New York City Nostalgia Train

Every year around this time New York City does some really fun stuff around the holidays, particularly with the transit system. Yesterday was no exception; NYC Transit ran old subways and buses. No surprise, many of the riders liked the old stuff better (go figure)! Here is a fantastic Youtube...



By the way, here is what driving around New York City in 1928 looked like (not a whole lot different than today...)



Marc

Way Uptown

I was way uptown in NYC last week driving around and I just saw this and had to snap a shot. Real life sometimes trumps models!!

Marc

Do Something, we need to take action

This has everything to do with standard gauge and the real history of our hobby.  Some very key pieces of our most important railway history has been left on a rail to rot in upstate NY.    This is bad, disgusting and needs to be fixed.

Do you like 402's, 408e's, 1912's, 42'2, 54's or how about a Rare Ives Black Rubber Stamped 3243 found in weeds! Along with AF 4687.   Well, the prototype for all of these and quite a few other classic standard gauge and o gauge trains was the New York S-1.  

You ready to puke?  The reddish looking loco in the picture is the original New York Central S1 Motor #100.   That isn't a typo.  It's the original loco that started our hobby off.  Built in 1904 by GE/Alco.  I actually saw one of these (not this one) in Grand Central many years ago and it was really amazing.  The other loco is a New York Central T3a Motor #278.   Probably one of a kind at this point.  They are rotting outside of Albany, NY right now and have been there for at least 20 years.

My friend Dave pointed this out to me and I am kicking myself silly.  I saw this S-1 years ago in NY State rotting away and thought that surely it must be slated for restoration.

Well, follow the link above and you will catch some of the sad story of how this absolutely critical part of our railroading history has been left to rot in the forest in the ass end of Upstate NY.

To quote Indiana Jones "These belong in a museum".  Supposedly these folks own these locos and a few more left to rot (including a U25B): Mohawk & Hudson chapter NRHS.   Does anyone know these folks?  Why hasn't this been fixed?  Does anyone want to jump in my SUV and haul up to Albany with a digital camera and some mosquito repellant to get some pictures?

Can't we get these to a reputable train museum for storage and restoration?  I sure as hell am going to make some phone calls, donate some money and bring this up at a few train meetings.  If I had a huge helicopter or some heavy machinery these would be gone faster than a jack rabbit on a Nascar track.

This is definitely NOT a fitting end to a major piece of railroad history like this.  It belongs at the TCA Museum (at the very least) or at a reputable train museum anywhere in the world.   This just isn't right.

Marc

What A Bridge! What A Book!

Man, if you're a fan of the Hellgate Bridge, both the prototype and the tinplate reproduction, (and who isn't?,) then this book is for you. Published in 2006 by the Long Island-Sunrise Trail Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, this immensely enjoyable book is packed with great photos and construction details of the Hellgate as well as a comprehensive history of the NYCR, "Long Island's Other Railroad," the railroad that built it.

How special is this book? The publisher's note gives you an idea: "The photographs selected for this volume are meant to supplement and clarify the text more than to simply provide 'pretty pictures.' A couscous effort was made to choose photos that have not been seen previously, even though some of them are less than perfect exposures."

Here's an excerpt to wet your appetite: "Erection of the great arch produced quite a spectacle for people on either shore and those on passing vessels in the river. Utilizing a large derrick some 150 feet in the air, two or three sections of the arch were put in place each week. By February 1915 the backstays behind the two towers were in place, and over the next seven months the two halves of the arch gradually neared each other. Finally, on October 1, 1915 the two sides met with only one-quarter inch of variation. Such a triumph of engineering was unheard of when the milestone Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883."

Believe me, this is a must-have book for Hellgate Bridge fans!

Jim