Any Train Enthusiasts Out There?

[desmobob]

I live in a town that used to have a Delaware & Hudson Railroad maintenance shop and roundhouse, as well as a decent-sized yard. One of my uncles was a D&H engineer.

When I used to play around with N-scale model trains, I had several D&H locomotives and lots of D&H rolling stock...

[1967redrider]

Those are cool, Bob, thanks for posting. Is the second one down a Baldwin RF-16 Sharknose?

[desmobob]

Those are cool, Bob, thanks for posting. Is the second one down a Baldwin RF-16 Sharknose?

They are. In the early '70s, D&H bought a pair of them, cheap, that were headed to the scrap yard. Pretty cool locos!

[cudgee]

I live in a town that used to have a Delaware & Hudson Railroad maintenance shop and roundhouse, as well as a decent-sized yard. One of my uncles was a D&H engineer.

When I used to play around with N-scale model trains, I had several D&H locomotives and lots of D&H rolling stock...
D&H locos.jpg

Nice collection, i'm just getting back into it, N Scale for the first time.

[TPK]

I live in a town that used to have a Delaware & Hudson Railroad maintenance shop and roundhouse, as well as a decent-sized yard. One of my uncles was a D&H engineer.

When I used to play around with N-scale model trains, I had several D&H locomotives and lots of D&H rolling stock...
D&H locos.jpg

Cool Bob!

[desmobob]

Nice collection, i'm just getting back into it, N Scale for the first time.

The N stuff is great because it doesn't take up much space. The frustrating part of N scale is that the models have incredible detail but everything is so small, by the time you put it on the tracks, you can't see any of it.

Bob

[desmobob]

Cool Bob!

Glad you like 'em! I wish I had waited a while to get into model trains. Advancements in electronic technology has made model railroading a lot easier and more fun. The Digital Commnd Sytem (DCS) has made it super-easy to wire a layout and to run multiple engines simultaneously but control them separately... a huge advancement, in my opinion.

Sort of like model airplanes... I have a cellar full of glow-powered models and a big selection of glow (alcohol and nitromethane) powered engines, but advances in battery technology has made it simpler, easier, cleaner, etc. to run electric-powered models. I fear that all my glow stuff is already obsolete. One of the perils of getting old...

[TPK]

Cool Bob!

Glad you like 'em! I wish I had waited a while to get into model trains. Advancements in electronic technology has made model railroading a lot easier and more fun. The Digital Commnd Sytem (DCS) has made it super-easy to wire a layout and to run multiple engines simultaneously but control them separately... a huge advancement, in my opinion.

Sort of like model airplanes... I have a cellar full of glow-powered models and a big selection of glow (alcohol and nitromethane) powered engines, but advances in battery technology has made it simpler, easier, cleaner, etc. to run electric-powered models. I fear that all my glow stuff is already obsolete. One of the perils of getting old...

One more good thing about knives. Older is even better.

[desmobob]

One more good thing about knives. Older is even better.

[Waukonda]

I live in a town that used to have a Delaware & Hudson Railroad maintenance shop and roundhouse, as well as a decent-sized yard. One of my uncles was a D&H engineer.

When I used to play around with N-scale model trains, I had several D&H locomotives and lots of D&H rolling stock...
D&H locos.jpg

Great info, Bob, and nice collection. I also had an uncle who was an engineer, he was with the IC. He was one of my great uncles, so he retired when I was very young, but I have a vague memory of him showing me around the cab of a loco.

[desmobob]

Great info, Bob, and nice collection. I also had an uncle who was an engineer, he was with the IC. He was one of my great uncles, so he retired when I was very young, but I have a vague memory of him showing me around the cab of a loco.

Thanks!

My uncle brought me onto a loco, too. I was very young and scared by all the noise. Cried my eyes out, they tell me...

[cudgee]

That is what got me hooked. About 6 or 7 waiting for a train with my mum, she was reading in the carriage and i was down looking at the diesel thumping away before departure. The driver climbed down, picked me up and took up and sat me in his seat showing me all the controls. When he let me sound the horn i was done for. Would not be allowed to get away with that now days.

B class loco.jpg (4.29 KiB) Viewed 2529 times

[1967redrider]

I live in a town that used to have a Delaware & Hudson Railroad maintenance shop and roundhouse, as well as a decent-sized yard. One of my uncles was a D&H engineer.

When I used to play around with N-scale model trains, I had several D&H locomotives and lots of D&H rolling stock...
D&H locos.jpg

Ever see a Delaware & Hudson like this one?

[1967redrider]

Just posted on Twitter, B&O 829 heading Westbound out of Cumberland through The Narrows. Will's Creek is below, named after Indian Will.

[desmobob]

Ever see a Delaware & Hudson like this one?

I never did see one of their famous Challengers, but I have seen another D&H steam locomotive. Most of their steam locos had unusual extended fireboxes for the soft coal they burned. D&H started as a coal shipping company that transported by waterways initially, and even built some great aqueducts for their canal routes. They were known as "The Bridge Line."

One of the biggest buildings in my town was the train station:

They were a big part of my tiny hometown's economy and their demise was the beginning of the downward slide of my town.

[treefarmer]

I was rootin' through some of my worldly possessions this afternoon and ran across some railroad related items.
Do y'all know about these?

