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  1. #1
    Istanbul Expert N2NH's Avatar
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    Railroad Thread of Mar. '17

    One of the nice things about living in Kingston (the new QTH) is that it's a railroad town. In fact you can't get away from the sound of train horns at night, but getting used to it doesn't take long. We get BNSF, NS and CSX mostly here with a few CN thrown in. This is the River Line of the old NYC which was actually built by the Pennsy. When the NYC retaliated by starting a rail line in Pennsylvania, the Pennsy lost their appetite for New York railroading and the switch was made. The old NYC yard at Selkirk near Albany is at the north end and New Jersey at the south. We had a pretty impressive derailment south of here at Newburgh in the middle of an oil farm. That made the news, but this line is pretty important so things got cleaned up pretty quick.

    Here's a few scenes from the River Line here in town.
    wilbur bridge.jpg
    The Wilbur Bridge coming out of the Kingston Tunnel at Esopus Creek. Train is heading southbound toward Port Ewen.

    Kingston Rails.jpg
    This is the same bridge with a northbound train. The view is from the marina at Esopus Creek.

    There is also a pretty decent Railroad museum with a decent showing of NYC traction too.
    “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."
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    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    Cool! Not sure I want to live nearly directly under the trestle, just in case. It's that seismic state of mind coming out in me.

    I know, seismic is not such a concern in those parts....

    This thread should be most excellent indeed!
    Last edited by WZ7U; 03-11-2017 at 05:10 PM.

    Like that post was...
    Moving on, my posts are not helpful

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    Istanbul Expert N2NH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WZ7U View Post
    Cool! Not sure I want to live nearly directly under the trestle, just in case. It's that seismic state of mind coming out in me.

    I know, seismic is not such a concern in those parts....

    This thread should be most excellent indeed!
    I went by there last week on the way to the docs. I can't imagine how they live there myself. But, there are people who live right next to the right of way and those trains blast their three horns for about 4 minutes apiece. You can hear them for at least 5 miles. I checked. Living right next to them? That's as bad as living on final approach.
    “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."
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    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N2NH View Post
    ...That's as bad as living on final approach.
    I live about 200yds from the CSX Great Lakes Sub. It's single-tracked now but at one time it was a double-track Class I shared with PRR/PC/Conrail (as that system evolved). Located nearby was the Erie Lackawanna Marion District double-track Class I main, and sandwiched between was at least one ABB RR shortline track...though I seem to remember two.

    In the mid 70's I saw five (count 'em) trains on those tracks at the same time. Mind you, this was in the days of jointed - rather than welded - rail, and you can imagine the racket that meeting generated.
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    Istanbul Expert N2NH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N8YX View Post
    I live about 200yds from the CSX Great Lakes Sub. It's single-tracked now but at one time it was a double-track Class I shared with PRR/PC/Conrail (as that system evolved). Located nearby was the Erie Lackawanna Marion District double-track Class I main, and sandwiched between was at least one ABB RR shortline track...though I seem to remember two.

    In the mid 70's I saw five (count 'em) trains on those tracks at the same time. Mind you, this was in the days of jointed - rather than welded - rail, and you can imagine the racket that meeting generated.
    Oh, I remember that din. I lived next to the #1 subway line in Harlem for 22 years. All jointed rail and always one that wasn't joined evenly. Add those heavy subway cars of the 1960s-70s and some square wheels* and you had the mix for a sleepless night. Where we were, there was an elevated line and it was over a swamp (and fault line) with nowhere for the force of the cars to go but sideways. Oddly enough, I always knew when there was too much snow to go to work. I'd wake up at 3AM because the subway stopped running. Go figure.

    *Square wheels were caused by an emergency stop or one emergency stop too often. The sound was a loud BANG!-BANG!-BANG! that went on and on.
    Last edited by N2NH; 04-25-2017 at 03:24 PM.
    “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."
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    Orca Whisperer n2ize's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N2NH View Post
    Oh, I remember that din. I lived next to the #1 subway line in Harlem for 22 years. All jointed rail and always one that wasn't joined evenly. Add those heavy subway cars of the 1960s-70s and some square wheels* and you had the mix for a sleepless night. Where we were, there was an elevated line and it was over a swamp (and fault line) with nowhere for the force of the cars to go but sideways. Oddly enough, I always knew when there was too much snow to go to work. I'd wake up at 3AM because the subway stopped running. Go figure.

    *Square wheels were caused by an emergency stop or one emergency stop too often. The sound was a loud BANG!-BANG!-BANG! that went on and on.
    LOL yep... :) I remember that well. Talk about noise, when I was living in East New York Brooklyn I used to feel a bit sorry for those folks that lived right next to the structure (the el) where the J and Z trains pass through the infamous S curve between Cypress Hills and Crescent Street. It a 10 mph timer enforced speed restriction along the whole distance and damned those trains SCREECH loud and long as they negotiate those curves. As a kid it was deafening when I was in my parents car or walking underneath that section of the el. People who lived in the apartments adjacent told me you never get used to that sound nor do you ever forget it.

    Train horns bother me a little bit. Around here when I start hearing train horns it means that the morning rush is just getting underway and it means hat within a short time I have to get up and out. Maybe when I retire and if I live near a freight line I'll get to liking train horns again,

    Actually I wouldn't mind living next to an elevated subway line. The #2 ran past behind my Grandpa's house in the So. Bronx. In some ways I miss that distinctive sound of a train roaring along on the structure.
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    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    Neat-o, John! Train horns have never bothered me. In fact, I enjoy hearing them late at night.

    As nice as San Diego is in many ways, it's a crappy place for railfans. Since there's no route eastward out of here, most of the railroad traffic runs through L.A. Now, If they should ever finally resurrect the old San Diego and Arizona Eastern line (it comes up from time to time), that would change things exponentially. It would require some tunnel repair but the tracks are still in place and run through some really extreme terrain, with a few truly spectacular trestles. This one is pretty famous:

    Last edited by NQ6U; 03-12-2017 at 04:57 PM.
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

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    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Anyone noticing CSX running long trains of empty auto racks with only one engine on the head end?

    Would make for a fun day for the crew if they're far away from a source of backup motive power and said engine fails. Judging from the sound of the turbos on many of their prime movers I'd say that happens a little more often than they care for.
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    La Rata Del Desierto K7SGJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N8YX View Post
    Anyone noticing CSX running long trains of empty auto racks with only one engine on the head end?

    Would make for a fun day for the crew if they're far away from a source of backup motive power and said engine fails. Judging from the sound of the turbos on many of their prime movers I'd say that happens a little more often than they care for.
    Since they're empty anyway, they could make a bundle on their deadhead runs by letting people park their cars, with the occupants still inside, on the racks and let them enjoy a nice little mini vacation. It'd be a hoot to see a lot of places few ever see. Kinda like a moving drive-in movie. Maybe add walkways so when you get out of your vehicle, you can safely walk to the dining, potty, or cocktail car, and depending how many one has, safely get back to the vehicle.
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    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by K7SGJ View Post
    Since they're empty anyway, they could make a bundle on their deadhead runs by letting people park their cars, with the occupants still inside, on the racks and let them enjoy a nice little mini vacation. It'd be a hoot to see a lot of places few ever see. Kinda like a moving drive-in movie. Maybe add walkways so when you get out of your vehicle, you can safely walk to the dining, potty, or cocktail car, and depending how many one has, safely get back to the vehicle.
    I guess they could pee out the window.

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