Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

No layout photos this week. Instead, for Independence Day, I have a flag you can salute, that of America's GREAT Standard Railroad...

IMG_5101IMG_5097

And note the American flag off to the left.

And here is a video of it flapping around in the breeze...

Now how's that for unique!?  Photo was taken at Butler Auto Parts, in Butler PA, a small city about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. I have no idea why it is there, but I suspect the owner is an SPF (Slobbering Pennsy Freak). I took the photo on a railfan trip with my son on Monday to check out the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad. Here are some railranning photos I took that day...

IMG_8830IMG_8832

IMG_8850

Back to layout photos next week!

Attachments

Images (5)
  • IMG_5101
  • IMG_5097
  • IMG_8830
  • IMG_8832
  • IMG_8850
Videos (1)
IMG_5085
Last edited by PRRMiddleDivision

The American Freedom Train of 1975-76 was a corporate sponsored traveling exhibition of artifacts from the 200 year history of our Nation.  It was 26 cars long, with 10 display cars (one for every 20 years of our history), two showcase cars with windows on the sides showing some of the larger artifacts on the train, and 14 support cars.  The train was pulled by three different steam engines, a Reading T1 in the eastern US, a Southern Pacific GS-4 in the western US, and a Texas and Pacific "Texas" in Texas.  These super power steam engines rarely needed helpers but most roads required them for various reasons, mostly for publicity.

Here is my #4449 with a Western Pacific GP-40 "helper", both MTH.

AFT_Train1 [7)AFT_Train1 [8)AFT_Train1 [9)AFT_Train1 [10)AFT_Train1 [11)

28 years early was the seven car 1947-49 Freedom Train, a US government sponsored train that carried many of our country most precious documents.  The documents were in three display cars with a constant Marine guard.  President Truman and his cabinet hoped it would, among other reasons, enable Americans to rediscover just how hard-won their freedoms were, and reflect on the meaning of American citizenship.  Here is my Lionel set.

DSC_0007 [2)DSC_0008 [2)DSC_0009 [2)

DSC_0010

A couple of little known facts about the Freedom Train.  1) ALCO provided a brand new PA for the train as part of their advertising budget.  The PA is the only known locomotive to have been in all of the lower 48 states.  2)  The train's management required that lines of people to see the train not be segregated.  Two southern cities refused and the train went right through these cities without stopping.

On Nov 17, 1947, the Freedom train and the Friendship Train, being pulled by a PRR Centipede, met in Harrisburg PA.  While both trains were crisscrossing the country at the same time, this is the only time they met.

ForumFT-FT4

Attachments

Images (10)
  • AFT_Train1 (7)
  • AFT_Train1 (8)
  • AFT_Train1 (9)
  • AFT_Train1 (10)
  • AFT_Train1 (11)
  • DSC_0007 (2)
  • DSC_0008 (2)
  • DSC_0009 (2)
  • DSC_0010
  • ForumFT-FT4
Last edited by CAPPilot
@CAPPilot posted:

The American Freedom Train of 1975-76 was a corporate sponsored traveling exhibition of artifacts from the 200 year history of our Nation.  It was 26 cars long, with 10 display cars (one for every 20 years of our history), two showcase cars with windows on the sides showing some of the larger artifacts on the train, and 14 support cars.  The train was pulled by three different steam engines, a Reading T1 in the eastern US, a Southern Pacific GS-4 in the western US, and a Texas and Pacific "Texas" in Texas.  These super power steam engines rarely needed helpers but most roads required them for various reasons, mostly for publicity.

Here is my #4449 with a Western Pacific GP-40 "helper", both MTH.

AFT_Train1 [7)AFT_Train1 [8)AFT_Train1 [9)AFT_Train1 [10)AFT_Train1 [11)

28 years early was the seven car 1947-49 Freedom Train, a US government sponsored train that carried many of our country most precious documents.  The documents were in three display cars with a constant Marine guard.  President Truman and his cabinet hoped it would, among other reasons, enable Americans to rediscover just how hard-won their freedoms were, and reflect on the meaning of American citizenship.  Here is my Lionel set.

DSC_0007 [2)DSC_0008 [2)DSC_0009 [2)

DSC_0010

A couple of little known facts about the Freedom Train.  1) ALCO provided a brand new PA for the train as part of their advertising budget.  The PA is the only known locomotive to have been in all of the lower 48 states.  2)  The train's management required that lines of people to see the train not be segregated.  Two southern cities refused and the train went right through these cities without stopping.

On Nov 17, 1947, the Freedom train and the Friendship Train, being pulled by a PRR Centipede, met in Harrisburg PA.  While both trains were crisscrossing the country at the same time, this is the only time they met.

ForumFT-FT4

Love you collection. Thanks for sharing.

@Ryan Mc posted:

Happy 4th of July everyone! Thought I would share my quarantine project. It was time to build a layout and learn some scenery skills. 

 

 

698D2272-B11B-422F-B635-34E60C58C68B

The Isaly's is a big hit with me.  Very much like Isaly's on the same the block but opposite corner from my Grandfather's beer-garden. Had many "skyscraper" ice-cream cones there and chucks of chocolate.   Those were the days.

Ron

Last edited by PRRronbh

Here is some red/white/blue motive power for celebrating Independence day!

An Air Force AMT "Beep"

Air Force Train

A Cragstan Shuttle Switcher from Japan.

