a picture a day....

@Genemed posted:

Patrick, ‘just another day’ on the OGR forum reading your outstanding and descriptive stories in the world of model railroading!

Gene

Thank you so much Gene for your kind words!  I'm so glad you like my stories!

@trumpettrain posted:

Actually Dallas, since my layout is set in the late 40s to late 1950's before drones,  let's just say I climbed two  big o'l oak trees this morning to snap those two photos.  LOL!!   So glad you like them!!

Ah those days climbing trees!  Yes, a big ol’ oak ‘wood’ do the trick!!  
The Big Hook can handle the job, Pat!

Hey there Patrick, I just handed out a lot of like as I have been away for a little while, but it sure is nice to be able to come back and know I can see some wonderful pictures and such colorful stories to go with them! If I could I would make it a daily thing as your photos and stories always make me smile!

@mike g. posted:

Hey there Patrick, I just handed out a lot of like as I have been away for a little while, but it sure is nice to be able to come back and know I can see some wonderful pictures and such colorful stories to go with them! If I could I would make it a daily thing as your photos and stories always make me smile!

Wow Mike!  I am humbled by your very kind words.  Thank you so much!

FOR TODAY:  ( It's 1955 ) We interrupt this program with breaking news!  ... This is Robert Dyson with a WPBR New Flash!  The Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department is on the scene of a leaking railroad tank car within the Patsburg city limits.   The contents of the car is highly flammable and emergency units are on now on the scene.    We have fire chief Bill Mearson here to give us an update.  Chief Mearson  can you give us an up to the minute briefing on this dangerous situation?    

I'm Patsburg Fire Chief Bill Mearson.   At 8:32 a.m. units from stations 4 and 5 were called out to the scene of a leaking tank car which was part of a slow moving freight train moving through Butler Junction in lower Patsburg.  One of the railroad's car inspectors spotted the leak and called the Patsburg emergency number.    Our first unit arrived on the scene at 8:37 a.m with other units arriving within minutes thereafter.    The conductor of the train confirmed the contents of the car is pure grain alcohol, a highly flammable liquid.  The railroad says there are containment and clean up crews on the way.  Patsburg Fire Dept units and crews will stay on the scene until the situation is brought under control and deemed 100 percent safe.   At this time we are requesting that residents avoid this area.  Business establishment and residents living in the immediate area have been evacuated.  

Chief Meason can you tell us how many gallons of alcohol is in this tank car?  ...  "Yes certainly Robert.    According to the Free State Junction Railway, the car's total capacity is ten thousand gallons.  At this time there's less but how much less is yet to be determined.   How long the car has been leaking is unknown at this time."

This is WPBR's Robert Dyson.  We just heard from Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department's chief Bill Mearson updating us on the current tank car leak in Patsburg city limits.  Please stay tuned as WPBR will keep you informed with up to date information.   Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.    

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  ( It's 1955 ) We interrupt this program with breaking news!  ... This is Robert Dyson with a WPBR New Flash!  The Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department is on the scene of a leaking railroad tank car within the Patsburg city limits.   The contents of the car is highly flammable and emergency units are on now on the scene.    We have fire chief Bill Mearson here to give us an update.  Chief Mearson  can you give us an up to the minute briefing on this dangerous situation?    

I'm Patsburg Fire Chief Bill Mearson.   At 8:32 a.m. units from stations 4 and 5 were called out to the scene of a leaking tank car which was part of a slow moving freight train moving through Butler Junction in lower Patsburg.  One of the railroad's car inspectors spotted the leak and called the Patsburg emergency number.    Our first unit arrived on the scene at 8:37 a.m with other units arriving within minutes thereafter.    The conductor of the train confirmed the contents of the car is pure grain alcohol, a highly flammable liquid.  The railroad says there are containment and clean up crews on the way.  Patsburg Fire Dept units and crews will stay on the scene until the situation is brought under control and deemed 100 percent safe.   At this time we are requesting that residents avoid this area.  Business establishment and residents living in the immediate area have been evacuated.  

Chief Meason can you tell us how many gallons of alcohol is in this tank car?  ...  "Yes certainly Robert.    According to the Free State Junction Railway, the car's total capacity is ten thousand gallons.  At this time there's less but how much less is yet to be determined.   How long the car has been leaking is unknown at this time."

This is WPBR's Robert Dyson.  We just heard from Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department's chief Bill Mearson updating us on the current tank car leak in Patsburg city limits.  Please stay tuned as WPBR will keep you informed with up to date information.   Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.    

