Hello Tom
I'll have a pint of Holts Mild whilst I catch up with the posts. Glad to hear about the TV location policy here at Our Place - ie you can watch if you want, ignore if you want. Just how it should be!
That Canadian derailment was no laughing matter. Interesting to read your comments on West Highland line protection Pete. That line is now signalled for Radio Signalling I think (ie no semaphores or colour lights) - so I wonder if they keep the wires for rock fall protection or now use something else?
Lars - glad you (and others of course) enjoyed the Swanage report - it is a well run preserved line, no doubt about it.
I agree with you about the web - you can only really rely on info up there about things you know a bit about to start with - so you can reality check it as they say. I once heard it described as a ‘library without librarians' and that is pretty true.
Like Tom says, your memories of the C-Zephyr trip would be interesting - who needs the details - just some highlights that stick in your mind is all worth reading and appreciated.
Thanks for those pics by the way - I could not view them but clearly Pete could and I got the gist of what they were from his response. It's the thought that counts and that was appreciated!
Eric - yes - interesting that diagrammatic maps date back to late 1920s - in fact the author specifically notes an early map of the Chicago L being diagrammatic (not intentionally, but juts because the grid street pattern made it so) and that this was probably an influence.
Your post on Narvik and Kiruna remind me of a trip I did on that line about 13 years ago now. Most enjoyable -the memorable thing was although it was mid summer when near Kiruna / Abisco(?) national park how sparse the vegetation was so far above the arctic circle, yet when you descend into Narvik the gulf stream makes it very lush for such a distance north. I recall the iron ore hoppers for loading the ships from the rail freight at Narvik were very impressive. I think I photographed them on 35mm slides at night (but in daylight of course).
Rob - I reckon I can explain why the Churchill funeral car ended up in the USA. I think it was connected with the Flying Scotsman tour. After BR finished with the loco LNER Flying Scotsman (now in the UK National Railway Museum) was bought by a chap called Alan Peglar, who negotiated a plan to run it in the UK and overseas. In about 1968 he had the idea to take the engine along with suitable Pullman coaches and probably this van to the USA for a tour of USA / Canada. It was to be funded by British Companies having exhibition space on the train to show off their products.
Now, paying for an expensive engine is no mean feat and although the tour went well, as far as I know, to cut a long story short Mr Peglar went bankrupt out in the USA. There was real risk that the Flying Scotsman engine would get sold by the people dealing with the bankruptcy to settle some of the debts and it would be bought by US owners, and not come back to Britain. To stop this another wealthy chap (Sir William McAlpine) put a rescue package together to buy the engine and bring it back to Britain. This is what happened. But I guess the train carriages and vans were not considered so important then, and they were left in the USA and sold to settle debts. I think this is how that Pullman Observation car ended up in San Francisco (because the whole train was in San Francisco wanting to be shipped home), and probably how the funeral van ended up in Los Angeles.
In fact I see some more detail about this is covered here under the heading The Engine.(interesting mention of Green Bay Wisconsin Museum here too)
http://www.nrm.org.uk/flyingscotsman/index.asp
This brings me on to Pete's posting about the Green Arrow - Pete, I never knew this loco was named after a fast freight - just like the Flying Scotsman was named after am express train too of course.
Glad you liked the 2-6-4 tank info. I liked the Co-Bo link, I saw that loco at Crewe works open day a couple of years back. Strange looking machine but rather rare and I hope they get it fixed. I had a fondness for this diesel as I know Hornby Dublo made a model of it. Quite why they chose this modernisation plan design to model I don't know, because they were never very widespread or successful in real life. I guess they just ‘backed the wrong horse' when deciding their range. Such decisions probably contributed to the bankruptcy of Hornby model trains in 1964.
When I was in the model shop, the chap thought the Irish coaches for that set were sold separately, but only in Erie - it might be worth checking the Bachmann website for a dealer in the Republic who might hold old stock, and trying them.
They also had one of these Master Cutler sets - looked superb in the early BR blue livery! A bit pricey:
http://www.chuffers.com/Hornby_Train_Sets/R1074_Hornby_Master_Cutler_Tra/r1074_hornby_master_cutler_tra.html
Good info on the Jubilee and Royal Scot. I have a good friend here who followed Jubilees in the East Mids in the late 1950s when he was a lad. We're trying to sort it to go on a mainline tour behind one of the preserved Jubes when It is operating from a convenient location to here some time. He well recalls the Jubilees on the LMR Midland Mainline and pronounced them his favourite design.
Cheerio
DL
Good Afternoon Barkeep and All Present; Coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Lots of interesting material posted over the weekend.
Eric - Isn't the power bureau job fun? Leaves are a big problem around here as you might expect. I have pictures of GE engines encrusted in them.
Barndad provided all sorts of information re Chicago stations. I visited all of them over the years and rode into and out of most of them. I, for one, hated to see the demise of Northwestern Station. I especially liked the shot of the ATSF PAs in the snow. SOO stuff was magnificent. The Laker was one train I always wanted to ride never got the chance.
Lars - Geez! IMHO, 4.5 Giants players showed up yesterday. The rest of them were in a trance. That's all I'm going to say.
Pete - The strange steam engine you had in the picture is a Heisler. If you can get me the name on the "tender" I can get you some more information.
Rob - Thanks so much for TTC pictures and open car material as well. Connecticut Company had a bunch of them back in the day.
Our ‘Steamed Proprietor - Wow! Ask for movies and they appear! And we can get all nostalgic by looking at UP and CP materials.
Will try and post more later. Mea culps if I left anybody out.
Work safe
foto credit: www.viarail.ca
G'day Gents!
A glorious start to the day here in mid-continent USA with blue skies, temps below freezing, and just an all ‘round good "feel" to being outdoors! Juneau loves this!
A rather pleasant surprise with the OUTSTANDING contributions of Pix and narratives from barndad Doug! A 5- to you Sir! Surely kept me interested, in spite of the NFL playoff games.
Trolleyboy Rob didn't let us down either with those GREAT trolley Pix and supporting info!
Appreciate the visits by James with those FINE LOOKING shots and of course our late night/early morning Post from Eric, the desert Swede!
Can't forget the SUPER FINE book covers from Manager Lars and the visit from Wolfman Pete.
Put ‘em all together, and we "done good" Gentlemen, we "done good"!!
Reminder: Ruth has the bar from 9 AM until Leon the Night Man comes in at 5 PM ‘til closing.
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle!
Tom
Good evening Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Hmm, Sunday, the bar is closed. I'll see if I can push this message underneath the door. I actually heard Boris snoring in the shed. I wonder why he prefers to sleep there?
A beautiful Sunday! Didn't get much done but that is okay. It gave me more time to read all the posts here.
Doug – Blew the whistle I tried to be very discrete and just said that I am 27++. But I must say that I am impressed by your mathematical skills!!The Mid-Continent Museum has 20 locomotives, 14 steam and 6 diesels. At least that is the latest number I have seen or heard. #1385 is an old C&NW Class R-1, 4-6-0, built by Alco 1907.How come the Grand Central was dismantled if it was declared a historical landmark? I saw that one PA-1 (Delaware & Hudson #18) is being restored as Nickel Plate’s #190. It looks exactly as #187 in one of your nice pictures. I especially like the picture with Santa Fe's PA’s in the snowstorm. Probably because it shows something I don’t like, snow! I really can feel how the engineer on that train felt running the train in that weather. I also like the picture of the three RDC’s arriving to Union Station! Reminds me of that RDC’s Amtrak had parked on track 15 at Union Station Washington D.C. during the X2000 test period. The engines were idling all day and the exhaust fumes were sucked straight into the X2000. Terrible! After complaining a number of times they shut the engines off. Thank you for all the info and pictures!Tom – I never found out exactly where the shoting took place. But it sounded almost like it came from the alley behind our house so I went out there with a flash light to see if I could find any dead body. I didn't. I agree, idiots!The auto, inspection car, is a Dodge. I don’t know what year though. Another Sunday (and week) with some good movies! I have seen most of them. The Great Locomotive Chase and Flat Foot Stooges are the ones I missed. Lars – I am sorry about the Jints’ loss! Life is rough! I am looking forward to my two week vacation in May. I love to drive and after the Rendevouez I will hopefully have time enough to visit IRM, the Mid-Continent Railway Museum and maybe even the National Railway Museum in Green Bay. Pete’s pictures from that museum looked very interesting. Some real nice book covers! Don’t know too much about British Rail even though it was very close I was sent there in the late 80’s (1987 or -88) to work for them for a number of months.
Your pictures from the Railroad Museum in Green Bay make me considering a visit there in May. If I can find the time for it. The Craig Mountain Lumber Co. steam locomotive #3 is a Heisler geared steam locomotive built 09/1917. It weighs 63 tons. The bottom picture shows United States Army steam engine #101. That is all I have found so far. The diesel looks like a small diesel elctric with two diesel engines. I recognized it, but can’t recall what it is. James – Very nice pictures! Espeially the E7A! Do you know how old that picture is?
Another locomotive at North Freedom's Mid-Continent Railway Museum. It is Western Coal & Coke #1. Built by Montreal Locomotive Co, Canada December, 1912.
Eric
Hmm I'm still having luck with the toolbar so here's one more round o shots from the musuem to wind out my posting day.
A night shot of TP-11 our musuem's heavy snowplow. Shot a night during one of our Holly-Trolley night shows dec 1993. TP-11 was built by National Steel Car of Hamilton in 1944 she and her sister TP-10 ( located at the delson museum ) were the only purpose built snowplows purchased by the TTC. TP-11 has been undergoing a frame off restoration for the last 4 yeasr but is now in the reassembly stage in our shop barn.
Large Witt 2424 ( 1921 ) showing the door or right hand side of the car.
2005 shot of the museum's first car TTC 1326 ( 1910 ) it a homebuilt wooden car ( body an frame ) the last of it's class left ( over 400 were built between 1900-14 ) all were built by TTC predessesor Toronto Railway Company. all were retired between 1946-56. This car is operational but is used infrequently as she needs another full frame off resto. The car was completely restored by the museum in 1959-63 after arriving at the musuem in 1954.
Single truck railgrinder W28 formerly passenger car 57 ( 1917 ) built originally for TTC predessesor Toronto Civic Railway.
The museum's second car Toronto Civic Railway 55. (1915 ) sisiter to car W28 as restored to passenger format and livery of the Toronto Civic Railway.
Rob
Well since I don't see any of the tool bar gremlins as Tom calls them. I'll drop off a couple of museum pictures for everyone.
Our museum's only non-Canadain content Chicago El car #48 ( now operational with TTC guaged trucks and brake drums )
1893 open car 327. One of the museum's only "airconditioned" cars, a crowd favourite. No pwer brakes on this one strait hand brake only ! 12 tons stopped by the motormans right arm !
The museum's other "airconditioned" car. London Street Railway #23, also our only double trucked open car this one os 1901 vintage.It is an air brake equiped car,but is not in regular service.327 is a daily use car unless it's raining.
Two cars in the west loop at the Meadowvale passenger shelter Small Witt 2786 ( 1923 ) and open car 327. This shot's from 1988 the year the west loop was opened.
Good evening folks, It's nice to see so much activity on a sunday lots o great pictures for everyone to enjoy.Sorry i didn't make it in yesterday, we've been prpeing for year end inventory ( happens on tuesday ) so we've been a tad busy at the store. However life is getting back to noraml which means I'll be able to spend some more time here
Tom-first off a couple wunnerfull encores yesterday, always nice to re-read them and the one that Pete brought forth as well. I did get your email and I have responded to it thanks. Good movie choices for sunday as well.four favourites of mine when you add in the one year aniversary movies upcomming for the emporium.I hope that there is no live explosions at this years in between live acts though
Eric-Sounds like the streetcar taillights in Sweden were very simialr. The TTC taillights on the modern cars PCC's and CLRV's are essentially two big red bus style tail ligths with blinking signal lights. Yes the TTC cars actually have a blinking signal when they turn left or right onto a new street ( says something about todays car drivers,see the remarls Tom made about cell phones in cars as well )Interesting pictures of tthat electric switcher. Funny a locomotive like that over here would be a mainline electric frieght loco on most of the electric lines.I liked the steam shots from Wisconsin as well, alway's nice to see restored steam. I'm guessing that the track inspection car is a 52 Plymouth. Looks alot like TH&B #1 which was a 52 P;ymouth inspection car. I could be wrong thow I'm not a car afficianado.
Doug-I loved re-reading the silk train story you really owned todays piture sunday with all thise wonderfull shots. Loved the station shots and that B&O F in the station
Lars-A wonderfull array of book covers again this week. Theya ll look like good reads.
Pete-The CN and the fomer BC rail use both shed type slide protection , but they alos have an electric fence in the form of wires that run along beside the track. Any debris that cuts the "line" sends a warning signal to the dispatcher ( hopefully in time to stop trains before they get into difficulty ) I'm not sure if that part of the line had this protection as it's one of those ongoing upgrades. A couple fine musuem shots from you tiday as well. trying to get on da bosse's good side eh with teh Aetrotrain and the GG1 eg
James-Liked your shots this evening as well. A nice shot of the "E" and that is an intersting bridge, looks like an old pin conected one. truly a classic
G-day Tom and all present.
Well sorry for my absence. I have been out and about.
Anyway I have some time to post some pictures. I will have to get back to the posting tomorrow.
But I have noticed some really nice pictures out there.
BTW Tom. I have been getting a lot of info on the train accident in B.C. E-mails, news, and even through the railroad. I'm glad they all made it out of the locomotive and the cliff.
So here we go.
Milwaukee road E7A #18B sits waiting for it's next passenger train. They are a nice looking locomotive. I would like one.
You certainly don't see a lot of these bridges left. Located at Sabula, Iowa, GP38-2 #2045 leads a frieght.
A Milwaukee road commuter train, The E-unit and a cab car, are running through Deerfield, Illinois. This is located just outside of Chicago.
And still one of my favorite pictures. Tocama tower located at Tocama jct. This is one of the coolest shots of a tower I have seen.
Enjoy
Happy railroading
James
Hello to all one last time for today. Looks like we have quite the selection of movies this week! Should provide some extra income from boosted popcorn sales. Funny that manager Lars should mention my posts are like reading a book, because it's exactly true. Credit goes to Robert P. Olmsted and his book Chicago's Passenger Trains. Enjoyed your bookcovers as usual sir. There's a plethora of great resources out there, if only we had access to it all. Sorry I can't get into the football discussion this week, as my Bears aren't playing. We all have great fear over here that they'll shame us like they did last week against the hated Packers. Neat pix from Pete today from the Railroad Museum in Greenbay, even though that's Packer territory. Can't be all bad if they have a rail museum. Here's my last batch of pix for today:
Probably the least known Chicago passenger trains during the time period of these pictures were those of the Soo Line. Operating right into 1965 with standard heavyweight equipment of the pre-stainless steel era, the Soo's varnish nonetheless enjoyed a fine reputation within its somewhat sparsely populated territory. Prior to being painted in red and white, Soo's maroon 554 leads #4 on October 12, 1963. The Laker has just pulled into Broadview and will follow IC 4018 and the Land O'Corn downtown.
Last run for the Laker! The Soo closed its Chicago passenger business in the cold of January 15th and 16th in 1965. Number 3, with GP9 2552 as the point unit, pauses at the Soo's Schiller Park depot with the final Chicago departure on the evening of the 15th.
Burlington/Great Northern's luxurious Empire Builder is being backed into Union Station in April 1963, glistening for its afternoon departure. Q E8A 9973 is in far less glamorous suburban duty on this date, but tomorrow might head one of Burlington's liners. It was Burlington policy to rotate its E-units between intercity schedules and Chicago commuter work.
As train-off petitions snowballed into an avalanche in late 1967 and 1968, a ground swell of sentiment to save the passenger train arose across the land and in the hall of Congress. (Most of the public was driving or flying, but apparently the thought of a future without alternatives worried them.) After months of debate, the idea of a National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Railpax) was born in January 1970 as a semi-public corporation established to run the nation's passenger trains. Further wrangling over routes and cities, and the idea itself, continued beyond the October 30th, 1970 singing of the bill into law by President Nixon. Eventually twenty railroads joined Amtrak (as the new corporation was eventually called) in April 1971. Finally, on May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed control of passenger service on the joining roads. During the latter half of the summer of 1971, one of Amtrak's Turbo Trains toured the nation's rails on a publicity jaunt. On September 4th the Turbo speeds west beyond Lisle on the Burlington's three-track main in the midst of a heavy shower.
Although popular in the East, the Rail Diesel Car (RDC) could not be considered common in the Midwest. Anywhere from a single car to half a dozen RDC's were on the roster of about a dozen roads from the Dakotas to Michigan to Oklahoma, but that hardly stacked up against over 100 RDC's on the Boston & Maine for example. Amtrak experimented with RDC's on its Chicago-Dubuque (Iowa) Blackhawk run. On April 20, 1975, three of the Budd-built cars work up the leads to Union Station, operating as Amtrak #372. First unit is RDC-1 number 10, formerly Penn Central 36, and originally New Haven 36, built in 1953.
