CANNONBALL

since today is the first run of the cannonball this year. So lets post all of your cannonball shorts here.



dosen mean just the C3 cannonballs lets see some Geeps and all the other shots

The Cannonball runs Fridays, YEAR ROUND!

It may not have the Drumhead, or the Reserve Cars (in the "off-season", but every Friday, every week, every month it leaves HP at 4:06 PM.

The all heavyweight all reserved extra fare Cannonball rolls eastward thru Brightwaters. Don't you wish you could turn back the clock to the 1960s and be enjoying the ride seated on SETAUKET's open observation platform?

Photo and scan courtesy of Steve Hoskins.

The all heavyweight all reserved extra fare Cannonball rolls eastward thru Brightwaters. Don't you wish you could turn back the clock to the 1960s and be enjoying the ride seated on SETAUKET's open observation platform?

I wish that one my plenty of times.

and we can do that if wantagh is willing to give up the "jamaica" and donate it to RMLI. maby they can get a pong pong back for the wantagh location? yes i know about money.. im posting this as this is a possibility and when all is said and done, that observation would look real nice behind 39 or 1556 and really can be a money maker, the "preimum fare" car.

its not impossible.

i'm sure some FRA or Homeland Security rules would prevent riding in the back like they are. Well, Cannonball was in flight when I saw it at Bellport station... nice signs...

I Seen The CANNONBALL Pass Babylon Today I Think 518 and 516 in Back.

I Miss The old CANNONBALL Train With Two GP38s and MP15 with 14 Pullman Cars.

I think we all do.

Hey All,
My oh My The ugly 513 today with the drumhead in front
at Patchogue at 1115 am with 8 cars and the 516 on the rear end.
Chris's low carb rail reports

Oh, no the DM's again. Thanks for the report, Chris! Hey don't we all wish that we were still in the 90's with the 2900's, or maybe the Geeps and MP15AC providing HEP. Ehh, things are not the same like it was then.

Why not dream of steam or dual mode steam with third rail heating the boiler ??
Grow up guys railroads move on, they don't live in the past like railfans do.

Geez, we're just reminising man. If you don't like the thread then don't read it.

The re-equipped Cannonball rolls westward past Roslyn Road crossing in Mineola. Tavern-lounge-observation 2064 APAQUOGUE is on the rear. Date uncertain --- possibly summer 1970.

APAQUOGUE is a long way from Florida, but some of her parlor car riders know her (as FEC's LAKE OKEECHOBEE) and Palm Beach as well as they know the Cannonball and the Hamptons.

Hi All,
If anyone is interrested and I hope I am not boring anyone. You have a many number of trains leaving from Montauk tomorrow. A extra from Southampton and Bridgehampton. The Southampton train will meet 8710 at MS at 130pm. Patchogue there will be a flurry of activity scoots and chaos, operator screaming as usual going into a Three Mile Island panic mode as usual!!!
Chris's low carb rail reports

"Grow up guys railroads move on, they don't live in the past like railfans do."

And back under the rock you came out from...
But anyway, while on the subject of the Cannonball, where are the Parlor Car P-72's today?

DutchRailnut wrote:Why not dream of steam or dual mode steam with third rail heating the boiler ??
Grow up guys railroads move on, they don't live in the past like railfans do.

"Dutch", I don't agree with you on this one. I have memories during my
early days in the NYC area of some of the trains running to Montauk and
for the LIRR, they had quite a bit of class.
I remember the HW parlor cars, an old LV dining car serving meals and
an open end observation car.
I got movies of the "Cannonball" behind two RS-3's with about ten HW
parlors and an open ender on the rear, followed by another Montauk
train with an FM, an assortment of coaches and some more HW parlors.
Rode one of them relics too, it was a great ride.
Just like we had memories on the NHRR, there were memories on the
NYCS etc, well, the LIRR has some memories too and they were quite
interesting.
Slightly off the topic here, I well remember going to Nathans in Oceanside
for a mid evening meal followed by driving up to Mineola to watch the late
evening stuff going and coming. Mostly diesel in those days as there was
no third rail yet to Huntington nor Ronkonkoma. Mostly RS-1's to and from Oyster Bay, RS-3's to Ronkonkoma and C-420's to Port Jeff and others. Could always count on an S-2 pulling for all it's worth on a freight
train sometime during the evening too. Still remember the Alco's starting
out east, belching smoke, sparks and fire right out of the stack and neat
air horns too.
One more thing about the HW parlor car fleet, I remember at various
times, taking a ride with the car to Montauk to look over things on the way
out and back and in the winter time the HW parlor cars were stored in the
yard at Montauk for an extended period. I guess they wanted to get them
out of the way and in a relatively safe spot. Surely, they had to dran the
water out of them and probably they removed the batteries too before
laying them up for the winter. I seem to think that they did this on a
regular basis every winter.
The trains moved right along on that line 65 MPH all the way except for
curves etc. I believe it might still be that today.
Noel Weaver