Evening Gents and fellow travelers at the bar!
Happy Birthday (belated) to our friend and regular at the bar - Wolfman Pete!!
As I watch my Mets roll on (leading at the moment) I also have had an eye on these pages. Amazing turnout and much appreciated to one and all for making this 17th month anniversary of "Our" Place such a success! More importantly, we got our Captain back and from everything I've read - things are looking "up" for the best bar in the Ether!
Just wanted to acknowledge you guys - Doug - Rob - BK - Dave - Al - Pete and Eric for taking the time to show your support. Counting me, we have 8 guys (thus far) who stepped up to the plate today. Fantastic - really good show guys! 5 Salute to YOU!
Thanks to Doug, Rob and Dave for the "input" today - just like old times! Given that Sundays have been our Pix Posting days, let's see what develops tomorrow, okay Remember, you can always drop your comments and pix off through the mail slots in the front doors. <grin>
Set 'em up Leon and ring that bell, Boris!
Enjoy and catch ya later Mates!
Lars
Good morning one and all! I can’t believe that we’re actually back in business! Thanks are in order to all you who “worked” (e-mail bashed?) Tom over from the dark side, and back into the smokey lights of Our Place! Apparently Pete has been especially prolific in this area. Rob kept the lights on, Al saved money for a new computer, BK had too much fun with his soul-mate Lydia, Dave kept the exploits of the Espee alive, and Lars was the driving force that galvanized our little group into a multi-headed mass of mismatched struggling body-parts, in a coordinated effort to re-open the “thread-that could” by bringing back our fearless leader. Well done guys for the excellent efforts from each of you, and the even better results of your actions! We love ya Tom .. and the wonderful place you created.
We were like this:
We’ll do our parts to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Whoops … didn’t mean to forget Eric. It’s always a pleasure to see you sir. Pete … happy belated. You might have to do it again, as you escaped the full Our Place treatment!
As for my little thread
It just didn’t work. BK was so right at my relief that Our Place re-opened so I could share stuff with guys who appreciate these things.
Speaking of which, here are some more pix. I think it’s probably best to present them as URLs so the pages don’t get bogged-down.
12 woodburners, total weight 854 tons, tested New Hartford bridge near White River Jct., Vt., in 1887
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/bridgetest.jpg
On the rim of infinity. Passengers gaze spellbound at majestic beauty of Cascade Mountains from Super-Dome car of Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha as it rolls swiftly from Chicago to Tacoma.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/HiawathaObs.jpg
“Muley-Cow,” built by Manchester Locomotive Works in 1881 for the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley, in Nebraska, was designed to eliminate smoke, sparks and cinders. These apparently were caught in the box over the bell.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/MuleyCow.jpg
Ummm …just what is this magazine trying to sell?
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/1969railroadmagazine.jpg
My house alarm
http://www.ahajokes.com/cartoon/redneck_house_alarm.jpg
Hi again guys! Nice pix Lars. I especially liked the Kootenay Park picture!
Here are some pix I took while playing on the subway and elevated trains last Friday (instead of being at work!)
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http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture326-1.jpg
Here, one of the “Pink Line” cars approaches. We have 8 colors to choose from. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, Brown, Purple, and Orange. http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture327-1.jpg
Hey look! It’s my new house actually taking shape!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture307-1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture312-1.jpg
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad 60394
Builder:
Penn Car
Year Built:
1929
Length:
41ft 1in
Width:
9ft 8in
Height:
13ft 3in
Weight:
41700 lbs
Brakes:
AB
Trucks:
American Steel Foundries
Description:
Wood Stock Car
Here’s a nifty stock car
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture345-1.jpg
Hey! No climbing on the cars!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture346-1.jpg
From the livestocks’ view
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture347-1.jpg
A little water damage, but no wasp nests!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture349-1.jpg
Here’s the maintenance pit for our trolleys
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/Barndad/Picture350-1.jpg
On the first day of college, the Dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules:
"The female dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time." He continued, "Anybody caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $60. Being caught a third time will cost you a fine of $180. Are there any questions?"
At this point, a male student in the crowd inquired:
"How much for a season pass?"
Hello again, and that goes twice for Lars! "Babes" in my pix? I hadn't noticed
I use a little Cannon power shot SD20. It'll even make movies and a jillion other things I don't know how to do. As for the JO, he's still there, and so is our condo. We need very badly to sell or rent it. It's making us nutz. I've been lucky with my photobucket. It's rail images that gives me fits anymore.
Hey ...It's August 13! That means that back in 1873 , the Boston & N.Y. Air Line R.R. opened, New Haven to Willmantic, Conn., 50 miles. Chartered in 1846 as N.Y. & Boston R.R. (Now part of N.Y., N.H. & H.) Here's some more "stuff"
Vision of future. Photo montage shows one type of Merlin Gerin linear-motor car on a projected monorail line as it might operate someday in Marseille, France.
Four GG1- electrics await assignment at Sunnyside, N.Y., worlds largest passenger railroad yard.
Distortion in track line, caused by high temperatures, is known as “sun-kink”. These Frisco rails at Hallowell, Kan., buckled from excessive summer heat.
A series of movie melodramas under the general title of “Casey Jones,” filmed on the Sierra Railroad in California by Screens Gems Inc., is now being shown on television. Any resemblance between these movies and the real John Luther Jones is purely coincidental. An outrigger platform permitted camera men to take close-ups of wheels and cab while the Cannonball Express was rolling.
