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"OUR" PLACE - SEE NEW THREAD! Locked

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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, August 12, 2006 6:02 AM

Good morning to the "regulars" of Our Place! Hats off to Rob who refuses to let a good thing die, Lars for his rallying efforts, and Dave for his continued support. I don't know if we can smoke Tom out of retirement, but it's a good idea to try! In addition to the Kalmbach Forums needing this thread, turns out that several of us feel pretty strongly about it too!

I guess I'll start the day with a groaner, and see if the rusty ol' groan-o-meter is still working

Clown [:o)] I used to have a Great Dane & I was buying a large bag of Purina at Wal-Mart and was in line to check out. When a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.
I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy who was behind her. Horrified, she asked if I'd ended up in the hospital last time because I had been poisoned. I told her no; I'd been sitting in the street licking myself and a car hit me. Clown [:o)]

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Posted by West Coast S on Friday, August 11, 2006 7:31 PM
Domes, message replied too...Must be a good day, no double layered postings, darn Government equiptment, must be lowest bidder!!

It would good to have a visit from Tom, if even briefly..then again i'm no example to follow, since i've been absent around these parts..It is a shame that Doug's "Roundhouse" went unappreciated and unvisited, can't run a forum with only two contributers, the curse of "Our Place" I suppose...

A howdy to Rob and Mike and the rest of the old gang, and one must applaud Rob's efforts to maintain the standard...But it just doesn't seem the same without Tom...

Dave
SP the way it was in S scale
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"OUR" PLACE - Over ONE YEAR of talking Classic Trains in an adult environment!
Posted by LoveDomes on Friday, August 11, 2006 9:09 AM
Good Morning Gentlemen!

One month ago tomorrow, Tom closed "Our" Place. A very sad day and a sobering awakening to the reality of how things just never remain the same here in the ether or in reality.  As Tom used to tell us, change is as inevitable as the tides themselves. Happens.

I see that one of "our own" has tried to maintain this thread and for that perhaps those of us "regulars" owe a bit of thanks for keeping Tom's thread "up on the page." Then again, I have mixed emotions. He created the bar - he closed the bar. How then can it remain open? Ah, just one of those "things" perhaps he suffered with over the 16 months run - not quite being able to get the structure of it all across to one and all. Anyway, I think trolleyboy Rob has his heart in the right place Thumbs Up [tup] and it's just a bit of added sadness that the effort may have come a bit to late to save the place.

My time on these forums has been very, very sparce and in fact, I haven't done any browsing for weeks. Today, it occurred to me that our 17th month anniversary is tomorrow. Since Rob has kept the thread "up on the page" and in spite of little or no interaction, it still "lives" why not celebrate the dayQuestion [?]

For anyone reading this who has the email addresses of our "regulars," why not send out an invitation - perhaps we'll get a taker or two for tomorrow.  Then again, it is Saturday, and that was always a rather hit 'n miss day if I recall correctly. Anyway, worth a try - let's go for it! Thumbs Up [tup]

For my part, I have missed this great thread and the wonderful interaction along with the gobs of material provided. As with Tom, I haven't missed the JOs - the rude - the anon people and the like. There are many other places for them. THIS thread is for those who give a Rat's Patoot!

Hoping to see some activtiy 'round the joint!

Lars




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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:18 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

This first appeared on page 242 Feb 10 of this year, as always anyone wishing to partake or discuss further is fully welcommed and encouraged to do so.

Rob

 siberianmo wrote:
Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear!
Number Five


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 Connecticut Valley Railroad in 1882, running from Hartford south and southeast to the Shore Line Railway in Old Saybrook via Middletown. That line had originally opened in 1871 as the Connecticut Valley Railroad, and continued north to Springfield, Massachusetts via the Connecticut Central Railroad, later part of the New York and New England Railroad system. In 1880 the company was succeeded by the Hartford and Connecticut Valley.

New Canaan

The Stamford and New Canaan Railroad was a branch from the New Haven in Stamford north to New Canaan. It was chartered in 1866 as the New Canaan Railroad, opened in 1868, reorganized and renamed in 1883, and leased by the New Haven on October 1, 1884.

Naugatuck

The New Haven leased the Naugatuck Railroad on April 1, 1887, obtaining a line from Naugatuck Junction on the New York-New Haven line near Stratford north via Waterbury, reaching the Central New England Railway at Winsted. The line, organized in 1848, had opened in 1849.

New Haven and Northampton

The New Haven and Northampton Railroad, built next to the former Farmington Canal, ran from New Haven north via Meriden to Northampton, Massachusetts and beyond to the Fitchburg Railroad's Troy and Greenfield Railroad. The New York and New Haven Railroad leased the first few sections soon after they opened, obtaining the line to Plainville in 1848 and the ext
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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:13 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

  Some bit's of "Classic Juice " for this installment of encores from the archieves. The always classic NYNH for today's railroad of choice. A coupkle snippits from this feb's disscussions on the railroad.

Rob

 

 passengerfan wrote:
Good Night Barkeep I figured if the bar opens at six in each time zone then I'm in for last call on the left coast as you call it.(Insomnia). Everyone seems to have liked the New York Central day we had and we had more regulars than I remember for awhile. I see Rob made it just before closing to. Guess I'll have a CR and see if that helps me sleep.

I see Russ even gave us a picture of the NYC 4-8-2, nice.

Tom that accident at Hinton I have often wondered about even wondered if that midtrain passenger locomotive could have contributed to the severity of the damage to the passenger cars.

I don't think with this insomnia I will be able to post before work in the Morning so will leave this under the door for the morning.

PASSENGERFAN AL'S STREAMLINER CORNER # 58

MERCHANTS LIMITED NYNH&H trains 26-27 July 8, 1949 New York – Boston daily round trip All Parlor 220.1 miles each way 5 hours 15 minutes

The Merchants Limited became the only lightweight streamlined All Parlor Car train to operate in North America on the above date. Unfortunately it lasted for less than three months before coaches were added to this the most famous of all New Haven trains.

CONSIST ONE

208 BERKSHIRE COUNTY Baggage Buffet 1-Parlor Drawing Room 2-Parlor Roomette 28- Seat Lounge Car

400 CONNECTICUT RIVER 26- Revenue Seat Parlor 14- Seat Lounge Car

402 HOUSATONIC RIVER 26- Revenue Seat Parlor 14-Seat Lounge Car

300 PITTSFIELD 36- Seat Parlor Car

900 JONATHAN EDWARDS 48- Seat Dining Car

302 MANSFIELD 36- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

315 WESTERLEY 52- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

317 DANBURY 52- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

475 WATCH HILL 38- Seat Tavern Lounge Bar 22- Seat Lounge Observation

CONSIST TWO

209 KINGS COUNTY Baggage Buffet 1-Parlor Drawing Room 2-Parlor Roomette 28- Seat Lounge Car

401 THAMES RIVER 26- Revenue Seat Parlor 14-Seat Lounge Car

403 BLACKSTONE RIVER 26- Revenue Seat Parlor 14-Seat Lounge Car

301 BRIDGEPORT 36- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

901 SAMUEL HUNTINGTON 48- Seat Dining Car

303 BROCKTON 36- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

316 MYSTIC 52- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

318 GROTON 52- Revenue Seat Parlor Car

476 BUNKER HILL 38- Seat Tavern Lounge Bar 22- Seat Lounge Observation


TTFN AL

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Posted by trolleyboy on Friday, August 4, 2006 9:35 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

 A not all that old encore from the archieves, this one only dates back to page 358. One of the lighter side of the train and trolley world for everyones reading pleasure.

Rob

 trolleyboy wrote:
Well gentlemen,( and ladies ) it's time for another dose of the semi sureal.

WIERD TALES FROM THE BARN # 4 MISSHAPS ON THE MTC

As we all know streetcar companies by their nature have often had derailment or other problems that would effect their day to day operations. Here's a few examples of soem of the miscues that slowed down services on the MTC ( Montreal Tramways Co )Thesea are all old excerpts from the Montreal Gazette.

Enjoy Rob

Automobile didn't get the blame this time

Westbound tramway traffic on St James street near the intersection of Inspector was delayed 20 minutes yesterday morning when a horse, drawing snow for the city,partially slipped down a large manhole. Traffic and work was delayed while a Montreal Tramways Company towing car equipped with a hoist was pressed intio service and the horse lifted out.

Montreal Gazette Wed , January 12, 1944.

