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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 4:18 AM

Thanks for the information.  Please answer the  question.  During the best of the classic days, three railway passenger systems served the location, but one did not actually use the station. (And it definitely did not serve food or drink.)

Only one railway system uses the station today.  It does not serve food or drink.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 10:13 PM

Could it be Lackawanna Terminal?  

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, July 13, 2023 4:27 AM

The Lackawanna Terminal always served trains that were not confined  to Hoboken.

Hint:  Even at the time when there were three rail systems at the location, two using the station and one not, all three systems used  electric power at approximately the same volltage, as isused by the single system today.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, July 13, 2023 10:33 AM

daveklepper
The Lackawanna Terminal always served trains that were not confined  to Hoboken.

Ahhhh -- I see I misunderstood the question.

This is a good one!

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, July 14, 2023 1:01 AM

THe city with this station had more than one foe intercity trains.

This station had the fewest number of tracks for a station where intercity trasins originated and terminated, and shared with the most similar station in the city in having only two platforms.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, July 23, 2023 8:03 AM

The Adams and Wabash station (Loop L, Chicago Rapid Transit, CTA) served North Shore line (northbound only) trains along with L trains.  Chicago Surface Lines cars ran below on Wabash.  The otherwise similar station at Roosevelt Rd had CSL cars on Roosevelt. Some North Shore trains had food service to the end in 1963.

Roosevelt stopped serving CTA trains about 1949, and was removed after North Shore quit.  A new Roosevelt station was built to serve the new Orange (Midway) line and Green (South Side L) Line in 1993.

Adams/Wabash serves trains to Evanston (Purple), Oak Park and Forest Park (Green, Harlem station has an entrance in Forest Park), and Cicero (Pink).

The other loop station serving interurbans was the Wells St. Terminal, which had two platfroms serving four tracks, serving "Met" lines to Logan Square, Forest Park and Cicero/Berwyn as well as Chicago Aurora & Elgin trains.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, July 24, 2023 5:22 AM

RC has the answer, of course, and Roosevelt Avenue was the answer.  But I did not iknow that the station was removed, and the current CTA station is new.  I thought they just put thye old station back into use. 

And Rioosevelt Avenue did have a CSL, the for a dshort time CTA streetcarv line, the electric service that did not use the station, but crossed underneath below.

Look forward to RC's question.  Thanks for a very thorough answer.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 7:23 AM

The Roosevelt Road L station was removed around 1966.  The Lake/Dan Ryan line started operating over the structure there in 1969, but no station was built until the Orange Line opened in 1993.  With the realignment of routes at the same time, the station also serves the Green Line (Lake-Englewood/63rd).

I'll try to post something later today.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 7:17 AM

While Southern Pacific clearly led in number and variety of cab-forward steam locomotives (256 in all), it did not originate the idea.  That honor goes to the quirky master mechanic of a railrad that later became part of the giant SP system.  Name the railroad, the year, and the wheel arrangement of the first cab-forward.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 10:44 AM

Wiki:  A decade before SP's first cab forward, the North Pacific Coast Railroad, later part of the SP-owned Northwestern Pacific company, rebuilt an 1875 4-4-0 into an oil-fired cab-forward locomotive. This innovative engine was built by William (Bill) Thomas, the NPC master mechanic who was nationally known[7] and holder of a number of patents. Thomas used the running gear and frame from NPC locomotive 5, the "Bodega", which had been wrecked in 1897, to build NPC 21. With the addition a new and unusual marine water tube boiler and an all-steel cab, installed in reverse order from standard engines, this unique creation earned Thomas a patent on the locomotive design. No. 21 entered service in 1900, but only lasted a few years. Although it reportedly steamed well, though with a sooty exhaust, the crews found it difficult to operate, and with fears of the possible results of a collision they dubbed it "The Freak". A negligent fireman allowed the water level to drop, damaging the boiler, and it was not repaired.Music

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 1:22 PM

The crews complained of possible injury if they hit anything. Bill Thomas' reply:"Don't hit anything."  Bill Thomas was trained at Central Pacific's Sacramento shops.  The three foot gauge NPC was purchased by new owners in 1902.  Some of it was re-gauged to standard, and part electrified with third rail as the North Shore RR.  The Northwestern Pacific (owned at the time by SP and AT&SF) bought the NSRR in 1907. SP bought out AT&SF's half in 1929.

