Buzzers that are also railfans
Coo Man Chu
The general population has no idea the railroad has played and still plays in America. What you eat, what you drive, the computer you are on right now. They all used a railroad in there transport one way or another, be it the raw materials or the finished product.
As for no thrills? Go stand on a platform on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and tell me it's not thrilling having an Acela Trainset scream by at 125 MPH. Stand on Horshoe Curve and watch as 20,000 Horsepower and 80 cylinders struggles against gravity at a crawl with a 100 car coal train in tow. Go to Strasburg and watch as 100 year old Steam Locomotives do exactly as they were designed to do on the same track they were designed to do it. Go to the old NYC Water Level Route and watch as 20,000 HP worth of General Motors and General Electric diesel power fly by at 65 MPH with a string of double stack containers stretched out a Mile behind it. Go to Donner Pass and feel the history all around you of the thousands of workers who literally moved mountains to connect this great country. The list goes on and on.
I don't expect anyone to really understand this. But a lot of people just say to me "Why do you ride all these coasters? They are just the same after a while. What's the difference?"
I tell you this, any of those things I mentioned above beats the best coaster ride I have ever had. I don't expect you to understand why. I am sure you have some hobby that I think is boring and uninteresting.
BTW I can point out more differences between railroad related items then I could on coasters. That is because there are more differences.
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1989, 9 years old bawling my eyes out because I didn't want to ride Magnum. I did anyway and look at me now. Why did ya make me do it Dave? ;)
OHHH Auscoasterman
You want some technical aspects? Go figure out how air brakes work. How bout Dynamic brakes. AC Alternators and DC Generators. AC Traction and DC Traction. The entire workings of a steam engine. Train Dispatching. Modern track maintainance equipment. Making up a train at a hump yard. Etc Etc
Anyway I am trying to point out that railroading while seemingly "easy" is very technical. I would dare say more so then any coaster. After all all trains basically run on LIMs of ther own sort. Heck there have even been hydraulically powered locomotives.
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1989, 9 years old bawling my eyes out because I didn't want to ride Magnum. I did anyway and look at me now. Why did ya make me do it Dave? ;)
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Sean
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"To summarize, you(willthethrill) are a petty low down weasel and I hope that Jeff removes you from this board for that very reason." Bob Hansen
A proud CoasterBuzz Member (Kick the Sky)
Hey, anybody been on the Riverside Live Steamers?
Hey Coo, life if more interesting when you look for the interesting things in the mundane. Heck, I find the patterns of dark and light stripes in wood interesting. Stars are interesting. Crayons are interesting. History is interesting. And cracks in the pavement are interesting. Makes life a little easier to bear.
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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J
We got our inspiration from the real world. We could hear those throaty Pennsylvania whistles and clickety clacking wheels thundering through town a dozen times a day. We also had Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, Pennsylvania & Lake Erie, New York Central and Pennsylvania & West Virginia trains on our side of the river or on the other side.
But those big lines were too sprawling for a kid to wrap his mind around. So we had our own hometown railroad. It was the Montour, a 50 mile short line that brought coal and farm produce down to the river, and hauled consumer goods back out to the townships. We grew up modelling, hiking and photographing the Montour. The engine houses and switchyard were a mile from my house. And if we hiked all the way out to where the Montour interchanged with the B & O and P& WV, we ended up in a remote forested plateau called West Mifflin Township. And if we climbed up the hill from the railroad, we came to Kennywood Park.
Ron, I have been a huge fan for years...ever since I was about 10. All my friends had train sets or many different models. I always wanted a huge "station" in my house, and I dreamed of it constantly for years. I used to subscribe to a modeling magazine, but that only served in whetting my appetite, but failing to produce anything else. I still, to this day, do not have any trains or models, but I think of them often. Just reading this thread made me long for the "old" days and hanging out at my friends' homes.
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Just hanging out....doing nothing...pretending I am in DEVO
An interesting coincidence actually. Riverside California has live steamers. It's open to the public the 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Very cool.
Actually, the free train rides as a kid helped cement my love for choo choos.
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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J
I love trains too. I'm in college and the dorm where I stay in right next to some railroad tracks and Amtrak and Freight trains go by all the time! But I have always loved trains since I was a little kid!
Me and my mom always ride Amtrak from here in Maryland to Florida when we go to Disney World.
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So...you can't handle a rollercoaster huh? Well...you ARE the Weakest Link! Goodbye!
Number 1 Batwing Fan!
*** This post was edited by scoaster on 7/17/2002. ***
Coo Man Chu
Trains not a thrill?Riding behind steam locomotive Southern Pacific GS-4 #4449 at 70 MPH on the ex -SP&S BNSF mainline on the north bank of the Columbia River Gorge was one the greatest thrills of my life.This was more thrilling than some coasters I have ridden.
In addition to being a coaster enthusiast,I am a steam,logging,short line,narrow gauge railfan and modeler.I have a large collection of LGB,Lionel,On30,HO,and N scale trains.I have a SBNO HO layout in my basement ,as well as an N scale coffee table railroad to showcase my Kadee/Micro Trains collection under construction.In the future,I have plans of building a G scale outdoor railroad with a logging/short line narrow gauge theme and an indoor On30 railroad that will include an amusement park with a model of the Jantzen Beach Big Dipper coaster(selectively compressed,of course)
I also like to ride behind steam locomotives whenever I can.
Rob,I would recommend a trip to the Mt. Rainier Scenic R.R. in Elbe,WA if you would like to ride behind a live steam locomotive.They have a large collection of logging steam locos including a 3 truck Shay,a Heisler,a Climax,an Alco 2-8-2T,and a very rare Porter 2-8-2.
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I can fix anything.....where is the duct tape?
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
*** This post was edited by Gemini on 7/18/2002. ***
I didn't mean to sound negative.. but I guess I just don't "get it"...
coasters without fun? thats what trains seem to me...
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I AM CANADIAN
My favourite Coaster-Site: http://www.brewerianazone.com/page14.html
I don't expect people to understan watching trains. It would be like understand someone sitting out by the highway watching semis go by. It really is a odd hobby.
But to railfans it is very thrilling.
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The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
coo man chu
You have no idea how often someone says to me "Why in the world would you wanna ride a roller coaster? Getting yourself scared for nothing?" I've even had some comments like "I'd rather be beaten than get on something like that" or "I have much better things to do with my time than get myself scared for nothing."
Some people just don't understand why we like what we like. I love trains. I love coasters. I myself can't understand why anyone would watch wrestling. But I've got my thing and other people have theirs. Its just who we are.
But Brent, they do sit and watch semis, and for that matter City Buses, airplanes, fire trucks, farm machienry (Dad), and many other pieces of Technology.
Just look at some of the websites out there. There are several about the Interstate highways, never mind whats driving down them.
here is an example: http://www.us-highways.com/
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Whats life if you never get to the Po!nt?
*** This post was edited by kneemeister on 7/18/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by kneemeister on 7/18/2002. ***
Farm Machinery, another perfect example Dave LOL
Dad really is weird
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The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
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