Re: {Chrysler 300} Big boy

[John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill 
Exact same experience , grew up in Cambridge , — freight  out of Boston yard had its  own single track joined  main dual track to Albany at Cambridge / Belmont line , right behind my house  , heard trains  all night , sort of comforting . 
They were pulled by ? 4- 8 -4 ? “ Berkshire “    locomotives , wheels slipping at times ,  sometimes 1/2 mile trains ,  4-5 miles out of Boston yard  still accelerating  , after  grade crossings in Cambridge , onto main line . You could  hear  the change  if slip , big Whoosh ,puff if steam ,  had sand sprays to help avoid slip 
I think Berkshires were built for  that run   steep grades , well , into,  up and over the Berkshires ! 
Got grabbed by coos throwing ballast rocks at telegraph insulators ( never ever at train , others  did , why cops— idiots did that )  
Had to be 40 insulators on each pole beautiful work all straight, tight  and parallel . Very hard to break them — and my JD tendencies 

Hey Bob — relates  to 300 type engineering , — and besides,  junkyard next to track  lost 10 or 12 mopar  stick trans summer of 62  ( late Sunday PM!, over the fence) due to 300D stick setup in my 57 dodge , ( dodge truck parts) at18 yo .. damn glass mopar gears    

Had a 20 foot water pipe in there and long rope ,   stick though  window of plymouth flip up on side pull trans 20 minutes , had “young trainee “ strong French Canadian to help 

I told you JD dies  hard 

> On Jan 10, 2026, at 11:04 AM, William Huff <whuff@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> When i was but a youth, living in Panama for the Panama Canal, we lived very near the RR tracks at the edge of the Canal Zone and bordering on Colon, a Panamanian city.  They were using steam locos in those days.  The terminal was probably 1/4 mile away and there were both passenger and freight trains in use.  When the trains were long (relatively speaking) the steam locos were still spinning wheels when they passed by our house.  You could hear the RPMs raising and then lowering when the throttle was modulated to stop the spinning.  Many a penny I squashed under the trains, even found some of them afterwards.
> 
> We lived in a duplex up and down wooden house on a long (200') triangular lot with the switching yard behind us here the triangle point was.  There was a gap in the fence that I used to sneak through, several of the engineers would give me rides in the switch engines and let me move the throttle and sound the whistle.  I was way too small and weak to move the Johnson bar.  I don't imagine that sort of fun is available today.
> 
> Bill Huff
> 
>> On 1/9/2026 11:15 PM, Lindsey wrote:
>> Lost the thread from earlier this week, but John, and rest should make the effort to see this machine. It was in Omaha shortly before the fall 2024 meet and i missed it. Fortunately Canadian Pacific merged with Kansas City Southern and ran one of CP’s steamers from Calgary to Mexico city in 2024, at mainline speeds, 50+ mph. That is something to see, hear and smell. I was fortunate enough to drive chinese engines in north east China a couple of times before they were phased out. They were built in 1997/98, last ones. I was surprised by how smooth they were and how much torque was available. Hard not to spin the wheels. Worth the effort to go out of your way. Hoping they will run big boy further north this time so i can catch it. 300’s are sleeping but great snowmobiling weather in Winnipeg now 😁
>> Best
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
> 
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