I'm coughing just looking at that switcher......
And do I smell burning solder from the ALCOs?
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
As a steam freak I really, really, really hate to admit it, but I just love the look of the DL-109's! Especially in New Haven livery! (Take your pick, there were several, and they all looked good!)
Sleek and sassy-lookin'!
I wish someone would come out with an affordable O gauge model of one. Not much chance of that now with Mike's Train House (MTH) going away.
Ah-ha! Very good Overmod. Makes sense. A scene with those units and consist now delegated to history. Good to know. Important.
Todays theme is " Lengthy"
1) So here we have a DL109 of the Southern in Meridian, Mississippi. Those Alco's had some real length to them!
2) Sticking with the deep South in Meridian, here we have GM&O DL109's one pic with a lengthy consist.
3) Still in Meridian... here's the Southern again with a pretty lengthy passenger train. 4 E's ( corrected) up front. Southern was famous as an Amtrak holdout as well.
4) This is one lengthy switcher. Early days Missouri Pacific NW4. ( corrected)
It does look a lot like Claymont (where the GG1 high-speed record was set during testing) but there are different little hills, and the water 'beyond' is a different color.
The only other place that looks like this is the Atlantic Highlands area.
Part of the key here is that Baldwins and E units don't multiple. Someone made that train up to match the power of the one E unit, and the Baldwins stayed made up in pairs like this during regular service -- so you had a road failure and they sent first available power out to retrieve it. They would have little trouble recovering time on the schedule with that, dead E or not.
I have film of rush-hour operation with Baldwins and EMDs in the same consist ... doubtless with an unusually long train loaded near capacity. But of course you see engineers in both relevant cab windows...
daveklepperFlintlock, from one who rode: By the end of WWII, most Bay Head Junction PRR trains ran to and from Penn Station, not Exchange Place. Jersey City.
As usual you're right David, but that was my "Jersey Central On The Brain" syndrome kicking in! I forgot about the PRR being just a little different.
The picture had me guessing a bit last night, as I told Vince by e-mail. The topography looks very similar to a section of the old PRR mainline that parallels Route 95 in Delaware. Then I looked again and was reminded of a photo in a Don Ball book I've got on the PRR. Pulled the book and sure enough there it was, the section just south of the South Amboy station, and taken from darn near the same angle.
Too bad about the "Submarine" Peter, it looked to me it might have made someone a nice houseboat or yacht if they wanted to put some money into it, what what can you do? Maybe it was too far gone to bring back.
There were much better ferries in Sydney -- hydrofoils. At least some were based on the PT-20 design made famous as the Disco Volante -- a wonderful name for a car, too -- in Thunderball.
In appearance, though, even these were not quite up to the standard of the Alekseyev Projekt-340 Raketas (think of a chopped '57 Chevy on top of a '50s-modern railroad car that cruises at 40kt). (The succeeding Kometas were even more Googie spectacular, but not to my eyes as stylishly 'wicked fast'.
For a short but wonderful time one of these was brought to Tortola, in the BVI, and was used as the ferry from St. Thomas (in competition with the Antilles Airboats Geese -- it was traveler's heaven). Alas! the owners had an issue with the engine (which I was told was a license-built Mercedes twin-turbo V-12, a sophisticated engine for the time) and made the mistake of disassembling it while waiting for parts. Unfortunately the alloys proved dramatically susceptible to accelerated and vicious corrosion, the upshot being that when I next saw the ship the block was a furry mass of red and it was obvious a re-engining was going to be necessary.
Well, right at this time I had been bouncing around reviving passenger-ferry service on the Hudson, using a report on high-speed ships and the original history of the Erie Northern branch in Englewood. This would use a high-speed boat touching at Alpine, Englewood Cliffs, and Edgewater which would then proceed right around the tip of Manhattan to reach the Wall Street area. Now what I figured was that a rebuilt Raketa would be perfect to start this. Then as traffic increased we could contract for a couple of those Boeing banking-hydrofoil hulls, flip the ferry line, and wind up with a fine 'engineer's private yacht'. I casually mentioned this to Terry at Long Bay Hotel one afternoon and he said 'Oh, you know she's for sale' and invited me to meet with 'her solicitors' -- who, as it turned out, were contemplating a price of about $2400 for her. A quick tow to Florida and refit, an excursion paying her way up past Atlantic Highlands, and away we go... but not so fast. President Carter, who I otherwise liked, had agitated to ban imports of anything 'Russian' and this included stuff sent to the islands (this was the glorious era that you could get duty-free Stoli 100 for $1.50 a bottle) -- and there went the grand idea.
