Good morning Tom and all in.
Pancake Breakfast please, warm up a Bud for me for later on please!
Tom, a UK trip on the cards eh – well – I’ll encourage you (even if that pub in Southampton has to be off the agenda – unless you have a score to settle of course!). I guess you will know the sort of things you want to do – maybe you can think up a ‘wish list’ and those of us with local knowledge can steer you to possibilities that can be achieved within the limitations of geography (and the rail network). Late May / June is a good time because the weather is often pleasant and the longer days mean plenty of time for sightseeing. Meanwhile, my friend, the beer’s on ice!!
Just regarding your tip on St Louis and Budweiser – I have to say the one place I’d be happy to drink the product is in its birthplace! I just have a suspicion of any product that gets made in such quantities you can get it anywhere on the planet – but I suspect the stuff sold here is an inferior version of the real thing. I learned this lesson as an 8 year old on my first visit to the USA – got a liking for those traditional American beef burgers – but came back home to find the stuff sold here under the banner of the same big corps (who shall remain nameless) was an inferior version of the product.
If there was any St Louis visit possibilities I’d be sure to e-mail – but my e-mail is gone down and I need to get it fixed – that’s another story. I’ll get round to it.
Rob – interesting low down on your 11/11 commemorations – but I guess Canada does keep the traditions alive – I was surprised to learn about Victoria Day a few years back on a visit – mind you I guess that warrants a place in the calendar just to annoy the Quebecois eh?
Pete – glad you liked the DMU site – I’ve just read the class 120 pages. Not great machine to look at, they obviously had a good ride from what you say. By the time I first went Aberdeen – Inverness (1986) it was back to loco hauled, and having grown up in the south I was only really familiar with the Diesel Electric MUs (DEMU – ‘Thumpers’ – not featured on that site I note) – a favourite of mine. The Diesel Mechanicals always seemed a poor quality product in comparison – ride wise. However, the 120 was obviously designed originally as a quality machine – what with 1st class and even a buffet counter provided. By the time I moved to the midlands the 1st generation units were seriously in decline – although I confess to having become more fond of their 1950s retro interiors etc in recent years. As you say, a shame that a full unit was not preserved. I think it is regrettable that this can happen when some types have multiple examples in preservation. Looks like a lot of the dreaded Asbestos was used in their construction.
I was interested in your comment on water troughs and speed requirements.
Nick – thanks for the Mark 1 coach info - a classic British steam era design – (of course there has been a Mk 2, Mk3 and Mk4 as well but we’ll leave that for another time). Good to read about Boris’ early years.
More interesting stuff on the Monon – appreciated!
Meanwhile I'm preparing my RPO contribution.
DL
PS Tom – oil prices dropping? Haven’t you guys got an election coming soon? Any co-incidence? Surely not….
G-day Captain Tom and all present!
Nick- That GP9 is indeed an ex. Soo line unit. BTW: Your story was funny. I liked it.
Mike- The Semaphores are still in service! Thats great! I can't believe they have survived as long as they have. Great pics!
I finally got some batteries for the Camera!
Train MF132 makes it's way around a curve about to cross Devol diamond.
This is about 3 seconds later as it comes over the diamond and rounds the corner.
MF132 makes it's way under the overpass near Elevator crossover.
http://www.trillium-video.com/mpg/church.mpg
Also, listen to these SD45s roaring. The EMD 645 turbocharged diesel engine is working its hardest!
http://www.trillium-video.com/mpg/fondlac.mpg
These EMD SW1500s are working hard, pushing there train back into Steven points yard. Located at Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Happy railroading!
James
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house.
What almost needs to be said is this:
Limestone clads the Empire State Building and it's somehow a residue of marine invertebrates in Bedford, Indiana, of all places to put an ocean. For a while the Monon got rich shipping limestone (and coal) to Chicago. Their headquarters was at 320 Dearborn St., a state of the art skyscraper for its time, 160 feet high, with 3 electric elevators. Designed by John Mills Van Osdel, the architect of the old City Hall, and built by Anders Lanquist. The Monon Building was demolished in 1947 to make way for the Congress Parkway.
Pete, on the map Bedford is 2 stations north of Orleans, where the French Lick branch begins.
The French Lick Springs Hotel has an ersatz riverboat casino on an artificial lake, as the law requires this floatation device. In its heyday guests included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joe Louis, the Marx Brothers, Diamond Jim Brady and John Dillinger.
Incidentally the word monon comes from Potawatomi Indian words that sounded like metamonong or monong, meaning carry or tote or run swiftly or swift running. Reasonable, since it was first applied to Monon Creek near Bradford, Indiana, which renamed itself Monon in 1879, about 25 years after the railroad came through town.
James, the semaphores were photographed in June, they continue to function as signals for CSX and Amtrak trains.
For All Saints Day and All Souls Day a steam engine from Saint Albans.
(photo courtesy Division Point)
(photo courtesy Canada Science & Technology Museum)
Mike
Right then gents ,gather round the fire,for I have a tale to tell... (Leon-send over a couple of bottles of the special rum,one of the reserve cognac and a decent single malt plus a J.D black for the guvnor-top man..)
Now as you all know,it was Boris` natal day yesterday,what you may not of known is that he is 108 years old-and finally an adult by the rules of his clan............shall we step back in time......
Twas a dark and stormy night that Halloween of 1898,deep in the Carpathian mountains all god fearing souls were long abed -even the troll bridge over the great gorge bore a hastily painted sign reading " gon bak 2 kave-pleez pay twise on nekt jurney"
Through the relentless rain and lit only by the actinic flashes of sheet lightning comes the sound of a wooden wheeled cart being pulled over rough ground-much swearing accompanies this with a counterpoint of a female in the final stages of labour-finally the cart comes into view as it slides down into a narrow defile in the rocks-between the traces are an identical pair of..well,you`ve seen the pictures havn`t you ???
Hastily the pair gather and light a brushwood fire ,since the howling of the wind is not sufficient to cover the howling of the mountain wolves--They realise that the will not reach the clan gathering tonight and prepare to spend another night under the stars.
Once the fire is well alight they roast and eat the remains of the donkey that was the carts original motive power,whilst taking it in turns to tend to the female within the cart-they are Boris` mother and both of his fathers ( their reproductive cycle involves:-1 female,2 males,a flowering gorse bush, a fresh duck egg & a prevailing southerly wind--I don`t know why,I don`t want to-lets just leave it there shall we ?? )
Sometime before dawn,when the storm has played itself out amongst the mountains,that most everyday of miracles takes place,a new voice greets the world and Boris is born
His early years are spent ,like generations before him,learning the secrets and trades of the clan-travelling from village to village stealing cattle,worrying sheep,mending pots and generally leading a delighfully bohemian lifestyle
As the new century progresses the clouds of war gather over Europe-the young Boris,eager for adventure, enlists in the Rumanian army-thus becoming the first non-conscripted soldier in that august military body.
