A real treat (and rare) Atlas O, O Gauge EMD SD-35-2 in VMV paint. Nice. Rich Hane owns the unit and is seen here on C&W Railroad.
Author: Jim Pearson
Again at Crofton, Ky, CSX locomotive 2513 in the lead being assisted by an additional 5 CSX units in order to pull the 10,841 foot, 900 axle, 2 1/2 mile-long empty coal train. Statistics by Steve Miller. Photo by William Farrell
Yes, that’s the bell, mounted behind the cow-catcher, or more officially, the Pilot. Whether the bell rotates with an independent clanger, or mounted rigid and mechanical, is unanswered. Perhaps a New York Central aficionado will set the record straight.
There is a very good reason why the bell would be placed somewhere other than on top of the boiler, typical on most steam locomotives. Clearances were tight on the NYC and most others in the east. Early railroad infrastructure was built to a smaller standard, and as trains got longer and heavier the motive power and rolling stock grew in size. Lineside obstructions could be moved, but tunnels were unforgiving.
If we could see the of the top of the boiler, you would notice that smoke stack, whistle and other apparatus is also very low profile. Clearance issues is the reason dome cars were virtually nonexistent in the northeast. Double stack container trains were also late in coming to the east coast railroads for the same reason.
The loco above is one of New York Central’s finest, a Niagara 4-8-4 #6011 built by American Locomotive Company. Those smoke-lifting wings gave them a sleek appearance.
Credits: photo by Ed Nowak – NYC, as seen in Classic Trains magazine, Summer 2013
Submitted by Gary O. Ostlund
Steve Miller and Keith Kittinger watch a coal train overtake an auto rack on Steve’s N scale layout during Holy Train night this month. Photo by Ricky Bivins.
Chapter member Matt Gentry (who works for Athern) made the pages of Model Railroad Hobbyist. Read at
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mrhpub.com/2018-09-sep/online/index.html
At Crofton (KY) a North bound mixed freight (is) pulled by Canadian Nation unit 8102 and assisted by Union Pacific 2513. The train lost its air and went into an emergency stop just North of Kelly, KY. (Photo by Bill Farrell)
Working on the railroad has always been dangerous work. In years past few conventional insurance underwriters would consider policies for railroaders. Whether switchmen in the yards dodging rolling equipment, or brakemen jumping from boxcar to boxcar tying down hand brakes, many a railroader never came home at the end of the day, leaving a trail of mourning widows.
A sobering example of the dangers of railroading is this B&O SD40 with a cabful of lumber. On June 15, 1979, at Bremen, Ind., a load of lumber on a westbound train shifted and slid into the cab of No. 7598, running backward as the trailing unit on an eastbound. A brakeman riding the diesel’s cab sustained minor injuries — and no doubt paid special attention the next time he passed another train.
Many safety improvements have occurred over the years, with the invention the Westinghouse air brake and the Janney coupler being prime examples. In the years before and since the accident above, lumber transport by rail too has changed. In the very early days boxcars were used for transport of lumber products, a manual and cumbersome process. Today the modern center-beam cars have replaced open flat cars for lumber and other shipments such as dry-wall and plywood.
Submitted by Gary O. Ostlund.
It is twilight time in Madisonville as the WWII M4 Sherman tank is catching the last rays of the sun. The L&N freight has dropped off the most recent gold nugget for Don Clayton next to the station and the whole world is at peace. – Rich Hane
UP COMING PHOTO CONTEST – September 15-30, 2018
Submission Deadline , October 7, 2018
Get out there! , Never know what you’ll find on the rails!
Below are the dates for other upcoming chapter photo contests. During the months listed all members are invited to shoot pictures and submit no more than two entries each to webmaster@westkentuckynrhs.org by the deadline listed with each contest. You must be a paid member of the chapter to participate in these contests.
Jim Pearson or the membership will judge the photos and select 1st through 3rd place and the winners will be presented in the Pennyrail and on the chapter website. We’ll also view them at the meeting following each contest.
At least the 1st place winners will be used to produce a chapter calendar for the next year.
All submissions must have a caption that lists at least the railroad, location and date with photographers credit and any other relevant information.
November 15-30, 2018
Submission Deadline: December 7, 2018
January 15-30, 2019
Submission Deadline: February 7, 2019
March 15-30, 2019
Submission Deadline: April 7, 2019
May 15-30, 2019
Submission Deadline: June 7, 2019
July 15-30, 2019
Submission Deadline: August 7, 2019
I’m trying a little RR historical preservation in my back yard these days. This signal and lights came from West Broadway (Madisonville KY) a few years ago when CSX replaced it with gates. Hope to have a flasher unit from Paducah RR museum soon.
Bill Thomas
I couldn’t resist. We’ve had high nineties for what seems to be forever, and today only 90. So just to jog our memory of cooler climes, this January 1979 scene seemed like a nice idea. I feel cooler already.
The eastbound is exiting one of two wooden show sheds along Lake Keechelus. Interstate 90 occupies the shoreline across the lake. Snoqualmie Pass and the 11,789 foot tunnel are a few miles behind the train. The vertical milepost number 2112 indicates the miles to the bumping post at Union Station in Chicago.
Everything except the power poles in this scene are gone, track, sheds and all. Yours truly became the proud owner of the salvaged the milepost sign after the abandonment. The right-of-way is owned by the state parks system, and great for hiking and biking in the Summer, and cross-country skiing in Winter.
Credits: Picture by Jay Lentzner from the book “The Milwaukee Road,” by Frederick W. Hyde. Submitted by Gary O. Ostlund, gary.ostlund@att.net, Pinehurst, NC
July 10, 2018, CSX suffered a derailment at the cut-off switch in Mortons Gap, KY. Jim Pearson got a few pictures of the reasonably uneventful slip. It was clean-up and service restored about 8:30am the next day.