Hey Pat, great story and photos! There seems to be another story about the guy in the lower right corner of the second picture! Maybe he got to the leaking grain alcohol tanker before the fire department arrived and had a bit too much to drink, hence passing out next to the tracks!

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  ( It's 1955 ) We interrupt this program with breaking news!  ... This is Robert Dyson with a WPBR New Flash!  The Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department is on the scene of a leaking railroad tank car within the Patsburg city limits.   The contents of the car is highly flammable and emergency units are on now on the scene.    We have fire chief Bill Mearson here to give us an update.  Chief Mearson  can you give us an up to the minute briefing on this dangerous situation?    

I'm Patsburg Fire Chief Bill Mearson.   At 8:32 a.m. units from stations 4 and 5 were called out to the scene of a leaking tank car which was part of a slow moving freight train moving through Butler Junction in lower Patsburg.  One of the railroad's car inspectors spotted the leak and called the Patsburg emergency number.    Our first unit arrived on the scene at 8:37 a.m with other units arriving within minutes thereafter.    The conductor of the train confirmed the contents of the car is pure grain alcohol, a highly flammable liquid.  The railroad says there are containment and clean up crews on the way.  Patsburg Fire Dept units and crews will stay on the scene until the situation is brought under control and deemed 100 percent safe.   At this time we are requesting that residents avoid this area.  Business establishment and residents living in the immediate area have been evacuated.  

Chief Meason can you tell us how many gallons of alcohol is in this tank car?  ...  "Yes certainly Robert.    According to the Free State Junction Railway, the car's total capacity is ten thousand gallons.  At this time there's less but how much less is yet to be determined.   How long the car has been leaking is unknown at this time."

This is WPBR's Robert Dyson.  We just heard from Patsburg Volunteer Fire Department's chief Bill Mearson updating us on the current tank car leak in Patsburg city limits.  Please stay tuned as WPBR will keep you informed with up to date information.   Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.    

I'm kind of surprised that nobody has any mason jars trying to catch some of the leak! LOL

Pat, I think this line my dad used to quote was from a 1930s-40s radio program; “What a revoltn’ development!”  Great story!

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Hey Pat, great story and photos! There seems to be another story about the guy in the lower right corner of the second picture! Maybe he got to the leaking grain alcohol tanker before the fire department arrived and had a bit too much to drink, hence passing out next to the tracks!

Hey Scott -  Thanks for your input!  I wish I would have thought of  what you suggest.  That would have made a great and humorous addition to the story.  Unfortunately, I discovered the " passed out guy " when I went back for a quick check/proofread immediately after posting.   I immediately deleted that photo and substituted with another.  This all happened before you posted your reply.  Bummer!!

FOR TODAY: It's early Monday morning and we see Ned Bentley in his pickup with a load of produce driving to town.    Good o'l Ned's been ah farming all his life.  He comes from a long line of farmers which goes back many generations all the way to the late 1700's.    It's been said that George Washington slept in the Bentley farm house way back yonder.  Don't know if there is much truth to it but it makes for a good story don't ya know.  As the crow flys, the Bentley farm, up on Hill Top Lane,  is exactly two miles outside of Patsburg.  The farm is a sprawling 157 acres of "toil and bliss" as o'l Ned likes to say.   He's probably going to pedal his produce to the local IGA grocery store located on Market Street in Lower Patsburg.   After that he'll more than likely pay a visit to Luther Quigley at Quigley's Hardware.

And by golly there's that boy Chucky on his bike down at the rail yard!  He's there  much earlier than usual.  He must know that something special is due through the yard this morning. Better keep my our peeled!

Pat, great story once again.  Ned Bentley first caught my attention because our rescue dog came with the name Bentley.

Second, the reference to George Washington reminded me of when we lived outside Fredericksburg, Virginia there was an old house across the bridge in Falmouth, just a very few miles upstream from Ferry Farm where Washington grew up.  In front of the house was a sign that read, “George Washington never slept here”.

