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  • 2009 Excursions with "New" Pullman Green Coaches

  • All about the Arcade & Attica Railroad
All about the Arcade & Attica Railroad

Moderator: Benjamin Maggi

 #679081  by tomjohn
 
How about lettering the coaches for the following, this would give us and the A.&A. RR's fans a glimpse back in time when the A.&A. RR was formed...

1-ARCADE and ATTICA RR
2-BUFFALO and SUSQUEHANNA RY
3-BUFFALO ATTICA and ARCADE
4-TONANDA VALLEY and CUBA RR
5-WELLSVILLE and BUFFALO RR

Tom
 #679110  by BSOR Patarak
 
Here is another dream....wouldn't it be cool if the wooden B&S coach that the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum has could be run on the last remaining piece of NYS B&S trackage? Shure would look good behind #18.

Any one know if any more work has been done to this car at Strasburg?

- Funny A&A connection (other than the obvious B&S one) is that Richard Cartwright looked at that car when the excursions began back in 1962. They felt it needed too much work then!
 #679124  by tomjohn
 
BSOR Patarak wrote:Here is another dream....wouldn't it be cool if the wooden B&S coach that the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum has could be run on the last remaining piece of NYS B&S trackage? Sure would look good behind #18.

Any one know if any more work has been done to this car at Strasburg?

- Funny A&A connection (other than the obvious B&S one) is that Richard Cartwright looked at that car when the excursions began back in 1962. They felt it needed too much work then!
If someone has their website let's ask them about the Buffalo and Susquehanna Ry car .

Tom
 #679887  by Mountcastle
 
I'm not sure I like the idea proposed by one user that the coaches be lettered to represent the various railroads that have operated on the line throught its history. I guess I don't like the idea because the coaches in question were never owned by those railroads. I could see lettering them 'LACKAWANNA' for nostalgia's sake, for example, but not 'Tonawanda Valley & Cuba'.

But I wouldn't like to see the coaches retro-lettered to 'Lackawanna' or anything else, either, because, when finished, this will represent the first time that the name 'Arcade & Attica' has been rendered elegantly on them. Lately, of course, there were the garish 'circus' letters beneath the windows. Even during the 1970s when the 'circus' lettering was painted over in favor of red letterboards, the name of the railroad on those red letterboards was not rendered at all well. So I'm really looking forward to this.

One user suggested that the idea of lettering the tender of Engine No. 18 to read 'Boyne City Railroad' was likewise a bad idea because the locomotive has been owned by the A&A for much longer than it was ever owned by the Boyne City RR.

While I understand the concern, I think I would be inclined to reject the premise of that argument considering that it is not unheard of for excursion trains to be lettered and decorated to reflect their original ownership. A number of tourist railroads have either retained, from the beginning, the original lettering on their equipment or have reverted back to it for the sake of authenticity or nostalgia.

One might then object, however, that the tender, being proper to locomotive No. 14, never was owned by the Boyne City Railroad and therefore shouldn't be re-lettered to represent the Boyne City RR. If re-lettered at all, it should be for the Escanaba & Lake Superior RR, whence it came. I would counter, however, that such an argument is too scrupulous as tenders are merely auxiliary to locomotives and that the heritage of the locomotive entirely predominates that of whichever tender happens to be united to it at the moment. Tenders were often replaced.

I think it would be marvelous to see No. 18 and her current tender lettered to represent the Boyne City Railroad, if only for a time. And should they, then, restore the 'Arcade & Attica' to the tender when they have had enough of the Boyne City retro-lettering, I hope they will CENTER the 'Arcade & Attica', this time, and make use of a much worthier font.
 #681332  by Otto Vondrak
 
How about we letter the coaches "ARCADE & ATTICA" to represent the railroad operating them? Or, how about we let the railroad decide what to do?

-otto-
 #681365  by Mountcastle
 
Mr. Vondrak:

I believe your first suggestion was my own. I believe your second is unnecessarily condescending. And it's a remark you've made before. This is a discussion forum, is it not? We're discussing.

Nobody utilizing this forum, I am sure, imagines that he runs the Arcade & Attica Railroad (unless, of course, the General Manager utilizes it). I see no harm in offering opinions and suggestions. We know that there are employees of the railroad who do, in fact, post on this board and who invite feedback and suggestions from others of us who do. I see no harm in either providing those employees with the feedback they desire or in offering spontaneous suggestions. Since we know they're reading our comments, we might as well, might we not? And they can take our suggestions or leave them as they see fit.

If we were all bound to let only the management of each railroad represented on this discussion board discuss matters concerning those railroads, there would be no need for these forums at all.

Or if we're all bound to offer only mundane, non-opinionated positive remarks such as "I like the new tracks," "I approve of the new colors," "I'm glad to see No. 14 out of her garage," this would become an awfully bland forum.

As a former employee and promotions consultant of the Arcade & Attica Railroad, I enjoy reading the thoughts, ideas, hopes and even 'wishes' of the fans who frequent this forum. I wish I had been able to refer to a discussion forum like this back then, in fact. It would have provided me with valuable insights into the minds of other people who love this railroad.

I offer this feedback with all due respect to you and to the other forum administrators and moderators on the one hand, but I don't think they should be in the business of squelching discussion, on the other.
 #682957  by Otto Vondrak
 
Mountcastle wrote:Mr. Vondrak:
Hey, let's leave my dad out of this.
I believe your first suggestion was my own.
Okay, you can have it. I just borrowed it, didn't claim it to be mine alone.
I believe your second is unnecessarily condescending.
"Really? Is it?"
And it's a remark you've made before.
I figured no one heard me the first time.
This is a discussion forum, is it not? We're discussing.
Discuss all you want, the railroad makes the ultimate decision, though. They've already taken huge steps towards revamping the property... it just seems off that the fans are asking for more and more and more on top of what the railroad has already started to do. Let's give the railroad some breathing room, not appear so demanding, and let them carry out their initial plans before we go on with our wish lists?
I offer this feedback with all due respect to you and to the other forum administrators and moderators on the one hand, but I don't think they should be in the business of squelching discussion, on the other.
Thank you for the feedback. In the future, I suggest if you start a post "Mr. Vondrak," (or more appropriately, "Otto,"), you probably want to just address me privately through PM or email. That goes for anyone who has questions about my quirky personal habits or the operation of this site. I'm also much more likely to respond quicker to your inquiry, since I don't read the forums every day. Thanks!

-otto-
 #688134  by tomjohn
 
thebigham wrote:The green coaches are growing on me.

Pat Connors showed a slide from 1962 when the coaches first arrived on A&A property. Guess what color they were?

GREEN!
OK if the coaches were GREEN ,what railroad(s) did they come from who owned them before the ARCADE AND ATTICA RR?

Tom
 #688143  by jgallaway81
 
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.... though that might be incorrect as by that time, the DL&W might have merged with the Erie to Form the Erie-Lackawanna.
 #688426  by Otto Vondrak
 
Saw photos from this weekend's events with the new green paint! They look great! But then my joy turned to sorrow when I saw some of the cars were sporting gigantic COTS stencils by the vestibule. I have never seen any other passenger equipment in America plastered with a COTS stencil on the **body**... and if the railroad is working to maintain a 1920s appearance, then a 1970s era COTS stencil destroys all that. Can someone explain it all to me?

-otto-
 #689119  by Mountcastle
 
What is a COTS stencil?

The coaches do look fabulous though. The stenciling above the windows is gorgeous. And I'm glad they spelled out the "and" rather than use an ampersand. It's marvelous; just marvellous. I couldn't have been more delighted when I saw it. The General Manager told me that the coaches have another coat of green coming to them, to rectify that uneven thing that's going on with them.

But they look great and now that I see them, I'm completely over the old orange and black.

And speaking of the 1920s theme, why, what did I hear playing in the depot? Not Country & Western. They were playing period music! Kudos!!!