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heyou
Dec 30, 2004
Mr. Green....Gesundheit.

ijustam posted:

Amtrak locomotive 156, a P42 locomotive with an adaptation of the first Amtrak paint scheme from 1972, has been released from our Beech Grove, Ind., facility. It will lead Train 30, the Capitol Limited, leaving this evening from Chicago en route to Washington. Coincidentally, tonight’s Train 30 will also include Amtrak business car 10001, the “Beech Grove.”



If I'm lucky, I'll see the Capitol Limited during my workday tomorrow, I'll try to grab a pic if I see it. I work right next to the tracks outside of DC that the Limited uses.

Edit: Checked Amtrak, arrival is 1:10PM, should be able to catch it around noon, as long as it isn't late. (It'll be late).

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Cocoa Crispies
Jul 20, 2001

Vehicular Manslaughter!

Pillbug

aswert1223 posted:

OK, not a huge train buff, but the this is bad rear end:http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/293554/Bad-Day-At-Black-Rock-Movie-Clip-Open-Adobe-Flat.html

The director says that the amazing shot from 15 to 22 seconds was a trick http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047849/trivia?tr=tr0747365, but I think was a pilot playing chicken with a train.

Also a great movie...

Run train backwards, fly low over it with the camera pointed backwards and down?

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot
Here are some rail acronyms from a railroader

UP = Unlimited Parking
UP= Cant spell stupid with out UP
BNSF= Big Now Still hosed
CSX= Chicken poo poo Express
NS= Norforking poo poo
BN= Big Nothing
GN= Great Nothing
CHTT (Chicago Heights Terminal Transfer) = poo poo!
WSOR= We Scare Other Railroads
CN= Cartoon Network

If I remember anymore I will post them.

BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Mar 17, 2011

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON

bytebark posted:

Other railroad acronyms:

UP = Uncle Pete
BNSF = Better Not Start a Family
NS = Nazi Southern (reference to management...)
CSX = Chemical Spill Express
C&NW = Cheap and Nothing Wasted

BrokenKnucklez posted:

Here are some rail acronyms from a railroader

UP = Unlimited Parking
UP= Cant spell stupid with out UP
BNSF= Big Now Still hosed
CSX= Chicken poo poo Express
NS= Norforking poo poo
BN= Big Nothing
GN= Great Nothing
CHTT (Chicago Heights Terminal Transfer) = poo poo!
WSOR= We Scare Other Railroads
CN= Cartoon Network

If I remember anymore I will post them.

So I gather the prevailing opinion within the rail industry is everyone is poo poo...?

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot

Geoj posted:

So I gather the prevailing opinion within the rail industry is everyone is poo poo...?

Its just like cars

Ford - Fix or Repair Daily
FIAT - Fix it again tony

Really though rail roads are a very brutal employer and think monkeys would make better employees than humans. They treat you as a liability rather than well, a human.

Advent Horizon
Jan 17, 2003

I’m back, and for that I am sorry

So far, I haven't managed to find the video of the trestle washing away. All I've found so far is this picture:

http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg11&CISOPTR=15267&REC=27

As some added trivia, the Copper River and Northwestern went to the Kennecott Copper Mine, which is where Kennecott Utah Corporation gets its name. The mine in turn, got its name from the Kennicott Glacier. Yes, I spelled them differently. Somebody made a mistake a hundred years ago and their typo lives on.

Edit: Here's what the bridge looked like during the rest of the year: http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=11468&REC=13

Edit2: Washed out: http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg2&CISOPTR=294&REC=25
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg11&CISOPTR=8118&REC=12

Advent Horizon fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Mar 17, 2011

Boomerjinks
Jan 31, 2007

DINO DAMAGE

BonzoESC posted:

Run train backwards, fly low over it with the camera pointed backwards and down?

