G’day Gents!
We have the makings of a fine weekend here in mid-continent USA – good conditions for working out in the “south forty.” Temps are expected to be comfortable, however, come Monday, “they” are calling for a rise into the mid-80s – which isn’t what I prefer. Fall is quite evident – but we’re getting there!
Good to see Doug reporting in this AM with a fine Post. Surely miss the regularity of your visits and these days things aren’t at all the “same” without you. Same can be said for the “other end” of the tandem – but we’ve been down that road before!
Received your E-mail and the house looks to be coming along quite nicely. I’m guessing you and your family are looking forward to completion. Then it’s MOVING DAY once again! A bit like the movie “Groundhog Day,” eh Been there done that!
Wouldn’t say your Thread was a failure – I’d say you just melded it back into where you wanted it all along – right here at the Tavern by the Tracks! Nice “ENCORE!” by the by!
Remember when you were a kid and your mom threatened you within an inch of your little life if you didn’t eat those peas – lima beans – broccoli – Brussel sprouts, etc. What did you do Held your breath – closed your eyes – pinched your nostrils and took the “plunge” – down they went – cold and mushy, perhaps, but down just the same. Well, that’s kinda what I did with my plane and train reservations. After much inner battling, I decided to “do it” – take the trip of choice – after all, I’m not taking any of this green stuff with me when I go and it is produced for spending after all. So, it’s Gaspe aboard VIA Rail in October. Found an airfare that borders on thievery - rail accommodations that are acceptable (price is right – “senior” fare for the bedroom) – and Amtrak surely isn’t VIA Rail! So the decision really wasn’t all that hard to come by – especially when my bride said something along the lines of what some of you have offered – paraphrased, “Go for it!” I did and I’m really looking forward to the adventure!
I see Ruth has arrived for her stint ‘til 5 PM when Leon takes over.
Boris, serve ‘em up all of the “spiked” OJ they can handle!
Later!
Tom
ENCORE! Saturday - ENCORE! Saturday
first Posted on page 163
Here’s the last of the Fallen Flags for the gang from Classic American Railroads: Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (GM&O) Headquarters: Mobile, AL Mileage in 1950: 2,900 Locomotives in 1963: Diesel: 246 Rolling stock in 1963: Freight cars: 13,933 Passenger cars: 135 Principal routes in 1950: Chicago-Springfield-East St. Louis, IL & St. Louis, MO-Corinth-Meridian, MS-Mobile, AL Springfield-Kansas City, MO Bloomington-Murrayville, IL Dyersburg, TN-Union, MS-Mobile, AL Meridian-New Orleans Artesia, MS-Montgomery, AL Memphis, TN-Birmingham, AL (Southern rights between Memphis-Corinth, MS; and IC rights Corinth-Birmingham) St. Louis-Mexico, MO (Terminal Railway Assn., rights East St. Louis-St. Louis; CB&Q rights St. Louis-Mexico) Godfrey-Roadhouse, IL Springfield-East Peoria, IL Dwight-Washington & Lacon, IL Passenger trains of note: Alton Limited (renamed “The Limited”; Chicago-St. Louis) Abraham Lincoln (Chicago-St. Louis) Ann Rutledge (Chicago-St. Louis) Midnight Special (Chicago-St. Louis) Prairie State Express (St. Louis-Chicago) The Mail (Chicago-St. Louis) Gulf Coast Rebel (St. Louis-Mobile & Montgomery, AL) The Rebel (St. Louis-New Orleans, LA) Night Hawk (St. Louis-Kansas City) Enjoy! Tom
Hi Tom and all.
A cup of coffee or two and an large egg and bacon roll, RUTH as it is just me and the dog this Saturday.
DOUG After we are back from the old land I am hopeful of an Amtrak trip to Chicago.
Enjoyed the Ghost Railroad of the Mojave Encore. I can just picture the miners pay day train to town. I think the loco cab would be the best place to be.
TOM. So the call of the rails was too strong, I know exactly how you feel. It should be a wonderful trip to Gaspe and you will have agreat time.
Great Encore on one of the smaller lines, by mileage the Gulf Mobile & Mobile. It is good to see one of the GM&O train name lives on today the Ann Rutledge.
For an encore I have got one of mine off Doug's Roundhouse site.
Here is some thing I wrote when the Forum was down I hope it is OK.
A TRIP TO SCOTLAND JUNE 2006.
Part One Rugby to Newcastle.
A trip I did manage to take while in England was a day trip to Stirling, Scotland. It was an early start with leaving the house at 5:00 AM and walking the mile and a half or so to Rugby station. A pleasant walk, just cool enough in the early morning light to need a light coat, at that time of year it gets light about 4 AM.
Arriving at the station a pleasant surprise was that the station buffet was open and plenty of time for a cuppa tea.
In the new timetable which had started earlier that week, a train using an 87 electric loco and coaching stock was timed to leave Rugby for London at 6:20 AM, this was waiting on platform 1. Apart from one train in the evening all services for Virgin are booked for Pendelinos,Virgin’s new 9-Car tilting Electric Units, capable of a higher speed but runnig at 125 MPH at the present, and it was a Pendelino, which arrived on platform 2 with the 6:05 am to London. I did toy with the idea of waiting for the 87 hauled train but decided to go with the 6:05. Come departure time and no movement, and then the conductor came on and announced that some overnight engineering work on the main line was running late although we should be away in a few minutes. A couple of trains had passed us but they were routed via the Northampton loop and as one was an intermodel freight; if we had to go that way we would be delayed. But the conductor was good to is word and after a short while the Beep-Beep of the automatic door closing sounded and we were away for a pleasant 82 mile journey in a hour, with 2 stops, and a on time arrival in Euston.
It is fairly short walk along Euston Road from Euston to Kings Cross station and the rush hour was not yet started at that time. There is an Underground connection but by the time you get your ticket and go to the deep level tube line it is almost as quick to walk plus the minimum fare on the Underground is now 3 Pounds (about $5.30).
There was a fair bit of construction work at St Pancreas station in connection with the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link, next door to King’s Cross.
I don’t know if it still is, but the King’s Cross area was noted for a haunt of the Ladies of the Night but I did not see any, perhaps they had finished their shift.
The train to Edinburgh was due to leave at 8AM but as the 7:30 to Newcastle had not left I decided to go on that. The loco hauling the train was a class 91 electric loco #91120 and carried the name Royal Armouries(I believe to commemorate a museum in Leeds).
A class 91 Electric loco and A High Speed Train HST wait at King,s Cross. The HST Diesel-Electric will work a East coast service beyond the electrified line north of Edinburgh.
An on time departure had us soon heading out of London with the inbound line busy with Electric Multiple Units of classes 313, 317 and 365 bringing the commuters into the City.
After 77 miles our train arrived at Peterborough passing over the former London & North Western Railway line which ran to Rugby and for the first few miles out of Peterborough is now The Nene Valley preserved railway which has steam-hauled trains at weekends.
Departing Peterborough, past the freight yard which had 3 GM class 66 locos in the blue and yellow livery of the GBFr company we were put on the slow line to allow the 7:35 Leeds train to pass we were soon back on the fast line and up to 125 MPH again passing the sign to mark the place where Mallard achieved the World Record for Steam of 126 MPH. On through Grantham Newark and Retford to Doncaster the next stop, passing the loco depot on the approach to the station unfortunately mostly hidden by trees.
