Railway Pictures

[Si]

I would but I only do narrow gauge these days.

[PJ520]

Southern Pacific steam loco outside Portland Oregon. There's not much smoke because in the 50s they were converted to diesel firing.



Freight train on the Tehatchapi Incline near Tehatchapi California. If you look look closely, you'll see this is all one train. The track goes in loop like a helter skelter and the train crosses over itself.

[Mick F]

Fascinating!
What a loop!
I had a Googled at it and found that the climb is only 77ft.
http://www.visitbakersfield.com/listing ... =135&hit=1

However, this pales into insignificance when you look at the Looe Valley Line in Cornwall, where the line drops 150ft along a loop to get the trains down from the main line station.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looe_Valley_Line

[Si]

The track goes in loop like a helter skelter and the train crosses over itself.

Sort of like at Dduallt on the Ffestiniog but on a slightly grander scale...you Americans always have to have the biggest one

[PJ520]

...you Americans always have to have the biggest one

Oh dear. This American is in fact from Keighley. Sorry I didn't have my pictures of the KWVLR or better still the Royal Scot picking up water at Hest Bank. Actually I was just trying to see if I could post some pictures.

Thanks for your reply Mick. It is depressing to note that the Labour government was still perpetrating Beeching's cuts. I suspect the Looe Valley Line was in a marginal constituency.

Until you posted that link I didn't realize I was close to Bakersfield. I don't think I missed much but it does bring up a point I like to make to people who are doing or contemplating doing a long route using the excellent Adventure Cycling Association maps. Make sure you have a road map (usually obtainable for free) of the whole state you are in otherwise you can ride right past stuff.

Watching that train go up the incline it occurred to me that it would really have been a site to see in the days of steam. Possibly steam locomotives wouldn't have been able to pull such long trains. A German lady I got chatting to didn't share my nostalgia and thought they would be "very dirty". Typical... (Oops that's a stereotype.)

[JohnW]

Southern Pacific steam loco outside Portland Oregon. There's not much smoke because in the 50s they were converted to diesel firing.

Things always look better in Daylight, don't they? Weren't all Espee main line steam locos oil fired - except of course the 3800s - certainly since about the first world war? I read somewhere that some of their locos were converted straight from woodburners to oil fired.

If there's more where they came from, keep 'em coming.

[Mick F]

Anyone notice that N American railways "drive" on the right?

AFAIK, most countries railways drive on the left, but some - including Canada and USA - drive on the right, and it hasn't got anything to do with driving L or R on the roads. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of continental Europe railways drive on the left.

[ferrit worrier]

UK configuration is drive on left and in steam days the LMS driver was on the left along with LNER and SR but I believe the GWR driver was on the right. Industrial locos were driven from the right and fired from the left. As for forign not sure but I think they follow the normal convention. BTW all "Up" lines head to the Capitol, so from Manchester we go up to London.

When the girls were in their early teens we had a day trip from Anglesy to Dun Loaghiare? with a train ticket to Dublin we arrived at the station and I enquired as to which platform I should be on from the local news vendor, the reply was "Dont worry there will be a train along any minute now sir" "Yes ok but which platform ? " " now dont you be worrying the train will be here" this went round a few times and I was getting now where, so I gave upo and walked back to Mrs FW and the girls Mrs FW asked which platform, so I just looked and said " I've just had this conversation, the train will be here in a minute" " yes but which platform?" at that point the train arrived and we got on, fortuitously the right one

[JJF]

This is The Winton Train in Essex on its way from Prague to Liverpool St in Sept 2009. It commemorated trains in March to Sept 1939 bringing refugee children from Czechoslovakia. I'm sorry about the railway equipment obscuring the front of the train.
If you click on the photo you get a slightly enlarged view.

[PJ520]

I read somewhere that some of their locos were converted straight from woodburners to oil fired.

Fascinating, John, I bow to your superior knowledge. I came to take this picture because I was riding along Highway 14 along the Columbia Gorge on the way to my goal for the day Cascade Locks (interesting industrial archeology) and met a gaggle of people at a bridge over the railway. I asked what the fuss was about and they told me they were waiting for a steam train so of course I had to wait myself. My tour is written up at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/petejack02 but these are the only railway related pics.

found that the climb is only 77ft.

Lucky railway. The road climbed about 2000 ft and the temperature was in the 90s in old money.

[PJ520]

When the girls were in their early teens we had a day trip from Anglesy to Dun Loaghiare? with a train ticket to Dublin we arrived at the station and I enquired as to which platform I should be on from the local news vendor, the reply was "Dont worry there will be a train along any minute now sir" "Yes ok but which platform ? " " now dont you be worrying the train will be here" this went round a few times and I was getting now where, so I gave upo and walked back to Mrs FW and the girls Mrs FW asked which platform, so I just looked and said " I've just had this conversation, the train will be here in a minute" " yes but which platform?" at that point the train arrived and we got on, fortuitously the right one

I was waiting for a train to Leeds at Keighley station. Everybody had heard the train rumbling in and was starting to move towards the edge of the platform when a porter yelled "STAND BACK" which everybody did. A train roared through at about 50 mph. After it had gone the porter said "That were supposed to stop here"

[Audax67]

I was waiting for a train to Leeds at Keighley station. Everybody had heard the train rumbling in and was starting to move towards the edge of the platform when a porter yelled "STAND BACK" which everybody did. A train roared through at about 50 mph. After it had gone the porter said "That were supposed to stop here"

"...but I did manage to sling your luggage in the guard's van as it went by."

[iandriver]

Taken from the footplate. A proper view of a train

Said it before, but the Enginemans courses on the West Somerset Railway are just fab.

[ferrit worrier]

Obviously GWR by the brass safety valve bonnet, perhaps a Hall class?

But I'm more green with envy than the lovley paint job on the loco

Malc

[iandriver]

That ones their Mogul, 9351. On another course I did drive their 38 which is the same boiler as a Hall. Talk about hurling coal to the back of the fire box. Amazing beast though, you hooked up a 7 coach set after shunting it uncoupled and didn't feel any discernible difference, it just took off.