Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Friday, March 27, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
wow, free 50's diesel locomotive!
All you need to do is get it out of Alaska, near Seward. http://anchorage.craigslist.org/zip/4944740147.html
Friday, March 20, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Pete Waterman's collection of model locomotives
The most exceptional model engineering works of art built to the very highest standards in nickel silver and brass by some of the best gauge one and larger gauge model builders who have ever lived.
Geoff Holt and George MacKinnon-Ure spent the last 20 years of their lives building these fine models for Pete Waterman, with a life time of knowledge of the full size railway locomotives. As Pete recently said; ‘I never ever thought about cost when commissioning these models – it was all about true quality, which ultimately is the only thing that matters. No expense was spared in achieving the very best outcomes'.
Works of art with in many cases, taking periods of up to four years to research each engine and obtain drawings, build patterns and then to hand build each locomotives.
These models are ‘scratch built', not built from kits, making them unique in the true sense of the word. The detail in these models is nothing short of perfect with great attention given to the working motions, the valve gear by such great names as Stephenson, Walschaert and Joy valve gear used in all of the London North Western Railway engines, detailed eccentric work, balanced cranks, brake and sanding gear, fine plate work with detailed riveting.
Each example has then been painstakingly painted with the highest degree of detail. These examples from Pete’s collection have been worked on by top model locomotive painters including; Alan Brackenborough, Brian Badger and Larry Goddard. In some we can even see specialist weathered finishes by Brian Caldicott.
Don't waste time clicking around on links to see the entire collection (like I did) just see the pdf
found on http://www.mallettantiques.com/en/news and https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRailway
Will be auctioned in April: http://www.dreweatts.com/cms/pages/auction/13830
Friday, March 13, 2015
this is about the biggest advertising vehicle I've ever seen
The Rexall Train, a promotional 12-car streamlined and air-conditioned train, 1936
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27862259@N02/7875235800/
"The Depression is over!", declared Louis Liggett. And with that, he put the most fantastic promotional train ever conceived on the rails to the four corners of the nation because he wished to host a national convention for druggists (pharmacists) across the country. Realizing, however, that financial struggles would likely see low turnout at a central location Liggett came up with the radical idea of hosting a rolling convention by rail.
From March to November 1936, the 12-car streamlined, air-conditioned billboard-on-wheels toured the length and breadth of the United States.
The tour made its way from Boston through the Midwest, Southwest, and north up the Pacific coast. Zigzagging across Canada and the US Northwest, the train descended into Chicago for a 3-week refurbishment half way through its tour. Back to the east coast it went before heading south, west, southeast, and north again -- finishing up on November 24, 1936 in Atlanta, GA. In the end, the train visited every state except Nevada.
Final tally: 29,000 miles, 47 states and Canada, 10,000 druggists and 20,000 Rexall salespersons, 2.3 million visitors for the Million Dollar Rexall Streamlined Train.
The NYC railroad was also the first to streamlined a steam locomotive in 1934, the Commodore Vanderbilt. This was the inspiration for #2873, which received an almost identical shrouding.
The consist included twelve heavyweight Pullman cars, completely overhauled and given a streamlined look to make the train really standout. Each car received a new roof and diaphragms that made the train the longest 'streamlined' train yet fielded.
What was dubbed "The Million Dollar Rexall Streamlined Convention Train" featured a livery of blue and white, Rexall's corporate colors. The entire consist was very well planned and coordinated: all twelve cars were named for the latest Rexall products with some open to the public as exhibitions; the other seven were either private or available only to druggists and store owners. To further enhance its appeal the train was entirely air-conditioned.
The front half of the train was planned for public exhibition. To that end, four Pullman cars were outfitted with displays of virtually every product Rexall offered. The hottest products lent their names to the cars of the train. Kantleek, Firstaid, Ad-Vantages, Research, Bisma-Rex, Cara Nome, and six other star-product names adorned on the sides of the cars.
In 109 cities the train was scheduled to host druggists' conventions. This is where the next four Pullmans came in handy. The Klenzo, Symphony, Adrienne, and Mi-31 were all converted to the standards of a topnotch convention hotel. Klenzo and Adrienne were lecture cars connected by a PA system. Between them was the dining car Symphony -- suited for serving hundreds of conventioneers a mouthwatering buffet lunch or dinner anytime, anywhere. (Pullman had provided three master chefs.) After a day of seminars, the Mi-31 offered two bars and a lounge area for relaxation.
Found on https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRailway?fref=nf
and http://www.themetrains.com/rexall-train-main.htm
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
McKeen motor car photo poster sized photo on the wall in O's restaurant
LaJolla and Pacific Beach are smaller communities just North of San Diego on the coast, below that it says "Ramona's Home" and this refers to "Old Town" San Diego, the first settlement of Spanish in California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramona
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Illinois Central Green Diamond streamliner,
The Illinois Central's first streamlined passenger train proved popular with the traveling public between Chicago, and St. Louis on the Illinois Central Railroad. It operated from 1936 until 1968.
