Hi Tom and all.
I guess the foods gone so I will put the in the mail slot.
DAVE. Looking forward to the answer to the SP livery question I have a feeling I have read some thing about the diesels but cannot being it to mind.
DOUG The image of BORIS on a Sunday morning is scary. An excellent post on the Vatican Railway, like Tom I did not know of its existance untill your post. I have found this link about it and it seems as though it is still used today.
http://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/vatican/vaticanrail.html#Origini
NICK Enjoyed your post of last night and looking forward to the pics of #5051. I will try and find the mag with the Irish Beet article in. The pic at the bottom of Page 386, of 45407, is heading a special to your part of the world via the Central Wales line.
TOM I did enjoy those Encores, and if DL sees them perhaps he may add something about them. I had not read anything about the Stones coming to this part of the world, perhaps they may give me a free ride to the old land, do you think, and would I survive the journey..
Now to this weeks pics from Alan.
At MALLOW in Ireland on May 6th this year.
0-6-0 loco #186, one of a select group of locos that has steamed in three centuries having been built in the 1880s.
The special train chaged locos at Mallow.
Derby built class WT 2-6-4 tank loco #4 , known as the Jeep at Limerick Junction
BANTEER station looking west with the trackbed of the Newmarket branch going to the right past the level crossing The bay from which the trains for the branch departed is on the right behind the fence.
Hopefully the pics should enlarge.
I have not seen the Judgement at Nuremburg but it sounds a film well worth seeing and The Magnificent Seven was one of the best Westerns ever made, with the Stooges providing the comedy, a great week at the Emporium
Pete.
Hi Rob
Just caught your posts. Glad to know the buffet is still going and thanks for the great photos.
G'day Gents!
I've given Ruth the day off - Labor Day - so you'll be seeing me behind the bar for the remainder of the day and into the night - Leon has the night off as well. What a boss, eh
Photo Posting Sunday! belonged to Rob, Doug' n Pete - nice work, boyz!
Here's an article from our local bird cage liner (aka: newspaper) that you may find of interest on this holiday . . .
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/04CDA07DC8E27004862571DD00083207?OpenDocument
Pete - here's an excerpt from the article on the Stones from our paper (Sep 3rd) PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR: Whitney Kroenke, Wal-Mart heiress and daughter of Stan and Ann Kroenke, is set to wed former Warsaw, Mo., football star Ben Burditt in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 23. The wedding will be six days shy of Whitney's 29th birthday. Word around Mizzou-town is that Stan is bringing in the Rolling Stones to play at the wedding and is trying to get a helicopter pad built on the property surrounding his sprawling house so he can chopper the rockers over from the Columbia airport.
PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR: Whitney Kroenke, Wal-Mart heiress and daughter of Stan and Ann Kroenke, is set to wed former Warsaw, Mo., football star Ben Burditt in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 23. The wedding will be six days shy of Whitney's 29th birthday. Word around Mizzou-town is that Stan is bringing in the Rolling Stones to play at the wedding and is trying to get a helicopter pad built on the property surrounding his sprawling house so he can chopper the rockers over from the Columbia airport.
Let's not forget that tomorrow (Tuesday) is our "Theme for the Day!" - the New Haven!
I expect things to be rather slow 'round the Tavern by the Tracks, so let's just take it on a slow bell . . .
Enjoy the day!
Tom
Tom’s INDEX, thru Aug 2006recommended for "bookmarking"
An easy way to find the pages shown is to cut ‘n paste this URL into the address bar on your browser:
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/384/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217
Next – replace the “384” with the page you want to be directed to. That’s it . . .
Fallen Flags (passenger ops): 106/150/253/343 SP ………. 106/150/293 MP ……….. 108/155/170/314 WP
109/182/318 Frisco ………… 112/187/323 CNR …….. 112/182 Heralds
114/195/336 ACL …………… 115/195/361 SAL ……… 116/195/379 D&RGW
118/181 RI …………………… 119/202/332 D&H …….. 120/144 PRR
122/144/370 NYC …………… 124/202 UP ……………. 125/203 AT&SF
127/203/234/339 B&O ……… 128/204 CM&StP ……….129/205/320 CB&Q
130/205 Soo Line …………… 133/205 C&NW …………134/206 SP&S
136/213 GN …………………. 139/216/307 B&M ……….140/218 NH
141/219/141 MEC ………….. 142/221 BAR …………….145/226 NP
146/231 L&N …………………147/237 WRR ……………148/234 C&O
148/243 KCS …………………151/250 N&W ……………152/256 Erie
152/263/299 IC ………………154/271 NPR …………….155/280 SOU
156/284 CGW ………………. 157/290 RDG ……………158/290 MON
159/305 IT …………………… 162/311 LV …………….. 163 GM&O
164 Extra
Passenger Train Nostalgia:
110/181/323 ………. MKT Combined Fallen Flag and Ads
112/207/355 ………. CNR Ad - Super Continental Time Table
113/144/356 ………. #1 ”Start ups” 1800s & early 1900s
117/144/326 ………. #2 Ad - Vista-Dome sleeper obs-lounge
121/174/356 ………. #3 Ad - CP Hotels & Lodges
127/202/234/339 ….. B&O Ad - Strata-Dome (1956)
127/219/234/339 ….. B&O Ad – Diesel Electric Trains (1956)
129/174/356 ………. #4 Ad - CN Hotels, Ltd.
130/206/372 ………. Great Britain #1 Poster - East Coast Route
133/221/368 ………. #5 Poster - CP 1886
133/211/368 ………. #6 Poster - CP 1950s
134/244/383 .……… #7 Poster - Washington & Old Dominion Railway
135/226/387 ….…… Great Britain #2 London & Northwestern & Caledonian Railways
137/231/387 ….…… Great Britain #3 London & Northwestern & Caledonian Railways
137/231/362 ………. #8 Ad – GN (1956)
139/237 …………… #9 Ads – GN (1956)
140/237/362 ………. #10 Ad – UP
141/250 …………… Nostalgia 1956 Hotel Ads
142/257 …………… Nostalgia Fairbanks-Morse motive power Ad
143/257 …………… #11 Ad - PRR – The Jeffersonian
145/259 …………… #12 Ad – NP
146/263/324 …….… #13 Ad – L&N
146/257 …………… Great Britain #4 Poster (18
Good morning Tom and friends on this rainy Labor Day. So much for the little horse riding trip my bride had planned with one of her friends. We still will head to the stable for the mandatory daily-spoiling of the horse. Oh yeah .. I had better get a light breakfast before leaving. Glad ya'll liked the Boris Icon. Use it however ya like. Use any of my "stuff" however ya like. Glad ya'll liked the VAtican Railway piee. I didn't know about it either until I saw it oin one of my magazines. Nifty films at the theatre this week. Magnificent Seven is one of my favorites. Thanks for the Northbay complex pix Rob, and especially the Consolidation.Magnificent pix from Pete yesterday as well, and thanks for the VCR information link! Very impressive index Tom, to be sure. Thanks!
Here's more "Information Booth" (June 1958) from me, and then I'll be back later.
Q - Which was the first railway station to have electric lighting?
A – The Philadelphia & Reading’s passenger and freight depot, which opened on April 10,1885, at Sunbury, Pa. Current came from Edison Electric Illuminating Co., which Thomas A. Edison founded at Sunbury in 1882. These facts are verified by the Edison Electric Institute of New York City. The Sunbury depot building is still existent ( in 1958) but is leased to a feed and grain store.
Q – Would the dynamic brake on a diesel locomotive have the same holding power as that of a steam engine with reversed valves and a slightly-opened throttle on a train heading downhill?
A – H.L. Kelso, an authority on locomotive types, points out that a diesel’s dynamic brake must be handled carefully, as it is merely a “holding brake” and not effective for slowing down heavy trains on steep grades. On some, depending on the steepness and train tonnage, maximum dynamic braking may not be sufficient to hold desired speed. It is at this point that the automatic brake is applied.
Momentum for forward thrust of a heavy train descending a grade would soon overpower the piston thrust of a steam locomotive, and if no other method of holding the train were available, a runaway would result. Even a locomotive with all brakes set could not hold back a heavy train once it had started the descent.
A light engine can be stopped by reversing the valves and applying a wide-open throttle, the stopping distance being governed by the forward momentum and weight of the engine, and there would be no continuous forward thrust as would occur with a heavy train descending a heavy grade. There is no known theory on how to stop or hold a train on a down grade without applying hand or airbrakes.
Q – What is the highest railroad in the British Commonwealth?
A – The Uganda, now part of the East African Railways, which goes from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa up to Kampala, Uganda’s biggest city. The journey takes 47 hours and carries passengers from 70 feet above sea level to 9,130 feet.
Q – Occasionally I see boxcars marked “Canada Southern Railway” (CASCO), but no such road is listed in the Official Guide. Why not?
A – It is part of the Michigan Central in the New York Central System.
Q – Is it true that a railroad train once raced an airplane and won?
A – Yes. On Sept. 9, 1910, such a race was staged in Chicago to Springfield, Illinois.
Walter R. Brookins, the plane’s pilot, established the first airline route in the state and won the $10,000 prize offered by the Record-Herald. He flew the 187 miles at an average of 33 mph in seven hours, nine minutes, including 84 minutes lost while waiting for a special train to bring supplies of gasoline. Deducting time lost on the ground, he made the flight in 5 hours, 45 minutes.
Schedule time for the Illinois Central’s de luxe Daylight Special was 4 hours, 47 minutes.
Q – When was the first large-scale main-line juice project undertaken in the United States?
A – The Long Island Rail Road, in 1904. LIRR operated the first electric train in 1905. The New York Central and West Jersey & Seashore lines followed in 1906; the New Haven in 1907.
Q – What is the cost per train-mile to operate a passenger train?
A – The answer depends on type of motive power, size and makeup of train, number of persons required for operation, length and nature of run, number of stops, etc. For example, in 1956 the cost of operating an average passenger train was $6.83 per train-mile, broken down as follows:
Train movement and maintenance of equipment expenses (personnel, fuel and supplies, engine terminal expenses, injuries to persons, signal and crossing-protection-operation, locomotive and car repairs, and depreciation), $4.63. General and overhead (salaries, office supplies, legal, insurance, pensions, sales, advertising and miscellaneous operations), $.88. Maintenance of track and structures, $.55. Rental of equipment and facilities used jointly with other roads, $.06.
