Dateline: April 1, 2006
Yep, the Dome is still alive and kicking, this time with salutes to Midwestern railroading and Norman Mineta's nightmare: Amtrak. We've also tossed a bone to our fellow Westcoasters: Santa Fe's Richmond Shops in 1961. There's more new stuff as well. Click on the button above.










last update: 4/15/06

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New in December, 2005
For 2006, see the Spectac-O-Rama

FINALLY...2 YEARS LATE!
JAWBONE DISPATCHING COMES TO TUCUMCARI: the story of how Southern Pacific transformed the gridlocked Carrizozo Subdivision into a reasonably functioning railroad literally in the span of a few hours.

BONUS!
A Train Order Primer / DTC Primer: To get the full gist of the Tucumcari story, you need to have a basic understanding of each, so we've constructed extensive - and we think interesting - lessons using many old SP train orders, including ones issued to the last SP standard gauge steam freight train.

Combined, these articles run more than two dozen pages (gad, are we glad to be finished!), so we've put together a Jawbone/Train Orders Directory to guide you through all of it. Wade in and enjoy!

Niles Tower & Vicinity: Two pages on SP/WP and Bronco BillyAnderson.

Steam's Last Summer at Niles: Train orders documenting SP still-extensive use of steam in the East Bay in mid-1956.

SP's Last S.G. Steam Freight Train: Train orders documenting the move in late 1957.

An apology to dear Wx4 readers: Yup, we haven't answered email, nor updated Wx4 for almost a year, so we offer these flimsy excuses.

A Circular of the Times: The era of the 40 foot boxcar comes to a close on Southern Pacific. A former Featurette.

Western Pacific Williams St., San Jose Yard picture, circa 1978.

Our latest offering in Silly Johnny is Dead (weird railroad advertising); oop, we forgot to add it earlier.

Our heartwarming holiday offering courtesy of the Milwaukee Rd.

SPMW 3402 Steam Plie Driver photos

Sacramento Northern 712, 1983, HumongOphotoTM of nose

Peninsula Depots: Broadway, Sunnyvale, College Park photos

Niles Tower: SP Niles and WP Niles depot photos discovered under cocktail napkin

Wx4 Special Report: Why Steam Really Is Better Than Diesel, Part 1: Safety

The Latest New Stuff Is Down There

Before our railroad years, some Wx4 staff members dabbled in the advertising biz. There we learned a couple of important truisms about packaging that we've liberally applied to the Dome:

  1. Slick new packaging plastered with the slogan "new & improved" can renew sales of the same tired old product. Of course the phrase refers only to the box. As to the existential question of how something can be new, but improved: we don't know.
  2. A little stuff in a large box will sell better than alot of stuff in a small box. The FTC whacked the breakfast cereal industry a couple of decades back for selling an air-filled box containing a thin layer of corn flakes at the bottom. "Deceptive packaging", the FTC called it, and the cereal oufits resumed old ways when the coast was clear, about 11/2 decades ago.

We'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about the specificity of our "new & improved" claim and about the content/hot air ratio of the Spectac-O-rama.

Housecleaning: Our Freedom Train Section is no longer listed in the Offerings (right), but may be found through the Southern Pacific or Large Railroads sections. After much thought, we've discontinued the Contemporary Photos section for several reasons; thanks to all of those folks who provided photos.
Future Offerings: We've been scanning negatives as time allows for extended WP coverage and for several SP locomotive pages: the first will be the SP RS-32. Larger projects, such as the SP Los Gatos/Permante Branch, are mostly on hold for awhile.
Photo Requests/Email: Whew, what a backlog! We are attempting to catch-up as time becomes available. We will honor previous committments to photo requests, but it will be several more months minimum before we can consider new ones. Our photos are always available for posting on your non-commercial site, provided that you credit Wx4 and let us know what you're doing. Please don't link to Dome photos, because this increases our site traffic, endangering the Dome's availability at the end of each month.

And speaking of email, we've experienced a strong reaction to our editorial musing last December about Wx4's apparent cult status. Here's some typical feedback, with editorial commentary from J. Chowder Bidwell, Wx4 press secretary:
  • Cult status? You guys are full of [$#!+] ! - J.D. Hemmit; Bucksville, Alabama
    Oh my! - Jay
  • There are good sites, bad sites and your site. Your site is so strange that I can't classify it, except to say that it certainly is not a cult site. It just is not good or bad enough. - Marcus Ragsdale; New Haven, Conn.
    Not bad enough? Wow, we didn't think that Wx4 was that good! - Jay
  • Oh come ON!... I'll bet you don't get ten hits a month on this stupid
    site.     - Marcus Smith; Yonkers, New York
    What is the statistical probability that two guys named Marcus
    would respond to our editorial, especially if Wx4 is only getting ten
    crummy hits a month? Wx4 is looking good, Marc Baby! - Jay
  • I think that Wx4 is a wonderful Internet place, and I am one of
    your cult people. Is that what you wanted me to say, dear?     - Mrs.
    T.W.L. Bidwell, Westwood (L.A.), Calif.
    Thanks, Mom! Can you loan me fifty bucks? - Jay

We will try to turn out another Dome edition on the next big Wx4 paid
holiday: National Defense Transportation Day, May 19th. Hopefully we will
have some big guns for you, but don't set aside the day just yet.
- E.O.


Sharks in the SF Bay (Area)?

With stringent new Federal diesel emission regulations due to take effect in 2008, the rail industry is in a major bind: even if manufacturers can design compliant road locomotives, will railroads be able to afford them?

Locos built before '08 will be exempt, so these grandfathered units may become more, rather than less, valuable over time. Locomotive rebuilders and resellers must be having sweet dreams, right now.

Here at Wx4, we likewise are salivating at the prospects of a tightening locomotive market. Here's why: Sooner-or-later, the demand for pre-2008 high-horsepower, second generation locomotives may far outstrip supply, so the railroad industry may be forced to UN-RETIRE FIRST GENERATION UNITS!

Yep, think of it - once the railroads run through such likely prospects as Geep 9's, they may be forced to go slumming for ALCOs, FMs and when they become particularly desperate: Baldwins. Wouldn't it be cool to see that TVA H16-66, an ex-SP&S FA1 and an ex-Trona AS-616 m/u'ed between two SD-70's?

In the slight possibility that this may take place before the Wx4 Staff retires en masse, we wish to go on the record now: our railroad gets dib-sies on the D&H Baldwin Sharks!
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The difference: Railfans sit at home dreaming of trains, while railroaders sit on trains dreaming of home. - J. Clement Bidwell, Wx4 Staff Philosopher

Coming Sooner or Later: Mo' Wobbly

New, April 1, 2006:


(background photo: 2nd #12 meets 2nd #13 at Goldtree, CA, 11-80)
Dardanelle & Russellville RR

Rio Grande Zephyr, 1977 photo, courtesy G. Welker. engineer (newly) emeritus
Bayshore Shops Diagram, circa 1950
HumongOphoto: NP SW1200 at Tacoma, 1970
Magma Arizona RS-3 photo: why foamers like ALCOs
Expanded C&O in Michigan
Wx4 Medal O' Freedom
NEW Illinois Central Gulf section,
featuring Paducah's Shops
and an investigation into the
fate of ICG's E-Unit Fleet
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A Bone for Bay Area Foamers:
ATSF
Richmond
1961
NEW Rock Island section, leading off with the Rock's obscure Manly, Iowa terminal





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This week's month's summer's fall's winter's decade's featured page:

Weird RR advertising


our seminal works! years (literally) in the making!
Wx4 Exclusive Feature!
The Harmonic Convergence of Jeeps and Geeps



Photos featuring both Jeeps and trains

RAIL & ROAD SCHLOCK
at its FINEST!
(dark glasses recommended)

Man the lifeboats! Wx4 goes sailing on Lake Michigan


Wx4's Bicentennial RR
& Official Mascot:


Well yeah, the C&OC collapsed in 1954,and Al Gore hadn't yet invented the Internet
in 1976, but what the heck...
NOW! Expanded Coverage!

Hate annoying ads? Do you think that 'commercial-free' PBS has more advertising than network TV? Please don't let Wx4 go this route: An Earnest Plea for Lots of Money!

Too old & brain dead to hire out with a railroad?
Think again:
Wx4 International Correspondence Schools can help!

Helix-Tram: Tomorrow's
Transportation Yesterday
So, you don't think that we're very funny? You can try:
Amtrek,net
If that site seems lame, try
here

For more historical info on the Bay Area, fellow engineer, Frank Caron, has excellent and extensive coverage on SP's San Bruno Branch / Ocean View Line (the original route to San Francisco) at his Railroading in the San Francisco Bay Area site. We note that he has finally updated his site after a long dry spell. Way to go, Frank!

(with apologies to the Library of Congress)

email: wx4org@yahoo.com
(we're still way behind on our email, BTW)
all Dome O' Foam images & photographs that haven't been purloined from somebody else: copyright 2002-2006, E.O. Gibson