JAMIE'S RANDOM AMERICAN RAILWAY PHOTOS.

[mdvle]

10 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I told him about my cab ride over Sherman and he said "Would you like a cab ride on this train?" Of course I said yes and at the next stop was told to head for the loco.  A very happy bunny was up in the cab in no time.  Of course it was an F unit. I was made very welcome by the driver and fireman.

 

North America doesn't call them drivers - they normal name is Engineer or sometimes in Canada you will hear them called a Hogger

 

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, mdvle said:

 

North America doesn't call them drivers - they normal name is Engineer or sometimes in Canada you will hear them called a Hogger

 

 

I was aware of that and have seen hogger used for the US as well. Glad you are enjoying the pictures. It's a great trip down memory lane for me. I've been having fun over the last two days sorting dayes and places out for two other trips. Somewhere I've got some notes about the 78 trip but where I don't know.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good moaning again from a somewhat cloudy Charente.  The Tardis is still onboard  CP F unit 1413 heading towards Thunder Bay.  It's still 18th June 1978. My hospitable companions for the trip were engineer Ray

And his fireman.

They let me wander into the engine room and what amazed me is how clean and oil free it was even though the unit had been built in the year that I was born.  26 years before.

At some point in the afternoon we passed a westbound Canadian, with friendly toots on the horns and waves.

This British double decker was heading west as well.Pribably for tourist service in Vancouver.

Several empty grain trains were also headed west to the prairies,

All good things have to come to an end and we now approached Thunder Bay where I had to get off.  150 miles in the cab.  I was a lucky boy. The conductor of the freight ahead of us had put down a red fusee as a marker. 

All in all a fabulous afternoon.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by jamie92208

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Is there anything more perfect than an F unit?  Maybe an E unit?   

 

Lucky old Australians still have a small number in mainline service ...  this is a CLF clas, there are a number of other types all quite quirky variations of the classic bulldog 

 

 

 

Sorry about the thread drift, but honestly... classic EMDs.  I may have to go for a lie down.

[John M Upton]

Was there ever such a thing as a double ended E or F unit (I.e. single loco with cab both ends?)

[The Lurker]

If that bus was going to Vancouver if it has a long way to go. It's 3000km from Thunder Bay to Vancouver by road.

[jamie92208]

2 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

If that bus was going to Vancouver if it has a long way to go. It's 3000km from Thunder Bay to Vancouver by road.

I know but I did see similar ones in Vanvouver so that's a guess.  Several days driving on Highway 1.

 

Jamie

[Moxy]

8 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

Was there ever such a thing as a double ended E or F unit (I.e. single loco with cab both ends?)

 

Yes, but not in the US, as far as I know.

 

Australia had some, which were built for Victoria Railways by Clyde Engineering under licence in Australia.

 

https://www.victorianrailways.net/motive power/bdiesel/bdie.html

 

I believe the Swedish Nohab design was also based on an EMD F unit.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mechanicman87/16114520816/

[Mike_Walker]

On 22/06/2021 at 10:41, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

At the risk of being a real pedant, it's an M636.  The last of the Alco Century series built under licence by the Montreal Locomotive Works.  3600hp! 

 

Got to love those chunky ultimate Alcos... 

My first encounter with ALCo power or any North American power of any sort was on my first day over there, 24 September 1976 in the small Alberta prairie town of Bow Island.  Canadian Pacific SD40 5525 and M636 4714 were idling whilst the crew decided on how to switch the town's grain elevators.  Whilst the SD hummed contentedly, the big Century had a habit of seeming to almost stall every few minutes before the governor brought it spluttering back to life with a cough and plume of black smoke.  From that moment on I became a confirmed "Alcoholic" and lover of North American railroading in general.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Mike_Walker

[Johann Marsbar]

The CNJ had some double ended Baldwins...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_DR-6#/media/File:1946_-_New_Jersey_Central_locomotive_2000_at_Terminal_RR_Depot.jpg

[F-UnitMad]

13 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Is there anything more perfect than an F unit?  Maybe an E unit?   

 

 

Sorry about the thread drift, but honestly... classic EMDs.  I may have to go for a lie down.

Good job I already am lying down!!!    

 

E-units? Nah, they weren't "The Diesel that did it." And most importantly (for me) the Soo Line didn't have any....

[F-UnitMad]

12 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

Whilst the SD hummed contentedly, the big Century had a habit of seeming to almost stall every few minutes before the governor brought it spluttering back to life with a cough and plume of black smoke.  From that moment on I became a confirmed "Alcoholic"

I must admit to being seduced by the sound of the engine in the RS3, as I've seen and heard on videos of the Batten Kill RR, so much so that I have an Atlas O RS3 with ESU Loksound L decoder - that "bucket of bolts" sound is almost hypnotic!!  

