I've seen cab ride videos before. This one was rather boring. The only landmarks were a few rivers and bridges.

I think that describes Alaska.

---

I've seen cab ride videos before. This one was rather boring. The only landmarks were a few rivers and bridges.

I think that describes Alaska.

I just had it on in the background while I was cooking. Apparently I missed a small section of CTC somewhere along the way.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

SLRG 100 left town last night (in the dark, of course) on BRCKCK and is now in Kansas City, Kansas. Mike waited a few hours and then drove all night, only to be told he'd have to wait until 1pm to check into his hotel. He has more than a day layover and then 100 leaves on KCKTUL. If I understand correctly, the short line IPH is running The Polar Express on runs between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, so maybe he can hand off responsibility for it at Tulsa.

Hmm. I just looked up the event's web site. It's actually running out of the town of Bristow, which is slightly east of the midpoint of the line from Tulsa to OKC. It's also running more than just weekends. It ran last weekend, Wednesday, today through Sunday, and then at least once every day December 1-27 except Christmas Eve and Day.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Okay, it wasn't in KC. The crew died at Brookfield, MO, about half way across from West Quincy to KC. However, it and Mike are now both in OK. He said BNSF does connect to the railroad (it belongs to Watco, not IPH) in Tulsa, but delivery of the 100 was specified for OKC.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Well, it is that time of the year again. Took the kids down to see one of these about 15 years ago, they are really impressive in person. Picture taken yesterday, near Montreal.

---

Well, it is that time of the year again. Took the kids down to see one of these about 15 years ago, they are really impressive in person. Picture taken yesterday, near Montreal.

Never seen it in person. It always comes through on a weeknight and only stops too far away for me to get there in time after work.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

On a sad note
http://abc7.com/news/person-killed-after-being-struck-by-metrolink-train-in-el-monte/1104029/

---

BNSF finally delivered SLRG 100 this morning. Mike flew home. He wanted to take the Heartland Flyer down to Ft. Worth and the Eagle home, but that would have meant another night in OKC, then returning the rental at the airport and getting back downtown to the Amtrak station early in the morning.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

After all the pictures of UK leaf cleaning trains, thought you might be interested in a North american one. Photo taken last month in Maplewood, NJ. Have to admit, in all my years of on and off train spotting in Canada, I've never seen one of these in person. We do have enough leaves though.

---

...that's because they are often shy, nocturnal beasts.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

...that's because they are often shy, nocturnal beasts.

Which is because they want to stay out of the way of the revenue trains.

NJT 4204 is another example of taking an innocent Geep and putting a big monster's long hood on it, in this case from an SD45 (note the flared radiators at the back end). It was built as Penn Central GP40 3262 and kept that number with Conrail before going to New Jersey Transit. At some point, they sent it out to be upgraded to -2 standards and have HEP installed (hence the need for the bigger hood), emerging as a GP40PH-2B. I'm not sure what the B is for.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Thanks for that David. I was wondering about the GP40 bits at one end and SD45 bits at the other.

---

I understand the CP holiday train went by Chesterton at about 3am. It was supposed to spend most of the day at Bensenville, but by now it should be on its way to Gurnee, IL, where of course I can't get to it before it leaves.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I understand the CP holiday train went by Chesterton at about 3am. It was supposed to spend most of the day at Bensenville, but by now it should be on its way to Gurnee, IL, where of course I can't get to it before it leaves.

Okay, so I was off a day and it stayed in Bensenville for that whole day. Well hidden, I'm sure. Crew was on duty at noon today to arrive in Gurnee about the time I left work.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I ended up going to the museum Saturday to work Happy Holiday Railway, even though they'd already found a trainman for the 3rd car; we both worked that car.

Last year, HHR was a 2-car L train that loaded by the main entrance, went down to Seeman Rd., then back around the east side of the wye to Central Ave., where everyone went into the diner to see Santa and have hot chocolate and cookies. Then a trolley bus would take them back to near the entrance.

This year, we used the bilevels. People came in and boarded the trolley bus, which brought them to the diner, which was serving as a holding area. Then they would walk out behind the diner to Barn 9 North to board the train. Santa's helpers figured out after the first trip that they could start serving the chocolate and cookies as soon as we closed the doors, and to start at the end where Santa would come in so they'd be ahead of him the whole way.

Overall, the operation was pretty similar to descriptions I've seen of officially licensed Polar Express events: hand out hot chocolate and cookies, Santa comes through and hands out bells. But instead of reading from The Polar Express, there was a segment from Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The train ran all the way down the main and back to Barn 9 North via East Switch and East Wye, a bit slowly to not get back too soon. After the first trip, they decided they could go the full allowable 30 mph if they went down to Jefferson St., back through Station 1, and then East Wye. The timing that way was about right.

After the train returned, people walked back to the diner and rode the bus back to the gate. The bus guys were having fun with their newest toy, a 2002 Gillig from King Transit in Seattle. It won't be popular in the summer, though. No A/C.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Here is another winter theme, and proof for some Brits that we still have a few passenger trains in Canada. Picture taken on Saturday, in New Brunswick. The engine and cars are the usual Via Rail mix of old and new.

---

Here is another winter theme, and proof for some Brits that we still have a few passenger trains in Canada. Picture taken on Saturday, in New Brunswick. The engine and cars are the usual Via Rail mix of old and new.

Other than the dome at the rear, are those Renaissance cars?

Nice picture.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I'm not sure David. The Via Renaissance cars I'm familiar with have light blue sides, these appear to be unpainted stainless steel sides. That used to mean Budd cars, but they are being slowly retired.

Added in edit: It may just be the lighting. Here is the same train 3 years ago, and these appear to be Renaissance cars.

---

And the same train 5 years ago, with a Canadian built Budd observation car at the back. Looking at the height differences, I think my first post must be Renaissance cars.

---

Had to go back to 2007 to find Budd cars on this train (The Ocean, from Montreal to Halifax).

---