I just hopped in on this thread. Looks like a great idea for On the Rails. It gets a little old looking at nothing but engines all the time. There's a lot more out there.
Since I am the originator of this thread, I would like to suggest using its title for the suggested new forum. It may be a little long, but it does a good job describing the content. "There Is More To Railroads Than Trains." I also suggest two threads at a minimum, this one and one devoted to people.
Not a bad Idea i'll suggest it too Charlie, by the way i took a picture of this signal today while carrying out an inspection. The signal is a double aspect colour light, this is the latest technology using LED's rather than incandescent globes. They have a much broader focus and hotspot. They consist of approx 300 individual LEDS so if a few burnout is does not effect the sighting. sorry for the picture quality but my work digital camera is rather dated. The cost of the signal conversion is approx 120 Kato N scale SD40-2's lol i only price my projects against what I could buy at the hobby shop hehehehe
It's amazing how "North American" that signal group looks. Just a thought...should we move this topic to a more visable forum, I'm sure not everyone comes to the Photography Forum. We might get more interest in starting a new "There's More to Railroading Than Trains" forum if we did.
Some very interesting photos and thoughts here people. Colonel's LED signal I found rather interesting. One questions though: Where are the tower photos??? Lets see some....
I tried to find a shot of some of the dual-guage track at the Colorado RR Museum-awesome stuff with dual guage switches, frogs, etc. I only have it on video. Any of you Colorado guys have any shots? It's pretty fascinating.
Judging by the posts here, and the wide scope of this topic, I feel it would stand having it's own forum
Paul, Your picture if the signals is on the dark side, but in this case, I like it that way. It shows off the signals in a more dramatic fashion. [ 30. March 2004, 19:59: Message edited by: Peirce ]
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peirce: Back to infrastructure items. Here is something that has gone from very common to very rare. I am not going to name it just yet. It would be interesting to see how many of the "younger" members of our little group recognize it. B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hmmmmm, Isn't that a thing that they put the mail on and when the eXpress came by they would reach out with a stick an' get the mail?!
Here is another oldie. This was at a siding of a paper mill that is now closed. Last summer, CN removed it and the track leading to it. It has probaly been recyled by now.
Hunter - You are correct. The two arms that are nearly vertical in the picture are spring loaded. The mailbag is suspended between them. The Railway Post Office (RPO) car had a special hooking device that would snag the bag. The arms would then spring out of the way. The mailbag would slide along the arm of the retrieval device on the RPO and into the car. The train would not have to slow down. Robin - This is a classic design in your photo. Many are still in use today. Thanks for adding it to this thread.
Tody was a great day railfan-wise. I got a pic of something no one has mentioned. The coupler!! Sorry I can't post it, I haven't a scanner. I mean, what would the railroad be without couplers??
Hi nbrr2000. If you wish, send me a copy of your picture by snail mail and I will scan it and post it for you. send to Robin Matthysen 24 Elena Court Georgetown Ontario, Canada L7G 4Z2
In one respect, this may be so obvious it is easily overlooked. However, not in this case, since it is in a passenger station in Paris, France. This is the way the French lay track in the stations. The ties are a combination of concrete and steel. [ 30. March 2004, 20:05: Message edited by: Peirce ]
I enjoy this thread also, thanx to Colonel for the control room shot. I'm still analog most of the time but WILL figure out how to get a picture to you'uns.
I actually have some shots on my website of an abandoned rail line near my hometown of Bakersfield, CA. As a side note, some of the rail in place is rumored to be dated 1882. I actually saw some 61 1/2 lb. rail labeled Sheffield Toughened Steel (Sheffield being in England) and dated 1887. Here are a couple of the photos:
Our interest in infrastructure includes both old and new. Earlier a relatively new station was pictured. Here is an old one, built around 1905 by the Lackawanna Railroad, both as a passenger station and their corporate headquarters. It cost them a little over $500,000 and included a Tifany glass ceiling over the main concourse. When the Hilton organization restored it a few years ago, they spent over $14 million. It is now a hotel run by Raddison. There is one of the finest restaurants of the area in the main concourse. This night shot was taken in October, 2000. [ 30. March 2004, 20:14: Message edited by: Peirce ]
Here is a another old station. This one in Georgetown Ontario was built by the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1858. It is built with limestone bricks. VIA uses it occasionaly but mostly it is used to sell tickets for the GO commuter service to Toronto
Kevin, Great shots of that abandoned line. Would you happen to have any pix of that wooden trestle that it is going over? Now that would be a great contribution to this thread that I would like to see! (Love wood trestles) Russ/NYC The Hoffman Valley Railroad NARA member#28
