--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00008 Date: 05/20/97 From: ALEC CAMERON Time: 08:05pm \/To: KEN FREEMAN (Read 0 times) Subj: More confessions of a you Hi Ken On (17 May 97) Ken Freeman wrote to Alec Cameron... KF> government mandated safety warnings on a knife to be able to even open one KF> without spending your entire day just reading what boils down to "caution, KF> KF> this thing might be sharp and could cut you". KF> The great American sport now is litigation. KF> :-) Depressing! If you had your druthers, where'd you druther emigrate to? The lowest unemployment in UK is in the Shetlands. No noisy railroads to disturb sleep or meditation! Cheers....ALEC ... ......Many people die of thirst but the Irish are born with one illigan] --- PPoint 1.92 * Origin: Bundanoon, Southern Highlands, NSW AUS (3:712/517.12) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00009 Date: 05/20/97 From: ALEC CAMERON Time: 08:10pm \/To: DON DELLMANN (Read 2 times) Subj: RAIL-FANS???? Hi Don On (19 May 97) Don Dellmann wrote to Alec Cameron... DD> I love steam as much as the next guy, but........ DD> 15 usually left chicago at 9:00 PM every evening with the "fast mail", DD> arriving in Minneapolis at 6:15 AM. This was with anywhere from 15 to DD> 30 heavyweight baggage & mail cars, and numerous time consuming stops. ====== DD> She did this every day, 365 days a year, throughout all of WWII and after, DD> until she was replaced by E-7's in 1949. Thanks for that nice essay. In OZ it is only the watchers of old movies on V, who get to reflect on those transition days as steam was overtaken by diesel. NSW had ordered Beyer Garretts [32 wheelers], the deliveries coinciding with Alco diesels from Canada. You may guess at the comparisons in service! Quick smart the UK contract was terminated but the penalties were extreme. We got dozens of unwanted Garretts. Cheers......ALEC ... ........The hasty and the slow meet at the ferry --- PPoint 1.92 * Origin: Bundanoon, Southern Highlands, NSW AUS (3:712/517.12) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00010 Date: 05/19/97 From: DEREK BRICE Time: 09:06pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: USA high speed trains? Hello All! Could one of you American rail fans please tell me what is currently the fastest speed on your railway system. For the record, ours is on the London Kings Cross route to Scotland, and is achieved by the class 91 electric locos, which can cruise at 140mph. The Eurostar can travel faster, but currently only on the continent, due to the lines here in the south east having a speed restriction, and an inferior power pickup system. Bye For Now, Derek FidoNet: 2:440/7.58 + 2:257/145.1 INTERNET: derek.brice@plightning.coracle.com --- * Origin: Garden of England Mailbox. (2:440/7.58) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00011 Date: 05/19/97 From: PHIL KANE Time: 02:49pm \/To: CHARLES RING (Read 0 times) Subj: More confessions of a In a message to DON DELLMANN dated 05-15-97 CHARLES RING wrote: DD> In the AAR reporting marks the "X" actually stands for a private owner DD> as opposed tp cars owned bu a "common carrier". (UTLX, Union Tank DD> Lines, GATX, General American Tank {or transportation}, etc.) CR> Do you think the highly paid PR people who came up with "CSX" ever CR> heard of that? Probably the same folks who renamed United States Steel as USX and then wondered why "the common man" never heard of them. --- PCBoard (R) v15.21/M 100 * Origin: HINTS (1:125/467) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00012 Date: 05/19/97 From: PHIL KANE Time: 03:59pm \/To: ALEC CAMERON (Read 2 times) Subj: RAIL-FANS???? In a message to ANDREW HAMBLYN dated 05-17-97 ALEC CAMERON wrote: AC> * steamers are having to stop to refuel and to be cleaned. No way, can AC> these be available for long hours. The availability hence the miles per AC> week for a diesel, is probably better than double that for steamers. I'd be very wary of a diesel locomotive that didn't stop to be refueled and cleaned. Maybe not as often as a steam-hog....... --- PCBoard (R) v15.21/M 100 * Origin: HINTS (1:125/467) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00013 Date: 05/19/97 From: PHIL KANE Time: 03:59pm \/To: ROY SCHULTZ (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Railfan problems In a message to KEN FREEMAN dated 05-17-97 ROY SCHULTZ wrote: RS> You forgot the most important part, Money ! When the dim witted fools RS> get hurt they want to sue the railroad companies, and often win. RS> Since they