Rivanna Chapter, NRHS January Meeting

NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Rivanna Chapter

Charlottesville, Virginia

January 2006 Meeting

The January Chapter Meeting, to be held at the Golden Corral, 1185 Seminole Trail (US-29 North), will take place on Monday, January 9, 2006. The Social Hour and pay-as-you-go buffet dinner will begin at 6:00 PM. The evening's program will begin precisely at 7:00 PM with a short business meeting, followed by the presentation.

For tonight's program we travel to the vast reaches of the West for a historic look at power railroading, featuring two films of vintage locomotives from the age of steam:

Last of the Giants: Union Pacific's Big Boys. Measuring 132 feet long and weighing one and one-quarter million pounds, the Union Pacific's Big Boys were appropriately named. These articulated locomotives were the largest and heaviest of their type and could pull a loaded 5-1/2 mile long train on level track. Their tenders carried 28 tons of coal and 25,000 gallons of water; with a heavy train a Big Boy could use all of this up in the first half of a 57-mile run! Although there were only 25 Big Boys ever built, they ran up a total of nearly 26 million miles in 18 years, hauling billions of tons.

It's no wonder, then, why the Big Boys have continued to be such favorites among railfans. In this film produced by the Union Pacific Railroad you'll see the development of steam power on the Union Pacific from 4-6-0s, 2-8-0s, and 2-8-2s up to 2-10-2s and even 4-12-2s, shown through film, photos and animated diagrams. This is followed by the development of compound articulated Mallets and simple articulateds such as the Challengers. At the apex of it all, you'll meet the Big Boys and watch in fascination as these locomotives are serviced and rebuilt.

Then sit back and enjoy trackside and cab shots of these mighty 4-8-8-4s as they pull long freights over Wyoming's Sherman Hill during the fall and into the colder months. Spectacular scenery provides a fitting backdrop for these handsome locomotives as they run during their last years in service. This beautifully produced film, written and directed by noted Union Pacific historian Allan Kreig, is one that you'll enjoy watching again and again. Produced by Union Pacific Railroad in 1959.

Then we turn to the Great Northern Railway, with a film that covers the vast fleet of steam power from the smallest 0-6-0's to the mighty 2-8-8-2's, including scenes of Northern Pacific and SP&S steam power in action. You'll also pace a huge R-2 class 2-8-8-2! Great Northern employee Anthony DeRosa shot in 8mm color film over a 40 year period and this collection covers the GN route from Seattle to Superior. This is a stunning video that brings you rare and spectacular scenes that you have never scene before. Produced by Video Rails.

Directions to Golden Corral

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