QUOTE: passengerfan Posted: 29 Apr 2005, 15:06:53 Now for the latest on the Central Valley Amtrak California is growing faster than ever and if it keeps going at its present rate will be looking for new equipment in the not to distant future. There might be lots of Amtrak Superliners for sale at bargain prices if Amtrak doesn't get the funding it needs to survive. I think Amtrak California could very well survive on its own anyway. It would be nice to have some Amtrak sleepers for overnight service between Sacramento and Los Angeles via the valley route and Oakland - Los Angeles via the Coast line.
QUOTE: siberianmo Posted: 29 Apr 2005, 16:22:45 Hello again passengerfan Amtrak California - although perhaps not "classic" may very well be the only U.S. major long distance passenger carrier left - given that Golden State does cover sufficient georgraphy to qualify as long distance and.Amtrak, as we know it, may very well go extinct. Interesting thought that you bring up ....... Thanx for stopping by ........
QUOTE: passengerfan Posted: 29 Apr 2005, 21:34:07 Ale thanks. But I still have hopes for the passenger trains in North America at least they will survive here in California even if the rest of Amtrak should fail.
QUOTE: trolleyboy Posted: 30 Apr 2005, 00:23:48 hmmm Trains and beer quite likely an explosive combination lol Tom I'm heading out late next week likley,just a tad farther north in ontario. Nick I'll be in ONR country if I see anything interesting I'll let you know. Tomorrow will be a busy day actually it's tomorrow now oops must of been that coffee shop party. We are having our annual meeting at the museum directors to be voted in and decisions on what equipment to overhaul/restore thus year. Openning day is may 7 so the spring has finally sprung. Earlydiesel in order to allow everyone to operate we have an online sign up callender for our crews. We use three or four for weekdays 6 to 7 for weekends all optimal numbers.Most of our cars require two man crews so if we have only two operators we will run the single man cars only (cars with self closed air operated doors) PCC"S and Peter Whitts and the grinding train. The calender runs first come first serve so if crew show up unanounced they usually get a ground job ie gift shop or tour guide and only operate to spell of lunch breaks if required. This system works well for us. As for the humid days at least most of our line is treed so the ride is fairly cool and rustic. well i'm off for now. talk to you all soon. Rob
QUOTE: siberianmo Posted: 30 Apr 2005, 12:17:22 G'day fellas .... I've been "listening in" on the talk going on and will save up the SUMMARY until Monday ..... things are a bit hectic this day. The "party" over at "The Coffee Shop" went over just fine, although I noted somewhat of a "rebuttal" thread posted on the MRR forum ..... just can't please 'em all. A friend of mine has a "lead" on an RDC for my HO layout - actually it will go in one of my display cases for "retired" Canadian roads. Anyway, it's an RDC1 dressed in the old CP livery but with Dominion Atlantic written on the side. That's the "Evangeline Route" of Nova Scotia fame .... He found a "stock" of 'em at one of his favorite hobby shops. Gotta have it ..... and will pick it up this time next week in Halifax. I'd love to stick around, but as indicated, lots going on ...... so I'll wish you all a happy weekend! Don't forget - we're closed on Sundays - so, see ya Monday! Tom
QUOTE: passengerfan Posted: 01 May 2005, 00:05:55 The station in Halifax is a rather interesting fortress like structure and remember staying in a hotel next door that gave excellent views of trains. I believe the hotel was CN owned at the time but for the life of me cannot remember the name. I guess i'll chalk that up to old age or CRS (can't remember S***) I made notes on most of my travels but one of these days will have to organise them to find what I want when I need it. I keep telling myself I am going to computerize it but have just never gotten started. Actually it is such a massive undertaking am afraid to go to the storage locker and begin the task.
QUOTE: siberianmo Posted: 01 May 2005, 10:16:17 Good Morning passengerfan - Even though we're closed on Sunday, I find myself "here" to get things squared away for the upcoming week ....... The Halifax station? I'll be sure to provide you with some current photo's during our vist later this week and into the following. With two round trips scheduled for me between Montreal and Halifax - then Halifax - Montreal/Ottawa - I'll have ample opportunity. Yes - time and organizing "this or that" seems to get away from all of us. I have spent days sorting through photo's - putting them in order - placing them in albums, only to stow them away in boxes for my survivors to see! Yes, I understand ....... The hotel? Now called the Westin Nova Scotian (1181 Hollis St.)- adjacent to the station (1161 Hollis St.). Given a bit more time, I'll see what I can come up with regarding the history of the place ......... I do know that it reopened in 1996 after renovations and I believe change in ownership. The Canadian RR owners really knew how to "do it" right when they built their hotels in close proximity to the stations ..... CP's are perhaps the best known across the landscape - "classic" in every sense of the word. Gotta get going! Nice chatting with you. Tom
QUOTE: nickinwestwales Posted: 01 May 2005, 19:28:14 Hey Tom,how are you, Molsons for me,one for yourself and send a pitcher over to the track gang in the corner,they look like they`ve earned it!! fine night on friday-too "tired & emotional" to make any useful contribution,but hung out in the pool room for a while-please thank the team for the food & adult beverages,fine produce,elegantly served. Another late one last night-wandered in to find it was the "end of season" team party,that afternoons game had been postponed so the lads had been "at it" since 2 o`clock,Disco & Karaoke was the flavour of the day,my boss was having to have a sit down because of her sciatica,my other lumpen & surly teenage assistant wanted to spend the evening drinking free beer,so i was left pretty much to my own devices,more than happy to have the last of them out by 3 am. Now-here`s a question for you all to think on--Why is it that the Welsh,who are world-renowned for thier close-harmony vocal performances,when presented with a Karaoke night immediately discard generations of training and howl like wounded animals until forcibly removed from the microphone----Is this a wide spread tendancy? --Perhaps only affects rugby players........ TROLLYBOY-hi-thanks for the heads-up on the O.N. Alco-had some good results from george`s trains also.... TOM-as you were closed,I thought I`d take the layout tour,for some reason I expected the `50`s ambience of the bar to be reflected on your layout---what a revelation and delight!!!!!--If I can kick up the standard of my modelling to what you are achieving there I will be more than happy. Don`t think I`ve ever seen so many F40/F59ph units at once...have to say though,my favourite shots are of the F.P.9`s with the blue cars. So tell me,where`s the turn back loop? or do the two sides of the Union stn feed into different directions?....cant quite figure it out from the shots Does that rock outcrop at the far end have a name,if not,why not?-Thanks for sharing those pix,given me a serious boost-good to know I`m not ploughing a lone furrow--"winter"scenes particulaly useful-a difficult effect to manage if you live somewhere where snow is an occaisional novelty so little first hand observation possible. speak soon,nick
QUOTE: wrwatkins Posted: Today, 10:50:38 Tom Thanks for directing me to this site. Agree that it is a lot more friendly. One of the earlier posts was about West Virginia which you commented on. This hit close to home as my wife and I were born, raised and educated in WVa. My wife is from Wheeling and I am from a dirty steel making town of Follansbee, 20 miles north of Wheeling. A week a go we were in Wheeling to bury the remains of my mother in law. Wheeling is in the middle of the rust belt and it has more than its fair share of rust. Downtown Wheeling looks like a disaster area. More buildiong are abandoned than occupied. Those that are occupied consist of lawyers, government offices, and the discount dollar stores. All of the large department stores are gone. A far cry from the '50s and'60s when we were back there. We all know the plight of the steel and coal industry which was the economic back bone of the northern panhandle for years. The bright spot is Oglesby Park, a very large city park that has such things as a pool, 72 holes of golf, driving range, zoo, nature center, ski slope, cabins (40), lodge, horseback riding, hiking trails, youth camps, arboretium, museum, and a few more things I cannot remember. All of this from a depressed town of about 30-35,000 residents. It is a place well worth the visit. Check it out on the web page. Back to the overall subject of this forum: Railroads. As a student of WVa history it was drilled into us that the B&O railroad first reached the Ohio valley at Wheeling in about 1858. The