zombywoof Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Sometimes I just need a bit of a break from guitars to help take care some of my other obsessions. And I love trains. How could you not love something that is big, greasy and fast. Anyway I have been after this for over a decade. It is an old kerosene locomotive headlamp. My wife's grandfather picked this out of a rail yard dump when he was a kid. A few weeks ago my wife went off to a family reunion and lo and behold her father walked over to her car, opened the trunk and put the headlamp in. How cool was that. The headlamp still has all of its original guts including the chimney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Wow! That is cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Nice. My buddy Mike who plays in our jug band is really into trains. He rode the Acela from NY to Boston and back one day just to be on the train. It was one of those rare days that the train actually made it. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Also, Mike tells me trains in Europe make a different sound on the track than US trains because the joints in the rails are staggered in the US but opposite each other in Europe so in the US they sound like "clackity clack" but in Europe its Clack Clack. Don't know if that's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Yeah, I just love trains & model railroading too. Best love the look & elegance of trains from the 40's & 50's era. The look of the streamliners F units, & the like, with the passenger cars too are so excellent. I haven't started my new N gauge layout but will after I get the basement cleaned out after the remodel of our home. I'd sure like to see a return of the trains and cut the coast-coast truck traffic out totally. Just short runs from a fast & efficient hub for the semi's to hook up with a trailer. Tons of packed frt. trailers moving for the fuel of one truck cab, no brainer to me. But, the system needs to be reworked for speed & efficiency to pull that off. Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 We took a brief vacation up the Columbia River Gorge. A major attraction for me was to be able to watch BNSF's mainline on the north side, and Union Pacific's mainline on the south side. A beautifully historic setting & track, with tons of original tunnels & other photo ops. I like to watch them more than ride them. When I was a kid, would frequently go down to the Pasadena station on Sunday's to watch the Santa Fe Super Chief pull in. Had a fairly serious American Flyer 'S' guage layout as a youngster, but was always eying the HO gauge. So now I've amassed quite a collection of HO stuff with a northwest theme, for some model railroading fun after retirement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 When I was born by father bought a set of Lionels. The only time though it would be set up was at Christmas. I will never forget the smell of the smoke pellets (the liquid smoke just ain't got that distinct aroma). I still have that original set but over the years added to it including two 2344 F3s and an O scale Mohawk and Hudson (all in NYC livery). The town I was raised in was one of the main NY Central yards. It had been built as a steam terminal but in the 1920s became the yard where they switched over to electric power to go south into NYC. All the round houses, water towers and other buildings are now long gone. About all that remains is the old electromotive shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 You guys need to post some pics of this stuff! It sounds very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Over the years, I've built, only one layout. My son & I started it when he was maybe 10-11 and we added to it over the years. Then, when I was selling my home about 15 yrs ago, I had the layout in it. The new prospective buyer told me he'd pay asking price if I thru in the layout too (was going to be a big hassle to move that anyway). I did and have been w/o since. I've kept collection more & more gear however like bobouz. Not much was as relaxing as working on a layout, detailing stuff, running trains around and dreaming about being a "train engineer" instead of an "electrical engineer!" I'm sure it gets old for them but it sure sounds cool to be riding the rails thru all the mountains out west and all the beauty of "God's Country" everyday thru the windows!! Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatbaroque Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 It's a good hobby...but be careful cause "Mona tried to tell me To stay away from the train line She said that all the railroad men Just drink up your blood like wine And I said "Oh I didn't know that But then again there's only one I've met And he just smoked my eyelids And punched my cigarette" Oh, Mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile With the Memphis blues again." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I'm not a railroad 'nut', but a friend is. About a mile away from my house is a train line and they freight steel from a company at night and the various noise and whistles travel on the wind on a quiet night and that is the Blues personified! Train songs. As an amateur photographer, I often headed out on photo missions, and every month or so they run a steam train down the line for the tourist! I have every angle on video and photo! BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 I took my train setup down when we decided to sell out house last spring. Even though we had offers we decided to put off moving for a year so I will have to set it up again. My wife though just does not get it. She can't for the life figure out what is the attraction in watching these things go round and round endlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 When I was born by father bought a set of Lionels. The only time though it would be set up was at Christmas. I will never forget the smell of the smoke pellets (the liquid smoke just ain't got that distinct aroma). I still have that original set but over the years added to it including two 2344 F3s and an O scale Mohawk and Hudson (all in NYC livery). How cool! Sure wish I still had all my American Flyer stuff. Kept it stored for years & even hauled it off to college. But when moving from Arizona to Oregon on my motorcycle, more than just a few things had to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 My grandfather was a Pullman Conductor starting in the early 20s. We have a lot of artifacts and I road the trains a lot from the time I was born. I wrote a song about what it was like to travel on a train when I was a small child. I performed it a couple of years ago in Canada -- the guitar is our 1935 Gibson Jumbo. Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Hogeye knows the railroads and put in time in his youth as a Gandy Dancer. There probably aren't too many left alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Hogeye knows the railroads and put in time in his youth as a Gandy Dancer. There probably aren't too many left alive. Interesting thread. Jerry..or anyone else... what is a Gandy Dancer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 what is a Gandy Dancer? They were the men on crews that realigned or repaired sections of rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 They were the men on crews that realigned or repaired sections of rail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandy_dancer It's a vanished trip with a whole little sub culture formed by these gangs that got into a rhythmic call and response so they all jumped on these crowbar-like iron tools and levered the section of track in unison. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=025QQwTwzdU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 You used to be able to easily recognize the rail yard workers in town from their missing fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Have to re-cycle this one - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I am a "Gandy Dancer". Loved the steam engines and rode many of them. We rode in the box cars. Never bought a ticket. I knew every "Gandy" from St. Paul to Spokane. Look on page 153 of Eldon's Fabulous Flat-Top book. The 1992 Southerner Jumbo is mine. The boxcar it was leaning against was one city block from my house. Hell I even learned how to make a train whistle sound from Boxcar Willy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Great thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Amazing song. Thank you so much. I worked my way thru college working the tie gangs for the Northern Pacific. I still have my "Gandy" bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 I worked my way thru college working the tie gangs for the Northern Pacific. The Northern Pacific & Great Northern were prime examples of how railroads shaped the development of our country. I find anything related to the combined railroads of the Burlington Northern of interest, and am fortunte to have an early '50s F7 Great Northern deisel locomotive residing about 2.5 miles up the road, in all of it's original splendor, and fully operational. Doesn't take much of a stretch to picture the Empire Builder behind it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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