crew!
Thursday - April 3rd: <all times Central daylite>
Page 6 - Eric <EricX2000> at 1:25 AM: You with an "empty stomach," nah, I'd never believe THAT! <grin>
Having some difficulty getting out the AM acknowledgments because of the late, late <early, early> Posts - I try to be inclusive, but time is working against me when . . . . anyway - good to see ya, regardless.
Nice thing about a model RR <shelf or other> is that one can "imagine" any roadname, location or operation one wishes. So, I'd simply say those girder bridges on the shelf system are representative of those particular RRs right-of-way. Polar Express was kinda like Amtrak or VIA Rail - overwhelming "user" of other RRs trackage. <grin>
That "Steel Rails to Victory" sounds like a perfect selection for RR BOOK RELAY 2008! What do you think
I'll freely admit to knowing next to nothing when it comes to "what it takes" regarding most things REAL RRs. But being observant, one has to wonder about VIA Rail getting so much mileage out of their F40PHs, but Amtrak "had" to switch to those Genesis power plants. Seems to me the F40s were most durable ‘n had a long-term "rehab" program been initiated, maintained ‘n followed thru - perhaps they'd still be powering Amtrak trains throughout the landscape. Just wondering . . .
Many thanx for the visit, chat ‘n inclusiveness of your comments!
TODAY is Fish ‘ Chips Nite!
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Gas is at $3.39 today and has been there for awhile. The rain has arrived as promised and we are supposed to get at least 2" of it by tomorrow - put another way, there is no real definite spring here yet.
Rob was by with comments and pictures. The Seaway along with I-90 basically killed the New York Central as folks remember it.
Pete - Thanks for the rally pictures. There are lots of tractor sites out there. My father-in-law has several ancient beasts (all of which run) and a rather large library of books and other items; fascinating stuff!
Nick - Dragons are not extinct! Good for you! Thanks for the model and prototype pictures. The petrol tractor is a good one, and look at those itty bitty difco cars behind it. Track(?) reminds me of logging lines. It's not going to be there long so why worry about ballast? I know, Boris, the Mentor and Southern Narrow Gauge is ballasted by the local urchins throwing rocks at the train.
Eric - A working U25B - rare nowadays. The Polar Express engine is a Pere Marquette 2-8-4; similar to those on the NKP and C&O - what a surprise since they were designed by a mechanical committee with members from each participating railroad. I have heard about the Genesis units. They are getting older and probably deferred maintenance and electrical system concerns have been taking their toll.
OSP was in with Konstruction Kapers - I know what you mean by people not calling back. I have been waiting for three years for a roofer to call me back - needless to say, the job went elsewhere and they have gotten a ton of repeat business from us. America's Fighting Railroads has good pictures but some egregious errors in the captions. All Aboard for Glacier is in the east wing - get this and read it b4 you ride the Builder; it'll add some perspective to your trip. The MEC Vol. 1 book is a keeper - that's in the stack somewhere, too.
Your comments on change were on target - most of my childhood haunts in RI are under 12 lanes of Interstate, lots of other things gone as well. Here's another one for you read. Barbara Tuchman - March of Folly. It's been around for awhile, but it's a good 'un.
work safe
A rainy morning here in mid-continent USA - just checked the basement wall - damp, but not yet "running." That's a hopeful sign - but with multiple inches forecast - man the pumps Boris! <yikes>
Meant to mention that both cars were filled yesterday up at "Collusion Corner" where all three stations had petrol at $3.18 <rounded>. My wagon took half a tank - the bride's about 2/3rds - bill came to $70 - and her car is a hybrid at that. <groan> A buddy of mine filled his Ford 150 truck 'n said it cost him $75 . . . <double groan>.
Good to see CM3 Shane stop by - figured your part of the world would be wet by now. Why should we be the only one's to man the pumps
Pete - your Email was received 'n responded to - thanx!
From the overtaxed mind of the Proprietor:
Been thinking about our Thread 'n must say that with the participation in high gear from Rob 'n Nick, we're certainly not hurting for QUALITY or QUANTITY material. Nearly on Page 7 already, I note . . .
I'm strongly recommending photos w/desriptions as opposed to long narratives - especially if the narratives have been read before. Pictures 'say' much more especially when accompanied by some narrative. Anyway we do have Saturday's for ENCORE material - that's our "traditional" slow day. So, I'm encouraging the few remaining 'round here to stick with the QUALITY over QUANTITY idea.
