Oh yeah, vintage trains. Or locomotives, as they call them in Par-ee. These are old-timers, but in both cases they were in use at tourist destinations.
First up is this shot of the 1246 from the Canadian Pacific Railway; as per Wikipedia, No. 1246 was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in Montreal, Quebec in June 1946. It rolled out of the Shops on June 29, 1946 as the fourteenth member of the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) G5c class. It was initially assigned by the CP to operate in Alberta and Saskatchewan in Western Canada, and it travelled for 655,773 miles during its revenue career between July 1946 and March 1958. Despite having a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement, No. 1246 was primarily used for freight service, and records only show the locomotive hauling passengers for a combined total of thirteen months. The G5c was overhauled for the sixth and final time by the CP at Winnipeg, coming out of Weston Shops on June 15, 1958. However, the locomotive never operated for the CP again after the overhaul. Yeah, yeah, that loco is great, but how can they compete with that display of beautiful lawn mowers?? Meanwhile, In June 1967, Canadian Pacific 1246 was transferred to the Green Mountain Railroad (GMRR) with the intention of restoring it to operate on their trackage. The locomotive was restored in 1969, and it was modified with a visor headlight and a mounted bell above the smokebox, and it was given a nameplate with the lettering “F. Nelson Blount” to pay tribute to Blount's passing two years prior. No. 1246 was used by the GMRR to pull multiple excursion trains between Bellows Falls and Chester. You can read more about the locomotive if you click the Wikipedia link above.
This next one is dated "July 1965", and shows a beautiful steam locomotive - somewhere. Looking for a train with the number "1880" was frustrating, because steam trains were a big deal in 1880, and it was hard to find this specific example. But, finally, I got it - it's from the Black Hills Central Railroad! Hey, Wikipedia, do my work for me! The Black Hills Central Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates in Keystone, South Dakota, United States. The railroad was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2003.
It currently operates the 1880 Train on the former Keystone Branch of the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) between Hill City, South Dakota and Keystone, South Dakota. This railroad line was originally built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) to serve mining and timber interests in the Black Hills. It reached Keystone on January 20, 1900 and was later used to haul equipment for carving nearby Mount Rushmore.
The Black Hills Central Railroad restores early twentieth century-era locomotives and train cars and has been featured on television shows such as the Gunsmoke episode "Snow Train", General Hospital and the TNT mini-series Into the West. It also appeared in the movie Orphan Train.
Major, I'm with you: What's with the lawn mowers (and the garden cart)? So random! I'm sure there was a perfectly logical reason for the mowers being there... but I can't imagine what it could be. Since we're being random, they should've included some color TVs, a few hula hoops, and a fireworks stand or two. That IS a respectable looking train.
ReplyDeleteAnother respectable looking train. There's something about seeing a steam train amongst evergreen trees and hills that just seems right. I never watched Gunsmoke, General Hospital, or the movie Orphan Train. The TNT mini-series Into the West sounds vaguely familiar but I have no recollection of it. Maybe ol' 1880 is listed on IMDb? ;-)
Thanks for the choo-choos, Major.
No idea what’s going on with the lawnmowers, other than they are all Hahn-Eclipes with Briggs & Stratton engines. Maybe the local Hahn-Eclipse dealer had a sales display up some rail fan weekend?
ReplyDeleteI’ve actually seen locomotive #7 from the Black Hills Central, although it wasn’t operating at the time. I was RV camping in the Black Hills with my family and my parents in September of 2005 and we walked past it, sitting idle, on the way to dinner one evening. I think it was our last night in the area and my dad and I were bummed that we didn’t have another day to ride it.
Thanks for some Saturday morning steam, Major!
Believe it or not, I don’t have much to add here, except to point out that the Canadian Pacific/Green Mountain locomotive has an “all-weather” cab, fully enclosed with a back wall, and a side door entry. This is because it gets cold in Canada. Or so I’m told.
ReplyDeletePhoto 1 was clearly taken during the Bellows Falls Lawnmower Festival, an annual event celebrating the replacement of goats with mechanical mowers.
ReplyDeleteBeyond this observation, I can offer nothing of interest.
Thank you Major and the GDB Train Enthusiasts for today’s fascinating post.
JG
At first I thought the lawnmowers and other equipment were strollers...which I was getting all crazy about, then upon opening the photo: the lawn mowers revealed themselves. After some NCIS, I found that these are Hahn lawnmowers and other yard items: they look like spreaders...and this was their "Eclipse" line: which looks like their residential/non commercial line. Photos: https://hahn-eclipse.com/site/gallery/#bwg17/1369 Guys are CRAZY about lawns and tractors, and I can say that I am as well. Just like there are Disney nerds there are lawn mower nerds too...who knew? Seems like you would have to have a big barn to store your collection of equipment. My neighbor had a big collection of full size tractors all in perfect condition, and drove them around the block from time to time. Those old engines are rather...loud and big. On to the locomotives: I am still amazed at the sheer size and intricate design of these grandpa locomotives: and today's models pale in comparison...when did smaller become better? Like phones? Why do I need a mini phone? I think life was better with those 80's style giant calculator type phones WITH antenna...or the super LONG antenna on the landline cordless phones: you could poke out an eye with those things! Back to choo choo's: I am glad there are museums and places like "Travel Town" to keep these giants alive, and in some cases running. I have a bucket list that includes an overnight steam train from London to Scotland...need to check that out. Speaking of tractors: I need to get out on mine: the leaves have buried me: this week is pretty much the "pinnacle" of fall foliage in the NE. It's pretty, and in a short time, it will be Spring. Thanks Major!
ReplyDeleteJB, when you see how happy that old guy is after viewing those lawnmowers, that’s all the explanation I need. If only Walt Disney had realized how much joy and magic and wishes lawnmowers brought to people. But he DIDN’T. You’ve NEVER watched “Gunsmoke”? That seems amazing to me. Of course now my older brother watches it on MeTV all the time, even though I feel like he’s seen every episode multiple times by now. You might remember “Orphan Train” by its alternate title, “Star Wars”.
ReplyDeleteChuck, the lawnmowers provided a stark contrast to the enormous locomotives, demonstrating how far we’d come as a society. Yeah, that’s it! I’m sorry you weren’t able to the Black Hills Central, was it just the “off season”? Or was it not working due to mechanical issues?
Steve DeGaetano, I hope they could at least open a hatch in the Canadian Pacific/Green Mountain cab, even in a snowstorm I’ll bet it could still get pretty warm in that cab!
JG, if you remembr the Bellows Falls Lawnmower Festival, you weren’t actually there! Glad you liked these vintage locos.
Bu, believe it or not, I looked up the lawnmowers too. Just in case people were thinking that I didn’t do my job thoroughly! I can’t say I’ve ever been crazy about a lawnmower, especially since I was usually the one to mow my parent’s lawn. I was a little jealous of anybody who had a riding mower, since that seemed like the height of coolness. It seems as if there are always plenty of people who somehow have big properties with large buildings to house their classic car collections, and why not classic tractors or lawnmowers too? My great aunt had a cool old tractor on her farm, my brother got to drive it, but I was too little at the time, and I guess the tractor was gone by the time we went back. As far as phones go, it’s mighty nice to be able to put one in your pocket and forget about it (for the most part). I never had one of those giant cellular phones like you see in the movie “Wall Street”, similar to military phones used in the field. I remember having a conversation with my niece when she was around 8, she could not believe that I grew up in a world without the Internet or cell phones. What do you do with all of your leaves? Do you mulch them? Bury the roses beneath them for the winter?
Major, there’s an even more mundane reason the Black Hills Central wasn’t operating - it was night. :-)
ReplyDeleteChuck - D'OH!
ReplyDelete