Random Railfan Prototype Photos For All

Hardcoaler Mar 26, 2015

  1. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    That's a good question. I found several other slides with long trains like the one below and they caught my eye as well. This one too was at the Barrington coach yard. I can no longer recall if such lengths were normal on rush hour trains, but they look legit, with all cars coupled together. Nonetheless, I'd imagine that trains as long as these might have stretched beyond most platforms.

    1978 [Approx] 001 Barrington IL - for upload.jpg
     
  2. SP 9811

    SP 9811 TrainBoard Member

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    Cantilever Tehachapi light.jpg
    Backlit by the sun, SP's cantilever at Tehachapi, is a ghost of the way railroading was.
     
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  3. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Love it SP 9811! (y)

    Looking at my old Chicago area slides, I see that semaphore signals were still in use at some locations in the mid-to late 1970s. Being a dumb kid, I never thought to capture them on film. :( They'll be there tomorrow, right?
     
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  4. SP 9811

    SP 9811 TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah, you take things for granted. But on the railroad, stuff can change fast.
     
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  5. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    I was able to capture a few in 2014 while riding the Southwest Chief.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  6. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Niiice Russell! I'm glad that each of you got your shots while you could. I did find these upper quadrant semaphore signals at Troy, AL in February 1984 on former CofG track. I was puzzled by the arrangement and never knew if they actually worked or were permanently fixed with a restricting indication. That's the ACL to the right.

    1984-02 002 Troy AL - for upload.jpg

    In October 1988 I found these nice C&O cantilevered signals at Quinnimont, WV.

    1988-04-10 003 Quinnimont WV - for upload.jpg

    In April 1988, the former C&O MD Tower at Meadow Creek, WV had these splendid signals in service. I'm not sure if they were train order signals, but they look positioned for that.

    1988-04-10 005 MD Cabin [Tower] Meadow Creek WV - for upload.jpg
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2020
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  7. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Starting in the late '70s, the SCL successfully rebuilt over 150 aged geeps into "GP-16" models at their shops near Tampa. They were deployed everywhere, as in these shots taken at Montgomery, AL in 1989 and 1990.

    1989-10-22 Montgomery AL - for upload.jpg 1990-08 003 Montgomery AL - for upload.jpg
     
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  8. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Just some random shots of SOU geeps working in AL at Montgomery [1985], Attalla [1988] and Maplesville [1986].

    1985-08 Montgomery AL - for upload.jpg 1988-04-09 006 Attalla AL - for upload.jpg 1986-06-21 007 Maplesville AL - for upload.jpg
     
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  9. Doorgunnerjgs

    Doorgunnerjgs TrainBoard Member

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    Looks to be 7 cars. Most Metra trains and its predecessors were at least this long during rush hour. Not everyone got on or off on the platforms! Lived here most of my life, that is how they roll(ed).
     
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  10. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah I think you are right. I miscounted and the camera angle made it seem longer. Seven cars is usually how it is now, especially on the BNSF line to Aurora.
     
  11. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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  12. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    AMT (which became RTM, then ARTM, finally Exo) runs commuter trains up to nine cars long during rush hours. But the platforms around here are at least as long - in Sainte-Therese they're plenty long, and one stop at De La Concorde the platforms have been extended right across the bridge over the neighboring major thoroughfare!

    But they're pulling trains with F59PH/PHIs, and the occasional ALP45DP, up on the St-Jerome line. They have plenty of HEP power to feed those longer trains.
     
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  13. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I hoped this shot would have been better with the freshly-harvested wheat field, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted.

    [​IMG]

    This one, a bit tighter, was better:

    [​IMG]

    This was the keeper:

    [​IMG]
     
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  14. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    Crude oil train in the yard at Bellville.
    DSC_0002.jpg
     
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  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes. Train order signal. You can tell by the style and color of blade.
     
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  16. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    The full moon in the top shot is a nice touch.
     
  17. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    I like that one too: big sky, tiny train, breathtaking view, and a nice moon as a bonus. I gives a sense of perspective. We might think that we and our things are big, but we're specks in this big, fantastic world we live in. That's the photographer in me talking.

    The train nut in me likes the second photo.;)
     
  18. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Found two more rainy day slides of MG Tower that was built by the PRR during WW-II west of Altoona, PA on the east slope. I broke out the 400 ASA Ektachrome film this day. [April 1989]

    1989-04-05 015 MG Tower PA - for upload.jpg 1989-04-05 016 MG Tower PA - for upload.jpg
     
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  19. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Three more tower slides from my "seconds" box that I almost threw away. :oops:

    The B&Os SA Tower at Sand Patch, PA. Gone. [11/1981]
    1981-11-28 010 SA Tower Sand Patch PA - for upload.jpg

    The PRR's MO Tower at Cresson, PA. A relocation was attempted, but the structure fractured. Gone. [April 1989]
    1989-04-05 019 MO Tower Cresson PA - for upload.jpg

    The PRRs AR Tower at Gallitzin, PA. Slated for demolition. [April 1989]
    1989-04-05 036 AR Tower Gallitzin PA - for upload.jpg
     
  20. BuddyBurton

    BuddyBurton TrainBoard Supporter

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    [​IMG]
    Seven units on CP 475 this morning near Cotter, IA, including the lead unit, #7022.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

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