His eager and willing persona ,coupled with an almost pathalogical inability to get anything right ,lead to his being transferred through more regiments than any other serving soldier.
Finally he finds a place for himself as a member of the 3rd Transylvanian Horse Artillery-they paint him with whitewash and use him for target practice
He receives a mention in dispatches and a small medal for his part in the little known battle of Splodnitz (he was trying to run away but lost his sense of direction)
The treaty of Versailles finds our hero living in a cave in the Basque country of Northern Spain with elaborately forged documentation and no good explanation as to how he got there..........
With the opening of global trade routes once more,he immediately took ship for the new world ,leaving only a forwarding address and a strange but lingering smell of anchovies.....
Here ends chapter 1
right-some more train pix-just to prove I do get it together
" border="0" />
These are the FP7a`s that showed up in last weeks pix-plus some freight cars that I have invented liveries for The flash distorts the colours somewhat ,especially the blue--sorry,can`t do much about it
Take care chaps,moonlight mile for me,nick
Well good evening to one and all,Leon-a bottle of Starop and a large rum for me please and a round of `liver liveners` for the rest of the crew..........Another fine night just gone-yet again I made it home with both Telecasters intact and the rest of the band enjoyed themselves enormously-ROB`s impromptu sabre dance during "I`m so glad" was a thing of beauty and the mass Jagger impersonations throughout "Brown Sugar" brought a tear to my eye--incidentally TOM-Chrissie was most taken by " The urbane gentleman with the U.S.C. cap" who offered to take her upstairs to meet the parrot,she apologises for having to cut and run but assures me that next time..................
So-where were we,ah yes:-
JAMES-was the middle one of those `Northern Plains` units ex Soo Line-looked like their livery....classy Monon pix B.T.W
PETE-Even in these times of ridiculous political correctness " A quick one " is always a favourite-the version on the Stones `Rock & Roll Circus` is especially fine .......I have (I think) about ten years worth of old Railway Magazine back issues from the `60`s ( also 30 years worth of Railway Modeller,and about 5 years each of Continental modeller ,British Railway Modelling & Model Railroader )
TOM-Whilst I am unable to offer bed space to a man of your years and dignity (small cottage-no guest room) it would be my pleasure to squire yourself and any others of the company around `Merrie Olde` as and when suits your convenience-just keep me posted -btw, Chrissie looks much sweeter without the outrageous `drag queen` makeover-but you knew that.................
MIKE-Glad to see someone else remembers the Crypt Kickers -I think I may even have a copy of the record somewhere,as ever,fine URL`ing
ROB-Curse those gremlins !!!!!--strange as it seems,many of the venues at which we play make the 2nd class look like a day care centre ( the only one we have so far refused is the local Hells Angels clubhouse-I`m daft NOT stupid...) thanks for the BL1 stuff
ERIC-Boris`s life history will emerge-most likely in several chapters.....
DL-Hope you managed to find the article-if not,e-mail me your address & I will post the magazine to you (Iwon`t be beaten here.....)
BK & LYDIA-nice big scale pix,theres a real `feel` to those models-mass,inertia when running-you just don`t get it with `table-top` models
CM3-As ever the definative take-nice notes on the BL`s and the centurys
Right then-Leon,same again please old son -I`m starting to feel vaguely human again----and so on to toys & models day,well for once,I`m able to make a relevant contribution.....................................................................
DL`s description of his recent trip made mention of B.R Mk 1coaches-to PETE & myself this conjures up an immediate image,however to the rest of you it may as well be Greek,so I`ve spent the day digging out my old Brit trains and taking pix:-
well,here are the Mk 1`s:- from top left...Corridor composite (1st/2nd class),brake 2nd,Rest,open 2nd,Sleeper,Brake /Luggage
Here are some other pre-nationalisation coaches:-again from top left..Gresley Bk/1st/3rd composite (LNER),Stanier Bk 2nd (LMS),Maunsell 1st/3rd comp (Southern), Collett Bk 3rd (GWR) and in the foreground ,some Victoriana-a Dean all 3rd & Bk/luggage/3rd (GWR)
A mixed bag here:-Collett Bk 3rd.1st/3rd compo,1st/3rd rest,milk van (GWR),bogie (SR) & 4-whl (LMS) general utility vans plus LMS 6-whl milk van
Now here`s where the difference starts to show-you guys are used to big bogie freight cars-we have (had) wee 4 whl wagons :- top row,assd 5 & 7 plank private owner wagons,middle row,assd 9 plank private owner coke wagons,btm row,assd 5 & 7 plank company wagons
top row-assd tank cars,middle row,assd steel bodied opens,btm row,assd ventilated and insulated vans
Misc:-top row,horse box plus long & short wheelbase cattle trucks,mid. row,cement silo,1 plank (I.E flat),grain hopper,salt wagon,lime wagon,front row ,various brake vans
Right-off to see if I can remember Boris` life story,back in a bit
nick
G-day Captian Tom and all present!
Leon- Set me up with a sandwich! and a french Vanilla cappaccino please.
Tom- Well I would have to say myself it went well! I loved that map. Very interesting. Something to refer to if we come back to the Monon. Glad everyone liked the photos and umm. a mistake also. An oops. BTW: I choose Nov. 19th since the 20th was taken.
Oh! and BK, . I missed you there, but I came back.
And Boris, . Hopefully he notices his shed. I may have done a better job than I thought
CM3- OOPS! Wow, how did I not catch that. But yes, you're right, The long nose gives it away. So, I will be more careful next time.
Erie and Rob- Well, I got the Double info. Very Nice. Thank you for that. Now I can add it to my pile of info. Some interesting Info. I didn't know that they were F3 at one time. Something new.
Nick- Very interesting Photos! Sorry If I'm a bit confused there. I know it has something to do with Halloween since everyone is all dressed up.
Mike- The photos were great, The Semaphores especially. Do you know when these pics were taken with the Semaphores? Otherwise pics were very cool.
Pete- Glad you liked the videoclips. The best is yet to come.
We had a superlative night lastnight. 71 people came trick or treating to the house last night!!! It was nuts! Plus I've got some pumpkin photos. So If I can I would like to post those here soon. Just to show off!