On the west side of Doncaster station is the famous loco works, known as the Plant, where the Great Northern later LNER constructed and repaired such famous locos as Flying Scotsman, Mallard, Sir Nigel Gresley etc. The works is still in operation in private hands though on a very reduced scale. Heading north from Doncaster and onto the 1970/80s constructed line to by-pass the Selby coalfield, now itself about to close or so I hear.
The next stop is the old city of York with its magnificent station.
York station.
If anyone gets to visit England a visit to York is a must with Medieval Shambles, City Walls the Minster, Viking Center, good beer and of course The National Railway Museum which is just north of the station.
A few miles after leaving York our train is on the 4 track, mainly straight racing ground across the Plain of York although the line limit is 125 MPH. The slow lines were quite busy with freight with coal and steel trains hauled by class 60 and 66 locos.
The 4 track line ends at Northallerton where the lines to Teeside veer off to the east we head north to Darlington where the works of the North Eastern Railway was located and a brand new steam loco of the LNER A1 class is being built by railfans.
Shortly after leaving the station the trackbed of the 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway is crossed. Next station is Durham where the line passes high above the city on a viaduct with a grand view of the Cathedral.
It was here a few years ago, on a steam special, that ex LNER A2 pacific Blue Peter went into a severe wheel slip and wreaked its motion costing many thousands of pounds to repair.
Shortly after passing Tyne marshaling yard our train slowed for the approach to Newcastle
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house.
Barndad's Roundhouse had some good stuff in there. Pete just proved it. And Dave was in fine form.
More travel for Tom. It's like George Carlin says, "No matter where you go, there you are."
As is known, I need something to post URLs about, it's an addiction worse than Nutmeg.
In 1911 the state of Connecticut appropriated $1 million for the construction of a steamship terminal at New London, now known as the Admiral Harold E. Shear State Pier. Construction began in 1914 and was completed in 1916. During dredging operations, a large number of iron cannonballs and shot were uncovered, dumped in the harbor during the Revolutionary War to prevent capture by the British. In 1916, while World War I raged in Europe, the Germans berthed the first ocean going cargo submarine, Deutchland, at the pier, carrying a cargo of textile dyes. The Germans subsequently built sheds for receiving cargo, which ultimately reverted to the state. The Navy took control of the pier during both World Wars. The first commercial steamer, Western Glen, docked at the pier in 1919 to discharge 6,488 tons of flour.
The location was on property owned by the Central Vermont Railway. Built even earlier is the CV pier, still intact underwater and under a cover of asphalt, and now on the National Register of Historic Places. Completed in 1876, one of its chief functions was to unload coal from Reading Railroad freighters into waiting rail cars. At peak volume it processed more than 100 tons of coal an hour. In 1904 the CV reconfigured the pier in conjunction with a new freight service to and from New York City. Until shortly after World War II, steamers of the Central Vermont Transportation Co. sailed overnight to the freight terminal at Pier 29 in New York.
Steamer Vermont at the CV Pier in New London, this is a 1938 hurricane damage photo.
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/marine/index_view.cfm?photoid=318956034&id=114
Steamers New York and New London at Pier 29 in New York.
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/marine/index_view.cfm?photoid=-1728701734&id=114
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/structures/index_view.cfm?photoid=1327988684&id=40
Looking south, I believe the CV Terminal is the first building on the left in the foreground.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3c00000/3c07000/3c07400/3c07489v.jpg
Here's a nice old colorized photo of South Street, further south and looking north.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g02000/3g02600/3g02655v.jpg
These next links are to pictures of CV 8081
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004021820483630651.jpg&byrail%3A1%3ACentral_Vermont
8081 & The Montrealer getting sidetracked that day.
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2005070919423117056.jpg&byrail%3A1%3ACentral_Vermont
Leased to the Grand Trunk Corp. in 1981, remained assigned to the CV.
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=20010905134436894.jpg&byrail%3A1%3ACentral_Vermont
Sold to K&L Feed in 1987.
http://www.cteastrrmuseum.org/images/inventory/alcoS4.jpg
Bought by Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum in 1997.
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004112012123218681.jpg&byrail%3A1%3ACentral_Vermont
James, late for your birthday here's some old black & white pics:
Kids on a school field trip, Milwaukee Road 1948
http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDbimages/pf032/pf032126.jpg
http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDbimages/pf032/pf032127.jpg
http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDbimages/pf032/pf032128.jpg
Olympian Hiawatha 1962
http://muse.museum.montana.edu:16080/rvndb/rvn-jpgs/RVN22269.jpg
Little Joes
http://muse.museum.montana.edu:16080/rvndb/rvn-jpgs/RVN21797.jpg
E 35 box cab 1939
http://muse.museum.montana.edu:16080/rvndb/rvn-jpgs/RVN03036.jpg
Milwaukee Road ad 1945
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2426-72dpi.jpeg
Mike
G'day Cap'n Tom and fellow travelers at the bar!
Ruth my deAH, you are looking mighty fine today - radiant comes to mind! Pour this old sailor a stein of Rheingold if you please and slide those snacks down my way.
Congrats to you, Cap'n Tom - good selectioin of rail trips. I did just a bit of checking into that route and it appears to be one where you should catch a good amount of interesting countryside. The Mrs. suggested that I should seriously consider doing something similar, as she has sensed that I've been "walking the walls" as of late. Perspective gals, these wives are!
I hadn't seen those Encores from Doug or Pete, so they were first time "rads" for me. I know that the pix from Pete's had been on this thread, for I remember that railway station with the curved platform. Good jobs, gents!
Speaking of Encores, it's still a bit hard for me to come up with anything of substance, especially since most of my stuff has been pix and rather worn out posts about domes and the S.I.R.T. So, permit me to exercise the "optional" feature of this day - and I'll go with something relevent to our 'steamed bossman - the Chaelur!
The Chaleur is a triweekly passenger train operated by VIA Rail between Gare Centrale (Montreal) and Gaspé, Quebec.
The Chaleur leaves Montreal in the evening and arrives in Gaspé at about noon the following day. It then departs Gaspé in the afternoon and arrives in Montreal in the morning.
Between Montreal and Matapédia, Quebec this train is normally merged with the Ocean. The consist of the Chaleur in recent years is composed exclusively of cars built by the Budd Company. This had been the case until 2004 for the Ocean as well, however the introduction of the Renaissance cars on the Ocean has resulted in both trains operating separately during the summer months (when trains are longer) and combined during the winter; the reason for this policy appears to be related to the braking effort of a combined train. When operating separately, the Chaleur will run several minutes ahead of the Ocean. When combined, the trains run together as far as Matapédia, Quebec, before the Ocean continues to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Chaleur proceeds to Gaspé.
The following are stations served on the 1,041 kilometer (647 mile) route, listed from west to east:
As an example, this is the train's consist on a day in October 2005.
All built by Budd.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Should be a fine experience!
Until the next time!
Lars
hey im ryan and im 11 years old and building a modell railway.
Can u give me some tips on the gauge and trains and carrages
molecule.1995@hotmail.com
Just a few comments before checking out for this day . . .
Appreciate the rail chronicles from Pete on his experiences from Rugby to Newcastle while back in “Merry Olde” a bit ago . . . I too recall seeing the Pix, but the narrative was new and most interesting. Nicley done! And yes – I succumbed to the temptation and have absolutely no regrets and only anticipation of having a great time!
