Hi Tom and all
CINDY After seeing MIKE'S link to the Bull & Bladder (Vine Inn) the brewery tap of Bathams in the Delph I had better have a pint, and a round please.
The first weekday of the bar being open yesterday and my internet link went down, the e-mail stuck on loading into spamblocker, the bride had no luck fixing it although it said we had a good signal and the virus check showed no problem, anyway it seems to have sorted itself out today.It reminded me of something I read in a British Railway Magazine, aparently one of the new electric units was having a problem with the automatic doors so the computer was swiched off and back on again solving the problem, as the mag said "Rebooting the computer works for doors as well as windows"
Many thanks for the latest b,day wishes and with AL and CM3 joining the gang here again is great news.A busy day yesterday will soon have the Tilla full again and AWK and TEX will be glad BORIS has other things to occupy him.
Thanks for the comments on the pics, I will e-mail Alan and yes ERIC the gauge in Ireland is of 5 feet 3 inches but there was quite a lot of narrow guage lines, like the ones serving the peat bogs. Next Sunday I will post a couple of pics of some remains of the Tralee & Dingle narrow gauge in South West Ireland.
MIKE Thanks for the linksto the IRM. Great pics of the old Central Vermont Railway locos and the details on St Albans railroad history.
ROB #503 looks an interesting loco and it is great that better times are ahead for the TEE unit.I can just imagine the Super in the new plow causing havoc, I bet he was popular with the householders.
DOUG Like Tom I had not heard of wooden track before and looking forward to Big Lift part 2. The brakeman was very lucky to escape the sad fate of the loco crew.Still enjoying the jokes
LARS Thanks for the tips on the new format. As you say it is great to be back.As you say I too am ready to go on a train trip again soon I hope the track work in our area is finished soon.
BK.Great pic of the Edmonton car actully in the tunnel, the tunnel is a lot cleaner than the London Tube.
TOM Thanks for the insight into the new St Louis metro extension. As you say it would have made sense to use the existing trackbed to serve a big population. A lot of the new light rail in England uses ex British Rail ROW. A line in Scotland is being reinstated to serve Alloa, linking the town with the line at Stirling, it should open next year. It is said that house prices in the town are rising on the strength of the line reopening.
The line from the Airport to down town St Louis uses an old line.When we pay the occasonal visit to Busch stadium we use the Park and Ride and go on the Metro. We had some friends with us who were dubious about using the metro but after trying once said next time they go it will be the way they go. It shows if you can get people on the first time they will use it again.
Are any good bars in Shrewsbury where the Extension goes to, perhaps we could have a ride at the re-union.
CINDY the Bathams is as good as it always was so I had better have another.
Good Afternoon Captain Tom and all assembled!
Cindy, a gin tonic with a twist in a tall glass for my lady and I will take a Southern Comfort on the rocks - make it a double if you please. Oh, and of course a round on me!
With much to learn regarding these forum changes coupled with some difficulties experienced on PhotoBucket - my photos will be loaded directly from other sites. A no-no - but I am unaware of a remedy in the short term.
Some light rail from Calgary this fine day:
Photo credit: Kevin Lo, December 2001
and . . . .
Photo credit: unknown, July 2000
More at: http://www.lightrail.com/photos/calgary/calgary.htm
I must admit to enjoying the subject of light rail - brings back some fond memories of streetcar riding from long, long ago both in Canada and the USA. I'm sure that just tickles trolleyboy Rob to the core! Lydia and I have traveled the light rail systems in Edmonton and Calgary - great way to get around and to simply take in the cities.
An interesting insight from Tom regarding the St. Louis MetroLink system. I had read that when it opened in 1993, it was touted as the finest in North America. I do recall using it once - and did not find it "friendly" in terms of getting luggage to the airport. No storage and rather rude and somewhat ignorant passengers (at the time).
The trains were spanking new and I also recall reading that the route was along mainly existing right-of-way. In a most rare instance in my travels, I was presented with a copy of a light rail magazine that featured the system - do not recall the name of the publication - but it was replete with photos and engineering details of the system. Surely appeared as if it was done "right." Insofar as the power structure goes, I yield to Tom on that, as I have no insights there - other than to say perhaps a new broom is needed for a clean sweep.
Good to see the return of familiar "faces" now with coalminer3 CM3 in attendance. Nothing wrong with a period to recharge the batteries and perhaps these past weeks have given us all the time to reflect upon the things important to us in our leisure hours.
No point in repeating the commentaries regarding the postings from all the guys thus far - we surely miss those summaries!!! - but suffice it to say, surely seems like old times!
Hello to my fellow "bookend" and Horseman Lars! Yes, running in conenctric circles could indeed have one disappear in a most unlikely place! <grin>
Gentlemen, I am pleased to be amongst you!
BK in Alberta, Canada's beautiful high mountain country!
P
"well thats what happens when you leave a can of red spray paint laying around."