Dirty work at the crossroads. Two members of the cast, Alan Hale and Tom McKee, seek a killer in the episode known as “Death Rides the Tender.” Maybe we should secure these films for the Mentor Emporium?
Last wooden switch-stand on Canadian National system operates stub track on Montmorency Subdivision, formerly Quebec Railway, Light & Power line at the Quebec terminal of the line.
Chicago Transit Authority destroys its outmoded wooden cars by the hundreds as metal equipment replaces them in nearly all subway and el main-line service.
Two girls were discussing their heavy smoking habits. "I get such a yen for a cigarette," said one, "that the only effective countermeasure is to pop a Life Saver into my mouth and suck hard." "That's fine for you," huffed her friend, "but I don't happen to live in a house that's right on the beach!"
Good Morning Captain Tom and all assembled!A rare treat, Sunday brunch at "Our" Place - now that is something to look forward to!Could not let this day pass without checking to see what has taken place since my last visit. I am most impressed with the turnout both in substance and in numbers. Very well done, Gentlemen, very well done indeed! Lydia and I will have our customary #3s from the Menu Board - a pot of tea for my lady and I'll take the entire urn of java if you please!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY pwolfe Pete!! Ran into a few difficulties trying to get some photos put together for this AM - also Photobucket - so perhaps something is "up" with them. Regret that I have given up for now - too much exasperation far too early for me. I am retired, you know! <grin>Nice spate of URLs from Doug and of course enjoyed the humour - all of it, photo and otherwise! You are a very clever individual and always seem to find the most appropriate bits of fun to share with us. Love that alarm system - really got a few guffaws out of us! Must also add my kudos to those from Lars about the quality of your photos. Nicely done, Sir - to be envied.Good seeing you up and about Sir Lars and for the short term, I hope we will continue our tandem arrangement here at the bar. One day, the Three Horsemen will ride and ride and ride . . . . Appreciate the kind words from our friend in Ontario - trolleyboy Rob. One just never knows what is 'round the bend, eh Let us enjoy all of this while we may. Had one of those perchance meetings one wonders about a few weeks ago - involved that hockey player who departed Edmonton by request. Seems there is quite a bit to the "story" about infidelity and the like. Neither of us are soap opera Aficionados nor do we occupy ourselves with gossip. However, while at a social gathering in Edmonton, one of the "muckety mucks" who does more than dabble into these things for the media was opening his mouth rather wide on the subject. I nearly resorted to my former self by inserting my entire left leg down his throat. However, I thought better of it - hate to ruin a new pair of trousers that way! <grin>By the way - we enjoyed those Via Rail photos from Lars and no matter how many times we have seen those cars, they are truly a throwback to what was a wonderful, wonderful era in railroading. Passengerfan Al got it right - streamliners are where it is AT! We are definitely looking into a trip aboard the Skeena from Jasper up to Prince Ruppert. Supposed to be an awesome rail trip insofar as scenery is concerned. Via runs one of those Ultradomes "in season," which of course is a ticket class unto itself. Such is life - we will report further on this has things develop.More java, Leon!BK in Alberta, Canada's beautiful high mountain country!
Hi Tom and all.
Great to have Sunday posting day back.
Many thanks TOM and all on the b'day wishes great to DOUG MIKE ,LARS and BK calling in.
Great set of photos as usual DOUG and links to the old photos, it would be a great night at the Emporium if we could have a re run of the Casey Jones TV programs. The subway pics are very interesting, did they paint one unit in the White Sox livery I wonder? Great to see the new house taking shape.
LARS Good to see the domes.
Alan from England has sent some pics of his trip to Ireland taken on the International Steam tour in May of this year. Here are 4 pics.
These 2 are at the Clonmacnoise bog railway in County Offaly near Shannonbridge.
Ex Northern Counties Comittee class WT tank loco at Turles heading for Tralee May 6th.
Hope you enjoy the pics.
Pete.
G'day Gents!
Been a few Sunday afternoons since I've frequented the Forums . . . nice to be back.
A bit of activity in this saloon today and a new approach to Sunday mornings, so I see. Looks as if Lars has hit upon a good idea: Sunday breakfast - brunch - lunch, without spirits at the bar. Good idea and let's go for it if it's what you guys would like!
The bartender will consistently be Leon throughout the times we are opened - with Cindy filling in here 'n there.
Enjoyed all the Pix from Doug - and the URLs (a touch of "Mike" has remained with us) and the GB train shots from Pete's mate. Good job guys! Of course cannot fail to mention those great looking domes from Lars! The man KNOWS how to get to my heart! Also good seeing BK 'n Lydia this fine day.
I too got a kick out of that home alarm system from you, Doug! Fantastic - as were some of the "babes" at the station!
Catch y'all during the week . . .
Tom
Good evening gents. Leon I think i'll grab a #3 and a Keith's to wind out the day. Oh and you and Boris will need to be at the train yard tomorrow to meet the freight comming in. Three reefers of Bantham's and other assorted european ales and bitters. Our retock order since the bathtub's going to start and fill again I must say that it's nice to pop by two days in a row and see the gang back up and at it. good to see the old girl recommissioned !
Tom -Nice to have you back sir. i'm glad that we were able to pry you back from wence yoyuc ame er went er well you know what I mean.The downside is of coarse that Cindy won;'t be pinning away anymore the upside a great bar great comradship and Boris not wandering about looking for you, the nightly frankensteinesk linck mobs were getting a bit tiring. espeacially for the local constabulary.
