HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gnn@wsl.dec.com (George Neville-Neil)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Charlie on the T (was Re: Amtrack from Boston to Portland, ME)
Keywords: history, transit, Boston, USA
Date: 9 Sep 92 23:27:13 GMT
Reply-To: gnn@wsl.dec.com (George Neville-Neil)
Organization: DEC Western Software Lab

In article <lasvpkINN7ln@news.bbn.com>, rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep9.212401.20156@ryn.mro4.dec.com>, pierson@empror.enet.dec.com (dave pierson) writes:
|> |> In article <lasf59INN7ln@news.bbn.com>, rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes...
|>  
|> |> >The song is called "Charlie on the MTA".   Look for it on a 
|> |> >Kingston Trio album.   About 10 years ago, the fare system on
|> |> >the T was changed so that you don't need to pay to get off anywhere,
|> |> >except the Quincy Adams and Braintree stations on the Red Line.
|> |> 
|> |> 	Nope.  By about two decades.  Note the reference to _MTA_.  Charlie has
|> |> 	been down there since the mid '50's.  Someone else can supply the fare
|> |> 	change, but thats when the song dates to.  Quincy/Adams & Braintree may
|> |> 	still have had (all rise) NYNH&H RR (you may be seated) (8)>>) service
|> |> 	when Charlie started his trip.
|> 
|> I think I got misinterpreted here.   The song dates from the 50's, if
|> not earlier.  (It was originally written as a campaign song for
|> a candidate for mayor of Boston.)   The situation it describes,
|> needing to pay to get off a Green Line train, was eliminated 
|> about 10 years ago.
|> 

I'm not sure who wrote it.  The version I heard was by The Kingston
Trio.  The candidate was George O'Brian.  The last few lines of the 
song being:

Vote for George O'Brian,
get poor Charlie off the MTA.

The words, as far as I can remember are:

Let me tell of a story,
of a man named Charlie.
On a tragic and fateful day.
He put ten cents in his pocket,
with his wife and family,
went to ride on the MTA.

[chorus]
But did he ever return?
No he never returned,
and his fate is still unlearned.
He may ride forever,
'neath the streets of Boton,
he's the man who never returned.

Charlie handed in his token,
at the Kendall Sq. station,
and changed for Jamaica Plain.
When he got there the conductor
told him one more nickel,
Charlie couldn't get off of that train.

[chorus]

Every night Charlie rides through the stations
crying, "What will become of me?
How can I afford to see my sister in Chelsea
or my cousin in Roxbury.

[chorus]

Charlie's wife goes down to the station,
every day at quarter past three.
And through the open window she hands
Charlie a sandwich as the train 
comes rumbling through.

[chorus] +
Vote for George O'Brian,
get poor Charlie off the MTA.



What I never understood when I heard it as a kid (in the 70s)
was why she never handed him that nickel he needed?

Anyways...  Hope this helps, or at least was amusing.

Later,
George

-- 
To fathom hell, or soar angelic, take a pinch of psychedelic.
				Dr. Osmond
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Most spectacular passenger routes
From: Robert Chambers <RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Tuesday, 8 Sep 1992 21:09:55 EDT
Organization: CUNY/UCC VM Systems

One thing to watch out for standing in the front of the train looking
out the window is downed cables and other obstacles.  We were sitting
behind the engineer in a Metro North MU a while back when we heard
a loud CRACK! and the train stopped abruptly... I figured we hit
something, and knocked on the engineers door to see if he was ok,
he opened the door and said "Yeah, I'm ok, look at this"  his front
window was shattered by a cable hanging down.  Luckily it wasn't hefty
enough to come through the window as I'm sure it would have done him
some serious damage.  It wasn't a live part of the catenary either
so we limped along under a restricted speed and got home.  If I had
been standing looking out the full length window and that cable had been
2 feet over, --- Doesn't really bear thinking about.  The engineer said
a passenger had been killed by a downed tree coming through the front
door and hitting her in the head.

Keep your eyes open.

Robert
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Amtrack from Boston to Portland, ME
From: wotkun@pa881a.inland.com
Date: 10 Sep 92 12:31:15 CDT
Organization: Inland Steel Company, East Chicago, IN
Nntp-Posting-User: schiewer


> "Amtrack has been recently selected by the Maine Department of Transportation

> between Boston and Portland.  Amtrack has indicated that running services
> 
AMTRAK is spelled AMTRAK, not AMTRACK.
A minor thing. First try to followup a NEWS item.
-- 
---John P. Wotkun------------|-------------------------------------------|
Inland Steel Company         |   wotkun@pa621a.inland.com                |
Process Automation MS 2-467  |                                           |
3210 Watling Street          |                                           | 
East Chicago, IN 46312       | Fancy quote here                          |
-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: evanh@sco.COM (Evan Hunt)
Subject: Any real benefit to monorails?
Organization: Stan's Chosen Ones
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1992 00:23:23 GMT


I just came back from a visit to disneyland, and while there I heard
repeatedly their boast about having the "first daily-operating monorail
in the western hemisphere".