Someone is attaching stickers to posters advertising woman's wear so that part of the models body is covered. Attached mostly to the sweater- girl type of advertisement, the stickers are in French. Their message translated ; "Respect Womanhood" , " She is your wife " , "She is your sister" , " She is your mother " , " she is your fiancee ".
A spokesman for the Canadian Advertising Co, said last night; " Yes we know about it.There haven't been many stickers. Some crackpot I guess. There is nothing offensive about the cards. We promptly replace any that are defaced. "
Officials of the Sacred Heart League here could not be reached for comment. The stickers bear no identification as to their sponser or printer. It is believed that the person applying the stickers has placed his own interpretation on Quebec regulations that frown on nudity or semi nudity pictured or otherwise.


Montreal Gazette Fri January 14,1949

and one more for this installment. I figure that Tom and Lars will apprecaite this one.

Rene Richard of 6708 Cartier ST and Charles M Tremblay of 3604 Rouen St, both Montreal Tamways employees were admitted to St Luke hospital early yeasterday morning. They were suffering from cuts and other injuries alleged sustained during a streetcar fracus.
Police said that at the intersection of St Catharine St West and Atwater two unknown sailors refused to pay their fare and became abusive.No arrests were made. Constables Coupal and Poitras investigated and Pichard and Tremblay were able to return home after treatment.


Montreal Gazette Monday Nov 13, 1944


Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Friday, August 4, 2006 9:30 PM

CM3 - Hey thanks for popping in. As you can tell I'm more or less keeping the place open for posterity sake, that and the fact that there is an absolute ton of really good railroad info compiled here. Worth keeping in the forefront I feel. I'm just running it more as a museum exhibit. Mind you should anyone wish tomdiscuss chat or otherwise contribute to the volumes of good stuff here thay are always more than welcome to. Besides Leon and Boris still no how to mix a good drink and and make the odd edible confection. I hope to see you pop by once in a while and add to the effort.

 

Rob

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Posted by coalminer3 on Friday, August 4, 2006 12:09 PM
 wanswheel wrote:

Rob, I'm going to try to put new links to the pages for Tom's great

Railroads of Yesteryear

#1: Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/233/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#2: Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/234/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#3: Pennsylvania (PRR)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/237/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#4: New York Central (NYC)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/240/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#5: New Haven (NYNH&H)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/242/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#6: Santa Fe (ATSF) (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/246/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#7: Southern Pacific (SP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/253/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#8: Northern Pacific (NP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/259/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#9: Coastline/Seaboard (ACL - SCL - SAL) (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/267/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#10: Southern Railway (SOU)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/276/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#11: Denver and Rio Grande Western (D&RG)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/282/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#12: Great Northern Railway (GN)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/287/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#13: Missouri Pacific (MP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/293/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#14: Illinois Central (IC)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/299/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#15: Boston & Maine (B&M)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/307/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#16: Western Pacific (WP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/314/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#17: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/320/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#18: Burlington Zephyrs (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/326/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:43 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

 trolleyboy wrote:
Okay I'm back with some on theme info, a short synopsis of the Seaboards frieght ops.

CLASSIC DIESEL BARN # 9 SEABORD FRIEGHT OPS

Freight Service On The Seaboard

The Seaboard railroads position in the Southeast,allowed it to carry a wide variety of freight, it is of coarse best known for it's perishable fruit and produce trains between Florida and Georgia and the North. Carried on today by CSX. Despite the high profile hauling of perishables, the Seaboard carried more minerals than anything. Around 1950 approx. half of the Seaboards frieght traffic was mineral based, mostlyb phosphate, used for fertilizers ( and other things ) such as amunition and match maufactering. Alot of clay,iron ore , cement, and aggregates wwas also carried by the road, these loads also falling under the mineral category.

Next largest cargo type was durable manufactured goods, most of whick caame from the North. General mercjhandise accounted for approx 30 % of the freight moved by the SAL by mid-century. Forest products accounted for 15 % of their freight hauling which included pulpwood,paper,and pine tree stumps ( they actually had speacially designed gondolas for theae some still in use on the CSX ! ) used to make pine oil and turpintine.

The remaing 5 % was aggricultural loads, including grains, cotton products,and the perishables. The perishables accounted for half of the aggricultural loads , however the revnues from this service was important enough that the SAL held an intrest in the Fruit Growers Express, a consortium that operated a fleet of reefer cars, and refridgerated piggy back trailers.

In the 50's the SAL was one of the first other railroads to pick up the TOFC or Piggy Back trailer carrying system started by the Pennsey.By 1959 this mode of cargo handling became a huge hit with the SAL's customers,and they were operating a whole fleet of this type of trains.

As a sidenote the Seaboard was one of the few railroads that would name it's principal freight trains.Among the best known was the Merchandiser between Richmond and Miami,it was one of te few freights that held first calss operational status,putting it on par with passenger trains in the terms of priority handling. A Northbound conterpart was the Marketer , with a section out of Miami and one out of Tampa joining at Baldwin Florida . Other named freights included the Tar Heel ( Richmond-Bostic NC )this had a connection with the Clinchfield RY. The Capitol{Richmond-Birmingham NC }, the Iron Master {Birmingham-Atlanta }, the Clipper and the Alaga { Montgomery-Savanah } and the Pioneer { Montgomery-Jacksonville}.

In the 1960's ,Seaboard championed it's high speed piggy back service, the best train of the TOFC fleet being the Razorback . This hot trailer train ( for yeasr the fastest feight train in NA ) originated on The Pennsylvania RR at Kearny NJ and ran through to Hialeah Yard in Miami, 1000 miles in 30 hours !

During the SAL's last full year iof independance, 1966, it carried 66 million tons of freight the most ever in the roads history.

* info from Diesel era mags and railpace

Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:39 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

 siberianmo wrote:
Now arriving on track #2 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear!
Number Nine (in two parts)

Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.

The Coast Line/Seaboard Railways – ACL – SAL – SCL


Part II of II


Seaboard Air Line Railroad



Locale: Florida - Virginia, United States

Reporting marks: SAL

Dates of operation: – 1967

Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)


Headquarters: Richmond, VA


The Seaboard Air Line Railroad (AAR reporting mark SAL) was an American railroad that existed between the 1880s and 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The company was headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

History


1896 map with connections

The SAL main line, now mostly CSX's "S" Line, was built by the following companies:

• Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad, Richmond, Virginia to Norlina, North Carolina (the immediate predecessor of the SAL)
• Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, Norlina to Raleigh, North Carolina
• Raleigh and Augusta Air-Line Railroad, Raleigh to Hamlet, North Carolina
• Palmetto Railroad, Hamlet to Cheraw, South Carolina
• Chesterfield and Kershaw Railroad, Cheraw to Camden, South Carolina
• Predecessors of the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad:
o South Bound Railroad, Camden to Savannah, Georgia
o Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Northern Division, Savannah to Georgia/Florida state line
o Florida Northern Railroad, state line to Yulee, Florida
o Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad, Yulee to Jacksonville, Florida
o Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad, Jacksonville to Baldwin, Florida
o Florida Railroad, Baldwin (continuing north to Yulee) to Waldo, Florida
o Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad Tampa Division, Waldo to Tampa, Florida

On July 1, 1967 the SAL merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad



Locale: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia

Reporting marks: SCL

Dates of operation: 1967 – 1982

Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)


Headquarters: Jacksonville, FL and Richmond, VA


The main lines of the ACL and SAL, now CSX's A and S lines.

The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (AAR reporting mark SCL) was created July 1, 1967 as a result of the merger of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). In 1982, The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad became Seaboard System Railroad as a result of a merger with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N). For some years prior to this, the SCL and L&N had been under the common ownership of a holding company, Seaboard Coast Line Industries (SCI), the company's railroad subsidiaries being collectively known as the Family Lines System which comprised of the L&N, SCL, Clinchfield and West Point Routes. After the 1980 merger of SCI with the Chessie System, the resulting CSX Corporation combined the Family Lines System units as the Seaboard System Railroad and later became CSX when the former Chessie units were merged into it in 1986.


Innovative SCL trains

Juice Train: a historic model of unit train competition

Juice Train is the popular name for famous unit trains of Tropicana fresh orange juice operated by railroads in the United States. In 1970, beginning on Seaboard Coast Line railroad, a mile-long Tropicana Juice Train train began carrying one million gallons of juice with one weekly round-trip from Bradenton, Florida to Kearny, New Jersey, in the New York City area.

Today operated by SCL successor CSX Transportation, CSX Juice Trains have been the focus of efficiency studies and awards as examples of how modern rail transportation can compete successfully against trucking and other modes to carry perishable products.

Auto-Train

The original Auto-Train operated on Seaboard Coast Line and Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) tracks. It was operated by Auto-Train Corporation, a privately-owned railroad which used its own rolling stock to provide a unique rail transportation service for both passengers and their automobiles in the United States, operating scheduled service between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida, near Orlando.

