conductor_rick wrote:

> Jim-
>
> The trackage west of Hornell was indeed single track. As I recall the
> double track from Sayre/Waverly was originally funded in part by the
> Lehigh Valley as its original route to Buffalo. In reading the
> histories it appears this was originally accomplished by simply
> laying a third rail to permit operation of the LV's standard gauge
> equipment over the Erie's broad gauge railroad.

  >>>Well, first, Rick, I'm not sure how you have connected Sayre/Waverly
to the Erie, as I think that was strictly LV territory, and, second....

> Anyhow, remember that the stroy is about the Delaware so lets not get
> too far off track and into the minutae....

....as in "don't confuse us with facts?"   ( : > )).

>
>
>
>
>
>

Jim-

The trackage west of Hornell was indeed single track. As I recall the
double track from Sayre/Waverly was originally funded in part by the
Lehigh Valley as its original route to Buffalo. In reading the
histories it appears this was originally accomplished by simply
laying a third rail to permit operation of the LV's standard gauge
equipment over the Erie's broad gauge railroad.

Anyhow, remember that the stroy is about the Delaware so lets not get
too far off track and into the minutae....

Rick

The Erie was single track between Hornell,NY and CB Junction, where the
River Line joined the main line near Cuba,NY and was double track from there
to  NE Junction where the Columbus and Erie Railroad served as a second main
between Niobe and Lottsville. There were also a couple of  single track
stretches in Indiana, both of which can be found in any Marion Division
timetable of the Erie Era. These other single track stretches can be found
in Allegany-Meadville and Mahoning Division timetables.

Jim Mancuso


>From: Seth Bramson <sbramson@...>
>Reply-To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
>To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] Fall on the Delaware
>Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 21:01:46 -0400
>
>conductor_rick wrote:
>
> > The Delaware River winds its way along the border of Pennsylvania and
> > New York through a historic area where the Delaware & Hudson Canal
> > once was the primary means of transportation. Later came the Erie
> > Railroad with its sprawling yards and roundhouse in Port Jervis and
> > its double track main west to Binghamton and eventually Chicago.
>
>  >>>Rick:  Are you SURE the Erie was double tracked from Binghamton to
>Chicago?  (I don't think that is correct; perhaps one of our erstwhile
>members could double check.)
>
>
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>railroadwriters-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>




Jim Mancuso aka RangerJim93


_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

--- In railroadwriters@y..., Seth Bramson <sbramson@b...> wrote:
> conductor_rick wrote:
>
> > The Delaware River winds its way along the border of Pennsylvania
and
> > New York through a historic area where the Delaware & Hudson Canal
> > once was the primary means of transportation. Later came the Erie
> > Railroad with its sprawling yards and roundhouse in Port Jervis
and
> > its double track main west to Binghamton and eventually Chicago.
>
>  >>>Rick:  Are you SURE the Erie was double tracked from Binghamton
to
> Chicago?  (I don't think that is correct; perhaps one of our
erstwhile
> members could double check.)

Seth, perhaps I was a bit broad brush there. No, I'm sure it was
double track all the way. The Delaware was double track from Port
Jervis to Binghamton. Double track also extended to Buffalo. I'm sure
there was more but I haven't done an exhaustive study of it however.
My memories of riding it as a young child are already post steam, so
I'm sure there are parts I would've missed in any event.

Rick

conductor_rick wrote:

> The Delaware River winds its way along the border of Pennsylvania and
> New York through a historic area where the Delaware & Hudson Canal
> once was the primary means of transportation. Later came the Erie
> Railroad with its sprawling yards and roundhouse in Port Jervis and
> its double track main west to Binghamton and eventually Chicago.

  >>>Rick:  Are you SURE the Erie was double tracked from Binghamton to
Chicago?  (I don't think that is correct; perhaps one of our erstwhile
members could double check.)

The Delaware River winds its way along the border of Pennsylvania and
New York through a historic area where the Delaware & Hudson Canal
once was the primary means of transportation. Later came the Erie
Railroad with its sprawling yards and roundhouse in Port Jervis and
its double track main west to Binghamton and eventually Chicago. The
Delware carded 30 or 40 trains daily between passenger and freight
and even after becoming the Erie Lackawanna in the merger with the
Delaware Lackawanna & Western in 1960 it was still a busy railroad.

Alas, the hard times fell upon the line in the '70s when the EL,
having much of the life dragged out of it by too much competition and
regulation was finished off by the ravages of Huricane Agnes in 1973.
The old timers still tell of setting strings of empty cars on the
bridges to help hold them against the floods of Agnes. Photographs of
Elmira with boats evacuating homes weren't uncommon.

With 1976 came Conrail, accepting the remnants of the once proud EL
as a second class participant along with the Lehigh Valley (LV),
Lehigh & Hudson River (L&HR) and the New York, New Haven & Hartford
(NH). Penn Central ruled the roost and through the tilted equities
kept the best work for their people. Furloughs stalked the land.

Now known as the Southern Tier Line, the Delaware Main survived on a
decreasing diet of merchandise trains and a handful of "Vans".
Conrail carefully and deliberately whittled away at the traffic for
the inevitable abandonment. All around the gangs ripped and tore at
the Erie's former competitors. The DL&W west of Binghamton largely
went after the EL merger. East of Scranton to New Jersey it
disappeared shortly after Conrail arrived. Likewise the LV freight
main west of Van Etten Junction was ripped from the earth with the
exception of a few small bits all the way to Buffalo.

By the 80s the Tier was but a shadow of its former self. Only a pair
of merchandise trains plyed its length. Locals served a few remaining
customers not run off by poor service or high New York State taxes.
Only an infusion of capital from New York State and the underlying
agreements preserved the Tier and its antique semaphore signals and
stick rail.

Little had changed with the Tier by the mid-90s. Mergers of other
major railroads had Conrail hunkered down hoping the "right" merger
could be negotiated. Soon the battle began between CSX and NS for
Conrail.

More in the next installment...

Rick

Hi All,

It is so nice to find a group like this one just after
opening my own group on Yahoo about 10 days ago.
Railstories is a club where it is not necessary to be
a professional writer but is just one of having fun
and enjoying the railroad.

