The Golden Age of Train Travel in Pictures.

[N2NH]

A collection that I came across while browsing. Pictures from the US, Europe, UK and Japan...

The Golden Age of Train Travel. (http://www.weather.com/travel/glory-days-train-travel-photos-20130604)

http://i44.tinypic.com/2ut0y9t.png

[KC2KFC]

Very cool photos. How wonderful it must have been to travel across the country by train. An old friend of mine, who passed away many years ago, told me he slept best in a Pullman car.

[N2CHX]

Really cool pics. As you know, I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to the steam era.

[N2NH]

Really cool pics. As you know, I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to the steam era.

Then you would probably like the New York Central's Empire State Express or 20th Century Ltd. Both went up the scenic Hudson River Valley from New York to Chicago, co-incidentally passing through Buffalo on the way.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvv32kct701qbgv3ro1_500.jpg

[KC2UGV]

Then you would probably like the New York Central's Empire State Express or 20th Century Ltd. Both went up the scenic Hudson River Valley from New York to Chicago, co-incidentally passing through Buffalo on the way.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvv32kct701qbgv3ro1_500.jpg

Yep, passed right through here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Buffalo_Central_Terminal_1.jpg/744px-Buffalo_Central_Terminal_1.jpg

[N2NH]

Very cool photos. How wonderful it must have been to travel across the country by train. An old friend of mine, who passed away many years ago, told me he slept best in a Pullman car.

I know that we slept great on the Silver Meteor/Crescent on the way from Florida to New York. Most relaxing sleep right in the lounge chair that you get on the trip. I think it's the rocking of the train, but the seats are very comfortable too. Almost like a recliner. Best part of the trip was coming home.

[N2CHX]

Then you would probably like the New York Central's Empire State Express or 20th Century Ltd. Both went up the scenic Hudson River Valley from New York to Chicago, co-incidentally passing through Buffalo on the way.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvv32kct701qbgv3ro1_500.jpg

Yup. I live practically right on the Erie RR tracks, the NYCentral tracks go right through town, and I ride my bike several times a month on what was once the DL&W, exactly a mile from my house. My long-deceased grandfather-in-law was an engineer on the DL&W. He shared some great stories with me before he passed away.

[N2CHX]

Yep, passed right through here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Buffalo_Central_Terminal_1.jpg/744px-Buffalo_Central_Terminal_1.jpg

I do volunteer work for the restoration work on it :) THAT is how much I love the steam era.

[KC2UGV]

I do volunteer work for the restoration work on it :) THAT is how much I love the steam era.

Wikipedia needs more, and better pictures :)

[KC2KFC]

Wikipedia needs more, and better pictures :)
If you go to the Mighty Taco on Niagara Street in Tonawanda they have a large print that was taken when the terminal was built. Very awesome shot.

[N2NH]

There are some great shots in the Bufallo, NY area in this link, including this one. (http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?offset=30&where=search%7C-2%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C-2%7Cbuffalo%2C+ny%7C15%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C%7C15%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C)

http://i39.tinypic.com/2w70bhi.jpg

[NY4Q]

Alas, I sure love me some vacuum tubes and steam trains. OH, and pulse jets...and hit and miss engines....

[N8YX]

Engineering quiz time.

Okay, boys and girls...what is the one factor which absolutely contributed to the repeated failure of this thing, and how could a slightly different specification have in all probability made the design a raving success?

9791

[NY4Q]

Engineering quiz time.

Okay, boys and girls...what is the one factor which absolutely contributed to the repeated failure of this thing, and how could a slightly different specification have in all probability made the design a raving success?

9791

Well too early for a diesel, so I'm guessing a steam turbine? Rear exhaust I see from the smoke at the rear. Water leaks, two turbines would be required to be able to back up. Basically a mechanical nightmare.

You fill in the blanks.

PRETTY THOUGH! :)

[KC2UGV]

If you go to the Mighty Taco on Niagara Street in Tonawanda they have a large print that was taken when the terminal was built. Very awesome shot.