Your question.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, July 27, 2023 7:32 AM

Name a just-barely-pre-WWII "streamliner" that was a  new service and lasted well past WWII, that operated over more than one railroad, but used silver-painted heavyweight Pullman sleepers (no lightweights) until lightweights arrived post-WWII.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, July 31, 2023 6:36 AM

Here two hints hint that should give it away.  If one was traveling between the endpoints of the streamliner's heavy-weight silver-painted sleepers, one would ride behind electric, diesel, and steam power on every regular run, with the steam being streamlined or semi-streamlined.  And before and during WWII, This was one of only two  stramliners fielded by the railroad with the majority of the tran's route-mileage,

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, July 31, 2023 6:05 PM

The Tennesean was a pre-war lightweight all-coach train from Washington to Memphis.  It also handled New York-Memphis, Washington-Memphis and Washington-Nashville (with NC&StL) sleepers, all painted silver to match the train. Southern powered it from Washington to Monroe with diesels, N&W used steam to Bristol, and Southern diesels handled the rest of the way from Bristol to Memphis. The New York sleeper was handled in a PRR train (with a GG1) from New York to Washington.

Without Dave's motive power info, the Zephyr-Rocket also fit, a prewar train that lasted into the mid-1960s with silver-painted heavyweight Pullmans.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, July 31, 2023 6:09 PM

I'm going to throw out the Silver Meteor, even though that is by far best known as a slantnose EMD and Budd train.

Heavyweight sleepers added; three streamlined steam engines to handle the now-heavier consists (and with very attractive paint, too!)

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 2:31 PM

The Silver Meteor was an all-coach, all-lightweight train from its 1939 inception, until well after WWII.  The hevyweight. diesel-powered, (except GG1  NY-DC)  all-Pullman Orange-Blossom Special was equally fast. When it was  discontinued, lightweight sleepers were added to the Silver Meteor.

I noted that the major railroad for the train I am looking for had only one other pre-WWII streamliner.  It too was all-coach, all lightweight, with a consist like that of the Meteor.  One terminal was the same, the other termnals different than "my" train's sleepers.  This all-coach train had one engine change between diesel and GG1. 

But the train I'm looking for had four engine changes, and one cwas between streamlined steam (or semi-streanlined if you prefer) and steam stranlined as a one-off specifically for this train.   But this steam was replaced by diesel before the more numerous  steam .

And a coal strike resulted in reducing thr number of enine changes to one, with only electric and diesel power employed.

Initially, most coach passengers had to change once fot traverl between the end-points served by the sleepers.  Eventually coaches also ran through, about the same post-WWII time as lightweights replaced  the heavyweight sleepers.

This railroad did provide freight and passenger service to some markets also served by the SAL.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 9:56 PM

HAS to be 'The Tennessean' as rcdrye has already said.  PRR electric to Washington, then Southern to Monroe, then N&W J or K to Bristol, then the bespoke Otto Kuhler-streamlined Ps-4.  (Later there might have been DL-109s or PAs, and still later bulldog-nosed E and FP units, on that last stretch...)

If you can scroll past some home-movie people shots, there is some good running showing the Kuhler 'reverse' paint scheme here:

https://vimeo.com/230640412 

I had thought the actual Tennessean originated in Washington, with only the through New York  sleeper(s) in a connecting PRR train.  It occurs to me that, since the connecting schedule also lists service to Boston, that you might include one more streamlined steam engine and change to electric, for the New Haven part... 

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 3:06 AM

That is why four engine changes, five locomotives, not three changes, and four locomotves.  But actually six and five:  New Haven, New York, DC Monroe, Bristol, between Boston and Memphis.

But, to be honest, I had made an error and should have written three engne changes, since all but one sleeper had New York City as the northen end-point.

I understand that in the post-WWII prtiod, there were times when through coaches also operated.

Yes, Southern streamlined one PS-4 Pacifiic for the Bristol - Memphis round-trip.

 

you are uo.

Southern

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 7:23 AM

1948 OG does not list coaches, and does not list a Boston sleeper, though the connecting PRR train that carried the New York Pullman did originate in Boston.

FWIW the other pre-war Southern Railway lightweight coach train was the Southerner, operating on the route of today's Southern Crescent.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, August 3, 2023 2:42 PM

Just to be sure it's understood that rcdrye is up  -- he answered it Monday at 6:05pm, before I'd had the chance to read the question.  In fact I only mentioned the Meteor because Mr. Klepper seemed to be saying the Tennessean was not the answer, and there are few trains indeed that involved a PRR electric at one end and streamlined steam elsewhere.

A notable point that has been made in posts here in the past was the 'fun' on N&W with allowing Southern diesels to 'run through' between Monroe and Bristol -- the first diesels allowed on N&W, iirc.

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, August 4, 2023 3:20 AM

I don't find anything I wrote that I think could imply that the tTennisean "was not the answer."   To what are you referring?

