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!
Regarding the location of the new P&L office complex in Paducah. . . .
The new headquarters will be built on Marine Way in front of Crounce Corp. and behind Phelps Farm Service. This location is a block from the Carson Center downtown Paducah. The city owns the land but will give it to P&L as an incentive for remaining in Paducah. The article also mentions the addition of 10 new jobs.
An old – really old – NC&StL caboose on the back lot of a house on Edwards Mill Road south of Hopkinsville and east from US41. This at one time belonged to Steve Johnson’s father. Not sure who owns it now.
This shot, I believe by Thomas W. Dixon, shows the C&O's eastbound "Sportsman"†at Ivy, VA, in September 1958. Nos. 46 and 47 were one of the three traditional C&O passenger trains between Washington and Cincinnati (the other two were the "George Washington" and "F.F.V."). †The "Sportsman" also featured a connection to Toledo and Detroit which split off Cincinnati section at Ashland, KY, †and used the route followed by the bulk of the C&O's westbound/northbound coal traffic (which went to the Presque Isle†docks on Lake Erie near Toledo). This view shows the "Sportsman" in it's classic dieselized appearance, before the cuts and consolidations of the 1960's. This consist has two of C&O's classy E-8's, a good cut†of heavyweight baggage cars, several lightweight coaches, a modernized diner, and at least two sleepers. Submitted by Fred RipleyMarion, OH, was (and is) a major crossroads of railroads in north-central Ohio. †AC Tower, from which this shot is taken, controlled the crossing of the Erie main line and NYC's Cleveland-St. Louis main line (running together on an east-west alignment) and the C&O from Ashland, KY to Toledo and the PRR's Columbus-Sandusky Branch, both of which were major routes for coal and ore traffic. By 1966, when this shot was taken, the Erie had become the Erie-Lackawanna, and the PRR had sold the Sandusky Branch to the N&W, to facilitate the connection of the traditional N&W at Columbus with the newly acquired NKP at†Bellevue. † This eastbound is leaving the large E-L yard, and has a varied lash-up typical of the E-L: †a U25B, C425, F3B, and two E8A's. †The C&O is being crossed by the diesels; the N&W is just east of the tower. †Today, all lines through Marion remain busy, with the exception of the E-L, which was downgraded†and eventually abandoned with the formation of Conrail in 1976. Photographer unknown, submitted by Fred Ripley.Chuck Hinrichs caught Northbound CSX Q688 and its road-side sentinel at Casky on a clear and crisp March 3rd afternoon.Where Climax Locomotives Once Chuffed!
Those of you that attended the February meeting were treated to a fine program brought to us by Bill Thomas and Dennis Carnal. It was an excellent video about the history of the Electromotive Division Geeps, their General Purpose diesel locomotives and it compared these with similar offerings from ALCO. The explanation and photography was excellent.
I saw an interesting article in the Feb. 8th issue of USA Today that described the progress that China has made in high speed rail transportation. They claim to have the fastest trains in the world and at an operating speed of 221 mph, they may have. On Dec 26th they had the grand opening of a new dedicated high speed rail line that connected the south China cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan, a distance of 664 miles. The new train can cover this distance in 3 hours for the express train compared to 10 ? hours for the previous train. Many people prefer this quiet and comfortable means of travel with less security restrictions than air travel.
The Chinese government is spending massive amounts of money to keep the economy moving and the new rail system is a point of pride for many Chinese. Last year the government spent $88 billion and now a total of 1,758 miles of high speed rail line are in place, the most in the world. The cost of building these new high-speed tracks is about $20.1 million per mile. President Obama, in contrast, promised to spend $8 billion on high speed rail in this country. Much of this will be spent on upgrading present lines to accommodate faster trains. The first radical upgrade announced is an 84 mile line between Tampa and Orlando Florida which will carry 168 mph trains. Many people are hoping that this will be an idea that catches on in other places such as the Midwest, East, and West Coasts. They would like to see much of these funds spent on true high speed rail lines instead of just the upgrading of present lines. But the reality of the situation will probably demand more affordable upgradings rather than new dedicated lines. These have shown to be successful so far, such as the Acela route in the Northeast Corridor.
One of the reasons that China is able to proceed at such a pace is that much of the country is set up for electrified rail lines whereas only a few sections of rail are electrified in this country. Also, their population density is generally far higher than is ours which makes the economics of the process much more favorable. Our trains tend to be heavier, and thus, slower, because they have to meet more strict safety standards than in some countries. This makes it more difficult to achieve the truly high speeds that are found in some countries. This seems to be a fair trade off to me, however.
