Muchos grassiess

[john d Stone]

I was grazing through youtube again and harvested this video of the Bromberger Wirsitzer from last summer.
This film could be used as exhibit "A" for the case of not cutting the right of way!
Evidently, if you send an oversized LGB loco down through the weeds, it'll find track!
I don't suggest trying this with #10, but perhaps you could sneak one of those little Henschels over from Boothbay and turn it loose.
Surely that paint company didn't get all the W.W.&F rails.

http://youtu.be/TVQN9Bm7yaE

By the way, in looking at a website about this Polish museum (I'm not sure how I found it), apparently they have access to 43km of 60cm railway. I think that's about 115 in dog years!

Hope you enjoy it.

John

[Ira Schreiber]

I really enjoyed the action between the steam locomotive and the box car behind. Notice the lack of couplers, just a doubled chain! The slack action was interesting. Typical Polish practice, just make do.

[john d Stone]

Did you notice how the engine bobs up and down, especially when it seems they're working steam. Makes my back ache just watching it!
Around 4:40 I think I hear chickens, evidence of a fox population under control. Maybe they have some ex-patriots from the Rock Island in their track department.
I really wonder how they determine when tie replacement is needed!

[Ira Schreiber]

I was amazed to find alot of concrete ties on the 60cm lines.

[john d Stone]

I guess concrete ties would explain being able to knock down the weeds and start running trains after 20 years without the rails turning over!
In googling Bromberger Wirsitzer Kreisbahn, I was able to glean a few interesting stats; at its' height, the system had 256km of railroad. In 1955 they handled
1,474,000 passengers and 256,000 tons of freight! I'm not sure if those are metric tons, but I'm pretty sure those 1.5 million passengers are standard people!

In the old days, engineers were taught to count the poles per minute to calculate their speed. I would think that impossible on this little pike.

[Mike Fox]

Ok. You got me looking. I found a new track inspection velocipede.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO973nPqYqs

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Count the poles?? ... I saw at least two in the cab   

[Dave Buczkowski]

Watch yourself there Stewart!

[john d Stone]

I think they were speeding. In the first minute there must have been 30-40 Poles!

[Ira Schreiber]

I found this on the Perus Portland Cement Company in Brazil.

http://www.mashpedia.com/videoplayer.php?q=5-uszh5mnSE


http://www.mashpedia.com/videoplayer.php?q=imh84brHo1Y

[john d Stone]

Nice find, Ira!
That ten wheeler (I'm Pretty sure) in the first video looks similar to those Bagnalls in the Port Elizabeth South Africa article.
Looks like some heavy trains, perhaps those engines are a bit huskier than the Maine two foot prairies.

The second video confirms that ties are just for show, if you have hearty enough ground cover to hold the gauge! And I noticed at least one chicken, at about 6:10. Yet another tie into the Polish thread! ( I know chicken is "pollo" in Spanish, but they speak Portuguese in Brazil)
Looks a tad warmer than Maine, maybe July in Richmond!

What would you give for that spare parts lineup? I think I counted 6 locomotives, loads of archbar trucks and an interesting carcass of a railbus. I could poke around there all week. Probably just come back with tetanus.

John