WAUKESHA, Wis. – Kalmbach Media is reinstating a tradition that began in the 2000s. On Friday, Nov. 22, modelers, railfans, and train lovers are invited to take their trains to work to celebrate the national Take A Train to Work Day. Whether i...
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2019/11/15-take-a-train-to-work-day-nov-22
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
It'd be weird if I went to work and there were no trains.
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
Work?Work?
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)
I'd get arrested if I took a train to work. Let's see:
"Trespassing on a freight train" (there are NO passenger operations near here).
OR...
If I "took" the train, there'd be:
"Grand Theft Locomotive".
"Operating a train without benefit of tracks."
"Illegal parking" (it would probably take up more than one parking space).
Sorry, I can't "take a train to work". Besides, I'm retired and don't work no mo'.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
CShaveRR Work?Work?
zardoz CShaveRR Work?Work? Hey...let's be careful of using four-letter words on the forums. Oops, four is a four-letter word, which is a four-letter word, which is.......
Hey...let's be careful of using four-letter words on the forums. Oops, four is a four-letter word, which is a four-letter word, which is.......
"FOUR" (all caps) has a very real place on the railroad:
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
I've been taking a train to and from work for over forty years now. What's the big deal?? Less sarcastically, I do have pictures from railpictures.net and other sources as the wallpaper on my work computer.
Being an on-the-road tech all those years I just never could pull off a "Take A Train To Work Day." Too bad, the gang would have gotten a kick out of it.
I compensated by wearing a Lionel wrist watch!
SD70Dude"FOUR" (all caps) has a very real place on the railroad
zardoz SD70Dude "FOUR" (all caps) has a very real place on the railroad What type is that locomotive? I've never seen one like it. And the "number" boards are a nice feature.
SD70Dude "FOUR" (all caps) has a very real place on the railroad
What type is that locomotive? I've never seen one like it. And the "number" boards are a nice feature.
Zardoz: Must have led a sheltered life? Five of those, liberally mashed together, and you have a C-boat that you might be a little more familiar with.
Light rail certainly must count. Our two-car, each car articulated with 12 wheels, Jerusalem light rail trains carry lots more passengers than a single RDC-1 or doodlebug. Typical weekday sees 140,000 riders on our one line. (More are in construction and more in planning.) Outside of New York City and Chicago, there is no single commuter or rapid transit line that equals that in North America. Not even Toronto, which has one that comes close.
And it is the only train I can ride on the way to work. So it must count.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Murphy SidingA GE 44 tonner?
Most likely. GE did build some other models that had essentially the same form factor.
There's a Diesel engine under each hood.
The 44 tonner was designed to get around the requirement that any locomotive 45 tons or over had to have additional crew (ie, a fireman).
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...
That unit is indeed a GE 44 ton switcher. This particular one was built as Canadian National 4 in 1956. It was sold to Stelco in 1967, and spent most of its post-CN life at their Camrose, AB pipe mill, where that photo was taken.
I have no idea when those aftermarket "numberboards" were installed. Here is how it looked originally:
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cnr_diesel/4.jpg
Today it is preserved at the Alberta Railway Museum, where I get to run it on occasion. It has been repainted into its original CN colours and fitted with proper numberboards.
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/617502/
Good thing it didn't run in Maine - the numberboard would have read "FOWAH..."
tree68 Good thing it didn't run in Maine - the numberboard would have read "FOWAH..."
In eastern New Brunswick it would be "FERR" (say it like "fur" but drag out the "r").
Good thing it wasn't in Quebec, I don't think you could fit "QUATRE" onto those boards.
WD-40 would be a better number for that unit, as large amounts have been used all over since we got it.....
Judging by your location, I wouldn't be surprised if you went through more than a few cylinders of Quik-Start getting it fired up.
mudchickenMust have led a sheltered life?
CSSHEGEWISCH Judging by your location, I wouldn't be surprised if you went through more than a few cylinders of Quik-Start getting it fired up
Judging by your location, I wouldn't be surprised if you went through more than a few cylinders of Quik-Start getting it fired up
It has glow plugs and large circulating block heaters but yes, "fresh air" is needed sometimes.
SD70DudeThat unit is indeed a GE 44 ton switcher. This particular one was built as Canadian National 4 in 1956. It was sold to Stelco in 1967, and spent most of its post-CN life at their Camrose, AB pipe mill, where that photo was taken.
daveklepper Light rail certainly must count. Our two-car, each car articulated with 12 wheels, Jerusalem light rail trains carry lots more passengers than a single RDC-1 or doodlebug. Typical weekday sees 140,000 riders on our one line. (More are in construction and more in planning.) Outside of New York City and Chicago, there is no single commuter or rapid transit line that equals that in North America. Not even Toronto, which has one that comes close. And it is the only train I can ride on the way to work. So it must count.
It's not under FTA beczause it is in Israel. There are light rail lines in the USA that are to some degree under FRA Juristiction, because common-carrier freight service, as part of the continent-wide network, shares their tracks, usually on a time-isolation basis.
And a few of the very heaviest freight railroads in North America are not common-carriers, but are single mining-product supply-chain components, some with passesnger service for their owners' employees. Hardly "toys."
But I agree a light-rail line that sees 5000 or less riders each day is probably little more than a toy. But certainly not one that sees 140,000 riders per day and has a monumental engineering masterpiece like our Bridge of Strings.
Used my regular bus-train-bus commute this morning and did locate where some taxis congregate at the Damascus Gate station, so my 22 Nov commute should be bus-train-taxi. Will report if this works.
Dave: I'm glad you corrected the "toy train" remark, whatever was meant by that.
Acdtually used the light rail twice Friday.
mudchicken zardoz SD70Dude "FOUR" (all caps) has a very real place on the railroad What type is that locomotive? I've never seen one like it. And the "number" boards are a nice feature. Toy trains, like light rail don't count. Zardoz: Must have led a sheltered life? Five of those, liberally mashed together, and you have a C-boat that you might be a little more familiar with.
Toy trains, like light rail don't count.
Toy trains do indeed count! That's what "Take A Train To Work Day" is all about! Refer back to young Mr. Schmidt's original post.
Now have a look at this and tell me cool stuff like this doesn't count!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhD0Qj87Fsg
It's all about spreadin' the joy, man!
But if you want a real train, here's one for you. By the way, the train club in the previous video is located on the second floor of that train station. And the folks you see later in the video indeed "took the train to work," now they're headin' home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=736LSUaQDc0
Regarding the Bergan County model railroad, don't prototype trains occasonally stop and start? Otherwise, Wow!
daveklepper Regarding the Bergan County model railroad, don't prototype trains occasonally stop and start? Otherwise, Wow!
People like to see trains rushing by (if they like to see trains - not so much at a crossing).
If you go to train shows, you'll find a bigger crowd around the layouts with trains just running than layouts such as "FreeMo," where the participants actually conduct operations.
I like to watch the Deshler cam because you see something besides trains rushing by, as on many other such cams.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video David! Unfortunately I've never been able to make it to a BCMRRC open house, I haven't been in the area when they hold one.
Here's two more you (and everyone else) may enjoy. I'm sure you remember the New York Society of Model Engineers. They're still around, and here's a video of their layout in Carlstadt NJ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QivPFYmgb1Q
I've never made it to one of their open houses either.
I have been to an open house of the New Jersey High Railers in Paterson NJ. Their layout is so huge it's overwhelming!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiTKM4Ej-ZU
New Jersey has a very vibrant model railroading culture, which makes sense. Everything else is illegal up there!
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