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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 7:56 PM

Southern Railway System actually.......  he must be referring to the "Crackers".   Those FM doodlebug trains such as the Joe Wheeler and the Vulcan and Golden Rod.

Am I getting close?

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
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Posted by Southerngreen1401 on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 8:05 PM

Not until the early forty and fifties was the word system added to the name of Southern Railway.

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 8:52 PM

FlyingCrow

Southern Railway System actually.......  he must be referring to the "Crackers".   Those FM doodlebug trains such as the Joe Wheeler and the Vulcan and Golden Rod.

Am I getting close?

Yes, you are getting close.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 9:44 PM

Southerngreen1401

Not until the early forty and fifties was the word system added to the name of Southern Railway.

Southern green, please re-read your history of the Southern Railway. As I look at my copy of the July 4, 1920, Southern Railway System Time Tables of Passenger Trains, I find that the Southern Railway System then comprised the Southern Railway Company, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, the Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railway, the Georgia, Southern and Florida Railway, the New Orleans and North Eastern Railroad, and the Northern Alabama Railway, as well as several other, smaller, railroads.

The September 30, 1917 timetable does not name the Southern Railway, but does name the others , except for the GS&F, which was at that time still a separate road. It simply shows what became known as the Southern Railway Company as the Southern Railway System.

You are right in that it was the Southern Railway, and not the Southern Railroad that operated the train. Incidentally, I grew up at milepost SB66.

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Posted by Southerngreen1401 on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 6:44 AM

The fact that Charleston, SC is the historical birthplace of Southern Railway.  That is where I am from.  The Southern Railway was formed after the Civil War early 1880s.  From the R & D which restored the damage lines that Sherman's troops destroyed.  The records that the museums have state that Southern Railway had stocks in all of the lines that it help restore in the Carolinas and Georgia..

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 9:52 PM

Deggesty

 FlyingCrow:

Southern Railway System actually.......  he must be referring to the "Crackers".   Those FM doodlebug trains such as the Joe Wheeler and the Vulcan and Golden Rod.

Am I getting close?

 

Yes, you are getting close.

AB, can you give us more parts to the answer, such as in which state the Cracker ran, which cities in the state were the terminals, and what other schedule the doodlebugs protected?

Remember, close counts in horseshoes.Smile

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Thursday, November 25, 2010 8:50 AM

Call me "Buck"....I have to change my forum signature to my "usual" name.    

OK.... I had to remember all this from my years of service to the Southern Railway Historical Association.. uh...

the GOLDENROD, 15-16, ran from Birmingham, Selma and Mobile, The CRACKER ran from Atlanta, Maqcon and Brunswick, #19-20. The JOE WHEELER , 7-8, ran from Chattanooga to Tuscumbia and THE VULCAN 19-20 ran from Birmingham to Meridian.

So, the CRACKER was a Georgia train basically as a back up for the Kansas City Florida Special, SOU #7 & 8  (FRISCO 105-106).    The other details ...hmmm......let's see:

THE JOE WHEELER protected the Tennessean

THE VULCAN protected The Southerner

THE GOLDENROD protected The Crescent

or...am I thinking about the Turkey and Honeybaked Ham today and not close?

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !

 

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, November 25, 2010 1:05 PM

Buck, you have the state and the cities. The Cracker was, of course a day train between Atlanta and Brunswick. The equipment also made possible overnight service between the two cities, carrying the Brunswick-Atlanta sleeper to and from its connection with the Kansas City-Florida Special at Jesup. I did not use the correct word when I wrote "protect," so I confused you. There was a time when the Royal Palm when through Jesup and the KC-Fla Special went through Valdosta one way; I forget whether it was northbound or southbound; the  trip in the reverse direction was in what is thought of as the usual way.

 

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Thursday, November 25, 2010 7:26 PM

So.....is it my turn again?     If so , I'd like to check to others in the forum who haven't posted a question lately.

 

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, November 25, 2010 7:43 PM

FlyingCrow

So.....is it my turn again?     If so , I'd like to check to others in the forum who haven't posted a question lately.

 

Yes, indeed. No one else answered any part of the question, so the burden of asking the next question falls on you.Smile

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Friday, November 26, 2010 6:14 AM

The practice of "doubling over" or taking two tracks for a single train was the bane of the TRRA of St. Louis at St. Louis Union Station.   With the number of trains and switching moves required to accommodate "passing cars"  - when a train had to be doubled over the cost for locomotives and switching crews far exceeded the revenue the TRRA received.      

According to the TRRA's records.....what two railroads were the worst "offenders"?

 

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Friday, November 26, 2010 10:04 AM

FlyingCrow

The practice of "doubling over" or taking two tracks for a single train was the bane of the TRRA of St. Louis at St. Louis Union Station.   With the number of trains and switching moves required to accommodate "passing cars"  - when a train had to be doubled over the cost for locomotives and switching crews far exceeded the revenue the TRRA received.      

According to the TRRA's records.....what two railroads were the worst "offenders"?

 

Im going to guess the MP and PRR

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Friday, November 26, 2010 10:06 PM

That would be a good guess......but nope.....try again.

 

 

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Posted by narig01 on Saturday, November 27, 2010 1:31 AM
WAG B&O National Limited. Wabash. Rgds IGN
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Posted by KCSfan on Saturday, November 27, 2010 5:50 AM

GM&O (or its Alton predecessor) amd the NYC (Big Four)

Mark

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Saturday, November 27, 2010 7:13 PM

Well, everyone is getting close...somewhat.....  truly PRR, NYC, GM&O, WAB, and B&O all CONTRIBUTED to the problem...(a hint)....at one time or another.     Someone will probably get it now.

 

Confused

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
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Posted by Southerngreen1401 on Saturday, November 27, 2010 8:44 PM

Southern Railway Systems did some odd ball things to make some extra money on their freight service.

 

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Posted by narig01 on Sunday, November 28, 2010 9:08 AM
It sounds like TRRA didn't receive much revenue for switching cars between trains .hence anyone with an OAG who can look at connecting cars look. Rgds Ian
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Posted by KCSfan on Sunday, November 28, 2010 5:49 PM

FlyingCrow

Well, everyone is getting close...somewhat.....  truly PRR, NYC, GM&O, WAB, and B&O all CONTRIBUTED to the problem...(a hint)....at one time or another.     Someone will probably get it now.

 

Buck,

If we're talking Pre-WW2 I just don't know, but post war I would have guessed the PRR's Penn-Texas to have been the longest train using the terminal. Given the roads you've ruled out already that leaves only the C&EI, NYC&StL, Southern, IC, L&N, Frisco and MKT. The few trains of the first three were all relatively short as were those if the IC (with the possible exception of the Chickasaw)  so I think we can eliminate all of those roads. The single train of the MKT, the Katy Flyer, usually ran with no more than four passenger cars but it could have carried a large number of head end cars making it one of the longest to use the terminal - I just don't know. Anyway, by process of elimination I'll say the L&N and Frisco.

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Sunday, November 28, 2010 8:42 PM

Well, I have one correct answer from one player and another from someone else.   What to do.    Tongue Tied

NOTE...the head end stuff was all switched off before the doubling over occurred.    So, don't think about M&E portions of trains.

Here's another hint...  the offenders and their offending trains are a four card straight !    Whistling

 

 

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, November 28, 2010 9:24 PM

FlyingCrow

Well, I have one correct answer from one player and another from someone else.   What to do.    Tongue Tied

 

 

Hmm--go into overtime with a tie breaker?Smile

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Posted by al-in-chgo on Sunday, November 28, 2010 11:10 PM

...or you could just wait 'til tomorrow morning and let whoever wants to post a question first, do so.  -  al

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, November 29, 2010 1:51 AM

With head end stuff switched out before incoming platforming and added to outbounds after leaving the platform, obviously the PRR Penn Texas with its through cars to more than one connecting railroad was the chief offender.   I would say the second was probably either the Central with its Texas connecting train, the Southwestern Limited? or the Wabash with its UP  West Coast cars.  I did ride the Penn Texas several times and it sure was a long train.