Good evening Leon I think a Keith's or two will do this evening I missed Cindy unfortunatly but I can still smeel her perfume so it's not all that bad
Mike -Hey no sweat, I don't mind the reading keeps us all on our toes eh ? Nice to see another tidbit of info from your dad's writings.
BK -Nice shots from the Calgary tubes too sir And yes your right of coarse any and all mention of lite rail or streetcars can and does catch my eye. One might say that it keeps the ole pole on the wire I haven't rode on the system in Calgary but I have sampled the Edmonton system a couple of times, the only light rail system in te US I've been on is the El in Chicago and bits and pieces of the MTA in Boston,Heather's rode on Buffalo's Philly's and a couple of the other's as well all with Charter groups from the CERA and our museum long before I met her.
CM3 -I think the team's finally complete, good to see you back sir !I've had fun fihuring out the various wierd and sundry nuances of the new forum as well, I suppose we shall all learn together sort of the blind leading the blind,at least we all have the advantage of a seeing eye ardvark and parrot
Tom -This new format does seem to have a few bugs doesn't it.At least they've divulged us of all the silly stars and polls, now if we could only block the JO's.Speaking of JO's that bunch on your transportation board seem erily familiar to the one's that keep scuppering the extenion of Go transit into the Niagara Peninsula. Here's another wrinkle to that story,seems that neither CN or CP want to crew the Go trains any more so they are tendering out to the private sector to provide crews.At the moment Bombardier is the leading candidate, seeing as how BBD builds all the Bi-Level cars one wonders how they got into a leading tendering position
Rob
WIERD TALES FROM THE BARN # 6 ODD TROLLEY STORIES PART 2
Well since this morning s found sveral funny bones here's a second installment for everyone to enjoy over their breakfast.
A trolley once inexplicably vanished for a few hours in Waterbruy Connecticut. The line there was a dead ended single track, and the operating routine was that each outbound car should wait at a turnout several miles from te end of the line until it's "leader" car came back in from the other direction. One night the retourning car didn't show up. After a long wait, the motorman at the turnout decided that the missing car must have broken down.He proceeded cautiously to the end of the line without catching a glimpse of the other now dissapeared car. Baffled he changed poles, flipped his seats over for the return journey, loaded up the few passengers that were waitng and headed back up the line.
The explination came later that night at the end of the line when the last passenger walked off the final run of the day.A somewhat shamefaced man emerged from the shadows, identified himself as the missing motorman, and asked his colleague if he knew where they could borrow a very long length of tow rope.He explained that, all alone in his car,he had absently gone careening of the end of the track at full speed.His trolley had veered off the road, crossed a field and embedded itself in some thick brush. He'd walked back to the end of the track, but was too embarassed to ask for help until there were no more passengers around.
Here's one more short one to mull over as well.
In all the history of trolleysperhaps no accident was as bizarre as the one that befell a Massachusetts streetcar on Sept,21,1904 . A car from Boston was rolling through an elm lined street in Melrose with 32 passengers aboard. it was a dark evening but the streetlights were off because the town had a " moonlight schedule"a thrifty habit of saving electricity when the moon was near full.There seems a possibility that motorman Winfeld Rowe may have glimpsed a widley waiving figure runninf towards his car from about 100 yards away. No one will ever know for sure though,because in the nextv instant Rowe and many of his passengers were dead or dying.
The front half of the trolley blew to bits in a tremendous explosion that flung car fragments and bodies high up into the elm trees. A 50 pound box of dynamite had been lying on the tracks, where it had fallen a few moments before from the tailgate of an express wagon. The expressman had discovered his loss and had come back for the box. But the trolley got there first, and 13 people died.
Good morning one and all. I'll have two light breakfasts please. Certainly is great to see all the activity since yesterday, and some nifty reading as usual. Great to see CM3 once again, and read the comments from Lars and Tom. I guess we're not loving the new format so far. Enjoyed the light rail pix from BK, to be sure, but extra enjoyed seeing all the URLs of the Seaboard and wood-burning locos from Mike, as well as some very fascinating reading written by his father! Rob had a great day too with his tales from the trolley barn. Very amusing snow-removal story, and enjoyed the wayward trolley, then the trajic explosion bacause of a fallen case of dynamite. Unbelievable.
I must be off for the day, but before leaving .....
Three guys enter a disabled swimming contest. The first has no arms. The second, no legs and the third has no body, just a head. They all line up, the whistle blows and "splash" they're all in the pool.The guy with no arms takes the lead instantly but the guy with no legs is closing fast. The head of course sank straight to the bottom.Ten lengths later and the guy with no legs finishes first. He can still see bubbles coming from the bottom of the pool,so he decides he had better dive down to rescue him.He picks up the head, swims back up to the surface and places the head at the side of the pool, where-upon the head starts coughing and spluttering.Eventually the head catches his breath and shouts: "Three years I've spent learning to swim with my ears, then two minutes before the whistle, some jerk puts a swimming cap on me!"