[jamie92208]

Good moaning again from the Charente where it is still rather cloudy.  The Tardis is still onboard The Canadian in the Thunder Bay area and it's still the 18th June 1978. After my cab ride it was back to the coaches.  I set off to the dining car and had a very pleasant meal as we started off along the shores of Lake Superior.  This, incidentally was as difficult to build as some of the stretches in the Rockies. My dining companions that night invited me back to the beavertail observation car at the rear and a very good evening was spent playing bridge, chatting and drinking in good company.  The next day we eventually got to Sudbury, a mining town in what looked like a wasteland of mining activity. Here the train was pulled apart and split into Montreal and Toronto portions. Very efficiently done by a couple of switchers that  inserted a couple of cars and got the various portions in the right place to make two trains.  Our F units waited and then came back.

The Montreal portion is on the left. Then the journey down to Toronto where I said goodbye to Margaret and Anne.

I got the subway and bus back to my aunt and uncle's house.  The next day I went to Niagara, which despite being surrounded by extreme tackiness, was spectacular.

I even found a railway of sorts.

And marvelled at the Maids of the Mist.

I am told that the US is jealous that Canada owns the best looking part of the falls.

On my last day my Uncle Alf and Aunt Margaret took me down into town and shoed me some preserved stock n the waterfront.

Alf went out as a wool scientist on the 1920's and remembered the American falls before the big rockfall. Margaret , who had met him when he was studying in Leeds, followed him to get married. I still have cousins in the  Toronto area.

 

Then it was time to head for the airport and the big bird back to Manchester.  A free bar again and spectacular sunrise over Greenland.

Then it was back to work on the mean streets of South Leeds.  I was working afternoons the day after I got back and remember falling asleep during the meal break. To quote one of my favourite poems, 

 

 I clutched my stool with startled grip,
Awakening to the grimy heat
Of that intolerable street.

 

(From the Icecart by Wilfred Gibson)

 

Anyway it's time to put some fuel in the Tardis and get it ready for a leap forward to 1979.  Much would happen in the intervening year.  I was left with and incredible host of memories and putting these slides up has brought many of them back.

 

Jamie

Edited April 10, 2022 by jamie92208

[PaulRhB]

Really enjoyed that trip thanks   and more to look forward to  

[Wendell1976]

Nice train pictures from way back in 1978! You had ridden a lot of miles on the rails, Jamie!

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA

[Wendell1976]

On 16/06/2021 at 23:07, jamie92208 said:

 

 

 

Over here in The States, we call these type of jeans "bell bottoms."

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

11 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

E-units? Nah, they weren't "The Diesel that did it." And most importantly (for me) the Soo Line didn't have any....

 

But on your version of the Soo Line?  C'mon, that SSR CLF unit is almost in Soo livery already!

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Wendell1976 said:

 

Over here in The States, we call these type of jeans "bell bottoms."

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

We had a phase in in the late 60's and the 70's when they were called flares and you specified how flared you wanted them when you bought them. Glad you're enjoying the pictures, plenty more to come.

 

Jamie

Edited June 24, 2021 by jamie92208

[pH]

9 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

The next day I went to Niagara, which despite being surrounded by extreme tackiness, was spectacular.

 

 

I spent a summer in St. Catharines and visited the Falls quite a few times. I was shown that the best way to approach on the Canadian side is from the south, going downstream along the Niagara Parkway. You get to the Horseshoe Falls without going through the town of Niagara Falls, and so avoid most of the ‘extreme tackiness’. 
 

I agree about the Falls themselves being spectacular. I think they’re one of the tourist sites in the world that have no problem living up to their reputation.

 

9 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 Alf went out as a wool scientist on the 1920's and remembered the American falls before the big rockfall.

 

Here’s a clear Movietone video of that 1954 collapse:

 

 https://youtu.be/SH8lsTO9Lsk

 

There’s also a much less clear video of the collapse of the Schoellkopf power plant, below the falls on the wall of the Niagara Gorge in 1956:

 

https://www.facebook.com/NiagaraInterp/videos/the-schoellkopf-collapse-video/541367525988484/?extid=SEO----

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente, it's vaccine 2 day so hopefully time to post before we set off.   The Tardis was refuelled and reset for June 1979 last night.  The year had been 'interesting'.  2 weeks before I left for my 78 trip, I'd met a young lady who was sitting in the dock at Juvenile court.  She was a police officer.  Though we'd seen each other a few times before I left, I was pleasantly surprised that she still wanted to see me when I got back.   The end result that 4 weeks later we were engaged, and by some miracle are still together.  Viewing the 20 slide films was interesting as every other one was greeted by a shout of "Who's She".   We survived that and decided to try and have a honeymoon that started at Lake Louise.  This was kept a closely guarded secret from everyone else.  Anyway in that year we bought a new house, that I moved into a week before the wedding. We got married on 2nd June 1979 and after various subterfuges escaped the reception. This was at Manchester Airport that evening before we took the hire car back.  We'd left a sealed envelope with contact details with my new father in law.

It's now 3rd June 1979 and we are waiting for our plane. I always liked the VC10's.  They were the first type that my brother flew for BOAC.

Anyway, after a change of planes in Vancouver we picked up a hire car at Calgary and booked into the Chateau Lake Louise.  The next day we had a little trip out and surprise surprise there was a railway line nearby. No freights were in evidence but we went near the spiral tunnels and this SD40-2, surprise surprise, appeared.

Lots of strange noises coming behind it and a rail grinder came into view.

We heard later that there had been some sort of line blockage so they had obviously taken advantage of that to do some maintenance. Anyway a few days later on 8th June, we went out for a picnic and came back via Golden then up Kicking Horse Canyon towards Field.   I stopped to photograph the road bridge that crosses the line and the canyon her and there was a roaring from behind me.   Yet another SD40-2 came into view heading uphill.

And headed under the road bridge.

I think there were 4 of them altogether with a long freight behind.

That's it for today. Jab 2 has been received, now gardening whilst the sun shines.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208
To get the date of my wedding correct. Doh.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Phwoar, a VC10... I grew up living under the final approach into Brize Norton and my days (and nights!) were filled with the roar of 4 Rolls Royce Conways at a few hundred feet above my bedroom ceiling.  I moved away in 1982m and didn't go back much - my final visit to the old place was sometime in 2010 or thereabouts and to my delight two flew over in formation.  

 

Modern planes and trains are so dull by comparison.  

[F-UnitMad]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Viewing the 20 slide films was interesting as every other one was greeted by a shout of "Who's She". 

I'm not surprised, even as a thread on here, your 1978 trip looks like it was well populated with female er, "company"  .   

[jamie92208]

4 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Phwoar, a VC10... I grew up living under the final approach into Brize Norton and my days (and nights!) were filled with the roar of 4 Rolls Royce Conways at a few hundred feet above my bedroom ceiling.  I moved away in 1982m and didn't go back much - my final visit to the old place was sometime in 2010 or thereabouts and to my delight two flew over in formation.  

 

Modern planes and trains are so dull by comparison.  

My brother started on them in, IIRC 1969 and loved them. Apparently  very maneuverable with an incredible rate of roll.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good morning from the Charente.  Despite me managing to get the date of my wedding wrong yesterday the Tardis is till in the Lake Louise area on the 8th of June 1979. 

After seeing the freight go off up towards Field we headed in the same direction. Just after Field, partof the original, line, known as the Big Hill is still visible.

It must have been a spectacular sight seeing a train going up with 4 or 5 locos spaced down the train.

We then took the back way to the hotel and stopped at Divide creek.  As luck would have it a train was approaching. More SD40-2's

And again. The monument for the summit can be seen.

This was one of the export coal trains heading for Roberts Bank and had it's mid train remote helpers with a Locotrol car in front of them, part way down the train.

And at the rear a few cars of grain and a caboose.

 

The next day was out last full day at the Chateau.   I managed to get management permission to go and climb a Rockie and got to the top of Little Beehive that overlooked the lake. The view was rather good.  I seem to remember that Beth was doing our laundry.   I was learning to live dangerously.

More tomorrow.

 

Jamie

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a rather wet and distinctly maritime Charente.  The Tardis is still in the Lake Louise area, it's now the 10th June 1979 and we were about to check out of the Chateau. As an aside we only ate 1 meal in the hotel, normally we walked across the car park to a wooden shack on the edge of the woods for a really good but affordable meal.  

 

Anyway on the morning of the 10th this was our final view of the lake. Rather different from the grimy street of Holbeck, in my case and Chapeltown in Beth's case.

We headed west with no fixed destination and soon got to the top of the pass.  What should come into view but the eastbound Canadian.  Of course I stopped to photograph it. 3 F units in A B A formation, classic.

That headed on but the look of a CP train was marred by there being a couple of coaches in VIA livery.

And it heads for Lake Louise with a Park series car at the rear.

Then on to Golden and up Rogers Pass.  One of the local inhabitants was enjoying the morning sun and it would have been rude not to take his/her photo.

 

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208