In 1973 and again in 1975, Amtrak received a group of power cars, coaches and food service cars built by ANF Frangeco (a French company). Eventually six train sets (twelve power cars) were delivered. At various times these Turboliners were installed on Chicago-St. Louis, Chicago-Milwaukee and Chicago to Michigan runs. Power car 64 leads a Detroit and Toledo-bound Lake Cities into Porter, Indiana in 1981. The outbound Turboliner is operating as Amtrak's #352.
Bound for Chicago, the Turbo with power cars 64 and 65 at the ends passes through Porter, Indiana in March 1981. The train is Amtrak's #365, The Blue Water Limited, from Port Huron, Michigan, due in Chicago at 11:40.
A truck driver was driving down the highway when he saw a priest at the side of the road. He stopped to pick up the priest and give him a ride.
A ways down the road the truck driver saw a lawyer on the side of the road. He turned the truck on a direct course with the lawyer. Then he thought, "Oh no, I have a priest in the truck. I can't run down this lawyer," and at the last second the truck driver swerved to miss the lawyer.
Regardless, the truck driver heard a thump outside of the truck. He looked in his rear-view mirror but didn't see anything.
He turned to the priest and said, "Sorry Father, I just missed that lawyer at the side of the road."
And the priest replied, "Don't worry son. I got him with my door."
Hi Tom and all.
I'll post this through the mail slot.
ERIC Look forward to some tales of the dispatching days.
That looks a very interesting museum at North Freedom with the two locos in steam, if you have any more info on the museum or a link it would be great to see. Thanks for the great pics.
DOUG Glad your Bride is feeling a little better.
Many thanks for the really great pics of the Chicago area in what must have been a wonderful time to see the many different railroad companies in operation there, many working passenger trains. Looking forward to seeing Chicago by train.
LARS Hope the Giants can do some good this afternoon.
Many thanks for the British book covers. It seems as though the 70s on BR are getting the attention now that they did not get at the time. I must admit I lost a bit of my interest in the railways, for a while at the end of the 60s after steam finished, which was a shame as there were a few early diesel classes that disappered around that time.
Good to see two books on a familiar sight in steam and early diesel days, which have all but gone on the main line the MK1 Coach and the Brake Van.
TOM Sorry I was late with the post yeterday, part of the problem was looking at Our Place 1 looking for an encore and reading the posts there, I am so glad we are still able to visit the old bar.
I think I would have done better to been at the bar than watching the Chiefs.
Two great Navy films on at the Emporium this week, and I can't wait to see the antics of the gun powder eating duck in the Stooges.
Great way to celebrate the first year of re-opening of the Emporium with two wonderful railroad movies and live entertainment as well.
Now for some pics, these are at the Railroad Museum in Green Bay
The aerotrain.
GG1
Sorry about the quality of the photo but this looks a interesting loco if anyone has any info on this or the next couple of locos in the pics it would be good to hear.
PETE.
G'day Cap'n Tom & fellow travelers waiting for the bar to reopen!
Thought I'd provide my "stuff" for our Sunday Pix Posting Day in between plays of the Jets & Patriots NFL playoff game! Surprised to see how close it's been so far in the first half. BUT, the game for me is coming up next - GO JINTS!
Some fine, fine "stuff" from Doug and I really am enjoying going through everything you've posted. Just like reading a book, only better since I'm doing it right here in the best bar this side of heaven!
Tom, those flicks at the Emporium for the week are super fine as far as I'm concerned. I see that the anniversary for the reopening of the Emporium is coming up and you've provided an ENCORE! double feature for the event. Nice touch!
So, you 'n Pete are heading off to Chicago and Union Station. I'm envious! Surely would love to make the trip with youse guys. I checked the Amtrak schedule and see that there's all kinds of round trips. My bet is you'll come back on the Texas Eagle to take advantage of the dining car and the other Superliner amenities. My hope is that you'll have a cooperative and motivated crew. Makes all the diff . . . .
Yesterday was quite the let down in terms of quantity. Da Boss came through, as always, in keeping things moving, and if Pete hadn't dropped in at night, we'd have had no customers! Not good. On the positive side, our resident "barnyardman" Doug got things going with an early morning visit which helped kick start the Saturday Encore event.
Always enjoy a visit from Eric and it sounds as if you are off to quite an adventure. Surely hope we'll get to meet at the Rendezvous. It's a bit too far for me to drive and quite frankly, I'd just as soon take the train. BUT, as they say in parts of the "down east" - "ya can't get there from here!" <grin> So, it will be flying for me.
Don't know about you guys, but these are the BEST of times when it comes to NFL football. Can you believe the Cowboys blowing their chances last night Doesn't bother me at all as I'm no fan of theirs, especially the character that owns 'em and brought the "problem child" over from Philly. Now look who's "in" and who's "out" - Eagles "in" without the troublemaker, Cowboys "out" with him. Poetic justice, I'd say. <snicker> I'll buy a round tomorrow to make up for it - put the tweeter away. <grin>
Ok, here's my contribution for the day, something particularly designed to interest DL 'n Pete!
Until the next time!
Lars
Even though the bar at "Our" Place isCLOSED on Sundays - We do observe Sunday Photo Posting Day!Now playing at the Mentor Village Emporium Theatre!
. . . Sunday, January 7th thru 13th: The Cruel Sea (1953) Starring: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, John Warner - and - Away All Boats (1953) Starring: Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Lex Barker, Julie Adams, Keith Andes. SHORT: Flat Foot Stooges (1938).
. . . Tuesday, January 9th evening performance ONLY: Von Ryans Express (1965) Starring: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni - and - The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) Starring: Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York, John Lupton, Eddie Firestone. LIVE STAGE SHOW in between features!
The Cruel Sea (1953)
PLOT SUMMARY:
The World War II adventures of a British convoy escort ship and its officers. At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer. Atmospheric sea footage.
from: amazon.com
Away All Boats (1953)
The story of a U.S. naval ship and its crew in the Pacific, 1943-1945. The story of USS 'Belinda', Attack Transport PA22, launched late 1943 with regular-navy captain Hawks and ex-merchant captain MacDougall as boat commander. Despite personal friction, the two have plenty to deal with as the only experienced officers on board during the "shakedown." Almost laughable incompetence gradually improves, but the crew remains far from perfect when the ship sees action, landing troops on enemy beachheads. And few anticipate the challenges in store at Okinawa...
SHORT: Flat Foot Stooges (1938)PLOT SUMMARY: Featuring Moe, Larry & Curly
The boys are firemen who use horse-drawn fire trucks. A salesmen named Fred Reardon tries to convince the fire chief to buy motorized trucks, which he turns down. Reardon tries to fight back by planting dynamite on a fire engine. A duck consumes some of the gun powder and lays an egg that sets the fire station ablaze. The Stooges show up to put out the fire and save the day.
from: threestooges.net
TUESDAY EVENING ONLY! Special One Year Anniversary of our Grand re-opening of the Emporium Theatre!
Von Ryan's Express (1965)
An American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII in the most daring escape ever conceived. It begins at Pescara. It spreads into high adventure as they highjack their own prison train. It shoots past Rome... Florence... Bologna... It hightails into the Majola Pass with Messerschmitts in hot pursuit... and makes a final frenzied lunge for Switzerland- and freedom!
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956)
This is based on a true story. During the Civil War, a Union spy, Andrews, is asked to lead a band of Union soldiers into the South so that they could destroy the railway system. However, things don't go as planned when the conductor of the train that they stole is on to them and is doing everything he can to stop them.
LIVE Stage Show in between features! TUESDAY EVENING ONLY!
Enjoy! Tom
Hello again guys! Glad you liked the earlier post Tom. Just got lucky on the Chicago Grand Central Station for you, but now that I know you're interested I'll be watching for more. Here's some more stuff:
Pennsy's finest was the all-Pullman Chicago-New York Broadway Limited. Urged east in steam days by double-headed K4 Pacifics and later by a Loewy-streamlined 4-4-4-4 duplex, the dieselized Broadway was led by Tuscan red E's, elegantly pin-striped in gold. A-B-A E7's back the Pullmans into Union Station in 1962, shortly before Broadway's late afternoon departure time. EMD 5863 still carries the tasteful gold pinstriping, but most units now were getting a simplified single broad stripe. Chicago's Union Station was the newest of the six major rail stations with a completion date of 1925. Calling Union Station home, in addition to the Pennsylvania Railroad, were the Burlington Route, the Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & Alton (later Gulf, Mobile & Ohio). Competition was keener at Union than at any other of Chicago's downtown depots. Both the Q and the MILW served up great trains to the Twin Cities, the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco, departing from the same station (although from opposite sides).
Five of the slant-nosed E6A's built by EMD in 1940 and 1941 hauled passengers for the Illinois Central. On August 17, 1964 the 4003 was the lead unit in charge of #14, the Land O'Corn, as it docked in the IC's Central station. Central was built for the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and in addition to being home for all of IC's intercity trains, the Central hosted Michigan Central and Big Four passenger trains (instead of LaSalle) under a long-term lease. In addition the Soo's Laker worked out of Central from 1963 until it was discontinued in January 1965.
