G'day Gents!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (since my last narrative):
Doug at 8:43 AM ‘n 12:02 pm today: A reading man's Post with the "Robber Baron." Also, would've enjoyed that presentation on the RDCs that you attended. I wonder if the Budd people had any notion of just how long those cars would remain operational
I must've missed your Stupid People Award #1. Kind of a nice "fit" for my Friday Idiot of the Week stuff . . .
Simply fine RDC shots - although it does "distress" me to see any of ‘em in other than operating and in good material condition. Those that are still running in Dallas - Fort Worth (Trinity Rail Express) are outstanding examples of what can be done, given the resources to keep ‘em rehabbed!
You WOULDN'T be bribing Da Bossman, now wudja
Good to have you aboard - THREE TIMES - thus far today and of course remembering our 23rd month of existence in the Ether!
Lars at 8:56 AM today: Okay, ‘nuf of this stuff, otherwise YOU get <tweeted>! As the Proprietor and sole "operator" of the <tweeter> it is MY decision regarding WHO get's the <tweeting> and YOU are lookin' mighty good right now!
I do concur though that our barn weevil did appear to jump the gun, HOWEVER, that article COULD be taken to include other roads. Therefore, he's "safe"! <grin>
Appreciate the early AM visit and of course, TOAST to "Our" Place!
BK at 11:19 AM ‘n 1 PM today: Good to see ya again and was hoping that you'd make it "in" for our Anniversary! Thanx for the TOAST!
That was a fine "report" you provided and those URLs "worked" quite well. Lotsagudstuff on ‘em. Much appreciated!
Surely sounds like one of those "trips of a lifetime" to me! Just like the Alaska adventure was for us, but yours included much, much more train time. I've heard that the Aussies really run a fine system of passenger roads and would love to hear MORE! Thanx again.
Glad to know that you 'n Lydia enjoyed the Penthouse Suite! I will have to ensure that Boris gets a double ration of pickled pig's feet for his above 'n beyond service!
CM3 at 2:01 PM today: Surely an omission, and even perhaps something to do with the Forums - but NO MENTION OF OUR ANNIVERSARY??
But, a fine Post nonetheless as you've hit the hi-lites once again!
Ahhhhh, go ahead and mention Penn Central if you MUST. <frown> Never was a REAL railroad anyway! <grin> <grumble> <mumble>
I have a friend up in Syracuse, not that far from the Oneida incident . . . things happen, eh Exploding propane cars ain't a good thing . . .
Appreciate the round, quarters, business and visit!
Ruth, give 'em a drink on me - Boris, ring the gong! <bwooooooooong gooooooooong>
Tom
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of Holden's bitter please RUTH, and a round to celebrate the 23rd month of Our Place.
It turned out a good Saturday afternoon with visits from Lars, Doug James Eric and of course Tom, A busy Monday too.
LARS Many thanks for the use of the Medium Sized Dipper with the new camera system in operation I wont take too much.
I wonder in what year the first pic of the UP dome car lounge car was taken, I suspect it was in the early 1950s, you don't often see young lads dressed as well on today's trains.
It is good to see that UP has kept those classic domes for business use it would be interesting to know how often they are out and about on the rails. I think it was part of that train hauled by the Heritage F diesels I saw at St Louis Union station last year.
ERIC I have looked up the London to Edinburgh times on the East Coast route. The usual time for faster trains is 4 hours 30 minutes, with 4 stops. This time is both by the class 91 Electrics and the diesel HSTs.
I am pretty sure the route mileage in Britain is about the same now as it was in 1991, in fact the passenger lines have grown and will increase some more when the new Channel Tunnel high speed link opens later this year. The freight only mileage may have shrunk a little but I cannot think of any long freight lines closing in that time. Of course it was the 60s and the Beeching Plan when Britain lost a great deal of railway lines.
Many thanks for the photos. But for the signal on the left in the first pic it is hard to know there is a track there under the snow.
Those SP Daylight colors certainly look well on locomotives and cars, although it must have been a job to keep them clean
The station at La Crosse WI seems to have a German style look about it to me. Talking of Germany I think the Hartz Railway is in the east, I have a map of the system although I am having a problem to get it to load.
DOUG. Great to see you this weekend. Very interesting post on the RDCs in use in Canada. It seems they got the second hand ones from quite a few different roads in the U.S. The RDC in the photo seems to fit in with that great scenery. I think the photos of the ex MBTA RDC at the IRM will put you in Tom's good books as well as making a visit to The IRM even more anticipated.
That does look a great book on Charles Tyson Yerkes. I knew I had heard his name and later in the post it mentioned his part in the growth of the London Underground system.
Loved the part when the mod carried guns and nooses to influence the Alderman's meeting.
I have been missing the parts at the end of your posts.
JAMES. Glad you liked the German Mallet photos. It would be interesting to hear what it sounded like when it was being worked hard. That is a spectacular pic of the fire on the diesel loco. I imagine that if it happens on the rear loco on a long coal train it could be real trouble.
Great photo of the B&O E7As.
Looking forward to your Milwaukee Road Theme Day posts, and have a great time in Chicago.
BK Great to see you in the bar again and even better news you will be still coming to the bar and many thanks for the kind words.
Many thanks for that great post on your trip on the Indian Pacific surely one of ‘The Great Train Journeys of the world' as a famous TV series was named. Reading the link I had not realized that the route of the Indian Pacific was all converted to standard gauge. It was a great vote of confidence in Australian Railways as was completing the Ghan to Darwin. Those NR82 locomotives must be very reliable as in the link the heavy train is trusted with just the one engine.
I shall look forward to the description of your return journey.
If the private bar in the Penthouse was stocked to your satisfaction can you please tell my boss LARS, as it can determine the size of ‘dipper' I am allowed to use to get my pay.
CM3 Thanks for the info on the C&O coal stations. The mention of the ‘Beer Line' caught my attention it will be good to hear more about it.
TOM Good movies on at the Emporium this week. I have seen Mission Impossible on the small screen lately and it will be good to see it on the big screen. Like Doug I was wondering about what was on the ‘Night train to Munich' review.
Yes that is a great picture Alan took on the Hartz train on the curve you can almost smell the smoke and steam and hear the locos.
G-day Tom and all present!
Leon- Time for a coffee and a Turkey sandwich please.
Alright, I will be posting the first Milwaukee road portion of the Tuesday's theme of the day later this night. So look for it.
Doug- Started off nicely with a Milwaukee road book I am very familiar with. Very nice little article. I do enjoy looking at the book but I have one that impressed me more than this one. I will post an article from it, tonight.
Also nice article on the life of Charles Tyson Yerkes. Very cool how he went from jail time, to the railroad. Kind of like a rags to riches case. BTW: Mr. Burns was a man with less than three brain cells. He threw his life away.
Also some nice pictures of those RDCs. Like I say, I'm glad I get to listen and ride them once in awhile. They are fun to ride.
Tom- Well, the fire shot was on a CP train in Canada. I don't know when or where in Canada. But I have a friend from Winnipeg who sent that picture by e-mail. But there was barely any info on it. Sorry.
SD45.com is a really nice cite for pictures. They allow you to use there pictures which is nice and they have some nice photos. So I go there for my picture needs. You might want to look it over. It's a nice picture cite.
Really enjoyed all the Nostalgia on the Santa Fe's Super Chief. Some pretty cool stuff you posted, thanks.
Pete- Ya, it can be a real problem with "fire" rolling out the stack. Also, I will have a good time in Chicago. Can't wait to see those Metra trains. Thanks for the acknowledgement.
Happy railroading
James
Good evening Leon and gents! Could I get one last drink and buy a round for the house?
Way back when, on a thread I started a longggggg time ago (8-4-2005), I posted the following picture, and an explanation
BNSF 1010 and a flaming B30-7A lead a southbound train on the Joint Line at Acequia, CO. Description : GE's are known to "flash over" when uncombusted fuel enters the exhaust manifold. This usually occurs when throttling up due to the "turbo lag" inherent with GE locomotives. Location : Acequia, Colorado on the Joint Line.
Maybe this also was the cause of the fire in James picture?
Leon- Could I get a refill on the coffee, Thanks.
Here it is! The Milwaukee Road
Amid the Urban Sprawl.
Chicago Terminal & Terre Haute Divisions.
Chicago, the hub and the headquarters for the railroad's operations. Ladled out its big-city personality on the Milwaukee Road, coloring the railroad from it's beginning to its final days. Chicago was the railroad's headquarters and its principle point of interchange. Here the railroad gathered up manufactured goods from eastern connections and classified them for trains to forward west. In return the Milwaukee road handed over lumber from the Pacific Northwest, paper from Wisconsin, Copper from Montana smelters, and grain from its sprawling Midwestern branch lines.
For many years Chicago held sufficient importance to rank as its own division, the Chicago Terminal Division, which encompassed the terminal operations from Bensenville Yard in the western suburbs to Chicago Union Station. The nerve center was Bensenville Yard, a large hump yard on the west side of the city, built in 1953 to speed the classification of cars moving in all directions. The Milwaukee's three principal routes radiated from Bensenville yard, spokes across the midsection of the continent: the mainline to the Pacific Northwest via Milwaukee and Minneapolis/ St. Paul: the Omaha line, which functioned primarily as a connection to the Union Pacific at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska; and the Mainline to Kansas City.
The Terre Haute Division was until 1973 a secondary line that ran south to Terre Haute, Indiana, branched to numerous coal mines, and ended at the hamlet of Westport, Indiana. It was built by the Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern (CTH&SE), and the three predecessor roads, and accordingly, was often called the Southeastern. The CTH&SE was leased to the Milwaukee Road for 999 years in 1921; the $20 million cost of buying it, absorbing its debts, and fixing it up were major factors in the Milwaukee's 1925 bankruptcy. Its purchase was consummated in 1948.
The Southeastern primarily role was to haul coal to Chicago from the southern Indiana's coalfields, these mines also providing much of the railroads locomotive coal. In a sense the Southeastern was also a through route to its numerous junctions with Eastern carriers. The Milwaukee promoted these connections vigorously, as the Southeastern was an Eastern road for the purpose of rate divisions and thus it was to the Milwaukee's advantage to the interchange long-haul traffic on the Southeastern instead of in Chicago.
By the mid-1950s, most of the many underground coal mines served by the Southeastern were defunct and their spurs abandoned; the east end of the division was trimmed back 26 miles into senescence, its track gradually reclaimed by the countryside. However, this sleep status changed on March 1, 1973, when it was extended from Bedford, Indiana, to Louisville, Kentucky, with acquisition of trackage rights over the former Monon mainline. These trackage rights were mandated by the ICC in 1970 as a condition of the L&N takeover of the Monon, but were held up while the L&N fought the award in court. By virtue of these rights the Milwaukee had the longest line-haul in the country and was the only western carrier to actually reach through Chicago to a major eastern City.
At first the trackage rights to Louisville weren't of much use, since in 1973 the Southeastern was in great disrepair, and the Milwaukee did not have the required reconstruction capital. To solve this dilemma in 1979 the Milwaukee forsook it's own rails north of Terre Haute, Indiana, in favor of trackage rights over Conrail's former New York Central "Egyptian" line, which ran the length of the Indiana/ Illinois border from the south side of Chicago to Terre Haute. Actually Conrail's track, north of Danville, Illinois, wasn't much better than the Milwaukee's, but the two railroads could at least split the maintenance expenditures. The Milwaukee Road trackage between Spring Hill tower in Terre Haute and Bedford was substantially rebuilt to complete the Chicago-Louisville route.
