HI Tom and all.
Another Bathams XXX please LEON thanks to JAN's generosity.
Back a bit later than expected, as a trip to the grocery store was needed but the upside was I found a six-bottle pack of Winter's Bourbon Ale..
TOM I got the photobucket up and I decided I would do a mixed bag of photos, called in at the bar a saw 'great minds think alike'. Really enjoyed your selection. I'm sure Eric will like the Hooters calender, alough March and December look like a couple of mean birds.
Not surprised some of your favorite photos are from your train travels in Canada. Marvellous scenery and travel in a dome car, it does not come much better.
Great selection of films for Christmas Week. I think the Polar Express deserves to be listed among the all time great Christmas films and it will be great to see the musical Scrooge again. Last night we stayed up later than planned, as the version of 'A Christmas Carol' starring Patrick Stewart was showing on TV, we though it was very good. It sounds like a good one from the Stooges as well.
JAN Many thanks for those great photos of the SP cab-forwards.They certainly were impressive locomotives.. Thanks for sharing
Now for some photos.
0-4-0 Saddle tank 'GUINNESS' in Ireland
Engineers seat of a F Unit at ExpoRail Canada.
Loco at the Essex Valley Railroad CONN.
A class 91 Electric loco in Newcastle on Tyne Central station
A dome on a dome.
An old Streetcar in San Francisco
A San Francisco Cable Car
A diesel from the Netherlands
A switcher at the Sacromento Railroad Museum.
As it is Christmas, an easy quiz question for ERIC. What type of locomotive is this.
A RDC at ExpoRail.
TOM at ExpoRail.
These should enlarge.
Well LEON another Bathams and the Steakplease, then I will make sure the bar is well stocked.
Pete.
Greetings Tom and gentlemen....
May I please have something STRONG to get rid this annoying cough that I've been handed...
SP Cab Forwards....
Cab Forward #4146 with train #14, Pacific Ltd, near Cisco, Cal., August 3, 1935. Photo by Otto Perry
Cab Forward #4138 with train #621 a 95 car westbound freight train, near Klamath Falls, Ore., July 26, 1938. Photo by Otto Perry
Cab Forward #4135 with a westbound freight train coming out of a snowshed, at Norden, Cal., August 4, 1935. Photo by Otto Perry
Cab Forward #4001 with an eastbound freight train, with Mt. Shasta in the background, near Cougar, Cal., July 26, 1938. Photo by Otto Perry
Cab Forward #4144 at Dunsmuir, Cal., July 25, 1938. Photo by Otto Perry
Cab Forward #4111 at Norden, Cal., August 4, 1935. Photo by Otto Perry
Credit: Photoswest
<"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train>
ENCORE! Saturday ‘n Photo Posting Day!
at "Our" Place!
We are CLOSED on SUNDAYs - and - Christmas Day!
. . . December 23rd to 29th: The Polar Express (2004) Starring: Tom Hanks, Leslie Harter Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen & Nona Gaye - and - Scrooge (1970) Starring: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans & Kenneth More. SHORT: The Three Stooges - Busy Buddies (1944).
The Polar Express (2004)
PLOT SUMMARY: Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon
Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon
Scrooge (1970)
PLOT SUMMARY: Scrooge was a 1970 musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London, directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney in the title role. The film's musical score was composed by Leslie Bricusse and Ian Fraser. With eleven musical arrangements interspersed throughout (all retaining a traditional British air about them), the award-winning motion picture is a <close> musical retelling of the original.Overall, the film was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in the UK, one Golden Laurel award, four Oscars, and five Golden Globes in the U.S.A., in which Albert Finney won as The Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical/Comedy in 1971. Finney was only 34 years old at the time he was chosen to play both the old miser and the young man Scrooge of fla Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 2:38 PM This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas! REMINDER: The drinks are on Jan for the remainder of the year! Put your money aside - it's been paid for! Five- Salute to Jan for his continuing generosities! G'day Gents!Here are some of my favorite personal fotos - all of which have been displayed at the bar either over on the Original Thread or here or both! My avatar foto . . . . VIA Rail's observation dome car - Revelstoke Park on the eastbound "Ocean" at Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada . . . From the Revelstoke Park observation dome in New Brunswick, Canada aboard VIA Rail's eastbound "Ocean" Eastbound VIA Rail "Ocean" arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - observation dome is Banff Park Departure preparation at Halifax - westbound "Ocean" F40PH locos 'n baggage car across the platform from the Budd streamlined consist. The Glacier Park observation dome at the rear of VIA Rail's westbound "Canadian" at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada . . . This was taken from the observation dome of the eastbound VIA Rail "Canadian" . . . Mt. Robson is the highest in the Canadian Rockies. VIA Rail's eastbound "Canadian" at Jasper, Alberta, Canada - <my ill-fated Norwalk Virus trip> Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:10 PM This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas!REMINDER: The drinks are on Jan for the remainder of the year! Put your money aside - it's been paid for! Five- Salute to Jan for his continuing generosities! G'day Gents!Most pleased to see our "reborn regular" this Saturday <during daylite at that!> - trolleyMAN Rob - our Resident Ontario Connection! Hmmmmmm, now that our "other" Canadian Connection has returned to port - guess he's doing other things. Wish he'd swing by - at least for a "nog" 'n to acknowledge the guys who have directed comments his way . . . Anyway, appreciate your taking the time to "pop" in - BUT I am NOT pleased with ANY comments directed toward MY CINDY! <mine, mine, mine!> <grrrrrrrrrrrrr> If there's any laps to be sat upon, it won't be yours! <double grrrrrrrrrrr> <uh oh>AND just caught a super-fine inclusive, informative 'n most interesting Post from our friend, Wolfman Pete on this Saturday afternoon! Figured he'd make it in early - given the free drinks 'til the end of 2007! <grin> BUT - he's hardly a penny-pincher, quite contrary. He's a most generous Mate at the bar - more than willing to buy a round 'n then some! Okay - 'nuf of that . . . today is set aside for reruns 'n fotos . . . so, these are my "no rhyme or reason selections from the archives - all shown over the past years at the bar - check 'em out! Globe Models A unit Globe Models B unit Alco-GEFairbanks-MorseElectroMotive Division BESA Class 4-6-0 of India Railways From the balcony at Mentor Village's Emporium Theatre!Mentor Village Public Works Dept. at work for YOU! The MESS at CN yards along the Can-Am Railway!Outta date - but cute! Something to thiMk about! <aboot for our friends above the 49th!>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:25 PM HI Tom and all.A pint of Bathams please CINDY.TOM It was good to read about the Southern Pacific in the Railroads from Yesteryear encore. It seems the railroad was the first to use oil as a fuel for locomotives. It said the SP cab-forwards were the only locos of that type in North America, but I don't know of any other country that had cab forward steamers, so the SP locos could be unique, and talking to someone at the Sacramento museum it is fortunate that the only survivor of that type was saved.Many thanks for those great Lionel and American Flyer catalogs, loved the 1959 AF one. I mentioned the movie we saw to the bride and she recognized it straight away and knew the Narrow Margin title, she agreed it is a great movie, I am sure it will be welcomed at the Emporium on its rerun.Great photos from my visit, two very rare ones of me, with no black bag in sight.I too thought the photo quiz to Eric would at least make him think a little but no, we will have to make it a lot harder next time.Drumheads by the Dozen, great. I do hope we can get to Green Bay and see the fine collection of Drumheads they have on display at the NRM.Doc's visit went OK thanks, but he would not give me a prescription for the Train Wreck. I told him it does me more good than any pills. ROB I had the same thing in school it was all the imperial system of measurements and then they decided we had better get ready for metrification, also our money changed in the UK, from 240 pennies in the pound (12 pennies= 1 shilling. 20 shillings =1pound) to 100 new pence to the pound. Perhaps they done this to make the mass inflation of the 1970s not seem as bad.Enjoyed reading the Classic Diesels on the early days of the B&O diesels. I guess they refurbished the locomotives they already had in the 1930s with only a total of 44 new locos in that decade. I guess the diesels had to come in but having seen photos of some of the B&O large steam locos I bet a lot of B&O railfans were sad to see them go.Many congratulations on your reinstatement it was good to see the dunk tank is still watertight. The CN car was the ‘Mentis' I believe. It would be really great if you could get down here it would be a real pleasure to meet you in person. Many thanks for the NS&T photos.SVEN Many thanks for the great links on the Malmbanan line. Really enjoyed looking at the great photos in the links. I can still remember that a British Trains Annual, which was a Christmas present to me in 1962, had an article of the railway at Narvick; it made an impression on a young teen.Really glad you are enjoying yourself at the bar it is great to have you here. LARS Really great Christmas Card and really great words BUT I MUST add your name to the list to the people who make Our Place the wonderful place it is. I too will have a quiet thought for BK at this time of year.Tom and I was trying to imagine you with us at the Train Wreck Saloon, it would have been great. I think the buffalo is in the bar so when trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:30 AM -Well good morning Cindy don't you look wondefull in that Victoria secrets Santa suitTom-Yup they gotta milk every last cent , I figure that to asve time we should install a machine at the front door that picks them up and shakes them over a grate thus collecting all the loose change Hopefully the critters are not stiring anything, you know what teh mentor health dept said the last timeJan=Nice to see you sir thanks for the christmas cheer,I'm on my way to work at the moment so it will only cost you a spiked coffee okay Cindy ( she can sit on my lap any time [swg )Yes they did say that about Alco's I've always thought that when they were idelling they sounded like an old man gurgling phlegm as wellEric-Hope your sleeping in on your first day of retirment.Just don't be shocke dby teh prices of those two books should you find them. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:14 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train>This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas.G'day Gents!Saturday before Christmas ‘n all thru the bar, not a crittAH was stirring . . . okay, ‘nuf of that! Coffee's ready - pastries are fresh - ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' - lets GO! Customer Acknowledgments since my last narrative:Friday - Dec 21st:CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 9:10 AM: Nice to see "things" a bit normal ‘round here with a morning Post from our Resident WVA Connection! Super-fine link on "things Pennsy" - especially my favorite locomotive, the GG1. Nice thing about our model railroading interests is that there's so many options available - so whatever "works," does precisely that! There have been times when I've wondered about those NH EPs - wondering as you have about "acceptance." Lionel had a decent looking version - but when I was involved with toy trains, not in my area of interest. I think Gilbert put one out too - something I'm not sure of though . . .I recall those great looking AF Alco locos from "back in the day." While my favorite was <and remains> the Santa Fe <red war bonnet>, I concur that the NP was a fine looking specimen as well. Many thanx for the dialogue - round ‘n quarters! Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:20 AM: What a fine gift for the gang - a well thought out ‘n most innovative Christmas Greeting! Five- Salute to the Manager! Dan (DL-UK) at 11:11 AM: Two days in a row with a visit from our Resident UK Connection - after a considerable absence! Good to see ya ‘n appreciate the thoughts directed our way! Round helps too! Pete (pwolfe) at 12:33 PM: Oh yeah, today is Doc Day for the Wolfman! Hope all turns out just fine! Round ‘n visit appreciated! Saturday - Dec 22nd:Rob (trolleyboy) at 1:07 AM ‘n 1:15 AM: A "two-fer" from our Resident Ontario Connection - Count Robulla, another nocturnal fellow at the bar! As with where you are, our snow from less than a week ago is nothing but a memory. Temps have been in the 50s (F) ‘n while that sounds good to many, it ain't winter for the likes of Moi! <groan> Supposed to get rain later on ‘n into tomorrow. <barf> Doesn't appear as if we'll get anything close to a white Christmas. While the summer is oh so far off - planning for a trip begins early. So, keep in mind that if the St. Louis Museum of Transportation <Kirkwood> is in your plans - some days are far better than others. So check with me before you lock anything in, okay I'm sure we'll be kicking this about via Email ‘n over the fone . . . Of course the Can-Am Trainroom is open year ‘round with no "cover charge" for friends from the bar! TrainWreck Saloon Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Saturday, December 22, 2007 4:17 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!Leon, just a quick breakfast before I go to bed! Coffee and a Cheese Danish!Finally some time off and time to see Santa again! If he remembers me. I told him about a some books about UP. Very informative books! Tom – Thanks! I consider myself a retiree from midnight! I didn’t do too much at work today. Got some gifts and had a piece of delicious cake.When I saw the quiz photo I thought about the AeroTrain right away. Reasons being the low height, the coupler and the rounded profiles of the sides. With traction motors only on the two first axles the AeroTrain must have been slipping easily, especially when starting from stop.That old Twin Coach bus must have been converted to rail use. The openings for the front wheels covered, the added horn on the roof, the removed headlights and the added top headlight all indicate it was used for rail service. I did some research tonight but did not find anything. I’ll try again later.Move to a colder place? No, thank you. It is cold enough here! Today’s train catalogs look great! Good looking drum heads! My favorite is the first one, ATSF – Super Chief! CM3 – Thank you for the toast! Yeah, I made it and it feels very good! Now I have to go and get a nice cane. We had a great time in California with the X2000. I talked quite a bit with SP's vice chairman. He liked the X2000 a lot. Lars – Merry Christmas to you and your family!! I hope your Mrs. is feeling better! And you too. Your Christmas Card is actually a whole bunch of Christmas Cards and at least five of them are Swedish and one Norwegian (or Danish) (bottom right corner)! DL – Thanks for the round! A Merry Christmas to you ‘n Yours!!! Pete – Thanks for the best wishes! It is a nice feeling. All I need now is a cane. Thanks for the round!Rob – Thanks for the congrats! If I had known it was this nice to retire I would have done that a long time ago!Also thanks for the info on NS&T!! Very interesting! I added Andy Panko and John Mills to my book list. The NS&T photos are very interesting! JanOlov – Welcome back, good to see you again! I think today’s railroads need to be big to be able to keep and expand the infrastructure and rolling stock. The AeroTrain is something different. Not a big success, but different. Eric JanOlov Member sinceDecember 2001 From: GB 376 posts Posted by JanOlov on Saturday, December 22, 2007 2:16 AM Good morning Tom and gentlemen....First of all my sincere and heartfelt apologies for not being around as much as I had hoped for. But these last two weeks has been murder if you pardon my expression. Never been this busy before, and with two bodies short, that doesn't help much either.... We've been doing 2+ hours overtime each night. And when you get back home, you're too worked up to sleep...been more of a zombie during the day, wouldn't have made much sense talking.... So, without any further delays....since I've been absent from any alcohol etc, I've managed to save up quite alot....here's a check barkeep, should keep the lads throats damp to after New Year....all drinks on me chaps!! Hands over a check....and this for the cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer.Sven 12-10-2007, 5:44 PM: Welcome to family Sven, pleased to meet you! Have a dram on me....pwolfe 12-10-2007, 11:51 PM: Nice picture of "Dominion Of Africa" is it? Glad you enjoyed the pics mate. Hope to see more from you...which I'll probably do as I work through these posts..EricX2000 12-11-2007, 4:42 AM: Nice pic of the Amtrak train refueling, are they still doing it this way nowadays?trolleyboy 12-11-2007, 5:13 AM: Good post about the Alco and MLW... Didn't they used to say that Alco's were honorable steam locomotive for the way they smoked....? Da Larsman 12-11-2007, 4:26 PM: Nice looking set of Southern E's mate. And covers are always welcome as you know....coalminer3 12-11-2007, 5:59 PM: Interesting post indeed.....siberianmo 12-11-2007, 9:09 PM: nice repost of trolleyboy pics.....trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:21 AM: Did Alco's ever look so pretty in D&H colours, one of the best looking paint schemes ever me thinks...trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:39 AM: Enjoyed those pics of the Lancaster, Spitfire's, Hurrricane's, 109 etc. indeed...great stuff!EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: True, DaLarsman can be a tad bit sensitive about our beloved Ruth.... EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: Pacific Electric....nice!siberianmo 12-12-2007, 2:06 PM: Those are timeless classics! Hope to see more of them...Da Larsman 12-12-2007, 3:26 PM: I love those catalog covers....! pwolfe 12-12-2007, 11:17 PM: Great looking GWR and SOUTHERN steam you have there... As mentioned before GWR Castle and Kings classes....poetry in design! Keep em coming...DD1 12-13-2007, 1:08 AM: Hope to see some pics of that truck of yours....Sven 12-13-2007, 3:29 PM: Early mornings with home made Lussekatt, Kaffe, snow and cold is what I miss most from the old country this time of the year.... Used to take the Lucia off from work and get up early to watch it on the TV...with above mentioned sweets...siberianmo 12-13-2007, 7:53 PM: Somehow today's magazine covers don't have the same attraction as they used to have...Imagine if TRAINS would take a year to celebrate their old covers and reprint them in a book or something. Maybe use covers from 1948 throughout 2008...trolleyboy 12-13-2007, 8:59 PM: Informative post matey..pwolfe 12-13-2007, 10:21 PM: GREAT pics.... Those saddletanks engines must be a typical British thing....EricX2000 12-14-2007, 6:46 AM: Great picture as always.... Wouldn't the Z65 be about the same as the old GE 44-tonner?Da Larsman 12-14-2007, 2:45 PM: Enjoyed the covers mate. The depots and Union Stations deserves alot more coverage in books etc, then they have got already....trolleyboy 12-14-2007, 7:58 PM: Another informative post mate...great reading!siberianmo 12-14-2007, 10:36 PM: Aaah....Hell Gate Bridge....didn't someone make that in model? Was it Lionel or someone? Great pics!Da Larsman 12-15-2007, 4:55 PM: Nice pics mate! I put a dome observation and a heavyweight observation on my x-mas list to Santa, but I doubt that he'll deliver the goods....siberianmo 12-15-2007, 8:02 PM: Good choice for encore post, I like the pics...Da Larsman 12-17-2007, 7:42 PM: Now, our dear Master Of Domes must have been sniffing something, drink or eating that didn't agree with him....buses? As with everything else I like to see or talk about....the older the better. Today's buses....siberianmo 12-17-2007, 9:05 PM: Enjoyed that post about NSB! They must be running through some of the most impressive sceneries in the world....trolleyboy 12-18-2007, 3:25 AM: Another informative post to enjoy...good stuff!Da Larsman 12-18-2007, 3:43 PM: Interesting covers. I'm sure that they'd all be a good read these dark and cold winter day All the best! Jan trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:15 AM Hey Leon just me again. I'll have a top up on the guiness. Heres a few pictures for tomorrow okay todaybefore I run off to slumberland.Since Eric was so interested in the NS&T here's a few tidbits.One of the curve siders from city service St Catharines and Niagara Falls#83 one of the early interurban carsOne of the last modern interurban cars which also served the NS&T's sister road the Montreal and Southern Counties.A shot of the NS&T meeting up with the steamships at the Port Dalhousie yard.enjoy Rob trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:07 AM Good evening Leon I see that you are still awake. Any chance that I might get a medium rare porterhouse with all the fixings still if so it and a guiness which I will take over here by the fire.Just got in from doing my one midnight madness at the store for this year. I tw as madness.I see that the winter solstice is upon us,first day of winter and the temps here are going up as I type this supposed to be 50 F and rainy for the next two days, looks like all the snow will be gone,hard to imagine that the foot + of snow we got this time last week will soon be running down my drivewayTom- I will keep you posted should we head in your general direction,I would love to meet Pete and spend some time with all of you folks in your neck of the woods. Nice to hear that the bakery is giving us a donut machine.The one we found in Boris's shed seems to be possibly not the most hygenic piece of equipment. It's good that we still have the sausage machine as well, H&H can use it to render the critter parts down for the extra greese Sven sems to want Loved the ole catalogues and the drumheads. Interesting that you were able to find the Algoma Central one,certainly one of the more obscure drumheads.Loved the extra pictures of the bus and the Aerotrain,I too find it odd that theer was no way back into the train for the crew from the locomotive. Obviously the Aerotrains ran shorter non overnight type services as ther would be no way to keep more than one crew on board ( no crew sleeping areas )Lars-Thanks for the wonderfull Christmas greeting for all of the gang. 5x for your kindness and thoughtfullness and all round good "guyness" here at the cyber bar of record.Eric-Congrats on the retirement, perhaps now you will have more time to travel St Catharines is in Southern ontario about fifteen miles from Niagara Falls. It's my actual home town to boot. The Niagara St Catharines & Toronto ran city streetcars in St Catharines and Niagara Falls and ran interurban cars between Port Colbourne on Lake Erie and Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario serving all the little towns in between. One could catch a cross lake steamer to Toronto from Port Dalhousie as well. I figure ther are many maps of the system as it was a major electric frieght operation as well. In fact the old frieght districts are still mostly in use in thorold St Catharines and Parts of Niagara Falls and Port Colbourne. At least two books have been written on it over the years. One by Andy Panko the other by John Mills, both currently out of print ( and worth a lot of money when they do surface )The NS&T was an interesting little operation and was one of the last big radials to go out of teh passenger business in the late 50's . 