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Todays "Photo O' The Day"

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Posted by pennytrains on Friday, October 30, 2020 5:56 PM

Oh yeah.  THAT'S railroading!

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, October 31, 2020 10:14 AM

I remember seeing a Gil Reid painting showing a PRR T1 cleaned in the same way, only the name on the tender and the numbers on the cab were visible

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 Flintlock76 on Sunday, November 1, 2020 11:33 AM

Did you know Gil Reid was mentioned in an Ernie Pyle news dispatch during World War 2?  When I read the book several years ago I recognized the name right away.

I'll quote from the book compiled from the dispatches, "Brave Men," published in 1944.  Gil's mentioned (among others) in a news story about the US Army's 10th Engineers during the Sicily campaign.

" Lieutenant Gilmore Reid came from 846 North Hamilton, Indianapolis.  His dad ran the Purity Cone and Chip Company, which made potato chips.  Young Reid was an artist and also a railroad hobbyist.  He studied railroads with the same verve that some people show in collecting stamps.  He once did a painting of a freight train at a small midwestern station, and when he got word overseas that it had been printed in color in a railroad magazine he felt he'd practically reached the zenith of his heart's desire."  

Isn't that something?  Pretty cool when you read about long-ago events and run into somebody you "know!"

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, November 1, 2020 9:15 PM

CSSHEGEWISCH
I remember seeing a Gil Reid painting showing a PRR T1 cleaned in the same way...

Probably the painting of 5536 that went along with John Crosby's story about 120 mph plus...

http://gilreid.com/product/1948-prr-t1-5536120mph-plus-unsigned-unnumbered/

ph plus
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Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, November 2, 2020 8:18 AM

I remember seeing the painting in that John Crosby article.  The thing that struck me was the crew only cleaned the tender to where the letters spelled "Pennsy."

Looks like they had a sense of humor!  

And whether the locomotive hit 120 or not is kind of immaterial, that's a great action painting!

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, November 2, 2020 10:29 AM

Today's "Photo Of The Day" was a bit of a jaw-dropper.  It's hard to envision new boxcars being purchased for grain service in 1964.  Soo's grain branches must have had some pretty light rail to force that sort of purchase.

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 Flintlock76 on Monday, November 2, 2020 11:17 AM

Yeah, you would think they'd be using covered hopper cars, or something similar.  But what do we know?  I'm sure they had their reasons.  Maybe they preferred cars suitable for multi-use other than single-use.

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, November 2, 2020 12:05 PM

Flintlock76
Yeah, you would think they'd be using covered hopper cars, or something similar.  But what do we know?  I'm sure they had their reasons.  Maybe they preferred cars suitable for multi-use other than single-use.

During that period of time Covered Hoppers had yet to become the 'go to' car for grain transportation as the SOU was still progressing their 'Big John' covered hopper and resulting rates through the judicial system to the level of the Supreme Court.  Box cars in grain service were the traditional way to move grain.

During 1965 when I was training on the B&O as a operator, the daylight operator at Shops (in Washington, IN) was tasked with contacting each station on the St. Louis Division to obtain their car orders for the next day as well as ordering 'grain doors' for the next day's grain loading.  These figures were compiled into a report and given to the Division's Car Distributor.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, November 2, 2020 3:16 PM

Thanks Balt!  Makes sense now.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, November 2, 2020 4:13 PM

Soo Line's first "Colormark" 100 ton aluminum grain hoppers arrived in 1966.  The alternative to the grain loading doors on the 1965 boxcars was a "grain door" of plywood or planks nailed across the door opening of a 40 ft. boxcar.  Many elevators in Soo Line's territory were not equipped to load hoppers in 1965.  The railroad still managed to run solid grain trains (of boxcars) as early as 1964.  As the times changed, the boxcars were used for general service.

Soo Line's publicity photo for the "Colormark" hoppers was sent out with a caption asking how many pizzas 3300 busels of wheat would make.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 4:54 PM

And today, honorary steam engines!  

Check it out!  (Although the color I picked for the above might give you a clue.)  Wink

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 9:47 AM

And today, it's looks like a steam engine drag race is shapin' up!

Considering the location it gives a different slant on the term "street racing."

