If you could bring a fallen flag back?

bigiron · 03-29-2010, 10:38 PM

I know a couple of threads have been done in years past about "favorite railroads" both present and fallen as well as a couple of polls on similar subjects but I wanted to get the opinions of newer viewers and others if the sentiment has changed over time and also with more consolidation. What brought me to create this thread was seeing picture comments and remarks of how people miss the Conrail power now even though a few years back it seemed to overwhelm many viewfinders, but that blue does stand out in the snow as well as against foliage.

For me it would be Conrail, D&RGW partially for the combination of the paint scheme with the scenery, Southern Pacific as I had the chance to get a tour and ride in a new SP engine from a friendly engineer when I was out to Grand Junction visiting my mother in the 90's. I was actually shooting the D&RGW engines in the yard during the sunrise but wish I had the chance to see the SP "oil cans" back in the day! You could throw in the Chessie System's neat color scheme and also the Soo Line. Fortunately the Soo Line still gives us chances to see them trackside.

Thanks for your thoughts on this subject, Rich Clark

crazytiger · 03-30-2010, 05:57 PM

I would probably want to bring back the Southern, as I live by their former DC-Atlanta main, but am too young to have seem them back in the day. I also wish I could see the old Southern Crescent. Just as I wish that I could see things from the past, I can't wait to see what the future holds for railroading in the US. We could have a euro-style HSR system in 20 years or less and we also could see the continued merger of some of the big RRs. I am generally an advocate of change, provided it is a change for the better.

trainboysd40 · 03-30-2010, 07:48 PM

For me, it's a hard decision between straight-up exploding UP into the parts it was in around 1980, and bringing back BC Rail. Nothing like a road that's using RS-18s, Budd RCDs, M630 widecabs, and SD40-2s on wooden trestles in the 80s..

troy12n · 03-30-2010, 09:17 PM

SCL or SAL for me.

coborn35 · 03-30-2010, 09:39 PM

Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Ry. Nicest bunch of railroaders you'll ever meet. Awesome paint scheme too.

stlgevo51 · 03-30-2010, 09:55 PM

Wow, that's hard! The Rock and the Frisco are up there, but in the end, the award goes to the MOPAC. Great paint scheme!

Freericks · 03-30-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stlgevo51

Wow, that's hard! The Rock and the Frisco are up there, but in the end, the award goes to the MOPAC. Great paint scheme!

MoPac still exists. They just changed their colors to those of their acquisition, the Union Pacific. They also took the UP name.

TheRoadForeman · 03-31-2010, 02:01 AM

The standard railroad of the world!

Ween · 03-31-2010, 02:06 AM

1) Conrail
2) Denver & Rio Grande Western
3) Burlington Northern
4) Hollis & Eastern (as of 1 Apr 10). R.I.P., little buddy.

Freericks · 03-31-2010, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ween

1) Conrail

What? Excuse me? Okay... we've officially just determined that you are younger than I am.

Conrail was the coffin that held --

Erie Lackawanna
Reading
Jersey Central
Lehigh Valley
Lehigh & Hudson River
assorted short lines
and even -
Penn Central (aka Conrail in black and which held the remains of -- PRR, NYC and NYNH&H)

Ween · 03-31-2010, 02:14 AM

None of those railroads ran by my bedroom window while I've been alive, so I have no affinity for them. Plus, blue's my favorite color...

Freericks · 03-31-2010, 02:17 AM

I grew up on the Erie Lackawanna and Penn Central. There were four EL lines we crossed often and one Penn Central one.

Erie Lackawanna would be my choice. It was also the only railroad that I knew that when you said its name over and over again it sounded like a train passing over jointed rail.

JWH · 03-31-2010, 10:19 AM

In my backyard, the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo with the PC run through units on the nightly Starlight. Their bridge traffic between the two major giants, CP and PC made for some interesting sightings.
In the US, it was the EL, Reading, but most of all, the Western Maryland and its diversity of power, pride and paint schemes. Perhaps the friendliest employees and who else washed their engines before a trip to the mines?

Ah the good old days...

milwman · 03-31-2010, 01:08 PM

MILWAUKEE ROAD all the way to the West coast.

trainboysd40 · 03-31-2010, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ween

None of those railroads ran by my bedroom window while I've been alive, so I have no affinity for them. Plus, blue's my favorite color...

The only thing that's ever run by my window is CP. I don't find it hard to like other great railroads, though!

Nscalemike · 03-31-2010, 10:08 PM

Being that it was 30yrs ago today the old CRI&P (Rock Island) passed on ...I'd vote for that.

jnohallman · 04-03-2010, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRoadForeman

The standard railroad of the world!

Shouldn't that be "The Standard Railroad of the World"?

Here's my vote for bringing back the Pennsy. I'd also like to have back the Espee and the Mount Washington Cog Railway (you know, the road that used to run steam to the top of Mount Washington multiple times each day, sometimes in double sections?).

Jon

jnohallman · 04-03-2010, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freericks

MoPac still exists. They just changed their colors to those of their acquisition, the Union Pacific. They also took the UP name.

Nice story. If only it were true . . .

Jon

Nahant · 04-04-2010, 01:35 AM

C&NW. I'm from northern Illinois and would love to see them traversing through the corn fields again.

Matt

bigiron · 04-04-2010, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnohallman

Shouldn't that be "The Standard Railroad of the World"?

Here's my vote for bringing back the Pennsy. I'd also like to have back the Espee and the Mount Washington Cog Railway (you know, the road that used to run steam to the top of Mount Washington multiple times each day, sometimes in double sections?).

Jon

Jon, I'll second that on the Mt Washington Cog, just look at my avatar!! Not going to be the same with the replacements. A unique RR that many will not experience as the soot would fall from the sky and the images of multiple trains going up and down the mountain.

Rich

Dennis A. Livesey · 04-04-2010, 03:54 AM

The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company.

(With all 10 I-5 Hudson's working!)

Freericks · 04-05-2010, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnohallman

Nice story. If only it were true . . .

Jon

Why do you deny it's true? Following the Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific merger, take a look at who survived... the MoPac folk took over and the UP folk were gone.

troy12n · 04-05-2010, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freericks

Why do you deny it's true? Following the Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific merger, take a look at who survived... the MoPac folk took over and the UP folk were gone.

Thats what usually happens in mergers. The succeeding company takes the board of directors and the others end up being the company officers.

lock4244 · 04-06-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freericks

MoPac still exists. They just changed their colors to those of their acquisition, the Union Pacific. They also took the UP name.

Actually, they did not quite take the UP name, they used the first name from Union Pacific and the last name from MoPac. Come to think of it, they did the same thing with the WP and SP, yet for the MKT and C&NW they did not follow their time honoured tradition.

lock4244 · 04-06-2010, 03:56 PM

Easy answer... Erie Lackawanna.