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Poronto
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my favorite train is the hankai tramway that winds through the postindustrial heckscape of the inner osaka suburbs. there is no sign of the regimented crush, the almost oppressive sleekness and swish that characterizes the rest of the japanese railway network. the trams that trundle from stop to stop are cutely squat, with antique lines and livery, scooped-out headlights and arched windows. they wouldn't have looked out of place a hundred years ago. the stops are cheerfully ugly as well, consisting of nothing more than a ticket machine, a sign and a cement slab, adorned by violet rosebay and ivory bindweed growing and winding out of the cracks. the closest thing to it in the West is, possibly, the San Francisco streetcar; but that's a conscious anachronism, a display for the tourists. tourists never ride the Hankai. true, it runs past the shrine complex at sumiyoshi and one of its termini lies next to the tennoji palace; but even japanese sightseers will take the subway or the loop line. the hankai's passengers are the invisible underbelly of society; the grey old ladies trailing shopping bags, the sullen young semi-NEET on his way to kill more time at a net cafe or outside a convenience store, and the odoriferous wino clutching his three hundred yen bottle of raw sake, cheap and foul. it's probably the only form of public transport in the country where you can booze up without getting calmly escorted off the vehicle. it's also probably the only form where your fellow passengers will sometimes strike up conversation, in thickly incomprehensible osaka dialect. you begin to wonder if this is japan anymore.



the other terminus is at ebisucho, which is smack in the heart of osaka's shibuya, den den town. you will have noticed the tram empty little by little on the approach, and there will be hardly anyone left to alight with you. a thin secretary type or a youth uncomfortably wearing a hotel uniform - people whose stories you guess at but will never get right. they melt away into the crowd; you are back in middle-class japan, the stratum who passed lazy days in university and eschews anime in favour of friends or full house with subtitles. meanwhile the hankai pulls away, a decrepit exile from a world where it doesn't fit anymore. it seems, incidentally, to be losing money hand over fist for the company that runs it; a quick look at the website reveals not only that ticket prices have been slashed, but they're desperately grasping for cashflow. in addition to selling stuffed toys, commemorative calendars, souvenir number plates and the like, you can also rent one of the trams, and go up and down the line having your own BYOB drinking party, for example. they charge roughly $75 an hour. i am dubious about how many folks have taken it up though.



post your favorite trains everybody! long distance buses may be permitted as long as they have a name. donald if you post that stupid video about the jitney so help me god

Edited by littlegreenpills ()

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Nippon
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im trainsphobic
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wowzers did you know The first safe train was built in England in 1829 by George and Robert Stephenson thats even older than my grandma
#8
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holy crap lois did you know The most powerful steam locomotive ever made was built in 1916 at the Baldwin Locomotive in the USA,which could pull load up to 90,000KG. thats even bigger than m;y grandma
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zoinks, The world record on speed for a steam locomotive is 202.7 KMPH,set by British Locomotive ,Mallard in 1938. STEAM
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lol An empty car will stop in 1/3 the distance of a load.
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In Calgary, spotted 1688 a very faded Action Red gp but did a double take when I noticed it had never had dynamic brakes. I checked ye olde trackside guide and found this beasty was a long way from home. She started life as a Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo unit. Its amazing how a little thing like the d/b's not being on it make it stand out. Being from the land of d/b's she is an oddity, and nice to see for a change.
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hells yes

LGP don't worry about this initial spam i'll be joining you in train chat
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RailfanNr1 posted:

In Calgary, spotted 1688 a very faded Action Red gp but did a double take when I noticed it had never had dynamic brakes. I checked ye olde trackside guide and found this beasty was a long way from home. She started life as a Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo unit. Its amazing how a little thing like the d/b's not being on it make it stand out. Being from the land of d/b's she is an oddity, and nice to see for a change.

fuck yeah

#14
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After all these years, my father still can't believe that NS is running 6 axle diesels up there and they get stuck from time to time. Those Pups did so much! I was only 9, but since my Poppop (John Koehler) knew everyone on the M&H Division, one of the Valley engineers (Bootsy) let me drive a empty Hazelton train. It consisted of 4 pups and 1 caboose but as a 9 year old getting the once in a lifetime opportunity to get to blow the horn at the Weatherly crossing and drive her for about 2 miles, I will never forget the experience.

I guess try doing that today and that poor sole would be fired on the spot. My father was always hopping rides with you all to Lehighton, Allentown, etc. Great times

BTW - at 84, he is still chasing the trains though he fell down last winter and broke his hip at the Hazelton yard. Fell down on ice but he has since recovered and we actually framed the picture he took while he was falling down. Great shot of a NS GP50
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tpaine posted:

mandy patinkin is so cool that he likens himself to a drug addict but all he does is spend too much money on trains, but it's not even that much money considering he's a rich actor, all it did was slightly inconvenience him when he argues with his wife about things. holy shit is that a cool guy


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#18
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Load-testing the Sydney harbour bridge with 96 locomotives right before opening, 1932


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Load testing a new house in Sweden, 2013

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gross_%28actor%29
Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. He is an amateur railroad historian, photographer, modeler, and part-owner in a working railroad, the Santa Fe Southern Railway, a former branch line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway which operates between Lamy and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is also the spokesman for the World's Greatest Hobby campaign sponsored by the Model Railroad Industry Association that promotes the hobby of model railroading. He has also been a spokesperson for Operation Lifesaver, a campaign promoting safety at railroad grade crossings. Beginning in 2009, Gross is the "celebrity spokesman" for the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Load-testing the depths of human darkness, Poland 1944

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Load-testing societal expectations of etiquette, behaviour and embarrassment

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#24
Kurdt
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is that last one kings cross or victoria or something?
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#37
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wowie kazowie According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest freight train on record weighed 220 million pounds and was more than 4 1/2 miles long. id hate to have to wait for that thing to go by
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#39
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hot diggity dog The heaviest train weighs more than 27,000 elephants. thats a spicy meatball
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