Watching todays stage of Le Tour I was surprised to see the Pelloton being paced by a Region Sud train on the parrallel track. Sort of like the spectator trains NYC used to run along the rowing races on the Hudson.
Thought the TdF had been outright cancelled for this year. Learn something every day.
ORNHOO- Can you say more about the NYC trains? Did they pace the boats so people could watch the races?
Some years ago I saw an old movie (had sound but I’m thinking it was like 1930) whereby there was a passenger train for the purpose of pacing a crew race. That’s all I remember about it.
The NYNH&H regularly ran regatta-watching trains om the line from Groton (across from New London, along Connecticut’s Thames Rivere, the races of Ivy League (rowing) crews.
I tried out for this sport at MIT, but was gradually overwight as a coxswain, but not built heavily enough for a rower. However, my attempt netted me this picture, which is in the Boston Street Railway Association’s fine Heyay of the Hub’s Streetcar book:
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ORNHOO- Can you say more about the NYC trains? Did they pace the boats so people could watch the races? [/
I only know about the practice from the PBS “American Experience” documentary “The Boys In The Boat”. One train can be briefly seen in this clip:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/boys36-championships/
Well, that didn’t work. Lets try this:
I was the practice cox for the heavy eights when I first went to college! Unfortunately (or, more accurately perhaps, fortunately in my case) there is no picture of my education into the finer points of this, including some highly valuable lessons in the barge on the true nature of command, and some remarkably snaky wakes on the lake. (Incidentally I did learn the art of rowing and still enjoyed going out for a turn at Reunions time when safely away from ‘power tens all the time’ match pace, when there were still reunions to go to.)