What U.S. Rail Line Would You Revive?

I was just reading about that line that’s “the Hoosier line” .

I just find the Monon line captivating and Lance Mindheim is to blame for getting his Monon layout in several books and magazines.

Rich

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It would be wonderful to see the Ellsworth Secondary on Norfolk Southern restored. I have seen it used for coil car storage back in 2020…but I missed all the classic coal drags.

does anyone like the Penn central ?

NO!

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that’s what I thought!

LOL

I didn’t dislike the Penn Central, but then again grimy flat black with smoke and the smell of hot oil, and the collection of wonderful old iron that ‘had to’ be kept running, made it something of a fun thing. You’d still see plenty of New York Central and PRR ‘dip’ stuff, too. I remember getting to walk through the ;funeral train’ of the big PRSL Baldwins – they had a peculiar way of driving the water pump, with about 20 V “fan belts” in series, something I had never seen before and don’t expect to see again. I saved the little bronze plate hanging off what was left of the steam-generator casing. Loudest diesel exhaust I’ve ever heard was a C636 (C636 in New Jersey!) in Run 8 through Trenton Station, perhaps with a cracked exhaust manifold; the crack was so sharp it hurt the ears like cannon shots. Always a joy to see the odd F-unit at 55mph track speed on the ex-West Shore through Bergenfield, on what only shortly before had been a four-track main. And P-motors handing over to chugging E8s at Harmon, with FL9s shrouding the whole train in white smoke so thick all you could see of the departing train was the last 5’ of the last car and the rear vestivule, framed in a cloud. (And you haven’t lived until you sit in an old MU with wobbly primary springing on, what was it, 12.5-degree superelevation? This on a railroad renowned for sudden equipment tipovers on film…

And then there was the last MP-54 train to operate on the Dinky, and an endless fleet of various schemes of GG1, and ‘nuclear’ moves from Colt’s Neck sliding through in the middle of the night… and my finest hour. I got to ride the last PC passenger train, and the first Conrail passenger train… curiously enough, the same train, on the PJ&B to Princeton Junction close to midnight, and back to Princeton in the very early morning. I had made up a little sign (you can see it in newspaper pictures) that said “Last PC Dinky” and we got on the train with two cases of Korbel Brut champagne – the official champagne of the Transportation Program – but by the time we got back to Princeton there were only three bottles left. As I got off the train, I looked back to see L. Stanley Crane just behind me, ready to give a short speech to reporters. Now, there were PC ‘cards’ pop-riveted onto the Silverliner (I remember it as car 215) and – PC being PC – one corner of the sign next to that particular door was flopping off. I asked Mr. Crane whether I could have the sign as a souvenir. He looked at me and said, I think partly for the record, “get that damn thing off my train”, so I did as flashbulbs popped. That in a nutshell put a cap on my love-hate relationship with the f------ worms.

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LOL

Don’t like the PC, but I love to model it! I’m big into weathering, so the PC stock of the mid 70s is my muse lol!

I drop a different one - the El Paso & Southwestern.

I am neutral. Black Locos and green rolling stock created quite the contrast. I watched PC drag coal north to Ashtabula regularly. Rebuilding…meh. The line I watched is still there and the Erie long gone.
KJC

How cool would it be to sit on a train and fly across the water of the bay of Florida for seven miles?

you talking about the keys bridge ?