Gary Ostlund again has sent me a fantastic shot from the old Milwaukee Road. A westbound #22.
Category: Photo Section
Photos from the Pennyrail Newsletter
April 6, 2018 – With permission, I was able to get this shot of Respondek Railroad Corporation’s 415 and 2425 sitting in the old engine service facility at CSX’s Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision. Last word I got was that these two units are going to be servicing industry in the Henderson, Ky area.
My major Seminary Professor, Dr. Doug Smith poses in front of the Dollywood Express in Pigeon Forge, TN, with his daughter Lara and his sister Marilyn. Knowing I am a train nut, he always thinks of me when near a train. I guess that’s the way I’d want to be remembered. – Bill Thomas
Yes, last week’s story of the perils of the early-day brakemen included a “walk-in-the-park” picture. The brakeman was enjoying the majestic palisades of the Mississippi in SW Wisconsin. Such relaxing was not always the case. Just look at the ice and snow this brakeman endured in helping to slow and stop a moving train.
The drawing by O. V. Schubert appeared in Harper’s Weekly in the 1880s. Note the lantern, kerosene no doubt, a handle with a hoop large enough to slide up his arm. No need to set it down, and if you did it would never be seen again.
Lanterns aren’t used much today, and no one need climb to the top of moving box cars. Crews doing switching movements are communicating via hand-held radio. Inventions of Air-Brakes by George Westinghouse, and Knuckle-Couplers by Major Eli Janney were patented in 1869 and 68. Sadly, the railroads were not mandated by a Federal law to so equip their rolling stock until 1893. Even so the Railroads were slow to implement these safety features. Many brakemen never arrived at the destination terminal, and few switchmen had all their fingers, having had to manually couple cars with links and pins.
On the narrow-gauge lines in Colorado some safety features were not installed until into the 1920s. You can to this day see Telltales fronting tunnels on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway, a mighty fine ride.
A Mournful Morning in Mitchell – On a cold and blustery morning, GP38-2s 2640 and 2665 are westbound at Mitchell, IN with CSX local J780 from North Vernon, IN to Washington, IN. In a few moments, the train will cross the former Monon mainline, whose tracks are to be removed in 2018 when CSX abandons the line south to Louisville. Photo taken 27-Dec-2017 by Chris Dees.
Some candid shots of our “Holy Train Night” gatherings over the last few weeks at Will Kling’s, Ricky Bivins’, and Keith Kittinger’s layouts.
Just as a reminder folks the chapter’s last photo contest for 2017 is underway! Below are the dates for upcoming chapter photo contests. During the months listed all members are invited to shoot pictures and submit no more than two entries to webmaster@westkentuckynrhs.org by the deadline listed next to each contest. You must be a paid member of the chapter to participate in these contests.
Jim Pearson 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 photographer’s credit and any other relevant information.
November 1-30, 2017
Submission Deadline: December 7, 2017
January 1-31, 2018
Submission Deadline: February 7, 2018
March 1-31, 2018
Submission Deadline: April 7, 2018
May 1-31, 2018
Submission Deadline: June 7, 2018
July 1-31, 2018
Submission Deadline: August 7, 2018
September 1-30, 2018
Submission Deadline: October 7, 2018
November 1-30, 2018
Submission Deadline: December 7, 2018
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Locomotive 487 is pulling an Engineer Training School Freight Eastbound at Dalton, New Mexico on October 4, 2017.
Bill Grady and Lee Gordon Spent 4 days on the C&TS riding and railfanning this incredible railroad in the peak of fall color in New Mexico and Colorado. Then spent 4 more days on the BNSF and UP in New Mexico and Arizona.
Photo by Bill Grady
The empty log cars are being returned to the woods for the next load. The Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade train is crossing the Cowlitz River near Mayfield (Washington State) on May 5, 1955. Because the trestle had been condemned, the train crew was prohibited from being on the engine as it crossed the river.
This required another locomotive on the rear of the train to push it across. The crew from this engine has already safely walked across. The pusher will stop the consist when the front engine has safely crossed. It was never made clear whether the pusher was then pulled across crewless, or disconnected and returned to home base. Notice the flip-top screened cinder catcher on the stack.
The backpool from Mayfield Dam, just downstream, flooded this picturesque canyon a few years later. The river’s origin is the Cowlitz Glacier in Mount Rainier National Park, and enters the Columbia River at Kelso.
This unusual bridge is built upon a sturdy platform wedged against the side-walls of the canyon. Not certain there ever was another like it. Just this week Vancouver Island’s Western Forest Products Corp., announced their last logging railroad in North America is closed for good. The next to last was Simpson’s Shelton (WA) operation. Submitted by Gary Ostlund.
