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What exactly is your avatar?

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 9:51 PM

rdamon

What I usually see when I am not in the home office watching the Rochelle Cam!

 

To me, yours is an optical illusion. I have terrible depth perception. Sometimes I see the engines on the wing of an airliner. Sometimes I see the back end of a big, late 50's car with fins. Yeah, it's weird. 

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by jeffhergert on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 11:30 PM

Mine is a picture I took in the early 1980s from a Milwaukee Road train operating on the former Rock Island in Eastern Iowa between the Quad Cities and Iowa City.  Iowa Interstate runs here now.

Jeff 

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Thursday, December 7, 2017 1:21 AM

   Mine is a locomotive owned by my great grandfather that hauled sugar cane from the field to his refinery:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/5401768775/in/set-72157626021256880

   I thought I remembered discussing this some time ago, and sure enough, I finally found it:

http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/214824.aspx

   And it's anybody's guess what our chameleon Zugmann looked like back then.

_____________ 

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Posted by greyhounds on Thursday, December 7, 2017 2:02 AM

Mine is a photo of the last passenger train to serve my hometown, Manito, IL - population around 1,000 - "Salude"

That was my first train ride, at age two.  The locomotive is The Last "American" type (4-4-0) built for a class 1 railroad in the US.

"By many measures, the U.S. freight rail system is the safest, most efficient and cost effective in the world." - Federal Railroad Administration, October, 2009. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US. And I'm gosh darn proud of that.
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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, December 7, 2017 6:58 AM

Murphy Siding
 
CSSHEGEWISCH

I honor my father's combat service with mine. It's the 367th Bomb Squadron, part of the 306th Bomb Group (Heavy) at Thurleigh during WW2.

 

 

 

Thurleigh is in the UK I presume? My father-in-law and his brother both flew B-17's out of Foggia, Italy toward the end of the war.

306th BG was part of the 8th Air Force, Thurleigh is in the UK and is still an active RAF base.  15th Air Force flew out of Foggia.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rdamon on Thursday, December 7, 2017 8:46 AM

Murphy Siding

 

 
rdamon

What I usually see when I am not in the home office watching the Rochelle Cam!

 

 

 

To me, yours is an optical illusion. I have terrible depth perception. Sometimes I see the engines on the wing of an airliner. Sometimes I see the back end of a big, late 50's car with fins. Yeah, it's weird. 

 

 

I will have to look for a Cadillac with fins for you!!

 

I think I took this photo when heading into LA over the Cajon Pass ...

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Posted by wanswheel on Thursday, December 7, 2017 10:06 AM

Mine is an orange levitating above a bar of Irish Spring soap.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Thursday, December 7, 2017 10:30 AM

Paul of Covington

{Snip}

   I thought I remembered discussing this some time ago, and sure enough, I finally found it:

http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/214824.aspx

   And it's anybody's guess what our chameleon Zugmann looked like back then.

Unfortunately, when someone changes their avitar, it changes in all previous posts, so it is not possible to see what Zugmann used back then.  But I remember he has had some doozies!

(And all the photos of my dolls in that thread got lost when the hosting company decided to clean house [by accident, they said!])

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, December 7, 2017 10:34 AM

Semper Vaporo
Unfortunately, when someone changes their avitar, it changes in all previous posts, so it is not possible to see what Zugmann used back then. But I remember he has had some doozies!

Juxging from my comments on that thread, I think it was Rigby.

I do keep all of the ones I have used in a folder.  One of these days I'll throw you all for a loop and use a RR one. 

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

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, December 7, 2017 12:05 PM

And take all the fun out of it??Sigh

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by samfp1943 on Thursday, December 7, 2017 2:13 PM

From a previous THREAD ,HERE Smile, Wink & GrinSmile, Wink & GrinSmile, Wink & Grin:

Posted by samfp1943 on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:05 PM

 

My Avatar is a photo of the UPRR's Miniature Train Transporter ( used to haul the UP's #956. A 900 series E unit, and train cars, )

 

http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/mini-train/about_956/index.htm

 

FTL:"...The locomotive number UP 956 was chosen because the miniature locomotive was patterned after a 900-series passenger locomotive and built in '56. The locomotive was made from a tow tractor used to pull luggage wagons at large passenger train depots. A "flat-head" four-cylinder gasoline engine powers the miniature train locomotive. The locomotive and rail cars run on rubber tires so the train can operate on any solid surface.

