5 Railroads That I Especially Like
Your favorite rail line? Most, if not all railfans enjoy watching trains, in general, but will have a fondness for a few particular lines, over the rest. I profess to be no different, in that aspect, and in particular, there are five lines, of which I have gained more interest or fascination with, over the others; Penn Central, Monon, Southern, Soo Line, and Rock Island.
Categories: Railroad Tags: Monon, Penn Central, Railroad, Rock Island, Soo Line, Southern Railway
This Week In History-1956
Once again, we take our weekly journey back in time to see how life was different; how it was better...or worse; to see how things used to be. Today, we look back at the year, 1956.
Categories: History Tags: Elvis Presley, Faron Young, Marty Robbins, Ray Price, this week in history, Webb Pierce
Remembering Hank Thompson
Sounds that were similar to Bob Wills and Ernest Tubb, yet still unique enough that you could immediately recognize the artist. Also, some of the best song titles to ever appear on the country music charts. The artists responsible for those sounds? Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys.
Categories: Artists Tags: Hank Thompson, Humpty Dumpty Heart, Oklahoma Hills, Smoky The Bar, The Older The Violin The Sweeter The Music, Whoa Sailor, Wild Side Of Life
Categories: Uncategorized Tags:
Classic Album Review-Patty Loveless and Buck Owens
It's Christmastime!! Okay, actually, we still have Thanksgiving, tomorrow, but for intents and purposes, we are now in the holiday season, of which the anchor is Christmas. And with the onset of Christmas, of course, that means Christmas music will soon be playing, if it's not already.
Categories: Classic Album Reviews Tags: Bluegrass And White Snow, Buck Owens, Christmas albums, Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos, Patty Loveless
Records That Defined Country Music-The 1950′s
As we approach the final weeks of our first decade of the 21st Century, I thought it would be a great time to look back on, not only this decade, but the decades prior, and revisit the hits that define each decade. Each decade has them. They are the records that we often remember, most.
Categories: History Tags: 1950's, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, George Jones, Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, Marty Robbins, Ray Price, Red Foley, Webb Pierce
3 More Acts You’ve Likely Forgotten About
For every George Strait that makes a nearly thirty year run on the charts, there is someone who’s career as a hit maker is over within 5. For every Eddy Arnold, whose name is universally known throughout the music world, there is the artist whose name would likely bring a blank stare to an ever-increasing number of people who listen to the radio, buy the CD, or download the songs. Today, we salute three more of these fine artists. They are artists who at one time, saw the top ten and had their records on the radio, but unlike the Straits or Arnolds, or Jones, they didn’t have the longevity, or the name recognition. If someone were to actually play them on the radio, today, you might remember the song, but would likely draw a blank on who’s singing.
These are the ones we salute, today.
In 1959, we had Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, and Skeeter Davis as the main female vocalists in country music. That year, they would be joined by a young singer from Birmingham, Alabama, Marion Worth. Marion had begun singing as a child, winning a talent contest at ten years of age. In the latter part of 1959, the small Cherokee label released Marion’s first single, “Are You Willing, Willie”, and it would just miss reaching the country top ten. Following the success of her first effort, she switched to another small label, Guyden, and by the summer of ’60, was in country’s top five, with “That’s My Kind Of Love”. The success of these two small-label singles, brought her to the attention of Columbia. By the end of 1960, she was on the Columbia roster, enjoying her second top ten hit, “I Think I Know”.
Unfortunately for Marion, “I Think I Know” would be her last top ten hit. “There’ll Always Be Sadness” just briefly charted in 1961, and Marion would not return to the country charts until early, 1963, when “Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)” made it’s debut. Though it only reached the top 15, it may well be her best known song, as for many years after (and even on occasion, today, though you’re more likely to hear Cristy Lane’s version), it would be a country staple around Christmastime.
Her slow, somber version of the Ray Price classic “Crazy Arms” was next, and would be her last top twenty hit. Marion would return to the country top forty 4 more times, by 1966. After that, while she would make a few more recorded efforts, her career as a hit maker was over. She would remain with the Opry for several more years, but gradually faded from public view, over time. It’s hard to say why she didn’t have more hits, some of it, I’m sure, has to do with material quality, which wasn’t as strong as what Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter Davis, and Kitty Wells were releasing. It could have been her singing style, as well. Listen to her works, you hear a voice that has a bit of the Patsy Cline styling to it, but overall, is stylistically more reminiscent of the 1950′s female pop vocalists, than most country singers of the time.
Marion passed away from emphysema, in 1999.
Another artist who made several chart appearances during the 1960′s, as well as the 1970′s, is Bobby Lewis. He was a native of Hodgenville, Kentucky, who first appeared on the country charts in 1966. That debut single was a great recording; a song titled “How Long Has It Been”, which would climb into the country top ten, and ultimately be his biggest hit. 11 times, between 1966 and 1979, he would reach the country top forty. The majority of his efforts only reached into the mid twenties, but he would score one more top ten hit, “From Heaven To Heartache”(1968), as well as two more top twenty entries, “Love Me And Make It All Better”(1967), and “Hello Mary Lou”(1970). Bobby was a fine singer, and was also noted for playing the lute, one of the few country singers who can make that distinction.
So, what about Bobby’s life after hits? Good question. Searching for information for this post, turned up largely fruitless, except for a signed picture that was being sold, online. Try to search Bobby Lewis, and the few returns you get will either involves some local singers, or the 1960′s R & B singer, who’s known for the hit “Tossing’ & Turning”.
Something rather unique happened in 1986, thanks to our next act. In the spring of that year, country radio stations were playing singles from not one, but two girl groups. How unique was this? Well, look back into the 1970′s, for the majority of that decade, the Statler Brothers, were pretty much it, except for a few Glaser Brother releases in the early part of the decade, then, of course, the Oak Ridge Boys came along in 1976, followed by Alabama in 1980. All men, no women to be found. That changed, though, in 1985, when the Forrester Sisters scored their first hit with “(That’s What You Do) When You’re In Love”. One year later, they were joined on the country playlists by a quartet known as the Girls Next Door. The group was made up of Doris King, Tammy Stephens, Cindy Nixon, and Diane Williams. King helped form the group in 1982, and by the end of 1985, they had landed a record deal with the MTM label. Their first single, “Love Will Get You Through Times Of No Money”, debuted in March, 1986, eventually reaching the country top fifteen. The follow-up was an up tempo number, “Slow Boat To China”. That would ultimately be their biggest hit, reaching number eight on the hit lists in the fall. Unfortunately, success was fleeting, and they would only score two more top forty hits, “Baby I Want It”, in late 1986 and “Walk Me In The Rain” in 1987. Both releases (in my opinion) deserved better than the mid-to-lower twenties placings they made on the charts. They would release a few more singles, of which 5 made minor chart appearances, before disbanding in 1991.
Now, if you would like the reacquaint yourself with these three acts, or else, experience them for the first time, good luck. My online search ran across a couple of used vinyl albums, each for Marion Worth and Bobby Lewis, as well as 2-3 used CD’s and cassettes for the Girls Next Door. Presently, there doesn’t appear to be anything new on the market for any of the three. So it will likely take some searching. Good luck, but I think you will find your effort to be worth it. And no, I’m not selling my copies.
Categories: Artists Tags: Bobby Lewis, From Heaven To Heartache, Girls Next Door, How Long Has It Been, Love Will Get You Through Times Of No Money, Marion Worth, Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry), Slow Boat To China, That's My Kind Of Love
This Week In History-1993
Do you remember sixteen years ago? 1993. I don't know about you, but to me, in many ways, it really doesn't seem that long ago. That is, until I start realizing all that has happened in that time. But I'm not going to get into that, instead, let's look back at this week in 1993, a week that was rather quiet, news-wise.
Categories: History Tags: 1993, Alabama, Bill Bixby, Garry Moore, Garth Brooks, James Brady, Leon Lett, Mark Chesnutt, Martina McBride, My Favorite Martian, Tanya Tucker, Thanksgiving, The Incredible Hulk, this week in history
3 Places Where I Railfanned…And A Few Others, Too.
Where is your favorite spot for railfanning? Or perhaps, that should read “spots”. Railfanning; it’s a great, fun, relaxing activity. Unfortunately, it’s something that I don’t get the opportunity to do like I once did, going out, camera in hand, and catching all the action along area rail lines. For those of us with an interest or fascination with the railroads, it can be a great way to spend an afternoon.
With that in mind, here are my all-time favorite locations for railfanning. In most cases, I haven’t been to these locations for a long time, so I can’t guarantee how good they are, now, but at the very least, at one time, they provided for some great rail action.
New Castle, Indiana. At one time, New Castle had the Nickel Plate, New York Central (Big 4), and Pennsylvania. Today, the Norfolk Southern comes to town. During the late 80′s and early 90′s, I found that the sidewalk along Broad Street was a great place to catch mainline action. In addition, along Broad Street, just a few hundred yards from the crossings, was a music store, that’s long since closed, but at the time, was a great place to pick up the latest tunes to use for DJ jobs I did on the side, as well as building a classic country collection for the show I did at the local station, early on Saturday mornings. At the time I regularly visited, Saturday mornings would be an especially busy time, with 2-3 trains coming through between 10am and noon. Back when I was regularly in New Castle, Conrail was still in existence, and would use NS rails from Muncie to come to New Castle and switch the steel factory that sat on a part of the old NYC line. There was also a short line that ran between the town and Connersville, Indiana, that mainly took box cars to a Ford (later Visteon) plant in Connersville. That plant has closed (though reportedly may re-open with new ownership), so I am guessing little or no traffic currently traverses this line.
