"OUR" PLACE - SEE NEW THREAD!

[trolleyboy]

Good morning Tom good afternoon Nick. Tom I think i'll just do the coffee and dansih continiental breakfast type thing please. Nithing harder yet I'm into work at 1pm my time.Tom Interesting cart on that British Railroad, I noticed that the first and third class tickets could get food. What of the second class ( maybe there wasn't one )? Or were they doing the cooking and serving? [swg] Nick thanks for the info on that mag, I think I'll decline the download offer though I'm thinking that it would crash my poor elderly PC. Is there a website for the mag / perhaps I can scope the info out there, sounds quite interesting. I know that the magazine will show up over here once and a while but not locally,I would likely have to drive to London or Toronto to purchase it. CM3 You are quite right, I think we all have a hook that keeps us anchored in either the model hobby or the railfan hobby or in most of our cases both. Since your sons alot like Calvin I'm wondering did you or do you get the army of "snow goons" with the first heavy snow of winter. It sounds like quite the piece on the SP as well, I'm assuming that the Kraus-Mafeii's biggest difficulty was the maintenance. ( they had a few more things going on under the hood ) Similar to teh FM's of the world, the more complicated the toaster the more $ it costs to run,railroads more than any other industry will know this to be true, otherwise we still would be graced with the preasance of mainline steam.How late did SP wait to change over to oil on their steamers, I lnow for instance that CNR changed fairly late as they had a ready cheap supply of coal from the appalatians and from Cape Breton, CPR changed over much quicker as the coal was more expensive for them to import.Of coarse both CNR /CPR held oput with the steam much later than the US roads both railways were still building and ordering locomotive classes into the early 50's. This is of coarse mostly due to the locomotive manufacturers up here, they didn't retool for diesel building enmass until the early mid fifties.I see that you to are still suffering high gas prices, ours has just this week dropped below the dollar a litre mark hovering at $0.961/2 cents a litre roughly translated that's still $4.05 a gallon or so. Ted Again you've tied everything up in a nice little package, nice insite on the posts of yesterday,I have to agree with you and Tom I think that the day has to be called a success.Hopefully in may I can rekindle your never lost love affair with the Peter Witt both large and small, seeing as how the beer car large Witt 2424 is now functional again. It gives quite the one two punch with small Witt 2894. Well gentlemen duty calls so Boris wring the round bell for the stools briinngg brinnng okay who gave you the bike bell sheesh. Rob

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Nice to see some interesting dialogue going on this AM, and especially pleased to see Rob during daylight! Gettin' back to a degree of normalcy are you [?] tup] [swg]

A dilemma of sorts - how to log on and catch the most current Posts [?] This seems to be the "bugaboo" on the Forums. How many times have we witnessed the event of a Post being made, with no reference or acknowledgment of one or two Posted before it - even if spaced by as much as an hour [?] Just a baffling situation. In my case, I use the refresh button before and after my Post - just to check to see who is "on." When I log into the Forum, I immediately go to Active Topics and select the last 12 hours for the period of Posts. Works for me.

Rob Your keen eye for detail may have caught something with that LONDON & NORTHWESTERN and CALEDONIAN RAILWAYS Poster. Perhaps pwolfe Pete can better explain it. [tup]

A serious question: Are you aware of how one would get from Detroit's major airport to the VIA Rail station in Windsor [?] Appreciate any info you may have or dig up on it. [tup]

Ted As I stated in my recap, it was a grand day given the 9 of us who participated and successful in all respects. Some notables were missing - especially West Coast S Dave, but ya know - some people just have to work for a living and/or have real lives to live! <geesh> Kudo's my friend for comin' up with the idea!

passengerfan Al Thanx for the continuing dome info ... and of course the ever present round for the house! [tup]

coalminer3 CM3 Gas here is at $2.79 (yesterday PM) and expected to drop a bit before the end of the weekend - given of course someone doesn't sneeze, cough or otherwise make 'noises' in the petroleum extracting business. [tdn]

Thanx for the round and roll of quarters for the Juke. You, Sir, are single-handedly keeping that thing in coins! [tup]=

I'm a bit surprised that my Post on the Washington & Old Dominion didn't get a comment from you. Oh well ...... can't win 'em all. [swg]

I'm sure I mentioned a few pages back that Calvin & Hobbes have been runnin' in our local bird cage liner (aka: newspaper) and will continue on for a month or so until something can be found to fill the space. An entertaing cartoon, for sure! These days (daze) one wonders what the "messages" will be within the all-too-present "unfunny" cartoons that appear in our gazettes. One in particular that just boils my blood has racisim all over it and comes in dead last in the 'surveys' run by the bird cage liner (aka: newspaper). Yet they retain it and drop something else that has a much higher acceptance level. Arggggggggh. Political correctness and politically correct people - I detest 'em all. [soapbox] [#offtopic] Boris go find the REAL bell, get rid of the bike toy, and ring it loud 'n clear! I'm buying. [tup]

Nick Nice seein' ya in daylight as well! That recognition you provided in my direction in the Post before your last was way too much! Nice of ya and appreciated, but hey - I'm just a simple barkeep, trying to keep you guys on the straight 'n narrow! [swg] THANX! [tup]

I have a request, please provide me with any pix you wi***o have Posted for our Sunday Photo Posting Day! before the end of the day tomorrow (Friday). I've got loads of things to attend to Saturday and won't be able to get to 'em then. As it stands now, the pix you sent yesterday (Wednesday) by Email will be provided to the gang.

BudKarr BK Amazing that you've kept contact with those Mounties; that's terrific! You are probably correct in your assessment of winding up in the calaboose should you engage in similar activites in 2005 aboard the train that you did back when you traveled that Action Red CPR. [V]

One day I'd love to take the train up to Churchill from Winnipeg. That would be a blast with a bunch of guys like we have at "Our" Place and I have entertained notiions of "throwing out the idea" to see how many would like to do it.

It's a 2-nighter up and from all reports, is the kind of experience only the uninhibited would (and should) partake in. Of course, as with any of these ventures, they cost - and cost big. Crank in air fares to and from Winnipeg, and it gets really pricey. Just a thought .....

BK Thanx for your comments on my Posts and more importantly, stickin' with us. Your insights are appreciated, even if a bit direct! [swg] Then again, you are preaching to the Choir 'round here - plus the people who need to see 'n reflect on your comments are NOT reading anyway! [censored]

Sorry if I've missed anyone's salient points - but it's time to get going! By the by - Cindy will be watching the bar from 1 to 5 PM! Be nice guys! [}:)][:-,]

Okay Boyz - time for some lunch [?]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[Anonymous]

Hi Cindy, popped in for a quick Ham-ana-Cheese-a-Sanawich-ana-bucket-a-beer-for-da- woikin'-ganga. Sorry, I lapsed into an old familiar Italian family's accent for a moment there.[:D] Yes Tom, that cross posting can be tricky. Anymore, I go back to my last post and work my way forward to anything new. Once, I hit the "refresh" button before sending and instantly lost my reply.[:(!] Dunno what happened? BTW, the only way I know from Detroit to Windsor is via the river tunnel and WOW, is it weird. There is (or was) a mid-tunnel "dog leg" with little room to maneuver.[:O]

Rob come to think of it, Detroit was the first time I saw Witt's hauling trailers in any city. The Conductor had a key for the folding doors (trailer) and a coin changer strapped to his chest. First he let out the exiting passengers (rear door), then moved forward. It fascinated me how fast those guys were at making change, issuing new and punching old transfers. etc. They could spot an expired transfer in a heart beat, amazing.[^] Hey, you have snail mail that should reach your place in 4 to 6 days. Hope you approve of my selections.