If any of you would like to join our group, a link
below is provided for your convenience. Hope to see
you all there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railstories/join

Now on with the story.

========================================================


After all this time, it was nearly four years now, I
finally bid in a day job at Lacadie, Que. It only
lasted nine months to the day but the thought of
working days just appealed to me at the time. I guess
the fellow I relieved there ( J.G.Belhumeur) must have
read the writing on the wall and decided to bail out
and took a job at Dorval I believe.

Imagine that, a dwelling almost for free. The C.P.R.
charged you $5.00 a month for the house but the
electricity and heating was free. This was of course
that unless, in the opinion of the Superintendent,
such amount should be reduced but not too many people
complained about that. Prior to that we had a 2
bedroom apartment in Montreal just east of Trenholme
Park on Sherbrooke Street which went for $65.00 a
month and you had to pay your own electricity.

And yet there was a problem. This place was huge so
how was I going to furnish it using my 4 1/2 room
furniture.
Friends and family were good to me and we were
expecting our second child within the next month.
December the 1st, 1961 was our official moving day so
one of my brother-in-laws rented a truck for our 20
mile move out to the sticks. Thats what it was as
there were only a couple of houses between us and the
village which was about a mile away. Another thing I
forgot to mention is that for the first few months I
didn't own a car but times changes in the spring and I
bought out first new car.

Things went smooth and after having two turkeys
dinners at Christmas, one at my Mother in law's and
another one at my Mothers at supper time she decided
to give birth to my second son at 937pm Christmas
night. (I was going to say 2137 but it was a while
before we adopted the 24 hour system on the CPR.)
Imagine that, I got the statutory holidays on that job
and I didn't even have to book off for the blessed
event. Another perk to working the day shift. Things
were pretty normal and my wife came back early in
January to our new home.

I worked for $336.31 per month which, on a 23 day
month worked out to about $14.62 per day plus all of
the other benefits that I received. They were huge as
well as they paid me $3.00 per month to keep the
station, I had express commission which, in a good
month could easily earn me another $5.00, and of
course telegraph commission which would always be
under a dollar. I do remember selling some travellers
insurance once to someone and cleared $2.00 on that.
Heck, I was on my way to becoming a millionaire and
just because I had no rent to pay. I do have fond
memories of the steak that we used to get from the
butcher shop there. I don't believe that I have ever
tasted anything as good in my entire life. But the
good times soon ended.

I don't know if you are familiar with the terrain
there but one thing can me said for certain. It is
flat for miles around and no houses to protect us from
the environment at all. When the wind blew the whole
house would shake and then settle down until the next
gust of wind came up. I stayed on there for the next
three years or so and I can remember looking out in
the morning to see my Volks completely buried in the
snow but we were young then and nothing seemed to
disturb us at all.

Winters were the worst though as I can remember my
wife putting snowsuits on the kids before going to bed
at night. I don't know where the CPR got its "coke"
but I think it was from a mine in upper Westmount that
the rich lords burnt it first and then gave it to the
CPR just for stations. Like I said before, the place
was huge and there were two coal fired stoves in the
place, one in the waiting room and the other one in
the living room. They were good heaters but just
couldn't keep up with the cold from outside. I would
stoke the fires every night just before going to bed
and would often wake up in the morning with both
furnaces out so I would come downstairs and clean out
the cinders and ashes from each one and try to get the
fire on again. This would happen a couple of times a
week and thats why I am curious as to where they got
their coal but no one but no one seemed to know.
Anyhow we survived it all and I don't think any of us
are any the worse off for it.

Summer times made up for though as there was always a
breeze there and windows could be left open and the
only things that you would hear would be trains. Most
of the engineers were very nice to us though as there
was a crossing just north of the station and more
likely than not they would sound the two long and one
short before arriving at the station and the last long
one when they were by us. The crews were always good
to us though as they would have the big city newpapers
which they would throw off to us or sometimes candies
for the kids which they would wrap up in towels and
drop them off. We always had coffee for the crews no
matter what time of the day or night they would stop
there and I think that they appreciated it. Even once
in a while we would make sandwiches for a crew that
had been to long on duty (there was no 12 hour laws
then) and I don't think that they ever forgot it. Even
when the work trains were putting in the CTC on the
Adirondack Sub crews would come in with a fresh baked
pie or some other equally as tempting a treat.

There was a fenced in yard half the size of a football
field where the kids could play whthout getting in the
way of trains and that was a big plus but all in all
we enjoyed our life there so much that when they
decided to remove the station we moved on to another
one at St Philippe just a few miles up the track. It
was bought by a section foreman who had it moved to
the outskirts of the village and I think it is still
standing.

We made some real good friends there and are still in
contact with some of them but most of them have died
off since we left there. There will always be a
special place in our hearts for our station time.

Ken



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more
http://games.yahoo.com/

--- In railroadwriters@y..., WK2SHR@a... wrote:
>
> Bear in mind, when I suggested that Amtrak was the "operator" of a
lot of these services, I am referring to what is nowadays referred to
as the "designated operator", and not engine crews or owners of
equipment.
>

Dave-

As I pointed out when I joined this group, I have a pretty strong
railroad background. I am reminding you of this in an effort not to
seem condescending in any way. Many railroaders can be a bit short
with those outside the industry. I try not to do that, if it seems
that way, let me apologize in advance and state unequivocally that it
is not intentional.

That being said, I think you have some misconceptions concerning what
it means to be a "designated operator". A designated operator is a
carrier (railroad) assigned to operate line(s) where the prior
operator has gone insolvent or otherwise ceased operations.
Designated operators were assigned by the ICC and are now handled by
its successor the STB. A designated operator has responsibility for
operating the common carrier service. You need to draw a distinction
between a "designated operator" and an "operator" who actually
operates the railroad.

< It's understood that various commuter agencies own, and usually
maintain their equipment, and even have their own engine crews
physically in the loco's cab.
>

Not necessarily. All these things are done according to contract.
Some systems do it all, while others contract to several different
contractors. Equipment may also be leased.

