pseudo boethius

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 

TRAINS / OPERATIONS

Some AWESOME train videos!   Trains don't exist just to block traffic, they actually serve a useful function.   

First, how coal gets from a train car into a ship!  It's really interesting to watch.

1. NS loading the Algoma Innovator at the Sandusky Coal Dock

Second, watching the train operations in the steel mills of northeastern Indiana, including the famous "bottle cars" that transport super hot liquid steel from the blast furnace to the rolling mills.  

2. Steel Mill Trains inside Indiana Harbor and Gary Works

MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023 

TRAINS / PASSENGER TRAINS / AMTRAK / BURLINGTON NORTHERN

The early 1970's were a strange time for passenger trains, as the few that were left in operation were all nationalized into an entity known as Amtrak.   

This particular train, which I assume is on old Northern Pacific rails in Jefferson Canyon, Montana is why I find the early days of Amtrak so fascinating: their trains featured cars from multiple railroads.   

On this particular Amtrak train you can see paint schemes from the following railroads:

• Amtrak (silver cars with red, white & blue trim)
• Burlington Northern (green & white)
• Northern Pacific (two-tone green)
• Union Pacific (yellow)
• Possibly a Burlington or Santa Fe dining car (all silver)
• Possibly a Great Northern dome car (blue and white)

Found this photo at The Center for Railroad Photography and Art website.

Link: https://railphoto-art.org/collections/bjorklund/burlington-northern/#!jig[1]/FL/25391668702

Lots of good stuff!

- Pseudo Boethius 

Monday, April 3, 2023 

BOOKS / RAILROADS / DULUTH, MISSABE & IRON RANGE

Just got this book last week from Perry's Hobbies in Morgan, Minnesota.   For a book about ore cars, it's one of the most beautiful books I've ever owned.  The paper quality and the binding are first rate.   

I bought it for my continued research into the railroads of northern Minnesota.  Northern Minnesota is the home of the "iron range", one of the richest iron ore deposits in America.   Iron ore is a very heavy ore, so to move the ore to the steel mills that need it, several railroads were built to serve the mines in the area.  

Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Equipment, 1883-2004
by Daniel P. Holbrook
published by Signature Press
ISBN: 978-1-930013-41-4

Sadly, this book is no longer in print, and Signature Press is out of business.