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Working on Valve Gear Monday

 

9 February 1980, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. In a scene that would make an American OSHA or FRA inspector pop an artery, a worker adjusts the valve gear on a WP 4-6-2. The rods are covered with whitewash to check for tiny cracks. If a bit of oil or rust showed up under the whitewash, there was a crack and the rod would be replaced.




Mike Tisdale
Martinez Sunday

 

Our January 2013 Calrailfans meet at Martinez, California along with the trip to and from.





Mike Tisdale
Sacramento Starlight Saturday

 

The northbound Coast Starlight, Federal court house and old REA building. 24 Nov 2011. Sacramento, California




Mike Tisdale
Re: Frisco in Denver for Friday

 

Back in the day, it was not unusual to spot sets of Frisco power in Hamlet, NC, which was a major hub of the SCL.

-- Ernest

-----Original Message-----
From: "Mike Tisdale via groups.io"
Sent: Apr 3, 2020 8:15 PM
To: observationcar@..., "[email protected]"
Subject: Re: [ObservationCar] Frisco in Denver for Friday


Thanks Mike.

The train with the Frisco units had a Frisco U25B, U30B and a UP GP30.? I agree that it probably ran through from somewhere on the Frisco via KC.? Perhaps it came from Memphis or Birmingham.? You are right about the paint scheme looking good clean, but when it gets dirty it looks a lot worse than SP, Rio Grande or Penn Central's darker hues.

Mike Tisdale
On Friday, April 3, 2020, 04:54:59 AM PDT, matejka53@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


?

??? thanks Mike

Back in the day when the D&RGW was running their own Zephyr from Denver to Salt Lake...

I'm presuming those Frisco units might have come from St Louis on Kansas City, but with run-through power,?? who knows. That red & white paint scheme looked nice when it was clean, but white is always a difficult color on a locomotive.

Mike Matejka
Normal IL


-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Tisdale tisdalem2001@... [ObservationCar] <ObservationCar@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
Sent: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 1:21 am
Subject: [ObservationCar] Frisco in Denver for Friday

?
Denver Union Station a couple of incarnations of its platforms ago and back when the tracks extended south from the station, permitting freights to run through. Here is a Frisco U25B leading a UP run through off the Kansas Pacific. It is stopped, while SDP40Fs back down to take Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they will run around the train and continue their trip west to Oakland, California. At Denver, Colorado, 19 March 1978



Mike Tisdale

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    __,_._,___

    -----
Ernest H. Robl -- Durham, NC, USA -- Photojournalism; writing, books.
Covering travel & transportation for 45+ years.  Now mostly retired!


    Re: Frisco in Denver for Friday

     


    Thanks Mike.

    The train with the Frisco units had a Frisco U25B, U30B and a UP GP30.? I agree that it probably ran through from somewhere on the Frisco via KC.? Perhaps it came from Memphis or Birmingham.? You are right about the paint scheme looking good clean, but when it gets dirty it looks a lot worse than SP, Rio Grande or Penn Central's darker hues.

    Mike Tisdale
    On Friday, April 3, 2020, 04:54:59 AM PDT, matejka53@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


    ?

    ??? thanks Mike

    Back in the day when the D&RGW was running their own Zephyr from Denver to Salt Lake...

    I'm presuming those Frisco units might have come from St Louis on Kansas City, but with run-through power,?? who knows. That red & white paint scheme looked nice when it was clean, but white is always a difficult color on a locomotive.

    Mike Matejka
    Normal IL


    -----Original Message-----
    From: Mike Tisdale tisdalem2001@... [ObservationCar] <ObservationCar@...>
    To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
    Sent: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 1:21 am
    Subject: [ObservationCar] Frisco in Denver for Friday

    ?
    Denver Union Station a couple of incarnations of its platforms ago and back when the tracks extended south from the station, permitting freights to run through. Here is a Frisco U25B leading a UP run through off the Kansas Pacific. It is stopped, while SDP40Fs back down to take Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they will run around the train and continue their trip west to Oakland, California. At Denver, Colorado, 19 March 1978



    Mike Tisdale

    __._,_.___
    Posted by: matejka53@...
    ? Reply to sender ? Reply to group ? ? (2)
    For ObsCar &quot;tech support&quot; or questions about posting or list etiquette, please flag down List Co-Owner Mike Tisdale at tisdalem@..., Moderator Sam Carlson at hispeedpacer@..., Co-Moderator Bryce Lee at thb301@....