< In the overall scheme of things, (behind the scenes stuff), Amtrak
is the designated operator on many routes, because a lot of agencies
who own the trains and the "service" are state DOTs, political
subdivisions, municipalities, and the like. As such, they themselves
are not in the business of, and have no interest whatsoever running
or operating trains, hence the need to find and then contract out,
a "designated operator". One of the reasons that Amtrak had so much
success for a time in getting these contracts was in the
qualification requirements of engine service crews.
>

Mostly true, however, the Operator is the contractor and is not
necessarily a common carrier. The Carrier (which may or may not be
a "designated operator") is usually the transt agency or DOT. With
respect to train crews, see my comments below.

< Most engineers must be "licensed" now and complete all sorts of
tests, evals, and examinations on a periodic schedule. Other than the
freight train pool of enginemen, there's not a lot out there left to
draw from, so the pickings get slimmer and slimmer each year a
contract comes up for renewal. Then again, Amtrak hires a lot of them
away, and they wind up in the Amtrak fold anyway. On the flip side,
many of the current freight lines don't bid on the commuter services
when they come due for rebid, unless they own the services track,
trains, etc) outright, and even then, sometimes they might
allow others (Amtrak, Herzog) to tender a bid. Doubtful the engineer
(i.e. "locomotive operator") availability sources will change, since
this is a very narrow market anymore.
>

Actually, I think you are making a great deal more of this issue than
the facts justify. At the present time there are literally hundreds
of furloughed locomotive engineers all over the country. BNSF, CP,
CSX, NS and UP all have furloughed people. Yet, they are still
training new engineers under 49 CFR 240. Also, Amtrak and most of the
commuter railroads have their own engineer training schools. Even
many short lines have the capacity to train engineers. Also, you can
expect to see more engineers qualified and available as the new
remote control operations become a reality.

I think the reason more railroads and others don't get into the
commuter rail business is that it simply isn't all that profitable
and you need a fair amount of infrastructure and management to step
in and handle any of these operations. That means CASH too. No
private investor is willing to put up the kind of capital to create
such a business with the low profit numbers. There are reasons that
the railroads wanted out of the commuter business. Not profitable,
employee (and thus injury) intensive, congestive to the system
operation and requiring additional management resources and capital.

<
Question: Does Amtrak still operate ALL of it's passenger trains
outside the NEC, or are these still freight RR operated as they once
were? I know that Amtrak hired away many engineers over the years
from the freight lines and put them to work on Amtrak trains, but
haven't figured out who is running whose trains these days.
>

Amtrak crews operate all Amtrak trains as a general rule. There may
be limited exceptions. Some of the former freight railroad engineers
have "flowback" rights to their former positions.

> Then there is the subject of "pilots" on Amtrak
trains for those Amtrak's running on non-Amtrak rails. Any comments?
>

Pilots are required for any foreign train on a railroad. Generally a
crew qualified on the physical characteristics of the territory to be
operated and qualified on all operating rules in effect on any part
of the route must be operating the train. This is true regardless of
whether the train is an Amtrak train or a detouring freight train
from another railroad.

Hope this answers your questions.

Rick

Good!

Maybe this will put the Amtrak blues to bed for a while (grin)

Dave



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Rick:

Thanks for the updates on the operations of the various commuter RRs.

I was aware that Herzog had bid on the Tri-Rail operation in South FL, but
didn't know that they had received the contract. Always nice to find out
new poop.

Bear in mind, when I suggested that Amtrak was the "operator" of a lot of
these services, I am referring to what is nowadays referred to as the
"designated operator", and not engine crews or owners of equipment. It's
understood that various commuter agencies own, and usually maintain
their equipment, and even have their own engine crews physically in the
loco's
cab. In the overall scheme of things, (behind the scenes stuff), Amtrak
is the designated operator on many routes, because a lot of agencies who
own the trains and the "service" are state DOTs, political subdivisions,
municipalities, and the like. As such, they themselves are not in the business
of, and have no interest whatsoever running or operating trains, hence
the need to find and then contract out, a "designated operator". One of
the reasons that Amtrak had so much success for a time in getting these
contracts was in the qualification requirements of engine service crews. Most
engineers must be "licensed" now and complete all sorts of tests, evals,
and examinations on a periodic schedule. Other than the freight train pool
of enginemen, there's not a lot out there left to draw from, so the pickings
get slimmer and slimmer each year a contract comes up for renewal. Then
again, Amtrak hires a lot of them away, and they wind up in the Amtrak fold
anyway. On the flip side, many of the current freight lines don't bid on the
commuter services when they come due for rebid, unless they own the
services (track, trains, etc) outright, and even then, sometimes they might
allow others (Amtrak, Herzog) to tender a bid. Doubtful the engineer
(i.e. "locomotive operator") availability sources will change, since this is a
very narrow market anymore.

Question: Does Amtrak still operate ALL of it's passenger trains outside
the NEC, or are these still freight RR operated as they once were? I know
that Amtrak hired away many engineers over the years from the freight lines
and put them to work on Amtrak trains, but haven't figured out who is running
whose trains these days. Then there is the subject of "pilots" on Amtrak
trains for those Amtrak's running on non-Amtrak rails. Any comments?
Appreciate any help on this one.

Keep Well,

Dave
Melbourne, FL



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Amtrak operates MBTA, VRE, under contract.
It does not operate MARC, Tri-Rail.
Long Island Rail Road is operated solely by the Metropolitan Transit Authority,
a joint agency of New York  and Connecticut. New Jersey DOT operates commuter
trains between New Jersey and New York City.
New York and Connecticut also operate Metro North Railroad, a heavy rail
commuter operation. Amtrak is a tenant on MN between New Rochelle, N.Y. and New
Haven, Conn.

C? Clear as mud? :-)

Albest,

Leo
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Bill Strassner
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 4:53 PM
   Subject: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] [] Response to WK2SHR


   ***now I am getting confused..??! C below - bill*-*

   --- WK2SHR@... wrote:
   > Leo:
   >
   > Yes, I knew that too. MBTA is primarily a commuter
   > operation, and Amtrak has most of those sewed up. Likewise, Long Island
   > RR. Amtrak operates  it

    ***NO*-*,

    but I am not sure if they also perform maintenance.

