From July 1977 at Red Bank, NJ, workers tend to some track maintenance at the former CNJ BANK Tower. The commuter busy New York & Long Branch is on the backside of the tower and in the foreground is the once storied route of the Blue Comet to Atlantic City. The tower is long gone and this portion of the NY&LB is electrified today.
The iconic, 1899-built Gassman Coulee Trestle west of Minot, ND received a redecking this summer. After over a century of service, a refreshed deck, railings and walks better protect workers unfortunate enough to have to walk their train or do any sort of work 117 feet above the coulee floor. At golden hour, the MOW crews wrap up another hard day's work.
Another beautiful photo. I has always amazed me that such structures, serving for over a century, still stand after carrying so many heavy trains over time. The Grand Trunk trestle over the old Maskinongé river valley, near Sainte-Ursule, QC, was built in 1910 and still stands and carries heavy traffic to this day. Kudos to the people who inspect and maintain and upgrade these structures.
And it was done without our modern technology! Those who designed these used their brains, pencil & paper, and slide rules. Quite a tribute to those engineers!
..and the same bridge today would take 5+ years to build with all the permits and such, not to mention millions of dollars!
Don't forget the environmental impact studies, the feasibility studies, endless lawsuits, and the occasional opportunistic politician. More like 10 years...
This first one is the crew leaving work, And this is the yard crew setting up a train's outbound power, even though the 4710 has obvious issues, The 4710 ended up the lead unit on an eastbound manifest later in the evening.
As the video began, it almost sounded as though 4710 was a steam engine. She seems to be down at least one cylinder. With that raw fuel, a good candidate for the famous "toaster" outcome.