1959 was the last passenger runs, the freight routes stayed electrified until 1961 . Basically six decades of electric service from the early 1890's beginnings.Shane-So you brought up the southern birthdays oh well it was good for a laughHopefully you can be over your plague soon as well, I hate to see Boris hiding and crying in his shedDL Dan-Thanks for the round I hope you and your family have a most wonderfull and safe holiday as well. Rob siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 3:40 PM G'day Gents!As we wind down the work week <for many> let's keep the spirit of this season ALIVE by continuing on with some electric trains of the Classic kind! Now Arriving on Track Number TwoElectric Trains at Christmastime #5 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1945-1969Standard Catalog of Lionel Train Sets - 1945-1969Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1900-1942 Standard Catalog of American Flyer Trains Gilbert's Famous American Flyer TrainsAmerican Flyer Classic Toy Trains* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Friday, December 21, 2007 12:33 PM Hi Tom and all.A cup of coffee and a bacon sarnie please RUTH.Just a short call in as I have to go out in a short while. I am still catching up but would like to offer best wishes to ERIC on his retirement and I noticed DL had been in and a great Christmas card from Manager LARSand a great new theme from TOM.Hope to back in later but let me get a round.Pete. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 11:20 AM G'day Gents!What a fine looking Christmas "card" from Lars! Nicely done, Mate 'n I can "feel" the sincerity! Many, many thanx! Good to see CM3 Shane stop by - never fails when he's not being forced - coerced - pushed <all of the aforementioned> to work outdoors. Anyway, appreciate the visit! Also just "caught" Dan's Post from the UK! Two days in succession! <grin>As is my practice - I'll withhold specific comments 'til the next round of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A NEW feature at the bar - but chock full of many things seen before <not all> . . . Sit back ‘n enjoy the Classic Drumheads by the Dozen! Now Arriving on Track #2Classic Drumheads by the Dozen - #1 (1) ATSF - Super Chief(2) B&O - The Royal Blue(3) B&M - The Flying Yankee(4) Burlington Route (CB&Q) - Pioneer Zephyr(5) CP - The Canadian(6) Algoma Central Railway(7) CN Railways(8) GTW - The International Limited(9) VIA Rail(10) C&O for Progress(11) CN&W - North Western Limited(12) Milwaukee Road (CMSTPP) - Sioux* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo DL - UK Member sinceAugust 2006 280 posts Posted by DL - UK on Friday, December 21, 2007 11:11 AM Hello Tom and all inAnother round for anyone in - and again seasons greetings to all. Again a quick visit to soak up the festive cheer and wish all well - thanks to those of you who passed on their regards after my recent visit - at least I've been able to reveiw the pics since then, and some fine postings of pictures onthe site (long time since I had any photo viewing probs so I can now see all the great pics people are posting, some particularly good ones from Tom I note!).All the best to all of you and those close to you for the season, and of course thansk to all those working on the rails to move the large numbers of people seeking to link up with their families and friends over the festive season - a great job well done!RegardsDL - UK LoveDomes Member sinceJanuary 2006 From: northeast U.S. 1,225 posts Posted by LoveDomes on Friday, December 21, 2007 9:20 AM Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!Here's my Christmas card for the Cap'n - and - crew at "Our" Place! [Christmas cards (www.wikipedia.com - GNU Free Documentation/credit: Malene Thyssen]The Merriest Christmas and happiest of holidays to all who have helped make this the finest cyber bar & grill in the ethAH! ERIC - Eric X2000 . . . PETE - pwolfe. . . . . .SHANE - CM3 coalminer3. . . . . . . . . ALLAN- Gunneral. . . . . . . . . . . . PER - marthastrainyard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAN- DL-UK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RON - DD1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SVEN - Sven Olov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAN - JanOlov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROB - trolleyMAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FERGIE - Fergmiester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CAP'N TOM - siberianmo!And a special mention: BK - BudKarr - CHEERS to you, mate - wherever you may be! <clink> Ruth. . . Boris. . . . . . Cindy. . . . . . . . . Leon. . . . . . . . . . . H&H . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awk - Tex - Frostbite - Artie ‘n Juneauand all the rest! May the coming year bring all the best in happiness ‘n health to you ‘n YOURS! Until the next time! Lars coalminer3 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: WV 1,251 posts Posted by coalminer3 on Friday, December 21, 2007 9:10 AM Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England 4 Seasons Blend), and pie, round for the house, and $ for the jukebox. Clouds are right on the deck today and it is damp and raw, but it's not raining or snowing and I get to be inside and feed the system (get caught up on paperwork). Lots of good reading today. Eric - a toast, sir! You made it! Also, thanks for the info. on the Sp routes. That is a segment I would have enjoyed covering. Most of my experience with the SP was on the Overland side of things, although their power used to wander offline every now and then which was a nice find when out photographing. Lars - Hang in there, lad. I'm still coughing up body parts although I feel a tad better every day. I even gross Boris out sometimes during a coughing fit. Thanks for the AF catalogs. DL visited. Glad to see you are still with us!Pete had a question. Most mines were/are switched by the railroads that handled their cars. That being the case, as my old Latin teacher used to say, "There are always exceptions." Some mines have their own switchers. Many of these are units that long ago ran out their time on Class I lines. Some mines will customize units to fit their needs. This can include remote control, or in some cases other extensive modifications. One that sticks in my mind is a mine along the Clinchfield which used EMD F7Bs as switchers. That is a whole subfield of diesel studies as some of these units appear and reappear on different properties in the same area; or they shuttle from mine to mine as needed. It'll drive you crazy trying to keep up with them.Rob - I contributed the southern birthday chart a long time ago - it was e-mailed to me by somebody who thought I'd appreciate it and I thought it worth sharing with the other barflies.OSP has been out and about with more catalogs. The 1956 Lionel is a good one. The New Haven EP5 was for some reason not as popular in our area as the GG1. Anyway, I remember seeing the EP5s on display layouts at dept. stores and hobby shops. The Trainmasters were truly something to be plotted for and lusted after. A friend had one lettered for the Virginian. That thing was a beast. I'd bring a bunch of coal cars (of course) along when I went to his house and we'd run ‘em behind the TM. It really looked nice. These were the big LV cars (black with white lettering). One of the AF books showed the only AF item I ever really coveted. This was the North Coast Limited set with the PAs. I saw a set at the train show in Buffalo and it was pricy, but not all that out of line. What modeling I do at present is in N scale. I got involved with it back in the late 60s when it first became available and never left. Yes, Boris, I can see the trains! Sheesh! I figured the Murmansk comment would smoke out a few people. I hve a friend here who is a former "merchie" as well. He went to Murmansk - I usually see him when I'm out grocery shopping and we stop and tell a few lies. His remarks abt. that part of the terrioty were less than favorable - it wasn't the people so much as it was the weather and the politics once they got there. "Narrow Margin?" I have not seen it - looks like a good 'un.I also enjoyed your selection of photos.Here's a site that will interest all of those who are GG1 devotees.http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/Take time to explore some of the links that are here as they will lead you to all sorts if material about color schemes, dispositions, etc. Enjoy!If I don't get back today, best wishes to all for a safe and blessed Christmas. I'll be back on the 26th for sure.Work safe siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 8:38 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train> Friday's GrinReason "things" happen!Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone will ring. G'day Gents!Friday before Christmas ‘n my guess is we'll be rather sparse for customers ‘round here. But, for those passing through our portals - the coffee ‘n pastries are fresh ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' from our Menu Board! Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative) Thursday - Dec 20th:CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 8:31 AM: Fog in "Almost Heaven," eh Not good - so exercise great caution behind the wheel ‘n on foot! My "merchie" father would be grimacing big-time had he read or heard of Murmansk being in Norway! <triple geesh> He made those WWII runs - but I've told the stories before. Anyway, it appalls me to be exposed to this kind of incompetence. Think of it this way: Just how much are these "readers of the news" responsible for How about those writing the news When they err, which they do often, how many timely retractions <aka: corrections> do we get Yeah, we've dumbed down big time ‘n it really, really bothers me. I was long gone from electric trains ‘n my youth when those "cold war" Lionel covers came out. Some say the "turning point" for Lionel trains occurred when they transitioned from toy model trains <perhaps an oxymoron> to the more current themes of the day <rockets - boats - ‘n things gimmicky> - as in "action" type cars other than the typical log dumping ‘n milk cars "back in the day." Should the day arrive when I try to reconstruct the Lionel trains of my youth - which I think about doing from time to time - the period will end around 1953 for me. But of course I'll have to "win the lottery" to afford the stuff - then again, I must first buy a ticket, which I rarely do! <grin> One of the motivators for me getting into S gauge <re: my ceiling suspended S-Capades layout> was this nagging "want" for American Flyer trains of old. A friend of mine said he had a "lead" on not one but two vintage sets <ATSF diesel passenger & ATSF steam freight> a friend had stored away, I got interested. That never materialized - but I began looking around to see what was "out there." The paths took me to where I wound up - not Gilbert, but S-gauge trains of today with much more realism, quality and scale. I'm super thrilled with the stuff on that 8x7 board ‘n the scale is Da Best for model trains, in my not-so-humble-OH-PIN-YUN. S-gauge is oh so expensive and oh-so limited in terms of road names, accessories ‘n the like - especially if one is trying to create a model railroad and not simply playing with toy trains. These S-gauge trains are not "your father's toy trains." HO is by far the leader when it comes to availability of just about anything one can think is needed or required on the pike. Not so with S. <sad> But my vote goes to the 1/64th scale when it comes to "the right size" and so forth. Anyway, you ‘n the guys will have operating "turns" during Rendezvous III! Many thanx for the AM visit, round, quarters ‘n chat! Lars (LoveDomes) at 12:13 PM: A fine spate of Gilbert's American Flyer toy train covers to keep us all in the spirit of electric trains at Christmastime! Love those AF Alco diesel units! A Florida Keys get-away sounds terrific for the winter - especially where you're heading. Can't imagine being away from our digs for so long - but that's what happens when one sets the anchor, eh For my likes - I'd probably opt for an even colder climate as my get-away! <grin>Glad you liked the Amtrak foto on Tuesday's summary. When I saw that in our local paper <aka: bird cage liner> I immediately checked their website and was fortunate to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it doesn't enlarge . . . but still a fine foto. Pete ‘n I spent some time discussing the bar <figure that, eh?> Anyway, a couple of things kinda jumped out (1) the number of "hits" this bar gets - and - (2) how great this current bunch of guys are when it comes to providing meaningful material ‘n obviously reading what is Posted. As far as the "personalities" of those guys we now refer to as UTBs - well, they're GONE-ZO, RIP. ‘nuf said, eh Wolfman behaved himself at the TrainWreck Saloon, although he did try to do one of his Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Friday, December 21, 2007 1:07 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!It's early, early morning Leon! I would like an early breakfast, let's see, French Toast with syrup, powder sugar and some butter. A large OJ, yes the spiked one, and coffee. Finally Friday and finally time to retire! At least partly. And in a few days Santa will stop by! What else could I ask for? The bikini team? Yea..., no that would probably not be a good idea. Tom – Thanks for the Rumpsteak!! Much appreciated! I think I am doing pretty good keeping my gall bladder/stones quiet most of the time. Just a few days/evenings with some trouble. Sorry I missed the St. Louis Museum of Transportation this time! A photo quiz for me? As far as I can tell it must be the rear end of the Rock Island's Aerotrain 3 locomotive. I actually thought there was a passage between the cars and the locomotive. But that was obviously wrong. Interesting shot! Here is the same locomotive from May this year.The 3rd (and last) axle at the rear end of the locomotive. Interesting bus you found at the museum! I believe it is a Twin Coach Model 44-D or 44-S from 1946. 44-D had two 180 hp gasoline engines, 44-S had a single engine. It looks like it was converted to rail service.Nice photos from the Trainwreck Saloon! And one of Stealthy Pete ready for action!Good idea to show more model train catalogs just before Christmas. The problem in my case is that we need a much bigger house so I can build a layout for all the stuff I already have. CM3 – The SP tour did happen and we followed that route! We had a helicopter following us almost all the way from Oakland to Santa Barbara. I just wish I could get a copy of the video they shot. Lars – You are doing the right thing! Get away from snow and ice to warm and nice weather in Florida! Thanks! Yes, today is my last day as a regular, full time, employee! In January I’ll be a retired man who is working a few hours every week (mostly at home) till the end of the year! More model train catalogs! I remember as a kid how exiting it was when a new catalog was released, to open it and find out what was new! DL – Good to see you again, sir! Hope you’ll be back soon!Pete – The mystery of the laughing woman? It really never was a mystery, but I don’t want to say too much before we are going on the CanAm train trip, helping Manager Lars. The Talent train belongs to DSB, the Danish State Railways, not NSB. I have some info somewhere. Give me a couple of days and I’ll find it. So the Stratford Depot is just a memory today?! Too bad.Good luck getting your driver’s license!! Rob – Thanks for the info on the exprimental electric railway! I have to look up St. Catharines on the map. Are there any photos of that system? Eric trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, December 20, 2007 11:02 PM Good evening Leon, nice to be back in the warm bar room, the cold dankness of H&H'schamber of horrors dunk tank is still fresh in my mind ( and everywhere else <uh oh > )I think a nice tall keith's and here's a twenty to put in tilla for a morning round for the gang as the meander in tomorrow.Tom-Some great old catalogues for us to all enjoy and remember.I'm glad to have been re- enstated here at the saloon.That bus photo is an interesting looking critter any more info that you may have on it would be interesting to hear,looks kind of like an old Ford transit from the 40's but it seems longer.I don't know when we will drive down but don't count it out. My sister is do to leave Colorado Springs this comming summer, looks like they will be posted to BC so perhaps we can work something out. The big thing for me is getting enough time off to plan a long and inclusive trip.The transport museum and the CanAm , not to mention the Train Wreck are all must see things. I liked the festive decors at the Train Wreck , not a Martha Stewart job but at least as goodOh one question , was that astrological chart for our birthdays created by Larry The Cable guy ? Not sure that I like being a Grit but oh well you can't pick the month you were born in I agree with Lars letting Pete use your computer was a gamble, espeacially since he hasn't yet successfully completed Molly Throttlebottom's coarse.Shane-I'd love to do a bit more digging into the ins and outs of the big coal roads and their steam power,it seems to be a given that the C&O and N&W would be heavily swayed by the industries and their owners and backers that they served. You saw that to a point up here as well in that both CN and CP used to serve the major steel plants in Ontario and you will find that alot of the trucks and wheels on CDN rolling stock and locomotives bear a Dofasco manufacturing stamp.Lars-Wow kind of sounds like you managed to pick up the same plague that I've been fighting off. the most annoying thing is that it comes and goes, and never strikes the same body partHopefully you can have an enjoyable holiday with the grandkids, and once you make it down to the keys perhaps the change in weather will clear it all right up.Loved the "covah's" and the catalogues sir, we can always count on sage advice and thoughts on the bar and it's commings and goings. I ahve to say that for the most part I'm pleased with teh corps of people that we now have, it's cozy and there seems to be lots of good info and chats happening ,so all in all I think life is good. I'm just glad that the re-enstatemnet ceremony is over. I have promised the swiming atire to Boris , he wants to make a kerchif out of them for his mother,I guess the Boris clan celebrate Christmas by making things for each other.Eric-Thanks for that link , that little line was set up as a "look at the new techknology" type of a thing, essentially hopping to gain backers and money to build a huge network of interurban and city electric railway systems.Basically a show and tell if you will of teh brave new world of electricity.An interesting sidenote is that Van Deepole sold his system to the NS&T in St Catharines and they ended up being the first all electrified system in the country, right down to the overhead "troller" that was dragged along behind the cars on the overhead wires.Sven-Hmm I think a donut machine might indeed be a good idea, we can insatll it in teh rats patoot roon , that way the Mentor bakery won't get too upset by it's operation, I think all the needed parts are in Boris's shed. thanks for the links as well some inetersting stuff there Just take it easy on the old groanameter it is working but we have used up the supply of spare parts,Boris is searching for more spares but still it's a sensitive piece of equipment.Congrats for hitting the latest posting milestone. Leon an extra Roth's for him on me when he comes in tomorrow. DL-Nice to see you pop in if just for an instant, hopefully things are well for you and yours and I look forward to seeing more from you in the new year.Allan-I'm glad that you enjoyed the story about the Halifax. I fully intend to get some shots of it the next time I'm in Trenton. I have family in Kingston Ontario that we are intending on visiting next summer ( if all goes well ) Trenton is on the way , so hopefully we will be able to catch the air museum when it's open and get a couple good shots of her.Pete-Sounds like you and Tom had a real blast over the last two days I hope the shots of that ex-CN exec car come out it will be interesting to see it. So you are trying to get a drivers licence eh Remember keep on the right side of the road or better yet just hire a driver. Tom's retired he might be able to ferry you about.I will see you next week at Molly's. Eventually one of us will end up not typing with one fingerAs far as the wrestling goes , I only partake on the chocolate pudding nights, H&H are less aggressive once they have consumed massed quantities of Belgian chocolate mousse.Rob pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Thursday, December 20, 2007 6:32 PM Hi Tom and all.A pint of Bathams please RUTH. Back after two great days with TOM.LARS Hope you able to get to the warmer Keys for the New Year. It seems as though the snow and rain around here is mainly keeping itself for the weekends. At the moment I have a learner's permit for a car, I never drove a car in the UK the bike and public transport was my usual form of transport. I am getting a friend to teach me as lessons, in the car, with the bride usually end in tearsReal sorry you caught that cold at the Giants game it looked terrible conditions to play the game in.Great domes for the encore and the usual great covers from the Larsman Mobile. I can recall the Trolleybuses running in a part of the West Midlands of England around the Walsall area, I have found a link and it says they ran as late as 1969, which I believe was a lot longer than those in London, although I can remember seeing photos of the last run of the trolley buses in London it was a big event.http://www.thetransportmuseum.org/transhis2.aspI agree with what you say about Tom's listI doubt if they will find a better place in the ether than Our Place.What this I go away for a couple of days and a ‘Hot Tub' appears ALLAN I well remember the name of Dorman and Long, I believe they were a very big firm of steelmakers as well.That was a great programme about when the Flying Scotsman ran the 40th Anniversary of the non-stop run although it has been a long while since I have seen it. I recall the non-stop run was achieved despite being down to walking pace at one point. I guess the run was only possible as the water troughs were still in place on the ECML. I think at the start of the trip Scotsman left London King's Cross alongside the Deltic hauled Flying Scotsman service train.While Scotsman was still an A1, and just before its conversion to an A3, she was allocated to Leicester Central depot and was a regular through Rugby on the Great Central line, sadly though just before my time, I can recall the V2s and B1s on passenger trains and the L1 tank engines on stopping passenger trains.It is hard to believe that next year it will be the 40th anniversary of the 1968 40th