   ***NO**-*
   >
   > Are there any commuter railroads that Amtrak does
   > not yet "operate" under contract?

   ***as listed, NJT SEPTA MNCR etc*-*

    Just curious. Have received some conflicting info regarding Tri-Rail
   > in South Florida. Miami Herald and an older copy of Trains Magazine say one
   > thing, others say something else, so some good info would be appreciated,
   > if it's available.
   >
   ***TriRail is NOT amtrak, not even under RRB. Herzog's properties ( Trinity,
etc) are all non-RRB, including the proposed one for Ohio*-*


   > WHO operates Virginia Railway Express??
   >
   > Dave
   > Melbourne, FL



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I was noticing some comments about the commuter operations by Amtrak
under contract.

First off, the Long Island Railroad is operated by its own crews and
is owned by the NYMTA. Metro North Commuter Railroad also has its own
crews and is also owned by NYMTA. NJ Transit Rail Operations are
owned and operated by NJT. SEPTA is operated by its own crews and
METRA is operated by the UP (CNW) and CN (IC & WC) also former CRI&P
services. NICTD (South Shore) operates it own trains. The NYS&W
operates the ONtrack service in Syracuse, NY. Vermont Railway
operated the Champlain Flyer in Vermont.

Amtrak does operate MBTA, METROLINK in Los Angeles and the COASTER
service in the San Diego area as well as MARC and VRE. ConnDOT
Shoreline East is also Amtrak operated. Certain maintenance functions
for Seattle's SOUNDER are also performed by Amtrak, but BNSF runs the
trains.

Other operations are performed by contractors. TRI-RAIL, DART and
others are operated by Herzog.

I apologize if I have missed any large systems. My point is simply
that Amtrak operates a minority of commuter systems, not a majority.
There are many reasons for this, mainly the high costs Amtrak has.
Indeed, they would have lost the recent MBTA bid but for the
political revolt by the unions involved.

Rick

I forgot to say, it is under Politics and Government and then Military if you
want to find it that way.
G
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: railboxx@...
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 6:22 PM
   Subject: Re: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] military


   In a message dated 4/21/02 12:45:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
   gwnewport@... writes:

   << There is a military writers groups in the Yahoo Groups to subscirbe send
   an e mail to

   MilitaryWriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

   bring friends >>
   Hi GW,
   I tried it several different ways and the search kept coming back as site not
   found.  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

If you do a search you have to use MilitaryWriters, with no space and capital M
and W. If you send a blank e mail to the subscribe address it will subscribe
you.
G
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: railboxx@...
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 6:22 PM
   Subject: Re: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] military


   In a message dated 4/21/02 12:45:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
   gwnewport@... writes:

   << There is a military writers groups in the Yahoo Groups to subscirbe send
   an e mail to

   MilitaryWriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

   bring friends >>
   Hi GW,
   I tried it several different ways and the search kept coming back as site not
   found.  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 4/21/02 12:45:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
gwnewport@... writes:

<< There is a military writers groups in the Yahoo Groups to subscirbe send
an e mail to

  MilitaryWriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

  bring friends >>
Hi GW,
I tried it several different ways and the search kept coming back as site not
found.  Chief Jim

***now I am getting confused..??! C below - bill*-*

--- WK2SHR@... wrote:
> Leo:
>
> Yes, I knew that too. MBTA is primarily a commuter
> operation, and Amtrak
> has most of those sewed up. Likewise, Long Island
> RR. Amtrak operates  it

  ***NO*-*,

  but I am not sure if they also perform
> maintenance.

***NO**-*
>
> Are there any commuter railroads that Amtrak does
> not yet "operate" under
> contract?

***as listed, NJT SEPTA MNCR etc*-*

  Just curious. Have received some
> conflicting info regarding Tri-Rail
> in South Florida. Miami Herald and an older copy of
> Trains Magazine say one
> thing, others say something else, so some good info
> would be appreciated,
> if it's available.
>
***TriRail is NOT amtrak, not even under RRB. Herzog's
properties ( Trinity, etc) are all non-RRB, including
the proposed one for Ohio*-*


> WHO operates Virginia Railway Express??
>
> Dave
> Melbourne, FL
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> railroadwriters-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more
http://games.yahoo.com/

There is a military writers groups in the Yahoo Groups to subscirbe send an e
mail to

MilitaryWriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

bring friends
G
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: railboxx@...
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 2:30 PM
   Subject: Re: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] military


   In a message dated 4/21/02 7:39:18 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
   gwnewport@... writes:

   << There are a few military writers around, if Yahoo does not have one, maybe
   you could start one. I would join.
   G >>
   Me!  I wouldn't have the foggiest about how to go about setting it up or if I
   would have the time to moderate it succesfully.  I might be interested in
   acting as a co-moderator, however.  I wonder if there is enough interest out
   there to make this thing fly?  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 4/21/02 7:39:18 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
gwnewport@... writes:

<< There are a few military writers around, if Yahoo does not have one, maybe
you could start one. I would join.
  G >>
Me!  I wouldn't have the foggiest about how to go about setting it up or if I
would have the time to moderate it succesfully.  I might be interested in
acting as a co-moderator, however.  I wonder if there is enough interest out
there to make this thing fly?  Chief Jim

There are a few military writers around, if Yahoo does not have one, maybe you
could start one. I would join.
G
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: railboxx@...
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 6:51 PM
   Subject: Re: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] Re: KRISTINA QUIT THE GROUP A MONTH AGO


   In a message dated 4/20/02 12:51:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
   railwriter1955@... writes:

   << I agree.  But I am not really sure about the validity
   of her statements, and her writing of a book.   >>