are trespassing on private property anyway, the railroad's RS> best weapon against this kind of foolishness is to prosecute for RS> trespassing. Money, the bottom line. Most of the time it is cheaper for the road to offer and pay out a negotiated settlement than to go through a full blown lawsuit, whether they win or not. Part of a negotiated settlement is an agreement that the railroad was not at fault for the injury. === PMK === --- PCBoard (R) v15.21/M 100 * Origin: HINTS (1:125/467) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00014 Date: 05/21/97 From: ROY SCHULTZ Time: 07:09pm \/To: PHIL KANE (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Rail-fans???? > AC> * steamers are having to stop to refuel and to be cleaned. No > way, can AC> these be available for long hours. The availability > hence the miles per AC> week for a diesel, is probably better than > double that for steamers. > I'd be very wary of a diesel locomotive that didn't stop to be > refueled and cleaned. Maybe not as often as a steam-hog....... Fact is that steam locomotives are simply more labor intensive to maintain that diesel, that's why they lost out. A steam locomotive breaks, the whole locomotive is down till it's fixed. A diesel breaks they stick in a new part and roll. It's not limited to cleaning and fueling. There are a whole lot more things to maintaining the boiler and everything else. That's why even though the early diesels weren't as powerful they took over anyway. It didn't hurt that they could be copuled together in multiple units and they only had to pay one train crew, not a seperate one for each unit as with multiple unit steam. The individual reasons are varied but boil down to one thing, MONEY. Diesels are simply cheaper to operate than steam. Don't misunderstand, I LOVE steamers. I also know the facts of history. --- MsgToss 2.0b * Origin: The Spaire Rhume BBS - Richmond, VA (1:264/315) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00015 Date: 05/21/97 From: IAN MAY Time: 12:31am \/To: DEREK BRICE (Read 0 times) Subj: USA high speed trains? Hello Derek! Monday May 19 1997 21:06, Derek Brice posted a message to All: DB> The Eurostar can travel faster, but currently only on the continent, DB> due to the lines here in the south east having a speed restriction, DB> and an inferior power pickup system. It's not so much the power supply, but the track alignment, and more importantly the signalling. There simply isn't enough braking distance built into the current four-aspect sysytem to allow for enough braking distance at speeds above 100mph on South-Eastern lines. Even if (hypothetically) they ere to alter signalling, this would reduce line capactiy for ordinary domestic trains. That, and the track alignment is why we need a dedicated link. It ill bring London-Brussels down to 2hours 10 mins - and Paris to 2hours 30 mins. Regards, Ian ... Tagline Distorted! --- FastEcho 1.45+ 19048 * Origin: <> Gillingham KENT UK +44 1634 304520 (2:440/606) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00016 Date: 05/22/97 From: WES LEATHEROCK Time: 06:06pm \/To: DON DELLMANN (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Rail-Fans???? -=> Quoting Don Dellmann to Wes Leatherock <=- DD> Checking my sources, the fastest "regular" speeds I can document for DD> the Hi's were; DD> Class A 4-4-2 (1935) with 6 streamlined cars. 112.5 MPH (on the DD> "Inaugural" trip, in regular service they seldom exceeded 105) DD> (Incidentally, there are published reports of Class A's pulling DD> trains of up to TWENTY cars {remember, these were 4-4-2's!}) They were most remarkable 4-4-2s, and so recognized at the time. I always wanted the one pictured in the Lionel catalog. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 [NR] --- PCBoard (R) v15.23/M 5 * Origin: Beggar's Forum IV (405) 787-2540 (1:147/58) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 147 RAILROAD FANS Ref: E5S00017 Date: 05/22/97 From: WES LEATHEROCK Time: 06:06pm \/To: ALEC CAMERON (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: RAIL-FANS???? -=> Quoting Alec Cameron to Gregory Procter <=- AC> The 3780HP one I bragged about, had a bit of my own [trivial] design AC> work in it. For long distance coal traffic on a mountains route, these AC> were provided with two ducted blower motors in the body. I designed the AC> rivet pitching on the drivers' doors! Tunnel motors in Australia! ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 [NR] --- PCBoard (R) v15.23/M 5 * Origin: Beggar's Forum IV (405) 787-2540 (1:147/58)