The founder of Auto-Train Corporation was Eugene K. Garfield. His approach allowed families to relax en route and save the expense and unfamiliarity of a rental car on arrival. Passengers rode in either wide coach seats or private first-class sleeping compartments while their vehicles were safely carried in enclosed autoracks. The train included dining cars and meals were served.

The equipment of the Auto-Train Corporation was painted in red, white, and purple colors. The typical train was equipped with two or three General Electric U36B diesel-electric locomotives, 76' double-deck auto carriers, streamlined passenger cars, including coaches, dining cars, sleeper cars, and 85' full-dome cars, and a caboose, then an unusual sight on most passenger trains.

Auto-Train Corporation's first auto carriers were acquired used, and started life in the 1950s as a new innovation for Canadian National Railroad. The CN bi-level autorack cars had end-doors. They were huge by the standards of the time; each 75-footer could carry 8 vehicles. The cars were a big success and helped lead to the development of today's enclosed autoracks. The former CN autoracks were augmented by new tri-level versions in 1976.


auto carrier originally purchased by Auto-Train Corp. unloads from Amtrak's Auto Train in Lorton, VA in 2000. Photo courtesy of www.trainweb.com

Auto-Train Corporation's new service began operations on December 6, 1971 The service was a big hit with travelers. Before long, the ambitious entrepreneurs of Auto-Train were looking to expand
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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:35 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

This was from disscussions first held live on page # 268, as always new imput is always accepted.To add too the vast archieve of information on this thread.

Rob

 siberianmo wrote:
Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear!
Number Nine (in two parts)

Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.

The Coast Line/Seaboard Railways – ACL – SAL – SCL


Part I of II

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad



Locale: United States Atlantic Coast

Reporting marks: ACL

Dates of operation: 1840 – July 1, 1967

Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)

Headquarters: Jacksonville, FL

There is also an Atlantic Coast Line in Cornwall, England.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (AAR reporting mark ACL) was an American railroad that existed between 1898 and July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The company was headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida (Wilmington, North Carolina before 1961). After several more mergers and consolidations, the former ACL is now part of CSX Transportation, also headquartered in Jacksonville.


History


1914 map

The Atlantic Coast Line Company was organized on May 29, 1889 as a holding company for a system of railroads from Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia south and southwest to Augusta, Georgia.

North Carolina

The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad was chartered in 1835, opening in 1840 from Wilmington, North Carolina north to Weldon, where the Petersburg Railroad continued to Petersburg, Virginia. The name was changed in 1855 to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.

The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1846 and opened in 1853 from Wilmington west to Camden Crossing, South Carolina on the South Carolina Railroad's branch to Camden. After the American Civil War, the company was reorganized in 1870 as the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad, opening an extension west to Columbia in 1873 but never reaching Augusta, Georgia.

In 1872 the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad leased the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, forming a continuous line through Wilmington, which was advertised as the Atlantic Coast Line. That lease was cancelled in 1878 due to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta's bankruptcy; that company was sold in 1879 and reorganized in 1880 under the same name.

Over the years, the Wilmington and Weldon bought many other lines. Most notable among those was the Wilson and Fayetteville Railroad, built as a cutoff from near Wilson to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at Pee Dee, South Carolina. This was chartered in South Carolina as the Florence Railroad.

South Carolina


1885 map, when it was a loose system of affiliated lines

The Northeastern Railroad was chartered in 1851 and opened in 1856 from Charleston north to the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad at Florence. The Central Railroad, connecting this line at Lane northwest to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad at Sumter, was chartered in 1881 and opened in 1882. From opening it was leased by both railroads in connected to.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of South Carolina was formed on July 18, 1898 as a consolidation of the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad and Northeastern Railroad with several other lines:

• The Florence Railroad was chartered in 1882, continuing the Wilson and Fayetteville Railroad from the North Carolina state line south-southwest to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at Pee Dee. This was part of a shorter route avoiding Wilmington, North Carolina.
• The Cheraw and Darlington Railroad was chartered in 1849 and opened in 1853, running from Florence north via Darlington to Cheraw. The Cheraw and Darlington acquired the Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad, an extension north to Wadesboro, North Carolina, in 1892.
• The Manchester and Augusta Railroad was chartered in 1875, and built a line from Sumter southwest to Denmark. On June 30, 1899, the ACL opened a continuation west-southwest to the Charleston and Western Carolina Railway at Robbins.

The Central Railroad stayed separate, leased but not merged.

Also involved in this was the Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad, a failed plan to build a main line from Charleston through Sumter into North Carolina. That company went bankrupt in 1892, and the bridge over the Santee River burned down. In 1895 the ACL bought and reorganized it as the Charleston and Northern Railroad to prevent it from being used by a competitor. The short Wilson and Summerton Railroad acquired a section south of Sumter, the Manchester and Augusta Railroad obtained the southernmost section (cut from the rest by the burned bridge) and the line from Sumter northeast to Darlington, extending the M&A's line to Darlington, and the Cheraw and Darlington Railroad was assigned the rest of the line, from Darlington north to Gibson, North Carolina. All but the Wilson and Summerton became part of the ACL in 1898. That company was renamed to the Northwestern Railroad in 1899, and with help from the ACL built an extension northwest from Sumter to Camden, opened in 1901.

In August 1899 the ACL acquired a half interest in the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, fully owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad since 1898. This gave the ACL access to Atlanta and Macon, Georgia via the former Manchester and Augusta Railroad and the Georgia Railroad.

By 1899 the ACL also owned the Charleston and Western Carolina Railway, running from Port Royal, South Carolina at the south orner of the state northwest into the northwest part of the state, with lines ending at Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Virginia

The Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1830 and opened in 1833, running from Petersburg, Virginia south to Garysburg, North Carolina, from which it ran to Weldon via trackage rights over the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1836 and opened in 1838, continuing north from Petersburg to Richmond.

In March 1898, the Petersburg Railroad was merged into the Richmond and Petersburg, which was renamed to the Atlantic Coast Line
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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:28 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

*note anyon is welcome to addd their own My 2 cents [2c] or more to any of the disscussions here .

Rob

 coalminer3 wrote:
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present (Body, Mind, and/or Spirit), coffee, please; round for the house, and $ for the jukebox (as soon as we get it off the roof). I just got in from watching the local shifter pick up the mt tank cars behind the bar. As the parrot said in Disorder in the Court, "What a night!"

I see that we are doing ACL/SAL/SCL today. I'll get things started with a survey of SCL passenger service in 1969. You can see from looking in the post that although a lot of local and short-haul service had vanished, there was still a fair amount of long haul stuff on several different routes. The City of Miami/South Wind material will be of interest to our car scholars as cars changed all the time on those runs.

Seaboard Coast Line – Eastern Trains 1969

“Silver Meteor” between New York, Washington, Richmond and Raleigh, Hamlet, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Miami

PC 171/PC 143/RF&P 57/SCL 57
PC 170/PC 142/RF&P 58/SCL 58

Baggage-dormitory: New York-Miami
Budget room coach (16 single budget rooms/4 double budget rooms): New York-Miami
Sleeping Cars (11 dbr, 10 rttes/6dbr, 5dbr/bar-lounge): New York-Miami
Diner: New York-Miami
Coaches (2): New York-Miami
Coach: Washington-Miami
Tavern/obs/lounge: New York-Miami
Registered Nurse – Passenger Service Agent – Coach Attendants

“Silver Star” between New York, Washington, Richmond and Raleigh, Hamlet, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice.

