You're sure getting around, Carl. Cool stuff.
The day I went to the Poughkeepsie bridge it was also 80 degrees on land, about 150 on the bridge. I think they should have made half the bridge a greenway... but I digress.
I have 4 days of work, then it's a week off for me. No real huge plans, but a daytrip to Corning is in the works (with a stop at Painted Post, if for nothing more than to see the Chemung St. trackage). Maybe I'll get lucky and see the B&H alcos...
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Carl - about 10 miles north up the Lackawanna Trail (US 11) from Nicholson is the Martin's Creek Viaduct - Tunkahannock's little brother. The two were built in the same style, of course. I discovered it quite by accident when I decided to go that way vs retracing my steps back to I-81 (which was under construction through there at the time. I-81 is always under construction somewhere).
The first time I visited Starucca Viaduct, I came in from the north. It is indeed impressive to have that magnificent structure come into view as you enter Lanesboro.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
We're entering the non-railroady portion of the trip now, where maybe, just maybe, I can catch up on things (but don't count on it!). We're in the land of purple and silver, where the most famous train-rider is named Charlie. We've seen a couple of industrial towns, but nothing unusual or exciting in freight cars. I did see a working Providence & Worcester crew yesterday, in Plainfield, Connecticut, but the yard didn't seem accessible to me.Larry, I knew there was a smaller version of that bridge somewhere, but we headed out of Nicholson on 92 to get to Lanesboro. Nice ride, through scenic countryside.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRR [snipped - PDN] . . . was never used for train again. It was reopened as a trail in 2009, and is now a State Historic Park. . . .
I believe the Poughkeepsie bridge was indeed built by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad ("New Haven"), or a wholly-owned subsidiary, etc. It was featured in the late William D. Middleton's book from about 10 -12 years ago, Landmarks of the Iron Road. Link to the website for that walkway over the Hudson: http://www.walkway.org/
and the webpage for the links to fast facts, history, etc.: http://www.walkway.org/history
- Paul North.
Ah, yes, the Herzog ballast cars, I remember them well....
Back when I worked for WSOR, we still loaded ballast for UP at Rock Springs, and the Herzog train was a regular. That train took four dumps per car, while the UP greenies only took three, I usually figured tonnage at about 140 ton for every loaded car, which usually was interesting getting the train back to Madison. Train took about eight hours to load, we tried to start at about 6:30 in the morning, and finish up at about 2-3pm....
If I remember correctly, there were at least one, usually two, generator cars in every train, where a diesel generator and all the electronic goodies were housed in the end, and a cable ran the length of the train to operate the dump doors.
Trying to get those trains from Rock Springs to Madison was always a challenge, UP ballast train power in 2003-4 was usually two to three worn out SD40-2s that were CNW units, two would work, but we were usually down into the short-time ratings pulling Dane Hill, and I did stall out once and had to wait for help on the hill. Three units usually meant about 12mph, sometimes we would get lucky and get some newer power, I did get to run one of the SD70s once on an empty. Most horsepower I ever had was about 15,000, we had five units, a 60-car Herzog block, and a GREX conveyor train that had to be on the rear end at all times. That was a tricky train to run, due to the profile of the subdivision, and another engineer had the dubious distinction of being the one to rip out a type F drawbar out of one of the Herzog cars. First time I ever saw a WSOR carman cry......
I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it, I don't think I'd want to do it now, a lot has changed in eight years, the Rock Springs loadout was supposed to be demolished within the last year or so.....
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
Refresh my memory, Randy...how did you escape the railroading mystique?Folks are right...new England is a railroading wasteland! My only really positive experience over the past several days has been seeing locomotives of all three railroads (Green Mountain, New England Central, and Pan Am) at White River Junction. We also caught the line's fourth railroad (Amtrak) headed south in the area of Brattleboro.In a couple of days we'll be roughly following the Vermont Railway south from Burlington through Florence and Rutland. I'm hoping to see some good equipment somewhere along the line.
My thought of the day:
It's amazing what goes into building a new yard (or yard tracks). But somehow I think that operational needs seem to be a low priority.
