"OUR" PLACE - SEE NEW THREAD!

[Anonymous]

Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have two light breakfasts and a trash bag to clean-up after the 4-day party, which is now sadly over. Surely enjoyed yesterdays NYC posts from Tom and Al yesterday. I still can't find several boxes of my train literature, so I really need recent E-Bay transactions to get to me soon! Here's a little something (part I) for today's theme:

War Comes to Lionel Vintage Rail No. 8 1997

When the United States found itself drawn into two world wars in the first half of the century, American industry rapidly geared up for its supporting role. Even the nation’s toy makers joined the ranks, curtailing or ceasing normal production and often refitting tools, machinery, and assembly lines to produce equipment needed by the armed forces. One of the nation’s foremost toy manufacturers emerged from each period of wartime production in better shape than when it entered.

Indeed, the Lionel Manufacturing Company had reaped the benefits of a good relationship with the military before its involvement with toy trains. Founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen, the seed money for his new business had come from Navy contracts for Cowen’s patented inventions of electrically triggered explosive fuses. Flush with the success of his premier business venture, Cowen turned his attention to the creation of “electrical novelties.”

Before World War I, most of the electrically powered toy trains sold in the U.S. were imports – primarily from Germany, but also from several other European nations. The eruption of hostilities on the continent in 1914, followed by America’s entry into the fray in 1917, seriously disrupted the flow of foreign-made playthings and other consumer products to America’s shores. Although closing the door to imports certainly benefited domestic manufacturers in the short term, this competitive advantage was quickly offset by the shortage of, and increased prices for, the raw materials needed to produce new toys. The impact was felt in the miniature, model railroading world known as Lionelville as early as 1916, when Cowen announced a revised price structure for all trains and accessories via a loose sheet inserted in that year’s consumer catalog. Therein, the firm’s patriarch apologized for the price increases, placing blame squarely on the shoulders of “Old Mister War.”

In spite of Cowen’s attempt to paint a negative image of the war’s impact on Lionel’s wartime fortunes, and despite an actual shortage of raw materials for toy making, the firm fared well during those turbulent times. Even before America’s entry into the war, the Lionel Manufacturing Company had stockpiled parts and wisely secured a new set of lucrative governments contracts to produce a variety of items for the U.S. military. When was declared, even the toy train line itself was used (in retrospect, some might say misused) to further exploit the full potential of a wartime footing.

In 1917, Lionel introduced an armored military train set in O gauge, headed by a twin-cannon-equipped locomotive that resembled no existing prototype used by friend or foe, and which looked more like an early battlefield tank with flanged rather than treaded, wheels. The No. 203 armored locomotive was actually available in two sets: one with two ammunition cars, and the other with two supply cars. Both the locomotive and all of the cars were painted a bland, uniform battleship gray, devoid of any lettering or graphics.



Perhaps more interesting than the armored train itself, and certainly far more colorful, was Lionel’s blatantly jingoistic catalog announcement of this new item. A bold headline extolling the nation’s youth to “Play War!” was accompanied by equally hawkish advertising text.

Regardless of whether one considers the armored train to have been a prudent venture, morally or otherwise, it nevertheless was the most significant new item added to Lionel’s toy train lineup during the war years. The remaining trains and accessories presented in the 1917 and 1918 catalogs (catalogs were published in both years) were largely carry-over products from the prewar period. In any event, and despite the lackluster train offerings, the Lionel Manufacturing Company prospered during the war – to the point where further expansion dictated a corporate reorganization. In July 1918, some four months before the war’s end, the Lionel Manufacturing Company was restructured as The Lionel Corporation, with Joshua Lionel Cowen as its president.

After the war, Cowen’s attitude toward the appropriateness of war toys in childhood development apparently changed. The armored train disappeared from the catalog at war’s end, and it would be some 37 years before it was replaced by any train or accessory with a distinctly military bent. Ron Hollander, in his book All Aboard The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company, recounts an instance where a customer had written to Cowen after the war, requesting that the firm manufacture a military train. Cowen rejected the idea with a response that essentially set the tone for Lionel’s prevailing attitude regarding war-related trains until long after World War II:

“We have given considerable thought to the production of a military gun mounted on a flat car, but we have not placed it on the market for the reason that we are most desirous of bringing the idea of war to the minds of children. We would much prefer to devote our efforts and energy to the development of toys that are more elevating to the mind of a child.”

[:I] The Real Man Test

1. Alien beings from a highly advanced society visit the Earth, and you are the first human they encounter. As a token of intergalactic friendship, they present you with a small but incredibly sophisticated device that is capable of curing all disease, providing an infinite supply of clean energy, wiping out hunger and poverty, and permanently eliminating oppression and violence all over the entire Earth. You decide to:
A. Present it to the President of the United States.
B. Present it to the Secretary General of the United Nations.
C. Take it apart.

2. As you grow older, what lost quality of your youthful life do you miss the most?
A. Innocence.
B. Idealism.
C. Cherry bombs.

3. When is it okay to kiss another male?
A. When you wi***o display simple and pure affection without regard for narrow-minded social conventions.
B. When he is the pope. (Not on the lips.)
C. When he is your brother and you are Al Pacino and this is the only really sportsmanlike way to let him know that, for business reasons, you have to have him killed.

4. What about hugging another male?
A. If he’s your father and at least one of you has a fatal disease.
B. If you’re performing the Heimlich maneuver. (And even in this case, you should repeatedly shout: "I am just dislodging food trapped in this male’s trachea! I am not in any way aroused!"
C. If you’re a professional baseball player and a teammate hits a home run to win the World Series, you may hug him provided that:
1. He is legally within the base path,
2. Both of you are wearing protective cups, and
3. You also pound him fraternally with your fist hard enough to cause fractures.

5. Complete this sentence: A funeral is a good time to...
A. ...remember the deceased and console his loved ones.
B. ...reflect upon the fleeting transience of earthly life.
C. ...tell the joke about the guy who has Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

6. In your opinion, the ideal pet is:
A. A cat.
B. A dog.
C. A dog that eats cats.

7. You have been seeing a woman for several years. She is attractive and intelligent, and you always enjoy being with her. One leisurely Sunday afternoon the two of you are taking it easy-you’re watching a football game; she’s reading the papers-when she suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, tells you that she thinks she really loves you, but she can no longer bear the uncertainty of not knowing where your relationship is going. She says she’s not asking whether you want to get married; only whether you believe that you have some kind of future together. What do you say?
A. That you sincerely believe the two of you do have a future, but you don’t want to rush it.
B. That although you also have strong feelings for her, you cannot honestly say that you’ll be ready anytime soon to make a lasting commitment, and you don’t want to hurt her by holding out false hope.
C. That you cannot believe the Jets called a draw play on third and seventeen.

8. Okay, so you have decided that you truly love a woman and you want to spend the rest of your life with her - sharing the joys and the sorrows, the triumphs and the tragedies, and all the adventures and opportunities that the world has to offer, come what may. How do you tell her?
A. You take her to a nice restaurant and tell her after dinner.
B. You take her for a walk on a moonlit beach, and you say her name, and when she turns to you, with the sea breeze blowing her hair and the stars in her eyes, you tell her.
C. Tell her what?

9. One weekday morning your wife wakes up feeling ill and asks you to get your three children ready for school. Your first question to her is:
A. "Do they need to eat or anything?"
B. "They’re in school already?"
C. "There are three of them?"

10. When is it okay to throw away a set of veteran underwear?
A. When it has turned the color of a dead whale and developed new holes so large that you’re not sure which ones were originally intended for your legs.
B. When it is down to eight loosely connected underwear molecules and has to be handled with tweezers.
C. It is never okay to throw away veteran underwear. A real guy checks the garbage regularly in case somebody-and we are not naming names, but this would be his wife-is quietly trying to discard his underwear, which she is frankly jealous of, because the guy seems to have a more intimate relationship with it than with her.

11. What, in your opinion, is the most reasonable explanation for the fact that Moses led the Israelites all over the place for forty years before they finally got to the Promised Land?
A. He was being tested.
B. He wanted them to really appreciate the Promised Land when they finally got there.
C. He refused to ask for directions.

12. What is the human race’s single greatest achievement?
A. Democracy.
B. Religion.
C. Remote control.

How to Score...
Give yourself one point for every time you picked answer "C."
A real guy would score at least 10 on this test.
Give yourself a bonus 5 points for knowing the Alzheimer’s joke. [:I]

[siberianmo]

We open at 6 AM.
(All time zones - Don’t ask how we do that!)[swg]


WEDNESDAY’s INFO & SUMMARY of POSTS


Mid-week is upon us! C’mon in – enjoy a cup of freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee – a <light or <traditional breakfast from the Menu Board and of course one or two goodies from The Mentor Village Bakery!



Daily Wisdom


If people don’t want to come to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?
ENCORE! Yogi-ism



Info for the Day:


* Weekly Calendar:


TODAY: Toy ‘n Model Trains Day!
Thursday: Fish ‘n Chips Nite!
Friday: Pizza Nite! & Steak Nite!
Saturday: Steak ‘n Trimmin’s Nite! – and –
ENCORE! Saturday



MVP Award Winners

April 2006 . . . LoveDome Lars
May – June . . . . barndad Doug



[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]


Comedy Corner

Take any word, add – subtract or change one letter – provide a new definition and you get:

1. Cashtration (n): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

2. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

3. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

4. Bozone (n): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

5. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting “prone.”

6. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.


[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]



The Mentor Village Emporium Theatre


NOW SHOWING:
Double Features and Three Stooges Short Subject!

. . . Sunday, July 2nd thru 8th: 1776 (1972): starring: William Daniels & Howard Da Silva – and – The Patriot (2000) starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger & Joely Richardson. SHORT: Movie Maniacs (1936).

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

. . . Sunday, July 9th thru 15th: The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch – and – M*A*S*H (The Movie - 1970) starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt. SHORT: Half-Shot Shooters (1936)



SUMMARY

Name …..…………… Date/Time …..…..………. (Page#) .. Remarks

(1) barndad Doug Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 06:31:44 (370) THEME: NYC – early stylish steam locos

(2) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 07:26:25 (370) Tuesday’s Info & 12-Post Summary

(3) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 08:53:24 (370) THEME: NYC – RRs from Yesteryear

(4) passengerfan Al Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 09:52:24 (370) THEME: NYC – Streamlined head end cars

(5) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 13:16:09 (370) THEME: NYC – Fallen Flag

(6) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 13:29:40 (370) THEME: NYC Aerotrain ad (1956)

(7) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 14:16:57 (370) Gulf Coast Report!

(8) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 15:20:12 (370) THEME: NYC Ohio Xplorer ad (1956)

(9) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 18:55:34 (370) THEME: NYC 20th Century Ltd ad (1948)

(10) siberianmo Tom Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 20:13:50 (370) Comments

(11) trolleyboy Rob Posted: 04 Jul 2006, 22:40:34 (370) Count Robulla’s return!



That’s it![tup][;)]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]
Proprietor of “Our” Place, an adult eating & drinking establishment!

[trolleyboy]

Good evening gentlemen. I see that after this weekend of holiday reverie we will have quite a bit of cleaning up to do. seems the Independance Day decor was pasted roght over the Dominion Day decorations. I wonder who would have done that Boris [?][tdn]

I hope that everyone had a wonderfull holiday with your families, and thanks again for all the Dominion day wishes that flowed from everyone as well. Yes Doug I still refer to it as such , being the non-Liberal politically correct WASP that I am. [:O] i also refer to our national flag as Mr Pearson's underware ( another Liberal party rebranding of the country )To my mind the red ensign should still be our national flag but I digress.

