Christmas train travel NOSTALGIA
These special Posts will be provided thru Saturday to help keep us in the proper spirit!
. . . . . . . . . . CHRISTMAS RR TRAVEL #6 of 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE PULLMAN COMPANY . . . . . . . . . .
Here is an advertisement for Christmas holiday retyped taken from a 1950 advertisement in my private collection: . . . . . 3 questions to ask when you plan your Christmas trip . . . . . 1. "How safe?" - The weather is something you do not worry about - when you go Pullman over the Christmas holidays. Throughout your trip your peace of mind is as weather-proof as your Pullman Accommodations. You know you're even safer in a Pullman crossing the country than you are in your Own home. . . . . . 2. "How comfortable?" Your mind is as carefree as . . . . . a child's as you sleep deep and undisturbed on your . . . . . Pullman bed. And in the morning you freshen up . . . . . and dress at your leisure. You have complete toilet . . . . . facilities, hot and cold running water, everything . . . . . you need to prepare for a welcome Santa himself . . . . . would envy. 3. "How dependable?" You get where you want to be when you want to be there . . . when you go Pullman. and you're the very spirit of Christmas as you arrive in the center of town - rested, relaxed, Rady for fun. (Christmas season or any season,) Go Pullman - the safe, comfortable, dependable Answer to all your travel questions.) . . . . . It won't be Christmas without you. So plan . . . . . now to go home for the holidays. And for railroad . . . . . travel at its best, plan to go Pullman. To be sure . . . . . of getting the reservations you want, see your . . . . . ticket agent early. . . . . . . . . . . . . Go Pullman . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMFORTABLE, DEPENDABLE, AND-ABOVE ALL - SAFE! Enjoy! Tom
G'day Gents!
Saturday and it's Christmas Eve-Eve! <grin> Feels like spring ‘round here, but temps are expected to drop a bit, but no snow. <groan> Noted that petrol up at "Collusion Corner" did make a jump to $2.27 (rounded).
Start your weekend with us with a steaming mug of our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. Then check out The Mentor Village Bakery case and our Menu Board for <light> and <traditional> breakfasts!
To the acknowledgments!
Mike at 9:21 AM yesterday: Most appropriate URLs and a Christmas Greeting - Love the Posters! Best of the season to you and yours, now and through 2007!
DL at 11:15 AM yesterday: Holiday posters from GB; fog update and Christmas Greetings! Always a pleasure to have you aboard and the best of 2007 to you and yours along with a Merry Christmas!
And there's no doubt, the smell of the "ozone" as the electric trains made their dutiful rounds is something embedded in the grey matter. Thanx for the reminder! <grin>
Lars at 2:06 PM yesterday: What a treat you provided for those of us still hanging in there! Great idea and most appropriate for the festive setting seen inside of "Our" Place! Thanx for being so supportive. [tu]
Rob at 11:46 - 11:48 - 11:55 PM yesterday: Formatting nightmare continues for some and through it all, you managed to make it back! Haven't got a suggestion to help you overcome this latest nonsense. Seems most of us have experienced a bit o' this ‘n that when it comes to logging in, formatting, absence of the tool bar, Pages that will not load and so forth.
CM3 sent an extremely interesting Email that I will share with most of you. He has offered some ideas for us to consider regarding the options we have when it comes to maintaining our communications, but elsewhere. Once the holidays pass by, I'll share them with those of you who have been interested enough to respond to the Emails sent.
Found your comments "right on" and it's nice to have you back with us. Snickering Moi Surely you jest!! <grin> Sorry, but you've been a most hit ‘n miss part-time employee ‘round the Saloon by the Siding, and more than one has wondered where you've been. BUT, we KNOW - if it isn't work, it's sleep and if not those two, trying to log on!
Nice ENCORE! with the Lake Erie & Northern.
Eric at 1:58 AM today: Yes, it IS difficult to accept Phoenix without a long distance passenger train connection. Wonder when the last one was
Ship some of those Swedish rolls into our kitchen! The gang would love ‘em. <grin>
Not surprised that people would complain about poor service aboard Amtrak. Considering that the organization has been on less than firm ground for decades, what kind of people wind up working for ‘em Not all, mind you, but my bet is that anyone looking for a serious career, isn't going to sign up with Amtrak. We see all kinds of supporting evidence for that postulate right here in mid-continent USA with the trains we have. It's indeed a rarity to come across a highly motivated employee. Some go through the motions, others could care less and every now ‘n then there's a "surprise" - someone who really gives a Rat's Patoot!
Also the time it took to get from Denver to Chicago - 27 hours - really doesn't seem that bad to me. We're hardly in an era where the times of the old "Zephyrs" can be replicated. Thirteen hours and five minutes in 1934!! Furthermore, people are so accustomed to traveling by air, that anything else is simply archaic - a mind set, fer sure, fer sure.
Doug at 6:37 AM today: Formatting Gremlin seems to have gotten you as well. Still, you're Post "made it" and appreciate the effort and material provided to those of us still hanging ‘round . . . . Really a shame to waste "original" material for so few - but we've been down that road before, eh <grin>
Sorry, but that SPAMALOT "thing" you Emailed to me just didn't load. Don't worry though, as mentioned several Pages back, we saw the live performance last month at our St. Louis Fox Theatre - so all's not lost. Thanx, anyway!
And the Southern Railway "lives" on here at the Bar by the Ballast! <grin. Nice work!
10,000th Post CONTEST entries (in order of submission):
Feb 14th - BK
Feb 15th - Lars
Mar 12th - Pete
Jan 1st - James
Jan 28th - Eric
Jan 18th - DL
Feb 8th - Doug
Jan 31st - Rob
Mar 15th - CM3
CONTEST closed YESTERDAY!
Reminder: Ruth opens up at 9 AM until Leon the night man comes in at 5 PM ‘til closing.
And, we will be CLOSED all day Sunday and Monday - Christmas Day! The bar will reopen for business at 6 AM (all times zones) on Tuesday, Dec 26th!!
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Good morning Tom and friends. I'll have a light breakfast and then join the millions of procrastinators who do all their holiday shopping at the last minute. Peter, thanks for the SR car info, and the hoghead definition. Things are so much easier to understand when beer is added to the equation. I'm working on a way to do that with our birthday list, and instead of coming-up with Lar's hat size, the results now reflect the amount of imperial (sounds classy!) gallons of beer that CM3 will consume on his upcoming natal day. As a reminder, that will be the 29th of this month. It was either DL or Eric who asked a while ago what "LCL" stood for. It's an acronym for "less than a car load". In other words, less freight than a railroad car is capable of hauling, therefore more than one shipper is used to fill out all the available room. The term "LTL" refers to "less than a truck load", and similarly applies to trucking. Nice couple of old nostalgic adds from leader Tom yesterday. I don't have any comments about our Metra problems here. As usual, it's always in the best interest of the company to blame a single individual (the engineer) rather than admit there is more than one area in need of attention. Same goes for airway disasters. The equipment and maintenance are fine, and the pilot is automatically guilty, and usually isn't even around to defend himself. Wonderful post from DL yesterday, and then an incredible post from CM3 on Berkshires and roundhouse cats. Really excellent stuff, sir. Quite the narrative yesterday from friend Rob, and all the holiday train adds from Tom were a welcome sight. Enjoyed manger Lars' holiday bookcovers. Rob, don't know if the IRM snatched your trolley bus. It's possible, but there are also several other places in Illinois that could have been interested. One of these days, I need to get down to Monticello, and see the train museum there. Sorry you couldn't see the last page on your computer. Hopefully the contents will resurface for you later in the form of an ENCORE. Thanks for yours by the way. And now, for something completely different .....