BK, nice you could drop in again after browsing the previous posts. Good of you to recognize Tom's "Personal Experiences" theme also. Nine responses isn't really shabby 'round these parts.[tup]

Say, how is that A.T.S.F. Northern coming along Gunns? We haven't seen an update of your favorite "girl friend" lately? Passengerfan Al, thanks for affirming the domes on the Empire Builder, I knew I wasn't dreaming them up. Good luck on your next publishing project covering the "Domes." You have more than one buyer at "Our" Place. Lookin' forward to your pix on Sunday Nick. Have you and Tom given thought to Boris' Birthday on the 31st?[alien] I guess *** is settling in from his "bitter sweet" trek from London to North Africa and return to "Big D." Hope there were no Chicken entrees during the trip.[V] Well, enough of my small talk. Boris, do we have the original "old 99" now? Okay, let 'er rip! WRIIIPED [:(!]Go to the shed and change your cook's whites NOW! See ya's later.

[pwolfe]

Hi Tom and all.

A pint of Bathams please and I had better eat some of the turkey.

Many thanks for the kind words on yesterdays piece. I had as much fun writing it as reading the EXCELLENT others. A sucess indeed TOM and TED. Thanks ALL [^][tup].

Another great G.B. passenger train nostalgia.I see the 8 hour agreement was in force when this was issued. The 10.00AM departure became THE ROYAL SCOT, the 2.00PM train was known as THE CORRIDOR as it was one the first trains on the L&NWR to have this facility allowing the use of the Dining car for all passengers. This train was formed of magnificent 12-wheelers and the Royal train was for many years of this slightly modified stock. I believe the livery was called Plum and Spilt Milk. Some of the Royal cars are preservrd in the National Railway Museum at York. this train became The Mid-day Scot.

Talking of the Royal Scot reminds me that in B.R. days it was worked in steam days by the L.M.S. premier locos the 4-6-2 Princess Coronation or Duchess class (SEMIs to us). There was a change of loco between Glasgow and London but for one glorious summer in the late 50s the Polmadie(Glasgow) loco would work through bringing rare locos like Duchesses of Athol and Montrose through Rugby.

As to ROBS query on the 1st and 3rd classes. It was the Midland railway who first abolished 2nd class in the 1870's on its main line trains, I think when they bought some American cars for the newly opened Settle & Carlisle route to Scotland. Most main lines followed suit. 2nd class was still used at the time for commuter trains around London.,It was last used on the Boat-trains to the South coast ports at least in the 50s. it was well into B.R. days that it became 1st and 2nd class.now it is a variation of 1st(Club etc) or Standard.

NICK does the Telecaster play any Hendrix?

Well TOM I'll have another Bathams if Imay and can you put me down for some Fish and Chips for later PETE.

By the way I have the same problem as TED when I try the REFRESH icon

[siberianmo]

G'day Guys!

Thanx Cindy I'm baaaaaaack! [swg]

Some clarification is in order for Ted & Pete regarding that "refresh" option. I thought my draft replies got "lost" too - but all you have to do is use the "back" button and it wil show up again! BUT, here's an even safer way to do it - don't use "refresh" until AFTER you Post. Then do it and see if anyone may have Posted. You can always "edit" your Post, or make a supplement, or "log it" for comment later on.

There's also a third option - highlight your draft reply and use the copy feature (ctrl c). That way if it indeed gets "lost," just hit paste (ctrl v) and there it will be.

NOT trying to change the way you do your thing, just letting you know there are other ways to do it. [swg]

Ted Your Email has been received and responded to. Thanx!

I knew of the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, but not the "dog leg." Wonder what the "obstruction" was, or perhaps just an engineering "thing." Anyway, mine is more of logistics - how does a traveler get from the Detroit International airport to the VIA Rail station In Windsor, aside from taking a cab [?] Maybe it's just not possible.

Boris' BIRTHDAY is the 31st [?]! Arghhhhhhhhhhhh. What next [?] [swg]

Pete I KNEW you could handle that inquiry of Rob's [tup] Thanx! Glad you enjoyed the Post!

Sorry, Pete there's absolutely NO Hendrix on my Juke! [tdn] Story for 'nother time .... [swg]

Enjoy the evenin'

Tom

[nickinwestwales]

Hi guys,flying visit tonight-apologies to all,but wiped out-not enough hours in day,will catch up tomorrow,usual Fish+Chip type stuff tonight plus Turkey Madras with Vegetable Biriani, traditional Bubble+Squeak (Pete will explain....[swg] )be lucky,speak tomorrow,Boris has the kitchen-under close supervision by TED & ROB ,regards,nick[C=:-)]...p.s TOM I hear you re pix[tup]

[nickinwestwales]

Hi guys,flying visit tonight-apologies to all,but wiped out-not enough hours in day,will catch up tomorrow,usual Fish+Chip type stuff tonight plus Turkey Madras with Vegetable Biriani, traditional Bubble+Squeak (Pete will explain....[swg] )be lucky,speak tomorrow,Boris has the kitchen-under close supervision by TED & ROB ,regards,nick[C=:-)]...p.s TOM I hear you re pix[tup]

[siberianmo]

Evenin' Guys,

A little humor before I check out .....

A true story about Awk while staying at Cindy’s place.

Cindy’s dishwasher quit working so she called a repairman. Since she had to go to work the next day, she told the repairman, "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, and I'll mail you a check."

"Oh, by the way don't worry about my bulldog, Spike. He won't bother you. But, whatever you do, do NOT, under ANY circumstances, talk to my parrot!" "I REPEAT, DO NOT TALK TO MY PARROT!!!"

When the repairman arrived at Cindy’s apartment the following day, he discovered the biggest, meanest looking bulldog he has ever seen. But, just as she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet watching the repairman go about his work.

The parrot, however, drove him nuts the whole time with his incessant yelling, cursing and name calling. Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer and yelled,

"Shut up, you stupid, ugly bird!"

To which the parrot replied, "Get him, Spike!"


Leon the Night Man has the bar .... see ya in the 'morrow! [zzz]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[siberianmo]

FRIDAY’s INFO & SUMMARY of RECENT POSTS

The bar closed at midnight and will reopen at 6 AM

Good Day Everyone!

Friday has arrived and it’s time for the wind down for the weekend. Plan on stopping by on your way home this evenin’ ……. Great place to fuel up!

Info for the Day:

(1) SOME SERIOUS NEWS: Received an Email from earlydiesels Dan’s wife. Dan is out with pneumonia. She asks that we all keep him in our thoughts and prayers. If you recall he was complaining about feeling poorly during several of his last Posts. For any of you wishing to drop him a note, send me an Email and I’ll forward his address.

(2) Tonight is Pizza Nite plus Sirloin steak ‘n Fries Nite. [dinner] Dinner begins at 5 PM!

(3) LAST CALL! An Email was sent to all who have expressed interest in our Rendezvous in Toronto, May 2006. Responses requested.

(4) Remember Sunday Photo Posting Day!

INDEX

Generic URL: Just insert the index page in place of “106,” copy ‘n paste ‘n “go,”

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=106&TOPIC_ID=35270

-or- insert the index page in the address portion of this page (at the top).

Fallen Flags (passenger ops)

106 SP ..………. 106 MoPac ……. 108 WP ………… 109 Frisco
112 CNR ………. 112 Heralds …… 114 ACL ………… 115 SCL
116 D&RGW ….. 118 RI .………… 119 D&H ………… 120 PRR
122 NYC ………. 124 UP.………… 125 AT&SF …….. 127 B&O
128 CM&StP.…. 129 CB&Q .……. 130 Soo Line ....... 133 C&NW
134 SP&S

Passenger Train Nostalgia

112 ………. CNR Ad - Super Continental Time Table
113 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #1 ”Start ups” 1800s & early 1900s
117 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #2 Ad - Vista-Dome sleeper observation-lounge
121 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #3 Ad - CP Hotels & Lodges
124 ………. A tale of Classic Trains BC Rail RDC trip
127 ………. B&O Ad - Strata-Dome
127 ………. B&O Ad – Encor!
129 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #4 Ad - CN Hotels, Ltd.
130 ………. Great Britain Nostalgia #1 Poster - East Coast Route
133 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #5 Poster - CP 1886
133 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #6 Poster - CP 1950s
134 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #7 Poster - Washington & Old Dominion Railway
134 ………. Personal RR journey CPR’s “The Canadian”
135 ………. Great Britain Nostalgia #2 LONDON & NORTHWESTERN and CALEDONIAN RAILWAYS

Classic Juice by trolleyboy ROB

116 Classic Juice #1 (The London & Port Stanley L&PS)
123 Classic Juice #2 (The Niagara St. Chatharines Toronto Railway NS&T)
131 Classic Juice #3 (The Montreal & Southern Counties Railway –MS&C)
134 Classic Juice #4 (The Brantford and Hamilton B&H)

SUMMARY

Name - Date/Time - (Page#) – Remarks

(1) siberianmo Tom Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 00:04:28 (135) Thursday’s Info & Summary

(2) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 07:06:31 (135)

(3) siberianmo Tom Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 07:44:11 (135) 6th Month Anniversary comments

(4) coalminer3 CM3 Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 08:04:32 (135)

(5) nickinwestwales Nick Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 08:19:14 (135)

(6) siberianmo Tom Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 09:11:08 (135) Great Britain Nostalgia #2

(7) BudKarr BK Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 10:21:50 (135)

(8) trolleyboy Rob Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 10:22:52 (135) Inclusive Post!

