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Railroad History Quiz Game (Come on in and play) Locked

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Posted by J. Daddy on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 12:20 PM
 rrnut282 wrote:

I feel like the dog chasing the car, I don't know what to do after I catch it.

OK, let's try one in honor of my present location, i.e. not at home. 

Where was the first operational railroad west of the applachians?

 

was it in Alabama?

 

TC&D RR.....

 

When the men get together its always done right! J. Daddy
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Posted by rrnut282 on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:25 PM

Not Chicago or Alabama. 

I was thinking US, so Canada doesn't count.  That's another question for another day.Wink [;)]

Oh and please give a date, so I can verify the accuracy.

Mike (2-8-2)
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Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:32 AM

Allegheny Portage Railroad - 1834 

(It actually stadles the Appalachain Mtns.  The inclined plane was on the east slope and the "pure" railroad was on the west slope.)

Or, the Mohawk and Hudson - 1831.  Ran from Albany to Schenectady NY.  (Appalachian mtn chain - Bershires - is to the east in Mass and Green Mtns in Vermont.  Also to the south - Catskills)

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:07 AM
I really thought it was the Tuscumbia-Courtland-Decatur Railroad in Alabama in 1830....Sigh [sigh]
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Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:36 AM

 J. Daddy wrote:
I really thought it was the Tuscumbia-Courtland-Decatur Railroad in Alabama in 1830....Sigh [sigh]

The Wikipedia entry would make that 1829 - ahead of my two guesses!  And, definitely west of the Appalachians, too.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 10:28 AM
I thought it was the West Feliciana, north of Baton Rouge.
Dale
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Posted by rrnut282 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 10:57 AM

Well 1829 is earlier than the historical marker I was using that said, "The first railroad operated west of the Alleghenies, the Erie and Kalamazoo, was chartered on April 22, 1833 to connect Port Lawrence (later named Toledo) with the Kalamazoo River via Adrian. A horse-drawn car made the first trip from Toledo to Adrian on November 2, 1836, running on strap iron strips spiked to oak rails. "

So, if there was a train in 'bama in 1829, I'll have to give it to you.

 

 

Mike (2-8-2)
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Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:07 AM
 rrnut282 wrote:

Well 1829 is earlier than the historical marker I was using that said, "The first railroad operated west of the Alleghenies, the Erie and Kalamazoo, was chartered on April 22, 1833 to connect Port Lawrence (later named Toledo) with the Kalamazoo River via Adrian. A horse-drawn car made the first trip from Toledo to Adrian on November 2, 1836, running on strap iron strips spiked to oak rails. "

So, if there was a train in 'bama in 1829, I'll have to give it to you.

By 1836, they were running Metroliners in NJ, weren't they?Wink [;)]

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:07 PM
 rrnut282 wrote:

Well 1829 is earlier than the historical marker I was using that said, "The first railroad operated west of the Alleghenies, the Erie and Kalamazoo, was chartered on April 22, 1833 to connect Port Lawrence (later named Toledo) with the Kalamazoo River via Adrian. A horse-drawn car made the first trip from Toledo to Adrian on November 2, 1836, running on strap iron strips spiked to oak rails. "

So, if there was a train in 'bama in 1829, I'll have to give it to you.

 

 

 

Cool! I have an easy one: "Name the location of the last spike driven on the 3rd transcontinental Railroad, and where was the golden spike actually driven for this Railroad?" 

When the men get together its always done right! J. Daddy
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Posted by nanaimo73 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:17 PM
Northern Pacific, Gold Creek, MT ?
Dale
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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:52 PM
correct and the golden spike was in .........?
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Posted by nanaimo73 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:59 PM
1888 ?
Dale
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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 1:03 PM

LOL... no the location.... was in ........ ?

 

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 1:13 PM
 J. Daddy wrote:

LOL... no the location.... was in ........ ?

 

I posted that, Gold Creek MT.

Dale
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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 1:15 PM
the last spike was in Gold Greek, Montana - correct, the golden spike was driven in what  city/state? Sorry for the confusion....
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Posted by nanaimo73 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 1:19 PM

Did the NP start with a Gold Spike ?

I think they started somewhere between the Twin Ports and the Twin Cities.

Hinckley ?

Dale
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Posted by J. Daddy on Thursday, December 13, 2007 1:22 PM
now your getting warm!
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Posted by rrnut282 on Thursday, December 13, 2007 3:00 PM
WAG:  wilmar?
Mike (2-8-2)
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, December 13, 2007 5:31 PM
 J. Daddy wrote:

Cool! I have an easy one: "Name the location of the last spike driven on the 3rd transcontinental Railroad, and where was the golden spike actually driven for this Railroad?" 

?  Wasn't UP first, NP second, and GN third?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, December 13, 2007 5:31 PM
 J. Daddy wrote:
now your getting warm!
Carlton, Minnesota?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Friday, December 14, 2007 1:19 AM
 Murphy Siding wrote:
 J. Daddy wrote:

Cool! I have an easy one: "Name the location of the last spike driven on the 3rd transcontinental Railroad, and where was the golden spike actually driven for this Railroad?" 

?  Wasn't UP first, NP second, and GN third?

I believe SP is usually called 2nd, referring to the Sunset Route.

Dale
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, December 14, 2007 12:17 PM
 nanaimo73 wrote:
 Murphy Siding wrote:
 J. Daddy wrote:

Cool! I have an easy one: "Name the location of the last spike driven on the 3rd transcontinental Railroad, and where was the golden spike actually driven for this Railroad?" 

?  Wasn't UP first, NP second, and GN third?

I believe SP is usually called 2nd, referring to the Sunset Route.

I guess I had forgotten about those guys.Blush [:I]

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Posted by Railway Man on Friday, December 14, 2007 12:46 PM

First spike, Thomsons Junction, Minnesota, February 15, 1870.

Last spike, Gold Creek, Montana, Setember 8, 1883 (construction crews actually met on August 23).

Same spike used for both ceremonies.  Some sources say steel, some say iron, but definitely not gold.

pdf of NY Times article for that day about the ceremony:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C04E1D8133BE033A25750C2A96F9C94629FD7CF&oref=slogin

RWM

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Posted by Railway Man on Friday, December 14, 2007 12:50 PM

Here's a new one:

Name the U.S. transcontinental railroads or major components of ultimate transcontinental routes whose mileposts "ran backward," i.e., west to east, at least when constructed.  I know of seven but since the definition is somewhat blurry there might be one or two more.

RWM

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Friday, December 14, 2007 1:16 PM

Now this is an interesting question.

SP's Sunset Route, and the Central Pacific should be two of them.

Would the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad be two more ?

St. Louis Southwestern ?

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Posted by hf1001 on Friday, December 14, 2007 3:44 PM
Confused [%-)]
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Posted by Railway Man on Friday, December 14, 2007 4:18 PM
 nanaimo73 wrote:

Now this is an interesting question.

SP's Sunset Route, and the Central Pacific should be two of them.

Would the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad be two more ?

St. Louis Southwestern ?

The first four are part of this group (technically it would be San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake when it built, but that's not important here).  Frisco?  I don't think so - I've not heard of it being considered a transcontinental or part of a transcontinental route though it might have been had it held onto the Atlantic & Pacific, and in any case I can't think of any significant part of its route that built west to east other than maybe Springfield-Memphis, which seems a stretch to consider as a transcontinental, historically.

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Friday, December 14, 2007 4:22 PM
I was thinking of the SSW, not the SLSF. Could it be counted as an 8th transcon, from the Sunset Route to St. Louis ?
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Posted by Railway Man on Friday, December 14, 2007 4:53 PM

My bad.

Could the Cotton Belt be considered part of a transcon?  The SP did, so yes, I guess it could count.  Which way was it mileposted historically?

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, December 15, 2007 4:51 PM
     How about Western Pacific?

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