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. How about three "country" classics? We'll begin with "She's Looking Better After Every Beer," next we'll hear "It's Hard to Kiss The Lips at Night That Chewed My !@#$ Out All Day Long," and finish with "You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly." I hope I am getting the hang of the fora and their peculiarities. BTW, I hate to see good pitching wasted as the Olde Towne Team did last night. Anyway, I don't think they'll be playing the Mets (or anyone else) this post season.
Anyway, it's good to see so many familiar faces, Along with most of you, I missed the old place and am glad to see that it's back up and going.
Let's do some consist information from the Great Tuscan Father in 1942. The "Broadway," of course, got most of the press, so let's take a look at Train 58, the eastward "Liberty Limited." The "Liberty" operated between Chicago and Washington, DC. It left Chicago at 3:20 p.m. with an 8:40 a.m. arrival the next morning in D.C. The "Liberty Limited" had valet and ladies' maid servie (including manicures), writing desk,and stationery, newspapers and periodicals, radio, terminal telephones, and baseball and football scores (in season).
Train 58 handled Chicago-Washington sleepers inclusding a 3 double bedroom/drawing room/buffet lounge; 14 sections; 12 section/drawing room; 12 duplex rooms/5 double bedrooms; 10 roometes/5 double bedrooms; 2 drawing rooms/4 compartments/4 double bedrooms; and a 2 master room/double bedroom/buffet lounge observation car. It also carried a diner and coaches.
work safe
G'day Gents!
Ah the mention of my favorite RR from the past - the Pennsy! Was indeed a mighty fine road and one that will always live in my mind's eye.
A shot from a more recent iteration of The Liberty Limited . . .
If you like that one, check out: http://www.prrths.com/Army%20Navy/PRR_Liberty_Limited.htm
That talk of the NYC run up to Albany brings back some fond memories for me too, Lars! Took it as a "poor sailor" but always managed to have a great time to and from the Grand Lady herself - Grand Central!
I used to live in Melrose, Rob and had heard about that trolley disaster you wrote about - just never had the details. Quite a contrast in those stories, eh Poor Devils never had a chance in the explosion whereas the motorman who "lost" his rig - oh well! <grin>
Enjoyed the rundown on The Liberty Limited from CM3 - a train name that took on new meaning as the years passed on. Today it continues pretty much for the Army-Navy annual football game in Philadelphia. Nice work!
Conflict of interest with Bombardier Nah - how could you even suggest such a thing, Rob Well, someone has to run those trains and staff the cars! The way I figure it with organizations and people who revel in their newfound power - they probably had few toys when they were kids! <grin>
And the groaners continue on, pretty much unabated from Doug. <ugh> The more things change, the more they stay the same! Good seeing you this AM and enjoy the breakfast!
Thanx for the continuing Emails guys. I really haven't decided on the return to the way things were. However, it is hard not to see that many of you are holding true to the way we "do things" 'round the joint. That is appreciated and right now let's just see where we go . . . .
A reminder: We serve breakfast - brunch and lunch all week (now including Sundays!!)
We serve full meals on Thursday (fish 'n chips) - Friday (steak 'n pizza nite) - Saturday (steak nite).
Cindy and Leon will handle the bartending chores with the Gals of "Our" Place (Ruth - Ann - Lucy - Jemima) pitching in from time to time. Watch for the announcements!
Today - Cindy is behind the bar and will be during weekdays! Leon will resume his nightly chores on a regular basis.
Catch y'all down the tracks!
Tom
Tom, so what is the new way of doing things? By the way I love the picture of the PRR e units.
Good morning Cindy ma dear, you are looking quite lovely this morning. What's that ? Flatterery will get me everywher will it. I think I'll just stick to a #3 from the breakfast / brunch board, over easy with the eggs if you lnow what I mean.
Good to see da boss and the am regulars in so this morning
CM3- Nice run down on train 58 from the boss's fav line. I figure that any train giving manicures and football scores can't be all bad.One wonders why airlines ever "took off" Great selections for our morning musical montage as well. that ought to get the track gangs up and moving.No Boris don;'t clear the booths for a sqaure dancing contest Yes Tom the more it's different the more it's the same around here. LOL
Tom -So you actually lived in Melrose ? What a conincidence , I'm glad to hear that the tale was true, I never know when I read some of these things as they've come from such an old article that it has no real corroberation just the short anecdotes. Not nice to hear that the poor motorman et all had their run ended so disaterously however. Nice to know also that the girls will have aggredd to all comne back amd chip in from time to time. You and Pete will have to let us know if the pub in Shrewsbury is as good as the St George Arms.
Doug -Just a groaner only post this morning ? Oh well I did fire coffee out of my nose when I read the punch line so alls forgiven. I'll try to put up some less maudlin tales today. Glad you liked them, I figured that they would be more or less up your alley as they have come from an ancient book, The Trolley Car Treasury published in the early 50's no ISBN # on it folks. Wonderfull piece though I picked it up for $5 at the local hobby shop and it looked as though it was hadly read all the hard bindings are perfect. I think I was ripped off though the suggested retail was $3.95 in 1952 hmmm infaltion I guess
Hiya again Cindy another thermos of coffee and a couple danishes please, no not the prune ones they've been there since early june only one man was brave enough to even concider eating those.
