Robert Pence

Sweet ride! The 1988 construction photo shows thermite welding a rail joint. Thermite welding is a very old process that's still in use on railroads for just that purpose, because it's one of the few practical ways to apply enough heat to that much steel. A dam of refractory material, like clay, is molded around the sides and bottom of the joint to contain the weld material, and a ceramic cone filled with a mixture of powered aluminum and iron oxide, possibly with other desired alloying elements included, is placed over the joint. The mixture is ignited and an exothermic reaction takes place in which the iron oxide releases oxygen which reacts with the aluminum. The heat is intense, and molten iron flows out through an opening in the bottom of the cone and into the gap between the rail ends. The iron is sufficiently hot that it melts some of the iron in the rail ends, and as the whole mass cools it fuses into one solid piece. The surface of the weld is smoothed with a grinder, and the result is a smooth ride free of clickety-clack, with longer rail life and lower maintenance of right-of-way. OK. I shut up now. < / :speech: >

Wow, Nathaniel! You've obviously been working at getting fit; you look great!

Norfolk Southern 2nd Quarter Operating Revenues Down 33% From 2Qtr 2008 http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/News%20Releases/2009/earn2q_09.html NORFOLK, VA. – For the second quarter of 2009, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) reported net income of $247 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, compared with $453 million, or $1.18 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2008. “Second-quarter results obviously reflect the impact of the recession,” said Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman. “However, the measures we are taking to control expenses while maintaining our industry-leading service levels have enabled us to post solid second-quarter results, while at the same time we continue to invest in projects that position us for the eventual economic recovery.” Second-quarter railway operating revenues were $1.9 billion, down 33 percent, compared with the second quarter of 2008, primarily the result of a 26 percent reduction in traffic volume and lower fuel-related revenues. General merchandise revenues were $978 million, 33 percent lower compared with the same period last year. Coal revenues declined 34 percent to $511 million compared with second-quarter 2008 results. Intermodal revenues decreased 31 percent to $368 million compared with the second quarter of last year. Railway operating expenses for the quarter were $1.4 billion, a decrease of 29 percent over the same period of 2008. The railway operating ratio was 74.8 percent, compared with 71.1 percent during second-quarter 2008. Norfolk Southern Corporation is a leading North American transportation provider. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

Great tour! The photos are beautiful with good attention to details, and you got some good stuff that doesn't catch most people's eye. In the first set, the yellow Carpenter Gothic house with all the elaborate gingerbread is yummy!

I really like looking at these photos; the scenes are dense and the colors are rich. Some people disparage Boston's skyline, but for me street-level activity and architectural variety are what define a city. Boston looks visually fascinating. The firehouse is wonderful. In the midwest we've lost many/most of our classics and replaced them with brick/concrete boxes or steel-sided pole barns.

Man oh man, look at all of those trees. Excellent pic as usual Rob. Is that scanned from the negative or a slide? It looks way too nice to be from a print. Thanks. It was scanned from a 35mm negative, probably Kodacolor 100. I would have shot more except that I was with a vain PITA BF who went into a royal sulk when I pointed my camera at anything other than him. Here's another shot, of snapdragons in one of the planters by the fountains: Then, the fountains were known as a nighttime cruising spot (if one like to flirt with danger).

1979:

Looks like a pretty nice town. It should get more publicity. :wink: :clap:

The photos after the Conspiracy Bar are all red x's. Clearly, they're watching you because of this thread, and have blocked the links. What's in those photos that they don't want us to see? :weird: :wink:

Tastefully charming, and cascading water is a big plus in any town.

It's easy to see why people fall in love with the city. Thanks for the great tour, and especially for the transit shots that most people don't take.

Loved these!

Fascinating place!

Good stuff! Sounds like a fun trip, and the photos are excellent, including the night shots!

Here ya' go:

Nice! Looks cool, moist, and secluded, and I really like some of the architecture.

Yeah. You can spoil them rotten, and then let their parents deal with it. Great way to get even with a sibling! :evil:

Thanks for the tour. I was in Canton in 2007 and was pleased with how clean it was, even though there wasn't much going on for a Friday afternoon. The plaza looks good, and I'm glad to see that they're making progress.

Art installation. For some reason, the information was posted so low on a wall that I would have had to kneel to read it, and I wasn't inclined to do that just then. If you were to actually drill at that location, you'd end up in the South Shore platform area of Millennium Station. Glad folks are enjoying the photos. On recent trips, I haven't had a chance to explore outside the Loop and Hyde Park. Maybe I need to make a dedicated photo trip, without any appointments.

Excellent photos of an intriguing adventure!

Fascinating! I wonder what treasures would appear if all that cladding were stripped away.

Yep. Looks like a death spiral in the offing. As driving declines, and along with it, demand for highway capacity, those beautifully-engineered Interstate grades can be repurposed. Car and truck traffic can be consolidated on lanes on one side of the median, and the lanes on the other side can be converted to dedicated ROW for high-speed passenger rail. Thus separating passenger trains from freight traffic eliminates the factors that require American passenger rolling stock to be built to freight-train standards for collision impact tolerance, etc.. Those standards result in much heavier rolling stock than that used in other countries' high-speed systems and drive up both construction and operating costs. Light, fast electrified passenger trains with high power-to-weight ratios easily are able to handle most grades on Interstates that already are designed to be negotiable by heavily-loaded trucks, and the wide, sweeping curves easily can be dealt with by elevation (banking of curves) and Talgo technology. The ROW already is grade-separated and in many cases enters or approaches near city centers. The cost of constructing diverging routes to gain that access in other places is negligible compared with the cost of purchasing and grading entirely new ROW. Converting the ROW for use by electrified high-speed trains eliminates the toxic runoff and noise pollution that the motor vehicle-highway partnership produces.

Beautiful photo! Nice job capturing all the subtle details in the shadows.

Chicago July 16 & 19, 2009 July 16, east of Metra 56th Street Station, between the Metra tracks and the Science and Industry Museum. Nice digs. The Museum of Science and Industry was the Fine Arts Palace at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, and is the only surviving example of the vast and imposing "White City" designed by Daniel Burnham. The buildings were all temporary, intended to last only a single season and constructed of wood frames with chicken-wire matrices covered over with papier-mache and plaster. The fair's promoters opted to go for a second season, and by the end of that time weather had begun to take its toll. Plans to make the complex permanent died when most of it was destroyed by fire. The Palace of Fine Arts, alone, was reconstructed as a permanent building. For a good read, check out Erik Larson's <i>The Devil in the White City</i>. In addition to a fact-based suspenseful account of the activities of a cunning serial killer who preyed upon unaccompanied young women who came to the Exposition, Larson presents an interesting narrative of the egos and political manipulations that were part of creating the event. Heading west on 56th Street: Almost at my destination: From the 4th floor of the DCAM Building at the University of Chicago Medical Center. At the time of my first visit here, in 1996, a six-storey parking garage was under construction on this site. Since then, the parking garage has outlived its usefulness and has been razed to make way for something else. June 19 - Not much happening on Sunday afternoon at South Shore's platforms in Millennium Station. Back into the daylight to kill a couple hours before train time. Common streetwalkers on Michigan Avenue, of all places -- and in broad daylight, yet! A pleasant afternoon in Millennium Park, ranking high among the great public spaces in the U.S. Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate ("The Bean") fascinates people of all sizes, shapes, and ages.. Pritzker Pavilion, by architect Frank Gehry. Serpentine Bridge. 'Bye from Chicago!