Month: November 2016

Surprise! Big Four, No Daylight

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big4

Photo by Lee Stone.
I like the composition of this shot.  That’s Big Four #2 up ahead.  Just beyond it is Big Four’s Walmart (formerly a K-Mart).  This 174′ tunnel may still be scheduled for daylighting (removing the overburden and opening it up) in that corridor improvement project, but, as of November, 2106, it’s still a tunnel.  That’s Elkhorn Creek on the left.
Incidentally, when I was researching this tunnel, I learned that the community of Big Four was named after the four owners of the major mines in this area.  Keep the big people happy, and distracted.

Antler #1 Tunnel

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antlernrone

My traveling buddy, Lee Stone, was exploring the area around Welch WV and kindly took the time to shoot some of the tunnels in the area.  This N&S’s Antler #1 (37 27 14.88N, 81 37 42.75W – this is the format for Google Earth), eastern face, built around 1905.  In the late 2000s, it was part of the Heartland Corridor Clearance Project to raise the clearances in 28 tunnels on the line.

20th Century Limited Leaving Chicago

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20thcent
20thcentback

I like postcards.  I especially like pre-WWI, probably German-printed, dramatic cards…with a train. This is one of them.  The title of this post is what is printed on the front of this card.

The back notes it is card 51 of, perhaps, a railroad series.  There’s a rather wordy puff piece about the 20th Century Limited.  But the message is the interesting item:

Hello Blanche.  Recd. your card all O.K  Was disappointed a few weeks ago, guess you know why.  Sincerely C.B.

It was posted from Rogersville TN on March 3, 2pm, 1911, to Miss Blanche Gladson, Rogersville Tenn R#4.

Now, let me tell you about Blanche.  I’ve run across more cards sent to her than to anyone else. She had a large family and, apparently, throngs of friends, all merrily posting cards to her.

She probably enjoyed them all.  I know I have.