The electrified Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee operated fast and frequent service along the west side of Lake Michigan in the area indicated by its corporate title. Two sets of Electroliner equipment regularly spun off the 87 miles between Chicago and Milwaukee in one hour and fifty minutes including stops and some slow-speed street running in Milwaukee. Electroliners 801-802 and 803-804 came from the St. Louis Car Company and went into service during February 1941. In its last winter of operation for the North Shore the 801-802 were sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company in September 1963 where they were renamed Liberty Liners.
Mother Nature has a special touch for those cities around the five Great Lakes. In addition to getting snows from passing storms, whenever winter winds blow off the relatively "warmer" waters of the Lakes, more snow falls - up to two inches per hour until the wind changes and somebody else catches it. Santa Fe PA's 67 and 74 loom out of a Lake Michigan snow squall with #23 at Clark St. on January 6, 1968. Trains 23/24, the Grand Canyon Limiteds, regularly ran in two or three sections behind steam into the early 1950's. As the number of passenger trains decreased on the AT&SF in later years, the economy-style Canyon gradually became the all-stops workhorse from Chicago to California.
America's favorite land cruise in the 1950's and 1960's was the California Zephyr, traversing the Rockies and the Feather River Canyon during daylight hours (in both directions) was a treat unequalled in standard gauge railroading. Here the CZ rambles west three miles beyond Earlville, Illinois, on February 21, 1970 with Q 9932B on the point. California Zephyr service began on March 20, 1949 and the final departure left Chicago on March 20, 1970 with CB&Q 9965 leading.
Milwaukee's Afternoon Hiawatha sweeps out of Union Station past a skyline dominated by a Chicago landmark, the huge Marchandise Mart. The four Skytop Lounge cars which graced the Hiawathas were built in the railroad's own West Milwaukee Shops in 1948.
Two women came before wise King Solomon, dragging between them a young man in a three-piece suit.
"This young lawyer agreed to marry my daughter," said one.
"No! He agreed to marry MY daughter," said the other.
And so they haggled before the King until he called for silence.
"Bring me my biggest sword," said Solomon, "and I shall hew the young attorney in half. Each of you shall receive a half."
"Sounds good to me," said the first lady.
But the other woman said, "Oh Sire, do not spill innocent blood. Let the other woman's daughter marry him."
The wise king did not hesitate a moment. "The attorney must marry the first lady's daughter," he proclaimed.
"But she was willing to hew him in two!" exclaimed the king's court.
"Indeed," said wise King Solomon. "That shows she is the TRUE mother-in-law."
The bar at "Our" Place
is CLOSED on Sundays!
A somewhat gloomy start to Sunday here in mid-continent USA as the drizzle continues with temps in the low 40s, but expected to get into the 50s later on. No snow on the horizon and thus far it has been a rather disappointing season for Juneau!
Pull up a stool and enjoy a bit o' breakfast - bruch - lunch ('til 2 PM)!
To the acknowledgments:
Pete at 8:13 PM yesterday: Yes, that's correct 8:13 PM to get a "daytime" Post!! Anyway, yes - it was a pleasure speaking with you again and we'll be all set for our Chicago trip once I arrange for the ticketing this morning.
Weren't the Chiefs simply disappointing yesterday I surely expected better of them and thought that they'd "show up" with their "A game." Apparently the word didn't get out. Was most pleased with Seattle's win, but the game I'm looking forward to is the Super Bowl. Go Bears!
You'd think that something - anything - in the form of a warning system would be in place on that stretch of track where the rock slides seem to be so prevalent out in BC. Perhaps something is and the article just didn't get into it.
Thanx for the flattery through the use of one of my pieces as an ENCORE!
Eric at 1:25 AM today: Gun shots in and around where one resides is not a comforting thought. Did you find out what was going on Idiots.
Those deflector "sheds" appear to be principally located where the preponderance of slides are expected. Kind of like the "Deer Crossing" signs on the highways - as if the deer pay attention to ‘em! Anyway, those sheds were the only visible signs of anything precautionary that I saw along the route where the most recent slide took place.
Your mention of your vacation trip brings to mind that I better get my caboose in gear - as promised - with another Email installment of "what's happenin' with the Rendezvous!" <grin>
Love the Pix - many, thanx! That vintage auto has me wonderin' just what make and model it might be. Looks like a Chrysler product from way back - Dodge, DeSoto, hmmmm Anyone know
Doug at 7:12 AM today: A truly OUTSTANDING spate of Pix and descriptions from you on this day! I had been looking for some info on Chicago's Grand Central Station (as opposed to New York's Grand Central Terminal) and you found it for me! Nice shots - really nice. Save some of those B&O for this coming Tuesday's "Theme"!
Yes, it would be nice to "connect" with you in Chicago. I'll get an Email off to you later on this day with the details . . . kind of pressed at the moment for time. Our trip is a last minute arrangement, but we're gonna "do it" anyway!
Boris, serve ‘em all of the OJ they can handle!
Good morning Tom and gang. I'll be having the light breakfast, please. Delighted to hear that both yourself and Pete will make a stopover at Chicago's Union Station this month, and I'll be pleased to meet you! You do realize that with such short notice, I will not be able to arrange a parade for y'all, but perhaps you'll let me buy a few libations before your departure. Looks like Tom provided the only ENCORES yesterday, with some help from Pete. Oh well. We gets what we gets, and it's usually pretty good even when it's sparse. Eric blew the whistle on himself, and will be 27+37 (I did the math) on the 14th of this month. Nice pix of the Mid-Continent Museum. Looks like they get a lot of use out of No. 1385. Thanks to ya'll who wished my bride well. She's doing a little better.
Here are some classic pix from Chicago:
Every few minutes in the 1950's, a passenger train arrived or departed one of Chicago's six major terminals (from east to west - Illinois Central, Dearborn, LaSalle, Grand Central, Union and North Western).
Grand Central was perhaps the most deserving of Chicago's rail stations to receive historical landmark status and preservation. Unfortunately it also was the first of Chicago's six major stations to be dismantled. Opened in December 1890, Grand Central began hosting Baltimore & Ohio trains in late 1891 and Chesapeake & Ohio trains in 1903. Both roads stayed at Grand Central until the station was closed after the departures of November 8, 1969. The Chicago Great Western was a long time occupant until the end of its Chicago passenger service in 1956. Grand Central also was home for the Wisconsin Central (Soo Line) for many years until the Soo moved its last remaining pair of trains, the Chicago-Superior/Duluth Lakers, to the Illinois Central Station in 1963.
B&O's blue 1955-built E9A 1456 idles under Grand Central's huge shed after bringing in #7, the Diplomat, in July 1966. After Grand Central closed in 1969, B&O/C&O trains moved to North Western Station until they discontinued with the coming of Amtrak in 1971.
Dearborn, Chicago's oldest station dating from 1885, hosted the greatest variety of passenger trains of all the Windy City's great temples of transportation. In the late 1950's six roads called Dearborn home, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, Erie, Grand Trunk Western, Monon, Santa Fe and Wabash. On a bitter January 1968 morning, E8A 814 starts a five-car Lake Cities toward New York.
In 1956 the passenger service of Canadian National-subsidiary Grand Trunk Western was entirely in the hands of handsome 4-8-4's out of Chicago (both steam and diesel were working freight). Alco-built U3b 6334 rides the turntable at the GTW's Elsdon Yard in September 1956 after bringing #15, the International Limited, in from Michigan.
The day is drab and cold as the 6408 thunders out of the curve past Elsdon Yard and across 55th Street in Chicago. It is February 5, 1957 - the last week for GTW steam in Chicago (although steam-powered runs continued for three more years in the Detroit area). Lima built U4b's 6405-6410 in 1938 with a streamlined jacket similar to the CN's own 6400-6404. The train is Number 20, the Maple leaf.
The Nickel Plate, officially the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad company, concentrated on it's freight business, content to let giant neighbor New York Central worry over passengers. Nevertheless the NKP did manage a comfortable service and in diesels opted for Alco's classic PA's. Two of the blue and white Alco's accelerate out of LaSalle Station in May 1961, bound for Buffalo with #8, The New Yorker. Service continued beyond Buffalo to New York via the Erie-Lackawanna.
A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them.
His curiosity getting the better of him, he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man says "I'm sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, 'Guess who?'"
"But why?" asks the man.
"I'm a divorce lawyer," the man replies.
Good morning Captain Tom and all present!!
A beautiful Saturday! We had some shooting outside here a half hour ago but now it is very quiet. There is an apartment complex next block and that's where shots were fired.
Doug – Glad to see you again, Sir!! Hope the Mrs is doing fine again!!Nice picture of the dwarf semaphores! 64? Who? Not me, I am just 27++. A good story about David and Goliath! Would have been interesting being there the time when it happened!Tom – The shed-like structures! That was exactly what I was looking for when I read the article about the latest slide! So there are some structures then.You are right, my experience is popping up once in a while in my mind for different reasons and I can still hear that faint sound. Yeah, we can discuss that in May. Talking about May, I have just started to plan my trip/vacation and I have now included plans to find as many as possible of the wig wags in Wisconsin after the rendevouez. Thanks for the two Encores! CP and UP, two great very Classic railroads!!Pete – After doing some reaearch I know exactly where I can find some wig wags in Wisconsin. I have friends in Baraboo I am going to see and, believe it or not, they have wig wags there! As far as I know they are still in service. My dispatching days? I’ll see what I can recollect and write down. That was more than 20 years ago. A job that some times was very quiet and other times a living hell. A good job to get an ulcer. It is not that easy to know exactly where those iron mines are located. Narvik is the Norwegian port from where most of the iron ore is shipped out. I don’t know if I will have time to go to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay this time. But I will go to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, which is close to Baraboo! I have been there a number of times and love it.
Below are some pictures from the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, WI.
Two semaphores!
Interesting place!
M v h
Ingwar
A pint of holden's Golden Glow please LEON and a round dispite the Chiefs losing.
ROB I was surprised too, to read about the wig wags still in use perhaps when Eric goes up to Wisconsin he may be able to find some and get some pics. Thanks for saying about Hattons It does look a great model shop..
ERIC Thanks for the link to the Blue Streak If you can it would be great to hear some tales from your days as a dispatcher.
Sorry about getting the site of the mines wrong. Yes that does look like the locos in that article the picture was in black and white so brown sounds right, thanks for finding the pic. Are you planning to go to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay when you visit Wisconsin. It is a good museum, I will have a look to see if I have some pics of it.
I,m glad your guardian angel was about at the time of the EMU incident.
DOUG Hope your bride is fully recover from her illness real soon.
Thanks for the pic of the ground signal, it is of a simular design to the ones used on British railways before the introduction of the color light ones used today.
It is real good to read the Silk Train and Port Arthur encore An entertaining story of a town versus a railway.
It would be great if you could meet Tom and I in Chicago.
LARS Looking forward to your California Zephyr piece. Unfortunately I did not get your e-mails but it is working again now. It would be great if you could see you at the rendezvous, but if not we will certainly drink a toast or two to you.
TOM It was great to talk to you, I am keeping out of the brides way after the Chiefs display.
Enjoyed the CP and the UP Encores.
Thanks for the link to the CBC update. On the line to Oban in the Western Highlands of Scotland it is a single track line and a part of it was subject to rock falls. What was devised to protect the line was a system of wires that were connected to semaphore signals spaced along the track so if a rock fall broke the wire the counterweight on the signals would put the signal at danger and alert the crew of the train. It has been a few years now since I travelled on the line so I don't know if this system is still in use.
It should be a great Norseman nite at the bar, no doubt H&H will play a full part.
As you say, model locos and cars are a great reminder of the railroads great past and the detail on the models is wonderful..
What a great idea it would be if the Battle of Britain loco Sir Winston Churchill could be brought back to steam and do a tour over here, only a dream, I know but what a good one.
And now one of TOM's Encores
GREAT BRITAIN PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #3 from multiple sources First Posted on page 137 Here's something to ponder with regard to our appreciation and fascination with Classic Trains, this time from Great Britain! Check this pre-WWI poster out! LONDON & NORTH WESTERN & CALEDONIAN RAILWAYS TRAVEL BY WEST COAST ROUTE BETWEEN ENGLAND & SCOTLAND Comfort - Punctuality - Speed QUICKEST & BEST ROUTE BETWEEN ALL PARTS of ENGLAND and SCOTLAND PASSENGERS BY THE WEST COAST ROUTE MAY HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF TRAVELLING BY THE NEW "GRAMPIAN CORRIDOR" DINING CAR TRAINS of the CALEDONIA COMPANY in SCOTLAND. WEST COAST NIGHT EXPRESS LONDON (Euston) & SCOTLAND The Finest Vehicles in Europe, Vestibule Throughout. BREAKFAST, LUNCHEON & DINING CARS. Passengers traveling between England and the North of Scotland can go via EDINBURGH (Princes Street) and break their journey there, in both directions, without extra charge or inconvenience, and after visiting the places of interest in Edinburgh, resume their journey North or South from the same Station by the "GRAMPIAN CORRIDOR or other Express Trains. Enjoy! Tom . . . . . ENCORE! Saturday - ENCORE! Saturday . . . . .
Well LEON allow me to get another round.
Pete.
ENCORE! Saturday - ENCORE! Saturday
Initially Posted on Page 226 at our "original" site
PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #61 Here's something to enjoy regarding the Union Pacific (UP) in a 1933 advertisement from my private collection:
The trail to "Wonderland" Union Pacific serves 15 of our National parks and more of the famous scenic wonderlands of the West than does any other railroad. Plan now to see the west this summer. We suggest: Zion-Bryce Canyon . . .Yellowstone-Grand Teton . . . . . .Rock Mountain-National Parks . . . . . . . . . Colorado California and Hawaii . . . Pacific Northwest and Alaska . . . . . .Western Dude Ranches . . . . . . . . .Hoover Dam All costs are down. Rail fares are the lowest ever offered. Sightseeing rates, hotels, meals - in fact, all expenses are reduced. . . . . . . . . . . UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OVERLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enjoy! Tom
Initially Posted on Page 218 at our "original" site
PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #56 Here's something to enjoy regarding the Canadian Pacific (CP) from a 1965 advertisement in my personal collection. We'll give your holiday a foreign flavor . . . . . (just north of the border!) . . . . . Rail away with us through the Canadian Rockies aboard "The Canadian." You'll enjoy spectacular scenery, continental service in the comfort of a Scenic Dome streamliner as you travel the Banff-Lake Louise route between Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. It's a holiday all the way - gourmet dining, tasty budget meals, snacks, all accommodations reserved. . . . . . . . . . . Canadian Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trains/Trucks/Ships/Planes/Hotels/Telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . WORLD'S MOST COMPLETE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM . . . . . Enjoy! Tom
Saturday is in full swing here in mid-continent USA with temps dropping, skies cloudy and petrol at $2.20 (rounded) up at "Collusion Corner." Why not begin this weekend with us by drawing a freshly ground ‘n brewed cuppa Joe from our urns, a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from the Menu Board and a few selections from The Mentor Village Bakery case.
Here is a follow-up to that CN train/rock slide story from yesterday, definitely worth the read: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/01/05/bc-engineer.html
Today is ENCORE! Saturday and don't let the change between the "old" and "new" Threads confuse you. Just copy whatever it is you want from the "old" - paste it here, then do a "preview" to see if the Pix ‘n graphics came through. If not, you have two ways to reinsert them - do a "right click" on what you want - copy the location data and paste it where you want it. Or go back to the original source and start over. Sounds much more confusing than it is. The key is to "preview" BEFORE Posting - just to make sure that everything shows up as desired.
Let's get right to the acknowledgments since my last narrative:
Lars at 4:05 PM & 5:10 PM yesterday: Couldn't agree more with your comments on bringing in guys from Australia and New Zealand. As with you, I've never encountered people from that part of the world who weren't as "genuine" as real leather. Would love to have ‘em!
Yeah, I'm "blessed" when it comes to the bride and shopping. She actually doesn't enjoy it and most times simply puts it off until there's no recourse but to get it over with. Lucky guy, eh Youbetcha! <grin>
I like the commentary on the unintended consequences of the internet. Life is full of ‘em. Take the cell phone as just one example. Look what has happened as a result of that innovation brought into mainstream life. One-handed driving is now more the "norm" than the exception, along with the preoccupation of simply being engaged in a telephone conversation. Absolutely frightening to peer into the review mirror only to see someone speaking into the phone stuck in their ear with no awareness of the danger they pose to others, much less themselves. Unintended consequences of the technology. There are university courses on the subject, fer sure, fer sure.
I'd love to read of your travels aboard the California Zephyr of days gone by, when it was operated by roads other than Amtrak. Don't fret over the small stuff - anything you can recall will be enjoyed by the majority of us!
Received your Email and responded - THANX!
Pete at 4:50 PM yesterday: Enjoyed the info on the "named" freights in GB along with the URL. Also, thanx for the "plug" for our St. Patrick's Day here at the Tavern by the Tracks!