Tom Thanks for all the Red 'n' White railroad encores from saturday. They were all good reads, and a pointiant reminder of my countries rail past and the histroy the rail industry has made up here.

I'm glad that you posted the Bergie report as well. I do hope that the new format removes the annoying bugs & glitches many of us have been experiancing the last year.
or so

Great info on the NYC and the BNSF as well. Always nice to see infoion my fav US road the NYC.nothings more American than it I feel, well maybe the Pennsey[swg]

Doug Thanks for posting that article.. there are a lot opf people up here that feel that way.The changes most likely won't go over well in the modern politically correct socoety of today [tdn] more the pity. As to me we should be embracing our uniquness and our history not conforming it to other peoples needs and sensibilities.

Wonderfull work on that GE unit. By the time your shop boys are done with it it will look better than the day it rolled out of Erie.

Tom and Doug a 10x[tup] for the Sunday picture extravaganza you folks pushed forward.I should be able to put forward some decent shots next sunday from our little excursion north. Our hotel in North bay was only 4 blocks from the ONR's main shops ( I assure you it was a coincidence ) At any rate three of tthe refurbed Cat powered F units were parked in front in the storage lines along with a couple of HH geeps.I manged to get shots of te old TNO station and their Consolidation and the Tee train that are part of the water front rail musuem. ( the laters in very rough shape )

Ted wow I think I will take my cahnces with H&H's cooking that, oml;ette Boris made you is beyond bizzare , beyond sureal and definatly beyond the pallet of anything human [alien]I do hope that you stayed clear pf Boris's Independance day flaminf Carpathian show [O][xx(]. I have to say that the "big blows" were not a huge draw for me, but I do see their impressive and attractive lines as a locomotive, truly a piece of railroadianna.

Dave Thanks for the follow up on the SP mergers and trials and tribulations. I've always found that it is the beancounters that win in the end. Those and cockroaches and the odd lawyer will liley be the only survivers of a nuclear blast ( either via a nuke train or plane LOL )

Thanks for the greatest rail inventions list as well. Here's a couple more.
1) The first usage of the safety or north american cab on diesel locomotives. CN ordered SD402w's in 1972 with the full width nose followed by orders for GP40-2's and GP38-2's also with the "safety" cab two decades before they became the norm.

2) The TH&B insatlled the first functioning and usuefull "pre heat " system in a roundhouse. In 1900 they installed a statuionary boiler with steam lines to preheat steam locomotives in their John street roundhouse ( Hamilton Ontario ) This eleiminated the need for a frie watcher to be on duty all night as they would let the fore go down and inject a hot steam blast to get the kettle cooking in the morning. this was later used on it's parent companies the NYC and the MC as well as a few other rr's later.

Mike Great article on the NYC dining cars sir. Thanbks for the NS&T pix as well.

Well that should just about get me back into the curve.

Leon here's a sack o ca***o repleni***he tills for the morning after a weekend of freebies.

Rob

[siberianmo]

G'day!

No point in Posting any more NYC features - doesn't appear to be anyone 'round the tavern by the tracks.

So I'll take my leave and go outside for the fireworks display . . .

Hope one and all enjoyed the long holiday weekend, and of course holidays at either end of it! [tup]

My appreciation to the few who showed up and of course for the contributions of relevant "theme" material! [tup]

REMINDER:
Leon the Night man takes the bar - NOW!

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!


PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #38

Here’s something to enjoy regarding the New York Central (NYC) in a 1948 advertisement from my private collection:

World Premiere!
the New 20th Century Limited

First of New York Central’s new Dreamliner Fleet

NEW Lookout Lounge – Modern setting for the club-like availability that’s long been a Century tradition.

New – from its streamlined Diesel to its raised “Lookout Lounge” . . .

New King-Size Diner – So spacious it needs a separate kitchen car! Smart designing gives each table privacy plus a perfect outlook. There’s a festive feel about the Century’s dinner lounge and a sense of being served with distinction.

New 1948 Century Rooms – Whether you travel in a roomette, a bedroom or with a party in a suite, you can work, or relax in air-conditioned privacy by day – then sleep the miles away by night on Central’s smooth Water Level Route.

NEW NEW YORK CENTRAL

BETWEEN THE HEART OF CHICAGO AND THE HEART OF NEW YORK
Vacation overnight aboard the new Century. Arrive refreshed – with no business time lost.





Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)][oX)]

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!

PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #28

Here’s something to ponder with regard to our appreciation and fascination with
Classic Trains. Check this advertisement out (from The Official Guide of the Railways – 1956)
first Posted on page 170



Extra service at no extra fare!

Route your passengers on the Central’s newest train

OHIO XPLORER CLEVELAND-CINCINNATI

Built for the Central by Pullman-Standard, the beautiful, lightweight all-coach Xplorer brings a new look to American railroading. Travelers will appreciate being introduced to this train and its convenient schedule.

*Hostess service
*Seat service for light meals from a rolling buffet
*Air cooled
*Reclining contour seats
*Separate bar-lounge car

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Standard Time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Train #421 – Lv. Cleveland 6:45 AM – Ar. Cincinnati 12:15 PM
Train #422 – Lv. Cincinnati 1:45 PM – Ar Cleveland 7:15 PM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Also serving 8 cities in between . . . . . . . . . .

NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon all aboard. A very special day for Americans and their families. I suspect that is where most of our numbers may be found, with their families, that is.[tup] Tom, I am duty bound to select an American whiskey on this Inedepenence Day, so please make it a Jack Daniels Black Label straight up with a "branch water back." HEEVAHGEEVAHSHEEVA....man that's smooth whiskey.![xx(] They may be the few but "they" are the mighty with thouroghly absorbing data from the N.Y.C. to Santa Fe, to B.N.S.F., to, {must I say it?} Penn Central.[v] Seriously, with just a few posts, I dare say, more has been covered through Tom, Barndad, Mike and Al than on the heaviest of volume days.[bow] Let me not forget the excellent coverage of the U.P. steam and gas turbines prior to that.[^] I don't know the reason but "turbines" have never scored a big "hit" among r.r. Buffs compared to conventional steam and diesel. Thanks Tom for the up-date on the whereabouts of our Chief Chef [C=:-)] Nick and, of course, our active duty serviceman, John. We salute you on this special day sir. Mike, for a "one finger" treatise, yours was a tour de force indeed and very much appreciated.[tup] X bazillion.

Looking foward to the fireworks display at dusk with the possible exception of what antics Boris might blunder into this year.[:O] This must be my last entry for this 4th. A Rep. from the "reverse motgage" people will be here tomorrow and there are a few "loose ends" still pending. Okay, hit 'er Boris! ...SQUEAL!!! Cretin, not Ruthy and defintely...not there![:(!]

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!


PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #27

Here’s something to ponder with regard to our appreciation and fascination with
Classic Trains. Check this advertisement out (from The Official Guide of the Railways – 1956)
first Posted on page 169


Something new for veteran travelers
THROUGH SEPT. 29th

NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD

For a limited time only
AEROTRAIN CLEVELAND-CHICAGO

This much-talked about, lightweight train offers a new experience in travel – provides fast, conveniently scheduled coach service between Cleveland and Chicago . . . with many attractive New York Central features.

* Hostess service
* Seat service for light meals from a rolling buffet
* Separate bar car
* Air cooled
* Reclining contour seats

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Standard Time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Train #201 – Lv. Cleveland 6:35 AM – Ar. Chicago 12:15 PM
Train #200 – Lv. Chicago 4:00 Pm – Ar. Cleveland 10:45 PM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Also serving 12 cities in between . . . . . . . . . .


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!


Here’s another Passenger RR Fallen Flag for the gang from Classic American Railroads:
first Posted on page 122

New York Central System (NYC)


Headquarters: New York City

Locomotives in 1963:

Diesel: 1,965 Electric: 65

Rolling stock in 1963:

Freight cars: 94,115 Passenger cars: 2,905

Principal routes in 1950:

New York-Buffalo, NY-Cleveland, OH-Chicago, IL
Buffalo-Detroit, MI-Porter, IN (Chicago)
Boston, MA-Albany, NY
Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati, OH
Gallion, OH-St. Louis, MO
Chicago-Indianapolis, IN-Cincinnati
Indianapolis-Peoria, IL
Cleveland-Pittsburgh, PA
Detroit-Toledo, OH-Springfield, OH
Toledo-Columbus, OH-Charleston, WVA
Utica, NY-Montreal, QC

Passenger trains of note:

Chicagoan (New York-Cleveland-Chicago)
Chicago Mercury (Chicago-Detroit)
Cincinnati Mercury (Cleveland-Cincinnati)
Cleveland Mercury (Detroit-Cleveland)
Cleveland Limited (New York-Cleveland)
Commodore Vanderbilt (New York-Chicago)
Detroiter (New York-Detroit)
Detroit Mercury (Cleveland-Detroit)
Empire State Express (New York-Buffalo)
James Whitcomb Riley (Chicago-Cincinnati)
Knickerbocker (New York-St. Louis)
Lake Shore Limited (New York-Cleveland-Chicago)
The Michigan (Chicago-Detroit)
Motor City Special (Chicago-Detroit)
New England States (Chicago-Cleveland-Boston)
Ohio State Limited (New York-Cleveland-Cincinnati)
Pacemaker (New York-Cleveland-Chicago)
Southwestern Limited (New York-St. Louis)
20th Century Limited (New York Chicago)
Twilight Limited (Chicago-Detroit)
Wolverine (Chicago-Detroit-New York)


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[passengerfan]

Good Morning Tom and the rest of the gang. Time for a coffee and then its going to be one of those Honey Do days.

Can't ignore the NYC so here is my post for that road.

Happy fourth to everyone and especially to all the men and women in the armed forces who continue to protect te freedoms we in this great country enjoy and sometimes take for granted.

NEW
YORK
CENTRAL
Streamlined Head End Cars
by Al

The NYC was one of the largest railroads in the eastern United States with lines running to Toronto, New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago with many cities in between.
The first streamlined train to enter service on the NYC was the MERCURY rebuilt and streamlined from old heavyweight cars in the roads Beech Grove shops outside Indianapolis. The MERCURY was built to operate a round trip between Cleveland and Detroit daily. The new nine-car train entered service July 15, 1936. The first car in the train was a Baggage 12 seat Smoker 40 Revenue seat Coach Combination numbered 1001 that had originally been a heavyweight Baggage Coach number 90.
The second streamlined trains to enter NYC service were the TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED trains of June 13, 1938. The NYC assigned enough new streamlined cars to the 1938 TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED that they could operate in two sections daily in each direction between Chicago and New York. Each train could operate with 15 cars per consist. Each TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED train was assigned one head end car a Baggage 60' Railway Post Office Car delivered in May 1938 by Pullman Standard. Since their was only one RPO required in each direction nightly the others traveled for the use of the Baggage Compartment only and the RPO was non-operating.

