Robert Pence

I don't go out to movies often, but I like Cinema Center, a local art house venue that has two theaters, one downtown and another at Indiana Tech. They get funding through the local fine arts foundation, and my former employer contributes generously, so my retiree ID gets me (and a guest) in free. The theaters are well-designed with good seating, screens, and sound, and they show a variety of films, both foreign and domestic. The last film I saw (twice) was Transsiberian. Audience behavior is better than in run-of-the-mill venues; talkers get shushed promptly by other patrons.

During a visit to Cleveland in 1978 or 1979, I heard a lot of excited talk on the newscasts about a test train run by Amtrak with numerous dignitaries on board, to determine feasibility. All the talk made it sound like it was a done deal, and the trains would be running in a year or two.

Maybe they didn't break any laws, but by going out on cracked ice with warming temps and high winds, they showed poor judgement and disregard for their own safety. It's not like some unforeseen catastrophe befell them. They should have to pay for the rescue operation. Helicopters, a C-130, and a cutter don't come cheap, and the rescue crews don't work for tips.

Hmmm. Cleveland actually does have a better skyline from the water, but some of the other scenery makes up for it - as does the weather, this time of year!

When first I opened the thread, I could see only the last two. After I copied the links to the first two and pasted them into a separate tab in my browser, I could see those, too. But now they don't work again. They are beautiful photos, though. They're sharp and crisp, and the colors are excellent!

Good stuff! I love those old river towns with buildings that come right down to the water's edge. From the looks of the commercial buildings, they must get a fair amount of tourist business.

I'm sure, of course, that your recent visit to Hawaii had nothing to do with a US Navy warship running aground there. :-o

Excellent photos, sad situation. At least the beautiful Union Station didn't suffer the same ignominious fate that has befallen Detroit's Michigan Central Station. May I respectfully submit for your viewing pleasure some photos from a trip on the eastbound Cardinal on July 11, 1979? Included are a timetable, my ticket stub for a roomette, and two photos of Amtrak Train 50, the Cardinal, at Cincinnati's River Road Station:

Hawaii looks OK if you like that sort of thing, I guess. :wink: :clap:

MTS, I don't know how much contractor labor costs in Youngstown. I hired independents based on referrals from one guy who had done a bunch of structural restorations in the neighborhood, and his recommendations were all good. Total cost depends on how much you have done by contractors, and how much you do yourself. Altogether I put a little more than $35K, both interior and exterior, into a 1,600-square foot pile of boards built in pieces between about 1860 and the 1920s. That was at prices ranging from 10-15 years ago, though. I paid $14,500 for the house back in 1977 and ran it into the ground as a rental for more than 10 years. It also depends on what level of decor/design you want. I spent a lot less on kitchen/bathroom work; I went for pretty much working-class design, functional and coherent, but no $350 faucets or $600 sinks. I even recycled my 1940s American Standard bathtub, moving it from a downstairs bathroom to a new bathroom upstairs by hoisting it through a hole in a floor that was not yet closed up. It's cast iron and weighs at least 400 pounds. I recycled 1955-vintage Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets from a house my parents were remodeling; I had layers of paint stripped from them at an industrial metal refinishing place, and had them repainted with glossy white automotive enamel. When I finished with the contractors, I had a basic shell with plumbing and electrical roughed in and inspected, and finished drywall. Kitchen and bathroom floors are one-piece Armstrong vinyl that I installed. I installed all the trim and woodwork throughout the house, salvaging and stripping some (it's all painted), and installing some new wood where the old was too bad to be saved. I installed all the sinks and cabinets and electrical fixtures, and did all the painting. Looking back it was a neat adventure, but I'm glad it's over. Never again! Would I build a new one in an old style, if I had the cash to spare? You betcha! Innaminnit! I already have the plans in my head.

Sash cords usually aren't all that difficult. You need to remove the sash from the frame; do that by removing one of the window stops (trim strips) that form the channel the sash slides in. The stop may be secured with screws and grommets. More likely it's fastened with small finishing nails and probably stuck down with layers of paint. If there are no visible screws, you just pry out the strip. There should be a piece in the channel that the sash slides in, that comes out. It may be secured with a screw at the top, or it may just be tacked in. On an older house, it probably will be painted over and might be difficult to find or remove. (If you can't find the removable strip, you may have to pry off the vertical trim on the face of the window casing to get at the weight cavity. Not that big a task, but almost always requires some paint touch-up afterward.) That gives access to the cavity where the sash weight travels. You can pull out the sash weight. Thread a new cord through the pulley and secure one end in the opening in the weight with a knot and the other end, also with a knot, in the cavity in the end of the sash. There should be weights and pulleys on both sides; while you have the sash out, you may want to replace both cords. You'll likely need to touch up some paint after you put everything back together.

I second that opinion. I've been down that road; no one who hasn't been there with an old house can't possibly foresee all the unexpected problems and the occasional feeling of being in an endless tunnel with no visible light at the end. I gutted mine to where I could stand in the basement and see second-storey windows. I saved the foundation, frame, exterior wall sheathing, most windows, and rafters, and ripped out all the non-bearing walls and started over. I had started with the intent of doing everything myself, and then woke up and hired a carpenter. About halfway through, I lost my job and had to let the carpenter go. My dad advanced me enough cash to keep going and keep some of my sanity, and I was able to hire a plumber and an electrician to rough in those parts and a heating contractor to put in a whole new heating & AC system. It took about two years, and by the time I was finished, I was ready to gag at the smell of broken, rotten plaster. Fortunately I didn't have to live in it while major construction was under way. Now I have the style of the 1920s -1930s in a mechanically up-to-date house. In retrospect it was worth the trouble, but sometimes while it was in progress I had serious misgivings. I learned a lot, and sometimes it was almost fun. Get sound professional estimates of the cost involved, double them, and then set aside a contingency fund of equal amount. Likewise on the time you expect it to take. For professional services like plumbers, electricians, and heating/AC, get good references and make sure they're experienced at working on old houses. A lot of licensed contractors only know how to work on new construction on a slab, and anything more than thirty years old completely stymies them.

Not as big as the one in Kentucky, perhaps, but not a bad-looking downtown. Nice 19th-century building stock.

^ Nice composition!

Yes, with the huge arched window. My first visit to Cincinnati was around 1991, to see the Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibit that everyone was making such a fuss about. Afterward, I walked around downtown for a while just looking at stuff. I walked into that building and through the window saw the Roebling Bridge (then called the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge, I think). I had just come back from visiting a friend in Manhattan, and a few days before, we had walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was like being smacked upside the head.

I love the old photos of Mt. Clemens, especially the old courthouse. It looks like they had a streetcar loop around the courthouse square.

Excellent pics! Too bad you got kicked out of the Cathedral for using a tripod; it looks like you were on a roll, capturing some gorgeous shots there.

Did you read it on a wheaties box, maybe? "Weedies," you say? That would be a great name for a product. Lots of sugar and salt, and a mouth-satisfying crunchy-chewy texture. Chocolate-coated? Maybe. Phelps would be an ideal spokesman, and seeing as how he's lost his Kellog contract and probably will lose others, he'd be available at a discount rate. The next place I expect to see him is on a milk carton; "Has anybody seen this boy, lately?"

I don't really know anything about it. It's just something I read somewhere.

But it's a perfect connection! Weed ---> Munchies ---> Frosted Flakes !!! They should just change the illustration to show him pouring the contents of a box of Frosted Flakes into his mouth, with a bong sitting beside him.

That's sure the truth. Ironically, I've been treated like a potential terrorist when photographing in rail and transit facilities with a DSLR. If I were intent on taking photos for nefarious purposes, would I be standing in the middle of an open area with a conspicuous camera and lens, taking time to compose and focus carefully? Or would I be more likely to go completely unnoticed with a small point-and-shoot or cell-phone camera, standing in a crowded area or an inconspicuous location, unobtrusively snapping away? For purposes of site surveillance, the quality of the photos isn't all that important. Often when I ask permission to take photos, the person asks to see my camera. They might have been friendly and relaxed at first, probably expecting to see a pocket-sized point-and-shoot. When they see a DSLR, all of a sudden they get all hesitant and then ask a lot more questions. Usually they give permission eventually, but a serious camera is often a stumbling block.

A lot depends on who owns/operates the facility. If it's privately owned and funded, including private foundations, then they have a right to impose whatever rules they want. If it's taxpayer owned/funded, then management's right to restrict photography is more limited. Performers may impose restrictions on photographing or recording their performances.

The overhead walkway restoration is now complete. Toledo is fortunate in that its station was built off the main tracks, with diverging tracks serving the station. Some stations lost their overhead walkways because they spanned active main tracks and didn't provide sufficient clearance for high-cube cars and double-stack containers. I think Cincinnati's Union Terminal passenger concourse was torn down because of high-cube clearance requirements, possibly related to the expansion and modernization of Queensgate Yard in the seventies. A few Toledo station photos from last March at the NARP meeting: Amtrak waiting room in former baggage room on lower level: Skybridge entrance to original passenger waiting room and ticket counters: Original ticket counter: Original passenger waiting room, finished with glass tiles: Restored walkway over tracks, with stairs and ramps down to platform level: Looking down on track/platform area from overhead walkway: Stairway in foreground, ramp in background, peeling paint above:

Random observations: The samurais have spotted the camera car and are checking it out. It just rained and street and sidewalks are wet, and boy on bicycle without fenders most likely has a wet stripe down the middle of his back from his shoulders to his @ss.