Appreciate the info on your "display" locos. The one nice thing about having ‘em in model form is that they can be viewed whenever one likes. As you've seen, my display cases in the Can-Am Trainroom are chock full o' models of locomotives, passenger cars and freights that have totally disappeared from the landscape. But NOT from my trainroom!
I would hope that between you ‘n DL, we'll at least get a couple of new customers here at the Bar by the Ballast. Nationalities notwithstanding, as long as they appreciate and are willing to share info regarding "Classic Trains" - and of course are adults in every sense of the word - they are most welcome to join us!
A Norseman bar is simply a term applied to a pub where guys from that part of the world hang out. Nothing more. Just like an English Pub has a certain ‘ring' to it, or an Irish Bar, etc. Given the reception to your idea of a Norseman Nite here at the Saloon by the Siding, we'll have to work on scheduling it!
Your Email reply was received and responded to - THANX!
Rob at 11:50 PM yesterday: Of course you knew that Sir Winston Churchill was a U.S. citizen too as his mother was an American. Anyway, perhaps that had something to do with the car winding up here. He is still revered by many in this country, this household included.
Good to see that the "toolbar Troll" has spared you once again. But, always keep looking backwards, one never knows . . . . <grin> The good news is that Kalmbach responded to your request for assistance, even though they "got it wrong." It's a start!
Your Email was received and responded to - THANX!
Eric at 2:38 AM today: As always a most enjoyable inclusive Post from our resident desert Swede! <grin> You cover the bases well, Sir, as do some others ‘round here.
I'm not familiar with the warning signal arrangements along that particular stretch of CN track in BC. However, one would think with the rather frequent mud, rock and snow slides out that way, there'd be something to warn the engineer. According to the follow-up article they didn't have advance warning - just came ‘round the bend and there is was. A harrowing experience fer sure, fer sure.
On my trips through that area (4 of ‘em) it is interesting to view the "shed-like" structures that have been erected to deflect slides over the track rather than onto them. I've only been able to see them on one trip, as mentioned in my "report," because on the regular schedule, the train passes through that part of Fraser Canyon in darkness. Anyway, it's quite the adventure and those guys were lucky - oh so lucky. Your experiences will live with you forever, as do some of mine when flirting with death or serious injury. Probably some good material for our Rendezvous discussions, eh
Doug at 7:59 AM today: Figured it was either work or family that kept
Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have two light breakfasts please. Sorry I haven't been in the last few days. The bride has been ill and missing work, and you all know how dead I would be if I didn't divert my available energies to home management details. Lotsa great stuff posted since my last visit, as usual for you guys. Liked the picture of your dwarf signal James. Here's one at the IRM:
We have lots of ground level signals. I have their pictures at:
http://www.railimages.com/gallery/RR-Signals?page=1
Hope you're doing better yourself these days Tom. I'm reading great things about Amtrak ridership being up 91% between Chicago and St. Louis, now that they added the extra runs. I know it's not "classic" discussion, but perhaps we'll look back on these times as a turnaround for train transportation in the future. Interesting conversations on the California Zephyr from several here. I'm hoping the IRM gets theirs operational for the 2008 season, and that we might schedule to ride her. If not, we can visit her in barn 9, alongside the Little Joe. What's this I see? 20-fingers Al in our midst? Excellent! I see Rob is making regular stops these days too. I see he's trying to get in good with the boss though. A classic juice from a town called "Mentor". Just too much coincidence there! Good job keeping things going by manager Lars, Pete, CM3, DL and Eric! Hmmm ... I believe one of those guys has a birthday coming up this month ..... like on the 14th ... and will be 64 years young? Wonder which one it is .....
I'll have to look at everyone's page 3 stuff later, as I must run. Please forgive the hasty retreat, but I must get #2 son to Taesoodo and scurry back for more rock removal in back of our lot. It's important that I finish quickly now, as the lot next door just got a building permit, and I want this done before excavation starts, which might be as soon as Monday! My back is going to hate me this weekend. Here's a little ENCORE from myself, and have a great day!
Taxes and a Silk Train from Railroad Stories Dec. 1935
Back in the ‘80's the Canadian Pacific Railway owed the little village of Port Arthur, Ont. (then Prince Arthur's landing), about fourteen thousand dollars in taxes on property and right-of-way. This sum was an accumulation of several years, pending negotiations between the town and the railroad. The C.P.R. was asking for tax exemption on the grounds of certain advantages it brought to the town, and the village retorted that exemption might be arranged if the company would handle all its freight over the Port Arthur docks instead of diverting a part of it to Fort William, the newer town springing up in the west. William Van Horne, later Sir William Van Horne, president of the road, would give no assurances as to whether this request would be met, and the controversy entered the stage where neither side would yield an inch. The taxes remained unpaid. The C.P.R. was billed and bulled, cajoled, written to and written at, but it refused to pay. Tax collector William Sydney Beaver was ordered by the city fathers to get the full amount or to seize the railway property to satisfy it. He acted promptly, with the usual thoroughness of Canadian officials. Silk shipments from the Orient were then being routed to the East via Port Arthur. Mr. Beaver waited until a particularly valuable silk express stopped long enough to change crews and seized it in the name of the village. Telegraph wires buzzed. A town of a few hundred souls had the temerity to cross swords with the great national carrier! The village was adamant. Pay up and it would release the train; no pay and it would stay there until hell froze over. Interest on a million dollars mounts up fast, and the C.P.R. would be held responsible for undue delays. The village became hard-boiled. When the officials of the railway finally agreed to pay, the tax collector would not accept a check now a warrant drawn on the home office. He demanded cash. A hasty inventory of Port Arthur's one and only bank disclosed twelve thousand dollars - two thousand short of the sum needed. Mr. Beaver wouldn't take that either. Full payment or none was his dictum. After a frantic search, in which the C.P.R. employees were asked to contribute (as a loan, of course), the additional two thousand was raised. The full amount was paid and the train and its freight was released. William Van Horne was furious. He never forgave Port Arthur. He informed the mayor and the council that he would live to see grass growing on its main streets. Keeping his word, next spring the C.P.R. routed all its freight boats to Fort William, and began the removal of its freight terminals from Port Arthur. The feud grew by leaps and bounds. Port Arthur merchants refused to accept goods routed through Fort William. They notified consignors in both the Dominion and the United States that they also would not accept goods shipped on C.P.R. boats. This embargo had quick results and in two months, figuratively speaking, the railroad was on its knees to the town. Then William Van Horne came to Port Arthur to see at first hand the little village that had defied his company. The city fathers were ready for reconciliation, but not at Van Horne's price The removal of terminals to Fort William continued, but freight was routed directly to Port Arthur. This was a concession which C.P.R. had to make. Today Port Arthur has a population in excess of twenty thousand, much larger that Fort William, but it still remains, so far as the C.P.R. is concerned, just a station in its far-flung system. The main station is a Fort William - R.A. Emberg.
One day at school, the teacher was talking to the class about there parent's occupations.
Jane put up her hand and said, "My mother is a nurse".
The teacher said, "That's wonderful, she helps to cure sick people."
Andrew then out up his hand. "My father is a pilot," he said.
The teacher said, "Congratulations! Your father helps people get to where they are going."
Johnny then said, "Miss, my father plays the piano in a brothel."
The teacher quickly changed the topic, but kept it in her head for later reference.
At the parent/teacher night a month later Johnny's parents came to see the teacher and the teacher asked him if he really was a piano player in a brothel.
Johnny's father replied that he wasn't. But that is what he told Johnny because he didn't want to admit to being a lawyer.
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, old friend! No, just a cup of coffee if you still have any.
Another (short) work week gone! I missed last night and that gave me a lot of reading for tonight/this morning! I even found a short message from Al!!
Lars – You are absolutely right, this is a great place! Everyone knows something and together we know quite a bit, learning from each other.
I think the Larsman family will have a good year 2007 and you will bew able to make it to St. Louis!!I am looking forward to read about your travles aboard the California Zephyr! CM3 – You are right about what is deciding what kind of and how much power that will be assigned to a certain train. I worked as a locomotive dispatcher for a year and it is quite a job to figure out how to use available power depending on all circumstances. Mostly there are lists made up ahead of time about what power is supposed to be assigned to what train, but then something happens, a locomtive breaks down, and adjustments have to be made. Not only for one train but for a number of trains. You mentioned the weather. The fall is a very critical time. When the leafs are coming down along the line, the tracks get very slippery. Especially if it is raining a bit at the same time. That can create a lot of trouble for heavy trains. I read with great interest your info on power disposition!!DL – Denver had a very bad snowstorm, blizzard, the week before Christmas. The airport was closed for several days and thousands of people were stuck there. Some made it to the railroad station and managed to get on an Amtrak train. Snowsstorms also affect trains! Switches get full of snow and/or ice. The heating capacity is not big enough or the melted snow freezes under the switch and more melted snow makes the ice grow int to the switch and block it. Thanks for the links! I have heard about Hornby Trains but I don’t know if I have ever seen one. So the diagrammatic railway maps came in1929! I didn’t know they had been around for that long! Blue Streak is for real. As far as I know it was a highest priority freight train run by Southern Pacific. The train was called the Blue Streak Merchandise.Today Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are running the Blue Streak. More info on this link:http://www.progressiverailroading.com/freightnews/article.asp?id=3258Swanage Steam Railway seems to be a in very good condition! A lot of nice pictures on the two pages from the first day of operation! Tom – I searched (Googled) but could not find any Norseman Bar in St. Louis. With all the experience as a manager Lars has from Our Place I think he is the right person to open such a bar at St. Louis Union Station! I just don’t know why they had to change the livery of the X2000. In 1990, when the train was put into service, the railroad got a design award for the X2000! They certainly didn’t get any this time! It certainly could have been you! I wonder how common those rock slides are in the Fraser Canyon? I can’t see any protection for the track in that picture. Do you know if they have any sensors that via signals will warn the engineer? Sometimes one is saved just by a coincidence. If it hadn’t been for a faint, short, squeaky sound that I barely could hear I would not have been around today, I would have been smashed between two EMU’s. But I guess my Guardian Angle was there.Norse night at the Saloon by the Siding? Sounds like a good idea! Rob – I have to find some pictures of CN..., no I am probably better off not to do that. I trust your opinion about that paint job!Interesting story about the streetcar tail lights! I remember that hte more modern streetcars in Stockholm had a similar arrangement with a red and a yellow light. The red light was always on when it was dark as a regular tail light, and the yellowcame on when when the dynamic (or air) brake was used.My Mac works just perfect using the browser, Camino, that I found by accident. Everything is working!Pete – First a correction, there are no mines in Narvik. The mines are in and around Kiruna (in Sweden). The mining company, LKAB, had a number of small electric locomotives for switching. Maybe it could be one like the one in my picture below:
This is a Class Ue (rebuilt from a Class Ub and still marked as such). The one you saw was probably brown.The wig wag in my picture is located at Orange Empire Railway Museum in California. Where it was used earlier I don’t know. I guess I have to do some research to find out where those wig wags in Wisconsin are located. I plan to go there after our rendevouez in May. Al – You are missed Al!!! Hope to see you again soon! James – It is too bad the lenses had to be removed, but I know what you mean.
I guess it is time for a few hours of sleep. Thank you Leon!
Good evening Leon, I'll nab a Keith's and a nice medium rarewith all the fixin's if you don't mind.Looks like I have a toolbar again.At least for this post , oh well I'll roll with the punches the forum throws my way.
Lars-They didn't really send me any suggestions. She thought that I was running a mac and therefore having some of the same issue's that Eric was so she suggested alternate Mac friendly search engines,when they found out I was running PC they said they would check to see if it was an issue at their end. Yet to hear back on that one but as it goes it seems to be working at least part of the time.
Tom-That was quite the sobering article,and not to worry I'll get you a couple Blue's the next time we are riding a train together ( hopefully sooner as opposed to latter ) I have an email question to ask you so I'll send that out to you latter ( no big thing )Glad you likied the Lintern story. I get asked so often at the museum why the cars have the by-coloured tail lights, most peoples eyes glaze over when you try to explain them.Whatcanyado Hopefully we can entice Blackie to pop by here, he strikes me as an "Our Place " kinda guy or girl.
CM3-Great rundown on the power sharing and pooling a good read to be sure.I'm kinda not supprised that you knew Mentor. Coal minning town
Dl-Those were interesting links on that musuem neat read. One begs to wonder why and how Churchills funeral car ended up in the US though I'll aggree with Tom though if and when Al gets back upto speed ( as much as possible ) he is a passenger car/train font of information. I imagine that he's forgotten more about the subject than most people have ever learned.great to know that I was sort of on track in suggesting to Pete that he checks with Hatton's , thanks for finding the email address for him, I seem to have purged it from my system while I was rtying to figure out if it was indeed my problem with the formatting issues I've had lately.
Pete-I'm supprised that there are some Wig-Wags left, they are a bit more labour intensive to fix than standard grade crossing flashers,I'm supprised that railways in the US would still bother with them. Still they take one back to the more classic age of railroading.
G'day Cap'n Tom & fellow travelers at the bar!
Back again, but only for a brief brew - thanks Leon - and some comments for DL 'n Pete:
Yes, I traveled aboard the "real" California Zephyr on a few round trips from Chicago to the "left coast." The good news is that the trips were fantastic and never once disappointed us. The not-so-good news is that I wasn't then and am not now much of a note taker or a photographer when it comes to travel. Just not my style.
So, I'll try to put together something from memory, but it will fall far short in terms of details and the like that so many others include "naturally." Thanks for asking.
Good to see ya, Pete and I'll take one of those "funny looking" brews you've been ordering. <grin> I've sent you a couple of e-mails over the past week, but think you've not received them due to your 'puter issues. No problems, just "talk."
Yes, let's do what we can to engage some other guys with similar interests and like-minded resolve to carry on in the atmosphere of an adult bar 'n grill setting. Pubs, bars, taverns, saloons - call 'em what you will, but there's no better place to pass the time than in a gin mill surrounded by a mentally healthy bunch of misfits!
Gotta run (again)!
I' ll join DL in a Ringwood Best Bitter please RUTH. at 3.8 ABV a nice quaffing beer.
ROB Saw your post just before mine yesterday.It was good to see the toolbar back if only for a short time, today my puter keeps going back to the home page for no apparent reason.
Thanks for the Classic Juice post on the Nichols- Lintern tail-light.There is so much to learn in this great hobby of ours.
Another Our Place co-incidence, after we were talking about the wig wag signals I read a piece in the January issue of Trains mag which said there are still surviving wig wag signals, probably 15 to 20, in the state of Winsconsin.It would be great to see one in operation.
JAMES. I'm afraid I am not too up on the model railway gauge sizes,but they were a large guage. It would really need a video camera to capture the full atmosphere of the layout this year with the lights in the cars and the locos fitted with sound and smoke with automatic control the locos stopping at stations and to allow other trains to pass.
AL Great to see you in looking forward to your return.
DL Many thanks for the Irish model loco info and links. The loco at Hattons looks like the one I have. I did try Bachmann and they said the set was discontinued. On the box they offered two of the coaches as spares.Bachmann refered me to a company that does dis-continued items but they did not reply to my E-mail I sent over a week ago. As you say it is a bit surprising that no one has produced Irish models as they did have some interesting and colourful steam locos, also their GM diesels do indeed have quite a following.
Our Place does have a great St Patrick's day and Tom gets in some good Irish brews .
I have heard of the Condor named frieght it ran over the Midland line as you say from Glasgow to London. The train used the short lived Metro-Vickers type 2 CO-BO diesels. Here is a link to a cab ride on these locos on the Condor.
http://www.d5705.org.uk/start.html.
One other named frieght train I can think of is the Green Arrow fast frieght that was introduced by the London & North Eastern Railway in the mid 1930s that ran between London and Edinburgh. The first of Sir Nigel Gresley's 2-6-2 V2s locos was named after the service, No 60800 Green Arrow is the only survivor of the 184 V2s built. It is owned by the National Railway Museum and is passed for main line running on BR.
In BR days there was a fast frieght to Edinburgh, I dont think it had an official name but was well known for it was often hauled by a Gresley Pacific loco producing the sight of a streamlined class A4 with a train of 4-wheeled vans. I believe the train ran to fast timings.
YES Fred Dibnah did have that magic touch in being able to combine a great knowledge of steam and mechanical things and be able to entertain the enthusiast as well as the ordinary viewer..
It seems the main stream media has a terrible blindspot when it comes to reporting transport, especially railways, in the UK.
Since the new year I am trying to pack up smoking(again).
Great info on the Swanage Railway and the Standard 2-6-4 tank locos with great photos of 80104 in lovely weather . These tanks are ideal for the larger preserved railways being quite happy hauling 8 cars. We are lucky that a good number if them were sent to Barry scrapyard and were able to be saved. They are great looking locos as well,certainly up with the Fowler LMS 2-6-4s and, although it hurts to say it being a LMS man , the Great Western large Prairie 2-6-2 tanks for looks in my opinion.
I think the Winston Churchill van would be a good cause for the NRM.
CM3 Many thanks for the info on the loco movements. Shop Queens and Orphan Units. I would love to hear more about them as they are terms I am not familiar with.
We get ex Southern Pacific locos through here, mainly with the UP number, although there was a pure SP loco just before Christmas, they are usually the single locomotive at the rear of a coal train. I keep looking out for the locos that UP have painted in the heritage colors but with no luck so far. I guess they do not let these locos move about the UP system as much.