I'll have to keep that in mind next time I'm in that area... Don't get that way too often anymore as I'm on the opposite end of the city now.

[N2CHX]

There are some great shots in the Bufallo, NY area in this link, including this one. (http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?offset=30&where=search%7C-2%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C-2%7Cbuffalo%2C+ny%7C15%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C%7C15%7C-2%7C-2%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C)

http://i39.tinypic.com/2w70bhi.jpg

>swoon<

[N2NH]

Well too early for a diesel, so I'm guessing a steam turbine? Rear exhaust I see from the smoke at the rear. Water leaks, two turbines would be required to be able to back up. Basically a mechanical nightmare.

You fill in the blanks.

PRETTY THOUGH! :)

My guess is a C&O Steam Turbine, probably oil fuel but could be coal. Hopefully it has an articulated undercarriage as Eastern Lines have sharper turns and lower clearances. They should try these out again (with coal and scrubbers) as an alternative to oil.

[WØTKX]

Engineering quiz time.

The wind up key was a bitch to turn.

[N2NH]

>swoon<


Photo Date: April 30, 2011
The magic still happens.

I only wish there were still NYC Niagaras. Built in diesel age, they were one of the biggest 4-8-4 Steam passenger engines east of the Mississippi. Did a lifetime of work in 8 years on the 20th Century Ltd. and were then scrapped.


The American Locomotive Company ALCO (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALCO) proposed these locomotives, and although the design owes something to the Union Pacific 4-8-4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_FEF_Series)'s, of which Union Pacific 844 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_844) is the best-known, the design was actually quite new. Some steam experts have claimed the Niagara to be the ultimate locomotive, as it had the speed of an FEF (the Union Pacific's nickname for their 'four eight fours' was FEF) and the power of Northerns with smaller driver wheels.

NYC Niagara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NYC_Niagara)
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/721/6024.jpg

[NQ6U]

Engineering quiz time.

Okay, boys and girls...what is the one factor which absolutely contributed to the repeated failure of this thing, and how could a slightly different specification have in all probability made the design a raving success?

9791

Chesapeake & Ohio steam turbine unit built by Baldwin. I'm not sure it's accurate to say it had only a single point that caused them to be considered a failure, though. Steam turbines are inefficient at low speeds and the C&O units were unreliable and expensive to maintain.

[wa6mhz]

Maybe Train Travel will see a resurgence now that Air Travel has gotten so miserable. Not only is it become very pricey, but the passengers are treated very poorly and crammed into those cans like sardines. One airline is now even charging for a glass of WATER!!!! Gone are the days of lavish meals, wonderful drinks and plenty of Elbow room as the plane flew.

Trains still have comfortable seats and a nice dining car where chow is available (not cheap, but cheaper than airlines!) Seems like I paid around $10 for a stale sandwich on a cross country plane last time I flew. Trains still have hot, tasty food.

Rooms on trains are pricey though. I compared a trip to Dayton via Train vs Plane and if you wanted to sit in the same seat with no shower, it wasn't bad. But after 3 days, those clothes would really STINK! So it is better to get a ROOMETTE and those were around $750 EXTRA!!!

So if Trains could do something about that, they could compete with Air Travel again and bring itself back to life.

[KC2KFC]

I do volunteer work for the restoration work on it :) THAT is how much I love the steam era.
Do you happen to know Ben Hiltz? I know he's done volunteer work there.

[W3WN]

Maybe Train Travel will see a resurgence now that Air Travel has gotten so miserable. Not only is it become very pricey, but the passengers are treated very poorly and crammed into those cans like sardines. One airline is now even charging for a glass of WATER!!!! Gone are the days of lavish meals, wonderful drinks and plenty of Elbow room as the plane flew.

Trains still have comfortable seats and a nice dining car where chow is available (not cheap, but cheaper than airlines!) Seems like I paid around $10 for a stale sandwich on a cross country plane last time I flew. Trains still have hot, tasty food.

