RailRoadFan.com

If you're referring to the asphalt fill-ins on Century Avenue and the gap between buildings, that's the old Union Station & LCL terminal leads. Part of it shows on the old maps as a pencil line that cuts across the wye. The actual ROW for the former Union lead is filled with several recent buildings...

Well, if what Amtrak & NS says is true, Detroit, Port Huron and Grand Rapids trains should start being more on time, starting NOW (actually, a few days ago). Englewood flyover opened recently, strangely without any press. Odd for being CREATE's first completed Passenger project. Here's a YouToob vid...

The first Superliners were actually tested at Pueblo, CO at speeds of 140 pulling and 100 pushing; they're far from top-heavy. Think about it-- hi-cube auto racks have automobiles towards the top. They demonstrated hunting effects like mentioned before, but all it came to was an uncomfortable ride a...

Chicago Drive used to have a hellacious crown in it, thanks to the Interurban. When rebuilt in the 80's (?), they took the crown out and also found a few small pieces of interurban rail. Somewhere abouts Fairlanes Avenue, it started veering South, and crossed Plaster Creek there. I don't know if fre...

Coal hoppers for Pfizer? I guess so; after all, aspirin is made from coal tar.

I noticed the cars too, plus others of the same series-- not a single dent in any of them. Maiden trips, perhaps?

Village article says caboose use ended in 1964? Maybe for that wooden caboose, but the steel cabeese ran well into the 70's.

GTW wanted to take the line? Highly unlikely. Are you sure your story teller isn't referring to the PRR Muskegon line? 50 MPH? Never happened. LSMS and MC feuded viciously until the Vanderbilts cross-leased them (and their many sub-companies) in 1914, which made the LSMS "Gardner Line" worthless; Wh...

In short, they didn't apply to transfer licenses of stations that came along with mergers, and they added and moved a bunch. Also appears CN discovered it themselves and then approached the FCC; ruling states that CN isn't being determined as being an "unsuitable" radio licensee. Write a check, pay ...

The yard you see is pretty recent; When US-131 was put in, the yard was rebuilt to the East and shrunk considerably. The whole valley there was completely redone when the freeway went in-- a historian friend of mine calls it the "secret urban renewal project", where all the abandoned retail coal sup...

You all need to remember, the Amtrak enabling act specifically excluded commuter services. Intercity only, with a rather weak definition of what "commuter" was.

BL2's: 80-83 (83 re# to 1839 to put all steam generator BL2's together) E7: C&O 95-98, PM 101-108 (duh!) U25B: 2500-2539 (removed by 1970) GP30: 3000-3047 (removed after 1971) GP35: 3520-3539 & 3569 (deactivated after 1971) E8: 4000-4030 (duh!) NW2: 5209-5215 (removed between 1965 & 1971) RS3: 5600 ...

Soo Line sold tickets for mixed-train service across thee U.P., but kept it hush-hush. An article appeared in Passenger Train Journal in the '80's, and in rapid succession, tickets were limited, then suddenly needed long advance reservations, then were completely eliminated. You rode in the caboose ...

Early WWII, German U-Boats were wiping out American tankers left and right in their second "Happy Time", so the US simply banned the practice until the U-Boat menace subsided. To make up for this, and to get around a severe RR oil tank car shortage, SAL/ACL/B&O/PRR ran solid trains at passenger trai...

Apparently CSX has done a caboose consolidation/renumbering.

Good Grief, man, do you ever sleep?

Drove by Monday; tank car is still there, laying on its side along the Southeast corner of the crossing in the ditch.

Saw the Talgos in the Beech Grove Shops this past Friday afternoon.

Umm, a century ago, that stuff wasn't "historical". It was "Technology".

But still, a great essay.

During WW2, extra trains made up for the lake closures, and the extra distance ore cars had to travel meant a shortage of cars. C&NW, Soo and DSS&A had War Production Board round up old 40ft gondolas. These trains all looked empty, because two scoops of ore over each truck was their limit.

So much for the "All weather travel mode".