All three paint schemes that were used over their years of operation in El Paso are being applied to the reguilt cars. All three are colorful, but this is probably the classiest.
I have to add to this that paint scheme is outstanding. It is reminiscent of the 50's.
People think the 50's were dull and grey but they are sorely mistaken, cars, fashion, trains were all beautifully styled with outstanding colour.
Wow, an absolute perfect answer. Excellent!
The next question goes to you.
MiningmanNew? Old? Where? What?
New - rebuild by Brookville Equipment of El Paso TX prewar PCC car 1506; Old: Delivered new to El Paso in 1937 by St.Louis Car Co. Originally air-electric, probably all electric in the Brookville rebuild. Used in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico between 1937 and 1974, stored in El Paso since 1974. Where: at the Brookville plant. Note the dual-gauge track on Brookville's turntable, standard and Pennsylvania gauge.
Brookville is one of the leaders in both new and rebuilt transit equipment, having delivered new "Liberty" streetcars to Dallas TX.
http://www.brookvillecorp.com/BROOKVILLE-Delivers-First-El-Paso-Streetcar.asp?news=news-streetcar.asp
Well it's been a week so I thought perhaps an interim question while we are waiting.
So what is this? New? Old? Where? What? Name of Builder?
https://i.imgur.com/S4hZUz3.jpg
The interesting thing I thought was the design engineer, Joseph Strauss, went onto bigger bridges. The biggest being the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Chicago did a survey a few years back to see which bridges had historic significance. The links below are what I found in the St Charles Airline bridge. The site also has more bridges.
http://historicbridges.org/illinois/sbrr/original_haer-il-157.htm
http://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=illinois/sbrr/
Not sure if I got the links right
So... Overmod, you are up!
It appears that B&O/CSX kept a small yard with stored equipment on the east side of the river until 1991, mainly for tax purposes.
Today's Photo of the day (5/1/2018) shows that the B&OCT bridge was lowered at least as late as 1972. I'm not sure when the last tracks were removed.
Fascinating...and thanks for the great link that explains it all. Really good reading and information.
Overmod Are you looking for the SCAL (ex-IC) and B&OCT bridges, tinkered with when the South Branch was straightened?
Are you looking for the SCAL (ex-IC) and B&OCT bridges, tinkered with when the South Branch was straightened?
That's what I was looking for. The SCAL bridge was built with a 260 foot leaf over the original channel of the Chicago River, several hundred feet east of its current location. The B&OCT bridge was built on its present site over the new channel while it was still being dug. Both bridges were built at a low level, with the SCAL and B&OCT crossing the south approach to Union Station at grade near the current Amtrak Coach Yard. Once the B&OCT bridge was completed, both SCAL and B&OCT used the B&OCT bridge to cross the new channe, with B&OCT moves swinging north onto the island between the old and new channels. SCAL traffic used the original SCAL swing bridge untill the new Strauss Trunnion Bascule span was completed. Once the old channel was filled in, the SCAL bridge was dismantled and re-erected next to the B&OCT bridge, but at a high enough level to connect with the new SCAL and B&OCT inclines over Union Station trackage. The SCAL bridge was shortened about 40 feet during the move. The final move was to lift the B&OCT bridge to the level of the new inclines and remove temporary connections.
The St. Charles Air Line is a short connecting line built by the CB&Q, C&NW, IC and Michigan Central. It's still owned by BNSF, UP and CN. IC acquired PC's ex MC share. All of the construction on the bridges was handled by IC and B&O. Both bridges were in service until Grand Central and the adjoining freight house were closed by B&OCT in 1969. The B&OCT bridge has been in the up position since, and is no longer reached by tracks. The SCAL is used by CN Iowa line trains, by numerous transfer runs, and by Amtrak trains using CN's ex-IC main line.
Here's a link to a page with some photos and drawing showing the move:
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2015/12/st-charles-airline-bridge.html
Both bridges involved were lifted to a higher level during reconstruction, as part of one of the largest civil engineering projects in its era, one that shaped its city.
Please continue. I don't have a good question right now. And I think the current one is interesting.
I'm would think CSSHEGEWISCH should get this one, as he knows engineering and/or bridge history.
Thx IGN
Glad you're back! If you have a different question I can withdraw the one I posted.
Miningman Hard to untangle this one...maybe narig01 but is he still around?
Hard to untangle this one...maybe narig01 but is he still around?
rcdyre go ahead
While we're waiting...
This bridge, which is still in daily use, was the longest single-leaf bascule bridge ever built when it was originally installed. Formerly in line (one after the other) with another similar bridge, it now sits beside it, with a slightly shortened leaf. Location and reason for bridge relocation.
So who gets the question?
The fourth road was the Rock Island. Burlington, Rock Island and Milwaukee used NYC vans (and vice versa) for "bypass mail" which was not sorted in Chicago. IC pretty much used their own.
This got stalled and then, apparently, dropped off everyone's radar. I still don't know what the fourth road is supposed to be...
You are correct - I hadn't seen any pictures of them on any trains except the "Land-o-Corn". I also found that AT&SF did participate in early tests with an SFTU van used on a modified flatcar. WP leased a single flat, intended for use on the California Zephyr between Oakland and Salt Lake City, where it was used for about six months in 1965 and 1966, mainly for Railway Express.
rcdrye IC used side-door vans and didn't interchange. Their steam-equipped flats and vans ran in Iowa Division service.
IC used side-door vans and didn't interchange. Their steam-equipped flats and vans ran in Iowa Division service.
IC's vans and flats also turned up on the main line. I recall seeing them on the rear end of the "Campus" (later named the "Illini") while waiting for the South Shore at 115th Street. They would occasionally show up on the "City of New Orleans".
Rob and All:
This question about NYC's FlexiVans reminded me of a tragic story at Northtown about 1966. One of the FlexiVan cars (with two trailers) was waybilled to a consignee at Jamestown, ND. It was rejected at Jamestown because of no way to unloaded the two trailers. It was returned to Northtown for furtherance to the NYC in Chicago. A switchman was fatally injured when he fell beneath the car during a switching movement. Quite a tragedy! I did not know the switchman well.
Ed Burns
The Rock carried some of its flexi-vans in passenger trains, with one series equipped with well-wrapped steam lines so they could ride directly behind the locomotives. NYC flats, when carried, rode at the rear. Rock Island's vans ran Chicago-Des Moines, and occasionally Council Bluffs. CB&Q also had steam-equipped flats. Both CB&Q and Milwaukee got cuts of flats from the NYC regularly.
Soo Line loaded and unloaded marine containers at Schiller Park - no mail. Mail was handled in heavyweight RPOs and Storage Mail cars until the Laker was discontinued in 1965. Any interchange mail was handled in sacks by truck.
Rock Island?
Actually Santa Fe did not normally carry flexi-vans in bypass mail service. AT&SF preferred to handle containers on their own "flat cars", which were cut down from heavyweight coaches, complete with six wheel trucks. The other road that normally carried them also went to many places the AT&SF did, both on its own and with joint service. As far as I know the Flexi-vans only worked from Chicago to the capital of an adjacent state.
The four railroads Santa Fe, Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Milwaukee Road, and Soo Line.
Just to clarify, the fourth railroad was Santa Fe.
Soo Line leased the Wisconsin Central in 1909. The official merger date was Dec 31, 1960, and included the Duluth South Shore & Atlantic. All three were more than 50% owned by Canadian Pacific. WC owned its own locomotives and cars, but everything was labelled Soo Line, with WC equipment carrying small W.C. lettering in various places depending on equipment type. By the time the Soo Line acquired the Milwakee Road in 1985, the Flexi-vans were long retired.
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