(9) siberianmo Tom Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 12:00:08 (136) catch up

(10) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 14:33:41 (136) Inclusive Post!

(11) pwolfe Pete Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 16:59:38 (136)

(12) siberianmo Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 17:21:40 (136) reply to Theodorebear & pwolfe

(13) nickinwestwales Nick Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 18:39:10 (136)

(14) siberianmo Tom Posted: 13 Oct 2005, 21:37:19 (136) Story about Awk

=======================================
That’s it! [tup][;)]

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

[Anonymous]

Well, here it is Friday again. This week really had wings. Tom, its too early for anything more than Grapefruit juice, a toasted Thomas' muffin and I'll grab the "Joe." Who in the "Sam Hill" keeps stirring their coffee with the sugar spoon?[V] Okay, that's it! Boris, put these paper towels back in the bathroom and bring the serviettes napkins out here. Geeze, this place is slipping into the abyss like a Mt. St. Helen's rock slide.[:(!] Say Nick, how 'bout a nice greasy, breakfast pork chop smothered in country gravy with two sunny sides lookin' up at you?[:D] Hmmm? Disappeared![:O] We've had a darn good "run" this past work week. Hope evryone has a restful weekend. It won't be long before "cabin fever" days are upon you Yanks and I'll still be mowing grass and trimming the hedge.[tdn]

Since I can't find my Trolly Treasures Vol. III, "Tracks to Glory," I thought I'd "kick around" some Great Northern nostalgia. You know, that Road may be the least appreciated of all the "majors." James Jerome Hill (1838-1916) nearly single handedly built the Great Northern from his own vision and genius for organization. Early on Cotton from the Mississippi (St Paul, MN) shipped to the West was the primary idea. That alone wasn't going to sustain the Road J. J. Hill had in mind. Hill had to win some tough legal battles with the eastern Moguls like Harriman and anti-trust suits from tin horn politicians to establish his "dream" empire. He managed this through sheer personal tenacity and he lost some battles but won his war. By 1901, Hill had over 5000 miles of ROW. By 1905, through agreements with Northern Pacific, the Spokane, Portland and Seattle R.R. was formed, expanding into lucrative markets for imported Oriental goods. Through his lobbying efforts, Glacier National Park was created in 1910. By 1913, Hill's first hotel opened its doors (Glacier Park Hotel) and the "Many Glacier Hotel" was opened in 1915. Six Swiss-style chalets followed including the "Going-to-the-Sun" Chalets at Sun Point. Hill retired in 1912 and by that time had aquired or built more ROW than Britain, France and Germany conmbined.

That will do for starters on this singularly outstanding Road for now. I thought I might add more on the Great Northern in serial style installments in future posts. There are so many superlatives and "firsts" with the G.N., this coverage will necessarily be lengthy. I hope most of you enjoy it.

Okay Boris, let's hear it for a early weekend round if there are any "takers." Eh? I didn't hear anything.[:O] You ran out of pans and are using Old 99 for a deep FAT FRYER? Over my dead body![:(!] Tom, you have my "next of kin" data, right? Happy rails all.

[coalminer3]

Good Morning All: Round for the house and coffee for me, please. Let's drop some quarters and listen to Tammy Wynette this a.m. We haven't heard from her in awhile. We'll skip Stand By Your Man as everyone plays that - she did lots of other good songs, though.

Re the W&OD, I noticed and will have more to say abt. that later.

Big doings here tomorrow as it is Bridge Day. This is the one day a year that folks can walk on the New River Gorge Bridge. BASE jumping off the span is a big part of the day's activities which gives the EMTs at the bottom ample opportunity to practice what they have learned. For railroad folks, it gives you a great opportunity to see the C&O main line from above. The New River Foliage trains are running Saturday and Sunday this week and next. This is the annual excursion (RT) between Huntington and Hinton featuring photo runs at Thurmond and, time permitting, Sewell. It's not the same as when they had 614 or 765 pulling the train, but it's still not a bad take, if only for the variety of cars that operate. There's websites abt. the New River Gorge National Park, and you can check out the Collis P. Huntington NRHS site for info. abt the New River Train.

I saw somewhere that the Hickory Creek, recently restored 20th Century Limited obs will be operating out of Chicago to New York via DC. I do not know which route it will be taking, but I am in hopes it'll be on Train 50; the research dept. is hard at work to find the answer as I would like to see that car.

Theodorebear - GN - truly a fascinating operation. A friend from North Dakota sold me on riding the Empire Builder, and all I can say is it lived up to its advertising.

I dug back through the stack of stuff and found that The Builder in 1961 carried a "Great Dome" car, coaches, a ranch-lounge car, a diner and at least 6 sleepers. The sleepers included a 6 rtte/6db/2 cmpartment car, two or more cars that had sections(!), duplex rttes, rttes, bedrooms, and compartments (one of which was a short car between St. Paul and Havre), a 16 duplex rtte/4br car, and a 6-3-buffet lounge sleeper. The train split at Spokane westbound and combined eastbound, of course.

I have been following the dome car comments with interest as well. IIRC, other roads with full domes included the Milwaukee Road and the SP.

There were a few dome routes in the east as well. One which many don't recall was on the N&Ws Pocahontas. It provided a most interesting look at coal railroading as it traversed Mingo and McDowell Counties eastbound in the early a.m. I know I have some notes somewhere abt. that.

BTW, and this is directed to Tom, I don't think I posted material abt. the Boston subway back in the day. I searched through the Our Place archives (in the subbasement beside Boris's secret lab - BTW what's in those barrels with the skull and crossbones signs on them or is getting ready for his birthday?) and couldn't find anything. I know I sent along something abt the subway and Fenway Park, but I don't think I sent the longer post. If I have not done so, I will post this material over a couple of days next week. As my buddy Pogo used to say, "The aheader I go, the behinder I get."

Have a good weekend.

work safe

P.S. Story abt. AWK reminded me abt the story abt. the burglar, the parrot, and the Rottweiler. You might bomb me "off the air" if I posted that one, but I did enjoy the AWK story greatly.