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Monday, November 29, 2010 8:08 PM

daveklepper

With head end stuff switched out before incoming platforming and added to outbounds after leaving the platform, obviously the PRR Penn Texas with its through cars to more than one connecting railroad was the chief offender.   I would say the second was probably either the Central with its Texas connecting train, the Southwestern Limited? or the Wabash with its UP  West Coast cars.  I did ride the Penn Texas several times and it sure was a long train.

So we can move on and hand the floor over to daveklepper or zephyroverland, who got really close and picked the PRR and the Penn Texas as offender #1.

The recipients of all these passing cars were the MOP - of course, but mostly the FRISCO, whose #1 & 2 (The Texas Special) also carried passing sleepers not only from the Pennsy, but - the GM&O, the B&O, the NYC and the WABASH, all at different and sometimes overlapping time periods.

Therefore , the baby "straight"... #1 & 2 and #3 & 4.    

However everybody came so close to saying PRR & FRISCO I was having a tough time deciding who is actually right.     BUT, my time is up...so next question please.

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Posted by KCSfan on Monday, November 29, 2010 10:01 PM

FlyingCrow

However everybody came so close to saying PRR & FRISCO I was having a tough time deciding who is actually right.     BUT, my time is up...so next question please.

Buck, if it;s ok with you I'll jump in with a new question since I got the Frisco right and was first to mention the Penn-Texas by name.

In the 1950's if you were waiting to board the trains of a certain railroad at one of its terminals you would have heard a musical jingle which was a slogan of that road played over the station's  PA system. 1) What was the railroad? 2) At what station was this jingle played? 3) What were the words to the jingle?

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 11:50 AM

Mark...you were correct...you did and I just forgot to catch that...thanks for jumping on....and....I'm going to take a fly at this:

ATSF

Dearborn (Chicago)

It's fun to ride the train today, when the train you ride is Santa Fe.  Santa Fe...All the Way, Its' fun to ride the train.     

Or...at least that's what Chico used to say during WDAF 10 o'clock news in Kansas City.

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 6:56 PM

Sorry, Buck, it wasn't the Santa Fe but you've got the city right. Whoever gets the RR right needs to also name which of Chicago's stations it operated out of.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 2:40 AM

IC, Central Station, City of New Orleans?

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 4:37 AM

Sorry, Dave, but the IC is the wrong road. Ypu're likely thinking of the song, The City of New Orleans, but that wasn't played prior to the departure of the train.

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Posted by wanswheel on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 11:56 AM

Rock Island at LaSalle Street?

The Great Rock-Island Route

by J. A. Roff (1882)

From a rocky bound Atlantic, to a mild Pacific shore,
From a fair and sunny southland to an ice-bound Labrador,
There's a name of magic import, and 'tis known the world throughout,
'Tis a mighty corporation, called the "Great Rock-Island Route."

CHORUS.

Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble and the roar,

As she dashes thro' the woodland, and speeds along the shore,

See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out,

As they speed along in safety, on the "Great Rock-Island Route."

All great cities of importance can be found along its way,
There's Chicago and Peoria and Rock-Island so they say,
With Davenport, and westward still is Council Bluffs far out,
As a western termination of this "Great Rock-Island Route."

To the great southwest another, and a mighty line they run,
Reaching far-famed Kansas City, Leavenworth, and Atchison,
Rich in beauty, power, and grandeur, and they owe it all no doubt,
To the fact that they are stations, on the "Great Rock-Island Route."

There's their "Northern-Route," a daisy as you all can plainly see,
To St. Paul and Minneapolis, 'tis the famous "Albert Lea;"
To the lakes of Minnesota, and all points there 'round about,
Reached directly by no other than the "Great Rock-Island Route."

Now let music soft and tender, in its mystic power reveal,
Praises to the "Great Rock-Island," that the heart can only feel;
And to swell the mighty chorus - comes the glad re-echoing shout,
That for safety, time, and comfort, take the "Great Rock-Island Route."

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