Back in the day when we had our small cow/calf operation we were always building and repairing fences. A used railroad cross tie most of the time made an excellent corner post, pull post or a gate post. The RR line that runs east and west through our county has changed hands several times since 1880, interesting history. The town of Chipley, FL was once known as Orange but was renamed to honor William Dudley Chipley, the president of the P&A RR (Pensacola and Atlantic). The maintenance of the railroad bed included replacing cross ties from time to time. Back in the '70's when it was known as the L&N RR, the whole tie would be slide out from under the rails and piled along the right of way, free for the taking if you could get to them. Later they began breaking the tie into 3 pieces with a machine to save on labor and that left piles of short creosote treated pieces of timber not fit for anything.
At some point the RR's began putting date nails in the ties to keep up with the age of repairs, etc. The nails in the picture were from salvaged ties, the oldest I have is the 1930, 91 years old, 2 1/2 inches long, the latest nail is dated with 63 (1963) and notice that it is an inch shorter than the 1930 nail. The other nails are all 2 inches.

Treefarmer

[cudgee]

Great story and fantastic piece of history, that is one of the reasons i love this thread. I am presuming the nails were shortened as a cost cutting measure, that was the way of the new modern world of privatization.

[cudgee]

Ever see a Delaware & Hudson like this one?

I never did see one of their famous Challengers, but I have seen another D&H steam locomotive. Most of their steam locos had unusual extended fireboxes for the soft coal they burned. D&H started as a coal shipping company that transported by waterways initially, and even built some great aqueducts for their canal routes. They were known as "The Bridge Line."

One of the biggest buildings in my town was the train station:
Whitehall_Train_Station_Mid_1950s.jpg

They were a big part of my tiny hometown's economy and their demise was the beginning of the downward slide of my town.

Beautiful old station. The leaving of the railways were the demise of many a country town.

[TPK]

I was rootin' through some of my worldly possessions this afternoon and ran across some railroad related items.
Do y'all know about these?001.JPG
Back in the day when we had our small cow/calf operation we were always building and repairing fences. A used railroad cross tie most of the time made an excellent corner post, pull post or a gate post. The RR line that runs east and west through our county has changed hands several times since 1880, interesting history. The town of Chipley, FL was once known as Orange but was renamed to honor William Dudley Chipley, the president of the P&A RR (Pensacola and Atlantic). The maintenance of the railroad bed included replacing cross ties from time to time. Back in the '70's when it was known as the L&N RR, the whole tie would be slide out from under the rails and piled along the right of way, free for the taking if you could get to them. Later they began breaking the tie into 3 pieces with a machine to save on labor and that left piles of short creosote treated pieces of timber not fit for anything.
At some point the RR's began putting date nails in the ties to keep up with the age of repairs, etc. The nails in the picture were from salvaged ties, the oldest I have is the 1930, 91 years old, 2 1/2 inches long, the latest nail is dated with 63 (1963) and notice that it is an inch shorter than the 1930 nail. The other nails are all 2 inches. 004.JPG002.JPG
Treefarmer

Very interesting Philip! Thanks for sharing that with us.

[TPK]

That is what got me hooked. About 6 or 7 waiting for a train with my mum, she was reading in the carriage and i was down looking at the diesel thumping away before departure. The driver climbed down, picked me up and took up and sat me in his seat showing me all the controls. When he let me sound the horn i was done for. Would not be allowed to get away with that now days.

Cool story!

[TPK]

Just posted on Twitter, B&O 829 heading Westbound out of Cumberland through The Narrows. Will's Creek is below, named after Indian Will.

Pictures of home!

[Waukonda]

Some really good posts!
Great B & O picture, John. Classy old depot, Bob. Nice memory you shared, Cudgee. TF, I read where some of those date nails have some value in the collector market.

[doglegg]

I was rootin' through some of my worldly possessions this afternoon and ran across some railroad related items.
Do y'all know about these?001.JPG
Back in the day when we had our small cow/calf operation we were always building and repairing fences. A used railroad cross tie most of the time made an excellent corner post, pull post or a gate post. The RR line that runs east and west through our county has changed hands several times since 1880, interesting history. The town of Chipley, FL was once known as Orange but was renamed to honor William Dudley Chipley, the president of the P&A RR (Pensacola and Atlantic). The maintenance of the railroad bed included replacing cross ties from time to time. Back in the '70's when it was known as the L&N RR, the whole tie would be slide out from under the rails and piled along the right of way, free for the taking if you could get to them. Later they began breaking the tie into 3 pieces with a machine to save on labor and that left piles of short creosote treated pieces of timber not fit for anything.
At some point the RR's began putting date nails in the ties to keep up with the age of repairs, etc. The nails in the picture were from salvaged ties, the oldest I have is the 1930, 91 years old, 2 1/2 inches long, the latest nail is dated with 63 (1963) and notice that it is an inch shorter than the 1930 nail. The other nails are all 2 inches. 004.JPG002.JPG
Treefarmer

Philip, I've seen those nails in phone poles as well.

[1967redrider]

Those are cool, tree!

Here's a couple pictures hanging in our dining room, The Narrows circa 1920 and The Spirit of Cumberland. Tried to get pictures without reflection.

[Waukonda]

The Illinois Central had 136 of the 4-8-2 Mountain locomotives, only 2 survive. There is one on display in McComb, Ms, and another in Centralia, Il. At one time, Centralia was home to the car shops where all freight cars were built for IC.

I was in Centralia a short while back and stopped and took some pics of old #2500. She was due to be scrapped when some local individuals asked the IC about donating the engine to the city back in 1962. They agreed, the only problem being that it was approximately a mile from the park where it was to be displayed, to the nearest track. A small army of volunteers, with the help of a bulldozer and a winch truck, spent 8 days moving the loco by means of putting down and taking up sections of a temporary track.

Below, are my photos of #2500 on display where she has stood for 58 years, and still looking like she is ready to eat some coal. Then I show photos that I found of the loco during her working years, and and also some from the move.