Pete -First of a belated happy birthday sir. secondly wonderfull photo's from over home Looks like quite a good turn out for that steam running alan attended.
Lars and doug -Great photo's to get this first sunday back together rolling, really does make it seem like old times. Thanks to both of you for your efforts to get us all back on the same page again as it were.i aggree with lars though Doug excellant photo's I think you wree an artisite in a former lifeNice looking house BTW too, I'm guessing that it will be wunnerfull once you are able to get moved in.
Well i'll drop off some belated photo's then I shall retire till tomorrow afternoon.
Rob
Well I'm finally able to share a couple shots from our first week of july vacation to North Bay Ontario. I'll do a couple shots this week and the rest next, as we all know one never knows just how reliable photobucket can be.
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario ( now ONR ) # 503 a consolidation type locomotive. parked on the waterfront in North Bay next to lake Nippissing
Another shot of 503 it was shad fly season you can see them clinging on to everything
These last 4 shots are kind of sad, the last survinving bits of the ONR's TEE train rotting behind the 503 on the waterfront. i'm tols that a conserted effort is underway to restore iot cosmetically like the 503 which does not get bothered by the vandles as much as the TEE for some reason.
It's a humid morning here in mid-continent USA with some sorely needed rain on the way along with a cold front expected to lower our temps into a more comfortable level. Petrol up at Collusion Corner was at $2.88 (rounded) yesterday, which is far below the $3.21 of about a week ago. All of that and here I am at the bar - once again!
Visits from Rob and Eric capped a nice Sunday - unfortunately for Rob, the adult beverage section of the bar was secured for the day - sorry! <grin> Nice shots from your trip, Rob - sorry to see such majestic machinery in that condition, as I'm sure you were too.
Comments regarding the spring Rendezvous in St. Louis from Lars 'n Eric: nothing has changed - we'll keep in touch by Email as we move closer. Send me your thoughts regarding the best dates for you and we'll see what shakes loose.
Eric, these Forum changes have surely messed up more than one honorable attempt at getting Pix and or other features Posted. Best advice I can offer is to try again. I did note that you seem to be using <> rather than [] for your Pix URLs. Also, maybe the location of the storage for your Pix isn't compatible with Forum requirements. Perhaps opening an account with PhotoBucket (hate to recommend them - BUT, they are a bit more user friendly than others) will help you along. Contact me by Email if you'd like to delve into this further.
Oh yes - those [b] do not work any longer - or so it appears. Just highlight the word you want to make "bold" and click the "B" on the tool bar right above the "box" you are typing in. Hope this helps.
Some railroading info from St. Louis: Our light rail system (MetroLink) will be opening up their nearly 8 mile extension later this month - at a cost of about $100 million per mile - yes $100 million! Not only that, but the funding for it comes out of our local sales tax revenues and is projected to have exhausted the "account" for it out for 20-25 years. There wasn't even an attempt at securing federal funding eiter full or partial. What a mess! We have a group of people in this area who are the "movers 'n shakers" for transportation "improvements" - three of 'em come from the northeast - not a "local" in the bunch. Of course, "they" know best for everyone residing here. <ugh> But that's not the rub - the rub is "they" decided to take this light rail system in a direction AVOIDING the major population center in the area, which just happens to be where I live! We (a group of 400 I was heavily affiliated with a few years ago) had "found" an existing RR right of way that could easily have been used to connect our location with the nearest light rail station (25 miles) for a cost of about $225 million (included cars, sidings, station platforms and signalling!). No go - "they" didn't approve of it because "they" didn't think of it! Isn't that the way with the smug and all knowing of the world
Latest word is that the outfit running the light rail hasn't got enough funding to keep the system running once this 'white elephant' of an extension opens up. Isn't that just wunnerful Stay tuned - it will probably get worse before it gets better. Only bright note I can see is that ANY expansion is welcome - but it could have been done so much better, so much cheaper and to areas better served.
It is indeed a sad commentary on the manner in which these "untouchables" get away with their activities. One only needs to travel south to Dallas, TX to see the wonderful results of their light rail and commuter rail sytems (DART and TRE) - outstanding and they are using "my" RDCs on the TRE! Way back on the pages you'll find my trip report and Pix of that fantastic journey I took with our former customer, Dick Watkins. Yes - they did it right in Dallas.
Ask me how I really feel! <ugh>
On a brighter note, I received a couple of Emails from passengerfan Al yesterday. He IS back amongst us, but unfortunately until he gets his 'puter back on line, he will only be available when at work - mostly on Saturdays. He too appreciates the resumption of activity and wants you all to know that he missed the joint as much as the rest of us did!
Okay, Gents - the bar IS open - back to normal, more or less . . . Leon will be bartending this fine day!
Later!
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house.
Count me in. And welcome back Tom. It's good to see Rob's resolute refusal to give up pay off.
Eric, if I may be so bold...
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Happy Birthday Pete
http://www.quaffale.org.uk/images/b/bathams.jpg
Mike
G'day Captain Tom and fellow travelers at the bar!
Sounds nice, huh Didn't think I'd be saying that again . . . as with Pete's comments from yesterday.
Don't know what direction we're going to take 'round the joint, but this is for sure - The Bar is Open! Let's revel in that and make the most of our experiences here at Tom's saloon by the tracks.
