Above are pictures of our team and display at the July 6th, Friday Night Live – We had a blast! Come out and join us August 10, old Courthouse lawn in Downtown Madisonville, Ky!
Category: General Post
Posts that don’t fall under other categories
Bill Heaton found CN 2113 in Paducah, KY, still in its “15-Year As a Publicly Traded Company” paint scheme. The C40-8 was built in 1991 for Chicago & North Western. One on-line source referred to it being specially equipped for mid-train helper service. – Photo by Bill Heaton
Friday the 13th, 8:30 AM, North bound stack train overtakes empty coal train with only one locomotive. Shot at North Nortonville Siding. Photo by Rick Bivins.
P&L East bound on March 15th at West Yard running long hood forward and with a new NRE locomotive in tow. Photo by Rick Bivins
If this lamp could talk, what an array of stories it could tell. The bent top, dirty glass, and broken wire frame adds much character and story to this photo. This Handlan Buck lantern glows intently in the fading dusk at the East Ely Yard of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Just how many conductors or brakemen waved this relic in signaling the engineer to stop, proceed or kick a car. Clearly this lamp earned it’s keep. Reliable and effective, these only need TLC and a little kerosene to faithfully serve it’s handler. No dead batteries, no cell towers, or cyber wizardry, just solid technology from an era long past.
The Nevada Northern RR is a great place to visit, been there twice. Great operating collection, and a friendly staff that had no problem letting me wander around at will. You can experience the so-called “loneliest road in the world,” US 50, if coming from the Reno area. Bring water, have the wife bring a book….
Rails today use hand held radios to do all the signaling from the ground and lamps like this find their way into memorabilia collections, as this one did for Steve Crise. Watch for them at the next garage sale down the street. There are a few hanging from the ceiling of my man cave.
Excerpts from Railroads Illustrated May 2009. Photo credit: Mike Massee, submitted by Gary O. Ostlund
Chuck Hinrichs passed this note from a friend on to me for publishing:
I was recently visiting the Railroad Museum in Princeton when the gentleman working there told me that they are in dire need of individuals to help keep the museum going. It appears that many of the guys who helped create it have passed on. They have a very nice little collection but are in desperate need for volunteers to help work there. If any of you are in or near the Princeton area, please consider working with them to keep the place alive. Otherwise I fear we’ll eventually see it shuttered and the collection will simply disappear into garages and basements.
Picnic Demographics: Hopkinsville-4; Madisonville-3; Indiana-3; Clay-2; Henderson-1; 1 of an unknown source. Photos and research by Chuck Hinrichs.
Brian Banta, in cooperation with the Railfans of Indianapolis is hosting a diesel powered excursion on the Indiana Railroad. Date is Sunday, November 14, 2010 (Subject to Change)
Route is the Indiana Railroad: Segment 1: Jasonville, Indiana to Fayette, Indiana (just across the Wabash River from North Terre Haute) and return. Segment 2: Jasonville, Indiana to the new Bear Run Mine Loop (largest surface mine east of the Mississippi River) then to the Indiana RR mainline. Segment 3: Bear Run Mine junction to Elnora, Indiana then back to Jasonville.
Seating is sold only to fill 70% capacity. Departure 9:00 am from Jasonville. Return by 5:00 pm. Cost $65. No one under age 16 allowed. Checks only. Must be prepaid before October 30, Full refunds up to October 29. Checks deposited November 1. Price includes all the food & drinks you want. Send check made out to BRIAN BANTA (not to the Banta Train) as follows: Banta Train, PO. Box 56, Edinburgh, IN 46124.
Map to boarding site will be mailed a week before trip, in case boarding site changes. No alcohol permitted, No smoking permitted. Sorry no coffee provided. You may bring your special drinks (NO Alcohol) and food. Restrooms on board. – submitted by Chris Dees
CINCINNATI RAILROAD CLUB and MIAMI VALLEY RAILFANS Present SUMMERAIL AT C.U.T.
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM and RAILROAD SHOW AND SALE
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, in the Rotunda on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at Cincinnati Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
Join us at this historic art deco railroad terminal to escape the summer heat and enjoy a day of high quality railroad photography. There will be twelve 222 multimedia digital and dual-projector slide presentations, all set to music. The programs will run from 1:00 – 10:00 p.m., with a break for dinner (on your own) from approximately 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Admission is $15.
A railroad show and sale will be set up in the terminal rotunda from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Friday August 13 in CUT Auditorium will be some traditional “talkie” programs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Admission is free. Thursday August 12 in Tower A will be the Cincinnati Railroad Club’s monthly business meeting at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free.
Plans call for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails again, through display and excursion program with TVRM
NORFOLK, VA., and CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Norfolk Southern Corporation is in negotiations with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with regard to the operation of a limited schedule of steam locomotive event appearances and passenger excursions beginning later this year. “21st Century Steam” would highlight milestones in rail history and provide an opportunity for audiences to learn about today’s safe and service-oriented freight railroads.
