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I like trains. I always have and I always will. They're just really cool. Huge powerful machines moving tons of freight and people around, there's just something so very cool about that. I've always loved them since I was a kid, always been in model railroading and stuff like that too. Everything from steam trains to electrics. So I figured I'd yap about some of my favorite trains for a while. Other people can join in too if they feel like it. First is this little know fellow, the Union Pacific M-10000. This was the first streamliner in the U.S. Also one of the early uses of articulate cars in the U.S. And it just looks cool. No train thread would be complete without mention of the largest steam train of them all, the Union Pacific Big boy. Built to haul coal over mountains, and look drat cool. When it was first designed they had a few problems with the sheer size of it, namely going around corners. So they had to design it so that the sets of wheels with the pistons were somewhat articulated. Had they not used this it would have simply been too long to go around any curve. Another one of my favorite diesels, the Santa Fe Super Chief. No real reason for liking it. It's just cool. It's also kinda fun to image what taking a ride on one of these trains would be like. Ah for the days of the classy train ride So lets see what the other train fanatics of AI have to share.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 06:11 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 03:24 |
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I am utterly, completely obsessed with the Dash 9. No idea why, I can't explain it, but I loving love them. My apartment is actually right across the road from a set of train tracks and there are constantly freight consists rolling through all hours of the day and night and it makes for oddly soothing background noise when they go rumbling by
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 06:18 |
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T1g4h posted:My apartment is actually right across the road from a set of train tracks and there are constantly freight consists rolling through all hours of the day and night and it makes for oddly soothing background noise when they go rumbling by I took my first trip on a passenger train (if you don't count light rail) this year. Didn't have a sleeper, just a coach seat, but damned if that clickity-clack and rocking back and forth wasn't sedating. Even when I was awake, it was a really refreshing change to get up and just walk around, between all the cars, and hang out in the lounge (glass ceiling/walls). Though it took 27 hours to make a trip that normally takes 10-12 by car. And I didn't get groped by a sexy TSA agent. But the upside is ... no TSA to deal with.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 06:54 |
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I don't know much about trains but I bet fans would love Japan. The electric train network is really neat. I really liked getting around on the trains and subway.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 16:56 |
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My favorite has always been this big son of a bitch. Every time I go to the railroad museum in Sacramento I can easily spend an hour just staring at it. It's massive. It's a huge monument to American heavy industry and a time Real Men did Big Things. I love it.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 18:03 |
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I love trains too! I grew up in the Northeast where you'll still find a lot of railroad history floating around. Near the "Steamtown Museum" in Scranton PA they had a Big Boy sitting for years. I drank many a 40 in the cab while playing with the knobs and levers when I was in high school. The museum itself wasn't bad either though not nearly as cool as the one in Baltimore.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 18:44 |
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My favorite is the PRR's GG-1 (pictures when Waffle is working again). 80' and 215 tons of electrically powered double-ended awesome with a top speed of a hundred miles an hour while pulling a poo poo load of carriages.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 19:06 |
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My favorite one would have to be Chessie 490. more: the daylight: and the reason i became an industrial designer, Raymond Loewy.
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# ? Mar 6, 2011 21:33 |
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I'm actually in the middle of becoming a railroad engineer here in Norway. I'm about half way now, the course only takes one year to complete. So far I've had my first practice on the Airport Express Train that runs between Oslo Central Station and Gardermoen Airport. They run the GMB Class 71. Now I'm in the middle of learning how to connect wagons and engines and so on. So in the last week I've driven both the NSB El 14, NSB El 16 and the NSB Di 8. I'm really enjoying it so far, even if it is quite a bit of studying, and apparently the next exam is one of the hardest.. so I'd better quit procrastination and get back to the books. I would have posted pics, but waffleimages is down. Hermansen fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Mar 6, 2011 |
# ? Mar 6, 2011 22:00 |
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Not the best pictures, I'll try to take some more the next time I am high-railing with my buddy. This is out in the Mohave Desert about 50 miles from Ludlow CA, pretty sure it's a Dash-9
Rabid Anti-Dentite! fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Mar 7, 2011 |
# ? Mar 7, 2011 00:23 |
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another pic
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 00:24 |
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:My favorite is the PRR's GG-1 (pictures when Waffle is working again). Yes. I was going to include this in the OP, but I briefly forgot the name of it. Such a great powerful train, and a kickass design too! Anyways, my favorite modern train has to be Amtrak's Genesis Engine. No particular reason for this either, just kinda like the look of it. When I was a kid I always wanted to find a model version of this. Took me a few years but I finally found one a show. Here's another thread necessity, the classic American Engine, the 4-4-0. The train that built the West.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 00:59 |
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Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:Not the best pictures, I'll try to take some more the next time I am high-railing with my buddy. This is out in the Mohave Desert about 50 miles from Ludlow CA, pretty sure it's a Dash-9 There are very few industry-specific vehicles I want to operate more than high-railers. Over the years I've seen two or three pop up on the used market. If a private citizen was to get their hands on one, anyone know if there's any way one could legally get on the rails? Obviously if you know where a stretch of abandoned or lightly used rail is you could probably get away with a short run, but the risks of not getting away with it are pretty severe and being able to make a longer run knowing it's all clear would be a lot of fun.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 03:52 |
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wolrah posted:There are very few industry-specific vehicles I want to operate more than high-railers. Over the years I've seen two or three pop up on the used market. If a private citizen was to get their hands on one, anyone know if there's any way one could legally get on the rails? Obviously if you know where a stretch of abandoned or lightly used rail is you could probably get away with a short run, but the risks of not getting away with it are pretty severe and being able to make a longer run knowing it's all clear would be a lot of fun. Legally? Nope. Would be trespassing against whichever company owns the tracks. My dad worked for Canadian Pacific for 30 years, he had a mid-90s Ford F-350 Crew Cab high-railer, and when you're 10 years old it's the coolest drat company truck besides a fire truck.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 04:14 |
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How would you even get it there?
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 04:15 |
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ExplodingSims posted:Another one of my favorite diesels, the Santa Fe Super Chief. No real reason for liking it. It's just cool. It's also kinda fun to image what taking a ride on one of these trains would be like. Ah for the days of the classy train ride At the risk of being a spergoid, that locomotive is an EMD F7. The Super Chief is the name of the entire passenger train consist, cars and all, that locomotive and probably three others pulled from Chicago to Los Angeles. To contribute: the EMD SD45. I just love the way it looks, what with the flared radiators in back. That and knowing that it's got a 20-cylinder engine (most diesel locomotives have only 16). kathmandu fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Mar 7, 2011 |
# ? Mar 7, 2011 04:30 |
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I've been an off and on railbuff my whole life. It seems during my last lull that EMD decided to go from making good looking locomotives, such as the SD70MAC... ...to this hideous beast of locomotive, the SD70ACe: When will EMD make good looking engines again?
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 04:56 |
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kathmandu posted:At the risk of being a spergoid, that locomotive is an EMD F7. The Super Chief is the name of the entire passenger train consist, cars and all, that locomotive and probably three others pulled from Chicago to Los Angeles Yeah, I know, but it's the more commonly known name for the entire line of trains. Plus I needed an excuse to use that picture. ExplodingSims fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Mar 7, 2011 |
# ? Mar 7, 2011 04:58 |
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I don't care how not-useful and flawed it was, the PRR S1 is the best looking locomotive ever made, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 05:13 |
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The Norfolk and Western J Series 611 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%26W_J_class_%281941%29 Probably my all time favorite steam locomotive.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 05:55 |
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Awesome train. The armoured missile train from Goldeneye. Underneath the makeup it is a Bachmann Class 20 diesel electric It was actually built ontop of this exact train.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 07:30 |
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Aerotrain anyone? from here: http://www.carofthecentury.com/the_aerotrain.htm
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 07:59 |
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Australian NSW train the 3801 is my favourite train, I used to be obessed with it when I was in the first grade - so much so that the teachers thought there was something wrong with me.quote:3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is Australia's best known and most widely travelled steam locomotive. The streamlined locomotive was designed to haul express trains such as the Newcastle Flyer and Melbourne Limited for the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR). 3801 is the only steam locomotive to visit every mainland state and territory in Australia The 3801 was first built in 1942 and entered service in 1943 and used to haul the express train from Sydney to Newcastle, it served until 1962 before it was retired and overhauled. For a special run from Sydney to Newcastle in 1964 it attempted to break the two hour trip but only just failed (2 hours 1 minute 51 seconds) but still was able to compete with the harsh timetables of the new diesel and electric trains, it went on to perform a multitude of special runs all over the country until 1976 where due to boiler problems it was placed on static display. In 1980 a project was put in place to restore the 3801 and in 1988 it returned to service and continued to do so until 2008 where its now in a workshop in Chullora undergoing a major refit and should return (again) to service in late 2011. The 3801 - the best train in Australia auzdark fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Mar 7, 2011 |
# ? Mar 7, 2011 09:03 |
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auzdark posted:
Hmm, I work through a company that operates some of the road vehicles in that compound, next time Im there I should have a look for it. That railyard is pretty awesome to lurk around in too, theres a lot of history sitting all over the place.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 09:12 |
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Thrilmere is one of my favorite places (I likewise agree 3801 = best train in Aust) and I love lurking around Valley Heights Rail museum. There's a big rear end Garrett under cover at Thrilmere that is awesome to climb over, plus a whole bunch of rail stock. Also over Christmas, got to have a ride on Puffing Billy in Victoria, which is an operational narrow guage railway. Seeing the Garrett they have there was awesome Trains absolutely fascinate me - so much so of course I'm building up a model railroad
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 10:41 |
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The Cubelodyte posted:My favorite has always been this big son of a bitch. Every time I go to the railroad museum in Sacramento I can easily spend an hour just staring at it. It's massive. It's a huge monument to American heavy industry and a time Real Men did Big Things. I love it. ^^^ That was probably my favourite engine in that museum. Picture fails to convey how loving imposing it is. Though not a trainspotter/"railfan" (), having grown up with the Rev'd Awdry books and having been to the National Railway Museum a few times, I have a thing for Gresley engines, my favourite of which is (inevitably?) the A4.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 11:47 |
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Are there any UK Goons here that can give some info (and the name) of the steam train that went and rescued all the stranded commuters in London or something during the huge snow storm that crippled the diesel and electric trains?