Take heart Eric, these new fangled "innovations" of Kalmbach's will work out. I too have been a bit confounded and confused by the "features," but moreso at the lack of help in mastering them. One thing though - I use the "tool bar" right above the "box for inputing a message" when it comes to bold and italyics - as Tom said, just hi-lite the word and click what you want. It works! Most important thing though is to have you amongst us ! Glad to learn that you are still interested in our Spring Rendezvous in St. Louis.
Hey guys! I'm not trying to appoint myself as anything other than a faithful customer here at the bar. If Tom needs help and my time is open - I'll surely give it a try. Things in my personal life have stablized just a bit - still a hospice at home - but the stress of it all has slackened considerably. The important thing is that our loved one is as comfortable as possible in an atmosphere of caring. We're blessed that we are able to provide this help.
Got a kick out of BKs comments yesterday! Still a butt-kicker, huh Man oh man you wudda been quite the shipmate in "my day"!! Then add Tom to the mix and the three of us would have made the Barbary Pirates look like a Walt Disney production! Don't know what it is with some guys who think that throwing fuel on the fires helps anything at all. Anyway, glad you didn't ruin a good pair of trousers!
Really some good stuff posted yesterday and thanks for the comments on my meager selections. No doubt those are posted elsewhere on these pages, but thought they fit the mood quite well.
Never saw that type of stuff, Rob and I agree with Tom - sad to see such things fall into disrepair. Must be the "snipe" in me - for enginerooms and engines are to be maintained to the highest level of operating efficiency and cleanliness is where it begins! Glad you made it back - too bad about the Keiths! <grin> I'll spot you one when you're ready . . .
Thanks for picking up on the "new idea" for Sunday, Tom! If the guys like the breakfast/brunch/lunch format on Sundays - let's go for it! I'll "Chef" and try to fill in best I can to keep the strain off others. And as you wish - the bar will be CLOSED as usual - just the food service opened.
Interesting shots from the Olde Country, Pete and your mate "done good." Why not get him to stop by the joint, huh Seems like we "know" him through all of those fine pix he's sent you. Isn't it nice to be back in business
That rundown on the happenings in St. Louis reminds me a bit of some JOs 'round these parts who had great aspirations for our S.I.R.T. right of way too - fortuantely, they crawled back into the woodwork from whence they emerged. Always someone who has a "better way" of doing things, huh My thoughts, common sense prevails and don't mess with it if it is operating properly! <geesh>
Hey Doug - nice touch with the stuf you provided us yesterday. I see you closed up your thread too. Must be serious about remaining in this grand old saloon, huh
I'm meandering all over the place this morning - which is nothing more than a stalling tactic. Today my Mrs. has all kinds of "plans" for ME - which means I'm outta here PDQ. <ugh> B4 leaving though - let me have a "quickie" JD on the rocks, Leon and a round for the guys - ring it Boris!
If not later, certainly tomorrow!
back Mike! Just caught your post! Now we have 9 intrepid souls on board!!
Good afternoon Leon, and I'll have my usual bottemless draught if you please, and set-up a round for the guys too! I've got oodles of Michigan quarters for the coal scuttle, so let's keep the tunes playin'.
Thanks for your kind words BK and some nifty Edmonton system information. I'll have to check your link later. Good job on Alan's pix yesterday sir knight Pete! great to see our propriator Tom in our midst. We missed ya! Thanks for the vacation pix Rob. Liked the 503, and felt sorry for the diesel. Hope it gets some needed attention soon. Howdy again to Eric and enjoyed seeing some of your 1984 IRM pix (courtesy of my man Mike in a later post). Tom hit the nail on the head with the format. Using "<>" instead of "[]" seems to be the problem. Thanks for taking an interest in our home contruction. Today they backfilled to the foundation walls. Next step is "flat work", which means pouring the basement and garage floors. We expect lumber to be dropped next Mondy, the home under roof 10 days later, and a move-in date of November. As Lars observed, I closed my roundhouse thread as soon as I knew "Our PLace" was back in business. This is the only place I need to be for my "stuff", and speaking of which:
Wooden Railroad by James O. Cavanaugh – Railroad Magazine June 1969
Wooden trestle features widely-spaced ties and rails made from three sections in order to bend. The far end of old structure has crashed into canyon.
You wouldn’t expect anyone to build a railroad with wooden rails in this century; and yet a group of business men and lumber workers with very little knowledge of railroading did that very thing 40 years ago in the Coast Range Mountains of western Oregon, about 95 miles south and slightly west of Portland.
The line was to stretch about 20 miles from the lumber-mill community of Horton to Junction City. Between those two places the only highway was a steep, crooked, one-way dirt road through heavily timbered country with deep ravines and canyons, wholly impassible in winter. The proposed railroad had to negotiate the same terrain.
The lack of an adequate highway made a rail line imperative. The right-of-way was not surveyed – mistake number one – and the grades were established with nothing more than a level – mistake number two. There were many other mistakes. The original promoter soon disappeared, leaving the local men to carry on.
Wooden rails were decided upon because steel was expensive and the sponsors already owned a lumber mill. The men had to saw out the ties and rails and lay them, the track being standard gage, with ties four feet apart on the trestles. This is the widest spacing between railroad ties ever recorded.
A grave difficulty presented itself on the first curve. The rails, measuring 8X8 inches, were so stiff that they could not be bent. But ingenuity saved the day. Three planks, laid and bent one at a time, were laminated. This innovation turned out so well that the original plans for long straight stretches were abandoned in favor of curves plentiful enough to make a good railroad man dizzy, the idea being to save the expense of making cuts and fills. On the surface, the change seemed to be practical, but complications arose at the end of the first two miles.
