4 years or so ago I posted about the Union Pacific Railroad's plans to restore a Big Boy, the largest steam locomotives ever built, to operating condition. The U.P. pulled an old one from California to Cheyenne Wyoming to do the work. They finished the project and the roll out was a couple of days ago.
4 years or so ago I posted about the Union Pacific Railroad's plans to restore a Big Boy, the largest steam locomotives ever built, to operating condition. The U.P. pulled an old one from California to Cheyenne Wyoming to do the work. They finished the project and the roll out was a couple of days ago.
Oil burner or battery? They still come in handy when the power goes off.
The railroad was a great summer hire years ago, apparently you were smart enough to get out and do something else. Me? not so much, 44 years.
I worked the Freedom Train in '76, was amazed with the inside of the cab of a steam engine.But in 44 years, with the bankruptcy, sales, and takeovers of the railroads my fondness for the job and lifestyle is severely limited.
Oil burner or battery? They still come in handy when the power goes off.
The railroad was a great summer hire years ago, apparently you were smart enough to get out and do something else. Me? not so much, 44 years.
I worked the Freedom Train in '76, was amazed with the inside of the cab of a steam engine.But in 44 years, with the bankruptcy, sales, and takeovers of the railroads my fondness for the job and lifestyle is severely limited.
My dad was an engineer for Penn Central until an auto accident left him unable to work. His last routes was the Columbus to Madison run. Long before that he went over to the areas through the coal parts of Indiana.
In 2008, I reconnected with an old high school/college friend. He had just started an internet business selling train videos, maps, and other paraphernalia. Needless to say, his sense of timing sucked.
But amazingly the business survived the meltdown 4 months later and is still going strong. I really had no idea how many people loved trains.
My dad was an engineer for Penn Central until an auto accident left him unable to work. His last routes was the Columbus to Madison run. Long before that he went over to the areas through the coal parts of Indiana.
In 2008, I reconnected with an old high school/college friend. He had just started an internet business selling train videos, maps, and other paraphernalia. Needless to say, his sense of timing sucked.
But amazingly the business survived the meltdown 4 months later and is still going strong. I really had no idea how many people loved trains.
I'm trying to prepare to move, and the rr junk I've been throwing away would break his heart. People would gather at various interlockings just to watch a train go by, I can understand watching a few trains rumble through town but the effort and time they put in is beyond me.
I used to run into Columbus from the north. I imagine most of the tracks your dad ran on are abandoned or sold to a short line.Hope he had enough time in to be eligible for RR disability.
Let me guess, since your dad worked on the RR did you have certain rules regarding use of the telephone growing up?
I'm trying to prepare to move, and the rr junk I've been throwing away would break his heart. People would gather at various interlockings just to watch a train go by, I can understand watching a few trains rumble through town but the effort and time they put in is beyond me.
I used to run into Columbus from the north. I imagine most of the tracks your dad ran on are abandoned or sold to a short line.Hope he had enough time in to be eligible for RR disability.
Let me guess, since your dad worked on the RR did you have certain rules regarding use of the telephone growing up?
I do not remember telephone rules. The big rule was, no playing on RR tracks. My friends would walk along them, I couldn't because I am sure my dad's coworkers would rat me out.
He started on Penn central's plan after the accident, but that literally lasted no time before he was moved to social security disability because of the bankruptcy.
My dad was an engineer for Penn Central until an auto accident left him unable to work. His last routes was the Columbus to Madison run. Long before that he went over to the areas through the coal parts of Indiana.
Yes, he spoke a lot of that grade. He took great pride in his handling of it. My dad was the type that would not do anything he couldn't be the best at. I think that grade is why he liked that run.
I do not remember telephone rules. The big rule was, no playing on RR tracks. My friends would walk along them, I couldn't because I am sure my dad's coworkers would rat me out.
He started on Penn central's plan after the accident, but that literally lasted no time before he was moved to social security disability because of the bankruptcy.
Yeah, every railroader saw too much blood and gray matter to ever allow their kids to be near the tracks. Idiots in their cars are one thing ( Darwin and all that ) but kids on the tracks just had no idea and no chance.
Sorry to hear about your dad, must have led to some tough times. Before Chrysler, I think Penn Central was the largest bankruptcy, it screwed a whole bunch of folks.
Oil burner or battery? They still come in handy when the power goes off.
The railroad was a great summer hire years ago, apparently you were smart enough to get out and do something else. Me? not so much, 44 years.
I worked the Freedom Train in '76, was amazed with the inside of the cab of a steam engine.But in 44 years, with the bankruptcy, sales, and takeovers of the railroads my fondness for the job and lifestyle is severely limited.
Oil burner. All short hauls in and around US Steel in Gary. Worked on some high lines around the open hearths and blast furnaces. Almost bought the farm one night when my engineer mistook a nearby signal to move for my signal. I was setting a fusee on the end of a drag at the time.
Oil burner. All short hauls in and around US Steel in Gary. Worked on some high lines around the open hearths and blast furnaces. Almost bought the farm one night when my engineer mistook a nearby signal to move for my signal. I was setting a fusee on the end of a drag at the time.
