Monthly Calendar Report for May, 2010

Eastbound at Tunnel Inn. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

—The May 2010 entry of my own calendar is a potshot that worked.
It's from the Tunnel Inn parking-lot years ago.
(Years ago because 8372 is a Dash-8. It lacks the later trucks with spats. —It's ex-Conrail #6150.)
8372 is eastbound on Track Two into Allegheny Tunnel out of sight to the right, the original Pennsy tunnel under the summit of the Allegheny mountains.
Allegheny started as two tracks, but was converted to one track as equipment got larger.
Visible above 8732 is the mouth of Gallitzin tunnel (“guh-LIT-zin”), now abandoned, opened in 1912.
Supposedly, Gallitzin tunnel still has track in it, in case Allegheny gets plugged.
Allegheny had to be enlarged to clear doublestacks.
Tunnel clearances on the old Pennsy were not enough to clear doublestacks, so Allegheny was enlarged as a joint project between Conrail at the state of PA.
Philadelphia ports had been suffering because the old Pennsy tunnels couldn't pass doublestacks, yet the old New York Central line (including West Shore) to the New York City area (actually across the Hudson in Jersey) could.
It was tunnel-free; all that needed to be reconfigured was bridge clearances, which often was done by lowering the roadbed.
At that time the line was operated by Conrail, at first a government enterprise that took over Penn-Central, among other bankrupt eastern railroads.
Eventually Conrail privatized, was broken up, and sold to CSX and Norfolk Southern.
Norfolk Southern got most of old ex-Pennsy lines, including the main across PA.
That included Allegheny tunnel as expanded under Conrail.
During expansion, Allegheny was converted back to two tracks: Tracks Two and Three.
Three used to go through Gallitzin tunnel.
Track One, eastbound, goes through a third tunnel, New Portage, on the other side of town.
New Portage was part of a New Portage Railroad system bypassing the dreaded inclined planes.
That was all part of the state's Public Works System, a combination canal and railroad responding to the hugely successful Erie Canal.
But the Public Works System wasn't successful — too time-consuming and cumbersome.
In fact, its failure was the main reason Pennsy got built.
Pennsy got the whole shebang for a song when the Public Works System was put up for sale.
Part was New Portage tunnel, higher than Allegheny, but near it. It could be incorporated into Pennsy with ramps.
Pennsy could increase its capacity over the Alleghenies by incorporating New Portage.

(This is before the covered deck.)

Tunnel Inn, in Gallitzin, is the bed-and-breakfast we stay at in the Altoona (“al-TUNE-uh”) area.
It used to be the old Gallitzin town offices and library.
It was built by Pennsy in 1905, and is brick and rather substantial.
It was converted to a bed-and-breakfast when Gallitzin built new town offices.
Its advantage for railfans like me — also its marketing ploy — is that it's right beside Tracks Two and Three.
Trains are blowing past all the time.
Three is westbound, and Two can be either way.
8372, eastbound, stopped before Tunnel Inn for a brake-test before descending the mountain.
Eastbound trains often do this during the night, and whistle off, waking all-and-sundry.
Brake-test complete, 8372 started again, past Tunnel Inn down in the cut.
I grabbed my camera, but I was down in the parking-lot.
Tunnel Inn has built a covered viewing-deck on the back of its building, but it never works as a camera location.
This is what you see, but not what the camera sees.
It also gets cars in the parking-lot, and guardrail.
I aimed down into the cut from the parking-lot — the train is up to about five mph.
A potshot, but it works.
The only thing wrong with this picture is the mouth of that abandoned Gallitzin tunnel.
My niece's husband was impressed.
I had snagged the drama of that engine!
For years this picture was the wallpaper on my cellphone.


Norfolk & Western Y6 (2-8-8-2) passes the twin water-towers at Buena Vista, VA. (Photo by O. Winston Link.)

—The image of my May 2010 entry of my O. Winston Link "Steam and Steel" calendar is apparently a construction of three negatives shot by three synchronized cameras fired simultaneously.
It relies on the fact so much of the negatives is clear, rendering pitch-dark sky.
You can merge the three images into one print, and get away with it.
This is 1956, well before Photoshop®.
As such, it's more a photo-illustration than a photograph, photograph being a single image shot from a single camera of a single scene.
One camera recorded the famous twin water-towers on the Shenandoah Division at Buena Vista, VA.; a second camera captured the whole scene; and the third captured that hard-charging Y6 articulated locomotive (2-8-8-2).
So I wonder what we actually have here?
Is it actually two tracks past the twin water-towers?
The camera recording the Y6 was set low to render a dramatic angle.
The water-towers are a higher camera.
One also wonders where any input from the all-seeing camera is in this image......
One can imagine Link applying his guile and cunning to pull off this trick, all to make the locomotive look more dramatic.
I bet Link tried the image earlier, and things were too far apart.
There was no angle to suitably depict the drama.
So he resorted to photo-illustration, and pulled it off successfully.
Doing so makes this his best photograph to me.
Jumping through hoops to get a better illustration.
A one-camera shot would not pass, so let's try three cameras. With that pitch-dark sky, we can probably make it work.
Twin water-towers so double-headed locomotives could be watered simultaneously.


