Yep, I think a number of us here have been infatuated with trains since birth. Started taking pictures as a teen and finally bought a scanner three years ago to digitize them. I'll bet boxes of railroad negatives and slides go to the landfill every day as guys reach the end of their lives and family members give collections the heave ho. Some years ago I saw an ad by White River Publications that invited aging fans and families to send their collections to them for review and preservation of select images, and potential use with credit given. It's a fine idea and I've told my wife about it. I'm under no fantasy that my images are worth anything (though I have had a handful published over the years). I simply enjoy sharing them here and hope that the best of them might survive me.
And if you are in your car and approaching a railroad crossing and a train is a mile away, or less, you MUST stop and wait for the train to pass by, even if crossing gates have not lowered yet. For safety's sake, of course. Doug
Ya, stop at crossings. Years back wife spotted a train approaching and told me to hurry up that a train was comming. Ya should have seen her face when i stopped before the gates came down. Nobody behind me so it was safe. Same girl that told the license examiner to hurry up when she saw a yellow as it was gonna turn red. She passed; God smiles on blonde girls and puppy dogs.
NS 8105 as DPU on loaded oil train CP 576 in the siding at Bettendorf, IA. April 3, 2022 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A westbound grain double grinds out of Minot over Gassman Coulee in a 2x3x1 configuration and 230 loads for almost 13K ft and 30K tons as snow flurries fly.
13K ft, that's about 4 km. That's about 1 km more than the distance between my place and the shopping center. Basically, it's spanning three towns here: the head of the train would be in Rosemere (at the shopping center), the mid-train helpers in Ste-Therese near me, and the end of the train in Blainville, if stretched along highway 117. That's one bleeping big train...
From exactly 33 years ago on 04/06/1989 at Greensburg, PA on the former PRR main, CR moves eastbound. The second photo is of helpers ("snappers" to PRR men) at South Fork, PA. I think it was overcast or raining the whole week of my railfan vacation.
Imagine pulling a knuckle in an inaccessible area on a train that large and having to fix it solo? Where does a broken knuckle typically occur? 10-15 cars from the head end?
@Hardcoaler , I'd stand there all day in the pouring down rain, snow, etc. , if I could go back in time and see Conrail at its best! Go Big Blue!
It happens when there is a flaw in the casting, enough fatigue, abuse.... Break the knuckle, or yank the drawbar out.
At least they don't have to go out and look for that spring that keeps flying off goodness knows where...
I always thought "ConRail" was an unfortunate name for the railroad. You know, like it was short for "ConvictRail". Doug
KCSM 4136 North leading CP 375 through the streets of Bellevue, IA. April 6, 2022 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I remember seeing "ConJob" and "New Circus, Same Clowns" written here and there. Little did anyone know at its birth that CR would rewrite the book on eastern railroading and emerge as an admired and highly valued franchise. Remembering past posts here and there on TrainBoard, a lot of us still miss Big Blue. [04/05/1989 Horseshoe Curve]
