HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ianking@nnsgs52.lon40.nt.com (Ian King)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Articulated locos (was Re: compound locos ...)
Date: 12 Nov 1992 14:37:57 GMT
Organization: BNR Europe Ltd, 
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: nnsgs52.lon40.nt.com
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Nick Leverton (leveret@warren.demon.co.uk) wrote:
: In article <1dicm2INN3l8@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> elw4@po.CWRU.Edu (Evan L. Werkema) writes:
: 
: >   I know Garretts were used in Australia and Africa (still?), but I can't think
: >of a North American railway which used them.  Is there any particular reason 
: >why it didn't catch on in the USA?  
: 
: Yes, Garrats are still used in daily revenue service in Zimbabwe. You
: owe it to yourself to get out there and see them on the coal hauls on
: the Bulawayo to Victoria Falls line - mortgage the house, sell the car
: and send the kids out to work, or regret it for ever.

Alternatively buy the video "Garratts of Zimbabwe" from me. 22.95 pounds :-)

Last night I took this video to a chap (in St.Albans) who is 'Garratt mad'. The
reason for this is that he was one of the last appretices at Beyer-Peacocks
Works in Manchester. He actually built them and he still does... he makes
0.5"/ft scale live steam models of them... ALL handmade. He has a model of
the Zimbabwe Garrett 4-6-4-4-6-4 plus a smaller one (not yet finished). As
as sideline he makes replica worksplates using patterns he's made from his
own drawings which of course are to Beyer-Peacock standard!!


I hope he likes the video....

Regards....
..........Ian
	   WOLVERTON RAIL
	   railway videos.
--
ADVANCE MICRO COMPUTERS LTD & Wolverton Rail | EMAIL: ianking@amicro.demon.co.uk
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Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: msjohnso@donald.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (Mark Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: U.S. railroad maps (topo maps)
Date: 11 Nov 92 17:59:54 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR Corporation Wichita, KS

grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) writes:

>Many of them are updated fairly recently (at leat in railroad terms)
>with purple ink overlays.  At worst something ripped up is no longer
>there, but I'd rather be able to find it on a map than have no clue
>that there used to be some tracks.

Some of the ones I have that were recent updates have the new highways
in purple-ink overlays, and show the abandoned/removed railroads with a
purple notation "DISMANTLED" instead of the railroad name. The railroad 
grade line itself is unchanged on the map.

A literal minded type might think "Gee, Dismantled sure is a funny name
for a railroad." 

>The biggest problem with the 7.5 minute topo maps is you need a pile of
>them to cover even a moderate area of railroad interest...

The 500,000:1 maps (wish I could think of the proper name for them) are
a lot more reasonable. For example, the state of Indiana is covered by
a set of eight of them. Railroads are shown in reasonable, but not excruciating
detail.

BTW, the index maps for USGS detail maps often show railroads, and are 
*FREE*. Write one of the two USGS map centers and ask for the index map
for the state(s) you want.
-- 
Mark Johnson                          USnail: NCR Peripheral Products Division
E-mail:  Mark.Johnson@WichitaKS.NCR.COM       3718 N. Rock Rd.
Voice: (316) 636-8189 [V+ 654-8189]           Wichita, KS  67226
[Non-business email: 76670.1775@compuserve.com]
From: bruceb@mpd.tandem.com (Bruce Burden)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Locomotive pilots
Date: 13 Nov 92 20:48:34 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Tandem Computers (MPD) Austin, TX

