Another big H/T to Pastor Bob!
Let's go back in time.......
Enjoy!
Source:
The Boston & Maine's T1-class 2-8-4 Berkshires were instantly recognizable by the Coffin feedwater heaters hanging off the front of their smokeboxes. In August 1929, the B&M took delivery of the last five of them, road numbers 4020-4024. A few months later, they had Fox Movietone News in to see them perform.
As was so often the case, the railroad was happy to do anything for the cameras. In this case, they lined up three T1's side-by-side and ran them down parallel tracks, smoke and steam billowing behind them.
A few months after that, Fox Movietone's cameras were out on the main and caught the big Berkshires at work.
Locations (courtesy of Carl Byron):
6:00 Just west of Greenfield Mass heading west upgrade on the Fitchburg main line. A few minutes later a similar train eastbound is shown.
9:06 Eastbound or downgrade at the famous Zoar curve in Charlemont Mass., site of many B&M PR shots.
These films come from the extraordinary collection of Fox Movietone News outtakes at the University of South Carolina's Moving Image Resource Center.
:o)
Back in the early 60's, when I was studying civil engineering, I was a rodman on survey party near North Adams, Mass. We were running a traverse and levels along an old single track in the woods, and I nearly got run over by a diesel-electric running on battery. It got within 50 feet of me before I spotted it. No doubt the engineer intended to given a a heart attack with the whistle. I doubt one of those beauties could have pulled off that stunt. I would have heard them a mile away.
ReplyDeleteLater on I had a colleague who was a transportation engineer specializing in railroad operations. He said that is wasn't so much the cost of maintaining the steam engines that doomed them, but the cost and complexity of trying run maintenance on a mixed fleet of steam and diesel. The companies had to choose and chose diesel.
By the way, I believe many of the passenger speed records on some routes are still held by steam.
Boy - that MUST have been scary!!!! When we were kids we would climb under the train trestles and wait for the coal trains to go by (dumb - I know)!
DeleteGreat video, really like it. Thanks
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, Terry! So glad there are those old films to enjoy! :o)
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