Q – What is the longest railway tunnel on the North American Continent?
A – The Cascade in Washington State, seven miles, 4,191 feet, followed by the Moffat in Colorado, six miles, 1,119 feet, the Connaught in Canada, five miles, 117 feet, the Hoosac in Massachusetts, four miles, 3,690 feet; and the Mount Royal in Canada, three miles, 804 feet. These five are listed in the Directory of Railway Officials and Yearbook among the world’s forty-nine longest railway tunnels. There are forty-one in Europe, two in Asia, and two in New Zealand.
Q – How many Class I roads are in the United States? (1958)
A – There are 113
Q – What is the function of the converted railroad car that bears the inscription, University of Minnesota?
A – It is a mobile laboratory used by the University scientists to determine basic causes of heart disease, in order to prove or disprove the theory that sedentary jobs have any bearing on the high incidence of coronary ailments. Technicians have been using this rolling laboratory to work with groups of railroad employees of the Northwest.
Q – What is a relay train?
A – A freight that switches from one yard to another in the same terminal area.
Q – Has the Long Island always been a commuter railroad?
A – No. It was built originally in 1834 to provide the fastest route between New York and Boston. In those days, the many hills and rivers between the two cities made railroad construction impossible. As an alternative, passengers traveled from Brooklyn to Greenport (on Long Island’s northeastern finger of land) over level country at 25 mph, and ferried across to Stronington, Conn., then on to Boston by the Old Colony Road (now the New Haven). The entire trip took 10 hours and cost $10.
Four old guys play golf every Wednesday. Upon returning home, Frank's wife askes how his
G'day Captain Tom and fellow travelers at the bar!
A Happy Labor Day to all who have contributed their efforts to the productivity of your respective lands! Propreitor Tom, set 'em up and Boris, ring the bell! I'll have a frosty mug of Schaefer and some of those snacks on the tray.
Well, I no sooner said something about escaping the wrath of the storm and our power went out! Yup - a couple of trees in the neighborhood came down and so did the wires! We were without electricity until this morning. Been lotsafun! Forutnately, we're prepared and have a small generator to keep the essentials up 'n running - like the fridge (and cold beer!). Anyway, sorta ticks me off to have missed my first full day since the resumptiion of activity here at the Saloon by the Siding - broke my string.
A new mascot for the bar AND finally an image to "enjoy" of our cloven footed Cyclops - Boris! Nice! <grimmace> Now for the mascot - I'll have to give that a thought - cute lil' bugger and I suppose "Pengie" might be a name to consider. Yeah - let's go with "Pengie" from me.
Good spate of pix for Sunday from Doug - Rob 'n Pete! Also, nice seletion from Captain Tom for the movies. I've always liked both of those flicks, with there being enough difference between the two to really make for entertaining viewing. Don't know about the Stooges "short" - but undoubtedly will be as stupid as all the rest.
Mets have a night game after taking one on the chin from the Astros yesterday. Looks like your Cards have pulled away for some comfort as the final month gets into full swing. I think the team to beat, after St. Louis, in your division will be Houston - they are always tough in September. Should be interesting. A bit ho-hum here in the east with the question being will Philly pull off the wild card, although San Diego looks like they are going well out in the west.
Hope everyone is enjoying this day and making ready to earn a living once tomorrow gets here!
Until the next time!
Lars
Good to see ya Lars and glad you have recovered from your power outage. Looks like there's at least two of us who are prepared with generators!
Thanx for being the 1st to come up with a suggested name for our Penguin - "Pengie" goes on the "list"!
Been really quiet 'round the joint this day and I'm in hopes that we'll see a few guyz show up this evening. Otherwise, it's No-Doze time for me! <grin>
Here's a Pix of the Kirkwood rail station where I begin and end most of my Amtrak trips . . . This building has been maintained over the years by volunteers, Amtrak and UP and is on the historic register. Quite a nice place to visit.
Here's a Pix of Pete and one my favorite "Fs" at the KCity Union Station yard . . .
And finally, here's moi in an Empire Builder observation car at the KCity Union Station yard . . .
Later!
Hello again Tom, and I'm sure glad it's you behind the bar. Ever since I called Ruth "Baby Ruth", she refuses to serve me! Go figure
Great to see Lars on this lazy afternoon, and some nifty pix from yourself. Here's a little more stuff from me:
Q – How many railroad companies in the United States and Canada issue magazines for distribution to their employees?
A – Seventy. The combined circulation is more than 700,000. Most of them are distributed also to shippers, newspapers and magazine editors, etc.
Q - What is a Strobeacon?
A – A trade name for an electric lamp which produces a brilliant blue-white light, claimed to be seen up to five miles and especially effective in penetrating fog. It gives visible warning from a great distance to an approaching motorist, thus allowing sufficient time to stop his car. The lamp operates about 1000-volt surges from a condenser which is charged by a step-up transformer.
Q – What is the heaviest weight of rail in use today?
A – 136.2 pounds per yard.
Q – I have heard of a locality in South Dakota where trackside memorial services are held on each anniversary of a little boy’s death. Please give details.
A – It is the story of a brakeman’s devotion to a boy he never knew. One day in 1886, Bill Chambers, Chicago & North Western freight brakeman, spied a yellow-haired lad, a lone figure in the vast prairie, who waved as his train went by. A strange friendship grew between tem and the boy would wave each time from a certain spot. There came a day when Bills Chambers looked for him in vain. The little fellow was nowhere in sight. Bill saw that a newly made grave had been dug beside the track.
He learned that his friend had died of smallpox and had asked to be buried “where the train goes by and the man waves.” The brakeman marked the grave with a rectangle of stones. Each Memorial Day he planted fresh flowers on the little mound. Even after retiring, Bill would go back to the lonely spot as long as he could travel. He died in 1932, but his vigil became a tradition, and to this day a train stops once a year at a place not marked on the time-table, to show the world that “the little fellow” is still remembered.
Q – When did the railroads first use warning signs at grade crossings?
A – The earliest we know of was 1835 when Massachusetts enacted a law requiring such signs. The slogan “Stop, Look and Listen,” was not introduced until the 1880’s.
Sixteen Class I railroads are now using tie-spacers made of wrought iron, rather than wood, to keep crossties in place with minimum track maintenance and to reduce fire hazard.
For Baby Ruth
Well good evening to one and all,hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend despite the weather-we have had much the same and believe me,playing an outdoor show (as I did on sat. afternoon ) in these sort of conditions is not a good thing-I suspect the audience only stayed to see which one of us was electrocuted first,the sort of community spirit which made public executions such a popular pastime in the past.........
Right,I think a round for the house is in order,a Staropramen for me and perhaps an Alexander Keiths for the duty bartender ???
Speaking of gigs,if Mr Zillionaire wants an extra band for the wedding,we will be more than than happy to oblige for our usual fee-a free range of the buffet left-overs and half an hour unsupervised at the bar .
So-to business,TOM-Icould sense your outrage at our gas prices-the same $10 would also get you 2 beers,with perhaps enough change for a bag of crisps/chips,a bottle of frankly indifferent wine or a pack of 20 smokes but,as Homer would say "whatcha gonna do ?".
Good call on the movies-lordy lordy,Yul Brynner looked seriously cool in that film
My vote for the penguins name would have to be CHESTER given the taverns actual location........
RED P-Looking forward to FL9 feature-my love of F-units is no secret & the more unusual the better (of which more below)
DOUG-that pic of Boris is a pearl beyond price,almost exactly as I had originally visualised him-drinks on me for the night. Nice hit on the Vatican siding as well-I was aware of it`s existance but had never seen pictures (again,more below)-will pass on to my father-in-law who is both a train buff & a card carrying Opus Dei catholic
ROB-Fine pix of the bay there my man-the Labatts blues are on me,it is indeed a huge site(Nathan from the O.N.R site forwarded some maps to me)-when you add on the yards to the north & south it`s a lot of real estate.
Some spotter detail-pic 1 just about shows the "Cats"-perhaps the rarest of F-unit variant,pic 4 gives a better look-I`m guessing these arn`t recent,I understand at least 2 if not all 3 have now departed to an uncertain future.. pic 3 shows a 40` box in the mid `60`s "progressive" livery and out of site behind the white sheds in mid-foreground should be lurking a cut including one or two in the even older "development road "colours.
The Consolidation also very easy on the eye as is that C&NW livery-nice one mate,thanks
PETE-nice link on the Vatican siding-my understanding is that it is still in place but little used,if not completely mothballed-the state of the track in the pic of the gate would seem to bear this out ( rusty rails,weeds etc) although looking at some allegedly servicable lines round here I`m not taking bets..........
Fine shots of Mallow and surrounding area-particularly enjoyed the contrast between the Victorian elegance of the G.S.R J15 & the compact muscle of the N.C.C Jeep-and delightful to see the orange & the green working together-sorry,politics-when we came back through Rosslare this time it looked like the line to the turntable had been lifted and the table deck was being removed ( difficult to get up close-once the car stops moving you are within the customs fence-wont elaborate further.......) so I guess Steam excursions on the east coast line may be getting phased out..bah humbug,anyway thanks for those-as soon as I get this photo bucket thing worked out will return the favour
LARS-Hope you have resolved the weekends minor irritations-glad to see it hasn`t affected the unmistakeable ambience of our favourite watering hole-sounds like you have your priorities right anyway-there is no problem that is not reduced by looking at it through the bottom of a glass.
O.K then chaps -whose up for another round,school run in the morning followed by a day of replacing doors-whats wrong with the old ones ?-they open (mostly)-they close (usually)--anybody here understand womens minds ???????????
And some tunes before I go-The Monkees"Last train to Clarksville",R.E.M"Driver 8"the Stones"Dead flowers"&"Wild horses"Muddy Waters "Hoochie Coochie man",Robert Johnson "Crossroads blues" & Skip James "I`m so glad"-please excuse me if I sit in the corner and sing along-these are all songs I`m supposed to contribute lead or harmony vocals to and audience response suggests that practice makes perfect--eventually.......................
some time later.....
