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Old trains and old trucks!

I was out of high school before I saw my first DIESEL train. They kept several old steam engines around for some years for plowing snow drifts. When you open the throttle on a steam engine you are at 100% power, no waiting for RPM to build up. They would hook a half dozen gondola cars full of granite behind an engine and coal tender and roll up to a quarter mile long drift at about 5 mph. Even if the snow was 6 or 8 feet deep it would still be doing about 5 mph when it came out the far side. Could fill pages on the sights, sounds, etc., of the only engine that was around when I was growing up. The Illinois Central roundhouse was the biggest employer in town. They re-tubed the boilers and had lathes big enough to turn the flat spots off the huge driver wheels.
 
Love them trains... when i was a kid my dad worked for the Atlantic Coast Line railroad. He took me to the rail yard and showed me the old coal locomotives and the "new" diesels. What a wonder, i still remember the dials in the diesel and the firebox in the coal burners. the roundhouse was a marvelous piece of work. the train stations back then were real works of architecture.....
 
I live in Reno, Nv. About 25 miles south of us is Carson City, Nv. It is the state capital, and also houses the state railroad museum. The museum has several operating steam locomotives, and during the summer season has a small track run that you can ride for a reasonable fee. East of Carson City And up the hill several thousand feet is Virginia City, the home of the famous Comstock Lode. Naturally, there was a rail line between Carson City and Virginia City. It has been abandoned for years, and of course it has fallen into disrepair. About five years ago, some railroad historians and others began buying up all of the original right-of-way, and proposed rebuilding the rail line. They have all the county and state approvals, and are currently proceeding. They are doing all of this with private donations and the last I had heard they had the money they needed to complete their project. It's still a couple of years away, but in the near future we will be able to take a steam locomotive form Carson City to Virginia City, have lunch and look around for awhile, and return to Carson City. Pretty neat, huh?
 
Sweeet !

Yes , that is a GREAT idea ! .

Once in a while I drive one of my oldies up to Sacramento , Ca. and ride the steam trian they have operating up there....
 
That's very cool ! .

It looks like it'll just rust away now and that's sad :(

You do understand that all Diesel trains are hybrids , right ? .
 
vwnate1 said:
You do understand that all Diesel trains are hybrids , right ? .
Click to expand...

Hybrids in that they are diesel electrics, yes. But as far as I know they do not store any braking energy, they just bleed it off as heat through those huge resistor/radiators on top.
 
Whoa!

That's beautiful .

I drove up to Tehachipi (Ca.) to-day , sadly not in my truck , I didn't have time to stop at The Loop either but I did see a meet of north & southbound freights...

Anyone here have any pix of The Loop to post ? .
 
I could only come up with 1732 pics!

vwnate1 said:
That's beautiful .

I drove up to Tehachipi (Ca.) to-day , sadly not in my truck , I didn't have time to stop at The Loop either but I did see a meet of north & southbound freights...

Anyone here have any pix of The Loop to post ? .
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Here are some classics:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=241623&nseq=8
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=241301&nseq=12
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=238571&nseq=45
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=235132&nseq=79
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=234534&nseq=88

Enjoy!
 
Thank you !

As you can see , it's an extremely beautiful place , plus it has windy narrow roads and trains so it's a fun place to go .

I wish I had pix of all the old cars & trucks I've driven up there since I discovered it in the ealry 1970's....

You can get right up to the trains , I usualy camp just above the tracks when O go there .
 
photos

Logged on and started uploading 3 photos went and seen something I had not been to for over 40 years. Because of my dail speed uploading time I went to eat. Come back and I have NOT LOGGED ON, 30 minutes and no pictures ! This system cuts you off in the middle of up load! I have many a word for however,:mad:
Guess I'll try and upload one or two.
 

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So. Cal. Vintage Trains

For those who don't know , these are trains in Travel Town , a public park in The City Of Los Angeles , on Riverside Drive right off the I-5 freeway , across the dry river from Burbank , Ca.

Right next door is the Live Steamers , another park with enthusiast operated miniature trains you can have rides on .

Nice pix Charles ! .

THANK YOU ! .

-Nate
ccharr said:
Logged on and started uploading 3 photos went and seen something I had not been to for over 40 years. Because of my dail speed uploading time I went to eat. Come back and I have NOT LOGGED ON, 30 minutes and no pictures ! This system cuts you off in the middle of up load! I have many a word for however,:mad:
Guess I'll try and upload one or two.
Click to expand...
 
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