BAGGAGE 60’ RAILWAY POST OFFICE CARS Pullman Standard May 1938 (Built for and assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED)

5017 – 5020

The next streamlined head end car on the NYC was another Baggage 12 seat Smoker 40 revenue seat Coach Combination rebuilt from a heavyweight commuter baggage Coach Combination number 91. This car was assigned to the second MERCURY consist inaugurated November 12, 1939. This was a ten car consist and a extra car was rebuilt at the same time for assignment to the original MERCURY so both were nearly identical ten-car trains. The Baggage 12 seat Smoker 40 revenue seat Coach Combination was numbered 1007. Now each morning one MERCURY departed from Chicago and one from Cleveland daily meeting in Detroit for a lengthy layover before continuing on to the opposite terminal.
The NYC next had Beech Grove shops streamline a heavyweight Baggage Car 3078 and renumber the car 8551. The Beech Grove shops streamlined a heavyweight 44 seat Dining Car number 576 and a Buffet observation Car number 52 at the same time. These three cars along with four Budd stainless steel coaches that had been delivered previously by Budd would comprise the new JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY between Cincinnati and Chicago round trip daily.
In November 1941 the Budd Company delivered 32 lightweight streamlined cars to the NYC for the new EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS trains operating between Cleveland – Detroit and New York with west bound train sections splitting for Detroit and Cleveland at Buffalo. The same was true for eastbound sections from Cleveland and Detroit coming together at Buffalo for the remainder of the trip to Grand Central Station New York. Each of the two consists departing and arriving in New York City had two head end cars. The first was a Baggage 60’ Railway Post Office Car. This was a through New York – Cleveland car they were named ALONZO B. CORNELL and JOHN A. DIX. The other head end car in each consist was a Baggage Tavern Lounge Car named GROVER CLEVELAND or MARTIN VAN BUREN. These two cars were assigned to operate New York – Detroit.

BAGGAGE 60’ RAILWAY POST OFFICE CARS Budd Company November 1941 (Built for and assigned to EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS)

ALONZO B. CORNELL

JOHN A. DIX

BAGGAGE BUFFET 47 SEAT TAVERN LOUNGE CARS Budd Company November 1941 (Built for and assigned to EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS)

GROVER CLEVELAND

MARTIN VAN BUREN

Following WW II the NYC placed orders with American Car & Foundry, Budd and Pullman Standard for some of the largest postwar car orders. Head end car orders were placed with all three major passenger car manufacturers with the bulk of the head end cars coming from American Car & Foundry.
The first of the postwar head end cars to begin delivering were a group of one hundred Baggage cars numbered 9100 to 9199 from American Car & Foundry delivered between October 1946 and May 1947. These cars were built for assignment to General Service.

BAGGAGE CARS American Car & Foundry October 1946 – May 1947 (Built for and assigned to General Service)

9100 – 9199

Beginning in February and finishing in March 1947 American Car & foundry delivered twenty Baggage 48 revenue seat Coach combinations numbered 280 – 299. These twenty cars were assigned to general service.
One month later in April 1947 American Car & Foundry delivered another pair of Baggage 48 revenue seat Coaches to the NYC for assignment to the postwar MERCURY trains. These cars were numbered 344 and 345.

BAGGAGE 48 REVENUE SEAT COACH COMBINATIONS American Car & Foundry February – March 1947 (Built for and assigned to General service)

380 – 299

BAGGAGE 48 REVENUE SEAT COACH COMBINATIONS American Car & Foundry April 1947 (Built for and assigned to MERCURY’S)

344, 345

In July 1947 American Car & Foundry delivered four 60’ Railway Post Office cars 4907 – 4910 for assignment to the TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED. The prewar cars from the TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED were than assigned to the COMMODORE VANDERBILT between New York and Chicago.
In addition a pair of Baggage 30’ Railway Post Office Cars 5014 and 5015 were delivered by American Car & Foundry in July 1947 to the NYC for assignment to the WOLVERINE. This was another overnight train between New York and Chicago except the WOLVERINE operated across Southern Ontario between Buffalo and Detroit.

60’ RAILWAY POST OFFICE CARS American Car & Foundry July 1947 (Built for and assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED)

4907 – 4910

BAGGAGE 30’ RAILWAY POST OFFICE CARS American Car & Foundry July 1947 (Built for and assigned to WOLVERINE)

5014, 5015

Two lots of Baggage 16 Crew Dormitory cars were delivered to the NYC one lot from Budd consisted of twelve cars numbered 8970 – 8981. These stainless steel cars were assigned to the NEW ENGLAND STATES between Boston and Chicago, the SOUTHWESTERN LIMITED between New York and St. Louis and the OHIO STATE LIMITED between New York and Cincinnati. Due to the NEW ENGLAND STATES and OHIO STATE LIMITED often operating in two sections the extra Baggage 16 Crew Dormitory cars were kept in reserve for those trains.
The other lot of Baggage 16 Crew Dormitory cars 8961 - 8969 were delivered by Pullman Standard between March and May, 1948 for assignment to the COMMODORE VANDERBILT between New York and Chicago, THE DETROITER between New York and Detroit, WOLVERINE between New York and Chicago via Detroit and the remainder general service.

BAGGAGE 16 CREW DORMITORY CARS Budd Company August – October 1947 (Built for and assigned to NEW ENGLAND STATES – OHIO STATE LIMITED – SOUTHWESTERN LIMITED)

8970 – 8981

BAGGAGE 16 CREW DORMITORY CARS Pullman Standard March – May 1948 (Built for and assigned to COMMODORE VANDERBILT – DETROITER – WOLVERINE)

8961 - 8969

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!



Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear! Number Four
first Posted on page 240


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


New York Central Railroad


Locale: Chicago, IL to New York, NY and Boston, MA

Reporting marks: NYC

Dates of operation: 1831 – 1968

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

Headquarters: New York, New York


The New York Central Railroad (AAR reporting mark NYC), known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the North-Eastern United States. Headquartered in New York, the railroad served a large proportion of the area, including extensive trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and much of New England and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec. Its primary connections included Chicago and Boston. The NYC's Grand Central Terminal in New York City is one of its best known extant landmarks.

The New York Central was known as the "Water Level Route" as its mainline to New York City ran along the Hudson River.

The famous Water Level Route of the NYC, from New York City to upstate New York, was the first four-track long-distance railroad in the world.

In 1968 the New York Central merged with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to form Penn Central (the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad joined in 1969). That company soon went bankrupt and was taken over by the federal government and merged into Conrail in 1976. Conrail was broken up in 1998, and much of its system was transferred to the newly-formed New York Central Lines LLC, a subsidiary of CSX. That company's lines include the original New York Central main line, but outside that area it includes lines that were never part of the New York Central system.

History

Pre-New York Central: 1826-1853

The oldest part of the New York Central was the first permanent railroad in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was chartered in 1826 to connect the Mohawk River at Schenectady to the Hudson River at Albany, providing a way for cargo on steamboats to avoid the Erie Canal. The Mohawk and Hudson opened on September 24, 1831, and changed its name to the Albany and Schenectady Railroad on April 19, 1847.

The Utica and Schenectady Railroad was chartered April 29, 1833; as the railroad paralleled the Erie Canal it was prohibited from carrying freight. Revenue service began August 2, 1836, extending the line of the Albany and Schenectady Railroad west from Schenectady along the north side of the Mohawk River, opposite the Erie Canal, to Utica. On May 7, 1844 the railroad was authorized to carry freight with some restrictions, and on May 12, 1847 the ban was fully dropped, but the company still had to pay the equivalent in canal tolls to the state.

The Syracuse and Utica Railroad was chartered May 1, 1836 and similarly had to pay the state for any freight displaced from the canal. The full line opened July 3, 1839, extending the line further to Syracuse via Rome (and further to Auburn via the already-opened Auburn and Syracuse Railroad). This line was not direct, going out of its way to stay near the Erie Canal and serve Rome, and so the Syracuse and Utica Direct Railroad was chartered January 26, 1853. Nothing of that line was ever built, though the later West Shore Railroad, acquired by the New York Central in 1885, served the same purpose.

The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was chartered May 1, 1834 and opened mostly in 1838, the remaining 4 miles (6 km) opening on June 4, 1839. A month later, with the opening of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, this formed a complete line from Albany west via Syracuse to Auburn, about halfway to Geneva. The Auburn and Rochester Railroad was chartered May 13, 1836 as a further extension via Geneva and Canandaigua to Rochester, opening on November 4, 1841. The two lines merged on August 1, 1850 to form the rather indirect Rochester and Syracuse Railroad (known later as the Auburn Road). To fix this, the Rochester and Syracuse Direct Railroad was chartered and immediately merged into the Rochester and Syracuse on August 6, 1850. That line opened June 1, 1853, running much more directly between those two cities, roughly parallel to the Erie Canal.

To the west of Rochester, the Tonawanda Railroad was chartered April 24, 1832 to build from Rochester to Attica. The first section, from Rochester southwest to Batavia, opened May 5, 1837, and the rest of the line to Attica opened on January 8, 1843. The Attica and Buffalo Railroad was chartered in 1836 and opened on November 24, 1842, running from Buffalo east to Attica. When the Auburn and Rochester Railroad opened in 1841, there was no connection at Rochester to the Tonawanda Railroad, but with that exception, there was now an all-rail line between Buffalo and Albany with the completion of the Tonawanda Railroad. On March 19, 1844 the Tonawanda Railroad was authorized to build the connection, and it opened later that year. The Albany and Schenectady Railroad bought all the baggage, mail and emigrant cars of the other railroads between Albany and Buffalo on February 17, 1848 and began operating through cars.

On December 7, 1850 the Tonawanda Railroad and Attica and Buffalo Railroad merged to form the Buffalo and Rochester Railroad. A new direct line opened from Buffalo east to Batavia on April 26, 1852, and the old line between Depew (east of Buffalo) and Attica was sold to the Buffalo and New York City Railroad on November 1. The line was added to the New York and Erie Railroad system and converted to the Erie's 6 foot (1829 mm) wide gauge.

The Schenectady and Troy Railroad was chartered in 1836 and opened in 1842, providing another route between the Hudson River and Schenectady, with its Hudson River terminal at Troy.

The Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad was chartered in 1834 to build from Lockport on the Erie Canal west to Niagara Falls; it opened in 1838. On December 14, 1850 it was reorganized as the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, and an extension east to Rochester opened on July 1, 1852.

The Buffalo and Lockport Railroad was chartered April 27, 1852 to build a branch of the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls from Lockport towards Buffalo. It opened in 1854, running from Lockport to Tonawanda, where it junctioned with the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad, opened 1837, for the rest of the way to Buffalo.

In addition to the Syracuse and Utica Direct, another never-built company - the Mohawk Valley Railroad - was chartered January 21, 1851 and reorganized December 28, 1852, to build a railroad on the south side of the Mohawk River from Schenectady to Utica, next to the Erie Canal and opposite the Utica and Schenectady. The West Shore Railroad later built on that location.

Albany industrialist and Mohawk Valley Railroad owner Erastus Corning got the above railroads together into one system, and on March 17, 1853 they agreed to merge. The merger was approved by the state legislature on April 2, and ten of the remaining companies merged to form the New York Central Railroad on May 17, 1853. The following companies were consolidated into this system, including the main line from Albany to Buffalo:

1. Albany and Schenectady Railroad
2. Utica and Schenectady Railroad
3. Syracuse and Utica Railroad
4. Rochester and Syracuse Railroad
5. Buffalo and Rochester Railroad

The Rochester and Syracuse also owned the old alignment via Auburn, Geneva and Canandaigua, known as the "Auburn Road". The Buffalo and Rochester included a branch from Batavia to Attica, part of the main line until 1852. Also included in the merger were three other railroads:

6. Schenectady and Troy Railroad, a branch from Schenectady east to Troy
7. Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, a major branch from Rochester west to Niagara Falls
8. Buffalo and Lockport Railroad, a branch from the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls at Lockport south to Buffalo via trackage rights on the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad from Tonawanda
As well as two that had not built any road, and never would:
9. Mohawk Valley Railroad
10. Syracuse and Utica Direct Railroad

Soon the Buffalo and State Line Railroad and Erie and North East Railroad converted to standard gauge from 6 foot (1829 mm) broad gauge and connected directly with the NYC in Buffalo, providing a through route to Erie, Pennsylvania.