town was a major B&O junction point with lines radiating out to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, and Huntington WVa. The Pennsylvania also reached Wheeling along the Ohio River from their main line in Weirton. The Wheeling & Lake Erie, later Norfolk & Western, also entered the town on a bridge and tunnel in north Wheeling. Jump ahead to today. The B&O still enters Wheeling from the south along the Ohio river from Huntington and Parkersburg WVa. All other B&O lines are abandoned, however, the beautiful B&O station is being used as West Virginia Northern College and still has "Baltimore and Ohio Railroad" engraved in the stone at roof line. Pennsylvania *Conrail) abandoned their line south of Wellsburg, 15 miles north of Wheeling. The W&LE bridge over the river has been out of service since about 1960. The bridge was removed about 10 years ago and I have a photo of it being demolished on my wall. Sad times for the state and Wheeling in general. The B&O mainline between Cumberland and St. Louis has been abandoned between Clarksburg and Parkersburg along with some other secitions in Ohio. The B&O north-south line between Grafton and Charleston is abandoned from Charleston to 50 miles north of there. CSX recently sold or leased this line to short lines and the line from Fairmont to New Martinsville also is in the hands of short line operators. The only bright spot for WVa is the eastern panhandle which is 80 miles from Washington DC. Many Washington workers live in the eastern panhandle and there is a MARC commuter train from Martinsburg to Washington. ***
QUOTE: coalminer3 Posted: 02 May 2005, 11:11:37 Quick lunch stop and back to it... Previous post abt railroads in WV reminds me of the old saying about the geography of rail construction in southern WV; the C&O got the best terrain, the Virginian got the best engineering money could buy, and the N&W got what was left. work safe
QUOTE: earlydiesels Posted: 02 May 2005, 16:56:24 Hello all! Glad to see some new faces. Welcome. Nice to see such interest about classic trains. I am learning lots about Canada and a region in WV that I've always been curious about. A cold draught of anything you recommend, Tom. I saw the remains of a human being after being hit by a train yesterday and I need to wa***hat away. Better yet, bring me two cold ones. Got the latest CLASSIC TRAINS Saturday and just looked at the pictures. Looks like good reading for one of these frost warning nights here in early May. I have always wondered how all those high density railroads were able to share some of the same space after running through the WV, OH, PA, areas back in the 80s when I was driving long distance. I am anxiously awaiting more tales from the area. Thanks, Tom
QUOTE: nickinwestwales Posted: 02 May 2005, 18:24:34 Well,hey Tom,looks like I`ve caught you on a quiet spell. Care to sit and join me for one?-good man. Saw you mentioned the want of an F7 earlier-Not sure if it would be too toy-like for your needs,but Bachman make( made? ) an F9 in zebra stripe,although numbered for an F7. I have a couple that ,with a good fist of lead in them,are very useful performers. One is in factory paint and the other is "faked up" as a VIA FP9 ( A permanent "B" unit satisfies my guilt over the lack of extra train-heat provision-It`s a system that lets the O.N. use freight locos on pass. duties so why not?) As you are an obvious hard-core passenger man, have you considered a set of Bombardier double-deckers? -custom painted for "Can-Am Metro" with some kind of twin flags logo- just a thought . Sorry you havnt made it into the O.N. archive yet,sounds like you`ve got Mike`s "pic of the day"archive,you need to go back a page or two to the section marked "pic of the day" "the photo`s " "the stories. tap into the photos and there should be a "quicksearch" option there,tap in either Werkspoor or T.E.E.trains and see what comes up. I`m just off to try it myself in a minute,so will report back,fill your glass before I go,cheers,nick
QUOTE: Ted D. Kramer Posted: 02 May 2005, 19:09:05 Hi Tom, sorry it took me so long to drop by but Florida is a "far piece" from here. I would have taken AmTrak but I wanted to get here before June. You have a cozy looking saloon and, from the posts I've read, great clientele to boot. I won't need a lot of introductions 'cause I already met most of the neighbors in another "saloon" down the road some. I'll have a Labatts Pilsner if you please...just to cut the road dust, don't ya know? You really picked the right name: "Our" PLace. From the "laid back" friendly chats, to the slight tremor when a train rumbles by; who could ask for more? Love that bouquet of pale ale, french fries, onions and diesel exhaust too. Guess I won't be of much use on Canadian 4' 8-1/2" but I'll try to keep up with maps, etc. For now, I'll just say it was worth the trip and I'm mighty proud to meet the "regulars." Also, have a great "Ocean" trip. Bon voyage, Ted
QUOTE: nickinwestwales Posted: 02w May 2005, 20:08:50 Hey Tom,same again,please my friend,plus another of whats doing you good. ah,thankyou,just the ticket, ---well I`ve just been for a mooch around the O.N. site and the only definate sighting I managed of a power car is at WWW.ONRGALLERY.COM where you need to go into the Frank Vollhardt Gallery. He has a Front 3 /4 shot,all the other shots I can recall are with 3-car units trailing FP7`s. I`ll also have a rummage around in the bottom of the machine here,Frank has been kind enough to mail me a number of pics of the Northlander,and there may well be something down there I`ve overlooked. If you are looking to model the train,I`ve seen a Marklin version on E-Bay (3 trailers inc. pwr. car + FP7 ) -possible Trix produced a 2-rail version? I`ve a ghost of a memory of seeing them advertised over here in original form as well,although that might require attn. to the wheelsets( sorry--I have an ongoing grumble about the different B2B measurement between Brit,Euro & U.S/Cdn products). Whilst talking models,-have you considered a mix`n`match like #365-VIA f40 plus Amtrak superliners (The International,I think) Ah yes,I remember now-How about setting up a webcam next time you have a session--I would dearly love to see that layout running O.K. looks like I`ve scored for the moonlight mile again,Tom,would you hang on to my bike keys for me,I`ll stop in sometime later,thank you you `re a gentleman of the old school, a round for the next shift on and another for yourself before I go,sleep well everybody,nick
QUOTE: ftwNSengineer Posted: Today, 12:20:44 sure i dont mind hanging out here once in a while.It gives me a little break when in trying to do prototype research
QUOTE: passengerfan Posted: 02 May 2005, 21:42:20 I guess i am lucky as I have ridden the Budd Canadian cars in three different liveries the original Maroon with Beaver Crests, The CP Rail Red and the Via colors. As much as I like them I have to give some credit to the GN for the magnificent Empire Builder that I rode in five color schemes the original Orange and Pullman Green with Gold, the second Orange and Pullman Green without the gold separation stripes, Big Sky Blue BN Green and Amtrak. The NP North Coast Limited I rode in three paint schemes the original the Loewy paint scheme and BN Green in both cases of the BN Green on the Empire Builder and North Coast Limited neither consisyt was completely repainted. In fact I don't know if a complete train set of either train was fully painted in Cascade Green. Rode the CN in the old green scheme, Green & Black scheme, and the Black and white scheme and rode both the original PG&E and after it became BC Rail. All of this talk about the Canadian but the other CPR Transcontinental never receives any mention so will do that now. The Dominion was diesel powered the train consist was a mixture of the new Budd cars and many older heavyweights and some lightweights of older vintage. Although it ran on a slower schedule than the Candaian it was first class in every way. Both types of Budd Sleepers Manor and Chateau as well as Park cars were carried. The dining car was a Budd and the Baggage Crew Dormitory was a Budd. The Skyline Dome was Budd and all other cars were heavyweights in the Maroon scheme with Gold leaf lettering. In summers the Dominion always ran in two sections one Toronto-Vancouver the other Montreal - Vancouver. The Dominion was an excellent train and very little has been written about it. Many people used to mistake the Dominion for the Canadian thinking it was just carrying extra older cars. From what I have learned it never carried the U series Tourist sleepers in stainless steel finish like the Canadian but it did carry Tourist sleepers. The coaches were postwar CP shop built streamlined cars and it carried more coaches than the Canadian. I don't know that it carried any 12-1 heavyweights in its consist bust suspect it did as they were still quite popular. There was more variety of sleeping accomodation then on the Canadian and im quite sure the summer consists carried far more passengers than the Canadian. If anyone else has anything to add about the Dominion I would love to see it in the forum.
