Midweek Photos 2/24/2016

I caught this guy at quitting time yesterday.  Out on the mainline of the Nebraska Central which runs from Columbus Ne. to Norfolk Ne.  The plan was to park in the siding just outside of Humphrey for the evening.  No doubt he is going to lay out some ties for spring work.  The ground is still frozen here. 

Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad

The interior of the remains of the huge Crestline roundhouse a few months before it was finally knocked down.

....and another view of the NS Heritage lineup at Spencer back in 2012

The NS New York Central Heritage passes Westbound past the former New York Central Berea Interlock Tower on a very rainy day.

NS yard locomotive heading back to Rockport yard passing by a track maintenance vehicle

A photo I purchased on eBay depicting DT&I 4-4-0 #7.  A Baldwin locomotive built in 1897 for the Detroit and Lima Northern Railway.  It later is said to have become a favorite locomotive of Henry Ford when he purchased the DT&I, and was one of, if not the first locomotive to go through his standardization/modernization program on the railroad.  This photo was taken in 1921 and was a news photo (hence the editor's pencil marks).

Ford saved the locomotive for his newly built museum when he sold the railroad in the late 1920's where it was restored to more of an as built appearance.  It was put back into service on the Greenfield Village railroad in 2013 after approximately eight years of restoration work.  

This is a photo I took in 2013 while the locomotive was out for it's third evening of test runs before being put into the rotation for daily service a few weeks later.

Jake , In reference to your pictures of the DT&I 4-4-0 # 7 . I noticed that the locomotive builders plate is missing in the earlier 1921 photo ,but is quite visible in your 2013 shot . I was , or am , under the impression that the builders plate was installed at the factory . Am I wrong in thinking that way ? I sure someone here on the forum has an answer .

Thanks for posting ,Great looking engine. Jim

Summerdale Junction posted:

Jake , In reference to your pictures of the DT&I 4-4-0 # 7 . I noticed that the locomotive builders plate is missing in the earlier 1921 photo ,but is quite visible in your 2013 shot . I was , or am , under the impression that the builders plate was installed at the factory . Am I wrong in thinking that way ? I sure someone here on the forum has an answer .

Thanks for posting ,Great looking engine. Jim

The builders plates it wears today are reproductions that are historically correct in how they appear.  The ones they replaced were installed when the locomotive was restored for Museum display and weren't correct in how the original baldwin plates would have been laid out (Ford had the tendency of modifying historical accuracy to suit his own tastes in situations like that).  I don't know when they would have disappeared, but as you said they aren't in the 1921 photo.  The front number plate is also a different one.  I would imagine since Ford worked to "standardize" his equipment upon purchase of the railroad, the removal of the plates may have been part of that process.

In short, yes, it would have had the plates installed from the factory.

This photo from the museum online collections page shows the engine in its museum restoration appearance with the incorrect plates.

The builders photo from 1897

On display in the museum in the 1920's

Tim,

Your photos of Jackson Heights brought back fond memories.  I was a pre-teen child there during the late 40s and early 50s.  Your photos are of Roosevelt Avenue somewhere between 74th Street and 96th Street. What a great neighborhood!  Every major retailer had a shop or restaurant, especially on 82nd Street. A kid could spend the entire day visiting every store, having a great time, and not buying anything. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.   

The 4-4-0 is my favorite loco of all time.  Robert's Crestline photo reminds me of an experience I had some 30 years ago.  (Yikes--I'm turning into an old fart for sure!)  I was spending the night in Hoisington KS and went roaming around with my first ever camera, a Pentax SF-1 my then fiancee' had bought me.  I came across an old roundhouse (Missouri Pacific) that was long abandoned.  I spent several hours in there--it was wide open.   I went back about ten years ago, this time with a 4x5 camera and a lot more skill (plus a wife! .)   Unfortunately a large tornado had flattened it in the 1990s.

Winter has been see-sawing back and forth this past week.  It warms up a little, then it snows.  Mostly, I've been out at night.

1. BNSF grain train n/b on Marshall sub, near Jasper MN.  Grain traffic has been noticeably picking up lately.  Farmers are often in a rush to get grain off the farm and to the elevators to sell before spring thaw softens the roads, and the state puts 10 ton load limits on the roads.  Train is in a deep (10 ft.) cut.  It was snowing too heavily for me to shine my bright flashlight on the rail to focus the camera.  So I climbed down into the cut, set a small flashlight on a tie pointed towards the camera, and climbed back out.  I focused the camera on the light but before I could go back for the flashlight, the train suddenly appeared.  Trains are very difficult to see or hear under these conditions, and I'm pretty wary. 