Tom -So no RDC's to Deham eh No RDC's make Tom sad LOL. Don;t sell the "other" tavern short it may have it's own unique charms besides I don't think Pete would steer you wrong, I'm sure that the pub fare there is as diverse and tasty. We will have to enquire tio the Teutonic wonders if they may concider adding St George to their regular zepplin runs. Looks as though Boris will have to give his red stool back. P's back in town I see painting the town red as it were. Boris did you leave that can of paint out. I saw you giving Tex that CP Action red paint job for the grand re-oppenning of Our Place.Tom you know that you are always welcome to partake in the fun and festivities of the St George Arms, that welcome extends to your lovely bride as well.
Well time to get up off the ole butt. It's a lovoely sunny 75 today and the back 40 needs tending to.Anyone have a goat they aren't in use off at the moment
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house
Hey P, remember this one? Not bad, but the trees are too green
ftwNSengineer wrote:well while everyone is having turkey and watching football, I will be stuck on a train again and in case anybody is interested, here is the veiw from my office window
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02515.jpg
Board of Trade Building (tallest in Chicago in the steam era)
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02722.jpg
Edmonton
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/scenic/index_view.cfm?photoid=-1824169190&id=43
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/scenic/index_view.cfm?photoid=-682691053&id=43
OOPS
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=93825910&id=49
Mike
G'day Captain Tom and fellow travelers at the bar!
Ah, Cindy my gal, you are a pleasant sight this fine day. Can't understand why anyone would let you stray too far from home - especially to a den such as this! <grin> I'll have a frosty mug of Schaefer if you please and set 'em up for the boys! Ring it, Boris!
I see things are perking along this mid-week day with an appearance from a past visitor - the man called red P. If memory serves me correctly, you are the RR engineer of the group, so that pretty much rounds out the experience level 'round the tavern by the tracks!
Some more dialogue regarding light rail from my "bookend" in Alberta I see. Man, you are on a roll with this, huh Not bad at all - for it truly is an interesting subject and always something new to latch onto. Good job, BK!
Leave it the URLMonsterMeisterMike to come up with those relevant "takeusto's" - nicely done! That last one is a doozy, fer sure, fer sure!
Tom, you appear to be as popular as ever, with those invitations to Ontario and Alberta. Now all you need to do is get 'em to fund the travel! Insofar as stopping by a tavern is concerned during the 2nd annual pig roast and rendezvous in St. Louis - I hope there's more than one to visit! St. Louis has always been portrayed as a place where the suds flow as free as the Mighty Mississippi itself. Is so
Received your email, Rob and concur with your thinking.
Enjoyed the PRR info from CM3 I'm not Shane - next up, how about some NYC Oh what I would give to have been able to travel the Broadway Ltd and the 20th Century Ltd as they raced to Chicago. What an era and what wonderful trains they must have been in their prime years. Nice stuff from Tom on the Pennsy as well! Enjoyed browsing that Url . . .
Had to find another source for my 'signature USA ribbon' as the "host" for the former one seems to have put the kabash on using it elsewhere. Don't get it - but oh well . . . .
Finally, good to see Doug as well - and of course the groaner of the day!
One more Cindy, then I gotta skeedaddle . . .
Lars
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of Bathams CINDY, unless there the brew from ST George's Arms has arrived.
ROB Two good trolley tales although the odds of hitting a box of dynamite in road must be over a million to one, a sad story. Tom and I will check out the pubs in Shrewsbury Missouri. I could take you a few good pubs in Shrewsbury England. A great country pub is on a rail line served by a 2-Hourly service, it is about 7 miles out of Shrewsbury, the bride came with us one day, as we go to the pub before we go to see Shrewsbury Town soccer club, I think it amused her when we have to tell the conductor to stop the train at the small station. The pub looks out over fields, sells real ales( by Wood's of Salop) and famous pickled onions served with the sandwiches.
Unfortunaly Shrewsbury Town are moving to a new ground after this season and no longer will the ground be within walking distance of the town center and many pubs..
Good to see CM3 again. I have missed the song titles. and the post on the Pennsy.
BK Thanks for the link to the light rail. It is marvellous how they have taken off over the last 20 years or so. it was good to see a photo of the Tyne & Wear Metro. this has been extended recently. Before it was extended they ran a special train over the system which travelled on all parts of the line some of which are not used by normal services. A good day out.
MIKE thanks for the links to the great old buildings. I wonder what the engineer thought when the bridge collapsed.
P Good to see you again.
TOM Great links and doesn't the Pennsy diesel look splendid in the Pennsy livery. I wonder when that maroon and gold stripe livery was first introduced.