Craigstan Front

A UK Hornby M0 loco and tender from 1930

Hornby M0 - loco 2

A relatively modern Japanese tin litho floor train, bought new in the 80's

Japanese Tin F-3 Bi-centenial Floor toy

The Marx 1798 Cape Canaveral Express

Marx Cape Canaveral Express- GE 70 ton side view

Finally a home designed project, a Marx red CV from my "circus set"

Marx Circus Train - loco

 

Happy Holiday Everyone

Don

Attachments

Images (6)
  • Air Force Train
  • Craigstan Front
  • Hornby M0 - loco 2
  • Japanese Tin F-3 Bi-centenial Floor toy
  • Marx Cape Canaveral Express- GE 70 ton side view
  • Marx Circus Train - loco

I was just in the basement working on the layout, and grabbed this shot as I came upstairs for lunch. Here a railroad worker guides the driver of an Oliver Farm Machinery Company truck as he backs into the team track platform at Mifflin, PA. The crates are filled with repair parts and were just unloaded from the boxcar (note the open door). Soon they will be loaded into the back of the truck for delivery to the local dealer. Era is late 1950's.

IMG_5116

Attachments

Images (1)
  • IMG_5116
@CAPPilot posted:

The American Freedom Train of 1975-76 was a corporate sponsored traveling exhibition of artifacts from the 200 year history of our Nation.  It was 26 cars long, with 10 display cars (one for every 20 years of our history), two showcase cars with windows on the sides showing some of the larger artifacts on the train, and 14 support cars.  The train was pulled by three different steam engines, a Reading T1 in the eastern US, a Southern Pacific GS-4 in the western US, and a Texas and Pacific "Texas" in Texas.  These super power steam engines rarely needed helpers but most roads required them for various reasons, mostly for publicity.

Here is my #4449 with a Western Pacific GP-40 "helper", both MTH.

AFT_Train1 [7)AFT_Train1 [8)AFT_Train1 [9)AFT_Train1 [10)AFT_Train1 [11)

28 years early was the seven car 1947-49 Freedom Train, a US government sponsored train that carried many of our country most precious documents.  The documents were in three display cars with a constant Marine guard.  President Truman and his cabinet hoped it would, among other reasons, enable Americans to rediscover just how hard-won their freedoms were, and reflect on the meaning of American citizenship.  Here is my Lionel set.

DSC_0007 [2)DSC_0008 [2)DSC_0009 [2)

DSC_0010

A couple of little known facts about the Freedom Train.  1) ALCO provided a brand new PA for the train as part of their advertising budget.  The PA is the only known locomotive to have been in all of the lower 48 states.  2)  The train's management required that lines of people to see the train not be segregated.  Two southern cities refused and the train went right through these cities without stopping.

On Nov 17, 1947, the Freedom train and the Friendship Train, being pulled by a PRR Centipede, met in Harrisburg PA.  While both trains were crisscrossing the country at the same time, this is the only time they met.

ForumFT-FT4

Great Piece of history love it 

thanks for sharing 

The City of Caprock, Texas, which is a Division Point on the High Plains Division of the O Gauge Panhandle & Santa Fe Railway Company, has recently experienced a break-down of the city water system.  Caprock sits upon the Ogallala Aquifer, and has a deep well, which normally provides abundant municipal water.  However the pumping system had a total failure on June 10.  The main suction pipe was severed by a small earthquake, a rare, but not totally unknown, event out on the high plains.  So, the well has to be re-drilled, and geologists have been called in, to decide where best to tap into the aquifer with the new pipe.

Meanwhile, the good citizens of Roaring Springs, which is on line to the Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railway, have graciously reached out to their neighbors in need, and are sending a tank car of potable water three times each week.  The QA&P and the Santa Fe interchange regularly at Floydada, Texas, and both railroads have offered to haul the water to Caprock at no charge, until the system is repaired.

The first car arrived during the early morning hours of June 12, and was promptly spotted on the water spur by Caprock Switcher 101, the daylight job, using RSD4 2107.

The Quanah, Acme & Pacific tank car was painted and lettered by Rob Leese, who posts on these forums.  Rob once worked in Train Service on the QA&P.  He used an original QA&P waybill and it accompanied the car in a shipping carton, to the High Plains Division of the P&SF at my residence here in Amarillo.  It was quite a surprise to unwrap the box, and find a waybill attached to it!  But that's the prototype way to ship a car.  The Conductor carried the actual waybills for every car in his train, and the bills were handed from crew to crew, until the car arrived at its destination, and the Agent took possession of the waybill, notified the consignee that his car was ready to spot, collected the freight charges, and then had the local crew spot the car.

Attachments

Images (8)
  • mceclip0
  • mceclip1
  • mceclip2
  • mceclip3
  • mceclip4
  • mceclip5
  • mceclip6
  • mceclip7
Last edited by Number 90

Re: QA&P tank cars. In addition to being a regular part of a cut of bridge gang cars, these also hauled water from Roaring Springs to nearby Paducah, TX for their Coca-Cola bottling plant.  
That region of Texas is referred to by locals as “the Big Empty”.  It is the locale of most of the familiar names in ranching: 6666’s, Pitchfork ranch, Matador ranch, etc.   And ground water is very scarce out there.  Not all but most of the well water out there has an insane amount of mineral content...the type of water that keeps you near the washroom should you drink some. 

Add Reply

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×