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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, July 7, 2023 7:50 PM

This was inspired by a coupe of quiz questions from ZO a while back.  Dave has all of the capitals east of St. Louis on both routes (Indianapolis is in both lists).  The through cars predate the Penn Texas, running under the "old" name. Postwar through cars to Mexico originated in San Antonio.

Here are some to choose from:

  • Aguascalientes – Aguascalientes
  • Baja California – Mexicali
  • Baja California Sur – La Paz
  • Campeche – San Francisco de Campeche or Campeche
  • Chiapas – Tuxtla Gutiérrez
  • Chihuahua – Chihuahua
  • Mexico City.-CDMX
  • Coahuila de Zaragoza – Saltillo
  • Colima – Colima
  • Durango – Victoria de Durango
  • Guanajuato – Guanajuato
  • Guerrero – Chilpancingo de los Bravo
  • Hidalgo – Pachuca de Soto
  • Jalisco – Guadalajara
  • México – Toluca de Lerdo
  • Michoacán de Ocampo – Morelia
  • Morelos – Cuernavaca
  • Nayarit – Tepic
  • Nuevo León – Monterrey
  • Oaxaca – Oaxaca de Juárez
  • Puebla – Puebla de Zaragoza
  • Querétaro – Santiago de Querétaro
  • Quintana Roo – Chetumal
  • San Luis Potosí – San Luis Potosí
  • Sinaloa – Culiacán Rosales
  • Sonora – Hermosillo
  • Tabasco – Villahermosa
  • Tamaulipas – Ciudad Victoria
  • Tlaxcala – Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl
  • Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave – Xalapa-Enríquez
  • Yucatán – Mérida
  • Zacatecas – Zacatecas
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Posted by Overmod on Friday, July 7, 2023 6:24 PM

It's going to be a run-through with the Penn Texas, probably handling the sleeping car arrangement that I recall being MoPac-painted but lettered Pennsylvania.  Would have gone via that branch of the Sunshine Special until 1948, but that wouldn't have involved the lightweight car.  So Aztec Eagle (en Espanol) is likely it, as Mr. Klepper noted.  Someone with an OG can confirm the capital information... and get the credit.

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, July 7, 2023 7:04 AM

My server is giving me problems in pulling up the Aztec Eagle and attempting to find  Mexican State Capitals.  Probanly I'll be able to use a friend's computer and email connection this Monday.  But with this start, another reader might be able to complete the answer and win the right for the next question.

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, July 7, 2023 6:30 AM

Don't restrict yourself to the capitals of U.S. states.  So far, so good.

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, July 7, 2023 6:26 AM

RC, I'm asking you to double-check.  You may be in error on one of the state capitals for the third train, which I believe could only be either SP or AT&SF.  And I have to check the St Louis Southwestern - Cotton Belt for the seconf train, in addition to the Katy, Frisco, and MP.  

The thru sleepers ran first-to[second train, second-third, but your wurstion does not demand first-thru-third.[   

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, July 7, 2023 5:09 AM

Well, not to spoil anyone else's chance for a completer answer, the first train was on the PRR, and the State Capitals were Trenton, NJ; Harrisburg, PA; Coumbus, OH; and Indianapolis, IN, with end-points NYCity & St. Loids.  The competitor ran only through Albany, NY and Indianopis, the NY Central.

I'll have to investigate the Katy, Frisco, and Missouri Pacific for the  rest of the answer, with my first guess being the MP and then the TP, with Austin Texas  and Oklahoma City possible candidates.  With a few hours, I should come up with the rest of the answer. 

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, July 6, 2023 5:50 PM

Is the turntable bridge in Frankstown Township?  There's also a Frankstown section of Pittsburgh.

Here's a question that ZO would like...

Before 1948 a train carried through sleepers from a major city, passing through four state capitals before handing off some of its through cars. The second, connecting, train went through two more state capitals before reaching its final destination, and handing off the sleepers to another, third, train which passed through four state capitals before the cars' run ended in another major city.  The connecting train also received cars from another train from the same origin point that only went through two state capitals on their way to meet the second train.

Postwar upgrades changed the competitive picture, ending the through service, but some form of the connections lasted up to the early 1960s.

Some parts of this question have been asked in a different form.  What I'm looking for are the state capitals touched by the third and final train.

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, June 30, 2023 10:56 AM

The bridge is installed at Frankstown, Pennsylvania, and can readily be searched up on the Web by that location.

It was my naive expectation that most of the converted turntable bridges would be 'right side up' with shoes at the outer ends on abutments, and the deck widened from the flat 'railroad' surface by longer bridge-tie supports, welded brackets, or some other expedient short of separating the webs and inserting a whole new deck structure.

 

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, June 30, 2023 6:55 AM

So - a former deck span (ties and rails on the flat side of the girder) turned "belly up" and widened to be a through span turntable bridge.

There were lots of former turntable bridges in use as regular bridges. 

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, June 30, 2023 2:04 AM

Which of the two, and who, how, where, and when?

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, June 29, 2023 7:57 PM

Exactly so.

The interesting thing about this one is that the original 'flat' side that had the track is facing down, and the belly in the center (which on this one is a fairly pronounced V-shape) faces up.

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, June 29, 2023 7:39 PM

Is it a turntable bridge made out of a bridge, or a bridge made out of a turntable bridge girder?

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, June 29, 2023 3:14 PM

No.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, June 29, 2023 1:17 PM

is it normally under water?

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 5:39 PM

Or you just took the picture or processed it upside down?

Where would the fun be in that?

There is a very good reason why what you see is so.  And an interesting one...

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 11:53 AM

rcdrye
Is it part of a counterweight on a trunnion (bascule) drawbridge?

No.  It is very firmly attached permanently in the orientation shown, which is correct 'to purpose'

But you are getting ever so slightly warm... Smile

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 10:38 AM

Or you just took the picture or processed it upside down?

Ooops, apologies.  Wrong shadows for that!

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 8:55 AM

Is it part of a counterwight on a trunnion (bascule) drawbridge?  

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, June 25, 2023 10:57 PM

Here's an amusement while I try thinking of a real question.

Why isn't this installed incorrectly?

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 6:18 PM

Oh, Ah.  My bad.  Please continue your search for a good question!

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 1:13 PM

You've answered in the wrong question thread! Laugh

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 12:26 PM

Kneeland Street pre-dated South Station.  The other two stations in Boston city limits were Columbus Ave (later Huntington Ave AKA Trinity Place, replaced by Back Bay, and Lansdowne, AKA Beacon Street or Brookline Junction.  The station that replaced it when the Mass Pike was built is (or at least was) called Yawkey.

I seem to remember that B&A and Boston & Providence crossed each other at street level near the present Back Bay station.  B&A's Boston-Framingham local service via the main line and the Riverside branch made local stops at all three stations.

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 10:28 AM

Rats!  I guess that means I have to find a question of the caliber of the stops on the B&A going into Boston.  That's going to take time.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 3:12 AM

I just wanted information.   Thanks!

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, June 18, 2023 7:32 PM

I thought the question Mr. Klepper asked about the Tidewater Mallets was the next one on the quiz!

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, June 18, 2023 7:42 AM

I asked the question you answered.  I just added a little explanation after you did.

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, June 17, 2023 1:21 PM

I'm giving this to rcdrye because Deepwater was so simple to locate in even a crude search for the Virginian.  It was a few seconds longer to find the distinction in the corporate records for the 'state' entities (Tidewater and Deepwater) used during the initial planning of what became the Virginian... and that accounted (no pun intended) for the unusual name.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, June 8, 2023 2:29 PM

The earliest of the Mallets were so early that they were nominally Tidewater engines, not Virginian.

Very interesting that they were the first evolutionary step after Old Maud.  For some reason I thought a 2-8-8-0 was the first to need a Bissel -- iirc on the Erie.

Interestingly enough I was gearing up to ask about that feedwater heater equipped Mallet power and got beaten to the punch.

Were the Virginian engines the ones that got no complaints from the unions about crewing because they were double-manned for firing?

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, June 8, 2023 5:26 AM

The AA and ACs lasted until the mid-1930s.  Overmod came up with Deepwater.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, June 8, 2023 1:45 AM

Thanks!  Hapy to learn that information,  And did not some of those earlybMalletws last a very long time?

 

And are not you up to ask the next question?

 

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