Interesting paint scheme. Which also points out why I have for years wondered why railroads persist in using white paint.
He was a very important member of the crew. Back in the good old days, they had to have someone feed the gang when they were at some isolated wreck site. They had to get the job done fast and could not afford to have the crew wandering off in search of beans.
I assume it was about a 200 Ton unit, having 12 cables for the boom and two for the hook. IIRC, 200 Tons was about the largest for steam hooks, though I could be wrong.
And to think that those guys had to know the many hazards of lifting and all without computers double checking boom angle, lift weight, capacity, rigging, unknown forces within freight cars in a jumble and all the other factors that could cause a crane to tip. Most are wearing hard hats, so I'm guessing it was taken in the mid-50s or after maybe? In any case, it's a great picture!
Yes. I hope they are actually legally abandoned, or otherwise properly done such that this use is OK. Too many people assume that disused track is "abandoned". They vandalize, take things, they build next to it and then complain about noise when the rails are reactivated, somehow infringe upon the old right of way (somebody else's property!)- any of which can end up being quite costly after the owner, usually an operating railroad company, eventually hauls them into court! When, legally it is not abandoned, but in proper railroad terminology, "out of service", and has not even been entered into any abandonment process. Out-of-service can be reactivated at any time! YouTube is full of videos, proudly made and displayed by people who abuse the term "abandoned". Or or simply absolutely dense. Am I being too polite? OK- Such trespassers are S-T-U-P-I-D!!!
I wonder if the home-built track car has the wheels insulated to prevent the actuation of crossing gates? Long ago in my career, I was sent to look at an old warehouse with a derelict rail siding that I was to check with an all metal gauge bar. Done with my work, I wandered out onto the light density mainline and checked its gauge with my bar for the heck of it …… and set off the nearby crossing gates! Boy, did I feel stupid. I decided that crouching low in nearby the tall grass was a good idea until the gates timed out.
We thought we had set off the crossing lights with our restored velocipede once while playing around on a rail spur we lease to store our museum cars on. The frame is wood so all the metal parts are isolated from each other. It had us fooled until we realized that a switcher on the next track over behind the warehouse and the yellow container had set things off. You can see one of our tank cars behind one of the guys at the beginning of this video.
One of CSX's worst cost-saving notions was the Steath Scheme which effectively made locomotives invisible in foul weather as seen here. [October 1995, Clifton Forge, VA]
Two former C&O coaling towers. The first in Hinton, WV [April 1988] and the other in Ronceverte, WV [October 1995]. I don't know the status of these today.
Dayton, Ohio. The structure in the background is now gone but used to supply steam heat to most downtown businesses (large coal shute just out of frame). In trailing unit is a least (CFG, IORY, et al) like this..