In the eye of the public, it wasn't the freight but the Milwaukee Road's passenger operations that indelibly defined the railroad, both its well-run commuter trains and its long-haul name trains. The Milwaukee's passenger service originated at Union Station (where the Milwaukee's corporate headquarter were located), the commuter service radiating in two different directions: north, to Fox Lake, Illinois and Walworth, Wisconsin, via Rondout; and west, to Elgin, Illinois. The Milwaukee ran several long-haul trains to and from Chicago until "Amtrak Day," May 1, 1971: the morning Hiawatha to Minneapolis; the Sioux to Madison, Wisconsin (it quit the previous day and was not restarted by Amtrak); and the three Chicago-Milwaukee round trips daily (two on Sunday)
Weekday mornings and evenings saw fleets of commuter trains-scoots in Milwaukee parlance-arriving and departing Union Station. The division employee timetable in 1973 contained 10 pages just to cover there schedules between Chicago and Elgin. The scoots were pulled a variety of motive power. In the early diesel era Alcos and Fairbanks-Morse locomotives predominated, later GP9s were used. E-units, including six built for commuter service in 1961, and a few yellow FP9As no longer needed in the long-haul passenger fleet, worked on the scoots as well in the twilight of there careers. In the 1970s, as the Milwaukee's financial condition deteriorated, local railroad districts stepped in to assist the railroad with capital expenditures it could not itself afford. Gradually the Milwaukee's units were replaced, by unique F40Cs built in 1947 for two separate mass transit districts, and by the universal F40PH. These latter units also owned by commuter districts. The Milwaukee's Chicago commuter operations today are operated by Metra.
The Milwaukee was a road with many regional personalities. The Urban Chicago Division, coupled with the small-town feel of the Southeastern, contrasted with the flavor of divisions. The divisions was the anchor of the system during the course of the Milwaukee's history, a role which it maintains today under the Soo line ownership.
Article from the book: The Milwaukee Road, by Fredrick W. Hyde
This book is full of colored pictures of the Milwaukee road. An excellent book if you thought about buying one.
A few of the E-units used in the Commuter service in Chicago looked like this. It wasn't untill the F40PH came out that the colors really showed. picture taken on October 13, 1963, in Bensonville, Illinois.
A newly delivered FP45 #47 leads a commuter train out of Union station in Chicago on September 22, 1975.
One of
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
A little bit belated Happy 23rd Anniversary!!! I am blaming the time difference, now an extra hour, that I couldn't make it in time for the festivities!
Leon, tonight is a perfect night for Steak and Bisquits! No, just coffee to drink! Free? Okay, I'll have a drink then. Thank you Captain!
This is a very busy week at work. We are deeply involved in an expo, Bits, this week so I might miss a day or two. Early mornings and late evenings.
A lot of interesting posts today! RDCs and Milwaukee Road! And an exciting train trip across Australia!!
Doug – I think I am getting hooked on RDCs just like Tom! Interesting reading about those Railiners! 87 RDCs in Canada plus 19 used ones! Today it seems like only five are still in service in Canada. Thanks for the article!Also like the extra RDC pictures! They clearly indicate that Lars is wrong about bribing! I think. Maybe. I can see you have snow on the ground.Also very interesting is the info about (the book) Milwaukee Road’s electrification! A very interesting book! I’ll keep my eyes open. It is time to buy a new GM car! Maybe I’ll be the winner! The chance to get involved in a serious crash on Interstate 17 through Phoenix is pretty good, maybe as good as 1 in 2! You mention the “jokers” who drop things on passing trains. We had an incident with the X2000 somewhere along the NEC. Close to Baltimore. Some stupid idiot dropped a refrigerator but missed the train, it hit the ground before we got there. We ran over the thing and it cut some air hoses for the braking system on one car. The Amtrak police came to the place quickly and I think they got them. Charles Tyson Yerkes certainly qualified as a robber baron! Interesting, I did not know that he was involved in developing the Underground in London! Smart guy, James Burns! Wrapped in the drive shaft!Interesting picture of the flash over! I have seen that once live, many years ago in the old country. James – You are right, there was a “few” inches of snow on the ground. And very cold! Not for me. I am afraid the SP car is not really in service, it belongs to a museum. At least it is still able to move around with people in it. I think the Amtrak train was moving along pretty good. Using the horn is a must! Nice picture of those B&O E7As!Milwaukee Road! I better show a picture from Milwaukee. I am afraid this will be all I have about Milwaukee. A lot of interesting info to read! Thank you! I love the pictures, especially the blue and white FP45! Vey nice, clean looking paint scheme!
Milwaukee, June 1993.
Tom – Going to the Arctic Circle while it is buried in snow? I guess the snow will melt away in early May and will be back in October. Your choice! I guess Juneau is really the one who decides!? Recevied email and responded. Pleasure Dome!? Was that something different or was it the service level that was better? Nice book cover! If (I mean when) I win the Powerball I will spend a fortune on all the books (and Our Place Private Car). SF had some nice looking drum heads!Lars – To make sure that the bar remains open is also creating job security for Ruth! I know it was something!Gasoline $2.73? We are catching up, I saw $2.72 here tonight!. Just heard on the news the price is up to $2.95 at some stations!!! Travel by train!BK – Glad to hear that you had a nice weekend at the Penthouse Suite! It must have been something else!You must have had a real nice train trip across Australia!! I think you did the right thing, staying on the train for the duration of the trip. Looking forward to more to read and some pictures! CM3 – I thought you meant air masks for Big Boy! The question is, was there any long tunnels between Ogden and Cheyenne where air masks would have been necessary?Thanks for the info on Coal stations! I wonder if there is any statistics on how much coal the railroads used per day those days?Pete – Thanks for the info on London to Edinburgh traveling times! The 60’s was tough on the railroads in Sweden too. Quite a few miles were lost during those years. Now they are building new lines! We made just a short stop at La Crosse. At least enought to let me off to take that picture.Hartz Railway!? I think you are right, that it is in the eastern part of Germany. I have heard a lot about it but never been there.
Eric
Good morning Tom and friends! I'll have a light breakfast please. I think we did pretty well celebrating our anniversary yesterday, and got the Milwaukee theme going too (thanks James!). Glad you liked some the RDC stuff Eric, and yes, we still have some snow on the ground. Today's near 70 temps should take care of that though.
I never had a "part I" idiot story that precluded number II Tom. It was just another isolated groaner snatched from the ether. Thanks for backing me up on the tweeting call yesterday. Made my heart go pitty-pat. Here's some theme-related material.
The streamlined era on North American railroads arguably began in 1934, when Union Pacific's M-10000 and Burlington Zephyr were delivered. When the Burlington announced that they would introduce Zephyr-type trans in Chicago-Minneapolis service, a competitive, high-speed route, both Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western responded in 1935 with streamlined steam locomotives and upgraded trains.
The Milwaukee trains were named Hiawatha, after the Longfellow poem, and stylist Otto Kuhler designed engine shrouds of the basis of American Locomotive's wind-tunnel tests, giving rise to the early "bathtub" streamlining style. The first locomotives were large, modern Class A "Atlantic" 4-4-2's, followed in 1939 by Class F7 4-6-4's, all with broad orange and maroon stripes carried forward from the cars, and light gray bodies.
Shown here is No. 10, Class G, one of two antique, low-drivered 4-6-0's selected to be streamlined for the new North Woods Hiawatha. Unlike its big brothers, the "North Woods Hi" was not a creature of a 100-mph main line, but instead crept north from New Lisbon, Wis. On progressively lighter rail of the Wisconsin Valley line, ultimately ending in the woods and weeds at Star Lake, a lonely place then, and all but a ghost town now.
To meet the required low axle loadings of this line, and to save money (a Milwaukee specialty), this 1900-built locomotive was selected in 1936 for application of Kuhler's Hiawatha shrouding. In 1937, another 4-6-0, No. 11, was also shrouded. Both resembled the road's famous streamlined Atlantics, but the styling of the 4-6-0's did not have individual differences. They also burned coal instead of oil (note the rather small tender).
The train was very popular for North Woods vacationers, and the increasing loads with time overwhelmed the small locomotives. They were replaced by 4-6-2 Pacifics and then in 1947 by Alco RSC-2 road-switchers. Their Hiawatha name was dropped in 1956.
Although streamlined 4-6-0 steam locomotives were common in Europe, these obscure Milwaukee Road veterans were the only such locomotives to be so treated in this country. No. 10 was scrapped in May, 1951, and No. 11 in September, 1951. Photo by Harvey Ueker for the Milwaukee Road in 1936, at Milwaukee Shops.
Although the following is technically more from an article on Canadian cars, they used to be the property of the Milwaukee!
Purchased from Milwaukee Road in 1964, CN's Skyview cars became prominent in the railroad's advertising and were popular among riders. They ran systemwide until they were retired in 1977.
CN acquired its first domes when it purchased six Milwaukee Road Superdomes in 1964-65. The upper levels were later converted by CN from coach seating to an expansive lounge.
Here's the activities guide to burning calories at work and the number of calories they consume per hour... Beating around the bush... 75 Jumping to conclusions... 100 Climbing the walls... 150 Swallowing your pride... 50 Passing the buck... 25 Throwing your weight around... 50-300 Dragging your heels... 100 Pushing your luck... 250 Making mountains out of molehills... 500 Hitting the nail on the head... 50 Wading through paperwork... 300 Bending over backwards... 75 Jumping on the bandwagon... 200 Balancing the books... 25 Running around in circles... 350 Eating crow... 225 Tooting your own horn... 25 Climbing the ladder of success... 750 Pulling out the stops... 75 Adding fuel to the fire... 160 Wrapping it up at the day's end... 12 Opening a can of worms... 50 Putting your foot in your mouth... 300 Starting the ball rolling... 90 Going over the edge... 25 Picking up the pieces after... 350 Counting eggs before they hatch... 6 Calling it quits... 2
Courtesy: http://www.viarail.ca/
It's TUESDAY and a return to our "Theme for the Day!" which has already begun with some fine "stuff" from James on the Milwaukee Road.
Why not enjoy the reading with a cuppa Joe, pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery and perhaps a <light> or <traditional> breakfast while you're at it
Not a bad turnout for our 23rd Month Anniversary as more "toasts" were offered than not. So, all in all, a fine tribute to those who make this cyber bar flourish in the Ether!
Pete at 4:25 PM yesterday: The Assistant Bar Chandler - soon to be promoted IF we don't hear from Rob - arrived with a fine afternoon "slot" Post!
Drumheads really "make" the passenger train, in my not-so-humble-opinion. VIA Rail still uses ‘em on the Budd observation domes (Park Cars), although they are rather generic with no name of the train. Nevertheless, it looks "cool"!
What WE need to do is begin planning for an Aussie rail adventure - the four of us. Take off for several weeks and do it RIGHT!
James at 8:11 PM ‘n 9:17 PM yesterday: A fine INCLUSIVE Post and the kick-off to our Tuesday Theme for the Day! - Milwaukee Road . . . nice work.
Thanx for the elaboration. Just wonderin' about that site you mentioned (SD45.com) as I've seen ONLY quality stuff and so much of it. Whoever put that together surely has done quite a job and knows how to do it! I can only wish that my photography abilities could even come close to what this guy does!
Doug at 9:06 PM yesterday: Interesting Pix - fire in the hole! <uh oh> A good "fit" with the one from James! [tupp]
Eric at 1:17 AM today: The anticipated "report" from our "Resident Desert Swede" is the ONLY way to begin a new day!
Email received - and the "offer" still stands should you decide to fly.
A nice shot of the X2000 in Milwaukee, BUT rather lonely looking! <frown> Shudda been a crowd. But I suspicion "day was done" for that particular photo . . .
At the stage of life that I'm at, it is very doubtful that I'll ever cross the arctic circle again. Never did while aboard a train, so that would be a FIRST! Time does have a way of passing by so quickly that before one realizes it, the "things" one planned to do wind up being on the "I wish I wudda" list. <groan>
No complaints though, for I've been extremely fortunate to have amassed the rail miles these past 17 years AND to have a traveling companion (bride!) who enjoys it all too!
Doug at 4:46 AM today: A fine offering for the Milwaukee Road "theme" from the birthday boy and as always, good reading material with the Pix!
In looking at that "calories list" I think it depends on where one is at that will determine the burning of them. If you're a "worker bee" then many of those apply, however, if you are a "boss bee," then that's something else, eh I had to look at it from two perspectives - nearly half of my career as a "follower" and the other half as a "leader" - no aspersions intended guys, just the way it was!
Thanx for the early AM Post - but don't get too "cozy" with Da Boss - he IS the fastest <tweeter> in Can-Am County!
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!
THEME for the DAY! - THEME for the DAY!
Now arriving on Track #2
RR THEME for the DAY - Number Eleven
Milwaukee Road (CMSTPP)
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
Former Milwaukee Road system. Solid red lines are trackage still operated by CP Rail; purple lines are trackage now operated by other railroads; red dotted lines are abandoned. This map suggests a rail crossing between Iowa and Wisconsin; this is incorrect, rather the map indicates routes north and south to rail crossings.
Reporting marks
MILW
Locale
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin
Dates of operation
1847 - 1985
Track gauge
4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters
Chicago
The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMSP&P RR) (AAR reporting marks MILW), was a Class I railroad that operated in the midwest and northwest of the United States from 1847 until its acquisition by the Soo Line railway on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy several times in that period. While the railroad does not exist as a separate entity anymore, it is still commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in railroad hardware still maintained by railfans, such as the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive.
History
The Milwaukee Road appeared as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad when incorporated in 1847, but soon changed its name to Milwaukee and Mississippi. After three years, the first train ran from Milwaukee to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and the first passenger train ran on February 25, 1851. In 1874 the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Former Milwaukee Road depot in Austin, Minnesota.
Expansion
In the 1890s, the Milwaukee's directors increasingly felt that they had to extend the railroad to the Pacific in order to remain competitive with other roads. A survey in 1901 estimated costs to build to the Pacific Northwest as $45 million. In 1905, the board approved the Pacific Extension, now estimated at $60 million. The contract for the westernmost part of the route was awarded to Horace Chapin Henry of Seattle. Construction began in 1906 and was completed in 1909. The route chosen was to be 18 miles shorter than the shortest competitor's, as well as better grades than some. It was an expensive route, however, since the Milwaukee, receiving few land grants, had to buy most of the land or acquire smaller railroads. In addition, the five mountain ranges that had to be crossed (the Saddles, Belts, Rockies, Cascades, and Bitterroots) required major
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Egad, how did I miss the anniversary? I slipped the barmaid a little extra $ this a.m. and, by way of apology to the group, asked her to break out the "good stuff." IOW, something from a bottle without a skull and crossbones on the label; enjoy, gents.
Pete was here - the Beer Line was the nickname given to a MILW branch line in its namesake city that served a bunch of breweries. IIRC, some of it still operates, although I have not been in Milwaukee in a long time.
James also stopped by, and in addition to his comments, has given us an interesting piece of his favorite road.
Barndad - GE; don't you love it when that happens.
Eric - The NEC was always fun around Baltimore. A little north of there, the sport was to suspend object from bridges - I'll leave it at that, but that's why many locomotives had grates over the windshields. I am on the track of the air mask reference. One place with a good size tunnel was Hermosa.
Barndad visited with some history and a fine shot of a MILW Ten-Wheeler. Incidentally, I had to meet earlier this a.m. with a bunch of folks who burned up a ton of calories (LOL).
OSP has provided a nice capsule history of the MILW. The picture of the Pioneer shows a set of E7s in the as-delivered color scheme. I also liked the shot of the Hiawatha which was truly "getting it." Focal plane shutter on cameras back then added to the effect.
Incidentally, Derleth's book on the Milwaukee was r/p not too long ago.
Here's a citation: Derleth, August. The Milwaukee Road: Its First Hundred Years. Foreword by H. Roger Grant. Iowa City, University of Iowa Press, 2002. (Reprint of 1948 ed.)
Derleth was, himself, an interesting character as he was a prolific writer in a variety of areas.
Milwaukee Road today, so here is some freight-related information.
The MILW offered what they called "Piggyback Container Service" in the 1960s. Advertising copy mentioned that they had "Mechanical Lifting Devices" such as Piggy Packers and/or Overhead Cranes at Franklin Park (Chicago), Twin Cities, and Seattle.
Ramps were at 52 different locations throughout the system. The railroad also boasted of their so-called "Fast Track" service to 13 states including: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, No. Dakota, So. Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Most followers of the MILW are familiar with their two premier freight trains, the "XL Special," and the "Thunderhawk." These trains operated (under a series of different numbers) between Chicago, Milwaukee, Twin Cities, Duluth, and the "Pacific Northwest." In this case the Pacific Northwest meant cities such as Spokane, Marengo, Seattle, and Tacoma.
A little less known was the "Roaring 90s," billed by the railroad as the only all piggyback and container train between Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, Minneapolis. They ran on the following schedule.
Train 99 departed Chicago at 730 p.m. with a 530 a.m. arrival in Minneapolis
Train 98 departed Minneapolis at 545 p.m. with a 430 a.m. arrival in Chicago.
Additional MILW freight routes included:
Chicago-Marion (Cedar Rapids)-Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Tri-Cities, and Kansas City.
Milwaukee- Marion (Cedar Rapids)-Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Tri-Cities, and Kansas City.
St. Paul-Kansas City-Council Bluffs
Chicago-Milwaukee-Green Bay-La Crosse
Now for two Milwaukee Road trivia questions.
Name the author of the following. "The smoothest roadbed I have ever known on an American railroad in the velvet line of the Milwaukee into Chicago."
This one's for the literati passed out under the pool tables (appropriate, considering the author in the question.).
F. Scott Fitzgerald mentioned the Milwaukee Road in one of his novels. Name the title of that novel.
Work safe
Ahoy Cap'n Tom 'n fellow travelers at the bar!
Ruth, you look simply MARVELOUS this morning. Makes me want to return to the days of my raging youth. But then again . . .
How about a hot mugga Joe with one of those "BK splashes" and that should hold me for awhile. I'll take a couple of Bavarian Cream lo-cal pastries to go along with it!
Shane, let me take a crack at your Milwaukee Road quiz: (1) Ernest Hemingway and (2) This Side of Paradise. How 'bout it <grin>
So, today IS the return of our Tuesday Theme Day, and I see that James started things off as promised with a Monday nightsubmission.
Good stuff has followed from Doug, Tom and CM3, so I suppose it is now my turn, huh
Ok then, check these out!
That is IT for me! One more, Ruth, then I'm gone-zo . . . .
Until the next time!
Lars
Good Morning Captain Tom and fellow sophisticates!
I see the Milwaukee Road theme is well underway and my reading list is growing as these lines are typed! <grin>
Ruth, time for a hot mug of coffee with just a "splash" to make it interesting. Nothing from the menu today, but I will check out the pastry case.
My bookend, Lars, has made his appearance today with some fine book and video covers. Lydia has held up on providing what she has found until we saw what our friend had to provide. Surely would not want duplicates, would we <grin>
As the pages on this "reborn" thread are also growing, it seems that Sirs Pete and Shane have really done a remarkable job with their guesswork for the 10,000th post contest. While Sir Wolfman is "out," surely he is deserving of an "honorable mention." Same for Shane should he fall short, but he is still in the hunt, as is said.
My memory of the works of Hemingway and Fitzgerald is very hazy and I therefore will not hazard a guess in reference to the questions posed by Shane. Literary works at the bar
I suspect Boris and Leon are scratching their respective heads on that one! <grin>
Noted that Via Rail was disrupted in the "corridor" service as a result of a freight train derailment. I believe things have returned to normal. A shame we are absent our Ontario Connection to keep us apprised of these "newsworthy" events!
Also saw that Sir Tom's St. Louis Blues were in Calgary last night and lost a tough one in a shootout. As many may recall, I have not been much of a pro-sports fan over the years, but now beginning to fall into the abyss. The Flames are trying to ensure a slot in the playoffs whereas the Blues are striving to end their season with a degree of respect in building for the next year. (Nearly a quote from one of the papers!) At any rate, we will be attending at least one playoff game and are rooting our teams on; Flames and Oilers.
Enough of my chatter, it is time for my contribution to the Theme for this Day!
BK in Alberta, Canada's high mountain country!
A pint of something strong please LEON and a round please for a great theme day.
ERIC I am about to read an article on the Hartz railway hopefully I have some more info when I have read it.
I did not know before there was a problem with objects being dropped on or placed in the way of trains here in North America.It reached terrible proportions on British lines in the 80s and 90s. I hope the situation as got better lately as I have not heard of any incidents. There as been a fortune spent on erecting high fences to help stop this and trespassing. A great problem was young morons throwing stones at trains. I dare say the penalty for anyone caught throwing stuff off railway bridges is very severe over here as it should be.
A great Milwaukee Road Theme Day ,
Started by JAMES with the Road around the Chicago and Terre Haute division. It is good that it is still possible to travel over ex Milwaukee metals on the Chicago Metra.
DOUG Interesting reading on the 4-6-0s on the North Woods Hiawatha. They must have been good locomotives as they were 36 years old when the streamline casing was fitted.
After running the North Woods it is a pity one of the two locos could not have been saved for a museum.
According to your chart I have burnt at least 350 calories(see later).
TOM Many Thanks for your post on the Milwaukee.It does make very sad reading though in the lines later days espcially how the electrified line was handled. I wonder how a east to west electrified line would be appriciated today if the gas prices keep rising.It seems a lot of unfortunate decisions were made regarding railways in the 1970s
CM3 It would be interesting to know how much track still serves the brewing companies in Milwaukee. I guess some of the ingrediants still arrive by rail even if the finished product goes by truck.Although I was reading that the Coors brewery in Colorado still ships a lot of beer by rail.
Thanks for the 'Piggyback' container frieght on the Milwaukee.
For the books can I go with E. Hemmingway and The Great Gatsby..
Great book covers LARS and BK. Really wonderful photographs and art work. Those electric locomotives were some impressive locos the seem to portray their power very well indeed. Many thanks for getting such a fine set of covers together.
Well I shall have to go into the Rats Patoot room for a while. As usual on the theme day I try and 'Borrow' something from the old Our Place, but the I found SEARCH feature to be impossible. I found the post I wanted and the date, OK it takes some time to find the page it is on by trial and error but I don't mind that. Eventually I found the page the date was on and not a thing on the Milwaukee, we were talking about another road altogether on the date shown. I tried another date and exactly the same, yet Tom's post shows up with todays date.
Anyway let me get a round in please LEON. for another good day at the bar .
