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Canard's Enthusiastic Train Posts
#1
I have been thinking about posting this for a little while. Our member Canard appears to be a train super enthusiast. He has gone out of his way on several occasions to post threads dedicated to this passion and has some impressive results. I note his karma/score whatever we are calling it, is quite high and I take this as an indicator that other folks appreciate the content he brings to our community.

To that end, I would propose that a sub thread "Canard's Trains" or whatever we want to call it be posted in the transportation/infrastructure section and posts of that nature be filed in there. Perhaps if I am not overstepping, Canard could moderate it.

I don't know Canard and I we've never met, but I enjoy the pictures and topics he brings up.

Perhaps others will contribute in a similar way if a sub forum for these types of topics were created.

For consideration.
_____________________________________
I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.
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#2
While I am very humbled by your post, I fear I am already hogging far too many resources on this forum toward my absolute lifelong love of trains* Smile In addition to the main ION thread, I've participated in or started a great number of other transit threads here, both in the Transportation and Infrastructure section (which really is dedicated to that topic and how it relates to Waterloo Region), as well as a number of threads in the Outside Waterloo Region section.

For fun, here's a neat list of the 36 different types of train Otaku, or nerd/enthusiast.

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/21/be...sha-otaku/

I firmly identify with numbers 1-4, 6 (!), 7, and 8. Are there any other Otaku on the forum?

* - It's really only a very specific subset/niche of trains that I absolutely love, which makes me even crazier - mostly urban passenger systems, with a special soft spot toward automated systems, like peoplemovers. My trip to Japan was heaven for this reason.
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#3
I gotta admit identifying with at least number 7, I'm currently attempting to build an N scale model of the Grand River Railway's system around the region, specifically the old GRR shops that were in Preston and the trestle that still is in use by the CPR today, as well as building a model of the former GRR station that was on Queen Street... I am not a master modeller by any stretch but I am hand-laying all my track with code 40 rail so it looks decent. I have an engine shell that I have to paint and detail so hopefully I will get on to that this winter. I have a lot of slide scans I've saved from ebay, if anyone is curious to see what it looked like, a lot of them are different than the pictures in the Traction on the Grand book.

One job I had when I worked at Dofasco was to do some work building a new coke quenching car that ran on the finished side of the coke ovens and took the hot coke over to the quenching tower where lake water was dumped on it to cool it and then it ran to the other of the ovens and dumped the coke onto a conveyor. I only worked on it for a week or so but we got to lift the car up with a crane and put it on the trucks, so that was sweet. I also got to cut up a lot of scrap crane rail as an apprentice, lots of fun that is. We hoisted the special welding machines that they use to weld the new crane rails in for the overhead cranes that hoist the ladles of liquid steel.

I've liked trains since I was a little gaffer, mum used to take me down to the rail yards in Guelph to watch 'em switch and make up trains and we spent many summers down in the states visiting model railways and train museums. Trains are cool!
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#4
(05-31-2016, 10:21 PM)clasher Wrote: One job I had when I worked at Dofasco was to do some work building a new coke quenching car that ran on the finished side of the coke ovens and took the hot coke over to the quenching tower where lake water was dumped on it to cool it and then it ran to the other of the ovens and dumped the coke onto a conveyor. I only worked on it for a week or so but we got to lift the car up with a crane and put it on the trucks, so that was sweet. I also got to cut up a lot of scrap crane rail as an apprentice, lots of fun that is. We hoisted the special welding machines that they use to weld the new crane rails in for the overhead cranes that hoist the ladles of liquid steel.

I gotta admit, Coke Quenching Car isn't what I had imagined.  I was picturing something more like these...

   
   

Coke
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#5
Canard, you have a new piece of rail infrastructure to travel: the 57-km Gotthard tunnel was opened this week after almost twenty years of work - on time and within budget. Trips between Milan and Zurich have been shortened by an hour to two hours and forty minutes and all through trucks will be diverted away from Switzerland's choked roads.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36423250
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#6
(05-31-2016, 10:21 PM)clasher Wrote: I have a lot of slide scans I've saved from ebay, if anyone is curious to see what it looked like, a lot of them are different than the pictures in the Traction on the Grand book.

Yes, please, if you have otherwise unpublished photos, please do post scans here or otherwise.

There are two books covering the GRR that I know of: John Mills' Ontario's Grand River Valley Electric Railways, and George Roth's Steel Wheels Along the Grand.
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#7
I still have a fair bit of classic Marklin H0 gear (trains, track etc) but now that we're in a condo, it'll realistically never get assembled again. I'm afraid eBay may be in the future for that ...
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#8
(06-02-2016, 09:17 PM)tomh009 Wrote: I still have a fair bit of classic Marklin H0 gear (trains, track etc) but now that we're in a condo, it'll realistically never get assembled again.  I'm afraid eBay may be in the future for that ...

I too have a lot of Marklin H0. When fully set out it takes an entire room in the house. Apropos of porn (he he) have you tried turning off the lights and projecting the shadow of the train against the wall? Marklin sets have such attention to detail that it looks very realistic, be it down to the catenary in a modern engine or the rivets and smoke in an old steam locomotive. My kids when little loved to see the steam locomotive shadow as it crosses an old iron bridge.
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#9
(06-02-2016, 08:57 PM)kps Wrote:
(05-31-2016, 10:21 PM)clasher Wrote: I have a lot of slide scans I've saved from ebay, if anyone is curious to see what it looked like, a lot of them are different than the pictures in the Traction on the Grand book.

Yes, please, if you have otherwise unpublished photos, please do post scans here or otherwise.

There are two books covering the GRR that I know of: John Mills' Ontario's Grand River Valley Electric Railways, and George Roth's Steel Wheels Along the Grand.

I have the John Mills book, I couldn't remember the name of it. It's on file at the KPL but can't be checked out. I've never seen George Roth's book, but I will have to check it out.

   
   

Here's a couple shots I like, one from the late 40s or early 50s with an earlier version of the boxcab locomotive. Most the GRR/LEN motors were 'steeple cab' units. This is across the road from the flour mill in Preston, the house was the company HQ and is still standing... I think it's a graphic design firm in there now. Another shot is a colour slide of the former station that was located on Queen Street where the Iron Horse is now, I've always thought or maybe it was where that more modern building is standing... not really sure.

These pics aren't mine, I just saved them from ebay but the slides seem to show up for sale fairly often... sometimes for outrageous prices.
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#10
(06-03-2016, 09:40 AM)clasher Wrote: I've never seen George Roth's book, but I will have to check it out.

It's smaller, a bit more of a picture book (not too much overlap), and extends to the post-electric period. I think the route diagrams are a bit clearer as far as understanding where the abandonded sections ran.

(06-03-2016, 09:40 AM)clasher Wrote: Another shot is a colour slide of the former station that was located on Queen Street where the Iron Horse is now, I've always thought or maybe it was where that more modern building is standing... not really sure.

That I know! UW has some old aerial photos online — not high resolution but better than nothing. By overlaying those on Google Maps it's possible to get pretty close.

   

   
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#11
Ah that makes the most sense for the location considering there is a sign about the old station right there. Also a nice mulberry tree that is easy to climb into off the wall there.
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