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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by NP Eddie on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:22 PM

Well--put on your thinking caps and look at a pre-1943 or so "OG".

I will give your two clues:

1. The last railroad had the names of two Minnesota cities in its' name.

2. What is the subject of the newest "Classic Trains"?

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, April 25, 2013 4:26 AM

I guess that the Mineapolis Northfield and Southern must be one of the four, since it was planed as an electrified interurban.    With that in the mix someone else can figure the rest.

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Posted by narig01 on Thursday, April 25, 2013 5:38 AM

daveklepper

I guess that the Mineapolis Northfield and Southern must be one of the four, since it was planed as an electrified interurban.    With that in the mix someone else can figure the rest.

I will point out that the original name for the Soo Line is Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM),

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Posted by NP Eddie on Thursday, April 25, 2013 6:17 PM

Nope--not close. I am looking for a three railroad route between Fargo and Minneapolis.

Keeping checking the pre-WWII O. G.

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Posted by Kingman on Friday, April 26, 2013 2:32 PM

 Answer to  a question way back , sorry just saw it. Lincoln came into Wash DC via what RR ... B&O from Baltimore on the sly.

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Posted by narig01 on Friday, April 26, 2013 10:57 PM

Was one of the connecting cities Duluth?

Rgds IGN

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Posted by Kingman on Saturday, April 27, 2013 1:11 AM

dan patch ?

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Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, April 27, 2013 3:12 PM

Nope:

The route must be a straight line between Fargo and Minneapolis using three roads, also name the two junction points.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 8:10 PM

Depending on how you want to slice Minneapolis...

NP or GN to Anoka

Minneapolis Anoka and Cuyuna Range (interurban)  to Minneapolis North 7th St 

M St. P & S S M (Soo) from the north 7th St. station to the Soo's downtown station.

 

If you would allow a slight kink I can get you a routing that worked into  the 1950s with couple of short walks, though that puts your two-city RR in the middle and leaves out the new issues' subject...

NP Fargo to Detroit Lakes

short walk (a) and (b) 1/2 mile apart

Soo Detroit Lakes to Alexandria

another short walk:  (a) and (b) about 1 mile apart

GN Alexandria MN to Minneapolis

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Posted by NP Eddie on Sunday, May 5, 2013 12:25 AM

R. C. Dye has the correct answer!!! The MAC discontinued passenger service during WWII. About 100 feet of the MAC trackage can be found in Fridley, MN. It is used as a pull back track for the Minneapolis Water Works plant in Fridley.

Next question to you.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 3:55 PM

Sorry about the wait in posting a question - I've been on a railroad trip out west for the last ten days...

The last years of this once premier train operated by three carriers carried sleepers, diner and dome lounge on one, mail and rider coaches on the second and was discontinued by the third by the mid-1950's.

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Posted by Nebraskafan on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 1:54 PM

It would be the San Francisco Overland. It had sleepers, diner and dome lounge on the SP, just a rider coach on the UP and had been discontinued on the C&NW.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 3:01 PM

Nebraskafan

It would be the San Francisco Overland. It had sleepers, diner and dome lounge on the SP, just a rider coach on the UP and had been discontinued on the C&NW.

Got it in one.  Trains 27 and 28 had been the premier Overland Limited prior to the service reduction. The SP built 3 dome cars (3601-3603) on the frames of prewar cars for SF Overland service in 1955, just six months before C&NW turned UP trains to Chicago over to the CMStP&P.  The SF Overland remained until 1962 primarily as the SF connection for the Wabash/UP City of St. Louis, drawing a St Louis - San Francisco 6-6-4 and usually an Ogden-SF 6-6-4 as well.  The UP's mail/rider train had been dropped in 1960.

Your question.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 6:19 AM

Not having heard from Nebraskafan in a week, I'll pose another question:

Four railroads advertized service from Chicago to a large city on the pacific coast.  All of them offered some level of service to a smaller city nearby, each in a different way.  Provide cities and the reporting marks of

The railroad offering direct service to the large city, and connections on its own or others' trains to the smaller one;

The railroad that was built to the smaller city, but offered service direct to the larger one and either bus or connecting train service from a small town between them;

The railroad that hauled its trains backwards from the large city to the smaller one to end the run there; and

The railroad that ended its nearest west coast trains in another city, offering only connecting service sometimes with and sometimes without through cars.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:27 AM

The four railroads are the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul and Pacific, CMStP&P, the Northern Pacific, NP, the Great Northern, GN, and the Union Pacific.    The large city is Seattle and the small one Tacoma.