[siberianmo]

Ted This one's for YOU! (and of course the rest of the gang) [swg]

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

Great Northern(GN)

Headquarters: St. Paul, MN

Mileage:

1950: 8,220

Locomotives in 1963:

Diesel: 642

Rolling stock in 1963:

Freight cars: 39,055
Passenger cars: 579

Principal routes in 1950:

St. Paul, MN-Seattle, WA via Willmar, MN and New Rockford, ND
Minneapolis-Minot, ND via St. Cloud, MN, Fargo and Grand Forks, ND
Superior, WI & Duluth, MN-Grand Forks via Crookston, MN
Minneapolis & St. Paul-Duluth & Superior via Brook Park, MN
Barnesville, MN-Winnipeg, MB via Ada and Crookston, MN
Portland, OR-Vancouver, BC via Seattle, WA (trackage rights on NP Portland-Seattle)
Willmar-Sioux Falls, SD & Sioux City, IA
Havre-Great Falls-Helena-Butte, MT
Shelby-Great Falls-Billings, MT
Bend, OR-Bieber, CA via Klamath Falls, OR

Passenger trains of note:

Badger (St. Paul-Minneapolis-Superior-Duluth)
Cascadian (Seattle-Spokane, WA)
Dakotan (St. Paul-Minneapolis-Williston, ND)
Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle & Portland, operated jointly with CB&Q and SP&S)
Gopher (St. Paul-Minneapolis-Superior-Duluth)
International (Seattle-Vancouver, BC)
Oriental Limited (Chicago-Seattle & Portland, operated jointly with CB&Q and SP&S)
Red River (St. Paul-Minneapolis-Grand Forks, ND)
Western Star (Chicago-Seattle & Portland, operated jointly with CB&Q and SP&S)
Winnipeg Limited (St. Paul-Minneapolis-Winnipeg


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

SOME SERIOUS NEWS: Received an Email from earlydiesels Dan’s wife. Dan is out with pneumonia. She asks that we all keep him in our thoughts and prayers. If you recall he was complaining about feeling poorly during several of his last Posts. For any of you wishing to drop him a note, send me an Email and I’ll forward his address.

The above was contained in today's SUMMARY on THIS page![%-)][%-)][%-)]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'mornin' Gang!

Don't know where the time is going, but I'm behind the curve this AM!

Not such good news about our friend earlydiesels Dan and I hope we'll hear that he's up 'n about in no time. Pneumonia ain't anything to fool with, especially if it was left to go untreated for any length of time ..... All the best to you, DAN for a speedy 'n full recovery!

That's two of our number who are on the "binnacle list." Chris has been absent for quite some time and I've received only a brief Email from him over this time. Hope things are progressing positively for you too, mon ami! [tup]

Ted Another "gem" from you this AM, I see. Appreciate your taking the time to start your day at "Our" Place. By the by - Email's sent - one reply received. Thanx!

The info on the Great Northern (GN) obviously spurred the Fallen Flag piece. Though you and CM3 would enjoy it - seemed appropriate given the dialogue you started. [tup] Very informative stuff regarding Mr. Hill's hotels and Chalets. [tup]

Your breakfast request from Nick better go unheeded! [tdn] As we serve <light> breakfasts 'round here - unless of course you wi***o take over that AM job of handling the hungry souls looking for more than what our bill of fare has to offer! [swg]

Well you can chortle all you like regarding winters in Florida while those of us elsewhere may be freezing our respective cabooses off. It's all a matter of what one enjoys - and I like the four seasons, with Fall and Winter the most. It can snow rump deep to an elephant, and Juneau and I would be in absolute bliss. Just love it. Alas, the winters in these parts for about the past 12 years have been merely a shadow of days gone by. I'm hopin' .......... [swg]

coalminer3 CM3 Appreciate the kind words regarding Awk'sstory. Glad you enjoyed it! Never know whether anyone is picking up on these things, glad you did! [tup]

Now I've heard of some rather eccentric practices when it comes to viewing railroads and the like. But isn't it just a wee bit over the top to include jumping off of a bridge as part of the festivities? You are correct regarding the OJT for the EMT's! <geesh>

Appreciate your supplemental info regarding the GN. Awhile back, we had a similar 'thing" going on with the B&O and it really got a few guys involved with some interesting exhanges. That's good stuff and what we try to achieve 'round here.

Now you've got me wonderin' just what did I say to you regarding the Boston subways? [banghead] This could get very circular in no time flat! [swg]

Tammy is wailing away, and for the record, Stand by your man was removed from the Juke some time back. Seems the track gang would go absolutely beserk when that song came on - to say they got rowdy would be an understatement. Can't afford those pool cues and wall repairs. So, out it went. She's got quite a few "good-uns" to select from ... so play away! [tup]

Thanx for the round! Boris do your thing ....... the bell, man (or whatever it is you are) the bell!! <>geesh>

Cindy will be in at 10 AM and watch the bar for a couple of hours while I'm away .... be nice guys! [;)]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[BudKarr]

Good day barkeep and I will have one of those turkey sandwich specials advertised on your menu board. Oh yes, today I think a Pabst Blue Ribbon would go down nicely in a cold mug please!

Yes, the Great Northern, now there are some recollections that come to the fore. The 4-8-4 steamer of the "Northern" classification comes to mind. These rather huge locomotives were absolute requirements to haul those heavyweights across the Rockies and Cascade ranges. And what a job they did.

They also operated some fine 2-8-2 Mikados, which on most other roads were used strictly for freight due to the relatively smaller drivers. Great Northern found them more than adequate on the level prairies on eastern Montana and Minnesota where they were regularly used with passenger equipment. Of course, the entry of diesel motive power ended their use.

Then there was the electrification of some 73 miles of right of way through the Cascade tunnel. Box-cabs were used with 5,000hp GE electric motive power painted and streamlined to match the new Empire Builder in 1947. Diesels came along in 1956 to end Great Northern's entry into electrification.

Back to the Cascade tunnels - the original was opened in 1900, with the second in 1929.

The entry of diesel locomotives included the EMD E7's, which when at the head of a smoothsides passenger train looked absolutely marvelous in that great livery.

Thank you Mr. Ted for bringing up this railroad. And of course, to you Tom and coalminer for keeping the subject going. (What is your name, Mr. coalminer? - I am Bud, so you must be .....)

Mr. Pete Wolfe, you sir have a real handle on railroading and your commentary is very much read and appreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed your anniversary offering and got a kick out of how quickly you picked up on the commentary from Rob and Tom regarding the classes of service. Very astute and in keeping with what Tom tries to do with this cyber discussion. A 4.0 effort, indeed (on a 4.0 scale).

Tom, I enjoyed your humor with your parrot, and do read the summaries. In fact, those are what I look at first. Sorry a couple of your number are temporarily layed up - hopefully they will return soon. (I do not engage in electronic mail, except at business and I do not mix the use.)

BK

[Anonymous]

Good morning Y'all.

I am baaaack, but have been buried in the *** on my desk for being out of the office for almost one month. To celebrate my return I have set some super desserts from the Nana restaurant in the Anatole Hotel on the bar. The pastry chef is Lindsey Purvin and since she is my niece I can highly recommend her culinary creations. To suppliment these creations I also have set out a bottle of Remy Martin top of the line brandy for all of us to sip on. For those of you who would like a cigar to go with the brandy please go to the porch to smoke it.

Theodorebear I can sympathise with you about the weather in Chicago in the winter.
it truely is the windy city, although the nick name did not come from the breezes blowing off the lake. It referrs to the long winded politicians from Chicago. Knowing that Chicago in its hayday had a jillion railroad stations I would have opted for a different town to change trains. The B&O also went to St Louis where a direct connection could be made to Tulsa without any intermediate transfers. However, the trip on the Super Chief, even though short, would be worth the agony of walking and falling between the stations in Chicago. Since I have two artificial hips (too many falls on the ski slopes) I try to avoid snow and ice now days.

A ride in the cab of an engine is better than anythink I can think of. A couple of years ago I was going to Austin to visit grandchildren. My wife had driven down earlier in the week and I was to fly on Southwest. I thought why fly when I can ride the train. I called Joy Smith, the regional rep for Amtrak in Fort Worth and she comped me a ticket and an engine pass. I was in heaven! Looking straight ahead down the track is far better than a peripheral view only. I was a rainy day, however, this was no concern as the cap was water proof and warm. The Texas Eagle has a terrible on time rate thanks to Union Pacific, who controls the tracks they use between Chicago and Fort Worth. Guess who gets put into the hole. South of Temple it really began to rain and lightning. The lightning blew out the signals which went into a fail safe mode. This happened near Taylor, the last control and reporting place for the Eagle. My wife logged on (really my daughter did as my wife is computer illiterate), saw that the arrival in Austin would be at 10 PM, and left for the station as the arrival time was 30 minutes later. Well, you guessed it. Things got worse. With the signals going out after the Taylor check point things got a little slower. A switch had to be manually thrown and all the signals were dark. In this situation you travel at a maximum of 20 mph to the next signal, stop, and call Omaha for authority to pass the dark signal. This happened 5 fimes in getting to Austin. We finally arrived in Austin at 12:15 AM. I climbed out of the engine and was greeted with "Shut up and get in!". I had fun even though my wife did not.