Used to call the “Nutmeg State” home back in the mid-60s a bit over 3 years. Great place to live ( Norwich) and many fond memories. In those times my “real” railroading interests were occasional trips to the New London rail depot to “gawk” at the trains of the New Haven or what was left of ‘em. My model RR interests began as I introduced my youngest son to HO trains (Tyco) and thus began a long, long love affair with that scale.
Another fine history lesson from Mike, and the URLs are – overwhelming – but to be kept on the “back burner” for viewing!
Lars – thanx so much for the Chaleur “tribute”! Lots of effort and very much appreciated. So, your Mrs. is giving you the “high sign,” eh Come and join me in Montreal – we’d have a blast. The beer is always cold in the lounge portion of the Skyline dome car. (They don’t operate the “Park” series of observations domes on the Chaleur – those are strictly for the Ocean and the Halifax run (now only during tourist season).
And yes, that's one of our former "regulars" who Posted on this Forum a bit ago . . . .
Hope everyone has a great weekend and has a chance to recharge the batteries !
Leon – give ‘em a drink and Boris, ring the ding!
G-day Tom and all here.
Thank you to all that wished me a happy birthday. I was quite happy. Once again thank you.
BudKarr and Tom have been wondering about me and the history behind myself.
Well to start things off I am probably your youngest poster here. I turned 18. So hopefully this isn't a problem. I have always liked this forum and have poped in (even before I came here) because I liked the way It worked around here. Things were always neat and organized and the topics were decent and civilized. So I waited untill just a while back to come in. So Tom, just in case you were woundering why I didn't order to many cold ones, Now you know. Even though on special events I will come and order one and buy some for the guys around. Anyway... I have always loved modeling. For instance. I model the Milwaukee road, just like it says below. I have always liked the Milwaukee road for there electrics. They have always fascinated me. Nick had mentioned about the electrics lash up and how they probably sucked the juice out of every building around. Ya.. Thats probably correct. They pulled in 3000 volts DC electricity when up to speed. Probably more than that when getting underway.
But I do have a job on the Railroad. I am a fireman now (finally, was a student Fireman up untill tonight) while taking courses in school. So you could probably imagine the work I am going to be pulling in. I'm on the extra board so it will be quite a job. I'm keeping up with work and with school, So there's an upsider.
BTW: Tom, sorry about the whole 15 page thing. Didn't mean to go that far. Won't happen again. and I think it might have to be coffee most of the time... If you know what I mean.
Rob, On the topic of snow... I live in Duluth, Minnesota.. and just to give you an Idea, the winters around here are sometimes quite nasty. Some nights, we can have 20 degree below zero and others it's snowing up a storm. But I believe the snow drifts were up to about eight feet or so and the snow on the ground was about 6 feet. So it can be wild.
Coalminer, and Pete, I'm glad you enjoyed The steam pics. I really like seeing steam in action. It just gives you that sensation of...wow.. Steam is something to behold.
Hey, Barndad, don't worry about the B-day thing. But I'm glad you popped in. It made a difference. Thanks.
I have been wanting to post these pictures for a long time now and I know it is off topic but I didn't get the chance to do so Wednesday.
This is what the layout looked like without scenery. Not untill about 3 weeks ago.
This is my locomotive shed. As you can see there is a lot of Milwaukee power. I just got the scenery on about 2 weeks ago.
This was a cool shot of the shed. I really like how the trailers turned out. They look pretty good.
The whole area. turned out well.
I will get back into the topic tomorrow.
Once again thank you for the B-day wishes and have a safe day.
Happy railroading.
James
Good evening Leon. A very large cold one I think. It's been quite the last couple of daze for me.First i had to replace two of the phone jacks in my basement ( well I didn't Bell did )Then we had the anual job fare at the store today , I'm sure that I must have interviewed 100 of Boris's relatives. I just haven't had the strength to log on yesterday sorry.Mind you some good info was to be had by all ,so I must applaud everyone who does what they does around here
Tom-So , Montreal bound again eh? Good stuff, hopefully you might be able to see some old friends from the VIA trips of days past. I'm sure that you will regail us with many a photograph once your back and settled in.Some interesting, reading between now and yesterday,I still think that we need to more deeply explore the SP and GM&O, lots of good stuff out there,and maybe Dave too
Doug-That was a very interesting article on the Mojave desret. seeing the combine left to rot was rough , but I've seen many a streetcar and interurban body left like that once the rolling days were done.Better than the burning pile of streetcars ( burning was the recomended way of removing all the non- metal parts from streetcars being scrapped ) I'm glad that you liked the CPR stuff. i'm still debating weather or not to do part 3 as it concerns the canadian and you really nailed it well on tuesday,I'm tinking more from me would be overkill.
Lars-Hey feeling blue about dis joint ain't allowed. it's not worth the ulcers. we are doing well as those of us that are here really do give a rat's hind quarters I figure that some days will be heavy some won't be. still beats the time I was here talking to myself by a longsite Tom's right rest and refresh it's all gonna work out well
BK-I;'m intrigued I'd almost love to hear some of those tall tales from bridge street , but I won't push it. I have a very good friend that lives mere blocks from it, and he has some equally good tales to tell about it.Friday's batch of photo's were quite good. I loved the CNOR station, similar to the CNOR ediface that's being restored as an old folks rec centre in North Bay. Thanks to your research dept on the more in depth railway, railroad answer as well.Happy travels on your weekend excursion
Pete-great story from your rail sojourne in "jolly old" and equally wonderfull shots to go along with. when I see good stuff like that on the thread it just,reinvigorates me to keep pluuging away with my own efforts round here. this is definatly why this is the bast Tavern by the Tracks !
Mike- URL's and a story good stuff. and a semi nautical themed one too,trains and ships and how they interact,two things near and dear to me. oh I just got through the rest of your last batch of urls from the other day. Loved the Newfie Bullet ones. Now there was an interesting railway.There is a good book ouit there called te Newfie bullet that is a required read for those who love slim guaged trains.
James-I'm glad that you had a good birthday. Congrats on te passing of your firemans tests,should be a long and lasting carreer choice if you play your cards right. It is a good idea to keep up the studies as well though. i don't think I can top your snow. We never get it that bad in Southern Ontario,we'll get the 10 and twenty belows but where I'm sitting on the top of the escarpment we tend to miss most of the majorly heavy snowfalls. Mind you the odd time...owning a snomobile can be helpfull.They layout shots look good,I look forward to seeing more over the odd upcomming wednesdays.
Well I'm mostly caught up. I'm finding that I have to post later and later as Heather's been bitten by the geneology bug. I may need to get her her own computer and net account
Rob
Good morning Tom and friends. I’ll be having a light breakfast, and just be watching the sites outside the windows as the sun rises (or Tom turns on the lights) to illuminate Mentor Village. Before I say anything more, ya’ll need to know you need to run out and see “The Guardian.” Excellent excellent movie my friends! Thanks for the GM&O encore yesterday Tom, and thanks for your generous words concerning my absence. Sir Knight Pete, I certainly hope you plan to get together when you come the Chicago. Please keep me updated! Terrific encore from you as well sir. Nifty stuff from you as well Mike. You find the most interesting URLs. Interesting stuff from manager Lars concerning Tom’s scheduled trip. Maybe one day I’ll make that trip as well. Howdy again to fireman James, and thanks for sharing pix of the construction of your layout. I’m especially interested as I’ll soon be building another, and need to steal …. er … recycle ideas! Hey Rob .. I’m not one of those people who believe it’s possibly to get too much of a good thing. I say we need more CPR stuff, and we’ve yet to scratch the surface on the subject. Bring it on my friend! Here’s my humble offering for today:
Mission Tower – H.L. Kelso – Sept. 1946 Railroad Magazine
Gateway to the Los Angeles passenger terminal is Mission Tower. Snugly tucked into a small triangle formed by the mainline tracks of the Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific, the Tower on the bleak west bank of the Los Angeles River looms high over surrounding storage yards and miles of industrial trackage, sets up the route for eighty regularly scheduled passenger trains daily. Five separate wyes, two double-tracked, adjacent to the Tower, siphon scrambled traffic onto six tracks forming the railed throat between the Tower and the terminal.