Erastus Corning years: 1853-1867

The Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad was organized in 1852 and opened in Fall 1853; it was leased to the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, which became part of the New York Central, before opening. In 1855 it was merged into the New York Central, providing a branch from Rochester north to Charlotte on Lake Ontario.

The Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad was also merged into the New York Central in 1855. It had been chartered in 1834 and opened in 1837, providing a line between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. It was leased to the New York Central in 1853 and merged in 1855.

Also in 1855 came the merger of the Lewiston Railroad, running from Niagara Falls north to Lewiston. It was chartered in 1836 and opened in 1837 without connections to other railroads. In 1854 a southern extension opened to the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad and the line was leased to the New York Central; it was merged in 1855.

The Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad was chartered in 1851. The first stage opened in 1853 from Canandaigua on the Auburn Road west to Batavia on the main line. A continuation west to North Tonawanda opened later that year, and in 1854 a section opened in Niagara Falls connecting it to the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge. The New York Central bought the company at bankruptcy in 1858 and reorganized it as the Niagara Bridge and Canandaigua Railroad, merging it into itself in 1890.

The Saratoga and Hudson River Railroad was chartered in 1864 and opened in 1866 as a branch of the New York Central from Athens Junction, southeast of Schenectady, southeast and south to Athens on the west side of the Hudson River. On September 9, 1867 the company was merged into the New York Central, but in 1867 the terminal at Athens burned and the line was abandoned. In the 1880s the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway leased the line and incorporated it into their main line, taken over by the New York Central in 1885 as the West Shore Railroad.

The Hudson River Railroad

The Troy and Greenbush Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened later that year, connecting Troy south to East Albany on the east side of the Hudson River. The Hudson River Railroad was chartered May 12, 1846 to extend this line south to New York City; the full line opened October 3, 1851. Prior to completion, on June 1, the Hudson River leased the Troy and Greenbush.

Cornelius Vanderbilt obtained control of the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, soon after he bought the parallel New York and Harlem Railroad.

Along the line of the Hudson River Railroad, the High Line was built in the 1930s in New York City as an elevated bypass to the existing street-running trackage on Eleventh Avenue, at the time called "Death Avenue" due to the large number of accidents involving trains. The elevated section has since been abandoned, and the tunnel to the north, built at the same time, is only used by Amtrak trains to New York Penn Station (all other trains use the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad to access the New York and Harlem Railroad).

Vanderbilt years: 1867-1954

In 1867 Vanderbilt acquired control of the New York Central, with the help of maneuverings related to the Hudson River Bridge in Albany. On November 1, 1869 he merged the New York Central with his Hudson River Railroad into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. This extended the system south from Albany along the east bank of the Hudson River to New York City, with the leased Troy and Greenbush Railroad running from Albany north to Troy.

Vanderbilt's other lines were operated as part of the New York Central Railroad; these included the New York and Harlem Railroad, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, Canada Southern Railway and Michigan Central Railroad.

The Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad was chartered in 1869 and opened in 1871, providing a route on the north side of the Harlem River for trains along the Hudson River to head southeast to the New York and Harlem Railroad towards Grand Central Terminal or the freight facilities at Port Morris. From opening it was leased by the New York Central.

The Geneva and Lyons Railroad was organized in 1877 and opened in 1878, leased by the New York Central from opening. This was a north-south connection between Syracuse and Rochester, running from the main line at Lyons south to the Auburn Road at Geneva. It was merged into the New York Central in 1890.

On July 1, 1900, the Boston and Albany Railroad was leased by the New York Central, although it retained a separate identity. In 1914 the name was changed again forming the modern New York Central Railroad.

The New York Central had a distinctive character; unlike its arch rival the Pennsylvania Railroad's mountainous terrain, the NYC was best known as the Water Level Route; most of its major routes, including New York to Chicago, followed rivers and had no significant grades. This influenced many things, including advertising and most notably locomotive design.

Steam locomotives of the New York Central were optimized for speed on that flat raceway of a main line, rather than slow mountain lugging. Famous locomotives of the System included the well-known 4-6-4 Hudsons, and the postwar Niagaras, fast 4-8-4 locomotives often considered the epitome of their breed by steam locomotive aficionados.

Despite having some of the most modern steam locomotives anywhere, the NYC dieselized rapidly, conscious of its by then difficult financial position and the potential relief that more economical diesel-electric power could bring. Very few New York Central steam locomotives still exist. All Hudsons and Niagaras were sent to the scrapper's torch. In 2004, the only surviving big modern steam locomotives are two 4-8-2 Mohawk dual-purpose locomotives.

The financial situation of northeastern railroading soon became so dire that not even the economies of the new diesel-electric locomotives could change things.

Bypasses

A number of bypasses and cutoffs were built around congested areas.

The Junction Railroad's Buffalo Belt Line opened in 1871, providing a bypass of Buffalo, New York to the northeast, as well as a loop route for passenger trains via downtown. The West Shore Railroad, acquired in 1885, provided a bypass around Rochester, New York. The Terminal Railway's Gardenville Cutoff, allowing through traffic to bypass Buffalo to the southeast, opened in 1898.

The Schenectady Detour consisted of two connections to the West Shore Railroad, allowing through trains to bypass the steep grades at Schenectady, New York. The full project opened in 1902. The Cleveland Short Line Railway built a bypass of Cleveland, Ohio, completed in 1912. In 1924, the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge was constructed as part of the Hudson River Connecting Railroad's Castleton Cut-Off, a 27.5-mile-long freight bypass of the congested Albany terminal area.

An unrelated realignment was made in the 1910s at Rome, when the Erie Canal was realigned and widened onto a new alignment south of downtown Rome. The NYC main line was shifted south out of downtown to the south bank of the new canal. A bridge was built southeast of downtown, roughly where the old main line crossed the path of the canal, to keep access to Rome from the southeast. West of downtown, the old main line was abandoned, but a brand new railroad line was built, running north from the NYC main line to the NYC's former Watertown and Rome Railroad, allowing all NYC through traffic to bypass Rome.

Robert R. Young: 1954-1958

The Vanderbilt interests, having steadily reduced their shareholdings, lost a proxy fight in 1954 to Robert Ralph Young and his Alleghany Corporation. Unable to keep his promises, Young was forced to suspend dividend payments in January 1958 and committed suicide that month.

Alfred E. Perlman: 1958-1968

After his death, Young's role in NYC management was assumed by Alfred E. Perlman, who had been working with the NYC under Young since 1954. Although much had been accomplished to streamline NYC operations, in those tough economic times, mergers with other railroads were seen as the only possible road to financial stability. The most likely suitor became the NYC's former arch-rival Pennsylvania Railroad.

Penn Central, Conrail, CSX: 1968-2004

The New York Central became a fallen flag on February 1, 1968 when it joined with its old enemy, the Pennsylvania Railroad, in the ill-fated merger that produced Penn Central. Slightly over two years later, on June 21, 1970, the Penn Central Transportation Company filed for bankruptcy.

Conrail, officially the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was created by the U.S. Government to salvage Penn Central, and on April 1, 1976, it began operations.

On June 6, 1998, most of Conrail was split between Norfolk Southern and CSX. New York Central Lines LLC was formed as a subsidiary of Conrail, containing the lines to be operated by CSX; this included the old Water Level Route and many other lines of the New York Central, as well as various lines from other companies. CSX also assumed the NYC reporting mark.

References:

Railroad History Database

Surface Transportation Board Decision FD-33388, which created New York Central Lines LLC

PRR Chronology


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


***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Enjoy!

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE Day 2006!

(Click to enlarge)


Since this is the 4th of July and America’s Birthday ”Our” Place invites our friends and their families to celebrate with us today …. Start with a free lunch and good times followed by fireworks at dusk! [wow] [yeah]

Come join us! [tup] [swg]


We open at 6 AM.
(All time zones - Don’t ask how we do that!)[swg]


TUESDAY’s INFO & SUMMARY of POSTS


4th of July and a holidayTuesday! C’mon in – enjoy a cup of freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee – a <light or <traditional breakfast from the Menu Board and of course one or two goodies from The Mentor Village Bakery!



Daily Wisdom


”Dad, the guy is here for the Venetian blinds.” “Look in my pants pocket and give him five bucks.
ENCORE! Yogi-ism



Info for the Day:


Railroads from Yesteryear –
Arrives TODAY! – watch for it!


* Weekly Calendar:


TODAY: RR Theme for the Day!
Wednesday: Toy ‘n Model Trains Day!
Thursday: Fish ‘n Chips Nite!
Friday: Pizza Nite! & Steak Nite!
Saturday: Steak ‘n Trimmin’s Nite! – and –
ENCORE! Saturday



MVP Award Winners

April 2006 . . . LoveDome Lars
May – June . . . . barndad Doug



[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]


Comedy Corner

Reasons “things” happen!


Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.


Law of Footwear: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.


Law of the Orient: A closed mouth gathers no feet.


Law of Shopping: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.


[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]



The Mentor Village Emporium Theatre


NOW SHOWING:
Double Features and Three Stooges Short Subject!

. . . Sunday, July 2nd thru 8th: 1776 (1972): starring: William Daniels & Howard Da Silva – and – The Patriot (2000) starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger & Joely Richardson. SHORT: Movie Maniacs (1936).

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

. . . Sunday, July 9th thru 15th: The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch – and – M*A*S*H (The Movie - 1970) starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt. SHORT: Half-Shot Shooters (1936)



SUMMARY

Name …..…………… Date/Time …..…..………. (Page#) .. Remarks

(1) barndad Doug Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 06:09:19 (369) BNSF & Railfans ‘n Joke!

(2) barndad Doug Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 06:36:22 (369) BNSF Chicago Subdivision ‘n Joke!

(3) siberianmo Tom Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 06:50:02 (369) Monday’s Info & 11-Post Summary

(4) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 07:50:23 (369) Bearman’s Inclusive Gulf Coast Report!

(5) wanswheel Mike Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 08:44:12 (369) Inclusive Post – NYC Double Diners ‘n URLs! [wow]

(6) siberianmo Tom Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 10:25:18 (369) RRs of Today #1 – BNSF

(7) BudKarr BK Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 11:54:19 (369) Mountain Report!

(8) BudKarr BK Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 12:05:06 (369) UP turbines!

(9) siberianmo Tom Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 14:31:48 (369) BNSF Pix – Acknowledgments & Comments

(10) siberianmo Tom Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 17:32:21 (369) BNSF Pix!

(11) siberianmo Tom Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 19:02:30 (370) BNSF Pix!

(12) barndad Doug Posted: 03 Jul 2006, 20:58:37 (370) 6 ATSF Pix ‘n Joke!



That’s it![tup][;)]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]
Proprietor of “Our” Place, an adult eating & drinking establishment!

[Anonymous]

Happy Birthday America !!!

Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have Corn Flakes in red/white/blue (tomato juice, milk and blueberry juice), if there's any left! Fine BN posting yesterday Tom. Really like the looks of your articles. No Mike, that was not a picture of a vacant lot. If you look closely, there are three large rocks, a sign, and some parked construction equipment. The tree isn't even on the property. Liked your Double Diner post yesterday. Thanks for the words yesterday Ted! You always have great things to say

And now, here's a bit of theme related stuff for ya'll:

As the Twentieth Century began, use of air brakes and knuckle couplers led to much longer and heavier trains. Locomotives became much bigger to cope. This 2-8-0 was built in 1910 by Brooks as No. 2976 for the New York Central, which soon discovered that larger 2-8-2 engines were better for its use. It was then sold to the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient as No. 66. Santa Fe took over the Orient in 1929, and No. 66 became AT&SF No. 2522. The engine was put on display in Fairview, Okla. in 1954. This photo was taken at the AT&SF roundhouse, Kansas City, on Aug. 2, 1929.