Oh well.
OK, Zug, who's going to be more interested in this: the Houston guy or the Chicken?
Finally, paydirt...in Burlington. Might go back there tonight.
Postscript: Went back tonight, little had changed. However, we were lucky enough to see a VTR freight pass the Shelburne Museum. Between the two places, I saw locomotives from all three components of the Vermont Rail System. The train I saw this morning had two sets of TankTrain cars on it.
Zug's thought of the day (now in quote form!):
"Had we been aware of the horrors which were to come, it is unlikely that we would have proceeded."
-- Sir Alastair Pilkington, 1976.
(he was the guy that came up with the process of making plate glass using the float method.)
zugmann My thought of the day: It's amazing what goes into building a new yard (or yard tracks). But somehow I think that operational needs seem to be a low priority. Oh well.
When (if) I retire, I hope there are enough brain cells left to tell some stories.
....and then there are the busted dreams caused by restricted geometry and/or lack of real estate. Operating people tend to have a sad grasp on what can realistically work. If Zugs is ever out here, we'll show him what happens when mechanical people and operating people leave the design engineers out of the design process. (have two prime examples of those major blunder types close by)
I know you guys have to follow all the regs and requirements (#10 turnouts, wide centers between tracks, curvature, etc), and this spot of land wasn't exactly suited for what is now here...plus the $$$$. We lost a dedicated switching lead because of that. Would have been nice, too...
I'm not blaming one party. I know I just see one side of it.
Still saving my pennies, mudchicken. Figure I better think about a new career since everyone wants to automate mine.
mudchicken Watching IAIS and Omnitrax building new facilities right now. Amazing the amount of $$$$ being spent to placate not-track construction issues. Both railroads have been forced to scale back due to issues outside the railroad or design engineer's control. Monkeywrenching by locals with an agenda is a common story.
Watching IAIS and Omnitrax building new facilities right now. Amazing the amount of $$$$ being spent to placate not-track construction issues. Both railroads have been forced to scale back due to issues outside the railroad or design engineer's control. Monkeywrenching by locals with an agenda is a common story.
Are you referring to IAIS's new maintenance facility at Yocum (west of Homestead, IA)?
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
When?
When will I remember that my granddaughter's birthday (today) signals another birthday for one of our most treasured Forum responders...Emily is now six; Mudchicken slightly older.Happy birthday, MC!
On another note, Pat and I spent a couple of hours with Nance ("Wmnb4thrtl"), tramping the grounds of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum and having lunch. Last time we were there she was in the hospital, so it was great to see her vertical and in more fashionable clothing!
Tonight we're in North East, Pennsylvania. I hope to see trains while I am here!
I have about a dozen places in the country that I consider, for various reasons, to be Hallowed Ground. I just "ordained" another one this evening: North East, Pennsylvania. Pat stayed in the hotel room (with a view of Lake Erie) while I went out to a parking spot near a grade crossing, cranked up my new CD (with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Wanamaker Organ), and waited for trains. While I was waiting, a passing shower provided a brilliant double rainbow that ended in a magnificent grove of trees across the way. My hour or so there just before sunset was an all-around success: the two railroads provided six freight trains--five CSX, one NS--in that time (with a bit of good research material), and the CD sounds--and feels--great without car or highway noises interrupting it (and with the volume a bit louder than Pat would appreciate). Maybe I'll take Pat back there tomorrow, when the nearby quilt store is open.
Carl - did you see the railroad museum there in North East ? It's near the former NYC passenger and freight stations - see this website for map, directions, and brief history: http://www.visitpa.com/lake-shore-railway-museum
Lake Shore Railway Historical Society - website is: http://www.grape-track.org/ ("grape" perhaps because of the predominant local agricultural commodity) Rolling stock list has 10 freight cars, built between 1907 - 1961, plus a "Little Joe" - interested ?
Glad you found North East - in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, of course ! - to be that interesting. Are you going to go by the East Erie Connecting Rwy. ? (GE's 4+mile long test track) Also in Erie is where NS (former NKP) had some street running, but that was relocated about 10 years ago.
