Some Random Classic Pics perhaps worthy of Discussion

[Jones1945]

Miningman

U.S. Airforce Simulators.   Great idea! In use many years.

My dream house...

[rcdrye]

The "former diner" is a converted WWII Army hospital carbuilt by ACF in 1944.  Sister cars ended up in lots of postwar circus trains, the Monon's postwar fleet and Alaska Railroad's trains.  Amtrak converted similar Korean war era cars to lounges (Montrealer's "Le Pub" and similar cars used on the Broadway) and baggage-dorms.

[Miningman]

They were used for B-52 training and continued on in use for other aircraft.. seem to remember they were used until 1989..will see if I can find the photo caption again.. should have written it down. 

Here you go!  https://www.fairchild.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/1248135/dust-on-the-rails-of-a-glorious-heritage/

Great pictures... Operation Cannonball! ... too cool.

[seppburgh2]

Well, two cents.  You have a Pullman troop car on the right and a former dinner on the left (by the guess of the side door and 6 wheel trucks.) Maybe this was a helicopter super life exercise as part of the Cold War effort of the early 60's?  Love to know if they are still in use today or whatever happened to them.

[Miningman]

Classified

[Penny Trains]

How do you deploy dat crazy ting? 

[Miningman]

U.S. Airforce Simulators.   Great idea! In use many years.

 

2)  Oops! 

 

3  Buffalo Central Terminal   How did this happen?  The Commodore would never accept or understand!

 

 

4)  ... but the Buffalo remains iconic and defiant! 

 

[Flintlock76]

"Avalanche Sharks!!!"   Now how did that one get past me?  

Probably because I was obsessing about when the Sci-Fi Channel was going to re-run the updated "Moby Dick."  You know, the one where the new, improved Moby Dick eats a helicopter, then a submarine, then a cruise ship...

And I thought "Megashark vs. Giant Octopus" was the limit!  

And man, when I was growing up in North Jersey you weren't an official kid unless you'd seen "The Crawling Eye" and "The House On Haunted Hill" at least twice.  

Thank you Channel 9!  

And "F Troop" may have been safer for Forrest Tucker Johnny, but I'm not so sure it was for Larry Storch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_BhX0UdAo  

[Flintlock76]

deleted  

[Miningman]

This is why snow bunnies should be staying right here with me.

[Deggesty]

Flintlock76

 

 

Penny Trains

 

 

Flintlock76

 

 

Penny Trains

I thought #2 could be Swiss, but, I have no idea why I thought that! 

 

 

 

 

Kinda weird and cheesy-lookin'?

Or maybe 'cause it's painted a chocolate brown?

 

 

 

 

I guess it just has an Alpine mojo. 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Alpine mojo, ever see this example of bad Alpine juju?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUqaLtCuwI  

 

Maybe Forrest Tucker should have stayed with F troop? He would have been safer there.

[Penny Trains]

Flintlock76

Speaking of Alpine mojo, ever see this example of bad Alpine juju? Surprise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUqaLtCuwI

I can top(?) that! 

[rcdrye]

xRotd 9213 im Einsatz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfKCglgIO98

and the NZZ video from 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxhDJVucFqE

[Flintlock76]

Penny Trains

 

 

Flintlock76

 

 

Penny Trains

I thought #2 could be Swiss, but, I have no idea why I thought that! 

 

 

 

 

Kinda weird and cheesy-lookin'?

Or maybe 'cause it's painted a chocolate brown?

 

 

 

 

I guess it just has an Alpine mojo. 

 

Speaking of Alpine mojo, ever see this example of bad Alpine juju?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUqaLtCuwI  

[Penny Trains]

Flintlock76

 

 

Penny Trains

I thought #2 could be Swiss, but, I have no idea why I thought that! 

 

 

 

 

Kinda weird and cheesy-lookin'?

Or maybe 'cause it's painted a chocolate brown?

 

I guess it just has an Alpine mojo. 

[daveklepper]

Yes, the Two EF-4s are just west of the New Haven passenger station heading southwest, bound for Bay Ridge.

[Erik_Mag]

Number 1:

I much prefer the arrangement of the two electrics GE built for the B.A.&P. These had the porch with pants at the back of the locomotive and the cab looking like a more squared version of what was on the GP7 and GP9.

[MidlandMike]

Where is the NH electric?  My guess is in its namesake city.