    For a better understanding of some group discussions), please check out the &quot;ObsCar FAQs&quot; in the Database section of ObsCar. For the benefit of list members and digest readers, please remember to sign your full name to your posts and delete any excess text from replies. Thank You.
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      __,_._,___
      Frisco in Denver for Friday

       

      Denver Union Station a couple of incarnations of its platforms ago and back when the tracks extended south from the station, permitting freights to run through. Here is a Frisco U25B leading a UP run through off the Kansas Pacific. It is stopped, while SDP40Fs back down to take Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they will run around the train and continue their trip west to Oakland, California. At Denver, Colorado, 19 March 1978



      Mike Tisdale
      Re: Spring Green Thursday

       


      Thanks Chuck.? It is particularly nice in the spring when everything is still green. In a month or so, the fields will be brown from lack of rain.??

      Mike Tisdale
      On Thursday, April 2, 2020, 08:53:09 AM PDT, Chuck Bohi chuckbohi@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


      ?

      California is a beautiful state.? Thanks for sharing.

      Chuck Bohi

      On Thursday, April 2, 2020, 12:58:21 AM EDT, Mike Tisdale tisdalem2001@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


      ?

      Amtrak Capitol Corridor train 729 arrives in Roseville, California on 30 Match 2008 amid spring green fields and oak trees.




      Mike Tisdale

      __._,_.___
      Posted by: Chuck Bohi <chuckbohi@...>
      ? Reply to sender ? Reply to group ? ? (2)
      For ObsCar &quot;tech support&quot; or questions about posting or list etiquette, please flag down List Co-Owner Mike Tisdale at tisdalem@..., Moderator Sam Carlson at hispeedpacer@..., Co-Moderator Bryce Lee at thb301@....

      For a better understanding of some group discussions), please check out the &quot;ObsCar FAQs&quot; in the Database section of ObsCar. For the benefit of list members and digest readers, please remember to sign your full name to your posts and delete any excess text from replies. Thank You.
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        __,_._,___
        Spring Green Thursday

         

        Amtrak Capitol Corridor train 729 arrives in Roseville, California on 30 Match 2008 amid spring green fields and oak trees.




        Mike Tisdale
        Re: Cajon Monday

         


        Thank you Chris.? I was riding the vestibule over Cajon and fortunately was looking out the right hand side just as we started coming down the grade from Summit.??

        Mike Tisdale
        On Sunday, March 29, 2020, 10:22:20 PM PDT, Chris Walters cc1872@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


        ?

        That's one of your best Mike, a classic!!

        Regards,
        Chris
        Sydney, Australia

        On Mon, 30 Mar 2020 at 15:41, Mike Tisdale tisdalem2001@... [ObservationCar] <ObservationCar@...> wrote:
        ?

        An eastbound UP train approaches Summit, California as seen from Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited. 23 June 1977




        Mike Tisdale

        __._,_.___
        Posted by: Chris Walters <cc1872@...>
        ? Reply to sender ? Reply to group ? ? (2)
        For ObsCar &quot;tech support&quot; or questions about posting or list etiquette, please flag down List Co-Owner Mike Tisdale at tisdalem@..., Moderator Sam Carlson at hispeedpacer@..., Co-Moderator Bryce Lee at thb301@....

        For a better understanding of some group discussions), please check out the &quot;ObsCar FAQs&quot; in the Database section of ObsCar. For the benefit of list members and digest readers, please remember to sign your full name to your posts and delete any excess text from replies. Thank You.
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          __,_._,___
          West Oakland Wednesday

           

          BART and SP, West Oakland, California, March or April 1987



          Mike Tisdale
          Re: Monday at Dolton for Monday

           

          Sam Carlson probably knows where, exactly, the bottle car train goes to and from.? I know at Dolton it turns northwest on the old Panhandle (PRR) line that used to cross the C&EI and IHB at a 45 degree angle and winds up at at its destination, which?

          Checking Google Maps, in the aerial photo image, you can see the bottle train heading back empty on the old Panhandle??



          If you follow the line, which parallels and then crosses the CSX/B&OCT line heading to Barr Yard, you will see that it goes to a steel manufacturing facility on a thumb sticking into the Little Calument River north east of Barr Yard.? Right where the B&OCT and Panhandle split, the cross under the IC/CN/Metra line.??

          You can see more bottle cars stored in the yard by the steel plant.

          I added Sam, my guide for the day, to this thread to see what insight he can give us.??

          Mike Tisdale


          On Monday, March 30, 2020, 08:56:29 PM PDT, Gerard Kelley via Groups.Io <gerterkell@...> wrote:


          Phil,
          Bottle cars Carry molton steel from the furnaces to a manufacturer. I would like more details myself.

          G. Kelley
          Arlington Tx



          -----Original Message-----
          From: Phil Burton <philip-b@...>
          To: ObservationCar <[email protected]>
          Sent: Mon, Mar 30, 2020 10:17 PM
          Subject: Re: [ObservationCar] Monday at Dolton for Monday


          Mike,

          ?

          (catching up a bit).

          ?

          That bottle train.? What commodities are carried in a bottle car instead of a regular tank car?

          ?

          Phil Burton

          ?

          From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io
          Sent: Sunday, March 8, 2020 10:31 PM
          To: [email protected]; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
          Subject: [ObservationCar] Monday at Dolton for Monday

          ?

          An April Monday in Dolton, Illinois proved excellent for train watching:

          ?

          ?

          ?


          Dolton, Illinois, 26 April 2010

          In April 2010, I was in the Chicago area for the Railroad Photography and Art conference that is held most year...

          ?

          Mike Tisdale

          ?
          Rhein Tuesday

           

          A DB class 141 electric hauls a 3 car local train southbound in the Rhein Gorge a short distance north of Bingen, Germany.? 30 March 1980.




          Mike Tisdale
          Re: Oregon Excursion Friday

           

          Interesting map, Jeff.? Some of that area has been logged again more recently from the clear cut patches and a few of the patches line up to the old logging spurs, while others have nothing to do with the railroads of 90 years ago.

          Mike Tisdale
          On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 07:26:50 AM PDT, Kennedy How howler37@... [ObservationCar] <observationcar@...> wrote:


          ?

          On 3/30/2020 11:19 PM, 'Phil Burton' philip-b@...
          [ObservationCar] wrote:

          > Someone gave me the gift of a book about Santa Cruz county (CA)
          > railroads, which were narrow gauge lines built to serve the logging
          > industry.? This was in the late 1800s.? Once an area got clear-cut, the
          > railroad was abandoned, sometimes after just a few years of operation.

          Wow! You were given a book in the late 1800s? You're a real railfan
          veteran!

          :D :D

          Kennedy How, in SE MI

          ---
          This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
          https://www.avast.com/antivirus

          __._,_.___
          Posted by: Kennedy How <howler37@...>
          ? Reply to sender ? Reply to group ? ? (7)
          For ObsCar &quot;tech support&quot; or questions about posting or list etiquette, please flag down List Co-Owner Mike Tisdale at tisdalem@..., Moderator Sam Carlson at hispeedpacer@..., Co-Moderator Bryce Lee at thb301@....

          For a better understanding of some group discussions), please check out the &quot;ObsCar FAQs&quot; in the Database section of ObsCar. For the benefit of list members and digest readers, please remember to sign your full name to your posts and delete any excess text from replies. Thank You.
            ? ? Unsubscribe ?

            .