Watching trains in the presence of the Welch's orchards. That is a neat area up there.
Last time I was up there was when NS was still street running. There was an awesome Italian bakery (and restaurant supply shop) at 18th and Peach streets in Erie called Arnone's.
Paul, I took a turn around the museum last night. I didn't see the "Joe", but I knew it was in there. I'd go in today, but they don't open before noon, and we want to be headed west before then (we might not even stay around for the 10 a.m. opening of the quilt shop, unless Pat really wants to...I'll just wait outside, thanks!)We caught the EEC on our trip through the area last October. I'm hoping to get as far as western Ohio tonight; Fostoria is in my sights. It sounds like Joe has a full plate, or we might meet up with his family as well.I hadn't realized that this was the prime area for Welch's, though the vineyards are everywhere. Crazy thing, though: you look up places to eat in North East and the food processors come up (Welch's, some bakery), as well as the vineyards. Very few ordinary restaurants in town; in fact one we went to last October is completely gone.
Another day, more sightings. I found the Joe when we passed on the other side of the museum at North East this morning (no trains visible on the long straight stretches, and Pat didn't want to wait around for the quilt store to open). Quick trip to Berea, Ohio...Railfans were out in force there, but we only saw one CSX train.
Railfans were also at the future site of the railfan park in Fostoria, where we caught an auto-rack train on the old C&O and a manifest on the old NKP. The Erie-sistible is never where I remember it, but we found it again (I'm always getting disoriented in Fostoria until I get somewhere near the Iron Triangle).
Somehow we missed seeing Galatea and the new connecting track on CSX there, but we saw a bit of the new intermodal facility at North Baltimore. At Defiance we went to dinner at The Station with Joe and Matt (I forgot to order extra fries for him), and CSX treated us to three trains while we were there.
This is our last night on the road; we expect to be home tomorrow. Who knows what we'll find on the way in?
Either you are getting shorter or Matt is getting taller. Did you grab that searchlight signal for me?
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Little of both, I'm afraid, SJ. He'll be looking down on me before too many more years.
No, that signal seems to be well-rooted.
And so am I...ready to drop.
CShaveRR Little of both, I'm afraid, SJ. He'll be looking down on me before too many more years. No, that signal seems to be well-rooted. And so am I...ready to drop.
He's retired, so he's on a permanent vacation!
Retirement is NOT for sissies...
Definitely not!I'm not sure we're capable of post-vacation vacationing (we got home four hours ago); we have a lot to catch up on over the next several days. The only advantage to being retired is that we can decide when we want to do these things.But we crammed a lot into this trip. It's been memorable--all in the good sense.
We're delighted to be home, and I'll be out on my bike tomorrow.
Carl, I'll wager you will look forward to sleeping in your own bed tonight.
Quentin
Week's vacation is over. Didn't do much of anything railfan-related, but did clean up a basement room so I can have a somewhat permanent home for my little O-scale collection. (plus a place to run it for the various younger relatives that visit).
Now I have to start staying up all night and sleep during the day.
Got some Railfanning in this past weekend and I've updated my Travel Blog with a few photos from the trip.
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
I've been recuperating from our vacation, though I've seen a few trains while doing my regular errands yesterday and today.It turns out that I can see as much in the way of useful equipment around here as I can anywhere else I go, once I've broken the ice in that territory. I didn't see much new in Cresson this year when compared to last year; the same applied to North East between last October and this year. (This is not to say that I saw nothing new, and I'll still have to create a few new files to report everything. And you still get different mixes of stuff wherever you go.)
zugmann Now I have to start staying up all night and sleep during the day.
zardoz zugmann: Now I have to start staying up all night and sleep during the day. At least it keeps you inside during the hottest part of the day.
zugmann: Now I have to start staying up all night and sleep during the day.
Carl - Aedan and I saw an empty UP coalie and he said "Daddy, is that choo choo yellow because he's sick?" I had a good chuckle at that.
Got word today that the first ex-GMTX now CN SD60 has received a new coat of paint. CN 5433 last showed in Centralia, IL in case anyone is interested or close.
Dan
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.