Waldorf and Statlers Photo Of The Day!

[steemtrayn]

"Photo of the week" would be a more accurate title.

["JaBear"]

In my quest for more information on Detroit River Car Ferries, I came across this.....

........which while not actually relevant, still helped by giving me some more food for thought.

Cheers, the Bear.

["JaBear"]

hon3critter Daves project and Grampys Train TOFC photo over in this WPF,

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/244937.aspx

rattled the memory banks and came up with this....

Cheers, the Bear.

["JaBear"]

Duplicate post!!

["JaBear"]

Finally had the time to watch this. Found it very interesting, not sure I would be quick enough to man the inspection post between the rails in the hump yard.

I was surprised to see the modified gondola for the cement containers, (one was my first kit bash), there must have been more of those cars than I had imagined.

 

 

Cheers, the Bear

["JaBear"]

Not sure where you're would put the motor, let alone the decoder!

Cheers, the Bear.

[steemtrayn]

[rrinker]

 Holy cow, someone managed to put DCC in one!

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/34949-trianghornby-rocket/

This is the set I have, but there's only 3 total cars, not 4.

http://www.vectis.co.uk/AuctionImages/371/563_l.jpg

In the box with the loco and one coach you can see the two figures.

Also see here, this is the ATT packaging for import: http://www.tri-ang.co.uk/oonew/attrocket.htm

                         --Randy

["JaBear"]

You sure you haven’t got a ersatz Rocket, Randy? Though I do see that one of Brents links show the crew, looks a lot better in my opinion.

Cheers, the Bear.

[rrinker]

 Funny you mention putting a crew on the footplate of the Rocket. The set I have - came with a pair of decorated figures to set there!

                       --Randy

["JaBear"]

BATMAN

You have to realize the country is large and the population is small it is easy to escape to a place...........

While on an intellectual level it’s easy to accept that Canada is a big place, the fact is when you come from a country where theoretically the furthest you can be from either coast is a 5 hour drive and, provided the ferry sailing is timed right, drive from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island in 30 hours,(at the speed limit), seeing is believing. I have travelled, for work, to Horn Island at the top of Australia’s Cape York Peninsular, the flight across the Tasman Sea  to Sydney took about 3 ¾ hours, then from Sydney to Cairns 3 hours and then another 2 hours to Horn Island, so I do have some idea of BIG, 

An avid Hornby collector at the local club brought down and, surprisingly, ran his prize Rocket, with the original box, on the club Hornby layout. You should have seen the look he gave me when I suggested that it would look a lot better if there were a couple of suitably attired gents on the foot plate. I’m no longer on his Christmas card list.

I found this video very interesting from the point of view that one of my favourite jobs was  part of a team who overhauled beat up ,scruffy , tired crop dusters and sent them back out for another eight years hard labour. I like observing professionals at work.  Also a prototype for a shelf switching layout for someone who has 100+ early Life Like, Bachman or busted locos.

 

Cheers, the Bear.

 

[rrinker]

 I have the Hornby/Tri-Ang 00 Rocket set. Always loved that thing. The one I have was from the AT&T days - no, not the phone company.

 There was an interesting large scale live steam version in the late 70's/early 80's. MR reviewed it. And tested it. The Bull Session from that issue is one of the funniest ever - they took it to Andy Sperandeo's house and first tried it in his drivewya, but it wasn't completely level so they get the bright idea to try it on his pool deck. One submerged steam engine later....  The picture accompanying the story shows Andy after having dived in and retrieved the loco. Didn't seem to hurt the loco any.

            --Randy

[BATMAN]

Now this is cool.

Lucky kid.

It's my birthday in two days. What are the chances?????? I'll E-Mail this to the wife.

[BATMAN]

If the constabulary were to catch someone doing that speed here, not only would it be automatic loss of licence but also a case of go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.SadCrying

Same here Bear, although the laws were just toughened up in just the last few years. I wouldn't be doing that now. Plus I am just too old for that kind of thing.

You have to realize the country is large and the population is small it is easy to escape to a place where you can put your car through its paces. For several years I had a 50KM commute at 0500Hrs where I had a beautiful highway the whole way and often would never see another soul on the road. Hitting moose and bear ( of the 4 legged kind ) were more of a concern. I only saw a Mountie on a couple of occasions over the years and he didn't seem much interested.

I had a few family members in the RCMP and when I needed a break I would head up North and go on Patrol with my cousin. Six hours up the highway and six hours back for the once a day patrol. We would hardly see a another person the whole trip. I do have some stories that would have you rolling on the floor though.

I wish my modeling skills were such that I could build one of these early steamers in HO. You would need an awfully small motor  for it. How would I ever get that hand held Bugle/horn sound into the decoder.

The stephenson's Rocket is my favourite.

["JaBear"]

BATMAN

60 MPH on the commute! I didn't waste time on my commute. Had this baby North of 260 KMH a few times.

If the constabulary were to catch someone doing that speed here, not only would it be automatic loss of licence but also a case of go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Looks like I have some interesting videos to catch up on.

Cheers, the Bear.

[BATMAN]

Tom, there are a few more videos on You-Tube. Just search "steam elephant". A model of that would take an hour or two to get around the layout.

Here is another HD look.

[ACY Tom]

Brent:

Fascinating and frustrating!  Every time it looked like the camera was going to show us how it worked, the photographer moved the camera or framed the engine in such a way as to obscure the workings!  Interesting that it had some advanced ideas for the time, such as a horizontal boiler.

Thanks for the look.

Tom

[BATMAN]

Here is a link to a good "track pans" page.

imquest.com/writ/trains/pans/Track_Pans.pdf

So Jason Shron of Rapido has broken into the British market and has made several trips over the pond. Maybe next time he is over with his laser measuring and audio recording equipment he can jump in the Tardis and go back in time to get the specs for and then produce this little beauty.

[doctorwayne]

Yeah, that was apparently not uncommon.  That article did mention that some firemen, before the track pans were reached, would climb over the coal pile to check for hoboes riding "in the blind".  I'd guess, though, that many more didn't bother, as it would have been a fairly dangerous practice in its own right.

Wayne

[dknelson]

Wasn't there also a story told in Trains about the crew that found a dead hobo, encased in ice, who had been riding behind the tender of a locomotive that took water on the fly in winter, unprepared for the gush of water that would escape through the venting system that prevented the tender tank from exploding from the pressure.

Dave Nelson

[doctorwayne]

BATMAN

...Next is, I wonder what happens to foreign objects such as ballast and other items that end up in the track pan. How much and what kind of damage occurs to the engine when hitting these.

There was an interesting account of a related occurence in the July 1979 issue of TRAINS magazine.
In 1945, a Mohawk on a westbound freight extra operating between Englewood, Ill. and Elkhart, Ind. scooped water 8 miles west of South Bend.  According to the article, pick-up rate was 2.5 gallons per linear foot of trough.  Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the fireman, the scoop failed to fully retract, and ripped through the 4"x8" planks of two grade crossings.
With the train moving at 38mph, one of those planks hit the switch rod of a facing point turnout, opening the switch and derailing the rear tender truck and 17 of the trailing freight cars, one of which fouled the adjacent eastward main line.
As per the rules, the fireman lit a couple of fusees to protect that track. 
However, an eastbound passenger train, cruising at 79mph, was approaching only 1400' from the point of impact.  The engineer dumped the air on the month-old Niagara, and had the speed down to 65mph when it hit the derailed car.  The locomotive ended up 406' east of the impact, lying on her side at a 45° angle, along with 10 of her 15 passenger cars.  Miraculously, the toll was only 39 injured.
Upon investigation, a tie and a crossing plank were discovered inside the Mohawk tender's cistern!

The article also notes that Central's wreckers were unable to lift the 471,000lb. Niagara, necessitating the leasing of big hooks from the Grand Trunk Western, Pere Marquette, and Santa Fe, with the line remaining closed for 2 1/2 days.

Track pan depths varied between 6"-8", with the top 1" below the rail tops.  The scoop was normally carried 5.5" above the rails and could descend 6.25" below. 
According to another TRAINS article in May, 1993, the pans often collected small fish and turtles, along with the usual debris, and had to be cleaned out periodically, as the material could (and occasionally did) block the water supply to the locomotive.  In winter, the pans were heated using steam from stationary boilers.

Since water was scooped at speeds up to 80mph, it wasn't an especially neat operation, and there were accounts of conductors warning passengers in the first few coaches to close windows when they approached track pans.   Another told of the water blasting through the unsecured vestibule door of a coach right behind the tender, and then washing down the aisle.

Wayne

[BATMAN]

Thanks Randy. I  knew about the feedwater heaters, but I have never been able to find any technical data on how efficient they were other than the vague quote of "it depended on the engine". I tend to be a facts and figures guy and have a peculiar need to delve into such things when something catches my interest. Drives my wife nuts sometimes.

This little video sure made the memories flood back. The trains start around the 8 minute mark, however the whole thing is really interesting. Check out the sound system. Was this the first MRR sound system?

[rrinker]

 That's what feedwater heaters were for - harnessing the leftover heat that otherwise just went up the stack. There are also some other oddities made over the years but it seems like other than the feedwater heater, they were all more trouble than any extra efficiency was worth.

               --Randy

[BATMAN]

First the commercial.

