And so it begins….

Pacific Paratrooper

11th Airborne Division on Leyte

22 November 1944, the 11th Airborne Division received orders to relieve the 7th Infantry Division along the Burauen-La Pag-Bugho line and destroy all enemy on their way and in that sector.  While the 77th and 32nd divisions converged on the valley, the 11th moved into the central mountain pass from the east.  During this time on Leyte, the 11th A/B was under the command of the Sixth Army.

24 November – General Swing, commander of the 11th Airborne Division, moved his HQ to San Pablo.  To protect the 5th Air Force HQ of Gen. Whitehead he moved the 674th and 675th Glider Artillery Battalions to the mission which instantly made them infantrymen.  Contact patrols went out from the 187th Regiment to keep abreast of the 7th Division’s movements.  Some would witness their first “banzai attack.”

Field Order Number 28 instructed them to continue through a very rough…

View original post 439 more words

Advertisement

New York Central’s Fall Brook Subdivision

PenneyVanderbilt

In 1873, the Blossburg and Corning Railroad and the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad were merged to form the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railway. Owned largely by the Fall Brook Coal Company, the CC&A was reorganized in 1892 as a part of the Fall Brook Railway, which, via three additional holdings, the Geneva and Lyons Railroad, the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railway, and the Pine Creek Railway, offered through passenger service between Lyons, New York, and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

In 1899 the Fall Brook Railway was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, which was in turn reorganized in 1914 as the New York Central Railroad. All ex-Fall Brook lines were operated as the Fall Brook Subdivision of Central’s Pennsylvania Division. The New York Central was succeeded in 1968 by the Penn Central Transportation Company, which was itself succeeded in 1976 by Conrail.

In 1988 Conrail ceased operation of…

View original post 111 more words

THE SYRACUSE JUNCTION RAILROAD COMPANY

PenneyVanderbilt

The New York Central entered the Carrier Corporation plant on what was still referred to in 1950 as the Syracuse Junction Railroad. The air conditioning unit being loaded was bound for the United Nations building being constructed in 1950.

Incorporated June 9, 1873. The road was built by The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company to take the two freight tracks of its four track system around the city of Syracuse and was opened November 16, 1874. It was leased to The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company April 10, 1875, as a legal formality, and on October 7, 1879, was absorbed under authority of law.

(Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight)

See more great short stories
https://penneyandkc.wordpress.com/a-collection-of-short-stories-about-railroads-book-two/

View original post

Climate change threatens to wash away couple’s history

OVERDOSING NEWS

       It was recently reported that seventy years ago, on this day, Wenceslaus and Denicia Billiot got married, and their wedding party revolved along a road that ran from one end of Isle de Jean Charles to the other. Today, that road is nearly gone. Isle de Jean Charles, located 80 miles from New Orleans, has been sinking slowly. Since 1955, it has lost 98% of its land mass to rising sea levels, devastating hurricanes, and the construction of oil and gas canals along the marsh. The most recent research shows that, if the current rate of global warming continues to increase, sea levels have the potential to rise more than three feet by the end of this century. This would mean that the end of Isle de Jean Charles. Today, only half a square mile of land remains above water level . Acknowledging the danger, the United States…

View original post 154 more words

Niagara River Bridge Company

The first Michigan Central Railway Bridge was located just South of the Whirlpool Bridge and was built for rail traffic only.

The Michigan Central Railway Bridge was the dream of owner/businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt needed a rail link between Canada and the USA, but was not prepared to pay the high rental price which the owners of the Lower Arch Bridge were asking for in lieu of using their bridge.

Mr. Vanderbilt owned the Michigan Central Railway and had controlling interest in the Canadian Southern Railway. In lieu of paying rent, he decided to build a new bridge. Vanderbilt formed the Niagara River Bridge Company and received a charter to build a new bridge.

From old bridge plaque:

1883
Niagara River Bridge Company
Cornelius Vanderbilt, President
James Tillingham, Vice-President

Built by
Central Bridge Works, Buffalo
Geo. S. Fields, Manager
C.V. W. Kitridge, Treasurer
Edmond Hayes, Engineer

Length of Bridge 906 feet
Work commenced April 15th, 1883
Completed December 1st, 1883

A new bridge was built in 1925.

Now owned by CP and CN

See more short stories

https://penneyandkc.wordpress.com/a-collection-of-short-stories-about-railroads-book-one/

 

How to Be a Morning Person in 5 Ways

How To Get Things Done in 10 Ways

GOOD MORNING!

And then you look at those people and think, “What the hell is wrong with you? I need a moment to wake up.” Unfortunately, I am a morning person. I’mthat person. Although, my pet peeve is when people look at you and say, “You’re not a morning person are you?” And then I’m like I am a morning person, even though my face takes a lot longer to wake up. Yeesh.

But I love sleeping in too. But I love getting up early and getting the day started that much sooner! So these are my tips for getting closer to beingthatmorning person!

1. Set your alarm(s)

This is kind of silly, but I set my alarm for 4:30 am, but really don’t get up until 5:10 am. It is almost like a mind game when you’re like ugh, time to get up, oh wait, I…

View original post 411 more words