For me, I've been pretty much holding to 2 or 3 per day at the bar. Don't see the need for a rush to fill up the Page . . . plus what's the point We'll only get <locked> again due to volume . . . Just a thought or three.
Now Arriving on Track #1
Back in the Day - Number Sixteen
Illinois Central City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans began life as the daytime companion train to the all-Pullman car Panama Limited that also traveled the IC's mainline from New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois. The daytime train was significantly cheaper. This train was a major part of the large migration of African Americans from the U.S. South during the early 20th century, as it was one of the cheaper transportation options available.When Amtrak assumed operation of passenger service on May 1, 1971, its Chicago-New Orleans service was initially operated as the City of New Orleans on the traditional daytime schedule. Because this train made no connections with other trains at either New Orleans or Chicago, the City of New Orleans was replaced by the Panama Limited on November 14, 1971. In 1974 the name of this overnight schedule was changed back to the City of New Orleans, largely due to the popularity of the song written by Steve Goodman and made popular in 1972 by Arlo Guthrie. Amtrak operated the City of New Orleans reliably through the 1980s and into the 1990s; in 1992, the City of New Orleans had the highest on-time performance rate of all Amtrak services at 87%.On September 10, 1995 the train was rerouted between Memphis and Jackson due to the Illinois Central Railroad's desire to abandon the original route (the Grenada District) in favor of the newer and flatter Yazoo District. The old route had been the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad from Memphis to Grenada and the Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad from Grenada to Jackson. Station stops were at Batesville, Mississippi, Grenada, Mississippi, Winona, Mississippi, Durant, Mississippi and Canton, Mississippi.
When Amtrak assumed operation of passenger service on May 1, 1971, its Chicago-New Orleans service was initially operated as the City of New Orleans on the traditional daytime schedule. Because this train made no connections with other trains at either New Orleans or Chicago, the City of New Orleans was replaced by the Panama Limited on November 14, 1971. In 1974 the name of this overnight schedule was changed back to the City of New Orleans, largely due to the popularity of the song written by Steve Goodman and made popular in 1972 by Arlo Guthrie.
Amtrak operated the City of New Orleans reliably through the 1980s and into the 1990s; in 1992, the City of New Orleans had the highest on-time performance rate of all Amtrak services at 87%.
On September 10, 1995 the train was rerouted between Memphis and Jackson due to the Illinois Central Railroad's desire to abandon the original route (the Grenada District) in favor of the newer and flatter Yazoo District. The old route had been the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad from Memphis to Grenada and the Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad from Grenada to Jackson. Station stops were at Batesville, Mississippi, Grenada, Mississippi, Winona, Mississippi, Durant, Mississippi and Canton, Mississippi.
A YouTube link ‘n the lyrics to "play" follow-along . . . <this is the Arlo Guthrie version. I prefer Willie Nelson's, but those on YouTube do not do justice to his original>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piUWIqWSthA&feature=related
The City of New Orleans
by Steve Goodman
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
CHORUS:
Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
CHORUS
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, America, how are you?
©1970, 1971 EMI U Catalogue, Inc and Turnpike Tom Music (ASCAP)
"Click" for some fine Illinois Central passenger train fotos:
http://www.cbu.edu/~mcondren/MRP/MemphisCentralStation/IC-Memphis-Pass-Pixs.htm
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Missed any "Click" the link then go to the Page shown:
#1 Pullman Company . . . . Page 102
#2 The Singing Brakeman . . . Page 103
#3 The Chiefs of the Santa Fe . . . Page 116
#4 The TurboTrain - Part I . . . Page 126
#5 The Turbo Train - Part II . . . Page 126
#6 The Train of Tomorrow . . . Page 133
#7 The Wabash Railroad . . . Page 140
#8 The Broadway Ltd of the PRR . . . Page 148
#9 The NYC 20th Century Ltd . . . Page 163
#10 The Baltimore & Ohio's Capitol Ltd . . . Page 167
#11 - Kansas City Southern's Southern Belle . . . Page 169
#12 - Great Northern's Empire Builder . . . Page 181
#13 -Canadian Railroad Trilogy . . . Page 187
#14 - The Original California Zephyr . . . Page 194
The following is on this Thread:
#15 -The North Coast Limited . . . Page 2
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