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classictrains — Waiting on the main
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Published: 2007-12-13 02:27:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 785; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 5
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Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 #5629 waiting to pick up passenger's after a photo runby during a fantrip in 1967.It's funny... I got to thinking again... I can hear her sitting there "breathing"... I dunno why but steam engines seem alive.
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Steam engines do breathe!! You can hear them when they're idle...and even when they're moving, they have a rhythm that all living creatures have.
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Nice shot. Exactly what was the Grand Trunk Western. I've never heard of it before.
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Judie, Back in those good old days there was too much regulation of the railroads and strange business arrangements were used to meet railroad needs and comply with the laws. The Canadian National could not operate in the USA so there was this wholly owned subsidiary called the GTW which ran from the border in Detroit and (other places) to Chicago. It was really a bit weird because it used the same paint scheme as the CN and the same fonts in it's logo. (The newest being the noodle.) Of course all of that has changed now with the CN and CP buying up US rails left and right. Chris
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Hmmm, interesting. I'm really learning a lot about the railroad industry that I never knew. I never realized before that a particular railroad owned the tracks. I think I may have mentioned before that I thought all trains could use them, yet for 10 yrs. I had to cross BNSF tracks to get to my house and we couldn't have cable t.v. because BNSF wouldn't allow the cable company to cross the tracks. We also had to pay a small fee to cross the tracks and use their road to get to the driveway. I guess because AMTRAK used the tracks I just assumed that any train could. I actually have seen another one use them, but I can't remember what it was. I didn't think much about it at the time. I suppose they have to pay for the rights? For many years we didn't have city water because BNSF wouldn't allow the pipes to cross the track. When we did, it cost a small fortune.
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nope... the railroad owns the tracks.... with a few exceptions Amtrak "rents" the right to run trains on the tracks and the railroad provides the signaling and control functions to fit them in between the freights and get them to their destination on time (I wish). The NorthEast corridor from DC to NYC & Boston is different.
Nowadays it's sometimes hard to tell who owns the tracks cuz the railroads share engines. The easy thing to do is read the "No Trespassing" signs. When you see a Norfolk Southern engine in Seattle it's because it was probably on a train from Virginia that switched crews in St.Louis or Chicago or Kansas City and is now totally under control of the UP or BNSF.
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The fact that live steam locomotives seem like mechanical dragons is part of their allure. Diesel's don't come close, but I'd still venture to say that a good Alco PA looks a lot better than most steamers...I'm a sucker for colorful paint jobs and swoopy shrouding...
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I hadn't thought about that, but you're right. Black diesels are kinda a visual letdown. They can't pass for steam, but the black paint shrouds any architectural merit the carbody might have...
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i know whacha mean... but the steam seems to get more oohs and ahs....
it's also why i haven't posted much NYC and IC diesel (blah black)
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They definately do seem alive. There's nothing like the loving emrace of the steam blowing out of open cylinder cocks as one of the old girls passes by.
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they are....think about the dictinary definiton of alive:
The ability to eat, drink, have a repertory system and go to the restroom.
A steam locomotive drinks water, eats coal, breaths threw its fire, and at the end of the day….it goes to the ash pit!
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