AAR 'Cuda. (Photo by David Newhardt.)

—The May 2010 entry of my Motorbooks Musclecars calendar is one of the all-time best pony-cars; an AAR 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.
“AAR” is All-American Racers, a car-racing organization out of southern California led by former racer Dan Gurney (“grr-NEE;” as in “girl”).
AAR raced various cars, particularly the Eagles, a Formula One V12 for Gurney himself, and Eagles that won Indianapolis a few years.

(This is at a recent historic race at Sebring.)

The AAR 'Cuda was Chrysler's response to the phenomenally successful SCCA Trans-Am series, racing ponycars like the Mustang and Camaro.
Every Detroit manufacturer jumped on the Mustang bandwagon, and racing these cars was a marketing tool.
Camaro was most successful at first, as raced by old racer Roger Penske (“penn-SKEE”) as entrant, with driver Mark Donohue (“don-uh-HUE”).
Mustang was a backwater until raced by old stockcar driver Bud Moore as entrant, with drivers Parnelli Jones (“parr-nell-EEE”) and George Folmer (“fole-mer”).
Chrysler wanted in on the action, so Gurney's AAR fielded a version of Chrysler's ponycar, which by then was no longer the fastback Valiant variant.
In fact, if I have this correct, the later Barracudas (and Dodge Challenger) use the same firewall and windshield as the mid-size Chrysler cars, e.g. the Plymouth Satellite and Dodge Charger.
As such, they are slightly larger than their competition, although AAR could make them competitive.
AAR's Trans-Am cars never did that well; in fact, I don't think they ever won a race.
I remember an AAR Trans-Am car raced by Swede Savage, a driver who later died in a wreck at Indianapolis.
The AAR cars often blew up, or crashed.
They were always outclassed by Penske-Donohue and Bud Moore.
Penske-Donohue went on to race AMC Javelins, and even made them win.
The class was Bud Moore, if his cars could stay together. Which they usually did.
Moore's cars were always fastest, although only slightly.
I remember a Penske-Donohue Camaro winning a Trans-Am race at Bridgehampton on Long Island in 1969. Both of Moore's Mustangs had not finished.
The AAR 'Cuda was one of the best ponycars; incredibly well balanced.
The engine was a souped-up 340 cubic inch V8; not the smallish 302 required for Trans-Am racing.
The only thing wrong was that oversized firewall as used in the Chrysler mid-size cars.


Florida bound. (Photo by George Krambles.)

—The May 2010 entry of my All-Pennsy color calendar is Seaboard Air Line's “Silver Meteor” Florida-train, behind a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 (“Gee-Gee-One”).
Trains from New York City to Florida used the Pennsylvania Railroad's fabulous electrified line from New York to Washington DC.
From there they switched to their own rails southward; e.g. Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line.
Both lines were merged, first into Family Lines with Louisville & Nashville, and finally CSX.
The Silver Meteor depicted here is not Pennsy equipment. It's the streamlined fluted stainless cars Seaboard used.
This train is southbound.
It will continue to Washington Union Station, where the GG1 will be swapped out and replaced with Seaboard diesels.
The Meteor might require three or four 2,000 horsepower passenger diesels, yet one GG1 was sufficient.
In fact, the Gee probably accelerated the Meteor faster than its diesels could do.
Four 2,000 horsepower diesels is 8,000 horsepower. A single GG1 could top that.
The GG1 is the greatest railroad locomotive ever.
A single GG1 could put 10,000 horsepower to railhead for a few minutes.
At that rate, its traction-motors would soon overheat.
But they were rated at 4,000 horsepower continuous.
Which is stupendous compared to what they competed against.
And some lasted over 40 years. —A steam-locomotive might last 30, diesel engines maybe 20.
GG1s were built like a bridge.
In fact, the inside framing was a bridge-truss.
The Meteor still runs, now under Amtrak.
We took it to Florida years ago from Wilmington, DE. —Probably during the late '70s.
It was a disaster. Pitch dark out of Wilmington, the plug from the locomotive, delivering electricity to the train, came apart, plunging our diner into darkness.
We couldn't see anything.
No lights until Baltimore, after which the plug came apart again.
Engine change at Washington Union; took at least an hour.
It was still the old equipment; cars from WWII.
It rode awful; plus the tracks we were on were freight railroad, the old Seaboard line, now CSX.
We had a sleeping compartment, our beds 90° from the tracks.
Every switch and road-crossing threw us up into the ceiling; sleep was impossible; we were constantly afraid we'd derail.
Next morning, Jacksonville; where the railroad performed summersaults to get from the inbound tracks to those outbound.
We made a giant detour west over a torturous connector-track.
Walking speed: 5-10 mph.
Once clear of Jacksonville, we could boom-and-zoom again; 70 mph through the scrub-pine.
But still giant leaps over every switch and road-crossing.
Not too long ago, we rode that railroad again, this time “Auto-Train.”
Newer double-deck cars; they rode much better.
Plus we were sleeping parallel to the tracks, in a tiny sleeping compartment; what used to be called “SlumberCoaches.”
The car has a center aisle, with tiny sleeping compartments at each side.
The only problem is they're so cramped, ya can't stand up.
I also carry a flashlight in case the plug comes apart.