In article <1992Nov12.142734.6331@gw.wmich.edu> x92ochs1@gw.wmich.edu writes:
>In article <1992Nov12.165118.15090@fs7.ece.cmu.edu>, wadams@spitz.ECE.CMU.EDU (William Adams) writes:
>> 
>>       A bit off the subject, but what's the deal with the "cow-catcher"
>> on locomotives today?  Are there still giant unfenced herds in the
>> west that require their use.  If so, why haven't herders made a big
>> fuss over their cattle getting plowed?  Or is there cow-insurance that
>> covers such train mishaps?  
>>
	While travelling cross country via Amtrak, the train hit a cow
     west of the Mississippi River. The cow was quite mangled (I caught
     a glimpse of a brown "object" hurtling off to the side shortly 
     after a "thump") and the train had to stop. The story given was 
     that an air-hose had been damaged. This mishap (due to scheduling)
     caused the train to be 3hr 5min late to Chicago, where I missed the
     Wolverine Special by 5min. Sigh.
>
>    Around Cassopolis, Michigan, The Grand Trunk Western occasionally has
>  problems with cattle on the tracks.(anyone for some burgers?)
>
>   Also, around Riverside, Michigan(several miles northeast of Benton Harbor,
> MI, horses are often a problem for CSX.
>
	Although unfenced ranges are getting rare in most parts of the
    country, livestock will wander into breaks in the fences. I have heard
    a Canadian RR has problems with animals (bears) on the track at the
    site of a derailment that spilled corn onto the r-o-w. Apparently 
    this site (still does?) attracted bears to the fermented corn.

	Many of the northern (well, southern Michigan) locomotives I 
    recall as having pilots in the shape of plows, used to keep snow from
    accumulating on the tracks.





								Bruce




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bruce Burden
  bruceb@mpd.tandem.com
  Tandem Computers Inc.
Organization: mbp Software&Systems GmbH at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany
Date: Thursday, 12 Nov 1992 08:23:05 CET
From: Dr. Lutz Massonne <LMASSONN@ESOC.BITNET>
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: German train schedules: Frankfurt to Dusseldorf
Distribution: world

I have now the schedule Frankfurt/Airport - Duesseldorf at hand:

leaving       arriving      Train
Frankfurt     Duesseldorf   Number       Remarks

0:02             2:36       IC 902
3:35             6:17        D 202
6:13             9:11         --      Take S-Bahn to Mainz, change to Duess.
7:04             9:31       IC 739
7:33            10:31         --      Take S-Bahn to Mainz, change to Duess.
8:04            10:31       IC 826    Change IC at Cologne
9:04            11:31       IC 526    Change IC at Cologne, not on Sunday
10:04           12:31       IC 822
11:04           13:31       IC 524
12:04           14:31       IC 522    Change to EC at Cologne
13:04           15:31       IC 620
14:04           16:31       EC 128    Change at Cologne
15:04           17:31       IC 520    Change to EC at Cologne
16:04           18:31       EC 28
17:04           19:31       IC 724
18:04           20:31       EC 26     Change at Cologne
19:04           21:31       IC 726
20:04           22:31       EC 24
21:04           23:31       IC 722    Change to EC at Cologne
22:04            0:51       EC 22     Change to E at Cologne

IC: InterCity train  EC: EuroCity Train  E: Eilzug (Fast local)
S-Bahn: Suburban train

The changes at Cologne are normally organised such that the
connecting train waits at the opposite side of the same platform.
This is called a "System Stop", both trains (should) arrive within
one minute and leave within one minute. The 1st/2nd class carriages
normally are standing just across the platform to minimise the
distance you have to walk changing the trains.

Regards, Lutz
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: Railroad maps in general for N. America
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 23:59:46 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

There's an ad that's been appearing in Railpace of late.  I'll quote
it in its entirety.  I've never dealt with this company, and I have no
idea how good they are, or how expensive...

	MAPS:  We provide mapping to the rail industry.  These same U.S.
	and Canadian maps are available to you.  Send SASE for price and
	list to Railroad Information Service, P.O. Box 1429, Georgetown,
	TX  78627.
From: rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Misspelling of "Amtrak" (was Re: Metroliners)
Date: 5 Nov 92 18:21:04 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: spcsun25.bbn.com

Seriously....

how did the National Rail Passenger Corporation ever
get the name "Amtrak" anyway?