Pete
Hi Tom and everyone, a round for the house
I think maybe Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Northwestern. It seems that until the mid-1920s it was known as "The St. Paul." Evidentally the new owners were ready to delete St. Paul from the railroad's name. That that didn't happen suggests to me that the Capital of Minnesota exercised some clout, and might have prevailed again in the event of a merger.
St. Paul TIME Magazine Dec. 6, 1926 (www. time.com)
Except for formal ratification, Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and the National City Co. of Manhattan, who represent the reorganization committee of bondholders, own the onetime Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, a system estimated at $750,000,000. They bought it at an auction sale in Butte, Mont., last week for $140,000,000 and their promise to untangle the road's debts, no light task. For the present there will be no change among the operating executives. But the system's name has been altered to the Chicago, Milwaukee & Pacific Railroad, with "The Milwaukee" as the nickname to be popularized. In St. Paul, famed neighbor of famed Minneapolis, Minn., this renaming is viewed with vexation.
Rail Revolution TIME Magazine May 13, 1935 (www. time.com)
One day 70 years ago a Roxbury, Mass, clergyman had a large idea far removed from his pulpit. Coaching Harvard's crew for its first race with Yale had taught Rev. Samuel Calthrop how smoothly a racing shell slips through water. He knew that the chief resistance to a railway train at high speed was the atmosphere. Rev. Calthrop took pencil & paper, invented an "Air-Resisting Train" that was a perfect conception of aerodynamic streamlining. That was in 1865, and the "Air-Resisting Train" never got any further than the U. S. Patent Office. Like most basic inventions, it earned its owner nothing.
Not until U. S. railroads were flat on their backs, did Rev. Calthrop's "Air-Resisting Train" come into its own. With nearly one-third of the country's Class I rail mileage in bankruptcy, with two-thirds of the passenger traffic lost since 1929 to motorcars, busses, airlines, something had to be done. The bogey of government ownership, long the subject of dark predictions by Federal Transportation Co-Ordinator Eastman, loomed ominously close with the introduction of a bill in the Senate fortnight ago to have the U. S. take over in January.
Last week, with the introduction of spring schedules and Daylight Saving Time, U.S. railroads were making a fresh bid to save their skins. Schedules were speeded up, fares slashed, air-conditioning increased. And exciting new equipment was being installed all over the country-so-called "neo-trains" which are exciting in performance as well as appearance. Some are Dieselectrics, some have streamlined electric engines, some are Iron Horses in new harness. All are fast, colorful, ultramodern.
Pennsylvania R. R., which completed electrification of its entire New York-Washington passenger service month ago at a cost of $200,000,000, put in service last week the first of 57 new streamlined electric locomotives which cost $250,000 each, can haul a heavy Pullman train 90 m.p.h. Pennsylvania hopes to save $7,250,000 a year in operating expenses through electrification, points with pride to its passenger traffic which last year showed a gain for the first time in a decade. To increase it still further,. Pennsylvania last week cut Broadway Limited's New York-Chicago time to 17 hr. (a reduction of 45 min.), lowered the extra fare from $10 to $7.50. Simultaneously New York Central did the same with its crack 33-year-old Twentieth Century Limited.
First Dieselectric "neo-train" in regular service was on Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. Burlington's famed Zephyr, which has been making a daily round-trip between Kansas City and Lincoln, Neb. since last Armistice Day, has upped traffic 153% in two months. Pleased with the experiment, Burlington put its new Zephyr Twins in service last month between Chicago and the Twin Cities on a 6½-hr. schedule. Zephyr Twins average 66 m.p.h., cost no more to run than large automobiles. Now building for Burlington is another stainless-steel streamliner, to be called Mark Twain, for the St. Louis-Burlington run.
The Zephyrs are not without competition. Month ago Missouri Pacific put a steam-drawn conventional train called The Marathon on a Kansas City-Lincoln schedule one minute faster than the Zephyrs. Chicago & North Western Ry.'s famed 400, a conventional steam train which covers 400 mi. in 400 min. on the Chicago-Twin Cities run, sliced a half hour from its schedule last week to meet the Zephyr Twins' competition.
To meet the challenge of both Zephyr Twins and 400, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific R. R. last week took delivery on the first specially-built streamlined steam locomotive in the U. S. Probably the world's fastest steam locomotive, it has a top-speed of 120 m.p.h., a guaranteed sustained speed of 100 m.p.h. Brilliantly decorated in red. yellow and grey, it rolled out of the American Locomotive Works at Schenectady last week to be christened Hiawatha. In the cab as it shoved through a red-white-&-blue veil were an engineer and fireman dressed in Indian war paint and feathers. Shipped to Chicago by freight. Hiawatha made its first run this week before going into Twin Cities service pulling a "speed-lined" train of six semi-lightweight welded-steel coaches, with a beaver-tail end car. An oil-burner covered with a smooth metal shell, Hiawatha represents Steam's greatest challenge to Dieselectric supremacy. Milwaukee officials believe their medium-weight train represents a proper compromise between the old heavyweight equipment (400) and the new-fangled light-weight Zephyr Twins. With all three types in service on the Chicago-Twin Cities route, railroaders will have a laboratory of U. S. passenger reaction.
The East got its first Dieselectric streamliner month ago when Maine Central-Boston & Maine R. R. put the Flying Yankee-an almost exact duplicate of the Zephyr-on a daily run between Boston and Bangor, Me. Fortnight ago, the East got its second "neo-train"-New York, New Haven & Hartford's Comet. Built by Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp. of Akron as its first "Rail Zeppelin," The Comet made the fastest rail run in New England history-156 mi. in 143 min., non-stop between New Haven and Boston. A sleek blue-&-silver streak, The Comet is alike front & rear, has power plants at both ends, runs equally well in either direction. Built for service between Boston and Providence, it delighted New Haven's President Howard
2007 BIRTHDAY WATCH LIST
(rev. Mar 10th)
January 14th (Eric - 64)
OKRA (Dec 22 - Jan 20) Are tough on the outside but tender on the inside. Okras have tremendous influence. An older Okra can look back over his life and see the seeds of his influence everywhere. You can do something good each day if you try. You go well with most anyone.
March 13th (Doug - 51) to YOU!
BOLL WEEVIL (Feb 20 - March 20) You have an overwhelming curiosity. You're unsatisfied with the surface of things, and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of everything. Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner hunger. You love to stay busy and tend to work too much. Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, so don't worry about it.
March 31st (Lars - 67)
MOON PIE (March 21 - April 20) You're the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch. A cinch to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies. Big and round are the key words here. You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested in the idea. A Chiltin would be a good mate but it's not going to be easy. You always have a big smile and are happy. This might be the year to think about aerobics. Maybe not.
May 18th (Tom - 69)
POSSUM (April 21 - May 21) When confronted with life's difficulties, possums have a marked tendency to withdraw and develop a don't-bother-me-about- it attitude. Sometimes you become so withdrawn, people actually think you're dead. This strategy is probably not psychologically healthy but seems to work for you. You are a rare breed. Most folks love to watch you work and play. You are a night person and mind your own business. You should definitely marry an Armadillo.
May 27th (Dave - 48) <Leave of absence - Iraq>
CRAWFISH (May 22 - June 21) Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an office, you're hanging around the water cooler. Crawfish prefer the beach to the mountains, the pool to the golf course, and the bathtub to the living room. You tend not to be particularly attractive physically but have a good heart.
August 11th (Pete - 56)
CATFISH (July 24 - Aug 23) Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the heart, although one's whiskers may cause problems for loved ones. You Catfish are never easy people to understand. You run fast. You work and play hard. Even though you prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life, you are liked by most. Above all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.
September 8th (Rob - 36)
GRITS (Aug 24 - Sept 23) Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself. You like to huddle together with a big crowd of other Grits. You love to travel though, so maybe you should think about joining a club. Where do you like to go? Anywhere they have cheese, gravy, bacon, butter, or eggs and a good time. If you can go somewhere where they have all these things, that serves you well. You are pure in heart.
October 18th (BK - 67)
BOILED PEANUTS (Sept 24 - Oct 23) You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately, those who know you best, your friends and loved ones, may find that your personality is much too salty, and their criticism will affect you deeply because you are really much softer than you appear. You should go right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours is a charmed life. On the road of life, you can be sure that people will always pull over and stop for you.
December 29th (CM3 - 61)
Not on the list Send me an Email with your birth date (month-day-year) Corrections too!
Tom (Siberianmo)
Proprietor of "Our" Place, an adult eating & drinking establishment!
Good Evening Gents!
Just a quick round of acknowledgments as I'm uncertain with regard to tomorrow's availability . . . had contracted for some extensive outside work that was supposed to begin in two weeks. They arrived today! Things are just a bit turned about 'round here and will continue into next week. <arrrrrgggghhhhh!!>
Appears as if the Milwaukee Road "theme" was well received as the Posts clearly show. Nice work from those who gave a Rat's Patoot!
In the "what have you done lately?" department - any suggestions for next Tuesday's Theme for the Day
Need to know by Thursday evening . . . . gotta give the guys time to prepare. Thanx!
CM3 at 10:09 AM - Lars at 10:47 AM - BK at 11:40 AM - Pete at 6:01 PM 'n Mike at 6:07 PM ALL contributed to the "Theme," begun by James last night. Of course, our B'day Boy, Doug, provided his early AM "stuff" too. Nice work, Gents!
Shane - I don't have a CLUE with regard to your literary works queries . . . . I'll throw my with Lars!
Hope your B'day is going well, barn weevil!
Leon, give 'em a drink on me - Boris, ring the bel!
Good evening Leon. I'll have a bottomless draught, and buy a round this fine evening. Thanks for the birthday wishes Tom. I got a new router and router bits, so I'm happy with that! Wonderful Wikipedia stuff on the Milwaukee too, sir. Great to see CM3 in as well, and enjoyed his observations and info. I believe the answer to the F. Scott Fitzgerald question is The Great Gatsby?
Terrific book covers from manager Lars. Wonder how much all those books would cost? More great book covers were submitted by BK, Peter burned some calories off my chart (others here utilized the chart as well), and Mike learned to type ... and type .. and type ... as well as providing a plethora of quality URLs! Hokey smokey, today's theme was popular! Thanks again to our Captain for providing the horoscopes. Guess the next birthday to look forward to is Moon Pie Lars.
Here are some old railroad terms I found for ya'll:
Railroad Lingo from October 1932 Railroad Stories
Age - Seniority, length of time in service; also called whiskers
Air Monkey - Air brake repairman
Alley - Clear track in yard
Anchor Them - Set hand brake on still cars
Armstrong - Engine not equipped with stoker
Artist - One who is particularly adept (usually with such prefix as brake, pin, speed, etc)
Baby Lifter - Passenger brakeman
Bakehead, Bell Ringer, Blackie - Locomotive Fireman
Battleship - Locomotive, generally a large one
Beanery - Railroad eating house
Bee Hive - Yard office
Bend the Iron, Bend the Rust, Bend the Rail - Change the position of a switch
Benny - Short overcoat
Big Hole - Emergency position of the air brake valve, causing a quick stop
Big Hook - Wrecking crane
Big Ox - Freight conductor
Binder - Hand brake
Black Diamonds - Company coal
Black Snake - Solid train of coal
Blazer - Hot journal with packing afire
Bleed - To drain the air from
Bleeder - Valve by which bleeding is done
Blow Up - To quit a job suddenly
Bookkeeper - Flagman
Board - A fixed signal regulating railroad traffic; usually referred to as slow board, order board, clear board (for clear tracks), or red board (stop)
Bouncer, Bed House - Caboose
Brain Plate - Trainman's badge
Brainless Wonder - Conductor, engineer, fireman or any official who does *** things, in the opinion of his fellows
Brains - Conductor
Brass Collar, Brass Hat - An official
Brass Pounder - Telegraph operator
Breeze - Air
Brownies - Demerit marks; named after the man who invented the system
Brownie Box - Superintendent's car
Buggy - Caboose, passenger car or box car
Bug Torch - Trainman's lantern
Bull - Railroad police officer
Bullgine - Steam locomotive
Bump - To secure another man's position by exercising seniority
Bumper - A post at the end of spur track
Cage - Caboose
Caller - Employee whose duty it is to summon train or engine crews
Calliope - Steam locomotive
Captain - A term applied to the conductor, either passenger or freight
Carry a White Feather - To show a plume of steam over the safety valves
Car Toad - Car repairer; also car tonk, car whack, etc.