   Hi Dave,
   On that part, I stumbled, too.  I never did understand what type of bulll she
   was asking about and as for actually writing a book, I suspect her first
   chapter would have started with something like, "Once upon a time, in a far
   away land..."  As for the rest, I think you have the makings of ann
   interesting group and I have been doing a bit of advertising for you with
   several people that I know from some of my other lists.  Now I just wish I
   could find a like group of military writers!  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Two or three hours late? An Amtrak conductor that I know told me that he has
followed the train from the day before into Miami, one block behind it, more
than one time.
G
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: railboxx@...
   To: railroadwriters@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 9:25 PM
   Subject: [RAILROAD WRITER'S] Amtrak Funding Increase Approved


   In a message dated 4/20/02 8:12:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
   paul-kim@... writes:

   << Subj:     <TrainOrders> Fwd: Amtrak Funding Increase Approved
   Date:  4/20/02 8:12:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time
   From:  paul-kim@... (Paul S. Highland)
   Reply-to:  TRAINORDERS@yahoogroups.com
   To:    AmtrakAndTransit@yahoogroups.com (Amtrak & Transit),
   Amtrak@yahoogroups.com (Amtrak Fans), PassengerTrains@yahoogroups.com
   (Passenger Trains), TrainOrders@yahoogroups.com (TrainOrders List)


   http://library.northernlight.com/EE20020418310000021.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#do
   c

   Amtrak Funding Increase Approved

   LAURENCE ARNOLD, Associated Press Writer
   Story Filed: Thursday, April 18, 2002 6:41 PM EDT

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate committee endorsed a big increase in federal
   funds for passenger train
   service Thursday while also complaining about Amtrak, a chronic money-loser
   for the government.

   The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted 20-3 for a
   bill that would keep
   Amtrak operating for five more years and spend $4.6 billion a year on
   improving and expanding rail
   service.

   The bill goes to the full Senate.

   Sen. Ernest Hollings, the committee chairman and bill sponsor, said the
   Sept. 11 attacks showed
   America needs alternatives to flying and driving. Hollings, D-S.C., said
   Congress has treated Amtrak
   "with benign neglect" for three decades.

   With Congress due to vote this year on the future of passenger rail, the
   Hollings bill represents
   the most comprehensive and Amtrak-friendly of several proposals. Thirty-two
   senators, mostly
   Democrats, have signed on to the bill.

   Should it pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, it has a tough road in the
   Republican-controlled
   House.

   House transportation leaders from both parties are working on a short-term
   solution that would give
   Amtrak the $1.2 billion it says it needs to keep all the trains running for
   another year.

   Some lawmakers support a plan by the congressionally created Amtrak Reform
   Council to break up
   Amtrak and franchise out its routes to introduce competition.

   One supporter of that plan is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking
   Republican on the Commerce
   Committee. He pleaded with his colleagues not to give Amtrak additional
   money without requiring
   major reforms.

   "We have a responsibility to fix a program that has consistently fallen
   woefully short of the goals
   Congress has set for Amtrak, and that Amtrak has set for itself," McCain
   said.

   McCain's colleagues agreed in principle to his amendment requiring that any
   new high-speed rail
   projects be open to competitive bidding -- a potential challenge to Amtrak's
   monopoly on passenger
   service. The committee asked its staff to study the legal implications of
   such an idea.

   McCain saved some of his displeasure for the Bush administration, saying it
   "has failed, utterly, to
   say one word" about Amtrak's future.

   The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on
   railroads, Rep. Jack
   Quinn, met Thursday with administration representatives. Quinn, R-N.Y., said
   only that the White
   House "has a solid grasp" on the issues surrounding Amtrak's future.

   Under the Hollings bill, $4.6 billion per year would be spent on Amtrak
   operations, renovations to
   Amtrak-owned tracks in the Northeast and development of new high-speed
   corridors.

   The bill would add Los Angeles-Las Vegas as the 11th federally designated
   high-speed corridor.

   The bill would provide a one-time infusion of more than $1.4 billion for
   safety and security
   improvements, including money for X-ray machines, bomb-detecting dogs and a
   satellite-based system
   to shut down any locomotive not under control of its crew.

   To make the bill more palatable to some colleagues, Hollings revised it to
   require Amtrak to submit
   a detailed five-year financial plan along with its annual budget request to
   Congress. He also added
   money for security upgrades outside the Northeast.

   Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a critic of Amtrak since it canceled the
   Chicago-Portland-Seattle "Pioneer"
   route in 1997, added an amendment to force Amtrak to use objective criteria
   when making route and
   service decisions.

   On the Net:

   Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee:
   http://commerce.senate.gov

   Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com

   Copyright © 2002 Associated Press Information Services, all rights reserved.

   >>

   Hi Gang,
   Well, this from the TrainOrders list and the title is anything but accurate.
   While it looks like this might make it through the Senate, it has a lot of
   tight curves and steep grades to conquer to get through The House and then
   past George W!
   You gents have generally been discussing the Amtrak of the East Coast.  Out
   here on the Left Coast, the Starlight has tended to become better known as
   the StarLate!
   This is particularly true in the San Francisco to LA run and as near as I can
   glean from the posts, much of the problem stems from having to few tracks to
   let passenger trains have priority over slow freights.  I don't know how you
   can run trains 2 and 3 hours late and still believe that you are doing a
   proper job of moving passengers!  And it sounds like, if you take a train
   along the California coast, you are inevitably going to end up riding a bus,
   sonner or later!
   I haven't ridden the Starlight in years, but I used to fairly regular from
   San Diego up to Westminster and I don't remember ever having a bad ride--but
   that was 25 years ago.
   I don't think keeping Amtrak or breaking it up is going to solve anything.  I
   think we have to decide that moving passengers effectively is one issue and
   moving freight another, and on different tracks whenever possible.
   I spent a number of years overseas (mostly in the South Pacific) and there is
   no public transportation system in this country per se, not when compared to
   what some of these other countries have--and most of them are considered
   Third World!  Just my two cents.  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dont say that...she sees this you know....she might
think that I am trying to get rid of her.  Won't be
moving until September...she will be with me until
then.

Dave

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more
http://games.yahoo.com/

In a message dated 4/20/02 7:00:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
railwriter1955@... writes:

<< Unfortunitely, I will loose her when I move this
  summer.  I hope that I can find a student who is close to being as
  good as she is with the work load, at my new location.

