Railway Preservation News
http://www.rypn.org/forums/

Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=35238		 Page 2 of 2
Author:  Jim Vaitkunas [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
If we can't totally delete this thread, at least lock it. I also smell a troll.

Thanks!
Author:  EDM [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
BrassPhoenix, no offence taken-

Everyone else, where is this 'Trapper' from? Eastern PA? Can't tell a tank car from a steam locomotive? Just saying-
Author:  wm303 [ Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
EDM,

The Potomac River in Cumberland is not deep enough to hide ANYTHING in it, including rocks.
Author:  EDM [ Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
Didn't the Army Corp of Engineers bury it in the Potomac when they when they did all the Wills Creek concrete work? (Just kidding-)
Author:  robertmacdowell [ Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
wm303 wrote:
The Potomac River in Cumberland is not deep enough to hide ANYTHING in it, including rocks.

Yes, and the Big Boy is why that's so.

One of the Big Boys was built specifically to go to the Smithsonian. Then the war broke out, and the USRA used every engine available, so the unit operated extensively in the Washington DC area.

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers was dredging the Potomac River in the area, strictly routine; but the Nazis thought it was strategic: part of an effort to restore the Ohio canal to create an inland waterway and keep shipping away from the U-boats. Nazi soldiers snuck into the country to put an end to the project. They absconded with the Big Boy and its train, and derailed it at high speed. The engine and the entire train careened into the river, falling into the very channel that had been recently dredged. This foreclosed any further dredging, so the river would remain shallow and rocky.

Since this was one of the few successful Axis operations on American soil, it was covered up for the sake of morale. Since the dredging and the train canceled each other out, both were denied... until well after the war, by which time Kennedy was pronouncing "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" and there was no reason to dredge up old war news. But if you follow the history of each of the Big Boy units, you'll find the one of them just sorta "disappeared" during the war and was never seen again.
Author:  NW Class J [ Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
I need a Tylenol...
Author:  Preston J. McEvoy [ Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finding Big Boy Locomotives and About The Challengers,
He saw "Railfanning and before the first drop of drool hit the key board, he joined and made his first post.

Thanx for da laffs!
Page 2 of 2 All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/