Back in the days before roof walks were removed, crew members such a brakemen stood on top of the train cars while switching cars. If they were facing the wrong way, those lines hanging down were to bump them and let them know they were approaching a road bridge, signal bridge or some other overhead obstruction that could knock them off the car. Here is a guy on top of a car during switching.
I wonder what tale they were telling. "Once upon a time, there was a tunnel opening with hardly any space between the top if the train and the top of the opening..." Doug
Something you Don’t see too often. A FRISCO 3-bay hopper 25 cars from the head-end on a BNSF eastbound grain train by Dyersville, IA. CN Dubuque Subdivision December 28, 2022 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
ALTO Tower Fun Fact: See how ALTO isn't symmetrical, with the right (eastern) side extended in length and cantilevered out? Ends up that it wasn't built this way in 1915 when it was JK Tower. In 1935 JK was the recipient of the interlocking machine from nearby FG Tower following remoting of that plant, so an extension had to be built to handle FG's machine. At one time the PRR fielded 19 interlocking towers in the seven mile distance between BO (later SLOPE) and DI (later BELL) in Altoona! ALTO was on the west end, just down from SLOPE where the grade to Horseshoe Curve begins in earnest. ALTO closed in June 2012. I don't know the status of ALTO today, but a move and preservation at the nearby Railroaders Memorial Museum is planned. [04/04/1989]
When one cleans out one's garage, it's amazing what one can park in there... Quite the handsome engine.
Got this from a guy named Kent over in South Dakota. It appears the plow has a few issues. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbi...-Ncn2g8UquhpVtLeAxCw9B7z50JEwkFw&__tn__=*bH-R
I've always thought plow duty would be dangerous and exhausting, with iced-in flangeways at grade crossings, densely-packed snow in cuts, things hidden in the drifts and the constant buffeting as the plow bucks along.
I see the sign which indicates there is a road crossing. I would guess they stubbed their toes on that. Ice filled flangeways?
Oh, wow -- those are exceptionally cool pictures. I've never seen these. That's the Altoona Terminal CTC machine in the top photo. In the bottom photo, SLOPE's panel is at the extreme left, then ALTO's machine, then 14th Street's machine where the Op is standing. On the model board, the line to Hollidaysburg can be seen curving south from the main, where it would find WYE Tower and the Muleshoe. Super neat stuff. Thanks for posting these.
Here's WYE at Hollidaysburg, PA, slathered in PC green paint. [both 05/1981] The Howard Johnson's in the background was named the WYE Motor Lodge for good reason. It's in business today under different ownership, but with the same name. Not so the tower, which is long gone.
Came down a little too fast down the hump and hit the other car so hard it sent one truck a third of the way back... Someone needs to calibrate the retarders...
