Best Of Railwire Travelling Baggage Car - Photo Thread

[randgust]

I'm waiting to see what the meat cleaver is used for. 

In this group, probably cutting off trip pins.....

[x600]

In this group, probably cutting off trip pins.....

or slicing bacon

Greg O.

[chicken45]

"See? Much better!" said Frederick. Jim was very pleased! His weathered B60b would blend into almost any consist!


"Look how great it looks next to that other baggage jobber back there, Jim!"


Jim and Frederick stood there for a while admiring the way the sun lit up the Tuscan varnish. Today was the Winter Solstice. First day of Winter; the shortest day of the year.
Frederick turned to Jim and said, "I hope you're not heading east. We had a...ahem...mishap...on the mainline."
"Mishap?" said Jim?
"Yeah. Bridge is gone." said Frederick.
"Gone?"
"Yeah. Gone. Some a$$hat foamer out west bought it. It was one of those nice BLMA ones. The Mann who sold it made a pretty penny off that one!"
"So you just ripped it out of the ground?"
"Yep!" said Frederick, taking another swig of the gray brown water.


Truth be told, Jim didn't know where he was headed to next. He had mostly been holding on for dear life, letting destiny guide his way. Jim took his hands out from his pockets and an envelope fell out.

It was an order!


Kind of Car___B60b___
Number or Name of Car__9358__
Point of Origin __Altoona__
Final Destination____Long Island___
Remarks_____S.C._____

Jim found it strange that this was typed in Comic Sans, but an order is an order.

"HAHA!" laughed Frederick. "Long Island? That's east... and YOU'RE ****ED!
But, I doubt the powers that be would just leave you here. What else you got on board? Anything that will help you out?"
"Well," said Jim, "I heard some folks talking about a Flux Spermatophore thing and how it needs to get to 88 mph to send me on my way. "
"And what's that over there? It looks like a Turbo Steam Punk Spectral Sub Thermal Reactor Containment Unit", said Frederick.
Frederick seemed to know what he was talking about as he explained how the TSPSSTRCU could be used to get the car up to speed and propel it over the gap.
"We just need a fuel source to power it." said Frederick.
Jim instantly knew what to do, and what he had been blessed with. "It has to be a renewable cycle! The Flux thingy...all the salt accumulation, it makes salt as a byproduct and the Turbo Pink Special...whatever-thingy....it uses that salt as fuel!"

Jim and Frederick went back to where they first met and observed that the bridge was gone.



"Are you ready for this?" asked Frederick.
"Nope. This is some bullshit right here." said Jim, "but what choice do I have?"


...

[chicken45]

Jim thanked Frederick for his help and hospitality.
"You sure you don't want a sip? It'll put hair on your chest!", Frederick offered.
"I'm good. My chest is hairy enough." said Jim.

And he was off!




Jim and the car vanished across the chasm leaving nothing but a trail of salt!

[Lemosteam]

My portion of the thread must be prefaced by the fact that due to unmitigated circumstances, the package came to me a little late for the context you are about to read, so I ask that all of you consider that when you read this, it is still Christmastime in your recent past, so without further adieu:

     The Polar Express was on its way across Long Island when the call came in. It was a cold December day in 1940, Christmas Eve. The Conductor seemed perturbed, looking at his watch frequently in an agitated state.



     He knew he had many children to deliver to the North Pole this eve. Regardless, the orders were clear: Pick up a Pennsy baggage car for the long ride north. There was no explanation for the transfer on the orders, and nothing regarding the car’s contents, but he knew they came from the Big Guy, so there was no questioning them.

[chicken45]

For the Old Calendar people, it was only 2 days ago on the 7th!


Also I'm the reason it all was late. Sorry, folks.

[seusscaboose]

Jim thanked Frederick for his help and hospitality.
"You sure you don't want a sip? It'll put hair on your chest!", Frederick offered.
"I'm good. My chest is hairy enough." said Jim.

And he was off!




Jim and the car vanished across the chasm leaving nothing but a trail of salt!

I love it !

[Lemosteam]

The LIRR Industrial Service had been holding the car since its delivery on December 22nd from the PRR in Altoona, and the Polar Express was to retrieve it from them while traveling the PRR main westbound into New York to pick up some deserving children there.