-- 
Ron Newman		rnewman@bbn.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: jws7@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (JEFF W SCHRAMM)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: U.S. railroad maps (topo maps)
Date: 6 Nov 92 03:19:24 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <8645@orbit.cts.com>, hudson@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Hudson Leighton) writ
es:
>United States Transportation Zone Maps
>Stock #050-005-00012-7
>Catalog #TD3.2:M32
>
>Highly recomemded for what was what and where circa 1970
>
Very true, However, for my money the best sources, large scale, are the USGS
7.5 minute series topographical maps.  Many haven't been substantially updated since the late
70's.  It may take quite a few to do a large area but if you are interested in
a particular city, junction or industry these can be invaluble. If you are lucky you could find the larger area(smaller scale) 15
you may find some of the larger area (smaller scale) 15 minute series which dates from the 50's
 from the 50's.  There are also metric maps from the 70's that have been
 somewhat updated.  These cover a much larger area (1:100,000) but the
 railroads are a bit harder to find and all the measurements are in those
 goofy meters.  If really old stuff is your game you can find old 15 minute
 series maps, for instance I found one for Lincoln IL and the surrounding
 area(all the way to Mt. Pulaski) from 1911!

 These maps are available from the USGS field service offices in Reston VA and
 Rolla MO.  (the Rolla folks are really helpful too)  Some can also be had
 from the state DNR's and other state agencies.  I know that the Rand-Mcnally
 store in Chicago also carries some of the 7.5minute maps as well but you'll
 pay more than if you go straight to the government.

 Just a thought....Aerial photographs....

 LATER....

>
-- 

Jeff Schramm
212 E. Morton St. Apt 1
Bethlehem, PA 18015

Lehigh University
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: stevray@stsci.edu (Don Stevens-Rayburn)
Subject: Re: Why do New England Express trains slow down...
Originator: stevray@sol.stsci.edu
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:03:52 GMT


I suspect it has to do with the probability that there will be folks on the
platform.  I used to commute via MARC from Baltimore to New Carrolton.  Some
of the Metroliners do not stop at New Carrolton.  It gets pretty exciting when
a train blows by you at a distance of maybe 5 feet at 100+ mph.
From: jt3y+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jason Paul Togyer)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: LNWDL Top Ten
Date: 6 Nov 92 00:45:45 GMT
Organization: Freshman, CIT general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

I thought this was worth a chuckle, if not entirely fair or accurate:

From Late Night with David Letterman, 04 November 1992:


       Top 10 Signs That Bill Clinton Has Gone Mad with Power...

     ...8.  Has promised that Amtrak will run on time.

Fans of Mr. Letterman know that Amtrak is a favorite topic of gags for him.

--Jason Togyer
     Carnegie Institute of Technology
     Pittsburgh, Penn.

**"The moral of the story is: don't count your boobies before they've hatched."
       --James Thurber
            'THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN'
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: Question about Military Railroad Battalions
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 01:46:49 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

There's an ad in the latest Railpace for a book ``United States
Military Railway Service:  America's Soldier-Railroaders in WW II'',
Don DeNevi and Bob Hall, $35, ISBN 1-55046-021-8, published by
Boston Mills Press, in Ontario.

Disclaimer:  I haven't seen the book.
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: rl@ferris.cray.com (Randy Lambertus)
Subject: Railroad Computer program...
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 5 Nov 92 11:12:54 CST

  I was looking back through some old magazines and
I saw this in the September 1984, Model Railroader
page 131, lower right corner.

Does anyone have any knowledge of it, or if the company
is in existence. If anyone does have an Apple][ copy, I
would be interested in it. If no one answers, I will
give the telephone number a call, but if someone in
the U.S (maybe Pittsburg?) wants to try first I
would appreciate it. It looks to good to be true but
then again, it could be just the thing to learn how
to dispatch? It's probably long gone..............

*************************************************
 "Be the Train Dispatcher"

  Play this fast-paced computer video game that's so
true-to-life that a major railroad indicated they use
it in dispatcher training.

  TRAIN DISPATCHER's 24 displays help you make crucial
decisions, RAPIDLY. You're under pressure, but in
control -- throwing switches, clearing and cancelling
signals, constantly maneuvering both east and west
bound trains. Keep the tracks clear ahead of all
your trains and watch your score go up.

  Action packed, yet non-violent, TRAIN DISPATCHER's 5
levels of play challenges players from 8 to 80. Work
your way up from "Cub Dispatcher" to "Chief Dispatcher"
or even "Trainmaster".

  Created by designers of computerized traffic control
systems for operating railroads, TRAIN DISPATCHER
will increase your appreciation for actual railroad
operations.

  TRAIN DISPATCHER comes complete with instruction
manual and keyboard template.

CHECK ONE:

VIC-20       Tape _   Disk _
   (Requires 16K Memory Expander)   $24.95
Atari 800    Tape _   Disk _
   (Requires BASIC)                 $24.95
Atari 400    Tape _
   (Requires BASIC)                 $24.95
Commodore 64 Tape _   Disk _        $24.95
Apple][               Disk _        $29.95
Manual only _                       $ 4.00

SEND TO: Signal Computer Consultants, LTD.
         P.O Box 18222
         Pittsburg, PA   15236
         (412) 655-7727
*************************************************

Randy Lambertus               Cray Research, Region 4            rl@uk.cray.com
*******************************************************************************
   \                            ___________________
  \ \  ___>--__________________/_#######_|_#######_\__________________--<___
 = = }(___________________S__U__S__Q__U__E__H__A__N__N__A___________________)
  / / ||O|  ___    ____    ____    ____     ____    ____    ____    ___  |O||
   /  || | |___|  |____|  |____|  |____|   |____|  |____|  |____|  |___| | ||
      ||_|______________________________M 1______________________________|_||
      ||_|_______/=====\___________________________________/=====\_______|_||
     /|__|       (o)=(o)        |_______| |_______|        (o)=(o)       |__|\
===============================================================================
**[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]****[]***
From: VE.Q11@forsythe.stanford.edu (Chuck Hakkarinen)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: German Train Schedules
Date: 10 Nov 1992 21:54:53 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
Distribution: net
NNTP-Posting-Host: morrow.stanford.edu

There is hourly service (lv Frankfurt airport at 4 minutes after the hour) to
Dusseldorf.  Travel time is 2 and 1/2 hours.

Chuck Hakkarinen
Electric Power Research Institute
From: hudson@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Hudson Leighton)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Compound Locomotives
Date: 8 Nov 92 03:05:01 GMT
Organization: People-Net [pnet51], Minneapolis, MN.

a note on intercepting valve,

I once talked to a gentleman who had worked for the Northern Pacfic and
had fired their Z3s which were compound Mallets.  He told of a couple
of trips with big/heavy trains on which the intercepter valve go left open
(the crew concentrating on keeping the train moving) the low pressure
cylinders used up all the steam in the boiler and the airpumps stoped and the
turbogenerator stoped, there they sat not moving, no lights, 

Where they got pressure back up and were ready to start again he reached over
to set the intercepter valve to start the train and discovered it was
aready set the cab filled with many loud #@%&^%$#$%


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From: CZ94@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA (CZ94)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: RE: Dead meat
Date: 13 Nov 92 13:59:40 GMT
Organization: McGill University

In article <1992Nov12.202042.7163@telebit.com> bjork@telebit.com (Steven Bjork) writes:
>
>The Alaska Railroad has problems with moose. The trains plow out
>a nice place for the critters to walk, thus they congregate there.
>
>CTC Board mag claimed 20 or so struck in a single trip is not uncommon.
>
I've heard that when Canadian National switched from steam to diesel,
there was a sharp increase in the number of moose killed by trains.
It seems that a diesel's air horn, unlike a steam whistle, sounds
much like the love call of a moose.

Tom Box
CZ94@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich)
Subject: Re: _Discover_ Magazine: "Personal Rail Transit"
Organization: LLNL
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 20:19:15 GMT

In article <7880@skye.ed.ac.uk> ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Ken Johnson) writes:
>
>In article <1992Nov6.201018.3976@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I.  Petrich)
>writes:

:  The inventor of this system [...] expects the cars to be _very_ light,
:  and not to need much strength in the tracks. 

>Lighter than, say, a small car? Even the elevated track necessary to
>convey vehicles of that size and weight would be expensive. 

	Well, maybe.

:  But not if the system is very spread out, with several possible routes. 
:  Part of the design is that the central computer can recognize congested
:  spots and redirect cars around them. 

>I would expect the congested spots to be those at the centre of the
>network, and the problems of by-passing them would be the same as the
>problems of by-passing a main road in a city centre. 