FOR TODAY:  It was 5:04 a.m. this morning when Chucky was catapulted into consciousness by a  terrifying nightmare!  Ripping off the covers , he jumped out of bed in a full blown panic!  In the nightmare he was riding his bike toward a light at the end of a long dark tunnel.  He thought the light was the exit only to discover it was the beam of an oncoming locomotive's headlight ... and this locomotive was moving FAST!!   Once out of bed Chucky frantically paced his room in a cold sweat!  Looking out his bedroom window he could see the railroad yard and the last few cars of a slow moving freight train ... then came the caboose whose windows were dimly lit.  As he observed the rear marker lights vanishing in the distance,  Chucky suddenly realized the significance of his horrifying dream.    School was about to begin!   His glorious days of hanging out at the railroad yard were numbered ... in the low single digits!    Yikes!!!

Due to the sobering realization of the extremely limited time left, Chucky tears off to the yard much earlier than usual.   Once at the yard he experiences a heightened sense of appreciation for everything his senses take in.    He's now in greater awe for everything in the yard and its' surroundings  ..., the distinctive low loping hum of the ALCO RS1 yard locomotive idling several tracks over ...   the distant "boom" sound made when a car slams against another car when shoved by the switch crew ... the aroma of  creosote wafting thru the air .. the squeal of flanged wheels against the rails .. a distant locomotive whistle and/or horn ... the glow of the track signals ...  the clanging bell of a locomotive ...  the clickity clack made as steel wheels move over the rails ... all of these sounds punctuated with long intervals of silence and a deep feeling of peacefulness.  Chucky takes in a long slow breath and savors the moment.

As Chucky gazes from his bike he says under his breath " Even this junk pile has its' own beauty."  Without a doubt, the railroad yard has been a wonderful summer classroom for Chucky.  He's not only learned a lot about railroads, but more importantly, something about life itself .... the only permanence is impermanence .. therefore totally enjoy the beauty of every moment!  

@trumpettrain  Patrick what a great string of words.  wow  You outdid yourself this time.

@ScoutingDad posted:

@trumpettrain  Patrick what a great string of words.  wow  You outdid yourself this time.

Thanks ScoutingDad!

Another great story, Pat!  

@Mark Boyce posted:

Another great story, Pat!  

Thanks Mark!

Having a cup of joe

FOR TODAY:  Country ramblings.   Farmer Cash Morton steers his tractor onto the roadway.  He's taking a load of hay to his bigger barn located on the other side of this mountain.  Meanwhile farm hands Squeaky Gundersen and Lukas Frawley toil away in the vegetable garden.   Oh yes ... and a way freight takes the bridge.  ... just another day along the Free State Junction Railway's Mountain Division.  

FOR TODAY:  Without these hard working fellers, the railroad will eventually come to a halt.  Of course the two fellers sitting on the cross tie chatting it up are "supervisors"!   .... just another day on the railroad.

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  Without these hard working fellers, the railroad will eventually come to a halt.  Of course the two fellers sitting on the cross tie chatting it up are "supervisors"!   .... just another day on the railroad.

😆😆😆

Patrick...great scene!  The characters on your layout sure have a good work ethic...always busy and focused

@trumpettrain - Patrick, great scenes for sure, your comment on the guys sitting on the cross ties reminded me of what we always used to say about road repair crews back in New Jersey...1 guy with a shovel and 5 guys watching!

Don

@Cape Train , @Don McErlean, @Mark Boyce

Thanks so much for your kind words Don and Paul ... and Mark for your smiling faces!  

FOR TODAY:  Saturday in the park.   Ms. Kingsley walks her dog Bistro .. a wedding take place over at Our Lady of Locomotion ... Jahn's does a brisk business selling a wide variety of ice cream novelties and such .. a fireman just returning from a run rests on the hose bed of the engine.  The larger rock at the right ( in front of sign ) in  this photo is an actual stone from Omaha Beach in Normandy France where my father landed with the Big Red One on June 6, 1944.  The park contains a sign in honor of Dad.   I picked the stone off the beach when I visit ed Omaha Beach with my father and brother back around 2000.  

Pat, that’s a nice tribute to your Dad.  The rest of the scene is great as well!

Here’s three pictures, MTH Passenger stations from years past, 2 are freight terminals, and the one on the right is the passenger terminal. First you see the goods, the people, and in an instant, you see the passenger train leaving the stations and yes, the goods and the people are on the El Capitan heading to another destination. Happy Railroading Everyone….

@Mark Boyce posted:

Pat, that’s a nice tribute to your Dad.  The rest of the scene is great as well!

Thank you so much Mark!

These K-Line ESE cars are a pleasure to redo:

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  Saturday in the park.  

Another beautiful page for  ' THE BOOK '  Patrick.

A special full page photo for this honored memory sir.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Another beautiful page for  ' THE BOOK '  Patrick.