A locomotive, unlike any seen before, was constructed, along with three flatcars, to haul supplies to the rail head. The loco was an electric diesel made from two highway trucks coupled together, one entire truck being attached to the back wheels of another. Four wheels at the front guided the engine. The driver had no steering wheel; he really didn’t need one. Four more wheels at the rear, connected to the engine, provided motive power. The engineer rode in a cab much like that of a motor truck and he used standard automobile pedals and levers. Each wheel was equipped with a wide rubber tire and an iron flange to keep the trucks on the rails.
Alas, that contraption couldn’t get around sharp curves! Obviously the sponsors hadn’t planned the entire project down to the smallest details in advance of construction. Rugged men, these. They tackled each problem as it appeared. This particular off-beat situation was remedied by giving the engineer a differential so that the wheels would turn on the outside faster than the others on the inside.
At last the railroad was developed to the extent that the train could deliver supplies to the working crews. Inasmuch as the sawmill stood at Horton, construction had started at that end, the most rugged part of the country, and pretty soon it was necessary to build trestles. The timbers were much lighter than they should have been – so much so, in fact, that one very high trestle quivered like a bowl of jelly when the locomotive passed over it.
The engineer was a practical man. He did not crave the immortality that comes from dying with his hand on the throttle. When he reached the shaky bridge, he throttled down to very slow speed. Then he jumped out of the cab and ran down to the bottom of the canyon and up the other side. By so doing, he arrived at the far end of the trestle in time to swing aboard the locomotive again and pursue his perilous way down the mountain side. Apparently he hadn’t thought about what might happen if the bridge collapsed and dropped the locomotive when he was on the floor of the canyon.
Heavy wooden cleats spiked to the ties on the outside of the rails kept them from spreading. These cleats were spaced several ties apart, which may not have been good engineering but was economy. Dollars were getting scarce. While the cost of laying wooden rails was moderate as compared with steel rails, the upkeep was another matter. Rainfall is heavy in that area. Dampness brought rot at the point of contact of tie with rail and cleat. As wear and rot took their toll, the rails were to be turned upside down, but this solution was never attempted. The project didn’t last long enough for decaying wooden rails to be a real problem, to say nothing of replacement. Neither ties nor rails were treated.
Backers of the project were told that two trainloads of logs or lumber would be hauled to the summit of the mountain and coupled together for the downhill pull to the mill at Junction City. Such a plan was practical enough, as the heavy grade was too much for the locomotive to haul more than a few cars to the mountain top Junction City residents were assured that the project would be completed in 90 days. This was an honest estimate, but at the end of two years the railhead was still short of the Southern Pacific tracks at Junction City where a permanent mill was to be built. Two more miles had to be built, but never were.
If the line had been able to reach Junction City and deliver logs or rough timber there, a certain amount of prosperity would have resulted. But two years are a far cry from 90 days, and the peoples’ faith was getting as tremulous as their high trestle.
One of the town’s business men had bought a mill on credit. When the railroad project failed in about 1931, the mill-owners reclaimed their property and the business man lost his shirt. Afterward, the bridges sagged like tired accordions and collapsed to he canyon bottoms. The tracks, overgrown with brush and small trees, slowly rotted away, hiding what little was left of America’s last wooden railroad.
<
Good evening Leon, what's left in the snack tray ? Just peanuts eh guess I'll have to order the more solid consumables again too. LOL.
Mike -Glad to see you back onboard as well, as Lars said the more the merrier, nice to have all our "dependable" stools firing on most of their collective cylinders again.Thank's for the url help for Eric.
Eric -Those were similar TEE's as were used in Europe. They were imported in the 70's I think to be used on the Ontario Northlands Northlander Passenger train that ran from Toronto Union To Cocheran Ontario. They ran till the late 80's and were replaced by the cars and equipment they still use today ( old single level Go transit commuter coaches that wree rebuilt for intercity use )The F7's were rebuilt with caterpiller engines initially for this service have now been replaced with GP38's though three of the F's are still in NorthBay as back up power.
Lars-It is sad what the JO's did to those cars. Most of the TEE units were sent back to Europe,I'm guessing that they are still in use.When the ONR ran them they were maintained to the 9's these two units one power car and one coach were retained to become part of the North Bay railway Museum, at the moment just 503 the two TEE's and a CPR caboose are the extent of the museum. The City of North Bay is currently looking into constructing them a permanent home along thier water front. In the last three years they have put alot of effort into revitalizing theior water front, two carosells ( hand built )a ride on train layout they figure in another 5 years they new loom waterfront will be finished. From what we saw in July they have the makings of a class A destination.I'm glad to hear that the home front has improved a bit for you guys. Not to worry I shall not pry further, just wanted to put that out there.
BK -Nice shots of the "tube". I keep hearing wild stroes of Both Edmonton and Calgary's Lite rail both expanding with the end goal of conecting, I'm wondering if these wild idea's are just that or if they are really seriously looking at it. If they are it would likley be the worlds first lite rail interurban system !
Tom-I'm glad to hear that the extensions open, but good gawd gertie, isn't it amazing how much money the people in the know can blow Boondoggles like that are what kills the lite rail industry because the public only hear about the bad. I wonde if the people who spen the cash sit on any highway construction or car manufactuerer boards as well Perhaps the first job for inspector clueless to find out about. In all seriousness though I know how you feel about that particular bit of railway we have talked on it at length many a time,this type of missmanagement really PO's me as well. ( and likely anyone out there with half a head on their shoulders )Still I suppose any passenger railway expansion in any part of North America is something to applaud at the very least.I'm glad to hear that ole 20 fingers may soon be with us all once again as well,definatly the more of us on their stools the better.
