Gandy Dancers

I was watching the video Chickenmom posted for Friday Night Steam and the condition of some of the track made me think they needed Gandy Dancers. I thought that would make a good post so here are a couple of videos from You Tube.

There are other videos out there worth watching. Gandy comes from the company that made the tools. The dancing part is obvious. :)

A couple of things I found interesting in the first video. Note the shape of the hammers used to drive the spikes. The head is much longer than a normal sledge hammer. Made that way to clear the rail if the spike is on the other side.
Also look at the expressions on the faces as they watch the machine drive spikes. They are watching automation replace them.

This one from 1929 is interesting also.

My best friend's grandfather was a section foreman on the Apalachicola Northern Railroad in the Florida Panhandle. His grandmother was a station agent in Greensboro, Fl. That was in the 1930's and 40's.

Tweetsie #190

Pictures from Railfan Weekend at Tweetsie Sept 12, 2010.

Edited May 25 to add a video

One of the engines, #190 Yukon Queen, at Tweetsie is from Alaska. (Baldwin #69425)

From Wikipedia:

"Tweetsie acquired another coal-fired steam locomotive, USATC S118 Class 2-8-2 #190, the “Yukon Queen” from Alaska’s White Pass and Yukon Route in 1960. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1943 for the US Army, the engine was part of an 11-locomotive fleet of “MacArthur” 2-8-2s originally purchased for use overseas. During World War II, the locomotives were sent to Alaska for use on the White Pass and Yukon."

Here it is double heading behind #12. Note name on tender. I have been told they only do this on Railfan Weekend. 

Edited to add Whistles for Chickenmon, 5/25

Big difference between #12 and #190

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zii8VLLR1hg

Tweetsie No. 12

Baldwin 4-6-0 No. 45069 built 2/1917. 16" X 22" Cylinders, 45" Drivers
36" Narrow Gauge
 

My all time favorite locomotive.
Photo taken on first visit to Tweetsie October 2008.
Lots more Tweetsie photos to come.

Southern Railway System "The Tennessean"

When "The Tennessean" leaves for Tennessee

Copyright 1940 by Josephine Crisler McCormak

Blow yo' whistle, Engineer, Fireman les'go ;way frum here, My heart
___ is racin' n-head of you. Run'er faster than you oughta,
Gotta see a man a-bout his daughta, I know___ she's gonna say "yes" to me.

1.
When the "Tennessean" leaves for Tennessee,
They won't have to holla "all a-board" for me,
'Cause I left my heart on a rail-road track,
And I'm goin' down home and get it back,
When the "Tennessean" leaves from Tennessee.

2.
Oh the birds and bees wont have a thing on me
When spring-time comes this year in Tennessee
Now, I might be broke, but I tell you fair,
I would'nt swap my place with a billionaire,
When the "Tennessean" leaves for Tennessee.

3.
When the "Tennessean" leaves for Tennessee,
It's a streak of green and silver Glory Be!
If your neck's stuck out you bet-ter draw it back,
When that new stream-lin-er hits the track
And the "Tennessean" leaves for Tennessee.

Sheet music from 1940 probably found in some old family papers.

Ballast Cleaning

Ballast cleaning between Stuart and Hobe Sound. Fla. Dec. 19, 2009
Sorry for the low quality of the photos. Had seen the machine in Jensen Beach a couple of days earlier and went looking for them.
Ran into the same crew in downtown Stuart in April 2015. They were waiting on permission to start work. The gentleman I talked to remembered talking to me in Jensen Beach before. 

Not sure who makes the equipment. Loram is one manufacturer but the machine on YouTube looks slightly different.

A British company with divisions all over the world.

Another view.

Edited to add a link to the Wikipedia article about ballast cleaners in case you wondered why it is done. 

Tweetsie Coach #5

Coach #5 was built for the East Broad Top Railroad in the late 1870's. It remained in service until it was sold to the Shenandoah Central Railroad in 1952. It was then sold to Tweetsie in 1955 along with Engine #12.

Photos were taken Railfan Day at Tweetsie in September 2010 when I rode in the coach. It is beautiful.



Another view.



A couple of photos of the interior.