Hi Kevin and Brent,
I like both of your suggestions very much, but I think we should follow Kevin's lead and go to Milwaukee for a few days. After all, their trains were reputed to offer some of the finest passenger service on the continent.
Here is Wikipedia's brief history of the Milwaukee Road's passenger service:
The Milwaukee Road aggressively marketed passenger service through much of its history, maintaining a high quality of service until the end of private intercity passenger operations in 1971. The Milwaukee prided itself on its passenger operations, providing the nation with some of its most innovative and colorful trains. The railroad's home-built equipment was among some of the best passenger equipment ever run on any American railroad. The Milwaukee's reputation for high-quality service was the principal reason that Union Pacific shifted its service to the Milwaukee Road for its "City" streamliners in 1955.
The Milwaukee Road's Pioneer Limited was one of the first named trains and its colorful Hiawatha trains were among the nation's finest streamliners. The post-World War II Hiawatha trains remain a high-water mark for passenger train industrial design.
Starting in November 1955, the Milwaukee Road assumed joint operation of the Union Pacific's City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of Denver, and Challenger trains as well as the UP/Southern Pacific City of San Francisco. After assuming operation of the UP's services, the Milwaukee Road gradually dropped its orange and maroon paint scheme in favor of UP's Armour yellow, grey, and red, finding the latter easier to keep clean.
The Milwaukee Road's streamlined passenger services were unique in that most of its equipment was built by the railroad at its Milwaukee Menomonee Valley shops, including the four generations of Hiawatha equipment introduced in 1933–34, 1935, 1937–38, and 1947-48. Most striking were the "Beaver Tail" observation cars of the 1930s and the "Skytop Lounge" observation cars by industrial designer Brooks Stevens in the 1940s. Extended "Skytop Lounge" cars were also ordered from Pullman for Olympian Hiawatha service in 1951. The Olympian Hiawatha set, as well as some full-length "Super Domes" were later sold to the Canadian National Railway.
Regional passenger trains that the Milwaukee Road operated from Chicago up to Amtrak's assumption of passenger operations in 1971 included the Twin Cities Hiawatha serving Minneapolis, the Sioux serving Madison, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Express serving Milwaukee, and the Varsity serving Madison.[40] Amtrak still operates the Hiawatha Service along the Milwaukee Road's former Chicago-Milwaukee route.
For years, the Milwaukee Road also operated an extensive commuter rail service in the Chicago area. One branch served the northern suburbs and extended into the outer suburbs of Milwaukee, one another branch served the western suburbs. These services passed to the Regional Transportation Authority in 1982 after the Milwaukee Road's bankruptcy. They are still operated today by Metra, Chicago's commuter rail agency, as the Milwaukee District / North Line and Milwaukee District / West Line. Canadian Pacific runs freight trains on both of these lines.
Here are some pictures from the Milwaukee Road Menomonee Shops where they built their equipment:
Early days:
Now there's a roundhouse!
More to come!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Here are some of the Milwaukee Railroads passenger rolling stock:
What else could I start with other than a critter!
Okay, okay, time to get serious:
Perhaps the most beautiful passenger car of all time,
This guy looks pretty shiny:
Smokeless! I guess that was the whole point:
Needs a bit of a scrub!
Transfer table cab:
Note the exhaust stains down the side of the B unit. A few flame outs perhaps?
There's an oddball:
Mixed times:
2-6-6-2?
Ooops:
Coming back to life:
Don't forget these guys:
Strange looking beast!
Cheers!!
Good morning all. A mixed bag weatherwise here in the UK.
Dave. Great pictures (again). Thanks.
Getting quotes today to have handrails outside to help Dawn with her walking.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Hello Railfans!
(Twilight Zone music keys in)
Top of the evening to yas! Pretty close to the 60f mark with a tinge of moisture in the air. And if you look closely, its been warm enough around here to fool a few trees into budding already.
NorthBrit Dave) First things right off - Happy Belated Birthday to you! I dont know if you still make wishes and blow out candles, but if you do.... i hope it came in your roadname!
The Bridge Guy) Havent seen ya, but if your ornery enough to atleast get some reading done, were thinking about ya!
Critter Dave) Most excellent. Loved the Budd series. I have always had a fondness for the first stainless trains. I even liked the RDC that ate the NH E7 (the one listed under 'ugly'). Though i think i would pass on the jet powered stuff! I think thats taking "TGV" a bit toooo far. Its 'Tres Grande Vitesse' not 'There Goes Vanderbuilt'.