Leon another round for the boyz if you will.
Good morning Tom and friends! I better have just one light breakfast this morning, as it's time to do my morning biking commute. Nice to see Rob and Eric pop by. Viva la thread! Here's a little something to read with your morning papers:
Operation Big Lift by Diane and Riley Dunann – Sept. 1954 Railroad Magazine
Dark Clouds were scudding across the moon. Snow had softened the frowning cliffs that hung like parapets above the railway cut and the pale silvery Deschultes River. It was January 31st, this year. A fast freight of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle was burnishing the rails that curved alongside the boulder-strewn river bank. Now and then bits of gravel, torn loose from the hillside, peppered the fifty-seven cars and their ponderous three-unit diesel locomotive.
The train had come from Bend, Oregon, and was bound for Wishram, Washington – but would never get there! Near milepost 57, on a down grade some two and a half miles south of Maupin, Oregon, the brakeman riding the head end yawned and pulled out his watch. “Soon to be midnight.” He muttered to the fireman. “Guess I’ll go to the rear and look things over.”
Acting on his hunch, the brakie headed back at a leisurely gate over the swaying car tops. This decision saved his life. No sooner had he begun walking through the darkness than stark tragedy struck. A rock slide thundered down from the ramparts, tossing the 125-ton leading engine and a refrigerator car loaded with canned goods off the track and into the deep, rapid-flowing river!
A split second later, seventeen boxcars had jammed themselves into a crazy zigzag pattern: another one was stuck out over the bank, and a smashed hopper car was spilling coal along the track. It all happened too quickly for Engineer Ernest H. Barton or his fireman, Earl F. Sutton, to jump to safety, and when the swirling foamy water closed over the sunken diesel both men went down with her.
Pile-up. The morning after, SP&S salvage crews found a zigzag of 17 crumpled boxcars in the cut along the canyon wall.
The pile-up blocked the Oregon Trunk main line of the 1185-mile system, which comprises the SP&S, the OT and the Oregon Electric. No train could pass until the road was cleared. Grim-faced officials converged on the scene. Among them were E.H. Showalter, general manager; C.F. Thomas, chief engineer; J.L Monahan, superintendent; L.V. Hewitt, roadmaster; and Austin C. Anderson, division superintendent. They brought with them Fred Devine, a diver and salvaging expert from Portland, Oregon, and salvage crews and special equipment.
Besides reopening the line, they planned to recover the submerged engine, valued at $175,000, and the loaded reefer, and to bring up the bodies of the two victims for Christian burial.
At six o’clock on the bleak, chilly, gray morning of February first Operation Big Lift was started. Using a monster railway bridge crane, the men rigged up heavy cables over the Deschutes River canyon to hale in salvaging the locomotive, and about a mile downstream they strung a drag-line with hooks to catch even small floating objects.
Devine’s first job was to learn whether or not the bodies of Barton and Sutton were still in the cab. But before he could do that, he had to discover where the lost engine was. For this task he used two twenty-ton caterpillar tractors as well as steel cables and gear from his ship, the Salvage Chief – a ship that is famous for having achieved the impossible by pulling an 880-ton freighter off the Washington Beach shoals.
The salvage crews set up operations on the river bank, working on a motor highway which had once been part of the Union Pacific right-of-way. Back in 1910, some nine thousand men had been employed there in building the UP and the Oregon Trunk Line. This highway is situated on the east bank of the Deschutes. Over it also rolled a great many sight-seeing motorists from various points in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, bent on viewing the wreck.
“This salvage job has created more interest than any other operation I’ve ever been assigned to,” said Frank I. Verrinder, who had charge of the SP&S special agents policing the area. “Why, nearly a thousand people showed up here the first week-end!”
Cinder dicks worked the clock around to keep the curious onlookers from becoming entangled with the equipment that was strung all over the place. So large did the crowds become that visitors were required to park their cars a half-mile from the spot, walk the rest of the distance, and watch the salvage work from the hillside above the highway.
The Deschutes River, fed by icy mountain streams, had at that time a temperature of about 35 degrees. Narrow, deep, and running like a mill-race, it interfered seriously with diving operations. So Devine worked out another method to search for the lost locomotive. He took soundings from a bosun’s chair that swung out over the boiling rapids, and this is how he did it:
A loop of two-inch-diameter steel cable, shaped like a lasso, extended across the river by the fifty-foot boom of a railway crane, was dropped over the estimated grave of the diesel unit. It caught hold of the engine, as paint marks on the cable revealed later, but slipped off when the tractors began to pull.
Meanwhile, the refrigerator car had traveled about six hundred feet downstream. A tip of its front end could be seen above the surging water, and a single battered can of soup from its lading turned up in the drag-line. Railway officials shook their heads. They doubted that the car could ever be recovered.
Big Hook lowers salvager for inspection of freight car teetering precariously at river’s edge. A split second of disaster cost more than seven weeks of salvage operations.
The salvage men dropped another loop over the locomotive. This one likewise slipped, after it had dragged the engine five or six feet, with the mighty tractors and cable gear applying less than their maximum capacity. Days went by. The river fell a foot and a half. Still there was no sign of the diesel in the muddy current. SO the men dropped a third loop, and this one held fast on a test pull.