2. RCPE manifest e/b at Lake Benton, MN.  I got a tip that there would be a Central Oregon Pacific GP38 on point, so I went out to see it.  Had to wait about two hours.  When it came, no Geep!  Turns out they had left it in a siding back in South Dakota.  Oh well.  It was a nice night to be out.  (Except for the constant freezing drizzle.)   

3. BNSF manifest w/b, Appleton sub, near Summit SD.   This is a long, long and steep grade up an ancient glacial moraine.  The train only had two engines and was barely crawling up the hill.  I've been wanting to get some shots here for several years now, but the location is 2 & half hours away and it's a fairly low volume line.

4. BNSF grain train, Marshall sub near Sherman SD.  It was a flat out blizzard, and I wanted to get a few shots.  The spot I had in mind was along MN 23, but visibility was so poor I was afraid of parking along the fairly busy 2-lane road.  I found a little used section road instead.  I did have three flash set up but the wind blew two of them over.  I love winter! 

Kent in SD

Really liked number one photo. I had to scramble to locate Hoisington KS. I wonder if the line there is still active?  We are traveling south next month and will stay in Newton Ks.  Plan to take a shot or two there.  Thanks for taking the time to share your good work. 

Hoisington is still a railroad town.  The tracks were originally Missouri Pacific, then were Southern Pacific when SP bought MP, then became UP.  Union Pacific has since spun the line off and it's a short line.  There was a wye at the south center part of town and the track went to Newton KS.  That line is gone now.   When I retire, I think it would be fun to take a tour of the Great Plains, maybe running up US 281.  I'd start in Texas at the Gulf of Mexico and then head straight north through all the states stacked up, continue on into Saskatchewan and maybe end up in Edmonton Canada (or however far north the roads go until it turns into boreal forest.)  I might be able to talk my wife into the adventure. 

I used to live in Kansas, for the first half of my life.  My job had me traveling the entire state.  There is a story about railroad workers on the Kansas Pacific being attacked by Indians in the early 1870s.  They managed to get inside a roundhouse and fired their rifles out the windows and cracks.  The Indians got the idea of setting the roundhouse on fire.  The railroad men jumped on a 4-4-0 parked inside and opened up the throttle.  They crashed through the door and successfully made their escape.  I think I read about this in the book, "True Tales of Old Time Kansas," from the University of Kansas press.  (I graduated from KU in 1978.)

Kent in SD

Hey, I found an online reference:

1867    One Indian raid occurred at a small settlement called Brookville. When a large body of Indians attacked the town, the settlers rushed to the roundhouse where a barricade was hastily thrown up. The Indians surrounded the building, piled Railroad ties against it, and tried to set the structure on fire. Railroad crew members jumped on an engine already under steam, crashed it through the doors of the roundhouse, around the turntable, and with whistle and bell sounding, headed for Salina to get help. When the engine reached Salina, a dead Indian was found lying on a wheel.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-brookville.html

Kent in SD

Been busy, have not post a photo for a bit. This is one of my late favorites.

This is Kevin Rice climbing up into 734 for a run up the hill to Frostburg,

while in back folks are loading and taking last minute photos.

Ed

Two23 posted:

4. BNSF grain train, Marshall sub near Sherman SD.  It was a flat out blizzard, and I wanted to get a few shots.  The spot I had in mind was along MN 23, but visibility was so poor I was afraid of parking along the fairly busy 2-lane road.  I found a little used section road instead.  I did have three flash set up but the wind blew two of them over.  I love winter! 

 

Kent in SD

Thanks for more good night shots in winter, Kent.  Isn't the Appleton Subdivision the old Milwaukee Road main line to the northwest?  If so, does it still have block signals?

Number 90 posted:

Thanks for more good night shots in winter, Kent.  Isn't the Appleton Subdivision the old Milwaukee Road main line to the northwest?  If so, does it still have block signals?

Yes, Appleton Sub is old MILW line.  It has signals.  It's the only track I have within ~2 hours of me that is signaled.

Kent in SD