I've also got a few railroad shots of my own That I will be posting here on the upcoming Sunday. They should be good.
I'm afraid I don't have any new layout pics tonight. I feel bad. My little digital at the moment doesn't have batteries.
I have this one though. My three road units are ready to go on there next frieght. Note: This is portion of the layout might look more familiar if it had the scenery. This would be the engine facility before scenery!
G'day Gents!
I have NO IDEA what I was looking at when I announced "6,400" but that's what I SAW!!! Anyway, Wolfman Pete has righted the ship and we are in quest of 8,500 - so let the guesswork begin!
Entries thus far in the NOVEMBER CONTEST
Rob . . . Nov 20th
BK . . . Nov 17th
Pete . . . Nov 15th
to name the DATE when we reach 8,500 Posts:
SPECIAL for DL - Nick 'n Pete: We are SERIOUSLY looking into a trip to Merry Olde in the spirng . . . right now it's late May into early June. More later . . .
Ruth - a round on me and a double for Pete!
Tom
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of mild after last nights great party, please RUTH.I look like the 2nd Jack'o' Lantern on Tom's post yesterday
I have never seen Boris look so happy.
TOM TOM I win the prize(0r a thick ear) the 6,500 post WAS on 06-08 2006 you are selling yourself short sir we are on 8,400 posts a magnificent achievement I will go for NOV 15th for the new milestone.The 6500 date may be wrong it the only time I have had any sort of success with the search feature.
JAMES Great Monon pics #32 looks an interesting loco,do you know if any of the type are preserved and are still running .
Thanks for the links MIKE and the map, athough I could not see Bedford that was mentioned in the Magazine. The pics at Chicago on just one day in 1967 and the box cars in the sidings it appears that each one is owned by a different railroad, marvellous photos.
ROB Glad it as all ended well with the bikini team and the bar's cash reserve is back up again tup].
Thanks to you and CM3 for the info on the Monon diesels.I hope the President's tour goes well tonight.
ERIC That is one of the great things about Our Place it awakens half forgotton memories, Hopefully one day I will get to California and see the Big Boys there. I believe 6 of these great locos are preserved.
BK Thanks for the model pics Love the pic of the Chicago Streetcar.
DL Wonderful link to the DMUs. It is a shame none of the class 120 power cars were saved, I well remember travelling in them mainly around the East Midland area but also on the Inverness to Aberdeen runs. I think the seats in the1st class area was the most comfortable on any DMU, admittedly I mainly travelled in the 1st class after they were down graded to 2nd.
As too the water troughs, as you say I think the preserved Great Central is probably the only preserved line they could be used on and then if only there is a long enough level stretch of line, as I think that a speed of over 45 mph is required to make a good pickup of water possible. I remember at Newbold the Coventry line flyover was being built and there was a speed restriction on the main line, the sight and sound of the steam locos trying to reach enough speed to pick up water was spectacular..
I think there were Water troughs on some of the North American Railroads, perhaps the regulars have some info on them .
Really enjoyed those performance logs. The Railway Magazine still has a column on locomotive performance, it is billed as the "Longest continous railway article in the world" I believe that it has been going for over 100 years now.
TOM I was away when the abuse about the other theme was sent but it does seem strange they have a 'report abuse" on every post yet do nothing about it when it is reported.
A bit more info on the British headlights. There were 4 brackets on which the oil lamps were hung from, one below the stack and three on the buffer beam, two above the buffers and one in the center. The number and position of the lamps was used to tell the signalman the type of train the loco was on. For example two lamps above the buffers was an Express Passenger , one lamp below the stack was a stopping passenger, a lamp on the center and over the right hand buffer on the bufferbeam was an Express Parcles or empty coaching stock train, and so on.
If the lamps were on all 4 brackets that was only used for the Royal Train when royalty were on board.
The Southern had a dirfferent method using white discs in daylight which also shown the route the train was to take.
Well Ruth I had better have something a bit stronger if the Hit Squad is coming. Let me get them and everyone a round in.
Pete
Good Afternoon Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Santa? I haven't even taken down last year's decorations, and here it comes again!
All sorts of interesting material posted today, and thanks to all.
The passenger cars shown on the magazine cover and the book covers were r/b by the Monon. They were formerly U.S. Army hospital cars which the Monon acquired for a more than reasonable price and r/b in their own shops. Amtrak had some of these as well which they r/b into the “Le Pub” cars which, IIRC, ran on the Montrealer as well as several other trains in the early Amtrak era.
In reply to Eric’s question – the schedules I listed were for freight. Monon went out of the passenger business around 1967 and the freight schedules I listed were from late 1969..
James provided some interesting Monon shots. Monon never owned any C424s, however; the beast in the picture is a C420 (long nose is a dead giveaway). Monon had two series of C420s; 500-501 were high hood units, and 502-518 had the low nose. All of them showed up on the roster between 1966 and 1967. The C628s soldiered on after the Monon was swallowed up. They did, indeed, have a distinctive sound.
Rob – thanks for the material on the FMs on the Monon.
Last, some folks had questions about the BL2s. These were, indeed, produced for only a short time. BL supposedly stood for “branch line,” sort of like GP which stood for “general purpose.” The curved shape they had was due to the nature of their construction as the sides were constructed off of trusses.
The C&O had some (ran on the old PM), the Monon did, and so did the Western Maryland. The biggest outpost for BL2s was probably in New England where the Boston and Maine and the Bangor and Aroostook used them. The BARs BLs probably lasted the longest in revenue service of any of them. I remember being on the BAR back approx. 30+ yrs ago and photographing them in service, frequently mued with F3s. The Western Maryland’s units operated in and around Hagerstown and I was fortunate enough to see (and photograph) them there. I believe that the Kentucky RR Museum has a Monon-painted BL2 which is in operating condition.
Well, enough musings about days gone by.
Work safe
P.S. Thanks to BK for pictures. The GG1 works for me............
Good morning Ruth , just the usual large thermos of coffee and a number three , oh and don't scramble the eggs to loudly Well quite a night last night on Boris's natal day, judging by the sounds comming from underneath the barn he's sleeping off the party. He still hasen't set foot inside of his newly scrubbed abode.