The engine had lost one truck and now represented about a hundred tons of dead weight. This fact, linked with the fifty-foot depth of the river at that point, and the speed of the current, well over 20 miles per hour, led the engineers to estimate that they needed additional pull of seventy tons.
So they rigged up three 350-pound “oversize snatch blocks” into the two-inch cable system. Then the gargantuan tractors walked up the 50-percent grade to a bench above the old abandoned right-of-way and hooked onto the steel cable. Each tractor could exert a twenty-ton pull on the drawbar. The first snatch block doubled this. The second increased the pull to eighty tons, and the third one, fastened to the heavy cable, ran it up to 160 tons. <end of part I>
Two women that are dog owners are arguing about whic
Good morning Tom and everyone, a <light> breakfast please.
Eric, I can tell you one thing about posting links here. There is no easy way that I know of yet. So far it's been a painstakingly slow process of "highlighting" a url and "dragging" it into the box that appears in the middle of the screen, one at a time, from the top of a "word document" that must be squished down to fit below the box. Maybe Doug knows a more efficient method. The old forum was so easy, just copy and paste the entire pile in one fell swoop.
Dave, before I forget, your last post in the roundhouse is a gem, thanks for typing of bygone days.
Seaboard Pix
http://www.toltecimages.com/trains/4500.jpg
http://www.toltecimages.com/trains/2633.jpg
http://www.toltecimages.com/trains/later%20images/2415.jpg
Tuesday in my mind should be theme day. We did most of the majors already but there's still the Erie and the Lackawanna. And of course the Central Vermont
Doug, thanks for the picture of the 12 wood-burning locomotives testing the Hartford Bridge. It's one of my favorite photographs. Here is the same photo with caption.
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=32990271&id=50
It's possible, even likely, that some of the locomotives on that bridge are pictured at these links
Joseph Clark
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=1292146139&id=49
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=-1554895077&id=49
North Star
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=20567485&id=49
Lawrence Barnes
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=2092081749&id=49
Gov. Smith
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=23167603&id=49
Genesee
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=360638194&id=49
I. B. Futvoye
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=36601546&id=49
Rideau
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=405870976&id=49
T. M. Deal
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=5371106&id=49
Winooski
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=55965236&id=49
Ethan Allen
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=73144021&id=49
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=1296827531&id=49
St. Albans Station
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/structures/index_view.cfm?photoid=69420947&id=37
St. Albans Station wide view
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=1011907384&id=49
St. Albans Station 1940s (my grandfather might be the engineer on that 4-8-2)
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=1070650366&id=56
St. Albans Station sadly diminished without it's 4-track train shed
http://railfan.ca/miniature/St_Albans_07.09.05_0463.jpg
St. Albans Station at night
http://64.246.11.82/images/n/NECR-324-ST-Albans.jpg.52798.jpg
What follows now is something my Dad wrote in 1972, about the CV....
"At St. Albans you will see the old 4 story red brick office building. To this was attached, until 1963, a massive 4-track Train Shed (the concrete platforms between the tracks are probably still there). The Train Shed was 350 feet long, with 90 foot clear span, supported by Howe Trusses built by the master bridge builder, Howe.
The whole structure was put up in 1866-67. Why in the world would a town as small as St. Albans have a Depot so huge? It was larger than the Grand Central in New York at that time. St. Albans population now is say 10,000; in 1866-67 it was about 6,000. The reason was that St. Albans was the capital of the 7th largest rail system in America.
J. Gregory Smith, son of the founder of the CV, was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, and in 1867 he and Secretary of State Seward (who that year bought Alaska) concocted a plot to annex the Western Provinces of Canada into the U.S., by building the Northern Pacific Railway from Duluth to the Pacific, south of the Canadian Border, with branches that would extend to Canada.
In 1867, the Dominion of Canada had just been formed, with its capital at Ottowa, but with no land communications to connect and hold together the new transcontinental country. The U.S. had just finished the Civil War, and the Grand Army of the Republic, 2 million strong, had just been mustered out. Secretary of State Seward figured that Queen Victoria wasn't about to send an expeditionary force over from England to face that veteran army, in case she didn't like the idea of the U.S. taking over Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.
So the plot was to build an American railroad to the Coast, and inevitably it would siphon off all the freight traffic from the railroadless Provinces, and would deliver thousands of American settlers up there, so that in a few years the situation would be like Texas in 1845 -- and so those Provinces would fall of their own weight into the United States.
J. Gregory Smith of St. Albans, President of Vermont Central, started building the Northern Pacific, and was its president for 10 years. He lost out following the Panic of 1873, and the Northern Pacific construction lay dormant for several years, while in the meantime the Canadians got their own transcontinental railroad started, the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was completed to the Coast in 1887 and thus ended all notion of a U.S. takeover of their Western Provinces.
Smith in 1866 built a Depot and General Office Building in St. Albans that would be a worthy Capital of his railroad empire.
From his office on the second floor, southeast corner, he operated, in 1873, a Transcontinental System:
New London Steamship Line, from New York to New London, Conn.
New London & Northern RR, from New London to Brattleboro, Vt.
Vermont Central RR, from Windsor through White River Jct. to Burlington, Vt.
Vermont & Canada RR, connecting with Vermont Central at Essex Jct, Vt., running to St. Johns, Que., and also across Lake Champlain to Rouses Point, N.Y. (now only to Alburgh).
Ware River RR, from Palmer, Mass. to Winchendon, Mass. (now PC)
Mississquoi River RR, from St. Albans to Richford, Vt.
