Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

Growing up with children's programming on PBS as my primary source of TV, I was obviously a big fan of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood , especially of the trolley and whenever the show would visit a factory or answer how something like crayons , for example, were made. After re-watching the show recently, I couldn't help but notice he had prints of trolleys hanging in the house set piece, and had to figure out if they were custom made for the show, or what exactly they were. "Hundreds of times, Mister Rogers has opened his closet and changed in to or out of his sweater for a daily visit with his television neighbors. Over the course of these visits, framed images of four trolleys are seen next to the closet door." ( Neighborhood Archive ) Mister Rogers putting on his trademark knitted sweater, with the trolley prints behind him to his left. "In the early 1950's, a series of trolley prints were produced by the New York company Autoprints. The set of prints inc...

Union Pacific 4014, better known as Big Boy , is one of 25 4-8-8-4 locomotives manufactured for UP between 1941-44. Of these 25, only eight are still around, and of those eight, only one, 4014, is in operating condition. UP 4014 at West Chicago after stopping for what will be a three night stay. Big Boy got its name from an unknown worker who wrote the phrase on the front of 4000, and is currently the largest operating steam engine in the world. Big Boy heading westbound on the south track at West Chicago station, greeted by thousands of onlookers, drones and even a helicopter. Letting off steam after parking. It is difficult to get the entire thing in one photo! Now once again in operation, Union Pacific is showing it off across the western United States. It was at Promontory for the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad , and moved as far east as Milwaukee. I guess I was a little too  close. You can really feel the heat emanating from this...

This weekend, we made the trip down to Monticello, IL, to visit their eponymous railway museum . The museum is located on right of way once occupied by Illinois Central Railroad, and the Interurban freight line Illinois Terminal Railroad. Right from the exit on I-72, there's neat things to look at here! This engine doubles as a sign to turn for the museum. Don't know much about its history though. Given that it was an extremely hot Saturday, I was more excited for the air conditioned car than for the fact that our power that day would be Southern Railway 401. SRY 401 parked at the Museum entrance, waiting for the 11:00 AM departure. Her waiting at Monticello Station on the south end of heritage operations. But before we look too much at the experience, let's talk about the museum itself. The Monticello Railway Museum was founded in 1966 as the "Society for the Perpetuation of Unretired Railfans" - or SPUR, per the Museum's history page . By 19...

Everland , an amusement park in South Korea is home to a unique trail, the Plum Blossom Walkthrough Trail , which uses land that was once occupied by a roller coaster. From the article " Everland unveils plum blossom trail " "Spanning 33,000 square meters, it is the biggest botanical garden in the park’s history. It boasts some 700 plum trees of over 11 different species, scattered among 10,000 trees and colorful plant life. The 1-kilometer trail takes 40 minutes to walk through, and the gradually ascending route offer exquisite sights along the way, as if handing out gifts one by one." ( The Korea Herald ) The trail sits along the area that was one part of the Eagle Fortress, which was an Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster , built in 1992. Despite a top speed of just 40 miles per hour, it hugged the hilly terrain of the park, making for one of Asia’s most thrilling coaster experiences during its 17 year operation.  A POV of the ride is embedded below: It was closed i...

With how much Area 51 has been in the news recently, I figured it would be a good time to talk about one of the facility's more interesting (to me) pieces of infrastructure, at least that the US Government acknowledges exists, its railroad . An L.A Times article from 2014 notes the railroad as well. It states, "[Thornton "T.D"] Barnes worked on a nuclear-rocket program called Project NERVA, inside underground chambers at Jackass Flats, in Area 51’s backyard. “Three test-cell facilities were connected by railroad, but everything else was underground." This implies that this is the extent of visible railroad operations at the facility, but more might exist underground for testing purposes. First, let's talk about what we know. In the middle of the Nevada desert, or the "Nevada Test Site" on topo maps, exists a small railroad operation less than 7 miles in combined length. It is west of Groom Lake, otherwise known as Area 51, in an area known a...

Today I visited the Old Joliet Prison, a now-abandoned and famous prison off Illinois Route 171/ Archer Avenue in Joliet, IL. The East entrance to the prison, the same one where Joliet Jake left prison in The Blues Brothers The Old Joliet Prison is among the most iconic buildings within the City of Joliet. In addition, the city and facility have nearly identical timelines, as the city was incorporated in 1852, while the prison was constructed from 1857-1861, with the first prisoners arriving in 1858. The Prison as shown on the USGS 1923 topo map. Note the existence of railroad tracks which went through the center of the facility. It is close in proximity to the old Joliet Iron Works , although on the opposite side of the former Chicago & Alton Railroad tracks. It was likely constructed at its precise location due to its proximity to those tracks, as its first batch of prisoners came from what was the only other penitentiary at the time, Alton Penitentiary , about 300...