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Classic Train Questions Part Deux (50 Years or Older)

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 4:25 PM

All of the Dixie trains had 6-6-4 or 4-4-5-1 cars, some built new in 1953.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 7:04 AM

The Dixieland,or whatever the secondary train on the route of the DixieFlaglerwas before it came off.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 6:12 AM

Nope, The Seminole was carrying a 6-6-4 by this time.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 3:43 AM

plus coaches, if ciyrse.    IC Seminol?

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, November 14, 2016 4:32 PM

Johnny will like this one... 

Last Midwest-Florida train carrying only open sections.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, November 14, 2016 6:56 AM

On target with ACL.  Did not remember the Central's K11s.  CP regularly used Pacifics for fast freight on level lines.  CN designed a branch-line freight Pacific that was never built.  Look forward to your question.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, November 13, 2016 3:01 PM

I'm still digging for pacifics used on freight.  I think I have to withdraw the GN, which did use "passenger" power on silk trains, since it looks like GN favored 4-8-2 mountains.  NP's silk trains didn't last as long as GN's, running for only a couple of years in the late 1920s.

So far I have DL&W N-5 pacifics, and Erie K-4-A (69" drivers) that were assigned to fast freight service, along with NYNH&H I-4 class.  The NYC K-11a class was specifically built to expedite meat, produce and milk shipments (not particularly milk trains) to the New York City market.   ACL P-2 class were built to handle Florida produce and juice trains (requiring the cooperation of RF&P and PRR) - a precursor to the Tropicana train of today.

www.steamlocomotive.com was the source for most of this info.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Sunday, November 13, 2016 2:30 PM

Rob and All:

I am lead to believe that the GN handled most of the silk. In my many talks with NP veterans, silk trains were never mentioned. I have viewed a picture of a GN steam locomotive named "Marathon". Did not that locomotive handle a silk train from Seattle to St. Paul without an engine change?

Ed Burns

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 13, 2016 2:01 PM

NP waas one I had in mind, and I did not know about GN doing the same.  I'll give you credit for two, and ask you to think hard about the two remaining.  Remember one has a successor very much supervised not delayed train.  The difference is that the Pacifics were used to power the commodity for a general market, where as the modern version is for one business entitiy only with dedicated freight equipment.  The route used by the Pacific remains the same, but what was a connection has been changed.

The dessign for the freight he Pacific that was not built by the COMPETITOR of the third of the railroads that I thought of was a design during WWII to be constructed after the war.  The type of freight service declined and diesels came, so it was not built.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, November 13, 2016 11:18 AM

Both GN and NP used passenger power on silk trains, both also requiring the assistance of the CB&Q to complete the runs.  Erie had some dual-service pacifics.  I think NYC&StL was looking into them before Super Power - and Berkshires - came their way.

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 13, 2016 4:08 AM

Need more hints?   Ask another question?

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Posted by daveklepper on Saturday, November 12, 2016 12:55 PM

The two railroads that used Pacifics on one-commodity trains needed at least one connecting railroad for the total transportation.  The successor of the trains on one railroad, again requiring connections with a slightly changed route, is a regular hot train today.  For the other, the business no longer exists and involved a port.  The third railroad used dual-service Pacifics, but its primary competitor designed a freight Pacific that was never built.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 4:34 AM

Name the three major railroads that regularly used Pacific 4-6-2s for fast regularly scheduled freight (meaning not passenger but also not mail) service.   For two it was generally for one kind of commodity.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 3:11 PM

Got it in one, er , two.  N&W merged with the NKP and leased the Wabash on July 1, 1964.  NKP units got 2000 added, Wabash 3000.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 1:25 PM

Just guessing, N&W on NKP and Wabash?

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 12:43 PM

No feathers ruffled - just a gentle reminder.

In what was at the time a major merger/lease transaction, this railroad swallowed up the fleets of its smaller partners, merging their diesel fleets in by adding 2000 to the merged line's units' road numbers, and 3000 to those of the leased line's units.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 12:04 PM

Rob:

I did not mean to ruffle any feathers. You are correct and the next question is for you.

Ed Burns

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, November 7, 2016 7:20 PM

Good questions, gents, but watch date creep!

BN "NW12" switchers were rebuilt on NW2 frames at West Burlington using upgraded engines with 645 components on 567 blocks.  Road numbers 1,5,14 and 19. 

