The Polar Express

[MossRoad]

Thanks for the great pic Rob.

I live a couple hundred yrs from a RR track and about once a year I see 4449 come by. For those of you that are not familiar with 4449, it was pulling the Freedom Train around the country back in 76 during our bicentennial.

The town I live close to was the first and last stop on the Journey in 76.

Good to hear that engine is still around. Back in '76 it was parked next to St. Joseph High School in South Bend, Indiana for a few days. I got to go through it and the train. The tracks are long gone, but the memories survive.

 

[EddieWalker]

I used to love modeling HO scale railroads. I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood that I built mountains all round it and a valley, town setting in the middle. The train and tracks were almost secondary as the modeling is what I really enjoyed. For trestles, I found square, wooden matchsticks to be perfect. The longer, fireplace ones worked for my tall bridge, and a few boxes of regular wood matches would create all the truss work. Some dark stain and it looked very realistic!!!!

Eddie

 

[RobS]

Good Mornin Rob,
Very cool pictures, thanks for posting !

Kathleen and I stayed up last night to watch the movie, "Polar Express", and really enjoyed it ! It brought back memories of when my parents gave me my first train set !

Thanks Scotty. The boys watched that movie just the other night so this outing was perfect!

Rob,
Got any more pix?

I only had 40 seconds with the train in sight and clicked off 51 shots. This really was the best of the bunch. We were going to go further up the tracks for a second opportunity, but it was so cold and the roads were really bad...

nice thread,
and that steamer, beautiful!

what do you think the HP of that engine is!

Thanks. According to their website, it makes 3000 hp. And what, only two cylinders!?!

What gauge does he model in, HO?

The main layout was in O-guage (Lionel trains are another product of Michigan). He had a small HO layout, but nothing like his main one.

Good to hear that engine is still around. Back in '76 it was parked next to St. Joseph High School in South Bend, Indiana for a few days. I got to go through it and the train. The tracks are long gone, but the memories survive.

Hey, I know those tracks Dave. My bike route from work to home goes up the Angela hill right beside St. Joe HS. Must have been something to see a large locomotive sitting there!

I used to love modeling HO scale railroads. I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood that I built mountains all round it and a valley, town setting in the middle. The train and tracks were almost secondary as the modeling is what I really enjoyed. For trestles, I found square, wooden matchsticks to be perfect. The longer, fireplace ones worked for my tall bridge, and a few boxes of regular wood matches would create all the truss work. Some dark stain and it looked very realistic!!!!

Eddie

I too "played" with HO trains Eddie. Had quite the layout at one time. Now, I just have a lot of the portable stuff in boxes in the attic. Gave some to my son as he's just starting. I'll keep giving him bits as his interest grows.

And to all, thanks again for the compliments on the photo. I had it printed as a 12X20 and matted/framed it just now. It looks great above the fireplace!!!

 

[MossRoad]

The main layout was in O-guage (Lionel trains are another product of Michigan). He had a small HO layout, but nothing like his main one.

I put up my Lionel under the tree this year. First time I've had it out in a long, long time. (I still have it in the original box. I think I got it when I was 7 or 8 so that makes it 40 years old. )

Hey, I know those tracks Dave. My bike route from work to home goes up the Angela hill right beside St. Joe HS. Must have been something to see a large locomotive sitting there!

Nothing like getting most of the up hill out of the way in one chunk, huh!

It was pretty cool sitting up there next to the high school. As I recall, it was a steam engine with modern Amtrack passenger cars that the displays were in. It was a warm evening. It was facing south, sitting about 20' back from Angela. That was the first time I ever stepped foot on a train. I was amazed at the size of the engine and am embarrassed to say that I was probably more interested in it than the displays inside the cars.

Hey, I just found a website about the freedom trains and it appears it was in July of 1975 that it was in South Bend. Here's a nice time line of that freedom train.
1975-76 American Freedom Train Timeline

And a link to the entire website.
The 1947 - 1949 Freedom Train | The 1975 - 1976American Freedom Train

And to all, thanks again for the compliments on the photo. I had it printed as a 12X20 and matted/framed it just now. It looks great above the fireplace!!!

I'll bet it does. Nice job!

 

[RobS]

Thanks for the links Dave, that Freedom Train was quite a production. I perked up a bit when I saw something about the musuem in Elkhart, but the only thing there is a second tender used on one of the trains.

 

[MossRoad]

Did you read that bit about what happened to the cars? They were scrapped in Las Vegas, a city the Freedom Train never visited.

 

[RobS]

Did you read that bit about what happened to the cars? They were scrapped in Las Vegas, a city the Freedom Train never visited.

Yeah, what a shame...

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Hope Rob doesn't feel like we're hi-jacking his thread.

For those interested in engine 4449, do a search on either SP 4449 or steam train 4449 and you will find quite a few links.

Did some quick checking and it looks like my pics of this engine are off on a disk and not handy.

 

[RobS]

Hope Rob doesn't feel like we're hi-jacking his thread.

For those interested in engine 4449, do a search on either SP 4449 or steam train 4449 and you will find quite a few links.

Did some quick checking and it looks like my pics of this engine are off on a disk and not handy.

Hi-Jacking welcome in this case. Bring on the steam power!!!

Great locomotive Mickey, here's a link.

 

[MossRoad]

Hi-Jacking welcome in this case. Bring on the steam power!!!

Great locomotive Mickey, here's a link.

"SP 4449 was built in 1941 as a GS-4 "Northern" type locomotive. A 4-8-4 wheel arrangement, she is 110' long, 10' wide and 16' tall. The locomotive and tender weighs 433 tons, and it operates with a boiler pressure of 300 psi. Her eight 80" diameter drivers and unique booster truck can apply 5,500 horsepower to the rails and exceed 100 mph."

Those are impressive stats, to say the least.