Car Knocker - Car inspector
Chain Gang - Crews which are assigned extra runs; also construction crews
Chariot - Sometimes passenger car, but mostly caboose
Chase the Red - To go back with red flag or red light to protect a train
Cherry Picker - Switch tender
Chew Cinders - Engines do this when reversed while running and while working quite a bit of steam
Cinder Cruncher - A switchman
Cinder Snapper - Passenger who rides the platform on observation cars
Clown, Club Winder - Switchman or brakeman
Clown Wagon, Crib, Crummy, Crumb Box - Caboose
Club - Hickory pole about three feet long carried by freight trainmen to help set hand brakes
**** Loft - Caboose cupola
Cooning the Train - Go over the tops of cars
Corner - To strike a car not in the clear on a siding
Cornfield Meet - Head on meet with both trains trying to use the same track
Cow Cage - Stock car
Cripple - A car that needs repair
Crowning Him - Coupling a caboose on a train when it is made up
Cupola - The observation tower on a caboose, also called the crow's nest
Cushions - Passenger cars
Cut - A few cars attached to the engine; several cars coupled anywhere
Dancing on the Carpet - In an official's office for investigation or discipline
Deadhead - Employee riding on company pass on company business; fireman's derisive term for brakeman
Deck - Floor of locomotive cab; also roofs of box cars
Decorate - Getting out on top of freight cars to set hand brakes
Detainer - Train dispatcher
Diamond - Crossover
(To be continued)
The Doctor said, "Joe, the good news is I can cure your headaches. The bad news is that it will require castration. You have a very rare condition, which causes your testicles to press on your spine, and the pressure creates one hell of a headache. The only way to relieve the pressure is to remove the testicles."Joe was shocked and depressed. He wondered if he had anything to live for. He had no choice but to go under the knife. When he left the hospital, he was without a headache for the first time in 20 years, but he felt like he was missing an important part of himself. As he walked down the street, he realized that he felt like a different person. He could make a new beginning and live a new life. He saw a men's clothing store and thought, "That's what I need... a new suit." He entered the shop and told the salesman, "I'd like a new suit."The elderly tailor eyed him briefly and said, "Let's see...size 44 long." Joe laughed ,"That's right, how did you know?""Been in the business 60 years!" the tailor said.Joe tried on the suit; it fit perfectly. As Joe admired himself in the mirror, the salesman asked, "How about a new shirt?" Joe thought for a moment and then said, "Sure." The salesman eyed Joe and said, "Let's see, 34 sleeves and 16-1/2 neck."Joe was surprised, "That's right, how did you know?""Been in the business 60 years."Joe tried on the shirt, and it fit perfectly. Joe walked comfortably around the shop, and the salesman asked, "How about some new underwear?" Joe thought for a moment and said, "Sure." The salesman said, "Let's see...size 36."Joe laughed, "Ah ha! I got you, I've worn a size 34 since I was 18 years old." The salesman shook his head , "You can't wear a size 34. A size 34 would press your testicles up against the base of your spine and give you one hell of a headache."
G-day Tom and all present.
Leon- A quick coffee for me, thanks.
WOW!! I am impressed with the amount of info and pictures here.
Tonight I'm dropping off a couple more pics and I will have acknowledgements for you tomorrow. But thanks should go out to all of you for all the wounderful pics and info. A round on me!
I'm going to end with the electrics of the Milwaukee.
One of my personal favorites would be this shot located in Avery, Idaho. A crew waits here near the tracks. Little Joe E75 sits humming in the yard waiting for a crew change. If any of you have seen a photo of this today, you wouldn't beable to recognize it. There doesn't seem to be any trace of the railroad.
Here is a nice shot of a Box Cab. Milwaukee Road E45 returns to Butte after helping eastbound to the top of Pipestone Pass. This is also a none recognizable picture in todays setting.
And one more shot to finish this weeks Theme of the day. Milwaukee Road Little Joe helper cuts of XL Special at Avery, Idaho.
Enjoy!
Good evening captain Tom, Gentlemen and Doug!!!
No, Leon, I'll be back later tonight.
Just want to wish Doug a Very Happy Birthday!!! To make you feel real young I'll post a picture of a 98 year old! I am sure that will make you feel young!
This is an electric locomotive Class Z, built in Sweden 1909. 440 hp!!!
I'll be back a little later.
Leon, I will not stay long so I'll just have a cup of coffee and a Danish. Cheese, please!
Wow, a lot of reading and pictures this theme day. Milwaukee Road was obviously a good choice by James! A good start on this week, 23rd anniversary yesterday and barndad's birthday today! Party all night long!?
Doug – One year older all of a sudden! But you are not older than what you feel you are. Milwaukee Class G certainly looks different! Maybe because it was a pretty small locomotive. Interesting reading and pictures!
Thanks for the Railroad Lingo! I love that! Now I know Tom’s real title! It is not Captain, it is Conductor! Now I know what to check first if I get a hell of a headache! Tom – You are right, the day was done when I took that picture. The X2000 ran two demo runs Milwaukee - Columbus, WI, that day. The day before it was on display in Milwaukee and more than 5,000 took the chance to walk through the train between 10 am and 4 pm. I agree, time is passing by very quickly, but you never know! The Arctic Circle is waiting for you and the trains are running every day. Thanks for the history of Milwaukee Road! Obviously they made a big mistake not electrifying the road all the way. And bad book keeping! Makes me wonder what kind of people they had in the board of directors?Nice picture of Hiawatha near Red Wing, MN. Below is another picture from Red Wing at a later date.CM3 – I know about Baltimore and objects from bridges. Beside what happened to the X2000 the engineers told me all kind of stories. I am looking forward to info on the air masks!I am afraid I have to pass on your trivia questions! Lars – A whole bunch of Milwaukee Road books and video! Good looking covers indeed! The bottom one, The Electric Way Across the Mountains is on my list “to buy”. BK – More nice book covers! I think the second one, Milwaukee Road Passenger Service, looks very interesting! Maybe I should add that one to my list? Pete – Objects on the rails may or may not cause problems. In the old country I was involved in some tests to see what certain objects would do to a train. One guy tried to blackmail the Swedish State Railways. He threatened to lock a very solid device to the rail to derail any train passing by if he wasn’t paid a certain amount (I don’t remember how much but it was millions). To show that he was serious he put one of his devices on a rail on a siding and warned the railroad. The police picked it up and we used it to see what would happen if it was used. The device was built using some parts of thick steel beams welded together and then clamped to the rail. That thing was clamped to the rail on a track and I used a Class Rc electric locomotive and ran it down the track. It hit the device but it did not derail. Instead it pushed that thing, sliding on the rail, in front of the locomotive until I had stopped. It was decided to let the trains run at 40 km/h (25 mph) through the area where the guy said he was going to hit. He actually tried, but was spotted by an engineer one evening and the police got him before he could do any harm. Mike – Most interesting reading about streamlining! I wonder what Samuel Calthrop’s streamlined train looked like? Train-calling competetion? I never heard of that before! A whole bunch of nice and interesting pictures as usual. You must spend a lot of time finsing all those pictures!James – Some real nice pictures. Love especially the first one! Waiting is something you learn working as an engineer! You obviously picked the right theme for this Tuesday with a good start last night!
Along the Mississippi.
Wednesday's Witticism
Many a thing a man does is judged right or wrong according to the time and the place.
Here we are once again at mid-week in mid-continent USA! Wednesday and time for a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from the Menu Board; pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery and a mug of hot freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee.
The "call" went out: We are looking for someone to recommend a RR and start off the NEXT Tuesday Theme for the Day!
Doug at 9:25 PM yesterday: The B'day Boy returned for his 3rd visit of the day!
Now THAT's from a guy who said he'd be scarce to non-existent some weeks past . . . keep it up, we surely appreciate the attention ‘n material provided - especially since your "bookend" apparently is no longer with us.
RR terms - Joke
James at 10:32 PM yesterday: It was a successful Tuesday Theme Day, capped off with some fine Milwaukee Road Pix!
Eric at 10:51 PM yesterday ‘n 12:38 AM today: Double "hit" from our Resident Desert Swede AND much appreciated, as always!
You certainly have a fine collection of X2000 Pix from your north American "tour." Must surely bring back some fond thoughts - at least I hope so.
An interesting "Class Z" - does that imply that they "ran the alphabet" of models?? Interesting shot . . .
Really liked the Pix along the Mississippi - do you happen to recall where that was taken?
A punishment for the jerk who tried to derail trains in Sweden would be to tie HIM to the rails to see what happens!
It's gonna be "one of those daze" for me - and I may be as scarce as "hen's teeth" for a bit.
Ruth, set up a special breakfast 'n "spiked" OJ for the B'day Boy Barn Weevil Doug! - although belated, it comes from the heart!
Can't believe that several of us totally missed YOUR DAY. That means we're all guilty of skimming the Posts or simply didn't see it in Cap'n Tom's early morning "opening" Post. Hope you had a great day!
But WAIT! Weren't YOU the guy who said you'd take on the responsibility for the B'day Watch List????? Sure seems like you did. Hmmmmmmmm, a <tweeting> - <ooooops> I better watch it, huh
Enjoyed that listing of RR terms and look forward to the rest of 'em . . . so THAT's the reason I have this pain "down there"! <grin>
So, the Cap'n is going to be "tied up" for awhile, huh?? Let's try to give him a break and keep this place rollin' along! I think we all KNOW who keeps this thread going and who provides the time 'n attention it takes to keep US interested.
What a fine display of material for the resumed "Theme Day" as the CMSTPP attracted all kinds of attention. Long live the Milwaukee Road in cherished memory for those who appreciate Classic Trains! Good choice from young James and let's see if we can keep this thing rollin'
Cap'n, I'll hold back on my recommendation for next Tuesday, just to let the other guys jump in. Shouldn't be all that hard to come up with a railroad and it surely shouldn't matter if we "did it" over on the "old" thread. So what??? We'll do it again!
Just skimmed through the sports pages and saw where the Penquins are remaining in Pittsburgh for 30 years. Seems they agreed to a deal with the politicians and local government to have a new arena built for them. My oh my, what price for sports, huh
The good people of Pennsylvania are going to shell out a susbstantial portion of the $290 MILLION price tag. Don't know how much. Yeah, and the same thing goes on everywhere, including my hometown. There are times . . . .
Ruth, I'll take a #4 from the menu board. Keep the change my deAH! <oooohhh> I'll be over at "my" table . . .
Later!
Manager Lars
'tis I, the Larsman with something for this Wednesday's optional Toy 'n Model Trains Day! This was posted nearly a year ago over on the "old" thread - page 277, on March 15th, 2006!