Eric-Glad to see that you made it back in last evening.Thanks for the additional info towards the BL2's for sir James, between the two of us he has at least half the story. Now as to the girls... I had Vito and his boyz personally escort them to the Zepplin sheds , roll calls were done and all werer presant and accounted for at the time of lift off. H&H were flying with Copperkettle acting as in flight steward and all around good host.So hopefully by this evening they will be snug in someone's I mean their beds
DL-I'll have to puruse the blue pullman bits a bit more closely,and as far as the beer goes, I myself enjoy a good Guiness or Harps, but I need to be in the mood , otherwise Canadian Domestic for me. We inveritably have the same moron's phone in or try to talk to the staff at the store at the inappropriate times on the 11th. To that end I try to book the day off ( only a government holiday )so I can go down to the memorial service at The Canadian Warplane Herritage Museum. Unless the weather is off the Lancaster flies out at 11:30 does a fly over off the Cenotaph's in Hamilton , Brantford and Toronto, unless it's requested to overfly Ottawa in which case it returns to Hamilton in the afternoon. Last year at the opening off the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa it and the Mitchell provided fly by's at the Musuem there and Parliament Hill .
Tom-You will find that the "float" will be returned shortly, I've heard from the publisher that the first royalty cheques for the darts pay per view will be delivered by Vito in small non sequential bills latter this aftrenoon. ( Minus his handling fee of coarse ) Note to us we need to use the first national bank from now on
I'll take the first kick at the can for november's contest: 6500 will occur on ..... ( as he looks into the crystal,ball Madame Louise from the mentor sideshow sold me ) Nov 20th .
Back latter this evening , this week we are expecting the anual Presidents tour at the store , so all the fixtures product , staff , floor tiles , and bathroom stalls need to be spit shined <barf>
Rob
Back again with a continuation of this morning's acknowledgments, but first a comment . . .
Mention was made yesterday of the reinstitution of the Birthday Watch List, something we used to have a bit of fun with in months past. As many of you surviving regulars recall, it was put on the shelf shortly after a most disasterous experience where the honoree had us on pins 'n needles - for hours - with the "will he show, or won't he" . . . Anyway, we also began losing some of our more supportive crew around the same time and things seemed to be more of a chore than not. So I decided to put it in drydock.
As with any of the "features" we've had here at the bar, they take effort. Someone has to monitor them and someone has to ensure that they go off as scheduled. The more of the "features" we have, the more effort and so forth. Upon my return to the bar in August after my month-long hiatus, I decided "never again" to get so mired down in this stuff to the degree where monitoring this Thread could become an obsession. Nope -don't need that.
What I'd like to see are some commitments from those of you who clammored to have this bar return to full form. CM3 taking on the "Reporter" role in our Darts Challenge comes to mind as a fine example of pitching in. If anything, we've had an awful lot of inconsistency these past months - hardly anyone has been on board on a regular basis, with the exception of our new guys lately! Can't have it both ways and surely cannot expect one person to take it all on by his lonesome. Nope - don't need that.
So, the Birthday Watch List surely can be revived - but someone other than I needs to oversee it and oversee it properly. It's as simple as that, otherwise, it remains dormant. I do, from time to time take a peek at it, just to ensure that our remaining regulars aren't missed with at least recognition - and even that hasn't worked to full advantage (cite: BKs B'day).
DL - a fine Post from you Sir and lots to digest. Much appreciation for the links to those outstanding Blue Pullman pages - I can see where I'll be engaged in some worthwhile reading. Is there going to be an exam on any of this (My university teacher bride always comes up with that line . . . her students constantly wanna know . . . )
Regarding the warm beer - I recall a time in Southampton (1971) when served a beer that was warm, as in W-A-R-M. When I asked the barman if he could come up with a cold one for me, he provided a miniature ice bucket and tongs for me to drop ice cubes into my brew. <ugggghhhhh> That's when I decided to imbibe with the spirits - so to speak. Glad to know that things have changed - I can handle chilled - but NOT warm! So you don't care for Budweiser, eh Well, should you come to St. Louis (home of the brewery) I'd refrain from mentioning that aloud - could get you into serious difficulty! <grin>
The mention of a possible trip by you to Chicago and perhaps St. Louis conjures up all sorts of thoughts. We have our 2nd Annual "Our" Place Classic Trains Rendezvous scheduled for this coming spring and it will be in St. Louis. I expect that dates will be announced at the end of this year so that anyone wishing to make airline reservations will get a decent "heads up" on it. We've decided to communicate the details by Email, so if you are interested, I'll put you on the 'distribution' for those updates. Of course I'll need your Email address - so drop me a note using the Forums capability and we'll set it all in motion.
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I cannot speak highly enough about the exchange of information going on 'round here. Always learning something new - for instance, I had no clue about the headlights on the locos over in the UK . . . just didn't know. Then there was that quick and informative response to my inquiry of yesterday where Eric came up with the GP9 info on those HERZOG locos. Really impressive!
I too perused those Performance Tables and must say that a great deal of effort went into putting them together. Thanx for steering us to them!
The 11th month, 11th day, 11 hour - yes, brings back all sorts of recollections. As mentioned, Canada still does this sort of thing - well at least parts of Canada do. As our populations change and those with memories of past events fade away, change is as inevitable as the changing of the tides - happens. I'm really a tradionalist at heart - no doubt about it (no doot aboot it - for Rob!) and appreciate the upholding of them no matter what country I'm visiting. Just as long as those traditions don't include such things as beheadings and the like . . . I'm "right with it!" Always enjoyed visiting Parliament in Ottawa or a ceremony where the RCMP and their equestrians are involved - just something special to view. Same for the Tomb of the Unknowns (aka: Uknown Solider) in Arlington National Cemetary and the changing of the guard. Just "gets me".
Okay - 'nuf of my ramblings. For those who give a Rat's Patoot - today is OPTIONAL Toy 'n Model Trains Day! So if you'd like to provide some "stuff" about your hobby - this is the time to do it - just be a bit judicious with the Pix Posting - try not to overload the Page - Thanx!
And finally, I see where I made the 8,400th Post on this Thread. So, the question lingers - what DATE will the 8,500th be made C'mon, take a stab at it - just select a DATE - I'll make it easier on you with NO requirement to state WHO. So, it's our NOVEMBER CONTEST. Prize(s) and further details to be announced! <grin>
Later!
G’day Gents!
November 1st and can you believe it, the “countdown” begins – only xxx days ‘til Santa arrives! Good grief! <arggggggggghhhhhh> Yeah, I know – Grinch time!
So, what in the world happened last night in the Pool Room And WHO were those characters in the band Didjagetagander at the babe in red For a minute there I thought we had been taken over by the guys from The Second Class Saloon – Mountain Man Mike and company! Must have been a great ending to a fantastic night, for Boris is no where to be found, nor are the critters, nor are the Bikini Team gals, nor any of the guys from Vito’s Protection Squad. So, a good time was had by all as Boris crossed yet another threshold in his life.