Hang camera out side of aircraft, make shot a lot less dangerous?

aswert1223
Dec 6, 2004

The Ultimate Dripping Machine
Although I had not considered running the train backward :drat:, I still choose to think it was a daredevil pilot :killdozer:.

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot

aswert1223 posted:

Although I had not considered running the train backward :drat:, I still choose to think it was a daredevil pilot :killdozer:.

:science:

Per the GCOR (General Consolidated Operating Rules) rule book, you can make a reverse movement at a maximum authorized speed for a freight train is 20MPH, a passenger train has an authorized maximum speed of 30MPH.

Trust me, riding a car moving backwards at 20MPH feels like a dare devil move.

Also, locomotives can run just as fast forward as they can in reverse.

Cocoa Crispies
Jul 20, 2001

Vehicular Manslaughter!

Pillbug

BrokenKnucklez posted:

:science:

Per the GCOR (General Consolidated Operating Rules) rule book, you can make a reverse movement at a maximum authorized speed for a freight train is 20MPH, a passenger train has an authorized maximum speed of 30MPH.

Trust me, riding a car moving backwards at 20MPH feels like a dare devil move.

Also, locomotives can run just as fast forward as they can in reverse.

That forward/reverse is from the perspective of the crew, right? The local commuter rail doesn't turn around at either end, just the engineer moves.

Armacham
Mar 3, 2007

Then brothers in war, to the skirmish must we hence! Shall we hence?
Here's some of the trains at the Henry Ford in Detroit, MI. http://www.thehenryford.org/


Stephenson's Rocket replica


DeWitt Clinton replica


2-8-0 Consolidation


C & O Allegheny #1601
Lima Locomotive 2-6-6-6

They also have a Mason Bogie called Torch Lake that runs during the summer.

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot

BonzoESC posted:

That forward/reverse is from the perspective of the crew, right? The local commuter rail doesn't turn around at either end, just the engineer moves.

Commuter rail generally operates on Push/Pull where the engineer moves to a cab car, set up like a locomotive with the same controls. I am actually talking about riding the side of a box car.

Advent Horizon
Jan 17, 2003

I’m back, and for that I am sorry

BrokenKnucklez posted:

:science:

Per the GCOR (General Consolidated Operating Rules) rule book, you can make a reverse movement at a maximum authorized speed for a freight train is 20MPH, a passenger train has an authorized maximum speed of 30MPH.

Trust me, riding a car moving backwards at 20MPH feels like a dare devil move.

What kind of car are you thinking of? Everything I've ever been in has felt just fine both ways. Some you really can't even tell which way is forward other than the label.

As for running in reverse, that's what capers are for!

auzdark
Aug 29, 2005

Mercy is the cry of the soul that stirred,
Mercy is the cry and it's never heard.

Armacham posted:


C & O Allegheny #1601
Lima Locomotive 2-6-6-6


I love elegant and simple steam designs but I also love seeing things like this, where it just looks like an engineering monstrosity but also gives it tonns of character!

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot

Advent Horizon posted:

What kind of car are you thinking of? Everything I've ever been in has felt just fine both ways. Some you really can't even tell which way is forward other than the label.

As for running in reverse, that's what capers are for!

This.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OO4vxh6tPi8/0.jpg

Theres not much to hang onto. And you are required to ride those dinky ladders. Add in some driving rear end cold rain and being about 35 degrees out, makes for some seriously crappy conditions.

PainterofCrap
Oct 17, 2002

hey bebe


Sponge! posted:

Heh, you're thinking of the old Steamtown. You should go check out the new version. Its loving awesome, and yeah the Big Boy is still there, static display, because even if somehow they did come up with the several million $ to restore it, they'd have to build an excursion specifically for it...

