Steam & Excursion > 1522 Rolla Hill Memories

This one's for you, Don.  This was about all I could cram into a six minute video.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Up to your usual standard, Mary. Thanks for the look.

John.

Bless your heart Mary.  My favorite place to run.
I don't know what the hell the deal was with that consist with the auto racks in it, but it was a terrible pull on Rolla and Iron Hill.  We wondered if it was because they all had 28" wheels.  I wonder if there were some dragging brakes or something.
I put my headphones on and listened to this and it really brought it back. My wife called the whistle my mating call,  Good days.  Thanks a million for this.
The 1990 trip with the UP cars was my baptism of fire on the main line.  The old girl did us proud, marching up that hill with over her tonnage limit.  Never slipped or missed a beat.
Awesome Frisco exhaust!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/17 17:35 by Frisco1522.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The 1990 trip with the UP cars was my baptism of
> fire on the main line.  The old girl did us
> proud, marching up that hill with over her tonnage
> limit.  Never slipped or missed a beat.
> Awesome Frisco exhaust!

You can say that again! I was set up at Rolla Street in (where else) Rolla for the eastbound run. I started the video several minutes before the train arrived as 1522 could be clearly heard coming up the hill. 

Mary-thanks for posting both of the 1522 videos. Even my 11 year old son noticed how distinctive the 1522 sounds.

In 1993 we started out for Springfield and had horrible rainstorms and flooding.  We got as far as Pacific and were held there for about 8 hours because of a washout near Robertsville.  They finally got the washout fixed (moved the track over) just about dark and I left.  We got to the washout and tippytoed over it.  Needless to say things were a little tense until we got the engine over it.  As soon as we got past it, they closed the railroad.  I ran as far as Cuba and passed several trains in sidings, engines shut down and lights off.  My fireman and I got off and drove to Newburg to meet the train.  As soon as we saw she was doing fine, we drove on toward Springfield.   It was about 1:30 AM and we parked at a spot halfway up Dixon Hill.  It was several miles west of Newburg, dead silent and pitch black.
We could faintly hear them whistle off at Newburg and start up.  The sound would come and go and as they got closer, we could actually feel the throb from the oil burner.  Got louder and louder and then we saw things start to light up down around the curve.  He went by and we could hear him for another 5 minutes on the hill before he hit the top.  It was a magical thing to see and hear and there was no way to record it.  Still gives me goosebumps.
We drove on to Springfield in a raging storm.  Scary thing is I don't remember even driving the last 50 miles.  We were beat having been up since 4.  
Train pulled into Springfield about 4:30 or so and met them.  We were back out at about 8 washing the engine and cars and getting them ready to move to the Museum down there for exhibition.   The railroad flooded so the train stayed down there for another week when we went back and brought 1522 and the train home.  What a trip!

Kurt was going to chase that run, and got you at Pacific.  Unfortunately, the delay put a halt to all of that and the Pacific departure was about all he got.  That stupid, pesky thing called "work" anyway!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Someday if you dig it up, I'd like to see the Pacific departure.

Wow..,..... Words fail me.........

What an incredible locomotvive -- and the SONDS she makes!!
Beyond stunning!!n  Yes -- the old gal did you proud!!  And no 
matter how good the recording is, there reall is no substitute
for BEING there -- because you are in the MIDDLE of all
thoser incredible sounds!

THANK you, Mary, for this great video!  And THANK yhou, Don
and your crew, for doing such a great job with the 1522!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/17 20:03 by Margaret_SP_fan.

Mary and Mobile Fidelity were the closest thing sound wise.  Usually she was so loud it would overload the cameras.  Believe me, when you were there, you both felt and heard her.

Great job, as usual, by Mary and crew, and thanks to Don for the accompanying narration.  Great times they were.

I saw the 1522 for the first time back in the summer of 1996. I was about 8 years old at the time. I'll never forget walking around the MOT and seeing the big boy and other steam engines. But I heard the sound of a compressor or dynamo and wandered off from my brother and parents and walked through the shed area to the other side to see what was going on and low and behold in front of me was the 1522 being readied to go. I was BEYOND ECSTATIC to see my first mainline steam engine. I had only seen it on my pentrex tapes that I had at the time before. I ran back and grabbed my parents and brother and said "come over here you won't believe what I've just seen". My brother who was about 10/11 at the time was also excited to see 1522 as well. I made my parents stay for the next few hours (which felt like forever) to watch 1522 back out of the MOT and leave with about 5-6 cars to go to STL Union Station that night for a trip the next day. We had dinner at one of the restaurants in the station that night and got to see 1522 again in the night time. They blew the whistle for us and rang the bell which was to an 8 year old boy the time of my life. I'll have to dig up those videos of that day next time I'm home. I sure miss 1522 and her amazing bark!!

Posted from Android

I was on the June 1990 trip, and that was quite a show!  We were at the end of the train, in Silver Solarium, but once you hit a vestibule, you could hear the loud square exhaust like individual blasts.  Great time!  I was watching the movie "Truman" the other night.  Great to see the old gal in the movie.  Good movie also!

Steve