It occurred to me, listening to that, that so far as I know they have
the *only* daily-operating monorail, except for the ones at the other
disney parks--but they make it sound like it was the start of a whole
new era in rail transit.  So I was wondering why monorails were so
hyped back in the old days as the transportion of the future.  Is
there any real benefit to them over regular rail?  I can think of a
few small ones:  They're quiet, they don't require broad rights-of-way,
they're easy to elevate, and they look really keen.  On the other hand,
they're hard to switch (you have to hinge an entire section of track),
and, if the disneyland monorail is anything to judge by, they're rather
bumpy and uncomfortable.

What I'm wondering is, are monorails unusually efficient, or inexpensive,
or low-maintainance, or anything else that made them seem attractive
thirty years ago?  Or was it just the same plastic-age optimism that
made people think naugahyde and polyester were cool?

(BTW, a tip for those of you who may visit the park in the future--
if you wait at the front of the platform, the monorail operator will
let you ride in the cab, which turns a usually-dull ride into a pretty
exciting one.  Few people seem to know about it.)

-- 
"I had generously shown on the stage my interior life as a raging beast, but
 my exterior life as a mediocre human being and dilettante of of normal int-
 elligence remained unchronicled...I *knew* that beneath my work's primeval,
 hysterical facade there was a calm little writer in an armchair just waiting
 to burst forth." -- Wally Shawn, on the writing of "My Dinner With Andre'"
From: dfl@panix.com (Danny O'Bedlam)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Amtrak Stations
Date: 15 Sep 92 03:49:22 GMT
Organization: Panix, (New Yawk City)

Loren writes that PATH shares space with Penn Stations railroads,
AMTRAK, NJT, and LIRR.  Please be aware:  PATH is located on 
6th avenue only, a/k/a avenue of the Americas.  The PATH Terminal
is only at 6th and West 33rd St.  the tunnel that connected the
IND station at Herald Square (just north of the PATH terminal)
and the IRT Station adjacent to PENN has been closed for years.

So:  PENN houses AMTRAK and LIRR and NJT only.  AMTRAK ridership
from NYC is pretty heavy.  LIRR has a seperate waiting and boarding
area on the lower level.  AMTRAK and NJT share the same space.  If
AMTRAK customers move across the street to the JAF building NJT will
have a large space to call their own.  Of course there will b some
kind of connections above the platform level, there are today.  But
AMTRAK passengers would get a vastly larger space, and more shops.

-- 
***********************************************************************
* Danny O'Bedlam  = dfl@panix.com = cmcl2!panix!dfl = Danny Lieberman *
* PO Box 3131 Church St Station, New Yawk, New Yawk, 10008-3131 (usa) *
***********************************************************************
From: kwyatt@ccscola.Columbia (Kershner Wyatt)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: CSX in Columbia, SC
Date: 10 Sep 92 12:10:18 GMT
Organization: NCR Corp, E&M-Columbia, Columbia, SC

In article <1992Sep9.120444.5169@gw.wmich.edu> 737ochs@gw.wmich.edu writes:
>In article <18jrovINN7r8@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, elw4@po.CWRU.Edu (Evan L. Werkema) writes:
kw here in South Carolina.  The unit appears to be a SD-40-2, painted red and
kw>medium yellow with the big letters SF.  I have seen it four times
kw>now, but never in a position to get a really good look at it.  It sounds in
kw>pretty sad shape.  Generally working coal drags, in second or third position,
kw>never lead.
ew> Hmmm...that sounds like a unit painted in the SPSF post-merger paint scheme:
ew> black roof, red and yellow "warbonnet."  Santa Fe's post-merger painted units 
ew> only had the "SF" painted on them, SP's only had "SP" painted on them.  
ew> Unfortunately, no SD40-2's survive in this scheme.  The only SF-lettered units
ew> which survive are the 15 or so C30-7's Santa Fe traded back to GE before they 
ew> got repainted.  CSX has leased several of these C30's, so if the engine you 
ew> saw had an 8000 or 8100 class number, that's what it is.  
ew> If it really is an SD40-2, I don't know what it is.  SP only had SD40T-2's,
ew> and Santa Fe's have all been repainted.

fo>I would also guess that it is one of these C30-7's. I have seen several on CSX
fo>up here in Michigan, including one in this "kodachrome"" scheme, or another
fo>name, for SPSF, Shouldn't Paint So Fast ;^)
fo>CSX's SD40-2's are in the 8000 series too, which might confuse you, but on
fo>their tracing sysstem, it would be considered ATSF 8000 rather than CSXT 8000
fo>also, I bet if you had one of the SF units in the lead, the engineer would
fo>clear the signals on the radio saying Santa Fe 8000 or something like that.

