PROTOTYPE Weekend Proto Fun 08/26/2022

BNSF FAN Aug 26, 2022

  1. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, would anyone have guessed that I would kick off the Weekend Proto Fun with yet another switcher? Found this one in Longview TX last night 8/25/2022
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  2. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Wow! An SW1! Ex-IC 9031.

    Those little buggers are tough as nails.

    Nice catch.:)
     
  3. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    From 12/22/1984 at the foot of the Saluda grade at Melrose, NC.

    1984-12-22 003 Melrose NC - for TB Upload.jpg
     
  4. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Used to see a lot of those SW-1s in Green Bay area from 50s to 10s. The last years they were very well worn but still pushing. Wish I could find some in N and HO.
     
  5. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    The most recent run of the Hill Country Flyer was only as far as Bertram, Texas. There is nowhere to wye the train there so they just brought the locomotive around and pulled it back to Cedar Park running long hood forward. Next time they go out they will get it all straightened out. Here the locomotive was resting in the yard Thursday evening. We were quaffing a pint at the local brewery on the other side of fence after putting in a long day working on our diner.
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    Earlier in the day. The building on the right is the brewery.
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  6. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just an average CP eastbound with an above average abundance of power leading.

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  7. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Bet those EMD's sounded great about 3/4 up the hill!!:love:
     
  8. Daves_Trains

    Daves_Trains TrainBoard Member

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    The train readies for its return to Williams Arizona as passengers board at the south rim of the Grand Canyon in 2015. F40PH #295 came from Amtrak and FPA-4 #6793 previously ran on the Canadian National.

    Grand Canyon RR.jpg
     
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  9. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Yessir! I found my NS Timetable from 10/27/1991 to find that SD-40-2s were limited to only 580 Tons each between Melrose and Saluda. So, these three could move 1740 Tons. That might be 20 loads? They'd often separate trains at Melrose and make three runs up the mountain, reassembling the train at a siding just west of Saluda.

    This set is doing just that, dropping down to Melrose for more cars. This area is so overgrown today that I wasn't able to walk it the last time I was there.:( There's new talk of making it a hiking trail. Supporters and the media paint a happy picture of rainbows and butterflies, but they omit any mention of the difficulty of hiking or bicycling straight up three miles of grade averaging 4.24%, with sections of 4.9%. Even hiking downgrade would be tiring, with your toes mashed against your boots with every step. (Hiker's Tip: Cut those toenails beforehand!)

    1984-12-22 003 Saluda NC - for upload.jpg
     
  10. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    What was the speed limit downhill on Saluda for light power? Couldn't have been much over 15mph.
     
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  11. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    I'm not exactly sure, but per my memory, your estimate is a good one. As an extra safety measure, there was a timing circuit connected to the escape track at Melrose. The escape track's motorized switch was normally set to divert trains onto the safety track and only if a train exceeded the set time would the switch move to route the train on the main.
     
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  12. RailMix

    RailMix TrainBoard Member

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    Railroading here is pretty sedate compared to the old Saluda grade, but today was a blast from the past. The MAC elevator at Marlette is loading out grain today. For years, the usual motive power for this operation has been a front end loader. Today, however, Huron and Eastern left the motive power in the form of GP38-2 3867. This was one of the four original GP38-2's that came to the HESR from Pittsburgh and Lake Erie in the '90s and one of three remaining on the railroad. (3868 has been sold.)

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  13. badlandnp

    badlandnp TrainBoard Member

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    Haven't been to the weekend stuff for a bit. But I had to share this one, a surprise double train eastbound! It had started as a coal train east, and as it went along it had an empty grain train tacked on to the rear! Since it was leaving the yard, it is speed restricted to 10mph. Enjoy!
     
  14. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Grain elevator service? Or what industry switched?
     
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  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Wonderful, not. With the need for rail capacity growing and growing, let's get rid of more miles. Yes, I know this is a tough route. I also tire of seeing tax revenue producers converted to tax revenue eaters. :mad::mad::mad:
     
  16. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Was a storage track behind a contract service facility. its on a UP (former SP) line. They had a few stored outside and it looked like some UP geeps inside the building.
     
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  17. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    You have to admit that the backdrop building would be a great to model! All those catwalks, ladders, support girders, trusses, ductwork...:)
     
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  18. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Stopped by Melrose, NC yesterday and the overgrowth is now so thick that you'd need a machete to get anywhere near trackside, so no photos. I couldn't believe it. The line is slated to become a hiking trail, but years of work are in store. Just removing the rails and ties amidst the many washouts, slides and tree falls will take quite some time.
     
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