"Piggyback - Southern style" combines the best of rail and the best of road in one convenient package. Trailers picked up and delivered by truck are loaded two to a specially cushioned 85-foot flat car like this for rapid, dependable city-to-city movement by rail. Southern's rail-highway service is fast, flexible, convenient, and kind to the pocketbook. On this car you see two varieties of Southern's rail-highway equipment - both 40-foot aluminum trailers. One is a closed, mechanically-refrigerated van for shipping meat, frozen foods, or fresh produce; the other is an open-top trailer, with waterproof cover for freight that needs both weather protection and the convenience of open-top loading. Transfer from rail to highway - and visa versa - can be made at one of Southern's overhead transfer cranes or loading and unloading ramps. You'll find them strategically located throughout Southern's 8,200 miles of railway - always conveniently close to main highways and main-line tracks. Trailers and containers move out on Southern's fastest trains. Yes, trailers and containers. We have other varieties and sizes of rail-highway equipment. We'll load on the wheels or off, our own trailers and containers or a shipper's equipment. We will lease equipment to him if that serves his need best. The service is geared to usefulness and to meeting a shipper's individual needs for rapid transportation and a flexible distribution pattern.
Southern has aluminum rail-highway containers designed to meet a variety of needs for shipment of freight in carload and less-carload lots. Light, strong, easy to load and unload, the containers come in four convenient lengths. The forty-foot length is standard in Southern's rail-highway service. Those in the twenty-foot, ten-foot and five-foot lengths are for less-carload freight and other special uses. All provide the same convenience and security. Loaded and locked by the shipper, picked up and delivered by truck, the containers are handled to and from rail flatcars by overhead cranes at Southern's rail-highway transfer points. They can be loaded on a flatcar in any combination of lengths that add up to 80 feet. Count the advantages; Platform to platform convenience, the flexibility of truck pickup and delivery, dependable all-weather city-to-city movement by rail, no intermediate handling of packages to lose time and risk loss or damage. It all adds up to new dimensions of usefulness to our customers, especially in the handling of merchandise freight.
New automobiles ride in style on Southern's tri-level auto carriers like this one. Maybe your new car did. If so, you and the manufacturer saved money on transportation costs, thanks to the high carrying capacity of these cars and Southern's way of speeding them safely through modern yards. The car is almost 90 feet long. Basically it's an all-steel flatcar underframe on which is mounted a three-level steel rack that will hold twelve standard sedans and station wagons, or fifteen of the new compact cars. How do they get the cars on and off at the various levels? By using adjustable ramps at loading or unloading points. Tie-down chains hold the automobiles in place in transit. The car is equipped with 70-ton trucks and roller bearings, plus a cushioning device to absorb any jolts in transit. We want your new car to reach your dealer in tip-top-shape. Southern has two other types of automobile carriers for use where overhead clearances are a problem. One is a two-level rack car about the length of this car and the other is a tri-level car much like this one but with the added feature of an adjustable rack. Another example of volume transportaion by rail that saves you money.
Call this one "The Big Boy" if you wish. Lots of people do, If you think it's the largest box car you've ever seen, we agree with you. We believe it's the biggest box car ever built. It's so long that it has to have skylights in its roof to admit light in the car interior near the ends. It will hold more than a hundred hogheads of tobacco and is adaptable to other light bulky freight. Here are some dimensions: The over-all length over the lading protecting Super Cushion is 92 feet, the inside length is almost 85 feet, interior is 9 ½ feet wide and nearly 12 feet high at the center. There's about 10,000 cubic feet of space for light bulky loads. It has all the easy loading wide-door characteristics needed for the kind of freight it is intended to haul. Why was it built? Southern had lost much of its leaf tobacco business and wanted the business back. It looked into the reasons for the loss and learned that it was because we didn't have the right freight car. Other modes of transportation could move tobacco at less cost than we. A big, a very big car was needed. Southern built it. Shippers helped us test it. The results: More traffic back on the railroad. More transportation cost-savings for shippers.
Here's a rolling refrigerator that plays a role in getting frozen foods to your fa
Good morning Captain Tom and all present this early morning!!
Hello Boris, are you still awake? No thanks, I pass this time.
Back again after missing last night. It was after midnight when I was done baking some typical Swedish rolls for Christmas and I was too tired to start reading the posts. Instead I read them all tonight, or this morning to be more correct! As usual a lot of interesting reading and pictures!
Tom – Nice posts about Christmas trains. I saw on the news this morning that people taking Amtrak to get out of out of Denver (stranded at the airport) were not very happy. I think it took 27 hours to Chicago and they claimed the service on board was very poor. I like the ad for Santa Fe! Take Santa Fe to Phoenix! If you are a hobo you still can. Thinking about it, it is amazing a city like Phoenix does not have any passenger service on rail any more!We had only 50 degrees for high today and it was raining most of the day. That is winter enough for me. CM3 – It seems like you got the same kind of problems I had with this forum, unable to edit the mashed posts! I don’t know if Kalmbach’s programmer(s) is in control of what they are doing. I doubt it.Chester sounds like it was good place to be during the festival and maybe still is (depending on CSX). No more Conrail trains running through Chester. I have copied and printed out your info about B & A line for future use when I go to Maine and Boston in 2008. Thank you for the story about Rouses Point! I could feel the heat from the stove and smell the coffee! I will show your post to my wife, she will love the part about the cats!
While you still could see Conrail on B & A!DL – I think the fact that those camping coaches still are sitting on a track in a (disused) freight yard makes them even better! The owner is right about the size of a sleeper compartment, it is too small if you are going to stay several days.I saw on the news about the fog in UK. But you can always take the train, fog or not!Interesting info on the Budd car. It must have been built to the more narrow clearance profile for the British railways.Nice Christmas posters! I even saw some pictures from Norway.Lars – Yes, you are right about addictive gidgets and gadgets. I am very addicted to the computer and let it take too much of my time. I try to stay out of the den at least one day/week.Nice Christmas book covers and posters! It gives me a feeling that Christmas is coming soon!Mike – Thanks for the pictures! I especially liked the one from Palmer with the train passing across the diamond. And, of course the ad for the Water Level Route!Rob – Sorry to hear that you too are having problems with this forum and its format. I wonder if and when Kalmbach will get things in order? Interesting story about Lake Erie & Northern! I understand that the freight service is still running today, right? Time to hit the sack. This Saturday I have to finish my Christmas shopping and I am not looking forward to do the shopping. It will most likely be very crowded.