Evan, Fred,

Thanks for the ID's, now of course I haven't seen the unit for several days...
Scanner I have yet to set up to pick up the communications but as I noted 
earlier, I haven't seen this one lead, but but that would be kinda of interest-
ing in CSX land.  Kodachrome, that's apt, it looks like a dirty Kodak box.
Could of really kicked myself the other day, the four units came back and 
forth 3 times in 2 hours  AND I still didn't get out there in time.

-- 
Kershner Wyatt
kwyatt@ccscola.ColumbiaSC.ncr.com

My opinions are my own and aren't necessarily my employer's.
From: yhshowie@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Howard Wharton)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Maple Lead
Keywords: Falls
Date: 14 Sep 92 16:34:00 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Sep14.114806.4639@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, inky@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (barbara.l.leone) writes...
>I am planning a trip to Niagara Falls in the
>Spring, 1993 and would appreciate any information
>on the Amtrak route (Maple Leaf) New York to
>Niagara Falls.
> 
>Thanks,
>Barbara Leone
>bll@hotld!att.com
Please E-Mail me with what type of information that you are looking for.
Howard Wharton
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: milliganc@woods.ulowell.edu
Subject: Obtain a Caboose?
Organization: University of Lowell
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:34:09 GMT

Hello,
	I was wondering if it was at all possible to obtain a B&M crumy for
private ownership.  All my life Ihave watched the trains go by my house and
I sadly miss waving to the men in the caboose.  I always thought having one
would be fun.  I would happily receive any info regarding.  
Thank you,
KILROY
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: ggg9y@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU (Garth G. Groff)
Subject: Re: Any real benefit to monorails?
Organization: University of Virginia
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 20:10:55 GMT

MONORAILS

This was pretty-well hashed over a few months ago.

The arguments go back and forth as to the advantages
and disadvantages and the partisans will never agree.
The pros and cons you noted seem to cover the arguments
pretty well.  Add two others:  equipment has to be
more or less custom-made, so systems can't buy excess
cars from each other; and when one car breaks down, so
does the whole system (plus imagine getting the 
passengers down from a broken car on an elevated track).

There are many more monorails around than you think.  The
most ambitious serves the downtown area of Seattle as a
regular transit route.  Others seem to be mostly around
zoos and amusement parks.  One such that comes to mind
is the line at King's Dominion near Richmond, VA.  It is 
mostly at ground level, but has some elevated track.  It
runs through a series of "habitats" with various African
animals.

~S
--
Garth (Haridas) Groff
"Not yet famous author"
ggg9y@poe.acc.virginia.EDU         Chant "Govinda Bohlo Hare"
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: Joe.Russ <Joe.Russ@mixcom.mixcom.com>
Subject: Trainfest '92 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Organization: Milwaukee Internet Xchange BBS, Milwaukee, WI U.S.A.
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 06 Sep 1992 04:26:28 GMT


An early reminder that on November 14 & 15, 1992, the Wisconsin
Southeastern (WISE) Division of the National Model Railroad Assocation
(NMRA) will host its 21st annual Trainfest '92 at  Wisconsin State
Fair Park's North Exhibit Hall located at 84th St. and Greenfield Ave.
in West Allis, Wis. The show, the one Russ Larson of MODEL RAILROADER
said was "...one of the best, if not THE best, model railroad show in
the country," (February 1992 MR) features over 92,000 square feet of
exhibits, with over 25 operating layouts in scales from Z to G,
numerous hobby shops from across the country, manufacturer's including
W.K. Walthers, Inc. and Kalmbach Publishing, and other exhibitors
including railroad artists, historical societies, museums. The show
also has a video theater and test track. And there is plenty of free
parking!
 
 Admission donations are as follows:
 -----------------------------------
 $4 for adults
 $3 for seniors and NMRA members
 $2 for children 12-18
 Under 12 free with parent
 
 Hours are:
 ---------------------------------------
 Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 Sunday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
To get there exit I-94 (from either west or south) at 84th St. and
head south. You won't miss the fair park on your left. Make plans now
to attend.
 Joe Russ
 WISE Div., NMRA
 
 Advertisement: For a schedule of other railroad and modelrailroad
events in the Milwaukee area, see the Hobby Zone on the Safe Harbor
BBS (414)548-8140.
-- 
Joe.Russ@mixcom.com
From: dtyler%jt_home.uucp@amber.athena.lkg.dec.com (David Tyler)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: 200-mile rail network under study in Vermont.
Summary: study
Keywords: Rail study
Date: 6 Sep 92 16:54:38 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Totally Disorganized..

200 MILE RAIL NETWORK UNDER STUDY IN VERMONT.

State officials are currently studying a 200 mile train loop that would
attract bussiness and tourists. The route: Burlington, Montpelier, White
River Junction, Bellows Falls, Rutland and Middlebury. 

Currently, money is being passed and a study will be done on the
feasibility of the train. A report is due next month.

(All what is above is directly from the Sunday Telegram, none of it is
opinion)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Don't get your hopes up, it takes a while, the project might stall.) IMO
(In my own opinion)

David M. Tyler.
From: bsg3@po.CWRU.Edu (Barbara S. Goldstein)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: HELP!: I Need Pullman Car Info
Date: 13 Sep 1992 00:17:12 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: bsg3@po.CWRU.Edu (Barbara S. Goldstein)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu



Greetings all.  I hope someone out there can lend me a hand.  See, I'm in
this on-going Trivia "test of wills" with a good friend and he's given
me a question 'bout the Pullman Rail Cars.  I -think- I have the right
answer, but I figger YOU folks would know the real scoop.  So here's my
challenge:

It seems that when the Pullman Cars came out, they weren't very popular
because they were taller and wider than most rail tunnels and stations
could accomodate.  MY QUESTION:  What was the event that was the primary
cause of the Pullman Rail Car becoming the standard rail vehicle for nearly
100 years?  The only hint was that this event took place after the Civil War
ended.

After scanning a number of books, I -think- the answer is that the Pullman
"Pioneer" was to be part of the late Abraham Lincoln's funeral train from
Chicago to Springfield.  But the car was too wide to clear the platforms 
belonging to the Chicago, Alton, and St. Louis Railroad.  So, station
platforms and other obstacles were cut down to permit the passage of the
"Pioneer."  Soon after, other Railroads made similar changes in railroad
dimensions.  Eventually, the car was put into regular service.

Am I CLOSE???  Am I completely off base on this one?  I've got 'til 3 pm
(Eastern Time) on Tuesday, September 15 to get this one right.  Please
e-mail me your advice ASAP.  Your help is -really- appreciated.

Thanks again.

Barbara Goldstein
bsg3@po.CWRU.EDU


p.s.  If you wanna know the Trivia question I posed to him (No, they're not
all railroad questions), here it is:

Name the first Gold Record to be placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, NY.

The answer follows:












(Still thinking??)


















It's the Bud Abbott/Lou Costello recording of the classic routine:

"Who's on First?"



Thanks for your help!!  Bye for now.

-- 
..the Enchanted Place at the top of the Forest.  We can go there at any time.
It's not far away; it's not hard to find.  Just take the path to Nothing, and
go Nowhere until you reach it.  Because the Enchanted Place is where you are,
and if you're Friendly With Bears, you can find it." - Hoff "The Tao of Pooh"
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: pierson@empror.enet.dec.com (dave pierson)
Subject: Re: Amtrack from Boston to Portland, ME
Keywords: history, transit, Boston, USA 
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date:  9 SEP 92 17:20:06    

In article <lasf59INN7ln@news.bbn.com>, rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes...

>|> One last note.  On the railroad song issue, I suggest the song about
>|> Charlie who got stuck on the MTA (now the MBTA) because he
>|> did not have enough $$ to get off the train..  Once again, I don't
>|> know the name of the song, but I think someone in net land might.

>The song is called "Charlie on the MTA".   Look for it on a 
>Kingston Trio album.   About 10 years ago, the fare system on
>the T was changed so that you don't need to pay to get off anywhere,
>except the Quincy Adams and Braintree stations on the Red Line.