I see in the KC Star paper the Irish pub is going ahead at Union Station in KC. Perhaps the Amtrak schedule will give us time for a decent visit when it opens.
In a blast from the past here(model Day) is a pic of a model loco I brought over from the old land
This is a Hornby HO scale model of a British Railways Britannia class 4-6-2 #70000 Britannia.The silver cab roof was applied by Stratford depot in East London when the loco was used on Royal Train duties soon after it was built in 1951.
The picture looks better if enlarged by clicking on it
Another great model train layout is one I found on this link.
http://llandudnojunction.fotopic.net/
Click on the photo descritions for the pics. It is worth a look I hope.
Cindy another pint please.
Pete.
Good afternoon again Cindy. I see that you are as busy as ever, which is good I think a Kieth's for me and a nice big round for everyone else. Boris ring the old bell sir.
Pete -Nice looking locomotive that you carried home.It is a looker fer sure fer sure.Nice to see you remembered the wednesday rituals, another reason to be happy that the ole bar by the tracks is flurishing again. I'll leave the Pennsy paint questions to Tom,but I willl agree with you those locomotives looked absolutly splendid in that paint job.
Lars -I'm glad you concur. I was thinking long and hard about the NYC myself the other day. I said self wouldn't the NYC make a good inagural theme day run next week. Some I'm thinking that if your thinking the same thing, than next Tuesday the railroad theme for the day will be the NYC.
Bk-Flying solo today eh? Oh well we'll save the good tea for tomorrow in hopes of Lydia's return.It is indeed nice to see so many frequenting regularly agin isn't it. 10's a happy number I should think. I see that you have brought me a homework assignment to read through <grin> I shall endevour to enjoy it <grin>
Well folks I'm off again, gotta check out Mike's lateest batch of urls.
Good evening Leon, how's about a CR while I take in the Mentor Villiage Glee Clubs 1st anual Barbershop Quartette Idol Contest. Yes folks even the Mentor Villiage has gone to reality programing of a sort, you should have seen the cooking with Helga weekend a couple weeks back !
CLASSIC STEAM #32 THE PORT DOVER & STRATFORD
Okay here's the first new Classic Steam in a while, just in time for tomorrow's breakfast reading here at the best little "Tavern By the Tracks "
Except for a small segment, this is a line that has been long lost in Ontario railway lore.When optimism reigned, plans were to have this line going to Lake Huron.It was known as the Port Dover and Lake Huron at that time.However when it became eveident that the line would not run beyond Stratford it became the Port Dover & Stratford RR.Oppenning in 1876, it's main line ran from Stratford via Tavistock to Simcoe and Port Dover with a short branch ( known as the South Norfolk ) to Port Rowan.
While it began as a separate line,it's main role was as a feeder for major lines like The Wellington Grey & Bruce and The Grand Trunk. In 1881, the PDS, along with the Stratford & Huron that ran to Wiarton, and the Georgian Bay and Wellington ( Palmerston to Durham ), were amalgamated to form a railway with the lengthy name of Grand Trunk,Georgian Bay and Lake Erie Railway, in effect an affiliate of and for the Grand Trunk.
The land through which it passed is some of Canada's richest farmland. It is not supprising that the sidings and platforms of the PDS stations were piled with farm produce awaiting shipment, as passengers bustled from town to town to attend the many fairs and markets.A common sight beside many of the stations were cattle yards,grain elevators, and feed mills.In many of these communities today the feed mill is the only clue that a railway line even existed.CNR has sold most of the right of way to abutting property owners and only two short segments,between Hickson and Woodstock, and between Simcoe and Port Dover, have been retained as public trails.
Becauseit was the main railway town, this route started out in Stratford.While two earlier stations had stood in Stratford ( the Grand Trunk / Buffalo and lake Huron union station was at Guelph and Downie streets, while The Port Dover & lake Huron's was on Falstaff at Nile )the current structure is located at Shakespere street and was built in 1913 and served all four lines that converged in the town.This station still see's four VIA trains a day as well as the frieght shipments of the shortline Goderich and Exeter. Of the four lines that radiated from Stratford, The Piort Dover and Stratford, and the once vital Wellington Grey and Bruce line to Owen Sound were both abandonned in 1995. The Goderich and exeter owns the third and CN's former big shiop line is still the active CN mainline on which the sattion still stands.
Hey all just a coffee please, sorry I havnt been around much latly been real busy at work.
lars You are quite right I do this for a living as well.And the traffic is booming. They want to add 6 more trains to the line up. I have know idea where they are going to put them. Had a massive derailment up here a couple of weeks ago. It was a triple crown train, the cause was broken rail. Both engines and 27 trailers on the ground. Here check the pictures: http://www.fwarailfan.net/coppermine/
Pete- How many pints have you had now? Come to think of it wernt you sitting in that same place last time I was here?
And tell tom Ill have another storrie posted soon.
