Day: April 22, 2016

April 2016 Rail Flicks by Tommy Johnson

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Rail Flicks, Tommy Johnson

Title: Through the Oregon Cascades
Part 1: The Long Grade
Producer: 7idea Productions
Format: DVD Wide Screen
Playing Time: 2 hours 35 Minutes
Purchased From: Trainvideodepot.com
Date Purchased: 3/28/16
Price Paid $26.49

While I would not classify this DVD as a “must have,” it is a very good one. It would make a nice addition to your collection of RR videos. The viewing time is 2 hours and 35 minutes and there is plenty of railroad action amid the backdrop of the gorgeous mountain scenery of the Oregon Cascades.

The viewer would expect excellent quality videography since this is a 7idea Productions offering; he would not be disappointed. This video is in wide screen format and that very much enhances our view of the natural beauty and the railroad action contained in this video.

We travel southward in this video from Eugene, OR, to Cascade Summit over the 46 mile long Brooklyn Sub and then the 40 mile long Cascade Sub. The Brooklyn Sub has only gentle grades but the Cascade Sub has an overall 1.8% grade which southbound trains must climb. A total of 4458 feet of elevation is gained from Eugene to Cascade Summit.

The Coast Starlight appears in many scenes in this video, sometimes northbound and sometimes southbound. We also see oil trains, double stacks, and mixed manifest trains.

We see a rail grinder in action on Salt Creek Trestle and the sparks look like fireworks. Salt Creek Trestle is the only trestle we see but there are a series of tunnels along the route.

Throughout the video are views so typical of the Pacific Northwest: coniferous trees standing in the mountain mist with rain dripping from their needles.

C&O Coaling Towers by Frederick J. Ripley

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Fred Ripley, Photo Section

 

Towards the former west end of the larger of the two Chesapeake and Ohio yards in Hinton stands this monument to the steam era, an enormous coaling tower built in the style of C&O’s “modern” installations (also in this style is the much smaller coaling tower at Thurmond, WV, built in 1922 and seen in this up-close view on the right).    Hinton was a critical facility for both classification and locomotive servicing on the main line across West Virginia.   To the west, the New River Subdivision follows the course of the New River (some of the most spectacular scenery in the eastern U.S.), resulting in a route with many curves but with grades kept to a minimum.   To the east, however, the Alleghany Subdivision, after following the course of the Greenbrier River, climbs to the summit at Alleghany, VA.   Perhaps Hinton’s most famous role, late in the steam era, was dispatching eastbound loaded coal trains with two of the most powerful steam locomotives ever built, the C&O’s H-8 2-6-6-6 “Allegheny” class.    Leaving Hinton, every coal train bound for Tidewater at Newport News was powered by an H-8 on the front, with a 2nd example of the class cut in in front of the caboose.  The helper would remain there until the train crested the grade at Alleghany, at which point it would cut off and return light to Hinton.    Photographs by Frederick J. Ripley

 

The April 2016 Interchange

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments General Post

¨ HO estate for sale. Charles Ellis lost his brother recently. Mr. Ellis had started collecting and operating HO in the 1980’s. Most of his collection is from the 80’s and early 90’s., and the family wants to liquidate this part of his estate. If you are interested contact Mr. Charles (Chip) Ellis at 270 886-3357 (Pennyrile Door & Glass) or pennyriledoorandglass@gmail.com .

¨ If you have items you’d like to buy, sell, or trade, send descriptions and pictures to me, your editor, billtrainthomas@gmail.com.

 

 

Paducah and Louisville Railway “Salute to our Troops” engine 2127 by Jim Pearson

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Jim Pearson, Photo Section
March 30, 2016 - Paducah and Louisville Railway "Salute to our Troops" engine 2127 heads up a ballast train sitting in the number 2 track at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky waiting for a crew to take it on south to pick up a load of rock. - Tech Info: 1/250 | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. - Photo by Jim Pearson
March 30, 2016 – Paducah and Louisville Railway “Salute to our Troops” engine 2127 heads up a ballast train sitting in the number 2 track at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky waiting for a crew to take it on south to pick up a load of rock. – Tech Info: 1/250 | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. – Photo by Jim Pearson

Norfolk Southern’s 1071 Heritage Unit “Jersey Central Lines” by Jim Pearson

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Photo Section
April 1, 2016 - Norfolk Southern's 1071 Heritage Unit "Jersey Central Lines" pulls out of the Warrior Coal Mine Lead onto Paducah and Louisville Railways Main line at Madisonville, Ky as it begins its northbound trip to Louisville, Ky. The train tied down at Pond River, north of Madisonville till the new crew takes it on north this afternoon around 4pm CST - Tech Info: 1/2500 | f/6 | ISO 400 | Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 370mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. - Photo by Jim Pearson
April 1, 2016 – Norfolk Southern’s 1071 Heritage Unit “Jersey Central Lines” pulls out of the Warrior Coal Mine Lead onto Paducah and Louisville Railways Main line at Madisonville, Ky as it begins its northbound trip to Louisville, Ky. The train tied down at Pond River, north of Madisonville till the new crew takes it on north this afternoon around 4pm CST – Tech Info: 1/2500 | f/6 | ISO 400 | Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 370mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. – Photo by Jim Pearson

Mystery Location – Where Are We?