QUOTE: Ted D. Kramer Posted: 03 May 2005, 06:46:03 Mornin' Gents, I did "burn some midnight oil," caught up with most of the Posts and of course, the "Summaries." Yeah, lots of good information from folks who "have been there." That sure means a lot now, 'cause the days of "Pullman Gypsies" is thinning out fast. My earliest claim to riding "classic Varnish" is pretty lack luster as most of the "name" trains in the East, e.g. Broadway Limited, Capitol Limited, Crescent, et al., had been reduced to "in name only" status by the 1960's. There were still some "hold-outs" in the West as per the Super Cheif (extra fares), plus the El Capitan, Kansas City Cheif, Empire Builder, that maintained full services. I really should count my blessings to have caught the last gasp of that era and I'll never forget the meaning of "first class." Did have some fun on Mexican, Irish and Panamanian rails and hope to do many more now that I'm fully retired. I trust you will forgive the anemic input from my bar stool. Maybe I'll be able to toss in a rag or a bone from time to time as "Our" Place clears the yard and gets the "Hi Ball" Speaking of which, a Crown Royal and soda would hit the spot right about now. It is early but I've been "at it" since 4:00 a.m. and have a long way to go yet. Gotta "hit the bricks" too soon, so its "all aboard" for me 'til next time. Whoever is "subing" for Tom; please keep a tight cap on the soda bottle. Untill then, [bTed
QUOTE: wrwatkinsPosted: 03 May 2005, 11:12:21 Good morning Tom. The black coffee was great. Thanks for brewing up a pot. Lets see-what yarn can I spin today. How about WWII stories. During the big one we lived in the northern panhandle of WV. One of my uncles got on =the wrong end of one of Adolph's grenades in Italy and lost an arm and leg. He spent the winter of 44-45 recovering in Atlantic City where the government converted several of the hotels into hospitals. That winter we made 5 trips to Atlantic City to see Uncle Alf. Since gasoline was rationed train was the only way to go. We would go the the Pennsylvania station either in Steubenville Ohio or Wellsburg WV to catch a train east. With luck we would get a train direct into Philadelphia then transfer to the Pennsy partially owned Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore line to Atlantic City. Getting a "sleeper" was almost impossible. Just getting a pillow was a miracle. My mother tells the tale of me waking up and asking "What happened to the whistle?" We were in GG1 territory! Pennsylvania, like all railroads were struggling to get equipment to meet the demand. In one coach you could read under a couple coats of paint instructions for lighting the kerosene lamps. Fortunately the train had been electrified. I remember one trip returning home. As the train started to cross the Ohio River bridge between Weirton and Steubenville my father got us into the vestibule as the Steubenville station was 2 miles down the line. We met the conductor in the vestibule who enquired why we were there. My father said we were getting off in Steubenville. The conductor said we were in section one, which did not stop in Steubenville. If we wanted off we should be in the third section. The next stop for section one was Zanesville, about 50 miles too far west. My father reached up and grabbed the emergency brake rope and said when he sat the Steubenville station sign he would pull this and we would get off one block later. The conductor said don't do that and he would stop the train. The train slowed to a crawl, we stepped off, and the conductor gave the highball to the engineer. The coal was thrown to the engine and the train left in a hurry. Less than 5 minutes later the second section came through at full speed. I only hope that the first section got out of the way. PS at this time I was 5 years old. Time for another slug of coffee. ***
QUOTE: siberianmo Posted: 03 May 2005, 11:55:09 G'day All ..... I'm here, behind the bar, but oh so busy this fine day ........ Just keep things moving along and I'll be a good listener .... BY THE WAY, HOW COME NO ONE as in NO ONE has even offered to keep this place functioning in my absence? C'mon -- it's not like real work for crying out loud! Just stop in once a day, make a post or two ..... and that's it. PLEASE respond to this ...... I'd feel a lot better knowing that "Our" Place isn't going to go the way of so many other topics .... at least, not yet! I'll try to get one more SUMMARY pieced together before I go ........ Get back to y'all later! Tom
QUOTE: ftwNSengineer Posted: 03 May 2005, 2:20:44 sure i dont mind hanging out here once in a while.It gives me a little break when in trying to do prototype research
QUOTE: siberianmo Posted: 03 May 2005, 15:06:52 [#welcome] aboard ftwNSengineer What a way to start out with "Our" Place ... first visit and all set to pitch in when asked ...... that's really something - a first on these forums for me. Thanx! [tup] [tup] [tup] I hope you take a few minutes to browse through the pages before this one ... especially those SUMMARIES I've posted ... that will help you catch up and become a "regular" in no time. Oh yeah - FIRST DRINK IS ON THE HOUSE - 2nd one too, for being so willing to help out. [tup] Now, the idea of "Our" Place is to discuss "classic" trains - that's the gist. We may not always stay on topic, but somewhere in the conversations we do try to at least relate to what this is all about. Of course, being a Bar 'n Grill, you have to recognize that there will be times when there are "other" things going on. Glad to have you as a "customer" and we're looking forward to what you have to share with us. [tup] Whatillyahave? Tom QUOTE: trolleyboy Posted: 03 May 2005, 14:39:25 Afternoon all. Tom I'd love to help for some of your absence but I'm going away for a couple o days the end of the week as well.I will certainly check in while I'm home however. Passing trains is a great book two other mcdonell titles you might like are heartland and signatures in steal. Greg still lives in Kitchener ontario and comes up to the museum fairly regularly not a member but he's always willing to sign books when he's around,seeing as how our gift shop sells many a copy of his books. For those interested in Canada's other continental CNR I recomend Across the Canadian shield by Alan Lill and Robert Wanner.It was published in 1998 by CN Lines SpecialmIntrest Group isbn# 0-9684235-0-7 or right the SIG group at CN Lines Special Intrest group 101 Elm Park Road Winnipeg Manitoba Canada R2M 0W3 It covers steam and diesel in the fifties frieght and passenger trains.It discusses the Super Continental and all the myriad of minor trains as well. It's hardcover and has excellant photo's.Same size format as passing trains but more text and maps.Balck and White and Colour photo's as well. Tom I may be able to track down a CN FA1 LL P2K from Lifelike canada if you are interested it's not an FP7 but it's still a mighty fine loco(zebra stripe paint job) Hi Ted glad you made it here as well. What are you doing in Florida I thought you were in the mid west? thanks for popping by next time your in i'll buy. Later all Rob Howdy Rob Can't keep you out of "Our" Place, huh? Good seeing you again .... always welcome - enjoy your company (and patronage). So, whatillitbe? Appreciate your willingness to help out 'round here. Any contribution that keeps "Our" Place up and running is what this request is all about ...... [tup] [tup] [tup] If you can find a link to that CN FA1 you mentioned, I'd like to see it. As long as it will "fit" with the consist of CN's black/white smoothsides - that's the objective. Appreciate your help on this too. [tup] Oh yeah - the book about the Continental - looks like the bride will be buying that for me - also! Tom QUOTE: coalminer3 Posted: 03 May 2005, 15:59:12 Quick stop b4 we shut down for the day and head home. I enjoyed the posts about the P&WV. Fascinating railroad with some most interesting locomotives. There is a book called the High and Dry which some of you may have seen. If you have not, it's worth hunting for. The photos are excellent; including some color shots. For those who want to read more about Gould, Maury Klein's book on him is about the best. My mom used to tell abt riding the P Company in WW2 from Washington to Providence; this would have been abt. 1943; no sleepers, of course, but they did operate parlor cars as "overnight cars." She recalled that women traveling by themselves rode in a separate car. "One of the worst trips I ever made," she used to say, "but we all were in it together." My father in law had a scenic tour of Europe from France to Germany via Luxembourg and a few other places. He said that when he came home, his ship landed in Jersey. He took the ferry to New York and then rode the NYC from New York City to Buffalo. He said he re,membered getting on the train at GCT and that's all he remembered until the conductor came and told him, "if your getting off at Buffalo, you'd better get off the train now." Have a good evening. wrok safe Evening - nothing to drink? Nada, zilch, zero not even coffee? Must have been a tough day for you. Nevertheless, always good having you stop by and sharing your thoughts with those of us in "Our" Place. You know, until you guys started coming in here and talked about the P&WV I had no clue about it or the history behind the RR. Thanx to *** Watkins we now all know ...... Trains were such a part of history in the U.S. and Canada that it boggles my aging mind to witness the changes we've experienced. Who would have ever thought .........? But, time waits for no man and change is inevitable. On that note, have one on me! [tup] Tom QUOTE: earlydiesels Posted: 03 May 2005, 16:51:52 Hello everyone. Tom, I'll take another of those cold ones like last time. I will check in while you're gone to keep things happening. ***, do you happen to have or have access to, a Fall 2000 Classic Trains? It has an great article about the good old days in Wheeling, WV. Same mag has a small writeup about CP's Jubilees. Trolleyboy, have you seen Greg Mcdonnell's article about the Montana Rail Link in the latest trains? I like the way he writes about diesels. I do not remember steam in active service so my early memories are of Frisco black and yellow. Tom, you had better look out. If you have a red sitting between two blondes you better gird the battlements and flood the moat! Trouble could be brewing. I better stay away as I have a weakness for redhaired women. I'll be gone Saturday and Sunday. We have bridge work to do at the rr and a charter for Saturday morning. I am running the train then I'll try my hand at bridge repairs but I'll help around Our Place until then. I knew you'd come through - just knew it! Thanx earlydiesels .... [ltup] [tup] [tup] The cold one is one me ....... enjoy! Well my auburn haired beauty at home would have a helluva lot to say about this! But then again, it's only cyber stuff! Oh, but there was a time ....... Enjoy your weekend and I appreciate anything you can do to keep "Our" Place afloat. Tom nickinwestwales Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:03:00 Tom,hi-didnt realise thats all you needed for "cover"-happy to pick up a couple of shifts,thought there would be "computer techie" stuff involved,almost certainly beyond my competance,will look in tomorrow to see when you have me down for, take it easy now, nick nickinwestwales[/b] Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:09:21 Well that last post just caused a little purple star to appear in my box ,must be accumulated Karma points or something.........hey ho..........nick Thanx Nick you're another that I knew would be there when needed ..... really appreciate your help. Hey - absolutely nothing to it ... just make a post or two when youcan. That's what keeps "Our" Place up and running. Don't worry about SUMMARIES and the like ....... guys will just have to resort to reading the "raw" material! [tup] [;)] That mug over there is for you ..... along with a refill. [tup] [;)] Tom =============================== Okay ....... looks like that's it for this evening. Drop some quarters from that jar over there in the juke box and let's get something going on 'round here. See y'all in the morning ...... Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 5:43 AM By golly these stand-in bar tenders are prety darn sharp. Hey Tom, they know all about Crown Royal too. Had a rough day at Bay Pines (VMAC-Madera Beach, Fl) yesterday [Tuesday]. They took another biopsy on the right Index finger. Don't want to bore you with the "proceedures." Suffice to say, the appointment was for 1:30 p.m. and I cleared the last "Banjo" at 4:00 p.m. Between the "local" and the "goof pills;" I sure wi***here was a R.D.C. handy instead of me playing "bumper cars" all the way home via Post #104 [Am. Legion). My first " rail bus" (R.D.C.) adventure was between Beverly, Mass and Boston's North Station for private lessons with John Coffey (rest his Soul). It was "love at first fright"...not Coffey...the R.D.C! B.M. operated singles or M.U. depending on volume. I have been looking for any excuse to "hang my hat" on any R.D.C. thereafter. The best one was between Baltimore and D.C. (shuttle service) when the Motorman let me "do the air chime" from Laurel, Md 'til D.C. yards. There were others but those ordeals are for another time. Minnie the Moocher (my kitty cat) is ragging me for a can of Tuna and the "pain killer" is doing a slow fade-out on me finger. So, I'll "fade-out" for now wishing one and all Happy (T)rails to You, Ted Edit passengerfan Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Central Valley California 2,841 posts Posted by passengerfan on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 7:33 AM I apoligise for not ordering or at least saying G'Day before I start my ramblings. In future I'll remember my manners and by the way make that Crown Royal with a water back. Just wanted to mention that the Dominion did carry two 12-1 heavyweights during the period 1955 to 1960 anyway. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 8:11 AM Morning all, Good to see ya this fine day ...... check out the light breakfast menu, right over there ..... And now for the news of the day. Remember those "lovelies" who were in yesterday afternoon and evening? Well, they've been interviewing for my "stand in" bartenders. Hired the red head, one blonde, a brunette, and of course a raven haired gal. So, that's four - count 'em - four, who will begin serving up the drinks on Thursday (tomorrow) until my return. Names? It's cyber stuff, so whatever flicks your switch my boys, they'll answer the call .... I'm going to be in and out this fine day, but I'll try to keep up best I can .... probably no SUMMARY until my return ..... ------------------------------------------------- Ted Somewhere on these pages (or for sure over on "Canadian Passenger Railroads - Let's Talk!") you'll find lots of my posts regarding RDC's ...... love 'em. Used to commute regularly between Melrose, MA and downtown Boston aboard B&M's RDC's ...... lived within walking and sight distance of the station. Loved it. Stand in's? They haven't started yet! Oh - but you must have seen one or two behind the bar ...... just getting "familiar" with the setup ...... We've got all kinds of pain killers - whatillyahave? It's on me. ------------------------------------- passengerfan Crown Royal seems to be flowing freeling 'round here ...... enjoy. Whenever I see photo's of those streamlliners with heavyweights situated within the consists, the word "***ized" comes up. I understand the practicality, and one doesn't see the visual from the INSIDE - just doesn't look right. ---------------------------------------------------- See y'all later ...... [tup][;)] Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:16 AM Good morning all. Hello to the new help. I'll take a order of biscuits and gravy with black coffee for now. All the chatter about RDCs. Late last year the wife and I joined another rail preservation group.(Our Third). Anyway, this group has a old depot, lots of signals on display, some equipment, but most interesting to the conversation, they run occasional trips over the host freight rairoad. The railroad owns 3 ex Boston MBTA RDCs. They are still painted and lettered that way and if memory serves, have B&M on the letterboard. All but one diesel has been removed for power and the rr has to provide a loco for propulsion. This is my only experience with these cars but it seems to me they ride rougher than the heavyweight equipment I'm used to. Another black coffee, please. My dad served in WW2 in the army and would'nt talk much about his experiences. I got more out of mom about war on the home front. Too bad that the U.S. can't pull together as one as we did back then. Its hard for me to imagine the traffic on the rails during that time. Where I live, long strings of oil tankers came thru often from the Gulf to St Louis pulled by any large power the Frisco had. 1500s and 4500s were popular for this duty. Sometimes I wish I could have a time machine to see the railroads before everything on them became so generic and unpersonal. Growing up with parents of Brokaw's Greatest Generation I look at the condition this town is in now compared to then and I wonder if back then was'nt actually better. Whoa. I'm off on a