The Milwaukee ran direct to the large city and then ran backwards to Tacoma

The GN ran to Seattle and offered connections to Tacoma on the regular GN-NP-UP pool service between Seattle and Portland

The NP had tracks to both cities but ran direct passenger service to Seattle and both a bus connection from the junction to Tacoma and connecting train service from Seattle as did the GN.   YOu had an option for either way, but the bus connection was obviously a lot faster.

And the UP ran to Portland but often had through cars on the pool trains to Seattle with a Tacoma stop.    The SP-RI may have had a through car to Seattle at one time, but I doubt it.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 10:00 AM

If the SP-RI had a through car it must have been a tourist sleeper in the early years, since it would take about five days to a week.  I think I remember a New Orleans-Seattle tourist car in the 1890s or so.  SP ran through sleepers to Seattle in the pool trains.

King St. in Seattle (GN/NP) is looking good these days with a spectacular waiting room with lots of Sounder and Cascades traffic in addition to the through trains.  Union Station (MILW/UP) headhouse still stands but the tracks are long gone.

You got 'em all.  An interesting footnote is that after 1955 all of the Chicago-Seattle options ran from nion Station, and the Milwaukee more or less competed with itself via the UP and Portland.

Trying to keep the threads active.  Your turn.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 10:19 AM

Back to transit:   List all North American cities that currently have electric railway operations, including all types, that have more than one track GAUGE.   And be descriptive.  And add whether that was true in each case 50 years ago.  (1953)   And then add those that existed 50 years ago.

Counting current and the old operations, don't post unless you can come up with at least ten cities.   And there are more.

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Posted by narig01 on Thursday, May 23, 2013 9:11 PM

daveklepper

Back to transit:   List all North American cities that currently have electric railway operations, including all types, that have more than one track GAUGE.   And be descriptive.  And add whether that was true in each case 50 years ago.  (1953)   And then add those that existed 50 years ago.

Counting current and the old operations, don't post unless you can come up with at least ten cities.   And there are more.

OK I'll start with

San Francisco.  BART 5'6" gauge , SF Municipal Railway Standard Gauge(unless otherwise specified all other entries will be 4'81/2"),  and 3'6" (the cable cars are run by electric motors ! )

San Francisco(Burlingame, Ca) Airport People Mover, SFO

Oakland, Ca. Oakland Airport Connector(Under Construction)

San Jose: Santa Clara light rail.

Los Angeles. Light rail and subway

Anaheim. Disney Monorail

San Diego Light Rail

Sacramento. Light Rail

Portland. Light Rail

Seattle. Light Rail

Vancouver. Light Rail

Salt Lake City. Light Rail

Las Vegas , NV  Monorail

Phoenix. Light Rail

Denver. Light Rail

Ft Collins.  Streetcar operation (Tourist)

Ft Smith, Ar. Streetcar operation(Museum)

Little Rock, Ar Streetcar(Heritage operation)

Edmonton, Ab  Light Rail

Calgary, Ab Light Rail

I've kind of skipped over Texas and Missouri.

Thx IGN

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, May 24, 2013 6:31 AM

NOW

Philadelphia streetcars and heavy rail (then and now)

New Orleans (std. and 5'2 1/2") true now, not true in 1953, but true earlier

Pittsburgh 5'21/2 streetcars and inclines of various guages (then and now)

San Francisco CA BART/ Muni

THEN

Louisville KY 5'21/2 streetcars 4'81/2 interurban

Chicago (CTA and Chicago Tunnel) true 1953, not now

Portland OR 42" streetcars and Portland Terminal Co. (1953)

Columbus OH dual guage track streetcars and interurbans

Wheeling WV (two streetcar guages)

Seattle light rail and monorail

Baltimore 5'4" and standard and WB&A standard (also B&O)

Boston MA standard and 3'

Denver 3' and standard(interurbans) until 1950

 

 

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Posted by henry6 on Friday, May 24, 2013 8:38 AM

I think this one is going to be a series of answers with additions and omissions.  I'll add to the new: NJT's Light Rail today: Hudson Bergen Light Rail in Hoboken, Weehawken, North Bergen, Jersey City and Bayonne; Newark Light Rail from Penn Sta to Grove St, Orange and to Broad St, Newark; and the River LIne Trenton to Camden despite being diesel.  50 years ago only the portion of the Newark Light Rail from Penn Sta to Branchbrook Park was in existence.

Boston area has several lines operating today but not as many as they did 50 years ago...I remember riding the red cars of the Riverside Line in 1967 but don't know what's left.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, May 26, 2013 6:36 AM

RC should ask the next quesiton, although there are errors in his answer.  Boston is incorrect, bewcause the BRB&L was gone by WWII and all operations afterwrd were standard.   All New Orleans steetcars are now broadgage, but there was a  period about 12 years ago when the River line was temmporarilly standard gauge.   The old standard gauge was gone well before WWII, the last being the interurban to Kenner.   Henry should check on all the gauses in his answers, some I believe are in error.  Most of his answers are just standard gauge, ditto Narig.   Don't count!    Oakland had ONLY standard gauge fifty years ago but only has BART broad gague operating today.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, May 26, 2013 5:46 PM

So here's the new question- a carry-on from Dave's:  At least two west coast, one west central and one east coast streetcar system used the non-standard guage of their cable car systems until the end of electric service.  Three narrow, one broad. One of the cities also had non-standard-guage interurbans, and all four had standard guage interurbans.

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Posted by henry6 on Sunday, May 26, 2013 6:52 PM

Cable cars...do you mean trolley cars, i.e. overhead wire with poles?  Or cable cars grabbing a cable through a slot between the rails?   

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Sunday, May 26, 2013 7:55 PM

The Kansas City cable system was all 4 -8 1/2.    The Cincy cars were 5 -2 1/2 except for the Mount Auburn line, which was 5-2.   

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 27, 2013 4:05 AM

Cincy allso had the very wide gauge Mt. Adams incline, and before WWII a whohle slew of standard gague interurbans.

Iin toronto all subway, streetca, and light rail track is (slightlly) broadgauge, but the Scarbor linear motor line is standard.

Iin tor

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 27, 2013 4:23 AM

Portland, Or use its ng cable car gauge to the end  of streetcar service and had both   narrow and standard gauge interurbans.  I am certain Portland had cable cars before electric steetcars.

Los angeles used narrow gague streetcars but had standard gauge interurbans.   If it had cable cars, they must have been narrow gauge.

San Francisco had cable cars lines of several gauges.  Oone may have been wide.  But the main Market Street cable line was standaard gauge and this was kept with electrification and used for the San Mateo Interurban,  I believe one of the narrow gauge cable lines was converted to electric streetcar operation (right after the 1906 fire) before it was converted to standard gauge.   The interurbans coming over the Bridge were, of coorse, standard.   It now had a wide-ague |interurban system,| BART!

I am unfamiliar with the old gauge system in Seattle.   Vancouver was standard gauge, streetcars and interurbans.

The East Coast City was Baltimore, broad gauge, with a standard gauge interurban.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, May 27, 2013 8:25 AM

You got the two west coast systems (LA and Portland, both 42" guage) and the east coast system (Baltimore 5'4" (some accounts say 5' 4 1/2")).  The remaining system was in a city very heavily associated with narrow guage, though not necessarily for traction. The system lasted until 1950, retaining the name of one of the cable railways to the end of streetcar operation.

Of the others you mentioned, the electrified ex-cable lines in San Francisco were either built as standard guage cables (Market St.) or converted as they were rebuilt, or at least before the end of streetcar operation. Seattle had 3'6" cables until 1940, including one line with former SF cars from the Omnibus Cable railway, but electric cars were all standard guage.  Oakland had some 3'6" converted cable lines, but all were eventually converted to Standard.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 27, 2013 3:25 PM

Denver Tramways was 3ft gauge until the end but operated both standard and naarrow gague interurban llines.   Possibvly Denver tramways at one time operated cable cars.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 6:28 AM

Denver Tramways is the correct company.  DT owned horscar lines and three cable lines, and also acquired the cable lines of the Denver City Railway (formerly the Denver City Cable Railway) AFTER electrifying its own cable routes.  Guage was 42", like LA and Portland, but unlike the steam railways nearby.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 2:13 PM

Until recently, there was a regular interlocking tower that contolled a main-line railroad, a four-track main line, with switches arranged to permit movement in both directions between any of the four tracks, but there were no diverging routes or sidings.   As far as I know the switches are still in place and useful and controlled by a remot CTC location, at least not directly at the switch locations, and the last time I was there, the building and its supports were still in palce (17 years ago).

The construction of the tower was unual and not did follow typical practcie.   However, visitbility was terrific,

 

Whose Tower, where?

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