Eric
trolleyboy wrote:Okay part two of the condensed versions of CP's ontario electrics CLASSIC JUICE #18 THE LAKE ERIE & NORTHERN The LE&N was a late commer as far as electric lines in Ontario go. It was concieved in 1910 to run from Galt to Port Dover, in an attenmpt by the CPR to develope a ferry connection to cross Lake Erie. It's route took it through Galt and along the East bank og the Grand River to Paris , where it passed under the GT. It then proceeded south through Brantford to Waterford,where it crossed the TH&B and the Canda Southern ( NYC) on a high level bridge. From here it angled to the southeasterly to Simcoe amd then to Port Dover on Lake Erie where it originallu used the GT station until permission to do this was withdrawn. LE&N was a 1500v line using poles not pans as the L&PS did. They used a brick CPR plan station at Mount Pleasant and in Paris, and for Port Dover they used an international plane station similar to the GRR's at Galt. The LE&N shared the GRR's Galt station ( passenger could transfer easily line to line as both were CPR properties ). At Glen Morris they used an old stone house ( still there today ) while in Brantford they used an impressive two level station,with street entraanc above for cars ans the tracks below ( Market street on the Grand river now a parking garage for the Casino )This station was shared with the Brantford and Hamilton Radial railway ( classic juice #4 ) Which was a chore as the B&H ws a 600v line so only one company could have their cars in the station at a time,the overhead in the station could be switched powerwise depending on who was using it at the time. Besides 14 station stops the LE&N also served 35 flag stops along their route. ( small lean to shelters only ) Unlike the hourly service used by the GRR, the LE&N ran every two hours. In 1950 CPR applied for discontinuance of passenger service buit were refused.When this happened they (CPR) altered the timetable and built in inconvienient connections with the GRR and TH&B etc. The passemger counts then of coarse declined imediatly and abandonment was granted in 1955. According to CPR practice most stations and flag stops were removed only the Mount pleasant and Port Dover stations survive.After passenger servive was discontinued electric freight operations did continue for a time. The line between simcoe and Port Dover was abandoned in 1962,the line between Branyford and Waterford in 1965 ( bcame a TH&B line then washed out in the 70's ) The sections between Galt and Brantford and Waterford and Simcoe lasted until the 1990's when they were finally abandioned. The freight service was deisilized after 1961and all overhead was taken down. You can see most of the ROW from Brantford to Galt and Paris along HWY 24. Unlike the GRR 90% of the LE&N's roling stock was wood interurbans passenger and combine cars. Like the GRR all were mu capable and they ran 32 to six car trains depending on the passenger levels. Only combine car 797 survives today ( Preston Car and Coach built in 1917 ) it is currently under restoration at our museum. Enjoy Rob
These special Posts will be provided thru Saturday to help keep us in the proper spirit! . . . . . . . . . . CHRISTMAS RR TRAVEL #5 of 8 . . . . . . . . . . Here is an advertisement for Christmas holiday travel retyped from a 1950 advertisement in my private collection:
. . . . . . . . . . Merry Christmas from all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on your New York Central overnighter . . . . . . . WHEN GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, Delay you can't afford. So take the train. For, storm or rain, I'll still say, "ALL ABOARD!" Your N.Y.C. Conductor . . . . . SEASONS GREETINGS!" Come in and dine. . . . . . No other travel has meals as fine. . . . . . The varied, fresh-cooked food's a treat, . . . . . And you can sight-see while you eat! . . . . . Your N.Y.C. Diner Crew MY GIFT TO YOU is perfect rest. Your big, soft bed's the very best. So sleep, and wake up fresh next day. You're traveling world's safest way! Your N.Y.C. Pullman Porter . . . . . THE BEST OF HOLIDAY GOOD CHEER . . . . . And sociability are here. . . . . . Enjoy refreshments, relaxation . . . . . Aboard your Central observation. . . . . . Your N.Y.C. Club Car Steward WHITE CHRISTMAS in a song is swell. But when you plan to travel - well, If you'd be certain to arrive, Best go by train, and let me drive! Your N.Y.C. Engineer PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY HOME-COMING ON NEW YORK CENTRAL'S GREAT FLEET OF DIESELINERS . . . . . . . . . . GIFT IDEA! A TRIP HOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ask your New York Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ticket agent about arranging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tickets and reservations as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . your gift to a parent or youngster, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . brother or sister away from home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York Central . . . . . . . . . . The Water Level-Route - You Can Sleep Enjoy! Tom
G'day Cap'n Tom & fellow travelers at the bar!
Ruth, a frosty mug of Piels, a Larsman 'special' - hero sandwich with ham, Swiss, mustAHd 'n buttAH, two pickles from the barrel, a saucer of brine for Tex, seeds for Awk, ice cubes for Frostbite and a small jar of pickled pig's feet for Boris! <phew> Oh yeah, a round for the house and keep the change . . .
Nice Urls from Mike 'n DL and a fine narrative from CM3 I'm NOT Shane! (in spite of the formatting difficulties!). Merry Christmas to you three and a most Happy New Year!
Tom, I realy like those Christmas railroad travel ads and permit me to add my own "twist" to the posts for the season:
I hope to make it back later on, but if not, tomorrow for sure. I have more of the above to post!
Received your Email, Tom, and I'll get something out after the holidays. Appreciate your keeping all of us apprised.
Until the next time!
Lars
. . . . . . . . . . CHRISTMAS RR TRAVEL #3 of 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE PULLMAN COMPANY . . . . . . . . . .
Here is an advertisement for Christmas holiday travel retyped from a 1948 advertisement in my private collection: . . . . . . . . . . Christmas Cargo . . . . . . . . . They'll be home for Christmas! There are miles of snow and mountains ahead. But this family will spend their night before Christmas snug and secure in their Pullman compartment. They bring gifts for her folks back home. But his greatest gift to that proud Grandfather and Grandmother will be the sight of their first grandchild. He'll be home for Christmas! He's a hard working trouble-shooter for his company, and business almost kept him away for Christmas. But there'll be no disappointments in this father's house tomorrow morning. Traveling Pullman, he and his presents will arrive safe and sound right in the heart of town, just a stones' throw from Christmas at home. She'll be home for Christmas! "Dear Mother and Dad," she wrote. "I'll be home for Christmas with a straight "A" for the quarter. Don't you think that deserves going Pullman?" It does and it did. But more important, her mother and father will sleep as soundly tonight as she will, knowing she's traveling the safest, most comfortable way to be home for Christmas. . . . . . To be sure you'll be home for Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Go Pullman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE SAFEST, MOST COMFORTABLE WAY TO GET THERE! Enjoy! Tom
Hi Tom and all in
Yep, well I think this'll be the last post I guess, I'll take a pint of Kimberley Bitter whilst I'm in.
Nice info from CM3 on the D&H enjoyed reading that.
Mike - some nice links - esp enjoyed the Water Level Route ads - very evocative!
Tom - yes, you need to keep details like that off the ether - new years resolution for me - sort my e-mail!
Well, fog's not lifted here, darkness has fallen and there's more than few characters spilling out of bars and such like having had one too many of the seasonal stuff!
Might end the day with a trip down the station to see what's going on on the rails.
Meanwhile I'll sign off with some links to seasonal posters, UK style:
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10174913&wwwflag=2&imagepos=8
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10174982&wwwflag=2&imagepos=5
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10175715&wwwflag=2&imagepos=7
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10174920&wwwflag=2&imagepos=3
Best wishes to all the regulars and your families etc, been a pleasure to meet you all this year. When the 25th rolls round and you're opening your gifts etc, hark back to the feel of your first train set, try hard and you'll probably be able to conjure up the very smell of the cardboard packaging, however many years ago that was, and if it was electric - the smell of that 12v motor springing into life!
All the best, see you in 2007
DL
Friday at the Saloon by the Siding. Winter has arrived, according to the calendar the Winter Solstice is upon us. Skies here in mid-continent USA are blue and forecasts are for temps in the 40s (F), with no precipitation anticipated for the next several days. <bah humbug!> ‘Tis time to start the day with a steaming mug of our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. Then check out The Mentor Village Bakery case and our Menu Board for <light> and <traditional> breakfasts!