 

Until 1998, the miniature train traveled around the UP system in a pair of matched boxcars numbered UP 903014 and UP 903015. Each boxcar was stenciled with "Miniature Train Service." Today the train moves to each event in a custom trailer built exclusively for the mini-train..."

 

 

It seemed appropriate for an Avatar; After all;  I retired, having spent 25 years in Trucking! Bang Head

 

 


 

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Posted by switch7frg on Thursday, December 7, 2017 4:57 PM

Smile My avatar is of engine #2179 Y6b N&W at N&W  station Norfolk. In earlier years I saw 2179 coming up from Portsmouth Ohio along Rt.23 headed for Columbus Ohio. Usually a coal haul with a double header.  This was in the early 50s. The area was a % grade , a real workout  for the team. That was a sight & sound  to remember.  That engine was seen most of the times mostly on the lead. Harry Collins the engineer sure knew his stuff.

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by rvos1979 on Thursday, December 7, 2017 6:31 PM

Shot of the hood of a Pete 379, Tweety is saying "Hey, there's a putty tat in here!!". Guess which engine was under the hood.........

Randy Vos

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Posted by Geared Steam on Thursday, December 7, 2017 9:03 PM

Because I absolutely love modern diesels. I find them so exciting to watch as they roll by, and they vary so much in design,color and animation. 

 

 

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein

http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/

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Posted by Miningman on Thursday, December 7, 2017 9:26 PM

Geared Steam--- Ain't that the truth. Heck, there must be 2, maybe even 3 different models out there...which will it be? Will the trucks be different this time? Oh the anticipation,,,and the aromas, just like bus fumes. Plus the graffiti only enhancing the railroading experience.  

Expecting CSSHEGEWISCH to weigh in any moment with a defensive posture. 

Honk honk, blatt, beep ..don't forget those great sounds. 

BTW...no Avatar...did not like the movie and I won't support them. 

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Thursday, December 7, 2017 9:54 PM

Me in front of a BNSF Mark IV tamper on the west side of Phoenix a few years ago. 

I just love those machines and have the greatest respect for them, the technology in them, and the people who designed, built, operate and maintain them.  For a track guy like me, that's more representative of my part of the railroad than just another locomotive.  I know a few others here who would agree . . . Smile, Wink & Grin 

If I change to another one, it'll probably be a cross-section drawing of a rail.  I can think of a half dozen I might want to use - would probably go with 155 PS just to be unique (or 67-1/2 Russian to be perverse Mischief ).

- PDN.

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Thursday, December 7, 2017 10:00 PM

Dude is not CSSHEGEWISCH, but no one who has worked with older EMD's will ever forget the sound of those 2-stroke engines revving up and screaming away.  And they are exactly like bus fumes, at least if you're thinking of Detroit-engined GM's. 

Steam only escaped graffitti because spray cans weren't widely available yet, and chalk washes off quite easily. 

But I would prefer a Hancock air whistle over Leslie or Nathan horns.  Oh well, at least the K5LA cuts through fog and car windows admirably. 

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, December 8, 2017 1:12 AM

Paul_D_North_Jr

Me in front of a BNSF Mark IV tamper on the west side of Phoenix a few years ago. 

I just love those machines and have the greatest respect for them, the technology in them, and the people who designed, built, operate and maintain them.  For a track guy like me, that's more representative of my part of the railroad than just another locomotive.  I know a few others here who would agree . . . Smile, Wink & Grin 

If I change to another one, it'll probably be a cross-section drawing of a rail.  I can think of a half dozen I might want to use - would probably go with 155 PS just to be unique (or 67-1/2 Russian to be perverse Mischief ).

- PDN.

 

Prefers Action Jackson over Canron Tamper or a Prussian Nightmare (Plasser)....Just wait until the thing breaksWhistling

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Friday, December 8, 2017 5:37 AM

My wife's paternal grandfather worked on the Lackawanna RR.

If the RR had not transferred him to Binghamton, his son would not have met the woman he he eventually married, and my wife of 50 years would not have been born.

That is why I honor that RR in my avatar.

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, December 8, 2017 6:30 AM

Mine is of a photo taken by my dad in 1951(?) at Chili NY of a NYC J3a Hudson, years before I was born. It was likely taken on an old folding camera with 1/100th shutter speed. 

While taking a photography class in college in 1977, I sorted through a bunch of my dad's old negatives and tried printing some of them.  This particular one I liked because it captured the nature of steam at speed and is, perhaps better art than photograph.  

I chose it for my avatar because it connects my dad and myself and our history of train watching.

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

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, December 8, 2017 6:57 AM

SD70M-2Dude

But I would prefer a Hancock air whistle over Leslie or Nathan horns.  Oh well, at least the K5LA cuts through fog and car windows admirably. 

 
A Hancock  air whistle is always a nice touch, I remember hearing them on EJ&E's centercabs.  They also got a part in "Superman" when the detective gets pushed in front of an FL9.
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by tree68 on Friday, December 8, 2017 7:27 AM

SD70M-2Dude
But I would prefer a Hancock air whistle over Leslie or Nathan horns. 

We used to run a Hancock for use in low-speed, built-up areas at our north end.  The FRA said it wasn't loud enough (er, that was the whole idea?), so off it came and the horn was always used.  

Some local residents were not amused, including a woman who brought her daughter trackside every day to enjoy the passing of the train.  Instead of being greeted by the pleasant AirChime, she got blasted by the horn and was not happy...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Friday, December 8, 2017 10:24 AM

Mine is a shot of an engine I hope to ride behind someday ATSF 3751.  

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, December 8, 2017 11:25 AM

oltmannd

Mine is of a photo taken by my dad in 1951(?) at Chili NY of a NYC J3a Hudson, years before I was born. It was likely taken on an old folding camera with 1/100th shutter speed. 

While taking a photography class in college in 1977, I sorted through a bunch of my dad's old negatives and tried printing some of them.  This particular one I liked because it captured the nature of steam at speed and is, perhaps better art than photograph.  

I chose it for my avatar because it connects my dad and myself and our history of train watching.

 

As an Avitar it is too small to see any distinction between art and photo, but my mind's eye adds all the detail I need to really like it!

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, December 8, 2017 3:55 PM

Mine is a B&O caboose in Deshler Ohio.Deshler is the crossroads of the B&O(now CSX).Hopefully they can get it moved from a park in the NE corner of the city closer to downtown.Hopefully the CPL's can stay up a little longer too.

stay safe

joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, December 8, 2017 4:37 PM

JoeKoh

Mine is a B&O caboose in Deshler Ohio.Deshler is the crossroads of the B&O(now CSX).Hopefully they can get it moved from a park in the NE corner of the city closer to downtown.Hopefully the CPL's can stay up a little longer too.

stay safe

joe

 

Do you give a little better location for the caboose?  I have searched Google Earth and can't find it.  I found a park with 2 softball diamonds, a city block sized "Village Park" with a gazebo, and a park with an airplane on stilts (F86 Sabre, I think) and a swimming pool nearby, but I can't see any caboose anywhere.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, December 8, 2017 5:13 PM

Semper Vaporo
Do you give a little better location for the caboose?

I think it's here:  N 41 12' 29" W 83 53' 26"

LarryWhistling
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...

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, December 8, 2017 5:47 PM

samfp1943

From a previous THREAD ,HERE Smile, Wink & GrinSmile, Wink & GrinSmile, Wink & Grin:

Posted by samfp1943 on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:05 PM

 

My Avatar is a photo of the UPRR's Miniature Train Transporter ( used to haul the UP's #956. A 900 series E unit, and train cars, )

 

http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/mini-train/about_956/index.htm

 

FTL:"...The locomotive number UP 956 was chosen because the miniature locomotive was patterned after a 900-series passenger locomotive and built in '56. The locomotive was made from a tow tractor used to pull luggage wagons at large passenger train depots. A "flat-head" four-cylinder gasoline engine powers the miniature train locomotive. The locomotive and rail cars run on rubber tires so the train can operate on any solid surface.

 

Until 1998, the miniature train traveled around the UP system in a pair of matched boxcars numbered UP 903014 and UP 903015. Each boxcar was stenciled with "Miniature Train Service." Today the train moves to each event in a custom trailer built exclusively for the mini-train..."

 

 

It seemed appropriate for an Avatar; After all;  I retired, having spent 25 years in Trucking! Bang Head

 

Blindfold Um.... I really thought it was a patriotic cement truck.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, December 8, 2017 5:51 PM

tree68
 

 

 
Semper Vaporo
Do you give a little better location for the caboose?

 

I think it's here:  N 41 12' 29" W 83 53' 26"

 

I see it between East North Street and brush creek.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, December 8, 2017 6:01 PM

That's it... Street View shows it pretty well, too.  Thanks!

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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