A day on the railroad

[Kamakiri]

My son and I took a walk through a planned restoration of some old railroad equipment about 20 miles South of here. Here's a shot of my boy by the Pennsylvania #4483 2-10-0

[Kamakiri]

Another shot of the Pennsy engine

[Kamakiri]

It'd be a miracle if it ever moved under its own power.....

[Kamakiri]

a HUGE engine though!

[Kamakiri]

The track it's sitting on has the date 1906......

[Kamakiri]

Lots of cabooses (cabeese?)

[Kamakiri]

My boy Joey standing at the track switch. He had a fun day :)

[Kamakiri]

Amtrak relabelled these Pennsy coaches many moons ago

[Kamakiri]

A poignant comment by some train man a long time ago :D

[Kamakiri]

a Buffalo-size track plow! :D

[Kamakiri]

More cars.....the yellow hopper was built in 1906.

[millerdog]

man, that is so cool! I don't know what to say except I'm glad you took pics;) And the fact that you took your son there....Kama, can you be my daddy?:D
Words of the month: Restore and Preserve;)

sorry, but some of those shots would have made great black and whites! Nice pics!

[Kamakiri]

We've been here twice, an 8 hour drive each way :eek:

http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/

The best place is the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. Been there twice as well, which is right across the street from the Strasburg Railroad. My son is the biggest train fanatic I've ever known!

This spring it looks like we're going to head to the Illinois Railroad Museum. Yeah, I'm a pretty cool daddy :)

[bigmacc]

Kama enjoyed this post ; love those old trains. :)

[grumpy]

Kam

Union ill is out near Moons place. Your gonna have to pass about an hour south of my house going there. You should stop here on the way/back and we can go to this place http://www.hfmgv.org/collections/Collections/transportation/railroad.asp We can all take a ride on the ole steam engine. :)

Grumpy

[ckelly]

Cool!

I bet your kid was happy as hell!


As Millerdog said - some shots in B/W look AWESOME.

[moondog]

Loved the pictures Kam. First thing that I thought when seeing your cute little son there, was "If that kid would have had on some dated cloths, you never would have known those pictures were taken recently."

I've always loved trains. The BURLINGTON NORTHERN AND SANTA FE Railroad runs right behind our home about 250 feet from our back deck. Still love hearing it & watching it go by.

Moon

[THOR]

Cool stuff Kam, great looking kid, 8 hours each way???? Man you should be dad of the century!!! :eek:

[Thatch_Ear]

Is the Illinois Central my fault? Long story you guys, but it involves a centennial bronze coin for the Illinois Central I sent to the Big And Little Kams.
My Grandpa worked for the Pennsylvania RR for 40 years. I grew up with the love of big machines.
My father was in the Air Force, so I grew up with the jets we own now too. I have a pic with my family(when I was 3 or 4) infront of the X-15 that is a monument in front of thr AF museum. (correct me if I am wrong because I am not sure). Very cool plane, but it did not haul a lot of people around in style.
This might have been common, but my Granddad had a freight car with the wheels removed on the farm to use as a feed barn. That car is still there today and was there when my mother was a child in the 1930s.
Everyone has been affected by the RRs and I still can hear the one that passes about a mile away almost every night.
Julia jokingly says a tornado is coming because people say they sound like a train. The RR built the US as we know it, What will happen in the future is in the future. I hope trains come back as a good transport option. Travelling by train is very nice. I did it in 1965 without parents. I hope that it will be revived and that people support it.

[Shain]

My grandfather was an engineer for the Missouri-Pacific railraod (I think that's the name), in central Missouri many decades ago. He was from my dad's side of the family.

I'm not aware of "memorabilia" from those days, will have to ask my mother if she has anything.
I've seen a couple of pictures of him standing by an engine, but that was quite awhile ago.

Cool deal, Kam, .... and fun deal for the kid!

[BeatleFred]

www.subwaywebnews.com

[Kamakiri]

We're headed on that trip to Strasburg PA this weekend, for the last time as just the 3 of us :)

Should be fun, got the new CR-V and a "new" Canon AE-1 Program to play with.

[Thatch_Ear]

Drive carefully and have a great time Chief !

[Kamakiri]

Here's another old bumped thread for you railfans :)

[Celt]

Excellent thread! I guess I had missed it! We need a Choo-Choo forum!

[bgadow]

Oh, if I needed another hobby. Always enjoyed watching trains. I still remember riding on the Strasburg RR when I was about your son's age. Been back several times. The most memorable was about 6-7 years ago, with my girlfriend at the time. She had never been there so we were taking our time going through the museum. We didn't realize how late it was-and were locked in the museum! Luckily the staffers were still close enough at hand to let us out.

Over the weekend I was talking to one of my inlaws, he is retired from CSX. Said he used to work in a factory that made coal cars-they cranked out one every 30 minutes. Said they didn't even wait for the paint to dry before they sent them down the line.

