Are any of you railfans? Or history buffs?

[David]

I know I am.

http://www.railpictures.net/articles/article.php?id=19

:cool:

[PapaBear]

I have this litho framed and hanging in my house. It is of the North Platte, NE station Canteen. My mother volunteered at the canteen when I was a youngster during WWII. For more you can go to the link at the bottom.

http://npcanteen.net/img/xmascard.jpg

http://npcanteen.net/

[David]

Those appear to be sailors wearing the "crackerjack" uniform.

North Platte is the home of the largest classification yard in the world. :cool:

Here's the historical overview page: http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/byhistor.shtml (http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/byhistor.shtml)

[PapaBear]

Those appear to be sailors wearing the "crackerjack" uniform.

North Platte is the home of the largest classification yard in the world. :cool:

Here's the historical overview page: http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/byhistor.shtml (http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/byhistor.shtml)

Yes! It is better referred to as the HUMP YARD..

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=44.023938~-99.71&style=h&lvl=4&tilt=-89.875918865193&dir=0&alt=7689462.6842358#JnE9eXAubm9ydGgrcGxhdHRlJTJjK2 5lK2NsYXNzaWZpY2F0aW9uK3lhcmRzJTdlc3N0LjAlN2VwZy4x JmJiPTU3LjA0MDcyOTgzODM2MDklN2UtNzIuNTk3NjU2MjUlN2 UyNy40NDk3OTAzMjk3ODQyJTdlLTEyNi43MzgyODEyNQ==

[retchp]

Am I the only one who knows what the signs posted in/on box cars Do Not Hump Means? Very common sign on rail cars.

[SB 405]

Hump is the term used for a series of tracks that switch the trains....correct?...ie:Hump Yard

[Royd5150]

David-

Ever been to the Western Pacific Railway Museum in Portola? The place is huge ,and one of the few museums were you can climb all over there engines. You can drive an engine and get a certificate. They have an event in the summer called Railroad Days. Lots of fun. Heres a link. http://www.wplives.org/WPRM_Home/wprm_home.html

[retchp]

Do not Hump means, when switching boxcars around and organizing a train to not bump the so signed car against another car because the cargo inside is sensitive to being jarred loose or broken.

I used to get a kick out of humping boxcars full of lumber in a prior life.

Or so I was told by a RxR engineer at the time anyway.

[David]

David-

Ever been to the Western Pacific Railway Museum in Portola? Yep, I went there just recently. They were running this locomotive around the balloon track: http://www.wplives.org/WPRM_Home/Equipment_Roster/Locomotives/SP_2873/sp_2873.html

It was pretty cool to see a locomotive with the "Kodachrome" paint from the failed Southern Pacific/Santa Fe merger.

[David]

Just out of curiosity, did anyone actually read the essay I posted at the beginning of this thread?

[retchp]

I did, and I also have a collection of date nails. Of course growing up living alongside a RXR track in the 1950's gave me an appreciation for RXR stuff in general. I used to have a squashed coin collection that I made as a kid from laying coins on the track and letting trains flatten them. I could also walk a single rail for way over a mile without falling off it. I also got pretty good at running the rail bed by using ties as foot fall objects. My best friend as a kid's dad was the HMFIC (Trainmaster??) and they lived in a section house along the tracks not far from my house. I stayed overnight many times with him. They heated the house with coal. We used to bring it in in buckets for his mom. Later I loaded rail cars for a living (with lumber). Many friends were firemen, engineers and brakemen. Good stuff. It has it's own lore just like LE.

[David]

What railroad? SP? WP?

[retchp]

Western Pacific (The High Line) Bieber/Nubieber/Keddie Jct.

[David]

IIRC, that line is now jointly owned by UP and BNSF, although I could be wrong.

[retchp]

I think you are right.
Also, they are just now considering shutting down a line that runs from Dillard, Oregon to Black Butte near Mt. Shasta City. It is causing controversy in Siskiyou County since mills from Oregon through N. CA depend on this line. If I find any more about it I will try to post it on here. RXR are always changing. I think this line is called the Oregon/CA or some such. If I get more I'll try to post it.
RXR is going to become more necessary rather than less necessary in the future. Shutting down lines and tearing up ties makes zero sense to me.

[David]

I'm not familiar with that particular line, but I can look it up. I own this: http://www.spv.co.uk/acatalog/USA_Railroads.html#aATCN

I'm glad UP decided to keep the Feather River Route open even after the took over SP in 1996 and got the Overland Route. I'm sure it really payed off when the old (former SP) wooden trestle just north of Sacramento burned. They had to reroute everything through there.

[dw]

See attachment courtesy retchp.

[Yzeman]

Absolutely beautiful, thanks retchp!

ps...I wonder though if we could get Nickelback to do a remix on the music :biggrin:

[David]

Ah, the White Pass & Yukon. :cool: Hopefully I can go there one day.