CM3 at 8:49 AM yesterday: Lionel trains were made for not only watching, but for listening. No matter what the position, upright, sitting on the floor, or "belly down" (as you put it) they were terrific to enjoy while passing those days of our youth.
My guess is we'll not be seeing you this weekend, therefore, a Merry Christmas to you and yours along with a Happy 2007! Give the K9 Corps some treats on "Our" Place! <grin>
DL at 11:32 AM yesterday: Hope you and yours have the happiest of holidays as the Christmas season gears up. Happy 2007 too!
Our Canada trip has been scheduled; all that remains to be done is to get going! Should your plans change, let me know and I'll share the dates with you. However, Email is the preferred method as I'm not for putting the details of personal activities into the Ether.
Lars at 4:23 PM yesterday: Another "day saving" Post from the Larsman! Thanx for keeping us afloat during these looooooooong and lonely times. Figure you'll be soon amongst those shutting down the keyboards in favor of more productive and hopefully happy times ahead!
Looking forward to anything you come up with regarding the trains from your youth!
DL at 5:42 AM today: Back again! Didn't expect to see ya, but appreciate the visit. Fog bound in GB, eh I enjoyed your thoughts regarding the situation as applied to the rails. Seems rather similar to what we experience from time to time over here. Not the fog, but the rush to the rails when the weather creates havoc for the airline industry. Then the chagrin sets in when the realization hits home that we simply do not have trains running "every which way" to accommodate one and all, irrespective of schedules and capability of course.
Many thanx for the article on the "Silver Princess" by Budd. It wasn't until I began interacting at this bar with liked-minded souls that I learned of the connection between the U.S. and GB regarding the Budd manufactured passenger cars. Same for the Pullman Company. Oh how easy it is to be introspective, eh Really appreciate the ‘stuff' you share with us.
CM3 at 8:00 AM today: Great to see ya, didn't expect to. Formatting difficulties I see. Nevertheless, a fine ENCORE! essay regarding those D&H locos, et al! Many thanx - well worth the read, fer sure, fer sure!
Many THANX for keeping us in mind as mornings won't be quite the same 'til we see ya again!
CONTEST closes TODAY!!
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle!
Tom
Hi all
Thanks for those seasonal advert postings Tom!
Light breakfast for me today, with a quick entry on the Budd ‘Silver Princess'
This is extract from Modern Railways, June 1963 page 416, a UK railway magazine. Taking a leaf out of Doug's book I have transcribed the following caption which appears against 2 pictures.
"Still active on the London Midland Region of British Railways is the prototype stainless steel coach, built by the Budd Co of Philadelphia USA and demonstrated in this country (the UK) by Pressed Steel in 1947. It first saw service on the east coast route, but was later taken out of use. It returned to work on the LMR in July 1956, after modification. Repainted in BR livery, it became the "Ulster Lunge" on the "Ulster Express", with its first class compartments removed and replaced by a lounge bar, and its former third class saloon, with pivoted reclining seats, up-graded to first class. The coach is now running on the LMR "Shamrock" express, in which it was photographed at London Euston on April 15 1963"
The east coast route referred to means London to Edinburgh. The Shamrock express and Ulster express are probably trains run in connection with boat services to Northern Ireland. Pressed Steel was a UK private car building company (as opposed to a railway owned car builder - I use the word ‘car' in the US sense).
Pivoted reclining seats would be very rare in the UK, esp. in a Third Class seating area!
The picture before modification shows it in typical Budd stainless style finish, the rebuilt version shows it in BR maroon carriage livery, the ridged style of the lower body side stainless steel is lost, so perhaps that was re-built. I suspect this was an attempt by Pressed Steel to get a licence from Budd for stainless cars to be built in the UK if BR would buy them. Instead BR settled on its own BR Mark 1 Carriage design, which was very successful, and was essentially sheet steel construction on a steel frame (not stainless). It was probably the non standard nature of this Budd car that resulted in it being selected for conversion to a lounge car. Intrigues me as to what ever happened to it.....(over to you Pete to search your archive railway magzines....)
Festive gretings
Incidentally - the whole of the UK has been fog bound for several days and not due to lift for a few more days (!) - all very like Dickensian. Rather amusingly the airline industry has gone into melt down and of course people are taking to the trains in droves at what is a busy time (but there isn't the spare capacity on the railway that there should be, and little scope for lengthening the trains, with disused cars locked up in depots not fit to run (it's not just Amtrak guys). Here's the message on the National Railway website - good to know the steel wheel can take the strain! Lets raise a glass to the railway men and women (and their colleagues around the world) who will work darn hard over the next few days to shift these folk to where they want to go!
Form UK National Rail:
Disruption is expected at most UK airports on Friday 22 December due to heavy fog. British Airways have cancelled all UK domestic services on Friday 22 December from London Heathrow. There is currently disruption to flights to and from Cardiff, Norwich, Gatwick, Coventry, Bristol and Southampton airports, as well as London Heathrow. Please ensure that you check with your travel company before starting your journey, using the telephone numbers on the 'Further Information' page or as given in your travel documentation Customers using Eurostar services from Waterloo International and Ashford International are advised to allow extra time for collecting tickets due to increased passenger numbers when using the Eurostar instead of flying and should contact Eurostar on 08705 186 186 or visit www.eurostar.com Customers without tickets should contact Eurostar before starting their journey as tickets may not be available for sale for all services Customers wishing to travel on long distance train services today are STRONGLY ADVISED to purchase tickets in advance and to make seat reservations as all services are expected to be extremely busy (*see important note regarding Virgin Trains services). Customers that already hold tickets can make seat reservations at their nearest staffed station, this can normally be done up to 2 hours before the train starts on its journey from its origin station. *Virgin West Coast services operating between London Euston and Manchester / Liverpool / Birmingham and Wolverhampton are now closed for reservations on Friday 22nd December and until 13.00 on Saturday 23 December. Customers not holding reservations wishing to travel on Virgin West Coast services will be conveyed on a first-come first-served basis Extra Trains are running on Friday 22 December
Ruth, set 'em up and I'll have a frosty mug of Schaefer's finest brew! Slide the snack tray down my way, wudja Ah yes, snacks for the critters and a small jar of pickled pig's feet for our resident cloven-footed-cyclops, Boris! <grin>
All this talk about rail trips, bars and upcoming holidays just makes me want to "get it on"! <grin> It's THAT time of year, huh Really "dig" those Christmas RR travel ads from our 'steamed Proprietor! If they don't make a train lover want to climb aboard, nothing will.
Thanks for the email regarding your Canada rail trips in May. Yes, that IS a busy month and I surely hope that somehow Canada or St. Louis figures into my travel plans! Really want to meet up with "youse guys"!
An overnight shipment for your replacement keyboard! Sounds like a "winnAH" of a warranty plan that you have. But I DO know the exasperation that goes with having to put up with these clowns who pretend to be "us" all the while located in a faraway land of not only language differences, but cultural as well. Makes for all kinds of interesting dialogue! Been there, done that, too many times with other products. I doubt that we have very many U.S. centered tech services for things electronic. Oh well . . . .