PC 177/PC135/RF&P21/SCL21
PC 8/PC 130/RF&P 22/SCL 22

Baggage-dormitory: Washington-Miami
Sleeping Cars
10 rttes/6 dbr: New York-Venice, New York-St Petersburg, Richmond-Miami
4 dbr/4 compt/2 drawing rooms: New York-Miami
Diner: New York-Miami
Tavern-lounge: New York-Miami
Budget meal car: Jacksonville-St. Petersburg
Coaches: New York-Miami (FR, SA, and SU only), New York-Miami (daily), New York-St. Petersburg, New York-Venice
Registered Nurse – Passenger Service Agent – Coach Attendants

“Champion” between New York, Washington, Richmond and Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Naples, Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg

PC 171/PC 145/ RF&P 91/SCL91
PC 6/ PC 144/RF&P 92/SCL 92

Baggage car: New York-St. Petersburg
Budget room coach (16 single budget rooms/4 double budget rooms): New York-St. Petersburg
Sleeping Cars
10 rttes/6 db: New York-St. Petersburg
6 db/bar lounge: New York-St. Petersburg
Diner (twin unit): New York-St. Petersburg
Tavern lounge: New York-St. Petersburg
Coaches: New York-St. Petersburg, New York-Naples, New York-Montgomery (via Waycross)

“Champion” Florence-Augusta

PC 145/ RF&P 91/SCL91-51
PC 144/RF&P 92/SCL 52-92

Baggage car: Florence-Augusta
Café lounge: Florence-Augusta
Coaches: Florence-Augusta

“Champion” Waycross-Montgomery

SCL 91-89
SCL 90-92

Passenger-baggage: Waycross-Montgomery
Coaches: Waycross,-Montgomery, New York-Montgomery

“Palmland” between Washington, Richmond and Raleigh, Hamlet, Columbia

PC 3/PC 147/RF&P 9-75/SCL 9
PC 2/PC 140/RF&P 10-76/SCL 10

Baggage-mail: Washington-Columbia
Sleeping car (10 rttte/6db): New York-Columbia
Café lounge: Richmond-Hamlet
Coaches (2): New York-Columbia


“Gulf Coast Special” between New York, Washington, Richmond and Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville

PC 3/PC 147/RF&P 9-75/SCL 75
PC 2/PC 140/RF&P 10-76/SCL 76

Baggage cars: New York-Jacksonville
Sleeping car (10 rtte/6db): New York-Jacksonville
Café lounge: Richmond-Florence
Snack service: Washington-Richmond, Florence-Jacksonville
Coaches New York-Florence (NB FR/SA, SB SA/SU), New York-Jacksonville (2) (Daily)

“Everglades” between Washington, Richmond and Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Jacksonville

PC 177/PC 131/RF&P 85/SCL 85
PC 176/PC 158/RF&P 86/SCL 86

Baggage car: Washington-Jacksonville
Coaches: Washington-Florence, Washington-Jacksonville
Snack service: Washington-Florence

Seaboard Coast Line – Midwest, Alabama, Georgia and Florida 1969

“City of Miami” between Chicago, St. Louis, Birmingham, Albany and Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Miami, Gainesville, Leesburg, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Naples

Dates of operation from both Chicago and Florida
December 2 and EOD (even dates)
January 1 and EOD (odd dates)
February 2 and EOD (even dates)

IC 53/C of G 52/SCL 5
IC 52/C of G 53/SCL 6

Baggage car: Jacksonville-St. Petersburg
Baggage-dormitory: Chicago-Miami
Sleeping cars
10 rttes/6db: Chicago-St. Petersburg
12 dbr: Chicago-Miami
10 rttes/6db: Chicago-Miami
Café-diner: Chicago-Miami
Tavern lounge: Chicago-Miami
Grill car: Jacksonville-St. Petersburg
Coaches (2): Chicago-Miami
Dome coach: Chicago- Miami
Passenger Service Representative-Coach Attendants

“South Wind” between Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Montgomery and Jacksonville West Palm Beach, Miami, Gainesville, Leesburg, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Naples

Dates of operation from both Chicago and Florida
December 2 and EOD (odd dates)
January 1 and EOD (even dates)
February 2 and EOD (odd dates)

PC 90/L&N 15/SCL 12-5
PC 93/L&N 16/SCL 6-11

Baggage cars: Chicago-Louisville, Louisville-Montgomery, Montgomery-Miami, Jacksonville-St. Petersburg
Sleeping Car (10 rttes/6db): Louisville-Miami
Snack bar coach: Chicago-Louisville
Grill car: Jacksonville-St. Petersburg
Café lounge: Dothan-Miami
Coaches: Chicago-Louisville, Louisville-Miami, Louisville-St. Petersburg
NOTE: “South Wind” equipment ran as part of L&N trains 8 and 9, the “Pan American.” The “South Wind’s” cars split from the “Pan” at Montgomery.

“Gulf Wind” Between Jacksonville and Chattahoochee, Mobile, New Orleans

L&N 8-11/SCL 40
L&N 12-9/SCL 39

Baggage cars: Jacksonville-New Orleans
Diner: Mobile-New Orleans
Grill car: Jacksonville-Chattahoochee
Coaches: Jacksonville-New Orleans

work safe

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Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:23 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Our railway rocollection for the day.

 siberianmo wrote:




RAILROADS from YESTERYEAR –

Coast Line/Seaboard Railways – ACL – SAL – SCL -

arrives on Track #1 at NOON! Watch for it!



TomCaptain [4:-)] Pirate [oX)]


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Posted by trolleyboy on Sunday, July 30, 2006 8:15 AM

Lets see it's sunday so lets pull out or usual sunday photo posting day fare.

 

CP Rail C424 in service at Detroits delray Jct. Summer of 1994

C&NW GP15 locomotive in transfer service near the St Charles Ill airport, summer of 1995

Last two shots are C&NW GP7's also in local and transfer service in and around Chicago in the summer of 1995

More later

Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, July 29, 2006 10:50 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Today's encore continues the recent spat of posts on rebuilders and their final product, More one to one scale real world kitbashing if you will. This post first aired back on page 263

Rob

 trolleyboy wrote:
Well a little bit of filler for this evening. Another installment to the info roster as it were.

CLASSIC DIESEL'S #8 THE CF7

The CF7

At the end of the 1960's the ATSF found itself with several hundred F7 frieght diesels that were out of a job. They had been bumped from mainline frieght duties by high horse power hood units , and their carbody configuration made them unsuitable for the branchline and local duties where they were needed. Santa Fe could not afford to to buy several hundred new units for this type of work and the F7's mechanically still had many usefull years left in them. So the Sante Fe decided to convert them ( F7's ) to hood units.Two factors influenced this decision : 1) The desire to keep the shop at Clerburne Tx busy , 2) The financial advantage of a capitol rebuilding program, whick let them treat the rebuilt locomotives as new, therefore enabling them to depreciate their value over a period of several years.

The rebuilding process was complicated by the basic difference between cab units,such as the F7, and a hood unit. A hood unit is essentially a flat frame carrying a diesel engine,and a generator and controls, with sheet metal hoods protecting them and the crew from the weather. A cab unit was designed so that the sides carry part of the weight of the machinery. Remove the sides and the frame will sag. Fabricating new frames was a major part of the conversion process from F7 to CF7 .

At first glance, the CF7 looks like a GP7 that has had it's short hood lowered.It differs from a GP7 in having a shorter , short hood and a longer cab ; the side members of the frame are also quite different. Most of the CF7's were built with a curved cab roof ; the last 54 had an angled cab roof that can accomodate a roof mounted air conditioner.Mechanically the CF7's are tthe same as the GP7 1500hp 567prime mover and the assosiated gen set. All refurbished as needed, but the original as installed powerplant from their F7 days.

Sante Fe built 233 CF7's between 1970 and 1978. In the early 80's the road began to phase them out and discovered a ready market for them in the various short lines and regional railroads. Many are onto their third and forth owners, in may cases running with thier purcgasers longer than with their builder. The CF7 was likely one of the most ambitious rebuilding schemes attempted by a class one. eclipsd only by some of the switcher rebuilds and GP7 and 9 conversions done by the UP and ICG to name just two.



CF7 working for a shortline dinner train in Florida.

Enjoy Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, July 29, 2006 10:45 PM

Dave - Howdy sir, thanks for popping by. I have indeed been trying to keep the home fires burning hear. Will a bit of success. We do still offer all the old fixings and Boris is always happy to see any of the old gang. Nice little tail on the ole PE shops. Let me guess when they were torn down in '83 they became a condo building or a mini-mall Thumbs Down [tdn]

Old GEEPS are indeed re-encarnated. CN and CP have been rebuilding theirs constantly , both railraods still roster well over 100 GP9 rebuilds each,pulling hump and transfer and yard service. CN still puts them in mainline frieghts on occation when they are power short, just can't kill them.

Rob

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Posted by West Coast S on Thursday, July 27, 2006 7:48 PM
Howdy Rob, until recently, I had no idea you were the keeper of the flame, never expected to be at "Our Place" once more..

Place seems a little quiet for the old days, Barndad opened up the Roundhouse just up the road, that's were i've been hanging for my daily fix.. But hey, why not have twice the experience??

Your C&NW rebuild encore brings to mind the fact that long after their usefullness to C&NW, they were scattered among lease companies, seems I encountered them every place I was in the late seventies/ early eighties here out west.. A good geep never dies it just gets reincarnated!!!