Housed in white stucco with red-tiled roof, the plant, Union Station and Switch and Signal Company installation, is equipped for a total of 245 switches and 195 handles. Switching is Tower-controlled to the very edge of the terminal’s train sheds.
Triple-owned, the Tower is operated by Santa Fe, with maintenance expenses eleven percent from Union Pacific, thirty-six percent from Santa Fe, with the balance coming from Southern Pacific, the most extensive user. Density of traffic is greatest between six a.m. and twelve-thirty p.m.
UP’s Pacific Limited flicks her markers at Mission Tower as SP’s double-headed San Joaquin Daylight roars into diverging trackage close behind. Change of schedule, April 14th put an end to this picture; now SP’s Sunset Limited leaves town with the Daylight
A double-eyed Lima Daylight engine clumps over the Los Angeles River bridge with a consist of Sunset Limited sleepers.
Economy railiner from Chicago, via El Paso, gets a green eye from the busiest tower west of the Mississippi.
UP’s Challenger and Santa Fe’s Scout converge upon Los from south and north approaches. The latter’s route from Chicago is seventy-two miles shorter.
The alley’s are clear for Santa Fe’s Number 1 and UP’s Third 7 as they glide on toward the butterfly platforms to the tune of their engine bells.
UP’s bid for the luxury trade, canary-yellow City of Los Angeles, wheels in a broad arc over the concreted watercourse, her three power units mumbling guttural Diesel talk.
First section of SP’s tripleted Number 60 slips under the Tower’s north windows. Giant articulated cab-in-fronter is usual power for trains making the Tehachapi Loop run.
Here's for James in Minnesota ….
Even Though the bar at "Our" Place is
CLOSED on SUNDAYS -
We do observe Sunday Photo Posting Day!
NOW PLAYING at the Mentor Village Emporium Theatre!
. . . Sunday, October 1st thru 7th: For Love of the Game (1999) Starring: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly & Jena Malone – and – Fierce Creatures (1997) Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline & Michael Palin. SHORT: The Three Stooges - Dizzy Doctors (1937)
For Love of the Game (1999)
PLOT SUMMARY: Detroit Tigers Veteran Pitcher Billy Chapel (Costner) has always been better at baseball than at love. Just ask Jane (Preston), his on-and-off girlfriend. After a bad season, just before he is about to start in what could be his final game, Jane tells Billy that she's leaving him...for good. Now with his career and love-life in balance, Billy battles against his emotional and physical limits as he strives for a Perfect Game. The suspense is never drawn back in this heartwarming drama about life, love, and risking it all For Love of the Game.
from: www.imdb.com
Fierce Creatures (1997)
A massive corporate conglomerate, Octopus Inc., run by a shrewd and cruel tycoon named Rod McCain, purchases a UK-based leisure company, and also the failing London Marwood Zoo. To bring more business to the zoo, Octopus hires a new manager, Rollo Lee, who promptly comes up with a way to increase profits-do away with all the animals except for the ferocious ones. This new Fierce Creatures Policy shocks the Marwood zookeepers, led by the unendingly talkative Adrian "Bugsy" Malone. Eventually, Rod McCain's son Vince, along with the up-and-coming business executive Willa Weston, take control of the zoo and revoke the Fierce Creatures Policy. Vince instead comes up with many under-handed and vicious schemes to attract customers-unauthorized celebrity endorsements, shoddy, overpriced zoo merchandise, and using robotic animals instead of real ones. However, Vince is also stealing from the zoo's funds, and when his father finds out, he rears to turn the zoo into a Japanese-owned golf course. Meanwhile, Willa has grown to love the zoo and its animals, and, along with her newly-reformed love interest Rollo, plot with the zookeepers to save the zoo from the McCains.
SHORT: Dizzy Doctors (1937)
PLOT SUMMARY: Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly The Stooges are lazy good-for-nothings whose wives threaten to kick them out if they don't find work. They land a job as salesmen selling a snake oil called "Brighto". After harassing the citizens and even ruining a man's auto paint job, they make their way into the Los Arms Hospital and try their hand at selling Brighto to the patients. They then enter the Superintendant's office to try and make a sale, but the Super is the same man whose car's paint job was ruined, and the boys must beat a hasty retreat back home.
The Stooges are lazy good-for-nothings whose wives threaten to kick them out if they don't find work. They land a job as salesmen selling a snake oil called "Brighto". After harassing the citizens and even ruining a man's auto paint job, they make their way into the Los Arms Hospital and try their hand at selling Brighto to the patients. They then enter the Superintendant's office to try and make a sale, but the Super is the same man whose car's paint job was ruined, and the boys must beat a hasty retreat back home.
from: www.threestooges.net
Enjoy!
Even though the bar is CLOSED on SUNDAY's we do observe Sunday breakfast - brunch 'n lunch from 6 AM - 2 PM!
G'day Gents!
A rare Sunday narrative from me, but we've had some very interesting Posts that need to be addressed rather than save 'em up 'til Monday.
As you can see, Boris is waiting tables and doing double duty in the kitchen - as is his station in life 'round here on Sundays. No liquor - no beer - in fact nothing at all from behind the bar. Check out the Menu Board and of course the bill o' fare from the Mentor Village Bakery case!
Where to begin
James - you snuck one in on us young man! Could've cost us our license as in this County no underage people are permitted at the bar no matter what they order. Sorry, those are the rules. My guess is more than one of our number are somewhat suprised, etc.
Here's the way it works at "Our" Place - our drinking age is whatever YOUR drinking age is where you reside. Since we don't know what state you are in (or do we???), I'm holding it to 21.
Now that doesn't mean you aren't welcome - for you are. We enjoy your contributions (great layout Pix!) and you seem to be quite a sincere young fellow. Just want to make sure we are all on solid ground 'round here.
Some months back a few teens tried to "get in" and once they discovered how serious we are about maintaining our "adult enviornment" they scrammed outta here. That's just the way we do things in the Saloon by the Siding. It is been and remains a cyber bar 'n grill in an adult environment.
Rob, not sure I fully concur with your upbeat assessment. One has to be here in order to fully take in the way things are here. It's been dismal for the most part and the days are getting looooooooonger, with October not boding well at all with planned absences from Pete - BK - Lars 'n Moi. Now, having said that - yes, we do have a nucleus of guys who give a Rat's Patoot and for that we are all thankful. But our numbers either hold at the low level where they are, or drop - never increase.
Doug, a wonderful Pix display for our Sunday Photo Posting Day! Well done, as always and good to see you back in full form!
Rob (again) Yes, back to Gare Centrale in Montréal. This will keep my "string" alive - 17 consecutive years of at least one trip outta there! Can't say that I'm not contributing to the Canadian economy! Gotta brush up on my American-French; used to be conversant enough to order a meal in the language of Québec. <grin>
Doug (again) If those towers could only speak! Can you just imagine what "Mission Tower" could tell us regarding the trains it "saw" passing by in either direction Your pictures "say" a lot!
