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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2021 10:08:03 GMT -8
I stumbled on this video done as a TV news story about the Western Pacific.
For WP fans and Rio Grande as well, I found it particularly interesting. The WP handed off entire freight trains to the D&RGW in Colorado so the freight consists in the video would have likely been seen on the D&RGW as well. This train has 50 something freight cars of mostly TOFC and a few auto carriers. The couple of auto carriers appeared to be tri-levels with pickup trick only on the top level.
The opening shows dates of 1976/77 and nearly 50 flat cars carrying 40' trailers! I could see trailers with markings such as VT, C&O, N&W, C&NW, ICG, Rock Island and so on. So D&RGW modelers can justify a long string of TOFC - this is likely proof.
Also of interest later in the video, the helicopter used for the aerial shots crashed while shooting close ups of the caboose - the tail rotor hit a high tension wire an it crashed into a river. Both the pilot and camera man got out and were basically ok.
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Post by gevohogger on Jan 7, 2021 12:49:47 GMT -8
So D&RGW modelers can justify a long string of TOFC - this is likely proof. Rio Grande's "Railblazer" piggyback trains are very well-known, similar to Milwaukee Road "Sprints", etc. Two-man crews if I remember right.
Those Vermont Railway trailers seemed to go everywhere.... Anyone who models piggyback in that era needs to have at least one.
Have you seen the Dale Sanders Rio Grande book? You should get it.
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2021 14:14:25 GMT -8
So D&RGW modelers can justify a long string of TOFC - this is likely proof. Rio Grande's "Railblazer" piggyback trains are very well-known, similar to Milwaukee Road "Sprints", etc. Two-man crews if I remember right.
Those Vermont Railway trailers seemed to go everywhere.... Anyone who models piggyback in that era needs to have at least one. Have you seen the Dale Sanders Rio Grande book? You should get it.
I should have been more specific. This is a mid=1970's video and there hasn't been that much photographic proof of that the D&RGW ran long TOFC trains prior to the 80's. I'm focusing on the late 1970's but also would like to run some trains into the early 80's while cabooses were still the norm. The Railblazer was initiated after cabooses were removed from most mainline trains in 1986. I do have Dale Sanders Rio Grande: Scenic Line of the World since the 1990's and a bunch of others. It covers the late 80's through the early 1990's. My latest acquisition is Jewel of the Wasatch by Chuck Conway. It has a fair number of 70's photo's. |
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Post by gevohogger on Jan 7, 2021 14:32:59 GMT -8
Rio Grande's "Railblazer" piggyback trains are very well-known, similar to Milwaukee Road "Sprints", etc. Two-man crews if I remember right.
Those Vermont Railway trailers seemed to go everywhere.... Anyone who models piggyback in that era needs to have at least one. Have you seen the Dale Sanders Rio Grande book? You should get it.
I should have been more specific. This is a mid=1970's video and there hasn't been that much photographic proof of that the D&RGW ran long TOFC trains prior to the 80's. I'm focusing on the late 1970's but also would like to run some trains into the early 80's while cabooses were still the norm. So run shorter blocks in with regular freight. Do whatever you want; the traffic was obviously there and didn't magically appear in 1986.
Last time I try to be helpful...
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2021 16:11:26 GMT -8
So run shorter blocks in with regular freight. Do whatever you want; the traffic was obviously there and didn't magically appear in 1986. Last time I try to be helpful... Sorry, I meant no offense. Yes the traffic was there. Some long TOFC and some small blocks. The WP video was pretty cool. |
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Post by kmaster on Feb 8, 2021 10:17:35 GMT -8
man that was some good footage, but that crash was nuts.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 8, 2021 12:16:07 GMT -8
Yeah. It seems like a recurring theme with helicopters. Hitting power or telephone lines.
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Post by kmaster on Feb 9, 2021 10:17:24 GMT -8
lol true
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