Still... look at one of these up close and you will probably share the interest.
Flintlock, from one who rode: By the end of WWII, most Bay Head Junction PRR trains ran to and from Penn Station, not Exchange Place. Jersey City. The CNJ trains all ran to Jersey City, of course. For many years when I used the service for Army leaves and passes and then business trips, there were only two morning inbound and evening outbound PRR Jersey City trains to and from Bay Head, but this was reduced to one, the Broker, which did not even stop at Souh Amboy. All PRR NY&LB trains that ran to Jersey City ran through with K4s and then diesels and did not use the GG1s. The Broker was the last steam passenger train in the immediate NY Metropolitan area.
Nice little ferry. Can see why they nicknamed it The Submarine. Had a fairly short service life about 30 years. Sorry to see it got scraped. Would have been a great addition to our Lac La Ronge up here, which is really a small inland ocean. Just the right size! Nice styling, luv that top deck railing going around. Thanks Peter, who knew?!
There was a slightly less outlandish if less ship-like ferry in Sydney Australia which I remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iq8uKWpjl4
Peter
Yeah N&W diselization roughly coincided with what happened in Canada from Saskatchewan and Eastward, the mountains and BC having gone earlier.
It was trauma for a young boy early teen. I would just walk away when it became apparent it was Diesels. Who cares. Dumb horn sounds like a cow. Cows sounded better. Stinks like a bus, stupid things.
Perhaps if it were 20 years earlier in the stream line era with slant nose E's and weird looking Turbines then I might have been excited as a kid like William O. Craig stated but really nothing was going to take the place of those familiar steam locomotives and their antics. Coal, water, noise, thumping, cranking, hissing, the coal smoke, the valve oil, it was a real sight to behold.
In Burlington there was always one steam loco at a water tank, or coal chute or at the fruit sheds. There was always another waiting on of the two junctions that met the main line, and every 15 minutes one that just flew thru at track speed 79mph and then another stopping at the station. All that ended with the Diesels because everything changed.
Of course I'm an old softie with beautiful memories and I do lament a lot. Diesels still pop my balloon.
I saw my first N&W diesel when I was in Farmville, visiting an uncle and his family, in July of 1959. It came in with on #4, the Pocahontas. After having seen J's (and one streamlined K) in Bristol, it was a dreary sight.
Johnny
Thanks for the in depth explanation Wayne. Getting a good explanation and resources on a pic puts in all in perpesctive.
Nice selection here! Let's see now...
Photo 1) Unless I miss my guess that Pennsy train's operating on the New York & Long Branch in New Jersey and approaching South Amboy. That's Raritan Bay on the far left. And if it's the NY&LB it's definately a commuter train. I'd guess those two "Sharks" are rescue power, or it's a power balancing move. Those overhead wires would end just out of sight to the right of the frame. GG1's would handle the commuter trains from Jersey City to South Amboy, and then would hand off to steam engines, and then later to diesels which would complete the runs to Bay Head. The wires extended past the station to facilitate shifting of the GG1's.
the NY&LB was jointly owned by the PRR and the Jersey Central and saw trains from both 'roads. For the Pennsy it was kind of a "last stand" for some of their famous engines like the K4's and the Sharks. Steam ended on the NY&LB in 1957. The 'road's now called the North Jersey Coast Line and operated by NJ Transit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_and_Long_Branch_Railroad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Jersey_Coast_Line
Photo 2) Wow, I've never seen Penn Central engines look so clean!
Photo 3) Yeah, that N&W "Geep" was the replacement for the Class J's. It just wasn't the same afterward. Nothing was the same afterward.
Photo 4) Too bad about the old Kalakala, but that's the problem with big, old antiques. If they can't earn their keep in one way or another it's curtains for them.
1) A somewhat interesting photo... a pair of Bp20's leading an E on a short Pennsy passenger train, maybe a commuter? ... and all under wire to boot! Where's the GG1? Also looks a bit like its Nebraska or something but of course not. Perhaps the E broke down or it's a power move. If not then really overpowered. Baggage car trailing. All heavyweights too! Maybe going somewhere in a big hurry.
2) Not very common to see Penn Central in a very classy light but in this instance they are looking very classy indeed.
3) N&W trying to look 'railroady', ...well not bad but you still need a J up front.
4) Last look at the Kalakala Ferry. If Milwaukee and Burlington got together and built a ferry, and sprinkle in a little bit of Pennsy S1 then this is it.
Dreary end.
