<personal foto>
Guten Morgen allerseits!
Wie ist jeder? Es is OKTOBERFEST! Partei wollen wir!
Thursday in mid-continent USA where petrol is at $2.56 (rounded) ‘n the temps have definitely returned to more of a fall range. <yeah>
Begin your Thursday right here with a hot mugga Joe, pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery ‘n a choice of <light> or <traditional> breakfasts from our Menu Board!
Comments from the Proprietor:
Final OKTOBERFEST at "Our" Place this Saturday at noon!
PLAN TO SHARE THIS FALL CELEBRATION WITH US!
Customer Acknowledgments (since my last narrative)
Some specific comments to those previously acknowledged, but not addressed:
Per: A marathon Post requires marathon timeframe to take it all in. <phew>
Kalmbach provides access to all of their "stuff" for those who subscribe to any of their magazines. So nothing was really new or different with their "offer." Anyway, I was totally POd about the entire situation that I could've cared less if they were showing fotos of Cindy in her Victoria's-not-so-secret string ensemble! Wouldn't have taken the time . . . wellllllllllll, maybe just a peak! <grin>
I took my PhotoBucket off the the "public access" many moons ago. Figured that there's enough of my stuff floating around in the Ether - plus I have some albums that have no connection to the bar ‘n what we do here.
Too bad we no longer have a connection with our Dallas friend - he really extended himself to me with that outing described in my report. Just one of those things - he probably has found other interests.
If anyone "knows" about the train you have in the recesses of your mind it would be Shane. I really am a novice when it comes to being placed in THAT kind of company. There were some trains though that I've featured in my Passenger Train nostalgia advertisements - the AeroTrain ‘n the Xplorer come to mind. Then the NYC ran a "jet powered" RDC for an experiment. All over on the Original Thread - probably worth an ENCORE! one of these Saturdays . . .
Really wish to emphasize that when I provide material at the bar, I try to always give the source. Those figures are not mine - but rather are quoted from the source given in the advertisement. So, I cannot provide any additional elaboration - sorry.
However, it wasn't uncommon for freight car inventories to be far ‘n away much higher than the passenger fleet on many of this nation's railroads.
Certainly hope your property in SoCal gets spared the wrath of the fire storm. <grim>
THAT is SOME control tower - and all for a model railroad! <triple wow>
Got a kick out of that quake scale . . . . having lived in San Pedro for a couple of years, it is indeed something one gets used to. Never, ever thought I'd say that!! <yikes>
Pete: Enjoyed the evening Post that was supposed to be the mid-afternoon Post but turned out not to be! Phone call explained it all . . . ‘nuf said, eh Thanx!!
Ron: Enjoyed your effort, although it was in the "wide Page phenom" Format . . . made reading it a bit difficult.
I'm certainly in no position to know the ins ‘n outs of the business you obviously have a handle on. Ship designers, as with so many other walks of life from the past, ain't what they used to be.
Thought you had provided a link regarding the "flap" the USCG ‘n their "designers" got into regarding the next generation of large Cutters for the fleet. A colossal waste of money ‘n something worthy of keel hauling for the brain dead fools who orchestrated it all. <shame>
HAMILTON rode much, much better after the bilge keels were put on at the USCG shipyard in Curtis Bay, MD. Kinda wondered why they weren't included at the "get go." But that's hindsight - one has to live ‘n work aboard a ship in ALL conditions to get the "feel" of her.
And ALAMEDA (Coast Guard Island) is indeed the CORRECT location for those "nested' 378s . . .
Rob: A return to your Classic Juice series with a winner! Nicely done, Mate. You've got a "ton of ‘em" all on the Original Thread, just waiting for ENCORE! Saturdays . ..
Making reefs from sunken naval vessels isn't anything new down here either. Been doing that for decades . . . but with so many ships ‘n the need for targets, well so many fine ladies of the sea have gone that route.
Eric: Pacific Electric #418 - ahhh yes, recall it now! Thanx . . .
Nice looking LRV from Phoenix. Concur with Lars - keep us Posted!
You are correct - HAMILTON was not in the foto - just the CLASS of vessels, of which that group just happened to be in the same port at the same time. <geesh>
Jan: Good to see ya "in," even if only for a minute or so . . .
Pete: Again - appreciate the "last minute" Post before heading off to the station!
CM3 Shane: Emails received ‘n responded to - thanx!
Figured you'd jump in with some elevated rail talk from Beantown!
Good morning Captain Tom and Gentlemen!!
Hello Leon, I'll have a meatloaf sandwich, please! A cold Keith's to drink.
My arm feels great for the darts game! Bring 'em on!
Rob – I feel the same about the design of the new light rail cars for Phoenix. I like the older design better. The streetcar from Kyoto belongs to the Old Pueblo Trolley in Tucson, AZ. It is used during weekends, Friday 6 pm to 10 pm, Saturday Noon to Midnight and Sunday Noon to 6 pm. See link below.http://www.oldpueblotrolley.org/869.htmInteresting pictures of the crane car and the Peter Witt 2786! Is 2786 operational today? What kind of locomotive is shown in those two pictures from Northbay? Tom – Kirkwood! At least I can say I’ve been there! Very nice looking station building, inside and outside. I really don’t think UP is doing their best to keep Amtrak’s trains on time. To lose almost 1 1/2 hour on a 2 hour run speaks volumes about UP. Amtrak should replace the timetable with a calendar. It seems like the big problems are between Kirkwood and Jefferson City.Thanks for re-posting BK’s post from last year!
Thanks for the detailed trip report, including a bunch of nice pictures!Lars – I don’t know if those mugs are worth anything. I am using them for my coffee more or less every day. I have two of each. We discussed Phoenix light rail last year. I was actually out last Sunday and took a few pictures of newly built tracks. See picture. These tracks are now used for test runs.
More nice book covers! Very British! LNER Six-Coupled Tender Locomotives sounds very interesting. JanOlov – The rest of the week off?? Don’t tell Manager Lars, he may get some ideas. DL – Thanks for the trip report, Cochrane Moosonee on the Polar Express! Very interesting and very nice pictures! The bridge across Moose River was something else. Per – I don’t have any pictures of class X6, but you can see it on the link below (Swedish text). Bottom of page.http://www.jarnvag.net/vagnguide/X6.aspYes, there is the Old Pueblo Trolley in Tucson (see link above). They provide passenger service all weekends. Pete – I am ready for the dart tournament any time! It will be an exciting day! I know, Manager Lars was not very happy to hear that Ruth loves streetcars. Nice pictures from San Diego Model Museum! Especially the one of the roundhouse! Allan – The light rail cars for Phoenix look okay, but I would have prefered a more traditional look. But one can’t get it all.
Eric
Good evening Leon my friend , I think a Harps this evenign just for something different. Nice to see a realitivly busy day here at the saloon by the siding , lots of good stuff to catch up with, good show gents.
Jan-I'll have to do some digging, I don't have any BC Trolley stuff right at the moment, I can find some regular railway things from BC however , keep an eye out for it.Your relitve likely got a job on the Pacific Great Eastern ( PGE ) when he moved to BC in the 20's , this railway was Provincial govt owned like the Ontario Northland and was renamed in the 60's to The British Columbia Railway later simplified in the 80's to BC Rail an interesting RR to be sure. Now of coarse it's been absorbed into Canadian National. he may have worked for teh Grand Trunk Pacific ( CNR ) or the CP railway as well but my bet is on the PGE owing to where he was living.
Per-Glad you liked the Lintern artical. That was an excerpt from the Radial Report our musuem's news letter. It was Writen by Gord McQuat our master mechanic.We've been at it for quite a while ,the museum was founded in 1953 as always it's a work in progress. The ONR Tee train is no longer in use , they had two complete trainsets actually part of one is being restored as a waterfront display in Northbay but is in fairly rough shape at the moment.I can't imagine using a Lintern type system on a car , mind you had air brakes become widspread in vehicle usage ( besides trucks ) it may well have caught on. A lot of us at the museum jokingly say that the Nichols company likely had their Canadian operations salesman picture on the wall as more of the Linterns were sold up hear than to US traction companies
a couple shots of it that I took two summers ago while we were vacationing in Northbay.
Pete-Loved the layout photo's quite the spread they have ! sounds like the two of you had a fairly good outing. Yes VIA's getting semi hosed as well by the slowdowns on CN. Except for teh corridor Windsor to Quebec City where the VIA traffic still enjoys right of way privilages most days.
