A few photos from Hesston Steam Museum north of Laporte, Indiana. It's a neat place to see and ride behind steam power.

 

This two-foot gauge locomotive was built in Czechoslovakia in 1940, and the workers at the factory hid it under a straw stack to keep the Germans from getting it. It stayed hidden for years after WWII, and came to Hesston in 1988 via a collector in California. When the museum got it, it had never been run.

 

The train on the right is 1/4 scale, and runs on 14-inch gauge track. It's part of a very large and diverse collection that came to Hesston from the estate of publishing magnate R.R. Donnelly

 

Another two-footer, this locomotive was built in Germany in 1938 by Orenstein & Koppel, survived WWII, and worked in East Germany into the 1960s. It's the fiercest two-foot locomotive I've seen; it's designed and built like the big ones, with eight drive wheels and superheated steam.

 

The small train on the left runs on 7-inch gauge track and is 1/8 scale. There are several of these live-steam locomotives that operate at Hesston, and their detailed authenticity and craftsmanship are marvelous to see. They're also a lot more powerful than you might expect, given their size.

 

i want a mini-train

I want a mini-light rail. Ultra-light rail?

I want a mini-light rail. Ultra-light rail?

 

that's called BRT, which is also called honda accord-lite

Thanks for sharing, I can remember riding on a little train like that when I was a kid, but I don't have a clue where.

 

  ^--- Cincinnati Cindersniffers? They have a mile and a half of 7" guage track, including a 17 foot high curving trestle through the pines, on a couple acres off of Indiana 1.

 

    The Cincinnati Zoo has a 2 foot guage train. Too bad they don't have steam, but the passenger cars are neat and the scenery is amazing.

 

  Rail Trivia: what do the green flags mean in Rob's first photo?

^all clear, proceeding, something along those lines.

 

    Rail Trivia: what do the green flags mean in Rob's first photo?

 

Uh-Oh!  :-o I tried, but I can't stop. Here I go: < :type: >They're classification flags, and are sometimes used in place of the classification lights that are similarly placed on mainline locomotives. They mostly apply to passenger trains, and date to an era when railroads would respond to high-volume ridership by running more than one train to cover a particular schedule.

 

The extra train is known as a second section. I've heard of a few cases where even third sections might run on some schedules during holidays.

 

White flags or classification lights designate an "extra" train, not on the regular timetable. This might designate a chartered excursion or a private train carrying railroad business and inspection cars, or even a high-and-wide special, a locomotive with one or two cars carrying outsized cargo that requires special routing and scheduling to avoid low viaducts and meeting opposing trains on adjacent track.

 

Green flags or classification lights indicate that another, usually second, section follows.

 

Red flags or classification lights are displayed on a train following one displaying green flags or classification lights, and indicate that no more sections follow.

 

In a case where three sections ran, the first two would carry green flags or lights, and the last train would carry red flags or lights.

 

That's different from the signals beside or over the tracks. I'm not an expert on those; there are a lot of variations on different railroads, and a lot of permutations of position and color. Generally, though, I think the colored signals are roughly analogous to red, yellow and green traffic lights. Some railroads use position lights; for example, former B&O and Pennsylvania RR trackage. They have six lights arranged in a circle against a black target or background, and are lighted in opposing pairs to create different aspects. There are permutations and variations that have special meanings, but typically a vertical pair indicates clear, like a green traffic light. A horizontal pair is an unconditional stop, like a red traffic light. A diagonal pair means approach, but be prepared to stop. </ :type:  >

 

Sorry 'bout all that. :roll:

 

    I had hoped that someone else would have a chance to get it first before Rob.  :-D

 

 

Sorry  'bout that, Casey!

 

I can't help myself. Lacking a life in winter, I have nothing to do but lurk around the forums waiting for an excuse to bore people to death by slathering them with trivia.

 

:-D