1911, Torrance Ca, PE announces the groundbreaking of a eleven acre shop complex, complete with foundry, machine shops, motor barn, carpentery and finish shops. A eighteen bay erection shop with overhead cranes will permit the the complete rebuilding of all equiptment. In the state of the art paint booth,the famous PE red was born, in the metal shops, boxcabs were assembled from the ground up as ancient motors underwent evaluation as to future value. Over in the carpenter shop, dissistafied with current offerings, PE constructs cabooses to its own design..This is but a small sample from the glorious days of the interurban that ended with the closeure in 1953 and the razing of the complex in 1983.

Dave
SP the way it was in S scale
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Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:20 AM

Hello again folks,the bars still looking for a few new people.As always a love of all things steel wheels on steel rails of any make model or vintage is gladlt disscussed here. Along with the usual bar fare of food and drink. Don't be shy come on in a pull up a stool and chat classic trains. no prior experiance is needed and any level of knowledge is gladly accepted.

 

Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:17 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

another classic encore of the one to one scale locomotive kitbashing from days of yore,this also first appeared on page 283.

 

Rob

 

 trolleyboy wrote:
Okay since i'm on a bit of a roll ( I have the papers in front of me here's another, one to one scale locomotive kitbashing piece.

CLASSIC DIESELS # 13 C&NW REBUILD PROGRAM

The Chicago & North Western was alway's know as a frugal road, they would buy second hand and do as much in house rebuilding so as to keep the freight rolling and costs down. The C&NW started a rebuild program of their own at the Oelwein Iowa shops, the program was not intended as an upgrade program but as a life extension program ( low cost ) . rebuilt units retained their original GP7 or GP9 designation and power ratings. The distinction between rebuilt units and those just given a light overhaul and repainting was a matter of weather sheet metal work was included ( lowering of short hoods ).

Many of the GP7's were just given minor body works and paintjobs and therefore retained their as built high short hoods.( I have posted pictures of some of these as operated in the early 90's ) On all locomotives that went through this program, the dynamic brakes ( if originally installed ) were removed, some units recieved liberated exhaust manifolds. C&NW applied the "rebuilt' designation toonly the units it originally owned, not to those that were purchased second hand from Percision National. The purchased units did not count towards the capitol rebuild accounting so they recieved the least amount of work ( paint job , mechanical overhaul )In all C&NW "rebuilt" 73 GP7's and 52 GP9's which they counted as their capitol rebuild program.

The list below is from the C&NW records as of 1990,noted are the units that were bought second hand from PNC.

    4100-4209 : ex rock Island GP7's
    4252-4253 : C&NW GP7's exparamentally rebuilt with cummins HE15 engines
    4279-4299 : rebuilt C&NW GP7's
    4301-4309 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's
    4310-4319 : rebuilt C&NW GP7's
    4320-4326 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's
    4327-4332 : rebuilt C&NW GP7's
    4333 : rebuilt C&NW GP9
    4334-4338 : rebuilt C&NW GP7's
    4340-4358 : ex Quebec Northshore & Labrador GP7's
    4359-4278 : ex Frisco GP7's
    4379-4399 : ex Union Pacific GP7's
    4431-4465 : all PNC units from Conrail,QN&SL,Frisco.C&O,and D&RGW GP7's
    4466-4495 : rebuilt C&NW GP7's
    4496-4499 : ex Union Pacific GP9's
    4501-4504 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's
    4505 : rebuilt C&NW GP7
    4506-4513 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's
    4514-4528 : ex QN&SL GP9's
    4529-4549 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's
    4550-4559 : ex Rock Island GP9's
    4560-4562 : rebuilt C&NW GP9's

The gaps in the number series are lcomotives taken up by other rebuild programs alco's or other model EMD's

Rob
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Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:11 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Classic locomotive rebuilding encore. One to one scale kitbashing if you will. This first appeared on page 283.

Rob

 

 trolleyboy wrote:
Here's a bit of new info from the trolleyboy barn. It's kind of in keeping with today's modelling theme,consider this as 1 to 1 scale kitbashing. As alot of us know, the various railways over the years have done alot of "capitol rebuilding" of older locomotives to : A get more life out of usefull locomotives thus avoiding expensive repurchasing of new power. & B to get tax breaks on locomotives already purchased, by rebuilding and essentially remanufactureing they can claim the costs like they can on new purchases. One of the biggest locomotive rebuilders in a railway owned shop was of coarse IIlinois Central's massive Paducah shops rebuuilding'sof geeps and switchers and some early SD's


CLASSIC DIESELS # 12 THE ICG REBUILDS

IC's capitol rebuild program, carried out at the Paducah shops in Kentucky was a pioneer program.They were the first railroad to create and run such a program, and on such a massive scale.It encompassed early GP type locomotives ( some purchased from other railroads ). GP7's were rebuilt and redesignated GP8's , GP9's as rebuilt were refered to as GP10's This program began in early 1968 with the program ending in 1981 ! The first locomotives outshopped were GP8 7960 and GP10 8109. Thes two and GP10's 8009,8025,&8082 retained their high shorthoods.The first chopnosed unit GP8 7961 came ot of the shop in march of 1968 and all further rebuilds received the chopped shorthoods.

The rebuilding, saw complete strip downs to the frame sandblasting and repairs and a full repair and refurbishment of the 567 primemovers,new airfilters and electronic's etc. During 1968 there was a flirtation with uprating the horsepower of all the units to 2000hp but they weren't highly sucessfull so all wer rerated to 1600hp uop from the as built 1500 for the GP8's and 1850hp up from the 1750 asbuilt on the GP10 rebuilds. GP8's 7957,7964,7966,7977 and 7981 were the 2000hp GP8 exparament. GP10's 8004,8025,8072,8082,8158,and 8233 were the 2000hp GP10's all the 2000hp conversions were downgraded to 1850 hp in 1969 as it was found that the maintenance was easier than the turbocharged 2000hp format.

The ICG rebuuilding program added paper airfilters mounted in a distintive roof top box ( horsecaller ) and all the units recieved a liberated 4 stack exhaust manifolds ( both spotting features of the rebuilds ) The ICG also removed the dynamic braking and it's assosiated roof top blister omn units rebuilt for their own use,none of the IC's locomotives were bought with dynamic brakes but units purchased second hand were,this was again done for ease of maintenance and uniformity of spare parts,that and the units mostly held down secondary road jobs and yard and transfer work so it was felt that the dynamic braking was not required ( also cheaper less parts less maintenance )

The ICG was so pleased with it's shops work on their own engines that they decided that they would go into the business of upgrading locmotives for other railroads. IC set up a partnership with Persision National corp (PNC) in which they did joint venture rebuilding at both Paducah and at PNC's Mount Vernon ILL. shop.At the same time IC began to work with PNC to obtain secondhand GP7's and GP9's to rebuild and add to thier own roster of the total locomotives IC rostered 59 of the GP8's and 60 of the GP10's came from other railways.

It's difficult to track the parantage of many of the rebuilds as so many wer being worked on at the same time in both shops,parts and components and frames were redily swapped.An example would be ICG GP10 8270. It was outshopped in december of 1971, it was built from the frame of wrecked Boston and Maine GP9 1710,but it used the engine and components of a wrecked Suthern Pacific 3516. This is typical of this program,some locomotives may have parts from 3 or 4 other's plus new parts bought from EMD or GMD !

When IC and Gulf Mobile and Ohio merged to become ICG it had no effect on the rebuilding program. In fact ICG concidered using The GM&O's Iselin Ten shop as an extra shop, however it was decided to do the actual rebuilding just at Paducah.

Railroads that donated the raw materials for the program were as follows : DT&I ,Pittsburg & Lake Erie, Reading , Frisco , Quebec Northshore & Labrador , C&O , B & O , Boston & Maine , D&RGW , Clinchfield , Florida East Coast ,and Union Pacific. This influx of "new" powerv allowed the ICG to handle the traffic growth of the merged railroad and retire all the old Alco power they inherrited from the GM&O. after the program was terminated in 1981 the Paducah shop was sold to the Paducah and Louisville Railway, whose subsidiary VMV Enterprises operates it as a locomotive rebuilding shop still today.


Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 4:43 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Some more classic gold from CM3 "Shane" to go along with the classic encore railroad of today, the B&M. Anyone wishing to participate please do. There's always room for more "stools" at the bar, to share a couple of drinks and some meaningfull chat on all things classic trains.

Rob

 

 coalminer3 wrote:
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.

Red Sox in the a.m. yesterday - because of the Marathon (no Boris, not the oil company!)

Interesting material posted this a.m. The information on locomotive bells was a nice addition to my binder. Also enjoyed the shot of the B&L interlocking which leads us to the Boston and Maine which handled Canadian Pacific passenger equipment in Boston. How was that for tying stuff together?