Hey P good to have you twice in one day. It will be nice to see another of your stories in multiple parts, everyone loved the last one which happened I'm not sure how long ago but we are overdue, hopefully your tab isn't as well, we wouldn't want Leon to have to put his collectors cap on LOL.Think i'll join you by the window Leon a Keith's please we want to stay tweet free this first week were back open.Been alot of things derailing up here lately as well , CN still hasn't figured out how to not run over length trains in their former BC Rail region Mr Harrison just doesn't know how to run a railroad the Canadian Way yet.Well Ithink time to pack up the ole tents for me this evening. See everyone in the AM
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please, round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Let's give equal time to the NYC. Here's something from 1942. A train that departed Central Station in Chicago and wandered around picking up and setting out sleepers. The pickup and setout sleeper operations are something that many folks don't think about. Anyway, here 'tis.
44
“New York Special”
9:40 a.m. (Central Sta.)
9:40 p.m. (Buffalo)
Chicago-New York Sleeping Cars: 14 sections (From NYC 14 @ Buffalo)
8 section/drawing room/2 compartments (via Niagara Falls From NYC 246 @ Buffalo
Cincinnati-New York Sleeping Car: 14 sections (From NYC 404-14 @ Buffalo)
Cleveland-Lake Placid Sleeping Car: 10 sections/ drawing room/ compartment (Tuesdays and Fridays only; June 26-September 24) From NYC 14 @ Buffalo; in NYC 44 from Buffalo to Utica-to Adirondack Division Train 13 from Utica
Chicago-Montreal Sleeping Car: 8 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (In CP 22 from Detroit)
Grand Rapids-New York Sleeping Car: 8 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (From NYC 108 @ Jackson)
Detroit-Boston Sleeping Car: 8 sections/drawing room/3 double bedrooms (To NYC 46 @ Buffalo)
Bay City-New York Sleeping Car: 8 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (From NYC 208 @ Detroit)
Toronto-New York Sleeping Car: 10 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (From TH&B 380 @ Buffalo)
Niagara Falls-New York Sleeping Car: 6 sections/6 double bedrooms (From NYC 246 @ Buffalo)
Rochester-New York Sleeping Car: 12 sections/drawing room (From Auburn Road 18 @ Syracuse
Sleeping Cars from Adirondack Division 4 @ Utica
Malone-New York: 10 sections/drawing room/2 compartments
Lake Placid-New York: 8 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (from Adirondack Division 14 June 20-Sept. 13)
Sleeping Cars from Adirondack Division 14 @ Utica June 20-Sept. 13
Lake Placid-New York: 8 section/buffet lounge; 8 section/drawing room/
2 compartments; 10 sections/drawing room/2 compartments;
Sleeping Cars from Adirondack Division 14 @ Utica June 21-Sept. 13 (Sun. only)
Lake Placid-New York: 4 compartments/4 double bedrooms/2 drawing rooms; 13 double bedrooms
Sleeping Cars from St. Lawrence Division 80 @ Utica
Watertown-New York: 10 sections/2 drawing rooms (Ex. Sat.)
Massena-New York: 10 sections/3 double bedrooms
Ogdensburg-New York: 12 sections/drawing room; 8 sections/drawing room/2 compartments (Sun. only; June 14-Sept 7, Sept 13 and 30)
Clayton-New York: 8 sections/5 double bedrooms (Xpt Fri and Sat; June 14-Sept. 7, Sept. 13 and 30; 4 compartments/4 bedrooms/2 drawing rooms (Sun. only July 5-Aug 30, Sept. 7)
Parlor Car (Sleeper as Parlor): Chicago-Buffalo)
Diners: Chicago-Detroit (Lounge); Detroit-Buffalo
Coaches: Chicago-New York; Chicago-Montreal (via CP23 from Detroit); Lake Placid-New York (From Adirondack Division 14 @ Utica June 30-Sept. 13)
Good morning Cindy my lovely. My usual large thermos of joe and a #5 from the brunch board,I mat regret it but Helga's Seafood and Steak, burrito / omelette combo seems to weird to be bad Mind you the fact that Hilda is standing in the wings with a crash cart does make one pause...any takers for the cheif chefs position ...please
LARS -Thnaks for reposting the rules of engagement for the bar.I;m glad to see it, though I'm also glad that most of us thus far have abided by the way things work around here as well.So a 5x for everyone for that as well Gentlemen and Ladies.
CM3 -Good to see you back at your usual perch at your usual time in the mornings. Nice to know that we will still have our "Old Reliables" keeping us chugging along throughout the day. Save some of your "A" list NYC material for next tuesday, but today's post and info is most welcome. I've always been facinated by the through pullman and sleeper car services from the golden age of railroading.I imagine that the cars that came up into Canada were brought through on the NYC's candian subsidiaries trains the Canada Southern,The Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo , and to a lessor extent the Michigan Central.
Well Cindy while we await the rest of the patrons for the day I'll join Lars in a slightly loaded coffee. ring your bells there Boris. bwoong-gwooong- bwoong. Boris that golden striker needs to go back to Awk's cage, you may only use it on official Holiday's here at the bar. Why oh Why did we let Dave buy that last year oh well, it's all in good fun.
Good morning;
let me have a cup of coffee and a western omelette, and bring me a bottle of tabassco.
And how many of you know the answer to this question? What is the name of the fictitious train that goes everywhere?
Hey P I'm likley going to regret this ... but the only fictious train that seems to pop up everywhere is that full size ride on Thomas The Tank Engine, scourage of the rails. Actaully most musuem's and real railroads that have hosted this show have head one heck of a good time,and made alot of cash with it for their orginization along the way as well. I know the answer's wrong, but hey it's an attempt and it's still relitivly early this morning. Make sure that Hilda didn't slip you the EXTRA HOT TOBASCO !We may need that crash cart twice in one day. Cindy I think another Keith's for me and if you would be so kind as to set up a round, gotta keep Tilla and cashinator humming along do we not.The bathtub slsh fund is almost back to where it needs to be !
Portland TriMet MAX Yellow Line tram on opening day, May 1, 2004, with new Siemens Type 3 cars.
(credit: www.wikipedia.com)
The San Diego Trolley (Siemens-Duewag U2) at America Plaza on November 10, 2003.
Another day at the ole watering hole as things appear to be settling into a pattern ‘round the tavern by the tracks. And we have a “Manager” once again. Thanx for stepping up to the plate, Lars and it seems “forever and a day” since we had that position filled.
Appreciate the rundown you’ve provided on the way things are done ‘round the tavern by the tracks – or saloon by the siding – take your pick! <grin> You certainly are on top of things as much of that info isn’t necessarily upfront in the memory banks.
I think the idea to provide repetitious reminders of the “Our” Place features is a good idea – goes a long way toward keeping everyone on the same page, so to speak.
Isn't that the same model loco 'n tender you "gave" to your bride as a "gift" upon return from Merry Olde, Pete Surely can't understand why she hasn't done back flips over it. <grin> Appreciate your input for "Toys 'n Model Trains Day!"
Also for Pete - earliest reference I could find for the PRRs use of 5 gold stripes was in 1934 and they began with my favorite loco, the GG1s.
Enjoyed the Classic Steam on the PDS from Rob. Browsed the Stratford, Ontario station web site http://www.viarail.ca/train-stations/en-station-stratford-ontario.html to check out the location of the station. Surely reminds me of many a town throughout both countries where the RR was so very important to the business interests downtown. Ah, those were the days, eh
The Emails are continuing and if I’m not responding right away it’s because I’ve limited myself to checking the account once per day and only responding where it appears appropriate or if requested to do so.
Nice rundown on the NYC from CM3 Shane. I would attempt to address the concern mentioned by BK, but I’ll yield to our WVA friend for that. Quarters and round appreciated – as ever!
Looks like BK has taken the lead with the light-rail info and Pix. Good stuff and keep it coming. Aside from keeping trolleyboy Rob totally involved, it provides yet another dimension to the “stuff” that makes this bar perk along.
Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with for Tuesday’s “theme day” – New York Central!
A quiz from red P - hmmmm, doesn't ring a bell with me - so I'll throw in with BK and go for the Gravy Train.
A couple of St. Louis MetroLink light-rail Pix for y’all . . . .
MetroLink eastbound from Lambert Field at Hanley Road, Nov 19, 2003
(Foto credit: unknown)
MetroLink westbound at old Busch Stadium, Nov 19, 2003
Set ‘em up Cindy, drinks on da boss! Ring it, Boris!
Good Afternoon Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Let's see if we can sort out the NYC post from this a.m. This will "jump the gun" on upcoming NYC festivities, but...
The NYC had a bewildering variety of passenger trains. Some of them such as the 20th Century, Commodore Vanderbilt, Wolverine, and the New England States are still well-known today. The Central also had a lot of trains which handled many sleepers en route. I chose train 44, the “New York Special,” as an example.
The train originated at Chicago. Sleeping cars were picked up and set out at different cities along the way. For example: NYC 14 handled a Chicago-New York Pullman as far as Buffalo. Train 44 picked up this car at Buffalo and carried it the rest of the way to New York.
NYC 246 handled a Chicago-New York car via Niagara Falls which was handed off to Train 44 at Buffalo.
And so on. You can see that 44 was a monster at times, depending on the day it ran.
The date of the timetable was June 7, 1942 which is why there are so many seasonal cars to places such as Lake Placid, etc. These were pretty much summer-only operations.
As an aside, many roads had these kinds of operations. Some that I recall quite well were trains to deepest Maine from Washington and NY which handled a humongous amount of cars during the summer. This was often a PRR-NYNH&H-B&M-MEC routing. I need to do a post on that sometime. These lines also ran a lot of camp trains to carry youngsters to summer camps in the Great North. PRR and C&O/PM handled trains way up into Michigan for camps, fishing expeditions, etc.