So, we're winding down a bit as the big day approaches, but that's ok. The staff will be here for all of you for tonight's bill o' fare: Fish 'n Chips 'til mid-night. Since we're at a loss for a Chief Chef or his assistant, the H&H gals will be doing the chores . . . <uh-oh>
Tomorrow it's Pizza 'n Beer along with Steak & Fries Night! Then Saturday it's just plain Steam with all the trimmings. is served at 5 PM 'til mid-night.
And of course, there will be NO breakfast, brunch or lunch this Sunday, as the place will be CLOSED tighter 'n a tick (as Tom likes to say!).
One of these days I'm gonna put forth some pix of my Lionel and American Flyer stuff. Nice work from Da Boss on his childhood Lionel trains. I saw a couple of short news blurbs on the tube indicating a resurgence in the purchase of electric trains. The clips I viewed showed some fine looking Lionel stuff, but all on that new track system, what' s it called FasTrack, I think. Anyway, perhaps there is hope for the future! Anything to get the kids away from the gidget 'n gadgets that are not only addictive (and we all KNOW that, huh) but oh so costly. Nothing beats a train going 'round 'n 'round the Christmas tree.
Let me add my Merry Christmas greetings and Happy New Year to all who are planning to be away for awhile.
By the by, THANX to Pete for stopping over at Tom's "other thread"!! Way to go!
Ruth, one more if you please, then I'm heading for the back door and jog on over to the "other thread" before the Mrs. finds out where I am!
. . . . . . . . . . . CHRISTMAS RR TRAVEL #2 of 8 . . . . . . . . . . Here is an advertisement for Christmas holiday travel retyped from a 1948 advertisement in my private collection: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HOLIDAY HOMECOMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's nothing quite so pleasant as coming home again . . . Especially when it's "home for Christmas" . . . and when you take the train! This is the happy season when Pennsylvania Railroad's great fleets of trains between East and West, North and South, assume a particularly festive air. By Pullman, by coach, joyous families are going to visit the folks at home - carefree, or comfortable, relaxed as they speed on their way. For your holiday travels Pennsylvania Railroad offers a wide choice of daily trains . . . . conveniently scheduled to fit your plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enjoy! Tom
Hello all
I'll have a Bateman's mild please, plus something convenient from the food selection. Gonna be scarce soon because going to be away from the ‘puter for much of Christmas and new year, but never fear - as I'm heading to the Dorset Coast in Southern England - where I will be able to ride on the Swanage Railway a few times. See:
http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/
This is a preserved steam line that Pete has mentioned in the past. I'm looking forward to few rides in classic era caches behind steam power and I'll be making the most of it!
Just going back to the Theme Day - certainly enjoyed the Southern Contributions, some great pictures Mike (esp liked the Semaphore shot and the classic era cars on show in the ‘Traffic Stopper' pic).
BK - good wishes for your travels, by the way.
James - yes, as Pete says steam heated carriages are a thing of the past on the main line here in the UK - although I read recently that the last steam heated stock ran as recently as about 1988/89 in Scotland. Your mention of the Bluebell Railway is correct - this is a preserved line operating on a former part of the Southern Railway of England (as indeed is the Swanage Railway). The Bluebell is recreated as it would have been in the 1930s period, with SR locos and coaches being the mainstay of the stock they use.
Doug - interesting articles on Tobacco and Cotton etc.
Eric - you asked about those camping coaches I linked to. In fact they are former 1960s built first class day carriages with compartments and the side corridor European style. The chap who runs the place lives in the old station building (depot?) (trains still run to the location) and the cars are parked in the disused freight yard. In each car he has taken out the furnishings in a couple of compartments to make a kitchen area and dining area, in other compartments he has removed seats on one side to replace them with 2 bunks leaving the seat on the other side for sitting on. I asked him why he had not used a sleeper but he said he felt the compartments were too small if people were staying for several days on holiday. As many original features from the cars have been retained where possible, and the whole things is presented very nicely (spotlessly clean for example). Pub close by if you don't want to cook for yourself whilst staying.
Tom - Canada trip invite - very tempting. I think I may use my hols next year to travel to Toronto to visit relatives and then take in the ONR line to Hudson's bay as prev discussed here.
I know I need to get my e-mail sorted, but last week I've not even had a 'phone as the provider messed up when fixing a neighbours line and crossed the two over - then told me a week would be as quick as they could fix it! Mind you, kind of pleasant not being able to be disturbed by callers!
Both yourself (Tom) and Pete asked about the Budd Silver Princess - well I've had a good web search and not come up with anything (‘Silver' and ‘Princess' are not uncommon words which hardly helps). It maybe that info on this car never made it to the web and the thing is long forgotten. What I'll do is copy the text from the magazine for info and post later. The car in the picture is silver body style as you would be familiar with - one half 1st class compartments, 1 half 3rd Class (UK had no second class for many years - another story), what we call a ‘Corridor Composite Carriage'. Body side script ‘Silver Princess' along the side of the car on the lower panel. Familiar corrugated stainless steel lower body side in the ‘Budd' style.
Pete - thanks for your recollections of the Far north line - behind an 8F - nice!
Finally, there has been some mention of Signalling and semaphores recently so I thought I'd lost this link to a rather interesting site on UK signalling with lots of classic era info. No doubt worthy of a them day sometime but in the mean time worth a look:
http://www.signalbox.org/branches.shtml
Cheerio
. . . . . . . . . . CHRISTMAS RR TRAVEL #1 of 8 . . . . . . . . . . Here is an advertisement for Christmas holiday travel retyped from a 1937 advertisement in my private collection: Enjoy the Christmas Holidays at SUN VALLEY Opening of the New Challenger Inn Combining economy with all the Winter Sports of Sun Valley. Modest rates for rooms - popular prices for meals - accommodations for 400 - all in a "mountain village." Warm water swimming pool - motion picture theatre - two restaurants including unique night club - shops for all your needs. Sun Valley Lodge Living at its best! Continental service and comforts. A matchless cuisine. Rooms for single or double occupancy, and suites. Accommodations for 250 guests. American plan. Nothing like it anywhere else - long, timber free ski runs, deep "powder" snow, brilliant summer sun - skiing stripped to the waist - sleighing in bright moonlight, skating, swimming in warm water open-air pools - the perfect Christmas holidays. . . . . . . . . . . INTERCOLLEGIATE SKI MEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dartmouth College - University of Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SUN VALLEY, DECEMBER 29 to JANUARY 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ONLY UNION PACIFIC SERVES SUN VALLEY . . . . . For information and Union Pacific representatives in principal cities or write or wire . . . . . . . . . . K.M. SINGER . . . . . . . . . . W.S. BASINGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gen'l Mgr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.T.M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sun Valley, . . . . . . . . . . . Union Pacific R.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Omaha, Nebr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE PROGRESSIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UNION PACIFIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SERVES ALL THE WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enjoy! Tom
Thursday and more gloomy weather here in mid-continent USA! But, all is bright here at the Tavern by the Tracks and it's time to start the day with a steaming mug of our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. Then check out The Mentor Village Bakery case and our Menu Board for <light> and <traditional> breakfasts!
Appreciate the continuing support in reference to the Emails - thanx! It is most evident who amongst you really supports all this bar is about!
Acknowledgments since my last narrative:
Lars at 3:40 PM yesterday: Thanx for saving the day as it appeared we were heading towards another daylight shutout! <grin> But our Larsman came through once again! You certainly are one of the pillars of this place and it shows!
We too are "ready" for the Jolly ole Elf to come down the chimney. Just hope Juneau doesn't get to him before he works his "magic"!
Given that we may have dwindling business the closer we get to the "big day" let me wish you and your Mrs. a Merry Christmas and Happy 2007!
Doug at 6:29 PM yesterday: To recreate that Lionel train set in today's dollars would break the bank in my Haus, fer sure, fer sure. Seems to be that these days auctions and the like are outta sight with many hoping to make a killing on stuff that heretofore was simply relegated to sitting in boxes up in the attic or down in the basement. Such is life, eh Anyway, I had seriously thought about trying to find and reassemble not only that set, but the additional cars and loco added along the way. Came to the realization that I haven't got a place for it to run nor a true desire to get into toy trains - especially now that I have the S-Capades layout. That'll do for the rest of my days . . . .
I'm considering an access arrangement for the Can-Am Trainroom beer fridge. Perhaps a combination lock - or maybe a voice activated "box" with a special code phrase - or just Boris standing guard!
The "Big John" Southern Railway "stuff" surely provides ‘nother dimension to this week's Tuesday Theme. Nice going!
Pete at 10:59 PM yesterday: First ‘n foremost, hope you and your bride have a safe trip to southwest Missouri and a most Merry Christmas and Happy 2007!
I shudda tried that idea of yours regarding the keyboard - never gave it a thought! <grin> Amazing thing happened with my request for tech support - they are shipping me a new keyboard via overnight express - should be here today. Pays to have a maintenance contract. That's the good news - the bad news is that it took me about 45 minutes to get to the point where the "outsourced" TechRep FINALLY figured out what to do. <arghhhhhhhhhhhhh>
Hogheads - I NEVER knew! <grin> But figures it would be in measurements of beer!!
I share those same sentiments regarding not only St. Louis' Union Station but all of the great edifices of past railroading days. Just to take in the sights and imagine what it once was like . . . . We've discussed this several times in KCity's Union Station. Good thoughts . . .
Thanx for the inclusive and most informative Post - we'll miss those while you're gone. And a special THANX for your continuing support for the bar and "my other Thread"!
Eric at 12:54 AM today: I think once you see St. Louis' Union Station in May, it will be pretty much the same as you recall. It's a marvelous structure and one that was refurbished in fine fashion - no expense spared to restore the place to a close semblance to what it once was. Only thing is, they failed to permit operating passenger trains in it! But, we've kicked that ‘round many a time here at the bar, eh
Wish you and your bride a Merry Christmas and Happy 2007 should we not see you ‘til afterwards . . . Appreciate your continuing support for "Our" Place! [tup
CONTEST closes on Fri, Dec 22nd
Good morning Captain Tom and all present!!
Nice to see you again Boris! Yeah, just a cup of coffee, thank you! Kepp the change!
More to learn about Southern Railway today! As I said before, the only thing (basically) I knew about SR before these last two days was that the train, Crescent Limited, was a SR train.
Doug – I learned something new again tonight, the story about the Big Boy car! So it was SR that created it. Quite a difference in size compared with a standard box car. I guess it could take 96 hogheads, not 964. Big John is also an impressive car! CM3 – Chester, MA, I have written down the name of the place. A plce to visit next time I am in the northeast. B & A line is an interesting line with beautiful views. Maybe they will put back a second track sometime in the future? Tom – Mr Claytor was the president of Amtrak when they leased the X2000 and he loved to ride it whenever he had a chance. Doing so he spent a lot of time in the cab where I was all the time. As I said before, he was a very nice man. Lucky you! You could at least could recreate your first train set. I barely remember what mine looked like. Steam engine (of course) and some passenger and freight cars. That is it (and an oval of course)! You had a very nice train set, very nice indeed! All freight? At least I still have my first model train set from 1955. Lars – I am going to have next week off so I will pay some visits to Tom’s “other thread” and post some stuff then. Good idea! Pete – I agree 100%, signals is a very interesting topic! During the few years I actually had a working layout for all my model trains I spent a lot of time building a signalling system that worked the same way as on the big roads. I’ll try to find out if even the second V1 is still around. I think there used to be 32 tracks going in to Union Station, St. Louis. A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to You too!!!
No tracks in sight!
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of the Holdens Special please LEON, I believe DOUG has got the round in.
I was going to post this morning as I knew I would be out this afternoon but I had no internet connection at all .
ERIC Great pic of the minature semaphores. I think Doug posted some of the signalling equipment that is at the IRM a while back.
It is an interesting topic, the different signals used by the different railways. On BR the small signals to control shunting movements were known as Ground Signals, an old style was minature semaphore arms, then it was a round disc with a red stripe across the center, in the ON position the stripe was horizontal, when the signal was OFF the disc rotated so the stripe was at 45 degress. the signal had red and green lenses illuminated by a lamp at night.To indicate the different routes controlled by the signal, each route had its own signal, these were mounted on the same post on top of each other.
It is good to know that a V1 is still operational .
DOUG I think you will make Tom very happy with the offer to recycle those magazines.
Interesting post on the Southern Railway Big Boy and Big John freight cars. I never knew a Hogshead was a measure of tobacco, 94 of them was a large load and pretty valuable I would think.
In the UK a hogshead is a measure of beer a hogshead contains 54 Imperial gallons. The Railwayman's Arms on Brignorth staion on the Severn Valley Railway has the Bathams Bitter in hogsheads, most of the beer in pubs is in Barrels, 36 gallons.
I wonder if many of the All Door Box Cars were built, they certainly seem good idea.
CM3 Great post. Do you know what events they have at the annual rail festival at Chester?
I have had a look at the Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town branch, the journey time is 3 minutes.
LARS Good to see you in.
As you say,can anyone with an interest in Classic Trains do any better than to visit Our Place. I know when I go back through the pages to look for something for an encore, I very often get engrossed in the great info that is there. I know when I first visited Our Place I had such little knowledge of the Railroads and trolleys of North America it has been a wonderful and fun way to learn.I really do regret not seeing the great days of the N. American passenger trains at first hand but the posts at Our Place give a real feel of what it was like.
TOM I can't understand your problem with the 6 just turn the keyboard round and use the 9 .
One of the things that really struck me when I was at Union Station at St Louis was the number of tracks that there must have been going in to the station, I have now seen photos of the station in its working days.
Thanks for sharing the Lionel PRR 6-8-6 set they certainly are classic models, the detail on the Bucyrus Crane Car is amazing.
Sorry I am late with this, but we may be leaving earlier tomorrow and in case I don't get to the bar I would like to wish all at Our Place A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS INDEED.
Pete
Good evening Tom and gents! I'll have a Schlitz, from the back of the "discontinued beers" vault, and buy a round for the house. Quite a bit of great material, as usual from all our patrons. I really got a kick out of CM3's comments. I couldn't believe that someone here knew about the SR "Ties" magazines, and remembered all the unique cars that the Southern developed. I'll share the "Big John" which CM3 mentioned in a bit. I'll have to look for L&N magazines too. Tom, thanks for generous offer of magazines to take home from the 2nd Rendezvous. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have (assuming I can still see after raiding the beer fridge). Cool camping coaches Eric. Peter, don't think of taking Al stuff as "borrowing". Think of it as recycling. I'm glad you thought to do it. AL put up a lot of information here. I don't believe I mentioned BK's pretty Southern pix. Very nice indeed, and I caught that remark about my "jokes". That's ok. The more they get slammed, the more there will be ... so just keep it up! Great to see manager Lars on this fine day. Didn't see him volunteer his hat size though. Excellent Lionel pix Tom. How much money do you think it would take to duplicate your first trainset today? Must be a bunch!
