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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:30 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH

One minor issue, the Douglas Park re-route to the Loop while the Congress Line was being built was basically the same route as the newly established Pink Line.  It did not operate north of Lake Street.

I also left out the temporary connection from the remains of the Wells St. Terminal to the loop at "Tower 22" used by Garfield Park trains after the structure over Market (Wacker) and Van Buren to tower 8 was removed.

The main difference between the 1950s Douglas Park reroute and today's Pink line is that Douglas followed Lake St's counterclockwise route on the inner track (Met loop use had always been inner track via tower 8) while the Pink line runs CLOCKWISE on the inner track today.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, February 6, 2014 11:17 AM

And the next question is yours to ask.

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, February 6, 2014 4:23 PM

This 1916 giant of steam was returned to the builder by its puchaser, returning as two much more successful locomotives, both of which remained on the roster until the end of steam.

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Posted by henry6 on Thursday, February 6, 2014 4:28 PM

Didn't the Erie's Matt Shay go back to Baldwin for some modification but returned to Susquehanna, PA to help push Gulf Summit traffic.  There were two other smaller locos there, too.

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Posted by NorthWest on Thursday, February 6, 2014 8:50 PM

Virginian's XA triplex, also built in 1916, was rebuilt in 1920 by Baldwin into a 2-8-8-0 and a 

2-8-2.

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, February 7, 2014 12:59 AM

I think NW has the right answer.

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, February 7, 2014 6:30 AM

NorthWest has the correct answer.  VGN's XA 700 spent almost all of its 3 year working life pushing coal trains out of Princeton VA for about 2 1/2 miles, which is about all it could make before running out of steam.  Baldwin set up the forward section as class AF 2-8-8-0 610 (Became a 2-8-8-2 in 1942, scrapped 1953) and the tender engine was reconstructed with a new boiler as a 2-8-2 MD 410 (scrapped 1953).  410 had a number of nicknames based on its former location as part of 700.

Footnotes on the sheer size of 700: It had to be shipped from Eddystone via the NYP&N (PRR) line to Cape Charles and barged to Norfolk.  In one of the tunnels the clearance from the cab windows to the wall was less than 4 inches.

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Posted by NorthWest on Friday, February 7, 2014 10:07 PM

What were the first air conditioned subway cars to operate in New York City?

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Posted by daveklepper on Saturday, February 8, 2014 1:27 PM

The State-of-the-Art train built to DOT specifications that toured the B Division in NY and Phily;s Broad Street Subway and the Cleveland Red Line were the first on the New York City Subway System, but the first subway cars to operate in New York City were the H&M and PRR K-class cars that replaced the earlier red Joint-Service PRR-H&M cars for the Newark - Hudson Terminal (now WTC) service.  Some have remained in work-train service when PATH-1 cars, now themselves being replaced, replaced them in passenger service.  

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Posted by NorthWest on Saturday, February 8, 2014 1:48 PM

Dave, you've got it. The K cars were the first.

(I believe that all of them are now out of work train service, and sadly scrapped. The PA-5s diverted PA-4s to MOW service).

The K cars caused somewhat of a scandal, as the IRT cars of the era were the same dimensions but lacked air conditioning. However, 10 R-17s were fitted in an experiment, but this failed.

The next set of cars were the final 10 R38s, built 1967. Some of the R40s had air conditioning when built, so I think the SOACs were the fourth type of car to work on the NYC Subway system with air conditioning.

Your question.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, February 9, 2014 7:15 AM

  • Name all the cases you know of where a suburban streetcar or interurban operator ran two separate divisions that NEVER were connected by tracks of that operator, but where transfer of equipment beween the two divisons, as well as travel, was possible via the tracks of the city streetcar system of the same gauge. 

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, February 9, 2014 5:00 PM

Texas Electric had operations separated by the Dallas Railway and Terminal's streetcar system.  Freight was interchanged between the Denison division and Waco division via the M-K-T. 

In 1910 County Traction inherited former Chicago Railways properties outside of the city limits of Chicago, which were later separated into Evanston Railways and Chicago and West Towns Ry. Track connections were broken and remade at various times.  C&WT's final equipment moves from its Lake St Barn in 1947 had to traverse Chicago Surface Lines trackage to get to the Suburban barn at Harlem and Cermak.

Indiana RR lines were separated via Indianapolis Rys.  Predating IRR the Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern had the same separation between the Terre Haute and Richmond lines.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, February 10, 2014 12:38 AM

One more and you have it.   Hint: The important one remaining was not a standard gauge operation and it and the city sysem used to connect its lines were both broad gauge.   Trolley freight was handled at one time, with a main freight terminal withing the citiy system lines.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, February 10, 2014 6:44 AM

I can't find my map of West Penn Railways but I think they had divisions connecting with Pittsburgh Railways at both Trafford and McKeesport that didn't otherwise connect.  The Trafford line was used for freight and milk until after WWI with a downtown  terminal.  All but a few WestPenn lines were 5' 21/2" guage.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, February 10, 2014 1:58 PM

That is the system, and the Coke Division at one time connected at Trafford with through freight service and milk.   The Trafford - Irwin link was taken out during WWII for scrap steel from the high and long bridge existing Trafford,   The switch on the Trafford loop remained in place until the Pittsburgh Rys line was abandnoned.  I am not certain that the Alleghany Division met PR at McKeenseport.  It was abandoned in the 30's after being modernized with five or six Cincinnati curvesides, one of which survived as the South Connolsville-Connolsville local car on the Coke Divvision and is now at the Arden, PA, broadgauge trolley musuem.  The Alleghany Div. attached to PR somewhere in the NE corner of the system.   The two divisions did not connect except via PR.

