In addition to a large fleet of the diesel ones, Edmonton had a unique version of the GM "New Look":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_buses_in_Edmonton#/media/File:Edmonton_BBC_trolleybus_192.jpg
They were all retired in 2009 when our system was shut down but several have been preserved, including this one at the Illinois Railway Museum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx_zPcLtl04
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Back in 'da day' when one could light up your smoke, offer one to your friend, slide back the window and enjoy the ride. Pull the cord when coming up to your destination. Tens of thousands of smokes enjoyed in that bus but today, oh the horrors of even one. The bus will be ruined, everyone offended, all hell breaks loose. Rewrite of history.
Was never a big bus fan. Fun to drive though. Parking it not so much.
Miningman Definitely Russians! What the *bleep*
Definitely Russians! What the *bleep*
OT. But.
Calgary GM Coach Preserved.
Thank You.
Now they've disappeared again for me. Can't even see them when logged in.
Perhaps when I uploaded the image it activated Balts original posting.
Outside of that, it's gotta be the Russians. I say we convene a special investigation with unlimited funding that will take over a year , headed of course by impartial Canadians .. you and I can get to the bottom of this ( and make a pile of loot)
Well that's odd, before logging in I couldn't see either picture, and now I can see both!
Here's the link, in case anyone else is having problems:
http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=30979
Balt -- here's your picture. Came in my email but not here.. needed uploading
9171 has been preserved:
http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=20247
9171 started life as GTW F3A 9013, and was the only Grand Trunk unit to become part of CN's F7Au rebuild program.
On the left, CP 8921 is the only ALCO/MLW RSD-17 ever built.
NDG Front Door A Unit. Back in the day the temptation to open the front door on an A Unit, below the headlight, was high, along with the door between the front of the cab down into the nose, which was lower, to allow a nice current of cooler air to enter. http://www.railpictures.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/9171.jpg This was Prohibited. Inside nose door latch was similar to a bank vault, against hitting deep snow, vehicles or rocks. Of course some crews ran with the outside and inside doors open, ruining photos for Foamers until one crew on Psgr hit a herd of cattle in a cut. Battery Box is open. Thank You.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Johnny
charlie hebdoOne wonders how you would have liked handling a hand-fired steam engine?
I had the privilege of throwing a few scoops into the firebox of Susquehanna 142 several years ago - but it was fall and the temperatures weren't bad. I also just threw in a few scoops (and scattered one or two on the deck).
We had Viscose 6 on our railroad last summer. I didn't run or fire, but did get to ride the cab for a few trips. Fortunately, I was able to hang out the door (when the cinders weren't blowing that way). Running the SW1 on the other end of the consist was much cooler, temperature-wise, even if the "air conditioning" consisted of having all the windows and doors open...
The Friday before the event, whilst #6 was being steamed up, the owner asked us if we could go up the hill to Big Moose. That trip includes five miles of 1.1% on the way up. One of our young volunteers fired some portion of that trip - and had the time of his life. I enjoyed the view from the cupola of the caboose we took with us.
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...
williamsb SD70 Dude, when CN called me back to work in 1997 after I had retired they were getting a lot of Dash 9-44CW's and SD75I's. I was told CN offered air conditioning as long as you wouldn't delay a train if it was not working and the unions turned it down. I heard that but don't have any proof if it was true or not. Thanks for all your insight especially for such a young guy, keep up the good work
SD70 Dude, when CN called me back to work in 1997 after I had retired they were getting a lot of Dash 9-44CW's and SD75I's. I was told CN offered air conditioning as long as you wouldn't delay a train if it was not working and the unions turned it down. I heard that but don't have any proof if it was true or not.
Thanks for all your insight especially for such a young guy, keep up the good work
That sounds about right, unfortunately.
I believe the first units CN received with air conditioning were the last batch of Dash-9's, numbered IC 2697-2726. I can't remember if they were ordered by IC before the takeover or not.
All the GEVOs and SD70M-2's were ordered with AC.
And I was recently on a SD75I that had AC, so they must be slowly retrofitting the older units.
zugmann charlie hebdo One wonders how you would have liked handling a hand-fired steam engine? I wouldn't.
charlie hebdo One wonders how you would have liked handling a hand-fired steam engine?
I wouldn't.
None of us would, me included.
There aren't any hand-bombers running in my area, but I do have some experience riding in the cab of an oil-fired engine on hot summer days, and you just bake in there. Sweating bullets, even without the exercise of shovelling.
But as long as you stay hydrated and pace yourself, you'll survive. The heat is just part of the job. Just like when we get one of the aforementioned diesels without AC, the work still has to get done.
And as long as you are moving you can get a nice breeze by opening all the windows, doors and vents. Works on both steam and diesel.
Even so, working inside a big steel box on a hot sunny day (with or without a roaring fire) is not for the faint of heart.
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
SD70Dude zugmann Firelock76 Microwave? Hot plate? Makes sense. Without a hot backhead to fry bacon on or warm up coffee or soup what's a crew to do? What's a hot plate or microwave? We don't even have fridges on our engines - just coolers. Which I prefer - much easier to clean. I've seen fridges in foreign power, and I think some of them are growing a brakeman in there. CN actually manages to keep our fridges clean somehow, I don't think I've ever had a unit with one that was truly filthy. But they are never turned off, even on trailing units, and it is rare to see our units manually shut down, extra units are normally isolated with AutoStart allowed to control things. Most guys don't use the hotplate, but I boil water or make coffee on a regular basis. A few guys bring small frying pans and really cook on them. Officially we are not allowed to use the hot plate while the train is moving (in years past someone spilled boiling water all over himself), but in reality that rule is impossible to enforce so no one cares. A more common hazard is starting fires with it, when some idiot puts a crew pack, lantern or radio on a hot one. That happens on a regular basis, and then the same old bulletin gets re-issued... Before the locomotives got hot plates some guys would bring a small portable one with alligator clips and plug into the battery switch or some such place. Everyone uses the microwave on nearly every trip, to be honest I can't imagine working without it (I'd have to eat a lot more cold sandwiches). BC Rail ordered toaster ovens on their units, but they have been replaced with microwaves since the CN takeover. The one downside of CN power is that they did not order locomotives with air conditioning until about 2003, and the vast majority of old units have not been retrofitted. Creeping along a branchline at +30°C gets real sweaty real quick.
