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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 04/18/2018 : 3:54:14 PM
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Most historians give "credit" for the demise of the towering giants of Buffalo to the opening of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1959.
Before that point in time, grain shipped to the East Coast or Europe could not go directly by ship, as the St Lawrence was impassible to navigate by virtue of shallows and rapids.
Therefore it had to be transferred to rail or barge (there was a direct connection to the Erie Barge Canal) for delivery tothe East Coast for either milling, or reloading to ocean going vessels bound for Europe. It had to be stored somewhere in bulk capacities someplace.
Buffalo was that place.
It also eliminated having to use the Welland Canal (at that point in time) to get around Niagara Falls. The freighters did not need to get to Lake Ontario, just to the railheads in Buffalo.
After the St Lawrence Seaway opened, it was the kiss of death. A new system of dams and locks changed all that. There was no longer need to offload to storage in Buffalo. Instead it was loaded on an ocean going vessel to begin with, or could get to Montreal before transferring to ocean freighter.
Hello Europe. Hello East Coast. Goodbye for the need of grain storage in Buffalo.
Their path was similar to how the interstate highway system signaled the demise of passenger service for railroads.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
Edited by - David J Buchholz on 04/21/2018 5:17:02 PM |
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Bernd
Fireman
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 Posted - 04/18/2018 : 8:19:35 PM
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Thanks for the info David. I should have known that about the St Lawrence Seaway. We have a cottage up at Alexandria Bay and see the big ships going and coming. It sure makes sense now.
Bernd
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A PESSIMIST sees a dark tunnel
An OPTIMIST sees light at the end of the tunnel
A REALIST sees a freight train
The LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER sees three idiots standing on the tracks |
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Country: USA
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Frank Palmer
Fireman
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Posted - 04/19/2018 : 10:45:36 AM
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 04/20/2018 : 7:40:52 PM
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I'll be shifting gears for the net few weeks. I have a 1:1 scale 1993 Caprice wagon with blown head gaskets, which will undergo driveway repairs.
Secondly, an unexpected source of information has come about for my Marine Tower project. I my research for pictures, A name that I recognized came up as the source of several photos. My sister in law's husband has a brother who gives tours of the Buffalo waterfront area. I got in contact with him, and he reported having photos of all the machinery within the tower that I am using as my source of inspiration. I was told it is/was unique in it's drive system.
There are plenty of other things to do in the meantime, considering none of you have seen a signal piece of track that is mounted. Time for the Silver Spike Ceremony.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
Edited by - David J Buchholz on 04/20/2018 7:44:10 PM |
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Frank Palmer
Fireman
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Posted - 04/21/2018 : 09:26:03 AM
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David, great news about the photos. Please share some of that valuable info.
David with your extensive research I assume you've been to this site but if you haven't. The moveable leg is on the left, fixed on the right.
http://buffaloah.com/a/childs/87/legs.html
looks like you have the look just right.
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Edited by - Frank Palmer on 04/21/2018 09:45:18 AM |
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Carl B
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/21/2018 : 09:27:49 AM
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a signal piece of track that is mounted. Time for the Silver Spike Ceremony
What Frank said, and this too!
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 04/21/2018 : 09:49:24 AM
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No pictures from my contact in Buffalo yet. One of the unanswered things that I had about the port area is how much height I would need for the slips from water level. I had assumed about two inches would work.
Once I received the boat shells of the the Steam Barge (Artitec) and "Langell Boys" (Sylvan Scale Models) I realized that a scale 14 ft to the water from the dock/pier height was way too much. One inch will do nicely.
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 04/21/2018 : 5:25:24 PM
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Frank, thank you. That site is one of my prime sources for pics.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 04/26/2018 : 11:53:55 AM
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Been very sick this past week
Started with the flu
Had stomach cramps. Dry heaves for over 50 hours. Now I have vertigo. Falling over. No fun.
Would rather have a soldering gun put in my mouth.
Oh wait. That's what they do for root canals. Already had that done as well.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
Edited by - David J Buchholz on 04/26/2018 11:56:44 AM |
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 05/14/2018 : 3:38:13 PM
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Between sickness and out of town, no progress other than waiting for parts. Will get back to things soon. Also waiting for pics from my contact in Buffalo.
Nothing yet there either.
Dave
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
Edited by - David J Buchholz on 05/14/2018 3:39:02 PM |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/14/2018 : 9:43:18 PM
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Sorry to hear you've been ill. Regarding docks, generally they weren't built any higher than they had to be. Shallow-draft vessels usually didn't have much freeboard. The big Lakers needed more, but since the docks also served barges, I expect they set the standard height. On the ocean, whatever the normal tide range is for the location is added to the dock height.
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 05/14/2018 : 9:53:47 PM
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Luckily, not much tide on Lake Ontario.
Although I admit, plenty of "Tide" in the washing machine about ten feet away from the North Coast Railroad.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 06/05/2018 : 5:04:49 PM
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Between illness and travel for union negotiations. And worse. My honey dew list. Not much happening in the basement.
Wil be back in the saddle soon.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
Edited by - David J Buchholz on 06/05/2018 5:05:40 PM |
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David J Buchholz
Crew Chief
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Posted - 08/01/2018 : 1:32:09 PM
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On summer hiatus for model railroading. I'll be back at the end of summer.
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| Home of the North Coast Railroad. |
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railman28
Fireman
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Posted - 08/01/2018 : 2:54:39 PM
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You're making progress. I fine layout is shaping up. I'm enjoying following along.
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It's only make-believe
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| Posts: 4727 |
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