Anyway, today is B&M day so I twitched a previous post which some of you may have missed (it was a loooong time ago, and added in a couple of URLs which will well repay your investigation. I'll check back later for the birthday bash as I believe it's not underway yet.

Boston and Maine – The Way It Was

Think of the Boston and Maine and you think of utilitarian North Station; a building that crouched along Causeway Street, hemmed in by the elevated trolley tracks and the Manger Hotel and surmounted by Boston Garden.

I always associated North Station with winter even though I traveled from there in all seasons. Maybe it was the name – North Station – that made me think of ice-encrusted freight cars, steam-heated passenger coaches, and trains plowing through deep snow “up country.”

North Station’s lobby was neither large nor ornate. It was a low, wide space, somewhat dark, with ticket windows on one side and train gates on the other. It was not a space designed for travelers to spend much time. Buying tickets was simple; tell the agent where you wanted to go, pu***he money under the bars in the window and get your ticket and change back with minimal conversation and no wasted motion; a truly New England process.

To the trains, then, ticket in hand. Umbrella sheds protected the platforms and it was always cold under the sheds in the winter and cool under the sheds in the summer. From North Station, the B&M sent commuter trains to the suburbs and long haul runs to all corners of northern New England, west to New York State, and into Canada. Passengers could not see much as the tracks were close together and it was dark so the scope of operations at North Station was not apparent until a train cleared the umbrella sheds and moved out into an area that was a little more open.

North Station was a busy place with cars and locomotives come to the big city from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada. There was also a horde of commuter trains. In the morning, empty trains backed out of the station as loaded trains arrived. In the evening, this complicated ballet occurred again. Loaded outbound trains threaded their way among empty trains backing down from the coach yard to the station.

The station tracks quickly narrowed to a pair of drawbridges; truly a yard “throat.” A tower just past the bridges controlled all of the activity. Bridge tenders were responsible for raising the bridges to allow shipping to pass, which was mostly tows of barges. The tracks fanned out after crossing the bridges. Mystic was next.

Mystic was truly the operational heart of the Boston and Maine. Across the Charles River from North Station, Mystic was in the shadows of the grim walls of what the newspapers always called the “infamous Massachusetts State Prison at Charlestown.” Mystic combined freight yards, team tracks, and a coach yard. The Boston Engine Terminal was part of the larger Mystic facility.

The names on the cars in the coach yard told where the B&M went and the places it served. There were coaches, lounge cars, sleepers, RPOs and baggage cars from the Canadian Pacific, Boston and Maine, and Maine Central. Commuter coaches were, of course, most numerous.

The B&M (in common with other New England lines) terminated a lot more freight than it originated, so many offline cars were interspersed with home road cars. So, framed by the coach window, I could see cars from far away roads. They snapped by like slides; Chicago and North Western “Route of the 400s,” Milwaukee Road, Santa Fe, SLSF “Ship It On the Frisco,” Union Pacific, Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake and Ohio. There were a lot of cars from eastern roads; Pennsylvania (with the keystone and lined PRR letters), New Haven, Maine Central, B&M, of course, and New York Central. Dull red (boxcar red or tuscan) was the predominant color although refrigerator cars were yellow or orange and there were some red, white and blue “State of Maine” cars to break up the monotony.

Sometimes there would be cuts of ratty looking single dome tank cars or loaded and empty coal cars on the yard tracks. There were also indescribably filthy hide cars in the yard along with livestock cars with open, slatted sides. Gondolas were there, too, with loads of scrap of other cargo in large wooden crates. There I could see flat cars with loads of machinery or other equipment, sometimes in the open and sometimes covered with tarps. In any case, freight on flat cars was blocked and tied down to keep the loads from shifting.

The engine terminal was a wondrous combination of steam and diesel engines of different types. At the clangorous steam shop, the fleet of aging Pacifics, Atlantics, and Moguls received inspections and running repairs. I also saw 4-8-2s at the steam shop. These engines had enormous pedestal tenders. The diesel house, newer and much cleaner than the steam shop, handled all types of Alco RS-type units, and EMD E units from passenger trains and FTs and geeps from freights.

The B&M's splendid red and gold color scheme was highlighted by a herald of the Concord Minute Man. B&M engines shared terminal space with Maine Central's green and gold units that came down from the north on passenger trains. Painted a light green, an E unit's engine compartment was hot and noisy even when the engine was idling.

Steam engines pulled commuter trains when I was very small. Diesel power replaced steam in the mid 50s. Every business day a fleet of Alco RS and EMD GP7-powered trains converged on North Station to discharge a host of businessmen, secretaries and others who worked in the city. The B&M's wine-red commuter cars were, at best, spartan. Air conditioning did not exist as steam heat tried to subdue New England's winters and open windows did their best to cope with summer heat and humidity.

A caste system applied on commuter trains as “regular” passengers, who were on a first-name basis with the train crew, sat in certain seats. Casual riders made sure not to deprive regulars of their seats. Tickets were stuck into hatbands (men wore hats then) or inserted into clips on the tops of the coach seats. This system allowed trainmen to pass through the cars to collect tickets without disturbing the passengers who read, napped, or played cards. The cars had walkover seats whose backs could be flipped to accommodate groups of up to four passengers who played on wooden or composition lapboards big enough to hold the cars and/or score pads depending on what the game was. I don’t recall there ever being any clear winners or losers, and the game clearly had been going on for a long time.

The train was now past Mystic. There was still
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Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 4:36 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Another true classic from the archieves, a good read for one and all.

Rob

 siberianmo wrote:
THEME for the DAY! - THEME for the DAY!
First Posted on page 139

Here’s another Fallen Flag for the gang from Classic American Railroads:

Boston & Maine (B&M) – (passenger ops)

Headquarters: Boston, MA

Mileage:

1950: 1,700 1995: 1,350

Locomotives in 1963: Diesel: 235

Rolling stock in 1963: Freight cars – 5,490 Passenger – 155

Principal routes in 1950:

Boston-Dover, MA-Portland, ME
Boston-White River Junction, VT
Boston, MA-Troy, NY
Boston-Portsmouth, NH-Portland, ME
Springfield, MA-Berlin, NH
Worcester-Lowell Junction, MA
Worcester-Gardner, MA
South Ashburnham, MA-Bellows Falls, VT
Dover, NH-Intervale, NH

Passenger trains of note:

Alouette (Boston-Montreal, QC)
Ambassador (New York & Boston-Montreal)
Cheshire (Boston-White River Junction)
Day White Mountains (New York-Berlin, NH)
Flying Yankee (Boston-Bangor, ME
Green Mountain Flyer (Boston-Montreal
The Gull (Boston-Halifax, NS)
Kennebec (Boston-Portland-Bangor)
Minute Man (Boston-Troy, NY)
Montrealer & Washingtonian (Washington-Montreal)
Mountaineer (Boston-Littleton & Bethlehem, NH)
Pine Tree (Boston-Portland-Bangor)
Red Wing (Boston-Montreal)
State of Maine (New York-Portland)


Enjoy! Thumbs Up [tup]

Tom Captain [4:-)] Pirate [oX)]


THEME for the DAY! - THEME for the DAY!

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Posted by trolleyboy on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 4:40 PM

Mike

Hi Mike I'm glad to see one of the old guard back. I've sent emails out to everyone hopefully some of the others will come back on occastion as well. Your urls worked fine, I trested one and it pulled right to the proper page for the post in question. I've found that there are not that many differeences format to format with the forum software, we shouild be able to take over from where we left off. again glad to see you in. Boris I'm sure has a big sloppy kiss for you.

Rob

 

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Posted by trolleyboy on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 4:35 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

A post from the vaults to keep things cooking along.I've always been amazed by the amount of trackage that once crisscrossed my country and my directly my province at one time. I know that it is the same elsewhere as well. Once the railway building craze died down the railroads were left with alot of underutilized and underperforming branches.

Rob

 

 trolleyboy wrote:
Good evening again gents. leon a round of CR while I adda bit o info of the Classic nature. Here's another esoteric amd long forgotten steam road from the pioneer days of Ontario.

CLASSIC STEAM # 24 THE CENTRAL ONTARIO RAILWAY

The COR Into The Hills of Gold

The Central Ontario Railway was a 117 mile run that stretched from Trenton Ontario North to Maynooth and Lake St Peter. It was a road that served the many minning towns and villiages of the area.