Muncie, Indiana. Probably my favorite location. At one time (way before my time), Muncie would see the trains of the Nickel Plate, C & O, Pennsylvania, and New York Central, plus it had it’s own Muncie & Western. In addition to the aforementioned NS line, they also sit on the CSX double-tracked mainline between Indianapolis and Bellefontaine, OH. NS also has a branch that runs to Frankfort, IN, and a branch that runs to Portland, Indiana. Does anyone know if that line is still in use? Even when living in Indiana, I never saw a train on that line. But in Muncie, there is seemingly always freight passing through. The CSX line may be one of the most heavily used in the U. S.; certainly the midwest. I used to go into town, at a rail crossing, where the two lines crossed. It was a great spot, as were several other areas; including the Muncie Mall, which sits next to the NS line. Another spot where we used to go, as well, was just south of town, in the little community of Cowan, which provided a good view of the NS line, as well.
I mentioned the Muncie & Western, this line mainly served Ball (the canning jar people), but was all but gone, by the 1990′s. I was able to take some photos of the trackage, before it was pulled. I plan to post some of those photos on a future posting.
I haven’t been to Muncie for at least six or seven years, now, and haven’t been there to railfan, in at least a decade. But when I did visit, regularly, it was a place where I got many a good shot, mostly of Norfolk Southern, but also of what was then still Conrail, as well.
Vincennes, Indiana. I spent a couple of years in college, here, back in the 1980′s. During my time, I took a lot of photos of Chessie and Seaboard, there. This was about the time of the CSX merger, and when I was there, it was pretty much all Chessie equipment on the old B & O line from St. Louis to Cincinnati, while the Evansville-Chicago (former C & EI, later L & N), line was all Seaboard. Heavy traffic, especially on the Chessie line, which sat on the edge of the campus. There was also a small 3-track yard on the Chessie line, right with the interchange with Seaboard. And this all was sitting right next to our small college campus. I believe that the yard is gone, now, but the interchange still remains. As for traffic, I believe that at one time, the B & O line had seen a large traffic reduction, but as of right now, I do not know how heavily either line is used, though I would think the Evansville-Chicago route would surely still see significant traffic.
It’s worth noting, that at one time, the Pennsylvania and New York Central also came to town, but both lines were gone, well before I was there. I think either Conrail or Penn Central took out the Pennsy line, while NYC’s was gone before the PC merger. There is a bridge, southwest of town, though, that once carried NYC trains across the Wabash River into Illinois. It is still used (last I knew), to carry grain trucks for a local grain hauler. In fact, see last week’s post about the Wabash Cannon Ball, for a photo.
Those are the three locations that I spent the majority of my railfanning time. There have been a few other locations, as well, that I’ve spent a bit of time, as well. Having grown up near the small town of Rushville, Indiana, I was able to see a steady dose of Chessie/B & O/C & O equipment, on our visits to Rushville, which sits on CSX’s Indianapolis-Cincinnati line. Also during my youth, Rushville still hosted trains from the Norfolk & Western, via it’s branch from New Castle. I recall the track being in pretty poor shape, and the train usually averaged about 5-10 mph. Rushville would have been a great spot to view back in the 1950′s and before, though, as it once hosted not only the B & O line and the NW (Nickel Plate, at that time), but also the Pennsylvania branch from Columbus, Indiana, and New York Central’s (Big 4) line from St. Joseph’s, Michigan to Louisville. Today, only the B & O line remains, along with a short segment of the NKP branch, that ends at a grain elevator, north of town.
I got to visit Frankfort, Michigan, back in the early 1980′s, where the Ann Arbor had a ferry facility. That was a great sight, to see them loading and unloading rolling stock from the ships that traveled Lake Michigan. Within a couple of years of our visit, the operation had been shut down, so I feel very fortunate to have been able to see it, in it’s twilight.
Like all things, railroading changes with the times. Lines are expanded, lines are abandoned. Names and paint schemes change. But through it all, we continue to be fascinated with long lines of freight moving from one end of the country to the other. It’s a fascination that will forever live with us, as long as there are rails spiked to ties.
Categories: Railroad Tags: Ann Arbor, Big 4, C & EI, C & O, Chessie, Conrail, CSX, L & N, Muncie, Muncie & Western, New Castle, New York Central, Nickel Plate Road, Norfolk & Western, Norfolk Southern, Penn Central, Pennsylvania, Railfan, Rushville, Seaboard System, Vincennes
Saluting Loretta Lynn
The night before the CMA Awards, a couple of weeks ago, ABC-TV aired a Robin Roberts special, featuring several country music stars, mostly present and future. There was a link to the past, though, in the form of 74 year old legend, Loretta Lynn, who's granddaughter is now attempting to establish a career in country music.
Categories: Artists Tags: Coal Miner's Daughter, Conway Twitty, Fist City, Loretta Lynn, Rated X, The Pill, Van Lear Rose, Wilburn Brothers
