This most unlikely site has grabbed my attention for over an hour. Between 1865 and 1900, some 4,000 opera houses were built across America and singers and orchestras caught the touring bug.
A bit of adviceā¦ scroll through this webpage because this webpage has something for everyone.
music
snow plows in action
tenders being refilled from water troughs at speed
stories about opera singers shooting guns out of passenger cars
One piece of Railroadiana that we donāt have is a photo of is the personal coach of Besse Smith. Two stories, sleeps 4 (?8? 12?). It was pretty useful in segregated southern towns.
That article mentions other ladies who preferred a private RR car.
Regarding music and railroading, I remember reading that The Wreck of Old 97 sold more sheet music than any other song ever written. Later the New Kingston Trio used the same tune for The Man Who Never Returned.
All I know is I never heard of her before (honestly this time)!
WOW ā¦Iām surprised I have not, considering my love for āmusicā in general. Wikipedia is a hell of read in itself but have looked up more in the last 24hrsā¦WOWā¦
Trouble, trouble, Iāve had it all my days,
Trouble, trouble, Iāve had it all my days.
In his book āJazz Singing: Americaās Greatest Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and
Beyond,ā author Will Friedwald deconstructs Smith signature style:
Smith sings with a quality of harshness and at the same time with great passion but never
with irony or sarcasm. With Smith, the two seemingly incongruous attitudes are
compatible, a sort of tender invective. Smith sings about love without a trace of
sentiment, and of sex without guilt. She has an amazingly realistic attitude toward life
and love, and even in moments of heightened, not to say suicidal, despondency has a
sober, realistic view of life, devoid of self pity.
There is a fullness and robustness to Smithās singing, even in the most downtrodden of lyrics, a
quality that one later sees replicated in the work of Billie Holiday and Etta James.
Musician and music critic John Hammond once said of Smith, āTo my way of thinking, Bessie
Smith was the greatest artist American jazz every produced; in fact, Iām not sure that her art did
not reach beyond the limits of ājazz.ā She was one of those rare beings, a completely integrated
artist capable of projecting her whole personality into her music.ā
Bessie Smith was a big girl who became a big woman; she stood five feet, nine inches tall and
weighed over 200 pounds. She was known to be rough and forceful and a little bit crude.
Legends abound: that she once beat her husbandās mistress unconscious on the streets of Harlem,
that she once ordered a group of Klansmen picketing her concert to pack up and leave (and they
did). Smith had voracious appetitesāfor music, alcohol and sex. In regard to the latter,
throughout her life, she often openly carried on various tumultuous, far from discrete affairs with members of both sexes.
Smith also had a taste for luxury and high-living. At the height of her
popularity, āshe traveled the nation in her own custom-build railway carā.
End of QUOTE ā¦from the internet
This is all Bill and Peters fault!!
Honestly I bet there might be something on her custom pullman palace car out there on the internet but then again maybe not. However I bet there is something out there if you search for it internet or not.
Thereās probably an AI podcast tooā¦
especially now they know that this is a topic of special interest for Rooster. if you know what I mean, and I think you doā¦
Well, I honestly do not have an answer myself only guesses at this point. I have found reference to a 72ā or 78ā car that was yellow with green lettering and judging by the era Iām assuming itās probably a rebuilt pullman. However it could be an EX Chicago Northwestern car (quote)ā¦"Customization options were seemingly limitless. āThe Chicago and Northwestern railwayāanother company that produce private carsāengineered a special frame that created a sunken lounge area and a 15-foot-high ceiling,ā says Lettenberger. "
I do not think it was an honest two stories as some refer but only a duplex. It could not be too tall as it will not clear the tunnels on the east ( this is why Amtrak had the Viewliners built to this day). I also know that she purchased the car at suggestion of her brother Clarence in 1925 at the peak of her career but had to sell it in 1929 due to the depression and economy downturn.
I can say though that I have learned one hell of a biography with Bessie Smith and Iām not done learning! I never heard of the Green Book The Green Book - NYPL Digital Collections until this 7am today which sent me on a tyrant until past noon completely wasting a beautiful Saturday morning.
I RE PETE (pun intended) this is all Billās fault !
Logs end before Bessieās car would have been made. Mainly locos but some other stuff in there as well. Really wish Bart Salmons was still with us. We used to joke about who was older but we were about 2 months apart age wise. Anyway if you read through the logs which he would have I think he would have recommended building #1415 2-2-0T Dewey.
So I would like to reiterate here in case you missed that flickr link above . There is some incredible albums full of bad ideas and lots of great pictures.
However I need to ask this because I donāt like steam and Iām not really sure.
I believe this is a Shay for Crosby Forest Products but is that what they call a gypsy winch and was it used primarily for logging only or other reasons?
Interesting, not sure that could be classified as a traditional Gypsy Winch or not. I have never seen anything quite like that before, not that I am any kind of expert.
Difficult to make out many details even enlarged. The winding drum and cable of course, the shaft is in a pillow bearing on the right and seems to run through a tube held in place with a U bolt on the left.
The extended shaft on the left looks to be notched/milled on the end for possible drive connection, I donāt see any other means of driving the drum from this picture.
The left hand drum plate seems to be notched and something that looks like a dog is mounted above on the pilot beam support. Below the shaft is something mounted to the beam bracket that is not seen on the right side.
On or near the ground between the men is a pipe/bar/shovel handle, or something but I donāt see how it would be involved with the winch.
The cable hook is looking a little strange as well, possibly just stretched out from use.
If this was mounted on a diesel I would say it was so a steamer could tow it home
Edit
To add a picture of a traditional Gypsy Winch on an engine, OH by the way thatās me at the
throttle
Iām with Marty, especially after I enlarged and lightened the winch. Yes, itās a winch, but a proper gypsy would have a little steam engine to turn it. This looks to have a squared end as if you clip a handle on and turn it by hand??
Appreciate it guys,
I guess I should have worded it differently as I jumped the gun last night and looked up Shay winches and up pops a Gypsy Winch.
Perhaps I should have said ā¦ " Since the Shays were basically the work mules of the day did they have the capability of a drive off the side to power that winch with a belt or possibly a gear?
Actually then on second thought my guess is they pulled the winch cable out then hooked up to what ever, locked the pawl and reversed the loco. However it seems like an awful lot of cable to wind back up using a bar in the notch on the end. Or perhaps they had a winder handle that fit into that notch.
Rick,
I was thinking the bar laying on the ground between the men was the switch throw. Depth is tough sometimes on these old pictures.
As for the winch on a diesel comment perhaps you could suggest that to the Mueller child as a build challenge suggestion.