Portland & Ogdensburgh RR, from Rouses Point to Ogdensburgh, N.Y.
A steamship line on the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes to Duluth, Minn.
Northern Pacific Railway, from Duluth, under construction to Seattle.
He also operated the Rutland RR from Chatham N.Y. to Burlington, connecting with the Harlem River RR to New York.
Had he succeeded in completing the Northern Pacific, he would have had the first and only Transcontinental System in the U.S., and he came close!
So that's the reason St. Albans had the huge depot. Elsewhere as you pass through St. Albans you will see the remainder of what, when I was a boy, employed 900 people in St. Albans alone, and gave it the nickname, the Railroad City."
Rob, I've added to your burdens with too much reading material too, sorry 'bout that. Take your time. It'll all keep.
Good morning Leon and all our intrepid band. I think I'll have a breakfast # 2 and the large thermous of coffee. Oh and a reefer load of meat and eggs will arrive around eleven, then we should be stocked for the forseeable future. Yes the speacial aged steaks for Friday's and saturdays, and the assorted fillets of fish for thursday's are in the load as well. !
Doug -I see you snuck in right before me yesterday afternoon, neat story on building that logging line with wood rails and bridges. One is truly amazed by the lengths railroad men will go to to get their trains and cargo's from point "A" to point "B". That story sort of reminds me of the Algoma Central Railway. Up until the Wissconcin Central takeover of them in the mid 90's they had several miles of pile tressels in the Agawa canyon line that floated. They were not secured to the bedrock but floated over the muskeg they crossed ! WC and subsequently CN have spent ( are spending ) the big bucks and are making conventional metal tressels in their places. Even though with tthe proper maintenance ( which they always got ) they were some of the safest bridges on the line.
Today's breakfast reading is of it's usual top notch variety. Nice to see things starting to settle in here at the bar, a 5x for that and for your efforts over yonder .That salvage story reminds me of the various locomotives of the BCR / PGE that eneded up in the drink of Seaton lake in BC, usually due to the train hitting a rock slide.
Mike - Some great photo url's for us again. I haven't worked my wayb through all of them yet but it's nice to have the ole urlmeister back in full form I think that eventually we will get back to an organized tuesday railway, I think though that the first couple of weeks we all need to get back into the routine of popping in , reading, and responding, but other than that there's plenty of railroads big and small for us all to explore and discuss oh and have some fun with along the ways as well.
Eric- Hmm I'm wondering if you may be right. I've never run mac but if they have gone just windows based then yes what you used to do wouldn't work now. Perhaps an email to Kalmbach, they may know of a way that you can post from mac and still get your pictures through.I know that when those TEE trains frist came over there was a bif to do about them. How fast how modern etc. Unfortunatly their running gear (trucks) never performed well on the ONR trackage which of coarse was heavilly travelled by frieght trains as well, likely the main reason why they didn't run long on the ONR. I notive in looking at the trucks on the two that I photographed that their trucks remind me more of a PCC streetcar ( light wieght small wheels ) than that of a mainline passenger train , most likely the biggest part of their problem as the mainline of the ONR is rough and not suited for highspeed service.
Tom -Forgot to mention yesterday, but yes seeing the TEE's in such a state was dissinheartenning for me and for Heather. However talking to the powers that be up there they are committed to refurbishing them cosmetically and giving them a bit more protection ( a roofed pavillion of some sort ) so all is not lost. I was actaually supprised as to how intact they were, the interior of the cab and the seating in the coach ( some of it anyway )
Wierd tales from The Trolley Barn # 5 ODD Trolley Stories Part # 1
Well It's been a while but here's a new ta,le from the trolley barn an odd story that really did happen, hope it causes the giggle that it caused me when I first read it.
This incident happened on the NS&T very early on in it's existance.Trolleys have always had an affinity for peculiar accidnets, i.e. the Teddy Roosevelt Story .In 1906 a ridiculous mishap nearly bankrupted the fledgling NS&T.Snows too deep for ordinary plows and sweepers were repeatedly delaying the service on their intururban districts. There was no money for an expensive rotary plow that could easily cut through the drifts, but the roads superintendant wanted one so badly that he dreamed of it.
He begged the company officials long and hard, eventually they gave in and scrapped up the cash to purchase one.When the plow first arrived the super was like a tiny kid in the candy store. He even left strict instructions to call him at the first sign of heavy enough snow that the rotary would need to be used.The call came to his house at three in the morning a blizzard had deposited a huge amount of snow threatening to cancel the morning operations.The super hurried to the carbarn and road out like the triumphal calvalry at the controller of his shinny new roatary plow.The rotary munched its way through the drifts without halt all the way to the end of the line.There was an agitated message waiting for the super when he had reached the other end of the line however.The super had forgotten to adjust the discharge lever on the plow when he was clanking down the mainstreet of one of the towns.His wonderfull new plow had hurled wet snow aside with such vigor that it had smashed all the front windows of the houses along the main street, filling living rooms and parlours with wet melting snow !
enjoy Rob
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please, round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
I feel as though I am on the outside looking in - maybe some of you good people can help me. I can reply to existing messages but can't post a new topic under this thread. I contacted the good people at Kalmbach, but they were not really able to help me. IOW I can start a new topic but can't post a new message to an existing thread. Is there something I need to be doing with the computer or what? I like the new format, but its faqs are no help here either.
Thanks in advance - work safe
P.S. Looking at my post, maybe it did what I wanted it to, but I am not sure. God I hate the 21st Century!
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