And - come on along with me! That train to Gaspe has plenty of occupancy and it would be great to hook up with you, and maybe Lars, for the round trip.
James (again) Congrats on the accession to fireman. You'll have to let us in on the details - full time What RR Curious minds need to know!
Okay guys, enjoy the remainder of this day - the final of the regular baseball season and we still don't know who the winner of the NL Central, West and AL Central will be! Has that ever happened before Doubt it . . .
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Let's take a peek inside
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This poor old girl is our Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific 37A, a 1961 E9A Diesel-Electric cab unit. (I'll bet Tom notices the RDC behind her! Electro-Motive's streamlined E units, powered by two separate Diesel engines, were the most successful diesel passenger locomotives. The Milwaukee Road had six "suburban" E9As built with added head-end power" diesel engines and 350KW alternators for commuter car lighting. All six were later used by the North Suburban Mass Transit District and Metra. This is one of five units on display at the IRM.
Here's another car in need of care ... the URTX (Milwaukee Road) 37241, a 1948 Ice Refrigerator Car. Union Refrigerator Transit was one of the largest lessors of refrigerated freight cars. The cars often carried the lessors name. Until the development of reliable mechanical cooling systems, refrigerator ("reefer") cars used ice to maintain the interior temperature necessary for safe transport of perishables. Major rail yards had icing platforms where ice would be loaded before or during transit into bunkers at each end of the cars. Entire trains of reefers often traveled at passenger train speeds. This car was retired in 1971.
This would probably happen on my layout
Nice pix manager Lars!
Here are some more Milwaukee Road pix and info:
Here is our Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific (Milwaukee Road) 1132
Don't ask me why it's numbered 1307 nowadays. We use it as a used book store
Here is our Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific (Milwaukee Road) 118C
We have 18 different Milwaukee Road locomotives and cars at the IRM. You'll all just have to visit to see the rest! Do you remember the drop table I spent so much time on behind the steam shop? Well, here it is, inside the pit finally!
Finally, here's how our new home construction looks these days
Got paint?
The puter really is slow this aftternoon. but if there is something left in the pastry case I'll take it.
MIKE Great CV history and links, also the links for James on the Milwaukee Road. Thanks..
JAMES Thanks for the pics of the layout and if you are able, I too would be interested in hearing more about the fireman promotion.
ROB Thanks for the kind words much appriciated., also very much appriciated is that is that although you (and Doug) are very busy you still manage to call in at,as you say, the best Tavern by the Tracks. and post some great posts. I also would like to see part 3 of your Canadian passenger trains .
DOUG I will let you know when I am coming to Chicago. Great pics and notes on LAs Mission Tower.It seems they were taken at an interesting time when the disels were taking over from the steam traction. I loved the note on one of the pics of locos "Mumbling guttural diesel talk".
Also great pics of Milwaukee locos at the IRM, I bet one day 37A will look as great as 760 does, Those two pics show how much hardwork the people at the museum do to restore and to get those old locos and rolling stock back to their former glory. A 5X to them all..
Many years ago we did have a cat like that,in the pic, if the door was not closed properly it would come in and pounce on my HO set causing meyhem. thing.
LARS Thanks for the maps and photos on the Chaleur and the Ocean I can see why Tom is going, such wonderful scenery. The blue of the rivers is amazing.
TOM Three films I have not seen on at the Emporium this week, reading the plots they seem great stories, and will be great entertainment.
Having seen LARS post on the train to Gaspe, I feel like diverting to Montral instead of England, do you think there would be a chance to visit Delston Museum and see # 60010 there.It would be great if Lars could join you.
This weeks pics by Alan.
I, m afraid I don't know about this interesting little loco. It is on the NAUDERLAUSITZER MUSEUMSBAHN at FINSTERWALDE. GERMANY
Interresting vehicle on the left.
This fine railway building was at the end of the line and sadly is not in use.
A pic for all those who enjoyed Pacific # 18.201
Hope you enjoy these Pete.
DOUG Just caught your post with more Milwaukee pics at the IRM . Great to see the progress on the wheel drop and the House.
OKTOBERFEST at ”Our” Place begins tomorrow, October 2nd at Noon!
We will feature GERMAN brew all month!
GERMAN sausages will be added to the menu for the month, with all the trimmings!
On Saturday’s in October The Mentor Village Teutonic Society will sponsor Oompah Music live at the “Our” Place picnic grounds Pavillion and Dance Emporium! Performers include the Sauerkraut Band, Electric Lederhosen and Burst the Wurst Trio
Lederhosen and Alpine hats will be worn by "Our Place"! staff throughout the month!
Full scale LGB trains will be running on the main lines for free round trips to Can-Am Gorge on weekends – 10 AM to 4 PM. First northbound departs the ”Our” Place platform at 10 AM sharp, undt ve mean, sharp!
PLAN TO SHARE THIS FALL CELEBRATION WITH US!
Proprietor, "Our" Place
An adult eating 'n drinking establishment!
Hello Tom and all.
Tom, I relize that I made a mistake not telling you my age. Truly sorry.. But you will find that I am not like most teens. I like this type of enviroment. If you have ever looked at the Teen railfan posts, you will think they're a bunch of idiots, (even though they are teens) They fight, hassle each other around, and fight some more. There is no such thing as a civil conversation on the site.. Ever since I found this I've been going nuts waiting for this time to come so that I could step aboard as an adult. I have waited the whole summer for this and I have finally made it. Like I said I am a civilized person here, and I will stayed civilized from top to bottom.
But I am sorry I almost had the liquor license taken away from the bar....Thats where I should have told you my age. In which I will stay away from. The grill is my place... I believe it is.
Barndad, Pete and Tom, where wondering about my Fireman position. Well I work for BNSF in Rice's point yard in Duluth. Used to be a student.. well that changed. So far "things" are being sorted out. Still waiting upon what I will be doing over the next month. I am also a Volunteer at the lake superior museum of transportation. Soon to be a fireman down there also. Just need to pass there smaller version of the G-cor test.
Hopefully you understand everything.
I just read the e-mails I got..and.. well I felt completely unwelcome.
I'm sorry I even came here. I thought I could fit right in but it seems that I have done some bad things here. I didn't mean to do so.
I'm going to take a small leave let you guys discuss it. I just thought I could have some fun talking.
James-you are cool with me mate-in this country you are considered at adult at 18 and can enlist to fight and die for Queen and country at 16 -hope you had a fine time for your 18th birthday party -Congrats on your firemans badge-you are out there doing it ,not just sitting around talking about it.
Thanks for sharing stuff you know about with us-The whole point of the exercise as far as I understood things........
Right,rant over,lets have some sunday pix and all play nicely together.......................
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Right,one for the home crowd to start with-here we have the eastbound `Canadian` at Sudbury-Toronto portion in the main platform with G.M power,Montreal portion in the bay with an Alco--loads of modelling detail on those freight cars..........
right-a complete change of pace,here we have a selection from the southern half of the Welsh Highland Railway in North Wales-a 2ft gauge line which originally ran around the west side of Snowden and is gradually being restored.
