Just train pictures and train stories

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Trainman

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This is all about trains and train stories only for those who are interested.

Hobby trains too. Very exciting for some and expensive from all over the world.

My next thread will be how this all started about the train

Enjoy

Trainman
 
My husband stuck in London as no trains running between Diss and Norwich replacement bus instead. He real pi88ed off just tx me.
I doing triangle journey soon east England to west wales from there to Liverpool back to London then London to Norwich, followed by 45min train to my town..THis daunting train trip.i pre booked so cheaper and got 1st class seat..If you come to uk and want do train trips book seat far in advance you can book from anywhere in the world
 
Last December, I had to board the Amtrak for my holiday home visit, and I thought the train would leave at 4:05 PM, but boy, was I ever wrong. We left at 4:32 PM, and we were out of Chicago and into Homewood before 6 PM. On the way there, we had to wait for Train #392, which was at the station in Champaign, and that was a single track area, so we waited, and then it went by us, and we were on our way. After Rantoul, we got stuck waiting 20 minutues for a freight train to pass us, and at the time it did, it was POURING RAIN.

Then after my vacation ended, and I found myself on #392 back to Chicago, I was bored, and about to nod off, when I recognized CUS, and looked at my watch-- the train was 20 minutes early. Perfect. I wasn't gonna complain, and got home 45 minutes earlier than usual.


Mark

Sent from my Asus Memo Pad using AllDeaf Mobile App
 
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Here's another one. One night in January 2007, I was on the Metra heading home from work at Goodwill Great Lakes, and guess what happened? The train broke down-- right before Fort Sheridan (Reba might know this area), and it took the locomotive driver a good 45-50 minutes to get it running, and by then, the 9:17 PM train was already behind us, and an outbound train was approaching Fort Sheridan at the same time, so three trains at one crossing in less than 5 minutes. Haven't been a part of that since then.


Mark

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my mother was on train going to Seattle when Mount St Helen blew up...what she saw from train was awful
 
Oh, have I got a whopper of a story to tell. This was also at Great Lakes, and there were about 40-45 people waiting for a Metra train, and we'd been told to go to Track 1 to wait for the train, so we did, and when the train turned that curve, boy did we get a nasty surprise-- train was on Track 2, and we were PISSED. I was the last one to board after getting to the other side, and I pointed to the electronic sign that had announced the Track one switch and told the conductor that SOMEBODY messed up good, and by the time we got to to Fort Sheridan, the mistake had been fixed. Pretty sure somebody got canned for that.


Mark

Sent from my Asus Memo Pad using AllDeaf Mobile App
 
My first train ride, that I can remember, was when we moved from GA to DE when I was 11. Don't have a lot of memories of it, but do recall our dog, during a "potty break" with my sisters, got out of his collar. The conductor came to get my mom (she & I were in the diner) and said if she couldn't get him w/in xx mins we'd have to leave him behind. We were able to catch him. We also had our cat, in a carrier, with us. This was a few years before Amtrak (animals, except service dogs, are not allowed on Amtrak at this time).

Except for touristy trains, I didn't ride again until 2011. Took a regional to DC for a one day visit to a convention. Then took long distance trains to Utah later that year. Rode through the Rockies. This was the first time I'd been west of the Mississippi River. I think I waved to Botts as we rolled through Iowa. :D

When planning the trip to Utah, I found a great forum of train riders. I have made many friends on there and have met up with them several times over the last 3 years. They have a gathering each year in a different train city (east coast, then mid country, then west coast). I went to the one in Philly and the one in Chicago. This year its the Bay Area (San Francisco). I am looking forward to taking new trains outbound and coming back on the California Zephyr (CZ), when I will get to see the rest of that route. I will have aced 5 routes when I'm done (not all on this trip).
No, I'm not rich. A most of this will be paid for with "frequent rider" points and one member of the forum offered to share his roomettes for the trip back.
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
Oh, have I got a whopper of a story to tell. This was also at Great Lakes, and there were about 40-45 people waiting for a Metra train, and we'd been told to go to Track 1 to wait for the train, so we did, and when the train turned that curve, boy did we get a nasty surprise-- train was on Track 2, and we were PISSED. I was the last one to board after getting to the other side, and I pointed to the electronic sign that had announced the Track one switch and told the conductor that SOMEBODY messed up good, and by the time we got to to Fort Sheridan, the mistake had been fixed. Pretty sure somebody got canned for that.


Mark

Sent from my Asus Memo Pad using AllDeaf Mobile App
Click to expand...

I doubt anyone would lose their job because the train arrived on a different track than was posted.
 
LoveBlue said:
I doubt anyone would lose their job because the train arrived on a different track than was posted.
Click to expand...

It wasn't supposed to even be posted, according to the conductor. He raidoed it in to Metra HQ about the incident, and after that, not sure what happened..


Mark

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Got another train story. It's on the CTA Red Line, and it was going to Howard, when suddenly the "Express" label showed up, and we went all the way from Belmont to past Granville, before we resumed normal routing. Now, that was my 1st-ever experience riding Express on the Red Line, although I've done it on the Purple Line Express from Belmont to Howard (no stations in between).


Mark

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Will take pictures of the Rogers Park Metra station today. Will post to this thread. Also will snap photos of the new Ravenswood station when it's done. Also plan to snap photos of the Ogilive Transportation Center, and Chicago Union Station. If I get lucky, I might be able to get Clybourn in this weekend.


Mark

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Tons of wig wags photos of the past... Dan's Wig Wag crossing signal search

There's probably very few operable railroad wig wags out there in the USA. You can find them operating in museums. :)
 
Calvin said:
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Tons of wig wags photos of the past... http://www.trainweb.org/dansrailpix/WIG_WAG_PAGE1c.htm

There's probably very few operable railroad wig wags out there in the USA. You can find them operating in museums. :)
Click to expand...

Something else that's a rarity-- a Safetran Type 1 e-bell. I'll see if I can figure out how to do that. Another rarity is teardrop bells.


Mark

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Photo of a Safetran Type 1 e-bell.
3.JPG
 
Now that I've finally figured out how to post photos without actually needing to snap any, here's the OTC:

ogilvie_4.jpg


A little information about this place. The train station is on the 2nd floor of a 37-story tall building at the intersection of Madison and Canal. The design was because the tracks are higher up in the air, and on higher ground. This station has three entrances and exits. The primary one is on Madison, as that leads to Chicago's Union Station, 2 blocks directly south on Canal, and a 15-minute walk. The secondary exit is on Washington, which leads to CTA buses headed west and north. You can also use Washington to walk to the famed Quincy Brown/Orange/Pink/Purple Lines stop, to where you want to go, may it be 54th/Cermak, Howard, Midway, or Kimball. The third entrance/exit is along the riverfront, and is on the eastern side of the station.
 
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