The Tennesean was unique in many ways.  But the Broadway almost always for a eLimited, on occasion, the 20th Century Limited, almost always for a while, and Empire State Limited, all started with electric power at one end of the line and ended with streamlined steam at the other.

The Tennesean was  unique with Road A, Road B, then back to Road A.

Swap between two streamlined steamers (at Bristol).

Later, When an Alco PA took over from the streamlined Pacific, diesel - steam - diesel was unique on a  regular basis, although probably did occur at times on the western transcons.

Look forward to your question.

 

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, August 4, 2023 6:53 AM

Here's something unique in North American railroading.

For a fairly short period in the years after World War 2, a particular train pair operated between two North American Cities via a larger city, with the following characteristics:

First leg behind an electric locomotive

Second leg behind a different electric locomotive

Third leg behind steam (usually a pacific) or sometimes diesel

Fourth leg behind brand new diesels (E7 or F2A/B)

Fifth leg behind steam to the outskirts of the destination city (pacific or mountain), sometimes with an engine change en route

Sixth leg behind an electric into the destination terminal

As time went on, the electric into the terminal was dropped, the fifth leg got diesels.  Describing changes to the second and third legs would give it away entirely.  Most of the route is operated for passenger service today.

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, August 4, 2023 8:57 PM

Likely one of the implementations of the Montrealer, from Washington on PRR, then New Haven electric to the Springfield line, then north to the electric district for the Mount Royal tunnels.

The opposite number (the reciprocal of the engine changes in the question) would be the Washingtonian.  IIRC this southbound train was first run in the 1920s (when PRR was still only electrified to Manhattan Transfer with steam south of there) and was known as 'the Boot' (short for bootlegger) for all the Prohibition-evading alcohol it would carry...

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Posted by rcdrye on Saturday, August 5, 2023 7:42 AM

The electric zone between the (new 1943) Central Station in Montreal and St. Lambert over the Victoria Bridge was only in use until 1958 but diesels were allowed before 1958.  New Haven steam was replaced by diesel power in the late 1940s/early 1950s with some overlap. Central Vermont steam and diesels operated to Montreal, though CN steam sometimes was used north of St Albans.  In the 1950s CV often leased CN locomotives and operated them north of White River Jct. Vt. CV replaced steam with RS3s and GP9s in the 1950s.  B&Ms units, supplemented by F7A/B sets and occasional RS3s and GP7s, lasted to the end of service.

Except for the short stretch between St. Albans and Cantic QC all of the route is used for passenger service today (The Adirondack is "suspended" north of Cantic).  The CN/CV St Hyacinthe sub via Enosburgh Falls (since abandoned) was used until 1946.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, August 6, 2023 7:35 AM

Look forward to Overmod's question.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 8:52 PM

We had a discussion a few days ago about the development of the PRR DD1's running gear, somewhat unusual for an electric road locomotive.  An internal-combustion locomotive using very much the same type of running gear was developed only a couple of years later, with some components of the demonstrator built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.  Who can provide the (unsurprising) name of the company, or a picture of the engine?

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 1:01 PM

I'm not sure whether Baldwin contributed to the design, but Sulzer (Switzerland) and Borsig (Germany) colalborated on a direct-drive 1000 HP diesel that was completed in 1913, just in time to go to Germany at the beginning of Word War I.  Road tests on SBB showed it capable of about 100KpH if it ran at all.  Arranged as a 4-4-4 with a blind center drive between the drive wheels. Not surprisingly, it disappeared during the war.  Baldwin magazine did publish an article about the engine in 1926, written by Samuel Vauclin himself.

http://baldwindiesels.railfan.net/magazine-1926/page45.html and

http://baldwindiesels.railfan.net/magazine-1926/page46.html 

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, August 17, 2023 9:15 AM

Not the Thermolokomotive -- the one I'm looking for is even more like the DD1 (or more precisely half of one, like the odd-D):  4-4-0, boxcab, jackshaft ahead of drivers.

The Thermolokomotive actually did run; the problem was its enormous rotating mass and very sharp piston pulses through rods with no cushioning.  Early rod electrics had many of the same rod fracturing and general tribology woes...

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 10:56 AM

Still looking forward.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, August 24, 2023 8:42 AM

The holder of a couple of key patents had his name very prominently painted on the letterboard of the demonstrator engine, even though he appears not to be an officer or owner of the company promoting it.  (I'll settle for the name or one of the patent numbers, since you'd need to know about the design to get them...)

Some substantial part of the construction was by the Baldwin Locomotive Works.

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