The streamlined locomotives designed by Henry Dreyfus for the lightweight Twentieth Century Limited of 1938 became “the” symbol of the New York Central’s thrust into modernity. The Central already had a superb series of 4-6-4 Hudson locomotives in service, and it was the J-3a class to which Dreyfus styling was applied. It was so distinctive and individual that no other railroad dared develop a locomotive that looked like it. These locomotives made the statement “New York Central,” and were recognized far beyond railroad circles as most tasteful and evocative in concept, especially as the lines of the basic locomotive were not hidden. The exposed driving rods flashing alongside the polished aluminum-finish wheels made an unmistakable and dramatic image.

This posed view is of Nos. 5445, 5446 and 5447 at the Rensselaer, N.Y. roundhouse and engine terminal in March, 1938. They were brand new from Alco, part of a delivery of ten locomotives with this Dreyfus styling, and sat resplendently for numerous publicity shots. Seldom would these locomotives be so clean again, as they hauled their high-speed trains on the Water Level Route in all kinds of weather. Starting in 1943, the NYC began intermixing L-4 class “Mohawks” in the power assignments for the Century, and in 1945 diesels began to be assigned. Between 1943 and 1947, all the J-3a’s were de-steam-lined. They ended their service looking like their non-streamlined sisters.



[:I] John Smith lived in Staten Island, New York and worked in Manhattan. He had to take the ferryboat home every night. One evening, he got down to the ferry and found there was a wait for the next boat, so John decided to stop at a nearby tavern. Before long he was feeling no pain.

When he got back to the ferry slip, the ferryboat was just eight feet from the dock. Smith, afraid of missing this one and being late for dinner, took a running leap and landed right on the deck of the boat.

"How did you like that jump, buddy?" said a proud John to a deck hand.

"It was great," said the sailor. "But why didn't you wait? We were just pulling in!" [:I]

[Anonymous]

Good evening Tom and friends! I'll have a bottomless draught, and buy a round for the house. I'll tell ya, where else can you go to get all this great information in one day? Looks like a mix of BNSF and Santa Fe right now .... here's a unit you can explore at the IRM:

AT&SF 92 1968 FP45 (SDFP45) Diesel-Electric Cowl Unit



Electro-Motive’s FP45 was the last pre-Amtrak passenger locomotive, and the first “cowl” unit. Unlike earlier cab units, the full width cab behind the cab is non-structural



Only 14 FP45s were built (9 ATSF, 5 Milwaukee Road), but the design led to later cowl units now in service on Amtrak and commuter lines.





In the late 1960s, ATSF need to replace its aging cab units. The resulting FP45 was similar to an SD45 freight unit, but with a full-width cowl, a steam generator for passenger car heating and cooling, gearing for higher speeds, and the famous “Warbonnet” paint scheme. After Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971, the FP45s were rebuilt as SDFP45 freight units.

Prime mover: 20 cylinder 645E 3600 hp


Weight: 398,000 pounds


[:I] A man walked in to a bar after a long day at work. As he began to drink his beer, he heard a voice say seductively "You've got great hair!" The man looked around but couldn't see where the voice was coming from, so he went back to his beer.

A minute later, he heard the same soft voice say "You're a handsome man!" The man looked around, but still couldn't see where the voice was coming from.

When he went back to his beer, the voice said again "What a stud you are!" The man was so baffled by this that he asked the bartender what was going on.

The bartender said "Oh, it's the nuts--they're complimentary." [:I]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

My finale for this day . . . .

BNSF SD75M #8229 (foto: R. Cody Erben)



REMINDER:
Leon the Night Man takes the bar at 9 PM (Central)!

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Not much going on, so I'll just drop this off and "meditate" behind the bar . . . .

BNSF SD40-2 #6737 (foto: R. Cody Erben)


Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Just to keep things moving . . . .


BNSF SD70MAC #9753 (foto: R. Cody Erben)



A few guys showed up this AM to kick off the new week - a bit surprised at the "no shows' of a few though - Anyway, THANX goes to barndad Doug - Theodorebear Ted - wanswheel Mike 'n BudKarr BK [tup] [tup] to all - appreciate your patronage! Ka-ching, kaching "say" Tilla 'n Cashinator!

Nice work with your NYC piece, Mike - one finger [?] That's heavy duty stuff for one finger typing! URLs "fit" well and are a good kick off for tomorrow's "theme for the day!" [tup] [tup] I think that "blurb" from BK kinda sez it all regarding those CP Pix - they do in fact look rather "artificial," but through it all, they still look fine to me. Good observation.

See what you began, Doug [?] Caused me to start yet another new series! <groan> Is there no relief 'round here [?] <grin>

Nice to see ya again BK and I figured you took advantage of the holiday weekend - why not[?] Had we not "shot the wad" with our visit to the 49th State - we would've been out of here like a hot light bulb being splashed with cold water! [swg] I've been doing a bit of reading on the "politics" up your way and see that there's a bit of a test of wills going on between your Premier and the Ottawa crowd. Has to do with the sharing of revenue and the like. Not a topic for here, though - and I'm sure you already are "up" on it. Regards to Lydia! [tup] Enjoyed that piece you provided on the UP turbines! [tup] [tup]

Ted The only people who made mention of that "Diamond Rio" song have been you and I - that is prior to today and the note from BK - so any concern could have only come through osmosis, for I doubt that anyone picked up on it 'round this joint. Same for so many other "tid bits" that have been in the SUMMARIES and elsewhere . . . a pratfall of the "business" I suppose.

I should make mention that I received an Email from Nick our former Chief Chef [C=:-)] - as suspicioned he's been off 'n running with 3 bands - working to keep food on the table and clothes on the backs of his family and burning the candle at both ends. Glad to know he's still "out there!" [swg] Sad that he's not here. [:(]

Also heard from jlampke John our seagoing customer. He's been assigned to a different vessel for the purpose of getting his "quals" in as a requiste to the licensing for Chief Engineer. Been gone, gone, gone and hopes to swing by once he can see the light of day -and that's difficult from the engine room! [swg]


Later! [swg]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[BudKarr]

Hello Again!

Greetings Captain Tom - I will have another mug of coffee with the same "splash" used in the first! [swg]

Something of relevance to last week and the discussion of the UP turbines:

QUOTE: Gas Turbine Locomotives


A New Era

Union Pacific was the only railroad in the United States to own and operate gas turbine locomotives. The turbine, rather than an internal combustion diesel engine, drove an alternator/generator to supply electricity to electric motors mounted on the axles. Union Pacific's gas turbine fleet totalled 55 locomotives.
The first turbine, No. 50, was built by Alco-GE in 1948 and was tested extensively on UP in 1949. Although it was painted in Union Pacific colors, the railroad never owned No. 50, but it paved the way for the GE turbine fleet which followed. The first ten UP turbines, Nos. 51-60, packing 4,500 horsepower each, were delivered to UP by General Electric in 1952. Fifteen more of these units were ordered in 1954 and numbered 61-75. Thirty units of a larger model, numbered 1-30, were delivered between 1958 and 1961. With a hefty 8,500 horsepower apiece, the last 30 units were the largest locomotives ever built.
The turbine fleet pulled freight trains between Council Bluffs, IA and Ogden, UT. Although tested on the Salt Lake City to Los Angeles run, their tremendous noise quickly made them unpopular in California. The locomotives were nicknamed "Big Blows" for their deafening jet engine exhaust noise. The huge locomotives, with their big appetite for fuel oil, eventually fell victim to the more efficient diesels, and in 1970 the turbines ran their last miles.
Union Pacific also experimented with a steam turbine in 1939 and a coal-fired turbine in 1962. Neither locomotive, however, was successful.

Locomotives on Display
Although Union Pacific never donated any turbines directly to museums, two of the locomotives did survive and are now on public display. No. 18 is at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL and No. 26 and 26B are displayed at Ogden Union Station in Ogden, UT.

from: www.uprr.com

BK in beautiful Alberta, Canada’s high mountain country!

[BudKarr]

Good Morning Captain Tom and all assembled!


A fine beginning to the new week with some rather diverse entries – the BNSF from Doug and the NYC from Mike – all followed by yet another new feature from Tom: Railroads of Today! Nicely done, gentlemen! [tup]

I am looking forward to the rerun of the NYC tomorrow as I do have recollections of many of those trains from days gone by.

The photo spread from yesterday was most interesting and entertaining. Lydia opines that those CP pictures were all digitally enhanced by whoever initially put them into the formats we viewed. Probably were used in a magazine or brochure back when “The Canadian” was being advertised as “the” train to take across Canada.

Once again, we enjoyed the two dozen more Alaska photos and wonder how many more you have in your archives [?] No complaints, mind you, as each photo represents more reasons to make that trip! [tup]

Thank you to those who sent Canada Day greetings our way! We had a marvelous time of it in Calgary – and I was able to pilot our way to and from without the trepidation previously mentioned from my passenger! [swg] I enjoy Calgary and would not mind setting up “shop” closer to it than where we are. HOWEVER, the mountain retreat is HOME and the mere mention of relocating causes the earth to quake – just a bit. [swg]

That was quite a tribute you put forth on Saturday, Tom – both here and on “your other thread” - the idea of “all things Canadian” worked well as I see Sir Dave provided some very relevant input too! [tup] Cannot ignore the URLs from Sir Mike – all that was missing is locked up in the archives of one Sir Rob – hopefully enjoying a long holiday weekend.

Just picked up a tid bit that Sir Mick and the boys (aka: Rolling Stones) are rumoured to be setting up a concert in Halifax this September! Now, that would be quite the idea for a Rendezvous – an overnight train trip from Montreal – an “experience” in Halifax – a night or two in the local lockup – whoooooops – [swg] My guess is there will be some rather expensive tickets on sale for that venue. Are you watching all of this Sir Nick wherever you are [?] [swg]

Although a bit late, I appreciated viewing the information provided by Al on the oil fields and the URL from Tom – thank you both! [tup] The Province has realized quite an upswing in the economy, however, one can be sure there will be more ways to spend the revenues than revenue itself will allow. Is that not the way of governments [?] I must say, though, Premier Joe Klein (from Calgary by the way) is not one to fall into the “trap” posed by newfound riches. Enough of that . . .

We will have two selections from your Menu Board – the brunch special, #8 with coffee (and a “splash” to make it interesting) for me and tea for my lady. A bit early for a round, however, put this aside for later on! [tup]

I note that the Forums will be ‘down’ and appreciate your taking the time to notify us, Captain Tom! Always looking out for the “troops,” which of course is the hallmark of leadership. [tup] My e-mail address is current, so I await the “instructions” from the Kalmbach people . . . [swg] My guess is that the elimination of those “stars” will bother some very much. I happen to like the idea of grouping the contributors in this manner. Unfortunately, some seem to equate the “stars” with expertise and so forth instead of simply looking at them for what they are – quantity of submissions. Since the number will still appear, why the discontinuance of them is my question [?] Perhaps they have received one too many complaints – but for whatever the reason, I cannot determine.

Thank you Tom for that URL regarding the song by Diamond Rio – In God We Still Trust. I added my e-mail address to the online petition! This idea applies to both countries and is something that entity called the ‘silent majority’ needs to awaken over. [tup] It is a most entertaining number and one that surely should have been released – especially at this time of year.

Hope things are going well for you and your family Lars – it is a wonderful thing that you and your Mrs. are doing for your loved one at this time of great need. [tup]


We should be here at the homestead for the remainder of the week and I will try to check back a few times before the week end!

Best wishes for a Happy Independence Day! and know that the “Spirit of ‘76” is alive and well in many parts of the world! [tup]


BK in beautiful Alberta, Canada’s high mountain country!