Well,a fine time again-I`ll take a couple of bottles of the Staropramen please TOM-please join me in a couple more Keiths and I`ll try the moonlight mile (must remember-turn right outside the door-last time I went left and fell off the edge of the baseboard-spoils the whole illusion
Many thanks for the company gents,speak soon,take care
nick(occaisional )
Good evening Tom,you are indeed a nice boss taking on the whole bartending duties on this labour day. A fair amount of rounds have been bougth at that too . That is a cute little guy that Boris dragged in.The two names put forward so far are both good,I could hardly top them. However lets see "Willie " if it's a boy " willimina" if it's a girl.Of coarse taken from the Chilly Willie cartoons, a CBC thing so you folks may not have heard of them.I think a Keith's oh and one of the blues Nick has so nicley offered me to chase it down with.Thanks
Tom- Quite the impressive list of features from you sir shows the dedication of our Boss down here at the saloon.5xNice "mug" shots of you and Pete. A goodsite less frightening then our local creature / kitchen hand Boris.Tom , perhaps you should convert you house to all generator power,that outta PO the local utility company.I can't believe the prices some of them think that they an get away with.They woudn't have any atatchment to your Metrorail people would they Thsi is their way of paying for the cost overruns maybe.
Pete-Loved Alan's latest pics from Sunday.Always nice to see functioning steam, no matter where or no matter what guage
Doug-A fine two additional parts to your ongoing Q&A's. Some interesting bits of info there,I was supprised by the number of class ones listed for 1958.I had thought under one hundred for sure.As an interesting sidenote,most of the CASO (Canada Southern ) long shared and fought over by CN / CP has now been pulled up. A few bits are still operated as local switching routes in and out of St Thomas and a bit of it in Wellands still in place again being used by CP and the local shortline for local traffic interchange
Nick-Glad that you were able to gleen some info from those pictures. I actually took them this year over the July first long weekend !All three F's three there at that time.You might be able to make out one of the SD70's in the yard as well, it was burried behind the F's and was the only thing moving in the yard that day.On the other side of te property there was three end cupola cabooses in a very tatty silver developement road paint scheme. I couldn't get a clear shot of them.
Lars-Have a round on me sir,that way you won't loose any iof the cold out of your barfridge I've yet to spring for a generator, power tends to go out infequently around here,saturday was an unusual occurance.
Well back in a bit with a content post for the day.
CLASSIC JUICE # 34 THE CHICAGO-NEW YORK AIR LINE RAILROAD
Something a bit different today. This Classic Juice is a US road just for something different. Again this is a road which has been somewhat lost in the mists of time. It was however an extremely over ambitious line, dreamed up at the height of the interurban building craze of early last century.
The ambition and vitality of the interurbanreached a kind of pinacle when teh Chicago-New York Air Line RR was first contemplated and construction started. It was a magnificent dream that was an on and off affair between 1906-1913.This was to have been a breathtaking piece of engineering and construction. It's charter and designers called for a high speed double track mainline that was to travel a direct 750 mile route between Chicago and New York City.A distance designed to be hundreds of miles shorter than the steam railroads required for the same trip.It was designed to plunge through the Pennsylvania Mountains in a series of dramatic tunnels and fills.There was to be no curve that couldn't be taken at the high speed of 90mph, nor any grade larger than one half of one percent !Streamlined electric locomotives were called for to pull luxurious cars bewteen the cities in 10 hours, avaearging 75mph over the length of the run. All this was theoretically possible,even for the time and with the current 1500v DC overhead technologies.
When in 1906 ground was first broken for the construction of the first leg of the road,thousands of Airline stockholders felt that the world's most ambitious interurban would soon become the worlds most profitable one.There were aspects of a crusade , or even an almost cult like following with the sahreholders of the "airline".Each month they recieved the periodical "The Air Line News ".it reported on how wonderfully the construction was progressing. It printed the steel girders that had already been rcieved to span creeks and build bridges, and showed shots of te huge Vulcan Steam crane already on the job grading the ROW.They ran letters from enthusiastic sharholders, and coupons in each issue by which the readers or their friends could apply for more stock, purchasable in installments !
In four or five sections of the country, airline stockholders formed into local clubs so they could get to know each other and hear speeches about "thier"wonderfull railroad. The land aquisition program in Indiana, where the initial construction took place was also marked with almost evangelical fervor.Colonel Hord, the main option selling man, would approach farmers along the route who's labds needed to be appropriated and he would ytalk themm into selling thier piece for a handfull of shares,sometimes even getting them to get on board and buy more. ( original used car salesman ).
The Air Line, was not just a mere hot air and mirrors priomotion. Alexander C Miller, the guiding spirit of the line,a nd J D Price, the president of the line and construction company were substantial citizens with a bakc ground in railroading.Miller was a dedicated believer in the whole plan.The company used high pressure promotion methods, because conventional financing for such a huge plan was unavaialable as the banks were heavily involved in the existing steam roads and competeing interurbans.
Nevertheless, a dismal sequence of troubles began to tarnish "the dream".Enough stock was sold in installments, to pay for the first 100 mile division east from Chicago.It was anticipated that as soon as this division began to make money, new investors would flock in to provide capitol to build the other divisions.A sharpe busieness depression in 1907 and 1908 cut off the sale of stock, and brought widespread defaulting on installment payments for stock already sold.
By the time money began to run out, some miles of mainline had been built westward from La Porte, Indiana. The Air Line found itself in possession of some magnificent track that led in terms of revenue traffic, from Nowhere to West Nowhere.Belatedly the company bent it's efforts in connecting links to nearby towns.It built an amusement park just outside La Porte that generated some travel, and it fought fierce battles to obtain feeder franchises in Gary and elsewhere.
The wirst headache for the Air Line by far was the impractically high construction specifications.To keep within the maximum grade limitation each overpass that bridged a steam railroad had to be flanked by enormous ramps that started almost a mile on either side of the crossing. They actually built several of these titanic embankments.Elsewhere across the gently rolling northern Indiana, even minor terrain undulations created enormous difficulties.The worst trouble was at a place called Coffee Creek, about a dozen miles from Gary. Here the adherance to specifications involved both a deep cut and a huge fill, 180 feet wide at the bottom, that marched accross 2 miles of valley! The pwoer shovles and dump cars worked month after month at this grand crossing steadlily pouring stockholders money into a mound of earth of enormous proportions.
Even with the Coffee Creek bypass completed, it was the ultimate undoing of the Air Line.By 1913 a kind of misshappen and unpromissing interurban system was patched together between La Porte, Valparisso,Gary,and Chicago.Less than 30 miles of it was the deads straight track built to Air Line standards.The rest was ordinary winding track.Amoung the cars operated by the company were two handsome Niles Cars with "NEW YORK "lettered in gold on the eastern end and "CHICAGO" at the other. These two and 30 muiles of arrow strait trackreaching towards the horrizon were all that remained of the dream.By 1926 this line folded some of it being taken up by the rival interurbans of the midwest.
Rob
Good morning Tom and friends. Great to see Nick pop by, and the Chicago-New York Airline piece by Rob. I'll have a light breakfast, leave my "stuff", and be hitting the road. Hope ya'll have a terrific day, and by the way Tom ... whatever your gas costs, we pay at least $.30 more per gallon. You would think the state would have trouble finding ways to spend the recent windfall of extra taxes, but I'll bet they figure it out!
New Haven Electrification by Sy Reich, Feb 1959 Railroad Magazine
New York’s Park Avenue (originally called Fourth Avenue) had huge vents to let off smoke from trains below it.
Many people have wondered why New York City’s much-publicized Park Avenue, with its great hotels and smart shops, is so very broad, even more so than the elite Fifth Avenue.
The answer involves two railroad systems – the New York Central and the New York, New Haven & Hartford – that use the Grand Central Terminal. Before the lines were electrified, their jointly-operated tracks ran under the Avenue as they do today, but in those days the entire length of the street was perforated with large open vents to permit the escape of noxious smoke from steam locomotives and to provide fresh air for the passengers and crews.
Without such ventilation, the trains would have to continue running through the city on a street level as they did originally. Since electrification, however, the huge vents pictured have been reduced to relatively small iron gratings.
As we pointed out in our December issue, New Haven’s engineers planning for an electrified entry into the new Grand Central Terminal, then under construction at the foot of Park Avenue, had to decide whether to use direct or alternating current, and what voltage. General Electric offered seven different types of locomotives – four for DC, here for AC. Two of the DC’s were designed for 600 volts DC overhead and two for 1200 volts DC overhead. One locomotive for each voltage was to weigh 97 tons, and the other 75 tons.
These locomotives resembled the motive power that General Electric was then building for the Central, classes S-1 and S-2. They were to have a 1-D-1 wheel arrangement and be equipped with four gearless motors like their Central counterparts. Two of the locomotives proposed for 3300-volt AC catenary operation would have a 1-CxC-1 wheel arrangement and would weigh 145 tons each/ One was designed for 25 cycle AC supply and the other for 12.5 cycle AC current. A third AC locomotive unit, designed for 12.5 cycles, was to be of the side-rod type similar to the famous Pennsy DD-1’s, with a 2-4X4-2 wheel arrangement.
General Electric promised that if the New Haven decided to use the DC locomotives, which were supposed to be more economical, and AC overhead tenders built for them would house a motor generator to convert AC current from overhead to DC for use by the locomotive. Note that the AC locomotives had motors designed to operate on either Ac or DC and did not require such a tender.
Unlike General Electric, which had always advocated DC, Westinghouse Electric Co. had been experimenting with AC within its own plant area and advised the New Haven Railroad to use high voltage in the catenary for economical transmission. It recommended 11,000 volts AC at 25 cycles and designed a locomotive having a B-BxB-B wheel arrangement for such a system.
Westinghouse also submitted proposals for two DC locomotives of 1-B-1x1 wheel arrangement. In addition to a B-BxB-B locomotive to use on 15-cycle AC current.
New Haven management studied these and other proposals. With the thought in ind of extending the electrification to New Have, then to Boston, they contracted with Westinghouse to electrify the important and heavily traveled main line from Woodlawn to Stanford with 11,000 volts while the commercial use of alternating current was practically non-existent.
We congratulate those pioneers for their wise choice, since all subsequent major domestic electrification used this same power supply. Later, extensive projects in Europe, too, adopted high-voltage AC, although at a different frequency so as to compensate with commercial power frequencies.
