Now THAT looks like a good-quality well preserved photograph, probably a Kodachrome slide, which typically age very well if stored right.
I'd guess that's late in the Goose's career since it looks like it's pulling a mail/express car train.
I'm not so sure. Look at the color of the stainless steel stripe. It looks tan.
charlie hebdo I'm not so sure. Look at the color of the stainless steel stripe. It looks tan.
True, but sometimes it all depends on how the light reflects from it. It's one of the reasons for the not-that-important controversy about what Russia Iron really looked like.
I'd say the photo's a reliable record of the Goose's blue coloring at that time, the stainless stripe was probably untouched and still stainless.
The locomotive looks good. The train looks like one of those awful (Trainz?) simulations, particularly between tender and cars and in the trucks.
Rick
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.
Oh, it's the real deal. I can enlarge it in high definition on Facebook. The stripe looks tan because it's reflecting it's surroundings. And it's a 100% mail and express consist.
Same me, different spelling!
pennytrains And it's a 100% mail and express consist.
Gee, it's nice to guess correctly every once in a while!
Since I'm on a roll I'm guessing the lack of definition of the rest of the train is due to certain factors. Considering the time period the Kodachrome film most likely had an ASA of 10, which was going to call for a fine balancing act between focus, shutter speed, and the f-stop setting. If I was in the photographer's place I'd have gone for the best settings to freeze the locomotive and not be too concerned with the consist. Mail cars are mail cars but the Blue Goose was unique!
Just an aside - I recall reading a long time ago (but of course, can't remember where I read it) that at the time, railroaders called the engine a "Blue Bird". Later, Baldwin came out with a blue diesel demonstrator that was nicknamed "Blue Goose", and that over time in the railfan community the two kinda merged so the "Blue Bird" steam engine became the "Blue Goose" retroactively.
No idea if true, but seems plausible. I know Jim Boyd wrote about riding with the crew of a chopped-nose Alco RSD-15 who were confused when he referred to it as an "Alligator" - a common railfan nickname, but the railroaders had never heard it.
wjstixNo idea if true, but seems plausible. I know Jim Boyd wrote about riding with the crew of a chopped-nose Alco RSD-15 who were confused when he referred to it as an "Alligator" - a common railfan nickname, but the railroaders had never heard it.
If what I've read is (mostly) correct professional railroaders typically referred to locomotives by their series numbers, not their popular names.
"What power you got for this run?"
"Oh, one of the 4000's." Something like that.
Yep. The Nickel Plate Berks were just the "700's" to the men who ran them.
wjstix Later, Baldwin came out with a blue diesel demonstrator that was nicknamed "Blue Goose", and that over time in the railfan community the two kinda merged so the "Blue Bird" steam engine became the "Blue Goose" retroactively.
Later, Baldwin came out with a blue diesel demonstrator that was nicknamed "Blue Goose", and that over time in the railfan community the two kinda merged so the "Blue Bird" steam engine became the "Blue Goose" retroactively.
I was under the impression was that the "Blue Goose" was the Baldwin - Westinghouse gas turbine locomotive demonstrator. This used two 2,000hp turbines and was intended for passenger service.
Erik_MagI was under the impression was that the "Blue Goose" was the Baldwin - Westinghouse gas turbine locomotive demonstrator.
https://i.redd.it/kzmky3hj2i161.jpg
The "blue" color was apparently fairly dark, on the sides and roof: it is probably possible to recover the color information but I can't distinguish it from 'filtered' B&W. The nose was a combination of high-visiblilty colors, apparently.
Hopefully someone like tdmidget can comment on the precise technical issues involved in the design, and its apparent failure. In my opinion the lack of regeneration alone made the idea problematic.
I should probably mention the Besler steam motor train for the sake of completeness. This was assuredly not powder blue, or likely to be mistaken for an express streamliner, although it was nominally capable of 70mph speed.
Yes, working railroaders usually used the engine number/series. Perhaps I should have said "the railroad" or "railfans at the time" etc.? Not sure if Santa Fe in their ads or other documents used "Blue Bird", but it apparently was what it was known for until the blending with the Baldwin demonstrator's nickname.
I always thought of the Westinghouse loco as having more of a dog face.
No one could ever mistake a streamlined 3460 Ripley Hudson for any sort of bluebird.
There were a few locomotives that acquired 'work nicknames' rather than railfan 'sobriquets'. The one that springs to mind is the streamlined CB&Q Hudsons with the name 'Aeolus' (the god of the winds) on the side. There were apparently two with the same name, and they were called "Big Alice the Goon" collectively (after the character in Thimble Theater/Popeye. What I understood they were calling streamlined ATSF 3460 was not "Blue Goose" but "Mae West" -- for fairly self-evident reason(s).
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