Small world we live in, I spent about 2 years just down the road at Mid-west and Bethlehem steel in Burns Harbor. Work for the J? I've heard a few serious stories about some of those boys.
Watching the red hot steel plates zoom out of a furnace at 50 or 60 miles an hour was something to see.
I used to know a guy in England -- Tony Marchington who bought The Flying Scotsman.
He made his money in a bio-tech start-up that went IPO whilst being a professor at Oxford. (He had promised Oxford half his shares, never expecting it to amount to as much as he made. At his peak, he was worth £450million -- half of it promised to Oxford. He was the largest donor to Oxford University after King Henry IV (or one of the Henrys.)
So basically he could even burn the university down without even a hint of being sacked by the Provost.
Typically Tony, he was a basically big kid with money now -- who would buy his toys, get bored or lacked the time to support it due to his wide variety of interest but primarily, because he drank a lot.
He also bought a beautiful hill-side sheep farm in the picturesque Peak District - a 200-acre farm that had two or three sheep as pets, a couple of horses, and a few dogs. Was a good idea when he bought it anyway.
He eventually sold away the Flying Scotsman to another entrepreneur, Richard Branson.
He died a few years ago due to cancer. Sad because he was the nicest and one of the brightest guy I have ever met.
Small world we live in, I spent about 2 years just down the road at Mid-west and Bethlehem steel in Burns Harbor. Work for the J? I've heard a few serious stories about some of those boys.
Watching the red hot steel plates zoom out of a furnace at 50 or 60 miles an hour was something to see.
Small world indeed. I grew up in Chesterton. Worked for US Steel on its in-house railroad for 3 summers. Hauled a lot of scrap metal, other raw materials for the furnaces, and also freshly poured “heats” to various locations. All that has changed with new processes and technologies.
I remember when the Midwest and Bethlehem plants were being built. The worry that the sand dunes would disappear with industrial development mobilized citizen groups which finally led to Indiana’s first National Park which was designated a few months ago.
I do not remember telephone rules. The big rule was, no playing on RR tracks. My friends would walk along them, I couldn't because I am sure my dad's coworkers would rat me out.
He started on Penn central's plan after the accident, but that literally lasted no time before he was moved to social security disability because of the bankruptcy.
I grew up in Marion, about 50 yards or so from the Penn Central railroad tracks. There was a path between those tracks and tracks for another railroad - C&O, I believe. We kids would ride our bikes on that path into town. The tracks were our playground. I would walk to and from school up and down 4th street which ran parallel to the tracks. One year, I think probably 5th grade, I realized that a Penn Central train would run slowly going west toward my home each day as I was getting out of school. There was a switch yard a few miles out of town, so I guess they would be slowing as they rolled into that. Anyway I started hitching rides on the train to save some steps by just grabbing onto the ladder on the sides of the boxcars. One day the train sped up as soon as I got on and by the time it approached my neighborhood it was going pretty fast. I pushed off and fell rolling into the wild berry bushes and brambles and got cut up pretty good. That cured me of riding the trains home from school.
I grew up in Marion, about 50 yards or so from the Penn Central railroad tracks. There was a path between those tracks and tracks for another railroad - C&O, I believe. We kids would ride our bikes on that path into town. The tracks were our playground. I would walk to and from school up and down 4th street which ran parallel to the tracks. One year, I think probably 5th grade, I realized that a Penn Central train would run slowly going west toward my home each day as I was getting out of school. There was a switch yard a few miles out of town, so I guess they would be slowing as they rolled into that. Anyway I started hitching rides on the train to save some steps by just grabbing onto the ladder on the sides of the boxcars. One day the train sped up as soon as I got on and by the time it approached my neighborhood it was going pretty fast. I pushed off and fell rolling into the wild berry bushes and brambles and got cut up pretty good. That cured me of riding the trains home from school.
I know exactly where you're talking about. The Logansport line, Fisher Body or G.M. kept that yard from being shut down. The line to Logansport was eventually shut down.
Just had a thought, Indiana. or Ohio?
I've seen kids go over, under, and pass bicycles thru the train over the knuckles. Always waited to see them on the other side WHEN I could see them.
The kids weren't all crazy though. I was pulling into Chicago one day on a stretch of bad track and there were three kids sitting on a stack of ties. I noticed them because they were imitating us by swaying back and forth and bouncing up and down as we rolled over the rotted ties and mud puddles at about 5mph. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back, the one on the left had his hands over his eyes, the one in the middle had his hands over his covering his ears. Of course the one on the right had his hands over his mouth. I still get a chuckle when I think of it. Just to complete the picture, little black kids about 10 years old.
Almost didn't bother clicking on this, looked like another F'n train set, but googlymoogly that's way above and beyond. I especially like the European flavor of humor.
My wife's father and a brother were Motormen on the South Shore South Bend Railroad and lived in Michigan City. Father later became a Mediator for the National Labor Relations Board.
Wasn't our old Cooler friend Buzz123 from Hobart and had a father who was a Mill Superintendent at US Steel in Gary?
I know exactly where you're talking about. The Logansport line, Fisher Body or G.M. kept that yard from being shut down. The line to Logansport was eventually shut down.
