As a teen, I watched a lot of trains on the C&NW's Harvard Subdivision which handled much traffic for the Janesville plant. I'm hoping that my b&w negatives might have a few more shots of these trains. I miss seeing 86' auto parts hi-cubes and open-sided auto racks so typical of '70s railroading.
The damage to vehicles on the open racks must have been pretty extensive for them to have spent all the money on closing them up. Imagine all the bodywork AFTER brand new cars were delivered to distributors. Doug
Back in 1978, I ordered a brand new 4x4 pickup. I knew from the dealer when it was supposed to come in to the unloading facility, by rail, at West Siding (Kent), Washington. And I happened to be working for an engineering firm on a project right next to that facility. I watched the train being switched inside to the ramps. A cut of cars was pushed right past me, and sure enough there was my new vehicle on the top of the open car. It had been bricked. The right front fender had a big dent, and there was damage to the bed of the box. In that were bricks and fragments. I guess that is how gutter trash and morons entertain themselves. My new vehicle was in the dealer's shop for well over a week, while I waited.... Dirty scum of the earth...
Back when the open autoracks were still being used, the Milwaukee Road thru much of the west was under catenary, the cars got shipped with the antennas in the up position. Well, when they got to the Kent, Wa marshaling yard for unloading, the drivers unloading them seen a horrendous sight-the radios were burnt to a crisp in the dash's of the top row cars-the antennas came in contact with the high voltage from the catenary that sagged really low in some spots on Lines West!!
Lightning struck the WLOX (Biloxi, MS) tower (anchored in 20' salt water) about 100 yards to my right as I was passing by on Hwy 90. Not only did it smoke test the radio (failed), then arced to the dashboard, thence to ground somewhere. Clothing change time.....LOL
I can't verify if the story is true, but I read somewhere that as auto racks began to regain significant business for the railroads, a handful of displaced truckers got the notion to stand on a highway bridge over a railroad and pour acid down on the automobiles as they passed on trains below. However, vandalism and theft of car stereos no doubt forced the change to sealed auto racks.
And trespassers stealing rides, who used them as sleeping/living compartments for the trip- then made messes of those vehicles.
Speaking of autoracks.... CP train 199, a Chicago-Vancouver intermodal and vehicle train blasts through Logan, ND at track speed.
Two Maryland interlocking towers, both gone today. These were armstrong plants when the pictures were taken. First is ND Tower at Viaduct Jct. in Cumberland, MD (B&O) [11/1981] and the other is HAGER Tower in Hagerstown, MD (N&W/PRR/WM) [07/1982].
Working the hump at SOU's John Sevier Yard in Knoxville, TN, January 1980. As a result of Precision Scheduled Railroading, Sevier's hump was closed a few years ago. And in January of 1978 in Knoxville, the L&N was weathering a snowstorm.
CP 7017 pushes on the rear of train 374 at Edmore. BNSF 9776 in Executive Grinstein second out on 475 at Clinton. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A lone UP unit about half way between Waco and temple TX in June 2006. I wasn't really sure if they were setting out a car or picking one up.
Southern Pacific MP 377 signal bridge. Just west of Mojave CA. The Tehachapi's can be seen in the background.