So much for now.

Cheers,
***

[Anonymous]

No doubt about it, like the B & O, the Great Northern has "broken the ice" among our associates and Members. But first, I'd like to echo Tom's best wishes for our friends CM3 and Chris for a speedy, still cautiously advised recovery.[tup]

Tom,, let us all join in a pre evening libation before the "week-enders" (track crew, et al.) begin their boisterous, fun loving activities; make mine a Crown & soda w/lime twist please.[^] Your choice of Fallen Flags could not have been more timely or appropriate. BK's thoughtful addition has given the "Builder" the added momentum needed for everyone to "add their [2c]"

If I may, I'll pick-up where BK ended from his last post. Indeed the construction of the "Cascade Tunnel Project" (7.79 miles in1929) and the longest straight bore in the Western Hemisphere, brought electrification to G.N. To give us an idea of the size of these 5,000 h.p. goliathans mentioned, they were: 101 ft. in length (4-8-8-4) and weighed 360 tons (i.e. 720,000 lbs.). So it was, that daily service from Chicago to Seattle began in 1929 and the premier train was named "The Empire Builder." Proper ventilating systems made the use of diesel power in the tunnels possible and saved 1 hours time on the St. Paul to Seattle haul. By 1931, through negotiations with S.P. and meeting up with W.P., Northern gained a direct connection to San Francisco. Later, the severe demands put on the Road during W.W. II found coal/oil steam, electrics and diesel; all could be found on mainline service for the "war effort." After the War, a fleet of five completely new Empire Builders went into service in 1947. But, that is for another installment and all who care to join in now, please "feel free" to do so.[tup]

Okay, I hope the weekend brings more interested parties to the Forum. Meantime, Boris, has dutifully returned Old 99's Bell to its' place of prominence, so without further ado: CLANG Ahhh, a symphony born of a single tone.[^] Happy rails.

[siberianmo]

Good Evening!

From the looks of things 'round here tonight, I may dismiss the Gals of "Our" Place to go about their personal lives - things are that slow.

Ted I would add something to the GN discussion, but methinks no one will be reading, so it's better saved for another day. As always, appreciate your input and optimism that tomorrow will bring more activity. In case you haven't noticed, Saturdays are notoriously slow. Anyway, the GN Fallen Flag is a "sure fire" winnah! [tup]

I think perhaps you meant earlydiesels Dan rather than CM3 - unless of course he's one of those planning to jump from that bridge! [swg]

BudKarr BK Nice Post with that additional info on the GN. Well done and thanx! [tup][tup][tup] You seem to be getting the "hang" of it 'round here. [swg]

I'm going to watch some baseball tonight, so it's time for Leon the Night Man to take over for the evening. We'll close up at midnight ....

Catch y'all later ...... [tup]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. Received some emails with get well wishes-they are much appreciated. Tom, I have been advised to drink lots of water so anything stronger is offlimits for now, so if Leon complains about me not imbibing you know why.
After feeling terrible for a month now, went to urgent care yesterday and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Haven't missed any work but come home and collapse until the coughing requires me to spent the night in the recliner.
Thanks for the best wishes and the emails. When I return to a sense of normalcy I will be more of a participant and will try to catch up.

[passengerfan]

Good Evening Tom and the rest of the gang. Guess i'll have my usual CR and a round for the house.
Last night I wrote a rather lengthy story about a passenger train trip then hit the wrong button and lost the entire thing. To many CRs I guess.
Thanks for the GN tribute my favorite RR and the one I traveled the most miles on. At least eleven Seattle - St. Paul round trips and one Chicago - Seattle round trip. I even rode the Cascadian for a birthday present, my dad thought I wasd nuts but made all the arrangements for a young lad traveling on a saturday from Seattle to Spaokane and returning that night on the Western Star. The assistant station agent in Spokane mean't the CASCADIAN when it arrived in Spokane and took the young lad to dinner in the station and gave me a behind the scenes tour of the beautiful old Spokane station now long gone. When the car attendent arrived too go on duty for the waiiting sleeping car to be added to the wesstbound WESTERN STAR he already had his first tired passenger who went almost immediatly to bed and woke south of Everett the next AM about twenty minutes out of Seattle. The monthly trips on the Internationals to Vancouver to visit grandparents were not to be forgotten either. I rode the GN through three paint schemes the Orange and Pullman Green with Dulux gold lettering and separation stripes. The Big Sky Blue scheme and the BN Cascade Greeen and White scheme although very little equipment received the latter scheme. Surprisingly I see a great number of former GN cars are still active privately or in trains like the American Orient Express. I can still remember the electrics through the Cascade tunnel especially the two huge W class 5018 and 5019. Remember standing next to one and still remember I thought it was the biggest engine I had ever seen. And it was to me at the time, I'm not sure if the UP Big blows were larger but I was older when i remembered seeing them crossing Wyoming.
I spent a lot of time around the GN and have nothing but fond memories of this my favorite railroad. I remember having verey mixed feelings about the merger that created the BN but realize today that this was inevitable.
All domes on the Great Northern were known as Great Domes whether they were the short Budd dome coaches or the full length dome lounge cars. Each Empire Builder carried three Dome Coaches and one Dome lounge in the summer consists. Many of these cars survive today. Prior to Amtrak and Autotrain the Empire Builder offered more dome seats than any other dome equipped train.
Well enough of my rambling for this evening.

[nickinwestwales]

Howdy fellow imbibers,enjoying the fallen flags-havn`t chosen to comment before since I know absolutely nothing about most of them except approx location ( top left,sort of down through the middle,etc ) and occ. liveries-however with the help of you good people,the gaps are getting filled-thank you [^].-[4:=)]TOM,despite the tempting gleam of bottles and the warm shine of the brass on the draught pumps,tonight I will try a pint or two of your finest ice cold milk-13 music nights in 17 days has left me a little jaded,the pitcher to oft to the well and all that....MANAGER TED-still researching willfully unpleasant liveries for our next contest,as a late entrant to the plug-ugly loco contest I`ve found a real lulu,built as a one-off for a North Welsh Quarry by a firm who normally specialised in steam-cranes,marine steering gear,winches etc. She appears to have been designed by someone who had heard about locomotives without having previously seen one..will forward to Himself for sunday supplement (last one TOM,I promise !!) ***-Welcome home ol buddy,nice to see you sliding back into the groove[tup]-seems to be a constant with rail journeys in foul weather-the closer you get to home,the slower it gets-although round here that happens in all weathers( ungated grade crossings,suicidal livestock,unscheduled stops "cos I lives in that farm by the line there" etc. BK-nice to see you my man,you too seem very much at home round here[swg]-finally tracked down those T.G.V`s in a (hopefully ) usable format-got a French `Atlantic route` & a broad gauge Spanish version-should appear on sunday,once[4:=)]TOM has waved his digital wand,enjoy they brew & the sandwich,plenty more where they came from,speaking of which ,TOM-that chop is a light breakfast dish in these parts-normally comes with home fries ,mushrooms, toms & onion rings for lunch service ( most folks round here think cholestrol is a town in Poland ) [swg] ......CM3,-so jumping off bridges is a big thing in your neck of the woods eh..........O.K,..........I`ll just move across here a little way,it may be contagious...........should have some dome car action for sunday also-from above the 49........PETE-learned my "chops" playing along to Jimi,Led Zeppelin,The Who et al-30 years back but can still remember a few licks,we wont see his like again-nice stuff on West coast joint ops by the way [tup][tup]-keep the side up and all that !!!. Well,another new toy today-Trainplayer virtual railway thingie-free trial download for 15 days (slap bang in my price range !!) trial version has 4 basic layouts with some others also available. looks a bit silly to start with,but strangely compulsive once you start operating it-highly recommended for anyone who is `between` layouts or stuck on a long journey with a lap top-find it at www.trainplayer.com-I`ve just lost 5 hours playing with it. Right thats me done and dusted,have a good time this night,catch you all tomorrow,regards,nick[C=:-)]

[nickinwestwales]

just `refreshed` --Dan-good to hear from you my friend,welcome back, AL-check sunday pix for domes on the O.N.R,TOM I am reading them,just half a day behind everybody else n

[siberianmo]

Hello Guys!

What a pleasant surprise - just as I thought we were finished for the evenin' - three guys show up! [tup][tup][tup]

First - [#welcome] Back earlydiesels Dan. Glad you are feeling up to sharing a few words with us. Hang in there buddy, "living" in a recliner ain't all that easy to do. I'll share a bit of personal info with you (and all in the Ether) - a few years ago I had a bout of Legionairres Disease. Spent 7 weeks wonderin' ... I mean it was really a tough time., The recliner was about all I could handle for anything even comin' close to sleep. So, I understand .... do as you are instructed (aka: told!) and get fully recovered before you tgry to resume your activities.

passengerfan Al Glad to see you are back in tempo with the rest of us! [swg] And also pleased that the Fallen Flag for this day - Great Northern - flicked your switch. Apparently it's not only your favorite, but hit "home" with a couple of others too. [tup]

I can only imagine what a thrill and pleasure it must have been for those folks who could afford the best of accommodations aboard those wonderful streamlliners. Domes, domes and more domes - now that's the way to go! What's not to like about Rocky the Goat and his railroad [?] [swg]

I have to ask, why oh why didn't you Post that story regarding your GN trip as a youngster on our 6th Month Anniversary Personal Posts [?] It's a very warm snippet of info that all of us can envision. Thanx. [tup]

Okay, Boris ring the bell, Al is back in form and has bought the house a round! [yeah]

Nick The return of our Chief Chef [C=:-)] and resident musician! Another contest - what have I missed [?] Elaborate, man - elaborate. What did Whoopie say in Jumpin' Jack Flash - enunciate, Mick, enunciate (or something like that!). [swg]

I'm in a ELO frame of mind tonight. Just dropped a handful of quarters (5 plays for 25 cents) in the Juke for about 20 of their hits. That should liven up the joint - great music from that band for sure. Sorry I don't share ANYONE's affinity for Hendrix. Problem for me is that if I don't respect someone, I cannot dig 'em. Plain 'n simple. Don't get me started ......

By the by, wonderin' if you've come across anything out there in the Ether comin' close to a track planner for HO and S gauges. Just curious ..... I keep neglecting to do the simple search myself for perhaps a "sample" package. All I'd like to do is put together my Can-Am in plan form along with the S Capades (so aptly named by you).

Got your latest pix in time - but I'll refrain from Posting those copyrighted ones. Appreciate you being up front about those. Thanx! [tup] One never knows ....

So, what are you telling me - Cholesterol ISN'T a Poli***own [?] [swg] Good one! [tup]

I know the Fallen Flag series doesn't always ring true for you over in West Wales, however, I did begin the Great Britain version with you 'n Pete in mind. Problem for me is locating the information in my modest library of "stuff."

Thanx again for stopping in and hope you get a chance to communicate over the weekend.

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[pwolfe]

Hi Tom and all.

A pint of the usual please.

DAN. Hope you are feeling a lot better real soon.

The Great Northern must have been a real popular railroad over here. I am ashamed to say that I knew very little about it. So thanks TED CM3 *** B.K. PASSENGERFAN and TOM for the insight.Isn't GOPHER a wonderful name for a train.

The piece on Mr Hill was very interesting. The railroad "Barons" were certainly men of great drive and determination.

Thanks B.K. and NICK for the kind words. It is great to have a couple more personal railroad journeys to savor. [tup].

NICK we were indeed fortunate to have such great bands that you mentioned in our youth we will see their like again[?]

Well Tom another pint if I may and ELO is just the right music for me tonight also. PETE.

[trolleyboy]

Good late evening everyone.Sorry Tom I caught your post but had to run off to work was just too whipped to log back in last night. Retail the long hours start to pile up this end of the year, I'm thinking that the 17 years I've pit in thus far have taken their toll. To your question, I'm not all that familliar with Detroit or Windsor. back in the day when TO had a baseball team we went to Detroit ti watch then ( couldn't get a ticket at home )We always found the Ambassador bridge to be better traffic and attitude wise than the tunnel. My guess would be a cab or bus to cross as I'm sure Amtrak doesn't run to the windsor station. My understanding is that windsors station isn'y too far from downtown aka the riverfront. Perhaps a casino shuttle bus would get you there ( eventually ) [swg]BTW loved the Awk story! Pete Thanks for clearing up the "class" issue. I sort of thought that it was just a general renaming and cost saving for the railroad thing ( ie less classes less different advertising tickets etc ) Similar ti hear with VIA having via 1 or standard coach type fares for the most part. Still it's always interesting to see the old style adds and the differences between rail travel then and now. Ted I'm ready and waiting for your next batch of pictures. Good first installment on the GN as well[tup] I'm looking forward to the next few,it's also nice to see the back and firth it satrted between yours and Tom's good stuff all round.Detriot and Tornoto and Chicago were probably the biggest Witt trailor users. Cleveland had a few but they were a rarity there. I'm guessing that all of the big D's witt's were of the large variety as they were built with the strait air tpiping for trailor power, and had the lower slower gearing for the pulling.You can tell the gear differance by sound and when operating by the feel. The small Witt's were much quicker on the uptake. the larges,loaded slower but they did get there. really till the PCC's came along the Witt was the fastest thing on four wheels in the streetcar world. Dan Good to hear from you buddy[tup] do as Dr Tom says though and do nothing till the docs say your fit as a fiddle again.Don't make me send Hilda and Helga to nurse you. [:O] Tom Wow you had a bout of Legionaires man you are one luckey type individual to have recovered that's one nasty type bug.I might be interested in a trek up to Churhill, Though for me I would like do the drive to" Winterpeg" At gas prices vrs plane fares at the momnet driving aactually is cheaper even with one hotel bill on the way up,less if I drive straight through but that would leave me a bit on edge for the train trip. A Boris Hilda and Helga wedding( they are an unbreakable set and since all are mostly [alien] our laws don't apply,so this is why we must keep the three of them appart ! ) Would be the only thing worse and potentially more damaging than just a good old downhome [alien][bday]on the 31st.Well since i'm now rambling I'm heading out for now. TGwo more ten hour days till I can rest again [xx(] Good night folks [zzz] Rob

[Anonymous]

Excellent Saturday mornin' with most of our crew blowing in from all points of the compass.[tup] Oh Tom, the other morning when I suggested the cholesterol breakfast casserole, it really wasn't for me. I was thinking that after [C=:-)] Nick's back-to-back, very brief Posts, that perhaps his "infirm" condition could be rectified by a dawn breaking "Pig Out."[:-^] That, of course would account for [C=:-)] sudden disappearance.[:O] I should've suggested a Bloody Mary instead.[}:)] So much for the subtleties of "theater of the mind."[;)] Come to think of it, a "Bloody Shame" might do it for me this A.M. Just the Tomato juice, please Tom.

Al, Dan, Rob, CM3, Nick, ***, Tom, (did I miss anyone?), you guys really made T.G.I.F. "ring true," great stuff all around.[tup][tup][tup] It would seem most of us have "done" the Chicago encounter for better or worse. Right Al, the St Louis route would've been easier and more convenient. But, when you are twenty some years old, nothing beckons like "...that toddlin' Town." BTW, the Frisco from St. Louis to Tulsa was a real "milk run" in the 1960's.

