Running Bear's Coffee Shop XLIV


Good morning gang,

The usual weather here today, hope for another Milwaukee Road book delivery today or....my two model railroading books, one for bridges and trestles and one for logging...

CSX_road_slug said:
Jan - awesome photo, do you have any Little Joe's in your roster (or planning to get one)?
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Unfortunately Ken, I don't own a Little Joe, but.....should something good and affordable show up, I'll be first in line! ;)

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Wish you all a nice day!
 
Bruette said:
I could not see the picture King Toot. Technology is great, when it works!

You have to keep the good stuff rolling or it will go bad on you!

Do you know who built the electric locomotive?

I got my first GG1 and now I am curious about electric locomotives.
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I think I got that coach picture up, is showing my end anyway, The electric loco looks to be an EF class http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_EF_class_locomotive , took a bit of finding 'cause the railway system has had a few owners, but is now back in government hands again (too small a country to hope to operate in private hands) so researching on Google was a bit of a challenge. The clues were in it's number 30094, having 3000KW (4000HP), was able to track it down by that. NZ has had a long involvement with electric locos beginning in 1923 through the 8.7 mile Otira tunnel in the south island. I copied this from a Kiwi Rail publication. This is NZR's latest name, makes it somewhat difficult to research earlier because you get referred back.

[h=3]Electrification[/h]New Zealand has a long history of electric-powered railways. Before the 1980s they were confined to Wellington's commuter lines and two South Island tunnels. Our first electric railway opened in 1923. This was a 14km section running through the long Otira tunnel on the transalpine line between Christchurch and Greymouth.
In 1929 electric locomotives were introduced on the Christchurch-Lyttelton line, which included the Lyttelton tunnel. Electric propulsion was seen as ideal for use in tunnels, to avoid the smoke nuisance caused by steam locomotives. Both of these sections were subsequently converted to diesel haulage - the Lyttelton line in 1970 and Otira in 1997.
In 1938, following the completion of the Tawa Flat deviation out of Wellington, the old Johnsonville route (originally built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company in the 1880s) was converted into an electrified suburban line, served by English Electric multiple units. By 1940 the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) out of Wellington had been electrified as far north as Paekakariki (extended to Paraparaumu in the 1980s). In the early 1950s electric multiple units were introduced on the busy Hutt Valley suburban lines.
 
Good morning. It's clear and 40, heading for a high of 60.
As I am typing this, the morning outbound train for the Yadkin Valley Railroad is rolling past the other side of the park we live in front of. NS sends out between 3-5 trains a week up to Rural Hall for them, and returns late in the day with the interchange.
Trains from Winston Salem are assembled in Winston Yard, trains heading back to NS are assembled in and around Rural Hall, which has a tiny yard.
 
Howdy ... 99 pages, eh. Looks like the Coffee Shop will be moving on.

Not much to report because I have a cold and have been conked out most of the time with it. You may tink it funny but it snot.

I briefly look at recent posts.

Terry .... Glad your wife is improving.

Milwaukee Road 113 ... There were 3 Little Joe locomotives owned Chicago South Shore & South Bend. I recall seeing them when I was growing up near Chicago if we went over to Indiana. The South Shore Line served steel mills located along their tracks, and the big engines could handle the big loads.

Edit .... I just received a PM from Cary (CjCrescent ) ... He has health problems which among other things make it very challenging to type on a computer. He he hopes to be back in the forum in a few weeks.
 
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Good Morning! 46° and sunshine has replaced a dense morning fog. Definitely Jersey in November weather.

Last night, I ran another train over my "troublesome" reverse loop. Powered by my Bachmann K4s, which is equipped with a Digitrax decoder. The operation was "perfect". Considering my recent issues, the difference was that the engines that had issues were all sound equipped. Wonder if current draw affects the auto-reverse to that extent?

Other than a walk, noting is planned for today.

Joe
 
GarryCBQ said:
Milwaukee Road 113 ... There were 3 Little Joe locomotives owned Chicago South Shore & South Bend. I recall seeing them when I was growing up near Chicago if we went over to Indiana. The South Shore Line served steel mills located along their tracks, and the big engines could handle the big loads.
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One of the best looking electrics ever built, end of.....

Cheers!
 
Electrics

You got my attention when I see Milwaukee Road electrics. Love the electrics. The night time photo looks like it was taken in Deer Lodge. Here's a day time picture from there. If it was in Deer Lodge, it would have been E-80. I still have some relatives living there, as well as in Harlowtown that worked on the Milwaukee Road.

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This old girl is still around. This is the Harlowtown switcher. I did a custom paint job on one back in the early 80's for an O scale brass collector. I had to do a bit of carvine and replacing of vents and such from pictures I had. He loved it and it is now in the museum in hte old Northern Pacific depot in Livingston, MT.

The second picture is a recent picture of the Harolwton switcher which is on display today in Harlowtown. I spent a lot of hours riding in both box cabs and Little Joes when I was a kid.

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The old box cabs sure were outstanding performers. Being put into service in the late teens, many were still around right up the the time when the Milwaukee Road ceased electric operations.
 
When I was a kid, we used to take either the North Coast Limited or the Hiawatha to Chicago and then the North Shore to Michigan City, Indiana to visit relatives. I almost peed my pants when I saw a Little Joe on the south Shore line.

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One is on display and operating at the Illinois Railroad Museum, #803.
 
One of my favourite Milwaukee Road - Little Joe pics...

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Brakemen chat as their eastbound and helper wait in front of Avery depot at dusk.
 
This is one of my personal Favorites. Even though the Milwaukee Road is gone, this bridge still stands. I pass it quite a bit in my travels on I-90, where this picture was probably taken from. This is where the tracks pass over the Clark Fork River at St Regis, MT. As you travel west on I-90 out of Missoula, MT, you can still see the old Milwawaukee right of way along the river to Haugen, MT where the tracks went south to Avery, ID. Many of the old trestles and bridges are still standing and you can also see the tunnels. The old right of way parallels todays BNSF, or old Northern Pacific tracks. In the picture, the NP tracks can be seen at the right of the picture.

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Kudos for all the great stories and photos!

Usual beautiful fall day in Southern CA. Clear skies and high of mid 80's today ... Love it!
 
I love the stretch with Kelly Creek, Turkey Creek, Bear Creek, Clear Creek and Big Dick trestles and this is one of my favourites....a bit further west, Hull Creek Trestle....

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Blair Kooistra and The Milwaukee Road by F. W. Hyde.....
 
I remember the old 1918 box cabs having to be retired as metal fatigue became an issue. That is probably PC speech for "as they fell apart from old age". The frames would develop stress cracks, and obviously could not continue to be used if the cracks became too bad.
 
OMG This place is deserted!:eek: Guess we're getting close to the 1K threshold, is that why everything is put away and stacked in boxes? Waiting for Bill T to move it all over to a new location...
 
montanan said:
You are correct. That's the way I'm beginning to feel at times.
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Hmm... I have several pounds of metal scattered throughout my body. Maybe I should check and see if metal fatigue could be an issue for me. I'd hate to be out jogging one day, and have vital parts of my anatomy fall off...
 
bnsf971 said:
Hmm... I have several pounds of metal scattered throughout my body. Maybe I should check and see if metal fatigue could be an issue for me. I'd hate to be out jogging one day, and have vital parts of my anatomy fall off...
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At least it saves you from carrying hand weights with you.
 
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