Alco PA passenger units downgraded to pusher service get shuffled around pushing-partner Decapod (2-10-0) #4616 at Ralston, PA, on the Elmira branch. (Photo by Jim Shaughnessy©.)

—The May 2010 entry of my Audio-Visual Designs black and white All-Pennsy Calendar demonstrates how far the mighty Alco PA passenger units have fallen.
The Alco PAs were the most gorgeous diesel-locomotives ever.
But they weren't very reliable.
Electromotive Division's “E” model passenger units were more reliable, although two engines per unit instead of one.
The E-unit was rated at 1,000 or more horsepower per engine; 2,000+ horsepower total.
The engines were unturbocharged V12s.
An Alco PA was one turbocharged V16 of 2,000 or more horsepower.
But it was unreliable; the turbo might blow or otherwise become defective.
Turbocharger technology wasn't what it is today. You're running hot exhaust gases through a supercharging turbine.
Most railroad diesel-locomotives are now turbocharged.
Pennsy's PAs looked rather moribund compared to a Santa Fe's Warbonnet PA.
But they looked spectacular compared to an EMD E-unit. It was their basic shape.


Smoothster.

—UGH! The May 2010 entry of my Oxman Hot-Rod Calendar is another one of those improbable Boyd Coddington (“CODD-ing-tin”) apparitions; a car based on a 1937 Ford Cabriolet (“kah-bree-oh-LAY;” as in “oh”).
This picture would be earlier, but the car is so impossible I run it last.
Actually next to last.
To me my Ghosts WWII warbirds calendar is even worse, but I have an aviation viewer who would be rightfully incensed if I didn't run it.
Coddington's hot-rods are as impossible as Chip Foose (“FOOSE”); beyond being driven, mere trailer-queens.
Heaven forbid ya drive Smoothster on a highway; ya might splash a puddle, or get pock-marked by stones.
It's nice Coddington could pull off all the smoothing inherent in the concept, but we're left with something that can't be used, a mere dream.

1937 Ford.

The '37 Ford Cabriolet wasn't especially attractive, but the real thing would come off better than this.
The car was also converted to a roadster — that's a removable top ya see.
“Cabriolet” being the nomenclature at that time for a convertible with a fold-down top.
Plus the real thing could be driven.
The owner of this thing has only a car-size showpiece.
Rolling sculpture.
And so it was......
Smoothster was presented at the 1995 Oakland Roadster Show, where it won the “America's Most Beautiful Roadster” trophy.
Last month's track roadster looked better — that was the winner of the first Oakland Roadster Show in 1950.
It's drivable.
Smoothster probably is too.
But only from enclosed trailer to show stand.
Be sure to drape a buxom young tart all over it!


Um.......... (Photo by Philip Makanna©.)

—I only fly the May 2010 entry of my Ghosts WWII warbirds calendar because I have an aviation viewer.
The airplane pictured is a Ryan PT-22C “Recruit,” hardly a fabulous P51 Mustang, or even a P40.
It doesn't even have retractible landing-gear, and its motor is a five-cylinder Kinner R-540-1 radial of only 160 horsepower, with its cylinders out in the open.
Nevertheless, it was probably part of pilot-training for the P51 Mustang, a primary trainer.
But there were other primary trainers; e.g. the Stearman biplane (“BYE-plain”) or a Piper Cub.
Quite a bit of the sheathing appears to be metal, probably sheet aluminum.
But it appears to be fabric covering of the wings out beyond the landing-gear.
And the empennage, the rear tail surfaces.
Lindbergh's “Spirit of St. Louis” was also Ryan, but a one-off, semi-designed by Lindbergh with a 223-horsepower, 9-cylinder Wright J-5C "Whirlwind" radial engine.
A Mustang was all-aluminum covering.
To me, the PT-22 looks like a turkey.
But I'm sure it was a very forgiving trainer.

Piper J3 Cub.

I've never liked radial engines with exposed cylinders.
Radials looked better in a cowling.
I've never liked the Piper J3 Cub either.
The four cylinders of its engine are exposed.
But later Cubs enshrouded those cylinders with a cowling.
To me that looks better.
Exposed cylinders look like insects!