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OGaugeWatch.com is written by David Hartmann. View Dave's about page.
I was surfing Rail-Videos.net with my son and daughter the other night and found a video that demonstrates what happens when a tractor trailer tangles with a freight train at a RR crossing. Check out the video here. Look for the guy in a pink shirt entering the shot from the right side at the very beginning of the video. What was he thinking!
I'm sure most O Gauge fans who haven't traveled by rail in a sleeping car (like me) are curious to find out what the rooms are all about. Amtrak has a virtual tour of a Superliner Sleeping Car on their website that gives you a 3D look at the bedrooms available in the car. Check out the tour here.
As I become more and more interested in O Gauge model railroading I find myself wanting to find out more about the prototypical versions of the trains I drool over in the O Gauge catalogs. I paid a visit to Best Buy this weekend and while wandering through the movie section I came across a box set of DVDs entitled "Railway Journeys, The Vanishing Age Of Steam." I was very surprised to find a documentary about trains at Best Buy and even more surprised that the 5 DVD set cost only $14.99!. For that price I couldn't resist, so I bought it and I'm very glad I did.
Click on the link below to read on
Continue reading "Railway Journeys, The Vanishing Age of Steam" »
Not much happening in the world of O Gauge right now so I couldn't resist a post about a rail travel company using podcasting to assist rail travelers. Podcasts are nothing new but I like the way Vacations By Rail is using them to drum up potential customers. If you're thinking about planning a rail vacation then you will want to give a listen to the Rail Insider Series podcasts by Vacations By Rail. Vacations By Rail is producing the podcasts to provide listeners with helpful tips for planning a rail vacation. Each episode includes a link to supplemental materials (route maps, schedules, sample itineraries, etc) for download that are referenced during the podcast. Episode 1 is available now and covers a transcontinental trip on Amtrak. Listening to the episode and having never traveled cross country by rail, I found it to have some very useful information. I didn't realize it takes 4 days and 3 nights to travel cross country on Amtrak. Definitely worth a listen if you are thinking about traveling cross country by rail for the first time.
Maybe someday Classic Toy Trains, O Gauge Railroading, Model Train News or some other model railroading magazine will realize that podcasts are a great way to supplement their publications. Wouldn't it be great if you could download the latest podcast from your favorite model railroading magazine on to your iPod and listen to it on your daily walk or run or on the way to work?
According to a post on the O Gauge Railroading forum MTH's Mike Wolf, during a promotional appearance at a Reno, NV train shop, stated that MTH will be producing model locomotives sporting the Union Pacific "Heritage" paint schemes. Surprising news given that MTH is currently in court with Union Pacific over a trademark infringement suit raised against MTH by UP. Here's hoping that the case doesn't impact MTH's plans because the most recent Heritage paint scheme representing the Southern Pacific is fantastic. Click on the link below to read on
Continue reading "New Union Pacific Hertiage Paint Scheme - Southern Pacific" »
In the spirit of the holiday, here are a few facts and some interesting links about the Freedom trains that crisscrossed the American rails in 1947 -49 and again in 1975 - 76.
The purpose of the '47 Freedom Train was to help citizens reflect on the meaning of American citizenship in a post war world. The original freedom train brought versions of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights to over 300 destinations across the U.S. The train was powered by an ALCO PA-1 diesel locomotive.
The Freedom Train of '75-'76 traveled the U.S. in celebration of the Bicentennial. 3 separate steam locomotives were restored to transport a consist of 26 cars, 10 of which were display cars displaying "treasures of the United States". The locomotives were painted in red, white and blue schemes and traveled the country for 21 months starting on April 1, 1975. Many railroad companies across the country also celebrated the Bicentennial by painting some of their equipment in patriotic schemes.
Happy Independence Day!
OK, we all have dreams of turning our love of railroading into a way of making a living. If you love railroading and have dreamed about owning a restaurant here's the opportunity you've been waiting for. The Big Moose Station restaurant, a renovated rail station located on the highest point of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, is for sale for $389,000. Click here for more details.
The Amtrak store at store.amtrak.com is having a 25% off sale on all in-stock merchandise. The sale runs through May 31.
I came across a post on the O Gauge Railroad forum that referenced a pair of pre civil war locomotives that rest on the ocean floor a few miles east of Asbury Park, NJ in about 90 feet of water. I decided to investigate further and found a great post on www.njscuba.net loaded with information about the locomotives including a short video of a dive on the locomotives. The two sit upright very close together on the ocean floor with no sign of a ship wreck anywhere in the area. It is thought that the locomotives were cargo on the ship Arundo (click the link to see a picture of the Arundo with 2 locomotives on board) that was sunk by German U boat U-136 on 4/28/42. The locomotives were the subject of an episode of Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel back in February.
The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc received conditional custody of the locomotives in 2004 with the hope of raising funds to raise them both. The locomotives are thought to be similar to the Pioneer, built by the Union Works in South Boston, MA in 1851.
If your a rail fan I highly recommend that you add railpictures.net to your favorites list. The site hosts pictures taken by rail photographers from around the world and has a "photo of the week" that is always fantastic. I just discoverd the site recently and enjoy browsing it regularly.
The latest email newsletter from Trains Magazine has an advertisement for a "Train Lovers Dream House". The 6,669 square foot home, which has a 1:1 scale caboose integrated into the architecture, is for sale for $1.475 million and is located in Durham, North Carolina. Here are some pictures of the caboose:
You can find at more information about the house at www.atrainhouse.com.
Passenger train or freight train radio chatter included as part of Lionel's Railsounds and MTH's Protosounds adds a lot to the modern day O Gauge experience. Found a link to a web site on the OGR "Real Trains" forum that enables you to listen to real railroad radio transmissions. I've listened to the NS (Norfolk Southern) Harrisburg Line, Harrisburg, PA link and it has a lot of chatter plus transmissions from automated "defect detectors".
Believe it or not there is an Internet talk radio show dedicated to the world of trains. The show, Let's Talk Trains, concentrates on the 1:1 scale and seems to be well produced. I haven't listened to an entire broadcast yet, but if your into the 1:1 scale it's probably worth a listen. The show airs live at 10 am Pacific time on Saturdays, but all shows are recorded and available 24/7 on the Let's Talk Trains web site.
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