The program would feature three venerable coal-powered steam locomotives: Southern Railway 4501: Built in 1911 by Baldwin Locomotive Works, 4501 served Southern Railway in freight service in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, before being sold to a short line railroad. No. 4501 was retired from revenue service in 1963 and enjoyed a second career in the excursion program operated by Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern from 1966 until 1994. This Ms (Mikado superheated) Class locomotive has 63-inch driving wheels.
Southern Railway 630: Built in 1904 at the Richmond, Va., works of American Locomotive Company, this Consolidation-type locomotive has traveled throughout the Southeast, often in the company of 4501 and sister locomotive 722. An extensive six-year rehabilitation to Federal Railroad Administration standards is being completed at TVRM’s Soule Shops complex in Chattanooga.
Tennessee Valley Railroad 610: Built in 1952 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton for the U.S. Army, 610 has been the mainstay of TVRM steam operations since 1990. It also appeared on several Norfolk Southern steam excursions from 1990 to 1993. No. 610, also a Consolidation type, was one of the last steam locomotives built in the U.S.
“This is the right time for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails,” said CEO Wick Moorman. “We have a fascinating history, and we have a compelling message about how today’s railroads support jobs, competition, and the economy. It is a forward-looking message that resonates with people everywhere.”
“21st Century Steam can help introduce historic and modern railroading to a broad new audience of supporters,” said TVRM President Tim Andrews. “We are pleased to be developing this relationship with Norfolk Southern for the purpose of preserving and interpreting the steam age, and of bringing today’s railroad closer to people young and old, in communities large and small.” The launch of 21st Century Steam would coincide with key dates. 2011 will be 4501’s 100th birthday and TVRM’s 50th. The year 2012 will mark Norfolk Southern’s 30th anniversary. 21st Century Steam’s initial appearances and runs tentatively could take place in the Chattanooga area this fall, with locomotives 610 and 630. No. 4501 could join the program sometime in 2011, after rehabilitation. Exhibit dates, ticketing, and other details will be announced later.
“The sights and sounds of a steam train are powerful enough to catch the public’s attention in this busy and complex age,” said Jim Wrinn, author of Steam’s Camelot: Southern and NS Excursions in Color, and editor of Trains Magazine. “A steam train is a living piece of American history that teaches volumes about this exciting industry that has much to offer our country today. Once the door is open with the steam locomotive, you’ve got an opportunity to teach a new generation how railroading is the right transportation solution to so many challenges facing us.”
Later this year, Norfolk Southern and TVRM plan to launch a web site in support of the program. Correspondence can be addressed to 21stcenturysteam@nscorp.com.
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded in 1961 in Chattanooga to create an interpretive operating museum of historic equipment and artifacts in an authentic setting. Today it operates an extensive schedule of historic and scenic trains in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, supported by its East Chattanooga locomotive and car shop complex. TVRM is the largest operating historical excursion railroad in the Southeast.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.
CINCINNATI RAILROAD CLUB and MIAMI VALLEY RAILFANS Presen
SUMMERAIL AT C.U.T.
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM and RAILROAD SHOW AND SALE
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, in the Rotunda
Saturday, August 14, 2010
CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL
1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
Join us at this historic art deco railroad terminal to escape the summer heat and enjoy a day of high quality railroad photography. There will be twelve 222 multimedia digital and dual-projector slide presentations, all set to music. The programs will run from 1:00 – 10:00 p.m., with a break for dinner (on your own) from approximately 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Admission is $15.
A railroad show and sale will be set up in the terminal rotunda from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Friday August 13 in CUT Auditorium will be some traditional “talkie” programs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Admission is free. Thursday August 12 in Tower A will be the Cincinnati Railroad Club’s monthly business meeting at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free.
Continue to remember Ron Stubblefield and Jim Finley in your prayers. Tom Johnson’s wife, Georgeann, received a great report from her last doctor visit. No cancer in the lymph nodes! She will undergo precautionary radiation treatments for six weeks. Tom thanks all for your prayers.
Here are a few updates:
Fantastic news. The first legislation to explicitly authorize a 220 mph high speed rail network in the Midwest has passed the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee. Sponsored and championed by Transportation Chairman Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), the bill would create the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority, an independent agency tasked with developing a public-private partnership to build, operate, maintain and finance new tracks for passenger trains capable of traveling more than 150 mph. This is historic. The bill is SB2571 (amendment 3). More than 600 members emailed their legislators in support of the bill. Join them now as the bill moves to the floor of the Senate by clicking here.
Combined with Governor Quinn’s support of bullet trains in his State of the State address, the momentum for a public-private partnership to build new tracks for true high speed rail is growing!
-submitted by William Corum