Monthly Archives: June 2005
Roundhouse
On February 17, 2003 the Iron Structure of the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse at the B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, MD, collapsed under the weight of a record-breaking 3 foot snowfall. The Roundhouse is a 22-sided polygon and is the largest circular industrial building in the world. Designed by E. Frances Baldwin, the Roundhouse was completed in 1884. Throughout the restoration process, crews have worked to completely rebuild the lower roof, clerestory roof and lantern while preserving the original design of the building. The museum re-opened in November, 2004. <a href=”http://www.borail.org/”>Click to visit.</a>
Big Four Bridge
A Sidney, Ohio landmark since 1923. The Big Four Railroad line was the east-west link through the county. It was known as the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (thus the Big Four Railroad), later the Bee line, and after 1930, the New York Central Railroad. Construction workers used 28,000 cubic yards of concrete and 900,000 pounds of steel. Legend has it that a worker was walking across the planks when he stepped on it wrong and the board flipped up causing him to lose balance and forcing him to fall into the concrete. Other workers tried to get him out, but their efforts were worthless. He was gone, sinking into the concrete. Twenty minutes later they began pouring again.
Capitol Building
Short layover between trains in Washington, DC allowed me to venture outside of the station, just 2 blocks from there was the US Capitol Building. This is a prelude to my trip back to DC at the end of July for a photographic tour of the nation’s capitol.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum
While in Baltimore I visited the B & O Railroad Museum. This visit was extra special for me as my grandfather was a trainmaster on the B & O for 52 years. I grew up with trains and the stories my grandfather told me. The museum is a full affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute and I highly recommend stopping in if you ever get to Baltimore. <a href=’http://www.borail.org/’>Click here to visit.</a>
Say Cheese!
USS Torsk (SS-423) was built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The keel was laid on 7 June 1944. The submarine was launched on 6 September 1944. For many years it was customary to name U.S. submarines for fish, although this custom no longer exists. World War II submarines were named for everything that swam, from <i>Albacore</i> to <i>Whale</i>. The <i>Torsk</i> got its name from a gadoid fish, allied to the codfish, which is found in the North Atlantic. The name <i>Torsk</i> is Norwegian in origin. The <i>Torsk</i> has the distinction of firing the last torpedo and sinking the last Japanese combatant ships of World War II.
Warehouse Water Tower
While waiting for my train to depart, I took a walk around the train station in Toledo. The sun was just rising and was postitioned behind the water tower.
Traveling Companions
Necole and Jennifer, 2 wonderful people I met on my recent train trip to Chicago. We chatted for about 4 hours and had a great time enjoying each others’ company. They continued on to NYC, after I detrained in Toledo. You meet the greatest people while traveling on the train.