Begun in 1873, the line was ultimatly intended to Link with the legondary Booth railway the Ottawa Arnprior and Parry sound Ry ( classic steam # 22 ) near Whitney Ontario.While the line made it through the sheild rock and swamp 3 miles shy of Booth's road is where it ended at Wallace on Lake St Peter. The actuial terminus as far as passengers went was at Maynooth just to the south. Here the railway had it's yards,turntables, and it's largest station.

The stroy starts in Prince Edward County, with the completion of a line between Picton( although the Port of Long Point was the original target ) and Trenton jct, the roads link with the Grand Trunk just north of the town of Trenton itself. ( Trenton is on the Bay of Quinte )However the gold rush north of Trenton and Belleville caught the eyes of the railroads builders and in 1866 they were determined to built to these new found gold fields before anyone else, chiefly their main rivals the builders of the Grand Junction Railroad who were hurrying to build a line from Belleville northwest to Peterborough, this openned in 1879. A branch led north from Peterborough from Madoc Jct to the ill-fated goldfields at Eldorado Ontario. Tyhe gold was not as plentifull as hoped but other more mundane minerals convinced the builders of the COR to continue north : iron ore.

In 1882 the construction of the new lines to the iron ore producing areas began. The first destination was Coe Hill, centre of the earliest of these iron discoveries. later prospectors found more in the hills around Bancroft, the line reached Bancroft in 1900.In 1909 Mackenzie and Mann's Canadian Northern laid it's Ottawa to Toronto mainline through Trenton , and added the branches and mainline of the COR to their ever expanding empire. The COR replaced their wooden depot at trenton with a huge three story and extended the north end of the line through to Maynooth where another larger station was built. It met the Irondale Bancroft and Ottawa ( IBO ) at Bird's Creek just north of Bancroft completing the web of branches that were the COR.All along the route small brancjes radiated like veins out to all of the mining camps in the area. Most were open pit type mines as the ore was close to the surface.

Gradually as the various mines depleted the branches were closed down. The lines in Cordova closed in 1941, to Bessemer and Lake st Peter in 1965 and to Coe Hill in 1966.CNR tried of running the short lines that were left as they felt them to be unproffitable even though several small and large paper plants and other industries were located on them. The Paper plants at Glenn Ross and Glenn Millar particularly of note. The CNR steadily chopped back the COR until all of the liones north of Marmora were gone by 1982. By 1986 the link between Trenton and Marmora was gone as well.


Rob

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Posted by wanswheel on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 1:11 PM

Rob, I'm going to try to put new links to the pages for Tom's great

Railroads of Yesteryear

#1: Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/233/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#2: Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/234/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#3: Pennsylvania (PRR)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/237/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#4: New York Central (NYC)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/240/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#5: New Haven (NYNH&H)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/242/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#6: Santa Fe (ATSF) (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/246/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#7: Southern Pacific (SP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/253/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#8: Northern Pacific (NP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/259/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#9: Coastline/Seaboard (ACL - SCL - SAL) (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/267/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#10: Southern Railway (SOU)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/276/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#11: Denver and Rio Grande Western (D&RG)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/282/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#12: Great Northern Railway (GN)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/287/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#13: Missouri Pacific (MP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/293/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#14: Illinois Central (IC)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/299/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#15: Boston & Maine (B&M)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/307/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#16: Western Pacific (WP)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/314/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#17: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/320/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

#18: Burlington Zephyrs (Two Parts)

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/326/448217/ShowPost.aspx#448217

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Posted by pwolfe on Monday, July 17, 2006 3:23 PM

Hi Rob

If there is any Bathams in the barrel I will have one.

Thanks for the trolley photos and the D&H Encore.

This is a post I  put on Doug's Site perhaps you would like it at Our Place as well?

Here is some thing I wrote when the Forum was down. 

A TRIP TO SCOTLAND JUNE 2006.

 

Part One Rugby to Newcastle.

 

A trip I did manage to take while in England was a day trip to Stirling, Scotland. It was an early start with leaving the house at 5:00 AM and walking the mile and a half or so to Rugby station. A pleasant walk, just cool enough in the early morning light to need a light coat, at that time of year it gets light about 4 AM.

 

Arriving at the station a pleasant surprise was that the station buffet was open and plenty of time for a cuppa tea.

In the new timetable which had started earlier that week, a train using an 87 electric loco and coaching stock was timed to leave Rugby for London at 6:20 AM, this was waiting on platform 1. Apart from one train in the evening all services for Virgin are booked for Pendelinos,Virgin’s new 9-Car tilting Electric Units, capable of a higher speed but runnig at 125 MPH at the present, and it was a Pendelino, which arrived on platform 2 with the 6:05 am to London. I did toy with the idea of waiting for the 87 hauled train but decided to go with the 6:05. Come departure time and no movement, and then the conductor came on and announced that some overnight engineering work on the main line was running late although we should be away in a few minutes. A couple of trains had passed us but they were routed via the Northampton loop and as one was an intermodel freight; if we had to go that way we would be delayed. But the conductor was good to is word and after a short while the Beep-Beep of the automatic door closing sounded and we were away for a pleasant 82 mile journey in a hour, with 2 stops, and a on time arrival in Euston.

 

It is fairly short walk along Euston Road from Euston to Kings Cross station and the rush hour was not yet started at that time. There is an Underground connection but by the time you get your ticket and go to the deep level tube line it is almost as quick to walk plus the minimum fare on the Underground is now 3 Pounds (about $5.30).

There was a fair bit of construction work at St Pancreas station in connection with the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link, next door to King’s Cross.

I don’t know if it still is, but the King’s Cross area was noted for a haunt of the Ladies of the Night but I did not see any, perhaps they had finished their shift.

The train to Edinburgh was due to leave at 8AM but as the 7:30 to Newcastle had not left I decided to go on that. The loco hauling the train was a class 91 electric loco #91120 and carried the name Royal Armouries(I believe to commemorate a museum in Leeds).



A class 91 Electric loco and A High Speed Train HST wait at King,s Cross. The HST Diesel-Electric will work a East coast service beyond the electrified line north of Edinburgh.

 

An on time departure had us soon heading out of London with the inbound line busy with Electric Multiple Units of classes 313, 317 and 365 bringing the commuters into the City.

After 77 miles our train arrived at Peterborough passing over the former London & North Western Railway line which ran to Rugby and for the first few miles out of Peterborough is now The Nene Valley preserved railway which has steam-hauled trains at weekends.

 

Departing Peterborough, past the freight yard which had 3 GM class 66 locos in the blue and yellow livery of the GBFr company we were put on the slow line to allow the 7:35 Leeds train to pass we were soon back on the fast line and up to 125 MPH again passing the sign to mark the place where Mallard achieved the World Record for Steam of 126 MPH. On through Grantham Newark and Retford to Doncaster the next stop, passing the loco depot on the approach to the station unfortunately mostly hidden by trees.

On the west side of Doncaster station is the famous loco works, known as the Plant, where the Great Northern later LNER constructed and repaired such famous locos as Flying Scotsman, Mallard, Sir Nigel Gresley etc. The works is still in operation in private hands though on a very reduced scale. Heading north from Doncaster and onto the 1970/80s constructed line to by-pass the Selby coalfield, now itself about to close or so I hear.

The next stop is the old city of York with its magnificent station.




York station.

If anyone gets to visit England a visit to York is a must with Medieval Shambles, City Walls the Minster, Viking Center, good beer and of course The National Railway Museum which is just north of the station.

A few miles after leaving York our train is on the 4 track, mainly straight racing ground across the Plain of York although the line limit is 125 MPH. The slow lines were quite busy with freight with coal and steel trains hauled by class 60 and 66 locos.

 

The 4 track line ends at Northallerton where the lines to Teeside veer off to the east we head north to Darlington where the works of the North Eastern Railway was located and a brand new steam loco of the LNER A1 class is being built by railfans.

Shortly after leaving the station the trackbed of the 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway is crossed. Next station is Durham where the line passes high above the city on a viaduct with a grand view of the Cathedral.

It was here a few years ago, on a steam special, that ex LNER A2 pacific Blue Peter went into a severe wheel slip and wreaked its motion costing many thousands of pounds to repair.

 

Shortly after passing Tyne marshaling yard our train slowed for the approach to Newcastle. To reach the station the River Tyne is crossed on the King Edward Bridge where we were held for a few minutes awaiting a clear platform as we were a few minutes early. Newcastle, like York is a station on a curve and is quite impressive.

There are two railway bridges that cross the Tyne, not counting the new Metro line one connecting Newcastle on the north side with Gateshead on the south,with tri-angular junctions on the south side of the two bridges. Gateshead was the site of a large loco depot. With a large allocation of LNER express steam locos. Near the depot was the site of Robert Stephenson’s early 19th century works.    