anniversary train. In the Steam Railway magazine that recently arrived here, it features the LNER steam, although I have not read it yet there is an article written by someone who fired the Flying Scotsman on its tour of the USA.Thanks for the kind words on Alan's photosROB Come and join BORIS and I at Molly Throttlebottom's class it is great fun, especially at the mud wrestling when one of BORIS's inflatables get involved.Yes BORIS's shed is the place to look for lost items at the bar but if Tom sees the present state of the shed the next one to get a ‘Tweeting' will be made to clean it up.It is so right what say about a camera in the old days locomotives or liveries that were seen every day would disappear from the scene without a photographic record of them. Although today if I go down to the line with a camera not a lot comes through but leave it at home and some thing unusual generally turns up.Many thanks for the Lake Simcoe Jct encore. I am about to read of the ‘Ceremony' at Our Place.ERIC Many thanks for the great photos loved the X2000 alongside the steam locomotive. I bet the controls of the X2000 are a lot more complicated the Pacific Electric car.Have you solved ‘The Mystery of The Laughing Woman', it sounds like a Sherlock Holmes story. Have you any more info on the NSB ‘Talent' Train it DL - UK Member sinceAugust 2006 280 posts Posted by DL - UK on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:35 PM Hello Tom and all inI'm back from the legion of the lost (as no doubt you have been thinking) to put a round on the bar and ask what people would like to drink.Gives me great pleasure to weigh in with a post after Lars' superb set of catalogue pictures etc!Apols for the absence - just as things get near the festive season the work load cranks up and the personal task crank up too - but I can't get near the festive time without thinking of the regulars here at our place and an enthusiasm for ensuring said festive season does not pass off without at least me managing to pass on good wishes of the season.Not sure if I'll be able to post as frequently as I'd like, but I'll certainly be back as soon as I can. Not had the time to review any of the recent stuff I'm afraid (so that is the reason I'm not pitching in to recent topics), but hope I can review it in due course. I'm sure there is plenty of quality there to enjoy!All the best to everyoneDL LoveDomes Member sinceJanuary 2006 From: northeast U.S. 1,225 posts Posted by LoveDomes on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:11 PM Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!Ruth my deAH, a lunchtime visit from the Larsman . . . didn't think I'd make it in today. Still feelin' like crap, in fact last night thought I'd be heading off to the ER, as everything went upside down for me - just had major difficulties sorting things out. Dizzy, nausea, aching ‘n all the rest. Finally had a chance to get some air outside - which probably was stupid, but the stiff breeze kinda refreshed me, although the chill of it wasn't smart for me to be exposed to. <ugh> Sorry to prattle on like this . . . Boris, thanks for feedin' the crittAHs - take that LARGE jar of PPF, you've earned it! A round for the house, ‘n I'll settle for a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, some crackAHS, a few slices of sharp cheddar ‘n some of that Nog Da Bossman made! <ummmm>Hey Bossman! That was a really nice photo you provided for us on the morning summary from Tuesday . . . the Amtrak train looked really <cool> in the snow at Kirkwood. I'd love to see 'n ride that little train to Kansas City with you 'n the Wolfman! They'd nevAH be the same . . . <Amtrak that is!> Wuddathunk the guys wudda jumped all over that great shot . . . but no one did! Go figger, huh Also sorry that I totally missed the optional toy & model trains gala yesterday. Although I've noted that our Cap'n made up for me by providing another on this day! Really got a kick outta the pix in your morning report, Cap'n Tom! Been wonderin' about that "mystery" one for Eric . . . interesting looking bus. Never saw one like that before. WondAH who made it - where did it operate - and so forth So did Wolfman try to get that hat away from the Buffalo at the Trainwreck Looks like something Boris might try to do . . . Nice touch with the wreath! Now that's the way to decorate . . . You actually permitted Wolfman to operate your ‘puter You sure do live dangerously, huh <grin>Changing gears - I'm not feeling like Christmas, in the least. Just hope this passes before the "day" arrives as I don't want to be that ‘wet blanket' when we go visiting the grandkids ‘n so forth.We're supposed to be heading down to the Keys next Sunday (30th) - all booked on the airlines. One of our boys is driving the buggy down, laden with all kinds of "stuff" the Mrs. thinks we'll "need." Yeah right! We brought ‘n bought so much that is down there now, I'm wonderin' where in the world we're gonna find room to stow this new load. <grin> <groan> An observation: Really seeing some great evidence of the resurgence of this bar of ours. I agree with Cap'n Tom that we've got not only an eager bunch, but guys who really are "into" what we're all about. Sure, we don't have the numbers of "back when," but so what I'd much rather have guys who READ what's provided ‘n respond in kind when guys have something to pass along. We all have been through that frustration of asking a guy this or that, only to be "blown off" <ignored> time in ‘n time out. Became almost expected' with some of the bunch. Those two from the left coast immediately come to mind. But they weren't the only ones. I just like this crew . . . So, Rob "made it' back to the fold, huh As bad as I felt last nite, it was hilarious watching H&H trying to unsnap those snaps on his Speed-Oh! Crazy "gals" huh Didn't appear to me that trolleyMAN minded being "handled" like that either! <uh oh> Anyway, he's baaaaaaaaack, ‘n life is good ‘round the bar once more. 5- salute to our friend the trolleyMAN! A B'day coming up for the man called Shane, huh So, who's counting <grin>Regards to those who've come in since my last - Pete - Eric - Allan - Sven ‘n Shane! Yeah, I hate it when that happens too - moving geographic locations without letting anyone know. How awful! <grin> Don't wanna get me started on those who "report" the news in this country of ours . . . siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:07 AM 2007 BIRTHDAY WATCH LIST <rev. Dec 20th>Customers at "Our" Place! 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. January 23rd (Jan - 38) CHITLIN (Jan 21 - Feb 19) Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A Chitlin, however, will make something of himself if he is motivated and has lots of season-ing. In dealing with Chitlins, be careful they may surprise you. They can erupt like Vesuvius. Chitlins are best with a Moon Pie but Catfish or Okra is O.K. too. 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 Chitlin 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. August 11th (Pete - 56)August 14th (Allan - 72)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) September 11th - (Per - 62)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 9th (Ron - 73)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) - NEXT UP! 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The age reflected is what you will be on your 2007 B'day!Not on the list Send me an Email with your birth date (month-day-year) Corrections too! Believe it or NOT! We once had a guy (UTB) who was on the list for a couple of YEARS! Then when his "day" arrived for a Birthday Bash <which we no longer do> - he let's me know that the age listed was incorrect AND he failed to show up for his party! Takes all kinds, eh Speaks volumes about paying attention to what's being Posted at the bar, eh Soooooooooo, IF your listing is incorrect - TELL ME ABOUT IT! <grin> I'm working from the info sent to me by Email . . . . < Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 9:07 AM G'day Gents!As this Christmas season moves us closer to the magical date of December 25th, thoughts of electric trains are still runnin' in my head . . . so here's ANOTHER installment of our Electric Trains at Christmastime to savor! Now Arriving on Track Number TwoElectric Trains at Christmastime #4 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs 1954 Lionel Catalog1955 Lionel Catalog1956 Lionel Catalog1954 American Flyer Catalog1955 American Flyer Catalog1956 American Flyer Catalog* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Missed any #1 . . . Page 149#2 . . . Page 153#3 . . . Page 156 Happy Railroading! Siberianmo coalminer3 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: WV 1,251 posts Posted by coalminer3 on Thursday, December 20, 2007 8:31 AM Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England Eye Opener Blend will be fine); let's see what's in the pastry case; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Interesting weather here this a.m. as we are having "frog." Freezing fog which puts a nice, thin, coat of ice on everything - so we pay extra attention crossing the bridges on the way to work. Allan stopped by - Thanks for the birthday greetings.Eric - One more to go! The SP material you sent enlarged very nicely. Did this tour actually happen or was it something the SP wanted to do but never did. Anyway, if you followed that route you got a good sampling of things. Also, nice "frozen north" picture. OSP visited with catalog covers - I remember all of the Lionel ones. As you mentioned, there was a great rivalry in our neighborhood as well between the Flyer folks and the Lionel people. Anyway, the 1958 and 59 Lionel covers are interesting. Cold War, indeed!Bar pictures were great - I like the Santa hat on the buffalo, also the wreath. Who is that mad man at the keyboard? Be afraid, be very afraid! Seriously, that was a good picture, too. Last, I close with an item which shows the geographical retardation in our country today. The other day one of the news outlets had pictures of a rescue operation from a ship which had run onto some rocks in the north. I was doing fine with watching this until the commentator said, this accident happened at "Murmansk, Norway." Lord, I hate it when they move things without telling me. BTW, you'd be surprised how many people don't realize that west Virginia is a separate state. Boris, put me down! I'll stop now.Will try and stop back later today,Work safe siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 7:12 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train>G'day Gents!And all of a sudden it's the day BEFORE FRIDAY <again> ! So, time to fill up the mugs with our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. While you're at it, place an order for a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board ‘n sample a few pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery while waiting . . . Comments from the Proprietor: Apparently all went "well" for Rob during the "ceremony" or at least it seems so. Don't know HOW the dunk tank got assembled in the Rat's Patoor Room ‘n don't know HOW they managed to drain it without making a total ruination of the joint! <geesh> But all's well that ends well - as trolleyboy Rob has been REINSTATED to "Regular Customer" at the cyber bar ‘n grill known as "Our" Place! So sez the Committee! No Boris, we'll NOT be showing those fotos of Rob in his speed-ohhhhhhh <or is that, speed-arrrrrgggghhhh?> We DO have a few "standards" left ‘round the joint! Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative) Wednesday - Dec 19th:Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:52 AM: What's to say other than "you da man!" Continuing on with the support ‘n book covers - what MORE can we ask from our Manager Pete ‘n I thought of you as we spent yesterday afternoon at the TrainWreck Saloon! Here's something you ‘n the guyz might get a kick out of from the "back bar" . . . .<look closely - those are G gauge trains "in" the wreath!> Many thanx for the visit, chat ‘n covers - ROUND too! Pete (pwolfe) at 10:34 AM: Here's an "action" shot of Wolfman preparing his Post . . .Sven (Sven Olov) at 12:51 PM: Congratulations to YOU for making the 3,100th Post <REPLY> at our reborn cyber bar 'n grill! The bar is 'open' for YOU as is the Menu Board - for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Really appreciate those fine links on the Malbanan ! Some super-fine fotos ‘n enuf info to keep the fires stocked for quite awhile. Very good stuff, fer sure, fer sure! On my "list" of Hopefully One Day <HOD> I'd dearly love to travel throughout Norway ‘n Sweden by train . . . ahhhhhhhh, just the thought of some blonde gal carrying me off . . . . <ooooooooooops> that's from another dream! Don't know WHAT it is about you guys from Sweden - but a cast iron stomach must "come" with the "standard issue," eh Cheese tortillas, Roth's beer AND donuts <yikes> However, we aim to please ‘round here - so enjoy! Now the Gevalia - well, that probably needs a bit of explaining for the crew. <grin>Some things one just has to see to believe, eh "Red means stop" must've brought a laff or three out of you! <grin> Kinda "budged" the Groan-O-Meter, just a tad . . .Thanx f Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:16 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!Hello Leon, I would say it is time for my weekly Rumpsteak Café de Paris! How about a cold bottle of Tui? Good! Back again after a less nice evening last night. Getting close to Friday. My last regular Friday!!! Then 11 days off before I start my part time year with the company. I will mostly work at home. Tom – You are right! Focus on the positive! There is way too much negative as it is, just ignore it. SP, my favorite of them all! Too bad they were swallowed by UP. Thanks to SP the X2000 tour was extended to California 1993. SP wanted a diesel version running between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Interesting to read about the locomotive paint and apperance! I guess everyone knows the Daylight scheme. I should be able to start showing some model trains on Wednesdays in the near future when I start working part time after Christmas. That should give me more time to take some photos. Nice Lionel Catalogs!! Lars – Always good to see Manager Lars around the Bar. It certainly keeps Ruth smiling for some reason! Hope you will get well soon!!More interesting books! Diamondbugs, I remember I read about those motor cars a number of months back and I think they were not a big success. CM3 – Looking forward to more info on NY-Philadelphia-Harrisburg-Altoona-Pittsburgh. Rob – I have another question for you. In 1984 a Belgian inventor named Charles Van Depoele met with J. J. Wright and constructed an electric railway running between the Crystal Palace, inside the Canadian Industrial Exhibition fairgrounds, and Strachan Avenue near the terminal of a Toronto Street Railway horsecar line. It was in service for five years, see this link.http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4155.shtmlDo you know any more facts about this electric railway? Thanks for the Classic Diesels piece! I guess B&O were early buying their first road diesel 1935. Pete – I am ready for any photo quiz! I am sure you had a good lunch at the Trainwreck Saloon! Sven – Above the Arctic Circle? Snow and ice. That is where we tested the X2000 to make sure it could handle snow and ice in the trucks and tilting mechanisms. The summer up there is okay though. Except the mosquitos. Kiruna 1990.Allan – Thanks! I am working my last day tomorrow, Friday! In January I will start working part time, 20 hrs/week. I am very much looking forward to get some more time for myself! Yeah, that was my usual uniform with Amtrak. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Your brother-in-law must be a very unusual person, not having a PC. I guess he has other interests! Eric Gunneral Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: NZ 242 posts Posted by Gunneral on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 7:50 PM Hi Tom and all,The usual round of Tui`s for all the crew please Leon.Rob. Thanks for the info about the Halifax bomber at Trenton, amazing story about the pilot getting his thermos back after 63 years, enjoyed your posts and pics, great write up`s on Classic Steam #38 and Classic Diesels #36, very interesting info.Eric. Congratulations on your retirement, ENJOY! These day`s I don`t even know how I found the time to go to work. Those were some nice pics you posted, you look very smart in your suit and tie, was it your usual uniform?Lars. Nice choice covers from the Larsman Mobile collection, nice selection of trolleybus and Canadian RR covers.CM3. Nice to see you back, sorry to hear you hav`nt been feeling too good, i`ll have to get Leon to give you a couple of shots of the "hard stuff" to give you a boost.Pete.Good to see you got home OK after your trip to Tom`s, sounds as if you both had a great time together. Look forward to seeing your latest pics.Ron. Have always liked that "Don`t worry" song too!Sven. Thanks for those links to the Swedish railway sites, you must have seen a lot of wolves and reindeer in the arctic circle area you worked in up there.Tom. Totally agree with all your comments, it sounds as if we both react the same way to profane language in public with women and children in earshot, I just can not help putting my oar in and making it plain to the offender that it`s NOT acceptable in public! Boy Entrants in the Brit army is the same as your Military Academy system, only they are fully attested and are part of the regular forces, you are not able to serve oversea`s or in combat until reaching 18 years of age, the training is aimed at providing the future Warrant Officers and N.C.O`s of the Corps. Enjoyed all your fine posts, what a great selection, the Bayonne Bridge write up and links, [must have been a great experience to walk over that arch in your youth!] the Norwegian railways, SP RR, and the nice model RR covers.To all you guys. Here`s wishing a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours, have a great festive season together, ENJOY! We are going up to Auckland for Christmas with my wife`s family, unfortunately I will be off line for over a week because my brother-in-law does NOT have a PC! Will try to get on line somehow whilst we are up there anyway!CM3. Here`s wishing you a very on the 29th Shane, just in case I don`t get to see you before then! Have a GOOD ONE mate!See ya, Allan « First«27282930313233»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
Scrooge was a 1970 musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London, directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney in the title role. The film's musical score was composed by Leslie Bricusse and Ian Fraser. With eleven musical arrangements interspersed throughout (all retaining a traditional British air about them), the award-winning motion picture is a <close> musical retelling of the original.Overall, the film was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in the UK, one Golden Laurel award, four Oscars, and five Golden Globes in the U.S.A., in which Albert Finney won as The Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical/Comedy in 1971. Finney was only 34 years old at the time he was chosen to play both the old miser and the young man Scrooge of fla Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 2:38 PM This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas! REMINDER: The drinks are on Jan for the remainder of the year! Put your money aside - it's been paid for! Five- Salute to Jan for his continuing generosities! G'day Gents!Here are some of my favorite personal fotos - all of which have been displayed at the bar either over on the Original Thread or here or both! My avatar foto . . . . VIA Rail's observation dome car - Revelstoke Park on the eastbound "Ocean" at Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada . . . From the Revelstoke Park observation dome in New Brunswick, Canada aboard VIA Rail's eastbound "Ocean" Eastbound VIA Rail "Ocean" arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - observation dome is Banff Park Departure preparation at Halifax - westbound "Ocean" F40PH locos 'n baggage car across the platform from the Budd streamlined consist. The Glacier Park observation dome at the rear of VIA Rail's westbound "Canadian" at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada . . . This was taken from the observation dome of the eastbound VIA Rail "Canadian" . . . Mt. Robson is the highest in the Canadian Rockies. VIA Rail's eastbound "Canadian" at Jasper, Alberta, Canada - <my ill-fated Norwalk Virus trip> Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:10 PM This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas!REMINDER: The drinks are on Jan for the remainder of the year! Put your money aside - it's been paid for! Five- Salute to Jan for his continuing generosities! G'day Gents!Most pleased to see our "reborn regular" this Saturday <during daylite at that!> - trolleyMAN Rob - our Resident Ontario Connection! Hmmmmmm, now that our "other" Canadian Connection has returned to port - guess he's doing other things. Wish he'd swing by - at least for a "nog" 'n to acknowledge the guys who have directed comments his way . . . Anyway, appreciate your taking the time to "pop" in - BUT I am NOT pleased with ANY comments directed toward MY CINDY! <mine, mine, mine!> <grrrrrrrrrrrrr> If there's any laps to be sat upon, it won't be yours! <double grrrrrrrrrrr> <uh oh>AND just caught a super-fine inclusive, informative 'n most interesting Post from our friend, Wolfman Pete on this Saturday afternoon! Figured he'd make it in early - given the free drinks 'til the end of 2007! <grin> BUT - he's hardly a penny-pincher, quite contrary. He's a most generous Mate at the bar - more than willing to buy a round 'n then some! Okay - 'nuf of that . . . today is set aside for reruns 'n fotos . . . so, these are my "no rhyme or reason selections from the archives - all shown over the past years at the bar - check 'em out! Globe Models A unit Globe Models B unit Alco-GEFairbanks-MorseElectroMotive Division BESA Class 4-6-0 of India Railways From the balcony at Mentor Village's Emporium Theatre!Mentor Village Public Works Dept. at work for YOU! The MESS at CN yards along the Can-Am Railway!Outta date - but cute! Something to thiMk about! <aboot for our friends above the 49th!>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:25 PM HI Tom and all.A pint of Bathams please CINDY.TOM It was good to read about the Southern Pacific in the Railroads from Yesteryear encore. It seems the railroad was the first to use oil as a fuel for locomotives. It said the SP cab-forwards were the only locos of that type in North America, but I don't know of any other country that had cab forward steamers, so the SP locos could be unique, and talking to someone at the Sacramento museum it is fortunate that the only survivor of that type was saved.Many thanks for those great Lionel and American Flyer catalogs, loved the 1959 AF one. I mentioned the movie we saw to the bride and she recognized it straight away and knew the Narrow Margin title, she agreed it is a great movie, I am sure it will be welcomed at the Emporium on its rerun.Great photos from my visit, two very rare ones of me, with no black bag in sight.I too thought the photo quiz to Eric would at least make him think a little but no, we will have to make it a lot harder next time.Drumheads by the Dozen, great. I do hope we can get to Green Bay and see the fine collection of Drumheads they have on display at the NRM.Doc's visit went OK thanks, but he would not give me a prescription for the Train Wreck. I told him it does me more good than any pills. ROB I had the same thing in school it was all the imperial system of measurements and then they decided we had better get ready for metrification, also our money changed in the UK, from 240 pennies in the pound (12 pennies= 1 shilling. 