Working rail roads and their tracks.

[MossRoad]

Another site of a roundhouse in Miles City MT. Aren't you into the roundhouses Moss?View attachment 3922128

Yep. This winter I hope to convert my google earth file into a PDF list of all the ones I've found and share it. I think there's a couple thousand. I only do the US and a small bit of Canada. Google earth used to have a time slider where you could go back as far as they had aerial pictures. So I'd follow abandoned rails along and see a curve or indications of an old rail yard and start going back in time. The tracks would come out of the weeds, then buildings, then that telltale wagon wheel foundation of a former roundhouse, and sometimes even the roundhouse itself. I haven't done it in many years. So something to clean up after I retire.

 

[MossRoad]

Another site of a roundhouse in Miles City MT. Aren't you into the roundhouses Moss?View attachment 3922128

There's a transfer table behind that building. I like to document those as well.

 

[MossRoad]

Soo Line (DSS&A) back in 1965 in the UP of MI. Photo credit listed in the caption. Who here as see an amphibious track car before? View attachment 3922153

Cool!

 

[MossRoad]

Another site of a roundhouse in Miles City MT. Aren't you into the roundhouses Moss?View attachment 3922128

A wider view...

 

[ArlyA]

The UP 4014 at Greeley Colorado just a few weeks ago spinning wheels after a nice steam show for all.

 

[JRH02]

Amazing power with all that weight. I suspect maintenance folk for the locomotive and the way didn't appreciate spinning wheels.

 

[BravoXray]

Amazing power with all that weight. I suspect maintenance folk for the locomotive and the way didn't appreciate spinning wheels.

It's not normally a big deal, it's a fine balance between throttle setting and adhesion on those engines. Plus, a little moisture on the rails from the cylinder drains on the front engine can be just enough to get some slippage.
Now, setting in one spot and spinning the drivers will flat spot the rails.

 

[Hay Dude]

There was an International Truck garage in town next to the river for 30 or 40 years. Behind the shop, the lot was pretty much paved in oil and grease soaked gravel from washing trucks and dumping waste. If you walked to the river after a rain, you could see a sheen from oil leaching into the water. The shop closed in the early 80s, the building was torn down, and the lot sat vacant for 10 years or so, as the city was trying to get federal money to clean up the site. They never got it, and eventually someone bought the property, hauled in thousands of yards of fill, covered it all up, and eventually a Bob Evans restaurant was built.
A similar thing happened a block away, also on the river, where a scrap yard sat for many years. After it closed, eventually the city bought it and put up a couple office buildings and parking lots there.

If a Bob Evans was built there, the probably generated just as much “grease and oil” as the previous occupant.
Thats some greasy food!

 

[bcp]

Old D&RG roundhouse site in Utah.

Now:

39°50'57.4"N 111°00'28.5"W · 39.849278, -111.007917

www.google.com

1885

Bruce

 

[Oaktree]

They never got it, and eventually someone bought the property, hauled in thousands of yards of fill, covered it all up, and eventually a Bob Evans restaurant was built.

Is that the same as the heat-and-eat side dishes you can get at the supermarket? Always wondered who he was, didn't know it was a restaurant. The mac & cheese is very good!