tangent. I just am envious some of our regulars were able to experience regular passenger service and remember when railroads were a primary, visable presence in everyday life. I believe I'll wonder over to the jukebox and find some tunes. Edit siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:45 AM Mornin' earlydiesels - your order is ready, right over there on the table next to the coffee pot. Enjoy! One day, I'm going to have an RDC and a Caboose in my back yard ... THEN this "blinkety-blank" subdivision will have something to 'crow' about, for sure! My father didn't talk about his experiences at all around me. I know that he was involved with two ships being hit by U-Boat torpedo's and shortly after the war, they struck a mine up in the North Sea. Quite a fortunate guy, I'd say ...... no wonder he didn't want to talk about. Many had it far, far worse - and of course, the real hero's (to my way of thinking) are those who never returned. Amazing how the world's attitudes have changed over the eyars - simply amazing. BUT - we're not into polltics around here - so that's enough of that ....... (I've read all three Brokaw's "Greatest" books ......) Trains in the 40's and 50's were wonderful - and are wonderful memories. I always think back to those times and each visit to downtown St. Louis makes me wonder what it must have been like at Union Station during those days ---- same for Kansas City when I take my solo round trips aboard Amtrak out that way. In 1953, I had the good fortune to be aboard a train that pulled into each Union Station (St. Louis/Kansas City) in the Show Me State ... was 15 at the time and really didn't quite "get it" as I do today. Have some black 'n whites from my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera though ....... RDC's? Oh man - I could talk up a storm about those, however, time's getting short -- gotta get moving. The gals start work in the AM - be kind! See ya! Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo passengerfan Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Central Valley California 2,841 posts Posted by passengerfan on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 12:58 PM I'll have another Crown Royal if you please! Just found some more information on the Dominion I thought I would share. During peak travel periods during summers the Dominions ran in All sleeping car and all coach sections. The all sleeeping car section usually operated with A Budd Baggage Crew Dormitory followed by five or six heavyweight sleeping cars in the solid maroon, a heavyweight a Budd Dining car, one Budd Manor Sleeper, one Budd Chateau Sleeper and one Budd Park Dome sleeper Lounge Observation. The coach section ran with a heavyweight Baggage Car a heavyweight Tourist sleeper for the crew one heavyweight Tourist sleeper for passengers and three maroon streamlined homebuilt coaches a Budd Skyline Dome , heavyweight dining car three additional streamlined coaches and a heavyweight Lounge Observation. Many of the Pullman heavyweight cars had been modernized with large Thermopane windows fully a/c equipped and roller bearing equipped trucks. They stopped running separate through Dominion trains when the Candaian finally entered service the Dominion operated with Budd cars as they were delivered before the Candian was inaugurated. Once the Canadian entered service the sections of the Dominion were combined and separated at Sudbury like the Canadain except during the summer the Dominion westbound ran as two sections as described above the Montreal and Toronto sleeping cars were combined and separated at Sudbury westbound and the coaches from Montreal and Toronto were combined and separated at Subury. Between Sudbury and Montreal and Subury and Toronto the Dominion trains ran with coaches and sleepers. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 1:37 PM passengerfan Crown Royal, coming up .... good choice and a fine, fine Canadian rye whiskey ...... All this talk about those great passenger trains of yesterday is just whetting my huge appetite for our train travels commencing on the 'morrow. [tup] This shot was taken a couple of years ago in Moncton, NB on the eastbound "Ocean" en route Halifax, NS. The Park Car is the Revelstoke Park and on this trip, we had our double bedroom booked in it ...... great way to go. Starting tomorrow - same itinerary and same luck with getting the bedroom in the Park car ..... [yeah] As you describe the CN's consist, I could envision those cars speeding along through the Prairies and up into the highlands of the Canadian Rockies. Must have been a great rail experience ..... no doubt. Seems kind of self defeating to be putting heavyweights on the line with cars of lighter weight - but the inventories had to be used - and used again. As stated earlier, once inside - who cared(es)? Gotta run ...... [tup] [;)] Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 1:56 PM Good moning y'all. (I live in Texas now). I'll have another slug of black coffee. OOPS it is afternoon so I will saunter to the other side of the room. Please give me a large glass of your best cabernet and a toasted panara sandwich. In a few hours I will switch over to the good stuff (gin over ice, no vermuth please, shaken, not stirred) Back to the Big One story. My father was born in 1900, which made him too young for WW1 and too old for WW2. He was a machinist at Weirton Steel and the war machine was eating lots of steel then. He also was a air raid marshall to protect the vital steel mill. Fortunately the war was kept away from our shores except for a light shelling of a California oil field by a Japenese sub. I do have a copy of the "High and Dry" that Coalminer3 mentioned. It has a picture, although not a pretty one, of the Ohio river bridge that I walked towards the end of the book. Nothing looks real pretty in the winter. The P&WV did have a few wrecks. We had a few photos of engines lying on their side in a cut after it decided to go off on its own. Not too successful. Unfortunately when I was closing out my parents home the photos could not be located. I had the pleasure of riding the last passenger train through Follansbee on the Pennsy. Our high school was in the state football championship game to be played at Parkersburg. The booster club chartered a 30 coach train from the Pennsy to haul the team, fans, band, and "visiting firemen" to the game. The equipment was not quite up to the standards of their Congressional Limiter or Broadway Limited. PRR powered and ran the train to Wheeling where the B&O put on their power and ran to Parkersburg. I noticed that there was considerably more sway on the B&O tracks than PRR. Lack of maintenance? We were the underdogs against Barboursville, which is near the capital in Charleston. We arrived at the Ann Street station that was on an enbankment overlooking the station. When the fans from Barboursville, who were already in the stadium, looked up and saw a 30 car train there was a deathly silence in the stadium. I guess this intimidated Barboursville as we won 34-28. Good day! Time to refill the glass with some more red bubbly. Ah! That tastes good. I am not under the alfluence of Incohol as some teeple pink I am. The sandwich was great and I am about to dive into the cheese tray. (BURP!) When I get under the alfluence I tend to get talky. Now what else can I bore you with? I served for seven years on the Board of Directors of our transit agency, Dallas Area Rapit Transit (DART), and have quite a few train stories to tell. It is getting late and this is bound to put you to sleep. I would go to the Commuter Rail Conference of American Passenger Transit Association (APTA) each year. The host city would schedule a train excursion in conjunction with the convention. I have stories of trips in Philadelphia, Toronto, Baltimore, New York City, Chicago, and Seattle. I will save these for another day and only terll you about my persuit of bears and pirates. One of my freebees was a pass to ride first class on any First Great Western train in the UK. First Transit of Aberdeen Scotland contracted for our surburban bus service and they gave me a pass. I had a free day in London last year and decided to go hunting for bears and pirates. My first stop was at Paddington station to look for Paddington Bear who was left on a station bench (A A Milne's classic children's book). Not finding any bears I took the First Great Western train to Penzance to look for pirates (Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "Pirates of Penzance"). Again a failure in my quest, however the ride was well worth it. The line is double tracked except for the bridge over the river in Plymouth. Like Plymouth as this is where our Pilgrams wintered before the sailed to the new world. They stayed in the Plymouth Gin distillery which sort of debunks the story about beiong pure. (Plymouth Gin is my favorite) Tom - Please stock this brand as it is seldom found in bars in the USA. Through Cornwall we passed several pits (coal mines) with the hoisting towers. Reminded me of good old West Virginia. The interesting part was that west of Plymouth the line was manually signalled. Each town had an "armstrong" tower that controlled the signals and turnouts. You could see the levers through the windows of the towers. Wanted to visit one, however the Brits do not let their trains dewll for more than 1-2 minutes in a station. Quite an all day trip. The train departed Paddington at 8:13 AM and arrived back at 9:58 PM. Took a different route back so saw additional scenery. Well, the glass is empty again and I am driving. If I have another I will be a candidate to get a DUI ticket. Oh, what the H - - -! Pour another and I will sleep on the bench in the corner. *** Edit « First«2345678»Last » SUBSCRIBER & MEMBER LOGIN Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register FREE NEWSLETTER SIGNUP Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter Submit More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
QUOTE: trolleyboy Posted: 03 May 2005, 14:39:25 Afternoon all. Tom I'd love to help for some of your absence but I'm going away for a couple o days the end of the week as well.I will certainly check in while I'm home however. Passing trains is a great book two other mcdonell titles you might like are heartland and signatures in steal. Greg still lives in Kitchener ontario and comes up to the museum fairly regularly not a member but he's always willing to sign books when he's around,seeing as how our gift shop sells many a copy of his books. For those interested in Canada's other continental CNR I recomend Across the Canadian shield by Alan Lill and Robert Wanner.It was published in 1998 by CN Lines SpecialmIntrest Group isbn# 0-9684235-0-7 or right the SIG group at CN Lines Special Intrest group 101 Elm Park Road Winnipeg Manitoba Canada R2M 0W3 It covers steam and diesel in the fifties frieght and passenger trains.It discusses the Super Continental and all the myriad of minor trains as well. It's hardcover and has excellant photo's.Same size format as passing trains but more text and maps.Balck and White and Colour photo's as well. Tom I may be able to track down a CN FA1 LL P2K from Lifelike canada if you are interested it's not an FP7 but it's still a mighty fine loco(zebra stripe paint job) Hi Ted glad you made it here as well. What are you doing in Florida I thought you were in the mid west? thanks for popping by next time your in i'll buy. Later all Rob Howdy Rob Can't keep you out of "Our" Place, huh? Good seeing you again .... always welcome - enjoy your company (and patronage). So, whatillitbe? Appreciate your willingness to help out 'round here. Any contribution that keeps "Our" Place up and running is what this request is all about ...... [tup] [tup] [tup] If you can find a link to that CN FA1 you mentioned, I'd like to see it. As long as it will "fit" with the consist of CN's black/white smoothsides - that's the objective. Appreciate your help on this too. [tup] Oh yeah - the book about the Continental - looks like the bride will be buying that for me - also! Tom QUOTE: coalminer3 Posted: 03 May 2005, 15:59:12 Quick stop b4 we shut down for the day and head home. I enjoyed the posts about the P&WV. Fascinating railroad with some most interesting locomotives. There is a book called the High and Dry which some of you may have seen. If you have not, it's worth hunting for. The photos are excellent; including some color shots. For those who want to read more about Gould, Maury Klein's book on him is about the best. My mom used to tell abt riding the P Company in WW2 from Washington to Providence; this would have been abt. 1943; no sleepers, of course, but they did operate parlor cars as "overnight cars." She recalled that women traveling by themselves rode in a separate car. "One of the worst trips I ever made," she used to say, "but we all were in it together." My father in law had a scenic tour of Europe from France to Germany via Luxembourg and a few other places. He said that when he came home, his ship landed in Jersey. He took the ferry to New York and then rode the NYC from New York City to Buffalo. He said he re,membered getting on the train at GCT and that's all he remembered until the conductor came and told him, "if your getting off at Buffalo, you'd better get off the train now." Have a good evening. wrok safe Evening - nothing to drink? Nada, zilch, zero not even coffee? Must have been a tough day for you. Nevertheless, always good having you stop by and sharing your thoughts with those of us in "Our" Place. You know, until you guys started coming in here and talked about the P&WV I had no clue about it or the history behind the RR. Thanx to *** Watkins we now all know ...... Trains were such a part of history in the U.S. and Canada that it boggles my aging mind to witness the changes we've experienced. Who would have ever thought .........? But, time waits for no man and change is inevitable. On that note, have one on me! [tup] Tom QUOTE: earlydiesels Posted: 03 May 2005, 16:51:52 Hello everyone. Tom, I'll take another of those cold ones like last time. I will check in while you're gone to keep things happening. ***, do you happen to have or have access to, a Fall 2000 Classic Trains? It has an great article about the good old days in Wheeling, WV. Same mag has a small writeup about CP's Jubilees. Trolleyboy, have you seen Greg Mcdonnell's article about the Montana Rail Link in the latest trains? I like the way he writes about diesels. I do not remember steam in active service so my early memories are of Frisco black and yellow. Tom, you had better look out. If you have a red sitting between two blondes you better gird the battlements and flood the moat! Trouble could be brewing. I better stay away as I have a weakness for redhaired women. I'll be gone Saturday and Sunday. We have bridge work to do at the rr and a charter for Saturday morning. I am running the train then I'll try my hand at bridge repairs but I'll help around Our Place until then. I knew you'd come through - just knew it! Thanx earlydiesels .... [ltup] [tup] [tup] The cold one is one me ....... enjoy! Well my auburn haired beauty at home would have a helluva lot to say about this! But then again, it's only cyber stuff! Oh, but there was a time ....... Enjoy your weekend and I appreciate anything you can do to keep "Our" Place afloat. Tom nickinwestwales Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:03:00 Tom,hi-didnt realise thats all you needed for "cover"-happy to pick up a couple of shifts,thought there would be "computer techie" stuff involved,almost certainly beyond my competance,will look in tomorrow to see when you have me down for, take it easy now, nick nickinwestwales[/b] Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:09:21 Well that last post just caused a little purple star to appear in my box ,must be accumulated Karma points or something.........hey ho..........nick Thanx Nick you're another that I knew would be there when needed ..... really appreciate your help. Hey - absolutely nothing to it ... just make a post or two when youcan. That's what keeps "Our" Place up and running. Don't worry about SUMMARIES and the like ....... guys will just have to resort to reading the "raw" material! [tup] [;)] That mug over there is for you ..... along with a refill. [tup] [;)] Tom =============================== Okay ....... looks like that's it for this evening. Drop some quarters from that jar over there in the juke box and let's get something going on 'round here. See y'all in the morning ...... Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 5:43 AM By golly these stand-in bar tenders are prety darn sharp. Hey Tom, they know all about Crown Royal too. Had a rough day at Bay Pines (VMAC-Madera Beach, Fl) yesterday [Tuesday]. They took another biopsy on the right Index finger. Don't want to bore you with the "proceedures." Suffice to say, the appointment was for 1:30 p.m. and I cleared the last "Banjo" at 4:00 p.m. Between the "local" and the "goof pills;" I sure wi***here was a R.D.C. handy instead of me playing "bumper cars" all the way home via Post #104 [Am. Legion). My first " rail bus" (R.D.C.) adventure was between Beverly, Mass and Boston's North Station for private lessons with John Coffey (rest his Soul). It was "love at first fright"...not Coffey...the R.D.C! B.M. operated singles or M.U. depending on volume. I have been looking for any excuse to "hang my hat" on any R.D.C. thereafter. The best one was between Baltimore and D.C. (shuttle service) when the Motorman let me "do the air chime" from Laurel, Md 'til D.C. yards. There were others but those ordeals are for another time. Minnie the Moocher (my kitty cat) is ragging me for a can of Tuna and the "pain killer" is doing a slow fade-out on me finger. So, I'll "fade-out" for now wishing one and all Happy (T)rails to You, Ted Edit passengerfan Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Central Valley California 2,841 posts Posted by passengerfan on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 7:33 AM I apoligise for not ordering or at least saying G'Day before I start my ramblings. In future I'll remember my manners and by the way make that Crown Royal with a water back. Just wanted to mention that the Dominion did carry two 12-1 heavyweights during the period 1955 to 1960 anyway. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 8:11 AM Morning all, Good to see ya this fine day ...... check out the light breakfast menu, right over there ..... And now for the news of the day. Remember those "lovelies" who were in yesterday afternoon and evening? Well, they've been interviewing for my "stand in" bartenders. Hired the red head, one blonde, a brunette, and of course a raven haired gal. So, that's four - count 'em - four, who will begin serving up the drinks on Thursday (tomorrow) until my return. Names? It's cyber stuff, so whatever flicks your switch my boys, they'll answer the call .... I'm going to be in and out this fine day, but I'll try to keep up best I can .... probably no SUMMARY until my return ..... ------------------------------------------------- Ted Somewhere on these pages (or for sure over on "Canadian Passenger Railroads - Let's Talk!") you'll find lots of my posts regarding RDC's ...... love 'em. Used to commute regularly between Melrose, MA and downtown Boston aboard B&M's RDC's ...... lived within walking and sight distance of the station. Loved it. Stand in's? They haven't started yet! Oh - but you must have seen one or two behind the bar ...... just getting "familiar" with the setup ...... We've got all kinds of pain killers - whatillyahave? It's on me. ------------------------------------- passengerfan Crown Royal seems to be flowing freeling 'round here ...... enjoy. Whenever I see photo's of those streamlliners with heavyweights situated within the consists, the word "***ized" comes up. I understand the practicality, and one doesn't see the visual from the INSIDE - just doesn't look right. ---------------------------------------------------- See y'all later ...... [tup][;)] Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:16 AM Good morning all. Hello to the new help. I'll take a order of biscuits and gravy with black coffee for now. All the chatter about RDCs. Late last year the wife and I joined another rail preservation group.(Our Third). Anyway, this group has a old depot, lots of signals on display, some equipment, but most interesting to the conversation, they run occasional trips over the host freight rairoad. The railroad owns 3 ex Boston MBTA RDCs. They are still painted and lettered that way and if memory serves, have B&M on the letterboard. All but one diesel has been removed for power and the rr has to provide a loco for propulsion. This is my only experience with these cars but it seems to me they ride rougher than the heavyweight equipment I'm used to. Another black coffee, please. My dad served in WW2 in the army and would'nt talk much about his experiences. I got more out of mom about war on the home front. Too bad that the U.S. can't pull together as one as we did back then. Its hard for me to imagine the traffic on the rails during that time. Where I live, long strings of oil tankers came thru often from the Gulf to St Louis pulled by any large power the Frisco had. 1500s and 4500s were popular for this duty. Sometimes I wish I could have a time machine to see the railroads before everything on them became so generic and unpersonal. Growing up with parents of Brokaw's Greatest Generation I look at the condition this town is in now compared to then and I wonder if back then was'nt actually better. Whoa. I'm off on a tangent. I just am envious some of our regulars were able to experience regular passenger service and remember when railroads were a primary, visable presence in everyday life. I believe I'll wonder over to the jukebox and find some tunes. Edit siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:45 AM Mornin' earlydiesels - your order is ready, right over there on the table next to the coffee pot. Enjoy! One day, I'm going to have an RDC and a Caboose in my back yard ... THEN this "blinkety-blank" subdivision will have something to 'crow' about, for sure! My father didn't talk about his experiences at all around me. I know that he was involved with two ships being hit by U-Boat torpedo's and shortly after the war, they struck a mine up in the North Sea. Quite a fortunate guy, I'd say ...... no wonder he didn't want to talk about. Many had it far, far worse - and of course, the real hero's (to my way of thinking) are those who never returned. Amazing how the world's attitudes have changed over the eyars - simply amazing. BUT - we're not into polltics around here - so that's enough of that ....... (I've read all three Brokaw's "Greatest" books ......) Trains in the 40's and 50's were wonderful - and are wonderful memories. I always think back to those times and each visit to downtown St. Louis makes me wonder what it must have been like at Union Station during those days ---- same for Kansas City when I take my solo round trips aboard Amtrak out that way. In 1953, I had the good fortune to be aboard a train that pulled into each Union Station (St. Louis/Kansas City) in the Show Me State ... was 15 at the time and really didn't quite "get it" as I do today. Have some black 'n whites from my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera though ....... RDC's? Oh man - I could talk up a storm about those, however, time's getting short -- gotta get moving. The gals start work in the AM - be kind! See ya! Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo passengerfan Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Central Valley California 2,841 posts Posted by passengerfan on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 12:58 PM I'll have another Crown Royal if you please! Just found some more information on the Dominion I thought I would share. During peak travel periods during summers the Dominions ran in All sleeping car and all coach sections. The all sleeeping car section usually operated with A Budd Baggage Crew Dormitory followed by five or six heavyweight sleeping cars in the solid maroon, a heavyweight a Budd Dining car, one Budd Manor Sleeper, one Budd Chateau Sleeper and one Budd Park Dome sleeper Lounge Observation. The coach section ran with a heavyweight Baggage Car a heavyweight Tourist sleeper for the crew one heavyweight Tourist sleeper for passengers and three maroon streamlined homebuilt coaches a Budd Skyline Dome , heavyweight dining car three additional streamlined coaches and a heavyweight Lounge Observation. Many of the Pullman heavyweight cars had been modernized with large Thermopane windows fully a/c equipped and roller bearing equipped trucks. They stopped running separate through Dominion trains when the Candaian finally entered service the Dominion operated with Budd cars as they were delivered before the Candian was inaugurated. Once the Canadian entered service the sections of the Dominion were combined and separated at Sudbury like the Canadain except during the summer the Dominion westbound ran as two sections as described above the Montreal and Toronto sleeping cars were combined and separated at Sudbury westbound and the coaches from Montreal and Toronto were combined and separated at Subury. Between Sudbury and Montreal and Subury and Toronto the Dominion trains ran with coaches and sleepers. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts Posted by siberianmo on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 1:37 PM passengerfan Crown Royal, coming up .... good choice and a fine, fine Canadian rye whiskey ...... All this talk about those great passenger trains of yesterday is just whetting my huge appetite for our train travels commencing on the 'morrow. [tup] This shot was taken a couple of years ago in Moncton, NB on the eastbound "Ocean" en route Halifax, NS. The Park Car is the Revelstoke Park and on this trip, we had our double bedroom booked in it ...... great way to go. Starting tomorrow - same itinerary and same luck with getting the bedroom in the Park car ..... [yeah] As you describe the CN's consist, I could envision those cars speeding along through the Prairies and up into the highlands of the Canadian Rockies. Must have been a great rail experience ..... no doubt. Seems kind of self defeating to be putting heavyweights on the line with cars of lighter weight - but the inventories had to be used - and used again. As stated earlier, once inside - who cared(es)? Gotta run ...... [tup] [;)] Tom (Siberianmo) Properietor of "Our" Place Happy Railroading! Siberianmo Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 1:56 PM Good moning y'all. (I live in Texas now). I'll have another slug of black coffee. OOPS it is afternoon so I will saunter to the other side of the room. Please give me a large glass of your best cabernet and a toasted panara sandwich. In a few hours I will switch over to the good stuff (gin over ice, no vermuth please, shaken, not stirred) Back to the Big One story. My father was born in 1900, which made him too young for WW1 and too old for WW2. He was a machinist at Weirton Steel and the war machine was eating lots of steel then. He also was a air raid marshall to protect the vital steel mill. Fortunately the war was kept away from our shores except for a light shelling of a California oil field by a Japenese sub. I do have a copy of the "High and Dry" that Coalminer3 mentioned. It has a picture, although not a pretty one, of the Ohio river bridge that I walked towards the end of the book. Nothing looks real pretty in the winter. The P&WV did have a few wrecks. We had a few photos of engines lying on their side in a cut after it decided to go off on its own. Not too successful. Unfortunately when I was closing out my parents home the photos could not be located. I had the pleasure of riding the last passenger train through Follansbee on the Pennsy. Our high school was in the state football championship game to be played at Parkersburg. The booster club chartered a 30 coach train from the Pennsy to haul the team, fans, band, and "visiting firemen" to the game. The equipment was not quite up to the standards of their Congressional Limiter or Broadway Limited. PRR powered and ran the train to Wheeling where the B&O put on their power and ran to Parkersburg. I noticed that there was considerably more sway on the B&O tracks than PRR. Lack of maintenance? We were the underdogs against Barboursville, which is near the capital in Charleston. We arrived at the Ann Street station that was on an enbankment overlooking the station. When the fans from Barboursville, who were already in the stadium, looked up and saw a 30 car train there was a deathly silence in the stadium. I guess this intimidated Barboursville as we won 34-28. Good day! Time to refill the glass with some more red bubbly. Ah! That tastes good. I am not under the alfluence of Incohol as some teeple pink I am. The sandwich was great and I am about to dive into the cheese tray. (BURP!) When I get under the alfluence I tend to get talky. Now what else can I bore you with? I served for seven years on the Board of Directors of our transit agency, Dallas Area Rapit Transit (DART), and have quite a few train stories to tell. It is getting late and this is bound to put you to sleep. I would go to the Commuter Rail Conference of American Passenger Transit Association (APTA) each year. The host city would schedule a train excursion in conjunction with the convention. I have stories of trips in Philadelphia, Toronto, Baltimore, New York City, Chicago, and Seattle. I will save these for another day and only terll you about my persuit of bears and pirates. One of my freebees was a pass to ride first class on any First Great Western train in the UK. First Transit of Aberdeen Scotland contracted for our surburban bus service and they gave me a pass. I had a free day in London last year and decided to go hunting for bears and pirates. My first stop was at Paddington station to look for Paddington Bear who was left on a station bench (A A Milne's classic children's book). Not finding any bears I took the First Great Western train to Penzance to look for pirates (Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "Pirates of Penzance"). Again a failure in my quest, however the ride was well worth it. The line is double tracked except for the bridge over the river in Plymouth. Like Plymouth as this is where our Pilgrams wintered before the sailed to the new world. They stayed in the Plymouth Gin distillery which sort of debunks the story about beiong pure. (Plymouth Gin is my favorite) Tom - Please stock this brand as it is seldom found in bars in the USA. Through Cornwall we passed several pits (coal mines) with the hoisting towers. Reminded me of good old West Virginia. The interesting part was that west of Plymouth the line was manually signalled. Each town had an "armstrong" tower that controlled the signals and turnouts. You could see the levers through the windows of the towers. Wanted to visit one, however the Brits do not let their trains dewll for more than 1-2 minutes in a station. Quite an all day trip. The train departed Paddington at 8:13 AM and arrived back at 9:58 PM. Took a different route back so saw additional scenery. Well, the glass is empty again and I am driving. If I have another I will be a candidate to get a DUI ticket. Oh, what the H - - -! Pour another and I will sleep on the bench in the corner. *** Edit « First«2345678»Last » SUBSCRIBER & MEMBER LOGIN Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register FREE NEWSLETTER SIGNUP Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter Submit More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
QUOTE: coalminer3 Posted: 03 May 2005, 15:59:12 Quick stop b4 we shut down for the day and head home. I enjoyed the posts about the P&WV. Fascinating railroad with some most interesting locomotives. There is a book called the High and Dry which some of you may have seen. If you have not, it's worth hunting for. The photos are excellent; including some color shots. For those who want to read more about Gould, Maury Klein's book on him is about the best. My mom used to tell abt riding the P Company in WW2 from Washington to Providence; this would have been abt. 1943; no sleepers, of course, but they did operate parlor cars as "overnight cars." She recalled that women traveling by themselves rode in a separate car. "One of the worst trips I ever made," she used to say, "but we all were in it together." My father in law had a scenic tour of Europe from France to Germany via Luxembourg and a few other places. He said that when he came home, his ship landed in Jersey. He took the ferry to New York and then rode the NYC from New York City to Buffalo. He said he re,membered getting on the train at GCT and that's all he remembered until the conductor came and told him, "if your getting off at Buffalo, you'd better get off the train now." Have a good evening. wrok safe
QUOTE: earlydiesels Posted: 03 May 2005, 16:51:52 Hello everyone. Tom, I'll take another of those cold ones like last time. I will check in while you're gone to keep things happening. ***, do you happen to have or have access to, a Fall 2000 Classic Trains? It has an great article about the good old days in Wheeling, WV. Same mag has a small writeup about CP's Jubilees. Trolleyboy, have you seen Greg Mcdonnell's article about the Montana Rail Link in the latest trains? I like the way he writes about diesels. I do not remember steam in active service so my early memories are of Frisco black and yellow. Tom, you had better look out. If you have a red sitting between two blondes you better gird the battlements and flood the moat! Trouble could be brewing. I better stay away as I have a weakness for redhaired women. I'll be gone Saturday and Sunday. We have bridge work to do at the rr and a charter for Saturday morning. I am running the train then I'll try my hand at bridge repairs but I'll help around Our Place until then.
nickinwestwales Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:03:00 Tom,hi-didnt realise thats all you needed for "cover"-happy to pick up a couple of shifts,thought there would be "computer techie" stuff involved,almost certainly beyond my competance,will look in tomorrow to see when you have me down for, take it easy now, nick
nickinwestwales[/b] Posted: 03 May 2005, 19:09:21 Well that last post just caused a little purple star to appear in my box ,must be accumulated Karma points or something.........hey ho..........nick
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