20 shillings =1pound) to 100 new pence to the pound. Perhaps they done this to make the mass inflation of the 1970s not seem as bad.Enjoyed reading the Classic Diesels on the early days of the B&O diesels. I guess they refurbished the locomotives they already had in the 1930s with only a total of 44 new locos in that decade. I guess the diesels had to come in but having seen photos of some of the B&O large steam locos I bet a lot of B&O railfans were sad to see them go.Many congratulations on your reinstatement it was good to see the dunk tank is still watertight. The CN car was the ‘Mentis' I believe. It would be really great if you could get down here it would be a real pleasure to meet you in person. Many thanks for the NS&T photos.SVEN Many thanks for the great links on the Malmbanan line. Really enjoyed looking at the great photos in the links. I can still remember that a British Trains Annual, which was a Christmas present to me in 1962, had an article of the railway at Narvick; it made an impression on a young teen.Really glad you are enjoying yourself at the bar it is great to have you here. LARS Really great Christmas Card and really great words BUT I MUST add your name to the list to the people who make Our Place the wonderful place it is. I too will have a quiet thought for BK at this time of year.Tom and I was trying to imagine you with us at the Train Wreck Saloon, it would have been great. I think the buffalo is in the bar so when trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:30 AM -Well good morning Cindy don't you look wondefull in that Victoria secrets Santa suitTom-Yup they gotta milk every last cent , I figure that to asve time we should install a machine at the front door that picks them up and shakes them over a grate thus collecting all the loose change Hopefully the critters are not stiring anything, you know what teh mentor health dept said the last timeJan=Nice to see you sir thanks for the christmas cheer,I'm on my way to work at the moment so it will only cost you a spiked coffee okay Cindy ( she can sit on my lap any time [swg )Yes they did say that about Alco's I've always thought that when they were idelling they sounded like an old man gurgling phlegm as wellEric-Hope your sleeping in on your first day of retirment.Just don't be shocke dby teh prices of those two books should you find them. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:14 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train>This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas.G'day Gents!Saturday before Christmas ‘n all thru the bar, not a crittAH was stirring . . . okay, ‘nuf of that! Coffee's ready - pastries are fresh - ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' - lets GO! Customer Acknowledgments since my last narrative:Friday - Dec 21st:CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 9:10 AM: Nice to see "things" a bit normal ‘round here with a morning Post from our Resident WVA Connection! Super-fine link on "things Pennsy" - especially my favorite locomotive, the GG1. Nice thing about our model railroading interests is that there's so many options available - so whatever "works," does precisely that! There have been times when I've wondered about those NH EPs - wondering as you have about "acceptance." Lionel had a decent looking version - but when I was involved with toy trains, not in my area of interest. I think Gilbert put one out too - something I'm not sure of though . . .I recall those great looking AF Alco locos from "back in the day." While my favorite was <and remains> the Santa Fe <red war bonnet>, I concur that the NP was a fine looking specimen as well. Many thanx for the dialogue - round ‘n quarters! Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:20 AM: What a fine gift for the gang - a well thought out ‘n most innovative Christmas Greeting! Five- Salute to the Manager! Dan (DL-UK) at 11:11 AM: Two days in a row with a visit from our Resident UK Connection - after a considerable absence! Good to see ya ‘n appreciate the thoughts directed our way! Round helps too! Pete (pwolfe) at 12:33 PM: Oh yeah, today is Doc Day for the Wolfman! Hope all turns out just fine! Round ‘n visit appreciated! Saturday - Dec 22nd:Rob (trolleyboy) at 1:07 AM ‘n 1:15 AM: A "two-fer" from our Resident Ontario Connection - Count Robulla, another nocturnal fellow at the bar! As with where you are, our snow from less than a week ago is nothing but a memory. Temps have been in the 50s (F) ‘n while that sounds good to many, it ain't winter for the likes of Moi! <groan> Supposed to get rain later on ‘n into tomorrow. <barf> Doesn't appear as if we'll get anything close to a white Christmas. While the summer is oh so far off - planning for a trip begins early. So, keep in mind that if the St. Louis Museum of Transportation <Kirkwood> is in your plans - some days are far better than others. So check with me before you lock anything in, okay I'm sure we'll be kicking this about via Email ‘n over the fone . . . Of course the Can-Am Trainroom is open year ‘round with no "cover charge" for friends from the bar! TrainWreck Saloon Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Saturday, December 22, 2007 4:17 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!Leon, just a quick breakfast before I go to bed! Coffee and a Cheese Danish!Finally some time off and time to see Santa again! If he remembers me. I told him about a some books about UP. Very informative books! Tom – Thanks! I consider myself a retiree from midnight! I didn’t do too much at work today. Got some gifts and had a piece of delicious cake.When I saw the quiz photo I thought about the AeroTrain right away. Reasons being the low height, the coupler and the rounded profiles of the sides. With traction motors only on the two first axles the AeroTrain must have been slipping easily, especially when starting from stop.That old Twin Coach bus must have been converted to rail use. The openings for the front wheels covered, the added horn on the roof, the removed headlights and the added top headlight all indicate it was used for rail service. I did some research tonight but did not find anything. I’ll try again later.Move to a colder place? No, thank you. It is cold enough here! Today’s train catalogs look great! Good looking drum heads! My favorite is the first one, ATSF – Super Chief! CM3 – Thank you for the toast! Yeah, I made it and it feels very good! Now I have to go and get a nice cane. We had a great time in California with the X2000. I talked quite a bit with SP's vice chairman. He liked the X2000 a lot. Lars – Merry Christmas to you and your family!! I hope your Mrs. is feeling better! And you too. Your Christmas Card is actually a whole bunch of Christmas Cards and at least five of them are Swedish and one Norwegian (or Danish) (bottom right corner)! DL – Thanks for the round! A Merry Christmas to you ‘n Yours!!! Pete – Thanks for the best wishes! It is a nice feeling. All I need now is a cane. Thanks for the round!Rob – Thanks for the congrats! If I had known it was this nice to retire I would have done that a long time ago!Also thanks for the info on NS&T!! Very interesting! I added Andy Panko and John Mills to my book list. The NS&T photos are very interesting! JanOlov – Welcome back, good to see you again! I think today’s railroads need to be big to be able to keep and expand the infrastructure and rolling stock. The AeroTrain is something different. Not a big success, but different. Eric JanOlov Member sinceDecember 2001 From: GB 376 posts Posted by JanOlov on Saturday, December 22, 2007 2:16 AM Good morning Tom and gentlemen....First of all my sincere and heartfelt apologies for not being around as much as I had hoped for. But these last two weeks has been murder if you pardon my expression. Never been this busy before, and with two bodies short, that doesn't help much either.... We've been doing 2+ hours overtime each night. And when you get back home, you're too worked up to sleep...been more of a zombie during the day, wouldn't have made much sense talking.... So, without any further delays....since I've been absent from any alcohol etc, I've managed to save up quite alot....here's a check barkeep, should keep the lads throats damp to after New Year....all drinks on me chaps!! Hands over a check....and this for the cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer.Sven 12-10-2007, 5:44 PM: Welcome to family Sven, pleased to meet you! Have a dram on me....pwolfe 12-10-2007, 11:51 PM: Nice picture of "Dominion Of Africa" is it? Glad you enjoyed the pics mate. Hope to see more from you...which I'll probably do as I work through these posts..EricX2000 12-11-2007, 4:42 AM: Nice pic of the Amtrak train refueling, are they still doing it this way nowadays?trolleyboy 12-11-2007, 5:13 AM: Good post about the Alco and MLW... Didn't they used to say that Alco's were honorable steam locomotive for the way they smoked....? Da Larsman 12-11-2007, 4:26 PM: Nice looking set of Southern E's mate. And covers are always welcome as you know....coalminer3 12-11-2007, 5:59 PM: Interesting post indeed.....siberianmo 12-11-2007, 9:09 PM: nice repost of trolleyboy pics.....trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:21 AM: Did Alco's ever look so pretty in D&H colours, one of the best looking paint schemes ever me thinks...trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:39 AM: Enjoyed those pics of the Lancaster, Spitfire's, Hurrricane's, 109 etc. indeed...great stuff!EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: True, DaLarsman can be a tad bit sensitive about our beloved Ruth.... EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: Pacific Electric....nice!siberianmo 12-12-2007, 2:06 PM: Those are timeless classics! Hope to see more of them...Da Larsman 12-12-2007, 3:26 PM: I love those catalog covers....! pwolfe 12-12-2007, 11:17 PM: Great looking GWR and SOUTHERN steam you have there... As mentioned before GWR Castle and Kings classes....poetry in design! Keep em coming...DD1 12-13-2007, 1:08 AM: Hope to see some pics of that truck of yours....Sven 12-13-2007, 3:29 PM: Early mornings with home made Lussekatt, Kaffe, snow and cold is what I miss most from the old country this time of the year.... Used to take the Lucia off from work and get up early to watch it on the TV...with above mentioned sweets...siberianmo 12-13-2007, 7:53 PM: Somehow today's magazine covers don't have the same attraction as they used to have...Imagine if TRAINS would take a year to celebrate their old covers and reprint them in a book or something. Maybe use covers from 1948 throughout 2008...trolleyboy 12-13-2007, 8:59 PM: Informative post matey..pwolfe 12-13-2007, 10:21 PM: GREAT pics.... Those saddletanks engines must be a typical British thing....EricX2000 12-14-2007, 6:46 AM: Great picture as always.... Wouldn't the Z65 be about the same as the old GE 44-tonner?Da Larsman 12-14-2007, 2:45 PM: Enjoyed the covers mate. The depots and Union Stations deserves alot more coverage in books etc, then they have got already....trolleyboy 12-14-2007, 7:58 PM: Another informative post mate...great reading!siberianmo 12-14-2007, 10:36 PM: Aaah....Hell Gate Bridge....didn't someone make that in model? Was it Lionel or someone? Great pics!Da Larsman 12-15-2007, 4:55 PM: Nice pics mate! I put a dome observation and a heavyweight observation on my x-mas list to Santa, but I doubt that he'll deliver the goods....siberianmo 12-15-2007, 8:02 PM: Good choice for encore post, I like the pics...Da Larsman 12-17-2007, 7:42 PM: Now, our dear Master Of Domes must have been sniffing something, drink or eating that didn't agree with him....buses? As with everything else I like to see or talk about....the older the better. Today's buses....siberianmo 12-17-2007, 9:05 PM: Enjoyed that post about NSB! They must be running through some of the most impressive sceneries in the world....trolleyboy 12-18-2007, 3:25 AM: Another informative post to enjoy...good stuff!Da Larsman 12-18-2007, 3:43 PM: Interesting covers. I'm sure that they'd all be a good read these dark and cold winter day All the best! Jan trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:15 AM Hey Leon just me again. I'll have a top up on the guiness. Heres a few pictures for tomorrow okay todaybefore I run off to slumberland.Since Eric was so interested in the NS&T here's a few tidbits.One of the curve siders from city service St Catharines and Niagara Falls#83 one of the early interurban carsOne of the last modern interurban cars which also served the NS&T's sister road the Montreal and Southern Counties.A shot of the NS&T meeting up with the steamships at the Port Dalhousie yard.enjoy Rob trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:07 AM Good evening Leon I see that you are still awake. Any chance that I might get a medium rare porterhouse with all the fixings still if so it and a guiness which I will take over here by the fire.Just got in from doing my one midnight madness at the store for this year. I tw as madness.I see that the winter solstice is upon us,first day of winter and the temps here are going up as I type this supposed to be 50 F and rainy for the next two days, looks like all the snow will be gone,hard to imagine that the foot + of snow we got this time last week will soon be running down my drivewayTom- I will keep you posted should we head in your general direction,I would love to meet Pete and spend some time with all of you folks in your neck of the woods. Nice to hear that the bakery is giving us a donut machine.The one we found in Boris's shed seems to be possibly not the most hygenic piece of equipment. It's good that we still have the sausage machine as well, H&H can use it to render the critter parts down for the extra greese Sven sems to want Loved the ole catalogues and the drumheads. Interesting that you were able to find the Algoma Central one,certainly one of the more obscure drumheads.Loved the extra pictures of the bus and the Aerotrain,I too find it odd that theer was no way back into the train for the crew from the locomotive. Obviously the Aerotrains ran shorter non overnight type services as ther would be no way to keep more than one crew on board ( no crew sleeping areas )Lars-Thanks for the wonderfull Christmas greeting for all of the gang. 5x for your kindness and thoughtfullness and all round good "guyness" here at the cyber bar of record.Eric-Congrats on the retirement, perhaps now you will have more time to travel St Catharines is in Southern ontario about fifteen miles from Niagara Falls. It's my actual home town to boot. The Niagara St Catharines & Toronto ran city streetcars in St Catharines and Niagara Falls and ran interurban cars between Port Colbourne on Lake Erie and Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario serving all the little towns in between. One could catch a cross lake steamer to Toronto from Port Dalhousie as well. I figure ther are many maps of the system as it was a major electric frieght operation as well. In fact the old frieght districts are still mostly in use in thorold St Catharines and Parts of Niagara Falls and Port Colbourne. At least two books have been written on it over the years. One by Andy Panko the other by John Mills, both currently out of print ( and worth a lot of money when they do surface )The NS&T was an interesting little operation and was one of the last big radials to go out of teh passenger business in the late 50's . 1959 was the last passenger runs, the freight routes stayed electrified until 1961 . Basically six decades of electric service from the early 1890's beginnings.Shane-So you brought up the southern birthdays oh well it was good for a laughHopefully you can be over your plague soon as well, I hate to see Boris hiding and crying in his shedDL Dan-Thanks for the round I hope you and your family have a most wonderfull and safe holiday as well. Rob siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 3:40 PM G'day Gents!As we wind down the work week <for many> let's keep the spirit of this season ALIVE by continuing on with some electric trains of the Classic kind! Now Arriving on Track Number TwoElectric Trains at Christmastime #5 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1945-1969Standard Catalog of Lionel Train Sets - 1945-1969Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1900-1942 Standard Catalog of American Flyer Trains Gilbert's Famous American Flyer TrainsAmerican Flyer Classic Toy Trains* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Friday, December 21, 2007 12:33 PM Hi Tom and all.A cup of coffee and a bacon sarnie please RUTH.Just a short call in as I have to go out in a short while. I am still catching up but would like to offer best wishes to ERIC on his retirement and I noticed DL had been in and a great Christmas card from Manager LARSand a great new theme from TOM.Hope to back in later but let me get a round.Pete. siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 11:20 AM G'day Gents!What a fine looking Christmas "card" from Lars! Nicely done, Mate 'n I can "feel" the sincerity! Many, many thanx! Good to see CM3 Shane stop by - never fails when he's not being forced - coerced - pushed <all of the aforementioned> to work outdoors. Anyway, appreciate the visit! Also just "caught" Dan's Post from the UK! Two days in succession! <grin>As is my practice - I'll withhold specific comments 'til the next round of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A NEW feature at the bar - but chock full of many things seen before <not all> . . . Sit back ‘n enjoy the Classic Drumheads by the Dozen! Now Arriving on Track #2Classic Drumheads by the Dozen - #1 (1) ATSF - Super Chief(2) B&O - The Royal Blue(3) B&M - The Flying Yankee(4) Burlington Route (CB&Q) - Pioneer Zephyr(5) CP - The Canadian(6) Algoma Central Railway(7) CN Railways(8) GTW - The International Limited(9) VIA Rail(10) C&O for Progress(11) CN&W - North Western Limited(12) Milwaukee Road (CMSTPP) - Sioux* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Happy Railroading! Siberianmo DL - UK Member sinceAugust 2006 280 posts Posted by DL - UK on Friday, December 21, 2007 11:11 AM Hello Tom and all inAnother round for anyone in - and again seasons greetings to all. Again a quick visit to soak up the festive cheer and wish all well - thanks to those of you who passed on their regards after my recent visit - at least I've been able to reveiw the pics since then, and some fine postings of pictures onthe site (long time since I had any photo viewing probs so I can now see all the great pics people are posting, some particularly good ones from Tom I note!).All the best to all of you and those close to you for the season, and of course thansk to all those working on the rails to move the large numbers of people seeking to link up with their families and friends over the festive season - a great job well done!RegardsDL - UK LoveDomes Member sinceJanuary 2006 From: northeast U.S. 1,225 posts Posted by LoveDomes on Friday, December 21, 2007 9:20 AM Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!Here's my Christmas card for the Cap'n - and - crew at "Our" Place! [Christmas cards (www.wikipedia.com - GNU Free Documentation/credit: Malene Thyssen]The Merriest Christmas and happiest of holidays to all who have helped make this the finest cyber bar & grill in the ethAH! ERIC - Eric X2000 . . . PETE - pwolfe. . . . . .SHANE - CM3 coalminer3. . . . . . . . . ALLAN- Gunneral. . . . . . . . . . . . PER - marthastrainyard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAN- DL-UK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RON - DD1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SVEN - Sven Olov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAN - JanOlov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROB - trolleyMAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FERGIE - Fergmiester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CAP'N TOM - siberianmo!And a special mention: BK - BudKarr - CHEERS to you, mate - wherever you may be! <clink> Ruth. . . Boris. . . . . . Cindy. . . . . . . . . Leon. . . . . . . . . . . H&H . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awk - Tex - Frostbite - Artie ‘n Juneauand all the rest! May the coming year bring all the best in happiness ‘n health to you ‘n YOURS! Until the next time! Lars coalminer3 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: WV 1,251 posts Posted by coalminer3 on Friday, December 21, 2007 9:10 AM Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England 4 Seasons Blend), and pie, round for the house, and $ for the jukebox. Clouds are right on the deck today and it is damp and raw, but it's not raining or snowing and I get to be inside and feed the system (get caught up on paperwork). Lots of good reading today. Eric - a toast, sir! You made it! Also, thanks for the info. on the Sp routes. That is a segment I would have enjoyed covering. Most of my experience with the SP was on the Overland side of things, although their power used to wander offline every now and then which was a nice find when out photographing. Lars - Hang in there, lad. I'm still coughing up body parts although I feel a tad better every day. I even gross Boris out sometimes during a coughing fit. Thanks for the AF catalogs. DL visited. Glad to see you are still with us!Pete had a question. Most mines were/are switched by the railroads that handled their cars. That being the case, as my old Latin teacher used to say, "There are always exceptions." Some mines have their own switchers. Many of these are units that long ago ran out their time on Class I lines. Some mines will customize units to fit their needs. This can include remote control, or in some cases other extensive modifications. One that sticks in my mind is a mine along the Clinchfield which used EMD F7Bs as switchers. That is a whole subfield of diesel studies as some of these units appear and reappear on different properties in the same area; or they shuttle from mine to mine as needed. It'll drive you crazy trying to keep up with them.Rob - I contributed the southern birthday chart a long time ago - it was e-mailed to me by somebody who thought I'd appreciate it and I thought it worth sharing with the other barflies.OSP has been out and about with more catalogs. The 1956 Lionel is a good one. The New Haven EP5 was for some reason not as popular in our area as the GG1. Anyway, I remember seeing the EP5s on display layouts at dept. stores and hobby shops. The Trainmasters were truly something to be plotted for and lusted after. A friend had one lettered for the Virginian. That thing was a beast. I'd bring a bunch of coal cars (of course) along when I went to his house and we'd run ‘em behind the TM. It really looked nice. These were the big LV cars (black with white lettering). One of the AF books showed the only AF item I ever really coveted. This was the North Coast Limited set with the PAs. I saw a set at the train show in Buffalo and it was pricy, but not all that out of line. What modeling I do at present is in N scale. I got involved with it back in the late 60s when it first became available and never left. Yes, Boris, I can see the trains! Sheesh! I figured the Murmansk comment would smoke out a few people. I hve a friend here who is a former "merchie" as well. He went to Murmansk - I usually see him when I'm out grocery shopping and we stop and tell a few lies. His remarks abt. that part of the terrioty were less than favorable - it wasn't the people so much as it was the weather and the politics once they got there. "Narrow Margin?" I have not seen it - looks like a good 'un.I also enjoyed your selection of photos.Here's a site that will interest all of those who are GG1 devotees.http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/Take time to explore some of the links that are here as they will lead you to all sorts if material about color schemes, dispositions, etc. Enjoy!If I don't get back today, best wishes to all for a safe and blessed Christmas. I'll be back on the 26th for sure.Work safe siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Friday, December 21, 2007 8:38 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train> Friday's GrinReason "things" happen!Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone will ring. G'day Gents!Friday before Christmas ‘n my guess is we'll be rather sparse for customers ‘round here. But, for those passing through our portals - the coffee ‘n pastries are fresh ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' from our Menu Board! Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative) Thursday - Dec 20th:CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 8:31 AM: Fog in "Almost Heaven," eh Not good - so exercise great caution behind the wheel ‘n on foot! My "merchie" father would be grimacing big-time had he read or heard of Murmansk being in Norway! <triple geesh> He made those WWII runs - but I've told the stories before. Anyway, it appalls me to be exposed to this kind of incompetence. Think of it this way: Just how much are these "readers of the news" responsible for How about those writing the news When they err, which they do often, how many timely retractions <aka: corrections> do we get Yeah, we've dumbed down big time ‘n it really, really bothers me. I was long gone from electric trains ‘n my youth when those "cold war" Lionel covers came out. Some say the "turning point" for Lionel trains occurred when they transitioned from toy model trains <perhaps an oxymoron> to the more current themes of the day <rockets - boats - ‘n things gimmicky> - as in "action" type cars other than the typical log dumping ‘n milk cars "back in the day." Should the day arrive when I try to reconstruct the Lionel trains of my youth - which I think about doing from time to time - the period will end around 1953 for me. But of course I'll have to "win the lottery" to afford the stuff - then again, I must first buy a ticket, which I rarely do! <grin> One of the motivators for me getting into S gauge <re: my ceiling suspended S-Capades layout> was this nagging "want" for American Flyer trains of old. A friend of mine said he had a "lead" on not one but two vintage sets <ATSF diesel passenger & ATSF steam freight> a friend had stored away, I got interested. That never materialized - but I began looking around to see what was "out there." The paths took me to where I wound up - not Gilbert, but S-gauge trains of today with much more realism, quality and scale. I'm super thrilled with the stuff on that 8x7 board ‘n the scale is Da Best for model trains, in my not-so-humble-OH-PIN-YUN. S-gauge is oh so expensive and oh-so limited in terms of road names, accessories ‘n the like - especially if one is trying to create a model railroad and not simply playing with toy trains. These S-gauge trains are not "your father's toy trains." HO is by far the leader when it comes to availability of just about anything one can think is needed or required on the pike. Not so with S. <sad> But my vote goes to the 1/64th scale when it comes to "the right size" and so forth. Anyway, you ‘n the guys will have operating "turns" during Rendezvous III! Many thanx for the AM visit, round, quarters ‘n chat! Lars (LoveDomes) at 12:13 PM: A fine spate of Gilbert's American Flyer toy train covers to keep us all in the spirit of electric trains at Christmastime! Love those AF Alco diesel units! A Florida Keys get-away sounds terrific for the winter - especially where you're heading. Can't imagine being away from our digs for so long - but that's what happens when one sets the anchor, eh For my likes - I'd probably opt for an even colder climate as my get-away! <grin>Glad you liked the Amtrak foto on Tuesday's summary. When I saw that in our local paper <aka: bird cage liner> I immediately checked their website and was fortunate to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it doesn't enlarge . . . but still a fine foto. Pete ‘n I spent some time discussing the bar <figure that, eh?> Anyway, a couple of things kinda jumped out (1) the number of "hits" this bar gets - and - (2) how great this current bunch of guys are when it comes to providing meaningful material ‘n obviously reading what is Posted. As far as the "personalities" of those guys we now refer to as UTBs - well, they're GONE-ZO, RIP. ‘nuf said, eh Wolfman behaved himself at the TrainWreck Saloon, although he did try to do one of his Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Friday, December 21, 2007 1:07 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!It's early, early morning Leon! I would like an early breakfast, let's see, French Toast with syrup, powder sugar and some butter. A large OJ, yes the spiked one, and coffee. Finally Friday and finally time to retire! At least partly. And in a few days Santa will stop by! What else could I ask for? The bikini team? Yea..., no that would probably not be a good idea. Tom – Thanks for the Rumpsteak!! Much appreciated! I think I am doing pretty good keeping my gall bladder/stones quiet most of the time. Just a few days/evenings with some trouble. Sorry I missed the St. Louis Museum of Transportation this time! A photo quiz for me? As far as I can tell it must be the rear end of the Rock Island's Aerotrain 3 locomotive. I actually thought there was a passage between the cars and the locomotive. But that was obviously wrong. Interesting shot! Here is the same locomotive from May this year.The 3rd (and last) axle at the rear end of the locomotive. Interesting bus you found at the museum! I believe it is a Twin Coach Model 44-D or 44-S from 1946. 44-D had two 180 hp gasoline engines, 44-S had a single engine. It looks like it was converted to rail service.Nice photos from the Trainwreck Saloon! And one of Stealthy Pete ready for action!Good idea to show more model train catalogs just before Christmas. The problem in my case is that we need a much bigger house so I can build a layout for all the stuff I already have. CM3 – The SP tour did happen and we followed that route! We had a helicopter following us almost all the way from Oakland to Santa Barbara. I just wish I could get a copy of the video they shot. Lars – You are doing the right thing! Get away from snow and ice to warm and nice weather in Florida! Thanks! Yes, today is my last day as a regular, full time, employee! In January I’ll be a retired man who is working a few hours every week (mostly at home) till the end of the year! More model train catalogs! I remember as a kid how exiting it was when a new catalog was released, to open it and find out what was new! DL – Good to see you again, sir! Hope you’ll be back soon!Pete – The mystery of the laughing woman? It really never was a mystery, but I don’t want to say too much before we are going on the CanAm train trip, helping Manager Lars. The Talent train belongs to DSB, the Danish State Railways, not NSB. I have some info somewhere. Give me a couple of days and I’ll find it. So the Stratford Depot is just a memory today?! Too bad.Good luck getting your driver’s license!! Rob – Thanks for the info on the exprimental electric railway! I have to look up St. Catharines on the map. Are there any photos of that system? Eric trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Thursday, December 20, 2007 11:02 PM Good evening Leon, nice to be back in the warm bar room, the cold dankness of H&H'schamber of horrors dunk tank is still fresh in my mind ( and everywhere else <uh oh > )I think a nice tall keith's and here's a twenty to put in tilla for a morning round for the gang as the meander in tomorrow.Tom-Some great old catalogues for us to all enjoy and remember.I'm glad to have been re- enstated here at the saloon.That bus photo is an interesting looking critter any more info that you may have on it would be interesting to hear,looks kind of like an old Ford transit from the 40's but it seems longer.I don't know when we will drive down but don't count it out. My sister is do to leave Colorado Springs this comming summer, looks like they will be posted to BC so perhaps we can work something out. The big thing for me is getting enough time off to plan a long and inclusive trip.The transport museum and the CanAm , not to mention the Train Wreck are all must see things. I liked the festive decors at the Train Wreck , not a Martha Stewart job but at least as goodOh one question , was that astrological chart for our birthdays created by Larry The Cable guy ? Not sure that I like being a Grit but oh well you can't pick the month you were born in I agree with Lars letting Pete use your computer was a gamble, espeacially since he hasn't yet successfully completed Molly Throttlebottom's coarse.Shane-I'd love to do a bit more digging into the ins and outs of the big coal roads and their steam power,it seems to be a given that the C&O and N&W would be heavily swayed by the industries and their owners and backers that they served. You saw that to a point up here as well in that both CN and CP used to serve the major steel plants in Ontario and you will find that alot of the trucks and wheels on CDN rolling stock and locomotives bear a Dofasco manufacturing stamp.Lars-Wow kind of sounds like you managed to pick up the same plague that I've been fighting off. the most annoying thing is that it comes and goes, and never strikes the same body partHopefully you can have an enjoyable holiday with the grandkids, and once you make it down to the keys perhaps the change in weather will clear it all right up.Loved the "covah's" and the catalogues sir, we can always count on sage advice and thoughts on the bar and it's commings and goings. I ahve to say that for the most part I'm pleased with teh corps of people that we now have, it's cozy and there seems to be lots of good info and chats happening ,so all in all I think life is good. I'm just glad that the re-enstatemnet ceremony is over. I have promised the swiming atire to Boris , he wants to make a kerchif out of them for his mother,I guess the Boris clan celebrate Christmas by making things for each other.Eric-Thanks for that link , that little line was set up as a "look at the new techknology" type of a thing, essentially hopping to gain backers and money to build a huge network of interurban and city electric railway systems.Basically a show and tell if you will of teh brave new world of electricity.An interesting sidenote is that Van Deepole sold his system to the NS&T in St Catharines and they ended up being the first all electrified system in the country, right down to the overhead "troller" that was dragged along behind the cars on the overhead wires.Sven-Hmm I think a donut machine might indeed be a good idea, we can insatll it in teh rats patoot roon , that way the Mentor bakery won't get too upset by it's operation, I think all the needed parts are in Boris's shed. thanks for the links as well some inetersting stuff there Just take it easy on the old groanameter it is working but we have used up the supply of spare parts,Boris is searching for more spares but still it's a sensitive piece of equipment.Congrats for hitting the latest posting milestone. Leon an extra Roth's for him on me when he comes in tomorrow. DL-Nice to see you pop in if just for an instant, hopefully things are well for you and yours and I look forward to seeing more from you in the new year.Allan-I'm glad that you enjoyed the story about the Halifax. I fully intend to get some shots of it the next time I'm in Trenton. I have family in Kingston Ontario that we are intending on visiting next summer ( if all goes well ) Trenton is on the way , so hopefully we will be able to catch the air museum when it's open and get a couple good shots of her.Pete-Sounds like you and Tom had a real blast over the last two days I hope the shots of that ex-CN exec car come out it will be interesting to see it. So you are trying to get a drivers licence eh Remember keep on the right side of the road or better yet just hire a driver. Tom's retired he might be able to ferry you about.I will see you next week at Molly's. Eventually one of us will end up not typing with one fingerAs far as the wrestling goes , I only partake on the chocolate pudding nights, H&H are less aggressive once they have consumed massed quantities of Belgian chocolate mousse.Rob pwolfe Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: mid mo 1,054 posts Posted by pwolfe on Thursday, December 20, 2007 6:32 PM Hi Tom and all.A pint of Bathams please RUTH. Back after two great days with TOM.LARS Hope you able to get to the warmer Keys for the New Year. It seems as though the snow and rain around here is mainly keeping itself for the weekends. At the moment I have a learner's permit for a car, I never drove a car in the UK the bike and public transport was my usual form of transport. I am getting a friend to teach me as lessons, in the car, with the bride usually end in tearsReal sorry you caught that cold at the Giants game it looked terrible conditions to play the game in.Great domes for the encore and the usual great covers from the Larsman Mobile. I can recall the Trolleybuses running in a part of the West Midlands of England around the Walsall area, I have found a link and it says they ran as late as 1969, which I believe was a lot longer than those in London, although I can remember seeing photos of the last run of the trolley buses in London it was a big event.http://www.thetransportmuseum.org/transhis2.aspI agree with what you say about Tom's listI doubt if they will find a better place in the ether than Our Place.What this I go away for a couple of days and a ‘Hot Tub' appears ALLAN I well remember the name of Dorman and Long, I believe they were a very big firm of steelmakers as well.That was a great programme about when the Flying Scotsman ran the 40th Anniversary of the non-stop run although it has been a long while since I have seen it. I recall the non-stop run was achieved despite being down to walking pace at one point. I guess the run was only possible as the water troughs were still in place on the ECML. I think at the start of the trip Scotsman left London King's Cross alongside the Deltic hauled Flying Scotsman service train.While Scotsman was still an A1, and just before its conversion to an A3, she was allocated to Leicester Central depot and was a regular through Rugby on the Great Central line, sadly though just before my time, I can recall the V2s and B1s on passenger trains and the L1 tank engines on stopping passenger trains.It is hard to believe that next year it will be the 40th anniversary of the 1968 40th anniversary train. In the Steam Railway magazine that recently arrived here, it features the LNER steam, although I have not read it yet there is an article written by someone who fired the Flying Scotsman on its tour of the USA.Thanks for the kind words on Alan's photosROB Come and join BORIS and I at Molly Throttlebottom's class it is great fun, especially at the mud wrestling when one of BORIS's inflatables get involved.Yes BORIS's shed is the place to look for lost items at the bar but if Tom sees the present state of the shed the next one to get a ‘Tweeting' will be made to clean it up.It is so right what say about a camera in the old days locomotives or liveries that were seen every day would disappear from the scene without a photographic record of them. Although today if I go down to the line with a camera not a lot comes through but leave it at home and some thing unusual generally turns up.Many thanks for the Lake Simcoe Jct encore. I am about to read of the ‘Ceremony' at Our Place.ERIC Many thanks for the great photos loved the X2000 alongside the steam locomotive. I bet the controls of the X2000 are a lot more complicated the Pacific Electric car.Have you solved ‘The Mystery of The Laughing Woman', it sounds like a Sherlock Holmes story. Have you any more info on the NSB ‘Talent' Train it DL - UK Member sinceAugust 2006 280 posts Posted by DL - UK on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:35 PM Hello Tom and all inI'm back from the legion of the lost (as no doubt you have been thinking) to put a round on the bar and ask what people would like to drink.Gives me great pleasure to weigh in with a post after Lars' superb set of catalogue pictures etc!Apols for the absence - just as things get near the festive season the work load cranks up and the personal task crank up too - but I can't get near the festive time without thinking of the regulars here at our place and an enthusiasm for ensuring said festive season does not pass off without at least me managing to pass on good wishes of the season.Not sure if I'll be able to post as frequently as I'd like, but I'll certainly be back as soon as I can. Not had the time to review any of the recent stuff I'm afraid (so that is the reason I'm not pitching in to recent topics), but hope I can review it in due course. I'm sure there is plenty of quality there to enjoy!All the best to everyoneDL LoveDomes Member sinceJanuary 2006 From: northeast U.S. 1,225 posts Posted by LoveDomes on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:11 PM Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!Ruth my deAH, a lunchtime visit from the Larsman . . . didn't think I'd make it in today. Still feelin' like crap, in fact last night thought I'd be heading off to the ER, as everything went upside down for me - just had major difficulties sorting things out. Dizzy, nausea, aching ‘n all the rest. Finally had a chance to get some air outside - which probably was stupid, but the stiff breeze kinda refreshed me, although the chill of it wasn't smart for me to be exposed to. <ugh> Sorry to prattle on like this . . . Boris, thanks for feedin' the crittAHs - take that LARGE jar of PPF, you've earned it! A round for the house, ‘n I'll settle for a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, some crackAHS, a few slices of sharp cheddar ‘n some of that Nog Da Bossman made! <ummmm>Hey Bossman! That was a really nice photo you provided for us on the morning summary from Tuesday . . . the Amtrak train looked really <cool> in the snow at Kirkwood. I'd love to see 'n ride that little train to Kansas City with you 'n the Wolfman! They'd nevAH be the same . . . <Amtrak that is!> Wuddathunk the guys wudda jumped all over that great shot . . . but no one did! Go figger, huh Also sorry that I totally missed the optional toy & model trains gala yesterday. Although I've noted that our Cap'n made up for me by providing another on this day! Really got a kick outta the pix in your morning report, Cap'n Tom! Been wonderin' about that "mystery" one for Eric . . . interesting looking bus. Never saw one like that before. WondAH who made it - where did it operate - and so forth So did Wolfman try to get that hat away from the Buffalo at the Trainwreck Looks like something Boris might try to do . . . Nice touch with the wreath! Now that's the way to decorate . . . You actually permitted Wolfman to operate your ‘puter You sure do live dangerously, huh <grin>Changing gears - I'm not feeling like Christmas, in the least. Just hope this passes before the "day" arrives as I don't want to be that ‘wet blanket' when we go visiting the grandkids ‘n so forth.We're supposed to be heading down to the Keys next Sunday (30th) - all booked on the airlines. One of our boys is driving the buggy down, laden with all kinds of "stuff" the Mrs. thinks we'll "need." Yeah right! We brought ‘n bought so much that is down there now, I'm wonderin' where in the world we're gonna find room to stow this new load. <grin> <groan> An observation: Really seeing some great evidence of the resurgence of this bar of ours. I agree with Cap'n Tom that we've got not only an eager bunch, but guys who really are "into" what we're all about. Sure, we don't have the numbers of "back when," but so what I'd much rather have guys who READ what's provided ‘n respond in kind when guys have something to pass along. We all have been through that frustration of asking a guy this or that, only to be "blown off" <ignored> time in ‘n time out. Became almost expected' with some of the bunch. Those two from the left coast immediately come to mind. But they weren't the only ones. I just like this crew . . . So, Rob "made it' back to the fold, huh As bad as I felt last nite, it was hilarious watching H&H trying to unsnap those snaps on his Speed-Oh! Crazy "gals" huh Didn't appear to me that trolleyMAN minded being "handled" like that either! <uh oh> Anyway, he's baaaaaaaaack, ‘n life is good ‘round the bar once more. 5- salute to our friend the trolleyMAN! A B'day coming up for the man called Shane, huh So, who's counting <grin>Regards to those who've come in since my last - Pete - Eric - Allan - Sven ‘n Shane! Yeah, I hate it when that happens too - moving geographic locations without letting anyone know. How awful! <grin> Don't wanna get me started on those who "report" the news in this country of ours . . . siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:07 AM 2007 BIRTHDAY WATCH LIST <rev. Dec 20th>Customers at "Our" Place! 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. January 23rd (Jan - 38) CHITLIN (Jan 21 - Feb 19) Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A Chitlin, however, will make something of himself if he is motivated and has lots of season-ing. In dealing with Chitlins, be careful they may surprise you. They can erupt like Vesuvius. Chitlins are best with a Moon Pie but Catfish or Okra is O.K. too. 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 Chitlin 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. August 11th (Pete - 56)August 14th (Allan - 72)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) September 11th - (Per - 62)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 9th (Ron - 73)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) - NEXT UP! 