Search found 159 matches

by kenN
Mon Aug 23, 2021 1:28 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: C&O 90879 undocumented wood caboose found
Replies: 9
Views: 8367

Re: C&O 90879 undocumented wood caboose found

Doc, I thought I had a shot of the West Side Job's wooden caboose, but it's a steel version, A953, taken in 1979. For all I know, the "horsey" on the roof might be the same one you're thinking of on their wooden car. By 1979 the crew had also added an artificial Christmas tree and a toy car to their...
by kenN
Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:06 am
Forum: Historical Q & A
Topic: Fuller Jct derailment back in the day
Replies: 1
Views: 4841

Re: Fuller Jct derailment back in the day

BL2-GTW accident.JPG The pictures are on page 437 of Charley Foss's book "Evening Before the Diesel". The accident happened on Feb 7, 1954, when a GTW 2-8-2 didn't see that the crossing was lined for the C&O freight, entered the crossing and was broadsided by southbound C&O BL2 #82. The mike got th...
by kenN
Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:31 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: GDLK Operations
Replies: 1662
Views: 833493

Re: GDLK Operations

Got just a quick glimpse from US 131 of the two passenger cars (one of them a dome) at Hughart Yard in GR at noon today. Unfortunately, no time to backtrack and no camera..... KJN
by kenN
Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:58 am
Forum: Historical Q & A
Topic: Grand Rapids RR YMCA
Replies: 9
Views: 14719

Re: Grand Rapids RR YMCA

I have seen pictures of the fire at the Wyoming Yard YMCA which were taken, I think, by John Millhaupt who was a photographer for the old GR Herald newspaper. Perhaps his son Fritz can elaborate.
by kenN
Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:50 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Amtrak vs Car in KAL, 3 Dead
Replies: 37
Views: 16930

Re: Amtrak vs Car in KAL, 3 Dead

Not to mention train speed. Gates come down and it seems like a long time before the train gets there. By the time Amtrak gets to 11th St west bound, they are already hitting about 70mph. Riding 353 one day I clocked 90mph going under the 8th st overpass, 1.5 miles west of 11th, on its way to 110. C...
by kenN
Tue Feb 26, 2019 11:58 am
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Amtrak vs Car in KAL, 3 Dead
Replies: 37
Views: 16930

Re: Amtrak vs Car in KAL, 3 Dead

The only "other" train would have been eastbound #354 which made its Kalamazoo stop at about 9:25. When we collected our friends' luggage and left about 15 minutes later, #355 was still east of the station, no headlight visible when we crossed the tracks. So this "other" train was well east of KZO b...
by kenN
Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:30 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City, Mi
Replies: 44
Views: 26057

Re: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City,

Don't know about the 2-8-2s, but according to Jack Smith, a PRR engineer now deceased, he saw a 4-8-2 in town only once, and was the hostler who had to turn it on the downtown wye because its long-distance tender made it too long for the turntable. That may have been a test run, and apparently not r...
by kenN
Wed Feb 20, 2019 1:18 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City, Mi
Replies: 44
Views: 26057

Re: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City,

The 4-8-2s were OK up to GR, but too heavy for the light rail north of town. The USRA-designed 2-10-2s were light enough to run north of GR, but the huge I-class 2-10-0 were too heavy. So, yes, the power was the smaller engines as you say. The 2-10-2s were even used on heavy passenger trains, as the...
by kenN
Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:05 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City, Mi
Replies: 44
Views: 26057

Re: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City,

I'd love to see a picture of the Centipedes on the North end. I know that the PRR M-class 4-8-2 and I-class 2-10-0 were too heavy to go north of GR, let alone TC. The lighter USRA N-class 2-10-2s were the biggest steam locos permitted north to Mackinaw; don't know if they could go to TC. Just a few...
by kenN
Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:27 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City, Mi
Replies: 44
Views: 26057

Re: Great Lakes Central 398 Stuck in Snow in Traverse City,

I'd love to see a picture of the Centipedes on the North end. I know that the PRR M-class 4-8-2 and I-class 2-10-0 were too heavy to go north of GR, let alone TC. The lighter USRA N-class 2-10-2s were the biggest steam locos permitted north to Mackinaw; don't know if they could go to TC.
by kenN
Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:03 pm
Forum: Train Location Updates / Heads Ups
Topic: CSX Train Location Updates: January, 2019
Replies: 472
Views: 108999

Re: CSX Train Location Updates: January, 2019

329 has stalled just east of GR near the Thornapple River bridge, blocking Whitneyville Rd but not visible from the 48th St underpass at the river. Spotty scanner reception, something about "dead." Doesn't sound like they went dead on time, but that's possible. More likely some kind of trouble with ...
by kenN
Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:59 pm
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: Cumbres and Toltec GR Press Article
Replies: 2
Views: 4792

Re: Cumbres and Toltec GR Press Article

I saw the article. It's a great operation, and well worth a trip out there if you haven't seen or ridden it yet.
by kenN
Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:27 pm
Forum: Train Location Updates / Heads Ups
Topic: CSX Train Location Updates: October, 2018.
Replies: 379
Views: 100269

Re: CSX Train Location Updates: October, 2018.

Doktor No wrote:
railrod1949 wrote:Dis the local D700 goes thru Bangor yet on its eastward run?
Better have. They're dead at 17:00.
They died at 5pm already?
by kenN
Mon Oct 08, 2018 8:58 am
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: City of Ann Arbor considering Quiet Zones
Replies: 35
Views: 19138

Re: City of Ann Arbor considering Quiet Zones

Sounds like it's similar to Boulder, Colorado, which they've nicknamed "The People's Republic of Boulder."
by kenN
Sat Sep 29, 2018 10:14 pm
Forum: Trip Reports
Topic: 24 hours at Clinton Iowa
Replies: 6
Views: 11643

Re: 24 hours at Clinton Iowa

Thanks for the information--I'll certainly check it out. It's a great spot for railfans. I haven't been to Clinton for several years. One of the last times I was there, you could still drive up to the base of the CNW swing bridge over the river, watch it open and close at close range, and everyone t...
by kenN
Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:42 am
Forum: Trip Reports
Topic: 24 hours at Clinton Iowa
Replies: 6
Views: 11643

Re: 24 hours at Clinton Iowa

When you say "south side" of the old CNW station for legal train-spotting, where were you? Directly across the tracks from the station? Or further west?
by kenN
Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:18 pm
Forum: Historical Q & A
Topic: Pere Marquette/C&O Wye in Mears
Replies: 2
Views: 7311

Re: Pere Marquette/C&O Wye in Mears

Thank you. That narrows the time frame between 1913 and 1955. Can anyone be more specific about date the wye was removed? The location is pretty-much pinned down; the ROW of the north leg has structures built on it, so the date of its removal cannot be recent. KJN
by kenN
Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:04 pm
Forum: Historical Q & A
Topic: Pere Marquette/C&O Wye in Mears
Replies: 2
Views: 7311

Pere Marquette/C&O Wye in Mears

When was the wye in Mears removed? Did it survive after the line to Pentwater was removed? I ask because some maps I've seen show the wye in place long after the Pentwater line disappeared. It made sense to me that there would be a place to turn engines after working the customers in Hart (less nece...
by kenN
Thu May 17, 2018 10:12 am
Forum: Michigan Talk
Topic: CR bridge hit by ship !
Replies: 19
Views: 9647

Re: CR bridge hit by ship !

Can someone be specific about where this bridge is?
by kenN
Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:22 pm
Forum: Train Location Updates / Heads Ups
Topic: CSX Train Location Updates March 2018
Replies: 372
Views: 83507

Re: CSX Train Location Updates March 2018

Any news today about a 385 on the Plymouth sub? Nice day for a ride. Thanks for a heads-up. KJN