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Classic Train Questions Part Deux (50 Years or Older)

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 8:00 PM

KCSfan

This through train ran over several different railroads and was diesel powered on all but one of them when inaugurated. Its route over one of these roads was entirely behind steam and was advertised as being the longest steam powered run without an intermediate fuel stop in the world. Name the train, the railroad and the end points of its marathon steam run.

Mark

Mark   

 

Was that the L&N's power for the South Wind (200 miles Nashville-Birmingham)?

Johnny

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 6:49 PM

This through train ran over several different railroads and was diesel powered on all but one of them when inaugurated. Its route over one of these roads was entirely behind steam and was advertised as being the longest steam powered run without an intermediate fuel stop in the world. Name the train, the railroad and the end points of its marathon steam run.

Mark

Mark   

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 9:24 AM

KCSfan

It had to be the BAR's other name train, The Potatoland Special.

Mark

 

Yes!

Johnny

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 5:16 AM

It had to be the BAR's other name train, The Potatoland Special.

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 8:58 PM

Mark, you have the right destination--but the car did not go up to Van Buren on the day train, but on one that left so early that it was transferred at Northern Maine Junction, and not at Bangor, where the southbound Van Buren-Boston car was transferred from the BAR. What was that train's name?

Johnny

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 4:58 PM

Johnny, I'll make a semi-educated guess. The car was the Boston - Vqn Buren sleeper that ran in the BAR's Aroostook Flyer.

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 3:56 PM

KCSfan
 
Deggesty

right so far, Mark--but what about the sleeper that stayed in this country, and rode with the groceries?

 

 

Johnny, I've looked in obvious places with no success but I'll keep trying. I suspect it was Potato something or other as Maine was famous for that crop. Incidentaly, the route of the Gull was: B&M Boston to Portland, MEC Portland to Vanceboro, CP Vanceboro to Moncton and CN Moncton to Halifax. Quite a roundabout was due to the Bay of Fundy.

Mark

 

Mark, you have the right food--but where did the car go, on what train and what road?

Johnny

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 2:17 PM

rcdrye

CP-CN change for the Gull was at St Johns NB, not Moncton.

You are right and I should have known better. The CP didn't even go to Moncton.

Mark

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 1:28 PM

CP-CN change for the Gull was at St Johns NB, not Moncton. I think the car you're looking for was the Calais-Boston car, usually accompanied by express reefers full of fish. Milk cars were also handled, at least from Bangor to Boston, having been collected by milk trains for forwarding.

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 1:09 PM

Deggesty

right so far, Mark--but what about the sleeper that stayed in this country, and rode with the groceries?

Johnny, I've looked in obvious places with no success but I'll keep trying. I suspect it was Potato something or other as Maine was famous for that crop. Incidentaly, the route of the Gull was: B&M Boston to Portland, MEC Portland to Vanceboro, CP Vanceboro to Moncton and CN Moncton to Halifax. Quite a roundabout was due to the Bay of Fundy.

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 12:53 PM

right so far, Mark--but what about the sleeper that stayed in this country, and rode with the groceries?

Johnny

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 12:43 PM

I believe that would be the Gull. It ran between Boston and Halifax on the B&M, MEC, CP and CN.

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 9:49 AM

What Bird flew internationally and also carried a domestic sleeper that helped provide a particular grocery item? Name the roads involved.

Johnny

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, May 11, 2015 2:35 PM

Deggesty
The California Zephyr under Sacramento Northern wire in Sacramento?

I'll accept that.  It was actually in Marysville, about 40 miles north of Sacramento. SN did the switching there and in Yuba City across the Feather River for WP, using 600V overhead until 1965.  Two of the SN motors used at Marysville in the 1960s are in California museums.

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, May 11, 2015 12:46 PM

rcdrye

230 was turned into a slug, but was also sold to NYNH&H for parts.

Keeping with overhead wire...

Dome cars were operated by the CMStP&P under wire behind electrics, by B&O (and Amtrak) behind diesels (at Washington Union Station) and by UP under CMStP&P wire at Seattle Union Station.  Name the other regular use of dome cars under overhead wire (pulled by diesels) that lasted into the mid 1960s.

 

The California Zephyr under Sacramento Northern wire in Sacramento?

Johnny

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, May 11, 2015 12:13 PM

230 was turned into a slug, but was also sold to NYNH&H for parts.

