Craig Townsend said:
Not to go to far down the rabbit trail, but I bet you could find the standard plans for construction for the Howe & Pony Truss bridges as well…
Already thought about this. It is on the list of “if we have time”. Not critical to the book but would be awesome to model it correctly
Chuck Inlow said:
Ya those plans would help us in building the bridges. Can’t wait to hear and see all that information on our little railroad (haha). And to think we only live about 50 miles from where this railroad operated.
Ha Chuck you’ll have to buy the book (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif). No I will share. especially stuff like plans. I have already a great trestle profile used on the Wallace and Sunset I will share.
Funny I had to travel 1500 miles to learn about a railroad in my back yard.
Devon Sinsley said:
Yes we have found more than expected. Articles of incorporation, that profile book, the actual presidents letter of resignation. cool stuff.
No Dick didn’t show. We kept asking.
Everything is being cataloged by box and folder.
Bummer that Jim didn’t show up, but there’s an off chance you might get him Tuesday evening. Once you start digging into that archive, it’s amazing what you can find. I’m glad that you have a few extra days to do more research. The day sure flies by fast huh?
There are not enough hours. Once you find something it leads to more questions that you need answers to. It is great fun.
So with out pictures it didn’t happen
Leaving Spokane WA 1:30am on Amtrak
Whitefish MT. Beautiful Great Northern station
Who needs to look at woman with this kind of eye candy hanging around, White Fish MT
More eye candy to big to take normal shot had to use panorama mode made for a bad pic. 4-8-4 in Havre MT
Union Station St Paul
James J Hill Mansion St Paul. To bad there is no money in railroads
So besides getting some great stuff at the History Center in St Paul for my book I have been doing some railfaning. Went toda to see two awesome lifting bridges. I guess I really am a train nerd because it was well worth the wait to see trains cross this very cool ex- Milwaukee Rd. bridge. It is in Hastings MN crossing the Mississippi.
This is a CP/UP line.
In Idaho the only CP trains we see are just coming through. Here CP is active locally. These two little locos (GP38s? help me out I am not a diesel guy) are not road engines so I went and asked. They work a flour mill in Hastings and the 3M plant in St Paul as well as a plastic outfit 7 days a week.
That front loco is so clean and shiny you could eat off of it. Clear case for not everything needs to be weathered. he back one just has a bit of road grime but otherwise is very fresh.
Finally this is the BNSF lifting bridge built in 1983 at the mouth of the St. Croix where it dump into the Mississippi. No trains darn it, but a narwly thunderstorm is coming.
when we got to St Paul it was 25 degrees. Today it is 85.
Another Bridge. This is the C.M. & St. Paul No 15 Just upstream from down town St. Paul.
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Is that a swing bridge? The far side looks like a navigable waterway. I guess the concrete bit is a decorative counterweight. Very interesting!
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Yes Eric it is s swing bridge. You pegged it the far side is the channel and the concrete is the counter wright. We saw it open and two barges and a tug passed through. The funny part is that it is one sided. Any I have paid attention to pivot in the middle
Last day packing up checking out one more day on the archives then the train ride home. Train leaves at 10 something pm and gets home 1:40 am Sunday morning. Good bye st paul
When I first saw the counter weight I was thinking Rolling lift, as the pic opened I was surprised to see a one sided swing bridge.
The CW is decorative as much as functional. The farther from the pivot you can hang a counter weight the smaller it can be. To clear the trestle approach, they went above the track.
The wooden wall protects weakest the link, the pivot, from barges.
Nice share.
John
