Robert Pence

Bevedere or cupola. Yeah, the porch is kind of messed up, but that wouldn't be a major thing to fix. Considering how much of the rest of the house has kept its integrity, the porch is pretty inconsequential to me.

Nifty town. My favorite, far and away:

Might this have been an interurban freight house? It's very similar to one still standing on a back street in downtown Fort Wayne; Interurban freight and express cars could be unloaded on one side, and trucks and wagons could back up to the doors on the other to transfer merchandise for forwarding around town.

Wonderful! A lot of those shots really make me happy. The once-grand buildings boarded up and falling apart make me sad.

Beautiful color, and I'm envious of people who have nice,clean rivers; ours are slow and muddy. If you take a livestock trailer and a bucket of corn with you to the park, you might be able to save on your grocery bill if you don't set your standards too high. At a picnic with some relatives from another area I ate what I thought was the worst beef I'd ever tasted. Then I learned that it was venison. It was tough and had an unpleasant flavor. Ack!

Great tour, handsome city. I like narrow streets; they help create a feeling of density.

I love 'em all! This is my favorite house from the set:

I wouldn't be surprised if all those men sitting around the base of the flagpole amid pigeons and tattered newspapers are jobless, with nothing else to do. In 1938, the country was only beginning to come out of the Great Depression, and hardship was still pretty widespread among the working class.

Neat stuff, from grit to elegance!

Good shots! Terminal Tower is still my favorite, and always will be; I'm eager for the day when they finish the work and remove the scaffoding and nets.

Inspiring! The density of big buildings in that area has always blown me away.

Wonderful murals! Looks like an interesting place to walk around.

Neat shots! It looks like you had beautiful weather and a good time!

A vow of poverty isn't necessarily the same thing as a vow to live in squalor.

Great photos and a pretty good synopsis of Cleveland's variety. You showed me that there are places in Cleveland I haven't seen. If you're not familiar with the city, you should go for one of the meets and get a MayDay tour. None better!

There's one other incline that I know of, besides Pittsburgh's two. The Fenelon Place Elevator, in Dubuque, Iowa, is very steep and has small cabins. I rode it in 1995, but don't think I have any still photos. I'll have to dig out the video and see if it's still good. If it is, I can probably grab some frames from it.

What you describe sounds very much like Baltimore's homestead project, from the 1970s. If people met similar requirements, at the end of the waiting period they got the property deed for a dollar. The project returned derelict properties tax-paying status, and from what I've heard, I think it was very successful in revitalizing a large amount of housing stock.

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Many modern industrial and agricultural engines still use centrifugal governors to keep rpm constant under varing load conditions, but like most of the components, they're now more compact and enclosed for better lubrication and protection from dust and dirt. As microprocessors have become more common in power control systems, some engines are now electronically governed. Foos engines were a very high-end product; they often had distinctive mechanical design features, and the craftsmanship in their construction was flawless. There are some Foos engines in the Coolspring collection, but I didn't happen to see any in operation during this visit. Foos built some beautiful, moderately large engines for electric power generation. The spring expo on Fathers' Day Weekend in June is more fun, because more engines are available for operation. By the time of the fall swap meet, they've already winterized some of the engines and won't run them again until spring.

You been trespassin'! Expect a visit from Homeland Security! Good shots. Those railroad bridges give some of the best downtown views.

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php Subcommittee Warmly Receives New Amtrak CEO Kummant Release #06-16—September 28, 2006 Contact NARP Washington, D.C.—Alex Kummant, Amtrak’s new President and CEO since September 12, was warmly received this morning by the Subcommittee on Railroads of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He read a brief statement and then answered questions. Here are two key parts of his statement: “I believe long-distance trains are an important part of the nation’s transportation network, and I believe it is our challenge to run them in the most efficient and effective way. That said, I understand how important these trains are as a form of basic transportation to many small communities across the nation..." “I also know that the fastest growing service we have is in rail corridors. Those states that have the vision to develop their state rail systems are beginning to see the benefits of that service. In the past few years, the only new services that Amtrak has added are those that are supported by the states. Developing these corridors, and by that I mean providing regular and reliable service between city pairs of 300-500 miles, is going to be a major part and the driving force of our future." Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH) asked about on-time performance problems, quoting a retired Union Pacific official who had told him “we are sold out” in terms of capacity. Kummant replied, “In the end, the answer has to be capital...We need to sit down with the freights [railroads] and ask them to come up with a plan. But we do have contracts, and we have to hold them to those contracts.” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), in his opening statement, said, “We have an aging society. I’m glad to see you support long-distance travel. I think you’ll see more people that will” want to take long trips by rail. Rep. Corinne Brown (D-FL), ranking member, asked about Amtrak’s plans to restore Louisiana-Florida service. Kummant simply said Amtrak would meet in the near future with the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission. LaTourette noted that many unions have not had a new contract in seven years, and expressed concern about Amtrak’s ability to retain workers if wages are not competitive. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) asked if Kummant had “a plan to drive this labor standoff to a closure.” Kummant said, “I can’t specify a timeline, but we have to have agreements, we have to improve morale. There have been several proposals on the table. It has to be a dialogue and a negotiation. We do need more flexibility in return for higher wages.” He noted that, in some work categories, Amtrak pay is above that of other companies, and said “we also offer a terrific benefits package relative to many industrial companies.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) concluded, “I’m hopeful we’ll be able to work with you and a full board, by the next Congress, to be able to realize the potential you describe. In spite of some in Congress, the public favors it too strongly to let it die.” Rep. John Mica (R-FL) argued again for separating out the Northeast Corridor and giving the private sector the opportunity to help build and expand service. But Brown took the opposite tack, saying “the Bush Administration tried to destroy [Amtrak] from within, by splitting the Northeast Corridor off...I’m glad the board has backed off on those efforts for now.” Kummant also seemed closer to Brown when he cautioned that “there are tremendous operational challenges with peeling anything off.” Mica urged Kummant to become familiar with Virgin Rail (U.K.), which Mica praised for its 34 million passengers, and $9 billion infrastructure investments. But Jim Oberstar (D-MN) responded, “The gentleman is only telling part of the story. In December, 2000, then-Chairman [bud] Shuster [R-PA] and I were in London when Parliament approved 600 million British pounds to bail out the right-of-way owners.” Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN) asked about rumors of closing Amtrak’s Beech Grove maintenance facility; Kummant said “I’m not aware of it. I’ve not been involved in any discussions to close Beech Grove.” Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) asked Kummant to address on-time performance problems on Virginia Railway Express, which Amtrak operates mainly on CSX (and Norfolk Southern) tracks. Westmoreland also noted that his wife rides Amtrak Atlanta-Washington, saying that old equipment is understandable but “it should be clean.” [Kummant’s full statement is available on Amtrak’s website.]

To me, all of the above highlights the folly of Indiana's intention to extend I-69 to make it part of a direct interstate link between the Great Lakes and Mexico for long-haul trucks. We should not be investing public funds, especially while creating huge negative environmental impact, to subsidize competition against the railroads' existing, privately-funded infrastructure.

Sounds like nonsense to me. I doubt if the agreement would have been approved without going all the way to the top. It sounds like the agreement was signed at least three years ago, and that someone was caught off guard by growth in freight traffic, and/or didn't expect Amtrak to still be around by now.

Dang! Nice! You beat me to it. I was about to order one of those, but I spent all my money on a new car, instead. I'm gonna' have me one of those yet!