Pennsylvania Railroad Steam Feature for September 2018

Posted on September 27, 2018 by rockontrains

Featured Pennsylvania Railroad steam subjects for this September post include various locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania:

PRR #447 – Camden, NJ – 11/7/53
PRR #1820 – Trenton, NJ – 11/7/53
PRR #3807 – Bay Head Junction, NJ – 2/22/54
PRR #4262 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55
PRR #4317 – Enola, PA – 3/25/56
PRR #4678 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55
PRR #5720 – Tuckahoe Junction, NJ – 8/21/55
PRR #6432 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55

: PRR #447 – Camden, NJ – 11/7/53 {Credit: John Dziobko}

: PRR #1820 – Trenton, NJ – 11/7/53 (Credit: John Dziobko)

: PRR #3807 – Bay Head Junction, NJ – 2/22/54 (Credit: John Dziobko)

: PRR #4262 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55 (Credit: John Dziobko)

: PRR #4317 – Enola, PA – 3/25/56 (Credit: John Dziobko)

: PRR #4678 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55 (Credit: John Dziobko)

: PRR #5720 – Tuckahoe Junction, NJ – 8/21/55 (Credit: John Dziobko}

: PRR #6432 – East Altoona, PA – 9/16/55 (Credit: John Dziobko)

All photos courtesy of Mr. John Dziobko, Jr., GodFatherRails.com.

Rock on Trains © 2018, Tom Rock + T.D.R. Productions. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Tom Rock is strictly prohibited.

Chattanooga Choo-Choo History

Posted on September 27, 2018 by rockontrains

TERMINAL STATION – CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

A challenge went out in 1900 by the architectural students at Beaux Arts Institute in Paris, France. The students offered themselves a prize for the best plans which could be drawn up for a railroad station that would suit the needs of a large city. The winner of the prize was Mr. Don Barber, an American from New York City.

In 1904, when the president of the Southern Railway decided to build a new passenger terminal in Chattanooga, one architect who offered an entry was none other than the same Mr. Barber. When Southern Railway’s president saw Barber’s design, he was very much impressed. He said he felt the exterior plans were perfect but asked Barber if he could possibly alter the interior design. Upon this request, the Grand Dome was created. It is completely free standing and rests on four major steel supports 75 feet apart. The dome’s underside, which covered the 68 by 82 foot general waiting room, was decorated in artistic plaster embellishments of heraldic emblems. For those nocturnal passengers who would frequent this 24 hour station, illumination was provided by four ornate brass chandeliers, each containing 40 lights and each centered by an 18-inch opal globe. When these lights were on, the dome was truly lavish in its different prismatic colors.

On a bitterly cold winter morning, December 1, 1909, a crowd of several hundred gathered in the 1400 block of Market Street for the dedication of Chattanooga’s Terminal Station. After serving Chattanooga for 61 years, the Southern Railway closed the building August 11, 1970. It was purchased, restored, and reopened to the public in April 1973 and entered on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Dept. of Interior on January 25, 1974.

On March 5, 1880, the first passenger train connecting the north with the south traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio south to Chattanooga, Tennessee on the first municipal railroad, the Cincinnati Southern Line. A reporter dubbed the train the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” and Big Band leader Glenn Miller and the Modernaires immortalized this legendary train in song May 7, 1941.

When the Southern Railway closed this magnificent architectural icon on August 11, 1970, a piece of Chattanooga was forever lost. Thankfully, it was spared the wrecking ball as so many others were not as fortunate. These following photos surely tell a story of a more pristine time–a time when traveling by rail was so much more relaxing compared to today. Hopefully, these photos will stir many a long lost memory.

Derailments aplenty…

Posted on August 26, 2018 by rockontrains

Think you’re having a bad day? Check these out:

Videos courtesy of “worldwide channel of peace,” “cnwtrain,” and “Jack T” via YouTube.

Depot Doings: LaCrosse, IN / Benton Harbor, MI / Breckinridge, MI / Greenville, MI / Newaygo, MI / Barboursville, WV / Marlinton, WV

Posted on August 26, 2018 by rockontrains

Featured Chesapeake & Ohio depots on the blog this month are those in Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia:

C&O Depot – LaCrosse, IN – 10/11/75
C&O Depot – Benton Harbor, MI – 6/9/73
C&O Depot – Breckinridge, MI – 5/81
C&O Depot – Greenville, MI – 5/5/83
C&O Depot – Newaygo, MI – 11/6/86
C&O Depot – Barboursville, WV – 8/2/84
C&O Depot – Marlinton, WV – 6/79

: C&O Depot – LaCrosse, IN – 10/11/75 (Credit: Gary Stuebben)

: C&O Depot – Benton Harbor, MI – 6/9/73 (Credit: John Strombeck)

: C&O Depot – Breckinridge, MI – 5/81 (Credit: Dennis Schmidt)

: C&O Depot – Greenville, MI – 5/5/83 (Credit: Dennis Schmidt)

: C&O Depot – Newaygo, MI – 11/6/86 (Credit: Gary Stuebben)

: C&O Depot – Barboursville, WV – 8/2/84 (Credit: Kermit Geary)

: C&O Depot – Marlinton, WV – 6/79 (Credit: Gary Stuebben)

All photos courtesy of Old Time Trains.

Canadian Corner: Canadian Pacific Railway Steam Locomotives

Posted on August 26, 2018 by rockontrains

Featured subjects on August’s Canadian Corner are Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotives in various province locations:

CPR #814 – Grimmer, PQ – 8/27/58
CPR #834 – Calgary, AB – 8/5/53
CPR #847 – Saskatoon, SK – 11/5/53
CPR #887 – McAdam, NB – 9/6/57
CPR #5912 – Revelstoke, BC – 9/15/51
CPR #5935 – CPR Photo #7052

: CPR #814 – Grimmer, PQ – 8/27/58 (Credit: Al Paterson)

: CPR #834 – Calgary, AB – 8/5/53 (Credit: Joseph Quinn)

: CPR #847 – Saskatoon, SK – 11/5/53 (Credit: Dennis Schmidt)

: CPR #887 – McAdam, NB – 9/6/57 (Credit: Joseph Quinn)

: CPR #5912 – Revelstoke, BC – 9/15/51 (Credit: Gary Everhart)

: CPR #5935 – CPR Photo #7052 (Credit: Bill Grandin)

All photos courtesy of www.rr-fallenflags.org.

Train Wreck at Michigan Central Station – September 16, 1940

Posted on July 30, 2018 by rockontrains

“At 11:10 am a New York Central train derailed in front of the Michigan Central Ann Arbor Michigan station. The force of the impact turned the locomotive on its side and stacked up the cars behind it. Various cars in the consist contained coal, oil and liquid asphalt. Surprisingly the engineer and firemen were able to crawl unharmed from the wreck, but a man riding behind the engine was killed and burned. The force of the impact was so great that rails and cross ties were ripped from their foundations and thrown 30 feet.”