#91120 arrived at Newcastle Station

I hope you enjoy this Pete 

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Posted by trolleyboy on Monday, July 17, 2006 2:00 PM

ENCORE ! ENCORE  ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

A favourite railroad of mine right from the bosses's mouth, truly worth a second read.

Rob

 

 siberianmo wrote:

Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear!
Number Nineteen


Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.


Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H)





Reporting marks: DH

Locale: New York and Pennsylvania

Dates of operation: 1829 – present

Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)

Headquarters: Albany, New York



1886 map

The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) (AAR reporting mark DH) is a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, giving it access to New York City and other parts of the northeastern United States. It was formerly an important bridge line, connecting New York with Montreal, Quebec. The company started out as the Delaware and Hudson Canal, running from Kingston, New York on the Hudson River southwest to Port Jervis, New York on the Delaware River and beyond to the anthracite coal fields at Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The canal company later built a railroad, one of the first railroads in the United States, later known as the Delaware and Hudson Company and then the Delaware and Hudson Railroad until 1968. The railroad company has called itself "America's oldest continually operated transportation company".


Delaware and Hudson Canal

The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company was chartered by separate laws in the states of New York and Pennsylvania in 1823, allowing Maurice Wurts and his brother William to construct the canal. The New York law, passed April 23, 1823, incorporated "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company", and the Pennsylvania law, passed March 13 of the same year, authorized the company "To Improve the Navigation of the Lackawaxen River". Ground was broken on July 13, 1825, and the canal was opened to navigation in October 1828. The line of the canal began at Rondout Creek at the location known as Creeklocks, between Kingston (where the creek fed into the Hudson River) and Rosendale. From there it proceeded southwest alongside Rondout Creek to Ellenville, continuing through the valley of the Sandburg Creek, Homowack Kill, Basher Kill and Neversink River to Port Jervis on the Delaware River. From there the canal ran northwest on the New York side of the Delaware River, crossing into Pennsylvania on Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct at Lackawaxen and running on the north bank of the Lackawaxen River to Honesdale.

To get the anthracite from the Wurts' mine in the Moosic Mountains near Carbondale to the canal at Honesdale, the canal company built a gravity railroad. The state of Pennsylvania authorized its construction on April 8, 1826. On August 8, 1829, the D&H's first locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, made history as the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States.

Westward extensions of the railroad opened to new mines at Archibald in 1843, Valley Junction in 1858, Providence in 1860 and Scranton in 1863. Passenger service began west of Carbondale in 1860.

Delaware and Hudson Company

As railroads grew in popularity, the canal company recognized the importance of replacing the canal with a railroad. The first step of this was the Jefferson Railroad, a line from Carbondale north into New York, chartered in 1864, leased by the Erie Railway in 1869 and opened in 1872. This was a branch of the Erie Railway, running south from the main line at Lanesboro to Carbondale. Also built as part of this line was a continuation from the other side of the D&H's gravity railroad at Honesdale southeast to the Erie's Pennsylvania Coal Company railroad at Hawley. The Jefferson Railroad (and through it the Erie) obtained trackage rights over the D&H between its two sections, and the D&H obtained trackage rights to Lanesboro.

The other part of the main line was the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, which the D&H leased on February 24, 1870, and the connecting Lackawanna and Susquehanna Railroad, chartered in 1867 and opened in 1872. The Albany and Susquehanna provided a line from Albany southwest to Binghamton, while the Lackawanna and Susquehanna split from that line at Nineveh, running south to the Jefferson Railroad at Lanesboro. Also leased in 1870 was the Schenectady and Duanesburg Railroad, connecting the Albany and Susquehanna at Duanesburg to Schenectady, opened in 1872 (as the Schenectady & Susquehanna Railroad until 1873).

In 1870 the Valley Railroad opened, providing a non-gravity line between Scranton and Carbondale.

On March 1, 1871 the D&H leased the Renssalaer and Saratoga Railroad Company, which, along with its leased lines, provided a network stretching north from Albany and Schenectady to Saratoga Springs, and continuing northeast to Rutland, Vermont, as well as an eastern route to Rutland via trackage rights over the Troy and Boston Railroad west of Eagle Bridge. The D&H also obtained a 1/4 interest in the Troy Union Railroad from this lease.

On March 1, 1873 the D&H got the New York and Canada Railroad chartered as a merger of the Whitehall and Plattsburgh Railroad and Montreal and Plattsburg Railroad, which had been owned by the Rutland Railroad. This provided an extension north from Whitehall to the border with Quebec, completed in 1875; a branch opened in 1876 to Rouses Point. Lines of the Grand Trunk Railway continued each of the two branches north to Montreal.

The D&H obtained trackage rights over the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad in 1886, extending the main line southwest from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre.

On July 11, 1889 the D&H bought the Adirondack Railway, a long branch line heading north from Saratoga Springs along the Hudson River.

The canal was last used on November 5, 1891, and the gravity railroad closed January 3, 1899. On April 28, 1899 the name was changed to the Delaware and Hudson Company to reflect the lack of a canal, which was sold in June of that year. Between Port Jackson and Ellenville, the right-of-way for the canal was used by the Ellenville and Kingston Railroad, a branch of the New York, Ontario and Western Railway, chartered in 1901 and opened in 1902.

In 1903 the D&H organized the Chateaugay and Lake Placid Railway as a consolidation of the Chateaugay Railroad, Chateaugay Railway and Saranac and Lake Placid Railway. In conjunction with the Plattsburgh and Dannemora Railroad, which had been leased by the Chateaugay Railroad, this formed a long branch from Plattsburgh west and south to Lake Placid.

In 1906 the D&H bought the Quebec Southern Railway and South Shore Railway, merging them into the Quebec, Montreal and Southern Railway. This line ran from St. Lambert, a suburb of Montreal, northeast to Fortierv
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Posted by trolleyboy on Monday, July 17, 2006 1:51 PM

Well we are still here.Boris is as brite eyed and um bushy tailed as always ( summer coat ). Again a recent email appeal has been sent out in hopes of drawing back some of the old gang. I think that we shall talk passenger operations today if anyone pops by and is interested.

 

Rob ( caretaker of Our Place )

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    May 2014
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Posted by trolleyboy on Monday, July 17, 2006 12:07 AM

ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE ! ENCORE !

Well just a small encore to maybe get some of the old" Our Place"creaative juices flowing again.here's hoping that a few of the old timers pop back, and perhaps even some new blood.same rules as before,lets talk calssic trains real or modelled and have abit o fun along the way.

Rob

.

 

 trolleyboy wrote:
I'm back briefly with the first classic trains talk of the year from me. this is an add CN put into National Geographic to promote awarness of it's size and scope to the United States. the ad was run in 1929.

A railway system that spans a continent.
and links two great nations


New York and Montreal; Chicago and Toronto ; Duluth and Winnipeg lie south and north of the International Line. But they are not foreign ground to the citizens of either The United States or Canada. Language , race, and customs and the luxurious trains of Canadian National Railways link them together and make them neighbours.


Wherever you wi***o go in Canada - whether to the playgrounds of the Maritime Provinces, Historic Quebec, the lake and forest regions of Ontario, the great prairie provinces, the mighty Canadian Rockies to the Pacific Coast and Alaska- Canadian National will take you, speedily, comfortably , and over a route replete with magnificent scenery.

But Canadian National is more than a railroad.It operates year 'round hotels and summer resorts. It provides frieght,express and telegraph service with conections to all aprts of the world. Canadian National Steamships carry Canada's ensign over the seven seas. Eleven Candian National radio stations broadcast from coast to coast.

For information on Canada's natural resorces and business opportunities, for tickets and accomodations, call at , write or telephone the nearest Canadian National office.

CANADIAN NATIONAL
The Largest Railway System in America

operating Railways . Steamships . Hotels . Telegraph and Express Service . Radio



Intresting ad to be sure. I'll see if I can't get it to scan so you all can see it.

Rob

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Posted by trolleyboy on Sunday, July 16, 2006 11:57 PM

Well folks, since I'm too stubborn to give up quite yet, I'll keep the lights on until the end of the month. Anyone wishing to pop by the staff are still engaged and hopefully the conversation can be as well. I will pop in at least twice a day to keep her lit as it where. Leon you big lug break out the good conjac.Just a couple of photo's this evening seeing as this would have been a sunday photo posting day.

 

Four images which were favourites of mine from the museum. Hope to see some old faces pop through the door occationally. Like I said i'll try to keep her going till the end of the month, at whick point the rent may or may not be picked up for august.

 

Rob

 

 

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