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Old 05-20-2014, 10:19 PM   #41
Old Henry
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

The photo taken May 10th with Morgan, Pepe, and me in it. (Find Pepe and you'll find us.)



That was, of course, my "aging" of the following photo.



If you'd like to see the picture full size (and I mean really really big) click this link, http://s1059.photobucket.com/user/cr...tml?sort=4&o=6 then the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of the picture and then the same thing again.

Here's the original photo from my great-grandfather's things. (He's not in it. He was in charge of it.)



To see it up close click here: http://s1059.photobucket.com/user/cr...tml?sort=4&o=8 then the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of the picture, then again.

And the program for the events of that day:



That name at the bottom as Marshal of the Day in my great-grandfather.

To read it click here: http://s1059.photobucket.com/user/cr...tml?sort=4&o=7 then the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of the picture then again.
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Last edited by Old Henry; 05-21-2014 at 12:44 PM.
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Old 05-21-2014, 10:57 AM   #42
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade



And for comparison, here's the original. Nice work, Old Henry.
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Old 05-21-2014, 10:57 AM   #43
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Oops. Upload didn't work.
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Old 05-21-2014, 10:58 AM   #44
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/pictur...ictureid=27103
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Old 05-21-2014, 12:14 PM   #45
Old Henry
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

Here's the original photo from my great-grandfather's things. (He's not in it. He was in charge of it.)



To see it up close click here: http://s1059.photobucket.com/user/cr...tml?sort=4&o=8 then the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of the picture, then again.

And the program for the events of that day:



That name at the bottom as Marshal of the Day in my great-grandfather.

To read it click here: http://s1059.photobucket.com/user/cr...tml?sort=4&o=7 then the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of the picture then again.
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"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness
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Old 05-21-2014, 12:45 PM   #46
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pretty dam cool. I love off roading old fords. They do really well.
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Old 05-21-2014, 01:30 PM   #47
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

Yeah, they're higher clearance, larger diameter tires, more rugged suspension, and greater torque at low RPM's for crawling along than modern cars. When I was a kid one of the "terms of endearment" we had for Old Henry was "The Climbing Car" as he was the one we always took off road up in the foot hills for fun.
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"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness
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Old 07-20-2014, 04:16 PM   #48
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

Thank you for posting this one Professor! I love that you drove out there in the desert to witness the joining of the rails......what a great story and fantastic American engineering!
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Old 05-10-2015, 04:22 PM   #49
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So, we did it again, the day before the 146th anniversary of the joining of the rails and driving of the Golden Spike, May 10, 1869. This was the third time in a year. I really love this trip.

This time I took dear old Dad who turns 90 this year. He liked most of it except some of the real rough ungraded grade.

We had our little mechanical problem. 50 miles into the trip the a heater hose split open right where it attaches to the water valve. Since it was cool outside, 50°, I wasn't watching the temperature gauge and didn't realize we were losing water until we stopped at the old cemetery at Kelton. Then I heard it hissing out, lifted the hood, and discovered it.

I had no spare heater hose (will next time) but had just enough slack to cut off the split, loosen the clamp on the heater intake at the firewall, and slide the hose off just enough to push onto the valve and secure all with the clamps. That was the easy part.

I had a gallon jug of water in the trunk that was only half full. I put that in but was still two gallons short.

So, where were we to get two more gallons of water out in the middle of the desert 50 miles from any source of water? Where were we going to get two more gallons of water out in the middle of the desert where it had just rained heavily over the previous few days. Well, one look at the outside of Old Henry and you'll get an idea. There were a lot of mud puddles along the road that we blew through and sent a wave of mud over the car. Weren't any handy though. So, I walked ahead and looked around a bend and saw a little one on the side of the road up ahead 50 yards. So, I got my gallon jug, my drink cup, and my funnel and headed for the puddle. It was about 2 inches deep and full of this milky colored water. So, I eased my drink cup down into the water on its side just enough to get a few ounces of water in it then poured it through the funnel into the jug until I got two gallons of water to fill the cooling system and head on down the road. Don't know what made the water milky color but I'll be replacing all of the coolant and flushing the system before driving any further.

The only other mechanical problem was some problem in wiring or my dimmer switch that showed the bright indicator when the headlights were on dim and hitting the switch didn't change anything nor turn the brights on. So, had to use the spot light to see down the road on the way home.

The picture might give you one other clue of a permanent casualty of the trip - loss of my YOM front license plate that I had so painfully restored. Must have got hit off on a big bump or washed off by a wave of mud coming up over the car.

One great surprise was to come upon a mother antelope and her two newly borns. Here's the video of that I think you'll enjoy: https://youtu.be/K6FZ2p2q_uU

Dad and Old Henry in all his glory on a bypass around one of the old trestles on the grade:



Total distance 486 miles in 16 hours on the road in one day. We just loves to ride!
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"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness

Last edited by Old Henry; 05-11-2015 at 11:27 PM.
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Old 05-10-2015, 10:15 PM   #50
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

thanks
i would love to explore that part of the country
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Old 05-11-2015, 08:52 AM   #51
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Yes, Thanks Much.
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Old 05-11-2015, 10:22 PM   #52
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Default Re: Driving the Transcontinental Railroad grade

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Henry View Post
The only town on that whole route where anyone lives anymore and has gasoline is Corinne at the beginning of the east end. That's where we got our last gas for the trip. Took an extra 5 gallons just in case but didn't need it.
If interested in the history of Corrine, there is a good book on Amazon thats cheap called "Corinne: The gentile capital of Utah"
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