The other entries were:
Our goal is to put one of the Last L&N Steam Engines in the world back to work pulling excursion trains for our museum, as well as educate the public regarding the heritage of Kentucky’s Railroads and the people who built them.
The L&N 152 needs both boiler and running gear work. Please visit the Crew 152 Facebook page for the most up to date information and photos.
This information is also available on the KRM website and Facebook pages.
Restoration work continues on steam locomotive 152.
- A volunteer removes old bolts from the firebox.
- Below is a view inside the firebox.
- Below right, driving wheels are ground down to repair cracks.
Submitted by Gary Ostlund
The single-track swing bridge was built by the Northern Pacific RR for entry into Aberdeen, Washington. It has a rather strange footprint; in that it wraps itself around a warehouse building. The bridge is rather difficult to photograph, short of trespassing, or getting wet. I tried to copy the Google Street image from the highway bridge at the bottom of the pix, but no luck. The pic I got from the street at the right margin does not do justice to its design and placement. Thus, the Google earth image.
Opened on October 21, 1898, the Wishkah River Bridge has been in daily use ever since, including a brisk business today hauling import autos to market. The Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad, a short line currently services the Grays Harbor region, connecting with the BNSF. That connection is in Centralia on the busy double-track mainline north to Tacoma and south toward Oregon and California.
The harbor was once served by the Milwaukee and Union Pacific entering the harbor from the south, crossing into Aberdeen on yet another swing bridge, now long gone. The NP was the major player though, with branches from Aberdeen and Hoquiam out to Moclips on the ocean, and to Markham on the south side of the harbor out near Westport, (think beaches, salmon fishing and cranberries).
In the heyday of railroading on the harbor the rails served two pulp and paper mills, numerous large sawmills, a thriving shake and shingle industry and active seaport. In the mid-60s when we lived there, at about supper time all three railroads sent eastward an impressive array of freight.
Congratulations to the winners of our Chapter photo contest winner for March!
Click Images above for larger view!
One of the great things about the internet, pictures and stories are at our fingertips. We just have to be careful to check the sources. Living in Ellijay, GA, in the late 60s into the early 80s was a treat. L&N’s Hook & Eye line served our small town bringing fuel oil, propane, coal, sand, surplus cheese, and other oddities on the team track. They took finished lumber, wood chips, and pulpwood. Needless to say, the 80s saw a huge decline in rail traffic as trucks became the norm and big guys (Seaboard System/Family Lines/CSX didn’t want to deal with branch lines. I got see miles of old hoppers shoved into the hills for storage thinking the end was near. Then steps in the Georgia Northeastern RR, and the rest is history. Still not much goes on between Ellijay and Blueridge, but, the Blue Ridge Scenic RR prospers and freight service is robust on the southern end between Tate and Marietta. Send me your hometown stories for publishing!
Bill Thomas, editor
Submitted by Gary Ostlund
First Place January 2023 West KY NRHS Photo Contest – RJ Corman locomotive 3803 eastbound, pulling a local freight between Russellville and Auburn, Kentucky. – Photo by William Farrell
Second Place January 2023 West KY NRHS Photo Contest -Norfolk Southern Intermodal #218 has taken the siding at Buechel, KY to wait for a Kentucky Utilities Coal Train #76J to charge the hill towards Danville, KY. NS #218 has no work this day and will be at the home terminal in Louisville in short order. Buechel, KY on January 27, 2023. – Photo by Bill Grady
An all-NS day at Warrior Coal. Photo by Bill Thomas
(Apple iPhone SE (2nd generation) Wide Camera — 28 mm ƒ1.8. 2682 × 1509)
A LITTLE ODD – This loaded CSX coal train on the Warrior branch, Madisonville was long hood forward on February 10, 202, when editor Bill Thomas caught it idling and waiting on a crew.
(Apple iPhone SE (2nd generation) Wide Camera — 28 mm ƒ1.8. 2682 × 1509)
The engine number is obscured, but this late model Southern Pacific cab-forward is sticking its nose out of a dead-end tunnel. Say-what..? The location is Cascade Summit on the line from Eugene to Klamath Falls, Oregon.
A helper district from Oakridge ended here at the summit. The helpers were cut off and turned on a wye for the return trip downhill. The problem here at Cascade Summit was cramped space, and a turning wye requires a fair amount of real estate to function.
Problem solved, burrow a tunnel long enough negotiate the movement. The track leading out of the picture to the left links up with the Westbound mainline towards Klamath Falls. The other towards Oakridge and Portland. . A turntable was impractical unless covered, and snowplows easily keep the wye clear. To my knowledge this arrangement is unique to the Southern Pacific. Photo and caption submitted by Gary Ostlund.
My daughter in NY sent me this snap shot of her cat.
Anyone see any resemblance to a famous RR mascot?
Hint: Sleep like a kitten…
The winners and entries from the chapter’s 2023 Photo Contest! Our next contest runs from March 1-31, 2023. Each member may submit two entries as JPGs and deadline for your entries is April 7th, 2023. Your entries must be shot during the March 1-31st time frame.
Click images above to view the full picture.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — George Walker, Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum general manager, passenger operations, died Jan. 4, 2023, following an accident at the organization’s shop facility in the early afternoon hours, according to Penelope Soule Gault, museum marketing and public relations director, and a statement posted on their website.
The museum’s statement reads: “The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum family is heartbroken by the passing of long-time employee George Walker. He was involved in a tragic accident at the shop. At this time no other details are available. Please keep Mary, Andrew, Aaron, and Charlie in your prayers as they deal with this tragic loss.”
Walker began his involvement with the museum as a teenager in 1981. He spent a brief period with Norfolk Southern steam program in which he worked on both Nos. 611 and 1218. He then returned to the museum on a full-time basis, where he has worked for nearly 30 years. Walker was a dynamic advocate for steam locomotive restoration. He wrote the business plan: “Steam for the 21st Century,” which became a model for numerous locomotive restorations.
By Bob Lettenburger, Trains Associate Editor, January 4, 2023