zugmann Firelock76 Microwave? Hot plate? Makes sense. Without a hot backhead to fry bacon on or warm up coffee or soup what's a crew to do? What's a hot plate or microwave? We don't even have fridges on our engines - just coolers. Which I prefer - much easier to clean. I've seen fridges in foreign power, and I think some of them are growing a brakeman in there.
Firelock76 Microwave? Hot plate? Makes sense. Without a hot backhead to fry bacon on or warm up coffee or soup what's a crew to do?
What's a hot plate or microwave? We don't even have fridges on our engines - just coolers. Which I prefer - much easier to clean. I've seen fridges in foreign power, and I think some of them are growing a brakeman in there.
CN actually manages to keep our fridges clean somehow, I don't think I've ever had a unit with one that was truly filthy. But they are never turned off, even on trailing units, and it is rare to see our units manually shut down, extra units are normally isolated with AutoStart allowed to control things.
Most guys don't use the hotplate, but I boil water or make coffee on a regular basis. A few guys bring small frying pans and really cook on them. Officially we are not allowed to use the hot plate while the train is moving (in years past someone spilled boiling water all over himself), but in reality that rule is impossible to enforce so no one cares. A more common hazard is starting fires with it, when some idiot puts a crew pack, lantern or radio on a hot one. That happens on a regular basis, and then the same old bulletin gets re-issued...
Before the locomotives got hot plates some guys would bring a small portable one with alligator clips and plug into the battery switch or some such place.
Everyone uses the microwave on nearly every trip, to be honest I can't imagine working without it (I'd have to eat a lot more cold sandwiches).
BC Rail ordered toaster ovens on their units, but they have been replaced with microwaves since the CN takeover.
The one downside of CN power is that they did not order locomotives with air conditioning until about 2003, and the vast majority of old units have not been retrofitted. Creeping along a branchline at +30°C gets real sweaty real quick.
One wonders how you would have liked handling a hand-fired steam engine?
zugmann SD70Dude The one downside of CN power is that they did not order locomotives with air conditioning until about 2003, and the vast majority of old units have not been retrofitted. Creeping along a branchline at +30°C gets real sweaty real quick. Black engine, AC broken, yard work, July sun. Yeah.. been there. Those widebodies are not set up for no AC. One time we had one of your engines trailing, and one of our guys had it tagged for "AC not working". I added "because it doesn't have one!" on the tag under it.
SD70Dude The one downside of CN power is that they did not order locomotives with air conditioning until about 2003, and the vast majority of old units have not been retrofitted. Creeping along a branchline at +30°C gets real sweaty real quick.
Black engine, AC broken, yard work, July sun. Yeah.. been there. Those widebodies are not set up for no AC.
One time we had one of your engines trailing, and one of our guys had it tagged for "AC not working". I added "because it doesn't have one!" on the tag under it.
Yep, sounds about right.
The absolute worst unit I have ever had to switch with was one our 2400-series GE C40-8M cowls. Baking hot, desktop, can't see backwards, exhaust getting funnelled into the cab, and had to run backwards with it down a branchline.
At least after dark it cooled down a bit, but then we couldn't see backwards at all because those things only have one small rear headlight, and no ditchlights:
https://www.trainspotted.com/photos/fef127db55069a96119f4876a64d7c51/Canadian-National-Railway-2444-diesel-locomotive-Dash-8-40CM-C40-8M-.jpg
The shops are supposed to put portable ditchlights on the unit in that situation, but it doesn't always happen.
All our new units since the mid-1990s have been built with rear ditchlights, and full rear headlights.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77749660/james-herbert-mckinley
SD70DudeThe one downside of CN power is that they did not order locomotives with air conditioning until about 2003, and the vast majority of old units have not been retrofitted. Creeping along a branchline at +30°C gets real sweaty real quick.
Let's see if this works.
SD70Dude But they are never turned off, even on trailing units, and it is rare to see our units manually shut down, extra units are normally isolated andwith AutoStart allowed to control things.
That's voodoo! We have to shut ours off all the time.
SS Gulflight? Now THAT triggered a memory in this WW1 buff's mind, so I went loking and...
Gulflight was the first American ship torpedoed by a U-boot in World War One, May 1st, 1915 to be exact, several days before the Lusitania was torpedoed and undoubtedly overshadowed the Gulflight incident. Gulflight didn't sink, it was abandoned but stayed afloat and made port under tow.
Here's the story...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulflight
Wrong pics in the wrong place... sorry
Links above are correct.
https://archive.org/stream/Railroad_Stories_v17n01_1935-04_153_pages_Ufikus-Teachbug/Railroad%20Stories%20v17n01%20%281935-04%29%20%28153%20pages%29%20%28Ufikus-Teachbug%29#page/n103
http://realbozotexino.tumblr.com/
....Mike to the rescue!!
Miningman Whoah -- what happened .. the image is in my email but not in the thread! Weird. cant even post the link !
Whoah -- what happened .. the image is in my email but not in the thread! Weird.
cant even post the link !
Some websites won't allow you to link from them.
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