Good evening Leon. I nice cold Keith's and a round fer da boyz if you please sir
Tom-Yup I'll be in Sunday to pass on some appropriate subject matter , after a trip to teh Canadian Warplane Museum for the services.We'll chat soon about China stuff. I can't print what I really think I'll keep you posted on the TO Union plans , hopefully it's more smoke being blown up certain orifaces than reality, I'd hate to see it become a glorified farmers market with an arched roof
Intersting L&N post today as well
CM3-The DC cars took quite a bit of work. Firast and foremost all second hand cars got reguaged to the broad TTC track guage 4'107/8ths. They added a roof pod and pole and rewired for overhead,most recieved new trucks , a couple of them were converted to subway grinders and per,manently coupled with end man doors in them along wiht lowered bodies to navigate the tubes,some were just used as spare parts.
Pete-I hope the Toronto Union ends up tastefully rebuilt not a minimall.It is a vital and important transit link TTC streetcars and subway trains also enetr into the lower levels of teh building along with Go transit Ontario Northland and VIA trains. I'm glad you liked the Fenwick club shots.
Rob-
Hi Tom and all.
A pint of Bathams please RUTH on this sunny fall day.
ROB Yes the San Diego model railway at Balboa Park is a really interesting exhibition with some great layouts of different gauges. They are working on a layout of the Techipachi Loop, which will be great when it is finished.
Thanks for sharing the photos of the great layout at Fenwick.
I really hope that the Toronto Union Station is not turned into a glorified mall. From what DL has said and the pictures I have seen, the modernization of St Pancras station in London, to get it ready for the new high-speed link to the Channel Tunnel, as been done really well. This is marvelous considering there was plans for its demolition in the 1970s.What really started the interest in the UK of historic buildings was the demolition of the Doric Arch and the Great Hall of the old Euston station in the early 1960s.
ERIC There were 842 Stanier class 5s built. Most were of the standard variety but, from 1947, some 70 of the class were fitted with various modifications such as roller bearings and Caprotti valve gear, which changed their appearance. The last two class 5s turned out in 1951 with improved Caprotti valve gear were said to be a power class above the other class 5s. These last two ocomotives had an American appearence about them I think.
One locomotive was fitted with Stephenson valve gear and this is the only one of the modified class 5s to survive today. There are 18 Stanier class 5s preserved and of those there is a very good chance that 11 of them will be able to steam next year. Probably the best place to hear a class 5 at work today is when one is allocated to West Highland steam trains that run in the summer months between Fort William and Mallaig in the Scottish Highlands. We had a great trip once with a Double Headed class 5 steam tour on their old stamping ground between Crewe and Carlisle. On the return trip the run through Warrington station at night at high speed with the whistles sounding is something not soon forgotten.
It looks like there are some cabooses in your photo of Sunnyside Yard.
CM3 I was very impressed when I visited Chicago station a while back with Tom.
I guess a good example of what can happen to those old stations is to compare St Louis and Kansas City Union Stations. I think they have done a marvelous job at KC and it is great that you can still get an Amtrak train from KC Union Station again after an absence of some years.
Thanks for the info on Eric's Sunnyside photo.
Will Tom be allowed to take the mascots with him through the washer as his GG1 prize.
Very glad the young patient is back home.
TOM It was great to talk with you today
Thanks for the kind words.
Congratulations on getting CM3's GG1 question.
Thanks for the photos of those two great looking diesels; they have a lot of white in their livery, which must have taken a lot to keep clean.
I have a couple of photos of the 3-Rail layout at San Diego I will show next week.
Yes the Wills ad as caused a lot of discussion I still have no idea what the locomotive pictured was based on, although the coaches look like Great Western to me.
Many thanks for the L&N Fallen Flag. I wonder if passengers ever got mixed up between the Dixie Flagler and the Dixie Flyer trains.
That ‘Humming Bird' is one of the most attractive Drumhead I have seen so far.
Some photos at Sacramento.
PER sent some photos of the Sacramento Locomotive Works, here is a photo from another side of the works. There is a couple of Santa Fe steam locomotives just visable outside the works.
A mural in the Amtrak waiting room at Sacramento.
A UP train passing behind the Railroad Museum.
These should enlarge.
Well RUTH a round please and its Fish 'N' Chip night
Pete
G'day Gents!
Appreciate the AM visit from CM3 Shane!
What better time than to drop off an "Our" Place Fallen Flag from the Classic Passenger RRs?
The Passenger Railroad Fallen Flags of "Our" Place #28
<A form of this was initially Posted on Page 146, Oct 25th, 2005 on the Original Thread>
Here's another Fallen Flag for the gang from Classic American Railroads:
Louisville & Nashville
Caveat: The information provided is NOT all inclusive and is reflective only of the periods mentioned.
Passenger trains of note: Azalean (New York-New Orleans via Montgomery; joint with PRR, SR and Atlanta & West Point. Crescent (New York-New Orleans via Montgomery; joint with PRR, SR and A&WP. Dixie Flagler (Chicago-Miami via Evansville, Nashville & Atlanta) Dixie Flyer (Chicago-Florida via Evansville, Nashville & Atlanta) Dixieland (Chicago-Miami via Louisville, Nashville & Montgomery) Flamingo (Cincinnati-Jacksonville via Corbin, KY) Georgian (Chicago & St. Louis-Atlanta) Gulf Wind (New Orleans-Jacksonville; joint with ACL) Humming Bird (Chicago & St. Louis & Cincinnati-New Orleans & Memphis; joint with Chicago & Eastern Illinois) Pan-American (Cincinnati-Memphis & New Orleans) Piedmont Limited (New York-New Orleans via Montgomery; joint with PRR, SR and A&WP) Southland (Detroit-Florida via Louisville & Corbin) South Wind (Chicago-Miami via Louisville, Nashville & Montgomery)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Some drumheads of the L&N:
Enjoy! Tom
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (New England Eye-Opener Blend today); round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Cold here today with temps in the 20s and snow in the area, but it is so dry it's not hitting the ground.
Let's see what we have today in the way of acknowledgements and comments.
Jan forwarded some more steam pictures. The shots of the T&P 4-8-2s show the differences that existed in the same type of engines. Note the T&P herald on the feedwater heater; always liked that!
Rob - I well remember riding and photographing the PCCs in Toronto. I have a technical question for you. How did TTC modify the cars that they got from Washington as the DC cars? IIRC, did not run off of overhead wire. I figure that if anyone would know (or could find the answer) you'd be our man.
I hope cooler heads will prevail in Toronto regarding the station. They did a lot of modifications in Chicago and managed to keep much of the character of the station intact. I still am impressed every time I walk through the Great Room there. They also did well in Boston, Washington, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Newark, and Baltimore along the NEC. GCT, thank the Lord was saved. However, New York still is trying to undo the wanton destruction of Penn Station. I'll stop there as Boris will break out the leg irons and taser me.
DD1 sent shop pictures and "builder's photos." I like the way you have equipment setup - you allowed enough room to work around the equipment - many folks don't, as you know,
Pete stopped by with pictures and comments - BTW, GG1 quiz results are posted below.
Eric sent a neat photo of Sunnyside. The spot where you are, as near as I can tell shows NH track (NYCRR, actually), LIRR should be behind you. Now let's look in the coach yard.
Hmm, I see a former PRR RPO, a couple of former PRR baggage cars, a cut of ATK MOW equipment, and it looks like cars possibly for both the Crescent and the Cardinal, along with some Amtubes. The AEM7 sitting in the middle of the scene is a nice touch. Too bad we can't really see the old commissary buildings which would be on the far side of the yard from where you were standing.
OSP wins the GG1 prize! Silver is the correct answer. They didn't stay that way too long as they got filthy in a hurry. Your prize is a ride through the washer in the cab of a GG1 - yes, Awk, they did run electric locomotives through the washer at Sunnyside, generally in strings which is why the sides were clean on most of them and the nose(s) were dirty, unless the y happened to be at the head end of the cut.
Nice pictures - T&P E8 is beautiful! IMHO, Pas looked good in any color scheme.
Our patient got sprung from the hospital last night and is back home, although she will be off from school for awhile. Thanks to all for your expressions of support!
Work safe
<personal foto>
Topped off the buggy yesterday - still holding at $2.88 (rounded).
Comments from the Proprietor:
Sunday, Nov 11th is Remembrance - Armistice ‘n Veteran's Day, all rolled into one - depending on where in the ‘free world' one resides. A tradition at the Tavern by the Tracks has been to Post material featuring the RRs and those who served in the Armed Forces during times of global conflict.
So, as an exception to our "CLOSED on Sundays" rule - we invite one ‘n all to provide your input on SUNDAY ‘n MONDAY!
It's just our way of thanking those who provided us with a chance to have what we have today!
Manager Lars has reported in by Email. Family matters will be keeping him away for a bit . . . He said he'd try to pop in now ‘n then, but it may be awhile before he can resume his daily "slot." I've sent some inside scoop to a few "off line". . .
Wednesday was one of those days <daze> when the customers showed up to make the bar a happy place! Appreciate the support! A round for all who Posted on Wednesday - two for Ron, Pete 'n Rob!
Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative)
Wednesday- Nov 7th, 2007
CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 10:34 AM: Most happy to witness the return of our Resident WVA Connection ‘n All Things Trains Oracle!
Must be on the same wave length, for I was thinking of that TV commercial too ‘n was going to mention it to Eric! It's a gudun . . .
Regarding Pennsy GG1 paint schemes, I found this for the possible answer to your question:
In 1955 - Three GG1s: Silver with one 8" wide red band and 16" Roman lettering. Large keystone with white PRR monogram on sides. A small keystone on noses with locomotive number. 4866, 4872, & 4880 were later repainted Brunswick green with standard livery. <source: http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/#paint>
In 1955 - Three GG1s: Silver with one 8" wide red band and 16" Roman lettering. Large keystone with white PRR monogram on sides. A small keystone on noses with locomotive number. 4866, 4872, & 4880 were later repainted Brunswick green with standard livery.
Large keystone with white PRR monogram on sides.
A small keystone on noses with locomotive number.
4866, 4872, & 4880 were later repainted Brunswick green with standard livery.
That's a TERRIFIC Erie URL - one that perhaps should be run again ‘round the holidays! Excellent stuff . . .
Like that "Grafix Clasix" moniker - too bad I didn't think of it! <grin>
Good news regarding the improved condition for your youngster!
Your Email was received - thanx!
Many thanx for taking the time ‘n making the effort to keep our cyber bar ‘n grill moving down the line! Round ‘n quarters means a lot too . . . <Ka-ching, Ka-ching>
Ron (DD1) at 12:25 PM ‘n 4:44 PM: Two fine Posts from our Resident Southern Gentleman down in Ole Miss <aka: transplanted New Yorker!> - good to have you aboard!
We've been kinda hit ‘n miss lately, so it means even more to have your contributions for this fine day. A fine Post with all kinds of good stuff - just the stuff the guyz appreciate!
Interesting personal insights. I can imagine that you must be one fine Chef. Maybe you'll give Jan a "run" for the Permanent Chief Chef's job here at the bar!
Man, some of those Z shots look almost surreal - nice stuff in keeping with our OPTIONAL Toy ‘n Model Trains Day <Wednesdays>!
Most interesting work shop ‘n array of this ‘n that. I'll betcha those dual air conditioner units get quite a workout down there in Ole Miss! <phew>
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, I am in a hurry tonight so I will just have a $5 cup of coffee! Black. Need to hit the sack soon!
Another short day went by. Seems like they go faster and faster.
Tom – We visited Sunnyside Yard a couple of times with the X2000 and it was interesting to look around. For some strange reason I took just a few pictures. Below is a pretty bad picture overlooking parts of the yard.Interesting story about Marx toys! I can’t recall I ever saw their toys in the old country, but I may be wrong. The company/brand lasted for almost 60 years. CM3 – Good news about the young one! Let’s hope for a speedy recovery!!I am afraid I have missed that commercial. I’ll keep my eyes open. Norway is a beautiful country. Thanks for the Erie link! Interesting reading from Christmas time 1955. A pretty good layout was shown on two pages. Ron – You certainly have a very interesting background! I bet you can speak Chinese as well! Do you still cook Chinese food?I think you are right about “Wills’s Main Line Flake”. Very nice pictures from NorthlandZ MR! I especially like the third picture showing all different tracks and bridges on different levels! And very interesting pictures from your wood shop! Your class D model is going to be a big one! Wow! I emailed another drawing to you tonight. It does not give so much more info but maybe some more details. JanOlov – Very nice pictures of the steam locomotives in Ft. Worth and St. Louis! The combined train #2 and #22 seems to have 20+ cars! I am sure Sunnyside was a most interesting yard when it was all PRR! Rob – Thanks for all the info on #107! And how the museum was built and expanded! Most interesting!Some dark clouds over the future of Toronto Union Station. Hope they use common sense if and when they renovate the station.Nice pictures from the Fenwick layout! Pete – Thanks for the info on those two similar steam locomotives! I saw that the drivers were somewhat smaller on the 5s! Do you know how many 5s that were built? The San Diego Model Museum layout is something else. I have to remember to look for my pictures.
Round for the house!
Eric
Good evening again Leon , just a quick stop in for a cold one.
Tom-You've likely heard that the Union station in Toronto is up for sale. City wants to unload it and Go and VIA are concidering taking it over and giving it a makeover if they mess with teh grand hall which they are surly to do.I know that they want to completely rebuild the train sheds and make them less dark and dank, but it sounds like the main hall may get an upgrade along the lines of tfe Go Concoarse <barf and double barf> if that happens. they apparently have tenders out to see if teh St Lawrence market vendors want to set up deli's and street meat shops inside the main hallI do hope it does not happen. some renovations should happen , but here's hoping that it's just restoration not soemthing more kitchy and awful
Pete-Some nice shots of the club, it looks to be a good set up at least by teh photographs you've shown us . Thanks for the kind words on the museum as with all museum's it's a never ending work in progress.
In keeping with teh optional model train day here's a couple shots from teh club I was once member of in Fenwick Ontario.
enjoy guys Rob
A Bathams please LEON.
I have managed to load a couple of pics from the San Diego Model museum.
.
Pete.
A pint of Bathams please RUTH.
ALLAN Many thanks for the kind words on the photos. They have done a really good job on those Gresley coaches on the North Yorks Moors Railway. There is another set on the Severn Valley Railway. The NYMR is a good line with a great North Eastern atmosphere, it is possible to walk through an original tunnel that was built in 1834 and attributed to George Stephenson on the original horse worked Whitby & Pickering Railway. The tunnel leads to the NYMR engine shed at Grosmont.
That must have been a great exhibition of LNER engines and coaches at Manors; I bet it was visited by a large number of people. The railways always seemed to be very aware of public relations in British Railways days, with the major workshops holding open days, even running special trains to them.
Hope you are able to get the LMS special issue in NZ.
ERIC Leander and the class 5 were the designs of Sir William A. Stanier who joined the LMS from the Great Western at Swindon and revolutionized the LMS motive power.
Both classes were introduced in 1934. The Jubilees had 3 cylinders with a driving wheel diameter of 6' 9" and given the power classification 6P. The class 5s were a 2 cylinder loco with 6'0" driving wheels. When first introduced the Jubilees were not too good steamers but this was fixed mainly by increasing the superheater elements, they then became very good engines. The Stanier 5s were probably the best steam loco in Britain being designated a mixed traffic locomotive, it was at home on passenger as well as fast goods, with a good route availability. The class could be seen from Thurso in the north of Scotland to Bournemouth on the south coast of England in regular service, also they were getting good mileages between overhauls. The class 5s lasted until the very end of BR steam hauling the last normal steam hauled passenger service.3 members of the class taking part hauling the last special in August 1968(A BR Britannia pacific hauled the train for part of the journey)
Thanks for the photo and the round. That's looks an older type of Amtrak switcher in Sunnyside Yard.
CM3 Great to see you in, glad things are better, health wise for the family member.
Thanks for the kind words on the photos. I guess some of the unsung heroes of the preservation scene are the guys who work on the signaling installing the old semaphores giving, as you say, a timeless setting to the scene
Many thanks for the details on Jan's photos.
Thanks for the link to the Erie magazine; I'm afraid I can't find the answer to the G motor question.
RON I think the reason the British locomotives did not have headlights, was that in the very early days of the railways all railways had to be fenced by law. It was strange though that the diesels were not fitted with a headlight, it is only fairly recently that all trains in the UK are now fitted with a high intensity headlight, even steam locomotives running on the main line carry a headlight now disguised as an old fashioned oil lamp.
The only steam locomotive on BR fitted with a headlight was the Lickey Banker (helper); the headlight was used to help the driver couple up to goods trains being assisted up the grade at nighttime.
Many thanks for sharing the very interesting piece about Chinatown in San Francisco and the restaurant in Manhattan, very hard work with those very long hours.
Great NorthlandZ photos. Interesting locomotives outside the roundhouse and a great model of Baden station.
Thanks for the photos of your workshop and it will be good to see more photos as the project progresses.
JAN Glad you enjoyed the photos, and thanks for the round.
Great set of photos it is hard to imagine that scene in St Louis MO with the MP 4-8-1 # 5335 backing its train into Union Station in 1940, when compared to seeing the same location today. Thanks for sharing.
ROB Many thanks for the great info on the PCC cars in San Francisco, it must have been a great time for a streetcar fan with those 775 cars on the TTC. I guess it was fortunate that the cars were kept for a while after they had finished service in Toronto. It is great that the cars that were saved from the US cities to work in Toronto are now still working.
Enjoyed reading about the history of the museum, a to all the people who have worked so hard to make the museum what it is today.
TOM I was wondering about the domes in Montreal, I wonder if they raised the overhead wires at some time.
The bag does get a clean out, sort of, before a trip but it always seems to fill itself up again real quick.
Good day again Tom and all present. A round of drinks on me. I thought I would stop by quickly and drop off some pictures of the loco project. Since this is a railroad model, a couple of pictures showing my locomotive erection shop (aka wood shop) is followed by various stages of construction, the last one is the completed roof, ready for the paint shop.
The sides have been cut out and I'm working on the end pieces. More to follow as the project takes shape.
Hello Ruth , figured I would,pop in before your shift ended to say howdy, oh and to polish my stool while I tank up with a Keith's or two.
Tom-Nice to see the info on the Super Continental and the Brit rail redux both seemed to have smoked some responses from the cheap seats,always a good thing round these parts
Best not to discuss that whole China thing , it is and continues to be a frightening thing,we're getting new recalls it seems daily bad business all around,unfortunatly we have nothing or no one to blame but ourselves. I'll leave the commentary there so as to not infringe upon the forums rules and regs. On the upside I did manage to wangle a good mortgage renewal rate from our bank seems the solid looney has some real upside
I'm glad to see that Sunday will indeed be speacial still around here,you know my feelings on those who did and do serve from all our countries. I have a family member and three close friends currently over in the "Stan" as the CAF is refering to it,fingers are crossed for them to be sure,it makes this time of year all the more pioniant.
CM3-I'm sad to hear of the medical news in your family, but I'm gald to hear that things are progressing for you.We will keep the lights burning here for you.
Pete-Some great shots of those San fran PCC's. Oddly enough a good 90% of those cars they are know using came from Toronto. When the TTC finally ended teh PCC era in the late 80's early 90's several hundred PCC's were still on property,many of them, found new homes. A half dozen at our museum alone ! At the PCC cars height of usage in Toronto early 1960's to teh late 80's 775 PCC's roamed the TTC system ! Only about half of which were bought new by teh TTC, the rest came from various US cities as they wound down thier streetcar operations. KC, St Louis , Cleveland, Birmingham, Chicago and Washington were just some of the doaners,you can see the various body style differences in the cars , depending on who bought them and who they bought them from .
Ron-Some great shots of the Northlandz, it really is a mind boggling creation.
Eric-107 is nominally operational. As of two years ago she's no longer in our daily use pool of cars. She's developed some reverser problems and needs some fairly major and involved body restoration. Trolley boards and both vestibules need re-doing and the baggae end truck has developed some age related stress cracks which need attention. remebering that the car came to the museum in 1956 in a just retired fully operational status.She didn't run under power again until 1971-72 when we finally had enough trackage and wire operational to open to teh general public. The first 20 yeasr of existance for the museum was spent on the aqquiring of the land and rebuildiong the right of way from scratch.The upside to it all is that teh right of way at the museum was itself an old electric interurban which had gone out of business in 1931.The downside is that when teh Toronto Suburban went out of business all teh catenary track poles buildings everything was stripped off the ROW and sold off to cover the railways debts. Our founders bought the origianl three parcels of land for the cost of paying up 30 yeasr worth of back taxes.It was only after all the initail track had been laid and the first car barn went up that any restorations began on our first three cars. toronto Railway company 1326 , Toronto Civic railway 55 and MS&C 107.By this point in 1964 TRC 327 and two of our Peter Witts along with Line car 45 were also on the property.The founders first "live" movement of a car was 55.They hooked up a small railway flatbed ( motor car trailer ) with several truck batteries and a small generator which they jury rigged into 55's system. and she puttered off down the 1000 feet of laid trackage, an inauspicious beginning to be sure , but by 1972 on the officail openning day 55 , 327,1326, and 107 were all operated over the one mile of powered trackage , no passing sidings so when 327 made the first customer run she had to back the return trip as neither of teh return loops had been built yet,107 and 55 were doubled ended casr so they could just change ends. once the east loop was built in the late 70's we could trun the loop cars, the west loop was fin ished in the 80's along with two more yards and cars barns allowing full turning for all city cars with the railway profiled cars 107 and 8 and the subway car sets ( one red Gloster built set )we were at our current 40 odd acre facility we know and love today.
Rob
Greetings Tom and gentlemen.....
May I please have a double dram of your finest whisky and the same for the lads....give them a top up with cigars as well while you're at it.....keep the change.
$$$$ for the cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer....
Tom, excellent post about the Super Continental....and British Railways As mentioned before, I can't help but wonder what the railroad scene would have looked like if the big four had still been around today....
The railroad ads....YUMMY! Looking forward to more....
pwolfe, great pics as always my good man...looking forward to more....
Gunneral, I have to admit that I wasn't much of a fan of streamlined steam from the beginning, but they've grown on to me, to say the least....nowadays they're as much appreciated as non streamlined steam...well, most of them anyway. I'm not too sure about DL&W's winged 4-6-2 and 4-6-0....
EricX2000, aaah....PRR's Sunnyside.....not the same without the PRR, is it? Imagine those engines being GG1's instead.... Great pic nonetheless.
T&P 4-8-2 #901 with train #16, The Texan consisting of 9 cars near Ft. Worth, Tex., July 24, 1936.
T&P 4-8-2 #905 with train #2, Sunshine Speical in Ft. Worth, Tex., July 26,1932
MP 4-8-2 #5335 with train #2 and #22 combined, Sunshine Special, backing to station at St. Louis, Mo., August 16, 1940.
MP 4-6-2 #6616 in St. Louis, Mo., July 20, 1940.
Credit: Otto Perry and photoswest....
Next round is on me lads....
Good day Tom and all present. Refreshments of you choice and a Guinness for me. If I missed anyone, it isn't intentional, as I'm trying to play catch-up and keep getting behinder.
Pete: Those British engines are beautiful, but they just look a little naked without a headlight. I get the impression that the workers had to rush to get the loco out of the shop and didn't have time to put on the headlight. In San Francisco (never call it Frisco), cable cars and trolleys are both used for everyday transportation. Not too many cities do that anymore. In fact, public transportation in SF is one of the best around. They also have the BART system and trackless trolleys.
CM3: I just heard about the illness in your family and glad the young person is doing well. Being young, they bounce back so much quicker than us old guys. I saw the TV ad you were mentioning about the two men going to Sweden. It was a good one.
Tom: Nice pics from Alaska. I really like the RR posters from the classic era. They would look great framed and hanging on a wall.
Jan: Nice selection of streamliners from the age of steam. Weren't some of those engines built by Marx and American Flyer?
Eric and all: I used to ride the cable cars all the time when I lived in SF. Taking the California street cable car, I would jump off at Grant, the entrance to one of three Chinatowns in SF. I spent much time in Chinatown. The food is about the best outside of China and I've been both places. I may not have mentioned it before, but my father was Chinese and my mother was from Ireland. You can imagine the prejudice back in the 30's. Anyway, I learned to cook Chinese food, as my father was in the restaurant business. I spent a lot of time at the restaurant and learned basic cooking skills. Many times over the years, I thought about going into the business, but a cooler head prevailed. It is hard, long work. My father would leave home at 7Am and return sometimes after 4Am. I didn't really see my father all that much. Most days, I would go from school to the restaurant, do my homework and hang out in the kitchen. My mother also worked at the restaurant with the hat and coat check concession. The restaurant was interesting in that it was located in the heart of downtown Manhattan and surrounded by TV and radio studios, like Rockerfeller center, off Broadway theatres and celebrity hang-outs. I met many famous people from the studios and theatre, including Babe Ruth himself. Newspaper men would frequent the place and give press passes to my father for all the sporting events, the circus, rodeo, ice follies, etc. I would sit in the press box at these events, the best seat in the house.
Fergie: Glad you survived Noel. What category was it? When Katrina came ashore on the Gulf coast, it was a cat 4, but the storm surge did all the damage. I fled to Florida at the time, but damage to my property which is 20 miles inland, was minimal.
Per: It's nice to find a MR club you can fit in. I never could find one I liked. The bigger ones like San Diego's, is probably easier to work with as you can do your own thing.
Black and Tan was a term created in Northern Ireland to describe the constabulary who were trying to put down the IRA. My Grandmother and her nephews and cousins were involved back in the teen's. She used to tell me stories about the old country when I was little. Maybe our UK resident, Dan could fill us in on any points I've missed or might be wrong about. BTW, I used to mix Guinness stout with Fosters. Pretty good, but I favor draught now.
Eric: It sounds like "Will's Main Line Flake" is a tobacco. Could be a chew, but I don't think it was popular in the UK. My guess is , it's a pipe tobacco.
Tom: Another fine history on British railways. Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.
Allan: Glad you liked the NorthlandZ MR. Here are a few more.
That's about it for now. See you again soon
Ron DD1
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please (round for the house) and $ for the jukebox. Tried hard to snow here last night and is doing so to the north of us.
Let's see, there's a lot to catch up on.
Pete has been around with some interesting cable car and PCC pictures. Then what can I say about LMS 5690 - a "timeless" picture in that beautiful paint. I also liked the shot of 75029. Thanks for sending them along.
Eric has been here as well with pictures and comments. Know right where the shot at Sunnyside was made. BTW, have you seen the Citibank ad for the folks who went back to Norway to visit the old country? They had a good time until they went to the Hall of Records and found out that they were actually from Sweden. Ad closes with the lead character going to the window and asking for, "Two tickets to Stockholm." Hope you get a chance to see it.
Jan visited with FEC material and some interesting steam shots. ATSF 1792, IIRC, originally belonged to the N&W and went west during the WW2. They did not last too long after the war was over. The New Haven I5 is probably getting ready to head back to Boston. They handled Shore Line trains between Boston and New Haven at that stage of their careers. They were the last steam engines purchased by the NYNH&H. Next batch of power (right before the war) was DL109s. They ran in both freight and passenger service. Last, nice picture of the LV "John Wilkes."
Fergie - they had fun with the storm along the New England coast as well as I found out when talking to the home folks. Lots of rain and some wind but not like what you had. I remember Hurricane Carol which took the roof off of our house, followed by approx 2 weeks w/o electric. Good thing we liked to camp.
DD1 - Ah yes, the PRR color perplex. As I mentioned it all depended on the light as to whether the locomotives looked to be dark green or black. Tuscan Gs were beautiful when kept clean.
Now for today's quiz - what other paint scheme did PRR apply to some of their G motors?
The NorthlandZ bridge is incredible! Someone must have had a lot of patience.
Per stopped by and Rob visited as well.
Last but not least OSP is keeping us going - thank you, sir! Hornblower and Three stooges combination continues. Also thanks for the ARR shots, UP material, Super Continental, Brit Rail and a great 6-pack of Grafix Clasix!
Medical situation is stabilizing - thanks for everyone's thoughts. It has made for some long days.
Oh, almost forgot. For those interested in more Erie material, the following will take you to a copy of their employee magazine from December, 1955. Enjoy!
http://companypubs.elhts.org/ERIE_Dec1955.pdf
Another Wednesday has rolled 'round which means OPTIONAL Toy 'n Model Trains Day! here at the Bar by the Ballast . . .
A selection from back on May 17th, 2006, Page 332 of the Original Thread:
Louis Marx and Company (courtesy: Marx Toy Museum) Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. Its boxes were imprinted with the slogan, "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?" The Marx logo was the letters "MAR" in a circle with a large X through it, resembling a railroad crossing sign. Because of this, Marx toys are sometimes misidentified as "Mar" toys. Marx's toys included tinplate buildings, toy soldiers, toy dinosaurs, mechanical toys, toy guns, action figures, dolls, doll houses, toy cars, and HO scale and O scale toy trains. Marx's less-expensive toys were extremely common in dime stores, and its larger, costlier toys were staples for catalog retailers such as Sears and Montgomery Ward, especially around Christmas. Although the company is now largely forgotten except by toy collectors, several of its toys remain well known. Rock'em Sock'em Robots, introduced in the 1960s, remained popular for years and has been reintroduced by several different companies. Its last hurrah was the Big Wheel ride-on pedal toy, which was introduced in 1969 and became one of the most popular toys of the 1970s. Founded in 1919 in New York City by Louis Marx and his brother David Marx, the company's basic policies were "Give the customer more toy for less money," and "Quality is not negotiable," which made the company highly successful. Initially the company had no product designs and no manufacturing capacity, so Marx raised money by positioning itself as a middle man, studying available products, finding ways to make them cheaper, and then closing a sale. Funds raised from these effort proved sufficient to purchase tooling for two obsolete tin toys-called the Alabama Minstrel Dancer and Zippo the Climbing Monkey-from toymaker Ferdinand Strauss, one of Louis Marx's former employers. With subtle changes, Marx was able to turn these toys into hits, selling more than 8 million of each within two years. Marx then bought the company it had subcontracted to manufacture the toys. By 1922, both Louis and David Marx were millionaires. Initially Marx produced few original toys, but was able to predict what toys would be hits and manufacture them less expensively than the competition. The yo-yo is an example: Although Marx is sometimes wrongly credited with inventing the toy, Marx was quick to market its own version, and during the 1920s sold an estimated 100 million of them. A Marx train set made in the late 1940s or early 1950s. (GNU Free Documentation) Unlike most companies, Marx's revenues grew during the Great Depression. By 1937, the company had more than $3.2 million in assets ($42.6 Mil. in 2005 dollars), with debt of just over $500,000. Marx was the largest toy manufacturer in the world by the 1950s. In a 1955 article, Time Magazine proclaimed Louis Marx "the Toy King," and that year, the company had about $50 million in sales. Marx was the initial inductee in the Toy Hall of Fame, and his plaque proclaimed him "The Henry Ford of the toy industry." At its peak, Louis Marx and Company operated three manufacturing plants in the United States: Erie, Pennsylvania, Girard, Pennsylvania, and Glen Dale, West Virginia. The Erie plant was the oldest and largest, while the Girard plant, acquired in 1934 with the purchase of Girard Model Works, produced toy trains, and the Glen Dale plant produced toy cars. Additionally, Marx operated numerous plants overseas. "Donald the Demon" figurine In 1963, they began making a series of plastic figurines called the Nutty Mads which included some almost psychedelic creations such as Donald the Demon: a half duck half madman, driving a miniature car. In 1972, Marx sold his company to the Quaker Oats Company for $54 million ($246 Mil. in 2005 dollars) and retired at the age of 76. Quaker owned the Fisher-Price brand, but struggled with Marx. Quaker had hoped Marx and Fisher-Price would have synergy, but the companies' sales patterns were too different. Marx has also been faulted for largely ignoring the trend towards electronic toys in the early 1970s. In late 1975, Quaker closed the plants in Erie and Girard, and in early 1976, Quaker sold its struggling Marx division to the British conglomerate Dunbee-Combex-Marx, who had bought the former Marx UK subsidiary in 1967. A downturn in the British economy in conjunction with high interest rates caused Dunbee-Combex-Marx to struggle, and these unfavorable market conditions caused a number of Briti***oy manufacturers, including Dunbee-Combex-Marx, to collapse. By 1978 the Marx brand disappeared, and Dunbee-Combex-Marx filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated in 1980. The Marx assets were then liquidated, with many of the patents and molds going to Mego Corporation, another famous maker of dime store toys, and a large number of them going to Canadian toy maker Aurora. The rights to some of Marx's toys are now owned by other companies, and some of its former products are still in production. Marx Toys, Inc., owns the rights to many Marx action figures. Marx Trains, Inc. produces lithographed tin trains, both of original design and based on former Louis Marx designs. K-Line produces plastic O scale train cars and scenery using former Marx molds, which it markets under its own brand name. Model Power produces HO scale trains from old Marx molds. Rights to the original Marx Big Wheel are owned by KidsWheels, Inc., and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots is owned by Mattel. Marx's toy soldiers and other plastic figures are in production today in China for the North American market and are mostly targeted at collectors, although they sometimes appear on the general consumer market, particularly at dollar stores. The Marx name itself has changed hands several times as well. Despite the similar names, neither of the Marx-branded companies of today have any connection to the original Louis Marx and Company. The original Marx
Wednesday's Witticism
It's Money is like a drunk. The tighter it gets, the louder it talks.
Mid-week in mid-continent USA where the petrol is at $2.88 (rounded) but expected to ZOOM upwards any day now - temps are wunnerful for this time of year 'n the colors are still holding.
Time for a <light> or <traditional> breakfast from our Menu Board - a mug of freshly ground 'n brewed coffee <unleaded> or <regular> and of course our famous pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery.
HELP WANTED! Surely would appreciate it if one or two of our customers would stop in on "my other Thread" - ‘n maybe drop off a comment or foto now ‘n then. Thanx Pete 'n Allan!
Tuesday- 06 Nov 2007:
CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 9:03 AM: Email received - thanx! Surely hope the situation gets resolved in a full ‘n speedy recovery for your youngster!
Pete (pwolfe) at 4:47 PM: Was beginning to think we'd pitch a shutout for the remainder of the day - but our Bar Chandler ‘n Acting Manager made it in. Even dropped off a little something over on "my other Thread"!
It's days like these that makes one THINK about just how few are really holding this joint together. With Lars ‘n CM3 Shane OOC (out of commission) it really makes a difference.
Like the look of that Stanier in your foto spread!
Received ‘n responded to your Email - thanx!
Too bad we no longer have a Montréal based "connection" at the bar for we'd probably find out which of the railway stations used to handle the Super Continental. I believe it was the same station we used - Gare Central - however, not being able to accommodate domes is a bit puzzling, for all the trains I've departed ‘n arrived on had domes <sans the all Renaissance> over the 18 or so years of rail travel there.
Figured that Brit ENCORE! would "grab ya"! <grin> I had to 'clean up' a couple of URLs 'n a foto that didn't come thru . . . they are at the END!
And a companion book to the "Why my photos weren't taken or did not come out" might be, "Why I NEVER empty that most precious black bag of mine! - Except when a bottle of soda spills in it!" A line from "The King & I - ‘tis a puzzlement!" <smile>
Allan (Gunneral) at 7:53 PM: Great to see our Resident Down Under <NZ> Kiwi Connection stroll through the doors - just in time to liven up the joint!
Glad to know that the Posts are keeping you interested - we've got a few ‘round here who enjoy providing some fine insights to the Classics on the rails!
Leon, still awake? Wednesday morning, how about a real good breakfast? Blackberry pancakes and a lot of whipped cream!
Kind of quiet day here at "Our" Place today. But that is how it is. BTW it is only 190 days until our 3rd Annual Rendezvous in May!
Rob – Thanks for the info on #107. Certainly a good size car. I understand that it is still operational. Tom – Sorry to hear that you have to stay on medication year round for your allergy! My allergies were really bad from my early 30’s until 2-3 years ago. I was on medication from early spring until late fall. The last few years I’ve been lucky and have had only mild reactions a few times. But last Sunday I mowed the lawn and it was very dusty and then hell broke lose. Enough about that. Yes, those diesels were working hard. Nice sound! Interesting to read about the Super Continental! Too sad it isn’t running today. But at least it is possible to take The Canadian instead! The article about British Railways/Rail is full of interesting facts. I made a copy of it and saved it for future reference. Thanks!!CM3 – Sorry to hear about the family medical emergency. I hope he/she will recover completely soon! There is no doubt that family comes first. Always!Pete – A scanner for Christmas!? That is a nice gift! I am trying to convince my mrs I need a laptop but it seems like she is having some hearing problems. I misunderstod what you said about the UP diesel numbers! You are right, now they put the numbers on the cab sides. Some nice pictures of British steam! To me #5690 Leander looks very much like the Stanier class 5! Same wheel arrangement and almost identical design. But I guess they represent two different classes. Allan – What kind of summer do you have in NZ? We still have warm weather here and that is what I need!
Amtrak's Sunnyside yard, Sunnyside, NY.
A round for the house!
Hzi Tom and all,
A round of Tui`s for all the crew please Leon.
Tom. Really enjoyed all of your great selection of posts`, awesome Alasks pics, all the UP and Canadian rail info, and the comprehensive BR nationalisation write up and pics as well, a veritable feast for the eyes`mate!
Pete. It was good to be in the NE at the end of the LNER, I was 13 when they nationalised rail and road transport in 1948, saw a great LNER exhibition at Manors Station [Newcastle] just prior to nationalisation, they had all of the main Gresley [Mallard of course!] and Peppercorn loco`s, the Silver Link and Coronation coach`s, pity I did`nt have a camera then! Enjoyed all your posts and pics, lovely to see those beautiful Gresley teak coach`s looking so well restored and well looked after, thank Alan for all his great photo`s for me. Your LMS pics were too!
Eric. Nice to hear you got the good news from your Doctor. Enjoyed reading all your posts!
Ron. Nice pics of the NorthlandZ layout, had a look at their site the other day, it`s a whopper of a layout.
Jan. Lovely pics of the steamlined steam loco`s, thanks mate!
Fergie. Nice to hear you weathered the storm OK.
Per. Good to see you in on a visit.
Dan. Glad you got your LMS "The Railway" special issue, I managed to get the LNER one last year, it cost NZ$15, about 5 pounds sterling, but it was really worth it! Saw HM the Queen open the St Pancras restoration live on BBC World last night, it must have cost a fortune for all that self cleaning glass on the main canopy.
CM3. Hope all is going well for your younger relation now, not too serious I hope?
Rob. Nice to see you on board again.
Have`nt seen Mike or James around lately?
See ya, Allan
A pint of Bathams please RUTH, Oh it's not you but TOM instead.
ERIC Great work in finding out the Metroliner car in Tom's Alaska photo and thanks for links to FRA car T-16 and photos of the car at work in Alaska.
It will be a great DVD if you transfer those videos; I have heard I may be getting a scanner for Christmas.
Sorry I was not very clear about the UP diesel numbers, what I meant to say was the locomotives in your photo Saturday had their numbers on the engine compartment under the Union Pacific name all UP locos I have seen have had the number on the cab side.
Wills ‘Main Line' Flake was a tobacco, I think mainly for pipe smokers.
ROB Great to see you in the bar as the busy time at your work is fast approaching.
Glad you enjoyed the San Francisco photos. I had not realized until reading at Our Place that the trolley line in SF was fairly new. The car we caught, No. 1051, was full with people standing before arriving at Fisherman's Wharf. I guess they were quite lucky to have been able to find those PCCs to run on the system. I like the idea of having the cars painted in the colours of the cities that ran PCCs.
Next time I got to England a trip up to Blackpool to ride their tram system is a must.
CM3 Real sorry to read of your medical emergency. Glad the younger member is doing better. Best Wishes.
TOM I was going to take a photo of the Kansas City crest on the side of the Streetcar, but it was in shadow and by the car had moved round the sun had gone down further I ought to write a book on "Why my photos weren't taken or did not come out". I did notice the crest was the same as the one on the car by Union Station K.C.
On the poster, I was going to say, the one in the collection you showed said ‘Exactitude' if they done one for the passenger service through here it would have to be ‘Latetitude'
Yes that was a very informative link Per provided on the Donkey Engine.
Many thanks for the CN's Super Continental. It seems another great attempt to keep rail passengers in the face of improved highways and the competition for the Air industry. I think the Super Dome name is far better than the Sceneramics name used by the CN.
I see that they could not use the domes into Montreal owing to the electrification there.
Enjoyed reading Railways of Europe #1 again. An interesting article, the main thing I noticed about the lack of mainline diesels in the early days of nationalization there was no mention of something I have read, that no way did the government want to have to import fuel for a big fleet of diesel locomotives in the countries economic woes after WWII, we had plenty of coal.
Great photo of the Stanier Jubilee 4-6-0 ‘Sandwich' at Chinley. The loco was allocated to Kentish Town, London (shed code 14B) and it is probably a Manchester to London St Pancras express.
The photo of the Virgin class 87-hauled train is taken at ‘Cathiron' about 3 miles from my old home. I have spent many happy hours there from the days of steam to Pendelinos. Many of the tank locomotives photographed at Barry escaped the cutter's torch and some are running today on preserved lines.
Seeing the photo of Sandwich I have looked out a couple of other LMS locos.
Jubilee 5690 Leander at Bury on the East Lancs Railway
Also on the ELR a 'Jinty' 0-6-0 shunting tank engine Introduced in 1924 they were a development of Midland Railway design there were over 400 of these 3F locos built
A Stanier class 5 4-6-0 leaves Crewe on a main line steam tour.
These should enlarge
Well TOM another Bathams with you, LEON will be here in a minute.
Ruth, take the rest of the day off . . . I'll watch things 'round here.
Boris feed the critters 'n then you may have that jar of PPF!
This from Page 247 back on Feb 15, 2006 of the Original Thread . . .
RAILWAYS of EUROPE #1 - British Rail
British Rail Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources. None of this material has been corroborated.
British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. This period saw massive changes in the nature of the railway network: steam traction was eliminated in favour of diesel and electric power, passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and the network was severely rationalised. History Background British Railways Eastern Region timetable for Summer 1963. The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 by the Railways Act 1921 there were four large British railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area. These were the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR). The London Underground and the Glasgow Subway were independent concerns and there was a small number of independent light railways and industrial railways, which did not contribute significant mileage to the system. Neither were non-railway-owned tramways considered part of the system. During the Second World War the railways were taken into state control. They were heavily damaged by enemy action and were run down aiding the war effort. Nationalisation The Transport Act 1947 made provision for the nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlee's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence on 1 January 1948 with the merger of the Big Four, under the control of the Railway Executive of the Briti***ransport Commission (BTC). The Northern Counties Committee lines owned by the LMS in Northern Ireland were quickly sold to the Stormont Government, becoming part of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1949. The emblem of British Railways, also called the "Ferret and Dartboard" British Railways The new system was split geographically into six regions along the lines of the Big Four:
These regions would form the basis of the BR business structure until the 1980s. The Eastern and North Eastern Regions were merged to form the Eastern Region in the 1960s, Anglia Region was split off from the Eastern Region in the 1980s. They retained a level of independence, though there was also some centralisation. ex-LMS Jubilee Class 45641 Sandwich at Chinley in 1954 [Wikimedia Commons] 1955 Modernisation Plan After the Second World War, Britain's railways fell behind others in the world. Countries like Japan, USA and France were experimenting with new diesels and electrics. However, Britain wasn't, and the run down network deteriorated even more because of painfully slow rebuilding. Finally, and lately, came the modernisation plan for Britain's railways. It cost the government much more than it should have, because of bad timing. The 1955 Modernisation Plan, detailed in the Briti***ransport Commission's (BTC) Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways, argued for spending £1,240 million
Good Morning Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox.
Please excuse the silence from here but have been covered up for past few days with a family medical emergency. Person involved (not me but one of the younger set) is still in the hospital but doing better I hope you will bear with my brief visits for awhile.
work safe
Now Arriving on Track #1
Canadian Railways of the Past Number Six: Canadian National's Super Continental
<A form of this was initially Posted 30 Jun 2006, Page 367 on the Original Thread>
Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources. Route map of the Super Continental The Super Continental was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated originally by the Canadian National Railway beginning in 1955 and subsequently by VIA Rail Canada from 1977 until its cancellation in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990. The original CNR train had a Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto - Winnipeg - Saskatoon - Edmonton - Jasper - Vancouver routing with daily service. CNR passenger service in the postwar era Following World War II, CNR's passenger fleet was in desperate need of modernization, and between 1946 and 1950 they purchased a total of 75 of new lightweight coaches and sleeping cars. However, post-war material shortages constrained the number of cars that CNR was able to procure commercially, leading to a significant programme of in-house refurbishment of older heavyweight equipment in the CNR carshops. Ultimately a total of 211 heavyweight cars were fitted out with new interiors, roller bearing trucks, and sealed windows. Nevertheless it quickly became apparent that refurbished equipment alone would not be sufficient to remain competitive, and in 1952 CNR placed a large order for new lightweight equipment. This order consisted of 218 coaches from the Canadian Car and Foundry Company in Montreal, as well as 92 sleeping cars, 20 dining cars, 17 parlour cars, and 12 buffet-sleepers from the Chicago-based Pullman-Standard Company. Inauguration of service Deliveries of the new cars were essentially completed by 1954, but CNR waited until 24 April 1955 to introduce its new transcontinental flagship Super Continental to replace its former flagship, the Continental Limited. Not coincidently, this was the same date that competitor Canadian Pacific Railway introduced its new streamlined transcontinental train The Canadian. However, despite the new and refurbished equipment and an attractive new black-and-green yellow-trim paint scheme, the Super Continental's mixture of equipment paled in comparison to CPR's gleaming all stainless-steel consist, produced for them by the Budd Company. An additional important distinction was that The Canadian featured scenic dome cars, which the Super Continental was prevented from using due to interference with electrification in Montreal. In 1964, CN started using dome cars on the western portion of the route. Although the CNR was not completely dieselized until 1960, the Super Continental was from the outset hauled exclusively by a variety of diesel locomotives, including Montreal Locomotive Works FP-2s and FP-4s, Canadian Locomotive Company C-liners in eastern Canada, as well as General Motors Diesel FP9 units in western Canada. Decline of passenger trains By the 1960s, Canadian passenger trains were in serious decline, largely thanks to increased competition from automobiles travelling the then-new Trans-Canada Highway and from airlines. However, the CN aggressively marketed its services, even while CPR was losing interest in operating The Canadian. To help combat the perception that the CPR route through the Rocky Mountains was more scenic, CN in 1964 acquired a set of six ex-Milwaukee Road "Super Dome" cars (rechristened "Sceneramics" by CN) that had formerly seen service on the Olympian Hiawatha. These were placed into service between Winnipeg and Vancouver. But despite CNR's best efforts, ridership continued to decline throughout the 1970s, and the train operated at a loss. VIA Rail takeover and first cancellation On April 1, 1978, a new federal Crown corporation called VIA Rail Canada formally assumed responsibility for the passenger services of CN. VIA Rail also assumed responsibility for CP Rail's passenger services on October 29, 1978, giving it two transcontinental routes: the Canadian and the Super Continental. VIA Rail reconfigured these routes, making the Canadian a Toronto-Vancouver train and the Super Continental a Montreal-Vancouver train. Sleeping cars were exchanged in Winnipeg between the two trains. The Canadian became the company's premier transcontinental train and the Super Continental was relegated to secondary status. Nevertheless, a confluence of astute marketing, high gasoline prices, and rampant inflation actually led to an increase in ridership during the early 1980s. However, the 1981 federal budget of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government led to fully 20% of VIA's route miles being eliminated. The Super Continental was among the trains immediately cut. Such reductions in passenger service proved to be politically unpopular, and following the election of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney in 1984, service was restored on June 1, 1985, but on a truncated route from Vancouver to Winnipeg via Edmonton that no longer lived up to the 'Continental' name. The Toronto/Montreal to Sudbury segment was eliminated, and the Capreol-Winnipeg segment was reduced to a triweekly nameless remote services train. During this period, VIA Rail was also able to re-equip the Super Continental with modern GMD F40PH locomotives. Unfortunately, on February 8, 1986 human error resulted in VIA's eastbound Super Continental colliding with a CN freight train at Dalehurst, Alberta, near Hinton. Twenty-three people lost their lives in what is still the worst accident in modern Canadian railway history. The end By the late 1980's, federal budgets were under serious pressure, and the Mulroney government's 1989 budge
Manager Lars (LoveDomes) will not be with us for awhile . . We'll miss his daily appearances, book ‘n video covers along with stewardship at the bar! Hurry back, Mate.
HELP WANTED! Surely would appreciate it if one or two of our customers would stop in on "my other Thread" - ‘n maybe drop off a comment or foto now ‘n then. Thanx, Rob!
Monday 05 - Nov 2007:
Fergie (Fergmiester) at 6:48 AM: Really hate to do this <grin> but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do <uh oh> Grab your stern section - here it comes!
<tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet> <tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet> Rules Violations! Rules Violations!
Rule #1 - Failure to greet the barkeep upon entering! <grrrrrrrrrr> Rule #2 - Failure to order drink or food! <geesh> - and - Rule #53 - Suspected selective reading of the Posts! <for shame>! Penalties: Wire brush the scuppers - scour the slop chute ‘n swab the galley! <yikes> - AND - don't do that anymore! <uh oh>
Mentioning that you're going to buy a round isn't the same as DOING IT! <geesh>Vito said he'd be sending one of his boyz to fit you for some shoes <cement I think>! <ommmigosh>
Okay - now that we've <nailed> Skipper Fergie, let's see what's to say about his Monday offering:
So - you weathered the weather - which is good. The fact that you had some interruptions in socializing, et al - and perhaps some anxious moments - ain't. Happy to know all's well with you ‘n yours!
At Bedford Basin - looking at the CN trestle straight on from the water's edge the 2nd home to the left on the Basin ‘n the home 2nd to the right are owned by family members. a great place, fer sure, fer sure. Many a sailing vessel has wound up where you described. In fact one of my sisters-in-law lost her most prized possession as a result of Juan - put ‘er on the rocks big time. <groan>
Happy to see ya, in spite of the <tweetings>
Dan (DL-UK) at 11:07 AM: In ‘n out - but still good to see ya, Mate!
My issue of Classic Trains arrived late last week - it too is on the "stack" to read. Happens! <grin>
Jan (JanOlov) at 12:36 PM: Another with few words for the day - but the top up, et al means a lot!
Well, at least we can all enjoy feasting our eyes on the photo's ‘n graphics from "back in the day"! That's small consolation - but at least something to enjoy!
Per (marthastrainyard) at 3 PM: A mid-afternoon visit from our Resident Cowboy Swede! Nice inclusive Post with all sorts of good stuff to digest!
Keep in mind that if you want to provide us with fotos - Saturday is our Photo Posting Day <no limits - but reasonable!!> whereas during the week we try to stay within the six-per-visit limit. <thanx!>
Ps-4 I think is what you're looking for regarding that great looking green Southern steam loco - it's a Pacific "type" 4-6-2 - #1401 is at the Smithsonian in WashDC.
Regarding model RR clubs: I've really only recently gotten "into" the hobby <hook, line ‘n sinker>. Was most difficult to get serious with it during my career with all the moving, raising a family, limited bucks, etc. Now, of course the situation is far different. Once I began to seriously embark upon building "the layout of my dreams," I did so with pretty much limited help ‘n advice. Not that I wouldn't have accepted it, but I just wasn't looking.
A neighbor ‘n friend of mine offered to do the landscaping - which I graciously accepted. But as things turned out - he bailed out on the offer ‘n I wound up doing
Good evening Leon , seems all well here at the saloon by the siding. I'll pop for a round and nab a guiness for myself.Sorry for being a bit scarce the last three days folks, it's that time of year already and the stores been a bit on the busy side,on the upside that means job security for the forseeable future
Tom-Hmmm I seem to recolect those pictures , I'm glad you thought them highly enough to repost them.Lots of interesting posters pics the last couple o days (daze). I'm wondering did you get any colour in your trees this year ? We've had an interesting fall, we had temps in the 70's or at least high 60's for most of sept and october so the tree's basically dropped green leaves. Wierd year, even the maples in my backyard managed not to give us any colour.
fergie-I'm gald to hear that you weathered the storm,I had been thinking about the lot of you out there when I heard the report that Noel was headed in your direction.Good luck on your vehicle hunt.
Pete-Nice shots from San fran sir liked Alans nautical pics as well The streetcars in San Fran are intersting. The PCC line started out as a tourist thing and then miorphed into a full fledged year round transit hub. They were originally just going to preserve some old cars and have at it. Turned into a living and working museum of sorts,I never heard the story wwhy but the management decided to paint their cars for all the various PCC car using cities, makes for quite a conversation starter at any rate. I actually never heard if Al finished his book.I imagine if he had it would have been quite the espistal,I've always said that the guy likely has forgotten more about passenger trains and ops then the rest of us ever knew in the first place.
eric-107 is a big car 62.5' over the pulling faces front to back.The car is however narrow as with all MS&C equipment they were designed to share the narrow victorian era Victoria bridge accross the St lawrence River. It is a very elegant car right down to the stained glass in the clerestry.
Good evening Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Leon, time for my Rumpsteak Café de Paris! Ice cold Keith's please!
After suffering from my allergy all day it is good to be able to stop by "Our Place" and relax and learn something new!
Tom – I passed the reading test?!!?!! Thank you, that makes me feel good! I am ready for the next test! The Buzzards lost again! It is a sad story and I don’t want to even think about it. Pathetic!The Metroliner car in your pictures is obviously a research car, owned by FRA, described on the link below. I can see the FRA logo to the left of the door at the rear end of the car. FRA obtained the car from Amtrak 1999.http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/rr01_01.pdfPictures of that car in Alaska on this link.http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1488Nice UP drumheads! I like the City of Denver and City of Cheyenne drumheads!Classic looking posters indeed! I would guess they are from the 30’s. I wonder what Wills’s “Main Line” Flake is? 9 1/2 d. per ounce??Fergie – Glad to learn that you survived the storm without any bad damage. A trellis can always be replaced. I guess you didn’t get much sleep with the house shaking in the storm. Hope you’ll find the vehicle you are looking for!DL – Come back soon! You are missed. JanOlov – You are probably right about class 1 railroads having streamlined steam locomotives. I’ll see if I can find out. Per – I found the answer about the former Amtrak car in Tom’s pictures from Alaska. See my response to him. 75% is not bad at all! No one was 100% correct! Pete – The streets in San Francisco are very steep! I have been thinking about transfering/converting my video of the cable cars to a DVD. Maybe after I retire in 45 days! I thought all UP locomotives have the number on the sides and front. At least the ones running through Arizona all have it. See picture below.
Thanks for the streetcar pictures from Fisherman’s Wharf! Very nice! Last time I was in SF they were building that line. Good to see they are running streetcars on it now!
ERIC Thanks for the drink.
I bet that is a great video of the San Francisco cable cars. Although I had seen those streets many times on TV and in films, it was not until actually riding the cars I realized how steep those streets really are.
Many Thanks for the photos.
I have not seen any UP locomotives with the number on the side of the loco and not on the cab, I wonder if it was common having the number on the side when the photo was taken in 1981.
The Melbourne streetcar looks quite a home in Seattle.
FERGIE That sounds a very scary night with the very high winds, glad you escaped with only the trellis damaged. Hopefully all the folks will have the power back on soon.
DL Glad you were able to get a copy of the Railway Magazine LMS special, not read all of mine yet but it would have been very interesting to seen what would have happened to the LMS if those large engines proposed by Sir Henry Fowler of the Midland had been allowed to be built.
PER Glad you had such a good time at the Model weekend.
Many thanks for the link to the Donkey Engine. The photo of the donkey engine in the link shows a similar one to the one at the Maritime museum. The one in at San Francisco looks in good condition.
Glad you enjoyed the photos of the cable cars. By the sounds I shall have to allow plenty of time to look round the cable car museum, it sounds an interesting exhibit on the working of the cable car system. I loved the safety talk we had on the cable car; the lady said, "If you see me jump off, you follow".
I shall look forward to the photos of the Boston area.
The landlord at our local Irish pub mixes a great black and tan it used to be made with Guinness and Bass.
TOM Sounds as though you had a great day out at the Pere Marquette state park, the weather was glorious for a day out.
It is very easy to spend a lot of time at the Barriger Library (sorry about the earlier spelling mistake) there is a great selection of railroad books as well as the magazines.
It was an easy weekend looking after the bar it seems free beer is way preferred than causing trouble and damage to the track gang. The tip jar was overflowing Saturday night as I heard the track gang had bet heavily on a 3-0 win by Our Place in the darts.
Many thanks for the Union Pacific ‘Blast from the Past' and the Drumheads. I see there is one where the Wabash teamed up with the UP.
Another great Six-Pack Special. The posters looks like from the 1930s and, as Per says, how much would an original be worth today. Loved the Wills one, I wonder what the artist based the locomotive on, it has got be beat. Wills used to produce some really great cigarette cards with railway themes. I was given some when I was a youngster, but sadly they disappeared over the years.
I could say something about the ‘Exactitude' poster and onefor the line through here, but I wont..
I have some streetcars in San Francisco, taken near Fisherman's Wharf.
These next two are from a PCC with Kansas City markings, I think it is the same type as the one on display by Union Station in Kansas City. It was great to see the car in use.
Hello everybody at the bar! And welcome to a brand new week! Great, isn't it?
Ruth, it's a bit late for lunch, so a pint of Guinness will do just fine. I leave this portrait of Grant so the others can have something at the bar when they show up. By the way, I seem to have misplaced my James Madison, if you see it, please let me know, will ya'?
No news (at least no good news) on the PC front. I still write this from work, so it's short.
The weekend model railroading went really well. My club hosted three operating sessions with a fairly large group every time; at the most we had 10 operating guests. We still needed an engine hostler, so I gladly jumped in and tried that part for the first time. It was fun but a bit slow at times.
I keep forgetting to bring the memory cards to work so I can upload my pictures from Boston and surroundings. I will hopefully have them here before the end of the week.
Tom, Thanks for the repost of Trolleyboy Bob's articles from 2005. And a great big thanks for the library link. I had misplaced it and was looking for it a while back. It was really welcome!
I used to have mixed feelings about MR clubs. The one I belonged to in SoCal didn't work out too well for me. When I moved to Dallas I wanted to do some MR-ing but realized there wasn't much reason to build something myself. This area is very active in the MR with two big shows per year and each show has a home/club layout tour. That's how I found this place, and it has worked very well. It's all about chemistry, I guess, either you fit in, or you don't. This time I was lucky.
Comments about the round are duly noticed. Share the Madison with the rest of the crew.
Nice reprint of Manager Lars' SR book covers. Isn't that green engine a beauty! What's it called again? Ps-[something] (seems I can remember the letters but not the numbers anymore).
The baggage tent at ARR brings back memories of the "International Arrivals" tent at LAX in the 80's, brrrr. That's some nice artwork on the ultra domes! And, like Eric said, what's the Amtrak car doing there? And picture 10 sure shows a great view! If I had an office in one of those buildings, I think I better draw the blinds if I wanted to get something done!
Sounds like you had a great Sunday at the Pere Marquette park.
Nice UP drumheads. You are giving me some ideas for contributions here, once I get my PC up and running again so I can scan some of the UP stuff I have collected the last couple of years as I was gathering information on the "City of Los Angeles".
Those European posters that showed up after I refreshed are great! I wonder what an original of those would fetch these days? Way too much, I'm sure, after seeing some on "Antiques Roadshow" a couple of times.
Pete, I checked a bit more on the vertical steam engine you posted. It is, indeed, a "steam donkey", I just didn't remember the name last time. I have always seen it used in illustrations of logging operations, but Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_donkey) also lists maritime use of it. It was invented in 1881 and patented in 1882.
As I mentioned above, it was a great model train weekend. We had a large crowd and it seemed everybody were happy with the operation possibilities we have created on our club layout.
I tried to find a picture of the newer Green Line trolleys on the web, but I had no luck.
I liked your pictures of the cable cars. I visited that cable car museum many years ago. The strongest memory is of the drive mechanism and the way it was explained. The museum is in one of the power stations which is still being used.
Great story about the "buffer polisher".
Eric, picky, picky! I guess I have to dig deeper next time you have a quiz. But 75% isn't that bad, is it?
Nice pictures, especially the Nevada one. Those Melbourne street cars seems to have been distributed all over when they stopped running "down under".
Jan, that's some really nice pictures of the heavy weight Pullmans. Man, that was traveling in style! And the streamlined steamers are great too! It's interesting to see how many different designs there were. Does anyone know how long those engines were in use? I guess the streamline covers came off after the E-diesels came out and the steamers were used for secondary trains or freight instead.
Fergie, I'm glad you weathered out Noel with just a trellis damage. Hey, Tom's suggestion on how to replace your engines at a lower price isn't bad at all!
Ron, my first experience with "Black and Tan" was when my new bride and I went to Europe for a summer trip. My Father-in-Law recommended it, and the first pub we saw in Kensington became the testing ground. From that time, both of us really like it. The proprietor wanted to know where we found out about it and when he heard the story, the next round was on him.
It seems your travel habits are pretty much like mine. I try to take the less traveled route and to try the local food. Heck, if I want McDonald's I don't need to go half-way around the world to get that! I didn't find any narrow gauge in Perth but I found the RR Museum there. I was looking for information on an old line from Port Hedland to Marble Bar and they had some.
Nice pictures from NordlandZ! That must have been an experience to see that layout.
Well, folks, it's back to work again. Thanks for the Guinness and have another one on me!
Per
Six Pack Special Number Six
RR advertisements from the Classic Era
Montserrat - Euro
Orient Express - Euro
Main Line Flake - Euro
Pullman - Euro
Etoile du Nord - Euro
Exactitude - Euro
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Enjoy!
Tom
Greetings Tom and gentlemen...
May I please have a cup of black Java and the usual top up with cigars for the lads...? Keep the change....
EricX2000, great pics my good man...! I wouldn't know if every class 1 railroad had streamlined locomotives, but I'm sure that most had them anyway....we could always have a snoop around....
Tom, some nice UP drumheads you got going there.... I'd have loved to see those M-10000's and streamlined City trains in real life. But, that's what you get when you're born too late and all that....
Next round me fellas!
In absence of our Manager Lars during the morning "slot," figured I'd drop something off to keep things going . . . here's a Blast from the Past from the "Our" Place archives!
PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #61
<A form of this was initially Posted on 20 Jan 2006, Page 226 of the Original Thread>
Here's something to enjoy regarding the Union Pacific (UP) in a 1933 advertisement from my private collection:
The trail to "Wonderland" Union Pacific serves 15 of our National parks and more of the famous scenic wonderlands of the West than does any other railroad. Plan now to see the west this summer. We suggest: Zion-Bryce Canyon . . .Yellowstone-Grand Teton . . . . . .Rock Mountain-National Parks . . . . . . . . . Colorado California and Hawaii . . . Pacific Northwest and Alaska . . . . . .Western Dude Ranches . . . . . . . . .Hoover Dam All costs are down. Rail fares are the lowest ever offered. Sightseeing rates, hotels, meals - in fact, all expenses are reduced.
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD OVERLAND
Some drumheads of the UP
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