On to the acknowledgments for the day:
Nick at 6:59 PM and 8:28 PM yesterday: What would this place be without our Chief Chef and Chairman of the Entertainment Committee Booooooooooooring, comes to mind! <grin> Always a pleasure to be in your company and I noted that you “dressed up” for Boris’ party! Sorry ‘bout the nonsense with the Forums – happens, eh Problem is, it happens more frequently than ever before and nothing seems to change for the better (except US, of course!).
Pete at 8:44 PM yesterday: A return visit, and this time with no mention of warm brew <ugh>. I’ll NEVER get used to that – NEVER! <grin> I can see where I’ll be “forced” to imbibe in my alternative – Black label Jack! <ooooooooh!>
Mike at 8:46 PM yesterday: What’s to say other than when it comes to timely and appropriate URLs – YOUDAMAN! Simply loved that Santa Fe “F” consist – what a great livery and the war bonnet “does it” every time! The map of the MONON is a “keeper” and I found “Romney” – no problem! Glad you made it in before things got too terribly out of control.
Rob at 9:35 PM yesterday: Nice going – another creative ‘comeback’ by our Bar Chandler – so we’re financially solvent again, eh Hmmmmmmm – that upstairs bathtub was ¾ full o’ cash before all of this began – I can tell by the green ring ‘round the inner portion! Anyway, good job. See comments above regarding “warm beer”! Cold beer, warm gals – now THAT’s something to ponder!
Eric at 12:25 AM today: Not to worry about the time of your visit – the important thing is that you’ve found your way back to the Tavern by the Tracks! Regarding the RDCs, there’s a book available on them (amazon.com and other internet sources) – check this out:
It’s a “keeper” in my modest library of hard covered RR books! Somewhat dated, but really tells it all . . . . If I ever return to Europe, there’s a “must do” rail trip on my agenda and that involves Sweden – would love to experience the X2000 from Stockholm to Gothenburg (Göteborg) and return. Something to dream about . . .
DL - just caught your AM Post and will get back with some comments in my next! Good to see ya, as always. Did catch the comment about RPOs - and here's the way it works: If you're willing - so be it:
NEXT Tuesday's "Theme for the Day" will be RPOs from 'round the world! Done this day by my hand . . .
Okay Gents – enjoy your day! Hope to be back now ‘n then . . .
Remember: Ruth comes in at 9 AM and remains behind the bar ‘til Leon takes over at 5 PM
Hi Tom
Good morning – mug of tea for me and a bacon cob please.
Plenty of items in recent post to catch up on but I’m going to start with by far the most important – warm beer. Pete, are you deliberately winding Tom up? I think we have got to get something straight here. The beer this side of the pond is not, in fact, warm, it should be ‘cellar temperature’ ie cool – but fair enough it is not ice cold. Now, there is an important reason for this – and that is because a really good pint of British Beer has one heck of a lot of flavour – and if that were made too cool the flavour gets killed off. Imagine the tastiest drink you have ever tasted, slightly cool, real depth of flavour – then you have it! And in any case I’ve seen a (few) select UK locations where beers like Chicago Goose Island are available – I seem to recall that was a good Chicago beer. Of course the Budweiser is all over the place but I mean to cause no offence by saying the less said about that the better…
On to other matters – thanks for the Poppy explanation Tom – what we have also seen here is a revival of the minute silence at 11 am on 11th Nov – such that at the office the reminder comes over the computer network just before (doesn’t stop some j**k ringing the 'phone at the crucial moment though), and I know the railways now announce it over the speakers at main stations for example.
RPO day – I don’t mind kicking the day off as there has been some other interest (thanks Lars) – mine will be UK stuff, so need someone to be prepared to come in with some interesting North American material if we are to go ahead – what’s the view from others?
Chicago – yep – if a future visit is in order a link up would be fine – after all would it give me an excuse to ride Amtrak to St Louis? My other half’s cousin lives in suburban Chicago (not far from a Metra station too) – I guess we should plan a visit some time.
Eric – yes the Duchess of Sutherland is a 4-6-2, that seemed to be the standard wheel arrangement for express passenger steam in the UK in the later years. Interestingly the very famous British Hornby Dublo toy company made a model of this class of loco in the 40s and 50s (the Duchess of Atholl) – they made an export version by taking the model, painting it black and labelling it Canadian Pacific and putting a cow catcher on the front – pretty collectible here although no scale model of any CPR loco I guess.
There were 8 & 10 driving wheeled locos here too but I think they were designed primarily for freight. As you rightly note Eric, no headlight (in fact headlights have only become mandatory in the UK in the last 10 years or so – and that is for safety of track workers and only on modern stock – the idea being that steam makes so much noise etc that you don’t need a headlight!). Marker lights for identification fired by lamp oil I think. Also – probably unique in the world – Britain’s railways are fenced in lines – that is right – nearly every mile is fenced in the whole way – to go in the fenced area is to trespass so you don’t need a light to see obstructions since there should not be any (!). Must still be a pain to maintain those miles of fence though, and plenty of stories of farmers claiming compensation off the railway when their animals got through fences that were supposedly ill maintained and got killed on the line.
Pete – yes, modernization has wrecked many a station – de staffing soon followed by demolition – I read that the BR western region in the 1970s had a deliberate policy of flattening all buildings on small stations after they were de-staffed and replacing with a bus shelter – a crime. I suspect the south London stations have survived through lack of investment to rebuild with smaller more ‘appropriate’ buildings. After all many of the LNWR buildings got re-done on the Euston – Manchester route during the 60s modernization / electrification did they not? A few older stations are listed for historic interest of course. One of the things that impressed me in the USA and Canada was that stations were maintained as proper buildings, with good facilities, and often some community input, even when they may only be served by a small number of trains. This certainly applies to places I have been on Amtrak and Metra, and VIA too.
Duchess at the Water troughs north of Rugby eh? Now that must have been a site to see – wow. Come to think of it I wonder why one of the preserved lines does not set up a set of troughs – just for the fun of it – Great Central would be the obvious place I would think. There are a few locations around the network where the old water tower that used to feed the troughs still stands derelict beside the line (I know at least one near Tamworth on the Derby to Birmingham route) the whole tank sitting there rusty - I wonder if it is full of water or rusted through! A preservationist could take this down brick by brick and rebuild). You made an interesting point about the whistle – maybe our whistle was not on form on Saturday hence the quiet attitude? By the way, I expect you know the National Railway Museum are re-streamlining class mate ‘Duchess of Hamilton’ – I can’t wait to see that!