Now ive never really been a fan of the Milw., but the pics you posted are pretty eye popping. One of my pet peeves is facilities, nice shots of those. That aerial shot kinda puts Wyo. Yards to shame. Btw, i liked the starting critter shot. Perfect subject for a model.
TF) Fiddler on the Roof?? - taken. Fiddler-a-loof?? Eh, it could pass. Fiddler on the loose? Ding!
Tools) The only battery operated tool i own has four wheels, a gas tank, and a bench seat. All my other tools plug into that coal fired/nuclear powered wall socket.
Have an wonderful day folks!
(Twilight Zone music fades out)
A#1 North,
Douglas
Good Morning —
Try this on a model RR and see how many raised eyebrows you get!
Pole-kink by Edmund, on Flickr
Utility pole too close? Just put a little deviation in the track!
That photo looks like it's right out of a Walthers catalog. Besides the Skytop car there's the octogonal crossing tower, far right, train shed and Everett St. Station.
Milwaukee by Edmund, on Flickr
I like the looks of that red brick Everett St. station I bought one to replace my present Union Station
I'd like to borrow some ideas from that neat looking sanding facility in the other photo. I'm at a point on my engine service tracks where I'm looking for a sand tower but I don't want one that is too tall.
Sand tower by Edmund, on Flickr
I have one of those bucket conveyors, the tank and all the other details in my junk box. Now I have to get busy.
It will go somewhere in here:
Fuel-rack1 by Edmund, on Flickr
The Skytop observation cars were built both by Pullman (the sleeping cars Creek series) and Milwaukee Shops (the parlor cars Rapids series).
They were designed by Brooks Stevens.
Milwaukee_Road by Edmund, on Flickr
CMStPnP_Coon-Rapids by Edmund, on Flickr
Before the SkyTops, the Milwaukee had several variations of the "Beaver Tail" observation cars.
Milwaukee_Beaver by Edmund, on Flickr
Jack Delano, January, 1943
Mitchell
Here are photos of what's left of the two, Arrow Creek and Gold Creek, that were welded to the deck of the Lansdowne:
https://www.montevideomrhc.org/Skytop/index.html#
What a sad ending, for BOTH the Lansdowne and the Skytop Cars:
Lansdowne_listing by Edmund, on Flickr
I saw these cars when the Lansdowne was moored in Erie, Pa. for a while (mid- '70s?) The photo above was in Buffalo. Erie, ©2005
Most of my recent cordless tools have been Bosch. I've had excellent results with these. We had lots of Milwaukee at w**k. The original Sawzall were great and would take a beating. When we got the first Milwaukee cordless tools the battery contacts would burn up. They bought DeWalt after that but they weren't all that great either.
I hope Garry is doing better. Shout out to Ken! Where ya' been Ken???
Thanks for all the neat photos, Dave.
Regards, Ed
Model Railway Exhibition is OPEN
https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/virtual-exhibitions/wor-virtual-exhibition-part-iii
Good Morning,
I was up early putting out the bird feeders. My wife cleans and refills them every night and I put them out in the morning. I'm looking forward to daylight saving time as I am now up at 6:30 to have the feeders out for the 6:45 sunrise.
I was cleaning up some old papers and came across a Kohler catalogue from 1993. The cast iron bathtub in our house, built in 1960, was still in it. The tub is square with a seat in one corner. When we renovated the bathroom in 2016 we retained the bathtub as it is in perfect condition, still looks modern, is white, and changing it would mean major renovation as it is built in with walls on 3 sides.
I am still looking at brass loco listings. I don't plan on buying more as I have the 3 I wanted and looks like I lucked out as the only ones currently available are considerably more expensive. Also I doubt that the paint could be any better. I would like a Bullet Nose Betty but brass 8 driver locos won't go around my curves. I won't buy if I can't run them at all.
We are having an early spring here with 50F and sun today. Supposed to be in the 40F range and sunny for the next week. The snow should be gone by then,
Say, where is Ken? Hope he is ok.
Hope Garry is feeling better. I think he should get a feature done in MR as his layout is as nice as any they show each month.
Coffee time again.
CN Charlie
Good morning
Anyone care for a post breakfast snack? Judy made her mini graham cracker crust vanilla pudding cherry pies this morning
Gotta love that woman! Take a couple if you wish, they're on the dish
TF
Thanks for the cherry tarts, TF!
I found an additional photo of the Skytops on the Lansdowne:
Resurrected by Mark, on Flickr
The photo posted in my earlier reply was actually taken in Erie, Pennsylvania, along with this one after she was pumped out and refloated. Some time in 2009 she was scrapped in Buffalo, N.Y.
In better days:
Lansdowne by Edmund, on Flickr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Lansdowne
Oh boy! A high of 44°F here in NE Ohio. Bright sun, though
Here's one for the "Bridge Guy"
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O107 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
B&O Susquehanna River Bridge from Havre De Grace, MD side. 2/17/1962
Everyone must be doing their St. Patricks' Day shopping?
Anybody have some rare wildebeast to entice LION out of his den?
IMGP1262 Meat Market by Claudio e Lucia Images around the world, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Besides Bridge Guy and Ken, I've been wondering where Brother Broadway has been lately myself Ed?
If that one is a little overdone, maybe these would suit the Lion's fancy.
That ought to do it!
I'll put a fan on them blowing out the window. He should pick up the aroma in North Dakota next door in no time.
And here's one to help entice "Bridge Guy"
Between your bridge and my bridge posted, that ought to work
Thanks Ed, I always do appreciate those Bridge Guy posts
It's 5 O-Clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
Ed's building more beautiful Passenger cars
And tunnels that they can run in
Sing us a song You're a Railroad Man
Sing us a song tonight
Wayne finished all of his Bridges
And Oh such a Wonderful sight
La De De De La La La
La De De La
Now Brent is a great Canadian Pacific modeler
He gets his box cars for free
His front door's very near to the Wilderness Railroads
And there's no place that he'd rather be
Peter just completed a breathtaking scene
That made the real picture not even look right
Everybody sing it now! La De De De La La La Add your own verse if you got one! La De De La
Track fiddler Judy made her mini graham cracker crust vanilla pudding cherry pies this morning
Boy those look good!!! Cherries are by far my most favourite fruit!
A Difficult Weekend for me. I don't keep in close contact with aunts, uncles and cousins. No bad feelings, it's just we are physically distanced and rarely see each other.
I found out, a relative has transitioned into a man and needs mental health therapy, which he refuses. Despite being a doctor, that degree of gender dysphoria is beyond my comprehension. From a father or mother's standpoint, you have visions of you baby girl, your growing daughter, maybe walking down the aisle and then 20 years later you find out she thinks she is a guy. How does one cope with that?
I am not homophobic, but having major surgery that doesn't really create a 100% transformation, just the illusion of it, doesn't sit well with me.
That's only half of it. I have another relative, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, I would rank her #3, She is wealthy, 81 yo and has a 46 yo boyfriend. Any bets on if he has more money than she has?
Old men married to young women are common place. Limbaugh and Larry King come to mind. My father was 18 years older than my mother and left her a very young widow. So that doesn't sit well with me either. She has done this before so I guess it is worth it to her to throw money at a younger man.
I feel like this is something Galaxy would have posted.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Rack Time
It's been real, it's been fun, it hasn't been real fun though, the day that is
A little relaxation music to unwind
Speaking of the Floyd —
Did everyone — those affected, at least — remember to set their clocks ahead One Hour ??
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
EJT_1962_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
GE_fini by Edmund, on Flickr
gmpullmanDid everyone — those affected, at least — remember to set their clocks ahead One Hour ??
Thanks for the reminder!
I like your hat. I could never wear a white hat. I wouldn't be able to keep it clean!
Nice! Ed!
I always liked that picture of you tipping your hat ya handsome devil! You looked like you were one bad as #@&*# You were and I'm sure you still are underneath that more pleasant side of you that Shines today.
I got up for a little sleep break an hour or so in. Gilmore always does it right and that modern-day version of the 70s Pink sure sounded good.
I better give us some old Pink for everyone to enjoy over coffee tomorrow morning though.
That ought to do it for some morning wake up music an hour ahead of time
My you were a cute young lad with Santa That made me want to go look for my Santa pictures in that old trunk
I just scored a P2K E8A in Canadian Pacific maroon and gray on eBay. I got it for what I consider to be a reasonable price in Canadian dollars, and the shipping was reasonable too. As my wife would explain, I really didn't need another locomotive, but I couldn't resist! It looks to be in pretty good shape, and according to the seller it has had very little use.
I hope I have learned enough about how to handle delicate models that this one will survive my often ham fisted handling intact. My previous experience with P2K Es and Fs is that things like the lift rings and grabs will jump off the shell if you even think about picking it up.
Track fiddlerI better give us some old Pink for everyone to enjoy over coffee tomorrow morning though.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning all. Mothering Sunday today. The family will be visiting (from a distance).
Later I shall be in the train room.
To pick-up from the Bear ---
"Dream BIG dreams and do not let anyone take them away"
Ken and Garry. I hope things are turning for the better.
Anyone else going thru a tough time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe you cannot see it. Just ahead the tunnel curves round and light shines in.
Coffee time with cookies.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Just caught up on my Diner reading.
Wow, this was one of the best pages in the diner ever.
Dave: Great shares on the MILWAUKEE ROAD!
Ed: Thank you for everything you added.
Garry: Please take care of yourself. You know you are in my thoughts now.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
A late sleeper I am today. I'm still on yesterday's time here. Perhaps I'll set the clock ahead 2 minutes everyday for a month. I can't lose an hour right away all at once
It seems I had some extra music to listen to over late coffee this morning. Some Cirrus Minor, I put whipped cream on top of my coffee for that one.
Speaking of birds, my daughter now w**ks in Dunedin and Her-in-Doors drove down with her late last year, and while she was down there, they visited the Royal Albatross Colony where that clip was taken. Apparently, the albatross spends so much time roaming the Great Southern Ocean that landing on dryland can be somewhat problematic at the best of times! They do look magnificent in the air.
Garry, I've got congestive heart failure, too, along with a number of other issues. But, I think the medications make me feel even worse. The good news is that my condition has improved from a few years back. I'm 74 now, and I was actively playing hockey every week until I was 70. I still bicycle and walk the neighborhood.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Eveing Diners!
Flo, give the gang and I a please and the slimer Dirk and Robbie a dog treat.
Lot to talk about.
Transunion credit score is up too 799. That will be taking a big hit soon.
New Discover Card $7000.00 credit limit.
House Repairs begain! Had 2 rotten termite eaten joist beams (Not the joist, but the beams that the joist sit on) No live termites but I am going to have a exterminator come out and check. Saw 3 flying ants (no such thing) last week. All so had a new slumb pump install. Cost $4000.00 but had to be done. One more support beam too go for another $1500.00.
My old Town Car is on the RIP track. Took it in for a oil change, wheel hub replaced and new shocks. After the oil change the teck saw the Trans Cross Member had rusted in half? Maybe able to get it fixed, maybe. He has a car that might have a good cross member, we will see.
Took a Cash Advances off my old Discover card for $10,000.00. Long story on that one. New Discover card did not show up on time (was going to use to pay the contractor) so I took a cash advances at 3% fee and 12 months no intrest. That covers the $4000.00 beam repair and new slump pump and I have $6,000.00 for a car if I need to buy one. Do not want a car loan with the way my company is going!
Walking the heck out of Dirk Pip! He weight 27.5 pounds when we got him. Last Jan he was at 31.8 pounds! Wife thinks it is no big deal? That is a 11.56 weight increase. If a person weight 200 pounds that would be like going too 231.20 pounds! No good! We have been walking about 3/4 of a mile on my day's off and a 3rd of a mile when I work. He is now down to 30.0 pounds.
Time to walk Dirk so later, Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof!
I hate Rust
Nice to have you back Ken!
Good for you! Good job getting your credit score up. As far as creditors goes, don't let them suck you back in.
I've been debt-free for 7 years and I really like that feeling and so shall you, if you play your cards right
Glad to see you checking in, Ken. Too bad you're getting hit with all those repairs. $4000 for sump repairs? That sounds like a major expense! What all had to be done?
Here's one of those scenes that looks like it is on a model RR:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O068 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Here's another one, Point of Rocks Tunnel:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O092 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Just checking in, glad to see everyone seems to be accounted for.
Everything is fine in my world right now. Might be back to post more later.
And yet another one to enjoy this evening
Floyd did not have a Hawaiian Steel guitar although it sounded like that
Nothing a steel pipe on a finger didn't take care of
And one hand was always good enough for the keyboards
So much Old Pink little known