Those of you familiar with Sinclair Lewis’s novel, Babbitt, will recall his trip to go fishing in Maine. If you haven’t read the book, it has some very evocative passages about Pullman travel; devoid of a lot of the romance that seems to have gathered about it as the years have gone by. But then Lewis always wrote with the "bark on."
Back to Train 44: as you proceed east you’ll see cars from points on the Adirondack Division and the St. Lawrence Division being handed off to Train 44 at Utica. These NYC divisions are fondly remembered by our Canadian friends, and, in many ways, they operated as subsidiaries of the larger NYC System. It’s hard to believe now, but Utica was a hotbed of activity.
I hope this clarifies things a little. You can trace it out on a map of the NYC and it will start to make sense. IOW, cars from different cities were added/subtracted as 44 headed east. The same process (with some exceptions) applied to westbound trains.
I hope this helps clear things up a little.
Work safe
P.S. What was the last setout sleeper to operate on a U.S. passenger train?
Good afternoon again Cindy, I think another round of Keith's would do nicley, just got back in from cleaning out the roof gutters never my favourite job but what can you do.
BK - Nice to see you and I see you came barring gifts of more lite-rail , nice shots again. It will be interesting to see what Eric makes of them.Alot of people used to travel in and out of Stratford in it's heyday as a major division point. CNR's big shop for heavy steam locomotive repair along with the powerplant and close to 40 stall roundhouse used to be based there, all but torn down in the last 10 yeasr or so. Hard to believe how much of the mid ontario rail network used to filter through there. If you can try to get some copies of Ian Wilson's CNR steam series, one book the second of the set was called TO Stratford Under Steam you would be amazed at what was there. Our Museum sells them or you can order right from Ian http://www.canadianbranchline.com/
CM3-Hey thanks for the second visit today, your part two has indeed cleared up the how and the why of the drop off Pullman services. To take a crack at your question , I would have to go with Amtrak's version of the Empire Builder , and I would think that the service would have ended in the early 80's.
LARS -My bad congrats on your elevation , we will all now have to call your Herr Lars
TOM -Hey thanks for putting u that link to the Stratford Station , adds a bit of finish to my classic steam post. This is what I love about this thread we all tend to build off each other's momentum. I think yours and BK's guess as to P's mystery train are likely correct. Mine was a stab in the dark at best. I think we should be able to come up with some new NYC stuff on Tuesday , if not we've got lots of ENCORE's in the archieves. Nice shot's of the Metro Link. Looks like a clean and fairly well designed set up too bad it's marred with all the politics.
Okay folks Cindy I think we all need another rond on me ( I'm feeling generous today ) Boris hit it,, not the bottle you moron oh well he tries or is it trying
CLASSIC STEAM #33 LINE TO THE LAKE ; THE LAKE SIMCOE JCT RAILWAY
Okay one more new bit then I'm giving it a rest for this week, gotta fill in for 20 fingers absence donchaknow.
One of the main goals of Ontario's early railway builders was to tap the hinterlands.Here they found the timber, the minerals and the barley vital to thhe flegling provinces' and countries young economy.The first lines were usually anchored at a lake port from which point they would build their way to wherever thier charter, and their funding took them.Often, it wasn't very far with some of these lines. A number of them were simply portage lines that simply connected the existing lake ports.
While the Toronto & Nippissing Railway ( which never even remotly neared Lake Nippissing ) wound from Toronto tp Coboconk , it still lacked a portage connection. Accordingly , a feeder line was proposed from a point on the TN to Lake Simcoe , then a key transportation route for Ontario's early settlers and lumber companies. This would give them the portage route they sought.
The Lake Simcoe Junction Railway began at Stouffville, a booming town set amidst some of Ontario's best farmland,and terminated at Sutton,with a spur line extending to the warf at Jackson's Point.Watre tanks were located at Mount Albert,and Sutton,while engine houses were constructed at Sutton,and Stouffville.Eight stations and sidings were also located along this line.The stations at Mount Albert and Sutton were identuical 2 story wooden buildings, those at Stouffville ( demolished in 1970 ) and at Blake ( now Brown Hill ) were patterned after the single story TN station at Kirkfield ( still stands ), while the remaining stations would repeat the style of the single floor wood stations the TN built at Woodville,Eldon,and Markham ( this latter the only one left was restored by a federal Millenium fund grant )
train service on the LSj was not particularly frequent. the two daily mixed trains were reduced to one after just three years of operation, however a full passenger train was running by 1910.By 1917 ot was back to just one mixed train a day. Then due largely to competition from lake Simcoe tourist trains run by interurban Toronto and York Radial Railway, service was cut back from Jackson's Point to Sutton.
By 1928 the newly formed canadian National had assumed control of both these lines and undertook a major relocation project. they eleiminated part of the LSj line between Stouffville and Zepher, and moved the junction closer to Sutton on the former CnoR line at Zepher. Then in 1928, the CN eleiminated all passenger service to Sutton, although occational seasonal freight traffic was still run. Service was maintained this way until complete abandonement occured in 1979
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