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The age reflected is what you will be on your 2007 B'day!Not on the list Send me an Email with your birth date (month-day-year) Corrections too! Believe it or NOT! We once had a guy (UTB) who was on the list for a couple of YEARS! Then when his "day" arrived for a Birthday Bash <which we no longer do> - he let's me know that the age listed was incorrect AND he failed to show up for his party! Takes all kinds, eh Speaks volumes about paying attention to what's being Posted at the bar, eh Soooooooooo, IF your listing is incorrect - TELL ME ABOUT IT! <grin> I'm working from the info sent to me by Email . . . . < Happy Railroading! Siberianmo siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 9:07 AM G'day Gents!As this Christmas season moves us closer to the magical date of December 25th, thoughts of electric trains are still runnin' in my head . . . so here's ANOTHER installment of our Electric Trains at Christmastime to savor! Now Arriving on Track Number TwoElectric Trains at Christmastime #4 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs 1954 Lionel Catalog1955 Lionel Catalog1956 Lionel Catalog1954 American Flyer Catalog1955 American Flyer Catalog1956 American Flyer Catalog* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy! Tom Missed any #1 . . . Page 149#2 . . . Page 153#3 . . . Page 156 Happy Railroading! Siberianmo coalminer3 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: WV 1,251 posts Posted by coalminer3 on Thursday, December 20, 2007 8:31 AM Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England Eye Opener Blend will be fine); let's see what's in the pastry case; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Interesting weather here this a.m. as we are having "frog." Freezing fog which puts a nice, thin, coat of ice on everything - so we pay extra attention crossing the bridges on the way to work. Allan stopped by - Thanks for the birthday greetings.Eric - One more to go! The SP material you sent enlarged very nicely. Did this tour actually happen or was it something the SP wanted to do but never did. Anyway, if you followed that route you got a good sampling of things. Also, nice "frozen north" picture. OSP visited with catalog covers - I remember all of the Lionel ones. As you mentioned, there was a great rivalry in our neighborhood as well between the Flyer folks and the Lionel people. Anyway, the 1958 and 59 Lionel covers are interesting. Cold War, indeed!Bar pictures were great - I like the Santa hat on the buffalo, also the wreath. Who is that mad man at the keyboard? Be afraid, be very afraid! Seriously, that was a good picture, too. Last, I close with an item which shows the geographical retardation in our country today. The other day one of the news outlets had pictures of a rescue operation from a ship which had run onto some rocks in the north. I was doing fine with watching this until the commentator said, this accident happened at "Murmansk, Norway." Lord, I hate it when they move things without telling me. BTW, you'd be surprised how many people don't realize that west Virginia is a separate state. Boris, put me down! I'll stop now.Will try and stop back later today,Work safe siberianmo Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: Chesterfield, Missouri, USA 7,214 posts "Our" Place reborn! An adult bar 'n grill for the discussion of Classic Trains! Posted by siberianmo on Thursday, December 20, 2007 7:12 AM <"Our" Place Christmas Holiday Train>G'day Gents!And all of a sudden it's the day BEFORE FRIDAY <again> ! So, time to fill up the mugs with our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. While you're at it, place an order for a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board ‘n sample a few pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery while waiting . . . Comments from the Proprietor: Apparently all went "well" for Rob during the "ceremony" or at least it seems so. Don't know HOW the dunk tank got assembled in the Rat's Patoor Room ‘n don't know HOW they managed to drain it without making a total ruination of the joint! <geesh> But all's well that ends well - as trolleyboy Rob has been REINSTATED to "Regular Customer" at the cyber bar ‘n grill known as "Our" Place! So sez the Committee! No Boris, we'll NOT be showing those fotos of Rob in his speed-ohhhhhhh <or is that, speed-arrrrrgggghhhh?> We DO have a few "standards" left ‘round the joint! Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative) Wednesday - Dec 19th:Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:52 AM: What's to say other than "you da man!" Continuing on with the support ‘n book covers - what MORE can we ask from our Manager Pete ‘n I thought of you as we spent yesterday afternoon at the TrainWreck Saloon! Here's something you ‘n the guyz might get a kick out of from the "back bar" . . . .<look closely - those are G gauge trains "in" the wreath!> Many thanx for the visit, chat ‘n covers - ROUND too! Pete (pwolfe) at 10:34 AM: Here's an "action" shot of Wolfman preparing his Post . . .Sven (Sven Olov) at 12:51 PM: Congratulations to YOU for making the 3,100th Post <REPLY> at our reborn cyber bar 'n grill! The bar is 'open' for YOU as is the Menu Board - for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Really appreciate those fine links on the Malbanan ! Some super-fine fotos ‘n enuf info to keep the fires stocked for quite awhile. Very good stuff, fer sure, fer sure! On my "list" of Hopefully One Day <HOD> I'd dearly love to travel throughout Norway ‘n Sweden by train . . . ahhhhhhhh, just the thought of some blonde gal carrying me off . . . . <ooooooooooops> that's from another dream! Don't know WHAT it is about you guys from Sweden - but a cast iron stomach must "come" with the "standard issue," eh Cheese tortillas, Roth's beer AND donuts <yikes> However, we aim to please ‘round here - so enjoy! Now the Gevalia - well, that probably needs a bit of explaining for the crew. <grin>Some things one just has to see to believe, eh "Red means stop" must've brought a laff or three out of you! <grin> Kinda "budged" the Groan-O-Meter, just a tad . . .Thanx f Happy Railroading! Siberianmo EricX2000 Member sinceDecember 2002 From: Phoenix, AZ 683 posts Posted by EricX2000 on Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:16 AM Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!Hello Leon, I would say it is time for my weekly Rumpsteak Café de Paris! How about a cold bottle of Tui? Good! Back again after a less nice evening last night. Getting close to Friday. My last regular Friday!!! Then 11 days off before I start my part time year with the company. I will mostly work at home. Tom – You are right! Focus on the positive! There is way too much negative as it is, just ignore it. SP, my favorite of them all! Too bad they were swallowed by UP. Thanks to SP the X2000 tour was extended to California 1993. SP wanted a diesel version running between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Interesting to read about the locomotive paint and apperance! I guess everyone knows the Daylight scheme. I should be able to start showing some model trains on Wednesdays in the near future when I start working part time after Christmas. That should give me more time to take some photos. Nice Lionel Catalogs!! Lars – Always good to see Manager Lars around the Bar. It certainly keeps Ruth smiling for some reason! Hope you will get well soon!!More interesting books! Diamondbugs, I remember I read about those motor cars a number of months back and I think they were not a big success. CM3 – Looking forward to more info on NY-Philadelphia-Harrisburg-Altoona-Pittsburgh. Rob – I have another question for you. In 1984 a Belgian inventor named Charles Van Depoele met with J. J. Wright and constructed an electric railway running between the Crystal Palace, inside the Canadian Industrial Exhibition fairgrounds, and Strachan Avenue near the terminal of a Toronto Street Railway horsecar line. It was in service for five years, see this link.http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4155.shtmlDo you know any more facts about this electric railway? Thanks for the Classic Diesels piece! I guess B&O were early buying their first road diesel 1935. Pete – I am ready for any photo quiz! I am sure you had a good lunch at the Trainwreck Saloon! Sven – Above the Arctic Circle? Snow and ice. That is where we tested the X2000 to make sure it could handle snow and ice in the trucks and tilting mechanisms. The summer up there is okay though. Except the mosquitos. Kiruna 1990.Allan – Thanks! I am working my last day tomorrow, Friday! In January I will start working part time, 20 hrs/week. I am very much looking forward to get some more time for myself! Yeah, that was my usual uniform with Amtrak. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Your brother-in-law must be a very unusual person, not having a PC. I guess he has other interests! Eric Gunneral Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: NZ 242 posts Posted by Gunneral on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 7:50 PM Hi Tom and all,The usual round of Tui`s for all the crew please Leon.Rob. Thanks for the info about the Halifax bomber at Trenton, amazing story about the pilot getting his thermos back after 63 years, enjoyed your posts and pics, great write up`s on Classic Steam #38 and Classic Diesels #36, very interesting info.Eric. Congratulations on your retirement, ENJOY! These day`s I don`t even know how I found the time to go to work. Those were some nice pics you posted, you look very smart in your suit and tie, was it your usual uniform?Lars. Nice choice covers from the Larsman Mobile collection, nice selection of trolleybus and Canadian RR covers.CM3. Nice to see you back, sorry to hear you hav`nt been feeling too good, i`ll have to get Leon to give you a couple of shots of the "hard stuff" to give you a boost.Pete.Good to see you got home OK after your trip to Tom`s, sounds as if you both had a great time together. Look forward to seeing your latest pics.Ron. Have always liked that "Don`t worry" song too!Sven. Thanks for those links to the Swedish railway sites, you must have seen a lot of wolves and reindeer in the arctic circle area you worked in up there.Tom. Totally agree with all your comments, it sounds as if we both react the same way to profane language in public with women and children in earshot, I just can not help putting my oar in and making it plain to the offender that it`s NOT acceptable in public! Boy Entrants in the Brit army is the same as your Military Academy system, only they are fully attested and are part of the regular forces, you are not able to serve oversea`s or in combat until reaching 18 years of age, the training is aimed at providing the future Warrant Officers and N.C.O`s of the Corps. Enjoyed all your fine posts, what a great selection, the Bayonne Bridge write up and links, [must have been a great experience to walk over that arch in your youth!] the Norwegian railways, SP RR, and the nice model RR covers.To all you guys. Here`s wishing a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours, have a great festive season together, ENJOY! We are going up to Auckland for Christmas with my wife`s family, unfortunately I will be off line for over a week because my brother-in-law does NOT have a PC! Will try to get on line somehow whilst we are up there anyway!CM3. Here`s wishing you a very on the 29th Shane, just in case I don`t get to see you before then! Have a GOOD ONE mate!See ya, Allan « First«27282930313233»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
Overall, the film was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in the UK, one Golden Laurel award, four Oscars, and five Golden Globes in the U.S.A., in which Albert Finney won as The Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical/Comedy in 1971. Finney was only 34 years old at the time he was chosen to play both the old miser and the young man Scrooge of fla Happy Railroading! Siberianmo
This is ENCORE! Saturday - and - Photo Posting Day!
"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas!
REMINDER: The drinks are on Jan for the remainder of the year! Put your money aside - it's been paid for! Five- Salute to Jan for his continuing generosities!
G'day Gents!
Here are some of my favorite personal fotos - all of which have been displayed at the bar either over on the Original Thread or here or both!
My avatar foto . . . . VIA Rail's observation dome car - Revelstoke Park on the eastbound "Ocean" at Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada . . .
From the Revelstoke Park observation dome in New Brunswick, Canada aboard VIA Rail's eastbound "Ocean"
Eastbound VIA Rail "Ocean" arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - observation dome is Banff Park
Departure preparation at Halifax - westbound "Ocean" F40PH locos 'n baggage car across the platform from the Budd streamlined consist.
The Glacier Park observation dome at the rear of VIA Rail's westbound "Canadian" at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada . . .
This was taken from the observation dome of the eastbound VIA Rail "Canadian" . . . Mt. Robson is the highest in the Canadian Rockies.
VIA Rail's eastbound "Canadian" at Jasper, Alberta, Canada - <my ill-fated Norwalk Virus trip>
Enjoy!
Tom
Most pleased to see our "reborn regular" this Saturday <during daylite at that!> - trolleyMAN Rob - our Resident Ontario Connection!
Hmmmmmm, now that our "other" Canadian Connection has returned to port - guess he's doing other things. Wish he'd swing by - at least for a "nog" 'n to acknowledge the guys who have directed comments his way . . .
Anyway, appreciate your taking the time to "pop" in - BUT I am NOT pleased with ANY comments directed toward MY CINDY! <mine, mine, mine!> <grrrrrrrrrrrrr> If there's any laps to be sat upon, it won't be yours! <double grrrrrrrrrrr> <uh oh>
AND just caught a super-fine inclusive, informative 'n most interesting Post from our friend, Wolfman Pete on this Saturday afternoon! Figured he'd make it in early - given the free drinks 'til the end of 2007! <grin> BUT - he's hardly a penny-pincher, quite contrary. He's a most generous Mate at the bar - more than willing to buy a round 'n then some!
Okay - 'nuf of that . . . today is set aside for reruns 'n fotos . . . so, these are my "no rhyme or reason selections from the archives - all shown over the past years at the bar - check 'em out!
Globe Models A unit
Globe Models B unit
Alco-GE
Fairbanks-Morse
ElectroMotive Division
BESA Class 4-6-0 of India Railways
From the balcony at Mentor Village's Emporium Theatre!
Mentor Village Public Works Dept. at work for YOU!
The MESS at CN yards along the Can-Am Railway!
Outta date - but cute!
Something to thiMk about! <aboot for our friends above the 49th!>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A pint of Bathams please CINDY.
TOM It was good to read about the Southern Pacific in the Railroads from Yesteryear encore. It seems the railroad was the first to use oil as a fuel for locomotives. It said the SP cab-forwards were the only locos of that type in North America, but I don't know of any other country that had cab forward steamers, so the SP locos could be unique, and talking to someone at the Sacramento museum it is fortunate that the only survivor of that type was saved.
Many thanks for those great Lionel and American Flyer catalogs, loved the 1959 AF one.
I mentioned the movie we saw to the bride and she recognized it straight away and knew the Narrow Margin title, she agreed it is a great movie, I am sure it will be welcomed at the Emporium on its rerun.
Great photos from my visit, two very rare ones of me, with no black bag in sight.
I too thought the photo quiz to Eric would at least make him think a little but no, we will have to make it a lot harder next time.
Drumheads by the Dozen, great. I do hope we can get to Green Bay and see the fine collection of Drumheads they have on display at the NRM.
Doc's visit went OK thanks, but he would not give me a prescription for the Train Wreck. I told him it does me more good than any pills.
ROB I had the same thing in school it was all the imperial system of measurements and then they decided we had better get ready for metrification, also our money changed in the UK, from 240 pennies in the pound (12 pennies= 1 shilling. 20 shillings =1pound) to 100 new pence to the pound. Perhaps they done this to make the mass inflation of the 1970s not seem as bad.
Enjoyed reading the Classic Diesels on the early days of the B&O diesels. I guess they refurbished the locomotives they already had in the 1930s with only a total of 44 new locos in that decade. I guess the diesels had to come in but having seen photos of some of the B&O large steam locos I bet a lot of B&O railfans were sad to see them go.
Many congratulations on your reinstatement it was good to see the dunk tank is still watertight. The CN car was the ‘Mentis' I believe.
It would be really great if you could get down here it would be a real pleasure to meet you in person. Many thanks for the NS&T photos.
SVEN Many thanks for the great links on the Malmbanan line. Really enjoyed looking at the great photos in the links. I can still remember that a British Trains Annual, which was a Christmas present to me in 1962, had an article of the railway at Narvick; it made an impression on a young teen.
Really glad you are enjoying yourself at the bar it is great to have you here.
LARS Really great Christmas Card and really great words BUT I MUST add your name to the list to the people who make Our Place the wonderful place it is. I too will have a quiet thought for BK at this time of year.
Tom and I was trying to imagine you with us at the Train Wreck Saloon, it would have been great. I think the buffalo is in the bar so when
-Well good morning Cindy don't you look wondefull in that Victoria secrets Santa suit
Tom-Yup they gotta milk every last cent , I figure that to asve time we should install a machine at the front door that picks them up and shakes them over a grate thus collecting all the loose change Hopefully the critters are not stiring anything, you know what teh mentor health dept said the last time
Jan=Nice to see you sir thanks for the christmas cheer,I'm on my way to work at the moment so it will only cost you a spiked coffee okay Cindy ( she can sit on my lap any time [swg )Yes they did say that about Alco's I've always thought that when they were idelling they sounded like an old man gurgling phlegm as well
Eric-Hope your sleeping in on your first day of retirment.Just don't be shocke dby teh prices of those two books should you find them.
"Our" Place is CLOSED on Sunday and Christmas.
Saturday before Christmas ‘n all thru the bar, not a crittAH was stirring . . . okay, ‘nuf of that! Coffee's ready - pastries are fresh - ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' - lets GO!
Customer Acknowledgments since my last narrative:
Friday - Dec 21st:
CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 9:10 AM: Nice to see "things" a bit normal ‘round here with a morning Post from our Resident WVA Connection!
Super-fine link on "things Pennsy" - especially my favorite locomotive, the GG1.
Nice thing about our model railroading interests is that there's so many options available - so whatever "works," does precisely that!
There have been times when I've wondered about those NH EPs - wondering as you have about "acceptance." Lionel had a decent looking version - but when I was involved with toy trains, not in my area of interest. I think Gilbert put one out too - something I'm not sure of though . . .
I recall those great looking AF Alco locos from "back in the day." While my favorite was <and remains> the Santa Fe <red war bonnet>, I concur that the NP was a fine looking specimen as well.
Many thanx for the dialogue - round ‘n quarters!
Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:20 AM: What a fine gift for the gang - a well thought out ‘n most innovative Christmas Greeting!
Five- Salute to the Manager!
Dan (DL-UK) at 11:11 AM: Two days in a row with a visit from our Resident UK Connection - after a considerable absence! Good to see ya ‘n appreciate the thoughts directed our way!
Round helps too!
Pete (pwolfe) at 12:33 PM: Oh yeah, today is Doc Day for the Wolfman! Hope all turns out just fine!
Round ‘n visit appreciated!
Saturday - Dec 22nd:
Rob (trolleyboy) at 1:07 AM ‘n 1:15 AM: A "two-fer" from our Resident Ontario Connection - Count Robulla, another nocturnal fellow at the bar!
As with where you are, our snow from less than a week ago is nothing but a memory. Temps have been in the 50s (F) ‘n while that sounds good to many, it ain't winter for the likes of Moi! <groan> Supposed to get rain later on ‘n into tomorrow. <barf> Doesn't appear as if we'll get anything close to a white Christmas.
While the summer is oh so far off - planning for a trip begins early. So, keep in mind that if the St. Louis Museum of Transportation <Kirkwood> is in your plans - some days are far better than others. So check with me before you lock anything in, okay I'm sure we'll be kicking this about via Email ‘n over the fone . . . Of course the Can-Am Trainroom is open year ‘round with no "cover charge" for friends from the bar! TrainWreck Saloon
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, just a quick breakfast before I go to bed! Coffee and a Cheese Danish!
Finally some time off and time to see Santa again! If he remembers me. I told him about a some books about UP. Very informative books!
Tom – Thanks! I consider myself a retiree from midnight! I didn’t do too much at work today. Got some gifts and had a piece of delicious cake.
When I saw the quiz photo I thought about the AeroTrain right away. Reasons being the low height, the coupler and the rounded profiles of the sides. With traction motors only on the two first axles the AeroTrain must have been slipping easily, especially when starting from stop.That old Twin Coach bus must have been converted to rail use. The openings for the front wheels covered, the added horn on the roof, the removed headlights and the added top headlight all indicate it was used for rail service. I did some research tonight but did not find anything. I’ll try again later.Move to a colder place? No, thank you. It is cold enough here! Today’s train catalogs look great! Good looking drum heads! My favorite is the first one, ATSF – Super Chief! CM3 – Thank you for the toast! Yeah, I made it and it feels very good! Now I have to go and get a nice cane. We had a great time in California with the X2000. I talked quite a bit with SP's vice chairman. He liked the X2000 a lot. Lars – Merry Christmas to you and your family!! I hope your Mrs. is feeling better! And you too. Your Christmas Card is actually a whole bunch of Christmas Cards and at least five of them are Swedish and one Norwegian (or Danish) (bottom right corner)! DL – Thanks for the round! A Merry Christmas to you ‘n Yours!!! Pete – Thanks for the best wishes! It is a nice feeling. All I need now is a cane. Thanks for the round!Rob – Thanks for the congrats! If I had known it was this nice to retire I would have done that a long time ago!Also thanks for the info on NS&T!! Very interesting! I added Andy Panko and John Mills to my book list. The NS&T photos are very interesting! JanOlov – Welcome back, good to see you again! I think today’s railroads need to be big to be able to keep and expand the infrastructure and rolling stock. The AeroTrain is something different. Not a big success, but different. Eric
Good morning Tom and gentlemen....
First of all my sincere and heartfelt apologies for not being around as much as I had hoped for. But these last two weeks has been murder if you pardon my expression. Never been this busy before, and with two bodies short, that doesn't help much either.... We've been doing 2+ hours overtime each night. And when you get back home, you're too worked up to sleep...been more of a zombie during the day, wouldn't have made much sense talking.... So, without any further delays....since I've been absent from any alcohol etc, I've managed to save up quite alot....here's a check barkeep, should keep the lads throats damp to after New Year....all drinks on me chaps!! Hands over a check....and this for the cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer.
Sven 12-10-2007, 5:44 PM: Welcome to family Sven, pleased to meet you! Have a dram on me....
pwolfe 12-10-2007, 11:51 PM: Nice picture of "Dominion Of Africa" is it? Glad you enjoyed the pics mate. Hope to see more from you...which I'll probably do as I work through these posts..
EricX2000 12-11-2007, 4:42 AM: Nice pic of the Amtrak train refueling, are they still doing it this way nowadays?
trolleyboy 12-11-2007, 5:13 AM: Good post about the Alco and MLW... Didn't they used to say that Alco's were honorable steam locomotive for the way they smoked....?
Da Larsman 12-11-2007, 4:26 PM: Nice looking set of Southern E's mate. And covers are always welcome as you know....
coalminer3 12-11-2007, 5:59 PM: Interesting post indeed.....
siberianmo 12-11-2007, 9:09 PM: nice repost of trolleyboy pics.....
trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:21 AM: Did Alco's ever look so pretty in D&H colours, one of the best looking paint schemes ever me thinks...
trolleyboy 12-12-2007, 5:39 AM: Enjoyed those pics of the Lancaster, Spitfire's, Hurrricane's, 109 etc. indeed...great stuff!
EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: True, DaLarsman can be a tad bit sensitive about our beloved Ruth....
EricX2000 12-12-2007, 6:47 AM: Pacific Electric....nice!
siberianmo 12-12-2007, 2:06 PM: Those are timeless classics! Hope to see more of them...
Da Larsman 12-12-2007, 3:26 PM: I love those catalog covers....!
pwolfe 12-12-2007, 11:17 PM: Great looking GWR and SOUTHERN steam you have there... As mentioned before GWR Castle and Kings classes....poetry in design! Keep em coming...
DD1 12-13-2007, 1:08 AM: Hope to see some pics of that truck of yours....
Sven 12-13-2007, 3:29 PM: Early mornings with home made Lussekatt, Kaffe, snow and cold is what I miss most from the old country this time of the year.... Used to take the Lucia off from work and get up early to watch it on the TV...with above mentioned sweets...
siberianmo 12-13-2007, 7:53 PM: Somehow today's magazine covers don't have the same attraction as they used to have...Imagine if TRAINS would take a year to celebrate their old covers and reprint them in a book or something. Maybe use covers from 1948 throughout 2008...
trolleyboy 12-13-2007, 8:59 PM: Informative post matey..
pwolfe 12-13-2007, 10:21 PM: GREAT pics.... Those saddletanks engines must be a typical British thing....
EricX2000 12-14-2007, 6:46 AM: Great picture as always.... Wouldn't the Z65 be about the same as the old GE 44-tonner?
Da Larsman 12-14-2007, 2:45 PM: Enjoyed the covers mate. The depots and Union Stations deserves alot more coverage in books etc, then they have got already....
trolleyboy 12-14-2007, 7:58 PM: Another informative post mate...great reading!
siberianmo 12-14-2007, 10:36 PM: Aaah....Hell Gate Bridge....didn't someone make that in model? Was it Lionel or someone? Great pics!
Da Larsman 12-15-2007, 4:55 PM: Nice pics mate! I put a dome observation and a heavyweight observation on my x-mas list to Santa, but I doubt that he'll deliver the goods....
siberianmo 12-15-2007, 8:02 PM: Good choice for encore post, I like the pics...
Da Larsman 12-17-2007, 7:42 PM: Now, our dear Master Of Domes must have been sniffing something, drink or eating that didn't agree with him....buses? As with everything else I like to see or talk about....the older the better. Today's buses....
siberianmo 12-17-2007, 9:05 PM: Enjoyed that post about NSB! They must be running through some of the most impressive sceneries in the world....
trolleyboy 12-18-2007, 3:25 AM: Another informative post to enjoy...good stuff!
Da Larsman 12-18-2007, 3:43 PM: Interesting covers. I'm sure that they'd all be a good read these dark and cold winter day
Hey Leon just me again. I'll have a top up on the guiness. Heres a few pictures for tomorrow okay todaybefore I run off to slumberland.Since Eric was so interested in the NS&T here's a few tidbits.
One of the curve siders from city service St Catharines and Niagara Falls
#83 one of the early interurban cars
One of the last modern interurban cars which also served the NS&T's sister road the Montreal and Southern Counties.
A shot of the NS&T meeting up with the steamships at the Port Dalhousie yard.
enjoy Rob
Good evening Leon I see that you are still awake. Any chance that I might get a medium rare porterhouse with all the fixings still if so it and a guiness which I will take over here by the fire.Just got in from doing my one midnight madness at the store for this year. I tw as madness.
I see that the winter solstice is upon us,first day of winter and the temps here are going up as I type this supposed to be 50 F and rainy for the next two days, looks like all the snow will be gone,hard to imagine that the foot + of snow we got this time last week will soon be running down my driveway
Tom- I will keep you posted should we head in your general direction,I would love to meet Pete and spend some time with all of you folks in your neck of the woods.
Nice to hear that the bakery is giving us a donut machine.The one we found in Boris's shed seems to be possibly not the most hygenic piece of equipment. It's good that we still have the sausage machine as well, H&H can use it to render the critter parts down for the extra greese Sven sems to want
Loved the ole catalogues and the drumheads. Interesting that you were able to find the Algoma Central one,certainly one of the more obscure drumheads.
Loved the extra pictures of the bus and the Aerotrain,I too find it odd that theer was no way back into the train for the crew from the locomotive. Obviously the Aerotrains ran shorter non overnight type services as ther would be no way to keep more than one crew on board ( no crew sleeping areas )
Lars-Thanks for the wonderfull Christmas greeting for all of the gang. 5x for your kindness and thoughtfullness and all round good "guyness" here at the cyber bar of record.
Eric-Congrats on the retirement, perhaps now you will have more time to travel St Catharines is in Southern ontario about fifteen miles from Niagara Falls. It's my actual home town to boot. The Niagara St Catharines & Toronto ran city streetcars in St Catharines and Niagara Falls and ran interurban cars between Port Colbourne on Lake Erie and Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario serving all the little towns in between. One could catch a cross lake steamer to Toronto from Port Dalhousie as well. I figure ther are many maps of the system as it was a major electric frieght operation as well. In fact the old frieght districts are still mostly in use in thorold St Catharines and Parts of Niagara Falls and Port Colbourne. At least two books have been written on it over the years. One by Andy Panko the other by John Mills, both currently out of print ( and worth a lot of money when they do surface )The NS&T was an interesting little operation and was one of the last big radials to go out of teh passenger business in the late 50's . 1959 was the last passenger runs, the freight routes stayed electrified until 1961 . Basically six decades of electric service from the early 1890's beginnings.
Shane-So you brought up the southern birthdays oh well it was good for a laughHopefully you can be over your plague soon as well, I hate to see Boris hiding and crying in his shed
DL Dan-Thanks for the round I hope you and your family have a most wonderfull and safe holiday as well.
Rob
Now Arriving on Track Number Two
Electric Trains at Christmastime
#5 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs
Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1945-1969
Standard Catalog of Lionel Train Sets - 1945-1969
Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains - 1900-1942
Standard Catalog of American Flyer Trains
Gilbert's Famous American Flyer Trains
American Flyer Classic Toy Trains
Hi Tom and all.
A cup of coffee and a bacon sarnie please RUTH.
Just a short call in as I have to go out in a short while. I am still catching up but would like to offer best wishes to ERIC on his retirement and I noticed DL had been in and a great Christmas card from Manager LARSand a great new theme from TOM.
Hope to back in later but let me get a round.
What a fine looking Christmas "card" from Lars! Nicely done, Mate 'n I can "feel" the sincerity! Many, many thanx!
Good to see CM3 Shane stop by - never fails when he's not being forced - coerced - pushed <all of the aforementioned> to work outdoors. Anyway, appreciate the visit!
Also just "caught" Dan's Post from the UK! Two days in succession! <grin>
As is my practice - I'll withhold specific comments 'til the next round of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS!
A NEW feature at the bar - but chock full of many things seen before <not all> . . .
Now Arriving on Track #2
Classic Drumheads by the Dozen - #1
(1) ATSF - Super Chief
(2) B&O - The Royal Blue
(3) B&M - The Flying Yankee
(4) Burlington Route (CB&Q) - Pioneer Zephyr
(5) CP - The Canadian
(6) Algoma Central Railway
(7) CN Railways
(8) GTW - The International Limited
(9) VIA Rail
(10) C&O for Progress
(11) CN&W - North Western Limited
(12) Milwaukee Road (CMSTPP) - Sioux
Hello Tom and all in
Another round for anyone in - and again seasons greetings to all. Again a quick visit to soak up the festive cheer and wish all well - thanks to those of you who passed on their regards after my recent visit - at least I've been able to reveiw the pics since then, and some fine postings of pictures onthe site (long time since I had any photo viewing probs so I can now see all the great pics people are posting, some particularly good ones from Tom I note!).
All the best to all of you and those close to you for the season, and of course thansk to all those working on the rails to move the large numbers of people seeking to link up with their families and friends over the festive season - a great job well done!
Regards
DL - UK
Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!
Here's my Christmas card for the Cap'n - and - crew at "Our" Place!
[Christmas cards (www.wikipedia.com - GNU Free Documentation/credit: Malene Thyssen]
The Merriest Christmas and happiest of holidays to all who have helped make this the finest cyber bar & grill in the ethAH!
ERIC - Eric X2000
. . . PETE - pwolfe
. . . . . .SHANE - CM3 coalminer3
. . . . . . . . . ALLAN- Gunneral
. . . . . . . . . . . . PER - marthastrainyard
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAN- DL-UK
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RON - DD1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SVEN - Sven Olov
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAN - JanOlov
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROB - trolleyMAN
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FERGIE - Fergmiester
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CAP'N TOM - siberianmo!
And a special mention: BK - BudKarr - CHEERS to you, mate - wherever you may be! <clink>
Ruth
. . . Boris
. . . . . . Cindy
. . . . . . . . . Leon
. . . . . . . . . . . H&H
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Awk - Tex - Frostbite - Artie ‘n Juneau
and all the rest!
May the coming year bring all the best in happiness ‘n health to you ‘n YOURS!
Until the next time!
Lars
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England 4 Seasons Blend), and pie, round for the house, and $ for the jukebox. Clouds are right on the deck today and it is damp and raw, but it's not raining or snowing and I get to be inside and feed the system (get caught up on paperwork).
Lots of good reading today.
Eric - a toast, sir! You made it! Also, thanks for the info. on the Sp routes. That is a segment I would have enjoyed covering. Most of my experience with the SP was on the Overland side of things, although their power used to wander offline every now and then which was a nice find when out photographing.
Lars - Hang in there, lad. I'm still coughing up body parts although I feel a tad better every day. I even gross Boris out sometimes during a coughing fit. Thanks for the AF catalogs.
DL visited. Glad to see you are still with us!
Pete had a question. Most mines were/are switched by the railroads that handled their cars. That being the case, as my old Latin teacher used to say, "There are always exceptions." Some mines have their own switchers. Many of these are units that long ago ran out their time on Class I lines. Some mines will customize units to fit their needs. This can include remote control, or in some cases other extensive modifications. One that sticks in my mind is a mine along the Clinchfield which used EMD F7Bs as switchers. That is a whole subfield of diesel studies as some of these units appear and reappear on different properties in the same area; or they shuttle from mine to mine as needed. It'll drive you crazy trying to keep up with them.
Rob - I contributed the southern birthday chart a long time ago - it was e-mailed to me by somebody who thought I'd appreciate it and I thought it worth sharing with the other barflies.
OSP has been out and about with more catalogs. The 1956 Lionel is a good one. The New Haven EP5 was for some reason not as popular in our area as the GG1. Anyway, I remember seeing the EP5s on display layouts at dept. stores and hobby shops. The Trainmasters were truly something to be plotted for and lusted after. A friend had one lettered for the Virginian. That thing was a beast. I'd bring a bunch of coal cars (of course) along when I went to his house and we'd run ‘em behind the TM. It really looked nice. These were the big LV cars (black with white lettering). One of the AF books showed the only AF item I ever really coveted. This was the North Coast Limited set with the PAs. I saw a set at the train show in Buffalo and it was pricy, but not all that out of line.
What modeling I do at present is in N scale. I got involved with it back in the late 60s when it first became available and never left. Yes, Boris, I can see the trains! Sheesh!
I figured the Murmansk comment would smoke out a few people. I hve a friend here who is a former "merchie" as well. He went to Murmansk - I usually see him when I'm out grocery shopping and we stop and tell a few lies. His remarks abt. that part of the terrioty were less than favorable - it wasn't the people so much as it was the weather and the politics once they got there.
"Narrow Margin?" I have not seen it - looks like a good 'un.
I also enjoyed your selection of photos.
Here's a site that will interest all of those who are GG1 devotees.
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/
Take time to explore some of the links that are here as they will lead you to all sorts if material about color schemes, dispositions, etc. Enjoy!
If I don't get back today, best wishes to all for a safe and blessed Christmas. I'll be back on the 26th for sure.
Work safe
Friday's Grin
Reason "things" happen!
Bath Theorem:
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone will ring.
Friday before Christmas ‘n my guess is we'll be rather sparse for customers ‘round here. But, for those passing through our portals - the coffee ‘n pastries are fresh ‘n the breakfasts are ready for orderin' from our Menu Board!
Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative)
Thursday - Dec 20th:
CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 8:31 AM: Fog in "Almost Heaven," eh Not good - so exercise great caution behind the wheel ‘n on foot!
My "merchie" father would be grimacing big-time had he read or heard of Murmansk being in Norway! <triple geesh> He made those WWII runs - but I've told the stories before. Anyway, it appalls me to be exposed to this kind of incompetence. Think of it this way: Just how much are these "readers of the news" responsible for How about those writing the news When they err, which they do often, how many timely retractions <aka: corrections> do we get Yeah, we've dumbed down big time ‘n it really, really bothers me.
I was long gone from electric trains ‘n my youth when those "cold war" Lionel covers came out. Some say the "turning point" for Lionel trains occurred when they transitioned from toy model trains <perhaps an oxymoron> to the more current themes of the day <rockets - boats - ‘n things gimmicky> - as in "action" type cars other than the typical log dumping ‘n milk cars "back in the day."
Should the day arrive when I try to reconstruct the Lionel trains of my youth - which I think about doing from time to time - the period will end around 1953 for me. But of course I'll have to "win the lottery" to afford the stuff - then again, I must first buy a ticket, which I rarely do! <grin>
One of the motivators for me getting into S gauge <re: my ceiling suspended S-Capades layout> was this nagging "want" for American Flyer trains of old. A friend of mine said he had a "lead" on not one but two vintage sets <ATSF diesel passenger & ATSF steam freight> a friend had stored away, I got interested. That never materialized - but I began looking around to see what was "out there." The paths took me to where I wound up - not Gilbert, but S-gauge trains of today with much more realism, quality and scale. I'm super thrilled with the stuff on that 8x7 board ‘n the scale is Da Best for model trains, in my not-so-humble-OH-PIN-YUN.
S-gauge is oh so expensive and oh-so limited in terms of road names, accessories ‘n the like - especially if one is trying to create a model railroad and not simply playing with toy trains. These S-gauge trains are not "your father's toy trains." HO is by far the leader when it comes to availability of just about anything one can think is needed or required on the pike. Not so with S. <sad> But my vote goes to the 1/64th scale when it comes to "the right size" and so forth.
Anyway, you ‘n the guys will have operating "turns" during Rendezvous III!
Many thanx for the AM visit, round, quarters ‘n chat!
Lars (LoveDomes) at 12:13 PM: A fine spate of Gilbert's American Flyer toy train covers to keep us all in the spirit of electric trains at Christmastime! Love those AF Alco diesel units!
A Florida Keys get-away sounds terrific for the winter - especially where you're heading. Can't imagine being away from our digs for so long - but that's what happens when one sets the anchor, eh
For my likes - I'd probably opt for an even colder climate as my get-away! <grin>
Glad you liked the Amtrak foto on Tuesday's summary. When I saw that in our local paper <aka: bird cage liner> I immediately checked their website and was fortunate to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it doesn't enlarge . . . but still a fine foto.
Pete ‘n I spent some time discussing the bar <figure that, eh?> Anyway, a couple of things kinda jumped out (1) the number of "hits" this bar gets - and - (2) how great this current bunch of guys are when it comes to providing meaningful material ‘n obviously reading what is Posted.
As far as the "personalities" of those guys we now refer to as UTBs - well, they're GONE-ZO, RIP. ‘nuf said, eh
Wolfman behaved himself at the TrainWreck Saloon, although he did try to do one of his
It's early, early morning Leon! I would like an early breakfast, let's see, French Toast with syrup, powder sugar and some butter. A large OJ, yes the spiked one, and coffee.
Finally Friday and finally time to retire! At least partly. And in a few days Santa will stop by! What else could I ask for? The bikini team? Yea..., no that would probably not be a good idea.
Tom – Thanks for the Rumpsteak!! Much appreciated! I think I am doing pretty good keeping my gall bladder/stones quiet most of the time. Just a few days/evenings with some trouble. Sorry I missed the St. Louis Museum of Transportation this time! A photo quiz for me? As far as I can tell it must be the rear end of the Rock Island's Aerotrain 3 locomotive. I actually thought there was a passage between the cars and the locomotive. But that was obviously wrong. Interesting shot! Here is the same locomotive from May this year.
The 3rd (and last) axle at the rear end of the locomotive.
Interesting bus you found at the museum! I believe it is a Twin Coach Model 44-D or 44-S from 1946. 44-D had two 180 hp gasoline engines, 44-S had a single engine. It looks like it was converted to rail service.Nice photos from the Trainwreck Saloon! And one of Stealthy Pete ready for action!Good idea to show more model train catalogs just before Christmas. The problem in my case is that we need a much bigger house so I can build a layout for all the stuff I already have. CM3 – The SP tour did happen and we followed that route! We had a helicopter following us almost all the way from Oakland to Santa Barbara. I just wish I could get a copy of the video they shot. Lars – You are doing the right thing! Get away from snow and ice to warm and nice weather in Florida! Thanks! Yes, today is my last day as a regular, full time, employee! In January I’ll be a retired man who is working a few hours every week (mostly at home) till the end of the year! More model train catalogs! I remember as a kid how exiting it was when a new catalog was released, to open it and find out what was new! DL – Good to see you again, sir! Hope you’ll be back soon!Pete – The mystery of the laughing woman? It really never was a mystery, but I don’t want to say too much before we are going on the CanAm train trip, helping Manager Lars. The Talent train belongs to DSB, the Danish State Railways, not NSB. I have some info somewhere. Give me a couple of days and I’ll find it. So the Stratford Depot is just a memory today?! Too bad.Good luck getting your driver’s license!! Rob – Thanks for the info on the exprimental electric railway! I have to look up St. Catharines on the map. Are there any photos of that system?
Eric
Good evening Leon, nice to be back in the warm bar room, the cold dankness of H&H'schamber of horrors dunk tank is still fresh in my mind ( and everywhere else <uh oh > )I think a nice tall keith's and here's a twenty to put in tilla for a morning round for the gang as the meander in tomorrow.
Tom-Some great old catalogues for us to all enjoy and remember.I'm glad to have been re- enstated here at the saloon.That bus photo is an interesting looking critter any more info that you may have on it would be interesting to hear,looks kind of like an old Ford transit from the 40's but it seems longer.
I don't know when we will drive down but don't count it out. My sister is do to leave Colorado Springs this comming summer, looks like they will be posted to BC so perhaps we can work something out. The big thing for me is getting enough time off to plan a long and inclusive trip.The transport museum and the CanAm , not to mention the Train Wreck are all must see things.
I liked the festive decors at the Train Wreck , not a Martha Stewart job but at least as goodOh one question , was that astrological chart for our birthdays created by Larry The Cable guy ? Not sure that I like being a Grit but oh well you can't pick the month you were born in
I agree with Lars letting Pete use your computer was a gamble, espeacially since he hasn't yet successfully completed Molly Throttlebottom's coarse.
Shane-I'd love to do a bit more digging into the ins and outs of the big coal roads and their steam power,it seems to be a given that the C&O and N&W would be heavily swayed by the industries and their owners and backers that they served. You saw that to a point up here as well in that both CN and CP used to serve the major steel plants in Ontario and you will find that alot of the trucks and wheels on CDN rolling stock and locomotives bear a Dofasco manufacturing stamp.
Lars-Wow kind of sounds like you managed to pick up the same plague that I've been fighting off. the most annoying thing is that it comes and goes, and never strikes the same body partHopefully you can have an enjoyable holiday with the grandkids, and once you make it down to the keys perhaps the change in weather will clear it all right up.
Loved the "covah's" and the catalogues sir, we can always count on sage advice and thoughts on the bar and it's commings and goings. I ahve to say that for the most part I'm pleased with teh corps of people that we now have, it's cozy and there seems to be lots of good info and chats happening ,so all in all I think life is good.
I'm just glad that the re-enstatemnet ceremony is over. I have promised the swiming atire to Boris , he wants to make a kerchif out of them for his mother,I guess the Boris clan celebrate Christmas by making things for each other.
Eric-Thanks for that link , that little line was set up as a "look at the new techknology" type of a thing, essentially hopping to gain backers and money to build a huge network of interurban and city electric railway systems.Basically a show and tell if you will of teh brave new world of electricity.An interesting sidenote is that Van Deepole sold his system to the NS&T in St Catharines and they ended up being the first all electrified system in the country, right down to the overhead "troller" that was dragged along behind the cars on the overhead wires.
Sven-Hmm I think a donut machine might indeed be a good idea, we can insatll it in teh rats patoot roon , that way the Mentor bakery won't get too upset by it's operation, I think all the needed parts are in Boris's shed. thanks for the links as well some inetersting stuff there Just take it easy on the old groanameter it is working but we have used up the supply of spare parts,Boris is searching for more spares but still it's a sensitive piece of equipment.Congrats for hitting the latest posting milestone. Leon an extra Roth's for him on me when he comes in tomorrow.
DL-Nice to see you pop in if just for an instant, hopefully things are well for you and yours and I look forward to seeing more from you in the new year.
Allan-I'm glad that you enjoyed the story about the Halifax. I fully intend to get some shots of it the next time I'm in Trenton. I have family in Kingston Ontario that we are intending on visiting next summer ( if all goes well ) Trenton is on the way , so hopefully we will be able to catch the air museum when it's open and get a couple good shots of her.
Pete-Sounds like you and Tom had a real blast over the last two days I hope the shots of that ex-CN exec car come out it will be interesting to see it.
So you are trying to get a drivers licence eh Remember keep on the right side of the road or better yet just hire a driver. Tom's retired he might be able to ferry you about.I will see you next week at Molly's. Eventually one of us will end up not typing with one fingerAs far as the wrestling goes , I only partake on the chocolate pudding nights, H&H are less aggressive once they have consumed massed quantities of Belgian chocolate mousse.
A pint of Bathams please RUTH. Back after two great days with TOM.
LARS Hope you able to get to the warmer Keys for the New Year. It seems as though the snow and rain around here is mainly keeping itself for the weekends. At the moment I have a learner's permit for a car, I never drove a car in the UK the bike and public transport was my usual form of transport. I am getting a friend to teach me as lessons, in the car, with the bride usually end in tears
Real sorry you caught that cold at the Giants game it looked terrible conditions to play the game in.
Great domes for the encore and the usual great covers from the Larsman Mobile. I can recall the Trolleybuses running in a part of the West Midlands of England around the Walsall area, I have found a link and it says they ran as late as 1969, which I believe was a lot longer than those in London, although I can remember seeing photos of the last run of the trolley buses in London it was a big event.
http://www.thetransportmuseum.org/transhis2.asp
I agree with what you say about Tom's listI doubt if they will find a better place in the ether than Our Place.
What this I go away for a couple of days and a ‘Hot Tub' appears
ALLAN I well remember the name of Dorman and Long, I believe they were a very big firm of steelmakers as well.
That was a great programme about when the Flying Scotsman ran the 40th Anniversary of the non-stop run although it has been a long while since I have seen it. I recall the non-stop run was achieved despite being down to walking pace at one point. I guess the run was only possible as the water troughs were still in place on the ECML. I think at the start of the trip Scotsman left London King's Cross alongside the Deltic hauled Flying Scotsman service train.
While Scotsman was still an A1, and just before its conversion to an A3, she was allocated to Leicester Central depot and was a regular through Rugby on the Great Central line, sadly though just before my time, I can recall the V2s and B1s on passenger trains and the L1 tank engines on stopping passenger trains.
It is hard to believe that next year it will be the 40th anniversary of the 1968 40th anniversary train. In the Steam Railway magazine that recently arrived here, it features the LNER steam, although I have not read it yet there is an article written by someone who fired the Flying Scotsman on its tour of the USA.
Thanks for the kind words on Alan's photos
ROB Come and join BORIS and I at Molly Throttlebottom's class it is great fun, especially at the mud wrestling when one of BORIS's inflatables get involved.
Yes BORIS's shed is the place to look for lost items at the bar but if Tom sees the present state of the shed the next one to get a ‘Tweeting' will be made to clean it up.
It is so right what say about a camera in the old days locomotives or liveries that were seen every day would disappear from the scene without a photographic record of them. Although today if I go down to the line with a camera not a lot comes through but leave it at home and some thing unusual generally turns up.
Many thanks for the Lake Simcoe Jct encore. I am about to read of the ‘Ceremony' at Our Place.
ERIC Many thanks for the great photos loved the X2000 alongside the steam locomotive. I bet the controls of the X2000 are a lot more complicated the Pacific Electric car.
Have you solved ‘The Mystery of The Laughing Woman', it sounds like a Sherlock Holmes story.
Have you any more info on the NSB ‘Talent' Train it
I'm back from the legion of the lost (as no doubt you have been thinking) to put a round on the bar and ask what people would like to drink.
Gives me great pleasure to weigh in with a post after Lars' superb set of catalogue pictures etc!
Apols for the absence - just as things get near the festive season the work load cranks up and the personal task crank up too - but I can't get near the festive time without thinking of the regulars here at our place and an enthusiasm for ensuring said festive season does not pass off without at least me managing to pass on good wishes of the season.
Not sure if I'll be able to post as frequently as I'd like, but I'll certainly be back as soon as I can. Not had the time to review any of the recent stuff I'm afraid (so that is the reason I'm not pitching in to recent topics), but hope I can review it in due course. I'm sure there is plenty of quality there to enjoy!
All the best to everyone
DL
Ruth my deAH, a lunchtime visit from the Larsman . . . didn't think I'd make it in today. Still feelin' like crap, in fact last night thought I'd be heading off to the ER, as everything went upside down for me - just had major difficulties sorting things out. Dizzy, nausea, aching ‘n all the rest. Finally had a chance to get some air outside - which probably was stupid, but the stiff breeze kinda refreshed me, although the chill of it wasn't smart for me to be exposed to. <ugh> Sorry to prattle on like this . . .
Boris, thanks for feedin' the crittAHs - take that LARGE jar of PPF, you've earned it!
A round for the house, ‘n I'll settle for a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, some crackAHS, a few slices of sharp cheddar ‘n some of that Nog Da Bossman made! <ummmm>
Hey Bossman! That was a really nice photo you provided for us on the morning summary from Tuesday . . . the Amtrak train looked really <cool> in the snow at Kirkwood. I'd love to see 'n ride that little train to Kansas City with you 'n the Wolfman! They'd nevAH be the same . . . <Amtrak that is!> Wuddathunk the guys wudda jumped all over that great shot . . . but no one did! Go figger, huh
Also sorry that I totally missed the optional toy & model trains gala yesterday. Although I've noted that our Cap'n made up for me by providing another on this day!
Really got a kick outta the pix in your morning report, Cap'n Tom! Been wonderin' about that "mystery" one for Eric . . . interesting looking bus. Never saw one like that before. WondAH who made it - where did it operate - and so forth
So did Wolfman try to get that hat away from the Buffalo at the Trainwreck Looks like something Boris might try to do . . . Nice touch with the wreath! Now that's the way to decorate . . .
You actually permitted Wolfman to operate your ‘puter You sure do live dangerously, huh <grin>
Changing gears - I'm not feeling like Christmas, in the least. Just hope this passes before the "day" arrives as I don't want to be that ‘wet blanket' when we go visiting the grandkids ‘n so forth.
We're supposed to be heading down to the Keys next Sunday (30th) - all booked on the airlines. One of our boys is driving the buggy down, laden with all kinds of "stuff" the Mrs. thinks we'll "need." Yeah right! We brought ‘n bought so much that is down there now, I'm wonderin' where in the world we're gonna find room to stow this new load. <grin> <groan>
An observation: Really seeing some great evidence of the resurgence of this bar of ours. I agree with Cap'n Tom that we've got not only an eager bunch, but guys who really are "into" what we're all about. Sure, we don't have the numbers of "back when," but so what I'd much rather have guys who READ what's provided ‘n respond in kind when guys have something to pass along. We all have been through that frustration of asking a guy this or that, only to be "blown off" <ignored> time in ‘n time out. Became almost expected' with some of the bunch. Those two from the left coast immediately come to mind. But they weren't the only ones. I just like this crew . . .
So, Rob "made it' back to the fold, huh As bad as I felt last nite, it was hilarious watching H&H trying to unsnap those snaps on his Speed-Oh! Crazy "gals" huh Didn't appear to me that trolleyMAN minded being "handled" like that either! <uh oh> Anyway, he's baaaaaaaaack, ‘n life is good ‘round the bar once more. 5- salute to our friend the trolleyMAN!
A B'day coming up for the man called Shane, huh So, who's counting <grin>
Regards to those who've come in since my last - Pete - Eric - Allan - Sven ‘n Shane!
Yeah, I hate it when that happens too - moving geographic locations without letting anyone know. How awful! <grin> Don't wanna get me started on those who "report" the news in this country of ours . . .
2007 BIRTHDAY WATCH LIST
<rev. Dec 20th>
Customers at "Our" Place!
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.
January 23rd (Jan - 38)
CHITLIN (Jan 21 - Feb 19) Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A Chitlin, however, will make something of himself if he is motivated and has lots of season-ing. In dealing with Chitlins, be careful they may surprise you. They can erupt like Vesuvius. Chitlins are best with a Moon Pie but Catfish or Okra is O.K. too.
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 Chitlin 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.
August 11th (Pete - 56)
August 14th (Allan - 72)
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)
September 11th - (Per - 62)
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 9th (Ron - 73)
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) - NEXT UP!
The age reflected is what you will be on your 2007 B'day!
Not on the list Send me an Email with your birth date (month-day-year) Corrections too!
Believe it or NOT! We once had a guy (UTB) who was on the list for a couple of YEARS! Then when his "day" arrived for a Birthday Bash <which we no longer do> - he let's me know that the age listed was incorrect AND he failed to show up for his party! Takes all kinds, eh Speaks volumes about paying attention to what's being Posted at the bar, eh Soooooooooo, IF your listing is incorrect - TELL ME ABOUT IT! <grin> I'm working from the info sent to me by Email . . . . <
Soooooooooo, IF your listing is incorrect - TELL ME ABOUT IT! <grin> I'm working from the info sent to me by Email . . . .
#4 - Lionel & American Flyer Catalogs
1954 Lionel Catalog
1955 Lionel Catalog
1956 Lionel Catalog
1954 American Flyer Catalog
1955 American Flyer Catalog
1956 American Flyer Catalog
Missed any
#1 . . . Page 149
#2 . . . Page 153
#3 . . . Page 156
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England Eye Opener Blend will be fine); let's see what's in the pastry case; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Interesting weather here this a.m. as we are having "frog." Freezing fog which puts a nice, thin, coat of ice on everything - so we pay extra attention crossing the bridges on the way to work.
Allan stopped by - Thanks for the birthday greetings.
Eric - One more to go! The SP material you sent enlarged very nicely. Did this tour actually happen or was it something the SP wanted to do but never did. Anyway, if you followed that route you got a good sampling of things. Also, nice "frozen north" picture.
OSP visited with catalog covers - I remember all of the Lionel ones. As you mentioned, there was a great rivalry in our neighborhood as well between the Flyer folks and the Lionel people. Anyway, the 1958 and 59 Lionel covers are interesting. Cold War, indeed!
Bar pictures were great - I like the Santa hat on the buffalo, also the wreath. Who is that mad man at the keyboard? Be afraid, be very afraid! Seriously, that was a good picture, too.
Last, I close with an item which shows the geographical retardation in our country today. The other day one of the news outlets had pictures of a rescue operation from a ship which had run onto some rocks in the north. I was doing fine with watching this until the commentator said, this accident happened at "Murmansk, Norway." Lord, I hate it when they move things without telling me. BTW, you'd be surprised how many people don't realize that west Virginia is a separate state. Boris, put me down! I'll stop now.
Will try and stop back later today,
And all of a sudden it's the day BEFORE FRIDAY <again> ! So, time to fill up the mugs with our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee. While you're at it, place an order for a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board ‘n sample a few pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery while waiting . . .
Comments from the Proprietor:
Apparently all went "well" for Rob during the "ceremony" or at least it seems so. Don't know HOW the dunk tank got assembled in the Rat's Patoor Room ‘n don't know HOW they managed to drain it without making a total ruination of the joint! <geesh> But all's well that ends well - as trolleyboy Rob has been REINSTATED to "Regular Customer" at the cyber bar ‘n grill known as "Our" Place! So sez the Committee!
No Boris, we'll NOT be showing those fotos of Rob in his speed-ohhhhhhh <or is that, speed-arrrrrgggghhhh?> We DO have a few "standards" left ‘round the joint!
Wednesday - Dec 19th:
Lars (LoveDomes) at 9:52 AM: What's to say other than "you da man!" Continuing on with the support ‘n book covers - what MORE can we ask from our Manager
Pete ‘n I thought of you as we spent yesterday afternoon at the TrainWreck Saloon! Here's something you ‘n the guyz might get a kick out of from the "back bar" . . . .
<look closely - those are G gauge trains "in" the wreath!>
Many thanx for the visit, chat ‘n covers - ROUND too!
Pete (pwolfe) at 10:34 AM: Here's an "action" shot of Wolfman preparing his Post . . .
Sven (Sven Olov) at 12:51 PM: Congratulations to YOU for making the 3,100th Post <REPLY> at our reborn cyber bar 'n grill! The bar is 'open' for YOU as is the Menu Board - for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Really appreciate those fine links on the Malbanan ! Some super-fine fotos ‘n enuf info to keep the fires stocked for quite awhile. Very good stuff, fer sure, fer sure!
On my "list" of Hopefully One Day <HOD> I'd dearly love to travel throughout Norway ‘n Sweden by train . . . ahhhhhhhh, just the thought of some blonde gal carrying me off . . . . <ooooooooooops> that's from another dream!
Don't know WHAT it is about you guys from Sweden - but a cast iron stomach must "come" with the "standard issue," eh Cheese tortillas, Roth's beer AND donuts <yikes> However, we aim to please ‘round here - so enjoy! Now the Gevalia - well, that probably needs a bit of explaining for the crew. <grin>
Some things one just has to see to believe, eh "Red means stop" must've brought a laff or three out of you! <grin> Kinda "budged" the Groan-O-Meter, just a tad . . .
Thanx f
Hello Leon, I would say it is time for my weekly Rumpsteak Café de Paris! How about a cold bottle of Tui? Good!
Back again after a less nice evening last night. Getting close to Friday. My last regular Friday!!! Then 11 days off before I start my part time year with the company. I will mostly work at home. Tom – You are right! Focus on the positive! There is way too much negative as it is, just ignore it. SP, my favorite of them all! Too bad they were swallowed by UP. Thanks to SP the X2000 tour was extended to California 1993. SP wanted a diesel version running between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Interesting to read about the locomotive paint and apperance! I guess everyone knows the Daylight scheme. I should be able to start showing some model trains on Wednesdays in the near future when I start working part time after Christmas. That should give me more time to take some photos. Nice Lionel Catalogs!! Lars – Always good to see Manager Lars around the Bar. It certainly keeps Ruth smiling for some reason! Hope you will get well soon!!More interesting books! Diamondbugs, I remember I read about those motor cars a number of months back and I think they were not a big success. CM3 – Looking forward to more info on NY-Philadelphia-Harrisburg-Altoona-Pittsburgh. Rob – I have another question for you. In 1984 a Belgian inventor named Charles Van Depoele met with J. J. Wright and constructed an electric railway running between the Crystal Palace, inside the Canadian Industrial Exhibition fairgrounds, and Strachan Avenue near the terminal of a Toronto Street Railway horsecar line. It was in service for five years, see this link.http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4155.shtmlDo you know any more facts about this electric railway? Thanks for the Classic Diesels piece! I guess B&O were early buying their first road diesel 1935. Pete – I am ready for any photo quiz! I am sure you had a good lunch at the Trainwreck Saloon! Sven – Above the Arctic Circle? Snow and ice. That is where we tested the X2000 to make sure it could handle snow and ice in the trucks and tilting mechanisms. The summer up there is okay though. Except the mosquitos.
Kiruna 1990.
Allan – Thanks! I am working my last day tomorrow, Friday! In January I will start working part time, 20 hrs/week. I am very much looking forward to get some more time for myself! Yeah, that was my usual uniform with Amtrak. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Your brother-in-law must be a very unusual person, not having a PC. I guess he has other interests!
Hi Tom and all,
The usual round of Tui`s for all the crew please Leon.
Rob. Thanks for the info about the Halifax bomber at Trenton, amazing story about the pilot getting his thermos back after 63 years, enjoyed your posts and pics, great write up`s on Classic Steam #38 and Classic Diesels #36, very interesting info.
Eric. Congratulations on your retirement, ENJOY! These day`s I don`t even know how I found the time to go to work. Those were some nice pics you posted, you look very smart in your suit and tie, was it your usual uniform?
Lars. Nice choice covers from the Larsman Mobile collection, nice selection of trolleybus and Canadian RR covers.
CM3. Nice to see you back, sorry to hear you hav`nt been feeling too good, i`ll have to get Leon to give you a couple of shots of the "hard stuff" to give you a boost.
Pete.Good to see you got home OK after your trip to Tom`s, sounds as if you both had a great time together. Look forward to seeing your latest pics.
Ron. Have always liked that "Don`t worry" song too!
Sven. Thanks for those links to the Swedish railway sites, you must have seen a lot of wolves and reindeer in the arctic circle area you worked in up there.
Tom. Totally agree with all your comments, it sounds as if we both react the same way to profane language in public with women and children in earshot, I just can not help putting my oar in and making it plain to the offender that it`s NOT acceptable in public! Boy Entrants in the Brit army is the same as your Military Academy system, only they are fully attested and are part of the regular forces, you are not able to serve oversea`s or in combat until reaching 18 years of age, the training is aimed at providing the future Warrant Officers and N.C.O`s of the Corps. Enjoyed all your fine posts, what a great selection, the Bayonne Bridge write up and links, [must have been a great experience to walk over that arch in your youth!] the Norwegian railways, SP RR, and the nice model RR covers.
To all you guys. Here`s wishing a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours, have a great festive season together, ENJOY! We are going up to Auckland for Christmas with my wife`s family, unfortunately I will be off line for over a week because my brother-in-law does NOT have a PC! Will try to get on line somehow whilst we are up there anyway!
CM3. Here`s wishing you a very on the 29th Shane, just in case I don`t get to see you before then! Have a GOOD ONE mate!
See ya, Allan
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter