Nostalgia & History > Bruce Black's Little Joe cab ride ...

This series of photos were all taken by Bruce Black as he rode in the cab of MILW Little Joe #E78 on Sept. 13, 1973. He rode from Avery, ID to Alberton, MT. Some have locations, some don't, so if you can ID any of the unknown locations please do. I don't recall Bruce ever mentioning this trip to me in the decades of our friendship, but knowing his love for the Milwaukee, and particularly electrics, this had to be the ultimate highlight of his 'chasing' days.

By the Kodak embossed slide numbers he must have shot at least 2 rolls, as I found duplicate numbers and they were of a different size.

1. Bruce's 'ride' MILW Little Joe E78 @ Avery, ID

2. @ MP 1770.0

3. previously unknown ... #3 is passing Stetson siding from rob_l


If you do have comments hang on to them for a bit until I post the rest of this series below.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/14 12:43 by valmont.

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4. Henderson, MT

5. West Portal tunnel 32

6. previously unknown, but there's a water tank here ... #6 is passing Falcon siding from rob_l



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/14 12:38 by valmont.

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7. previously unknown .... #7 is rounding Adair Loop from rob_l

8. previously unknown .... #8 is looking back on Kelly Creek Trestle from rob_l


9. This one may be out of sequence. It's at Foraker, MT, which I think should have followed the Henderson shot, but someone who knows the territory better than I do can let us know ... rob_l knows!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/14 12:42 by valmont.

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Wow! What a ride and view! Great photos!

Ah, to have done that ride in a Skyline obs car! But I was only 4 when the Olympian was discontinued, so...

And they weren't under or over exposed. Thanks for sharing.

#3 is passing Stetson siding.

#6 is passing Falcon siding.

#7 is rounding Adair Loop.

#8 is looking back on Kelly Creek Trestle.

Foraker is indeed east of Henderson.

Best regards,

Rob L.

outstanding. made my day......

66

rob_l Wrote:
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> #3 is passing Stetson siding.
>
> #6 is passing Falcon siding.
>
> #7 is rounding Adair Loop.
>
> #8 is looking back on Kelly Creek Trestle.
>
> Foraker is indeed east of Henderson.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob L.

Thanks Rob

What an amazing series! Thanks for sharing!

Jon

Given that the train Bruce rode went through Henderson siding, I suppose there was a meet there. You might look through his collection to see if you can find his shots of the meet.

Best regards,

Rob L.

I knew Rob would know these locations. Thanks for posting them for all to enjoy!

Paul Birkholz
Sheridan, WY

What great pictures... ! Thanks for taking the time to post them..
leroy

march_hare Wrote:
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> Ah, to have done that ride in a Skyline obs car!
> But I was only 4 when the Olympian was
> discontinued, so...

You mean Skytop.

But it would not have helped much. The Oly Hi passed through there under cover of darkness in both directions.

Best regards,

Rob L.

The outrageous curve in image number two and the relative position of the headlight to the center of the tracks, reminded me of opening scenes of the meandering car hood in "Police Squad"!

Great shots Bruce! Thanks for sharing them here, Vince!

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

ATSF100WEST Wrote:
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> The outrageous curve in image number two and the
> relative position of the headlight to the center
> of the tracks, ...

This would be the second tunnel, 2 1/2 miles east out of Avery, 1.7% upgrade, coming out of an 8.5 degree curve rated at 25 mph.

These engines were nearly 90 feet long, with amazing flexibility. Most of the curves on this line were 10 degrees. Just think of how much overhang there must have been on one of THOSE curves.

The E78 is the Joe that got rolled over and rebuilt with EMD cabs, noses, and side grilles.
>
> Great shots Bruce! Thanks for sharing them here,
> Vince!

Amen! THIS was Railroading!

Where's the "Like" button?

John Stein, aka Larry Doyle

I do believe the term I'd use would be extremely jealous! Great shots, daylight to boot,
thanks for the post.

On tangent track, note the straight as an arrow catenary.

Today, nearly everyone on the planet is convinced that catenary must have a pulloff every span to offset the cat so as not to wear grooves in the pantograph shoes. We'll just ignore the contrary evidence of half a century of experience on the Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Road also staggered their catenary for the same reason. Perhaps on curvy mountain alignments it was found the catenary wires did not stay in the same place long enough to cut a groove. The lower speed may also be a factor.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

Thank you sincerely for sharing these wonderful images. Also thank you Rob for helping with locations.

I wish it was all still there.

Al Seever
Phoenix, AZ