And now, here's a little more Southern stuff:
Meet Big John - This lightweight aluminum-body covered hopper is a freight rate reducer that lowers the cost of living for everyone who eats biscuits, bread, poultry and eggs. It's a big car for a big job - the giant economy size. Designed by Southern to carry 100 tons and more of grain, corn and other vulk commodities, it holds twice as much as the cars ordinarily used for hauling grain. Compare its size with the 50-ton hopper and the 70-ton hopper on either side.
Big John squeezes the waste out of transportation cost and the benefits are felt in the pocketbooks of the consuming public. With this car doing the job of two cars, there is only one car to switch, instead of two. Move them in groups of 5, 10, or 20, on one waybill with the requirement that shippers must quickly load and unload them, and spectacular, almost unbelievable, savings in transportation costs are generated.
Big John has other advantages beyond its large carrying capacity Four separate compartments can hold four different kinds of grain in a single car without mixing. Loading is a breeze through the twelve roof hatches. Unloading through the eight hopper doors is as easy and simple as pulling the stopper out of a bathtub.
Big John is the main reason Southern can reduce its grain freight rates as much as 65 per cent on grain moving into and within the Southeast, and make a handsome profit at the same time. The savings add up to an estimated $37 million annually in the Southeast alone. That causes pleasant sensations in the pocketbook area for farmers who raise grain, for grain shippers and users, for poultrymen, cattle raisers, dairymen, feed and flour mills - and, most importantly, the family budget. It's a happy circumstance that Southern also realizes a handsome profit on the lower rates.
Big John is a striking example of how modern railroad technology can work for you - bringing you important savings in transportation costs - if railroads are freed from regulation which discriminates against you.
You can't have wider doors than this car Southern designed will give you. It's all door. Southern has these cars now because shippers need them. Actually, it has these cars because originally one shipper had a need for a car that would allow loading of finished lumber with the same ease that an open flat car would provide but which would afford box-car protection while the lumber was in transit. No railroad had such a car. Southern built it first. This first car became the prototype for the production line car you see here. It underwent extensive testing with the cooperation of shippers and receivers all over the country. It proved to be useful for many other commodities besides lumber. What looks like the car side and what is the car side really consists of three flexible aluminum doors, which work very much like an overhead garage door. Control wheels at the ends of the car are used to raise the doors. Catches are released and the doorposts are rolled easily out of the way. The whole car side is opened and packages up to 50 feet long can be loaded quickly with mechanical materials handling equipment. The car has roller bearings and Southern's Super-Cushion underframe which protects all freight. The car will carry more than 75 tons with complete closed-car protection and the unmatched ease of loading and unloading that is saving shippers money every day in handling costs. Some observers have called this the box car of the future. Southern is glad that you can use it now.
One night, after closing time a barman is sitting at his bar minding his own business, when a spectral hound floats in through the door.
The barman, being an exceptionally cool kind of guy, asks "yeah, what do you want?".
The phantom hound explains, in a haunting voice "I've lost my tail ... and cannot rest until a kindly barman stitches it back-on".
At this request the barman stands back astonished and says to the phantom dog ... "Sorry, but we don't re-tail spirits at this time of night".
OPTIONAL Toy 'n Model Trains Day!
I'll hold the acknowledgments 'til the 'morrow in favor of some Pix representing my first train set. Unfortunately, that set is long gone and what you will see are recreations from other sources on the web . . . I'm sure you'll get the idea!
Lionel 2020 (O-27) PRR 6-8-6 S-2 turbine (1946-49)w/smoke & MagneTraction
Lionel #6020 I(O-27) tender w/whistle (1948-49)
Lionel #3451 operating log car (1947-48)
Lionel #6452 PRR gondola w/barrels (1948-49)
Lionel #2456 LV hopper (1948)
Lionel #2460 Bucyrus Erie Crane Car (1946-50)
Lionel #6420 DL&W work caboose /w searchlight (1948-50)
Lionel #1033 90 watt transformer (1948-56)
These trains are "classics" in every sense and represent to many an era as important as those we discuss here at the bar involving the real trains of days gone by . . .
Enjoy!
G'day Cap'n Tom and fellow travelers at the bar!
Ruth, a double JD on the rocks, a round for the boys, treats for the animals, a small jar of pickled pig's feet for Boris and keep the change!
Looks like another one of those days with some quiet time during daylight. However, we sure do make up for it at night and into early morning. Nice going for those of you who are keeping us going!
I see the emails are flowing and I've added one to the mix as well. Let's "belly up to the bar" and give 'em something to think about! The faint at heart should exit now! <grin>
Hard to believe that we're nearly through with the mid-week and heading into the "stretch."There used to be a time when the Mrs. would pretty much wait 'til the last minute for a trip over to "the city" and Macy's. Arggggggghhhhh - no more, thank heavens. She's done and so am I. Let 'er rip, I'm ready for the fat man!
Nice post from Da Boss today, as he likes to say, covered all of the bases. Must have taken a bit of time since you were typing so fast the keys were flying off of your keyboard! <grin> Don't ya hate it when that happens Anyway, glad to see you're back in rare form and keeping things ship-shape 'round here.
Enjoyed the outpourings for the Southern Railway yesterday and into early this morning. Some fine, fine stuff to read and enjoy. So, what is it that some find objectionable about a thread where relevance to Classic Trains is alive 'n well Best left for email . . .
Ok, lemme get this straight - we're CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas Monday. That, plus we'll have no "themes" until Jan 9th. I get it, do you
I have a request, guys. Please drop a post over at Tom's "other thread" at least thru the end of the year. With BK gone, and I'm planning a bit of away time, I'd surely like to see some help over there. Just a pix or Url to keep things moving. There's nothing better the detractors would like than to have us disappear, and that ain't gonna happen!
One more Ruth, then I better skedaddle . . .
Mid-week in mid-continent USA and the gloomy weather has arrived. Lowering temps along with rain as we approach the Christmas weekend. Petrol was still at $2.19 (rounded) up at "Collusion Corner" but expected to rise. Why not Last chance to gouge from the motorists before 2007 arrives!
I had wondered about our Tuesday ENCORE! Theme for the Day - Southern Railway insofar as being a success. Apparently it was, as the contributions were many and varied. Good job one and all! A special THANX to those of you who made mention of my Posts and those from the other guys!
Yes, there was a bit of insomnia involved with the "kick off" for the Southern Railway - one of those nights where I dreamt that I was awake all night! (go ahead and steal that one, while you're at it, Rob - wherever you are!).
Regarding the next two Tuesday's - the 26th of December and 2nd of January - there won't be any "Theme's" - just normal Posting. We'll resume our Tuesday activities on the 9th!
Okay - to the acknowledgments:
Mike at 7:24 AM yesterday: Another Tuesday spate of URLs for the Southern Railway. If you guys want to view some great Pix - check ‘em out.
CM3 at 8:21 AM yesterday: A fine ENCORE! for the Southern Railway, along with come comments for the guys and a round ‘n quarters for Herr Wurlitzer!