            __,_._,___
            Re: Oregon Excursion Friday

             

            That was very typical of almost all logging railroads.? They didn't have any utility or reason to exist once the trees were gone, and the trees seldom lasted long, especially in as much as a logging or lumber company could only really afford the huge investment a logging railroad entailed by cutting large volumes of timber.? Attached (hopefully) is a snippet of some map work I've been doing in Google Earth of logging railroad spurs built by the McCloud River Lumber Company in far western Modoc County, California, in the later 1920s or very early 1930s.? The red lines are the logging spurs the company built in this particular area.? By this era McCloud had just gone to tractor logging, using the Caterpillar "Sixty" gas powered tractors almost exclusively.? In those early days of tractor logging the lumber company limited the distance they would skid (haul) logs to 1,500 feet, which meant they would lay down a logging railroad spur on 3,000 foot centers through the stands to be harvested.? It resulted in what looks today like a dense railroad map, but in reality only a very small part of this system would have been in place at any one time.? Average life of one of these spurs would have been a couple weeks to at most a couple months, as once the trees had been cut the rails would be ripped out for reuse in the next spur built into the next stand to be logged.?

            Jeff Moore
            Elko, NV


            On Mon, Mar 30, 2020 at 8:19 PM Phil Burton <philip-b@...> wrote:

            Catching up a bit.

            ?

            Someone gave me the gift of a book about Santa Cruz county (CA) railroads, which were narrow gauge lines built to serve the logging industry.? This was in the late 1800s.? Once an area got clear-cut, the railroad was abandoned, sometimes after just a few years of operation.

            ?

            Phil Burton
            Re: Monday at Dolton for Monday

             

            Phil,
            Bottle cars Carry molton steel from the furnaces to a manufacturer. I would like more details myself.

            G. Kelley
            Arlington Tx



            -----Original Message-----
            From: Phil Burton <philip-b@...>
            To: ObservationCar <[email protected]>
            Sent: Mon, Mar 30, 2020 10:17 PM
            Subject: Re: [ObservationCar] Monday at Dolton for Monday


            Mike,

            ?

            (catching up a bit).

            ?

            That bottle train.? What commodities are carried in a bottle car instead of a regular tank car?

            ?

            Phil Burton

            ?

            From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io
            Sent: Sunday, March 8, 2020 10:31 PM
            To: [email protected]; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
            Subject: [ObservationCar] Monday at Dolton for Monday

            ?

            An April Monday in Dolton, Illinois proved excellent for train watching:

            ?

            ?

            ?


            Dolton, Illinois, 26 April 2010

            In April 2010, I was in the Chicago area for the Railroad Photography and Art conference that is held most year...

            ?

            Mike Tisdale

            ?
            Re: Oregon Excursion Friday

             

            开云体育

            Catching up a bit.

            ?

            Someone gave me the gift of a book about Santa Cruz county (CA) railroads, which were narrow gauge lines built to serve the logging industry.? This was in the late 1800s.? Once an area got clear-cut, the railroad was abandoned, sometimes after just a few years of operation.

            ?

            Phil Burton

            ?

            From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io
            Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 3:51 PM
            To: [email protected]; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
            Subject: Re: [ObservationCar] Oregon Excursion Friday

            ?

            ?

            Thank you for the history of the OP&E ande OC&E, Jeff. I remembered the mills closing, but not the details of why they closed.? ?So, the OC&E's demise was just the timber being exhausted in its area because it was cut so quickly.? Short term profits, but then nothing.??

            ?

            We've also lost McCloud, the Yreka Western, Almanor, Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe (a railroad whose name was almost longer than the railroad) and Amador Central, and NWP, all former lumber carriers.? California Western barely hangs on as? a tourist line and Sierra still hauls lumber.??

            ?

            Mike Tisdale

            ?

            ?

            On Sunday, March 8, 2020, 11:30:35 AM PDT, Jeff Moore <mccloudrails@...> wrote:

            ?

            ?

            Yup.? In the case of the OP&E it was Bohemia's decision to close the sawmill that provided that road's only traffic base.? The OC&E was a bit more complicated and stems from a decision Weyerhaeuser made in the middle 1970s to change its forest management philosophy from uneven age stand management (selective logging) to even age management (patchwork clearcuts).? This transition would require them to clear all standing timber off their lands.? The resulting substantial traffic increase is why SP and GN sold the OC&E to Weyerhaeuser in the first place, the road would need some serious upgrades in order to handle the projected amount of traffic and neither of the big roads wanted to make that kind of investment.? The solution was to sell it to Weyerhaeuser and let them spend their money.? The OC&E's end came about when Weyerhaeuser literally ran out of trees to cut in their East Side Block timberlands, and it would be decades before enough trees would grow back.

            ?

            Enjoy the railroads you have while you have them, you never know what tomorrow might bring.?

            ?

            Jeff Moore

            Elko, NV

            ?

            ?

            ?

            On Sat, Mar 7, 2020 at 2:13 PM Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io <tisdalem2001=[email protected]> wrote:

            Thank you, Jeff.? Sad to see the railroads go, but without a? traffic base, there really was no need for them to remain... a major problem with one commodity railroads.??

            ?

            You and I met at Palisade, Nevada,? where once there was an interchange yard, shops and offices of a railroad to the mines at Eureka and when the mines stopped producing and roads were built, there was no more need for the E&P/EN and, with no more interchange, no more need for the town of Palisade.? The scenery is just as starkly beautiful there today as when the Central Pacific first built the railroad in 1868, but the only people there are the ranchers up on the hill.??

            ?

            Mike Tisdale

            ?

            On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 08:23:15 AM PST, Jeff Moore <mccloudrails@...> wrote:

            ?

            ?

            I'll add my thanks, Mike.? Those were both unique railroads.? Both are now recreational trails, the OC&E is now the OC&E/Wood Line State Trail (operated by Oregon State Parks) while the OP&E is now the Row River Trail operated by the Bureau of Land Management.? A couple years ago some bicyclists put a Google street view camera on a bike trailer and covered the length of the OP&E.

            ?

            More on the OC&E, for those who might be interested:?

            ?

            Jeff Moore

            Elko, NV

            ?

            On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 4:12 PM Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io <tisdalem2001=[email protected]> wrote:

            ?

            You are welcome, Chuck.? Both the OP&E and OC&E lines were scenic and I'm glad that I had the chance to ride them before they vanished.

            ?

            ?
            Re: Monday at Dolton for Monday

             

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            Mike,

            ?

            (catching up a bit).

            ?

            That bottle train.? What commodities are carried in a bottle car instead of a regular tank car?

            ?

            Phil Burton

            ?

            From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Tisdale via Groups.Io
            Sent: Sunday, March 8, 2020 10:31 PM
            To: [email protected]; Observation Car <observationcar@...>
            Subject: [ObservationCar] Monday at Dolton for Monday

            ?

            An April Monday in Dolton, Illinois proved excellent for train watching:

            ?

            ?

            ?


            Dolton, Illinois, 26 April 2010

            In April 2010, I was in the Chicago area for the Railroad Photography and Art conference that is held most year...

            ?

            Mike Tisdale

            ?
            Re: old rail calendars - any value?

             

            Phil,
            I have noticed many museums have a table selling items like these. Check where it's any easy drop off for you.

            G. Kelley
            Arlington Tx



            -----Original Message-----
            From: Phil Burton <philip-b@...>
            To: ObservationCar <[email protected]>; 'Observation Car' <observationcar@...>
            Sent: Mon, Mar 30, 2020 06:57 PM
            Subject: [ObservationCar] old rail calendars - any value?


            I have rail calendars going back probably to 1995.? US rail systems, NY, UK, French and German systems.? Some historic steam photo calendars from the US and Europe.? Also some rail transit, mainly NY.? Also a “steam locomotive and train” calendar from Japan.? Orchard Supply Hardware calendars with rail subject paintings.? These calendars are taking up a lot of space, and my wife wants me to get rid of all of them.? Is there a museum or archive that might be interested?

            ?

            Phil Burton
            old rail calendars - any value?

             

            开云体育

            I have rail calendars going back probably to 1995.? US rail systems, NY, UK, French and German systems.? Some historic steam photo calendars from the US and Europe.? Also some rail transit, mainly NY.? Also a “steam locomotive and train” calendar from Japan.? Orchard Supply Hardware calendars with rail subject paintings.? These calendars are taking up a lot of space, and my wife wants me to get rid of all of them.? Is there a museum or archive that might be interested?

            ?

            Phil Burton
            Cajon Monday

             

            An eastbound UP train approaches Summit, California as seen from Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited. 23 June 1977




            Mike Tisdale
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