The newspaper reads "for reasons unknown, drove his Cheverolet Tahoe off the road and onto the railroad tracks and became stuck after going a distance. He was standing outside his vehicle when the northbound train approached and was running away from the train then he was struck .... " The driver "was dead when first responders arrived ..." I've read about similar events elsewhere and most are indeed spawned by alcohol or drugs. The driver was only 34, so it's unlikely that he suffered from dementia which could also lead to this sort of thing. Yep, neat to see the GP-30 even if it lacks hood doors. I like CSX's C&O-inspired paint scheme.
I was thinking along the lines of some kind of intoxication. That engine is in better shape than the VIA one (same model) that hit a city bus at a grade crossing in Ottawa last year. It shaved the front end of the bus right off, but lost some front end budy work in the process. I agree it's nice to see a GP30 still earning its keep. And still looking good!
I was inspecting a section of industrial spur today in preparation for having some museum cars moved. Found this interesting rail joint with a removable rail head on top of some angle bars. An SW1500 moves cars over this a couple of days every week.
In preparation to move some museum cars we were making adjustments to the switch points to get good, tight closure. I am the one in the white painters pants getting dirty in the wet ballast.
The rail breaks in the web along the centerline of the bolt holes. I've heard it called a "bald head joint". I guess it's because of poor support under one rail but better support under the other and loose bolts. The load stress is then borne by the bolts.
You can see it's hanging off the tie, unsupported. We always called these gap filler pieces "Dutchmen". A vague reference to that nation, and the stop-gap patching measure being somewhat akin to putting a finger in a hole found where a dike is leaking.
Just an experimental shot with shutter speed slowed to 1/15 Sec. Neat that the old platform canopy survives at this depot on the former SAL main at Camden, SC.
What's interesting too is that probably 40 miles of this line south of Hamlet, NC is still jointed rail. It's lightly trafficked, with only two Columbia, SC <=> Hamlet, NC freights per day, plus Amtrak's Silver Star each way and a handful of locals that ply short portions of the line. Because of Amtrak though, it's fully signaled.
The silhouette of a GP30 is probably the most easily recognizable of all the diesel locos made. I know it was the easiest for me to spot and be sure of the model when I was starting out. That was when GP30's were only about 6 or 7 years old. I was looking at the comments on the previous page by BoxcabE50 and posted this late comment do to a brain fart.
Me too! Growing up in suburban Chicago along the C&NW, all I ever saw was EMD. As a kid, I felt I was doomed from ever seeing anything else. The first GE I ever saw was an Auto Train GE U36B on display at North Western station in Chicago as a result of Auto Train's expansion of a Louisville, KY route in 1974. The cab was open for tours too and I though it was so cool. First Alco was seen from my window aboard Amtrak's Floridian as it passed through Patio Yard in Winchester, KY, an L&N C-420. First electric was seeing two GG-1's come to a stop in the station at Trenton, NJ with Amtrak's Broadway Limited in the summer of '71. Having the Lionel version, I remember being stunned that they didn't look like the shortened model I had! They were brutes -- I remember feeling a deep rumble that shook the platform as they swept past. I'm too young to have ever seen steam in normal service. How 'bout it guys? What early memories are stuck in your minds?
Some day I'll have a much better scanner..... If I had turned around, about 1/4 directly behind me was my home at the time. This is ex-MILW track. 1888 was originally NP 265. 2247 was originally CB&Q 970.
There were two GP30s parked in Temple, Texas a few years ago. 2420 and 2405. This was 2405 in Rosenberg a few years earlier. And then this one got a new paint job. Of course I have to include a green one.
Good pictures, guys. The very first N scale model I had was a Revell/Rapido model of a GP30 lettered for the CB&Q with three cars. I was 15 in 1970 and that was when I got really serious about model railroading. Put up with a lot of junk for about 15 years till I couldn't take it anymore and gave up on N scale. I became an armchair modeler until three and a half years ago when I checked out an issue of Model Railroader and started watching Youtube. That's when I got back in. Just primarily buying stuff and adding decoders to my locos for when I retire in a few years. I just dabble with an oval test track and building what I'll need later on. Love the locos from Kato and Atlas...........if they were like this back in the early 80's I would never have quit modeling!