Working rail roads and their tracks.

[buckeyefarmer]

If I recall correctly, that's all new construction. Pretty impressive. I'd like to hit that one too, some day.

View attachment 646875

I want to go there.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Here is some worthless trivia for you folks. The largest construction project in the world was our trans continental Railroad. They at times, were grading 300 miles at one time. It was indeed a government project that was bid out to various contractors and previous to it, most RR's were just short regional lines. Its length dwarfed all RR's in the world.

Now for trivia question. What event standardized gauges across the US?

This is from reading Stephen Ambrose wonderful book Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869

Have the book. I think the civil war?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Just found this thread.
There used to be a narrow gauge RR thru my hometown. Late 1800s, Closed in 1931. Our farm is next to one of the 3 tunnels. As a kid we used to periodically visit and walk thru the old, abandoned tunnel. Dug thru sandstone, rocks fell over time and the tunnel rose higher up the hill. Last time I thru was 1987.
I took this picture of my younger brother in the tunnel.
entrance almost blocked then.
picture of west end when in use
Same shot from roadbed in 1987.

My mom rode the last train thru this tunnel in 1931 when she was a young girl.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Railroad was the Bellaire, zanesville & cinncinatti BZ&C, locally called the Bent, Zigzag & Crooked. It was later named the Ohio River and Western OR&W.

People today say there was a tunnel under the town, but it was a cut with bridges. My 96 yo dad remembers the trains going under the wooden bridges and smoke coming up thru the cracks. He never rode the train.
Here is the cut thru town

The cut was later filled in.

Couple more:


Mom rode last train to this station.

 

[dfkrug]

I read "the path between the seas" twice which is a wonderful book by David McCullough. I believe that RR across Panama was owned by Americans. I do like my industrial history.

Yes! Reading that book now, in prep for a trip to Panama in May. Prob won't happen as that country has shut down borders and airport.

The Panama RR was built by Americans for an American company, then sold to the French when they tried to build the canal, then re-purchased by the US govt in a deal that ultimately built the canal.

 

[wheelbuilder]

Geeze what a nightmare. I thought we had it bad with a bass pond and trespassers.
And furthermore I had trouble understanding why anyone who did not have property up against the ROW had any say or vote in the matter. Lots of young, bright idea people there pushing for it while the elder property owners fought it. In the end, it was voted down in my town. I do see some of the positives, but after looking at the need for a local cop on a mountain bike, snow removal, parking, maintenance it just turned into an expensive, intrusive and potentially dangerous mess. Ifn I had to chose, I would rather subsidize the railroad back into use than subsidize a rail to trails project.

Me too. I'm the meantime, I'm planting blackberries, nettles and poison ivy on my side of the line. My family doesn't get poison ivy, and we love blackberries.

 

[ArlyA]

I'd like to keep this thread about RR history, machinery and aspects of its use as a rail road. Not rails to trails. Feel free to start a new thread concerning that.

 

[ArlyA]

Have the book. I think the civil war?

No, that's not it. It was because of a death.

 

[ArlyA]

The Panama RR was built by Americans for an American company, then sold to the French when they tried to build the canal, then re-purchased by the US govt in a deal that ultimately built the canal.

What a book! The Panama canal was a RR project through and through by moving massive tonnages. John Stevens the engineer who got that project going was a RR man who build some of the RR's in our area. That is the south shore of Lake Superior.

 

[Hay Dude]

I think theres an old saying, something like "what was old is new again"?
Theres a lot of forces at play, and rails & highways involve a lot of government subsidies, but I have a feeling the value of railroads may be rediscovered someday in the form of taxpayer savings.
I've watched our local highways get resurfaced and in some cases refurbished over and over again for millions of dollars, while the paralleling RR tracks are being absorbed into the earth. Someday someone will realize theres value and cost savings into taking millions of tons of trucking OFF the highways and putting it back ON the rails. Save the highways for automobiles and lessen the truck traffic to an amount where highways will last longer.
Theres a couple of huge quarries near me and of course they were served by rail for the first 100+ years until trucks took their place. Any road within a 5 mile radius of the quarries is just a rippled mess of wavy pavement and potholes. And there the tracks sit, unused, practically begging for use.