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Mystery Location

There is no submission for this feature this month.  If you have a “spot” you’d like to submit, please do so.  Get a photo that does not reveal the location.  If  you have an old photo but it contains the location, drop it off at Coldwell Banker Terry & Associates, 1096 North Main St, Madisonville, and I will scan it, then return the photo to you.  I can “fuzz” out the identity if necessary.  Please put your photo in an envelop clearly marked with my name, your name, phone number, email, etc.  Mona Forker, our receptionist will put it in my mail box.

Pickin’ the Points with Bill Thomas

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Bill Thomas, Pickin' the points

Picking the PointsWell, we’ve experienced another tragedy in the railroad industry. As I’m sure all have heard, two Amtrak track workers were killed earlier this month due to what looks like human error or some sort of communication glitch. Either way, we should send up a prayer for their families.

It is a strong reminder how quickly a situation can turn deadly when multiple tons of massed energy are speeding down the tracks. Take time to check your surroundings when standing track-side. It occasionally occurs to me to think about my escape route should a passing train derail—granted, the chances are slim– but when so close to such machinery it crosses our minds.

Also take time to do an amateur inspection of track, possible obstructions, etc. in your location. As impersonal as the major railroads may seem these days, they don’t put those 800 numbers on the cross bucks for nothing. Put the numbers in your smart phones. I know we’ve had chapter members report broken rail and stuck air horns in the past.

So let’s be good neighbors and wisely choose our photo spots and watching locations as we continue to enjoy plenty of RR activity in our area and abroad.

Keep the news and pictures coming! Bill

The Spill with President Bill

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Bill Farrell

By Bill Farrell, President, West Kentucky Chapter of the NRHS

The time sure has passed since our last meeting; it just seems like last week we were conducting the March meeting. All the membership cards have been mailed out to the membership. If you have not received yours please contact me so I can re-issue a new card.

This is the second issue of the “Pennyrail”, by Bill Thomas this year. Matt in the past did a great job with the news letter. Bill is doing a great job of dissemination of information to the club members. If you have anything worth publishing in the “Pennyrail” please submit it to Bill for publication. I think we need to have a deadline on information to Bill in order to give him time to assemble the newsletter. We can talk about it in the meeting on Monday evening.

I hope everyone had a chance to get out and get a picture for the photography contest. All pictures needed to be submitted to Jim Pearson by April 11th. Jim will announce the winners at the April Monday evening. If you have one of the trophies from the last photo contest please bring it with you or try to get it back in time for the meeting. Blair and I were in Florida last week for spring break and got some great pictures of the Florida East Coast Railroad. Needless to say I thought about all of you in Kentucky with the cool weather.

I need to set a date for a work day on the modular layout. It is very close to completion and we need to get the modules out to the members that want them. All we need to do is plaster cloth the top, wiring, and insert the legs. We need to do this within the next three week and get this project out of the way and into the hands of the members. In the last meeting the membership agreed that a module can go to a non Western Kentucky Chapter/NRHS member. So if you know of someone who is interested in “O” scale railroading and they would like to be part of the modular group invite them.

Remember to bring “Show and Tell” along with Raffle items to the meeting. This month refreshments will be provided by Betty & Donny Knight, the program by Thomas Bryan.

 

Paducah and Louisville Railway 2104 pulls out of the siding at West Yard with 7 units

April 22, 2016 Jim Pearson No Comments Photo Section
April 3, 2016 - Paducah and Louisville Railway 2104 pulls out of the siding at West Yard with 7 units as it works on building a local which had another 2 CSX units and about six cars. Pretty much a power move I'd say! The train headed south toward Paducah. - Tech Info: 1/500 | f/4.5 | ISO 110 | Lens: Nikon 70-300 @ 80mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. - Photo by Jim Pearson
April 3, 2016 – Paducah and Louisville Railway 2104 pulls out of the siding at West Yard with 7 units as it works on building a local which had another 2 CSX units and about six cars. Pretty much a power move I’d say! The train headed south toward Paducah. – Tech Info: 1/500 | f/4.5 | ISO 110 | Lens: Nikon 70-300 @ 80mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW. – Photo by Jim Pearson