See linked YouTube video @
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=507zK2_cJnQ
Found the above linked video, and thought it was worth passing around. Not a normal activity for me. But having spent twenty+ years OTR; I have spent an inordinate amount of time in our Northeastern regions; the New York City area was a regujlar destination out of the MidSouth.
Since it came into existance in 1974 (via 3R's Act);The Consolidated Rail Corp was created by Congress, and of course the NYCRR and PRR, [and other lines in the NE.] were folded into what we now know as CONRAIL. Nevertheless, the NYC RR has still got an historical foot print all over its region of operations. The linked video lays its decaying history out; pretty well, IMHO. I hope other posters here will enjoy it.
Very poorly done.
Albany is "awl' ban ee."
The only electrification of NYC I know of is Manhattan. And possibly the Detroit/Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.
The general tenor of the piece is that the NYC is not only gone as an entity, but that it's lines are virtually all gone as well. We all know that railroads are still a vital part of the transportation system in this country, including many former NYC lines. One would not get that impression from the video.
The opening shot is Syracuse, not Manhattan. I'm not sure the second shot was NYC - may be the Loop in Chicago.
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 guy is notorious for mangled history, mispronunciation and randomly sourced visuals.
rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.
For what turned out to be a brief while there were plans to electrify west of Albany with overhead wire -- I suspect 3000VDC to match CUT. There is a full-page picture, without comment or other mention, of one of the prospective 'motors' in the Kiefer survey of motive power (1947). We got Dieseliners first, then Perlman's CTC reduction... then the need for the Great Steel Fleet went away.
Would have been interesting to see a Water Level Route with 10-hour trains competing with a PRR Sam Rea cutoff and the late-'20s version of Gould's Ramsey-survey line (plus cat on the CASO!)
But likely a maintenance nightmare not later than the '70s... even conventional PRR wartime electrification to Pittsburgh might have been a stretch to keep, although I for one would have loved a fleet of GM10Bs...
The eigth edition (1949) of the "Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers" had a graph of tractive effort vs speed for a 3kV DC locomotive with data plotted to 100mph. The line with "2S-3P" and FS-4 shows about 17,000lbf at 100mph and 90,000lbf about 57mph. Caption stated "Passenger locomotive, 3,000 volts d-c, 6 twin-armature motors, 24/70 gear ratio, 56-in wheels". Graph was on page 1854.
I would take a stab that this was the proposed passenger locomotive for the expanded NYC electrification. Substation spacing would likely have been less than the Milwaukee electrification - rule of thumb is that substation spacing should be similar to average train spacing.
I grew up in New York and remember the NYC running trains down 10th Avenue to the meat distributors on the lower west side. My father during his vacation from his regular job would work as a meat lugger delivering meat to various restraunts. I rode with him in the summer heat in NYC.
To see NYC decaying, one only has to visit the NYC National Museum in Elkhart, IN to see an E8 and some steam locomotives in very sad states of decay. This video makes their holdings look much better than they are when seen in person. The inside displays are in good shape but old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxo1F_Ho70
Dave
rixflix That guy is notorious for mangled history, mispronunciation and randomly sourced visuals.
Something that is common to many youtube channels.
Jeff
Considering it ceased to exist fifty-five years ago....
bogie_engineer To see NYC decaying, one only has to visit the NYC National Museum in Elkhart, IN to see an E8 and some steam locomotives in very sad states of decay. This video makes their holdings look much better than they are when seen in person. The inside displays are in good shape but old. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxo1F_Ho70 Dave
Museums sink or swim based on the local pool of volunteers and ability to fundraise. The issue I have the most and hate to echo the complaint of some of the preservationist groups but here I go......
Railfans will visit a museum and snap all sorts of pictures, cricticize this or that but when it comes time to contribute, the most you will get is the dust cloud or exhaust fumes from their auto leaving the parking area. Will also mention same is true of Amtrak and Amtrak stations. Passengers will complain about a decrepit station or bad service but that is where their attempt to fix anything stops.
You would be amazed what even a simple Email can do or who it will motivate. Yet most people will not even bother with that minimal effort.
Not picking on you but just sayin....... Someone put in a lot of time, effort and money to create and stock the Museum but probably either got tired of carrying on or passed on. Elkhart used to have a rather decent ex-NYC employee pension pool which has probably faded away over the years. Younger generation at some point should step up more here.
CMStPnPSomeone put in a lot of time, effort and money to create and stock the Museum but probably either got tired of carrying on or passed on.
I've seen more than a few projects and organizations blossom, then die on the vine when the original cadre fades into the sunset. All too many such organizations fail to consider a succession plan.
CMStPnP Museums sink or swim based on the local pool of volunteers and ability to fundraise. The issue I have the most and hate to echo the complaint of some of the preservationist groups but here I go...... Railfans will visit a museum and snap all sorts of pictures, cricticize this or that but when it comes time to contribute, the most you will get is the dust cloud or exhaust fumes from their auto leaving the parking area. Will also mention same is true of Amtrak and Amtrak stations. Passengers will complain about a decrepit station or bad service but that is where their attempt to fix anything stops. You would be amazed what even a simple Email can do or who it will motivate. Yet most people will not even bother with that minimal effort. Not picking on you but just sayin....... Someone put in a lot of time, effort and money to create and stock the Museum but probably either got tired of carrying on or passed on. Elkhart used to have a rather decent ex-NYC employee pension pool which has probably faded away over the years. Younger generation at some point should step up more here.
I agree with what you say. My post was too harsh, I wasn't intending to complain, only express my disappointment at what I saw. When I saw it listed as the "National" NYC museum I just expected more. Being owned by the city of Elkhart probably hurts more than helps their funding. I didn't see any kind of building where they could do restoration work.
They are there because the predecessor organization croaked, largely because of egoes and poor management of resources, no matter how well intentioned. Amusing to to me is the location well away from their almost godlike core turf. (the part that is poorly covered in historical text in a relative sense. Big 4, LSMS,MC)
Are they trying to mimic the sad demise of the RITS et al?
There is more than just shiny toys that needs to be preserved that has value in today's world.
The pics at 0:10 and 0:23 are both familiar from Shorpy; they're on 10th Ave in Manhattan.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.