Railroading...and Ultrarunning

I am a big fan of both real railroads and model railroads.  In the latter category I run a small layout in my basement of the old tinplate Marx trains that I had as a youth.  The heirs to the Gary estate love the model trains as well, so I hope it sticks with them as they get older.

Anyway, as for real trains, in southern California is the Tehachapi Loop, where east bound Union Pacific Railroad trains gain elevation through the Tehachapi Pass.  It's quite an engineering marvel, made particularly interesting in the fact that from a particular vantage point a single long train can be seen to double back upon itself such that three pieces of it are in view simultaneously.  Three!

Hard to explain, so here's a YouTube video.  You should take a few minutes to watch from the beginning, but if you are impatient, skip ahead to around 3:35 and watch the lead engine come in from the left side:




If the embedded video playeth not, here's the link.

There connection to Ultrarunning?  Many of our favorite running places are rails-to-trails. And some of my most interesting running has been along active rail lines, a practice which I must severely discourage.

National Radio Quiet Zone...and Ultrarunning

Via AP News this day:

Seemingly off the beaten path, this community of fewer than two hundred residents is the heart of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area where state and federal laws discourage the use of everyday devices that emit electromagnetic waves. The quiet zone aims to protect sensitive radio telescopes at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, as well as a nearby Naval research facility, from man-made interference. This silence enables the observatory to detect energy in outer space that is equivalent to the energy emitted by a single snowflake hitting the ground.

 

 

This area is largely in a mountainous area of east central West Virginia.  The fact that residents voluntarily consent to a semi-vow of electronic silence is kinda cool.  And here is the radio telescope that requires all that electromagnetic quiet:

 

[Image credit here]

 

 

This area of WV has always been a fav of mine since my high school and early adult years days as a caver and climber (see here for a stunning cave shot of a memorable place I've been).  It's lovely and wild, and, well, just had and still has a mystique that comes from being a special place in my formative years.  All of us--I hope--have places like that.

 

Anyway, for the railfans, Cass Scenic Railroad is here.  I've been there but it's been years.  More recently this fall the bride and I and two other couples took a tourist rail trip from nearby Elkins on the New Tygart Flyer, where there were waterfalls and wine (image credits Gary).  What's not to like?:

 

 

 

And so, at long last, we get to the Ultrarunning part.  Getting back to the initial premise of the story about radio silence that triggered all this happy reminiscing, the curmudgeon in me feels obliged to point out again his personal opposition to music devices while running.  Many--perhaps most--long distance runners do listen to music while on the trails, but I always take special pleasure from just listening to Nature.

 

Yeah, I'm a purist, being judgemental, your mileage may vary, and all that, but if you are habituated to music on the trails, try a run music-free.  Just try it.

 

 

The Potomac Eagle Train...and Ultrarunning

Photo credit: Gary

Just went on another tourist train, the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, in Romney, WV.  Love those things!  Romney is located in the Potomac highlands of WV's Eastern Panhandle.  This summer we also went on another excursion train, the Durbin Rocket, in which we actually stayed overnight in a caboose outfitted like a comfortable camper.  I posted about it here.

Back to the Potomac Eagle: it's claim to fame is its route through "The Trough," a narrow gorge through which the South Branch of the Potomac River flows north, and the resident population of bald eagles there.

Of course, Mister Tristan (the 3-year old human being, not the blog) was along, the bride, and daughter's boyfriend's 13 year old son, who also loves trains, geography, and geology.  The day was a magnificent October Sunday with the leaves here in the northeast beginning to turn.

Oh, and did I mention the eagles?  We took turns back at the open air observation car, and the train went through The Trough twice (outbound and return), so the eagle count is very soft.  I personally saw about 5 identifiable individuals.  I did not count silhouettes of raptors coasting way up high, which just as easily could be turkey vultures.  The others in our party saw a similar number, and the bride is still gushing over the one she saw up close (maybe 50' away) in a tree immediately adjacent to the tracks.  No good photos, however.

Mister Tristan loved the 3 hour round trip and was never bored.  We had packed some train playthings so in between looking out the open windows he was happy to puff his trains around on the seats of the coach.

And the link to Ultrarunning?  There are no roads (other than the railroad) through The Trough, and no foot trails.  I've posted before about the fact that running on railroad tracks sucks, but I think this run would be a winner: remote, beautiful, and wild.  Probably the act of running on the stones and ties would be no worse than the infamous rocks of the Massanutten 100 miler, of which I have firsthand running (and finishing!) experience. 

Might even be easier.

 

Toy Trains...and Ultrarunning

Via Boing Boing, we see that Walt Disney liked toy trains.  Oh, and it seems that Salvador Dali did also.

I love me my O-gauge tintype Marx sets from pre-war thru the 1950s--and so does Mister Tristan (the 3 year old human being, not the blog).  See here and here for previous posts with photos of some of my collection.