DL at 12:40 PM yesterday: The return of our friend from GB! There's still time for you to make arrangements to join Pete ‘n Moi in Canada for our May extravaganza on and off the rails! Whaddyamean "claim" - we LOVE our beer COLD! <grin> AND we're doing the best we can to convince Pete that he's got one foot in the door to becoming a U.S. citizen - why not the other Gotta get our Brits while we can!
Looking forward to the info on the "Silver Princess"! Also, feel free to provide as much info as you'd like regarding the GB version of the Southern Railway. Perhaps something appropriate for either of the next two Tuesdays when we're "dark" for a "theme."
Thanx as always for your fine contributions and banter . . .
And finally - you NEED to get an operating Email; if for no other reason than to ensure you are truly and fully part of the group.
BK at 12:53 PM yesterday: Great to see ya again and much empathy regarding the difficulties with logging on . . . same here. But, you made it and provided us with some excellent Pix for the Southern Railway!
It would be more than fantastic if you were able to meet up with us for our Rendezvous in St. Louis! I think you'd find the TrainWreck Saloon an uncanny reminder of "Our" Place, and who knows - perhaps Boris, Leon, Ruth and the mascots do in fact reside therein!
It goes without saying that the feelings are mutual regarding your connection with us - Lydia too! Wishing the both of you a most enjoyable and safe holiday journey to those Pacific islands called Hawaii. Think of us now ‘n then, will ya <grin>
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!
Lars at 2:56 PM yesterday: Great to have you back with us and especially for our Theme for the Day! Always look forward to your efforts with those book covers and you didn't let us down! Many, many thanx for ensuring that these "themes" continue on with the wonderful variations of input we have seen and are seeing. A 5- Salate to the Larsman!
NFL football Hey, don't get me started! Our Lambs (aka: Rams) are still being discussed by some of the "talking heads" as having a shot at the playoffs. Good Gawd Gertie
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Clear weather this a.m. with temps in the low 20s and a heavy frost. Gas is $2.29 at the moment, but who knows?
Let's get to our posting for the morning.
BK - Sent along some pictures of SOU steam. The 4-6-2 in the Smithsonian is one of the locomotives that pulled FDRs funeral train.
Lars - Books to look for. The interesting thing is that there is no full history of the SOU in existence. Bits and pieces of the road have been covered. You'd be surprised how many large rrs do not have written histories.
James - Nice picture of the Crescent. Blow it up and you can see the train name on the locomotives; an old school touch. Also, check out the cars.
Barndad - Ties was one of the best corporate mags out there. The L&N magazine was a good one as well. The Asheville Division was a rugged stretch of railroad, and that's putting it mildly. Any line that had a location called "Slaughter Pen Cut" should tell you something. Thomas Wolfe, in several of his novels, had vignettes of the Asheville Div., along with a couple of extended pieces about riding the Pullman line that operated between Asheville and New York. The material on Swannanoa was a good call, especially for those of us who feel comfortable underground. Many of the machines used as tunnel borers or raise borers look like stuff from Star Wars. Southern did a lot of experimentation with freight cars including the "Big John" hopper car, the tobacco cars you showed, and several other pieces of innovative car design.
Eric - I believe that the picture you sent along was made in Chester, MA. No, Boris, not the Charles Ives music. Anyway, Chester was a helper station on the B&A back in the days of steam. Many of the structures still stand and there is an equipment display as well. It is one of the few places left where you can get a flavor of what life on the Albany was like. The station has been restored and moved back from the tracks a little. It serves as a visitor center and heart of an annual rail festival. The town itself has some interesting buildings and is one of my more favorite spots on the B&A. Trains 448 and 449 (Boston-Albany plug on the "Lakeshore') pass through there in daylight, depending upon how late they are and the time of year.
Our ‘Steamed Proprietor gave us a good capsule history of the Southern. As always, he keeps the shiny side up.
B4 I forget; the run between Princeton Jct and Princeton was abt. 15 minutes. PRR billed the service as "frequent." I do not have the right PRR form tt here with me, but I'll do some more digging.
Work safe
Good morning Tom and friends. I'll have a light breakfast, and leave you with some reading material. It's off to work with me! Have a great day
Ninety-four hogheads alongside the "Big Boy car. Thirty-six hogheads alongside the standard car. Built to recapture tobacco traffic for Southern, the "Big Boy" is doing that - and more. Other shippers are finding its high-volume loading of value as well.
When Southern Railway designed and built the "Big Boy" box car and assigned it the mission of bringing tobacco traffic back to the rails, the prediction was that shippers of other lightweight, bulky commodities would also take an interest in the car's possibilities for them.
The prediction has become fact and the "Big Boy" cars - believed to be the biggest railroad cars now in use for general freight service - are ranging far and wide, making money for Southern and showing how users in a variety of industries can cut their costs of transportation.
One of the reasons the "Big Boy" equipment can vut transportation costs was illustrated by a dramatic photograph in the June 8 issue of the nationally circulated magazine Business Week.
Used as the lead-ff illustration for an article titled "Boxcars go to battle for the Southern," the photo showed a "Big Boy" and a standard box car with the tobacco hogheads that each can carry arranged alongside the cars,.
There were 964 hogheads alongside the "Big Boy." There were only 36 alongside the standard car.
The photo - taken at an R.J. Reynolds Tobacco company warehouse near Winston-Salem, N.C. - made clear the meaning of what Southern President D.W. Brosnan meant when he told Business Week: "We're going to fight for the traffic that's rightfully ours and we're going to keep fighting until we win."
It is this dynamic determination to create competition - not just meet it - which led to Southern Railway's development of the "Big Boy" car in the first place.
As Business Week relates it:
"Tobacco represents a typical example of what the Southern has done. It is, of course, one of the major crops grown in the Southern's territory. At one time it all went by rail, but bit by bit it switched to trucks as they grew bigger and more efficient, highways improved and truck rates came down.
"The first thing the Southern did was to research the market thoroughly. It asked questions such as "Where does the tobacco come from, where does it go, does it always travel in hogsheads, why did it go to trucks, was the service better, lower rates?"
"The Southern officials then had a roundtable discussion to see what they could do. The standard boxcar, they discovered, simply was not an economic vehicle for carrying hogsheads, it was too small, and too much time was required to load and unload the giant barrels. So the Southern designed an entirely new car with wide doors and such cavernous interior that the road then had to put skylights in the roof to relieve the inky darkness."
"The final step in the process - after building and testing the car and after discovering how significantly it reduced the Southern's handling costs - was to reduce rates. As a result, the tobacco traffic is now coming back."
As the Business Week article then went on to note, Southern's "Big Boy" box car has entered the "fight for the traffic that's rightfully ours" on more than one front. Tobacco was only the beginning, and the end is nowhere in sight.
There is cotton.
A southern "Big Boy" was switched into the Spring Hills Cotton Mills warehouse at Fort Lawn, S.C., recently with 251 bales of California cotton.
Weighing 126,037 pounds, the bales were of a type called "gin standard." The accepted average for this kind of bale is 2 ½ bales of cotton per acre. That meant 100 acres of cotton in one car.
It was more than twice the amount of cotton that can be loaded into a standard car, which carries between 100 to 110 bales.
And the 10-foot-wide doorway allowed workmen to unload this greatly increased volume in the sharply reduced time of something like an hour ... with time out for a soft drink. In contrast to the hour it took to unload the 251 bales of cotton at Springs' Elliot warehouse, it took a receiver in New Orleans three days to unload a "Big Boy" full of General Electric home appliances.
More later ................
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