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Posted by pennytrains on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 6:33 PM

I would have been veruy content living in that big old farm house on the right!  Big Smile

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 6:51 PM

Yeah, you and me both!  Best show in town, and it was FREE!

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 6:53 PM

pennytrains

I would have been veruy content living in that big old farm house on the right!  Big Smile

While the house may be old - it doesn't look like it is on a farm, what with its proximity to 'Railroad Street' for its address as well as sidewalk and driveway and the blue house next door.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 9:45 PM

Eh, so it's "Farmhouse Style."  What's the difference where it is?  

It's got a nice big porch for train-watching in comfort!

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, November 5, 2020 10:09 AM

Today's photo suggests a design quite appropriate to Las Vegas at the time, when most of the action was on Fremont Street.  It would have also been an appropriate design for FEC in Miami in the pre-WW2 era.

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 Flintlock76 on Thursday, November 5, 2020 1:16 PM

Interesting Deco train station, to say the least.

But you know what?  The more I look at it the more I wonder where the girls on roller skates are delivering food orders to parked cars!  Take another look and see if you agree.

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Posted by pennytrains on Thursday, November 5, 2020 6:03 PM

Woah-ho-ho!  That's cool!  Big SmileThumbs Up  (I'm an art deco geek by the way.  Wink)

Here's another art deco building I wish was still around:

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, November 5, 2020 7:00 PM

There should be roller-skating waitresses around that Higbee Tower too!

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Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, November 5, 2020 7:02 PM

From my post card collection:

 UP_Vegas_Postcard by Edmund, on Flickr

Speaking of Higbee's, Penny, did you ever have the chance to dine at the Silver Grille? I was there in my youth. Still remember the gold fish pond.

Mill's Restaurant, too. Across Euclid and toward E.9th a bit.

Great memories Cool

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by MidlandMike on Thursday, November 5, 2020 7:04 PM

I rode Amtrak's Desert Wind in 1989, but by then the Las Vegas station was in the lobby of a high rise casino.  The coach attendant said that we would make a 10 minute stop in Las Vegas (fuel stop I think), an while some people might get off to play some slots, be sure to be back on the train before it leaves.  She said she remembered one lady who did not make it back on the train, but the bigger problem was her child still on the train, who the attendant needed to comfort the rest of the trip.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, November 6, 2020 10:02 AM

And today, it's two of those steam-killin' diesels, in this case Fairbanks-Morse H20-44's.  But time marches on of course, of 96 built only three of the type survive in museums.  Which is a good thing really, we shouldn't hold grudges after all, it's bad for the digestion!

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, November 6, 2020 10:02 AM

Today's picture is one that I enjoy.  P&WV's FM's lasted on the rosted right up to the merger into N&W.  P&WV had two GP35's on order on merger day and they became N&W 1300-1301.

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 pennytrains on Friday, November 6, 2020 6:43 PM

gmpullman
Speaking of Higbee's, Penny, did you ever have the chance to dine at the Silver Grille? I was there in my youth. Still remember the gold fish pond.

Not that I can recall.  As a matter of fact, I can only remember going downtown once between 1969 and 1989 when the restaurant closed.  However I do remember eating at the Zodiac Room at the Parmatown store once.

The Grille:

The grille is open as a banquet center for the Ritz-Carlton these days in iot's restored original decor.

I whipped this up for one of my layouts this year:

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, November 6, 2020 9:52 PM

Oh, that Higbee's is cool!  Which reminds me, I've got to see Santa.  I've fired everything from .22's up to a 40mm grenade launcher but I've never had a Red Ryder BB gun!  

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Posted by pennytrains on Saturday, November 7, 2020 5:55 PM

I have an M-1 carbine BB gun.  Wink

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, November 9, 2020 10:33 AM

Let's see, today we've got some interesting California steam railroading.

Looks like the folks in the sanatorium across the street have something good to watch!  I wonder who owns the car parked trackside, railfan photographer maybe?

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 10:05 AM

Really like today's Photo Of The Day.  The Baldwin demos eventually wound up on EJ&E, who resold them to B&O.

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 Fr.Al on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 10:40 AM

Is Higbee's still around? I'm out of Cleveland thirty years now. Twenty-seven years in Michigan and the last three in Western Pennsylvania,

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