(Above) Experimental arch-type catenary bridge at Glenbrook, Conn., on main line of New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. (Below) Catenary construction and left-handed semaphores on Harlem River Line, looking toward New Rochelle Jct.
The New Haven’s route between Woodlawn and Boston, known as Shore Line, follows the northern rim of Long Island Sound. Years before, Long Island Rail Road engineers, envisioning the LIRR as the main line between New York and Boston, had insisted it was impossible to build a railroad along the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The route has 70 separate curves in 60.52 miles of electrified line between Woodlawn Jct. and the New Haven passenger station, the sharpest of which is west of Bridgeport, site of the two wrecks of The Federal. The longest stretch of straight track in this area is 15,392.78 feet, located between Larchmont and West Street.
When Pat Maginis was president of the New Haven he remarked that a passenger traveling between New York and Boston went around in seven complete circles. However, the road’s Engineering Department has built a high-speed railroad despite the curves. Normal operating speed of express trains over the electrified mail line is 70 limes per hour.
The engineers laid the rails on stone ballasted roadbed and, by using super-elevation, have been able to maintain the normal 70 mph maximum speed around all but six of the 70 curves. Since 1905, when 100-pound rail was laid in general electrification improvement, rail weight has been increasing constantly until now the standard is 131 along the four main-line tracks.
Three of the New Haven’s branches also were electrified. The six-track 11.22-mile Harlem River branch between New Rochelle Jct. and the Harlem River and the 138th Street in the Bronx provided freight entry for the New Haven into the big city and connections for the west and south. It was used by commuter service between Harlem River and New Rochelle and was shared by the New York, Westchester & Boston, with the Harlem River serving as the New York terminal of that road.
When the Hell Gate bridge was built, the Harlem River Line allowed New Haven passenger trains from New England to operate into Penn Station, New York, where Pennsy engineers would take over to complete their runs to Washington and other points on the Pennsy System.
The New Canaan branch, a single-track route between New Canaan and Stanford, where it joins the Shore Line, had its 7.86-mile length electrified in 1901, using 600-volt DC to be compatable with local street car lines controlled by the New Haven Railroad. Later, this operation was changed to 11,000 volts to coin
It's NEW HAVEN RR "Theme of the Day" here at the Tavern by the Tracks!
Looks like my wish came true as Doug - Nick 'n Rob rounded out the day quite nicely with their contributions. Made an otherwise slow holiday worth staying open!
Ruth will start off her work week at 9 AM, followed by Leon at 5 PM for resumption of the "normal" bartending duties. Been awhile since any of the "staff" had two days off in succession, eh
Names for the Penguin mascot thus far:
Pengie (from Lars)
Chester (from Nick)
Willie/Willimina (from Rob)
(name will be announced on Monday!)
Good kickoff for our "Theme for the Day!" with the New Haven electrification from Doug! Nicely done . . . loved that earlier cartoon from you, but my guess is the "fairer sex" most probably have their shorts in a knot over that one! <grin> No suggestion for our Penguin's name
Back to our Penguin, have just found out that it is a male of the species. How do I know that Boris caught him writing his name in the artificial snow! What was the name Hard to figger out - who reads Penguinese
On standby generators: Ocean going vessels have lifeboats, even if they've never sunk! <grin>
The state of Missouri has no policy or plan to encourage residential users of electricity (which translates to: all of us!) to explore alternative energy sources as they do in California, Arizona and other places. Nope - not around here. The big utilitity companies seemingly have us all by the short hairs and that's the way it will be unless and until WE do something about it. I explored putting in solar panels and methods to power a room or two with the sun's energy. Found out that our electric company would charge us a King's ransom in "fees" and the like to "protect" their infrastructure against any damage caused by such a scheme. Crazy - absolutely bonkers. In California it's done all over the place and done quite proficiently. <arggggggghhhhhhhhh>
Rob, nice piece on the Chicago - New York Air Line RR! Another that emerged from the "woodwork" that I never heard of. Would like to see some Pix of their rolling stock, locos and herald.
Nick, you're not the first to have experienced a bit of difficulty navigating that front porch of ours - gotta watch that first step down - it can be a killer! <grin> And yes, really does destroy one's "image" eh
Okay, Boris serve 'em up all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle and ring the gong while you're at it!
Theme for the Day! - Theme for the Day!
Here’s another Fallen Flag for the gang from Classic American Railroads:
(first Posted on page 140)
Theme for the Day #3
New York, New Haven & Hartford (NYNH&H) (NH)
Headquarters: New Haven, CT
Mileage in 1950: 1,800
Locomotives in 1963:
Diesel: 381 – Electric: 22
Rolling stock in 1963:
Freight cars: 6,925 – Passenger cars: 1,055 (including self-propelled)
Principal routes in 1950:
New York City (Grand Central)-New Haven-New London, CT-Providence, RI-Boston, MA
New York City (Pennsylvania Station)-New Rochelle, NY
New Haven-Hartford, CT-Springfield, MA
New Haven-Middletown-Putnam, CT-Boston (Readville)
New Haven-Northhampton & Holyoke, MA
Devon-Winsted, CT
Waterbury-Hartford-Plainfield, CT-Providence
Providence (Valley Falls)-Worcester, MA
Norwalk, CT-Pittsfield & Station Line, MA
Derby, CT-Campbell Hall & Beacon, NY
New London-Worcester
New Bedford & Fall River-Framingham-Lowell & Fitchburg, MA
Boston-Brocton-Provincetown & Hyannis & Woods Hole, MA
Attleboro-Taunton-Middleboro, MA
South Braintree-Plymouth, MA
Passenger trains of note:
NEW YORK-BOSTON
Bay State – Bostonian - Commander – Forty Second Street – Gilt Edge –
Hell Gate Express – Merchants Limited – Murray Hill – Narragansett –
New Yorker – Owl – Puritan – Roger Williams – Shoreliner – Yankee Clipper
BOSTON-PHILADELPHIA-WASHINGTON
(operated by PRR west of NYC (Penn Station)
Colonial – Federal – Patriot – Pilgrim – Quaker – Senator – William Penn
OTHER RUNS
Bankers (New York-Springfield)
Berkshires (New York-Pittsfield)
Connecticut Yankee (New York-Springfield)
Day Cape Codder (New York-Hyannis & Woods Hole
Day White Mountain (New York-Berlin, NH; operated by B&M north of Springfield)
Montrealer (New York-to-Montreal, operated by B&M, CV & CN north of Springfield)
Nathan Hale (New York-Springfield)
Naugatuck (New York-Winsted)
Night Cap (New York-Stamford, CT
State of Maine (New York-Portland, ME via Providence & Worcester; B&M beyond
Washingtonian (Montreal-to-Washington counterpart to Montrealer
Enjoy!
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Rainy day today with temperatures in the 60s. Gas is at $2.56 for now.
A few acknowledgements and on to the NYNH&H.
Rob – Thanks for material on the Chicago-New York Air Line.
Pete – Thanks for pictures – lovely locomotives to say the least.
A note from Nick as well.
Tom: Boris, mobile? Yikes!
Enjoyed the shots of Kirkwood and KCS power. Also many thanks for the index. Penguins? That’s who we see a lot on TV during NHL season. I just hope this year I don’t have to have a matching bag for my Bruins hat. BTW, your NH intro appeared when I refreshed the screen - gotta love it!
Now we move to the theme of the day which ties in nicely with Barndad’s offering.
The catenary pictures were quite interesting. The arch-type structure was, indeed, an experiment on a relatively short section of the railroad. The shot with the semaphores was typical of the more common type of catenary. The semaphores were left-handed to allow them to clear the wires. Unfortunately there was no shot of an anchor bridge which looked like something out of a Frankenstein picture. The anchor bridge had all sorts of goodies on top which allowed certain portions of the wire to be shut off for maintenance, repairs, etc. The New Haven had a power plant at Cos Cob, CT which, IIRC, was coal fired. It is a National Engineering landmark.
Herewith some material from the notebooks; some of it has appeared here before, but some if it is new.
South Station was the end of the road, but most of our trips began and ended at Back Bay Station. It took five minutes for New Haven trains to travel from South Station to Back Bay Station. There were four tracks in Back Bay separated by a fence. The two tracks on the north side of the station belonged to the Boston and Albany Railroad. The B&A called their side of the station Trinity Place. The two tracks on the south side of the station belonged to the New Haven.
The trip to Back Bay was always exciting as we traveled through streets lined with brownstone houses only to suddenly come upon the station's parking area that was a sharp left turn off Gainsborough Street. My grandmother said the streets in this section of Boston reminded her of the streets in Bristol, England from when she was a young woman.
I remember Back Bay as cold, snowy, and damp as only areas near the ocean can be, especially in the winter. Wooden doors, handles polished from countless hands opening them, gave onto the station lobby which was a large square room of light colored stone. The ticket counter was on one side of the lobby which was hot, humid and smelled of smoke, wet winter coats, and steam heat. On the other side of the lobby stairs and an elevator led to trackside. The elevator was closed on three sides. The front was open with a cage-like gate that was closed once the passengers got on. This same elevator handled both baggage and passengers. I much preferred to ride with the loaded baggage carts instead of the passengers. I never thought I would see an elevator like that again until years later when I went started going into underground mines and encountered the same thing.
The wet, dimly lit trackside smelled of salt air and decomposing offal from the nearby Fort Point Channel. The station platforms stretched westward into the distance and there were dwarf signals on the ground at the platforms. Eastward, toward South Station, the tracks ran in what had once been a white tiled tunnel.
I recall no announcements of arriving or departing trains but passengers knew that the train was coming because they could hear the locomotive in the tunnel. The train would suddenly emerge from the tunnel, its green and gold Alco PA's, Fairbanks Morse C Liners, EMD FL9s or GP9s passing in a thunder of diesel noise accented by the thick hard hissing of steam from underneath the cars and the "screeah" sound of the brakes.
