Some old Photos for your enjoyment

[Bret4207]

I'm not sure that merchant vessels are prevented from having defensive firepower. A search on the web brings various conflicting replies. I always understood that merchant vessels were not armed to prevent them from being perceived at a threat. Not that it stopped either side from sinking merchant vessels during times of war. I know that private vessels can carry arms, but they must be secured in an approved safe when landing in a port. And I imagine every country/port has its own regs.

One of the web articles said that merchant vessels are arming themselves with non-lethal defensive weapons. My guess is to prevent revenge attacks should they take out a group of pirates who have friends.

If I were a merchant captain, I'm not sure I'd want to be in unfriendly waters, meaning pirates, and not be well armed. That would include things like a .50BMB, RPGS, LAWS, mini-gun, etc.. Given that most pirates are using much smaller and fragile vessels, short of them sneaking up at night and launching and RPG at the bridge, I would think that a reasonably armed ship could fend off any attackers.

My understanding is that often the pirates take over a ship simply because there was nobody watching. Doubtful you could hear an Achilles with an outboard approaching from the deck of a ship unless they were upwind of you and the wind was bringing the sound to you.

I'm pretty sure the vessel is going to have to follow the laws of the nation it's flagged under, and then of the nation they are visiting once they come inside their territorial waters. Out of sight out of mind might apply, but you have to find someone to sell you the weapons in the first place, and I'd think they'd want to do it legally.

 

[Bret4207]

Bet those boys had a pair of arms on them.

The pics I've seen show what looked like 10-12 men, maybe more, and they all looked like they knew what they were doing. I would imagine at that time it was a near full time job, probably by the owners of the docks or some other entity that depended on the ships getting docked and loaded/unloaded.

 

[JWFilips]

Somebody say trains...Look no farther...Scranton , PA My neck of the Penn's Woods!
Scranton, Pennsylvania, circa 1900. "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western R.R. yards." Dry plate glass negative

 

[JWFilips]

And yet another from Shorpy.com
"Michigan Central Railroad. Oiling up before the start." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.

 

[Brad]

Anyone else put 2 and 2 together and realize Jim posts all these photos because he was the photographer?

 

[Mitty38]

Anyone else put 2 and 2 together and realize Jim posts all these photos because he was the photographer?

So he is an Immortal Highlander? Just going by Jim in this century instead of Leonardo?

 

[richhodg66]

Bet those boys had a pair of arms on them.

I read a book when I was in Iraq in 2004 called "Daring the Sea", about these two Norwegian immigrants who decided to row a small boat across the North Atlantic as kind of a publicity stunt around the turn of the century. Apparently, rowing clubs were popular at the time and these guys figured fame and fortune would follow if they could do it. It wasn't really as crazy as it sounded, both had been merchant sailors and knew how to navigate by the stars, they had a business digging clams off the Jersey shore which involved heavy row boats and they designed the boat specially for the mission. They planned it well and it didn't occur to them that they couldn't do it, so they did.

They didn't get the fame and fortune they were looking for, but it's a really interesting read if you get to it.

George Harbo and Frank Samuelson

 

[Glaciers]

Now that’s a feat! Nuts, but definitely a serious journey!

 

[RicinYakima]

My Grandfather in 1918, under the "X" in Eldorado, Ohio, going to work on the rail road.

 

[creosote]

Gandy dancers.

 

[Bret4207]

It's truly amazing the that we had the rail system we did and that so much of it is gone. And even at that, in places where the rail bed and tracks still exist, a lot of people are trying to get it all destroyed in the name of environmentalism. It makes absolutely no sense to me why people who claim to be concerned with the environment would object to the idea of rail service. But then, I don't think a majority of them think beyond their next adventure, driving the Range Rover 200 miles to go hike a trail with 2500 other people into an alpine ecosystem that they damage and destroy more and more every year. And all for free while I have to pay for a license to hunt deer on my own farm!

This and many other things that make no sense to me will be covered in depth in my upcoming 3 book series- "Things that drive me nuts!!!". The books will be available where ever they are sold!

 

[L Ross]

My Grandfather in 1918, under the "X" in Eldorado, Ohio, going to work on the rail road.
View attachment 32088Your Grandpa looks like a big rascal. My Grandpa might have made 5'7" on his tallest day. His partner's nick name was "Shorty Mexican", so both small men. They had a hand car and eventually were equipped with one of those little motorized Speeders or Putt Putts. My Mom told me Grandpa and Shorty lost two or three of those motorized cars to trains over the years. Poor communications and mixups. They'd see the smoke coming and if there was no way to save the Putt Putt they'd run for their lives and leave it. Mom also had exciting stories about prairie fires ignited by the trains menacing small South Dakota towns.

I also only see one Kromer cap in your photo. Mom said Grandpa wore a Kromer for many many years. She told me one day when I walked in wearing my battered black Kromer that I startled her because she thought she was seeing her Dad.

 

[richhodg66]

It's truly amazing the that we had the rail system we did and that so much of it is gone. And even at that, in places where the rail bed and tracks still exist, a lot of people are trying to get it all destroyed in the name of environmentalism. It makes absolutely no sense to me why people who claim to be concerned with the environment would object to the idea of rail service. But then, I don't think a majority of them think beyond their next adventure, driving the Range Rover 200 miles to go hike a trail with 2500 other people into an alpine ecosystem that they damage and destroy more and more every year. And all for free while I have to pay for a license to hunt deer on my own farm!

This and many other things that make no sense to me will be covered in depth in my upcoming 3 book series- "Things that drive me nuts!!!". The books will be available where ever they are sold!

Kansas preserved about 120 miles of it for a hiking trail. Still a work in progress, but it's kind of a bucket list thing to hike that with my youngest son some day, better do it before I get too ool. Can I get a signed copy of that book when you get it published?
Flint Hills Trail

 

[popper]

We tend to think of the first intercontinental tracks but it was amazing that there were so many small RR companies that expanded transportation all through the US. Many eventually went broke or get absorbed by bigger outfits. Yes, unused tracks were torn up and used elsewhere. Just econ 101.

 

[462]

Stephen Ambrose wrote an excellent book about the building of the trans-continental railroad, "Nothing Like It In the World".
Politics, greed, innovation, and all the other stuff that made it all happen.

 

[Missionary]

Free Enterprise sure is not perfect. But still is the best that has come around in the last 2000 years.
One day the Best will be around for 1000 years.

 

[Bret4207]

Kansas preserved about 120 miles of it for a hiking trail. Still a work in progress, but it's kind of a bucket list thing to hike that with my youngest son some day, better do it before I get too ool. Can I get a signed copy of that book when you get it published?
Flint Hills Trail

It's not preserved if it's a hiking trail!

Be glad to send you signed copies of all three books! Just send me your address on the back of a $100.00 bill...

 

[RBHarter]

Lbs per mile per gallon rail is clean and dirt cheap . Unfortunately it makes that up at the depot's with load restraint and depot to retail ......

 

[JWFilips]

Ok
This is from my archives: I'm the custodian of the Norman Brauer Archives! This was taken just above a town that is a few miles north of me. Dalton ,PA on March 1st 1914 A blizzard occurred 18ft snowfall in one day!

 

[Winelover]

Yikes, can't even imagine.