[Flintlock76]

Penny Trains

I thought #2 could be Swiss, but, I have no idea why I thought that! 

 

Kinda weird and cheesy-lookin'?

Or maybe 'cause it's painted a chocolate brown?

[Penny Trains]

I thought #2 could be Swiss, but, I have no idea why I thought that! 

[Flintlock76]

Number Three?  Wow, talk about when Old King Coal was secure on his throne!

Sic transit gloria mundi.  

[rcdrye]

2) is Xrotd 9213 or 9214 , one of two Dampfschneeschleuder (Steam snowplows) of the meter-gauge Rhaetische Bahnen in Switzerland.  Usually based in Pontresina (near St. Moritz) they are still used from time to time to clear the line, although it's often used in excursion/photo-op trips as well.  Built by SLM Winterthur around 1910, it gets meticulous care.  A number of years ago one of the Swiss news organizations did a video about it, including a session with a 26-year-old "Heizer" (fireman), who explained the machinery (Uf breitste Buenderdutsch) like he was describing his girlfriend.  It's often used in tandem with the "Bernina Krokodil" 182, a shortened (Bo'Bo'), 3000VDC version of the Co'Co' RhB Krokodil units that LGB modelled so well a number of years ago.

[daveklepper]

Liked the overwhelminigly Funky a lot and decided to shed some light on it to see really what was what .  Lots of coal, for sure!

[Miningman]

1) Funky

 

2)  Very Funky

 

3)  Overwhelmingly Funky

 

 

[Flintlock76]

Overmod

 

 

Flintlock76

They didn't save any of them, woe worth the day!

 

 

Although I keep hoping the Koreans did.

 

Oh yeah.  Hope springs eternal that K1 they sent to Korea is still over there waiting to be found, but so far there's been no luck for anyone who's gone looking.    

[Overmod]

Flintlock76

They didn't save any of them, woe worth the day!

Although I keep hoping the Koreans did.

[Overmod]

Flintlock76

Poor old Jawn Henry.  Incredibly powerful, but "buggy."  The bugs could have been worked out of it...

It could be argued that if Westinghouse hadn't dropped one of the generators during production and subsequently failed to 'make the damage good' the design might have been more of a success.  In Louis Newton's coverage ("Tale of a Turbine") he repeatedly mentions this as a source of major issues.

4500 nominal HP is ridiculously small for a locomotive intended for relatively slow-speed coal traffic; conversely, it's inadequate to reach the nominal 65mph speed for 'merchandise time freight' that Baldwin sold N&W on.  (Again Newton has some comments, acerbic at times, on the honesty involved with that claim.)

The real 'nail in the coffin' as far as I'm concerned was that N&W managed to damage a significant number of the hexapole motors just in the very short period of testing that found the locomotive inadequate compared to even the range of contemporary steam alternatives.  It takes a LOT of trying to kill one of those things.  For comparison this is no more motors, and no more available input power, than an ABA set of contemporary RF16s; while there was certainly much to complain about regarding the reliability of those locomotives, their traction motors (and much else in their electrical gear) would be generally 'above reproach'.

Diseasels were certainly not a 'done deal' even in the days Baldwin developed the Essl 'alternative to a 4-8-4' -- properly 6000hp in a reasonable-length carbody with high-speed 'electric locomotive' underframe -- before WWII.  It could be -- and has been -- argued that had there been no war, and no actions to recover from it without depression like 1920-21, steam might have remained more tenable as a motive-power 'choice' longer, and conversely that effective progression to second-generation horsepower and reliability taken longer to reach.  Personally I find the practical advantages of internal-combustion power, net of practical financing considerations for capitalist railroads, pretty reasonable and pretty compelling even at first-generation levels.  (See the Big Little Railroad discussion of why first-generation engines of considerable power were used on commuter trains...)

[Flintlock76]

Poor old Jawn Henry.  Incredibly powerful, but "buggy."  The bugs could have been worked out of it, but the N&W couldn't interest any other 'roads in the concept, and at the end of the day it didn't do the job appreciably better than a Y6b did, so there was no point in persuing it.  

And of course, everyone knew the "dismals" were coming anyway, it was just a matter of time.

[Penny Trains]

Too bad this is silent:

[Penny Trains]

Overmod

The turbine, on the other hand, was TE-rrific and Number One!

OY!