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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by SD70Dude on Friday, April 8, 2022 12:45 AM

Sorry, I forgot I was up.  

Did Canadian Pacific have more passenger or freight C-Liners?  

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, April 8, 2022 2:45 AM

A guess:   Freight if yiou go by gear-ratio and assigned service (or just assigned service if all had the same ratio) , but possibly passenger if going just by boiler-equipped.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Monday, April 11, 2022 4:10 PM

As built there were more passenger units, but in later years most if not all did have the boilers removed (NDG could probably confirm which ones were modified).  

Their main passenger use was on the southern B.C. mainline, on the 'Kettle Valley Express' and 'Kootenay Express' between Lethbridge and Vancouver, as well as on unnamed trains between Penticton and Vancouver before those were discontinued.  These trains were converted to Budd RDCs and then abolished completely by the early 1960s, so the passenger CLC units were out of a job fairly early on.  

This excursion might have been the last time a C-Liner was trusted to handle a passenger train by itself, and on the mainline to boot.  4081 was built as a freight unit, being summer a steam generator would not have been needed.

https://railpictures.net/photo/364902/

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 4:50 AM

 Brussels, Belgium, has more than one subway rapid-transit lines, portions of which were first opened as "Pre-Metro" lines, with streetcars using the tunnels and stations already completed for as long as ten years or more before conversion to high-platform train opertion.  The Blue Line (underground portion) in Boston is similar.  In New York, the 7's "Steinway Tunnel" between East 42nd Street and Long Islkand  City was tested with a Steinway Lines streetcar just before the decision to convert it for the IRT's Queens service.

Where, why, when, were subway tracks converted from streetcar to heavy rapid transit and later back to streetcar?

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 4:58 AM

Surprised RC, who assuredly knows the answer, has not yet replied.

National Landmark

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, April 24, 2022 2:26 AM

Give-away hints.  Most of this Landmarked subway is still in very heavy use, but some portion is waiting for the upgrade of a special-lane bus service to light-rail.  During much of the 20th Century single-end equpment predominated, but today the fscility sees the revenue operation of only double-end equipment.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, April 24, 2022 2:01 PM

I'm pretty sure you'te looking fo the pieces of the Boston Subways that were built for streetcars, converted to Blue Line Rapid transit and then were reassigned to the Green Line.  The Green Line was operated with PCCs until almost the end of the 20th Century.  Since then all of the equipment has been "Light Rail Vehicles" of various origins.  The subway section connecting to the East Boston Tunnel never had its own name.  The spedial lane bus service is Silver Line, but at this point the lieklihood of that getting converted to Light Rail is small at best.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, April 25, 2022 3:43 AM

You are correct, except that it's what is now the Orange Line, but for many yearsd was "The Washington Street Elevated," or "The Main Line Elevated."  and the only part of that line that is on the original RoW is the "Washington Street Tunnel" which is parallel, one-block east, of the landmarked 1898 "{Tremont Street  Subway." now the core of the Green Line, but was also the Orange Line's first downtown route, usurping  the outside tracks Broadway and Tremont Street - North Station 1904-1910?, whilt the inside tracks Public Garden - Park Street Loop and Brattle Street Loop at Scolley Square (now Government Center) - North Station continued in streetcar use.

I mentioned the Blue Line in my question.  It was the "East Boston Tunnel." and was bult for streetcars and converted to rapid trsansit and has remained rapid transit, with overhead-wire operation (with pantographs), returning only on the ground-level extension to Revere Beach (Wonderland Station). 

Next qestion

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 2, 2022 2:36 AM

waiting for rc's qestion

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, May 2, 2022 9:40 AM

This railroad, considered the last one to operate true mixed trains (behind steam power, no less) ceased common carrier operations in 1972.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, May 2, 2022 8:32 PM

That has be Lee Reader's Possum Trot line.

When I was a kid, I thought there was some tie-in with schools and libraries...

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 6:25 AM

Yep, the Reader quit as a common carrier in 1972, lasted a while as a tourist operation, then folded.  Reader's 2-6-2 #5 operated at a couple of other places in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 9, 2022 11:04 AM

Waiting for another of Overmod's distingished questions.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, May 12, 2022 10:47 AM

I'm still thinking, or perhaps 'scheming' would be a better word, of a proper brain-teasing question that isn't esoteric or boring.

I still aspire, someday, of getting to the level of the father-daughter named passenger trains.  But I doubt I will.

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, May 21, 2022 3:55 PM

Still thinking, but in 95 degree heat.. not coming up with anything yet.  Someone fill in while you have to wait.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, June 9, 2022 1:40 PM

Name two streamliners, one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast, that would occupy adjacent tracks in Chicago at the same time (When on time).

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Posted by NP Eddie on Thursday, June 9, 2022 4:10 PM

Probably the California Zephyr and Broadway Limited at the Chicago Union Station.

 

Ed Burns

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, June 9, 2022 4:50 PM

The Broadway and the Denver Zephyr were side by side at  the 5 PM departure and 15 minutes apart on arrival.  The CZ left at 3:30PM and arrived at 1:30 PM for most of its life.

There were ony two Chicago stations where this happened - LaSalle (NYC, CRI&P) and Union (PRR, CB&Q+D&RGW+WP, CB&Q+GN+SP&S, CB&Q+NP+SP&S).  The Olympian Hiawatha shared the station with PRR trains but not platforms on the same side...