[siberianmo]

Now arriving on track #2 …..
Railroads of Today! Number One


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

BNSF Railway




Reporting marks: BNSF, BNFE, BNFT

Locale: United States Pacific Coast to Chicago, IL and cities along the Mississippi River

Dates of operation: December 31, 1996 – present

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

Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas


The BNSF Railway (AAR reporting mark BNSF), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the largest railroad networks in North America (only one competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad, is comparable in size). It was formed December 31, 1996 as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway.[1]

The BNSF Railway is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, the holding company formed by the September 22, 1995 merger of Burlington Northern, Incorporated and the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. According to corporate press releases, the BNSF Railway is among the top transporters of intermodal traffic in North America, and moves more grain than any other American railroad. It also hauls enough coal to generate roughly 10% of the electricity produced in the United States.


BNSF trackage



An eastbound BNSF Railway train passes some maintenance of way equipment in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, August 8, 2004. Lead unit is painted in the Heritage II scheme.

The BNSF Railway directly owns and operates track in 27 U.S. states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The railway also operates a small amount of track in Canada, including an approximate 30-mile (48 kilometer) section that runs from the U.S.-Canada border to Vancouver, British Columbia and a yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba. For administrative purposes, BNSF is divided into thirteen different divisions: California, Chicago, Gulf, Kansas, Los Angeles, Montana, Nebraska, Northwest, Powder River, Southwest, Springfield, Texas, and Twin Cities. Each division is further divided into hundreds of different subdivisions, which represent segments of track ranging from 300-mile mainlines to 10-mile branch-lines.

Not including second, third and fourth main line trackage, yard trackage, and siding trackage, BNSF directly owns and operates over approximately 24,000 miles (38,624 kilometers) of track. When these additional tracks are counted, however, the amount of track that the railway has direct control over rises to over 50,000 miles (80,467 kilometers).

Additionally, the BNSF Railway has been able to gain trackage rights on over 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers) of track throughout the United States and Canada. These rights allow the BNSF to operate its own trains with its own crews on competing railroads' main tracks.


BNSF locomotives also occasionally show up on competitors' tracks throughout the United States and Canada by way of lease and other contractual arrangements.

BNSF yards and facilities

BNSF operates various facilities all over the United States to support its transportation system. Some of the various facilities operated by the railway include yards and terminals throughout its rail network, system locomotive shops to perform locomotive service and maintenance, a centralized operations center for train dispatching and network operations monitoring in Fort Worth, Texas, and regional dispatching centers.

The BNSF Railway also operates numerous transfer facilities throughout the western United States in order to facilitate the transfer of intermodal containers, trailers, and other freight traffic. The BNSF Railway has direct control over a total of 33 intermodal hubs and 23 automotive distribution facilities. On February 9, 2005, BNSF announced that it plans to build a new intermodal transfer facility near the port of Los Angeles; the new facility, with direct rail access to the recently constructed Alameda Corridor, would supplement the container transloading abilities of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) built by Southern Pacific in the 1990s.

Large freight car hump yards are also scattered throughout the BNSF system. In 2005, Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas processed the largest number of freight cars.

The BNSF mechanical division is responsible for operating 8 locomotive maintenance facilities involved with preventive maintenance, repairs and servicing of equipment. The largest of these facilities are located in Alliance, Nebraska and Topeka, Kansas. Furthermore, the mechanical division also controls 46 additional facilities that are responsible for car maintenance and daily running repairs.

Meanwhile, the BNSF system mechanical division, a subset of the mechanical division, also operates two maintenance-of-way work equipment shops, responsible for performing repairs and preventative maintenance to BNSF's track and equipment, in Brainerd, Minnesota and Galesburg, Illinois. The system mechanical division is also responsible for the operation of the Western Fruit Express Company's refrigerated car repair shop in Spokane, Washington.

BNSF's northern route

Northern route overview

One of the routes operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970. The route starts at Chicago and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River; it follows the eastern shore of the river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Dilworth, Minnesota. From Dilworth the route runs Northwest to Minot, North Dakota, then West to Montana, and Idaho to Spokane, Washington. At Spokane the route splits into two routes, one going to Seattle, Washington and the other to Portland, Oregon. This route required construction of the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington. This route is traveled by Amtrak's Empire Builder.Also owned in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada is trackage, running rights and a yard operated by a force of clerks, a switch unit and full crew and the track is maintained by a small track crew.

Traveling east from Seattle, Washington to the western portal of the Cascade Tunnel

Traveling east from the King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, the main line of the BNSF heads north through a tunnel under downtown Seattle. After exiting the tunnel the main line continues north through the Interbay classification yard and maintenance facilities and across the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the Salmon Bay Bridge. The main line continues north along the shore of Puget Sound through the cities of Edmonds, Washington and Mukilteo, Washington past Rucker Hill in Everett, Washington to the old Everett station. From there the main line makes a 180 degree turn through a partially covered cut through downtown Everett to the new Everett station. From the new station, the main line heads south, then southeast along the Snohomish River through the cities of Snohomish, Washington and Monroe, Washington. From Monroe the main line follows the Skykomish River through the towns of Index, Washington and Skykomish, Washington to the western portal of the Cascade Tunnel.



King Street Station, Seattle




Salmon Bay Bridge, Seattle




Main line heading north out of Seattle, Washington along the shore of Puget Sound




Everett Station (old




Covered cut under downtown Everett (eastern portal)




Everett Station (new)



BNSF's commitment to safety

As one of the leading supporters of the Operation Lifesaver program to promote safety at railway crossings and right-of-ways, the BNSF Railway, in 2000, established a grade-crossing closure program. This program, wherein BNSF works with communities and landowners to identify crossings that are unnecessary or redundant, has helped close over 2,900 of BNSF's railway crossings throughout the United States. Largely thanks to this program, BNSF has been the industry leader in lowering the amount of grade-crossing collisions.

On June 7, 2006, BNSF became the first Class I railroad to actively recruit railfans to help ensure the company's rail network remains safe. Called the Citizens United for Rail Security (CRS), BNSF designed a program that encourages railfans to enter a small amount of personal information on an official company website. After doing so, the website generates an identification card that can be printed off and carried in the same manner as a driver's license or credit card. Along with the user's personal information, the card contains a list of general guidelines for a railfan to follow while near tracks or moving equipment as well as a toll-free telephone number that can be used to alert a BNSF representative of any suspicious activities or potential security breaches.

BNSF has had a similar program called BNSF ON GUARD for employees since 2003. The program has been highly successful with over 200 employees reporting suspicious activities since its inception.[2]

BNSF facts and figures

According to BNSF's 2005 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2005, the railway had more than 40,000 employees, 5,790 locomotives, and 81,881 freight cars.

• Broken down by specific kind of car, the BNSF owned:
o 34,631 covered hoppers
o 12,579 gondolas
o 8,658 boxcars
o 10,973 open hoppers
o 8,537 flatcars
o 4,983 refrigerated "reefer" cars
o 748 automobile cars
o 422 tank cars
o 27 general purpose boxcars
o 323 "other" types of cars

• In addition, the railway also owned:
o 10,412 domestic containers
o 12,649 domestic chassis
o 4,091 company service vehicles
o 1,916 trailers
o 179 commuter passenger cars

The average age from date of manufacture for the BNSF's locomotive and freight car fleet was 15 years at the end of 2005.

It may also be noted that on any given day BNSF is the single largest consumer of petroleum-based fuels in the world. The only larger consumer is the US Navy during a full force wartime deployment.

On January 24, 2006, BNSF announced a $2.4 billion program of infrastructure upgrades for 2006. The upgrade program includes: double- and triple-tracking 40 miles (64.4 km) of track and a second mainline track through New Mexico's Abo Canyon on the former Santa Fe Railroad transcontinental line; expanding the Lincoln, Nebraska, classification yard and double- and triple-tracking 50 miles (80.5 km) of track in Wyoming's Powder River Basin region; expansions at eight of the railroad's larger intermodal facilities, and extending many sidings and expanding and improving refueling facilities. In making the announcement, BNSF chairman Matthew K. Rose cited improvements in the company's return on invested capital, and expressed hope for continued improvement.[3]

BNSF paint schemes

The assortment of colors used on the BNSF makes it one of the most colorful large railroads in North America. Many locomotives, sometimes affectionately called "pumpkins," are painted in "Heritage I" or "Heritage II" schemes, which are based on the Great Northern Railroad's colors of orange and dark green. Some locomotives are painted in Santa Fe's famous silver-and-red "warbonnet" scheme, sometimes with "BNSF" painted on the sides instead of "Santa Fe". Even more locomotives continue to wear the green and white or blue and yellow colors of the two railroads that merged to create the BNSF. It is to note, however, that all engines are planned to be painted into Heritage colors as they undergo overhauls.



Old BNSF logo (new one at the top of the article).

On January 24, 2005, the railroad introduced a new logo to replace the circle and cross logo of Santa Fe heritage. The new logo symbolizes the railroad's goals to be "a leader in transportation service and innovation." This logo also marks a move away from the more verbose Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway moniker displayed in the old logo. The "Heritage III" paint scheme was introduced soon after, featuring the new logo painted on the nose and sides of the locomotive and black stripes instead of green. So far, not very many locomotives have this paint scheme, apparently because BNSF wants to use up the rest of the decals used for the Heritage II scheme. BNSF has also rolled out a number of freight cars featuring the new company logo.
Several paint schemes were tried out before Heritage I was put into service. One engine, BNSF 9647 was painted in a hybrid scheme, with the shapes used in Santa Fe's "Warbonnet" scheme in Burlington Northern's colors. Reactions to this scheme were generally negative, and the engine has acquired such nicknames as "warvomit" and "barfbonnet." Two slightly different experimental paint schemes were used on one unit, BNSF 9297, The left side had small additional stripes

Heritage I





The original cross and circle company logo is displayed on the nose of the locomotive. On the sides, BNSF appears in dark green letters in the orange stripe. Solid yellow stripes separate orange and green. Side view photographed by Kevin Andrusia, front view by William H. Davis Jr.


Heritage II





The green stripes are smaller than on Heritage I. Broader yellow stripes with black bands separate the orange and green. The BNSF text on the sides is now yellow and outlined in black. The logo on the front is the "cigar band" from the ATSF warbonnet paint scheme, with BNSF printed across it. Sometimes the space on the nose under the lower yellow stripes is painted green, sometimes orange as shown here. Side view photographed by Chris Starnes, front view by Dave Touissant.

Heritage III





This scheme, nicknamed "Powerbar," is very similar to Heritage II. The green stripes are now black and banded yellow stripes like those on Heritage II separate them from the orange stripe. The new company logo is displayed on the nose and sides of the locomotive. One locomotive, number 7695, had the logo in yellow type with a black outline, but BNSF has decided to use the opposite as shown here. Side view photographed by Peter K. Bieber, front view by Chris Lastovich.



BNSF 880362, a tank car passing Glen Haven, Wisconsin, shows the new corporate logo on June 3, 2006.