	Nope.  By about two decades.  Note the reference to _MTA_.  Charlie has
	been down there since the mid '50's.  Someone else can supply the fare
	change, but thats when the song dates to.  Quincy/Adams & Braintree may
	still have had (all rise) NYNH&H RR (you may be seated) (8)>>) service
	when Charlie started his trip.

thanks
dave pierson			|the facts, as accurately as i can manage,
Digital Equipment Corporation	|the opinions, my own.
146 Main St			|I am the NRA.
Maynard, Mass	
01754				pierson@majsty.enet.dec.com
"He has read everything, and, to his credit, written nothing."  A J Raffles
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: yves@icewarrior.dev.cdx.mot.com (Yves Vidal)
Subject: VIDEO RAILS : are they still in business ?? 
Organization: Motorola Codex, Canton, MA
Distribution: rec.railroad
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 16:03:23 GMT
Followup-To: rec.railroad
Keywords: VIDEO RAIL

Hi netters, 

some of you have probably heard about the SAN DIEGO based
company called VIDEO RAILS (aka LAMBERT ENTREPRISES).
 
Do you know if they are still in business or not ? 
Has their address been changed, lately ? 

Thanks for helping.
From: gemmellj@merrimack.edu
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Charlie on the T ( Ma. Pike vs. MTA)
Date: 11 Sep 92 09:30:34 GMT
Organization: Merrimack College, No. Andover, MA, USA

Hi.  With all this hub-dub I created about Charlie on the T, I wondered
when the MTA changed its name to the MBTA.  
Now, the MTA is the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
A long time ago it stood for the Mass. transit authority.
Don't you love it when the folks on Beacon Hill change meanings
for government agencies.. 
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Amtrack from Boston to Portland, ME
Date: 9 Sep 92 18:04:25 GMT
Organization: Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: spcsun25.bbn.com

In article <1992Sep9.131148.2162@merrimack.edu>, gemmellj@merrimack.edu writes:
|> From this mornings Boston Globe from the Q+A section on the comic page.

|> On another note,  Did anyone see old rail car last week at South Station
|> in Boston.  I think it is from the Balt. and Ohio, but I might be 
|> mistaken.  It was awsome.... The person who owns the Hard Rock Cafe's
|> owns it and he brought it to town...

Yeah, that was quite a car.  It was from the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio
railroad I think.   The car's owner is a descendant of the founder
of that railroad.

|> One last note.  On the railroad song issue, I suggest the song about
|> Charlie who got stuck on the MTA (now the MBTA) because he
|> did not have enough $$ to get off the train..  Once again, I don't
|> know the name of the song, but I think someone in net land might.

The song is called "Charlie on the MTA".   Look for it on a 
Kingston Trio album.   About 10 years ago, the fare system on
the T was changed so that you don't need to pay to get off anywhere,
except the Quincy Adams and Braintree stations on the Red Line.

-- 
Ron Newman		rnewman@bbn.com
From: MRH@tdkt.kksys.com (Dan Mcnulty)
Sender: FredGate@tdkt.kksys.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Soo Line Railroad Abandonment (Minnesota)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 11:37:46 -0600

     The Soo Line Railroad plans to abandon some track in Minnesota.  Those
being:

1)  The former Minnesota, Northfield & Southern (MN&S) NICOLLET AVENUE SPUR -
    Auto Club in Bloomington to Nicollet Avenue in Richfield.  CAT and John
    Deere are the major industries on this route...Maybe a short-line railroad
    would be interested in picking up this line?   10 MPH and the track is in
    fair to poor condition.

2)  Plummer to Bemidji.  This line was up for abandonment back in 1988, so
    only time will tell...


                              << Dan McNulty >>
    From the Minnesota Radio Hobbyists bbs (612) 789-1738. FIDOnet #4016


 * Origin: the MN. Radio Hobbyists BBS (1:282/4016)
From: nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (Nathan F. Janette)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Amtrak Stations
Date: 15 Sep 92 16:54:56 GMT
Reply-To: nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu
Distribution: na
Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science, New Haven, CT

In article <Hsi5qB2w165w@1776.COM> bob@1776.COM (Robert Coe) writes:
> elw4@po.CWRU.Edu (Evan L. Werkema) writes:
> 
> BTW, another Northeast Corridor station that has been beautifully restored 
> is the one in New Haven.

I'll say - our wedding ceremony took place two years ago on
the balcony overlooking the main hall, followed,
naturally, by taking the Montrealer to our honeymoon. 
The train crew was in the station during the wedding, and
let us (after changing our clothes) ride in the cab while
traveling North on the CV tracks in CT/MA...

--
Nathan Janette		"I'm a NeXTstep man,
Dept MB&B, Yale Univ	 I'm a NeXTcube guy"
New Haven, CT
nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (NeXT)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad