February 21, 2008 (Thursday) Proto Photo topic

[3rdrail]

Some more photos from my visit to the Branford Electric Railway museum on July 7, 1956 - almost 52 years ago!

Cedar Rapids & Iowa City (former Cincinnati & Lake Erie) "Red Devil" high speed interurban. No number was visible. One of these cars beat a biplane in a race for an RKO-Pathé newsreel when new.


Toronto Transit Commission single-trucker 1706 sits on a short section of track, as Toronto's track gauge was 2 inches wider than standard - 4' 10.5" vs. 4' 8.5".  Branford planned to standard gauge this car.


Union Electric of Rhode Island box motor 1504, a sturdy looking car for a street railway.


Next, week, some photos of the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee taken in June 1959. The last true interurban.

[Ian MacMillan]

Nothing much, just some quick grab shots of NHN in Rochester/Milton. Nothing really to be proud of. Sky has not been cooperating this week

[Ntrainz1]

Some locos in Winslow, NJ.






Bob.

[Bob Bufkin]

Here are some photos from 1974/75 of Amtrak's The Blue Ridge.  Train is being made up for return to DC from Cumberland, MD:

[SAH]

The north end of the B&O CH&D line (Cincinnati Hamilton & Dayton) ended at Rossford, OH just west of Toledo along the Maumee River.  By the time I prowled the area Rossford was pretty much a car storage and local industry service yard.  One could find some cool old freight cars and occasionally a loco laying over.  All pretty much gone the last time I was back, several years ago.



About 5 miles south of Rossford was Perrysburg, where I lived during my Toledo daze.  The CH&D was visible from my front porch.  An evening local would come down to service the lone rail siding in P'burg.  I'd hear them blow for the crossings in town and sometimes jump on my old bike, camera in hand.  This is one of my favorite photos from those days.  Not based on technical merit obviously, but for the memories it brings back.



Steve

[wm3798]

Here's a portion of my big adventure last weekend.  The highlight of Friday's travels had to be Ohiopyle.  Despite it's peculiar name, which has its origins in the native Americans that once roamed these woods, this is an incredibly beautiful spot.  Of course, the main attraction for me is the former WM right of way, now the Great Allegheny Passage, but there's also the very active CSX (former B&O) line across the river, white water rafting, bed and breakfasts, miles of hiking trails (other than the WM) and tons of other recreational opportunities.  Let's begin at the depot.  As is my new custom, the full size image is the clickable link below the picture...

http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_040.jpg


http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_039.jpg
http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_043.jpg
Probably the most familiar view of the station. It would be nicer if there were tracks and F units, use your imagination.

Next we head across the first bridge, or the "Low Bridge".  Unfortunately, it's not the original.

http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_059.jpg
The original WM span over the highway was the first part of the Connellsville sub to be removed when the line was taken out of service. Actually it was before it was taken out of service... A farewell excursion had to be diverted to the B&O for most of the trip because the span was taken out. It's a good study of concrete leaching, anyway.


The piers are remnants of the WM, but the bridge is recent addition. The original bridge was removed due to a low clearance issue over the state road. The geniuses at the hikey bikey trail decided the remaining original spans weren't "pretty" enough, so they spent a gazillion tax dollars to have it removed and replaced with this wispy little truss bridge.


http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_044.jpg

Personally, I don't see what was wrong with the old one...  Photo from the historic marker at the foot of the new bridge.


http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_045.jpg

I'm about halfway between the two Ohiopyle bridges, looking back toward the depot. The path that splits away to the left is the right of way of the former connection to the B&O, which is about a hundred yards  to the left.

Next, the high bridge.

http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Connellsville-Ohiopyle_051.jpg

Because of the snow, and the absence of an emergency pair of socks... I didn't go down the hill to shoot the bridge to its best advantage.  Maybe next time.  The difference in the bridges is due to the big bend in the Yough that falls over 100' as it rounds a long peninsula.  That drop is what makes this area one of the top white water destinations in the east.  Here's the view from the top.
Looking up river:

and down.  Notice the CSX tracks on the right side of the valley.

Sorry about the small images.  It turns out that my nose is right where the button is that adjust image size.  The more advance our technology, the more fragile it is to use!  Also, you'll note as you go through my galleries, that almost all of the railfanning is done under overcast skies.  I literally have a black cloud that follows me around...

