Abandoned Trestle

While enjoying a walk along the river the other day, The Fuzz took advantage of the opportunity to get a shot of this abandoned trestle.

This rail line has not been use for a number of years now.

The Fuzz finds this combination of the wood and iron over the river kinda picturesque in a way…

And a look back at another era.

Another Trip

The Fuzz, His Sweetie, and Young Daughter caught the Train up to Washington DC for a visit with that Academical Son, and a bit of sightseeing. They caught the Amtrak here in NC in the Big City. Then they were off to the Capital of this Great Nation. Here, The Fuzz presents for you, a night shot of this Famous Patriotic Landmark.

The train ride was interesting. Here, they were leaving the station early that morning. But The Fuzz thinks we still have a ways to go to catch up to the Germans in that department.
The Fuzz and company avoided the Capital building itself. With all those congressmen (and women) there, it seemed like nothing but trouble.

To The City 2

From that Big Bonhof, we had to catch the train that goes down in tunnels under the city.

It was a quick ride.

To The City 1

Now it was time for our Big City Adventure.
So we caught the train to Munich.

This was a new experience for The Fuzz and His Sweetie. We don't ride the train much back at home.
Mostly, because there ain't none.This is a look at the Big Bonhof in Munich.

Walking Down

More Big City Adventures Cont.

Here's where we ended up in town. Or rather, here's looking up from where we ended up.

There were quite a few people who seemed to be doing the same thing as we were, just riding the train for fun. Consequently, there was a big rush to get return tickets. But we were in no particular hurry, so we did miss the first train. Actually, since this was the end of the line, the first train, was the same train. We had already been on that one anyway.



The wait for the next one was not long, about 15min. I think. It was starting to get dark now. On the front of that Big City Building there were these weird light things. If someone bumped, or slapped them, they made strange noises. Naturally, the kids seemed to love them. So we heard a lot of them. These two girls couldn't leave them alone.

The Fuzz was trying to take pictures in the dark. The hard part is to hold the thing steady whilst mashing that little button. He finally just set the camera down and used the timer.

That's why you can see the next train comming to take us back.



Happy Hannukah, Everyone !

More Big City Adventures

It seems we can't stay away from those Big Cities these days.

This past weekend we had to drop Young Athletical Son off at his Big Brother's. This necessitated a trip though the Big City again. So, being the practical people we are, we stopped there on the way back for some shopping (Oh No !) and other Big City stuff. The shopping was a bit of an ordeal, (at least for The Fuzz) but we found a good Mexican Restaurant (he did like that).
But while we were there we decided to check out the brand new Light Rail line. This is the station where we got on.
They have these Automated Ticket things there. First you pick out what kind of ticket you want. You can get Day Passes and all, but we just wanted a ticket to ride. When we finally figured out how to do this, the thing wouldn't take our money. But there was another one there that did. There was a dude there trying to feed it a $100 bill. It didn't like that at all. It gives you change in $1 coins. So now we have a use for $1 coins, other than at the Renaissance Fair.

When the train came, we got on. It was already pretty full and we had to stand up and hold on to those poles they have in there. But that was OK. We rode all the way into the uptown area, which is the end of the line, for now. Then we got some tickets to go back, and just hung out and waited for the next train out.

Here is one of the cool Trains. They run off of overhead power lines with a pick up on top of the train. The Driver can drive from either end, depending on which way it's going. Pretty Cool.

Lawndale Dummy

Back in March I mentioned the Lawndale Railway & Industrial Co. ( Pumped Up, 3/3/07 ) At the time, I didn't want to go into that fascinating little RR. But now, for no particular reason, here goes.

This is one of the original freight-cars, I believe, #314. I believe that because that is what is painted on it. As you might have noticed, the track does not appear to go anywhere. This is, alas, the case today, but it was not so in the early 1900's, in it's days of glory.
Back in that era of the rise of our late lamented textile industry, it seems there was a booming mill and mill-town about a dozen miles from here. Now this metropolis was served by not one, but two modern rail-lines, whereas said mill-town was served by only muddy wagon roads. The Great Industrialist who's mill was lacking this modern transport, was determined to remedy this. When no "real" railroaders could be induced to assist in this endeavor, this Industrialist took matters into his own hands and built his own rail-line. The narrow gage was already largely considered obsolete, but it suited his purposes in that second hand equipment could be had economically, and actually gave some technical advantages in this case. The Railroad operated until WWII when the track was taken up for scrap in those desperate times. But the old LRR had served it's purpose by then, and trucks had taken over from the little "Lawndale Dummy" as it was know.
I think it's kinda cool though. The photo doesn't give a very good idea of the scale of things. Sorry about that. It is a lot smaller than the box cars we usually see. Dig the cool wooden trucks.