Supreme court case: BNSF Co. & White

The United States Supreme Court heard a case in June of 2006 brought by Sheila White against her employer, BNSF, over retaliation taken against her when she complained about sexual harrasment. She was moved from operating a forklift truck to a more arduous position involving the use of hundred pound sledge hammers. When she complained about this retaliatory move taken against her, she was suspended without pay for 37 days. Her suspension was later reversed, and back pay was issued. Nonetheless, she won a jury award of $43,500 from BNSF. The jury's award was appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but was upheld by a 9-0 ruling. [1]

References

• BNSF Railway (January 24, 2005), BNSF Adopts New Corporate and Subsidiary Logos and Changes Name of Railway Subsidiary as Part of Tenth Anniversary Celebration. Retrieved January 25, 2005.
• BNSF Railway (February 9, 2005), Port of Los Angeles begins discussions with BNSF Railway Company on new intermodal facility. Retrieved February 10, 2005.
1. BNSF Railway (January 24, 2005). BNSF Adopts New Corporate and Subsidiary Logos and Changes Name of Railway Subsidiary as Part of Tenth Anniversary Celebration. Retrieved on April 19, 2006.
2. BNSF Railway (June 7, 2006), BNSF Railway Asks Rail Fans for Cooperation to Keep America's Rail System Safe. Retrieved June 29, 2006.
3. BNSF Railway (January 24, 2006), BNSF Announces $2.4 Billion Capital Commitment Program for 2006; About $400 Million Again Slated for Track/Facilities Expansion. Retrieved January 30, 2006.


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

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Enjoy!

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]




Waving flags credit: www.3DFlags.com

[wanswheel]

Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house

Doug, thanks for that picture of a vacant lot, or is it of a tree. It's all good though. Your daughter is beautiful!

Tom, I could be wrong but the color and texture of the Canadian is about the same in all the photos, that is, they all appear to have been taken by the same camera on the same occasion, including the one leaving Banff in 1955, which doesn't jibe with the modern era automobiles. Very nice pictures in any case. Those old diesels (PA's?) are much more photogenic than GP's in my humble opinion.

Ted, have a great Fourth. I'll be glad on the 5th, the firecrackers drive me crazy. Tomorrow is the 230th, and co-incidentally but not incidentally, the 180th of the passing of Adams and Jefferson.

It took me 40 minutes to copy the following paragraphs by tapping at each next key with my right index finger. I hope you get something out of it.

Double Diners on the New York Central (Railroad Magazine, January 1948)

They say the New York Central's in the hole, financially that is. Robert Young has been telling the ICC what he and his C&O can and will do, once he's recognized as a New York Central director. Well, on September 8th, Gustav Metzman and his Central staff made it apparent that they hadn't exactly been sitting around waiting for C&O admen to drop them a hint. Rolling out two of their latest Budd Company deliveries -- ordered way back in 1944 -- on to Track 31 in Grand Central Station, they demonstrated how a meal aboard the Pacemaker and all new Central trains now being built will be added pleasure to rail travelers.

Part of a $60-million program to modernize its passenger fleet, the new two-car units include a streamlined kitchen-lounge and a full-length diner, which accomodates sixty-four at one sitting. Entering the forward end, passengers can relax before mealtime in one of the seventeen deep-cushioned chairs or four built-in seats. A passageway leads to the diner beyond, sidestepping an all stainless-steel kitchen.

Not many of the reporters present passed up a chance to see the chefs in action that day, however. It was hot inside, after the air-cooled sections adjacent; still the men were good-naturedly holding spoons and forks at artistic angles while cameramen shot portraits. A moment later, though, the place was once again a smooth-running assembly line. There was a luncheon to be served within an hour.

The new 41-foot kitchen and pantry outstretches models by fifteen feet. Designed for utility as well as spaciousness, it contains deep stainless-steel wells for storing frozen foods and perishables, a section for ice-making -- 640 cubes at a time -- racks for china and cutlery, beside plenty of footage for the crew to shift about from the steam tables to the ranges. Increasing its efficiency is the use of presto-logs, a composite of compressed sawdust. Used two at a time, these provide a smokeless and almost ashless fire for the big stove, giving off great heat for about two hours.

An electric eye gives easy entrance through an outsized door into the diner, where comfort is the keynote. Divided into three sections by partitions of tempered glass, the car seats sixty-four, twenty persons more than usual. NYC innovations are the tables-for-two facing the aisle in the center diner and the lounge waiting-room at the rear of the coach. But all the usual streamlined attractions are there: upholstered chairs and restful combinations of color, air-conditioning, flourescent ceiling lights, wide windows shaded by venetian blinds and vibration-resistant tables, although we sped around no right-of-way curves along the Hudson to test the effectiveness of the latter.

Should the scenery prove uninspiring or the conversation dull, the front and rear bulkheads frame color prints which are varied to blend with the terrain. But, as is likely when in the diner, you'll think of just one thing, food. Nobody heard any complaints about the food or the service-with-a-grin of September 8th.

Proud of its posh $200,000 passenger equipment, Central officials were also anxious to display a New York Central first, which coupled into the streamlined unit with an easy whack during the luncheon. It's an all-dormitory car for the dining-car crew. Totalling a sleeping capacity of nineteen, the coach contains private compartments for two stewards and triple-decker berths for the rest of the staff. This car has been in use for some time, while the two-car units on exhibition were scheduled for service the following week.

To date, the New York Central has received only 233 streamlined coaches, less than half its original order for equipping fifty-two crack trains. The rest are on the way, once material shortages are licked. From the end-to-end view of the Budd units, satisfaction of passengers and crews will remain a permanent feature of the Central's long-distance flyers.

NYC ad, New Diners
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2440-72dpi.jpeg

C&O ad, Memo to the NYC
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T28/T2898-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Post-war Power on parade
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2456-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Fleet of trains
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2460-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Weather
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T30/T3032-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Vacation
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2438-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, New England States
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2443-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Coach service ( the artwork shows West Point)
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2442-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, New 20th Century Limited 1948
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T24/T2441-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, 50th Anniversary of the Century
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T30/T3060-72dpi.jpeg

NYC ad, Water Level Route
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/T/T30/T3065-72dpi.jpeg

Mike

[Anonymous]

A fine good morning to those prudent enough to avoid the 40 million or so on the highways. Thanks to Tom and Barndad for a thouroughly fun Sunday's choices of pix.[tup] I need to stay lucid and clear this day for further negotiations later, so just a O.J. and a Java, okay Tom? That Alaskan wide-open landscape, no matter how baron, beckons to the most rustic instincts in a fellow. You know there are bears, badgers, moose, elk, American Bald Eagles around every mountain bend and trout, salmon, bass, Chinook, perhaps even sturgeon awaiting your Coleman gas grill in every stream and river.[^] I couldn't watch the news yesterday just knowing such a refuge of total abandon is there awaiting we poor creatures of urban stress and hysteria.[:(]

Doug, a toast to your piece on the foundation of a Mexican colony of folks who just wouldn't "say die."[tup] This speaks volumes on the positive effect a determined group can have for better living through "bone breaking" hard work and courage. If there is a tacit reference here on the value of immigrants who demanded nothing but rather created their own opportunities; it surely is "spot on" for the moral of Independence Day, July 4th!!![^] Hey, the "Big Blow" sends chills up my spine just imagining the size, weight and raw power of those behemoths.Their whining roar must've been intimidating even to seasoned crews who worked them.[:O] U.P. had an electric counterpart in the form of yet another gargantuan of the rails, the double cab G.E. units plying the western mountain divisions of that Road. An inebriate would swear off tippling when he saw double the double traction motor trucks, double pans and cabs, etc.

Tom, glad the e-mail "Forward" touched upon a different personal plateau from the ordinary. I had no idea, it would find its' way to "Our" Place. If it caused rancor from any quarter; I'll take the "heat" in good stride. C. & W. music is not my "bag" by a long shot but I'm a sucker for traditional values.[#offtopic] Speaking of which, hopefully everyone will enjoy a "bang up" Fourth and when the smoke settles, maybe have a quiet "night cap" with thoughts of the Patriots that made it all possible. Right Boris, I see your Uncle Sam costume is back from the cleaners. This year, don't duct tape bottle rockets to your ankles![:(!] Mentor Village Fire Cheif "Mic" MaHorny won't be retrieving you from "Liberty Tree" this time. Ring it again Sam. BRONK...I see, so you put a crack in the Bell did you?[:(!] To paraphrase CM3..."play safe."

P.S. Pete, you look jolly good in the Ermine robe, sceptre and Crown. May I fetch you a tankard of Gin and quinine?

[siberianmo]

We open at 6 AM.
(All time zones - Don’t ask how we do that!)[swg]


MONDAY’s INFO & SUMMARY of POSTS


Monday – the start of a new work week (for most)! Enjoy a cuppa freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee – a <light or <traditional breakfast from the Menu Board and one or two pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery!


Daily Wisdom


I need to go shopping for clothes to shop in
ENCORE! Yogi-ism



Info for the Day:


Railroads from Yesteryear –
ENCORE! New York Central (NYC)
Arrives TODAY! – watch for it!


* Weekly Calendar:



Tomorrow is Independence Day so in honor of our 4th of July heritage, the bar will be OPEN the gals of ”Our” Place will be working, including for Cindy.Lunch is on the house for all! [tup] [swg]



Tuesday: RR Theme for the Day!
Wednesday: Toy ‘n Model Trains Day!
Thursday: Fish ‘n Chips Nite!
Friday: Pizza Nite! & Steak Nite!
Saturday: Steak ‘n Trimmin’s Nite! – and –
ENCORE! Saturday



MVP Award Winners

April 2006 . . . LoveDome Lars
May – June . . . . barndad Doug



[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]


Comedy Corner

Yarns from the Barn
(from barndad Doug’s Posts)

[:I] A man went to see his doctor. When the doctor saw him he told him he had some very bad news.
"What is it," he asked.
"I hate to tell you this," said the doctor, "but you've only got 24 hours to live."
"Wow, that is bad news," he said.
"I know, I've been trying to get ahold of you since yesterday." [:I]


[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]



The Mentor Village Emporium Theatre


NOW SHOWING:
Double Features and Three Stooges Short Subject!

. . . Sunday, July 2nd thru 8th: 1776 (1972): starring: William Daniels & Howard Da Silva – and – The Patriot (2000) starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger & Joely Richardson. SHORT: Movie Maniacs (1936).

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

. . . Sunday, July 9th thru 15th: The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch – and – M*A*S*H (The Movie - 1970) starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt. SHORT: Half-Shot Shooters (1936)



SUMMARY

Name …..…………… Date/Time …..…..………. (Page#) .. Remarks

(1) siberianmo Tom Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 00:04:43 (368) Sunday’s Info & 19-Post Summary

(2) siberianmo Tom Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 06:21:46 (369) 15 CP Pix!

(3) barndad Doug Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 06:39:04 (369) 6 UP turbine Pix ‘n Joke!

(4) barndad Doug Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 07:00:36 (369) 6 IRM Pix ‘n Joke!

(5) siberianmo Tom Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 07:50:45 (369) Now Showing at the Emporium!

(6) barndad Doug Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 08:48:24 (369) Narrative Post ‘n Personal Pix

(7) siberianmo Tom Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 11:43:11 (369) 12 Alaska Pix!

(8) barndad Doug Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 13:23:53 (369) 8 Model RR Pix ‘n Joke!

(9) siberianmo Tom Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 17:04:30 (369) 12 Alaska Pix!

(10) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 17:41:07 (369) Comments

(11) passengerfan Al Posted: 02 Jul 2006, 18:11:20 (369) Comments




That’s it! [tup][;)]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]
Proprietor of “Our” Place, an adult eating & drinking establishment!

[Anonymous]

Here's a post that goes hand-in-hand with the previous one, and leads to a link to the Walter Payton Roundhouse. Walter Payton's Roundhouse Complex is a 70,000 sq.ft. entertainment facility which houses America's Brewpub Restaurant and Bar, the International Award-Winning America's Brewing Company, Corporate and Wedding Banquet Facilities, gRoundhouse Coffee Bar featuring Starbucks Coffee, Piano Bar, America's Club, Live Entertainment Night Club, ComedyComedy Club, an open-air courtyard and entertainment area and the Walter Payton Museum. Now a stylish entertainment and fine dining complex, the Aurora Roundhouse is the oldest existing limestone roundhouse in the nation and an historic landmark.



