Author Topic: Do I live too close to the railroad?!  (Read 3403 times)

xairbusdriver

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Do I live too close to the railroad?!
« on: January 18, 2019, 08:51:00 PM »
I thought a mile would be enough to protect me from these "expresses"!
Quote from: Special Wx Alert #1
WINDS...northwest through north winds of 15 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 45 mph.
TIMING...Saturday 12 PM CST to 3 AM CST Sunday morning.
Quote from: Special Wx Alert #2
A strong cold front will push into the Mid-South Saturday afternoon and abruptly drop temperatures below freezing across much of the area by sundown.
[freeze]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Do you smell . . . . (Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!)
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2019, 11:05:11 PM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat railfans,

Do I live too close to the railroad?
I thought a mile would be enough to protect me from these "expresses"!

[wink] . . . . Well there is a very simple test really.  Can you inhale that delightful scent of steam!

If not then clearly you aren't close enough!! lol(1)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2019, 11:15:07 PM »
Only time there is any steam on the NS is when they hit another 4-wheeler that stops on the tracks and the radiator leaks! Apparently, many folks have never even seen a train... until it's too late, anyway. [rolleyes2] [banghead]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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What a darn shame! (Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!)
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2019, 10:05:38 PM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat railfans, . . . .

Only time there is any steam on the NS is when they hit another 4-wheeler that stops on the tracks and the radiator leaks! Apparently, many folks have never even seen a train... until it's too late, anyway. [rolleyes2] [banghead]

What a darn shame!  According to Wikipedia, this beautify used to pull excursion trains on the Norfolk Southern Railway from 1987 to 1991:



The Norfolk and Western 1218 was one of the triumphs of American steam locomotive design.  Now that Union Pacific is actively restoring one of their Big Boy locomotives, perhaps Virginia Museum of Transportation will get the itch to restore the 1218 so it too can be a fully operational steam locomotive.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Steve

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Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2019, 03:02:08 PM »
One of the Big Boy locomotives came by our house back about 1988-89. I had two cameras on remote and one handheld when it went by. Still, the best photo was from Deb with an Instamatic, while holding a baby in the other hand...
Steve - Avon, Ohio, USA


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xairbusdriver

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Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2019, 04:53:11 PM »
But I bet you can still remember the smell and sounds! ThU5:-) There's never been a more impressive machine built! 99% of the moving parts are in plain site! And usually moving slow enough to see their choreographed movements! ThU32:-) (Even a Mom holding a baby can get a good picture! cmu:-))
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Dare I challenge you? . . . . (Re: Do I live too close to the railroad?!)
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2019, 11:39:04 PM »
Dear Steve, X-Air and WeatherCat train spotters,

One of the Big Boy locomotives came by our house back about 1988-89. I had two cameras on remote and one handheld when it went by. Still, the best photo was from Deb with an Instamatic, while holding a baby in the other hand...

Definitely a nit-pick but for the steam purists out there.  What I'd guess you saw was a very close cousin to the Union Pacific Big Boy: the Challenger class locomotive #3985:



Photo from Wikipedia.  Challengers have 2 groups of 6-coupled driving wheels.  Big Boys are larger and have 2 groups of 8-coupled driving wheels.  Union Pacific 3985 was in excursion train service during the late 1980s.   The last run of any Big Boy locomotive was on July 21, 1959.  Eight Big Boys were preserved but all as static displays.   That changed when Union Pacific decided to restore the 4014 to steam operation to 150 anniversary of the ceremony joining the Union and Central Pacific railroads creating the first transcontinental railroad.  That 150 anniversary is coming up this May 10!  We shall see if Union Pacific can get the 4014 running before then!

But I bet you can still remember the smell and sounds! ThU5:-) There's never been a more impressive machine built! 99% of the moving parts are in plain site! And usually moving slow enough to see their choreographed movements! ThU32:-) (Even a Mom holding a baby can get a good picture! cmu:-))

You think I'm going to disagree with that?!?!!  [bounce]

Alas most of my railfan pictures are on slides that I haven't gotten around to scan, but here is the Quincy Railroad No. 2 tank engine running on the Niles Canyon Scenic Railway:



Can never get enough of dat' steam!! . .

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]