Yes big thanks to Mike for the Boynton Bicycle Rwy. Quite a fascinating read.
The NYO&W was liquidated in March of '57 so not long after that 'Twilight Zone' eerie picture.
The railroad had running rights South from Cornwall, New York to Weehawken, New Jersey on the New York Central's West Shore.
Those coaches at Weehawken Terminal are very likely NYC Westshore trains awaiting the evening rush. O&W coaches awaiting disposal would have been stored off NYC property, and instead at O&W's Middletown shops.
I went with the caption that came along with the picture..
They might be NYC West Shore cars as you say, but I'm not so sure. From what I can tell from the photo the cars on the right have a color scheme that looks an awful lot like the late two-tone scheme used by the O&W on passenger cars. NYC cars on the West Shore were (I think) always Pullman Green, but I'll have to check that. I'm not going to check now, it's 11:30 EST and I'm running out of steam.
Too bad that's not a color shot.
Anyway, I found a video of some vintage O&W action from 1927. Not near the West Shore line, but interesting just the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxP9VgHuN4c
The caption reads as follows:
Weehawken passenger terminal for the New York Ontario & Western Railroad. On this site today is the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal. At the time this picture was taken, passenger service was no longer running. Photo date 1956. The railroad will cease operation and liquidate within a year.
It is entirely possible the caption is in error, but I assumed it was accurate.
While the terminal was the place that O&W terminated its trains, they were only a tenant. O&W passenger service ended in 1953.
Remember that the West Shore yards were very famously in Weehawken, so it would make sense that the O&W's leased facilities were also at least nominally there. And so it appears they are: Port Imperial is formally located there although Edgewater's terminal is only a short distance away. What the caption did not say is that Port Imperial was the site where the leased terminal was built, which is the other way around... Imperatore's ferry came long after the railroad ferries stopped running in the late Sixties.
Here is a view of the Weehawken area from a different angle,
Strange that the whole of the West Shore's own passenger service would be gone hardly more than a half-decade later...
Well thank you for that Overmod
Mike sends this along:
1911 Illustration of Weehawkwen
Flintlock76You mean it actually worked?
Worse yet, it worked at comparatively high speed (although some of the 'projected' speeds for it were not likely without revised suspension and guiding!)
In that era of little passenger competition from non-rail sources, the thing was interesting, in the same sort of way the cable-driven elevated railway in Manhattan and the Beach pneumatic tube train were. They were really nifty ... until you started thinking about transporting large numbers of passengers day-in, day-out on them.
The passenger cars, for example, were built on the British boat-train principle -- which is admirable for commuter service if you can manage slam-door compartments. This was of necessity because of course there was no lateral room for an aisle, and to get the same amount of seating as in a conventional railroad coach, you had to put one 'side' worth of seats above the other. This was neither a stability nor a balance problem because you had the obligate overhead rail. Stations had to be bi-level and of course both levels had people boarding and exiting simultaneously all down the train, which meant much more structure in the station platforms than I think was really expected.
There was actually a second pass at this idea, with a gyroscopic (as I recall it) railcar that used two overhead rails for the tilt protection. This looked as if inspired by Brennan's monorail without actually looking too carefully at why Brennan's monorail worked -- the overhead turned out to be underdesigned; the prototype crashed in a curve, one panic or another came along, and that was all there was for the idea of single ground rail.
I still think there was a passenger future for Brennan's equipment running on top of cables, as you see in a couple of the pictures of the research. At least for the twenty minutes before there was some high-injury accident...
Overmod ...There was actually a second pass at this idea, with a gyroscopic (as I recall it) railcar that used two overhead rails for the tilt protection. This looked as if inspired by Brennan's monorail without actually looking too carefully at why Brennan's monorail worked -- the overhead turned out to be underdesigned; the prototype crashed in a curve, one panic or another came along, and that was all there was for the idea of single ground rail. I still think there was a passenger future for Brennan's equipment running on top of cables, as you see in a couple of the pictures of the research. At least for the twenty minutes before there was some high-injury accident...