BNSF - Chicago Subdivision)
Chicago (Union Station) to Aurora
AAR Radio Channel 66 - 161.100

Chicago's second railroad was the Aurora Branch Railroad, which in 1850 began operating between Aurora and West Chicago, connecting with Chicago's first railroad, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. The Aurora Branch Railroad gradually extended further west, and was renamed the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. CB&Q completed its own line between Chicago and Aurora in 1864, and this line is now one of the area's busiest. Through mergers, the line became Burlington Northern, and now Burlington Northern Santa Fe. This line is a favorite of railfans, with an abundance of Metra, Amtrak and freight trains maneuvering around each other on a three track CTC equipped line. The first suburb outside Chicago is Cicero, location of the main freight yard, and historically the location of the Hawthorne Works where Bell telephones were once manufactured. The Hawthorne Works location is now occupied by a shopping center. After Cicero is Berwyn, followed by many quaint old suburbs, which form scenic backdrops for train watching and photography. Brookfield is served by two stations, the Hollywood stop is closest to Brookfield Zoo. A favorite spot along the line is the Highlands station. Trains only stop at Highlands during weekday rush hours, but more regular service is available at Hinsdale, 1/2 mile to the west. Undeveloped land used to exist at the outer end of the line near Naperville. But Naperville has grown rapidly to become Chicago's largest suburb, and new houses have gobbled up almost all remaining land. Service ends at Aurora, which has a new station which was constructed out of what was originally a Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad shops administration building. Next to the station is an old roundhouse, developed by the late Chicago Bears player Walter Payton into Walter Payton's Roundhouse, (http://www.americasbrewpub.com/)serving food and home brewed beer. An outdoor patio dining area occupies the middle, where the turntable had been. The area near the station has become more touristy over the past few years, since the opening of the Hollywood Casino riverboat, a few blocks away along the Fox River. Weekdays are the best days to ride this Metra line, because of more frequent Metra trains and the opportunity to experience the rush hour. The rush hour features frequent express trains racing through on the center track, passing local trains making stops on an outside track. And "flips", which turn around and run empty in the reverse direction to enable more efficient equipment utilization. And trains frequently switching tracks at the many CTC interlockings. The afternoon rush hour is usually the most convenient for railfans, and can be experienced either at one of the stations, or by riding an inbound train and meeting all those outbound trains.


Stations/Milepost Locations
(Metra stops are capitalized)
Direction is westward from Chicago to Aurora

0.0 CHICAGO
0.8 Roosevelt Road
1.7 Union Avenue
1.8 HALSTED STREET
3.7 WESTERN AVENUE
4.8 Kedzie Avenue
6.7 Cicero "B" Plant (east end Cicero Yard)
7.0 CICERO
7.3 Cicero "A" Plant
8.5 CLYDE
9.0 LA VERGNE (west end Cicero Yard)
9.6 BERWYN
10.0 HARLEM AVENUE
11.0 RIVERSIDE
11.7 HOLLYWOOD
12.3 BROOKFIELD
13.0 CONGRESS PARK
13.7 LA GRANGE
14.1 STONE AVENUE
15.4 WESTERN SPRINGS
16.3 HIGHLANDS
16.8 HINSDALE
17.8 WEST HINSDALE
18.2 CLARENDON HILLS
19.4 WESTMONT
20.3 FAIRVIEW AVENUE
21.1 DOWNERS GROVE
22.9 BELMONT
24.4 LISLE
28.4 NAPERVILLE
31.6 ROUTE 59
33.4 Eola
35.3 West Eola (junction-BNSF)
38.4 AURORA (junction-BNSF)
41.0 Montgomery (junction-Illinois Railnet)

2 tracks from Roosevelt Road to Union Avenue, 4 tracks from Union Avenue to Cicero "B" Plant, 3 tracks from Cicero "B" Plant to West Eola, 2 tracks from West Eola to Montgomery, 2 tracks from West Eola via lead to Aurora Transportation Center. CTC in use, controlled from Fort Worth, Texas. Union Avenue Dispatcher controls trackage east of Cicero, and East End Dispatcher controls trackage west of Cicero. East End Dispatcher controls entire line nights and weekends. Cab signals in use.

Speed Limit: 70 mph
Chicago-Western Avenue: 60 mph


All main tracks are shown, along with most switches within interlockings, and other tracks used by main line Metra, Amtrak and freight trains. Not shown are hand operated industrial switches.

Information is subject to change, and is based on observations, along with information from employee timetables and from the CORA (Chicago Operating Rules Association) guide dated 2001.

The following colors are used to indicate types of operation:
BLUE - manual interlocking
RED - centralized traffic control (CTC) or bidirectional signals
GREEN - automatic block signals (single direction, current of traffic)
BLACK - unsignaled

Thin lines across tracks indicate signals. In CTC or bidirectional signal territory, signals usually exist for both directions at all locations, except at interlockings where the signals usually are only in the direction entering the interlocking.



[:I] A neutron walks into a bar. "I'd like a beer" he says.
The bartender promptly serves up a beer.
"How much will that be?" asks the neutron.
"For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge" [:I]

[Anonymous]

Good morning Tom and friends! I’ll have 2 light breakfasts, and to start the day with a bang, a firecracker in my bloody Mary! Somewhat along those lines, take a looky at this:

BNSF Railway Asks Rail Fans for Cooperation To Keep America's Rail System Safe
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, June 7, 2006:
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) is recruiting rail fans to help keep BNSF properties safe by reporting suspicious activities and to help prevent possible security breaches.
“Keeping America’s rail transportation network safe from crime and terrorist activity is a high priority for the railroad industry,” says William Heileman, BNSF general director, Police and Protection Solutions. “Every day across the country, rail fans photograph and watch trains as they pass through communities. It seems natural to harness their interest to help keep America’s rail system safe.”
Rail fans can register for the program by going to the Citizens United for Rail Security (CRS) Web site (http://newdomino.bnsf.com/website/crs.nsf/request?open). CRS participants will receive an official identification card along with access to news and information on the BNSF CRS Web site.
To report suspicious activity, CRS members and the public can call [phone]. The information will be taken by a BNSF representative and routed for appropriate response.
“Supporting homeland security in this manner is positive for everyone," says Carl Ice, BNSF’s executive vice president and chief operations officer. "It supports the nation's security efforts, improves safety within our company and the community, and improves operations by helping to remove the impact of criminal acts and accidents."
The CRS program is an outgrowth of another BNSF grassroots program, called BNSF ON GUARD, which encourages employees to report suspicious activities, trespassers or individuals to BNSF’s Resource Operations Call Center (ROCC). The BNSF ON GUARD program, which started in 2003, has been successful, with more than 200 employees reporting suspicious activities since its inception. Employees have reported theft, vandalism, arson, attempted suicide, and other criminal violations, threats to safety, or unusual events on or near railway properties.
“Security is everyone’s business. Because of heightened security status, Americans are being asked to be the ‘eyes and ears’ for law enforcement," says John Clark, BNSF assistant vice president, Resource Protection Solutions Team. "At BNSF, our police team continues to educate employees on work, personal and home security, as well as working to change employee behavior to increase awareness of security risks."
A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, transports the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulphur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.
BNSF Headquarters
BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: [phone]
I signed-up yesterday, and received an e-mail with my official “Citizens for Rail Safety” card.

[:I] A man goes to a bar with his dog. He goes up to the bar and asks for a drink. The bartender says "You can't bring that dog in here!" The guy, without missing a beat, says "This is my seeing-eye dog." "Oh man, " the bartender says, "I'm sorry, here, the first one's on me." The man takes his drink and goes to a table near the door.

Another guy walks in the bar with a Chihuahua. The first guys sees him, stops him and says "You can't bring that dog in here unless you tell him it's a seeing-eye dog." The second man graciously thanks the first man and continues to the bar. He asks for a drink. The bartender says "Hey, you can't bring that dog in here!"

The second man replies "This is my seeing-eye dog." The bartender says, "No, I don't think so. They do not have Chihuahuas as seeing-eye dogs." The man pauses for a half-second and replies "What?!?! They gave me a Chihuahua?!?" [:I]

[passengerfan]

Great photo posrtng day by all concerned . Really enjoyed the variety this sunday. Sorry, I have nothing to contribute to photo posting day but did get some writing done the last couple of days at last seems like I am making some progress on the RDC effort.

TTFN Al

[Anonymous]

Couldn't let Photo Posting Sunday go by without expressing appreciation to the the "Producers" Siberianmo and Barndad Doug for such outstanding pix and captions.[tup] X a google. By this time, Alaska R.R., the I.R.M. and the HO model R.R. Layout are book marked as "must see, must do."[^] Looking forward to a gala, festive July 4th. with those participating.

[siberianmo]

Even though ”Our” Place is CLOSED on SUNDAY’s –
We do observe Sunday Photo Posting Day!

Continuing with some more Pix from our Alaska Rail Adventure!


Click to enlarge


(13) ARR Denali Star southbound track scenes




(14) ARR Denali Star southbound – Nenana River




(15) ARR Denali Star – southbound – Nenana River




(16) AAR Denali Star – southbound – Nenana River




(17) AAR Denali Star – southbound – abandoned RR tunnel




(18) AAR Denali Star – southbound – Nenana River




(19) AAR Denali Star – southbound – Nenana River




(20) AAR Denali Star – southbound – only tunnel on journey




(21) AAR Denali Star – southbound – approaching Denali




(22) ARR Denali Star – southbound – take the left!




(23) ARR Denali Star – southbound – at Denali Park
each structure accommodates passengers for certain cars – this first group will board the rearmost cars for the cruise ships




(24) ARR Denali Star – southbound – at Denali Park Depot
the Depot is actually inside the park boundaries, whereas the hotels and lodges are outside



That’s IT for this fine day . . . . a total of 96 Pix over these four Sundays . . . more next Sunday Photo Posting Day!


If you are browsing, how about letting the guys know that you’ve enjoyed their efforts!


Enjoy![tup]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]



REMINDER!
Sunday Photo Posting Day! is a “sunrise to sunset” event!

[Anonymous]

Wow Tom! More terrific Denali pix, to be sure. LIke your Independence day theme you have going at the Emporium this week as well. Good choices. Here are some more model RR pix from a week ago:

















[:I] Our lager,
Which art in barrels,
Hollowed be thy drink.
I will be drunk,
At home as in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
And forgive us our spillages,
As we forgive those who spill against us.
And lead us not into incarceration,
But deliver us from hangovers.
For thine is the beer, the bitter and The lager
Forever and ever,
Barmen. [:I]

[siberianmo]

Even though ”Our” Place is CLOSED on SUNDAY’s –
We do observe Sunday Photo Posting Day!


Continuing on for the past three Sundays with two more sets of Pix from our recently concluded Alaska Rail Adventure!
See Page 351-352, 357 and 363 for others.


Click to enlarge


(1) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(2) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(3) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(4) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(5) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(6) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(7) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(8) AAR Denali Star – southbound track scenes




(9) AAR Denali Star - southbound crossing the Tanana River on the Mears Memorial Bridge




(10) AAR Denali Star - southbound across the Mears Memorial Bridge and Tanana River




(11) AAR Denali Star - southbound approaching the Alaska Range




(12) AAR Denali Star - southbound approaching the Alaska Range



More a bit later today . . . .


If you are browsing, how about letting the guys know that you’ve enjoyed their efforts!


Enjoy![tup]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]



REMINDER!
Sunday Photo Posting Day! is a “sunrise to sunset” event!