These are all ex-Royal Navy mine depot cars from Trecwn,near me and are mostly fitted with sliding roofs to allow munitions to be loaded straight in--they look quite at home surrounded by gorse and with the bulk of the hills behind them..........
heres one from the north end of the line ( a different company-will explain tomorrow)-1st shot a Funkey diesel at Dinas junction,2nd shot same engine at Waunfawr running round with the brooding bulk of Yr Wyddfa (Snowden) behind
here we have moved across the bay to the Festiniog Rly-the first shot is of the new double Fairlie loco marshalling coaches at Portmadoc harbour station,the second is of the assembled train departing Tan-Y-Bwlch station some time later
here we have a real cross section:-top left we have a Festiniog Rly 0-4-0 tender/tank dating from the mid 1860`s at the Teifi Valley rly gala a few years ago,to the right of that we have the Vale of Rheidol`s `Owain Glendower`,resplendant in G.W.R green at Aberystwyth
Bottom left we have what looks like an ex W.D hunslet 4-6-0t (PETE help me here) on static display in the W.H.R yard at Portmadoc and either `The Earl` or `The Countess` (both are visible) at Llanfair Caereinion on the Welshpool & Llanfair lt rly
A selection from the Tal-Y-Llyn now:- a rusty diesel,a former Glyn Valley Tramway coach,thegrand old lady herself-(Tal-Y-Lyn -built by Fletcher-Jennings in about 1863 and still running sweet) and `Dolgoch`-also Fletcher-Jennings but 2 years later)-if they look familiar it`s because they are Skarloey & Rheneas from the Thomas stories...........
the pic of Tal-Y-Lyn is my all time favourite
Some more from the Tal-Y-Lyn
This is more for fun than anything else-top left,new loco #7`Tom Rolt + hippie ,top right ,back view of #1,Tal-Y-Lyn bottom left even more scary shot of Tom Rolt & self-bottom right,ex Corris railway Kerr-Stuart `tattoo` class #4 `Edward Thomas`
Back to the Vale of Rheidol-this is Prince Of Wales at Aberystwyth
this is the prince running round the morning train
a selection of the increasingly rare G.M units in Ireland-these are working services between Rosslare Europort & Dublin(long trains )& Waterford (short trains)
`Scuse me if I`m a bit full of it tonight but we played a show on fri to raise funds for the oncology dept of the local hospital and managed to scoop up about $4000 so am feeling a bit smug--mind you ,on sat we drove a round trip of 70 miles to play for about 12 people and a dog so I guess there`s a moral there somewhere................
be lucky guys,have a good week,love nick
Good evening folks,just stopping by to check out the days photo's and to make sure that we have the epic proportions of suasage and trimmings for the second anual Our Place Oktoberfest,also stopped by to get the lederhosen adjusted to fit.
Tom-Loved the movie choices of the day. Fierce creatures always brings smiles followed by spasm's of laughter. I haven't seen the Costner flick but it sounds like an interesting one. speaking of which, it looks like your redbirds just limped inot the post season. I guess my teams claim to fame was the unseating of Boston for second in the AL east, that and nabbing 2 of three to end the season in Yankee stadium Our highest placing since winning the second world series in 1993 !
I actually wish I could scrape togehter four days off and meet you in Montreal, unfortunatly it's an impossibility this time of year. Best I can do is to keep the ole homefires buring around here while all you retird folks pick up some well deserved R"n"R.
Doug-Wonderfull photo spread from you today sir . I'll back up Tom in saying how wonderfull the tower shots were, and aggreeing at the stories that they could tell if they could talk would be just as amazing.quite an impressive array of MILW power and cars at te IRM as well Oh and I think I will go ahead with part three then since both you and Pete are still looking forward to it.You are right I suppose we can't get too much of a good thing.
Pete-Let Alan know another great spat of shots.He could win prizes with his photography ! That odd crittrer hiding behind the steam locomotive looks lke an inspection vehicle of some type. Bigger likely than the fairmont speaders of NA, then again size can be decieving.
Nick-Good gravy man wonderfull shots today er tomorrow I suppose in your time zone.The two pieces of the Canadian at Sudbury is a wonderfull shot, for some reason I've always been partial to the blueline cars on VIA,I'm likely one of the few that liked that paint scheme. not as nice as the restored Budds, but a close second in my books.Nice montage of railways and equipment from closer to ho,me for you as well. Hopefully Copperkettle will be able to hold his own in teh kitchens with H&H for the Oktoberfest,you know what they are like
James-For my I'm not too happy 'bout the deception, however you do seem to be sincere and I do find your knowledge above the level of most your age.In Ontario you would be a year from being able to leagally step foot in an establishment like this one,you could vote or fight in our armed forces as well,so who am I to say you can't be here. I'll defer to Tom's wisdom in this, and hopefully they won't be any hard feelings from either side of the fence.
Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have a light breakfast please. This is Day 1 of 3 in which I will be working jobs 1 & 2. Bummer for me, and I'll be missing the Oktoberfest activities. Wish it could be helped. More great pix from Alan yesterday courtesy of Pete, and I'm with those who feel your mystery car is some sort of maintenance-of-way doodad. We've got some similar looking stuff at the IRM that I still haven't figured out. As for this business with fireman James, he seems like a real nice guy, and I've got more important worries these days than to judge this young man or anyone else here, so I won't. Great to see Nick pop in with some more RR pix, which look way too clean to me to be prototype. Must be a special lense on the camera.
In the spirit of contributing, and keeping the CPR discussion alive for another day, here's a little something to read besides the sports page:
Tractive effort 178,400 pounds. A brace of boostered-equipped 2-10-4s, Class T-1a, locks knuckles with the Dominion at Revelstoke, British Columbia, for the long climb over the Selkirks. The 5903 will cut off at Glacier, leaving Number 5901 to ease her long string of maroon varnish over the remainder of the 262-mile run into Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Eric A. Grubb
Built to battle the Selkirks, multi-pressured 8000 did not live up to expectations; went the way of the water-tube boilered engines. Here she is pulling out of Calgary for Field, in the Fall of 1931.
Carrying green for First Number 3, CPR’s 5900 shows a clear stack on the downgrade into Field.
Mixmaster of snowdrifts, a rotary works eastward out of Revelstoke
Twenty-six sanded drivers bite into the big hill with a quarter-mile of plush passenger cars
Big hill …big trains, big engines. CPR behemoths
A large two engined train was crossing America. After they had gone some distance one of the engines broke down. "No problem," the engineer thought, and carried on at half power. Farther on down the line, the other engine broke down, and the train came to a standstill. The engineer decided he should inform the passengers about why the train had stopped, and made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."
Guten Morgen!
Wie ist jeder? Es ist Octoberfest, Partei wollen wir!
Okay – ‘nuf of my German for this day! Hope everyone is ready to begin the new work week by beginning the day with us. Freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee in the urns; pastries in the Mentor Village Bakery case and of course our <liht> ‘n <traditional> breakfasts listed on the Menu Board!
On to the baseball playoffs! Cardinals vs Padres - let the "new season" begin! My "lambs" actually looked like Rams yesterday as they put the offense in gear to pull one out against the Lions from Detroit. A total of 75 points in that game - hardly a defensive contest!
Yeah, Rob - the Jays wound up in 2nd spot and made the most of what I guess was a disappointing season for the Toronto fans. Kind of like "kissing your sister" when one takes a series in Yankee Stadium AFTER the Yanks had clinched a week or so ago. I'd say the game meant a lot more to the Jays than to the Yanks.
And, it would be terrific it we could only muster up a few guys for the Gasep trip. That's the ideal rendezvous for the bar crowd - get 'em aboard a real train in an environment where "classic trains" rule the day!
Wonderful Pix from Doug, Pete ‘n Nick! Enjoyed the VIA Rail spread from Lars – turned out to be more of a successful day than I had thought.