	But the nice thing here is that the central computer will be
able to detect congested spots and redirect cars around them. It's not
easy to detect upcoming traffic jams when in a car, although it might
be possible to set up road signs that would warn of upcoming traffic
jams and point out alternate routes.

:  The elevated track is so that a driverless system can work at the
:  present level of AI -- no heavy-duty visual recognition needed. 

>The present level of AI can cope with ground level trackwork; there is
>no difference between ground level and elevated trackage from the
>computational point of view.  Conventional trains could share the ground
>level trackwork provided it was strong enough and information about its
>position was fed to the signalling system. 

	But the purpose of the elevated track is to provide a
right-of-way with no competition, so that the cars will not have to be
able to recognize (say) some kid crossing the track on a bicycle. Are
there any currently available artificial-vision systems capable of
performing this seemingly trivial task? Not that I'm aware of, and
this very problem has been _very_ tough for AI.
Organization: mbp Software&Systems GmbH at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany
Date: Wednesday, 11 Nov 1992 09:47:39 CET
From: Dr. Lutz Massonne <LMASSONN@ESOC.BITNET>
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: German train schedules: Frankfurt to Dusseldorf

I have the exact schedule at home, but there is an intercity line connecting
Frankfurt/Main airport station and Duesseldorf with hourly trains.

The hourly service should start well before 7:30, and I would see no
problme in arriving at Frankfurt, buying a ticket at the DB counter in
the arrival area (there are no ticket counters on the downstairs platforms,
just ticket vending machines for local trains) and taking the next train.

Reservation is not required, and unless travelling on special dates (Friday
afternoon, Christmas period) free seats should be available.
Sometimes the 1st class is full of business travellers, and the 2nd class
has empty compartments ...

Regards, Lutz
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: sou4501@sage.cc.purdue.edu (***** Tim Trebing *****)
Subject: Re: U.S. railroad maps (topo maps)
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 21:08:02 GMT

In article <1992Nov6.031924.111694@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> jws7@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (JEFF W SCHRAMM) writes:

>Very true, However, for my money the best sources, large scale, are the USGS
>7.5 minute series topographical maps.  Many haven't been substantially updated since the late

I agree with you 100%...I use em for ALL my railroading, in fact I don't think
I could live without them now.

> These maps are available from the USGS field service offices in Reston VA and
> Rolla MO.  (the Rolla folks are really helpful too)  Some can also be had
> from the state DNR's and other state agencies.  I know that the Rand-Mcnally
> store in Chicago also carries some of the 7.5minute maps as well but you'll
> pay more than if you go straight to the government.

The Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Library here at Purdue University has the
entire nation on file for borrowing/copying...to date I have not failed to
find a map that I have been looking for...saves a lot of money not having to
buy them, since most of what I use them for are one-shot deals (Like main-line
steam excursions, and such)  Ah, the benefits of college life.

Tim Trebing
looking for
From: ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Ken Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: _Discover_ Magazine: "Personal Rail Transit"
Date: 6 Nov 92 11:09:49 GMT
Followup-To: rec.railroad
Organization: Bugs-R-Us


In article <1992Nov4.010141.23624@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I.  Petrich)
writes:


#  	A plus of this system is that it would be convenient for
#  low-density areas like a lot of suburbia where it is difficult to run
#  frequent transit service.

This system has not evolved anywhere, though.  Remember that most of the
cost of such a system would be the cost of the track.  Once you have the
track erected, you might as well run scheduled services on it.  If
vehicles on the proposed system are privately owned, you will get all
the problems of `transport deprivation' associated with cars.  If
publicly owned, I would guess that one hundred three-seater vehicles
would cost more than one 300-seater train, and would suffer far more
serious congestion at junctions. 

#   And the elevated tracks necessary ... 

Why are elevated tracks necessary? Why not fix some high-tech to
conventional ground level track?




-- 
//// Advice To Dieters:         ////  Ken Johnson, A I Applications Institute
////   Never Eat More Than      ////       80 South Bridge, EDINBURGH EH1 1HN
////   You Can Carry.           ////                 E-mail Ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk
////              -- Miss Piggy ////     Phone 031-650 2756  Fax 031-650 6513