I was blown away by the size and sheer mass of that vehicle when I visited in 1998. Did my best to capture it:

BuckyDoneGun
Nov 30, 2004
fat drunk
Some of the damage to lines after the first Christchurch earthquake in September:





And some from the March quake:

CAT INTERCEPTOR
Nov 9, 2004

Basically a male Margaret Thatcher

Armacham posted:



Stephenson's Rocket replica

This is the real thing





Which surprised the poo poo out of me when I saw it in London, I honestly didnt think it would have been preserved in any form.

Gay Nudist Dad
Dec 12, 2006

asshole on a scooter

wolrah posted:

I looked around and found these guys, a club of owners of old track maintenance vehicles which organizes legitimate group runs. Looks like they usually get access to track that's been abandoned, but they also list a few events which look like they're running ahead of an actual maintenance crew on a normally active line that would be closed at the time anyways. Seems to be the way to do it.

I used to have a place I liked to ride my quad which was most easily accessible by riding about a mile down the side of the rails that ran behind my parents' place, so I'm quite familiar with the rail cops and certainly would not want to get on their bad side. For anyone who doesn't know, in most US states the rail cops are considered equal to the state police and have some interstate jurisdiction.

Once I saw the highrail chat I felt I should post this - glad I kept reading to see if I was beaten. My dad's been into railcars/trackspeeders for about 21 years, in which time he's had three: an open Fairmont M19, a partially-enclosed (roof + front) M19, and currently an MT19, which he restored.

They're crude machines. The Ms are a 2-stroke single-cylinder, belt drive, crank start. To reverse you have to turn it off and crank-start it the other way, unless you get the technique down to reverse the spark while it's running. The MTs are nicer, a four-stroke 2-cylinder (I think) Onan engine... with a transmission! There are no creature comforts, though some people have fully-enclosed cabs and add heaters and radios. My dad just has curtains.

Here's the MT:


When I was young I went on rides with him a lot. You see some cool scenery and relics on those rides, stuff you can't see from roadways. You also meet a lot of weird old people, because mostly only weird old people have trackspeeders. My dad, at 60, is on the young side.

The hobby seems to be fading a bit, as it gets harder and harder to find rail they can use.

Lancek
May 31, 2007
[img]https://forumimages.somethingawful.com/images/newbie.gif[/img]

Took this picture of a train leaving Trona, CA. Figured you guys would appreciate it.


(Photography criticism welcome)

Arse Porn Cage
Oct 9, 2003


Bigger steamers have been built, but this is the largest one in the world that is still operational.


Those yellow tanks hold 24,000 gallons of water each. Thirsty beast.


It's hard to convey just how huge this thing really is.


I also have a zoomed-in shot of just the smokestack and distorted Arch.


This is why I like steam - it's just neat to watch all the parts in motion.

Arse Porn Cage fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Mar 30, 2011

Ferremit
Sep 14, 2007
if I haven't posted about MY LANDCRUISER yet, check my bullbars for kangaroo prints

This thread caused me to buy Railworks2 on steam...

ExplodingSims
Aug 17, 2010

RAGDOLL
FLIPPIN IN A MOVIE
HOT DAMN
THINK I MADE A POOPIE


Ferremit posted:

This thread caused me to buy Railworks2 on steam...

If you don't mind a crappy looking game, Trainz is a lot of fun too. Plus the content is free and you can build your own stuff too. I find it to be great since I'm terrible at models and those are expensive as well.

If nothing else it's fun to build a mile high mountain and run a train off of it. :shobon:

BrokenKnucklez
Apr 22, 2008

by zen death robot
When I first hired out, I was lucky enough to be on the 3985 to go north to St Paul. By union agreements there has to be a local crew on board to guide the train crew running the steam engine. Its quite the machine with quite a few modern electronics on board.

Armacham
Mar 3, 2007

Then brothers in war, to the skirmish must we hence! Shall we hence?
Railroad Tycoon Series for life

Disgruntled Bovine
Jul 5, 2010

I've been waiting for a railfan topic to show up on SA for a while now. I should have realized there would be plenty of goon railfans.