Some Pix took “forever” to load – never did get all of page 403 - but enjoyable nonetheless. I’ll defer to others for comments . . .
Can’t wait to see Ruth in her Oktoberfest finery and we know that Boris will be absolutely “stunning” in his liederhosen, complete with Alpine hat and suspenders. Leon the Night Man will more than likely wear his orange and brown tux, with multi-colored cummerbund. Ah, creatures of fashion one and all!
Here's the way it works at "Our" Place - our drinking age is whatever YOUR drinking age is where you reside. Since we don't know what state you are in (or do we???), I'm holding it to 21. Now that doesn't mean you aren't welcome - for you are. We enjoy your contributions (great layout Pix!) and you seem to be quite a sincere young fellow. Just want to make sure we are all on solid ground 'round here. from my Post at 11:05 AM, Sunday on previous page
Here's the way it works at "Our" Place - our drinking age is whatever YOUR drinking age is where you reside. Since we don't know what state you are in (or do we???), I'm holding it to 21. Now that doesn't mean you aren't welcome - for you are. We enjoy your contributions (great layout Pix!) and you seem to be quite a sincere young fellow. Just want to make sure we are all on solid ground 'round here.
Let's cool off, Gents!
Later . . .
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please, round for the house, and $ for the jukebox.
Lovely day here in the coalfields – about 40 degrees this a.m. and no fog for a change.
Lots of reading this a.m. Following is in no rank order:
Our ‘steamed proprietor’s going on a road trip! Well-deserved, I’m sure and you’ll be able to see some interesting parts of the country. Movie choices are interesting. I saw “For Love of the Game” not too long ago, and have never seen Fierce Creatures. I’ll take a large popcorn, please. “Brighto, mister?” I can hear old Curly now.
Lars – Thanks for Chaleur information. Yes, the G’intt had a bye week, but they get right back into it now.
Now we are having Oktoberfest – this means that space under the pool tables will be at a premium. I heard rumors about Boris’s microbrew, any truth to the story that you have to tap the kegs with an oxygen lance?
Barndad provided lots of material. Ghost RR items are always good. B4 I forget all of Sulzer’s old books, Ghost RR’s of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana have all bee reprinted. This part of WV is honeycombed with old trackage and roadbed. The best time to see it, however, is in the winter when the leaves are off the trees. The Mission Tower story is one I remember reading in the old magazine awhile back. Then we have a fine collection of MILW artifacts as well as some CPR material. BTW, what color paint is in the buckets? I see a PowerPainter in your future.
Nick – Thanks for pictures.
Pete sent an enjoyable/informative travelogue and more pictures.
Mike – thanks for more CV material, especially the shots of the steamers and New York terminals. Most people, when they recall the ’38 storm think of the picture of the USCG vessel that got tossed on top the New Haven tracks at New London, so it was refreshing to see something else. CV8081 surely did bounce around. I remember photographing her in St. Albans more than a few times.
Received my new issue of Railroad History on Friday. We were discussing Jack Delano awhile back and RRH has a feature article about him in this issue with some well- reproduced examples of his color photography. Check it out if you get a chance.
IIRC, Santa Fe runs tomorrow. I have a prepared a piece which I hope the crowd will find interesting.
Lars' post arrived while I was working on this one. Indeed, let the games begin. Our 'steamed proprietor and I are still in shock that the Cards survived. BTW, I can't see what all the fuss is abt. Pedro being absent. IMHO, the Mets have been without him for essentially the last two months of the season, so it's not like it's anything new. Also, was it me, or did the Jets coach sort of get "greedy" yesterday againt the !@#$ Colts?
Work safe
Hello drinkers and diners, I apologise for the length of time since my last posting but I’m sure you will accept the apologies given the time has been spent travelling around in Canada, including my trip on The Ocean. More of that later. I was able to listen in at the door from time to time, but no time to participate. Thanks for the greetings from many of you.
Anyway, Landlord, hello again, and can I take an Orange Juice whilst I ask if it is possible for you to source a supply of Kimberly Mild Ale (the brewery has recently come under threat, though it is not closed yet), which I’d be keen to enjoy on future visits.
I know the conversation has moved on, but I just wanted to comment on matters raised a little earlier (around pages 396 – 400ish). I was asked about these points and I feel it would discourteous not to respond.
Pete – you asked about the GC set up at Ruddington. Well, I was last there about 1 year ago and things are pretty good. They have a sizeable set up at Ruddington itself with a decent maintenance shed, although much storage is still outdoors, and rather worryingly this includes the only space for some very rare wooden bodied ex GC passenger cars (one of the problems they have had there is vandalism as it is not far from a residential area).
They have a basic platform and most weekends in summer do short rides on the site. However – and this is the good bit – they have taken ownership of the line that runs south all the way to Loughborough which they restored to heavy freight carrying capacity – this allowed the Gypsum mine operation adjacent to the line to revert to carrying freight by rail over the preserved line and on to the UK network (I think this works out at about 1 train per day). The GC gets money for this from the Gypsum company. On the weekend when the freight is not running they can run passenger operation towards Loughborough which stops short of the national rail connection (no station on the preserved bit here, they just run out and back). This terminates at the area overlooking the yard of the Brush Locomotive works giving good views in to the yard as you are looking down from a higher level. Most services they run on this stretch are diesel. I’m not sure if they have adequate facilities on the GC northern section for much steam as yet.
Some info here:
www.nthc.co.uk/gcrn/news/
Down on the ‘main’ preserved GC I read they had had some funding difficulties in recent years. I did not know this but essentially the operation was bankrolled by a very generous donor, and had been operating at a loss for some time. This gentleman died not so long ago and of course the funding stopped (although he set up a legacy bequest which still supports certain things). Various parties (inc the local govt who have a financial stake) were worried about the future prospects and I believe this resulted in some sort of a board room coup (I don’t think it was malicious but others may feel differently). Anyway – the objective was to widen funding sources and ensure financial stability. I heard they have moved into profit recently and of course are still organising superb events and regular running (inc a major event this weekend advertised on the GC website).
The two operations now have renewed vigour in the attempt to gain funding to rebuild the over bridge at Loughborough which separates the northern and southern sections, the restoration of which would provide a very long running line indeed.
James – you posted a pic of what I’m pretty sure is a Virgin Voyager (not a Pendolino as Nick indicated). The Pendolino is the tilting 25KV overhead electric set which runs on the West Coast main line to / from London and Glasgow and intermediate points (ex LMS route Pete described in earlier posts) – James’ pic is of the diesel Voyager which comes in 2 variants, the non tilting ‘Voyager’ and the tilting ‘Super Voyager’. They run on what is called the Cross Country network – which is high speed inter city routes not covering London – basically north east and north west England to South West England with occasional forays into Scotland. They are 4 or 5 car units which run in fixed formation.
Sadly I’m very critical of these units. They replaced 1960s ‘head end power’ formations and the incomparable Inter City 125 units on these routes, swapping 6 to 8 coach rakes (consists) with these 4 or 5 car units which only very rarely are paired up to form 8 cars. At busy times standing is very common. Even worse, they tried to deal with the shorter trains by packing the seats in close together so they are really not very comfortable (I would go so far as to suggest that any North American used to a good bit of space would find internal space standards unacceptable). Many seats do not align with windows so you can end up with a reserved seat with no view, and at certain times of the day they are just totally overcrowded with passengers and luggage since they have very little luggage stowage room. The under floor power units also don’t make for the ride comfort of the HEP layout. First class is much better, but only half a car is 1st class and 1st fares are disproportionately high. These units serve what is the UK’s longest passenger train from Penzance to Aberdeen. Part of the fault for all this lies with the Virgin Company’s obsession with making train travel like airline travel – with the space standards that go with it.