LARS Still no news on what a Norse bar is like.
I agree it would be great if we could get a New Zealand or Aussie rail enthusiast to join us at the bar, although the Australians have just whitewashed England 5-0 at Cricket, for the first time in over 80 years, in the Ashes test series
Ruth my deAH, a frosty mug of Kokanee brew from BC, and slide those snack trays down my way, wudja please Yes, of course a round for the house, snacks for the critters and a small jar of pickled pig's feet for our resident cloven-footed Cyclops, Boris! <grin>
That's quite a sobering combining of the CBC article and the excerpt from your 2002-2003 Canada rail journey. Yes, how many times in life could any of us utter the phrase, "If not for (this or that) it cudda been me!" Been there, done that too many times, especially on the rolling decks above 'n below far out at sea. Sobering for sure!
Particular mention to DL for not only returning to the bar, but doing so with such enthusiasm and informative posts. 5- to you, Sir!
Your mention of getting a bona fide Irishman aboard brings to mind that we should also strive to entice an Aussie, and perhaps a Kiwi as well. I've had nothing but OUTSTANDING experiences with the guys from "down under" and what a welcomed sight it would be to have a few of 'em join us in the libations and goings on here at "Our" Place. The more the merrier!
Been an interesting past couple of days as the guys have wound their way back to Mentor Village and this fine establishment located near the main lines of the Can-Am. Makes for the fun and frolic intended and believe me, I've spent many an hour in a man's bar and aside from a few "tussles" here 'n there, have always come out feeling far better than when arrived!
That wasn't much of a shopping trip your Mrs. dragged you off on, Tom. <geesh> Had it been my lady, we'd have had to book a room for the night, just to get an early start for the continuation of what she calls shopping! Some people take this stuff far too seriously, huh <grin>
Rob, those Gremlins apparently have found your "number," with the on-again, off-again tool bar situation. Just curious, what kind of info did Kalmbach pass your way to help you
That info on your trip, DL, was very well done and there's more than enough info via the Urls to keep one engaged for quite some time. Amazing just how much is "out there" on virtually any subject. Unfortunately, there are really no checks 'n balances to ensure that whatever it is one comes away with is "Gospel," unless of course if comes from reputable sources. The advent of the internet has brought with it many unintended consequences, one being the fostering of anecdotal crap, which Tom detests and so do I. Sorry, I got sidetracked in thought.
Just wanted to remind you guys that tonight is PIZZA 'n BEER NIGHT! along with STEAK 'n FRIES NIGHT! here at the Tavern by the Tracks. begins at 5 PM and will be served by a trio of "Our" Place Gals!
One more, Ruth, then I'm gone . . . .
Here is something from the "It could've been us!" department that I thought you would find interesting. While browsing through my daily check of the CBC web site for news from Canada, this story "jumped out" at me. Read it and what I've provided further on, and you'll understand why!
Please take the time to check out the URL BEFORE reading any further:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/01/04/bc-derailment.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As many of you know, my wife and I took our 2nd cross-Canada roundtrip a few years ago, departing Toronto on New Year's Eve 2002 bound for Vancouver. Along the way we encountered an event that undoubtedly will "live" on in our memories for all the years to come.
I have shared this story with you before and it was first Posted on a now "defunct" site I created, then Posted on Page 99 of the "original" Thread back on Sep 9th, 2005. Here are EXCERPTS for your perusal:
In December of 2002, my wife and I departed Toronto aboard VIA Rail's "Canadian" bound for Vancovuer. Having made the round trip once before, but in May, we were exicited about the prospects of a winter voyage across most of Canada. We were able to book the drawing room suite in the Park Car (Glacier Park) and settled into our seats in the dome as the train pulled out of Toronto's Union Station. The day was rather gloomy, a bit of light rain and sleet hitting the windows as we wound our way through and out of the city. The further north we got, the clearer the skies and by the time we started see evidence of that magnificant Canadian Shield, the skies were blue with some white puffy clouds. Great picture taking with some memorable sights indeed. Now I could continue this dialogue in the style aforementioned - but then it would just drone on and on - for really, the trip WAS fantastic. The snow amounts were far, far less than what we had hoped for - but then again, those of you living in Canada - especially the mountainous regions, know full well what the drought conditions have been like for quite some time. Nevertheless, we were undaunted in our optimism that the trip would hold true to our high expectations - and for the most part it did. On Friday, January 3rd, our train was struck by a rock slide just north of Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon. Fortunately, this event did not seriously damage the train or harm any people within it. The delay of six hours wound up being a PLUS in that once we resumed our voyage, we got to view some sights that would have otherwise been "voids" to us. For had the train kept to its schedule, we would have passed through that area in darkness. (Same for the eastbound - darkness..........). Saw things that were all new to me (and have been alluded to in my previous posts) - for example, the rock slide 'sheds' that deflect the slides OVER the tracks rather than on to them. Interesting and effective concept indeed. Also the tunnel carved out of the rock - no portals - pretty rugged and functional. Can just imagine the work those people put into building that railroad! . . . . .
To sum it up, "It could've been us!"
<huff> <puff> <phew> Just made it, but alas, not before NOON as promised! A shame to have my personal life get in the way of running this bar, eh <grin>
SPECIAL for passengerfan Al: PLEASE send me an Email via the Forums. We need to resume our comms. THANX!
So where was I Ah yes, acknowledgments . . . .
Rob at 9:37 PM yesterday: <argggggghhhhh> The Scourge of the Forums has revisited you! Nevertheless, still good to have you with us . . .
Nice to read some traction and signaling "stuff," which of course provides broader dimensions for our Classic Trains discussions!
DL at 7:17 AM & 9:04 AM & 11:36 AM today: An early morning visit from our other-side-of-the-pond Brit! Nice way to begin the day through a visit to what I hope has become your favorite cyber pub.
I note that you are still experiencing difficulties viewing the Pix some of us have Posted. I would greatly appreciate knowing of these occasions when they occur. Helps to keep track for my compilations to the people at Kalmbach and of course to ensure that my own Posts have been submitted properly. Thanx!
Not trying to be a ‘damp rag' regarding this, however, Posts to passengerfan Al at this juncture are somewhat futile. Until he resumes his position here at the bar, my guess is he's not reading, but only Posting. However, once he's back with us, you'll find at least an equal in knowledge of passenger trains to that which you've provided from your corner of the world regarding railways of all stripes. He's quite the asset, as are you, Sir!
What an absolute treat to have perused the information regarding the Swanage Railroad and your trip report! Kudos to you, Sir!
Also enjoy the exchanges between you, CM3 ‘n Pete. Makes for a lively atmosphere ‘round the Tavern by the Tracks. And - we only have 3 large screen TVs, none of which are located in the area of the bar! <grin>
Irish brews are stocked and readily available. Just make the call, and you'll find something more than adequate to meet your expectations!
CM3 at 9:38 AM today: It's always a better place when our WVA Connection stops by and today is no exception. A fine spate of info and of course the continuing generosity in the form of quarters for Herr Wurlitzer via our Coal Scuttle - and - the round surely keeps our registers, Tilla ‘n Cashinator humming along.
Ah, "the road that our ‘steamed proprietor will not let us mention here" must be the PennCentral! <arggggggggggghhhhh>
Also I may have neglected to throw in my appreciation for the "Blue Streak" info that you so promptly and thoroughly provided. Another "well done" to you, Sir!
Okay gang, ‘til I must take my leave again as the rigors of retired life are calling! <yeah, right!> Translated: my wife is still home from the University and wants me to accompany her to the milling throngs at whatever stores she has in mind. <ugh>
‘Til later . . . Ruth, a round on the house 'n Boris, ring the bell!
Thanks CM3 for the info on the freights - yes some informal names here for merchandise, but the only formal name I know of was the 'Condor' - that was running in the early 1960s.
Anyway, I'll have a pint whilst I post this for Pete:
I see (after some Googling) Hattons Models in Liverpool (famous Liverpool model shop you probably know of, been there since at least the 1950s) seems to have a SR N class in Irish Livery for sale on website:
See this link and go to bottom of page (scroll down) item no H598, at 51 quid (might be second hand, looks in good condition)
http://www.connectstores.com/hattons/sp_785.html
You can contact them
Contact us: Hattons Model Railways,364-368 Smithdown Road,Liverpool,L15 5AN,
Phone +44 (0)151-733-3655Fax +44(0)151-734-4040
and there is an e-mail link form here at the bottom of their home page if you wanted to ask more about it
http://www.hattons.co.uk/
I guess what we need is an Irish contributor to this site to tell us more about modelling the Irish scene in the classic era! (if we can get a decent Irish Stout on the bar - perhaps something a bit more unusual than Guinness, we may attract one!)
Cheerio all
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