Rusting Away

More on the fascinating subject of railroads, or at least railroad trestles. Back to the old Southern RR. This is the part abandoned. Here it crossed the river on the other side of town. Actually, I suppose, it still does, but no trains. Not even any track. But this is an impressive trestle, is it not ? There is that long stretch with the timbers leading to the river itself. Trains must be really heavy, I guess the trick is to use lots of timbers. And then we come to the river itself. This is not the river of the River Walk, only a contributer to that mighty flood. But still a real impediment to railway travel.
I think at flood stage, all those timbers would catch all kinds of trees and other debris, so this problem was eliminated with this iron span. It seems so fragile in a way, with it's slender braces, compared to more modern bridges. But this one carried trains for years and years, and never let them down. Now it sits here, quietly rusting away.

Still no score on the "Final Destination" quiz. You'll have to look real close to uncover the sad truth.

Pumped Up

The weather was so nice today I couldn't resist taking out the 'Cycle. Topped off the tank and headed up toward the South Mts. That's always a pleasant ride on the winding through the hills. On the way I passed this place. It's a museum for the late Lawndale Railway & Industrial Co. Which is not the subject here. But I did want to share these cool gas pumps. I already had a full tank, so didn't try to fill up here. I'm not sure If I know how to work these things anyway, and besides, the place wasn't open.
Some other time we'll look at the LR&I RR.

No Coal

This is the Coal Yard. So where is the coal ? That's what I want to know. I've been watching all winter, wanting to pick up a load of that unPC, greenhouse gassing, smelly old house warming fuel. It's dirty, but it burns so hot. You can leave what you don't burn outside, and it won't rot till next year, or many years. But there is no coal. When I stop by, the gate is locked. When I call on the telephone all I hear is an answering thing, promising to call me back, a promise never kept. At one time there was a mountain of coal under this machinery, now, zip.
A lot of people think burning coal stinks. Maybe it does. But somewhere in the back of my mind, a whiff triggers something. Something I can almost remember, but I'm not sure. Something out of the past. Something about Railroads and the Big City, and a River. Maybe it's lost now.
But it sure makes that stove feel good on a cold night.

Looking Down

So why do we even need such a thing ? I meen this isn't the Grand Canyon or even the New River Gorge. True enough, but we do have Hickory Creek here. To get into town from this side, one must somehow get across this natural barrier to travel. There is of course a road that makes the decent, crosses a bridge, and winds upward again. But this would not work out for a train. It could handle the down part I suppose, but that up stuff would cause a problem. And that is where this trestle shines. It may seem rickety, and may even sway and shake under the strain, but it is the only way to make an entire train pass though the air across the gorge.

There may be worse sounds that can come to the ear, but when one is on foot, halfway across one of these things the sound of an approaching train will sure get one's attention. I speak from experience. What if one is two thirds of the way ? Jumping is not an option. Should one run toward the nearest end, even if that is toward the train ? How does one run on cross-ties anyhow ? Very carefully I assure you. And don't look down.

Railroading Stuff

Across the road there is a hayfield. Across the hayfield there is a railroad. This is not like an Amtrak Main Line or anything, it is what is left of what was once the Southern RR. It used to pass though town and head for points west, but now this is the last stop. The rest was abandoned with the tracks pulled up and all. So now there are not a lot of trains. They still pass now and then, usually slowly with a lot of noise. Trains do have a certain fascination about them. Especially at night there is something almost spooky about them.
I remember, when I was younger, camping out at an old abandoned farm that overlooked a trestle. In the middle of the night you could hear the train coming and watch it crossing in the distance. It almost looked like a toy out there with it's headlight and all. Kind of lonesome and spooky. This is a trestle near here. At night you can hear the train crossing. It slows down to almost nothing, and eases carefully across. The thing looks kinda rickety, and I guess the crew thinks so too. I used to listen for the crash, but so far they've always made it. I guess I'm just paranoid or something.