DL-Thanks for the welcome back, great write up on your Polar Bear trip, it is a unique train ride.Moose Factory is quite desolate. I don't know if you really would have wanted to bike on the Island , the national bird of Ontario ( the mosquito ) grow quite big and hungry up there most times of the year Great photo's along the way however, those were indeed GP38-2's that were powering your train ( most of their passenger trains are now equiped this way ) HEP equipmnet has replaced most of their steam heat now. A couple of the FP7's ( only the caterpillar repowerd ones still exist at their Northbay Head Office and are used only if needed )
A FP7 I caught two summers ago parked beside the shop complex in Northbay
Alan-glad to meet you
Tom-Nice to see the BK model repost thanks for digging it up sir All things concidered your lateness on the train wasn't all that bad mind you it looked like it made for a long day no wonder the "puppy" has been sooo needy. looking forward to the rest of the pics.
Rob
Hi Tom and all,
Set `em up please Leon, Tui`s all round for the crew!
Tom. Great spread on your trip with Pete, it sounds as if you both had a great time, enjoyed the trip travelogue and all the nice pics! Really enjoyed you USCG info and the great ship pics, interesting info on the shipboard artillery equipment, I started on Heavy AAA in the mid 50`s we had WW2 3.7inch guns then, very similar to the German 88mm gun. That FEF name I mentioned is the UP class Northern steam loco #844 that is kept by UP, is still used for revenue service when it`s moved to different locations, their`s a write up at;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UP_844
Looking foreward to the Darts match commencing.
Pete. That video Ref who dis-allowed that try was an Oz one, nuff said! Enjoyed your Railtown pics, that saddle tank looks a bit different to the one`s the NCB used to run. That viaduct was as you say a real bottleneck on the ECML, it must have had a real effect on the timetables at peak times. Glad you had a nice trip with Tom.
Lars. A really nice selection of Brit rail covers mate, and a lot of nice pics of the Supertrams as well! Saw some of the Patriots NFL game the other night, some of those passes were fantastic to watch, in Rugby you are not allowed to have foreward passes at all and to score Tries [touchdowns] you have to carry the ball through all the tackles.
Jan. Enjoyed all your musical renditions mate, we will have to call you the "Bar Bard" giving us all your entertainment! Great SP steam pics you posted for us, can`t get enough of all those great steam pics!
Rob. Enjoyed your Classic Juice write up and all the trolley pics on your posts. Nice to meet you mate.
Ron. Nice info on the Worlds largest MRR, it`s a whopper! Hope your weather has improved by now?
Eric. I also think that viaduct looks more like Toms poster, they used a helluva lot of bricks on that line when the built it, in those days bricks, together with cast iron, were the cheapest forms of building material. Nice tram pics you posted, that new Phoenix tram looks really neat!
Per. Hope you are well away from those fires in San Diego,, they look really frightening on the TV news. Nice write up on the quake strength`s, they had a 4.5 in the South Island again last night, seem to be having a lot of after shocks down there! Broadway turn out some really top model loco`s, they are so realistic in looks and sound, just like the real thing.
CM3. Interesting write up on the Elevated`s, from memory there was only one of them in the UK, at Liverpool, home of the "Beatles" group.
Dan. Nice to see you mate, enjoyed your ONR write up and all the links as well, how many photo`s did you take on the trip? I find it a lot more easier now with a digital camera and the SD cards, compared to the old 35mm film camera I had.
See ya, Allan
Hi Tom and all.
Another Bathams please LEON.
From the San Diego Model Museum.
Another photo of the great model of the Roundhouse.
In the display case a selection of British model trains.
This Lionel model must be popular there was another of this type in the museum in Sacramento.
These should enlarge.
Pete.
A pint of Bathams please RUTH, after a great day out on Amtrak with Tom.
PER Great to see you in.
I hope your house keeps safe with those really terrible fires in California, The friends we stayed with had to be evacuated, but last we had heard they have be able to return to their house. Those figures in your post today are as you say unbelievable
Thanks for the info on the Dallas museum.
There was a class of LMS steam locomotives they had the nickname of ‘Flying Pigs' but they would not be working through Maidenhead in the 1970s.Introduced in 1947 just one of the class of 162 locomotives was preserved, this is on the Severn Valley Railway, although sadly it is not in running condition at the present.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Ivatt_Class_4
A link to the 'Flying Pigs'
Liked the control tower in the photo.
I was a shame the S1 did not turn out as well as it was hoped it would. The last BR design the 2-10-0 9Fs were probably the best freight locos we had in Britain but they had such short lives with the inset of dieselisation, a sad waste really in my opinion.
RON Sorry to read you are getting bad weather still where you are.
Thanks for the info on the trolley in my pic, it is great about Our Place that when something appears, like the badge on the side of that trolley, the real facts are told at the bar.
Very interesting about replacing the older experienced engineers with those straight out of collage, there is no substitute for experience.
Many thanks for the piece on Mr. Williams and the great Northlandz Model Layout.
ROB. I shall look forward to seeing more of your trolley photos. I have some more pics taken in San Francisco of trolleys and a couple of the cable cars there. I will post them soon.
It seems that VIA rail is having the same trouble with CN that Amtrak is having with UP on my local line.
Great to see the return of the Classic Juice series.
On the part of our journey I was on yesterday we weren't delayed much and the train mainly kept going, although it was late getting in and Tom was delayed by the engineering work to the east of Jeff City.
It will be good to hear about your trip on The Ocean.
Many thanks for the pics of the Museum cars.
ERIC We had a great time on Amtrak.
That is good news about the new light rail line in Phoenix; they are good looking vehicles used there. It seems once a city puts in a light rail system its popularity gets extensions to the system built. I see they are still arguing about a system for Kansas City.
Are you feeling ready for the start of the dart tournament tomorrow.
I don't think Lars will get you that book of Ellis's after the comment about RUTH and Streetcars. I had not seen the Ellis book before Lars posted the cover.
Great photo of the Japanese Streetcar a long way from home.
CM3 I am very much looking forward to seeing those photos from 35 years ago of Boston and the transport scene there.
Very much agree with the award to Manager Lars.
It does not bode well with the Mascots back on the hydraulic fluid so near the darts match.
JAN. I agree the saddle tanks have a great deal of charm to them, and were very much the unsung heroes of the industrial railscene for many years, after the industrial career was over for quite a lot of them they have put in great work on the preservation scene in the UK.
Hope you are able to get a good rest on your days off from work.
LARS My camera survived yesterday (I hope) although I did leave it switched on all the way from Jeff City to KC, hoping Tom's camera has not suffered any ill effects as Tom had me take a photo with it.
Many thanks for those British railways book covers; I have great fun trying to guess the type of locomotive or the location shown on the covers. On the Glory of steam that is a roundhouse in the North East of England possibly Sunderland, an area Allan knows well. On the BR stations in colour, it is Lincoln on the top, with what looks like a EE class 40 in the station before the yellow warning panes were added to the front of BR diesels, bottom left a Great Western branch line possibly in the West Country and I think Kettering bottom right. The BR Atlas, I would say Norwich.
Enjoyed the second selection of BR bookcovers with a mainly LNER and LMS theme. The locations have got me beat
G'day Gents!
Just realized today is our OPTIONAL Toy 'n Model Trains Day! So, here's something from the past - just to keep the idea moving forward!
Posted by BudKarr Posted: 19 Apr 2006, 13:33:09 Good Afternoon Captain Tom and all assembled! . . . . . A bit of European hobby photos for the bar on this Pike Perspectives afternoon: Fleischmann 4117 - Tender Loco Class 17 Fleischmann 4318 - Electric Loco Class E19.1 Fleischmann 4324 - Electric Loco Class 146 Fleischmann 4337 - Electric Loco Class Ae 3/6 Fleischmann 4903 - Passenger Train of the K.P. u. G.H. St. E. 4913 Passenger Train "90 Years of MITROPA" of the P. St. E. V. I do not take credit for retrieving these photos. My computer literate "roomie" does so well at this! I will now enjoy a Southern Comfort on the rocks and a glass of white wine for my lady! Enjoy the weekend, Gentlemen! BK in beautiful Alberta, Canada's high mountain country!
AMTRAK Kirkwood, MO to Kansas City (round trip) Tuesday, 23Oct 2007
TRIP LOG (270 track miles between Kirkwood & Kansas City, MO)
8:50 AM - Train #311, Kansas City Mule arrived 9 minutes early at Kirkwood, MO. Visibility conditions were somewhat "glooming" - drizzle had let up, overcast with temps down a bit, requiring a light jacket or sweater.
Boarded Amfleet Café Car # 481987 (business class) - first passenger. "Kristen" was café car attendant - rather young lady with an outgoing personality ‘n willingness to provide the passengers with "top shelf" service!
Car was in fair to good material condition with the exception of one missing tray table in the Business Class seating area ‘n a couple of burned out reading lamps. Cleanliness of interior was marginal. Windows were relatively clean, however grime still prevalent.
Train was powered by one AMD-103 (PA series of Genesis loco #20) - two Horizon coaches and Amfleet Café car made up the consist. Café car (where Business Class is located) was placed directly behind the loco with seating most forward, which is the correct way to arrange it! <yay>
9:40 AM arrived at Washington (4 minutes late). Located on the banks of the Missouri River in the heart of wine country. Missouri Meerschaum Company manufactures the ONLY corn cob pipes in the world is located here. Unmanned station. Skies cleared - blue with fluffy white clouds - great visibility to check out the turning of the leaves for the fall season! <yeah>
10:12 AM arrived at Hermann (8 minutes) late). A town settled by Germans in the 1830s looking for a site replicating the Rheine River Valley. Idea was to establish a wine growing area in the new country. Today has four award winning wineries. Also located on the banks of the Missouri River. Known for May and October "fests." Unmanned station.
12:15 PM arrived at Jefferson City (1 hour 24 minutes late). State capital with dome of capitol building clearly in view. Great place for train watching and also located on the river bank. Volunteer manned station, no ticketing.
Stealthy Pete, the shadowy figure, boarded here!
NOTE: Delays to this point were due to slow orders, waiting in sidings for passing Union Pacific freight trains and continuing construction of what appears to be a 2nd track to the mainline and passing sidings between Washington & the Osage River.
1:25 PM arrived at Sedalia (1 hour, 24 minutes late). Home of the Missouri State Fair. Area is rather depressed and evidence of what used to be is visible from the train. Once known as the "Queen City of the Prairies" with a junction for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (KATY). Great view of preserved KATY depot. Unmanned AMTRAK station.
2:40 PM arrived at Lees Summit (1 hour, 21 minutes late). Final resting place of Cole Younger, infamous member of the Jesse James Gang. Unmanned station.
2:58 PM arrived at Independence (1 hour, 23 minutes late).Home of the 33rd President of the U.S. - Harry S. Truman. World HQ for the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints located here along with the Truman Library. Unmanned station.
3:17 PM arrived at Kansas City, MO Union Station (1 hour 7 minutes late). Kansas City is known as the "City of Fountains," and is situated in an area of rolling hills, tree-lined boulevards and distinctive architecture. The down
In an attempt to play catch up - take care of domestic chores - attend to Juneau's every whim, wish 'n wimper - I've fallen woefully behind the Posts.
Per's "marathon" Posts, Ron's most interesting lengthy epistle along with Dan's trip report, have me way behind the scene! BUT I'll get there!! <grin> Ah yes, then there's Rob with his return to rare form! <yikes> Only two eyes, guyZ!! <grin>
Okay - since I've been asked by a few, here's the ANSWER to the location of that great foto of the Hamilton class Cutters! Ready The location is . . . <drumroll>
Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California! Thanx for participating, Gents!
Per - watch your Email. I'll have something for you before week's end!
Dan - watch your Email, something en route before week's end as well - different subject!
Jan - I'd sent you an Email too - but you've opted OUT of the "loop." Sorry . . . .
Okay - I gotta get back to my "life"!!
Ruth - give 'em all a "belt" on me! Boris, ring it!
Tom
Hello everybody at the bar!
Ruth, may I have a bowl of soup and some crackers for lunch, please, and a pint of lager, the best you have.
I have anxiously followed the fires in California and it seems that "my" fire has stopped advancing in my direction. It's still spreading, 20,000 acres now, but it is going back in to the wilderness. Not so good for those living in the canyons, however.
It is hard to see from the crude maps that are provided in the papers, but it looks like "Pete's" railroad museum in Poway is spared. The Witch fire passed Poway, but hopefully to the north, on its way to the coast. That one covers 200,000 acres now! The figures are unbelievable!
Tom, OK, was the USCG photo taken in Alameda or San Diego? Enquiring minds want to know...
I, too, like the idea of an art club. Permission to post pictures of paintings may be a problem, but there is soo much out there that it could be really interesting to see what the patrons have to share. Would it be OK (permission-wise) to post pictures of painting we own? Or is that also copyrighted? After all, we have already paid the artist and what is there to stop me from taking a picture of my wall?
It would be so nice to hear your stories from riding the EL in New York as a kid. I have seen pictures but that is as close as I have been able to get. A first-hand impression told by someone who was there, would be the next best thing.
The "Customer Support" did change my email address, so at least they read my mail. That's a good start.
Rob, Thanks for the link to your museum. That is quite a collection you have there!
The two-lamp NL tail light reminds me of a proposed invention I read about for automobile brake lights: by using several lights and turning them on in proportion to the brake pressure that is applied you could warn drivers behind you when you really stood on the pedal! For some reason it has never caught on for cars.
Jan, Congratulations to your very own stool at the bar!
Eric, Thanks for setting the record right on the X4! I wasn't sure what number it was. Do you have any pictures of the X6? I'm not sure I have ever seen that one.
Yes, that control tower at the club is a real gem. There is a helix in the lower portion of it. The only real problem is that there wasn't enough room to build a good stairway leading up to the top, so we have to be very careful going up and down.
I like your coffee mugs. They are a whole lot better than my "umpteenth" Anniversary of Model Railroader.
Is there a street car museum in Tuscon?
Lars, That was some really nice books from England! I think I've learned enough here at the bar to recognize a "Signal Box" on one of the covers, right?
CM3, Do you know if there is anything left of the elevated system in Boston? I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow, so it could be fun to try to catch some time and explore a bit.
Ron, I hadn't thought of the sheer dimensions you have to deal with in building your D locomotive. But you are right, it wouldn't make much sense starting with a piece of 3x lumber and sanding it down from there.
Interesting story about the naval designers at Northrop Grumman. I had a similar situation when I needed to hire an experienced CAD designer. One of the applicants was a guy fresh out of school who fully believed, since he was a "quick learner", that he could pick up the needed experience in a very short time. Needless to say, he didn't get the job.
What, you don't include Disneyland among the places with a Monorail?! Joking aside, what monorail is there in Atlanta? That's something I missed when I was there. Too bad.
I have heard a warning similar to what you gave me about retirement being a busy time. This was before we got our first child. Get all your projects done before the child arrives, because afterwards there will not be any time. That turned out to be oh so true, so I fully believe you this time!
Thank you for the article on Northlandz! I had read about it a couple of times, but I have never visited.
Pete, I read something about the SJ S1 steamer that it was a disappointment. Apparently it didn't turn out as powerful as was expected.
DL, thanks for the trip report on the Polar Bear Express. Interesting to see that the diner seems to have been an "observation" car since it had rounded corners, like an end-of-train car.
Wasn't it ONR that used one of the old TEE trainsets at one time? Is that still in use?
My PC is still at the doctor and I have no idea when I get it back, so I'm writing this at work. Better keep it short. But I'll be back next week after I return from Boston.
Per
Hello Tom and all in
Round for the house please, to celebrate a few moments to get to make a decent post!
I'm not going to be able to be as inclusive as I'd like - as although I've scanned back over recent contributions it will take me too long to go into detail, and that is actually holding me off getting into the bar. Hope I'm not gonna get tweeted!
Suffice to say people have been making some great contributions, and it is esp. good to see Trolley Boy Rob back in!
I'm going to follow up my Toronto to Cochrane Ontario Northland Railway trip report with the next leg from Cochrane to Moosonee (the really remote leg) - but there were a few comments I recall from the 1st leg of the trip (way back on page 116 for anyone who wants to check it out).
Tom, I recall you had it listed on your things to do - but probably after a VIA trip to Churchill - probably no bad priority order.
Lars - you asked about interior photos of the food service café car - sorry I don't have them but it had rather nice informal seating and a bar survive area at he end (which formed the end of the train) with the area you passed through to get there with the chill cabinets and then the staff member behind a counter with equipment for serving coffee and warming things that could be done in the microwave. Not top quality but probably appropriate for the nature of the train ride and the clientele on board.
Pete - you asked me about if I'd sampled Deltic haulage - and the answer is never - yet they are probably my favourite BR diesel design - so I need to put that right. I was rather too young when they bowed out in 1980 and not local to me - so that was shame. As I say, Deltics, Westerns and Hoovers are probably my favourite designs, although I have a soft spot of the Class 33 (BRCW Type 3 of course) as it was the only diesel that really roamed our territory in the south - apart from occasional Class 47s but they always seemed far too common for me there being so many of them!
Anyway:
ONR Trip Report - Cochrane Moosonee on the Polar Bear Express
Clearly ONR attempt to run the Polar Bear Express in the holiday season as part ‘tourist train' / part local passenger service - and they manage to combine this well. The fares are cheap, the service good, and it comes with domes and diners well worth checking out. The consist also includes flat beds for cars and a vehicle suitable for carrying canoes - the reason being there is no road access to Moosonee - yep - ONR is the only way in by land transit - which means everything in the town more or less goes in and out on this railway line - only constructed in 1932!
We had stayed overnight in Cochrane (in accommodation arranged by ONR) and had breakfast in the station hotel before boarding (it was good breakfast, but the full service diner on the train also served breakfast so in retrospect it would have been better to eat on the train).
As I recall the consist came into Cochrane from the yard about 8.15am to board for an 8.30 am departure or thereabouts.
The service was about 14 cars worth, which included 2 domes, 2 diners, a self service café car, and a bar / entertainment car - which had a live band playing on the return journey which was evening time.
Here's a picture of the train en route:
http://www.onrgallery.com/october/oct200446.html
Immediately boarding it was obvious that ONR had gathered some ancient, but very interesting rolling stock. The seating cars (slab sided vehicles in the pictures) had original Canadian National logos on various bits of chrome work inside - and were upholstered in a high quality deep red upholstery. Seats were enormously spacious both width and leg room.
I don't know the history of these cars, but it looked like they were ex Coach Class CNR stock of some vintage (possible early 1960s construction?). I'd be interested to know more.
Large picture windows allowed great views.
Also of interest were the full length dome car with 6 wheeled trucks:
http://www.onrgallery.com/october/oct200432.html
Full dome interior:
http://www.onrgallery.com/october/oct200428.html
Which had been acquired from BC Rail - although no doubt with an older history.
I must say this was not as good from an interior perspective as the half length dome (you will note the interior view shows that the glazed area is not as fulsome as it could be) :
http://www.onrgallery.com/previews/preview0183.html
The half dome car suffered in 2 minor respects - 1 the seating in the dome was round tables - rather than the forward facing arrangements as restored by VIA on their dome cars - so there are less seats. Also that dome had been designated a ‘family car' with a children's play area in what would have been the lower bar area - that filled me with fear - but in actual fact children where not making use of it so we got ourselves up into this better dome car and enjoyed views from here.
The other classic car was this 1948 C&O Diner - which I was determined to have our evening meal in on the return journey:
http://www.onrgallery.com/october/oct200433.html
Note the further links below this picture to the interior shots.
Here's the line up of the classic stainless steel:
http://www.onrgallery.com/archives/archive001z7pic01.html
If I had a criticism of this stock - which applies to all of it and it is hard to see how ONR can do much about it - the interiors are, lets say - ‘well worn' - a few examples of bits of trip and upholstery needing attention etc - but it is hard to see how on the budget they will have they could carry out the expensive refurbs VIA had managed with its stainless stock. However, the cars had great character and were great to ride in.
More on how ONR acquired them is here:
http://www.onrgallery.com/archives/archive001z7.html
The run is mostly through forested areas - and you get a great sense of the emptiness of this part of Northern Ontario. The train could stop at flag stops to pick up and set down local people - and this seemed to be quite an important service for the local Cree Indian people who made use of it for this purpose.
Two spectacular points en route was when the train passed the massive Otter Rapids Hydro Dam:
http://www.onrgallery.com/august/aug0339.html
And the spectacular Moose River viaduct crossing (where the train paused to allow you to take in views of the river):
http://www.onrgallery.com/other/mooseriver12.html
http://www.onrgallery.com/other/mooseriver07.html
Must be great in winter when it is all iced up!
The track is in rather ‘bouncy' condition, so the service is not fast - but it makes up for that in interest value and the sheer sense of remoteness which is hard to obtain in Europe at least.
Moosonee arrival is about lunch time - (the train returns in the early eve arriving back at Cochrane about 10.30pm so if you are not staying over you can go back the same day).
You could probably see all there is to see in Moosonee in the afternoon, but we had opted to stay on the island just off shore in the river called Moose Factory Island. This was included in the ticket price I'd opted for and we stayed in a superb hotel / lodge overlooking the amazing landscape of woods, forests and river scape. This place must have been built with some kind of economic development grant because the community was clearly not especially prosperous. The accommodation though, was, to my mind, luxurious and very enjoyable.
Here's a view down the line at Moosonee towards the depot - the end of the line from the south - the script on the water tower is Cree Indian:
http://www.onrgallery.com/october/oct200301r.html
Moose factory Island had been a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company and that is how it evolved, but it was tiny community prior to the rail link construction in 1932 as outlined in the rather interesting museums and restored buildings on the island. Part of the island was a Cree Indian reserve, and that was also rather economically depressed.
We also went on a river trip up to the mouth of the Moose River where it meets James' Bay - that was very interesting, although the accompanying bus trip of the island was less good - since it did not allow enough time to visit the interesting things to see - we'd have been better off hiring a bicycle to look round the island or even walking as it was not a great distance.
We retuned on the evening train the next day (although I wish we'd spent 2 nights to really do justice to the stuff to see esp. on Moose Factory Island where there are a number of interesting historic exhibits).
Unfortunately there was a large coach party of people on the return train, and they were all booked into the 1948 diner for an early evening meal, but we asked the staff and they said they would do a second sitting if we wanted to come down later - being more familiar with later European Dining times than North American ones that was no problem, so we waited our turn and enjoyed a meal in the car that was otherwise empty of other passengers.
An anecdote of this was that one of the passengers (and older gent) from the earlier sitting had found the bouncy suspension of this older car together with the track condition had made some of his meal come back the other way if you get my drift! The staff had cleaned all this up and there was no sense of it when we sat down to eat, but to ensure freshness one of the staff simply opened the back door of the train - as seen closed in this pic:
So we got the benefit of great view back down the track through the wide open door with the sun setting over the boreal forest!
Arrival back in Cochrane was a little late, where again we over nighted before taking the train back to Toronto the next day.
All in all this was great trip - and one I would recommend to anyone doing a Toronto based excursion - this is not up there with the luxury of the restored VIA stainless sets - but the price was a lot less too! The staff were great and really friendly - not a single JO (as Tom would say) was encountered by me on the ONR payroll!
Oh - and the traction - sadly not the FP7 that ONR seem to have, I think we were behind GP 38s - although I'm not too good on my north American diesel types so hope I have got this correct.
Hope this is an interesting read for those interested in the Canadian Scene. Happy to try and answer any questions people may have!
Best wishes to all
DL
Greetings Tom and gentlemen....
May I please have the ususal cold Guinness please? Could I also have an top up with cigars for the laddies.....thanks.....here's a few $$$$ for yourself..
$$$$ cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer....
Tom, looking forward to the pics and report mate !
pwolfe, great pics on that saddle tank engine ! They have special sharm don't they? I have to admit that I've never ever seen one with a tender though....odd.
Da Larsman, with some british covers....sweet !
EricX2000, enjoyed those pics mate !
trolleyboy, great pics mate ! My dad had a cousing the moved to Vancouver in 1924, he started out in the woods there to later work for a railroad, still to find out which one.......lived out in Pit Meadows. What tasty stuff do you have from Vancouver....?
Terribly sorry for the short post laddies, but I'm knackered. Soooo glad that I have the rest of the week off....! Plenty of time for....
What ho , I see that Lars snuck in wilst I was here,a sea anchor you say ! Nah not my thing a trolley catcher maybe then we're talking. Not to worry sir Ruth may like the :"electricity" of the Canadain trolley's but she really is a boiler room kind of girl ( ment in the nicest of ways of coarse )So no worries mate if she rides the streetcars Eric and Boris always are along for chaparones , occationally Leon when he's given time off as well I can arrange for H&H to tag along as well if that makes you feel better.
Some fine Brit covers as well to go along with today's posting, should put a spring in Pete's step once he makes it in today.I think another round Ruth, gotta pay for the ole stool somehow
Morning Ruth , your looking ravashing as ever. I'll have the spkied OJ and a number three for old times sake Justa quick eek in before I'm off to the drudgery of the day.
Tom- I'm looking forward to the tales of your latest tour "d'Amtrak" ( an attempt at culture and humour at the same time )Though from what you've told me train rides with Pete are generally not without good times and or a story or three. So hopefully that big yellow guargantuan ( UP ) allowed your trip to progress as planned. I'll get some thoughts together on our east coast trip and run on The Ocean,I still have to process the pictures over, one of the many projects I still have in the works.
Ahoy Cap'n Tom ‘n fellow travelers at the bar!
TOMORROW beings the Dart's Challenge & Grudge Match tournament against the goons from the 2nd Class Saloon! "Bring 'em on!!!!" <grrrrrrrrrrrrr>
Ruth my deAH, you are looking sooooooooo radiant ‘n lovely that methinks we should get going on that <ahem> admin business STRAIGHT AWAY <as our Brit friends would say!!> Ok, ok - a bit later then! <blush>
A round for the house - treats for the crittAHS - a mugga Joe with a jolt for me ‘n the change is for YOU! Oh yes, a small jar of PPF for Boris, once he feeds the gang that is! <grin>
Nice support for the place from the "regulars" yesterday. Wudda thought that at least one of the other guys could've made mustAH . . . Da Bossman doesn't ask that often! <geesh> But many THANKS to the dependables ‘round here!!!
Looking forward to the pix ‘n "stuff" from Da Bossman about the trp to Kansas City with Wolfman Pete! Won't even wager a guess about any pix from Pete - probably either broke his camera, forgot his camera, didn't recharge his camera or simply forgot he had his camera!! <grin> Any of those ‘work' for ya, mate???
For Rob! Upset is <mildly putting it!!> I bettAH NOT find Ruth riding street cars in Canada!! We're talking about making YOU a sea anchor, matey!! <arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh> I think Eric is trying to start something . . . . <uh oh>
Good to see that you are back in full form once again . . . been a looooooooong time.
For Eric! Nice mugs - bet those are worth "something" to those who collect. <sweet>
From the other day: Liked the light rail vehicle for (from) Phoenix. Didn't we discuss this not that far back?? Anyway, keep us posted on what's going on . . . would like to know more!
For Shane! I'm all choked up - FURNACE MAN 1st CLASS! <wow> <gasp> <golly-gee> <gosh> <shucks> What's to say other than thanks for the honor <??> Hmmmmm, doesn't "face" somehow fit in with that??? Hmmmmm. I think I'm getting insulted!! Not sure though . . .
For Pete! Nice "foursome" B4 heading off to rendezvous with Da Bossman!
For Jan! Just a brief visit, but it "counts" just the same! Thanks for the support . . .
<uh oh> I'm being summoned called . . . gotta cut this short . . . so I'll try to get back later or certainly tomorrow!!! Hold your fire Mrs. - I'm on the way! <geesh> She gets this way as the end of October approaches. Halloween jitters 'n all that - flying solo on that broom frightens her - even with the "lightning arrestor" I put on! <grin>
Ah, the arrival of the Larsman Mobile brings some MORE Brit book covers!
LNER Tank Locomotives 1948-68
Locomotive Headboards - The Complete Story
LNER Six-Coupled Tender Locomotives 1948-68
Diesel Decade, The 1980s
Main Line Lament
Highland Railway Liveries
Ruth, I'
Wednesday's Witticism
Stay shy of a man who's all gurgle ‘n no guts.
Wednesday once again here at the Saloon by the Siding - Bar by the Ballast - Watering Hole by the Wayside - Tavern by the Tracks!!
Join us to start this day with a <light> or <traditional> breakfast along with pastries from The Mentor Village Baker ‘n of course our freshly ground ‘n brewed coffee!
And a wondeful time was had by Pete 'n Moi as we traversed the right-of-way to 'n from KCity, MO aboard AMTRAK! Pix 'n report will follow . . .
<NOTE: These are simply recognitions of visits by our customers. More specific comments later on . . . >
Monday - 22 Oct 2007:
Jan (JanOlov) at 6:51 AM & 7:22 AM
. . . Lars (LoveDomes at 9:40 AM
. . . . . . Rob (trolleyboy) at 10:24 AM
. . . . . . . . . Jan (JanOlov) at 11:12 AM
. . . . . . . . . . . . CM3 (coalminer3) at 2:26 PM
Per (marthastrainyard) at 5:54 PM
. . .Pete (pwolfe) at 8:35 PM
. . . . . . Ron (DD1) at 9:45 PM
. . . . . . . . . Rob (trolleyboy) at 11:36 PM & 11:44 PM:
Tuesday - 23 Oct 2007:
<SPECIAL RECOGNITION to all who answered the call for HELP while Pete 'n Moi were riding the rails on Tuesday! The REGULARS of "Our" Place came through once again! THANX!!>
Eric (EricX2000) at 12:45 AM
. . . Jan (JanOlov) at 8:35 AM
. . . . . . CM3 Shane (coalminer3) at 12:53 PM
. . . . . . . . . Lars (LoveDomes) at 3:29 PM
. . . . . . . . . . . . Eric (EricX2000) at 5:52 PM & 11:35 PM
Wednesday - 24 Oct 2007:
Rob (trolleyboy) at 12:33 AM & 12:52 AM
Reminder: Ruth has the bar from 9 AM until Leon the Night Man comes in at 5 PM ‘til closing.
Thursday is Fish ‘ Chips Nite!
Friday is Pizza ‘n Beer Nite! - and - Steak ‘n Fries Nite!
Saturday is Steak ‘n All The Trimmings Nite!
Dinner begins at 5 PM so come early ‘n often! C
Cindy is our Saturday bartender!
Boris, serve ‘em all of the "spiked" OJ they can handle!
Auf Wiedersehen!
A couple pics of two of our museum's cars when they were still in service.
Crane car C2 at the TTC's Hillcrest shops ( museum actually owns sister C1 ) both were built in House by the Toronto Railway Company ( one of the TTC's predessesor roads ) in 1912
Small Peter Witt 2786 seen in 1954. Built in 1923 by The Ottawa Car Co. One of 50 ordered in 1923 by the then new TTC
enjoy Rob
Good evening Leon just a small wee guiness for me this evening.Figured that I would pop in just to make sure the extra shelac was removed from my stool,darn near broke my neck on it , it was sooo slippery yesterday.
Lars- Another fine addition from teh larsmobile , no worries Ruth and I are just friends
Eric-
Nice photo's from Phoenix thanks I can't say that a like the looks of teh new type of light rail cars but hey at least they are electrics The Japanease car looks similar to double trucked double ended Birney cars ( if it wearn't for the pans ) nice restoration job however. I'm assuming it's a charter piece of equipment they keep running for high days and speacial events.
Pete-Interesting looking locomotive , not the most attractive thing on steel rails , but what the heck.Nice to see the old rail buildings preserved and in fairly decent shape.I do hope that you and Tom had another pleasant trip , free from too many slow downs and delays.
Well Leon another for the road catch everyone later.
Good evening again all present!
Leon, it was a good ham sandwich I had earlier! Now I just want a cup of coffee and a Chocolate Cobbler! Thank you!
A very quiet afternoon and evening! But a lot of noise from the tent in the back. The October Fest seems to go on 24/7!
Tom – Hope you found Stealthy Pete and your trip was a good one!JanOlov – I am not sure what you are talking about?Pete – Indeed a strange locomotive in your pictures. A saddle tank with a tender! To me it seems like that tender is coming from a different locomotive. Ahh, that is exactly what you wrote! That is me, looking at the pictures first and then read the text. CM3 – You better come this way to fill up the gas tank, $2.59/gal.You obviously used to have a very interesting friend from the old times. As a kid I loved to listen to old folk. Heard a lot of stories, some more true than others. Lars – Wow, I guess you are upset and or worried! I heard that Ruth love to ride streetcars! Nice book covers from the U.K. All those locomotives look very British! Ellis’ British Railway Encyclopaedia looks very interesting! Would love to get hold on one of those.
Finally a picture for Rob.
A streetcar from Kyoto, Japan, in Tucson, AZ.
Good evening Captaisn Tom and all present!
Hello Leon, a ham sandwich would be great. Coffee, please.
I am just having a short break so I won't be long. I'll be back later. Just wanted to show two of my favorite coffee mugs, classic in their own way.
Ruth my deAH, ‘tis I the Larsman visiting in the AFTERNOON while Cap'n Tom ‘n Wolfman Pete are away riding the rails! CHEERS to them both as they ENJOY their round trip to Kansas City, Missouri . . .
I see Boris is looking a bit confused <which isn't anything NEW!!> so let's get him a LARGE jar of PPF - but only after he feeds the crittAHs. You remember "how" - a tray o' seeds for Awk - a saucer of brine for Tex - a bucket o' ice cubes for Frostbite - a chew bone for Juneau AND a field mouse for Artie <but take him outback for THAT!>
A round for the house my deAH ‘n I'll take a Larsman special - hero sandwich of ham ‘n Swiss with mustAHd ‘n buttAH ‘n two large extra crunchy pickles from the barrel. Ummmmmm. Keep the change my sweet! <blush>
CHEERS to all who have frequented the joint this day - I'm on a very tight string of late, so let me get to what you've been waiting for!!
What's this!?!!? Someone in competition for the affections of My Fair Lady - Ruth!?!?!!? <grrrrrrrrrr> Treading on very thin ice up there in Ontario - very thin!! <grrrrrrrrr>
Time again for the Larsman Mobile!
British Railways Reflections - The Glory of Steam
British Railway Stations in Colour
Great Britain's Express Steam Locomotives
ABC British Railways Atlas - 3rd ed.
The A to Z of Steam Railway (DVD)
Ellis' British Railway Encyclopedia
Until the next time!
Lars
Good Afternoon Barkeep and all Present; coffee, please; round for the house and $ for the jukebox. Wild morning today as the powers that be wanted me in two places at the same time. Boris, put the axe down, I didn't mean it that way! Jeez! He is so literal! We are having rain showers here today, fall colors are really getting pretty, and gas is $2.89/gal.
OSP asked me to stop by this afternoon - so this has worked out pretty well.
Let's see what's been happening; in no particular order.
Jan visited with a fine historical sketch of the Hiawatha and some excellent vintage 4-4-2s in pictures. Then he sent some SP material. Enlarge the picture of SP 2785 and look at the tender. That was clearly the place to be that day. The Greater Mentor Street Sweeping and Sipping Society sent our reporter a note that you had been promoted and also cleaned up Our Place before the tournament. Our reporter is, indeed impressed. He hopes, however, that you did a preshift on the FEL in the garage out back - you'll need it, the way things go at tournament time. The mascots may have drunk all of the hydraulic fluid, so make sure you check the levels.
There was a lot of elevated track in Boston. I remember it very well including riding PCC cars on some portions. Come to the rendezvous and see pictures of the structure and the trains. I took most of these 35+ yrs ago. Most of it is pretty well gone as a result of the Money Pit (excuse me, Big Dig) project. Heading to the Crossroads? Be careful, son - watch out for a guy in a white suit who talks a good game.
Lars - Since we don't have many awards anymore, you'll have to settle for me promoting you to Furnace Man First Class; your choice from the bar, my friend. Thanks for the trolley pictures and your well-stated introduction. Went to visit the bookmobile and saw all kinds of Alaska-related material. That first Pentrex offering looks like a possibility.
Eric stopped by with comments - we're going to what my neighbor up home used to call the "World's Serious." He was ancient when I was coming up, but I used to like to hear his stories dating back to pre and immediate post World War I days with the Red Sox. He's about the only guy I ever talked with who remembered Smoky Joe Wood, and also seeing Babe Ruth pitch when he played for the Red Sox. His stories checked out, too.
Allan stopped by - Good to hear from you.
Per visited with wide-ranging comments.
Pete - Excellent Sierra material.
DD1 visited as well. The Lehigh Valley was a well-kept secret regarding its passenger business. Late in the game, you could board a LV train at Penn Station and ride for awhile into Jersey where the G was cut off and LV power was added - PAs as a matter of fact. IIRC, much of where this occurred was transformed beyond recognition when the Aldene Plan became a reality. Boris, strap on your brogans and get the lantern - we must go to the LV vault and see if we can find some pictures. I enjoyed your summary of the Northlands, too. IIRC, there is DVD about it.
Rob's digging in already - glad to have you back, as I said yesterday.
OSP has been sending along material and keeping the shiny side up around here. San Diego trolley story and Alaska pictures - busy, busy, busy. Two good features at the Theatuh this week along with a season-appropriate Stooges short. I also enjoyed the vintage shot of the Campbell.
The 6-pack of posters was a good choice. The New Haven cut appeared on their timetables back when the electrification was relatively new. They wanted to showcase how they were on the cutting edge of modern technology. Thanks for putting that one in the collection.
I will try and stop by tomorrow, but it looks as though it's gonna be another crazy one already.
Work safe
A bacon sarnie and a cup of your famous coffee please RUTH.
Off in a bit to meet TOM at the Amtrak staion for a trip to Kansas City, I will catch up on the posts this evening(Amtrak willing). I though I would drop off a couple of pics of an interesting locomotive at the Railtown 1897 museum
The tender is for one of the locomotives in the shed being renovated.
This pic shows part of the marvellous original roundhouse at the museum.
Barkeep, a round of your finest brewage for the laddies, please! Oh dear....storms brewing on every frontier I see....tsk...tsk....gets a distant look in his face....
I see the that we've had a few travellers today at our sanctum..... I hope that all are well and dandy....
Aaahh.....thank you kindly....here's a few $$$$ for yourself...and some $$$$ for the cigar box and Mr Wurlitzer too.....
Walks over to his chair.....but stops at the window and looks out in the distance....
"To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?"
Gets to his chair in sits down....
Fill up the coffee mugs - grab a couple of pastries from The Mentor Village Bakery case 'n order a <light> or <traditional> breakfast . . . that's the way to start this Tuesday!
So good to see the turnout after it appeared we were going to be in the doldrums thanx in large part to the sign-in problems a few have been experiencing!!!
Not very much time to chat, so let me simply recognize CM3 Shane - Pete - Per - Ron - Rob ‘n Eric for helping to keep the ship afloat! I'll address your specific comments later . . .
Gotta get a move on - meeting Pete aboard the train in a few hours!
Dinner begins at 5 PM so come early ‘n often!
Leon, a triple Cheese burger, please! Curly fries and a super sized Root Beer!
Wow, a lot of stuff to read and look at. Haven't been here since very early Saturday morning. I noticed that Tom and Pete are traveling the rails today!
Tom – Pacific Electric #418 (the Blimp) is what you saw in that picture from December last. year. In service 1913-1961. Same car below.Alaska! Beautiful views and spotless cars! It is amazing how clean those cars are. I guess they were very clean inside as well. Ahh, one of my favorite Westerns on the Emporium this week, The Shadow Riders! That movie alone will make me come to the theatre this week!Nice picture of the Cutters! But no Cutter Hamilton in the picture. Also a nice picture of the GG1 with a train even though it is running through snow!I like tose old posters/ads! Especially the Burlington Route and PRR’s GG1!JanOlov – Thanks for the Hiawatha info! And pictures! One of the few streamlined steam engines that I like! I wonder how fast those trains actually were running? I have seen different numbers but the fastest ones were not confirmed. Thanks for the lyrics to all those songs! Nice SP pictures! You can see the big disadvantage with steam locos, all the smoke!Lars – Thanks for re-posting Rob’s post from last year! Kind of a story about happy ending for those PCC’s. Gone for 13 years and then back again, better than ever! Nice pictures of light rail from UK and Australia! In December next year a new light rail line will open here in Phoenix!
Phoenix light rail.
Nice AARR pictures on the DVD cases! And the book cover! Allan – Thanks for the link! I agree, that viaduct looks like a much closer match to Tom’s poster. That is probably th right one!Rob – Good to see you again, Sir, railroaded or not! Have you ever considered bullet proof windows in your bedroom? The Reaper Express car seems to be in need of some work, Halloween or not! Considering coming to the Rendezvous next May?!!! That is good news! Hope you can make it! It is only 205 days until it starts. Interesting to read about the streetcar tail lights! I have never seen any green light though. CM3 – I agree, I am glad Boston made it to the World Series!Per – No, X6 does not look like X7. X6 was a kind of prototype for Stockholm’s commuter trains, class X1. You are probably thinking about X4. It looked a little bit like X7. Sorry, but I don’t have any picture of it.The lollipops were not moved from one end to the other, they were permanent. I have been to LA County Fairgrounds and to OERM. At this moment I don’t have anytihng planned for California. I love that Control Tower! Very good!Pete – Hope you and Tom will have a great day today! Ron – Good to see you again! Read your comments to Tom, that you don’t like to travel! I guess I am kind of the opposite, I like to travel and I love to take the car and drive long distances. Which was perfect when I worked as a truck driver. Thanks for the story about Bruce Williams Zaccagnino! I have seen pictures of that model railroad and it certainly is something else!
Here's alittle trolley tech story from the archives just to see if the creative juices still work
trolleyboy wrote: CLASSIC JUICE #38 THE NICOLS-LINTERN A JUICE TECH STORYOkay a new thread a new continuing story from the "classic" achives,actually this story is as written by our museum's master mechanic Gord McQuat a master of everything electrical and the guru of the technical from our musuem's volenteers. The Nichols-Lintern company emerged in 1892, being founded by one William Lintern.Shortly thereafter, the company incorporated and for many years supplied steam road and electric railway equipment,ranging from sanders and ventilators to streetcar taillights.Today based in Mentor, Ohio ( gotta love that name eh Tom ) the lintern company is a leading manufacurer of severe duty air conditioners.They also offer a line of traffic signals and industrial signal lights. The two lamp devise I'm speaking of was manufactured in Canada under license, by Dominion Steel Foundries of Toronto and was used on city streetcars throughout Canada, and to a lessor degree in the USA.The TTC made extensive use of this type of tailight on the majority of it's cars and on most of their work equipment.The former "TR" wooden streetcars sent to Ouebec City Ottawa and Fort william by the TTC during WW2 caried this eqiuipment to those roads and several other Canadian systems also made wide spread use of them, notably the NS&T,Hamilton Street Railway,Ottawa Elelctric railway, and the "80" series Witt cars on the Edmonton Radial Railway. The primary function of the two lamp "NL" taillight, was to give following streetcarsan indication as to the movement of the streetcar ahead throuhg a display of red and green lights.This was found to assist in maintaining headways and reducing accidents. The unit consisted of two cast portions. The back housing contained to hexagonal,medium base,lamp holders and was nstalled aprtially recessed, in a rectangular cutout in the cars dasherboard. The outer portion was sloped at the top toshed snow and sleet,normally they contained two Corning four inch diameter optical glass lens red on the right green on the left.Some were convex some were flat depending on when they were made. The TTC did have some varients, notably on the 409-416 series suburban cars ( 416 currently undergoing full restoration at the museum )these cars were obtained from the Hydro-Electric Power Commision and being double ended and having Westinghouse Electric HL controls, with type 806 switch groups, they featured the standard two lamp fixture on each end,in later yeasr these were changed to double red lights.Both lamps lit to the rear of the car when the reverser was thrown. Normal usage of the lights on the TTC's Witt's and TR cars had the lights only on the rear as they were both single ended cars.When the brakes are engaged the red light is on, when the car is in motion the green light displays. On the 409's with them being double ended tthe aspects were both red for braking as once the cars reached the end of their runs, the operator would change ends and change poles and head back from whence he came so double red for braking was all te aspect they needed to display.Rob
CLASSIC JUICE #38 THE NICOLS-LINTERN A JUICE TECH STORY
Okay a new thread a new continuing story from the "classic" achives,actually this story is as written by our museum's master mechanic Gord McQuat a master of everything electrical and the guru of the technical from our musuem's volenteers.
The Nichols-Lintern company emerged in 1892, being founded by one William Lintern.Shortly thereafter, the company incorporated and for many years supplied steam road and electric railway equipment,ranging from sanders and ventilators to streetcar taillights.Today based in Mentor, Ohio ( gotta love that name eh Tom ) the lintern company is a leading manufacurer of severe duty air conditioners.They also offer a line of traffic signals and industrial signal lights.
The two lamp devise I'm speaking of was manufactured in Canada under license, by Dominion Steel Foundries of Toronto and was used on city streetcars throughout Canada, and to a lessor degree in the USA.The TTC made extensive use of this type of tailight on the majority of it's cars and on most of their work equipment.The former "TR" wooden streetcars sent to Ouebec City Ottawa and Fort william by the TTC during WW2 caried this eqiuipment to those roads and several other Canadian systems also made wide spread use of them, notably the NS&T,Hamilton Street Railway,Ottawa Elelctric railway, and the "80" series Witt cars on the Edmonton Radial Railway.
The primary function of the two lamp "NL" taillight, was to give following streetcarsan indication as to the movement of the streetcar ahead throuhg a display of red and green lights.This was found to assist in maintaining headways and reducing accidents.
The unit consisted of two cast portions. The back housing contained to hexagonal,medium base,lamp holders and was nstalled aprtially recessed, in a rectangular cutout in the cars dasherboard. The outer portion was sloped at the top toshed snow and sleet,normally they contained two Corning four inch diameter optical glass lens red on the right green on the left.Some were convex some were flat depending on when they were made.
The TTC did have some varients, notably on the 409-416 series suburban cars ( 416 currently undergoing full restoration at the museum )these cars were obtained from the Hydro-Electric Power Commision and being double ended and having Westinghouse Electric HL controls, with type 806 switch groups, they featured the standard two lamp fixture on each end,in later yeasr these were changed to double red lights.Both lamps lit to the rear of the car when the reverser was thrown. Normal usage of the lights on the TTC's Witt's and TR cars had the lights only on the rear as they were both single ended cars.When the brakes are engaged the red light is on, when the car is in motion the green light displays. On the 409's with them being double ended tthe aspects were both red for braking as once the cars reached the end of their runs, the operator would change ends and change poles and head back from whence he came so double red for braking was all te aspect they needed to display.
Good evening Leon hope 'm not keeping you up. It's afterwork for me so a Guiness will do fine , infact just hook it up intervenusly for me
Tom-Interesting six pack ! A nice new feature I'll need to go back and absorb the others.I'm actually all for the cashless society myself seems to be the right thing to do, therefore the polititions likely won't go for it oops he ducks your riled up language police didn't like that coment either.Funny that you mention the on again off again atempts to create dollar coins stateside , the reactions were the same up hear unfortunatly the government of teh day just told the mint to make them and stop printing our one an two dollar bills , this past year was actually the 15th anivrsary for the dollar coin ( dosn't seem all that long ago somehow )
I have to say that it's always sad to read about the ending of a ships time, but they can't last forever I suppose. I know that our Navy's way of disposing of them in the last 10 yeasr or so is to sink them relitivly shallowly and turn them into artificial reefs ( after cutting out all the internal doors and "greening" them up.
Per-Nice to talk to you again. That Reaper express is an old Toronto Civic railway double ended city car that was built in 1915. When the TCR was rolled into the TTC all the old wooden single truck cars were converted to work equipment. unually snowscrappers or rail grinders. In the Reapers case it was converted to a railgrinder for the Toronto subway system.Oddly enough we have three of those class of cars RT7 ( the Reaper ) W28 a surface railgrinder and #55 which we've converted back to it's original as built passenger format. the photo is at our museum in Ontario, The Halton County Radial Railway www.hcry.org if your interested in reading up more about us.
I hope the wild fires saty clear of you guys , frightening stuff
CM3-Good to talk to you buddy,I think I'm back for good can't keep a good trolley driver down
Jan-I think I'll break you guys in slowly, I've got lots 'o' trolley shots in stories to drop upon you.To give you a bit of why I have the trolley bug is simple. I've always been a train guy , model railroader ride the passenger stuff as often as I can. It helped that my great grandfather was a section man on the CNR so it's in the blood. I had a great uncle that was a mechanic for the NS&T which was a interurban / city electric railway system in my home town of St Catharines it also ran electric frieght service in the city and surounding area conected with steamboats to Toronto , just an all around travel system really. The closest the the Pacific Electric one got in Ontario. I met my wife almost eight yeasr ago now and she and her family had been streetcar people for yeasr members of the HCRY so they hooked me into their one to one scale hobby at the museum and the rest is as they say history.
Pete- Good day sir. I'd have to say it was an all around effort, but yes your traction pictures helped. It is nice to see that VIA's getting some much needed cash for equipment. Hopefully they sell all that Renisance crap.One will never know wheather or not their ontimes will improve. Unfortunatly CN is the king and VIA must march to their drummer.
DD1-yes I am the prodical long lost streetcar guy. As long as you like the traction we will get along fineMind you I do like a good steamer or diesel at the same time. As tom would say as long as it's steel wheels on steel rails you can't go to far wrong.
Leon another round if you don't mind
Cheers Rob
Good day Tom and all at the bar. Have a drink or two on me. I've been so busy lately, that I haven't had time to read my e-mail. The weather let up for a few days and now more severe weather has set in including tornado watches. My shop is about 100 feet from the house, so I haven't been there to work on the engine. It's a bit slow getting started, as I have to figure out innovative ways of making parts. The roof for example scales 18"high on the prototype and 2 ¼" on the model. Obviously, you wouldn't want to use wood 2 ¼" thick. Instead, it is made up of segments glued up to form an approximate shape, which will be further shaped using planes, chisels and sanding to get to the arched roof profile. The roof and the wheels are the most difficult parts to build. The rest is pretty straight forward and won't take that long.
BTW, today, I saw a program on TV that had film clips of the northeast railroads under steam during the 40's and 50's. They included the LV, D&H, NH, B&M, NYC, Erie, Reading, Lackawanna and some PRR branch lines. It was shown on the RFD network, channel 379. Some interesting footage, mostly amateur on 8 and 16mm film. They showed a LV 2101 streamliner pulling the John Wilkes. It was a pretty classy looking train. The films were compiled by http://www.markonevideos.com/ They also included some interesting engines such as camelbacks, electrics, diesels and a doodlebug.
Pete: I enjoyed the railcar photos at railtown. I don't think the picture of the trolley in San Francisco was from NYC. Most of their trolleys had an underground power feed and only the really old ones used an overhead pickup like in Brooklyn. San Francisco used to borrow them from cities all over to run during the spring/summer season as a tourist attraction.
Eric: Nice looking S-1's
Tom: I did some design work on the Hamilton class cutters a while back and recall they were state of the art at that time. The new cutters being built by Northrop Grumman are supposed to be the best ever, but I heard there are all sorts of problems cropping up and the government is very upset over it. After speaking with some of my old contacts, it seems that the newer crop of naval designers not only lack the shipbuilding experience, but really don't give a rat's a.. The old timer designers, learned how to build a ship right, unlike the new "computer operators". Northrop Grumman got rid of most of their experienced designers and replaced them with computer operators and engineers fresh out of school. Most of them never saw a ship up close. It will take many years before they gain the necessary experience. I used to ride the Blue line every day from Chula Vista to National City (NASSCO). You could ride without buying a ticket. If you were lucky, no one checked when you got off, but if they did, you were liable for the cost over the entire length of the line. I never tempted it.
Lars: Thanks for the turbine link. It was a great source of information. I enjoy all things technical. Nice coverage of the trolleys. Looks like they were painted for the 1776 centennial? Those are sure some beautiful trolleys from UK and down under.
Jan: Nice coverage of the Hiawatha's. I never got the chance to see them in action.
Tom: As always, nice pictures from your Alaska trip. Personally, I would rather see pictures of Alaska than to be there in person. It's just too far to travel. I could never understand why people would travel around the world to see the pyramids or Eiffel tower or any of the great wonders of the world. After all, how long can you look at the Sphinx? A few minutes at the most and it's all over. I really don't like to travel. Too much of a hassle catching planes and trains, checking in and checking out, finding a good restaurant, etc. It's always the last leg of a homeward bound trip that's the best for me. I guess you can call me a homebody. BTW, Sam Elliot is on my favorites list. My guess to where the CG picture was taken is Alameda, Ca.
Jan: You amaze me with your songs and poetry. You really have a talent for the spoken word. With you in attendance, we can probably dispense with the jukebox. New York City had elevated track also, but for mu trains not trolleys. They even had steam running on the elevated during the early days. If you can include monorails, you can include Seattle, Atlanta and Honolulu.
Rob: I'm also new to "Our Place", so glad to meet you. You may be the trolley connection we have been missing.
Per: I did think about drawings to sell, but I'm retired and want to stay that way. I have a comment about people who work for a living. They think working is rough. Just wait until you retire. I'm more busy now than when I was employed. Retirement is no easy job. My son has the tractor, but is still waiting to find an end dump trailer. They are not easy to find and Florida seems to be the best place to look for one. My brother-in-law lives in Tampa and is trying to find one.
The following is a short description of the man who practically single-handed, created the largest model railroad in the world.
The dream of the Great American Railway at Northlandz began
over 25 years ago as the Williams' first home was being built in 1972.
As builders would leave for the day Mr. Williams would escape to
the basement and begin erecting scenes for his new basement passion.
Mountain passes were erected complete with bridges and buildings.
Workers returning the next day, removed the new addition so they
could continue their work. Bruce kept building the nightly exhibits.
Thus was the beginning to a 24 year labor of love that has resulted in
the worlds' largest model railroad.
As developer, creator and artist behind Northlandz, Bruce Williams
Zaccagnino has added several new skills to a long list of
accomplishments. A concert musician, successful entrepreneur,
multi-award winning computer software game developer and publisher
(Perfect General, Solitaire's Journey), Mr. Williams has spent a lifetime
working at what he loves.
Northlandz is a 16 acre world class attraction developed by Mr.
Williams and his wife Jean. Included in this complex is a doll museum,
La Peep Doll House, a 5000 pipe theater pipe organ; Which Bruce
Williams plays) and art galleries throughout. The building is reflective
of the couples lifelong commitment to art, expression, and creativity.
In 1977, after Mr. Williams inspired a fourth addition to his Flemington
area home he was persuaded by friends to host an annual train show for
a local charity. The weekend show was soon attracting 1,500 visitors daily.
Several national television broadcasts as well as international T.V.
coverage by German, Swedish, and Japanese stations contributed to the
growing popularity. Thus born the idea for a year round attraction. Along
with the art, music and doll displays future additions including an outdoor
1/3 scale train are already planned by the couple who admittedly cannot
imagine doing anything else.
Mr. Williams was bestowed with the highest honor that is given by the
Hindu faith, the "Maan Patra". This honorarium was presented to Mr.
Williams in recognition of his 25 years of dedication to the creation of
Northlandz. It was awarded to Mr. Williams by Swami Jagadishswarandandji
at the Geeta Temple of Queens, NY in June, 1996 with thousands of worshipers
of the Hindu faith in attendance.
"This is what we do" says Mr. Williams, who along with his wife's steadfast
support works 365 days a year in pursuit of this accomplishment "If you can
create your own enthusiasm, you can do anything", he said, "If you maintain
that enthusiasm you can do it well".
If Ralph Waldo Emerson is correct in that "Nothing great can be achieved
without enthusiasm", then something spectacular has happened in Flemington.
The Great American Railway: A spectacular adventure on this 1 mile indoor tour through a miniature world. Up to 100 trains running daily, and 8 miles of track are just the beginning. 25 years went into sculpting 35 foot mountains and building 40 foot bridges. Marvel at the thousands of handcrafted buildings and over 10,000 freight cars.
Tour Length
1 Mile
Highest Mountain
30 feet(6,000 scale feet)
Longest Bridge
40 feet
Number of Bridges
300-400
Number of Trains
100+
Feet of Track
50,000(8 miles) Atlas Super-Flex track
Buildings
4,000+
Wood
Enough wood to build 42 large houses
52,000 square feet
Lichen Trees
500,000+
A round please RUTH to make up for my weekends absence and ROB's welcome return.
ERIC That is a great photo of the S1; it looks a powerful tank locomotive.
Many thanks for the links to the Streetcar #1053 and Railtown and the diesels, great info I had not got.
I remember being told the white car was used by the local doctor.
JAN Thanks for the kind words. I have a few more photos of the Streetcars and Cable cars from San Francisco. The offer of a drink for each photo is much appreciated, it will help to cut down the massive bar tab I have run up, if the tab got any larger I am sure Manager Lars would have me in the Mentor Village Mine working it off.
Great post on the ‘Hiawathas with great photos, it is a pity they did not run a high speed trial on a section of prepared track in good condition to see what speed a A of F7 could do.
I guess the Hogmany period would be a busy time for you at work. Loved the Scottish verse.
Talking of verses good choice of songs to accompany your bar cleaning, the track gang won't know the old place.
Congratulations on the ‘Regular' stool.
LARS I guess I was hoping too much that a Streetcar in Brooklyn colors would reduce my bar tab, still with kind offers from Jan and Tom I may be able to reduce it a bit.
I see in the link to the gas turbines there is a photo of a motor in the factory I worked at.
IT seems your encore of Rob's photos done the trick and got Rob back Very well done.
Liked the BK encore of the light railways.
Great bookcovers.
CM3 Thanks for the info on the PCC it was great to see the cars working in normal public service and in such great condition It really was great to be able to tour the shed at Railtown, It must have been a great atmosphere in there when #28 was brought in after the day's work was done, quietly simmering as the evening drew on. The bride tried to take some more photos in the shed but they did not turn out. I still have a couple though.
Very much looking forward to the Pre Tournament Parade report and what ATRIE is up to.
DL Looking forward to your reports of the films and that trip through the coal mining area, I guess on freight only lines.
ALLAN Thanks for the picture of Digswell Viaduct. It is still a bottleneck on the ECML today. Where four tracks have to go down to two.
I managed to see the England v South Africa match although not live. I could not understand why England was given a penalty when the try was disallowed, if it was a penalty surely it should have been a penalty try. The bride is starting to watch Rugby and I am trying to teach her the rules, not wishing to sound like a ‘Whinging Pom', I can say no more than, after the bride had watched replays of the disputed try the she said "That WAS a touchdown". Anyway all credit to the South Africans and England it was a good match.
That is a good point about the North Briton, I wonder if they wanted passengers to use the Midland route via the S&C to Glasgow instead of the East Coast route. I can remember a train in the seventies; I think it was, that ran fairly early morning from Leeds to Aberdeen via the East Coast.
ROB Really great to see you back, was it my photo of the Streetcar in San Fran that done it. Looking forward to some more trolley photos and details
TOM Many thanks for the kind words and for the relief on the IOUs.
As you say, it is great that The Mentor Village Gazette lives on in the pages of the old Our Place. Always good for a and many thanks for listing the pages on which the Gazette appears.
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