Another case was Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway.   Its lines north of Boston and South of Boston were connected by Boston Elevated Railway, and also until the early 30's by lines west of Boston such as the Bosston and Middlesex, Worcester Consolidated.   Through WWII one north of Boston line remained, cars running from the Sulllivan Square elevated station over the Fellesway Elm Street line on Boston Elevated (then MTA)  tracks as far as "The Sheep Fold" and then on Eastern Mass tracks to the Boston and Maine crossing.   South of Boston, the Quincy Line left Fields Corner Rapid Transit Sta. on the Neponset line and continued through the center of Quincy to the shipyard south of Quincy, with southernmost tracks built by the Navy in WWI.   From Quincy Square ran the single-track with sidings Hows Neck line, the outer part of which was frequently flooded with high tides and winds.   The Stoneham line used the 4300 Brill semi-converables, but the Qunicy lines used lightweight Osgood Bradley cars, modern but not the automotive variety used in Scranton, Altoona, New Bedford, and finally Queensboro Bridge.   Distinguished by two front windows and a centered window post.

Your question!

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, February 10, 2014 5:18 PM

This southern carrier, known at one time for operating its own sleeping cars, carried an ACL Pullman on one of its main line trains into the late 1950s.  What were the origin/destination and carrier?

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, February 10, 2014 9:57 PM

This sounds like the Central of Georgia, which operated its own sleepers intraline, but participated in several through lines between the Midwest and Florida. Would this have ben the Atlanta-Tampa sleeper on the Southland? I don't think it would have been the Atlanta-Panama City sleeper.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 6:39 AM

Right state, wrong carrier. In 1957 CofG participated in several Pullman lines.  This carrier had only one.

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 7:35 AM

 

Georgia Railroad - Atlanta-Augusta

Mark

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 9:05 AM

Georgia carried the car Atlanta-Augusta.  Other endpoint?

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 10:13 AM

Wilmington, North Carolina.

I was unaware that the Georgia operated its own sleepers between Atlanta and Augusta. 

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 10:45 AM

rcdrye

Georgia carried the car Atlanta-Augusta.  Other endpoint?

Wilmington, NC

Mark

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:07 AM

KCSfan

rcdrye

Georgia carried the car Atlanta-Augusta.  Other endpoint?

Wilmington, NC

Mark

Wilmington it is. The ACL's headquarters city at one time, fairly well served until the early 1960s.  There was some common ownership among the ACL and the Georgia RR/West Point Route system.

On to you, Mark!

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 1:35 PM

This railroad ran electric interurbans in passenger service and steam powered freight trains. After the wires came down in 1948 diesel rail busses were operated in passenger service for another 13 years. Name the railroad and the end points of its latter year passenger operations.

Mark

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:06 PM

KCSfan

This railroad ran electric interurbans in passenger service and steam powered freight trains. After the wires came down in 1948 diesel rail buses were operated in passenger service for another 13 years. Name the railroad and the end points of its latter year passenger operations.

Mark

The preceding pertains to the electric division of this railroad. The road also had a steam division but the two divisions were not physically connected.

Mark

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 8:19 AM

This railroad, by itself, was a Class I road (but just barely). In 1924 it was acquired by a much larger road which operated it as a subsidiary under its own name. It was one of four subsidiaries of the larger road which were grouped together and known as the xxxxx Lines.

Mark

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:03 AM

This is one of those operations that needs a program to follow...

Houston North Shore Railway ->

   Beaumont Sour Lake and Western ->

        New Orleans Texas and Mexico ->

            Gulf Coast Lines ->>

                  Missouri Pacific Lines

Thanks to CERA bulletin 133...

MPL was one of the few "systems" that spread Pullman ownership out among its subsidiaries in the 1948 breakup (NYCL was the other big one).  BSL&W was listed with quite a few heavyweights in the 1950 list.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:11 AM

rc is correct, Houston North Shore

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:51 AM

This Texas subsidiary of a Class I had two segments that did not connect.

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 2:02 PM

rcdrye

This is one of those operations that needs a program to follow...

Houston North Shore Railway ->

   Beaumont Sour Lake and Western ->

        New Orleans Texas and Mexico ->

            Gulf Coast Lines ->>

                  Missouri Pacific Lines

Thanks to CERA bulletin 133...

MPL was one of the few "systems" that spread Pullman ownership out among its subsidiaries in the 1948 breakup (NYCL was the other big one).  BSL&W was listed with quite a few heavyweights in the 1950 list.


 
The Houston North Shore became the electric division of the BSL&W and ran from Houston to Goose Creek. It was abandoned in 1961 but the BSL&W main line from Houston to Beaumont is a very active railroad to this day over which the eastbound Sunset Ltd runs
.
Mark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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