I've been a railfan pretty much my entire life, though unfortunately I've never had the opportunity to volunteer at a railroad museum since I've never lived less than an hour and a half drive from one. I am however a member of a large model railroad club and I get out and film trains whenever I get the chance.

Here's a few of my videos, be sure to watch them in 1080p:

One of the first HD videos I shot, and still a favorite, great late afternoon light:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORrDQVG5r2k

Probably the best video from my trip to the Horseshoe Curve area last October, a three train meet at the summit tunnels:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUhAuCXI4Dw

Horseshoe Curve itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL1FXCj8_DI

One of my 5 videos of a Steamtown excursion train pulled by Canadian National 2-8-2 #3254:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56cLykRDgXQ

My attempt at a pacing shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1PDygwEEAc

Some more New England action, this time a two railroad meet, a very rare thing in Massachusetts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbsWVKmtRw8

If you're still not bored here's my youtube channel. I have dozens more rail videos, mostly HD:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NorfKhazad


As for my favorite locomotives, I'm a huge fan of the Virginian railway. It was mergered out of existence in 1960, was one of the smallest class 1 railroads, and pretty much only hauled coal, but it had some of the largest most ridiculous locomotives in history.

The AE class 2-10-10-2, highest tractive effort (brute pulling force) of any successful steam locomotive in history:


It also had the largest cylinders (48" interior diameter), largest diameter boiler (118"), and was so wide that the front cylinders and cab had to be removed for transport to the Virginian railway because most railroads didn't have enough clearance for it.

Here's a shot with some men for comparison:


The Virginian also had the XA class 2-8-8-8-4, an experiment, and an utter failure, but also the only steam locomotive ever to beat their 2-10-10-2s for pure pulling force:


In addition they were the only railroad other than the C&O to order the 2-6-6-6 from Lima, the highest horsepower articulated locomotive ever built (7600hp) and possibly the heaviest steam locomotive (it's much debated):


Well that's enough for one post, I'll have more for you later. I leave you with a photo of my own:

Boomerjinks
Jan 31, 2007

DINO DAMAGE
Goddamn the loving wobbly track in the Steam Moscow vid.

Man, I grew up in northern colorado, with one set of grandparents in Cheyenne - the other in Denver, and I spent soooo much time visiting Big Boys. It was years before I ever saw video of one movie, and it's loving terrifying.

Boomerjinks fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Mar 31, 2011

Catzilla
May 12, 2003

"Untie the queen"


Robbie Coltrane looking at some steam loco's still in use in Zimbabwe (at least they were at the time of filming)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AdSCihFXgM

Check out the running repair at about 9:20.

dietcokefiend
Apr 28, 2004
HEY ILL HAV 2 TXT U L8TR I JUST DROVE IN 2 A DAYCARE AND SCRATCHED MY RAZR
I just wanted Unstoppable the other night. I gotta say for a movie with things moving in straight lines only at like 55MPH it was pretty interesting... much better than Speed 2 :v:

The one question I have though is how the gently caress did that throttle control magically go from idle to full throttle after the moron jumped out of the train?

Armacham
Mar 3, 2007

Then brothers in war, to the skirmish must we hence! Shall we hence?

dietcokefiend posted:


The one question I have though is how the gently caress did that throttle control magically go from idle to full throttle after the moron jumped out of the train?

I didn't understand that part because later the guys mentions that he actually left the throttle on 8

dietcokefiend
Apr 28, 2004
HEY ILL HAV 2 TXT U L8TR I JUST DROVE IN 2 A DAYCARE AND SCRATCHED MY RAZR

Armacham posted:

I didn't understand that part because later the guys mentions that he actually left the throttle on 8

Yea and its not like it slipped either. All of a sudden it just starts going up notch by notch on the power side.

Disgruntled Bovine
Jul 5, 2010

Well the way the runaway train happened in the movie Unstoppable is based on a real incident.