Keeping with overhead wire...

Dome cars were operated by the CMStP&P under wire behind electrics, by B&O (and Amtrak) behind diesels (at Washington Union Station) and by UP under CMStP&P wire at Seattle Union Station.  Name the other regular use of dome cars under overhead wire (pulled by diesels) that lasted into the mid 1960s.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, May 11, 2015 10:07 AM

We have a winner.  He also got the class changes, too.  If I recall correctly, N&W 230 briefly operated as a slug.

rcdrye, your question.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, May 10, 2015 1:42 PM

VGN's EL-C class C-C rectifiers 130-141.

To N&W by merger 230-241 (230 retired)

To NYNH&H EF-5 by purchase ($25000 each!) 300-310 (301 retired)

To PC E-33 by merger 4601-4610

To Conrail E-33 by default 4601-4610

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, May 9, 2015 10:07 AM

We'll stick with steam road electrifications for this.  Which group of electrics was owned by the most Class One roads and which roads were the owners?

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, May 8, 2015 11:22 AM

Absolutely correct.  And on the way by you got the engine that had three numbers...

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, May 8, 2015 10:06 AM

The number is 4899.  The first 4899 was a GG1 which was re-numbered to 4800 after the Claymont tests.  The second 4899 was an R1 which was re-numbered from 4800 at the same time.  The third 4899 was a new GG1 from subsequent construction.  The R1 was again re-numbered to 4999 at that time.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, May 7, 2015 2:59 PM

In the great Pennsy re-electrification this road number was applied to three different engines.

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Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, May 7, 2015 12:17 PM

You've got it now Rob. Motor trains No.'s 1 & 2 ran between Moultrie and Albany on the Georgia Northern and between Albany and Cordele on the Albany and Northern. At Cordele connections coudl be made with Dixieland (AB&C) and the Royal Palm and Ponce de Leon (SR). The KC-Fla Spcl ran via Jessup and not Cordele. Circa 1937 connections at Albany could be made with the Dixie Flyer, Dixie Ltd, Southland, Flamingo, Seminole and Floridan (CoG/ACL).

Lookking forward to your next question.

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, May 7, 2015 6:43 AM

Assuming the partners to be the Albany and Northern and the Georgia Northern, I get the Royal Palm , the KC-Florida special and Ponce de Leon at Cordele, along with a couple of trains routed via the AB&C.  At Albany I get the City of Miami and the Seminole, and at Moultrie some west coast trains that I don't have a list of that were headed for the Perry cutoff.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, May 7, 2015 2:49 AM

rc is obviously a lot close to an answer than I am, so Iwill be interested in seeing him make a second try and assume it will be correct.

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 4:53 PM

rcdrye

Time to give this one a try...  Georgia Northern and Georgia, Ashburn,Sylvester and Camilla, from Boston to Ashburn via Bridgeboro.  That would give you the PRR/L&N/ACL South Wind route at Boston (GA), the IC/CofG/ACL City of Miami/Seminole route at Sylvester and the NYC/SOU Royal Palm route at Ashburn.

Connections to St. Louis , Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and all Florida points.

One of the roads you mention is correct but the other one is wrong . The motor train did not serve Boston, Sylvester or Ashburn. You have named some of the nine trains it might connect with, none of the places where these connections could be made are correct.

Mark

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 4:13 PM

Time to give this one a try...  Georgia Northern and Georgia, Ashburn,Sylvester and Camilla, from Boston to Ashburn via Bridgeboro.  That would give you the PRR/L&N/ACL South Wind route at Boston (GA), the IC/CofG/ACL City of Miami/Seminole route at Sylvester and the NYC/SOU Royal Palm route at Ashburn.

Connections to St. Louis , Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and all Florida points.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 1:28 PM

Too busy right now to do research on the internet, but I believe this doodlebug train might be a combination of two of the three:  Atlanta and West Point, West Point and Westerm (or Eastern?) Alabama, and the Georgia Railroad.  Atlanta is probably one end, or maybe even a middle, and possibly Augusta as the other end?

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 10:28 AM

If you wanted to go north instead of to florida, you could take these connecting trains to places like St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit.

Mark 

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Posted by KCSfan on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 3:36 PM

If you started a trip on this Motor train you had a combined total of eight named trains you could continue on to destinations in Florida. However many of the connections were far from ideal with regards to timing. 

Mark

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