[Morden2004]

Kam:

There is an interesting Radial Railway Museum with a working line (about 2 Km, I think) and many different railway cars that you can ride on near Milton Ontario. Up the QEW from Buffalo and north on Hwy. 25 (Oakville, ON).

The museum web site here (http://www.hcry.org/) will fill you in and give you better directions to get there. It's only about 70-75 minutes from Buffalo.

Some radial railway history can be seen at
http://www.globalserve.net/~robkath/railsub.htm

Paul

[Lazarus Short]

...(locals, you take note too), there is a steam RR which runs more-or-less south out of Branson, Missouri - it's an excursion line for the tourists. There is also a very short one at the Omaha zoo - not the usual zoo train, but a real, vintage steam job. Even without the train, the Omaha zoo is well worth seeing.

Laz

[gonzothegreat]

Missed this thread. Cools pics Kam.

I've never been to the Pennsy museum but I've seen a documentary about the place. Would have loved to have stopped by when I visited Manhattan but since we went by Amtrak, side trips weren't an option. I always had a soft spot for Pennsy electrics like the GG1 (old rivets 4800 and the other one inside) and the siderod unit (big liz?).

The IRM isn't as polished as the Pennsy (lots of peeling paint and locos with the siderods removed for transport) but your kid will have a blast. UP Centennial and turbine diesel. Plenty of steam locos too (ATSF Northern 2903 and Milwaukee Rd Northern 265 aka Old Smokey), a recently repainted GG1 and a South Shore Line/Milwaukee Rd "Little Joe" electric. Didn't know about the "Little Joe" when I first visited. Always wanted to see one. I was walking through the engine barn and I looked up at the biggest freakin' electric locomotive I've ever seen. Stood in awe for probably five minutes with my jaw hanging open. This isn't my pic FWIW. I dropped some serious coin on an O scale model of this engine because it was the only model available aside from a kit. They called it "Little Joe" because the engines were originally made for the USSR in the 50s (as in Joe Stalin) and also because the other electrics (GE Boxcabs) were at least twice as large.

Luckily I got to go there with my dad once before the cancer got him. His dad worked for the Chicago Northwestern before they bypassed Antigo, WI.

[Don McR]

Last October, I was at a conference in Cheyenne Wyoming where I came across this guy:

[Don McR]

Any railfan worth his salt should recognize this as Union Pacific's 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, the largest steam locomotive ever built.

[Don McR]

This is one of eight still in existance, although none are running. I have tracked down three of them - this one, one at Steamtown in Scranton PA and one at the old Forney Museum in Denver. This is the only one for which I have digital pics.

[Don McR]

And finally, a close-up of the cab.

[merrylander]

Last August when our son got married in Aspen, CO we looked at air fares and times and finally gave up since all flights seemed to leave at 6:30AM.

Then we looked at Amtrak and decided to take the Superliner west. We had two nights on the train (deluxe bedroom) and all kinds of time to relax and talk and actually see America. The people you meet in the diner are all just great and friendly. The staff could not have been better, and we let Amtrak know how we felt. Got some great pictures.

The sad part was observing freight cars parked on sidings with the words "Property of the soandso bank" painted on the sides. We are gradually seeing our railroads die off due to lack of government support. We subsidise the trucking industry with every gallon of gas we buy, the airline industry with every airport we build, but the railroads must fend for themselves.

Rob

[heathkit tv]

FWIW, my maternal grandfather worked on the C&NW and I had a buddy who was a hostler on the LIRR (got to ride around the Morris Park shops and help fuel up engines...too much fun!). Have another couple of friends who are assistant conductors on AmCrash and somehow this entitles me to free rides on their runs. :D

Always wanted to work the rails but there was always a hiring freeze on whenever I tried to apply. Drat. :(

Anthony

[Kamakiri]

Went down to the train yards today with the boys :)

[Kamakiri]

Joey loves trains....the baby as of yet could care less :)

[Kamakiri]

No matter what though....we always have fun together :)

[gonzothegreat]

Originally posted by Don McR
Any railfan worth his salt should recognize this as Union Pacific's 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, the largest steam locomotive ever built.

Well, UP's PR would like you to think that. Depending on your definition of "largest" the winner might be the C&O M-1 or the N&W "Jawn Henry" coal turbine. Or if you only accept engines that made it through their test runs to enter long term revenue service, then it might be the N&W Y6B, DM&IR M or the C&O H-8.

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/largest.html

Just some blathering from a rivet counter.

[gyusher]

Caboose or Cabeeses . . .


End Of Train Devices. . . .

[merrylander]

There is one neat thing about trains. When we decided to take Amtrak to our Son's wedding in Aspen (actually Glenwood Springs since the train does not go to Aspen) we saw quite a lot of the country. Try getting this view from 30,000 feet up.

Rob

[Andyman]

Kam:

The next time you're in town, you should check out the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. They have a huge Allegheny steam locomotive, plus lots of autos (Kennedy's Lincoln), airplanes, motors, etc.

Here's a link to the locomotive, but you can bounce around to other areas via the links within:

Allegheny Locomotive (http://www.hfmgv.org/museum/transportation/allegheny.asp)

BTW, when I did my backpack about Europe thing in 1984, I travelled extensively via train with my Eurailpass. Friggin' unbelievable scenery there. The Alps, Greece, Portrugal, France, etc, simply fascinating staring out the windows. And the stations aren't any slouches either!

[grumpy]

My son Loves the trains at GF village !

One of the guys I met at car cruises around town works at the Roundhouse at Greenfield.

[heathkit tv]

I recall seeing an ad in some magazine at least 15 years ago in which GF was offereing for sale the replica of the train that Thomas Edison used to sell his wares on as a kid. Does anyone know about this? Did they indeed sell it? I just can't figure out why they would even consider doing so.....what with Henry's slavelike adoration of Edison it sounds like a slap in his (Ford's) face.

Anthony

[Wigwam Jones]

Spencer, North Carolina - the Old Train Love-In. Man, I was using my favorite antique cameras and taking pictures of my favorite old iron. Can you say 'sporting wood?'

[Wigwam Jones]

Gandy Dancers...

[Wigwam Jones]

The Southern Crescent...

[Wigwam Jones]

A monster diesel...

[Wigwam Jones]

Last shot...

[heathkit tv]

Originally posted by Wigwam Jones
Spencer, North Carolina - the Old Train Love-In.

Spencer, eh? Do you know anything about the old Baldwin ex-NYC "X"Plorer aka Train X that found it's way down to a N.C. tourist line in the late 60's?

I have a photo of it somewhere in a book on the B-L-H diesels sitting on a siding.........can't find it at the moment. The name of the tourist railroad is listed and will post it once I find this (unless you already know what I'm talking about). Am wondering if it got scrapped, rebuilt, or is just a stationary display. Thanks

Anthony (LIRR and C&NW are my flavorites)

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally posted by heathkit tv
Spencer, eh? Do you know anything about the old Baldwin ex-NYC "X"Plorer aka Train X that found it's way down to a N.C. tourist line in the late 60's?

I have a photo of it somewhere in a book on the B-L-H diesels sitting on a siding.........can't find it at the moment. The name of the tourist railroad is listed and will post it once I find this (unless you already know what I'm talking about). Am wondering if it got scrapped, rebuilt, or is just a stationary display. Thanks

Anthony (LIRR and C&NW are my flavorites)

I'm afraid I don't know much about the Baldwin train that came to NC - I'm a new transplant. I went to the annual Spencer 'Train Days' show (more at this URL)

North Carolina Museum of Transportation (http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/spencer/spencer.htm)

However, I recently visited Kenosha, Wisconsin - found that they have built up a trolley car line made up of restored trolleys from other cities from around the nation. Here's a shot:

[heathkit tv]

Ah Kenosha, former home of AMC and still Snap On central HQ.

Anthony

[heathkit tv]

Not that anyone probably particularly cares but I dug up that book which mentions the tourist line I spoke of in an earlier post.

It was the Greenville and Northern at Traveler's Rest South Carolina circa 1969. Couldn't find anything about them on the web so am hoping some locals could fill me in on any details. This is noted on page 69 of the softcover book "Diesels From Eddystone: The Story of Baldwin Diesel Locomotives" (lower right hand corner)

To recap, the loco in question is ex-NYC RP-210 #20 Thanks!

Anthony

[Sandy G]

Great Pics & stories, guys !! My choo-choo story is about Tweetsie Railroad, now a tourist attraction over in Boone, NC, but my mom remembers when it was actually used as a line in western North Carolina & NE Tennessee. It was narrow guage, & when the line went under in the '50s, I guess, a couple of entrepreneurs bought most of the rolling stock & turned it into a theme park. Quite successful, too- if any of you have ever been to Beech Mtn, & skied there, it was originally developed back in the late '60s w/money generated by Tweetsie. I remember going to Tweetsie several times when I was a snot-nosed kid, & always had a big time. I got a cinder in my eye one time, & the old conductor was on me in about 2 seconds getting it out. He looked to be 150-probly been doing that for years. -Sandy G.

[heathkit tv]

IIRC the Tweetsie was sold lock stock and barrel in one giant lot.....it was essentially a turn key deal unlike 99.9% of these sorts of liquidations.

Anthony

[Sandy G]

Anthony-Coulda been. The fellows I remember being the ramrods behind it were Harry, Grover, & Spencer Robbins.We had a house at another one of their creations-Hound Ears lodge & Golf Club-GORGEOUS place-& everybody knew they got their money from Tweetsie. They were sorta local "typhoons" around Boone in those days. Beech Mtn about did 'em in-it opened up in like 1969-70 & there was a mild recession going on & they didn't do as well as they thought they were gonna do. They also had a resort develpoment going down in the Carribean, & it got hit by the same problems as Beech mtn did. Beech mtn obviously recovered, but I think the Robbins brothers might have lost control of it. Don't know fer sure-that's going back a ways, & by then my young butt had been shipped off to boarding school,& we'd sold our house over there. -Sandy G.