From trainpix.com  ( http://www.trainpix.com/bn/EMDRBLD/NW12/INDEX.HTM )

 
 Road Numbers                               Builder   Date     Date
 BN #  1st #     2nd #    3rd #    BNSF #   Number    Built    Rebuilt
  1   GN 5302    GN 102   BN 450      -       861      Feb 39   Mar 75 
5 GN 5306 GN 106 BN 454 - 865 Mar 39 Apr 75
14 GN 5317 GN 117 BN 464 - 944 Jul 39 Feb 75
19 GN 5322 GN 122 BN 469 - 949 Aug 39 Oct 76

GE loaned the not-particularly-successful pair of 1978-built SL-144 switchers, which had previously operated as C&NW 1198 and 1199.
BN operated them for a while in the early 1980s as 1100 and 1101. No other railroads were interested, and GE scrapped them in 1984.

 

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Posted by NP Eddie on Monday, November 7, 2016 5:47 PM

CSSHEGEWISCH:

I will continue with two BN locomotive questions:

Four X-GN switch engines (all pre-war) were rebuilt in 1975-6 at West Burlington. "The program was determined to be too costly and canceled afer four units being done." (DelGrosso, BN Locomotives, etc). What were their numbers coming off this program.

GE loaned the BN two switchers for testing. The BN had a surplus of switchers and returned them. What were ther BN numbers?

Happy hunting.

Ed Burns

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, November 7, 2016 12:07 PM

NP Eddie got it and gets the next 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 NP Eddie on Monday, November 7, 2016 12:03 PM

ALL:

They were SDP40's (320-325) and SDP45's (326-333). All had a squared off rear hoods to house the steam generating equipment. The locomotives were re-numbered into the BN 9800 series and later to freight numbers (6300 series and 6500 series). I heard that AMTRAK wanted them (because they were new), but the BN kept those locomotives for freight power. I worked in the Northtown Diesel Material Department in the 1980's and saw them from time to time.

Ed Burns

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, November 7, 2016 10:18 AM

This may not quite be 50 years ago, but it's close.  Great Northern purchased new motive power for the "Western Star" in 1967-68.  What was the motive power and what was significant about it?

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, November 6, 2016 3:39 PM

Since Mark (CSSHegewisch) had the correct railroads I'll give it to him, though Dave has the correct Terre Haute & Western/THI&E/IRR endpoint. Service to Paris ended 1/25/1932, less than a year after IRR took control.  After that, Terre Haute was the correct answer.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 6, 2016 4:41 AM

Correction, Paris, Illinois.  Conected to Terre Haut, and part of the THI&E, which became part of the Indiana Railraod, which abandoned the line to Paris earl in its operations.   The line to Paaris was supposed to continiue to Danville, IL, and some grading actually took place.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 6, 2016 4:36 AM

gDanville  -  Crawfordsville (Sp?

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Posted by rcdrye on Saturday, November 5, 2016 6:39 PM

Danville is one of them.  The other point is a bit closer to Danville than Terre Haute (but not much).

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, November 5, 2016 10:09 AM

rcdrye

Only 36 miles separated the easternmost point reached by interurban from St. Louis from the closest point on the midwestern systems of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.  Name the two points.

 
The two points are Danville, IL on the Illinois Traction System and Terre Haute, IN on the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern (later Indiana Railroad)
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
RME
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Posted by RME on Friday, November 4, 2016 4:56 PM

Ignore me.

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, November 4, 2016 1:00 PM

PRR renamed its piece of the 1946-1948 through Sunshine Special the Texas Eagle between August and December 1948 before settling on the Penn Texas name.  It wasn't a streamliner as such, though many of the cars were streamlined by 1948.

 

Only 36 miles separated the easternmost point reached by interurban from St. Louis from the closest point on the midwestern systems of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.  Name the two points.

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, November 4, 2016 10:02 AM

rcdrye

This was a real doozie until I read the question carefully.  If you'll allow Washington DC as a capital it's a little more forgiving.  Four capitals turned out to be fairly easy.

The only one I could come up with that works with only state capitals was the 1948 Texas Eagle when it briefly ran from New York. Trenton, Harrisburg, Columbus, Indianapolis, Little Rock (and Austin).

If I can use DC then I get:

Silver Comet Trenton DC Richmond Raleigh Atlanta

Silver Meteor Trenton DC Richmond Raleigh Columbia

Silver Star Trenton DC Richmond Raleigh Columbia

Through car operation gets the CZ Sacramento Salt Lake City Denver Lincoln and Albany (NYC) or Harrisburg Trenton (PRR)

 

So far as I know, the Texas Eagle itself never ran east of St. Louis though it did have through service east of St. Louis.

I have always considered Washington, D.C. to be a capital city, so you have the three trains.

Johnny

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