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 12:45 |
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auzdark posted:Are there any UK Goons here that can give some info (and the name) of the steam train that went and rescued all the stranded commuters in London or something during the huge snow storm that crippled the diesel and electric trains? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8428097.stm There were programs on it last year - it was new-built by enthusiasts (with a lot of time on their hands I guess). With links to their website.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 13:28 |
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Oh man, I absolutely love watching videos of diesel locomotives starting up. GP30 Startup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSRzXk_sJA GM "E" 567 (The guy speaking in this vid seems cool as gently caress) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNR8dYzeCkc We have a lot of rail in the Detroit area, and it doesn't bother me one bit. I find the sound of the train horns at night really relaxing.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 14:37 |
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I worked with one of the board members at IRM for a year. And I never got out to the museum. I suppose I should make time and get a close look at some stuff.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 15:44 |
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This was posted in IV8's thread waaay back when, but I figured you guys might appreciate this just as much as the truckers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5IpycS06mg Normal high-railers got nothing on that big beast.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 16:50 |
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drunkill posted:Awesome train.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 17:01 |
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Saga posted:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8428097.stm This is the article I read! I looked up the train, I thought it was awesome they they build a brand new steam train from scratch, for some reason steam has always facinated me. T1g4h posted:This was posted in IV8's thread waaay back when, but I figured you guys might appreciate this just as much as the truckers: This is crazy, I had no idea that they did this, It would be great if they used the old disused tracks a little more, there are 1000s of kms of unused track in NSW alone (especially heading up to the mountains), though that bridge looked quite sus... Also, a truck hauling 15 carriges (though they are empty) is still quite an undertaking since it still had to stop at the station to turn on the crossing signals auzdark fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Mar 7, 2011 |
# ? Mar 7, 2011 18:29 |
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Fo3 posted:The front looks like one of those easter island statues.
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 20:14 |
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Saga posted:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8428097.stm Wasn't that the same engine used in the Top Gear race to Scotland vs. Jaaaaaag XK120 and the Vincent motorcycle?
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# ? Mar 7, 2011 22:29 |
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SouthLAnd posted:Oh man, I absolutely love watching videos of diesel locomotives starting up. I used to live across the street from the railroad tracks when I went to U of M, I loved the big freight trains that came by late at night, brakes screeching. Also train horns in the distance, a fond memory of childhood.
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# ? Mar 8, 2011 00:26 |
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I wish I could get some type of amateur exposure to stuff like this... I've always loved huge trains, especially the ones used for freight. Unfortunately I don't know of any local real train restoration clubs or museums that I could get involved in, just lots of model train societies.
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# ? Mar 8, 2011 01:08 |
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You Am I posted:Wasn't that the same engine used in the Top Gear race to Scotland vs. Jaaaaaag XK120 and the Vincent motorcycle? Yes, yes it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZsb32AAuNI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnGcabLmG30 etc. some very great images in that episode of the train from above in the countryside.
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# ? Mar 8, 2011 01:32 |
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wolrah posted:There are very few industry-specific vehicles I want to operate more than high-railers. Over the years I've seen two or three pop up on the used market. If a private citizen was to get their hands on one, anyone know if there's any way one could legally get on the rails? Obviously if you know where a stretch of abandoned or lightly used rail is you could probably get away with a short run, but the risks of not getting away with it are pretty severe and being able to make a longer run knowing it's all clear would be a lot of fun. It would be almost impossible to do that without working for the railroad. The amount of people he had to call and get the track shut down was incredible. They had to cut out a section and replace it with new rail due to shrinkage. Pretty cool to watch. That was an F250 that was only a few years old with other 150,000 miles on it. When that train passed, we had to stop or risk being blown off the track. Other than that, you lock the steering wheel and set the cruise at 45 and sit back and relax. Pretty cool feeling, like Marty in back to the future haha.
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# ? Mar 8, 2011 02:22 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 03:24 |
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ExplodingSims posted:Here's another thread necessity, the classic American Engine, the 4-4-0. The train that built the West. There's a few Baldwin Locomotive catalogues from that era on the Internet Archive. They are fairly large PDFs but they are pretty awesome. http://www.archive.org/details/baldwinlocomotiv00baldrich http://www.archive.org/details/illustratednarro00baldrich
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# ? Mar 8, 2011 04:51 |