Rooms on trains are pricey though. I compared a trip to Dayton via Train vs Plane and if you wanted to sit in the same seat with no shower, it wasn't bad. But after 3 days, those clothes would really STINK! So it is better to get a ROOMETTE and those were around $750 EXTRA!!!

So if Trains could do something about that, they could compete with Air Travel again and bring itself back to life.I don't know Pat.

With AMTRAK running what little interstate rail passenger traffic that's left, well, they're not exactly making it welcome to passengers. Maybe things are different on the Main Line between NY & DC, but otherwise...

BTW, since we're mentioning trivia related to old passenger terminals... if you ever watch the movie Flashdance (no, you don't have to admit it, and yes, it is pretty cheesy by today's standards), the construction scenes are actually at the old PRR terminal downtown, now an apartment building known as The Pennsylvanian (http://www.thepennsylvanian.com/). ( What they're working on was at one time the tracks that connected the PRR mainline to the P&LE mainline across the river via the Panhandle Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhandle_Bridge), which also serviced the old downtown Post Office for RPO traffic. Those tracks still exist, but they are now part of the LRT "trolley" system. ) Not as gorgeous as some of the other old terminals... you should see Station Square (http://www.stationsquare.com/), the old P&LE headquarters & terminal... but still beautiful.

[N2NH]

Well I know that NJ Transit re-opened the once derelict Erie-Lackawana Hoboken Terminal. Beautiful victorian terminal right on the banks of the Hudson River. Parts of Rod Stewart's Downtown Train were filmed there. Those old terminals really give you a feel for rail travel. I'm more of a Diesel-Traction fan but I do like the old Streamline Design Steam Trains, like the PRR S-2, the SP Daylights and the 4 NYC Hudson Designs.

Pennsylvania Railroad's S-2 Streamlined Steam Locomotive
http://10000km.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/s-train1.jpg

Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha Zephyr (1939 version)
http://www.minnesotajones.com/Hiawatha-21.jpg

Santa Fe's Streamlined Hudson
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/5846712422_4b94669dac.jpg

[W3WN]

You just don't see design work like that anymore.

Functional, yet gorgeous.

[n6hcm]

Gone are the days of lavish meals, wonderful drinks and plenty of Elbow room as the plane flew.

they haven't gone anywhere. pay and sit up front with the rest of us :). no, i don't pay cash to sit up front--i'm cashing in miles from when i was a frequent revenue passenger ... next trip (for a self-funded conference) from sfo to chicago in first class on alaska ... free. alaska's first is ok ...

also, some airlines don't suck. i just came back from san diego ... flew virgin america both ways (in coach since it's a tiny flight). would totally fly them again.

[n6hcm]

Maybe things are different on the Main Line between NY & DC, but otherwise...

and, in fact, from boston to dc it *is* different. for starters, it's generally not an overnight journey. also, those who want to go faster (freeway speeds) can pay for a more frequent, faster service.

[W3WN]

and, in fact, from boston to dc it *is* different. for starters, it's generally not an overnight journey. also, those who want to go faster (freeway speeds) can pay for a more frequent, faster service.
More than once I've thought that Amtrak would be just so happy if they could dump all the rest and simply stick to the NE corridor traffic.

[X-Rated]

More than once I've thought that Amtrak would be just so happy if they could dump all the rest and simply stick to the NE corridor traffic.

The fucking northwest corridor has options. AmLink Northeast (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.njtransit.com%2Fpdf%2Frail%2F R0070.pdf&ei=n9a4Ud6OI7HeyQGs5IFA&usg=AFQjCNEzZ6evuP6J7bs9XfUlsD7mVLKLBg)

Something like 97 columns of options for the Northeast corridor every day.

Now look at the options for the Southwest...

AmLink Southwest (http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/645/1007/Southwest-Chief-Schedule-031013.pdf)

Let's see here. Count them with me... One...

[n6hcm]

More than once I've thought that Amtrak would be just so happy if they could dump all the rest and simply stick to the NE corridor traffic.

the rest is an unfortunate hodgepodge that often isn't coordinated with other transit, ...