Some good shots in this video. There is a rather large coaling facility shown and I wonder if anyone has one this large on their layout. Also, two questions came to mind while watching. One was what is the temperature difference of the gases in the firebox of where the actual fire is verses when the smoke goes up the stack at the front of the train and did they ever harness any of this left over heat?

Next is, I wonder what happens to foreign objects such as ballast and other items that end up in the track pan. How much and what kind of damage occurs to the engine when hitting these.

[BATMAN]

How about a trip to Calgary?

Sometimes I find the modeling at train shows not the greatest for the simple reason the layouts have been put up and down so many times they look worn out. There is however some really good stuff here.

Maybe I'll make it to Supertrain this year.

 

[BATMAN]

Okay, upon a quick review, sales at the concession stand are through the roof, so we will carry on.

Bear, watching those guys working in that safety film makes me feel awfully old and worn out. The thought of having to do that makes me hurt! But once upon a time!!!!!

so while 15 mph on the new fangled steam train is slow to us zipping along at 60 mph in our air conditioned car,

60 MPH on the commute! I didn't waste time on my commute. Had this baby North of 260 KMH a few times. Owned it for 15 years and only got one speeding ticket and that was in California.

 

This one is for Rich as we take this visit to the Chicago area. The cars and trucks you see parked really span the years in makes and models and once again I think I saw Frank! The tow motors we see in the wearhouses still look the same as they do today, so either they last a long time or they never changed the design. As a guy that spent a lot of years at airports, docks and railyards I know some of that equipment last a long time. They were later converted to propane in many instances, at least up here in the great white North. So build your wearhouse equipment appropriate to your era.

How many of you have a "snow ice truck" on your layouts???? Come on, hands up! I have never seen one before today in this video.

Don't forget to buy your Beer and popcorn before making your way to your seat.

["JaBear"]

“...2000 trespassers killed annually on American Railroads”. Yikes!!!! 

BATMAN

It may not seem to be the kind of thread that is suitable to model railroading.......

As for relevancy they even use a model railroad to make a safety point.

 

Be careful out there!!!!!

Cheers, the Bear.

 

 

[richhotrain]

BATMAN

I am not sure anyone is watching and maybe the thread should drift off into the sunset. It may not seem to be the kind of thread that is suitable to model railroading and I am a little surprised that our host haven't given it the axe. 

I agree.  The thread must be boring because it only has 5,000 + views.

Yeah, it is obvious that no one is interested.   

Rich

["JaBear"]

BATMAN

I am not sure anyone is watching and maybe the thread should drift off into the sunset

Nah!!!  I’d wondered the same thing Brent but the post count is creeping up at a respectable rate, especially for a non controversial thread.

BATMAN

It may not seem to be the kind of thread that is suitable to model railroading and I am a little surprised that our host haven't given it the axe

I think it’s very suitable, one common piece of advice to given by forum members to newbies to the hobby is Research, Research, Research. Just because the main contributors have their particular axe to grind doesn’t stop other folks from linking their particular model railroad tastes here. 

BATMAN

One of the reasons I like to watch these old videos and look at old photo's is to look at the trackside details of the different periods on the railroad timeline.

 

As you say the eye is in the detail. For me it’s not only the pure railroad aspect of the links, but the social commentaries which can help me try to understand why things were done a certain way. In our fast paced world unless there is a particular interest we don’t seem to have the time, or will, to be able comprehend how things used to be.  For example, for eleven years my daily commute was 35 minutes each way. 100 years earlier that round journey would have taken me 3 days by horse or stage coach, so while 15 mph on the new fangled steam train is slow to us zipping along at 60 mph in our air conditioned car, with the stereo tuned to our favourite FM station, to the folk at the time it must have been luxury. There and back in a day!!! And with no dust or mud (only some soot) to contend with. 

Cheers, the Bear.

[BATMAN]

I am not sure anyone is watching and maybe the thread should drift off into the sunset. It may not seem to be the kind of thread that is suitable to model railroading and I am a little surprised that our host haven't given it the axe. One of the reasons I like to watch these old videos and look at old photo's is to look at the trackside details of the different periods on the railroad timeline.

A good friend of mine is a bigtime cinematographer and a train guy and every time he is at the house we are in the trainroom and he tells me how to improve things to be camera friendly. It's all the tiny details that make a scene look real or not. He is full of stories about working with model makers sometimes for two or three years before filming even started. He even went out and learned to fly a helicopter so he could fly the aerial shots himself and get them just right without multiple takes and trying to tell the pilots what he wanted.

After you look at a train in a video or a photograph, go back and watch again and look at everything but the train and add that stuff to your layout. That's how they do it in movie land. I have a loooong way to go in my learning curve.