Here's the summary of the incident in simple form:
http://kohlin.com/CSX8888/z-final-report.htm

And also in much more detail with independent accounts from various people involved as it happened:
http://kohlin.com/CSX8888/x-play-by-play.htm

The movie itself is so full of inaccuracies it would take longer than its' runtime to explain them all.

There were two really big problems early on in the movie, but beyond maybe two thirds of the way in everything is so impossible and/or idiotic it's not even worth trying to explain it anymore.

The first is the way the locomotive threw itself from idle into run. This doesn't happen.

The second is the way the pair of locomotives they sent to slow the train down from the front followed the switch that was thrown in front of them and then flipped over on the curve, while the train went straight through the switch (which, if you watch closely was thrown back for the mainline when we see the train go through it). Also, the whole movie could have been ended when they put those locomotives in front of the train if someone had just jumped from the back of them onto the runaway and shut it down. Instead they bash into the runaway with them repeatedly rather than just applying their brakes and easing the speed down (it's more exciting that way!!!) and try to drop a marine from a helicopter.

There I go getting carried away with explaining just how wrong the movie was. Oh, and don't even get me started on "Grab it by the back end and gun it in the other direction!" or "Alternate full power in reverse with dynamic braking". Or the way they didn't want to use their independent brakes. Sure, independent brakes would eventually burn out, but running the engine in the other direction (if that's even possible?) would just burn out the traction motors or cause massive wheelslip until the wheels got so hot they melted and the locomotive derailed. You'd apply the dynamic brakes, then the independent when things slowed down a bit. The only clever thing they do is setting the hand brakes on the cars, though you'd probably get yourself killed very quickly trying to do that on a train doing 50+mph on cars that don't have roofwalks.

ijustam
Jun 20, 2005

More blast from the past :woop:

Armacham
Mar 3, 2007

Then brothers in war, to the skirmish must we hence! Shall we hence?

Disgruntled Bovine posted:

Unstoppable

At least we got this out of the mix
http://www.hulu.com/watch/193067/saturday-night-live-unstoppable-trailer

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal
I took my kids to the Elkhart train museum last weekend. They had this Mohawk:



Among other cool stuff. What was interesting is that nothing was restored. I guess the Mohawk is going to be redone in a few years but all the engines, all the cars had a musty smell about them, were rusty and were filthy on the inside. They were just pulled up from the tracks and parked. It was actually kind of cool. I'll post more pictures later.

Kia Soul Enthusias
May 9, 2004

zoom-zoom
Toilet Rascal
I never even heard of "Unstoppable" before now. drat.

InterceptorV8
Mar 9, 2004

Loaded up and trucking.We gonna do what they say cant be done.
I'm kinda wondering who makes good model trains now.

HO vs N scale.

FIGHT!

~Coxy
Dec 9, 2003

R.I.P. Inter-OS Sass - b.2000AD d.2003AD
N is the best because you can have something vaguely approximating real towns, yards and main/branch lines.

HO is cool for its detail, scale and cost but even the largest home layouts look horribly cramped.

echoplex
Mar 5, 2008

Stainless Style
I genuinely think British trains are the best; other countries had their incredibly impressive, enormous brute machines, but almost every locomotive that ran in the golden age of steam here was just great to look at.

LMS Stanier Class 5, or Black 5 as they're better known these days.

A proper workhorse, but look at it. Muscular and perfectly formed:





LMS 2-6-4



The GWR had a range of really interesting little tank engines:





The LNER had all the beauties, though. Even the mid level locomotives were very beautiful:



The A4 Pacifics have been mentioned here but all the photos showed them with their fairings on (I think) and these trains look best with them off, and working hard:





And there's the infrastructure. We used to have some of the most amazing stations :(



St Pancras is still a sight to behold, but many of the great ones are gone.

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DEAR RICHARD
Feb 5, 2009

IT'S TIME FOR MY TOOLS
This rules

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