The engines were scary but the cars were wonderful. The New Haven had an eclectic collection of passenger cars that included everything from ancient commuter coaches to up-to-date parlor cars, sleepers, dining cars, and grill cars. Through cars from the Pennsylvania Railroad operated via the New Haven as far as Pennsylvania Station where they were handed off to the P Company who carried them on from there. Examples of these trains were the “Senator,” and the “Federal.” The New Haven also originated and terminated Pennsy sleepers from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I didn’t see these very often, but knew about them from studying the maps and consists in the New Haven’s public timetable.
From the platform I could see stainless steel coaches with green or orange window stripes. Through the windows I could glimpse passengers stowing their suitcases and bags in the overhead rack and settling in for the trip. A bit farther back in the train were the elegant parlor cars and a diner (or two!) or a grille car.
You always wore a coat and tie when riding in the parlor car. A white coated attendant helped passengers board the parlor cars and stowed their bags for them. Inside were single rows of luxurious deep blue upholstered chairs that reclined or swiveled at the touch of a button. Small tables bolted to the sides of the car afforded a resting place for a book, a drink, etc. A glass partition at the rear of the car separated the smoking compartment from the rest of the car. The seats in the smoker were lined up parallel with the car walls and faced inward. Large metal smoking stands were placed at strategic points. These smoking stands had two disks around them; one on top of the other. The lower disk was solid and the upper had circles cut into it just big enough to hold a drink glass. The parlor cars also had rest rooms and some of them offered truly patrician accommodations in the form of drawing rooms, or day roomettes for passengers who wished to work, play cards, make deals, or whatever.
Pennsylvania parlor cars had drawing rooms, and the New Haven cars had day roomettes. Passengers who rode in these accommodations generally disappeared at the start of the trip and didn’t emerge until they reached their destination. The car attendant brought their drinks and meals to them. I rode in a drawing room once, with a friend, and we had our drinks and lunch brought to us; an experience I’ll always remember.
The New Haven did a splendid bar business and drinks were flowing already though the train was barely five minutes into its trip. Leaving Boston, I always tried to get a seat on the east side of the car because that was the side that faced the ocean. I always felt that the trip to New York really didn’t begin until we left Providence. By then, most of the passengers had settled into the rhythm of the trip. The fastest running between Boston and New York occurred south (west by timetable) of Providence from around Warwick to the Connecticut border. The little seacoast towns flashed by and the sound of the locomotive’s horn was almost continuous as it passed over an endless series of grade crossings. The Shore Line below Providence lived up to its name as the tracks almost seemed to be in the ocean. We could see swans and what my maternal grandmother called “storks” nesting alongside the tracks. New London was always interesting because we could look for submarines, and see what the Central Vermont was doing.
Then on to New Haven. The train would approach the city on a fill that crossed over miles of swamps. This was leavened a little by a pair of short tunnels. We could see the mammoth Cedar Hill yard in the distance, dominated by its huge concrete coal dock. Here, truly, was the center of the New Haven. The double track main line passed close to the Cedar Hill departure yard which was filled with all kinds of freight cars. The line from Hartford joined us and swept toward the New Haven station beneath a series of overpasses. We were under the wires now, which meant we were on the electrified portion of the New Haven. It was not uncommon to see three or more passenger trains moving at once, along with a freight train, and sometimes a switcher with a cut of cars. The postal facility just north and east of the station was always filled with mail cars, green cars from Railway Express and Railway Post Office cars; something I didn’t see all that much in Boston, despite my encounters with the mail trains. We were getting closer now and the train was slowing.
The New Haven station was a busy place as it handled lots of through trains and hordes of commuters. As I mentioned, we were now on the electrified part of the New Haven. Generally we changed from diesel to electric power at New Haven. Sometimes, though, we kept the same engines if we had FL9s for power and were going to Grand Central. The FL9s were hybrids what were diesels, but were also fitted to run off the third rail that was closer to New York.
I have always liked electric locomotives. The New Haven, as befitted its history as the country’s first major electrification, had a wonderful collection of electric engines that included everything from ancient so-called “flatbottoms,” to the gorgeous EP5 “jets.” A typical power change at New Haven went something like this.
It’s midmorning at New Haven on a cold day. The wind blows in from the harbor, and makes it seem even colder than it already is. A passenger train, from Boston, is about to arrive - we can see its headlight under the wires off to the north. The big Alco diesels slide by us and brake to a stop in a combination of sound of hissing air, ringing bells, and engine noise. It’s going to get busy now, so we’d better stay out of the way.
Men wheel carts of baggage and mail up the open doors of the head end cars. They’re hurrying as the train won’t be here for very long. Farther back passengers are getting off the train and others are boarding. Car men are busily inspecting each car and the diner is getting refilled with water. Ahead, two filthy car knockers are down between the second diesel and the head of the first car. Their job is to cut off steam lines and brake lines and uncouple the diesels from the head of the train. This is done through hand signals that are passed ahead to the engineer who leans back out of the cab window. He backs the diesels just a little to give the men enough slack to uncouple.
It’s cold today and things are stiff - a shot with the hammer right there will do it. A quick flip of a go ahead hand signal and the diesels snarl and move away. They’ll be refueled, sanded, recrewed, and on their way back to Boston soon. A “ba-dump-ah!” sound of switch points moving and escaping compressed air, and in the distance we see an orange, black, and white EP-5 class electric engine threading its way toward us. The engineer gently backs toward the train and stops about 2 a car length short. The car men are on either side now and again with casual hand signals tell the engineer to back up slowly, don=t jostle the passengers.
“Ca-lang!” Now check to make sure she=s really coupled by pulling ahead just a little. Everything’s O.K. Now, reconnect the brake lines, electric, and steam lines and check to make sure that it all works. We’d better hurry back and get on the train, as the head end work is done, and the engines have been changed and we’ll be leaving before long. It will be time to get something to eat before too much longer.
The New Haven’s trains either carried full dining cars or grille cars. The grille car was something like a diner only not as patrician. New Haven diners and grille cars served regional food, which tended to be simply prepared. As a child, one of my favorites was a grille car hamburger which came served with lettuce, tomato, and a big slice of sweet onion on a toasted roll. It was a real treat to eat as we rolled along toward under the wires toward New York.
South of New Haven (west by timetable), the New Haven operated a bewilderingly complex commuter service to and from New York. A four track main line ran under the wires in most places, except where buildings were too close to the tracks. The commuter trains usually operated on the outside two tracks and the through passenger trains on the inner two tracks. Add in the through and local freight traffic that operated then, too, and you’ll get some idea of the activity that existed on the NYNH&H. It was not uncommon to see four or more trains at one time; all running. Many of the NH’s suburban stations were wooden structures, painted red or buff with white trim. Some of the larger towns, such as Stamford, Connecticut had more elaborate stations. The commuter trains were mostly mu cars that resembled subway cars. There were some stainless steel mu “washboard” cars too, but I remember these as the exception rather than the rule. Arrival at New York was either at Grand Central Station or at Pennsylvania Station.
Going to Grand Central we would swing up and over the New York Central on a magnificent flying junction at Woodlawn. Then we’d drop down on the west side and tie in with the NYC. Here was a stretch of big time railroading for certain as our train shared space not only with other New Haven trains, but with the trains of the mighty Central. Heading into New York, we’d pass by the Central’s Mott Haven yard which was on the right hand side of our train. Mott Haven was a delight as it was always filled with not only with New Haven cars of all types, but also stainless steel New York Central cars, two-tone gray New York Central cars, and visiting sleepers and other equipment from foreign lines such as the Santa Fe and the Union Pacific. Here’s where the time spent studying the timetables my father brought home paid off, as I was able to recognize the different kinds of cars when I saw them, and sometimes could even figure out what trains they were from or for. Over there’s part of the “Ohio State Limited,” those cars are for the “20th Century,” and there’s a Los Angeles-New York sleeper off the Santa Fe!
The New York Central’s Hudson line joined us from the right just south of Mott Haven and from there the procession into New York was on a high elevated track through Harlem. Many times, we stopped at 125th Street, and I was often lucky to see a New York Central run pulled by one of their electric locomotives. The buildings here were different than those in Boston. I could see apartment houses with factories nearby, often on the same block. Many of these building had wooden water towers on their roofs, again something that was not that common in Boston. We had TV by then, and I’d watch Jackie Gleason’s show, “Live from New York!” He had a series of sketches on the show called the “Honeymooners” which was set in Brooklyn. The buildings I could see heading into New York looked like the ones in the “Honeymooners.”
We’re getting close now and here we go into the Park Avenue tunnel. If I stretched just right I could look up through the openings in the tunnel and see the tall buildings that marked the passage toward Grand Central. The entrance to Grand Central was always thrilling as we crept through the darkness of the tunnel toward our assigned track. We’re going very slowly now, past the underground tower with the lighted boards that controlled train movements in and out of the station. One last shudder and we stop. Now’s the time to make sure we have everything we brought along with us - the car attendant has our bags out on the high level platform. Sometimes I carried my bags, but most of the time we used the services of a Red Cap, especially if the family was traveling together.
The approach to Pennsylvania Station, on a so-called “Penn job,” was as gritty and spectacular in its own way as was the ride into Grand Central. The tracks of the New York Connecting Railroad swung away from the New Haven at Harold. From there, they passed through an area that was quite wooded for being so close to a big city. Then we would cross a couple of drawbridges and pass through a manufacturing area before starting the climb up to the Hell Gate Bridge. We could see the bridge from the left side of the train as we climbed and the New York skyline would be spread out in front of us on the right side of the train. I always tried to pick out the Empire State Building as we crossed the bridge and look for tugs and barges in the river. Once across the bridge, there was a lot of railroad to look at; the Long Island Rail Road was on one side and the Pennsy’s mammoth Sunnyside yard was on the other. Mott Haven was cramped, but Sunnyside spread out and it had a wider variety of cars then did its counterpart on the other side of New York. At Sunnyside, I could see cars from railroads that ran into the deep south such as the purple and silver painted Atlantic Coast Line, the stainless steel cars of the Seaboard, RF&P, and the Southern, and the patrician blue and yellow of the Chesapeake and Ohio. There were also cars from the west off the Burlington and the Santa Fe, of course, along with a handful of rolling stock from the New Haven. The predominant color, however, was the tuscan red and gold of the P Company. The Pennsylvania had a bewildering variety of cars in all styles. They also had some stainless steel cars with tuscan and gold trim. These cars ran on the Senator and also on the mighty Congressional Limited between New York and Washington. There were lots of electric locomotives such as the beautiful catlike GG1 and some ancient boxcab electrics. Most interesting were the little electric switchers that shuttled to and fro like bees in the yard as they broke down and made up trains. The last sprint into Pennsylvania Station was through a long tunnel which made my ears “pop” due to the pressure change.
Work safe
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house
Grand Central is an excellent point of departure
http://memory.loc.gov/award/mhsdalad/230000//230062r.jpg
Just go west on the IRT shuttle to Times Square
http://memory.loc.gov/award/mhsdalad/020000//020077r.jpg
Then south to the Pennsy at Horseshoe Curb
http://memory.loc.gov/award/mhsdalad/020000//020069r.jpg
Long Island City
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny1300/ny1317/photos/119194pr.jpg
Hell Gate Bridge
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny1300/ny1317/photos/119207pr.jpg
Mamaroneck
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny1300/ny1317/photos/119238pr.jpg
Cos Cob
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024041pr.jpg
Bridgeport
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024077pr.jpg
New Haven
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024095pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024103pr.jpg
East New Haven
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024113pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024116pr.jpg
New London
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024144pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024148pr.jpg
Providence
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ri/ri0300/ri0360/photos/145783pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ri/ri0300/ri0328/photos/145693pr.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004051712212418904.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=200406051829363567.jpg
Boston
http://memory.loc.gov/award/mhsdalad/030000//030084r.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1200/ma1240/photos/076633pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1200/ma1240/photos/076632pr.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1200/ma1240/photos/076629pr.jpg
The Bay State, Clarendon Hills 1930
http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00013731+OP-13731
The Bay Shore near New London 1937
http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00013740+OP-13740
Electric
http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00013744+OP-13744
Yankee Clipper
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2002033110352127698.jpg
Fairbanks Morse C-Line
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2005101716491229780.jpg
Bolton Notch
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004022718342913323.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=200510101947448863.jpg
ALCOs
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=200512261021484152.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004051611185517086.jpg
Return to Grand Central
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2004112002430228780.jpg
Mike
Good morning Ruth, a thermos of coffee and a mixed cold cut job on a toasted sub roll if you please,I'll help myself to the pickel jar aas well. No I'll leave the saucer of brine for Lars to give to Tex,it's tradition donchaknow.
Well so far so good , the New Haven has taken root so far on this fine tuesday morning and afternoon
Tom-Good morning sir, so Boris say'd the pengins a boy eh sounds as though our local cyclops has been teaching him some bad habits already.There are a couple grainy old photo's from that magazine article I dug up on the airline, I'll see if I can clean them up,they are shot in front of the massive carbarn they built in Gary.Nice starter offer to get the ole ball rolling today as well sir,all New Haven all the Time today 5x
Doug-Great starter offer article on the NYNH&H loved it. The shots of Park avenue were amazing,.nowonder most cities ( big one's ) wanted the coal fired steamers banned from their downtown cores. You wouldn't want the high and mighty to get all sooty now would you <grin>
CM3-Great write up sir all the sounds and sights, and smells down to the most minute detail, loved it. Ah the golden age of passenger trains, when you could actually get some where from somewhere else and be able to relax and enjoy the trip. Sounds like some wonderfull memories that you have from when you wre a kid. truly great stuff
Mike -Hey nice to see you pop by. I see your usual selection of right on urls were in tow as well. Thanks for helping out on this weeks theme day
Back in a bit
Good Morning Captain Tom and all assembled!
Ruth my lovely, a #3 if you please, a steaming mug of coffee and a round for the house.
I do not know where my head was last time my words reached you, but I totally forgot about our weekend guests here at the mountain retreat. Nevertheless, I am back and have a few items to post, with thanks to Lydia, my earstwhile "sidekick."
Before doing so, however, let me acknowledge the fine work of our Mentor and Proprietor - Captain Tom, for keeping the good ship afloat these past several days while many of us were elsewhere. I know it wasn't the intention of the "Gang of Ten" to put the burden on you for the resurrected Tavern by the Tracks - but it appears as if we did indeed do that very thing!
Lars, glad to learn that you have overcome this latest bout of adversity. Seems that someone may have painted a Bull's Eye on your homes - both on "the island" and "upstate." Nevertheless, that is history and I would not be overly concerned about missing one day at the bar - it WILL survive, given the likes of you and several others who have demonstrated a willingness to make it so!
Doug, Rob and Pete provided some very interesting photos for the Sunday Gala and the Encore! Event for Saturday was highlighted by Captain Tom's excellent renditions of those British Railway advertisements! The visits from Sir Nick over in West Wales have continued, leaving us all with some side splitting laughter - which is always good tonic!
Must say that the likeness of Boris is splendid! Very appropriate and good show to you, Doug for finding "it"!
Today, I must make specific mention of that fine piece by Coalminer 3 CM3 - splendid offering and one that illustrates your mesmerizing way of telling a story in a manner very much lost in the world of Blogging and so forth. We really enjoyed your chronicles and look forward to more! The only thing missing were photos, but the piece was followed up quite nicely by Wanswheel Mike's URL compilation.
Of course, Doug began the morning with a fine piece on the electrification of the New Haven, followed by a Fallen Flag (Encore) from Captain Tom. Nice fit as well.
Add us to the "list" of those with emergency generator capability!
Also, Lydia thinks "Phil" would be a great name for that Penguin contest. So, please add it to the offerings.
Now, for my humble submission, with credit to my bride! These are POSTERS advertisements for the NH:
Enjoy the remainder of this "Theme for the Day!" event at the Tavern by the Tracks.
Appears as if Sir Rob has posted "on top" of mine - wonder if he will see this straight away As Captain Tom has repeatedly advised - use the Reload/Refresh feature and stick around just a bit after posting - it does help.
BK in Alberta, Canada's beautiful high mountain country!
Greetings Captain Tom!
Nearly forgot - these are especially for YOU!
NH RDC-1 #41 (photo: David Telesha)
NH RDC-1 #42 (photo: Elliott Hoffman)
THEME FOR THE DAY THEME FOR THE DAY THEME FOR THE DAY
NEW HAVEN PASSENGER SERVICE :
The New Haven offered the only direct rail route between New York and Boston, so it was no supprise that this was and became the NH's premier route, the showcase of the operations. The 229 mile Shore Line route that linkls these two heavily populated areas also served Rhode islands capitol city Providence.The lione westr out of New Haven into New York was ( still is )the corridor of densely populated "bedroom" communities for thiose who work in New York City itself.
For nearly it's entire existance , the NYNH&H offered NY-Boston service throughout the day and night,serving both Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. A 1946 timetable shows a minumum of hourly departures from Boston to New York, from 7am until 9pm.The Merchants Limited , in it's heyday was an extra fare parlour car train, and The Yankee Clipper were the pride of this shoreline route. The names of other NY-Boston "flyers" were ;The Roger Williams, Patriot, Pilgrim, the Narragansett, Minute Man ,Mayflower, and the Pilgrim.
By way of joint operations with the PRR, prompted the openning of the Hell's gate Bridge in 1917.The New Haven also operated throuhg trains between Boston and Washington DC via Penn Station.These trains included The Senator,Federal,Quaker, and Colonial.The latter also allowed NH passengers to travel through Manhatten to Philadelphia,Baltimore,and Washington.
The NH's second busiest line operated service to Cape Cod on the line that ran to Springfield Mass.This lione split off the shoreline at New Haven. In addition to some independant NY-Springfield runs this line carried almost all the Boston bound trains and all featured connections to Springfield at New Haven.The Springfield line also hosted through trains to Vermont and Canada, these were operated jointly with the Boston & Maine.
Catreing to tourists,New Haven operated service to and from Cape Cod, and at one time these trains ran all the way to the tip at Provincetown Mass, Seasonal trains The Cape Codder & Neptune, operated from New York through Taunton, Mass onto Buzzard's Bay, where the train split for Hyannis and Wood's Hole.Boat connections could be made from there to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The Cranberry provided Boston-Hyannis service as did local trains on this division.
COMMUTER SERVICE
The NYNH&H along withb it's extensive regular and speacial passengers runs also operated a dense network of commuter lines tied both to New York and to Boston.Suburban type service out of Grand Central focussed on the communities along the shoreline route,New Rochelle,New York,New Haven, and branches that ran to New Canaan,Danbury,and Waterbury.Suburban service to Boston was a bit more spread out with numerous branches most of them the former Coloney lines,these reached out to Plymouth,Braintree,Fall River,New Bedford,and others, some commuter service was operated between Boston and Providence as well.
Today the NH-NY area still gets suburban service which are now under the flag of the Connecticut department of Transportation. In the Boston area they run under the flag of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authiority. The" T ". Great srevices still but lacking the flair of the heavy electric and diesels trains of the New Haven era.
Greetings BK & Lydia. I did indeed see you pop in but I was mid typing as it were.Great posters of the New Haven. deffinatly appropriate to today's theme. The RDC's are a nice touch as well.I'm sure that the goodTom will appriciate them. I know I did.<grin>
I think if the two of you don't mind I will sit in a booth with the two of you as it appears to me that Boris and Awk are teaching the penguin how to dive bomb poor Tex.
Ruth i think another round would ne in order to freshen up everyone;s drinks. Oh yes Boris pleas ring your chimes if you would be so kind, a round on me, thank-you,
Ruth, I'll have my usual foot long, a Schaefer in a frosty mug, a saucer of brine for Tex, a tray of ice cubes for the Penguin and - zooooooooooom - what was that Ah, Awk is practicing his Spitfire routine! What next
Really has been quite a nice turnout for this week's "Theme for the Day!" as the New Haven is always a good draw. Most impressed with the submission from CM3 I'm Not Shane! Now that's quite a story teller, huh Really captivated me and I could almost "feel" the movement of the train as I progressed through the lines . . . Excellent job - worth a 5- Salute to you Sir!
Tom, you must have a zillion of 'em stored away - looking at your Index that you provided us yesterday, I'd say you probably don't have to type a thing from here on out! EXCEPT of course for the blasted reformatting! <arrrrggggghhhh> Nice Encore of the Fallen Flag!
Also enjoyed the Electrification of the New Haven article provided by Doug - who is always good for some in depth info . . . then along came Rob with his and the next thing ya know, we're all Aficionados of one mighty fine road!
Might've figured that the Three Horsemen would be the one's with the emergency generators! As any sailor will tell ya - it's too late to be looking for the life jacket when your ankles are getting wet!
Gotta kick out of Nick's post - and as always, still smiling at his comments! <grin>
BK, good to see ya this fine day as it was a long weekend indeed - longer for some of us than others! Nevertheless, good to be back amongst the guys, in the confines of the best bar 'n grill this side of heaven! Those posters are right-on and fit well within the "Theme" - good show!
I see Mike has made his presence known with a spate of timely Urls - but very little conversation. Enjoyed the shots and hope all is well with you. Haven't seen ya 'round the bar lately.
Caught the end of the Cards-Nationals game on the tube and that was some homer hit by Albert. But, a near-no-hitter did 'em in and they STILL remain 6 games up in the Central. Meanwhile, my Mets took it on the chin from the Braves - but at least we are so far ahead, it's almost like - who gives a Rat's Patoot! But then again - better not be too cocky, huh Also appears that unless something goes haywire over in the AL East, the Yanks are pretty much secured with their 9 game lead over the BoSox. Also noted that the ChiSox have slipped to 3rd in their division. What a season this has been. And to think - football begins for real on Thursday night!
Next up will be my contribution for "Theme" day!
Be back in a flash!
THEME Day Tuesday! - THEME Day Tuesday!
My humble offering for this New Haven RR day comes in the form of books . . .
Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear! Number Five
(first Posted on page 242)
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Locale: New York, NY to Boston, MA
Reporting marks: NH
Dates of operation: 1872 – 1969
Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters: New Haven, Connecticut
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (AAR reporting mark NH) was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States. Commonly referred to as the New Haven, the railroad served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Its primary connections included Boston and New York.
History
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed July 24, 1872 as a consolidation of the New York and New Haven Railroad and Hartford and New Haven Railroad. This included not only the main line from New York City to Springfield, Massachusetts via New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, but also leases of lines including the Shore Line Railway to New London. The New Haven went on to lease more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtual monopoly in New England south of the Boston and Albany Railroad.
The first line of the original system to open was the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, opened from New Haven to Hartford in 1839 and beyond to Springfield in 1844. The New York and New Haven came later, as it ran parallel to the Long Island Sound coast and required many bridges over rivers. It opened in 1848, using trackage rights over the New York and Harlem Railroad (later part of the New York Central Railroad system) from Williamsbridge south to Grand Central Terminal, which served as the New Haven's New York City terminal.
Around the turn of the century, New York investors, led by J.P. Morgan gained control and in 1903, installed Charles Mellen as President. Morgan and Mellen sought a complete monopoly of transportation in New England, purchasing other railroad and steamship and trolley lines. More than 100 independent railroads eventually became part of the system before and during these years, reaching 2,131 miles at its 1929 peak. Substantial improvements to the system were made during the Mellen years, including electrification between New York, and New Haven. But Morgan's expansion left the company overextended and financially weak. It never truly recovered.
Under the stress of the Great Depression, in 1935 the New Haven slipped into bankruptcy, remaining in trusteeship until 1947. Common stock was voided and creditors assumed control.
After 1951 both freight and passenger service lost money. New Haven's earlier expansion had left it with a network of light density branch lines that could not support their maintenance and operating costs. The New Haven's freight business was short-haul, requring a lot of switching costs that could not be recovered in short-distance rates. The New Haven had major commuter train services in New York and Boston (as well as New Haven, Hartford and Providence), but these always lost money, unable to recover their investment providing service just twice a day during rush hour. The death of the New Haven may have been sealed by the building of the Connecticut Turnpike and other interstates. With decades of inadequate investment, the New Haven could not compete against the automobile or the trucker.
In 1954 the flashy Patrick McGinnis led a proxy fight against incumbent president Buck Dumain, vowing to return more of the company's profit to shareholders. McGinnis accomplished this by deferring maintenance. McGinnis also spent money on a flashy new image for the company - dull green and gold trim was replaced by loud black, orange and white. When he departed, 22 months later, he left the company financially wrecked. It once again went into bankruptcy on July 2, 1961.
At the insistence of the ICC, the New Haven was merged with Penn Central on January 1, 1969. Following the bankruptcy of Penn Central, in 1976 a substantial portion of the former New Haven main line between New York and Boston was transferred to Amtrak, and now forms a major portion of the electrified Northeast Corridor, hosting high speed Acela Express and commuter rail service.
Harlem River
The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad was the New Haven's first lease after its merger. It was chartered in 1866, leased by the New Haven on October 1, 1873, and opened later that year, running from the New Haven at New Rochelle, New York south into the Bronx, New York City. It was originally a branch line, but in 1916 the New York Connecting Railroad and its Hell Gate Bridge opened, turning the Harlem River Branch into a major through route.
Air Line
The New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad opened in 1873 as part of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad system, running from New Haven northeast via Middletown to the BH&E at Willimantic. The BH&E went bankrupt that same year, becoming the New York and New England Railroad, but the NHM&W stayed separate, failing in 1875. It was reorganized as the Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad, and operated by the New Haven from 1879, being leased on October 1, 1882.
Connecticut Valley
The New Haven obtained a majority of stock of the Hartford and
Good evening Ruthie ... care to see my entry against Awk for the Spitfire Manuevers? . His name is Fred, because he just looks like a Fred to me. Any chance I can get a bottomless draught today? No? Thought not. Would you mind setting up a round for the other guys then? Thanks.
Moving along ... what a terrific NH day we're having here guys! CM3, that earlier post of mine actually came from a three part series, so maybe I have a picture of an anchor bridge in part I or III, if I have the magazines. I'll be looking for it tonight. Loved your personal experiences with the NH lines. You are quite the story-teller sir! Nice fallen-flag and Wikipedia submission Tom, and I'll try for "Pudgie" in the name the penguin contest. Fantastic URLs as usual from Mike today. Surely enjoyed the trip. You sir, did an amazing job. Nice passenger service post Rob. Enjoyed the posters from BK, but I think he's trying to get free drinks from our proprietor by posting the NH RDC pix. Someone keep an eye on the comps around here! Hootie .... do your stuff! Which brings me to Lars. Great to see you today too sir, and thanks for the NH books! And now, here's my part II from article II:
No.222, one of New Haven’s EY-2b electric switchers. Photo by Sy Reich.
The Danbury 23.52 miles of single track extending between Danbury and South Norwalk, joined the electrification parade in 1925. In those days, trains from New York operated as far south as South Norwalk with electric engines. At South Norwalk a steam locomotive, deadheaded from an existing engine terminal at Stanford, would be tied into the train for the rest of the journey to Danbury and Pittsfield, Mass.
To avoid deadhead milage between Stanford and South Norwalk for both steam and electrified engines, the New Haven had to choose between building an engine terminal at South Norwalk or extending the electrification to Danbury, a division point which already had an engine terminal. They chose electrification.
The first electrification project between Woodlawn and Stanford was a busy main-line and commuting road. In order not to interfere with railroad operations, work was done at night. In 1905, the job began with digging the foundations for catenary steel bridges. The erection of these bridges across the tracks at intervals of several hundred feet gave visable proof to those who lived along the line that a big change was coming. Catenary bridges are used for hanging the catenary or overhead contact trolley wire.
Every few miles the construction gangs erected anchor bridges, onto which catenary wire was firmly attached. The anchor bridges also contained circuit-breakers as well as other switch gear and transformers necessary to isolate any section of wire.
By insulating the trolley wires of parallel tracks from one another and by sectionalizing them along in much the same way that a model railroader sectionalizes his tracks to provide for control of more than one train, the railroad could disconnect any section of wire in case of emergency, while maintaining power on parallel tracks to allow operation of the line to continue. The isolation switch gear is generally controlled from interlocking towers.
The original catenary was different from the type used later. It consisted of three supporting wires parallel to the track spaced apart by hangers to maintain them in the form of a triangle with the top side horizontal (parallel to the crossties) and the opposite vertex (point) used to suspend the contact or trolley wire.
Two upper supporting wires are attached to insulators on the catenary towers. Thus the contact wire is supported parallel to the center line of track, following it around curves.
This triangular-shaped catenary was chosen to provide rigidity. But a few months of operation proved that rigidity was not desirable. The existing catenary was modified by installing clips to give it more flexibility, yet retaining its triangular set up. However, all subsequent construction was non-triangular.
A still different type of catenary was used on the next stretch of electrified, the Harlem River Line. Once again, catenary bridges spanned the multiple-track line. From adjacent bridges two steel cables were strung parallel to the tracks. Heavy steel bars were attached to them parallel to the ties. Simple steel catenary wire construction was hung from insulators attached to these steel bars which were placed between the catenary bridges. Copper wire fastened to the steel catenary wire was used for contact wire. This kind of suspension gave flexibility.
The 1925 electrification of the Danbury branch was unique. This singlre track line did not require heavy-duty installation. Instead, single-steel upright bents supported a steel member across the track from which insulators were hung. This construction was similar to that used on numerous single-track trolley and interurban lines except that now it was more substantial since the catenary weighed more than a single trolley wire. The 25-mile project was begun in October, 1924, and opened for passenger operation the following July. This is quite a record, considering that normal service was maintained during construction.
Throughout this period, the New Haven Railroad was installing overhead wire on many yard tracks and sidings. Oak Point Yard became probably the largest electrified yard in the country.
When the first project between Woodlawn and Stanford opened up in 1907, the road had 22 ½ route-miles and 110 track-miles electrified. When the last of the projects, the Danbury branch, was finished, the New Haven had some 112 route-miles, 195 miles of yard tracks, and 367 miles of main-line track. Except for the several abandoned tracks on the Harlem River line, and some yard and siding tracks that were de-electrified, the entire system is still intact.
Because in 1905 the quantity of power that the New Haven required was not available commercially, the company built its own power plant at Cos Cob, Conn. There, in 1907, three Westinghouse 3750 killovoltamp, single-phase, 25-cycle, AC generators were put into service. Each was driven by a steam turbine operating at 1500 rpm, using steam of 100 degrees superheated at 180 pounds per square inch.
The 28 boilers which supplied steam for the turbines were fired by coal. The generated 11,000 volts AC was steeped up in transformers to 22,000 volts for transmission along the main line. At each anchor bridge, transformers reduced the 22,000 volts to 11,000 for contact wire. Substations were located at Port Chester, Greenwich, Stanford, and South Norwalk.
As the trains grew longer and operated more frequently, power drain at Cos Cob increased. Additional equipment was installed there. At length, in 1915, a substation was built at West Farms to bring additional electricity from the Sharon Creek power plant.
At the time of electrification, signaling along the lines was revamped. A peculiar type of left-handed semaphore was developed to fit clearance requirements. In general, the electrified main line had four indicati
Good evening Leon just a single for me, had enough for one day.Well looks like it twas another good theme day indeed. Lots of great info from all sides. 5x for all
Lars-Great book covers. I do like the MBI books I have the one on CN and the one on CP, go figure ehYou are right all we none new yawker's seem to be firing on all cylinders with a road so near and dear to where you live. Definate thumbs up for Shane it was one of his usual top notch stories.
Doug-Great part two, nice picture of te juice jack as well You seem to have brought a veritable zoo in with you between Fred, Boris, the penguin and now hootie we are going to need alot more newspaper around this joint.
Tom-Great encored article,we got all the info down to the nuts in bolts now fer sure fer sure. I'm glad that te theme days are working out so well. Everyone keep their eyes open for next weeks anouncement tomorrow afternoon. You've gotten quite a responce on the name the penguin, should be a tough choice.
Well have a good evening everyone. Still looking for P's FL9 artricle though
Thanks for the comments on the pics on Sunday
Running late but the puter keeps going off line for some reason.Anyway Lady Ruth, (I had better be polite as I dont want my beer supply cut off like Doug), a pint of the usual and a round for another great Theme Day.
A real busy day at the yesterday as well..If the Chicago to New York Air Line had been built I wonder what speeds it would be able to run at today, I dare say the journey times would give air travel a run for its money ROB.
Sad but lovely piece about Bill Chambers and the Little Fellow DOUG. It would be interesting to know if the tradition of the train stopping at the spot one day a year is still kept up.
NICK Real glad you and the band survived the outdoor concert in the rain, that sounds scary. Sad about the Rosslaire turntable, after the steam age infrastructure managed to survive all this time it seems strange they should want to take it out now. I thought that the Dublin to Rosslaire steam run was one of the most popular in Ireland.
TOM Many thanks for the index and the way to get to the pages with new format, it is a lot easier. Great pics of Kirkwood station and the day at Union Station KC, that was a great day out..Any chance of a Gazette when we reach page 400. Good names for BORIS's new friend so far, my meagre effort is Percy Penguin, one of the skittle team I played for was known as Chilly, from the cartoon show, as as a young kid on a visit the the zoo the rest of his family could not get him away from the penguins
Here are a couple of pics of stations on the NH taken last year
Mystic Connecticut
Kingstone Rhode Island.
Wonderful NH day with the history and Fallen Flag from TOM.DOUGs Electrification, LARS's book covers BK's posters and RDCs, ROB's Passenger service, CM3s journey by words( the description of the change over from diesel to electric traction was something I witnessed many times as the West Coast electrification spread south at my home town in the mid 60s, it brought back memories right down to noise the points made, but there is no way I could explain it as well as CM3) and the pictorial journey of MIKEs links. Many thanks.
By the way, if you travelled to Penn Station New York from Newark would you go over the Hell Gate Bridge
I am having a bit of trouble transfering links so I had better try to post this now.
Good morning Tom and friends. I'll have a light breakfast if you please. There's a lot to be said for putting animals to work Rob. Just look at the success of K-9 corps. Perhaps we do have a Penguin Patrol in our future. Glad you liked the little piece about the boy who had died from smallpox, Pete. I'd be amazed if the anual graveside tradition was still being continued. I wonder if Trains magazine might use their resources to find out? Here's a little something for my Pike submission to read with your morning paper:
Here are a few items I found for sale at a local antique store in Woodstock. First is a doll for the amazingly low price of only $1,275
Next is a Hafner train set, for just $125
From Wikipedia: The Hafner Manufacturing Company was a maker of clockwork-powered O gauge toy trains, based in Chicago, Illinois, from 1914 to 1951. It was formed when its founder, William Frederick Hafner, left American Flyer to create his own company. During its peak periods, it employed as many as 150 people.
The reasons for Hafner departing American Flyer, a company he helped found, are lost to history. In the book Greenberg's Guide to American Flyer Prewar O Gauge, author Alan R. Schuweiler cites three possibilities: Hafner may not have known what position he held in the company, he may have sought a larger share of the company, and he may have been passed over in favor of his co-founder's son, William Ogden Coleman, Jr.
While Hafner was able to quickly gain distribution from catalog retailer G. Sommers & Co., it never received the widespread distribution of the so-called "Big Four" of American Flyer, Lionel, Dorfan, and Ives.
The early Hafner trains bore the Overland Flyer brand and closely resembled competing offerings from American Flyer. As late as 1917 a car appeared in American Flyer's product line that closely resembled a Hafner design. This suggests the two companies worked together in their early days, or that one or both companies copied designs from the other. Since American Flyer was known to have purchased rolling stock from German competitor Bing, it is possible that American Flyer also purchased from Hafner, or vice versa.
Unlike its competitors, Hafner survived the Great Depression without making significant changes to its product line, since it always specialized in inexpensive train sets that sold for US$3 or less. World War II proved a greater challenge. Since toy production was prohibited after 1942, toy companies had to adapt. While Lionel and the A. C. Gilbert Company were able to secure government contracts to manufacture items with military applications, Hafner lacked the tooling and manufacturing expertise to do the same. Hafner survived by forming a symbiotic relationship with the Fox Brewing Company. Fox was unable to secure bottlecaps from any other source, while Hafner was unable to make much else.
William Hafner's son John Hafner took over the company in 1933, but the elder Hafner stayed involved with the company until his death in 1944. John Hafner ran the company until 1951, when he sold the company to All Metal Products Company, the makers of the Wyandotte brand of toys. In a 1992 interview, Hafner said he was glad to get out of the business, citing increased difficulty competing with larger toy manufacturers.
Hafner's new ownership faced the same difficulties, and by 1956 was out of business and in liquidation. Louis Marx and Company purchased the Hafner tooling, then shipped it to its subsidiary in Mexico, where it was used to produce inexpensive windup and battery-powered sets. Many Marx collectors believe Louis Marx's primary motivation for the purchase was to eliminate a competitor from the marketplace.
The clockwork locomotives and colorful lithographed tinplate rolling stock placed Hafner at the low end of the market. Unlike most of its competitors, Hafner never created an electric train. Any Hafner electric trains that exist today were retrofitted with a motor from another manufacturer. Electrifying Hafner locomotives by outfitting them with surplus Marx electric motors is a somewhat common practice.
Both Hafner and Marx were known to use "recycled" lithography, a cost-saving practice where the tinplate from defective print runs was flipped over and printed on the blank side and used. The result of this is hidden graphics on the interior of cars and accessories. In addition to re-using its own defective sheets, Hafner would sometimes buy defective sheets from other companies as scrap and use it. Some Hafner collectors specialize in collecting these variations. Additionally, some metal products from the mid-20th century such as flashlights have surfaced with Hafner lithography inside, which indicates that Hafner sold its surplus or unusable print runs for use in the manufacture of products that would be painted.
http://www.ahajokes.com/cartoon/attente.jpg
A blue sky rather cool morning here in mid-continent USA with Petrol down to $2.43 (rounded) last time I saw the signs up at "Collusion Corner."
Appears as if the "Name the Penguin Contest" has taken hold -
Willie (from Rob)
Phil (from BK 'n Lydia)
Pudgie (from Doug)
Percy or Chilly (from Pete)
Nice going guyz!
Gotta make a comment on a couple of Tweetable Offenses (that's O-fence-ez in Canada! <grin>) -
It's RUTH not RUTHIE (Doug!) and she works from 9 AM - 5 PM Mon thru Sat (Doug 'n Pete!) <geesh>
Okay - now that we've gotten that bit of "housekeeping" outtatheway, hope everyone is settling into the mid-week activities, whether at work, home or elsewhere. I love this time of year as summer fades into the beginning of what I hope will be a glorious fall season.
We had quite an outpouring for the "Theme for the Day" RR - New Haven - yesterday, eh Nice work to and for all the guyz who made it happen! Always good stuff from Doug 'n Rob and the guyz!
Didn't see a thing about the "FL9s" that were "declared" by red P. He must've been working . . . Can't "declare" unless you "follow thru" first - is kinda the way it works 'round the Tavern by the Tracks!
The highlight for me for the "Theme Day" was the submission by CM3, followed nicely by those great URLs from our URLMeisterMonsterMike! Really topped it off quite well, woudn't ya agree [tup ]
Pete - I'm still not sure that a "Mentor Village Gazette" will be published again. Much too much goes into it for the "return" - plus I'm still not "there" yet, if you know whutImean. Thanx for the mention, though . . . Thanx for your submission(s) for the Penguin's name - I used 'em both - they fit quite well!
Doug - where in the world do you find these 'critters' Sorry - but ain't no way I'm incorporating them into the "mascot regiment" for "Our" Place. Getting rather crowded as is! <grin> I see you're not letting go of the "Toys 'n Model Trains Day" idea for Wednesday - nice Post! Also, your "light reading" continuation for the New Haven will be taken up later today by Moi! Thanx for your thoughts on the name for our Penguin - good one!
BK- Many thanx for those RDCs! How did you KNOW Also enjoyed the NH Posters that Lydia came up with! Nice inclusive Post, by the way!
Lars - Nice selection of book covers for the "Theme" - NH was at one time a most cherished road of mine, especially for my HO pike. When I lived in Connecticut (mid-60s), I used to spend a bit of time at the New London train station just watching 'em come 'n go. Then of course, back in the mid-50s, I rode 'em between Grand Central Terminal and New London on a regular basis - great road! And - yes - the Three Horsemen have more in common than not, or so it seems! Appreciate your ongoing efforts to help keep the bar "up on the Forum's page!"
Boris - serve 'em up all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle - and by all means, ring the gong!
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