I think you will enjoy the Performance Tables website – nicely displayed data from various UK regions. The person concerned must have had some ability to do some mileage in the day.
Nick – thanks for the link – will follow up in due course – kind of you to take the trouble – very much appreciated
Rob – thanks for the Hamilton info - glad you liked the daddy long legs
Mike – great links enjoyed the classic era jpeg photos in particular
BK – hope you had a good time in Banff – always looks great on the pictures there.
Tom – as you enjoyed that Blue Pullman pic I thought you’d like this link – gives a detailed insight into the life and times of these absolutely fascinating trains. Well worth a look the ‘Introduction’ and ‘decline’ pages. In fact part of a stylishly designed site about all of the ‘1st generation' - 1950s to 60s mostly of UK diesel railcars.
http://www.railcar.co.uk/hisOthers/BPintro.htm
Also some great colour pics from the superb film Blue Pullman here – choose the Films page, A-Z – title ‘Blue Pullman’ – worth a look.
http://www.britishtransportfilms.co.uk/
Well good e-v-en-ing ( sorry best Vincent Price I could muster ) Leon I think I'll grab a draft and one of the asbestos suits the hazmat team left behind , the punch bowl's taken on an evil greenish glow and Boris is playing with the new flamethrower that Frostbite bought him for his birthday
Nick-I'm glad that you made it out alive as well , but wow I think I saw most of the band at the Second Class saloon last week ,somehow they don't seem any more approachable or friendly LOLChalk your lost post to halloween software gremlin's, the worst of their lot !
James-Great pictures to end off the Monon theme .Let me tell you six axle century series locomotives were a sight to behold !I can easily remember sets of three C636's ( six axle 3600hp Alco monsters ) flying up CP Rails Hamilton sub with mainline high priority stack and intermodal trains as late as 1993 ! What a delight for the sences. The BL2's were designed as a transfer service engine using the same trucks electricals and guts of F3 locomotives. The odd cab and "porch" were designed to allow the crew better visability while switching either in yards or at industrial areas .They were not a success in that they still had the full car body which restricted rearward visability, and very few railroads embraced the design. the Monon, Western Maryland, th C&O & The Bangor are Arostook were the bigger users. Once Alco brought out their RS1 with it's more view friendly design the roadswitcher hood units were born EMD soon brought out the GP7 to counter and did not look back. The BL2 design was quietly shelved soon after it was built.
Pete-Good to see you back in again this evening, I'll stay safley to the rear of the pool room wiht you should anything ignitetrying to tempt Tom into buying warm beer is dirty pool, but I'm sure he could learn to tolerate it if you do get him to the old country.
Mike-I'm glad that you requested that favourite of halloween favourites the monster mash can't have a costume or in this case birthday party without Great line up of Monon shots in your urls as well sir.BTW I didn't find Romany on the map, mind you it might be the fumes from the punch.
Tom-I'll take yours and my own advise mum's officially the word. I've offered to do some "landscaping" for the Ladies hall and to judge their next open night performance ( for free ) They concider the debt payed. With the returns from the till after tonights party and the royalties for the book on how we won at darts the payroll is covered for several weeks
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the haunted house.
Boris takes the cake
Do the Mash, it's a graveyard smash.
The zombies are having fun, the party has just begun.
Rapido
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=8578052&id=77
Train of Tomorrow
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2006020113162219127.jpg
Semaphores north of Romney, Indiana
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=169732121&size=o
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=169834815&size=o
Monon Map (you can find Romney on it)
http://mononrr.com/mimages/maps/map_01.gif
Timetable cover
http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/dc014&CISOPTR=59&REC=15
Exxon station
http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/dc012&CISOPTR=6698&REC=7
4-6-2
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/monon/mon-s452atk.jpg
F3ABA
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_mon61.jpg
Louisville
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ky/ky0000/ky0021/photos/070970pv.jpg
Dearborn Station
http://digital.library.arizona.edu/harvey/finding_aid/4il/4/4-4-2.html
Chicago
http://algomacentral.railfan.net/images/Oldies/Monon_502_T.jpg
http://algomacentral.railfan.net/images/Oldies/ATSF_301_T.jpg
http://algomacentral.railfan.net/images/Oldies/NW_2478_T.jpg
http://algomacentral.railfan.net/images/Oldies/IC_4032_T.jpg
http://algomacentral.railfan.net/images/Oldies/IC_obs_car_2.jpg
Popped in to wish BORIS. Really sorry I missed BK's.
LEON I think the Zepplin has brought over some Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew over for the party.
AWK is looking his best although TEX is a bit scary with the flourescent paint on his shell. I think FROSTBITE is laying low at the moment, probably a wise move until BORIS has unwrapped his present.
So I will find a good spot in the pool room, as far away from the punch bowl as I can, and get ready to listen to some great music.
Pete.
LADEEZANGENELLMEN---showtime in the poolroom...................................
Well I just spent the last hour typing out Boris` life story,hit enter and was directed to Kalmbachs forum admission page and the text dissapearred into the ether --Thanks Kalmbach for this WONDERFUL new format-too late to start again now,will have another go tomorrow-enjoy the party guys
Good evening gentlemen all-stirup cups of Halloween punch all round please Leon (but for goodness sake,no smoking or lighted matches near the punchbowl please.....)
Just sneaked through from the pool room where Chrissie and the boys are busy setting up ready for tonights musical extravaganza,many points of interest so far today:-
BK-Ashamefully belated to you my friend,sounds like you had quite a time anyway
ROB-I was just delighted to see you dear boy....................
TOM-thanks for info re poppy day `over there`
DL-try http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k218/nickinwestwales/th_pge1.jpeg for the magazine article--R.E Blue Pullmans,that was definately the best livery-the yellow ends version was tolerable but the grey/blue `corporate` makeover was a travesty --Nice write up on your trip-worth every penny would be my verdict
A splendid contribution to theme day right across the board-nice work gents (and LYDIA of course)-great info,great pix
Right,best go and do a bit of shouting in the galley (I believe it`s called `supervising`...) then back out to the poolroom for a soundcheck ( musicianspeak for a last run through of the shakiest numbers in the set before the audience arrives ) back in a bit
P.S---DL-link doesnt seem to work,try opening up photobucket and logging on as nickinwestwales using password barfly1
Gute Nacht allersiets!
Didjano that this happens to be BORIS' B'day Yep - for those who have followed the happenings here at the Saloon by the Siding, Halloween 'n Boris go hand-in-hand. Our cloven footed Cyclops is now one year older . . . Only Nick can explain this in greater depth.
So, for those who haven't joined in on the fun - stop by the pool room and check out the bill o' fare put together by the H&H gals - go slow, however - last year we had the volunteer fire departments from all adjacent counties answering the calls!
Enjoyed the submissions from Rob 'n James along with those from BK 'n Lars - well done gents! I declare our Tuesday Theme for the Day! MONON a success!
Bar Chandler Rob - Count Robulla - you're off the hook once again! Seems that Inspector Clueless of the Local Constabulary and his earstwhile sidekick Mr. Doyle, Private Investigator have corroborated your story regarding the bathtub cash and the bailout for Chief Chef Nick from the lockup over in the Can-Am Mountain Village. Glad the Ladies of Perpetual Motion were able to front the money - however, we now have a DEBT to repay, plus come up with sufficient cash for the tub in order to meet payroll.
Now the business with those Bikini Team gals is another story - but one that is none of our bees wax I (aka: business). So, whatever your story - stick with it!
Just caught your Post Wolfman Pete! Gotta save up some time to check it out! However, did pick up on one comment - the warm beer. Three things in this life that I dearly detest: (1) Warm beer (2) Wet toilet paper (3) Rude people!
Leon, set 'em up and I'll head to the pool room to see how Boris 'n his friends are doing . . . . ommmigosh - the critters are out! There's wrapping paper all over the place . . . some of those gifts are rather strange . . . . but then again . . .
Nite! 'n a final Auf Wiedersehen!
Running late today so I will have a Holden's bitter please LEON.
Very much enjoyed the MONON theme day, a line I knew very little on but thanks to TOM, CM3, LARS BK and ROB I am wiser. It is hard to find a lot about the line on the web. I can add a bit about the Latte SUB which connected with the Monon at Bedford. This former Milwaukee road has passed in to the hands of the Indiana Rail Road in May of this year,they have trackage rights over the ex Monon to Louisville. There is a piece about this in the November issue of Trains.
A busy Monday evening.
JAMES Thanks for the video linksand info on the locos.
NICK Great article from the Oct '65 Railway Mag , do you have many of these mags.
I must to your knowledge of the One after 909, it is just that I thought I had read that is was after a train but that was many moons( and beers) ago. To make up, how about the story of Ivor the Engine Driver in the mini opera on the Who's second album " A Quick One".
There are some great stations on that part of the line by Purley, I think that is a great part of the Southern's charm in that the stations have not been " modernized" ( or ruined ) as so many have on the other regions.Alan tells me they are running a railfan train down the Ardingly branch soon.
ERIC Thanks for the info on the Big Boy, I have managed to see three of the survivors. Think of the great publicity UP would get if they would sponser a restoration to running condition of one of them.
DL Many thanks for the description of the Duchess trip sounds a great day out there is somthing magical in seeing a steam loco in the night
Real shame about the Jobsworth, from what I hear there seems to more of them about on the British railways in recent times, most staff are OK but it only needs one to spoil things. I think they would be far happier in their job if there was no such thing as paying passengers to spoil their day.
Yes we were fortunate in Rugby to see the Duchesses one of my favourite spots was a place called Cathiron about 3 miles north of the Town where they could be watched a speed. another, not far from the house, was Newbold Troughs where the locos picked up water from the pans between the rails. I have said before here, that usually the Duchesses we saw were from the English sheds , like Camden(London), Crewe North, Edge Hill (Liverpool) etc but for one glorious summer the Polmadie (Glasgow) loco worked through to London on the Royal Scot instead of coming off at Carlisle and being replaced by an English one. Polmadie locos were very rare at Rugby.
The one weakness of Stanier locos is their whistle, I believe it was based on a Caledonian Hooter if they are working well you get a WHOOP out of them, if they are not on form they sound like a sick cow having something nasty done to it.
If I remember correctly that when a Duchess was tested on the Rugby Rolling Test Plant even two stokers could not keep up with the boiler so, as you say, the top steaming rate was never known.Imagine if they had been fitted with mechcanical stokers
By the way I was on the trip shown in the second link on June 17th.
I will have to come back to the preformance tables.
LARS BK and ROB great to see you in. Our Place is not the same without you.
TOM It seems like the "Get Tom to England" campaign is growing. I sure you would love it despite the warm beer.
Those traffic signals on the Monon sounds a good idea, I wonder if many did get caught out by a blown bulb.
On the Poppies they were always available at the factory I worked at every year in aid of the British Legion. Quite a few years back a steam tour, I was able to go on, along the North Wales Coast with the ex LMS loco Princess Elizabeth was organised with the proceeds going toThe Royal British Legion. On the train was one of the nameplates from the Royal Scot class loco which carried that name.
James I will catch up with your post now,
Hope to call in later Pete.
G-day Captain Tom and all present.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Leon- Set the guys up a drink. And me. I will have a Coke, Please.
Great times ahead. Starting with one of my favorite times of the year. Pumpkin carving is one of my specialties!
Tom- I got it. The food thing thats is. I understand and it will go into my memory. Thanks. BTW: Thank you for letting me in. I am glad things have spiced up since that time we came. It has been quite an experience talking to the guys and about all the other railroads. It has been fun, and I hope more is to come.
The Herzhog line is familiar to me. Infact I know that whatever locomotive they get, they usually keep the same paint scheme as it was before. The same thing happens on the Northern Plains railroad. It is also a Short line railroad that had bought some Santa Fe GP9s and all they did was renumber the locomotive and put there own reporting marks on them.
\
Sorry for this pic. I know it's not part of the theme of the day. But this is from my archieve of pics and these are the Northern Plains Geeps. Very similar to Herzhog.
Nick- Glad you liked the pics. I would love to join you sometime by the flames. It would be quite fun. But yes, more issues to come and more pics.
Eric- I am also happy to see you liked the pics. Yes I known the Beavertails are strange, and I agree but I guess people really enjoyed riding the cars. It would have been fun to do so. Sorry you couldn't post the F's. I would have really liked to have seen them. But hey I am sure there nice. Hey the Union Pacific train was shot just west of Kimball, Nebraska.
Rob- Glad you liked the pics. I will have more issues to come in the future and they will hopefully become more interesting as each Sunday progresses.
Now, Its time for some more pics, The Monon railway.
The BL2. It was ugly and great at the same time. Quite a rare sight to behold. I don't know much about this type of locomotive, so maybe somebody can explain the signficance of it's interesting and peculiar shape.
The Alco C424. A 2400 HP locomotive used for road trains. I would have liked to have set eyes on one of these. The "chug" of an Alco is unlike any other.
Now you get big! The Alco C628 was a monster. 2800 HP and almost 20 feet longer than the C424. This would have been a thing to see. Just imagine the "chug" coming out of this one in run 8.
THEME FOR THE DAY THEME FOR THE DAY THEME FOR THE DAY
As I had said earlier the Monon was a toughy as far as me finding anything terrible deep and different than that of what our good captain has provided. Here however is my humble attempt to further the point of our saloon by the siding.
CLASSIC DIESELS # 35 FM'S ON THE MONON
Alot of talk and pictures and articles have been produced over the years on the Monon's legendary BL2's and the stalwart RS2's that made up a great proportion of their deisel locomotive fleet. They did however dabble with a few road switches from Fairbanks Morse.Which all toiled in relitive obscurity.Which is odd in that they were so few in number given that the Monon's President that brought them on the property was once an employee of Fairbanks Morse.
John Walker Barringer III was just starting to make a name for himself in 1945 when he left fairbank's Morse where he was their manager of it's diesel engine and railroad division to become the president of the Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville ( The Monon ). Even at this he only brought three FM units to his new charge an H10-44 #18 ( 1000hp B-B trucked switcher )which worked it's entire carreer 1946-64 as the Laffeyette yard engine.The other two FM's were both H15-44 ( 1500hp BB road switchers ) #'s 45 and 46 wetre brought in as general road freight engines. Both of these units were re-engined in 1960 with EMD 567C's as was something that happened to many of FM's products in latter years. Perhaps he knew something about the FM's prim movers not quite being the best thing for rigorous railway service. Still all three units were the rare beasts of choice for many of the midwests locomotive hunters.By 1966 all three units had been scrapped off of the Monon having toiled in the trenches and not recieving the laurals of the F3's and BL2's or RS2's that most railfans associate with the Monon.
Well hello there Ruth my dear , I hardley recognized you in that french maid outfit And I didn't think someone could successfully wear less than the Bikini team.
So quite a bit has transpired since sunday when i was last seen , escorting the money to bail out poor Nick. It seems that the second classer's somehow managed to sneak an operative onto the team , she produced a rather large sheleiligh from her lower swim wear and knocked me sencless. I had to draw the cheque for the bail money from the benevolent fund of tthe ladies of perpetual motion , who by the way are quite goog and mending broken heads
Tom-A fine presentation of sunday phoot's from you sir always much appreciated around these parts.Yesterday's october events in canadian rail history was of coarse well recieved as well. Seems like october is CN's month.hopefully tonights halloween shindig is not being hosted by Boris'e family again ( the crash team at the mentor hospital is still overworked from the Darts challenge )
I'm in complete aggreement with you however, our newest three members to are band are indeed helping to bind the team together around these parts. a 5x for that to be sure. Great Monon info to kick off this last tuesday of october as well. A railway that I've been able to pull litttle info from above and beyond what you and BK and CM3 have so generously provided today.
I'm glad to see the references to the Rememberance day Poppies as well, we have been wearing ours for about a week now at this point.
Dl-Great info provided by you yesterday, thankyou. The museum in Hamilton does indeed contain one of two flying Lancasters left. It is fittingly painted as 419 Moose squadron's VRA in tribute to the original VRA's late mid upper gunner Andrew Mynarski who was presented a posthumous VC for his heroism during VRA's last flight. I've been lucky enough to see to flights by the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster this year. Pictures will be forth comming. Thank's for the links to the seagoing tram, hopefully everyone was able to enjoy that link.
James-great photo's and a neat new sunday spot to be looked forward to !
Pete-I aggree with Tom ,we need to get Alan to pop by and share a pint with us all. This weeks pictures were to die for as usual. I have heard back from three fingered Charlie Mentors professional taxidermist that the damage sustained by the moosehead is just superficially cosmetic and that he willsoon have it right as rain again.I think you are correct in that the mysterious green glow was indeed the residue of H&H's hammerbrau gone bad.I still blame Boris's use of Nitro glycerin as a cutting agent in it's manufacture for the blast
BK & Lars-Nice to see the bookends in again with relevant contributions and comments towards today's theme railway Also lars you are right it's a shame that we all missed BK's birthday and the 18 month bday of the bar. We are all on the doc for a round for the house and a delayed halloween/birthday bash for BK.
Eric-I'm glad that you liked the interurban shots, it would be interesting to see those Stockholm cars at some point. As to the girls I never Kiss and tell. Or in the immortal words of Sgt Shultz I Know Nothing... I see nothing "
Nick-I'm glad that you amde it out alive.And sorry about the wait, your next lager or three shall be on me
CM3-Well a fine capper to the Mentor sporting news.Imgaine everyone ( principals ) survived and the cup is still at this posting intact and on the mantle in the Rat's Patoot room.One question though. Armadillo mud wrestling One can tell it's halloween.Great add into today's theme as well sir. Interesting to see that the Monon was one of the first railways to institute scheduled name freights with the demise of passenger service.
Until the next time!
Lars
* 1847: The New Albany & Salem Railroad is organized with James Brooks as president.
* 1854: The NA&S trackage stretches from the Ohio River (at New Albany) to the Great Lakes (at Michigan City).
* 1859: The overextended and struggling NA&S is reorganized as the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad.
* April 30, 1865: The LNA&C becomes one of twenty railroads to haul Abraham Lincoln's funeral train, from Lafayette, Indiana to Michigan City, Indiana.
* 1881: The LNA&C consolidates with the Indianapolis & Chicago Air Line, and the trackage of the new division is soon extended to reach into its namesake cities.
* July 1, 1897: The LNA&C is reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co.
* 1932: The 300 pound (136 kg) Monon Bell is first presented as the trophy of the annual football matchup between DePauw University and Wabash College.
* 1946: John W. Barriger III becomes President of the Monon, bringing aggressive plans for modernization.
* June 29, 1949: Final day of steam locomotive service, as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads to fully convert to diesel motive power.
* January 11, 1956: The CI&L officially adopts its longtime nickname, Monon, as corporate title.
* 1959: The Monon's passenger service between Chicago, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana is discontinued.
* September 30, 1967: Final day of regularly-scheduled passenger train service on the Monon.
* July 31, 1971: The Monon is merged into the Louisville & Nashville.
I will attempt to maintain a more regular presence here at the bar, although we are departing for a U.S. Thanksgiving trip in mid-November. This time - my side of the family in Montana.
Another round, Ruth, while I settle in for some absorbing of the preceding pages of rewarding material.
BK in Alberta, Canada's beautiful high mountain country!
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter