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For Hawkeye

Nice.

I've always wanted to do the Toronto-Vancouver train (#1), but that American Heritage train (#3) looks awesome! And, Steam? Is that live Steam? If so, I'm all over that!
 
Chomsky said:
Nice.

I've always wanted to do the Toronto-Vancouver train (#1), but that American Heritage train (#3) looks awesome! And, Steam? Is that live Steam? If so, I'm all over that!
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My brother just did the new Prestige Class of that two months ago, which uses cars that were gutted and rebuilt in Milwaukee of all places.

He said it was expensive but very nice, though the rest of the train is so ancient and thread bare that he would not want to ride it. Plus this train now tends to run late to very late because the railroad does not give a damn about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon_Rail
 
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I'm glad this link gave you guys some pleasure.
 
Do we know if #3 might indeed be a steam locomotive?
 
Chomsky said:
Do we know if #3 might indeed be a steam locomotive?
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Standard coach on standard Amtrak trains....I dont think steam trains hardly exist anymore except for dinky ones on closed properties. I used to do a lot of them, often out of Chicago, the last one with my dad the summer before he died 1985 Chicago-Janesville RT. The railroads have long not wanted them on the property, then liability insurance got very expensive, and now the pollution rules too.

My Dad's favorite trip was UP 844 (nee 8444) over Sherman Hill (He did that at least twice, once he brought back ten cases of Coors but did not know that it was not pasteurized...he lost 7 of them, he was so upset). The one I have ridden behind the most is Southern 4501.
 
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Hawkeye10 said:
Standard coach on standard Amtrak trains....I dont think steam trains hardly exist anymore except for dinky ones on closed properties. I used to do a lot of them, often out of Chicago, the last one with my dad the summer before he died 1985 Chicago-Janesville RT. The railroads have long not wanted them on the property, then liability insurance got very expensive, and now the pollution rules too.

My Dad's favorite trip was UP 844 (nee 8444) over Sherman Hill (He did that at least twice, once he brought back ten cases of Coors but did not know that it was not pasteurized...he lost 7 of them, he was so upset). The one I have ridden behind the most is Southern 4501.
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Wow, that's really something Hawkeye. Lucky for you, and what a great father-son experience. I've never ridden a steam train, but would love to.

Apparently, steam is still alive in China, though it's waining fast. Check it out:

(Amazon) Chinese Steam: The Last Years
 
Chomsky said:
Wow, that's really something Hawkeye. Lucky for you, and what a great father-son experience. I've never ridden a steam train, but would love to.

Apparently, steam is still alive in China, though it's waining fast. Check it out:

(Amazon) Chinese Steam: The Last Years
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Actually that trip was my dad's Idea, I came back from MSU E Lansing just for it....we had a mostly terrible relationship in part because he was an abusive alcoholic salesman in many ways a Trump clone and I was a moody very quiet cerebral kid/youth...he could not fathom me at all and I did not want to give him the time of day. The day he told strangers " Yep, this is why I had kids, to get the chores done" was pretty much it for me...it was intended to be a joke but it was way too close to the truth for comfort.

It was a great trip, a day that he devoted completely to me, the only one that ever happened, and he was different that day. He was different that Christmas too. He did not know it but he was dying...somewhere though I have long thought that he did know.

That was Nickle Plate 765, the only time I ever rode behind that.
 
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Hawkeye10 said:
Actually that trip was my dad's Idea, I came back from MSU E Lansing just for it....we had a mostly terrible relationship in part because he was an abusive alcoholic salesman in many ways a Trump clone and I was a moody very quiet cerebral kid/youth...he could not fathom me at all and I did not want to give him the time of day. The day he told strangers " Yep, this is why I had kids, to get the chores done" was pretty much it for me...it was intended to be a joke but it was way too close to the truth for comfort.

It was a great trip, a day that he devoted completely to me, the only one that ever happened, and he was different that day. He was different that Christmas too. He did not know it but he was dying...somewhere though I have long thought that he did know.

That was Nickle Plate 765, the only time I ever rode behind that.
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Such a poignant bittersweet story, my friend.

I have enough knowledge of alcoholism to know some of the immense complexities of dealing with alcoholic parents. I hope you've been able to walk past this.

Anyway, like with Trump and other things in life, we've got to enjoy the good even with the bad. And it sounds like that was a great trip, and I'm envious!
 
i got to take a short ride on a restored steam train in the 1980s with my folks. it was really cool.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
we had a mostly terrible relationship in part because he was an abusive alcoholic salesman and I was a moody very quiet cerebral kid/youth...he could not fathom me at all and I did not want to give him the time of day.
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I had the same relationship with my dad. Youre not alone.
 
PoS said:
I had the same relationship with my dad. Youre not alone.
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Thanks...the main thing was my dads Titanic hair trigger anger.

My escape was books, and I read a lot of them.

Which he did not appreciate, as he never cared enough about education, which ended up ****ing him good. But see I learn, I decided that smarts is a good idea.,,,DAD helped teach me that though he never knew it.
 
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Memory: Highballing it through Missouri sitting in the first class dome of the Superchief sometime past midnight, fascinated as always with the play of the lead E Unit's Mars Light in the dark, counting telephone poles going by as my dad had taught me to do that very day and figuring out that we were doing 113mph ( In case you are wondering I was right, we asked a member of the crew, my dad sort of doubted me you see).

We were late see, and see even back in the late 60's that was not OK with the Sante Fe....most of the other railroads were delivering crap trying to drive away the customers so that they could get rid of passenger trains, but the Sante Fe was not having it....everybody was in bed probably asleep and it was dark so let-ur-rip...who cares about speed limits and laws......and their tracks were smooth enough that they could do it.,,because the Sante Fe cared.

I had eaten a fantastic steak dinner last sitting 930 in the first class diner.






PS. I have lots of these.
 
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