It is a shame because the same design unit was also bought by Midland Mainline train operator – still has the non HEP draw backs but they opted for a much better interior design which far surpasses the Virgin effort.
By the way, these Voyager units serve the Bournemouth – Manchester Route including the direct descendant of the old Somerset and Dorset Pines Express mentioned earlier (although not on S&D metals of course). No chance of Virgin Trains using the name though as they have deleted named trains from their routes, in another attempt to pretend they have nothing to do with the past (when rail travel had a sense of style).
Tom – thanks for those pics of The Ocean – my arrival in Halifax was on a cloudy day so my own picture of Ravelstoke Park is not as good as that one (it was the Park Car on my journey and where we spent most of our waking hours). Neither was my view crossing the St Lawrence as good.
I also very much enjoy reading the transcripts of the old advertising material you have posted – very nice.
Pete – you mentioned watching the final Concorde touch downs. Brought back a memory – when that was announced I knew I had to see that. They would not let anyone view it from the airport without advance invitation so I took a train to a nearby over ground station and walked to the airport perimeter fence where a great many people had gathered – it was a fantastic sight to see them come in, although a very sad day. I doubt the end of any other aircraft will be marked by so many spectators come to pay their respects.
Regards for now. Back in due course for a run down of my impressions of VIA.
DL - UK
Guten Tag allerseits!
OKTOBERFEST at the bar and Ruth is looking - well, Germanic!
Just wanted to report that I've finally been able to view those Pix from Nick (yesterday) 'n Doug (Today) and they came through just fine! Don't know how some of you guys wind up with such clarity p mine NEVER look as good. maybe Doug is correct - special lens! <yeah, right!>
Two fine Posts to kick off our Monday from Doug 'n CM3 . . . wya to go! Received your Email, CM3, with a response "back atcha!"
An early visit from Lars with the "island report" as only he can provide! Good to see ya and appreciate your participation and support! Without your continuing and able support, along with frequency of Posts, I surely doubt that my efforts alone would have kept this place "up on the Forum" for as long as it has been - and that includes Saturdays 'n Sundays - through the good times and not so good. You've ALWAYS come through - never bailed out on us - that speaks volumes as far as I'm concerned. I just wish you'd give me a "heads up" BEFORE you "drop" those bombs! <grin>
Extremely pleased to see the reutrn of DL from the UK to our humble tavern! Your visit couldn't have come at a better time and I assure you, we have EVERY brand of brew available with the exception of the micro-variety. Just too difficult to arrange transportation! <grin> Once you're settled - there's quite a bit of material to browse through - feel free to jump in wherever and whenever you feel comfortable!
Revelstoke Park car is a "fixurre" on the "Ocean" route and has been for years. I've taken so many Pix of it that I think I know each 'n every rivet! Now that the Budd streamliners have been removed in favor of those Renaissance (Chunnel Chugger) cars, the only appeance of the "good" stuff is duringtourist season (beginning of May thru end of Oct) when they put on a Park car. This is what that once proud route of the "Ocean" has been reduced to - over 100 years of scheduled rail transportation for those living, working and playing in the Maritimes, reduced to a "tourist" train. <barf>
As you've undouibtedly gathered, this is where I "hang my hat," as I rarely appear over on my former Thread - Canadian Passenger RRs . . . I know we have far more interaction here and the price for the beer is "right"!
Hope you don't mind Boris checking your ID before letting you sit at the bar - that's a little something we all have to get used to these days (daze)! <grin>
Sports This is going to be quite a month with so much oging on. I didn't view the Colts-Jets game, but did read about it. Looks like the NJ Greens let 'em off the hook, eh j Didja know that I attended the first game of the New York Titans of the AFL way back in 1960 at the old Polo Grounds Yup - they beat the Buffalo Bills before a crowd that one could count on two hands . . .
That was a league with all kinds of innovativeness, one not afraid to venture either side of the "line" that ultimately reshaped the entire NFL. Yes - from the Titans to the Jets - through Joe Namath - a Super Bowl victory - merger of the leagues - to New Jersey, lots of history in such a short time. Life goes on, eh Sorta like it hsould 'round here!
So, time to get about the day! Ruth, ask them, Was möchten Sie trinken? Drinks on me!
Hello everyone,
Let me have a bud please, to start things off with.
Im sorry James I didnt catch what railroad you work for. You said you just turned 18. In this country you have to be 18 to hire out on a railroad!
Just how did you make fireman so fast? And I wont even address the fact that they got rid of fireman long before I hired out, and Ive been doing it for over 10 years now.
And there never was such a thing as a student fireman!
NOW KID, GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I HAVE TOM THROW YOU OUT!
P
ftwNSengineer wrote: Hello everyone, Let me have a bud please, to start things off with. Im sorry James I didnt catch what railroad you work for. You said you just turned 18. In this country you have to be 18 to hire out on a railroad! Just how did you make fireman so fast? And I wont even address the fact that they got rid of fireman long before I hired out, and Ive been doing it for over 10 years now. And there never was such a thing as a student fireman! NOW KID, GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I HAVE TOM THROW YOU OUT! P
We call it studenting. Just riding along and showing me how things work. I was not hired though,not untill I had passed the GCOR test. I was helping out around such as learning on the job just like my friend did down in St Paul. He is 19 and is already a Fireman and Hostler for CP. His name is Will lohrbach. I inquired on rices point yard and told them that when I am old enough that I would probably want to work here for my first couple of years. So they said if you wanted to learn before you take your test that I would need to help around a little. Nothing big. cleaning offices, going out with yard master learning the trades of the area. I was not aloud to do any such thing as actual firemaning, just taking in the talking part of how to do this and that and watching how things were done, which they called studenting. learning pretty much. But After I had pasted my Test a couple of days ago they said that I could do hands on things such as actually going out and coupling and uncoupling of cars. Of course the first couple of times there will be a couple of fireman watching at what I will be doing. I relize that you have to be 18 so thats why they didn't let me do much.
But I made through to rices point on the North shore scenic railroad in duluth. They have a direct route to rices point and we wye our stuff all the time, so we knew the yard master very well. I can actually do some hands on things at the NSSR and have learned the trades of the railroad. This is primarily where I learned coupling cars, cutting in air, and some of the hand signals that are used.
I'm truley sorry for anything that I have done and did. I didn't want to cause any controversy. I just want to have classical train talk. I wasn't trying anything either. I am not your usual teen either. I have always loved this talk. I talk all the time with my friends, but I wanted to make new friends. Tom, lars and ftwNSengineer.. I didn't mean anything and I am sorry for that. I just don't know where else to talk. and the e-mails. I was just upset that things turned out the way they did. I just wanted to talk.
And Tom.. I saw that you had quoted that sentence on, So that we are on solid ground, I am, but It seems that ftwNSengineer is really upset with me. I would like to know if I would beable to come back if it is okay with you and Lars and everybody elses concent.
Special for CMSTPP James and all who are following this soap opera of ours . . . .
You ARE welcome to join us - what has been said and done is like yesterday's toast - gone-ZO!
As far as ftwNSengineer red P is concerned - that's ADULT humor, my young friend - get used to it!
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