Do you have a year in mind?

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 9:50 AM

Overmod

Name two streamliners, one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast, that would occupy adjacent tracks in Chicago at the same time (When on time).

 

I do recall a 1940's picture of ATSF's El Capitan and C&EI's Dixie Flagler occuping adjacent tracks in Dearborn Station. The El Capitan arrived at 7:15am whereas the Flagler was leaving shortly after 8:00am.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 11:05 AM

On days it ran the South Wind arrived at Union Station about the same time the North Coast Limited departed.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, June 16, 2022 9:37 AM

The one I was thinking of was the Dixie Flagler, but I thought the train was the Super Chief and not the El Cap.  This was based from a quote in Stan Repp's "Super Chief, Train of the Stars" that claimed this was the only place a train from the East Coast actually wound up next to a train from the West Coast... he may not be as knowledgeable as the 'usual suspects' armed with OGs here.

One of y'all gets it.  I'm not snooty which one... Smile

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, June 16, 2022 1:00 PM

Oh, ZO wins - he was the one that got the Florida train idea!

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Posted by doctorwayne on Friday, June 17, 2022 12:33 PM

Overmod

The one I was thinking of was the Dixie Flagler, but I thought the train was the Super Chief and not the El Cap.  This was based from a quote in Stan Repp's "Super Chief, Train of the Stars" that claimed this was the only place a train from the East Coast actually wound up next to a train from the West Coast... he may not be as knowledgeable as the 'usual suspects' armed with OGs here.

One of y'all gets it.  I'm not snooty which one... Smile

 
It's not my intention to interrupt this thread, Overmod, but if you want those articles on the GG1, all I need is your mailing address, so that I can send you both issues of RMC....Dec. '75 & Jan. '76.
I think that even though I cannot reply to you in my "Messages" feature, you should be able to add your mailing address there.  I'll copy it, then erase it, even though it's supposedly unavailable for viewing by others.
 
Cheers,
 
Wayne (doctorwayne)
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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, June 18, 2022 1:02 PM

I thought it was in my profile, but there's no secret about it, and anyone who complains about my posting is free to doxx me at this address:

7776 Farmington Blvd, #38927

Germantown, TN 38183-0927

I'll reimburse the postage and mailing expenses as you desire.

I'll be darned if I can figure out how to put an address in this profile or message system anywhere, although I'd swear that I put one in years ago and used to be able to see it.  (That address wouldn't be current, though... Whistling).  I'm still waiting patiently for the stage-three improvements to the forum experience.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 9:39 AM

rcdrye

Oh, ZO wins - he was the one that got the Florida train idea!

Everybody's Limited...

The Overland Route's #7 and 8, the Los Angeles Limited, was affected by the passenger traffic collapse brought upon by the Great Depression. Formerly all-Pullman, the train was handling Tourist sleepers and coaches by the early 1930's. But by June 1935, traffic had increased to the point where UP decided to take the coaches and Tourist sleepers and put them on a separate section of the Los Angeles Limited.

UP may have taken a page from C&O's passenger playbook, the latter establishing the George Washington, that road rebranding and upgrading two existing Washington-Cincinnati trains with mostly refurbished/upgraded existing equipment, and giving that train a sharper marketing focus. Instead of just having a regular additional section of an existing train, UP named the Tourist sleeper and coach section of the Los Angeles Limited The Challenger, and provided amenities attuned to Depression-weary passengers such as free pillows, economical dining car fare and separate coaches for women and children. UP marketed its offering as a popularly-priced train, on a schedule similiar to that of the all-Pullman Los Angeles Limited. But the railroad hedged its bets by running The Challenger as Second #7 and Second #8, just in case of possible train consolidations due to traffic conditions.

The new operation was successful enough that by May 1936 UP gave the train its own running numbers and schedule, although UP consist listings for The Challenger at the time did contain the clarification "Coach and Tourist Section, Los Angeles Limited."

Despite the success of The Challenger, between June 1935 and May 1936 there was an anomaly that involved UP's Chicago partner, C&NW, in running this service. The question is, what was that anomaly?

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, June 26, 2022 9:30 AM

I would suspect that the  Chicago and Northwestern found the schedfle convenient for an overnight sleeper, possibly between Chicago and Omaha or, less likely a parlor car for a specific clientel whe reglarly wished to commuts. 

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Monday, June 27, 2022 10:07 AM

daveklepper

I would suspect that the  Chicago and Northwestern found the schedfle convenient for an overnight sleeper, possibly between Chicago and Omaha or, less likely a parlor car for a specific clientel whe reglarly wished to commuts. 

 

No, that would not be it, since, at the time, UP's better west coast trains all left Chicago late in the evening within a 60-90 minute window.

Go back to my question - it refers to the operation (?) of the train.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, June 27, 2022 11:01 AM

On the C&NW it always was a separate train with its own train numbers?

Or rather than always, the time period you specified?

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 7:24 AM

daveklepper

On the C&NW it always was a separate train with its own train numbers?

Or rather than always, the time period you specified?

 

Focus on the June 1935-May 1936 time period.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 10:29 AM

I had a working link to scans of OGs that I can't seem to find any more.

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