There were two problems with this transfer move:

First, the PE was traveling westbound on the elevated line across Long Island, but the siding where the car would be set aside was only accessible from the eastbound main. The baggage car was required to be at the head end so that Santa’s elves had immediate access to the car and its contents after arriving at the North Pole. 

Second, let’s just say that IS Tower will have its hands full as this transfer would force both the eastbound and westbound mains to be fouled during the crossover move from the westbound main onto the eastbound main leaving the train dangerously facing westbound on the eastbound main until the train is fully backed onto the LIRR IS transfer siding. 

Then the 1225 must cross back over to the westbound main when she returned to retrieve the PE, with the baggage car attached. After these, the entire train will block the eastbound main again during its crossover back onto the westbound track heading into New York City.

What a pain, and it was already 11:55p on The Conductor’s watch, hence his apprehension.



The PE crew began the crossover move from the westbound main, backing the PE and its special passengers onto the eastbound main and after that, into the transfer siding.



Wait- what is that flying away- Is that JIM?? It was obvious that this isn't the only time he rode that sheep's back!



Fortunately, the eastbound main was quiet this night as the only fired locomotive, borrowed Long Island Railroad #39 shoved the B60b slowly onto the head end of the PE. The LIRR IS had to borrow #39 when the PRR terminated its lease on the 0-6-0 B8a, #3131 and took it back to Altoona several weeks ago. Bastiges.

[Lemosteam]

Coming up on an elapsed fifty-five minutes, the PE crew was preparing for the final backup move back onto the westbound main to resume PE operations, when The Conductor spotted the hotshot's headlight coming up quickly behind the observation car! The hotshot was early!  “Dear Lord, thought The Conductor, not another close encounter for the PE! The caribou from last year’s trip really caused some serious repercussions from SC for the crew since and this was sure to worry them once again!”



Meanwhile on the hotshot; “Hit the Brakes!!!!”, Clark the engineer exclaimed!  “The westbound is occupied! Looks like there’s a train on the main right in front of us!”  Fortunately, the nighttime lights of New York City provided just enough light to silhouette the tail end of the PE.



It is said that Clark is known to work as hard as a washing machine and his actions will prove that this night.

“Is it moving?”, said the Ralphie the brakeman.

“Yes, but its still on the crossover at IS Tower!”, replied Clark.

Ralphie exclaimed: “That's the Polar Express, Clark!, as the hotshot moved closer.“I was on that train once when I was a kid!”

During the elapsed time until the impending collision, Ralphie drifted to a different place and time as his life passed before his eyes, he remembered; “Never did get that Red Rider BB gun from Santa. He wrote me back writing: "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!". I was so happy to learn later that my father ended up getting it for me.”




“This ones ‘gonna be close!”, said Clark.  After all, only he could see the potential collision, knowing Ralphie was in another place, as he himself closed his eyes and prepared for impact.

A ghastly look of fear appeared on Clark and Ralph's faces (played by Steve martin and John Candy) as the hotshot stops mere feet from the three literally plastified children on the observation car’s platform.



So close in fact that one could make out the rivets on the trim panel below the observation deck.  This panel was added to the observation deck at the request of a 45 year-old Chicken, some years earlier.



As the PE slowly pulled away, pure relief sets in for both crews knowing that the PE and the hotshot’s passengers, in addition to the most beautiful PRR K4 on the roster, was spared a Christmas Eve disaster!  However, the looks on each crew’s faces will not be forgotten anytime soon.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ahahahahahahah. This is awesome.

[peteski]

Well done John!  You guys just keep on outdoing each other here! 

[Lemosteam]

Thanks guys! 

[Lemosteam]

The Conductor however has a concerned and puzzled look on his face.  Concern for the time; 11:55:10p, and why the Big Guy wants this transfer so badly.



You see Santa knows all and heard Jim's comments back in West Hickory about the Flux Capacitor Lot and what it could do, unstable or not. Santa immediately saw the potential for this device to change the way he operated on every prior Christmas Eve, and he knew his elves could solve every technical difficulty the device might have, such as the need to run on SALT, of all things.  You could say that he became quite desirous of the Flux Capacitor, almost to the point of calamity. Santa's plan was nefarious in and of itself for he had only wanted to borrow one of the devices for one night, just to see if it could ease his Christmas workload, a selfish thought nonetheless.

Unbeknownst to everyone that night including Jim, Santa had sent an elf to enchant Jim’s sheep named Russ to fly Jim, still covered in Surlee Salt, to the North Pole to avoid any, well, time loss. Especially after the way Jim acted in West Hickory.    Santa wanted no delays in the delivery of this car. Even the coffee-drinking ghost was so surprised seeing the event that he disappeared into thin air!

The train finally picked up the last child in New York City and headed to the North Pole on its usual route.  During the familiar trip, The Conductor thought to himself, “Glad that pesky kid from last year isn’t on the train, hmph, nearly lost tickets, the turntable shenanigan, and making a mess of the gift bag celebration.  Kinda lost a little faith in the Big Guy that night seeing him give that kid the first bell of Christmas.  And then he loses the bell to boot!  I think that kid from the wrong side of the tracks should have gotten it, but what do I know…”

"And now this baggage car delivery- What on earth is Santa up to?"

It was 11:59:59 PM on The Conductor’s watch and the arrival at Elf City was surreal in that the square was empty: I mean EMPTY, except for a small group of commando elves, waiting where the head end would finally come to rest in front of the Official Christmas Tree. 

They moved swiftly and quietly into the Pennsy baggage car, quickly wheeling away a crate with a single marking on it “Fragile”.



Somewhere Ralphie must be laughing at his father’s observation…  “Fra-Jee-Lay… it must be Italian!”

Once the commandos completed confiscating the crate and delivering it, assumed to the Big Guy, Santa signaled the “OK” for the Christmas festivities to begin and the town square became immediately consumed by elves.  This commotion became the perfect cover for Operation Flux.



Meanwhile, in a secret workshop, a select group of Santa’s best and brightest elves perfected and tested the Flux Capacitors. Santa was a Smart Chocolate Chip Cookie: He had the elves create a time travel loop that lasted, in real time, for only thirty seconds and during that “time”, he was able to amass another complete crate of additional Flux Capacitors for himself.  This so when the original crate was loaded back onto the B60b, along with Jim and his sheep, no one would be the wiser to his plan!  Only one person would know the truth, The Conductor, and he would never rat on the Big Guy, would he?

Operation Flux was complete.

A peculiar little elf who eerily looked a lot like Steven Tyler of a very different era, had stowed himself away on the car as well. This Elf would become the lead singer of a band called Aerosmith.  What does that even mean?  A Smithy of Aeros?  I digress.



Santa’s execution of his mischievous“Operation Flux” had succeeded even his lofty expectations, as the device, now powered with kindness and goodwill instead of salt, allowed Santa to deliver all presents and lumps of coal in a single minute of real time. Let’s just say Mrs. Big Guy was pleased having more time for him to spend at home even after hearing the “other package”had been lost in transit somewhere.
 
The Conductor dropped off all of the chosen children safely for their Christmas Day. It was 12:01 on The Conductor’s watch.“Wow what an evening.”, he thought to himself.

Jim had one more time setting on the Flux Capacitor in the crate, June 1, 1950:



After the PE dropped off the special transfer car, the LIRR IS would send the car to its next destination based on the orders with goofy font below, that darned SC:

Kind of Car___B60b___
Number or Name of Car__9358__
Point of Origin __LIRR IS__
Final Destination____New Jersey___
Remarks__Propel car Westbound to 88mph and release___

Special instructions stated that the transfer must be propelled westbound to 88mph.  Odd.  Only one way to do that-  “Where’s LIRR #39?? Let’s have some fun!”, said the switching crew on the crisp bright morning after Christmas, "Let's send this car to the good old PRSL down the Jersey way!"…





Why does this car always appear to be going nowhere fast @chicken45 ???

[chicken45]

You know, John, you kinda look a lot like the conductor.

I think there's a metaphor here.


Well done!

[Jbub]

Well done John!  You guys just keep on outdoing each other here!  :)mo

Well that sucks for me, the bar is only getting higher and I'm the last on the list.