The Daylight Limited 4449, was at a Trainfest, in a small town near us. On it's way back to Oregon, it stopped in a town near us, and we got some pics. :bowdown:
Here's a link for more pics.:D
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v198/cougarman/Daylight%20in%20Durand/
I might sound stupid but what makes this train special?
[http://www.4449.com] :D
Southern Pacific no. 4449 was built in 1941 as a GS-4 "Northern" type locomotive. A 4-8-4 wheel arrangement, she is 110' long, 10' wide and 16' tall. The locomotive and tender weighs 433 tons, and it operates with a boiler pressure of 300 psi. Her eight 80" diameter drivers and unique booster truck can apply 5,500 horsepower to the rails and exceed 100 mph.
The only remaining operable "streamlined" steam locomotive of the Art Deco era, No. 4449 pulled the famous Southern Pacific first class "Daylight" passenger trains between Los Angeles and San Francisco over the scenic Coast Route and then on to Portland until 1955. Retired to static display at Oaks Park in 1958, most thought SP 4449 would never run again.
In 1974, she was selected to pull the American Freedom Train throughout the United States, and was subsequently rebuilt. Southern Pacific no. 4449 ran for three years to the delight of over 30 million people. She is arguably one of the most beautiful locomotives ever built -- and kept that way by the all-volunteer Friends of SP 4449!
Kid, any steam engine is special these days, obviously you don't appreciate old technology...
I don't know a lot about the 4449 but N&Ws 611 Streamliner could pull a line of passenger cars at 110mph... Too bad they pulled it out of service about 15 years ago...
Nice pictures... I've seen & ridden a few steam trains over the last dozen years, but never the 4449...
Very cool!
I wished you somehow could have posted this sooner (I know that would have been almost immediately though). It looks like it passed by here late Friday afternoon. I would have liked to see that going down the tracks at speed.
Thanks for the pics.
Brent
thats quite a machine there.
ive never ridden on an actual train(the el dont count:P) and its a shame that when i probly do so it wont be on a train like that.
That's awesome. If I saw that going down the rails, I'd have to stop and stare until it was out of sight.
Volunteer maintained eh? Those people are heroes. Flat out.
Have you ever been to this place in Owosso? They have the locomotive from the movie "The Polar Express", # 1225.
http://www.michigansteamtrain.com/
thats awesome!!!!!!!!!
Very cool!!
Though not a steam train, my father was involved in the christening of the Illinois Central City of New Orleans.
Shiny Side Up!
Bill
What a machine! I was lucky enough to ride on a steam engine once when I was about 10 yrs old...remarkable experience to say the least. Music to my young ears.
I haven't, but I now have a new destination to check out. Looks like it was the place to be last weekend.
Thanks for the heads up!
Brent
I saw it not too long ago in Chicago. Its an awesome sight to behold...... It literally shakes the ground when it passes.
Steam power is very rare these days. I love the older ones too.
..
First off I am not some punk teen who knows nothing, I can appreciate old technology but am not an expert on old trains. I am no idiot I know a steam engine is special, but that wasn't why I was asking man. I wanted to know more about the train not get flamed that I didn't appreciate old things....:flip:
There's an abandoned rail line bordering my property, and I often sit on the patio and imagine what it was like back in the day when the steam engines would come thundering through the river valley. I can almost see the billowing steam clouds and hear the "chuffa-chuffa" sound, and of course the steam whistle. The post office and jail used to be on my property (where my garage is now), so the train would've made a mail drop here, and the telegraph lines actually used to come in here as well. Sadly, they tore up the rail line in the early 80's, so no train will ever pass by here again.
Also check this place out, if your up this way. It's a narrow gauge steam train.:D
http://geneseecountyparks.org/huckleberry_railroad.htm
I missed it when it came through Chicago. That's on of the locomotives I really want to see as it's one of my all time favorites.
When I was ten years old I got to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive at the Illinois Railway Museum. It was loud and hot but man was it fun. If anyone here has any interest in trains and you are going to be near nothern Illinois stop here: http://www.irm.org I bet you'll have fun.
That thing sits at Oaks Park?! What a huge letdown - that is one of the piest recreational parks I've ever been to, right on a nasty river. I would love to see that train keep being maintained - it is gorgeous.
It used to be on display there from 1958-about 1974. Then they restored it to pull the American freedom train for the bicentenial. It's been in a round house safe and away from Oaks Park since then ;)
They say it may end up back there though...
I guess it makes better economic sense to fill the highways with more trucks instead of promoting rail freight.