A special full page photo for this honored memory sir.

Much appreciated Dallas.  Thank you!

FOR TODAY:  ( From my Postwar Paradise Collection )  On this hazy August Sunday morning 2065's engineer, Z.W. Powers, gives the running gear the once over.   In a few moments the locomotive will back to the station and couple to its' train,  a fan trip special to Memory Lane.    

This is my first locomotive which led the train Santa brought me when I was 4 years old.  In my eyes, old Lionel 2065 still radiates a certain regal magnificence,  just as it did on Christmas morning 1957.   Yep, she's  in top running shape and occasionally still does duty on the Free State Junction Railway.

Pat, the 2065 looks great!!

FOR TODAY:  Brakemen Booker T. Briggs and Sprigg Crowley are working a MOW clean up train today.  The purpose of this train is to clean up debris alongside the tracks.  Once this gondola is full,  it  will be set it out on a siding  where an empty will be picked up.  From there the loading process will begin again,  Not happy with today's assignment O'l Booker T is hoping that the day won't extend past the normal quitten time.   As soon as the watch strikes 4 pm he will high tail it to  Clancey's Brew Pub and Grill  and you can betcha a barrel of golden track spikes that o'l Sprigg will be right behind him too!    ... just another day on the railroad!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Pat, the 2065 looks great!!

Thanks Mark!

So Booker T drew the short straw.

FOR TODAY:  Harvest Time  ...  Up on Danlilu siding a crew begins the loading process.  

Crosby Wiggins is about to slide open the door of this insulated boxcar which begins the loading process.

It's still a bit early in the season, however, it takes time to get pumpkins to the retail market.  Farmer Willie Bob Healy is bringing in the first pumpkin harvest in these here parts.  His trucks will be making several round trips from his farm to this team track today ... and those trucks will roll until this boxcar is full.   Willie Bob says he's had one of the best growing seasons ever and his pumpkins took a blue ribbon at the county fair too!    

What a crew these fellers are!   They seem like a hurd of misfits but they always seem to gitter done!  

Great looking punkins!!  Willie Bob's helper sitting on the tailgate had better watch out or he may just fall off the wagon!  When I worked at the power company in my 20's and 30's they talked about the tailgate meeting when everyone got to the job site.  I don't think this kind of tailgate meeting is quite what they had in mind! 

FOR TODAY:  O'l 2065 arriving at Patsburg Commuter Station with coaches ( not shown ) for a Rail Fan Special!   A trolley whizzes by on the elevated line as a FM Train Master trundles across the bridge up on the Mountain Division.  Free State Junction Railway Company's  photographer I. C Thrulenz happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture this shot.   ... just another day on the railroad!

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  Harvest Time  ...  Up on Danlilu siding a crew begins the loading process.  

Crosby Wiggins is about to slide open the door of this insulated boxcar which begins the loading process.

It's still a bit early in the season, however, it takes time to get pumpkins to the retail market.  Farmer Willie Bob Healy is bringing in the first pumpkin harvest in these here parts.  His trucks will be making several round trips from his farm to this team track today ... and those trucks will roll until this boxcar is full.   Willie Bob says he's had one of the best growing seasons ever and his pumpkins took a blue ribbon at the county fair too!    

What a crew these fellers are!   They seem like a hurd of misfits but they always seem to gitter done!  

Patrick, I like it, even the boxcar is pumpkin colored!!! Where do you find some of your stuff, like those pumpkins? Great shots, hard to believe fall is just around the corner, it still feels like summer. I was in Lehigh, Pennsylvania last week and the weather was quite nice. Just one day of rain and one day of heat, other than that beautiful. Thanks for posting the fun photos!!!

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Patrick, I like it, even the boxcar is pumpkin colored!!! Where do you find some of your stuff, like those pumpkins? Great shots, hard to believe fall is just around the corner, it still feels like summer. I was in Lehigh, Pennsylvania last week and the weather was quite nice. Just one day of rain and one day of heat, other than that beautiful. Thanks for posting the fun photos!!!

Thanks Scott!  I "think" I got the pumpkins from Scenic Express or perhaps they are from Woodland Scenics.  I bought them several years ago and have seen them at York each year when I attend.  If you are interested you can check out their websites.  

Yes, the weather here in Maryland right now is exceptional!  Definitely a fall feel to the air.  Glad you got to Lehigh and enjoyed the weather there.