Robert Pence

Oh, My! It looks as if the photographer meticulously pieced it from glass-plate negatives before printing. After going over that a couple of times, I have to go lie down, now.

If I'm not mistaken, someone posted photos of the interior on the forums. It was a few years back, probably archived by now. I don't have a clue as to what to search for.

It looks like they're doing a quality job. The roof is the most critical part of preservation, in my opinion. It takes the most punishment from the elements and usually is the first part to fail, and after it fails and lets in water, the rest of the structure goes downhill fast. It looks like the next structural stabilization project should be tuck-pointing the brick exterior to replace eroded mortar.

Waiting room capacity would be less an issue if there were multiple daily departures on the major routes, spreading out the passenger loads. As things are now, yes, it's a mess. Gate waiting areas are sometimes jammed, with many more people waiting than there are seats. Unless I missed it in the article, there's no mention of a fire on July 26, 1980 in which a Conrail employee in a fifth-floor office died from smoke inhalation. After that fire, the already-grimy Great Hall got a good cleaning, even prior to the skylight restoration and other extensive work that was done in 1991. Here's what the Great Hall looked like in 1973:

Nice job with the video, smooth and steady. CVSR has decent track that let them get a nice roll on the train, and that makes for a good show. The locomotive can really hustle; where track and operating conditions permit, it's easily capable of speeds in the mid-seventies. Around 1985 I rode along on an equipment move with no passengers, where one of the guys in the crew car clocked 76mph over a couple of mileposts. If I recall correctly, the 2-8-4 Berkshires were ordered from Lima Locomotive for the fast freight service that was the Nickel Plate's claim to fame, and their high-stepping performance resulted in their being used in passenger service as well.

Some very classy buildings in that little town. I'll bet it would have been a neat place in the fifties and sixties, when small towns had local downtown retail and business services. True, one wouldn't be able to sustain a property like that with the money one could make going to a job locally. It's a beauty, and it takes constant attention to keep an old house with all that detail looking good and free of structural issues. I can see it for someone who has substantial income that doesn't require his/her going to an office or factory every day, or a retiree or retired couple with income from assets, a desire for small-town tranquility, and an inclination to putter.

Valley Gem is a pleasant experience; the narrative is interesting, the ride is scenic, and it doesn't take up a whole day. The detailed riverboat models in the museum are marvelous. While you're there, take time to check out the W.P. Snyder Jr., the last steam-powered sternwheel towboat to operate on the Ohio River. The Snyder represents the pinnacle of steam sternwheeler design, with high-pressure superheated steam and condensers to recover water and heat from the engine exhaust. Towboat crews worked hard, but on the Snyder, at least, it looks like they had decent accomodations and a galley that could feed them well.

Interesting. The tourist-oriented shopping areas seem to take tacky and garish to a whole new level!

Some of the concrete caissons that support Terminal Tower are ten feet in diameter. Imagine what a challenge that must have been, excavating and pouring those with 1920s technology.

"Iron Horse" perhaps was used appropriately in reference to primitive steam locomotives that replaced horses on early-19th century railways and tramways - machines like the 1831 John Bull: The original John Bull is owned by the Smithsonian Institution. The operable replica pictured above was built in 1939 by employees of the PRR Altoona Shops, and is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg. Using the term "Iron Horse" in reference to modern passenger trains makes about as much sense as referring to electric trains "chugging." That sort of writing demonstrates and continues to feed the "choo-choo" mentality that is an impediment to bringing US rail passenger service into the 21st century. The article is typical of what happens with increasing frequency in all sorts of publications -- feature articles by writers who know nothing about their subject matter, and who don't bother to consult with anyone who does.

Probably a lot of the people who enjoyed Delta Queen cruises will find the new ACL riverboat good news. I've never taken a Delta Queen Cruise; the closest I've ever been was seeing it moored in Pittsburgh several years ago. For me the new riverboat falls short of what I'd buy a cruise on, though. I recognize that as a vintage machinery geek I'm in the minority, but ro me steam is the essence of a riverboat. I took an afternoon trip on the Belle of Louisville, and probably spent more time at the bottom of the gangway leading to the engine room than I did on deck. From what I can find, the new ACL riverboat uses a diesel-hydraulic drive system. That's not authentic so far as the riverboat experience goes. I haven't determined whether it actually uses the stern wheel for propulsion, or whether, like most of the newer diesel-powered ersatz sternwheelerss, propulsion is by propellers and the wheel is purely ornamental. There's a big difference in the feel and sound.

Beautiful buildings and excellent photos; this scene is so clean and crisp it looks like a rendering:

It can vary a lot. Three endangered homes were moved to land formerly occupied by a parking lot that was unused after the art school moved to the Indiana-Purdue Regional Campus. One is a large brick home that was moved clear across town, right through the CBD, and it was a slow, cautious operation that took two days in transit and another day just to get it positioned and lowered onto the foundation. The contractor said it weighed 203 tons. I doubt if they ever got above one mile per hour, interrupted by waits while utility crews raised power and phone lines and swung stoplight booms out of the way. The other two are substantial wood-framed houses that came from within a few blocks, and once they got them off the foundations, they went down the street so fast it was hard to keep up with them on foot. I used to know how much the moves cost (the neighborhood association helped fund them, with some business co-sponsors), but I've forgotten. There's not just the cost of the move; in most cases I've seen, a basement was dug, and in any case you have to pour a new concrete foundation and provide for water, sewer, gas, and electric connections. Those alone can run into thousands of dollars. Still, if you're working with a well-built old house with good craftsmanship and lots of intact architectural detail inside and out, the total bill probably will be significantly less than trying to build a new home of comparable quality and value. The former parking lot now shared by the three homes once was the site of the Fleming Mansion, a very large Italianate home, three storeys if I remember correctly, built by a newspaper publisher. It and its accompanying brick carriage barn occupied a half-block of street frontage and went all the way back to the alley. It was razed in the sixties, by which time it had been hacked into several marginal-quality apartments, was absentee slumlord-owned, and was run down.

Likewise numerous buildings at Hale Farm and Village, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area near Peninsula. The Hale farmhouse and related structures are original to the site, but several houses, barns, shops, and other structures that were endangered in their former locations have been moved to part of the property to recreate a mid-nineteenth century village.

< :speech: >Folks, please use BRAKES to slow or stop your car. If your car BREAKS, take it to a mechanic and get it repaired.</ :speech: >

Cute. Quite a nice collection of intact vintage buildings, and several others whose facades look readily restorable. The job would take many gallons of paint stripper, too.

Holy Smoke! It was a mini-Las Vegas, right smack-dab in the middle of Ohio! :roll:

I've always found Benadryl effective at relieving stuffiness and helping me sleep soundly, and although it leaves me feeling pretty mellow and sometimes a little groggy in the morning, I've never experienced anything that would equate to a hangover from it.

I think they are. That's what I've always called them, anyway. The old-time flower gardens are a big part of what I I love about historic villages and farm settlements, and I've been meaning to plant some hollyhocks but haven't gotten around to it. I think it takes them a full season to get established, and they don't start to bear flowers until the second year. I need to read up on them, because I think they'd be a perfect fit for my house and my neighborhood. Sometimes I think I'd like to move back to the farm, except that I'd be lost without my FIOS.

Great photos! The first has a dramatic sky and towering buildings lit with warm autumn-evening light, and the second has crisp, fine architectural detail from near to far plus really nice exposure latitude. Either one would make a striking mural.

... And the dermatologist will tell you to cut back on the caffeine and get more sleep :|

Wow. Beautiful photos, fascinating neighborhood, and Saint Mary's is stunning!

Gorgeous! The Memorial Hall Theater has to be among the most lavish in the country!

ColDayMan beat me to it. I puzzled over that for a few minutes trying to orient myself in such a way that it would look like Fort Wayne, but the river was in the wrong place relative to the railroad, the ballpark wasn't right, and the landmark buildings were missing. I came to the same conclusion. The only thing that the two downtowns have in common is towers from Kelley Marshall Architects' cookie cutter. In South Bend it's the City Center ... ... and in Fort Wayne it's the Previously National City building: Great photo thread, and once again your partner proves himself very capable with a camera in the urban environment.

Very tasteful, compared to the way it used to be. In 1979 the sleaze district still was where it is now, next door to the police department ... ... but it was more extensive. I heard it was something like six blocks along Baltimore street and the blocks on either side. There were girls in "professional attire" sitting in storefront windows, and thuggish guys standing in the doorways of the sleaze emporiums loudly exhorting passersby to come inside. I tried to stay unobtrusive with my camera, standing between and behind parked cars, etc., but one of them spotted me and came after me. I ran for a couple of blocks before I ventured a glance back to see if he still was chasing me. Now, they've made it all nice and squeaky-clean, and polished away the patina of authenticity. Then: