A friend sent me this from California in 2006. I just found it buried in my collection. Thought I recognized it. Here it is at Cedar Park north of Austin, Texas where it lives now. An old Santa Fe business car.
No, that is just the way Santa Fe cars looked. They specified that they would have heavy beam side sills at the bottom of the sides as opposed to most heavyweight construction with a side sill belt right below the window line. So the sides are more or less smooth from below the roof down to the low side sill. This makes it easy to spot an old ATSF car. For many years us N scalers had to put up with only ATSF prototype head end cars, diners and observation cars from Rivarossi to model every heavyweight train out there. There were the Rivarossi coaches (non ATSF prototype) the Rivarossi 12-1 Pullmans, a few Model Power/Lima as well as the shorty Bachmann cars but that was it.
From 07/22/1976 at Hoboken, NJ, GE U-34CH CR 1776 waits under the wire. She's former EL 3351. On 04/01/1976 when EL disappeared into CR, NJDOT contracted with CR to operate EL commuter lines until NJ Transit (aka NJ Train Set ) was established several years later. Another shot I wish I had in color!
When I next returned to Hoboken on 01/25/1981 armed with Kodachrome, the 1776 was long gone ...... and I found this GP-40. Ugh!
Hard to follow these classic EMDs, but I'll try anyways. Aurora borealis this morning as a CP eastbound intermodal blisters the ballast at MP 497, CP Portal Sub, west of Carpio, ND:
Duuuude, those are some sweet captures! Wow!! Only time I've ever seen the Northern Lights, I was visiting family in Langdon, ND. It was a double harvest that year, and EVERYBODY was helping out-from the 12 year olds on up,(they were excused from school so they could drive the trucks to meet the combines to empty them when full! Yes, the 12 year olds have "Farmers Licences" so they can drive), anyone that can drive something! Anyhow, Uncle wakes me up @2am, "your shift, coffee's ready for ya!" Ran that combine for two hours, under the Northern Lights-almost didn't need the floodlights they were so bright and dancing around, simply beautiful to someone's that never experienced it!
Definitely. Down around latitude 45, they're a bit rarer to see and handicapped by the urban light sprawl of Montreal, even in the northern suburbs where I live. Best Northern Light Show I experienced was nearly 20 years ago during a particularly intense solar storm and the entire sky was illuminated with quickly changing successive waves of light crossing the sky. It was like the whole sky was pulsating with light. I lay down in the middle of the back yard and just looked up for an hour or so, until the cool evening air started to make me shiver. I went back inside and made myself a big mug of hot coffee, with a memory that would last a lifetime.
E Units anyone? The coach yard at Barrington, IL made a fine site about 1976. At the signal bridges in the distance, the mainline shrank from three tracks to the two rightmost tracks we see here. The rightmost train is on the move, pushing inbound to Chicago.
Happy 46th Birthday today Conrail, born 04/01/1976. [Former CNJ engine terminal, Bethlehem, PA 10/10/1982, former RDG GP-7 622]
I was trying to find some information about those but did not come up with much other than what type of roller bearings. The car was one of three business cars converted from coaches to serve General Superintendents in 1952. This one started out as AT&SF coach #3346 (built by Pullman in 1928) and was given the number 4 for a while and eventually assigned the number 21 when it was rebuilt with thermo-pane windows sometime between 1966 and 1968. This is all from Volume 2, Passenger Train Equipment, 1870-1975 of the Atchison Topeca & Santa Fe, Business and Special Purpose Cars, by Frank Ellington and Joe Shine.
So it appears that most of you in this area have been rail fanning ( is that correct ), since you were young? As it appears there are photo's from slides, 35mm film, etc... And that some how you kept them? I guess you converted them to digital at some point? I know some are from the new fangled intranet thingy, but appears most are actually from y'all? Yes I am Southern born and raised, y'all And apparently everyone that post in these areas has a wealth of knowledge about railroads and their companies? Down to even tiny details about locomotives and rolling stock. Did some of you work for a railroad company? Very interesting information!
Alright what's the locomotive in the picture? What railroad was it? And what year, about? Nice to hear it's been a hobby of yours and others for many years.
It is an EMD E8 locomotive. Chicago & Northwestern Railroad with the Flambeau 400 train taken in March of 1956.
A common condition that I share. It seems to be related to a certain gene that is activated by the presence of large masses combined with driving wheels, especially when accompanied by a lot of noise and the scent of oil, smoke or other forms of exhaust gases. It's generally lifelong but doesn't have any deleterious effects other than the compelling urge to travel to various locations to re-experience the power of trains. Other symptoms may include activities reproducing the trains in miniature. There's no cure, and I don't want to be cured! Sure beats COVID by a long shot.
