Lion, I have to agree with countless others, there definately IS a book here. Each photo (and I can't tell you how beautiful each one is) has a story behind it. And I can't wait to read them.
Michael J Coppage
Jefferson Barracks, MO
Merry Christmas to All....
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Hide and seek...
The sculptures or bronze statues at Newark Penn Station are in the Newark City Subway entrance and have been part of the historic display of the early days of the system's ticket booth and people...it has been moved around and repositioned since the Broad St. service began. But I do believe the exhibit has been part of the Subway entrance since the mid 60's or so.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Is that some kind of sculpture on the shelf at the station?
The Newark Light Rail has a sculpture in Penn Station. The artist is George Segal. I've walked by it many times on my way to the Newark Lightrail. You can see it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/klg19/3532039959/
PS. Have you ever looked at your model of the New York Subway as a piece of sculpture?
Back to the Trains, This one is on the Canarsie Line...
LION will not comment on Obama, but him believes nothing out of his mouth or anyplace else for that matter. The only reason they can drill here is because it is on private land and the fed cannot do squat about it. Tried to stop the pipeline, so a rail line will do just as well. Much of our oil is being sold to a Delta Airline refinery on the east coast. They used to get their oil from the North Sea. Ain't no pipeline going there, and Bakken is priced in Texas not in London.
Are no buses in Williston, if they are not on the train then they are on the plane. They have been adding flights and enlarging runways. I had a flight into Dickinson which got delayed in Chicago, and the next opening on the Dickinson schedule was a week away. I took a different flight to Bismarck.
ROAR
Lion,
I've been figuring out that the Bakken is where North Dakota's tar sands are and where the oil is coming from. I also hear on the news that President Obama may approve of a pipe line to carry the oil that right now is being a bonanza for freight railroads. Or he may not.
Joe Boardman says Amtrak is getting a lot of travelers to Williston. I guess the airlines and bus companies are getting their share of that business too.
Traffic in North Dakota is growing with the Bakken. On state highways there are over 100 trucks per hour on roads that were never built for such traffic. Remember, paved roads hereabouts are 20 miles apart. Our rail line sees about 40 trains daily, mostly coal, but oil is becoming more common, and grain is always present. This is a slower line than the GN: BNSF runs its heavier, slower trains on the NP and its faster TOFC and COFC trains on the GN. That is one good reason why AMTK is up there.
Here is a North Dakota subway train.
I checked out the Rimrock Stages website. I agree; they do seem to take care of the souther tier of North Dakota. As far as I can see they run along I-94 across the state and tie into Greyhound Lines.
You live in a rural state where I-94 gets less use than in more urban areas. I hope this means it is standing up better. From what I read many of our interstates are crumbling away. Large areas need repairs but who is going to pay for it? Fred Frailey has an interesting article about I-95 in Virginia where the Governor has proposed a toll to pay for rebuilding. There is a firestorm of protest from the people.
I can only wonder what will happen to Florida oranges, Georgia peaches and all the rest of the fruit and vegetables that come up north by truck as the interstates deteriorate. I think that if we don't put tolls on our interstates they will deteriorate to the point that we begin losing money as trucks are forced to slow down to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, we lost many of our railroads in the 1970's and the remaining ones are pretty much at capacity so they cannot absorb much of the freight the truckers carry.
But, as I say, you don't have as much traffic in North Dakota so you may well be in better shape. And grain is one thing that still moves by train.
This is true, but running a stage coach would be far cheaper and far more reliable.
Indeed: Rimrock Stages has this lower tier covered rather nicely, with two coaches either way, which is better than AMTK at Minot. Thy would run more if there was more business.
Well, with the Empire Builder you have at least one passenger railroad unlike your neighbors in South Dakota. But I think a line serving the southern tier of countries could also be a real benefit to North Dakota's people. Money always is the only problem. It the state were willing it probably could operate a line itself more cheaply than Amtrak could. The line could connect with Amtrak on the east side and the west side of the state.
Well, AMTK did run pax service on this line for a little while. We could have it back again any time we want it, all we got to do is PAY a subsidy to run it. This North Dakota is not willing to do.
Anyway, today's pic seems to be on the West End Line. NYCT keeps the graffiti off of its trains, and new stations are getting graffiti resistant coatings, but this wall does not seem to qualify for such a treatment.
One of the downsides of Amtrak is that we lost Northern Pacific passenger trains. It seems ironic to me that Amtrak abandoned a land grant railroad which was built with government guaranteed bonds in favor of the Great Northern which was built by Jim Hill to compete with the NP. It took a long time but Jim Hill finally drove away the passenger business from NP.
From the Hall of the LION KING!
John WR Well, Lion, you answered my question. But North Dakota is also home to the Empire Builder and also home to a lot of people who rode the Empire Builder to live in sod houses and build the Empire we all live in today. And there is a lot of interesting history about James J. Hill and E. H. Harriman and Northern Securities and all that stuff.
Well, Lion, you answered my question. But North Dakota is also home to the Empire Builder and also home to a lot of people who rode the Empire Builder to live in sod houses and build the Empire we all live in today. And there is a lot of interesting history about James J. Hill and E. H. Harriman and Northern Securities and all that stuff.
The empire builder runs on the northern route through Minot on the old GN. The nearest station is a three hour drive. We are on the old NP and used to have a train called the Main Streeter, but that is history.
Sod houses. Did you know that the first mosque in the united states was in North Dakota, up in the Williston area. (i'm going to build a mosque on my layout when I get the chance) They were Muslims from eastern Europe and migrated to the US at the same time as other settlers in this area. Their mosque wall little more than a sod hut, and I do not think that a mosque exists in that area anymore, though the map still shows a remnant of a Muslim population there. Most have intermarried with Lutherans.
BNSF is in our front yard more or less, I'll let them run the freight stuff. Not on MY railroad.
PS LION thanks for all the pics. Both 1:1 and 1:87
Thx IGN
John: These days I live in Hope, Ar. SW Arkansas is not prairie but more woodland. Further west NE Texas is known for its piney woods. And the Lousiana & Arkansas(which built south from Hope) was originally built as a lumber road both haul logs and cut timber.
I was born in NYC. I'd lived in Manhattan on Riverside Dr across from Grants Tomb. And in Brooklyn out in Mill Basin. Then in the 1970's moved to Berkeley, Ca across the bay from San Francisco.
I've moved around the country quite a bit. Up til last year I was an over the road truck driver and got all over.
As to NYCTA subways I spent a lot of years in the city and til recently went to the city quite often(I still have a lot of family there). Some of my earliest memories are of R-33's on the #1 line at 125th St and going to the World Fair on the # 7 line. The main reason was that the R-33's were the first subway cars I could see out the front window as a kid.
In Berkeley I used to live by the old Santa Fe Oakland branch.
Now the Rockaway Line is a mighty good road
The Rockaway Line is the road to ride
If you want to ride it gotta ride it like you find it
Get your Metrocard at the vending machine for the Rockaway Line.
Lion is his own Empire Builder...you should see some of his videos riding the head end of one of his trains from his Bronx to his Coney Island plus the videos he shot while actually riding Mr Bloomberg's trains all over the real system!
LION been sloth in posting photos lately. Him is still here. And here is the Rockaway Line as it crosses Jamaica Bay. Sandy destroyed this crossing and it will not be back in service until summer time at the earliest. Big Surprise, Eh?
The LION was born in New York City, back in 1948 (The same year that they introduced the R-10 subway cars.) LION lived in New York and the City until 1983 when him moved to North Dakota. You can take the Felid out of the city, but you cannot take the city out of the Felid.
LION has no interest in Coal Trains, in Grain Trains, or in Oil Trains, and that is what we have running out in the front yard. BNSF does that, I do not need to.
Hey, Lion, I gotta question.
I notis you are a proud North Dakota boy and I unnastan that. You live out there in prayrie lan. So howcome you build a moddel of Gotham sub way trains? You got some kind of sub way envy or somethin? Howcome your not buildin James B. Mountin's Great Big Baked Potato Rail Road?
Sometimes only a boat will do...
Metropolitan Avenue, Queens New York
Upon the Franklin Avenue Line
Nothing on Rockaway Island is working...there is no need for it either since the customers would all want to be leaving the Rockaways in favor of going to Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. MTA website does not list it as being in operation.
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