Vinnys Space Time Machine Voyage Itinerary

Classic Trains General Discussion
1

First Stop: A mystery, I never heard of this train.

2nd Stop: The S1 of course.

3rd Stop: Viewing New Haven DL109’s in action.

4th Stop: Spending time with Huletts along the shores of Lake Erie

Stop # 5 A trip to Alco to see the construction of PA’s

Stop #6 Admiring track gangs hard at work.

Stop #7 Cab Ride! … and a turn at being the Fireman.

Stop #8 Canadian Pacifics 4-8-4 #3101 in Blue! Did it really have Blue drivers? Find out.

Break For lunch. Vinny hopes you are enjoying your Space Time trip.

Stop #9 A round table discussion about this very Avart-garde Southern poster ad.

Stop #10 A second look at t

2

Aren’t those old covers and ads wonderful? No wonder so many young men were inspired to “Go railroadin’!”

Probably quite a few young women were inspired as well, but of course the opportunities weren’t there for them back in those days.

3

I’m open to further voyages in the future if anyone has any suggestions. The Titanic is out of bounds, sorry, no tragedy stuff.

Enjoy the SuperBowl … don’t worry about winter fat, it’s normal. Drive carefully.

4

Well, how about focusing on a single train’s advertising showing evolution of ad styles? Hard, but fun. [2c]

5

Take me back to Jan 1939 and let me stay until Dec 1941, so that I could

  1. Take the SS Normandie (to New York)
  2. Go to the 1939 New York World Fair
  3. Take a train hauling by the S1 from NY to Chi-town
  4. Stay in Chicago to see different streamliner of different RRs
  5. Travel to the west coast (LA) on Santa Fe’s streamliners
  6. Take the SP Coast Daylight from LA to SF
  7. Travel back to Denver by UP’s streamliners
  8. Stay in Denver to visit Elise McKenna
  9. Go back to Chicago for more streamliner hunting
  10. Take the 20th Century Limited of NYCRR to New York
  11. Live in NY for a while then Travel back to Europe by SS Normandie
  12. Home
6

I’d like to be taken back to say 1933 to ride what was left of the Ohio-Indiana interurban system, ride the EBT, the Colorado narrow gauge cricle, the former Carson and Colorado line over Montgomery pass (did drive on portions of the line in 1992), take the V&T from Reno to Virginia City, ride the S.N., ride all over the P.E. and especially the Mt Lowe line and head down to San Diego and take a ride on the La Jolla line. In mid to late 1934, it would be fun sampling the early Streamliners.

7

And don’t forget all the great movies that came out in 1939 like “Gone With The Wind,” "The Wizard

8

OK. Seeing as how you’ve opened THAT door…

Greatest non-documentary film about railroading, or that takes place on, or is about a train ever?

And go! [:D]

9

3 way tie for first:

The Train

Danger Lights

Polar Express

10

You mean you’re not going with Under Siege 2 or Unstoppable?

11

Tied for second!

Also a note to Eric_Mag : Now that is a beautiful well thought out journey. Can’t wait to ride the Pacific Electric, or just watch it in action on a beautiful Southern California sunshiny day.

12

Speaking seriously, this should be tied for #1 as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHlBMKtgPOA

When filmed, the shot after 1:08:00 was the most expensive stunt in movie history.

13

Agreed. Make it so .

14

I’d place Buster’s “The General” in the three-way tie for the best. I’d leave out “Polar Express,” I don’t care for that one, I thought the computer animation was poorly done and downright creepy. Maybe if they’d done it live-action with Pere Marquette 1225 I might have liked it a lot better. But it’s a super-popular film, so what do I know?

A thought struck me watching a bit of “The General.” Filmed in 1927, that’s 62 years after the end of the Civil War. That’s less time than the end of World War Two and 2020!

15

Sure thing! I will put your movie recommendations in my pocket and am gonna do some research on the top 20 best theatres ever built in America before the journey. Besides movies, I want to see some live performances as well… [A]

16

Unless I miss my guess that’s the on-board theater on the Normandie.

17

Here’s another view of it.

Mind you, there was a Normandie Theatre in New York … but it’s different. You can guess the inspiration, of course (it was opened in 1938):

18

A nice Art Deco design. It would fit in nicely on Ocean Blvd. in Miami Beach.

19

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.

The mention of Art Deco finally triggered a memory. For a great train movie how about 1974’s “Murder On The Orient Express?”

A delight of a period piece, Lady Firestorm and I saw it when it came out, and as soon as the credits rolled she sighed “OHHH, look at the Art Deco!”

She’s a connoiseur of such things!

Anyway, ever see a train dance? Watch the “O-E” waltz it’s way out of the station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdnXwFz5Zc

20

My favorite train movie is The Train.

But this one’s for Kirk…

RIP.