Month: March 2019
Being the third day of winter, at least according to the weather bureau, let’s talk snow. With his pack, canteen and camera gear, photographer James A. Turner is ready for another day on Stevens Pass in the Washington Cascades. The scene is Corea, near the Great Northern’s Martin Creek loop, in 1925.
Turner placed himself properly to one side, looking into the picture, in what must be a tripod, timed picture. From what I know about him he traveled alone, and did not own a car. He no doubt rode the train from Seattle and managed a drop-off. A man of class, you will see Turner dressed this day with a white shirt and tie. He was a personal friend of my friend, the late Warren W. Wing, also an avid railfan photographer and book publisher. Turner’s son’s home in Gig Harbor was literally a gallery of his father’s works.
Snow sheds were common in West Coast railroading. Those vertical beams and sloping roof are solid 12 x 12s. Providing those today would be nearly impossible. Is it any wonder why the Great Northern Railway, with miles of snow sheds, invested in the 8-mile tunnel under Stevens Pass.?
There is irony here. Some say if the railroad had not cut down so many trees in their quest to build snow sheds, that saturated snow would have remained in place on those slopes. Others will say the beams didn’t come from those same trees. Hmmmmm.
Note the attachment: The eastbound is about to enter the Horseshoe Tunnel. It will curve to the right, cross another trestle and work its way to and through the upper snowshed. Turner was standing about where the boxcar is exiting the lengthened snow shed.
Credits: attachment photo by Lee Pickett, seen in book: Lines West by Charles R. Wood – Gary Ostlund.
Left to right: Morton’s Gap March 10, 2019; Earlington March 9, 2019; again at Morton’s Gap (Photos by Ricky Bivins). Our President Ricky Bivins meets with Lieutenant Governor Hampton along with other state officials and the Kentucky Department of Aviation at Frankfort in the Capitol Rotunda February 28, 2019. (Click for larger view)
The DREI waits for track authority to head east on the outskirts of Tuscola IL, 3/10/19 – Photo by Matt Gentry
Camelback locomotives (also known as a Mother Hubbard or a center-cab locomotive) is a type of steam locomotive with the driving cab placed in the middle, astride the boiler. Camelbacks were fitted with wide fireboxes which would have severely restricted the engineer’s visibility from the normal location at the rear.
You can see in the picture (above) the size of the firebox, extra wide in order to burn cheap and readily available anthracite coal. Placement of the cab above the driving wheels also provided added traction. Camelbacks were widely used on the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Reading Railroad. The fireman worked from a large platform on the tender, and in some cases had a chute to allow him to deliver coal to the front of the grate.
The Camelback’s cab astride the boiler design raised concerns for its crew. The engineer was perched above the side-rods of the locomotive, vulnerable to swinging and flying metal if anything rotating below should break. In addition, the fireman was exposed to the elements at the rear. The Interstate Commerce Commission banned Camelbacks but gave exceptions to allow those under construction to be completed.
A broken side rod swiped clean the engineer’s side of the cab on this Delaware & Hudson engine. This ever-present danger to the engineer explains the eventual outlawing of center-cab locomotives.
Credits: Two pics at top by the late Phil Hastings as seen in Kalmbach’s Steams Lost Empire. Damaged camelback photographer unknown, in Train Wrecks a Robert C. Reed book. -Gary O. Ostlund
These photos of NC&StL 576 are taken from Nashville Steam’s Facebook page. See Nashville Steam on Facebook for credits. Above, CSX pulls 576 into Union Station in downtown Nashville.
she has arrived at the Tennessee Central Museum shop.
Note the NC&StL logo on CSX’s newer 576, which pulled the steamer through Nashville.
Greetings fellow National Railway Historical Society, Western Kentucky Chapter members. It is March, 2019 and the word for the day is “wet”! We certainly have had our share of rain. Alas, I’m willing to bet, it will dry out. And possibly, more than we would like!
I am writing this on March 9. Earlier I had text Matt Gentry that I needed a non-CSX rail-fan fix. As luck would have it, CSX sent a BNSF train southbound and I was able to see it twice no less. Good things come to those who wait. One would think an individual who builds a house beside a busy rail line on purpose no less, would not want to travel to see trains. Quite the opposite. I think serval of us to enjoy traveling and rail fanning. With spring and summer on the way, I’m sure several of us will be out and about. Which led me to a subject matter!
Secretary-Treasurer Bill Farrell has mentioned having a Chapter outing this year. He has a few ideas. I would like to encourage others to come up with an idea as well. I plan to have my annual Train Day in the Gap sometime in May. The exact date and time are forthcoming. Bill Farrell should also have some information regarding Nashville Steam and Kentucky Railway Museum. I believe he will be presenting a donation idea to these two institutions. Hopefully our committee regarding the sall layouts and operating sessions will have some info for us this month as well.
All in all 2019 has gotten off to a very good start. Our round robin train group has had a good time. Our activities have been spot on and we have more coming down the pike. Please take time to attend a meeting and bring a friend. See you soon.
Matt Gentry and friend Max are at Holy Train Night at Keith Kittinger’s HO layout, Madisonville, Ky.