Perhaps just a bit more on the G.N. at this point? The afore mentioned new smooth side streamline fleet (1947) for the Empire Builder was the second generation by that name. The third, entered service in 1951 and was composed of five sections of 15 cars each powered by three 1500 h.p. EMD diesel units. That same year, the "Western Star" joined as a companion streamliner to the five "E. Builders." The "Oriental Limited" name was dropped in 1951. Dome cars were added in the fall of 1955: 3 dome coaches and one full length dome lounge. The "Twin Internationals" made round trips from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. and the "Red River" ran from St. Paul to Grand Forks, N.D. (1960's). All through the 1960's the 45 hour schedules from Chicago to Seattle were maintained. When Amtrak assumed the G. N. passenger duties in 1971, the name "Empire Builder" was retained and very little else. One of my most treasured memories is riding this "classic" from Chicago to the Seattle World's Fair. Athough, our Pullmans were of B. & O. origin, we had "freedom of the train" for the entire run.

Well, that's enough wallowing in the past from me this day. I hope this episode wasn't too boring for our our friends far removed from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Thanks again Tom for running the G.N. as another inspiring, thought provoking Fallen Flag. Domestic trivialities now beckon my undivided attention, so it must be so long for now. Happy rails.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Good morning Tom and my fellow Saturday early birds! I'll have 3 light breakfasts, grape juice and creatine.
Though you don't see many posts from me lately, be assured that I read everything that's written here. I continue to be amazed at the volumes of information the regulars around here are sharing. It's really remarkable! Kudos to all of you for your efforts, plus you seem like a pretty good group to spend time with.
I continue to put in my time at the Illinois Railway Museum. with my main project being the preparation of our 5383 BN for repainting. This is a project long overdue, and there has been severe pitting on several panel doors. I've pretty much got that taken care of.
Had another meeting of the 20th Century Railroad club (same day as the 6 month anniversary here, so I missed that). This is another group that abounds in information. The evenings presentation was from a member who shared slides from fallen flags, like the Milwaukee RR, as well as final line closing trips. He ended with slides of a store-owned subway system (I can't remember the name .. grrr) in Texas, designed to entice customers into the city that otherwise would have done their shopping in suburban malls. This subway also eventually failed in 1998. It's incredible how many rail routes and companies that are no longer around, but 20th Century members knew all the routes, sidetracks and each train station name and its history. Being a somewhat recent railfan, I sure missed a lot! It's fortunate that other fans in the hobby took so many pictures of subjects that seemed so common for their time.
Hope you're feeling better Dan. We sure have a lot of bad things blowing in the winds these days. [xx(]
Tom, will the Sox be seeing the Cardinals in the World Series? It's sure too bad about that no-out call in the 2nd game over here. The Sox are completely capable of winning without that kind of help. Boris, go ahead and ring the bell ... [#offtopic] I'm buying! Have a great day one and all!!

[siberianmo]

SATURDAY’s INFO & SUMMARY of RECENT POSTS

Mornin’ Gang! The weekend has begun so why not just relax a bit, draw a cuppa Joe, have some fresh pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery, perhaps a <light> breakfast, while you are checking out the Posts you’ve missed. [tup]

Info for the Day:

(1) repeat SOME SERIOUS NEWS: Received an Email from earlydiesels Dan’s wife. Dan is out with pneumonia. She asks that we all keep him in our thoughts and prayers. If you recall he was complaining about feeling poorly during several of his last Posts. For any of you wishing to drop him a note, send me an Email and I’ll forward his address.

(2) Remember Sunday Photo Posting Day!

INDEX

Generic URL: Just insert the index page in place of “106,” copy ‘n paste ‘n “go,”

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=106&TOPIC_ID=35270

-or- insert the index page in the address portion of this page (at the top).

Fallen Flags (passenger ops)

106 SP ..………. 106 MoPac ……. 108 WP ………… 109 Frisco
112 CNR ………. 112 Heralds …… 114 ACL ………… 115 SCL
116 D&RGW ….. 118 RI .………… 119 D&H ………… 120 PRR
122 NYC ………. 124 UP.………… 125 AT&SF …….. 127 B&O
128 CM&StP.…. 129 CB&Q .……. 130 Soo Line ....... 133 C&NW
134 SP&S …….. 136 GN

Passenger Train Nostalgia

112 ………. CNR Ad - Super Continental Time Table
113 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #1 ”Start ups” 1800s & early 1900s
117 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #2 Ad - Vista-Dome sleeper observation-lounge
121 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #3 Ad - CP Hotels & Lodges
124 ………. A tale of Classic Trains BC Rail RDC trip
127 ………. B&O Ad - Strata-Dome
127 ………. B&O Ad – Encor!
129 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #4 Ad - CN Hotels, Ltd.
130 ………. Great Britain Nostalgia #1 Poster - East Coast Route
133 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #5 Poster - CP 1886
133 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #6 Poster - CP 1950s
134 ………. Passenger Train Nostalgia #7 Poster - Washington & Old Dominion Railway
134 ………. Personal RR journey CPR’s “The Canadian”
135 ………. Great Britain Nostalgia #2 LONDON & NORTHWESTERN and CALEDONIAN RAILWAYS

Classic Juice by trolleyboy ROB

116 Classic Juice #1 (The London & Port Stanley L&PS)
123 Classic Juice #2 (The Niagara St. Chatharines Toronto Railway NS&T)
131 Classic Juice #3 (The Montreal & Southern Counties Railway –MS&C)
134 Classic Juice #4 (The Brantford and Hamilton B&H)

SUMMARY

Name - Date/Time - (Page#) – Remarks

(1) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 06:19:04 (136) Friday’s Info & Summary

(2) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 07:36:42 (136) GN info, etc.

(3) coalminer3 CM3 Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 08:11:00 (136) GN info, etc.

(4) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 08:13:20 (136) Fallen Flag GN

(5) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 08:19:27 (136)earlydiesels Dan

(6) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 09:09:20 (136) reply to Theodorebear & coalminer3, etc.

(7) BudKarr BK Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 12:16:19 (136) more on GN, etc.

(8) wrwatkins *** Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 13:59:32 (136)

(9) Theodorebear Ted Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 15:34:20 (136) more on GN, etc.

(10) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 19:05:22 (136) reply to Theodorebear

(11) earlydiesels Dan Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 19:31:09 (136) He’s baaaaaack, temporarily!

(12) passengerfan Al Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 19:55:45 (136) more on GN

(13) nickinwestwales Nick Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 19:57:27 (36) Inclusive Post!

(14) nickinwestwales Nick Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 20:01:17 (137)

(15) siberianmo Tom Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 20:34:58 (137) reply to earlydiesels – passengerfan – nickinwestwales

(16) pwolfe Pete Posted: 14 Oct 2005, 23:16:32 (137)

=======================================
That’s it! [tup][;)]

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

[passengerfan]

Good Morning Tom and the gang. Guess its time for coffee and some of those diet pastries from the Mentor Bakery.
Thought I would add some dome trivia thia AM to the forum for all dome trains were certainly classics.
The first car manufacturer to build dome cars was Pullman Standard the four cars for the TRAIN OF TOMORROW. They also constructed the final order of Dome cars prior to the Ultra Domes still being produced today. An interesting note on the final dome cars constructed by Pullman Standard is they used plans supplied by American Car and Foundry. The reason was UP was the RR that placed the order for these six dome coaches and wanted them to match their other dome coaches and American Car & Foundry was already getting out of the passenger car business by the time the order was placed and UP and Waba***urned to Pullman Standard but specified they would match previous dome coaches. Pullman Standard built five for the UP and one for the Wabash using AC&F plans. These cars were constructed for the CITY OF ST. LOUIS operating between St. Louis and Los Angeles. These were also the last dome cars built in the United States prior to the beginning of Ultra-Dome construction that continues to this day. They were delivered by Pullman Standard in December 1958.

In the period between June 1945 and December 1958 a total of 236 domes were produced. Two were railroad shop rebuilt short dome coaches (CB&Q), seven railroad rebuilt 3/4 length dome lounges from older lightweight streamlined cars (SP), thirty new full length domes and 197 short domes were constructed by the three major car manufacturers American Car & Foundry, Budd Company, and Pullman Standard.

Only four railroads owned both short and full length domes prior to Amtrak and Auto-Train (AT&SF, CB&Q, GN, and later BN. Interesting that these four railroads are all part of BNSF today.

Only one railroad owned only full length domes that was the Milwaukee Road and their Super Domes.

Only one railraod owned only 3/4 length domes the SP and they were all rebuilt from older lightweight cars in the roads own Sacramento shops.

Pullman Standard built ten full length domes all for the Milwaukee Road and 24 short domes for AT&SF, B&O, GM (TRAIN OF TOMORROW), MP (and subsidiaries IGN and T&P) UP and Wabash.

American Car & Foundry built 35 short domes all for a single customer Union Pacific.

The Budd Company constructed the remaining 138 short domes (CPR, C&O, CB&Q, D&RGW, GN, MP, NP, SP&S, Wabash, and Western Pacific) and 20-Full length domes (AT&SF, CB&Q and GN).

Pullman Standard built a single Astra-Dome sleeping car, a single Astra-Dome Dining Car, a single dome parlor car, and seventeen dome lounge cars only one an observation (TRAIN OF TOMORROW) six of these were the AT&SF Pleasure domes, and the other ten were the Milwaukee Road Super domes. All other P/S built domes were coaches 2-B&O, 1-IGN, 3-MP, 1-T&P, 6-UP (! originally a TRAIN OF TOMORROW car) and 1-Wabash.

American Car & Foundry built 10-Astyra Dome Coaches, 15-Astra Dome Lounge Observations and 10 Astra-Dome Dining Cars all for the Union Pacific.

Budd Company built 20 full length dome / lounge cars 14-AT&SF, 5-GN and 1-CB&Q. They built 147 short dome cars. Twenty five were dome sleeper lounge Observations, forty-eight were long distance dome coaches with 46-leg rest seats on the main level and seven were dome parlor observations. Twenty-eight Budd built short domes combined food and beverage service with coach or dormitory space. Eleven Budd built domes were day coach versions and fourteen were dome sleeping car types all others built by Budd were classified as miscellaneous types.

Time to start getting ready for work. Saturday is a short day.

Nick look forward to the ONR dome pictures on Sunday. If you are interested I will look up the car histories for you.

Ta Ta for now.

[siberianmo]

Good Morning Guys!

I see we’ve had a few Posts, so I’ll get right to them:

pwolfe Pete 14 Oct 2005, 23:16:32

Hey, you shouldn’t be ashamed of a thing – after all, how many of us do you think are familiar with those great British and European railroads that have been discussed on our thread? The idea is to enjoy the new information and learn, m’boy, learn! [swg] That’s my answer to the way our world community of humans should coexist – education, no matter what the form. Never hurts, always helps. [tup] Ahhh, the bartender Sage strikes again! [swg]

By the by, please be sure to stop by before your departure for that vacation …

trolleyboy Rob 15 Oct 2005, 01:15.55

Hey man, the first 17 are the hardest! [swg] Just think of the “big bucks” you are raking in … more cash for the bar! [yeah] Seriously, we never are concerned about you comin’ back and “tolerate” the fact that you have a life to lead elsewhere! [swg]

Regarding the way to get between the Detroit airport and the VIA Rail station over in Windsor: perhaps one of your associates at the museum may know. I’ve come up with a zero using web searches, almost as if the question would be easier if the discussion centered on Mars or Venus! Good Gawd Gertie – transportation from an airport to a train station! <yikes> Yeah, I know I could take a cab, but I’d like to explore other options first. Doesn’t look promising ….

What do you mean “HAD” a baseball team? C’mon, don’t give me that. Fair weather fans are like the “hit ‘n run” guys at this Thread and on the Forums, who needs ‘em?

Thanx for acknowledging that their even was an Awk story! Amazing, simply amazing that things like that go completely ignored. I maintain that our guys just are not reading, or if they are, it is very, very selective.

Isn’t this exchange regarding the GN great stuff (no play on words intended [swg])! Really flicked a few switches with that one …. Glad Ted brought it up. I have a couple of dozen Fallen Flags already prepared, but just sitting in my “documents” folder. So when Ted began the discussion, I was able to immediately respond with the GN Fallen Flag. It is still going …. Just like the Energizer bunny! [tup]

Yeah, I had “Legionaires” and it *** near killed me. Problem was traced to the duct work in our home. Seems that the operation of a humidifier (installed by a previous owner), connected directly to the furnace and duct work, was the culprit. After all the years of pumping moisture into the ducts, the dust and debris stuck to the sides because of the water content. Over time, things began to “grow” and the rest is history. Of course, I had routinely inspected and cleaned the unit, but never thought one “whit” about the duct work.

Needless to say, that unit is long gone, the ducts were professionally clean – and I mean professionally – cost us a bit of money, but well worth it. I actually discovered the problem after about 2 weeks of being down and out. I got to thinking about what in the world could be affecting my ability to breath, especially since I was taking an assortment of allergy medications for other issues. Then for whatever the reason, “a light went on” – I went to the basement – pulled the unit open and saw the “gunk” sitting in a recess of the duct work near the dehumidifier. I took a sample over to my “Doc” – had had it analyzed and he declared it “Legionella.” Took a total of 7 weeks to get back up and around. No fun, no fun at all.

Hey! If you really are serious about the trip to Churchill, let’s keep talkin’! This is a trip that is on my “must” list – and I’m gonna do it come hell, high water or evermore increases in air fares! You may already know, but the departure for Churchill is an evening thing, so you’d not be ruining anything by sacking out early. I would drive it too if it were possible to make it to Winnipeg in one day from where I am – ain’t no way.
To be continued ……

That Boris Birthday will simply have to be something that you, Ted ‘n Nick oversee. I’m outta that one! [swg] Insofar as Hilda ‘n Helga “nursing” earlydiesels Dan back to full health, I have one word – YIKES! Then taking it a step further, either one “marrying” Boris would probably be more fun than watching a Chimp trying to mate with a bowling ball! [swg]

Theodorebear Ted 15 Oct 2005, 07:12:55

Now a Bloody Mary in the mornin’ really brings back some memories! [wow] Better saved for the Rendezvous in Toronto for “ears only.” [swg]

This GN info has no end! Great stuff, keep ‘er comin’! [tup][tup][tup] There was a time that we had seriously thought of taking the “in name only” Amtrak version out to Seattle – then travel down to Portland for a short run on the “Coast Starlight” for connection with the Portland departure of the “Empire Builder.” Got quickly “priced out” of that idea. We spent the money on our 2nd cross Canada trip with VIA Rail and actually came out ahead. No kidding – 6 days/nights aboard VIA Rail as opposed to 4 with Amtrak; the air fare and hotels – and we saved money by traveling in Canada. Well, maybe one day ….

barndad Doug 15 Oct 2005, 07:17:49

Hey! Great seeing ya again and I’m very pleased to know that you haven’t forgotten us. Each time I think you’ve become a member of the “Legion of the Lost,” you reappear! [swg]

From the gist of what you provided, you’re a rather busy guy with your railroadin’ interests. Here I am retired, with no one to take care of during the day other than Juneau, and I’m not anywhere as involved as I could be. Perhaps I should get going on something – and volunteering isn’t anything new for me. Unfortunately the last bout of that turned me off – two years with our local police force. Wasn’t the cops nor the department, it was the city administrators who have a way of chasing away those who give of their time freely. Oh well ….

Anyway, glad to see you and hope you’ll entertain us with some pix tomorrow for our Sunday Photo Posting Day!

Baseball? Well, it would be great to see a Sox and Cards match up. However, after the collapse of my team in last year’s series, I don’t take anything for granted! Houston is hot, St. Louis isn’t. Plain and simple. And by the way, I concur, Chicago didn’t need that call – they are a great team with a very talented manager. But then again, so are the Angels. Taking that game in Anaheim last night surely didn’t hurt! [swg]

Enjoy the weekend guys!

Tom[4:-)][oX)]