American Flyer //from www.wikipedia.com//This American Flyer S gauge 4-4-2 steam locomotive and tender dates from 1960 American Flyer was a popular brand of toy train and model railroad in the United States in the middle part of the 20th century. The Chicago Era, 1907-1938 Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Company, American Flyer was initially an independent company whose origins date back nearly a half century earlier. Chicago, Illinois-based toymaker William Frederick Hafner developed a clockwork motor for toy cars in 1901 while working for a company called Toy Auto Company. According to the recollections of William Hafner's son, John, he had developed a clockwork train running on O gauge track by 1905. Hafner's friend, William Ogden Coleman, gained control of the Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Company, a struggling hardware manufacturer in Chicago, in 1906 or 1907. Hafner and Coleman began producing toy trains using Edmonds-Metzel's excess manufacturing capability after Hafner was able to secure $15,000 worth of orders. By 1907, two American retailers, G. Sommers & Co. and Montgomery Ward, were selling Edmonds-Metzel trains. In 1908, Edmonds-Metzel adopted the American Flyer brand name for the trains, and by 1910, Edmonds-Metzel was out of the hardware business and changed its name to American Flyer Manufacturing Company. Initially American Flyer -- aka "Chicago Flyer" -- was something of a budget brand, undercutting the prices of Ives, which was at the time the market leader. The trains proved popular, and American Flyer was soon expanding its product line. However, the company's rapid growth led to strains in the relationship between Hafner and Coleman. In 1913, Hafner left the company. Believing he would be given a significant portion of the company if the trains proved successful, Coleman refused when Hafner asked to exercise this option. Hafner started the Hafner Manufacturing Company, which sold a line of trains called Overland Flyer. Sommers immediately stopped carrying the American Flyer trains in favor of Hafner's brand. Initially, the Hafner and American Flyer product lines were very similar, suggesting they may have been built using the same tooling. This suggests the possibility of the two companies continuing to collaborate. Hafner's business surivived as a manufacturer of clockwork trains until 1951, when he sold his business to All Metal Products Company. American Flyer's business grew during World War I, which locked out German manufacturers, which had dominated the U.S. toy train market to that point. During this time, American Flyer also introduced bicycle and motorcycle toys, segmented its market by creating both a low-priced and a high-priced line, and began to depart from its earlier designs by William Hafner. In 1918, American Flyer introduced its first electric train, an O gauge model that was simply a windup model with an electric motor in place of the clockwork motor. This was a common practice at the time. The same year, William Coleman died and his son, William Ogden Coleman, Jr., took over the company. In 1925, American Flyer began offering Wide gauge electric trains at a premium price, attempting to compete with Lionel Corporation at the high end of the market. Like most of its competition, American Flyer did well in the 1920s, selling more than half a million trains in its best years, but suffered in the Great Depression, during which the company's focus shifted back to the more economical O gauge trains. In 1928, American Flyer's competitor Ives went bankrupt. American Flyer and Lionel jointly purchased and operated Ives until 1930, when American Flyer sold its share to Lionel. During this time of joint operation, American Flyer supplied Ives with car bodies and other parts. During the early 1930s, American Flyer struggled under increased competition, especially at the low end of the market. In 1931, Flyer announced it would not produce an electric train set to sell for less than $4 like its competition had. However, within three months, it relented and released a train without transformer that sold for $3.95, and in 1932, it released a set with transformer that retailed for $3.50. Sales increased, but the company was not profitable. Expansion into other toy arenas also failed. A. C. Gilbert Company, 1938-1966 In 1938, W.O. Coleman sold American (Chicago) Flyer to Alfred Carlton Gilbert, a former Olympic pole vaulter who first made a name for himself in the toy industry earlier in the century when he created and manufactured Mysto Magic sets for youthful magicians. A few years later, his A. C. Gilbert Company also became the makers of Erector Set construction toys. The two toy magnates were just finishing shooting on Gilbert's game reserve in New Haven when Gilbert casually mentioned he was thinking about manufacturing toy trains. Instead, Coleman said he'd give his struggling American Flyer Co. to Gilbert in return for a share of the profits. Gilbert quickly agreed. Gilbert soon moved the company from Chicago to New Haven, Connecticut, and re-designed the product line. He pioneereed the 3/16" to one foot (S-scale) variant of O gauge in 1939, in which the locomotive and car bodies are scaled to 1:64 scale, making them approximately 25% smaller than the standard 1:48 for O gauge while still running on the same type of three-rail track. This allowed the S-scale trains to navigate tighter 27-inch curves that would cause a conventional O gauge train to derail or jump the track. While this resulted in curves that were much tighter than those that appear in the real world and O27 gauge train cars that appeared "stubby" in length, it allowed more track in a smaller space. By 1941, Gilbert had discontinued the earlier designs and advertised his new American Flyer products as "Every train 3/16" scale from front end to rear end." Some boxes were labeled "3/16 scale" and others labeled "Tru-Scale." As most prior trains from American Flyer and other manufacturers paid little attention to scale (proportional size mirroring the prototype), this new wrinkle made Gilbert American Flyer distinctive, as his cars at 1:64 were much closer to the prototypes on real railroads than the comparatively stubby 1:48 scale rolling stock that ran on O27 track. At the same time, Gilbert also released a line of HO scale trains. In 1946, after World War II, Gilbert discontinued manufacturing three-rail O gauge trains entirely in favor of the slightly (25%) smaller and more realistic S gauge and in the process eliminated the most unrealistic aspect of toy trains -- the center rail. His 3/16" American Flyer used two-rail track sized closer to 1:64 scale, or about seven-eighths inches between rails. In order to further differentiate his product line from that of Lionel, Gilbert employed a bullet-shaped (link) coupler, but within a few years (1952), a newer, more realistic knuckle coupler design appeared. Flyer played up its improved realism and attention to details, with two-rail track and prototypical couplers, with Gilbert himself saying the design was inspired by his son's dissatisfaction with other toy trains available on the market. "Kids want realism," he said. His trains, which were closely proportioned to their prototypes, also had more detail elements than most O gauge competitors. Although popular, American Flyer was always the No.2 brand to Lionel in terms of market share at the high end of the market. With Marx and a handful of other brands relegated to the low end of the market, Lionel and American Flyer shared premium status. A rivalry emerged between both companies' fans that continues today. Like Lionel, Gilbert was caught off guard by the popularity of HO scale trains that offered better realism at a lower price than its American Flyer S gauge products. But the true reason for the demise of the toy train industry was the changing interests of American youth. A new technology called television was taking the place of many traditional hobbies, and the toy market was subject to the success of unpredictable overnight fads like the Hula-Hoop and yo-yo. Kids were also eschewing their Lionel and American Flyer trains in favor of remote-control slot car racing sets. Finally, the national phenomena of the discount store craze was ravaging toy train companies' traditional distrubution network -- mom-and-pop hobby shops -- and sending them into financial oblivion. The discount stores demanded train sets at a low wholesale price and refused to offer the personal attention and repair services of the hobby shop. In order to get product on the shelves of discounters, toy train manufacturers cheapened their lines to get the price point down on sets -- which exacerbated the downward economic spiral. Longtime train collectors and hobbyists were offended at this newer production, dismissing the new products as "cheap junk," an accurate description. These problems were compounded by the death of its founder, A.C. Gilbert in 1961. With the popularity of toy trains and construction toys declining, and without another successful product line to buoy the company's finances, Gilbert found itself in serious financial trouble. Finally, a majority of the company was sold by the family to a holding company, the Wrather Group, in 1962 with A.C. Gilbert, Jr., acting as CEO. Within a few months, though, A.C. Jr., died. The company continued to manufacture trains of limited appeal, thanks to the questionable quality. Under the new ownership, the A.C. Gilbert Co. continued to struggle, although the new owners took a more aggressive approach to advertising and marketing than when the firm was headed by the more conservative A.C. Gilbert. It manufactured a wide variety of poorly-designed and poorly-conceived toys (dolls, racing sets, games) that sold slowly, if at all, and was nearly overwhelmed by store returns of defective merchandise. Gilbert took an especially-hard hit when a majority of a poorly-designed and manufacturered James Bond 007 slot car racing set flooded back as returns after component failures. In addition, the company delivered many of its toy line products to discounters with a "100% sale guarantee." When the merchandise didn't sell through, it ended up back in Gilbert's warehouses. The company discontinued the American Flyer train line in 1966 and finally declared bankruptcy in 1967.
Ruth, my deAH, fill up my coffee mug wudja, and of course, add another "BK splash"! <grin>
Good Morning Barkeep and All Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Right now we are essentially getting drowned in "partly cloudy" this morning with "a chance of showers this afternoon." Gas is at $2.70 - I got some this a.m.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Doug.
I believe yesterday's MILW session went quite well.
Lars - More books for me to check into - a couple of the Morning Sun items looked interesting - I like to look at their material b4 I buy. Thanks also for second visit with commentary. I had not heard the news re the Pens. Right now, I'm still fed up with the Lords of Baseball who decided to keep us from getting the Extra Innings package on cable. Back off, Boris, that's all I'm gonna say. Your American Flyer recap was a welcome "blast from the past." Thanks.
BK - Where else can you find electric loco0motives, north woods trains, and F. Scott Fitzgerald all on the same forum? Boris - Read!?! Also, more books to think about.
Mike sent some good stuff which I copied. I believe the Racine roundhouse shot was the best out of your most recent batch. Note the "boys" posed ‘round the "Iron Horse." This was typical for the time period.
Barndad sent along some material for us to read as well. A "diamond" is not a crossover in this part of the world. A "diamond" is where two lines cross each other at grade.
James sent along more pictures as well.
Eric - They're out there.
OSP as always is keeping his shoulder to the wheel, his nose to the grindstone, his eye on the rail, and discovering it's awful hard to work in that position. Contractors - argh! is right. I left a package with your name on it behind the bar - use it as necessary - it'll help you get through the situation.
We have no winners for the first MILW quotation from yesterday. The correct answer is John Gunther, Inside U.S.A.
Pete and Barndad guessed The Great Gatsby. For their correct answers, they win an excursion on the LIRR to West Egg.
Eric - I found the quotation re air masks on Big Boys. It was in the September, 2001 issue of Trains, which was an all-ALCO magazine. On p. 60, some UP folks were talking about running the Big Boys and how they really heated up the environment in tunnels, "...so much so that after several engine crews had the skin burned off their ears in hellish trips through tunnels, the company issued leather hoods that covered the head. These were connected to a hose providing cool breathing air."
Last, several folks had questions re coal consumption by railroads. In 1920, 1,279,000,000 tons of coal were mined around the world. 230 million tons (approx. 18 percent of the total) was used as locomotive fuel. I am still trying to track down U.S. numbers. I have not had much luck so far, but the figures have to be out there somewhere.
Good morning Tom and friends! Thanks to all for the birthday wishes, and is it too late for breakfast?
Just wanted to drop something off as our Conductor is conducting other affairs today. I am mightily impressed by the wealth of material posted since I was in last night! I'll have to read it later though, as I must scramola!
Here's some stuff from me:
Flue Removal and Inspection May 1947 Railroad Stories
Replacing flues is a major phase of backshop work
Modern engineers may deplore the mechanical inefficiency of the steam locomotive but they cannot brush aside the simplicity of the design which holds its initial and maintenance costs to a minimum for any form of motive power. Take the boiler, for example. Here are one of the thousandth-inch tolerances demanded by internal combustion engines; no intricately wound generators, requiring expert handling. Just a huge, rugged shell honeycombed with sturdy flutes and capable of withstanding high steam pressures year in year out with only a modest degree of attention.
