For Scarlet Angel

[Ozark Tracker]

used ta be a lot of rail lines out in Oklahoma to haul off all the wheat in the Spring, but then they turned the Arkansas River into a barge river, with all the locks and dams and it pretty much did away with most of the trains,  nowdays all the trains are hauling coal.

[Arcey]

That’s the way it used ta be downtown. Where Harbor Park is used ta be tracks after tracks. Ships bringin’ in stuff ‘n the trains takin’ it west. Folks with horse ‘n wagon makin’ the transfer. All gone these days.   

[Trinity]

Most of the in-town lines are no longer active.  Some tracks still exist, but most have been removed.  I did see a freight train last Friday between Greensboro and Burlington on my way to work.  Just six years ago, I would have had to stop for it, but now they have re-routed my road so much that I barely even see the tracks.

I don't know if it was just a sign of the times or if trains were shorter hear in the east.  I can still remember sitting at crossings out west as a boy...  Better pack a lunch.

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[Ozark Tracker]

I always think about all the men you used to see riding the boxcars when I was a kid.  wasn't anything to see 10 or 12 on a train,  usually not more than 1 or 2 to a boxcar.

[Arcey]

Still have some the N&W trains loaded with coal headed ta Lambert’s Point. The stuff is dumped on ships for export. The tracks don’t run thru here. The places they run thru in Norfolk have overpasses or underpasses. The one on Hampton Blvd. was the scene of one of my favorite suicides. 

[Leo Tanner]

We still got the southern pacific some through some nearby towns but the depot and tracks in my town are all narrow gauge so it's been a while since a heard a whistle from my house.


Leo

[Trinity]

I miss riding the train.  Based on stories that I've heard from different people, you won't find me riding a train in this country for a while.

I found this 2:36 YouTube video showing the entrance into the German town where I once studied.  Kind of boring, but intersting to see how quiet modern trains are.



Here's another video showing the latest edition of the German high speed trains (the ICE 3).  Supposedly it's going 300 KPH, but that claim is disputed in the comments. 



Here's the "engineers" seat.



I've never ridden on the ICE 3.  The ICE 2 came out just after I left.  Since then, I have only traveled by car.

The ICE 1 was involved in that terrible accident you might remember from the news.  Also, the National Geographic channel did a "Seconds from Disaster" show on it.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschede_train_disaster

[Delmonico]

I see a lot of coal trains and not just a few other freight trains.

Got Am-Track runs through about 6:30 am headed to Chicago and headed to Denver about 2 am.

This is down to the old depot, built in the BN shops in havelock, now part of Lincoln.

[Arcey]

N&W kept a steamer for years. They’d bring it out for special occasions, anniversaries ‘n such. Clean as a pin ‘n when she started the smoke ‘n steam put on a heck of a show. Used ta be the newspaper covered it. Ain’t seen it brought out in a long time. Wonder if they still have it. I’ll have ta ask Windy Beans, our retired engineer ‘n soot shooter, what happened to it.

Ain’t got AmTrack here. Stops in Newport News. Tracks run beside 143 on the other side of the river. Times when yer that way runnin’ along ‘bout sixty ‘n that thing’ll blow by ya like yer tied to a stump.

[Delmonico]

That one was taken from the park in the 80's and restored almost, not enough to run it, it's hoped the day will come for that.  As is, it's preserved.  BNSF has ofices still upstairs in the depot.  The Great Hall (waiting room) is rented for funtions.

The Rock Island depot which was just a little one on east, is now a branch back for Union Bank.

[Delmonico]

Makes a cute bank on the east end of downtown

[Arcey]

Nice. Looks like something imaginary from a model RR layout.

The ‘Bird coughed ‘n died just outside of Farmville when I was headed to the state show in Lynchburg. She had enough momentum to coast to a parkin’ lot. The lot was gravel ‘n it belonged to an old train station. The building looked to be kept up but vacant. Excellent condition. Paint was clean, no overgrowth. The platform next to the tracks could have been full of people waitin’ on the train.

After I got the car runnin’, a couple three folks that stopped to see if they could help ‘n me took the tour. It was almost as if the car quit there on purpose so we could see it.

[Delmonico]

35 years ago I used to hate that station, the train to Denver would stop ther about 8 pm every evening and block O St, (not 0) our main street, who wants to look at a passenger train load and unload, we wanted to cruise O.

Can't remember what the other depot was for line, removed in the late 60's for the new post office.

[Scarlet Angel]

Our mounted group stood next to the tracks as the train went through the station once. Folks got a real kick out of it.

[Arcey]

A time gone by. Or, bye bye. Bet it was pretty ta see folks with horses by the tracks.

Folks wantin’ ta ride here never were a problem. Longs I can remember ya had to go to the south west corner of Norfolk. That’s where the N&W station was. Been in it a couple times, fifties flavor to it. Cinder block ‘n tile, vendin’ area ‘n a news stand. Ya could get there by bus. Heck, back then ya could get anywhere by bus ‘n didn’t have ta walk more’n a block from home ta catch it.

Problem we got now is this ‘Wave’ thing Norfolk is startin’. Mass transit. Got this Silverleaf Station I’m payin’ for a quarter mile from here. Built like an old train station. Really very attractive but out of place.  Folks can park there ‘n ride a bus ta where they’re goin’ ta work. Ain’t never half full. The Wave is a commuter train thing no one in any significant number is gonna ride. Uses the old Norfolk ‘n Southern tracks from the real downtown to the ocean front. Duh beach has already paved over the tracks in places.

Norfolk is gonna be runnin’ it from a park ‘n ride they have planned right at the city line to downtown with, I think, four stops in between. They’ll take a Moose Lodge my father used to frequent ‘n a few houses via eminent domain for the parkin’ lot. Now that the project has started, duh beach is interested in joinin’ in, again. The concept has been on local referendums three times ‘n soundly defeated each time. Won’t help with the traffic problem, only the ‘green’ dreamers think it will. They’re gonna do it anyway.

[Leo Tanner]

The Wave, huh?
     Where I used to live they had BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit.  You could get on in Fremont and then choose San Fran or Oakland from there.  Thing goes through under water tunnels in some spots but also runs through some backyards of neighborhoods that I wouldn't drive through with an AK and 10 magazines--specially the one that runs to Oaktown.  All I could think of when takin that line was feelin sorry for the poor guys who had to lay the track.  "Honey, I'm off to work, if you never see me again the will is in that box up in the closet, thanks for packin my lunch...".
     I also watched what looked to be a proper college girl get on the train in Fremont once, and by the time we was in the City, she had transformed herself into an open fer buisiness street walker.  My folks was visitin and watched the whole process with a combonation of awe an horror, it was like watchin Superman in the phone booth.


Leo

[Trinity]

The first version German ICE (Inter City Express) train was tested by Amtrak here in the states up in your neck of the woods Arcey.  Sadly, it never went over due to unrealistic specifications from Amtrak.

http://www.modellbahn.com/amtrak_ice.html

It's an electric train, so in some non-electrified stretches, they had to pull it with more conventional locomotives.  You can see the actual ICE train behind two locomotives and one car.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

We had a big ol' station here. Belonged to the Pennsylvania R.R.. brick& marble& glass. Real wood benches that were more like pews, tall ceilings. My Dad worked there from 1946 til the late '50's.Used to love to go down there with Mom and watch the passenger trains come in. Had a Railway Express depot there as well. the big green trucks would load up goods that came in on the trains and deliver them. I believe Railway turned into UPS. The station was demoed in the '90's. They put up a damn bus station there and it's now empty, too...............Buck

[Arcey]

Fremont. That’s where my truck was built.

Years ago we’d run prostitution details downtown. Back when the city wanted the place cleaned up. I’d worked up enough clout by then I could ‘borrow’ guys from the patrol division from the north end of town that weren’t known to the downtown girls. Clean it out we did.

Tidewater Community college bought a few old buildings down there ‘n rebuilt ‘em for classes. Did a nice job. They saved ‘em from the wreckin’ ball ‘n I’m grateful. So these days, instead of the skanky, nasty things we took off the street we have college girls whorin’ after class. Ain’t my problem no more.

Stout lookin’ train, Trinman. Wouldn’t have nothin’ against the Wave if it were put together by private enterprise, totally unsubsidized. But it’s like this park ‘n ride down the street. Precious few are gonna use it ‘n everybody is gonna pay for it.