Anyway, I'm getting interested in what are called "garden trains," where you have a larger gauge set-up outdoors, running thru your landscaping.  I'm just at the reading-about-it stage.  If I proceed, my scale would not be as large as Walt's above, but I can see this being a lot of fun.

The connection to Ultrarunning is that I would try to model some of my favorite trail running sites.  For example, the Annapolis Rocks site along the Appalachian Trail in MD.  Also Chimney Rocks along the AT near my home here in PA.

 

Godzilla vs. Marx Trains

In our play with Mister Tristan (the 3-year old human being, not the blog) and my vintage Marx trains from the 1940s and 1950s, we introduced some other actors as shown above.

It is so great to see the enduring play value of certain toys, in this case model trains.  While Lionel is more realistic, I remain completely sold on Marx trains.  They are tough and virtually bulletproof.

 

Castaway Caboose, Part 2

On Saturday I promised more details about our excursion on the Castaway Caboose.

The bride and I like to ride on tourist trains.  Well, truth be told, it’s more me than her but she is a good sport about it and actually does enjoy the history and the scenery that is part of the typical tourist train trip.  When I was a kid growing up in Beaver Falls, PA, trains were an intimate part of my kid existence.  There were 3 lines thru town: one on each side of the Beaver River, and another on the bluffs on the west side of town. We spent most of our time down near the river at the ballfield and playground, where the passage of trains was an everyday thing, so common as to be unremarkable.  We played on the tracks, hiked on the tracks, with nary a thought that there was anything different or unusual about it, so I think for me that exploring tourist railroads now is a trip back in time.

Anyway, I digress.  The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley railroad once ran some 100+ miles thru the mountainous heart of eastern West Virginia. Now the tourist excursion runs some 5+ miles out along the Greenbrier River and back, for an approximate 11 mile round trip.  It’s not a long trip by any stretch, but you are right on the banks of the scenic Greenbrier River.  The main draw for us was the overnight stay—they have outfitted 2 cabooses like campers.  They take you out to the end of the line (the tracks beyond 5 miles were wrecked in a 1985 flood and have not been restored), uncouple your caboose, and leave you there until the tourist train comes back the next day.  Whereupon you get coupled back up and return to the station.

The caboose was well equipped and comfortable, with a little kitchen, refrigerator, flush toilet, and even a shower with hot and cold running water.  It sleeps up to 6 using the bench seats along each side of the caboose. I must say that none of us really slept all that well, due to the fact that the beds are not real beds, plus the strangeness of sleeping in a new place.  But the novelty of the caboose more than compensated for that.

Anyway, it was a great little trip with the bride, her parents (dad once worked on the railroad and loved the trip!), Mister Tristan (the 3 year old human being, not the blog), and his cousin Miss Doodybug.  Would definitely do again, and next time stay for 2 nights.

Here is the web site for the train, and another site that explains more of the history.

 

Drinking Spring Water

Mister Tristan (the human being, not the blog) and I went for a short hike the other day.  I decided to take him to the Appalachian Trail and then the Mainline Hobby Supply model train shop in nearby Blue Ridge Summit, PA.

It was a day tailor-made for boys, young and old.  The main purpose of the short hike was to take him to Bailey Spring along the AT where he could drink spring water from an actual spring for the first time and savor its cold sweetness.  Mister Tristan loved it—the notion of drinking water where it comes out of the ground was absolutely fascinating for him.

This hike was deliberately short, about a mile, max.  And of course, the model train shop afterwards was the icing on the cake.  They have a small layout with O, HO and N gauge trains where kids can work some of the controls while the bigger “boys” talk.

I hope I’m doing it right.  I think so.

 

Mister Tristan, Marx Trains, and Ultrarunning

When I was a kid, my brother got a Marx model train set for Christmas one year.  It was metal, and used the 3-rail silver O-gauge tracks.  We beat the crap out of it, but that set survives to this day.  While it is well used and scratched, it remains pretty much indestructible.

Unlike Lionel, which focused more on being a realistic scale model, the Marx trains focused on play value and  durability.

A couple years ago I was sniffing around on e-Bay and was able to find that very set, and since then have added some additional rolling stock and engines.  While I doubt I will ever become a die-hard model train enthusiast--although I would not rule anything out--I do love to bring out the Marx set and play with it with Mister Tristan (the human, not the blog).

He loves it, as do I.  I have the layout on a 4 x 6 piece of plywood that I stand up against the wall when it's not being used.  When it's play time, I just drop it to the basement floor, hook up the transformer, let Mister Tristan select the engine and cars, are we're in business in a matter of a couple minutes.

And I'm loving my second childhood.  These Marx trains run as well today as when they were new some 50-60 years ago, and are still putting smiles on the faces of children (of all ages!).

Oh...and the connection to Ultrarunning?  Marx trains are durable workhorses that can take a beating, even over decades.  Plus they are just plain fun and cut across generations.  Sounds a lot like desireable attributes for an Ultrarunner.

Just as I hope that Mister Tristan will love the Marx trains he will someday inherit from me, so I hope that we will also run some trails together.