PHOTO FUN week of 3/17/07

[Squidbait]

Since this is "Photo Fun", and I was having fun with my new camera, I guess this pic qualifies...

 

[UP SD40-2]

If I remember correctly, the tank car is part of the MDC old timers line and was a model of a tank car run in the 1870's or 80's. The frame is a bit thicker than the prototype, but otherwise it is close. The express reefer and milk cars were used in the 1920's and 30's, the same as the wood reefer. The trucks are different on the milk cars and the express reefer than the billboard reefer because the milk cars and express reefer would run on high speed passenger trains. The billboard reefer would have been seen on any freight train. In the case of the milk reefers, they would stop along the right of way and load cans of milk from local dairys and rush it to the milk processing plant for pasturizing and bottling. I think it would probably be picked up in the evening to get it to the milk plant in time for bottling and processing so the milkman could make a mid morning delivery in the city. Express reefers were put on passenger trains for extra revenue. Shippers would pay a premium to have high value perishables like strawberries and sea food delicacys shipped on the head end of passenger trains to rush them to the market that much quicker. By the way, the express reefer and the milk cars would have had steam lines installed to transfer steam from the steam generator in the locomotive back to the passenger cars for heat and air conditioning. I'm not sure how the passenger cars were lighted in the steam era. The railroad could not just put any reefer on the head end of a passenger train to make it an express reefer because the standard reefers would have lacked the steam lines needed to operate the passenger cars behind.

Nice models, Tom.

Russ, THANK YOU!, for the info on those cars:thumb:.

Squidbait, NICE pic of rail:thumb:. i have a pic of some rail here that has the date 1948, if i can find it in one of about 1000 folders, I'll post it. (i have posted the pic in one of my 2 big threads, just don't remember which oneops

Keep the Pics coming folks!:thumb: -Deano

 

[Herc Driver]

Squidbait - that picture would make a really great puzzle...think of the headache you'd get trying to match up all the rust, shadowing, and straight lines. That's really a great picture you took.

 

[cn nutbar]

excellent thread thanks to everyone's contributions---tom,those reefers are outstanding---thanks again

 

[doctorwayne]

I'm not sure how the passenger cars were lighted in the steam era.

Russ, during the late steam era, most passenger cars had electric lighting, which was powered by an axle-driven generator when the car was moving, or by large batteries, which were hung beneath the car, when the car was standing. Many older head-end cars, at least on the CNR, were lit by Pintsch gas, which was carried in tanks beneath the cars. Such cars as were remaining in the late steam era were never converted to electric.
In this photo, the large box with the three access doors is a battery box, as is the smaller box at the bottom, to the left end of the upper box. At the left edge of the photo is a generator (the round thingy mounted at right angles to the centre sill, with its drive shaft extending over the centre sill) The drive belt extends off the shaft and out of the picture to the left. The shaft extending from the truck on the right end is a driveshaft for the Pullman drive, which provides power for the air conditioning compressor, which is the large box at lower right. There are two belts run by this system.

Here's the same car viewed from the opposite side, with the generator and belt at the right of the photo, and the air conditioning compressor and small battery box to the left of the centre of the picture:

Below is a view of the underside of a car lit by Pintsch gas: the gas would be charged into the two long tanks near the left end of the car, and distributed through a regulator and piping to the various fixtures inside the car. This type of lighting was supposedly much safer than the previously used acetylene lighting, and before that, oil lamps.

Wayne

 

[UP SD40-2]

THANKS for posting that Wayne:thumb:. VERY INFORMATIVE, and i learned something new. -Deano

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Thanks for the info Dr Wayne. I think the air conditioning system must have been a bit different North of the border. Down here, my understanding is that the railroads used a steam absorbsion system for a/c. I've never seen the particulars as to how it worked, but I don't think it involved a compressor at all. The system you described sounds a lot like what Amtrak does today, except instead of having the compressor driven by belts, it is a semi-hermetic Carrier 06d compressor powered by 3 phase electrical power from the h.e.p. unit in the locomotive.

 

[jbaakko]

Wow, the collection grows again, got myself a UP AC4400 to go with the Ex SP AC4400!

 

[chessie4155]

Great pics everyone. Quite a few this week..Thats cool, keep em comin!
Here's another reason you should always ship by rail! lol

 

[viperman]

Wow Wayne, talk about detail!

 

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the info Dr Wayne. I think the air conditioning system must have been a bit different North of the border. Down here, my understanding is that the railroads used a steam absorbsion system for a/c. I've never seen the particulars as to how it worked, but I don't think it involved a compressor at all. The system you described sounds a lot like what Amtrak does today, except instead of having the compressor driven by belts, it is a semi-hermetic Carrier 06d compressor powered by 3 phase electrical power from the h.e.p. unit in the locomotive.

I'm not sure if the steam a/c system was used on Canadian cars, but I don't think that it would've been as common as the type I showed. The third method used for car cooling was ice-activated, with the ice stored in boxes under the car floor, very similar in appearance to a battery box. I've seen the explanations on how all three systems work, I just have to remember where I've stored the info: obviously not in my head, although there's ample room.

Wayne

 

[TruckLover]

EDIT: Josh, your NEW avatar is FANTASTIC!!!:thumb: -Deano

I thought you would like it sign1

 

[TruckLover]

Nice Grain Truck Chessie!! And cool scene to :thumb:

 

[CNWman]

Here we go!

Thanks for Cannonball for resizing these pics for me:thumb: The first is a head on shot of CNW4056 rounding the curve hauling two loaded covered hoppers and my tank car. The second is a group photo of all my things that ride my rails and my recently completed grain elevator When my dad and I do finaly start making a perminent setup, the elevator will have a special Atlas 9 inch in it and will be level to the track so it can be 'used':thumb:

 

[cn nutbar]

thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread---since i've joined the gauge,i've feel very priveleged to be able to contribute and appreciate all the contributions that ALL the members have made--i always look forward to seeing what's been added---thanks again to everyone and especially the administrators and moderators and members who make this web-site so successful---one last shot---thanks again,cn nutbar

 

[UP SD40-2]

New Record!!!

thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread---since i've joined the gauge,i've feel very priveleged to be able to contribute and appreciate all the contributions that ALL the members have made--i always look forward to seeing what's been added---thanks again to everyone and especially the administrators and moderators and members who make this web-site so successful---one last shot---thanks again,cn nutbar

What a PERFECT way to end this weeks Photo Fun thread:thumb:. THANK YOU NUTBAR!, YOUR words could not be truer, and thats A GREAT PIC!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

WE HAVE SET A RECORD!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: SO FAR, this weeks Photo Fun thread has gotten MORE participating posts, AND more views then ANY Photo Fun YET!!!:thumb:

THANK YOU!, and CONGRATULATIONS FOLKS!!!

REMEMBER, ANYONE can start a NEW Photo Fun thread After the past thread has been CLOSED. And on that note, i am CLOSING this weeks thread. i hope ALL the following Photo Fun threads turn out as good as this one did.
THANK YOU! -Deano