Thamks!
Thank you rcdrye. Here's an expanded view.
The coach yards are the long-gone C&NW north side yards. The bridges crossing the yard are Grand Ave. and North Avenue. The north side yards served the North and Northwest line's suburban services, with the West Line's trains served then as now at Western Ave.
And if things were truly sensible today, could not this be recreated? And do whales of good in the process?
Put catenary over the ex-C&NW (UP), put in the flyovers at Davis or Main, Evanston, buy back from the two musuems, rebuild for dual current and current collection. replace one trap-stair combination each side with MUNI-style step-elevators, have the snackbars run by a good Chicago, Evanston, or Waukegan restaurant, charge the normal NETRA fares. Well, I can dream, can't I?
I believe this is the C&NW coach yard, preWWII. (?)
The little boy in the picture appears to be holding a camera which makes me think it might have been a fan trip.
1) 5 guys, 2 trucks, a bunch of equipment, all to ice peas. Well it worked and UP made lots of money so there's something to be said for it all.
2) Big Pennsy power on Horseshoe. What is striking is no fence. Back when people had common sense and less lawyers.
3) Always New York City pics lately, so I thought maybe Chicagos turn.
Coach yard. Impressive.
4) Departing with the Liberty Limited in the Fleet of Modernism scheme. Make Jones happy anyway.
MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlinedsuperstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattleduring the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for her unique art deco styling.
After retiring from passenger service in 1967, the ship was beached in Kodiak, Alaska, and converted to a shrimp cannery. In 1998, the ship was refloated and towed to Puget Sound with the owner hoping to restore the ship. During this time, the ship continued to deteriorate, with the Coast Guard declaring the ship a hazard to navigation in 2011. Unable to raise the funds required for restoration, the ship was scrapped in 2015.
The story with plenty of pics.
https://jannaludlow.co.uk/Art_Deco/Kalakala.html
2) First to go were the lightning stripes.
Second to go were the minority builder Diesels
Third to go was the passenger trains.
Fourth to go was the New York Central Railroad
An absurd chain of errors beyond irresponsible. I'm sure almost none will agree with me but I stand with my statement.
3) When things were a bit more sensible. No need for this to have disappeared either.
4) I think something happened here to famous Milwaukee 1
They seemed to be stopped kind of no where along the high iron and the engineer and fireman are checking out something. Perhaps I am incorrect.
Ooops, cannot allow the smoke to be missing!
My attempt to make Erie 939's details more visible:
Miningman Ok now this looks like a family picture. It has me intrigued though. The Pennsy passenger has no platforms but grass instead! Where could this be?, Northern Michigan? There's a story here!
When you suggested northern Michigan, I thought of Petosky. The town became a major resort area in the 1800s thanks to the nearby Harbor Springs, which had a natural deepwater harbor that could dock any Great Lake passenger ship of the era. A lot of resorters came from Chicago. The GR&I (later PRR) had a wide ROW downtown, as it had resort commuter routes in 3 directions from Petosky, in addition to mainline trains. Later, when the multi-track line became single track, the rest of the ROW width became grassy Pennsylvania Park. However, as I looked closer, I noticed that the track has a curve, whereas this line went straight thru town. It also looks more urban that Petosky. The engine has an induction(?) antenna. Would PRR engines be thus equipped on their most remote line?
Penny TrainsBut it is a bit odd that there's no fence or anything between the sidewalk and the rails.
It's what old-time rail photographers used to call a "Railfan friendly station."
No fence or obstacles to keep you away from the train and spoil any possible camera angles. Of course, whether that's by accident or design is anyone's guess.
Penny Trains Hey Wayne! I like the new avatar!
Hey Wayne! I like the new avatar!
Thank you Ma'am! I finally figured out how to change the thing and went for the most dramatic image I could find. I found several Continental Marine (Marines with flintlocks, don't ya' know?) images that looked good and chose this one. It seemed to fit the bill pretty well.
Huzzah!
Yeah, I know it's not a platform, it's a sidewalk. The sign say 'Loans'... maybe the Pennsy stopped for a loan to make a payment on that dumb E8. It's a strange setting that's for sure.
Grass goes right up to the track. Must be ballast somewhere. Maybe it's semi-street running. Gives meaning to ' Do not walk on the grass'.
Taking a better look at it as an enlargement, that's not a platform. It looks more like a city sidewalk, there's a sign clearly advertising a store or something. The station may be on the other side of the train out of view. But it is a bit odd that there's no fence or anything between the sidewalk and the rails.
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
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