...There was actually a second pass at this idea, with a gyroscopic (as I recall it) railcar that used two overhead rails for the tilt protection. This looked as if inspired by Brennan's monorail without actually looking too carefully at why Brennan's monorail worked -- the overhead turned out to be underdesigned; the prototype crashed in a curve, one panic or another came along, and that was all there was for the idea of single ground rail.
The gyro monorail, feel the "magic" of the gyroscope!
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
As I said I would I did some checking on O&W and NYC passenger car colors, and this is what I found.
On the O&W, the late era steel cars had a grey finish with yellow bands, thick below the windows, thin on top. Their earlier wooden cars (not in service in the late 50's) were maroon. This is from the Morning Sun book "NYO&W in Color."
The NYC passenger cars on the West Shore were predominantly Pullman Green, but there was a smattering of two-tone grey cars, definately in the minority. This is from another Morning Sun book "NYC's West Shore Commuter Territory."
So, those cars at the Weehawken terminal could be either-or. Again, it's too bad it's not a color shot. We'll never know for certain. Not that it really matters.
And yes, West Shore commuter service didn't have long to live. Declining ridership certainly, but to make a long story short what put the final nail in the coffin was the NYC's abandonment of the ferryboat service from Weehawken to Manhattan in March of 1959. With no easy way to reach the city from the Jersey side commuters stopped taking the trains and switched to buses. Discontinuance of all West Shore commuter service came December 10, 1959.
The Weehawken Terminaln was definitely mislabeled. The N YO&W had already stopped using it, and we can be certain that all the passenger equipment in the picture was West Shore New York Central equipment, waiting between rush hours. The lack of any passeners in the photo is due to the service by then was down to a few Haverstrw - Weehawken trains in the morning and few back in the evening. There would not be any NYO&W equipment at the terminal at the time of the photograph.
Well that settles it as far as I'm concerned! Dave's the man, if he doesn't know what happened then it never happened to begin with.
...Port Imperial refers to the much, much later use of this area by Arthur Imperatore...
Miningman4) Pennsy dwarf signal. Looks like something from Minions. Going to walk, waddle, right over to you and check you out!
Bet I know who their masters are!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Penny Trains Miningman 4) Pennsy dwarf signal. Looks like something from Minions. Going to walk, waddle, right over to you and check you out! Bet I know who their masters are!
Miningman 4) Pennsy dwarf signal. Looks like something from Minions. Going to walk, waddle, right over to you and check you out!
Wow! A Martian from the REAL "War Of The Worlds!"
They sure don't make 'em like George Pal did anymore!
Am I the only one around here who wants to stab those jelly-like eyes?
Check out the "Domino" or "Headstone" signals that were used until the 1970s at Chicago Union Staton. Article only mentions the South Approach, but they were on the North Approach, too.
https://www.railroadsignals.us/rulebooks/PRRCUS/index.htm
Interesting that the aspect called 'permissive signal' calls for operating at the equivalent of restricted speed...
I have to wonder if these were used at Manhattan Transfer for the relatively brief time between 1925 and the extension of catenary through Penn Station. It may bear looking into that this is a West End project; was there standardization of the "two-head" round position lights on Eastern terminals along with the Gibbs & Hill electrifications? I have not been able to read the articles yet so there may be more information there.
When did PRR go from the four-in-a-row position light signals to simple three? I know it was early but there has to be a story and perhaps we can get it from what remains of historical records if someone has not already told it.
Jones1945 Am I the only one around here who wants to stab those jelly-like eyes?
No, I wouldn't do that, that would be cruel.
I'd just shoot the thing and call it a day! But not until I'd determined the bugger was hostile, which of course the movie established beyond a doubt.
Then I'd try to figure out if Martians are good to eat!
Hey, waste not, want not!
Miningman 4) Pennsy dwarf signal. Looks like something from Minions. Going to walk, waddle, right over to you and check you out! Bet I know who their masters are!