While I was there, I was fortunate enough to see a train heading westbound.  Here are the really bad photos I took...


Yes, that's a blue and yellow warbonnet over there...  I'm not sure how rare they are out west, but I don't think I've ever seen one out this way before.


And this wide shot of the same train should be an inspiration to N scalers everywhere...!

And here I am, courtesy of the 10 second timer, enjoying being in the moment with the bones of the Western Maryland...


Never mind the stains on my coat... damn cinnamon donuts!

Lee

[wes_sutton]

Three more from my minimalist collection of US trannies taken in July 1981. These were all taken while travelling by Greyhound from Kansas City to Winnipeg and making a mad dash during comfort stops to grab the images.

NW2 563 - not sure exactly where - possibly Sioux City or Sioux Falls



GP9 1893 at the same location



ABBA set led by F9A 788 at Grand Forks



Wes

[Norm P]

Lately I've been going back to eastern Kentucky where I was raised whenever I've had a day off without any plans.  I tell myself that I'm trying to make up for lost opportunities (and I am), but I think subconciously I'm also trying to convince myself I need to model the coal hauling aspect of railroading.  Yesterday I went to Coal Run, which has a CSX sub named after it in Pike County, Kentucky.  I found a string of older coal hoppers stored at the small yard there, including this L&N hopper.  The white dot was to mark the hopper for unit train use only, in the days when railroads still went up into the hollers and collected 5-10 cars at a time until they had enough for a full train.  This white dot also appeared on the C&O and a couple of other mountain railroads.  I think the Interstate RR used a yellow dot and referred to those cars as "yellow balls."  Does this mean if conrail did it they would be called blue balls?


Here's a coal company-owned GP8 at a loadout in the county where I was raised:


And finally, this old workhorse has probably seen its last days at the prep plant, and is now stored at the CSX yard in Jackson, Ky:

I was tempted to give Lee the pleasure of seeing a Chessie hopper I photographed, but I resisted...

[The Donkey]

Some more pics from "Da Donk."

This is the Q352 eastbound thru Sterling last June. Prior to it's arrival, a CSX ballast train
came east to Sterling, & then proceeded to back up on the wye of the old CL&W & head
back west for reasons unknown. I got pics of the ballast train arriving & then backing up
up the wye, & planned on getting more of it on the west leg of the wye heading back.
But the Q352 screwed things up, & as its a mixed freight job, & wanted to be in position
to get proto reference pics for possible future model weathering. So I ended up with a
fairly rare shot here of the Q352 coming thru, & the BO38 ballast train heading back west
in the background on the wye.


& to add a bit of teasing to Lee, a couple VERY CRAPPY pics I took in town here with a Kodak pocket cam when I was 14 in the summer of 1980. The Ohio Central has this line now, & those of you in the
know (KLUKE is one) the industry to the left with the SCL & SLSF boxcars is what I now call "The
Siding" & get a good amount of weathering reference pics that are in my RRpicarchives site.

[RockGp40]

Ahh, ex Iowa Interstate. Bob, do you know if this thing is back up and running? I follow their Yahoo group and last I heard this thing was dead in the water awaiting parts.

[John]

Some MOW coming by at lunch last week

[img width= height=]http://lh3.google.com/acsxfan1/R8NXbdHGHmI/AAAAAAAAC_c/E4FTGuONNQc/s800/IMG_2827.jpg[/img]

[img width= height=]http://lh3.google.com/acsxfan1/R8NX2dHGHnI/AAAAAAAADAA/bsVa2QTcbLo/s800/IMG_2826.jpg[/img]

[img width= height=]http://lh5.google.com/acsxfan1/R8NYB9HGHoI/AAAAAAAADAg/VR7hsHNxE5Q/s800/IMG_2825.jpg[/img]

[John]

The thing I really like about my Canon S3 ..  video .. this is the switcher at the Annapolis Jct gravel dealer .. its set up for remote controls .. the thing zips along pretty good in the little area they get to play in .. just like some NScalers

[choochin3]

Baltimore Transit Co. PCC 4707 at the BSM this past summer.

Carl T.

[choochin3]

Headlight of Baltimore Peter Witt,taken this past summer at the BSM.
Carl T.

[choochin3]

Baltimore Peter Witt at the BSM, summer '07.
Carl T.