The new Chinese trains even have car attendants dressed like air stewards who push snack carts down the aisles of the well lit, comfortable, and quiet cars. In the dining cars, only microwaved Chinese dishes and fast food is available but the cars are quiet and comfortable. The restrooms are far larger than on the average airplane.
China is spending large amounts on its infrastructure and this will probably pay off in the long run in more convenience, less air pollution, and a higher quality of life. China is learning from it’s experience in meeting the difficulties of construction and it is hoped that the U.S. will be able to pick the best of the new technologies from China and other countries as we head into the new world of high speed rail.
Please remember to pay your dues to Wally if you have not yet done so and I hope to see all of your smiling faces at the next meeting on March 22d at 7 pm in beautiful downtown Madisonville at the Center.
I have received several emails of late with shots like this attached. I have searched the internet trying to identify this locomotive and location. I am guessing Nevada Northern maybe. Anyone know for sure? Please email me at bill@fbcmadisonville.com.
sHOw Modular Model RR Club Train Show – Saturday February 20, 2010, 10am to 3pm, at the L&N Depot on Kentucky Street, Bowling Green, KY. Admission is $2. Table rental for vendors is $15. Contact Kevin, kcomer300@yahoo.com.
WKNRHS – Meeting, March 22, 2010, Program by Chapter Member Tom Johnson, refreshments by Tom Hurley.
WKNRHS – Meeting, April 26, 2010, program by Dr. Fred Ripley, refreshments by Donnie and Betty Knight.
WKNRHS – Meeting, May 24, 2010, Meeting in Hopkinsville, at the Hopkinsville Historical Society.
With the new year here, it is time to mark your calendars for Homewood, Illinois and our 7th Annual Rail Heritage Weekend, coming to you this year on May 15th/16th, 2010. As always, we will have our popular Saturday night multi-media/slide show starting at 7PM, and on Sunday hosted railfanning at our busy train-watching platform starting at 6AM and the big Train Show (operating layouts, vendors, historical societies, antiques, etc) at the Village Hall municipal complex from 9AM to 3 PM.
CN will have prototype equipment on display adjacent to the Train Show venue. This year we will also have our Rail Equipment Park caboose, IC 9426, open for touring–we finished interior restoration since last year’s event. If luck is with us, we might have GP10 IC 8408 open also, although that is a very big maybe and depends on how the Spring work days go. More detailed info in a couple of months–meanwhile, get us on your schedule and we will see you in Homewood in May!
Homewood is located in the south suburbs of Chicago and is accessible via both Metra commuter and Amtrak long-distance train service. More info available at www.homesweethomewood.com.
Chuck Hinrichs caught this northbound CSX manifest at Latham early afternoon January 23, 2010, with four CSX B36-7s in the consist. Chuck – “A lot of these old warhorses have been pulled from the roster and I wonder where these four might be headed.” Ed. – from looks of the cover on the trailing unit, the vintage GEs are probably dead in tow. – Photos by Chuck Hinrichs
“Bluegrass State 1” was originally designed and built for operation as a Business Railcar for the Illinois Central Railroad. This railcar is still being used as a business car. Excellent condition, the interior having been completely gutted & rebuilt alter a fire destroyed the interior in the late 1980’s. It contains an observation room and open platform. Microphor hall toilet, dining room and fully equipped kitchen w/ Microphor toilet, two master bedrooms w/ shared Microphor toilet & shower wet bar along with all furnishings and accessories.
Bluegrass State was originally designed & built as a six double bedroom sleeper/bar lounge by Pullman in 1955 for the New York. New Hampshire (Editor’s note: I believe this to be New Haven) & Hartford RR. The car was originally named the “Nutmeg State” and numbered (NH-552). The car is generally in good operational condition.
The water & power car PAL 10 was built in 1958 as a milk freight carrier.
Below, At Latham a north-bound string of empty hoppers held the main with the end of the train still blocking a couple of crossings in Hopkinsville. A southbound grain train took the siding. This train had a Conrail painted GE on the point. This train was in the siding for two more north-bounds including the train with the B36-7s and the Q120. Photos by Chuck Hinrichs.
We woke up to snow on the ground on the morning of Saturday, January 5, 1985. While the snow was nice to see, it did seem to be something of a waste; after all, school was out on Saturday regardless. Why couldn’t have come down earlier and given us an extended weekend?
I was 12 years old that winter, still plenty young enough to be able to appreciate the opportunity to sled down the hill out behind our house east of Carbondale, Illinois. That would have to wait for later in the day, however. First up was a rare late morning basketball game at the SIU arena with my father and grandmother. The Salukis lost to Tulsa in a close game, 98-96. The loss wasn’t all that unexpected; we lost half our games that year.