Apart from the damage caused by carelessness, the well built boiler of today has two destructive forces working against it, however, which cannot be ignored. One is impure water, the other, the intense heat created by mechanical stokers. The first results in foreign matter and scale being deposited around the mud-ring and the belly of the barrel; the second, in a tendency of the beads in the back tube sheet to become overheated and to crack.
Let's see what is done to offset these twin menaces to performance and safety. First, there is the boiler wash, required by Federal Law at thirty-day intervals. As its name implies, this consists of flushing out foreign residue following the removal of plugs in the barrel and the water legs arranged for that purpose.
Then there is the Annual or Hydrostatic Test, performed by filling the boiler with water under a pressure of at least twenty-five percent above normal, created either by means of another engine or a special water pump. Should there be any weakness in the shell or stayed surfaces when this is done, it will be discovered at once, without the danger of an explosion since the liquid contains no stored energy. Even the slightest leakage at an unseated valve, under such conditions, makes it difficult to hold the pressure in the boiler and in case of a rupture the drop is decidedly rapid. After the hydrostatic pressure is applied the water is drawn off, the dome cap removed and the interior examined.
This Annual Test, though sufficient to insure safety, has its limitations. For visual inspection is necessarily limited to the brace and stays, and that portion of the shell above the flutes. Even in such parts, minor defects are hidden by scale formation. For that reason, it has been found advisable to conduct a thorough internal inspection of the entire shell at the termination of each four years of service.
As a preliminary, all small tubes must be removed to permit access to every part of the interior. Hard scale, which clings to the shell-like barnacles to a ship, is painstakingly removed with an air-driven tool until the sheets are as clean as there were at the time of rolling. Pitting, which in many cases develops in the bottom of the first course, is now easily detected; and if the condition reduces the safety factor, a patch is applied.
There was a time when the removal of tubes was considered a big job, but today, thanks to modern tools and methods, it is a simple operation. To best understand the problems and processes involved it will be well to see, first, how they are set into position between the tube sheets.
When originally installed, they are cut long, so that they extend a quarter of an inch beyond the outside surfaces of both the front and the rear tube sheets. At the forward end, where there is a minimum of heat, the ends are simply rolled, forcing the walls of the tubes out until they fit snugly in the holes. Water-tight connections, however, are not the only consideration here. For the end sheet itself must be properly stayed to prevent buckling. This is neatly accomplished by beading a certain proportion of the tubes (about ten percent) strategically located for maximum overall reinforcement and stiffening.
The application of tubes at the rear sheet is another story. Some roads open up the end by means of a belling tool, completing the job later with a beading tool. Most shops, however, use a sectional expander which bells the ends out, spreads the tube as it is rolled, and at the same time forms a proper groove for further staying. A copper ferrule is always inserted to absorb expansion and the flues are beaded in the regular fashion. To complete the job the beads are electrically welded to the rear sheet.
With the construction process in mind, we now come to the matter of removal. The process, though it may appear complicated, presents no problem to the boiler gang.
First of all, flues are always drawn out at the front end. This means that the front door, drafting appliances, netting, exhaust base and nozzle must be removed. Now the flues are within easy reach. By means of an internal circular cutter they are trimmed just inside the front tube sheet and allowed to fall inside. The small portions remaining in the sheet holes are next chipped out with an air-driven chisel.
In order to pass the tubes out through the front sheet it is necessary either that the holes all be made slightly oversize when originally drilled, or that one of them at the center sheet should have an expanded diameter in which latter case all tubes are passed out through it. The reason for this is that scale accumulation on the flues thickens them materially between shoppings.
Before the drawing of tubes can take place, however, they must obviously be freed from the back tube sheet. This is a more tedious job, particularly when they have been welded, in which case the air-hammer is kept busy crushing the walls around them.
Since the average locomotive boiler has more than two hundred small tubes ranging from sixteen to twenty-two feet in length, an entire new set costs a sizable figure. To reduce such expenditure it occurred to motive power departments years ago to splice a few inches of materials onto the shortened but otherwise undamaged tubes which were removed. The process resorted to is designated "safe-ending" and is not uncommon, in old boilers, to find tubes with as many as five safe-ends, signifying that the member has been in service over twenty years.
(To be Continued)
Add my belated best wishes to Doug for a Happy Birthday! 51 is turning the corner, but you have a long way to go! Lydia and I wish you much happiness and good health in the coming years.
Very nice work with that Birthday Watch List, Sir Tom. Adding the horoscopes (from Sir Shane) makes ALL the difference!
Ruth, I shall have whatever it is you gave to my bookend Lars and fill up his mug if you please! swg]
I see our Manager is still logged on and sitting over there at the "Manager's table" looking rather "official" and so forth. Those comic pages are getting more and more difficult to follow; hardly funny any more!
We shall be heading down the mountain today to restock the provisions. Time permitting, we may drive over to one of our local airports to check into a "hot lease" prospect.
Gas prices WERE at 98.4 (Cdn) per litre at last fill up and it would not suprise me if it has gone above a buck. Oh yes, multiply that by 4 for a rough estimate of US dollars.
We have had some light snow to add to our "cover," which is far below the norm. Temperatures are just around freezing (F) and it is just a cloudy day up here at the mountain retreat. Spring comes just a bit late here in comparison with places below the 49th parallel.
Two positive observations: A fine turn out for the Theme yesterday along with strong support for our Captain this morning in "his hour of need". Well done, gentlemen!
Here are a few more offerings for this optional toy and model trains gala event!
Brawa Rail Car BR 465 (1950s)
Trix METRONOME 146.1 TRAIN SET
Fleischmann 4913 Passenger Train "90 Years of MITROPA" of the P. St. E. V.
Fleischmann 4903 - Passenger Train of the K.P. u. G.H. St. E.
All previously seen over on the "original" site, but perhaps new to a few here.
BK in Alberta, Canada's beautiful high mountain country!
Ruth my deAH, it's time for a half-sandwich - make it a Larsman special hero of ham, Swiss, mustAHd 'n buttAh and two large pickles from the barrel. Treats for the critters and a LARGE jar of pickled pig's feet for our man Boris, who worked so hard ensuring that BK 'n Lydia had a fine time up in the Penthouse Suite! Oh yes, a frosty mug of Keiths Ale should do just fine - keep the change my deAH!
Thought I'd drop a little something off from a past post of the barn weevil (Doug) back on April 15th, 2006, page 294 of the "old" thread (a two-parter!) . . . It is, after all, our optional Toy 'n Model Trains Day here at the saloon by the siding. Classics from Lionel Trains!
A Moo-ving Experience in Lionelville! Allan W. Miller Vintage Rails jan/feb 98 Introduced a year earlier, Lionel's Operating Milk Car shared top action-car category billing in the 1948 consumer catalog, joined by its bovine-related cousin, the Operating Cattle Car. Got milk? In the mythical and imagination-inspired town of Lionelville, the residents not only have ample access to "nature's most nearly perfect food," they can have it delivered to them fresh - on demand - courtesy of the most popular operating car ever to ply the rails of the Lionel Lines. That car is Lionel's renowned Operating Milk Car, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Since its introduction in 1947, many thousands of these modified refrigerator cars in their various road name incarnations have tossed what, by now, surely amounts to millions of tiny milk cans onto, over, and around trackside platforms in Lionelville's environs. The original No. 3462 Operating Milk Car and Platform marked the first attempt by Lionel to emulate, in miniature, a human-involved activity that once occurred in somewhat similar fashion on prototype railroads across the nation. Here's how it worked: Milk cans were pre-loaded by the operator into a hatch at one end of the special refrigerated milk car's roof; a series of guides insured that the cans would be routed to the proper position for subsequent automatic unloading. The loaded car was then sent on its way with the rest of the train, its final destination being a specially designed unloading platform positioned alongside the track. Then, each time an operator-activated remote control button was depressed, the doors of the car would swing open, and a little figure (in dairy-white uniform) appeared to move out of the car, transporting a single milk can out onto the platform. When the remote control button was released, the "worker" re-entered the car, the doors closed, and the action could be repeated, or the train could proceed to its next destination. Of course, that is how it was all supposed to work! In reality, the Operating Milk Car did not always function quite so smoothly or reliably. If everything was not loaded, aligned, or adjusted properly, the results might easily give new meaning to the term "spilt milk." As often as not, the nattily attired milk car attendant did not carry cans to the waiting platform - he literally threw them, and in all directions! Just as often he would emerge from the car without any can in hand, even after repeated tries. And, even though the milk cans themselves were bottom-heavy (earliest versions were even magnetized) to help them stand upright, they frequently landed on their sides. But finicky as the car's mechanism may have been, this item quickly became the single most popular member of Lionel's ingenious and ever-expanding operating-car fleet - a status it has retained for half a century. Indeed, the Operating Milk Car heralded a long array of action-oriented cars that, on command from electrical impulses relayed to a special remote control track section, caused cargo to be loaded and/or unloaded. And what diverse cargo it was, encompassing everything from barrels, coal logs, crates, and pipes to horses, cattle, and just about anything else that an industrious young Lionel engineer saw fit to place on or in the cars. Virtually anything handled in real life by the prototype railroads could, at some point in Lionel's long history, also be handled in quasi-realistic fashion by operating cars and trackside accessories featured in the toy maker's "wish book" consumer catalogs. Inspiration for the Operating Milk Car did not come from either the individual of collective creative genius of those who labored in Lionel's engineering department. Instead, it was the brainchild of a carpenter-***-tinkerer named Richard G. Smith.Toy train historian and author Ron Hollander, in his book All Aboard: The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen and His Lionel Train Company, notes the Smith delighted in fashioning various types of operating toy train cars and accessories from materials he found laying around his shop. He would tinker with scraps of sheet metal, pipe, or virtually anything else at hand; and this almost compulsive experimentation led to a number of patented inventions that, as early as 1938, were being acquired not only by Lionel, but also by Lionel's chief competitor, A.C. Gilbert's American Flyer Lines. According to Hollander's account, Smith, in the process of concluding a deal with Lionel for his new invention, very nearly made a blunder that would have cost him dearly. Accustomed to selling his creations outright to the client, the inventor had previously received one-time cash payments for his devices. On this occasion, however, Joshua Lionel Cowen offered Smith a royalty arrangement: 2 percent of the wholesale price for each car sold, coupled with a modest cash advance to be recouped from the royalties. After pondering the agreed-to arrangement, Smith apparently developed some second thoughts. He returned the signed contract to Cowen, accompanied by a letter expressing doubts about the wisdom and integrity of the deal. Chastened by this affront to his credibility, Cowen fired off an immediate response to set things straight. It worked, and in 1952 alone, Smith's royalties totaled some $20,000 for the circa 180,000 Operating Milk Cars manufactured in that year. Commencing in 1947, Lionel launched into an ambitious program that included both the Operating Milk Car and a growing assortment of other action-oriented cars that not only "did something," but which performed their intended gyrations his "human" assistance, simulated by small plastic figures mounted inside, or on, the cars themselves. Freight cars equipped with this human-action feature - something of a hallmark of the Lionel fleet - quickly became the most popular rolling stock items in Lionel's inventory, and they remain so to this day. Lionel also manufactured several other operating cars and accessories which, though not directly related to the Operating Milk Car, mesh nicely with the dairy theme, including an Operating Cattle Car, complete with corral and a herd of what appear to be beef s Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 3:19 PM Hi again Ruth! Sorry about trying to get a birthday peck yesterday. Am I allowed to order anything, or am I still cut off? Thanks to BK for the birthday wishes, and to manager Lars for reposting the above pike piece. Here's the 2nd part of my earlier post, then I am off (via Metra) to Chicago for a meeting of the 20th Century Railroad Club.Flue Removal and Inspection May 1947 Railroad StoriesSixty or more bolts must be removed to get at flues for renewalThere are two general methods of safe-ending, the older one being the fire weld process. Before it can be accomplished the scale on the outer or water side must be completely removed. This is done by placing the entire set in a huge rotating drum called a rattler. Revolving for several hours, depending on the hardness and thickness of the scale, they become clean as they roll over each other and strike the rattler sides. After such treatment they can be prepared for welding.As effective as the revolving drum is, it has one serious disadvantage. This is the din which it sets up in an already noisy shop. You can hear it a mile away as it clanks its tubular contents over and over and for this reason it is gradually giving way to other cleaning devices and methods.One of these is the scale cracker - a set of three rolls having knurled or grooved edges placed in a machine somewhat like a thread cutter. As a tube is drawn through the apparatus the revolving rolls break away the scale. Again, a sand blasting cabinet, lined with crude rubber and having openings at either end through which the tubing is passed, may be used.After the tubes are cleaned the ragged edges are trimmed off with a high speed saw or cutter and they are ready for the furnace. Here the tube ends are heated red then forced against a tool which bells them open. The safe ends, in their turn, are tapered or "scarfed," and fitted into the belled section. Now the joint is returned to the furnace, kept there until it is almost white hot and then placed on the welding machine where the job is completed.This welding machine is nothing more than a mandrel surrounded by a two section die, upper one being attached to an air cylinder which gives it a trip hammer action. The safe end and flue are simply passed over the mandrel and the upper die section goes to work upon them beating the hot metal together into a smooth finish. When the process is complete both ends of the tube are heated and annealed so that they can be readily worked during application.A second and more modern method of applying safe ends to tubes is the electronic flash weld process. Here the two sections are simply clamped into position, forced together and subjected to a few seconds of tremendous heat. Due to the great pressure applied, there is a slight swelling at the weld which is removed by rolling the tube before allowing it to cool.Finally, although not mandatory, the tubes may be tested before reapplying them to the boiler. This is done by plugging one end of each flute, immersing them in a bath of soapy water and applying air under pressure. The slightest seepage creates conspicuous bubbles. One night, this guy come into a bar and asks the bartender for a drink. Then he asks for another. After a couple more drinks, the bartender gets worried."What's the matter?" the bartender asks."My wife and I got into a fight," explained the guy "and now she isn't talking to me for a whole 31 days." The bartender thought about this for a while. "But, isn't it a good thing that she isn't talking to you?" asked the bartender."Yeah, except today is the last night." Edit pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 4:15 PM Hi Tom and all.A pint of Batham's bitter please RUTH and a round to Celebrate DOUG's yesterday.Sorry about being late with your wishes DOUG. You have been on fine form with the great posts.I will wait until you have completed the Railroad Lingo list and transfer it to word. The railroad terms are different to the ones used in the UK.Another good series on the maintanence of the locomotive boilers .Well done JAMES in Suggesting the Milwaukee Road as the Theme day.Good finish to the theme with some great pics and descriptions from you and a interesting text and links from MIKE.ERIC That is a real scary story of the device that madmad was trying to de-rail trains with. I hope you got 'danger money' for doing the experiment with theRc loco.Real pleased he was caught before he was able to do any more damage, although the punishment he recieved was not what he deserved, I am with Tom on this one. i will do some more on the Hartz later in my post.CM3 I recall that edition of Trains magazine, having visiting here when it came out.It was a great issue with quite a piece on the Big Boys.Thanks for the figures on the coal consumption by railroads in 1920, it is amazing to see the percentage used by locomotives, considering all the other uses, like domestic heating, coal was used for in those days.BK It is feeling quite spring like here in Mid-Mo this week with temperatures getting close to 80 degrees, although it is supposed to cool off a bit after a front with some rain passes through later today.Many thanks for the European model photos. They are some great models with some great old cars behind the 4-6-0 tank loco and the Brawa rail car is interesting.LARS It was good to read the American Flyer story again, although it was a sad end to the company with their goods having to be sent back to them.I still marvel at the Lionel Operating Milk Car, I would still love to see one in operation,, although I guess working examples of them are getting hard to find.TOM Hope all is going well with the contractors, the ones due here are coming in about 2 weeks, the first of a few improvements we are doing this year.Today's 'Witticism' rings so very true .Some more on the Hartz Railway of Germany. Here is a map of the system although the text is in German.The Hartz system is 87 miles long. they have 25 steam locomotives, all tank locos with 4 Malletts and others of 0-6-0, 2-6-2 and 2-10-2 types there are 12 diesel locos and 10 railcars.The steepest grade on the line is 4% and it employes over 250 people, so it is not really a preserved line but a full all year steam operation, supported finacially by the local towns and area. One of Alan's photos of one of the railcars.It really does seem a great system and surely well worth a visit .Well Ruth I see Doug has called in again so let me get a birthday drink in.Pete. CMSTPP Member sinceAugust 2005 From: Along the old Milwaukee Road. 1,152 posts Posted by CMSTPP on Thursday, March 15, 2007 7:54 AM g-day Tom and all present!Ruth- Good morning! May I have a coffee and a pastry please.Okay, here's the thing. The Homestead has been a hotel lately. Some cousins and friends have been coming over so I have been unable to post, and I am also going on my trip tomorrow so I don't know If I will beable to get back to posting until Monday. But I will see what I can do.until them, stay safe.James The Milwaukee Road From Miles City, Montana, to Avery, Idaho. The Mighty Milwaukee's Rocky Mountain Division. Visit: http://www.sd45.com/milwaukeeroad/index.htm « First«19202122232425»Last » SUBSCRIBER & MEMBER LOGIN Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register FREE NEWSLETTER SIGNUP Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter Submit More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
Hi again Ruth! Sorry about trying to get a birthday peck yesterday. Am I allowed to order anything, or am I still cut off? Thanks to BK for the birthday wishes, and to manager Lars for reposting the above pike piece. Here's the 2nd part of my earlier post, then I am off (via Metra) to Chicago for a meeting of the 20th Century Railroad Club.
Sixty or more bolts must be removed to get at flues for renewal
There are two general methods of safe-ending, the older one being the fire weld process. Before it can be accomplished the scale on the outer or water side must be completely removed. This is done by placing the entire set in a huge rotating drum called a rattler. Revolving for several hours, depending on the hardness and thickness of the scale, they become clean as they roll over each other and strike the rattler sides. After such treatment they can be prepared for welding.
As effective as the revolving drum is, it has one serious disadvantage. This is the din which it sets up in an already noisy shop. You can hear it a mile away as it clanks its tubular contents over and over and for this reason it is gradually giving way to other cleaning devices and methods.
One of these is the scale cracker - a set of three rolls having knurled or grooved edges placed in a machine somewhat like a thread cutter. As a tube is drawn through the apparatus the revolving rolls break away the scale. Again, a sand blasting cabinet, lined with crude rubber and having openings at either end through which the tubing is passed, may be used.
After the tubes are cleaned the ragged edges are trimmed off with a high speed saw or cutter and they are ready for the furnace. Here the tube ends are heated red then forced against a tool which bells them open. The safe ends, in their turn, are tapered or "scarfed," and fitted into the belled section. Now the joint is returned to the furnace, kept there until it is almost white hot and then placed on the welding machine where the job is completed.
This welding machine is nothing more than a mandrel surrounded by a two section die, upper one being attached to an air cylinder which gives it a trip hammer action. The safe end and flue are simply passed over the mandrel and the upper die section goes to work upon them beating the hot metal together into a smooth finish. When the process is complete both ends of the tube are heated and annealed so that they can be readily worked during application.
A second and more modern method of applying safe ends to tubes is the electronic flash weld process. Here the two sections are simply clamped into position, forced together and subjected to a few seconds of tremendous heat. Due to the great pressure applied, there is a slight swelling at the weld which is removed by rolling the tube before allowing it to cool.
Finally, although not mandatory, the tubes may be tested before reapplying them to the boiler. This is done by plugging one end of each flute, immersing them in a bath of soapy water and applying air under pressure. The slightest seepage creates conspicuous bubbles.
One night, this guy come into a bar and asks the bartender for a drink. Then he asks for another. After a couple more drinks, the bartender gets worried."What's the matter?" the bartender asks."My wife and I got into a fight," explained the guy "and now she isn't talking to me for a whole 31 days." The bartender thought about this for a while. "But, isn't it a good thing that she isn't talking to you?" asked the bartender."Yeah, except today is the last night."
A pint of Batham's bitter please RUTH and a round to Celebrate DOUG's yesterday.
Sorry about being late with your wishes DOUG. You have been on fine form with the great posts.I will wait until you have completed the Railroad Lingo list and transfer it to word. The railroad terms are different to the ones used in the UK.
Another good series on the maintanence of the locomotive boilers .
Well done JAMES in Suggesting the Milwaukee Road as the Theme day.Good finish to the theme with some great pics and descriptions from you and a interesting text and links from MIKE.
ERIC That is a real scary story of the device that madmad was trying to de-rail trains with. I hope you got 'danger money' for doing the experiment with theRc loco.Real pleased he was caught before he was able to do any more damage, although the punishment he recieved was not what he deserved, I am with Tom on this one. i will do some more on the Hartz later in my post.
CM3 I recall that edition of Trains magazine, having visiting here when it came out.It was a great issue with quite a piece on the Big Boys.
Thanks for the figures on the coal consumption by railroads in 1920, it is amazing to see the percentage used by locomotives, considering all the other uses, like domestic heating, coal was used for in those days.
BK It is feeling quite spring like here in Mid-Mo this week with temperatures getting close to 80 degrees, although it is supposed to cool off a bit after a front with some rain passes through later today.
Many thanks for the European model photos. They are some great models with some great old cars behind the 4-6-0 tank loco and the Brawa rail car is interesting.
LARS It was good to read the American Flyer story again, although it was a sad end to the company with their goods having to be sent back to them.
I still marvel at the Lionel Operating Milk Car, I would still love to see one in operation,, although I guess working examples of them are getting hard to find.
TOM Hope all is going well with the contractors, the ones due here are coming in about 2 weeks, the first of a few improvements we are doing this year.
Today's 'Witticism' rings so very true .
Some more on the Hartz Railway of Germany. Here is a map of the system although the text is in German.
The Hartz system is 87 miles long. they have 25 steam locomotives, all tank locos with 4 Malletts and others of 0-6-0, 2-6-2 and 2-10-2 types there are 12 diesel locos and 10 railcars.
The steepest grade on the line is 4% and it employes over 250 people, so it is not really a preserved line but a full all year steam operation, supported finacially by the local towns and area.
One of Alan's photos of one of the railcars.
It really does seem a great system and surely well worth a visit .
Well Ruth I see Doug has called in again so let me get a birthday drink in.
Pete.
g-day Tom and all present!
Ruth- Good morning! May I have a coffee and a pastry please.
Okay, here's the thing. The Homestead has been a hotel lately. Some cousins and friends have been coming over so I have been unable to post, and I am also going on my trip tomorrow so I don't know If I will beable to get back to posting until Monday. But I will see what I can do.
until them, stay safe.
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