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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Finally—The Video

Before i start i want to thank everyone who offered advice on how to get a video into a blog. This is by far one of the most time consuming endeavors.

So what will we see????? These video’s werIMG_0176e shot from the cab of GSMRR Locomotive 711 on May 18, 2011. The trip was from Bryson City to the Nantahala Outdoor Center and back. The first video is going around Horseshoe Curve# 2. Yes there is another one but we did not go around it. Notice that the sight distance in this video is quite short. Most of the time it is less than 200 ft. I asked Engineer Dale if he made an emergency stop at this speed (15 mph) what would the distance be to come to a full stop? He estimated it to be 300 –400 ft. since we were hauling 10 passenger cars, over 200 people, with a weight of over 100 tons total. In short if we saw something on the track there is no way we could stop before we hit it. Also when the leaves are off the trees, you can see the last car entering the curve as the engine exits. Horseshoe Curve #2

Next we cross the Tuckasegee River Trestle. Watch how close we are to the trestle. Most people don’t realize that a train extends almost 3 feet beyond the rails on both sides. If you are on a trestle with no guard rails there will not be enough room for you and the train. Guess who will win????  Tuckasegee River Trestle.

So there they are. Question for today is:

What is the distance between the rails of a standard American railroad track and why this distance???

Possums are ineligible for this question because they are so smart :-)…

Say Good Night Grenville….”Good Night Grenville.”

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great videos!! I especially like that old bridge but it seems it´s time to repaint it :-) It must have been fantastic to go there in the locomotive!

By the way if You don´t know it. You can use the embedded code for the video in Your blog and then it will appear in Your blog and not like now as a link.

Thanks for showing these videos! I´ll come back to see them many more times :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

possum said...

RATS! Pickin' on the Possum, again.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Even though I didn't go on this engine cab ride, Grenville, it was great fun to "see" some of the highlights. Glad we shared a coach ride the day before - Happy 14th, my love!

Christine said...

Grenville thanks for sharing these awesome videos with us. I felt like I was right there in the cab with you! Hubby and I have been wanting to do this train ride for years; so I guess we better hurry up and do!

MadSnapper said...

i like the way you shot the trestle crossing, the train looks like it will not fit through the narrow hole. and love the long low whistle of the first one. this is a great idea to upload to youtube and link, why did i not think of that. good job, and i know you had fun. i am not a possum so i dont know the answer.

D.K. Wall said...

Saw you commented on another post and had to come seen your posts on your NC visit. We love living in this area (Maggie Valley in our case) and appreciate you sharing our world.

Connie said...

Looks like you had a great time!

Elaine said...

What fun! Now you have the best Show & Tell ever and the other kids will be so jealous.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the video tip Christer and i'm glad you liked it. I would never "pick on" my favorite Possum. Love you 2 Princess. Mama-Bug, you might want to wait for the "Hogwarts Express" train comming in about a year. the trestle was a tight fit Sandra. Thats why you never walk on a train trestle. Your welcome Thundering Herd. Your area is beautiful and different to us 'flat-landers'. Thanks Daisy and Elaine. We really did enjoy this trip even with the gray weather