  >>
Too bad your are going to lose your Gal Friday, but the way this group is
growing, it might be wise if you started now attempting to recruit several
members for you new staff, maybe the entire Senior English class!  <G>  I
need to go check the membership list and see who has come onboard.   I know
there are a number of good (and several great) writers on my lists.  Either
they are already here--or it is time to go kick some booty!  Chief Jim

As soon as I left high school I decided to join the Air
Force where I spent four years living all over the world. When
my tour of duty was up, I decided to get a job which would allow
me to travel. I found just the right one out West as a brakeman
with the Santa Fe railroad and worked all the way from Bakersfield
California to Kansas City. This is what started my railroad career.
Sometimes I feel bad about leaving my parents and my young sister
behind but I just could not stay in LA another day aftermy Air force
buddy stole my girlfriend and ran off with her and got married.
It is partly my fault I guess I kind of had a fight with her and
pushed her. DidnÕt mean too and would give anything just to see
her again and apologize. "Oh where are you now my sweet
Katie?"

	 As I was telling you, the last few months I have been on the
Delaware and Hudson Railroad as an engineer on the Laurentian,
a passenger train that runs between New York City and Montreal.
I have been trying to get a special woman ÒCindyÓ out of my
mind. We met while I was working as a brakeman on the Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad out of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. I met
her there at one of those night spots that caters to off duty
railroad workers. I think it was called ÒDotti'sÓ. Cindy had
that  certain look that seems to fire me up real big. Something about
her brown hair, blue eyes and her very average but sexy figure.
I can still hear her voice in my head. Very sweet and calm. She was
the house band singer atÓ Dotti'sÓ. I was so taken by her,
I had to buy her a drink in between sets. That is what started my
last fling. IÕm thinking this girl I just saw is just as pretty
looking as Cindy. If I am lucky, she may get on this train and ride
all the way to Montreal.

	 Of course now my thoughts have to return to operating my train
which today has 11 cars: three mail & baggage cars, one Railway Post
Office, one diner, one cafe lounge car, four coaches and an ex-Wabash
streamline vista dome. For locomotives, I have two ALCO PA2Õs.
Though they are old, they put out 5,000 horse power and can still
run fast and pull the head pin out of any train. If I am not careful.
So I have to ease out the throttle as the Holiday swollen train rolls
North toward Montreal with hundreds of eager vacationers.

	 I notice two railroad enthusiasts or railfans as they call
themselves, have just released their camera shutters as my train
rolls underneath the West Street bridge. I supose they are
photographing the old ALCO diesels which are under my care
this afternoon. These locos are very rare and are highly sought
  after by railfans To me they are just old engines which
I hope will get us to Montreal with no problems. Of course
  they are a little special to me cause these same engines were on
the Santa Fe Railroad when I was braking on freight trains out of
Barstow, California. They were red and silver and yellow then.
They look almost as fine now in blue silver and yellow.

	 ÒWhat are you doing tonightÓ Scotty asks me.

	 ÒI donÕt know probably just going to the YMCA railroad hotel
and get some chow, a shower and some much needed sleep, and oh yea
shit and a shave as well.Ó I answer.

	 ÒOh too bad. I was going to invite you to spend the night at my
sisters. She has an apartment in downtown Montreal near Windsor
Station You know ÒGare Weend-SORRÓ He says with a smile
  making fun of my limited French. ÒBesides my sister is single
and has an extra roomÓ.

	 ÒI donÕt know Scotty. You are always trying to fix me up Ò!

	 Meeting ScottyÕs sister seems like a good idea though. I have
been a little lonely lately getting over Cindy and my so called good
life in North Carolina. I still donÕt know why she told me to
leave that night we were supposed to  get engaged. Anyway that is
over and done with. Time to move on but how do I get her out of my
heart. All my boomer life I have alwaysbeen ableto meet a sweet
young woman have a few good nights with her and then be done
with her. Cindy is the hardest one I ever had to forget.
	 On the other hand If I do not go with Scotty--"It wonÕt be the
first time this old cowboy ever spent the night alone". I keep
singing that Marshall Tucker Band song in my head. That song
was real popular in Dallas when I had a short stint on the MOPAC
that's the Missouri Pacific as a swing man on grain trains.


Part three soon.  Thanks for reading. I am a beginer railraod writer
railfan of the
B & M
D& H
RUT
CV
CP
CN
NYC
NY NH & H
LV
EL
PRR
B & O
C & O etc.
More later Don

In a message dated 4/20/02 7:00:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
railwriter1955@... writes:

<<  Chief Jim (RAILBOXX): Great poem "Ode to the 700".  Your words put
  you right near or on that train.  I really wish I was alive during
  the heyday of the railroads, although I like the current generation
  of power and cars, but they don't stand up to the "Varnish" of the
  great lines of yesterday.

  >>
Thanks, Dave,
I just wanted the rest of you to know that I wasn't just lurking on this
list.  I don't really consider myself a poet, but that just seemed to flow
through the keyboard.  BTW, it did get published by a Live Steam newsletter
that goes all over the country and in my company, newletter.  One of the
ladies at the store came up afterwards and said, "Jim, that poem was really
good.  We never knew you had talent!"  Now that could be taken a couple of
different ways!
But this goes along with what I was trying to convey in my earlier post to
Kristina.  You have to know a great deal about your subject and you have to
have something to say!  If you can't take the reader from where they are to
where your story is situated, then you aren't doing a good job as a writer!
And, in my book, that holds true for everything, fiction, non-fiction,
historical data, etc.  Perhaps the only exception is pure technical/trade
journal stuff, but I don't write that.
Unfortunately, I didn't grow up around railroads, never worked on them and
spent most of my youth/young adulthood riding Navy ships and playing "Sneak
'N Peek" with our adversaries.  This background doesn't lend itself well for
me to talk very much ablut trains, but I do know something about writing!  If
you ever take the notion to know what it was like to ride an aircraft carrier
in the Combat Zone or during a typhoon, I believe I can put you there.  Bring
your flak jacket and your sea sick pills.
Chief Jim

In a message dated 4/20/02 7:00:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
railwriter1955@... writes:

<< Good thing your
  wife is a railfan too.....taking up that much room in a house can
  lead to many arguments, if the other half doesn't join you in your
  interests.  I live in an apartment...no room for a layout.  I have to
  settle for static displays on shelves.
  >>
Hi Dave,
And this is the very reason you need to find yourself a good club to join.  I
could build static scenes to sit on the shelf, but that doesn't say trains to
me and I know some people that collect them just to have them and never take
them out of the box.  I don't want to own anything that I can't run!  If the
wheels aren't turning and the lights aren't flashing, then he had better just
be waiting for the conductor to connect the air or Proceed signal thru the
switch!  Chief Jim

Hello Everyone:

I want to start this out with a warm welcome to all of the new
members of the group.  We started out last week at this time with 5
members, we now have 38.  I want to thank all members who have
marketed the group, and have been the sole reason for the increase in
membership.  I owe you all a debt of gratitude.  Now my assistant has
other comments.... I have a high school student who comes in on
Saturdays to print and file my e-mails, and other office duties.  She
is also responsible for printing out all of the Group messages from
the previous week, and filing them in a binder.  Up to now, it has
only taken her about 5 to 10 minutes to do this project.  Well,
today, she had 70 messages to print out, which took her several hours
(slow printer).  She could not believe how much the group grew, and
how much she had to print out.  But actually, she was happy, as it
gives her something to do to earn her pay.  She thinks you all are
great.  So lets keep her busy!!!  But not too busy (she might want a
raise!!)  She has worked for me since January....and she is becoming
a Railfan.....Unfortunitely, I will loose her when I move this
summer.  I hope that I can find a student who is close to being as
good as she is with the work load, at my new location.

Dave (WK2SHR): Sounds like one heck of a model building project you
have going in your "Trainroom".  I would love to see it.  You should
take pix every so often, to show the progress.  I am sure others
would love to see it too.  Good luck to you on that.  Good thing your
wife is a railfan too.....taking up that much room in a house can
lead to many arguments, if the other half doesn't join you in your
interests.  I live in an apartment...no room for a layout.  I have to
settle for static displays on shelves.

Chief Jim (RAILBOXX): Great poem "Ode to the 700".  Your words put
you right near or on that train.  I really wish I was alive during
the heyday of the railroads, although I like the current generation
of power and cars, but they don't stand up to the "Varnish" of the
great lines of yesterday.

And to the rest of you who have posted...I have not had a chance to
read all of the messages, but I will, and I will try to get back to
each of you at sometime.  My assistant has told me of some of the
postings, and I think that we have the makings of a great group
here.  Lets all keep up the good work, have fun, and keep them trains
a runnin......

I posted some generic pix in the Photos section...not the greatest,
but had them on disc.  Some are mine, some are others from other
sites and the web.  Anyone else, please feel free to post your pix.

Until next time Railfanners

Dave Proshek, Group Founder
railwriter1955@...

I'm lucky that Lowenthal and Greenberg did such a superb job
researching the history of the Sussex Branch.  While I collect all data
I can find, I find myself leaning toward the stories of the stations,
when they were built/destroyed and any interesting anectotes connected
with them.

Dave Rutan
--
--- In railroadwriters@y..., "conductor_rick" <conductor_rick@y...>
wrote:
> Dave-
>
> Thanks for sharing. Interesting how people have different
> preferences. Unfortunately, I think my stuff will always be somewhat
> hit and miss as I generally like to write about operations. I wish I
> was half as good at it as Doug Riddell. I may decide to dig into some
> more research intensive topics in the future, but the vagabond
> lifestyle of RR operations is seldom conducive to research...
>
> Rick

In a message dated 4/20/02 8:12:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
paul-kim@... writes:

<< Subj:     <TrainOrders> Fwd: Amtrak Funding Increase Approved
  Date:  4/20/02 8:12:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time
  From:  paul-kim@... (Paul S. Highland)
  Reply-to:  TRAINORDERS@yahoogroups.com
  To:    AmtrakAndTransit@yahoogroups.com (Amtrak & Transit),
Amtrak@yahoogroups.com (Amtrak Fans), PassengerTrains@yahoogroups.com
(Passenger Trains), TrainOrders@yahoogroups.com (TrainOrders List)


http://library.northernlight.com/EE20020418310000021.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#do
c

  Amtrak Funding Increase Approved

  LAURENCE ARNOLD, Associated Press Writer
  Story Filed: Thursday, April 18, 2002 6:41 PM EDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate committee endorsed a big increase in federal
funds for passenger train
  service Thursday while also complaining about Amtrak, a chronic money-loser
for the government.

  The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted 20-3 for a
bill that would keep
  Amtrak operating for five more years and spend $4.6 billion a year on
improving and expanding rail
  service.

  The bill goes to the full Senate.

  Sen. Ernest Hollings, the committee chairman and bill sponsor, said the
Sept. 11 attacks showed
  America needs alternatives to flying and driving. Hollings, D-S.C., said
Congress has treated Amtrak
  "with benign neglect" for three decades.

  With Congress due to vote this year on the future of passenger rail, the
Hollings bill represents
  the most comprehensive and Amtrak-friendly of several proposals. Thirty-two
senators, mostly
  Democrats, have signed on to the bill.

  Should it pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, it has a tough road in the
Republican-controlled
  House.

  House transportation leaders from both parties are working on a short-term
solution that would give
  Amtrak the $1.2 billion it says it needs to keep all the trains running for
another year.

  Some lawmakers support a plan by the congressionally created Amtrak Reform
Council to break up
  Amtrak and franchise out its routes to introduce competition.

  One supporter of that plan is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking
Republican on the Commerce
  Committee. He pleaded with his colleagues not to give Amtrak additional
money without requiring
  major reforms.

  "We have a responsibility to fix a program that has consistently fallen
woefully short of the goals
  Congress has set for Amtrak, and that Amtrak has set for itself," McCain
said.

  McCain's colleagues agreed in principle to his amendment requiring that any
new high-speed rail
  projects be open to competitive bidding -- a potential challenge to Amtrak's
monopoly on passenger
  service. The committee asked its staff to study the legal implications of
such an idea.