It was mid afternoon before I got out in the back yard for a go on the hill. My grandmother stayed on the back porch and watched as I got my red toboggan out. I had gone down the hill several times when I could have sworn I heard the sound of a steam whistle. I stopped and listened more closely. For a few moments there was nothing but the sounds of traffic on nearby Illinois highway 13.
After a few moments I went down the hill again and was trudging back up the hill when I heard it again. It wasn’t my imagination. It was the deep moan of a three chime steamboat whistle off in the distance.
“Did you hear that?” I asked my grandmother.
“Yes,” she said.
I was surprised; not that there was the whistle of a steam locomotive to hear, but rather the fact that I COULD hear it. I knew that the nearby Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad was the last steam powered shortline in the United States. I had known about it for a few years. I had even seen the engine running up close on a couple of occasions. But to actually HEAR it? They almost never ran on Saturdays, and the prevailing winds almost always carried sounds from the west. The CO&E was east of us.
CO&E #17 on 1/5/1985, in a photo by Jerry Mart, Note the piggyback flat and trailer - ed.
I stood there quietly, listening as the sound of that whistle came rolling in through the woods from the east. I would have loved to have been standing along the track somewhere, watching as the railroad’s #17 came by with a short train heading for the west end of the line. That wasn’t going to happen, as it was too far away for me to get to on my own. But to be standing in the back yard and listening to that melodious whistle was the next best thing.
It turned out to be the only time I ever heard that whistle from my house. The railroad often ran before I was home from school, and sound didn’t usually carry that way anyway. More often I would hear the distant air horns coming from the Illinois Central Gulf trains in Carbondale a few miles to the west. I would see #17 one more time, toward the end of June when I was invited to ride the cab of the engine from the west end to downtown Marion on a freight train. Then in September of ‘86, the engine suffered a serious failure of the piping inside the boiler and never ran again. I never forgot those days, when I lived so close to the last steam powered railroad in America.
In early December, 1987, my copy of the latest issue of Trains Magazine arrived in the mail. I brought it to the house with the rest of the mail, and went to my room to look through its pages. Imagine my surprise when I turned to the photo spread on pages 46 and 47, only to see a photo of Crab Orchard & Egyptian #17 passing Odum Concrete in Marion. The caption began as follows: Southern Illinois doesn’t get all that much snow, and the 8-mile Crab Orchard & Egyptian rarely strayed from its Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, so 2-8-0 17 heading west from Marion after a 4-inch snowfall on Saturday, January 5, 1985, was a double treat for the photographer.
Immediately I thought back to that afternoon, standing in the back yard with my grandmother and listening to the distant sound of #17’s whistle. It was wonderful to see a photo taken that day, a photo that rekindled that memory and changed it into something I would remember the rest of my life.
-thanks to Mary Rae McPherson for her permission to reprint this story.
I hope that all of you that attended our last meeting had a good time. I enjoyed giving the program and our evening of fellowship.
We will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of our Chapter in April so this is a good time for anyone who would like to do something special for the evening in the way of program or refreshments to be thinking of this and bring it up at this month’s meeting so that we can discuss it. Perhaps a special “show and tell” or an interesting personal story or some background history would be appropriate. The 25th Anniversary should be a special time for us and a time to remember all of the good times that we have shared over the years. We share a rather unique interest in the history of railroading and all that railroads of done for our country. The friendships that we have made and the fellowship shared at our meetings is should always be looked at as a happy time for us.
Bill Thomas has the program this month and it promises to be quite interesting. I am looking forward to seeing all of your happy faces at the Center in beautiful downtown Madisonville at 7pm, on Monday, February 22d, 2010.
Each year during the Christmas season, my friend Jim Burton of Madisonville, assembles this elaborate Lionel layout with a host of operating accessories. The boys love it. – Bill Thomas
Madisonville Head-quartered and Energized Railroad Buffs (MH&E RRB) – Thursday, January 28, at 6pm, at the (unfinished) home of Ricky Bivins, on North Railroad Street, Mortons Gap, KY. Bring your own drinks and snacks. All are welcome! Port-a-potty next door. Torpedo heater provided by Ricky!
Great Midwest Train Show – February 14, 2010. DuPage County Fairgrounds County Farm Road and Manchester, Wheaton, Illinois Show Hours 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Train Show Inc., 120 Easy Street #4
Carol Stream IL 60188. Phone: 630-290-1962
Fax: 240-597-4482, staff@GreatMidwestTrainShow.com.
sHOw Modular Model RR Club Train Show – Saturday February 20, 2010, 10am to 3pm, at the L&N Depot on Kentucky Street, Bowling Green, KY. Admission is $2. Table rental for vendors is $15. Contact Kevin, kcomer300@yahoo.com.