More commonly referred to as "pot signals" on the Pennsy. At least in territories I've been to. Still many of them in use - some with LED upgrades.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Flintlock76Wow! A Martian from the REAL "War Of The Worlds!"
I was trying to find a pic of one of those American Flyer prewar signals with the round green face and 3 bulbs but I couldn't find one. At any rate those AF signals always remind me of the WotW Martians.
Penny Trains Flintlock76 Wow! A Martian from the REAL "War Of The Worlds!" I was trying to find a pic of one of those American Flyer prewar signals with the round green face and 3 bulbs but I couldn't find one. At any rate those AF signals always remind me of the WotW Martians.
Flintlock76 Wow! A Martian from the REAL "War Of The Worlds!"
Don't be surprised if that American Flyer signal WAS the inspiration for the Martian look, Hollywood special effects people and designers get their inspiration from all sorts of places.
Remember that grinding "woo-woo-woo-woo" sound the Martian death rays made? The sound effect came from a Ford starter motor!
Is this the signal you are looking for? One bulb is missing though..... Wayne probably shot it off...
Photo by forum member Jimplayer
zugmann Miningman 4) Pennsy dwarf signal. Looks like something from Minions. Going to walk, waddle, right over to you and check you out! Bet I know who their masters are! More commonly referred to as "pot signals" on the Pennsy. At least in territories I've been to. Still many of them in use - some with LED upgrades.
Another precious "heritage" left by the "Standard Railroad of the World". I bet they will last another 15 years until our trains would be controlled by A.I ......
Well, if anyone shot that bulb off it wasn't me, I have the highest respect for historic artefacts! Especially toy train artefacts. I'm amazed how many have survived to this point in time.
Which mean the owners of the same really, really loved them.
Let's see how much I can get wrong this time!
1) Art or mystic engineering?
So CP positions a train just so, paints on its multi mark logo, probably followed by an incantation of sorts and voila .. a tunnel is made. The train moves on taking with it the essence what was. Pretty cool I'd say.
2) About time I see a steam locomotive carrying a spare main wheel. They should all have one!
3) Is this really a good idea? Talk about beating up the rail!
4) Is this real?... or is it Memorex? Where?
5) Does Peta know about this? Anyway, tis the season, Merry Christmas
Vince, you know as well as I do that the first picture is vehicular Pac-Man. With a clear indication who is likely to come out second best.
Here's the other side of that Aveling & Porter locomotive, which I think is a bit more... fitting for this thread:
Bet you thought those were side rods!
Talk about mixed messages on the Santa Train -- reminds me of those singing Pop-Tarts or M&Ms, or for an older generation Oscar Mayer Wieners. I looked for a comparative table of the calorific value of different makes of teddies (including those from Victoria's Secret) in narrow-firebox engines, but have had no luck so far ... it'll be interesting to see what Mike finds on that score.
First thing that came to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk9QFRvVQQ0
Dang, you exposed the other side too early. Was hoping to run the 'spare tire' gag a bit. Oh well, the locomotive has a great name for all to see on that side!
Flintlock76 Well, if anyone shot that bulb off it wasn't me, I have the highest respect for historic artefacts! Especially toy train artefacts. I'm amazed how many have survived to this point in time. Which mean the owners of the same really, really loved them.
Exactly. I always imagine what my little collection would become 80 years later... How many of them still in the hand of the collector who really treasure them. If my family don't interested in them, I would just donate them to people or organizations who will take good care of them.
Miningman Let's see how much I can get wrong this time! 1) Art or mystic engineering? So CP positions a train just so, paints on its multi mark logo, probably followed by an incantation of sorts and voila .. a tunnel is made. The train moves on taking with it the essence what was. Pretty cool I'd say.
This is a pretty cool capture. I see two tunnels, or one portal between the cars, and one tunnel under them. Inside the portal, there is another doorway. Place the cars here:
to see if this thing will work...
Miningman 2) About time I see a steam locomotive carrying a spare main wheel. They should all have one!
More photos of this cute engine: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/bocm%2Cerith
Somehow, those wheels remind me of the stone chariot of Hampi, India.
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter