Robert Pence

When 3C rail gets going, it could open up a niche for Greyhound or independent local motorcoach operators to provide connections between some of the outlying smaller cities and towns and 3C rail stations. Some of those places haven't had any connection with the outside world other than private automobile in more than 20 years. There's a synergy there that can evolve to benefit the rail service and the communities and their residents.

Very nice! I was hoping they'd show some of the Detroit-Superior Bridge subway, and they didn't disappoint me. I saw at least three cars from about 1951; a Pontiac, a Mercury, and a Hudson, and all looked shiny new. I'd guess that's about when the film was shot.

Somebody must have moved it to "Who killed Cleveland's streetcars." I watched it, thought it was neat, and typed a comment. By the time I hit submit, it was gone. But I found it.

I dunno wtf happened to the post I thought I was responding to, but I can't find it now. Sorry

Great shots! The parade looks like a pretty fun time.

I have a Raleigh DL-1 Roadster with rod brakes that's my cruising-around-town bike when I don't have to haul anything. Standard carriers don't fit it, and I've not been motivated to hand-craft anything. The Raleigh has 28-inch wheels and 24-inch frame, which makes it a fairly tall bike. I'm only about 5'10" now, but I used to be just shy of 6'. I've always been long-legged for my height, and that's always been problematic with factory bikes; get a bike with a long enough seat tube, and the top tube is too long. It makes reaching for down-tube shifters awkward, too. The Schwinn still uses the original down-tube shifters; the big handlebar grips are just oversized foam ones that came with the handlebar conversion kit. I've always liked the way that bike rides and works; it rolls easily and shifts smoothly. Mechanically and structurally it's as you say, vastly superior to the old Chicago-built gas-pipe frames. I rode a few Varsities and Collegiates, and although they were indestructible, they were heavy as tanks and the accessories were all crude. I probably have eight or ten bikes squirrelled away in my basement and garage. Someday I'll dig them all out and take photos. Not all are rideable, and some probably aren't worth restoring but some definitely are, like the $15 Nottingham-built Hercules probably from the 1950s. I don't think it needs much more than a good cleaning and greasing and maybe tires. I picked up a pretty turquoise AMF coaster-brake bike for $10 that just needed the tires pumped up. It's fun to bomb around the neighborhood once in a while on it.

The few road bikes in my accumulation are all older, and mostly nothing special. I chose the early-80s Schwinn LeTour Luxe for a shopping bike largely because of the position of the shifters on the down tube and because it was still in pretty good condition overall. As I've become less flexible, shifting it has become more risky. Around the city there are few grades steep enough or long enough to demand a shift, so I just leave it in the same gear 95% of the time. I had already added a rear carrier and fenders, and I switched the drop bars for an upright set. Wald makes a nice collapsible wire basket that mounts to the side of the rear carrier, so I added one of those and likely will add another. Like the yellow '70s belt beacon? It uses a 9-volt battery and xenon bulb, and flashes about 100 times/minute. It still works, but I usually don't use it because it would just confuse the local white trash drunks. They'd think it was a blinker on an orange barrel and try to run into it just for grins. There's a red LED strobe mounted to the seat post.

Very sharp; a classy classic, and you did a meticulous job. Working with bikes can be very rewarding; the options for upgrading and customizing are nearly endless, and it doesn't take as much money or shop space as working with cars. Edit: That's a tall frame. What's the size?

I agree; an aerial photo or plan view would have been helpful in order to understand the before-and-after scene. I've been there, but it was a long time ago and I can't remember the layout. I got the impression that the pavement-painting and Sonotube planter-barricades and some of the other temporary changes and movable fixtures were because this is an experiment to see how the proposal works. It was something they wanted to pull together very quickly (I think the mayor said it took 72 hours), and if it works as hoped, then permanent infrastructure changes will be made.

Reviewing this thread just awakened another memory. In 2000 I spent a few days in the area while waiting for transmission repair on my pickup. I remember a radio station from Warren that played pretty much non-stop polka music.

Some people will pay extra to have the stuffing scared out of them (not me!). :|

Spectacular!

Any idea how many people it took to keep that place running when the Sieberlings lived there? It's quite a remarkable place.

Thanks, all! It was a pretty good birthday and I got my nap OK. This one was a milestone, one of those that ends with a zero. The first digit is a number that's sometimes considered lucky.

They probably found quite a few other German-speaking folks there; the city has a strong German heritage.

These were taken early on a Saturday afternoon. I don't know how the pedestrian traffic is on a weekday. I don't know how many times I've heard "Kendalltucky." The town is pretty blue-collar and more than a little redneck in spots, and a lot of the people there, like folks in many midwestern auto-industry-centered towns, have Appalachian roots. There are lots of Harleys, most of them with loud pipes. Still, the downtown speaks for itself and almost entirely, the people I've met there are hospitable and polite. Friends of mine, a gay couple, live in a nice house on a nice residential street where they are friends with their neighbors and respected by the people who know them. It's a nice town; I think I probably could live there comfortably.

The thing is a beast - 7 tons on a GMC W-series truck chassis, with a 6-liter Vortec engine. I don't guess the mileage would be very high, although the aerodynamics look quite good.

How about we weigh the gains in efficiency from getting as much long-haul freight as possible off the highways and onto rails? Save two-thirds of the fuel and reduce the wear and tear on roads and bridges by putting those trailers on spine cars for the long-distance parts of their routes, or putting their cargo in road-railers for intermodal shipment. Very many drivers are unsafe at the de facto interstate speeds, and a traffic stream that's moving at speeds higher than justified by the skill levels of a lot of the drivers puts me at risk. Further, I don't accept the notion that just because I'm an older driver, I should be excluded from using part of the highway system that my taxes pay for. The function of traffic laws should be to provide a safe driving environment for taxpayers of widely-varied skill levels, and the laws should be enforced with that end in sight, not adjusted to appease the most aggressive highway users.

Kendallville, Indiana June 6, 2009 All Photos Copyright © 2009 by Robert E Pence Kendallville, population 10,018, is located in Noble County, Indiana. There's a lot more to see than what I have pictured here; there's a beautiful new public library, Bixler Lake, attractive residential neighborhoods, and a nearby windmill museum features full-sized, restored, working windmills to commemorate an important part of the community's industrial history, the manufacture of windmills and water pumps that found use on many farms in the local area and around the world. The city's worst natural disaster was a 1992 tornado that did millions of dollars in damage to businesses on Main Street. Repair and recovery in some cases involved restoring nineteenth-century facades that had been covered over with metal cladding for many years. It's a handsome small-town downtown. For the most part, the photos speak for themselves. The 750-seat Spencer Opera House opened in 1890, and in the early 1900s hosted Vaudeville acts. It closed during World War I and reopened in 1919 as the Strand. In 1956 it was remodeled and updated with stereo sound, and in 1980 it was again remodeled and made into twin theaters. Some houses overlooking the railroad The former New York Central main line between New York and Chicago passes through town. This portion of the line is now owned by Norfolk Southern. Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited pass through Kendallville; the nearest station is at Waterloo, 17 miles east. Kendallville Auto Parts occupies part of a building that once was the Kelly House, one of the few brick buildings that survived an 1886 fire that wiped out much of the east side of Main Street. The proud owner of this beauty was kind enough to give a peek under the hood. He showed photos of what it looked like when he started, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Some very major work went into it.

Seen in South Bend, Indiana on Monday evening, June 29

Better than the tummyache I would have gotten from eating a whole cake! :-D

Fun & inspiring video showing the creation and dedication of a trial pedestrian environment to improve safety in a hazardous intersection: http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/06/29/streetfilms-sf-carves-a-park-from-the-midst-of-its-pavement/

Acquiring additional rolling stock capacity has allowed South Shore to implement skip-stop service on selected rush-hour trains, to reduce overcrowding and station delays. I rode #11, now a limited-stop trains, on Tuesday (6/29) from Chicago to South Bend, and it looked as though the only standees were a few people who chose to stand to be close to the exit doors. The train was on time at all stops. My previous experience with that train was that if I boarded any place after Randolph/Millennium, I wouldn't get a seat until Hammond or East Chicago, 40-45 minutes later. Track, catenary, and signal upgrades continue to improve performance, and it feels to me like running speeds along much of the route are faster than they were a year ago and more. Now, if they'd just put up and enforce signs admonishing riders to "Use Your Indoor Voice, Please!" Commuters don't bother anybody; they just want to read their newspapers, work with their laptops, drink their coffee, put on makeup, or nap. Invariably though, there are a bunch of shoppers excited to be on their first train trip ever, and usually they're accompanied by a passel of overwound little kids. Noise is to be expected with kids, but the moms usually make more noise than the kids. All the way there, they chatter about the fun they expect to have, and all the way home they chatter about all the fun they had. Tuesday morning several mothers and daughters were off to visit the American Girl Place. Use your imagination.

The Lancaster station is a classic/classy space that will benefit from being spiffed up and de-cluttered. It has potential to be an impressive facility in an impressive city. As of last fall a privately-supported effort was under way to put in a streetcar line from the Amtrak station through downtown to Franklin and Marshall College. I don't know if that's still on track.

Beautiful photos. John Rankin's brother, Alexander, also was an abolitionist and was pastor of Fort Wayne's First Presbyterian Church in 1837. It's thought that he may have harbored fugitive slaves in his home, which is undergoing restoration. An interesting tidbit about the Rankin brothers; there were three, although I can't remember the third one's name. I believe the three brothers married three sisters.