The name honored the "green diamond" in the Illinois Central's logo as well as the Diamond Special, the Illinois Central's oldest train on the Chicago-St. Louis run.
Like the second-generation City trains which it resembles, the Green Diamond was built by Pullman, but was made of Corten steel rather than aluminum. Pullman constructed the Green Diamond's original fixed consist, which included a power car, baggage/mail car, coach, coach-dinette, and kitchen-dinette-parlor-observation car. The coach seated 56, while the coach-dinette seated 44 in the coach section and the dinette area had seating for 16. The parlor car had seating for 22.
It was the last fixed-consist train built in the 1930s for a railroad in the United States. The train's interior was art deco, as was popular in the period.
Found on https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRailway?fref=photo
Found on http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=2351
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Monday, March 9, 2015
looks like a happy face design
KIHA-81 series diesel , Osaka museum of Modern Transportation
Found on http://vaunut.org/kuva/61602?s=1
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Today WB did a news release that they've brought the Hogworts Express to the London Studio Tour, and made a Platform 9 3/4
The Warner Brothers Studio Tour London will have the train in the tour on March 19th for it's new Platform 9 3/4s
Full Press release at http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/the-tour-experience/whats-on
for a full look at the Platform 9 3/4 tour:
They had the Knight Bus for the 2010 grand opening at Universal
top and bottom images from http://www.insidethemagic.net/2013/05/closer-look-diagon-alley-secrets-sizes-details-and-dragons-revealed-for-harry-potter-expansion-at-universal-orlando/
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
WW1 photos colorized
all found on https://www.facebook.com/pages/WW1-Colourised-Photos/450822585061599?sk=timeline and they are accompanied by explanation and info in the captions
Thursday, February 26, 2015
the City of San Francisco streamliner train up close
Found on Shorpy.com which as you can see does a better job of posting up close detail photos of trains than any train website I've ever seen
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
learning something new every day... a Dynomometer Car for measuring locomotives power
A dynamometer car is a coach for measuring the power of a locomotive and it is marshalled in a train next to the locomotive. To measure power it is necessary to measure the pull exerted by the locomotive and the speed.
Constructed in 1906, retired in 1951
The dynamometer car in the photograph was used in:
Mallard's record breaking run,
Flying Scotsman's 100 mph,
Papyrus's 108 mph,
Silver Fox's 113 mph
and in the 1948 Interchange Trials
It was built by the North Eastern Railway (NER) at York Works, being one of the last carriages to be built with a clerestory roof. It has large three section windows projecting at each side (for ease of line side observation) and a specially strengthened underframe, to accommodate the measurement and record equipment.
The recording table was driven by an 'independent' wheel of special construction with parallel thread and turned at 440 revolutions per minute. This wheel was raised when not in use.
The special spring used to measure the pull on the drawbar connecting the vehicle to the locomotive consists of 30 steel plates carefully designed, assembled and calibrated. The spring was overhauled and modified for maximum accuracy in 1933. Previous to that GN type bogies were fitted in 1928 and in 1935 further improvements were made and new equipment added. These included overhaul of the transmission gearing from the distance measuring wheel and installation of a more accurate chronometer. Other instruments in the car measure and record steam, smokebox and firebox temperature, carbon dioxide content of the smokebox gas and feed water temperature.
Found on https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRailway
Monday, February 23, 2015
Selfie photos, nothing new... here is one from 1905
Found on the only other website I know of that digs photography, and trains... http://www.shorpy.com/
Saturday, February 21, 2015
there is going to be a restoration, of the Santa Fe Chief, Alco PA 59. Built in 1948, repaired in 1975 and sold to Mexico, repatriated by the Smithsonian in 2000
here's what she looked like fresh and clean
not too clean, nor fresh.
an assembly photo when they were installing the engine
Here is what it looks like now... and they are ready to get to work on a restoration. It's sister was restored by expert Doyle McKormack
and that proves it can be done, http://www.nkp190.com/ and Doyle is ready and willing to help out a lot... and the Association of Tourist Railroads and Railway Museums is on the case and the locomotive is at the Frisco Texas new Museum of the American Railroad just North of Dallas. They are building a new restoration facility and museum, and have some really cool trains
they have a Big Boy,
and 10 Pullman cars, Frisco 4-8-4 No. 4501, Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4903, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4018, UP Centennial diesel No. 6913, and Santa Fe doodlebug No. M160.
http://www.museumoftheamericanrailroad.org/Visit/InformationandDirections.aspx
http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/archive/2014/11/24/about-that-other-alco-pa-santa-fe-59l-in-texas.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/AlcoPARestoration
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