  McCain saved some of his displeasure for the Bush administration, saying it
"has failed, utterly, to
  say one word" about Amtrak's future.

  The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on
railroads, Rep. Jack
  Quinn, met Thursday with administration representatives. Quinn, R-N.Y., said
only that the White
  House "has a solid grasp" on the issues surrounding Amtrak's future.

  Under the Hollings bill, $4.6 billion per year would be spent on Amtrak
operations, renovations to
  Amtrak-owned tracks in the Northeast and development of new high-speed
corridors.

  The bill would add Los Angeles-Las Vegas as the 11th federally designated
high-speed corridor.

  The bill would provide a one-time infusion of more than $1.4 billion for
safety and security
  improvements, including money for X-ray machines, bomb-detecting dogs and a
satellite-based system
  to shut down any locomotive not under control of its crew.

  To make the bill more palatable to some colleagues, Hollings revised it to
require Amtrak to submit
  a detailed five-year financial plan along with its annual budget request to
Congress. He also added
  money for security upgrades outside the Northeast.

  Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a critic of Amtrak since it canceled the
Chicago-Portland-Seattle "Pioneer"
  route in 1997, added an amendment to force Amtrak to use objective criteria
when making route and
  service decisions.

  On the Net:

  Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee:
http://commerce.senate.gov

  Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com

  Copyright © 2002 Associated Press Information Services, all rights reserved.

  >>

Hi Gang,
Well, this from the TrainOrders list and the title is anything but accurate.
While it looks like this might make it through the Senate, it has a lot of
tight curves and steep grades to conquer to get through The House and then
past George W!
You gents have generally been discussing the Amtrak of the East Coast.  Out
here on the Left Coast, the Starlight has tended to become better known as
the StarLate!
This is particularly true in the San Francisco to LA run and as near as I can
glean from the posts, much of the problem stems from having to few tracks to
let passenger trains have priority over slow freights.  I don't know how you
can run trains 2 and 3 hours late and still believe that you are doing a
proper job of moving passengers!  And it sounds like, if you take a train
along the California coast, you are inevitably going to end up riding a bus,
sonner or later!
I haven't ridden the Starlight in years, but I used to fairly regular from
San Diego up to Westminster and I don't remember ever having a bad ride--but
that was 25 years ago.
I don't think keeping Amtrak or breaking it up is going to solve anything.  I
think we have to decide that moving passengers effectively is one issue and
moving freight another, and on different tracks whenever possible.
I spent a number of years overseas (mostly in the South Pacific) and there is
no public transportation system in this country per se, not when compared to
what some of these other countries have--and most of them are considered
Third World!  Just my two cents.  Chief Jim


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Dave:

Many thanks for your kind words of support. Be aware, I enjoy talking
about trains with just about anyone who will listen, but I am NO expert
or authority in anything! (lol). One of the reasons I joined this group was
to learn more about what's going on in railroading than what I can get
from magazines and newspapers. I find that online members often have
more current and up to date information, particularly for their areas of
interest. Besides, it's fun and interesting to dialog with folks who have
a common interest.

The idea of the Slingshot, Mouse Trails and Choo Choo RR was a husband/
wife affair. Wife called me Slingshot because I was always a no BS, "straight
shooter" or "straight arrow" (her words, not mine). Her nickname that I gave
her was "Mouse" because when I met her, she had a "mousy" hair style.
Choo Choo of course, is our darling little pup, a 2 yr old male Maltese.
So, the name fit and that is what we call the RR.

The RR itself is still being built, so I cannot yet supply any pix. We only
moved
into our current house last April 2001. We had the train room built - it's 30
ft
long, and recently only completed about the half the benchwork. It's a daily
chore for me. My wife is also into the hobby, although our interests are a bit
different. She likes the 1930s era (depression-era), and I like anything from
about 1900 thru around 1960 and before all the RR bankrupts and mergers.
So, steamers, Fs and Es will be common, along with a lot of first generation
stuff. Have some of the later equipment as well (NJ Transit, Amtrak, etc, not
because I want to model it, but because I found some of this equipment
rather nice looking and very appealing. My personal interest is in pre-Amtrak
and pre-present day intercity and commuter passenger operations, so large
RR passenger stations will be a mainstay on the layout. So far, I' have about
7 different terminals. The RR will be built on 2 levels, with each having it's
own hidden/staging tracks under that level. Some of those tracks will also
comprise stub-ended passenger terminal tracks, and a few will be of the
"run through" type. It's a slow, arduous process of building the layout
though,
so it won't happen quickly. Maybe by Xmas 2002, I will have something. The
reason it takes so long, is that I absolutely want to bulletproof all track
as I
go, and then have to do all the wiring, which is very, very tedious. I use cab
control (actually, remote wireless walkaround), and am not yet sold on DCC.
DCC is nice, but with over 750 locos, it's a bit much to retrofit them. This
will
probably be a large layout as home layouts go, but it will be my last one.
My wife says I can't die until I complete it -- and I think she means it
(grin)!.
We spent over $30,000 just adding the train room.....custom lighting, Berber
carpet, "cloud and sky" wallpaper, etc. Today, we purchased skirting material,
and some black lights for night effects, along with some additional electric
hardware for the installation of layout "master" electrical switches. Because
the "on layout" electrical requirements will be great, (signals, buildings,
trains,
animated items, et al), it will be necessary for safety reasons, to connect
them via master circuits rather than rely on wall plugs and power strips.
Everything needs to be planned and thought out, and for me, that takes a lot
of time....also, I usually have to "draw" it all on paper, so I can remember
one day to the next what it was that I wanted to do. Must be a consequence
of getting "old" (ha). Actually, too much detailed info to memorize between
work
sessions.

Well, must go for now. More later. Thanks for the info, and hope you will
keep in touch often.

Bye,


Dave
Melbourne, FL



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Bill:

Thanks for the update. Good information to keep us current. I get most of
my info from the newspapers and the RR magazines. Admit some of it
is "dated" at times, and can't vouch for it's accuracy.

Appreciate the help,

Dave
Melbourne, FL



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