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Post by Nutzkie on Apr 30, 2007 12:58:40 GMT -5
Funny thing about the Jones wreck, though... There's just so many things involved that don't make any sense to me. The only known authentic photograph of JonesThe whole mess started late in the evening of April 29th, when Jones and his fireman Sim Webb, got the call to work locomotive # 382 on a southbound run of train # 1, the New Orleans Special. This was the Illinois Central Railroad's premier first-class passenger train, affectionately known to employees by its nickname, "The Cannonball." Unfortunately, on this particular night the Cannonball was running over an hour-and-a-half late, and Jones was asked to make up the time. This, of course, necessitated breaking more than a few speed limits. Now such loose operating protocols were nothing new to the engineers of the time. The locomotives they operated represented the pinnacle of what technology and the industrial revolution had been able to accomplish, and this conferred upon them a social status equivalent to that of modern-day fighter jocks. They were seen as supermen, living on the edge, pushing the envelope. If the movie "Top Gun" had been made a century before, then Tom Cruise would have been playing the role of a locomotive engineer. Starting out from Memphis, Tennessee at 12:50 AM, exactly one hour and thirty-five minutes late by the schedule, Jones threw # 382 down into the corner, (a railroad term for going full-throttle), and was off to the races, eying an on-time arrival at his destination of Canton, Mississippi, where he would hand the train off to another crew. Everything was running smoothly until they arrived into Vaughan, Mississippi. Vaughan StationThere was traffic-jam of sorts at Vaughan that night, and space was tight. Trains # 72 and # 83, (both long freights), were too long to fit into Vaughan's passing track, or siding, as it is known in the industry. Consequently the two trains were forced to alternately pull forward and back-up to clear one end of the siding at a time, allowing shorter trains the ability to pass. (This is a practice in railroading known as "Sawing the Switch.") Things started to go wrong when # 72 split an air hose coupling, sending its brakes into emergency application mode, and leaving # 83 trapped with its tail-end still sticking out onto the main line. While repairs were made, a brakeman was dispatched to the rear of the train to protect against the approach of any incoming traffic. The brakeman from # 83 walked back up the main line for about a mile and placed two torpedoes on the railhead. (Railroad torpedoes are small, paper packets filled with gun powder. When a train runs over it, the compression detonates the powder, resulting in a large bang. It's not enough to damage anything, but it gets the crew's attention.) He then stood by with a red lantern, just in case. As Casey approached Vaughan, he was forced to negotiate a right-hand "S-curve." This is a major factor in the wreck, as it placed Casey on the opposite side of the engine from the upcoming trouble. His view of the tracks ahead was effectively blocked by the boiler in front of him. Further compounding the sitch was the fact that the noise and vibrations of his excessive speed completely drowned out the report of the torpedoes, causing him to continue at full speed, unaware of the danger just in front of him. It was Webb who first saw the brakeman's lantern and alerted Casey. Jones immediately chopped throttle and threw the brakes into emergency. He then told Webb to jump, which he did, suffering a broken leg in the process. Moments later, # 382 smashed into the caboose of # 83, splintering the wooden car into kindling. The locomotive impaled itself through two more cars before derailing and rolling over into the ditch along the right-side of the tracks, spinning 180 degrees to face back north in the process. Here are my problems with this story:First of all, why the excessive speed? While Casey was certainly late when starting his run, he managed to make that time up along the way. Fourteen miles north of Vaughan lies the town of Goodman, Mississippi, where The Cannonball was scheduled to meet train # 2, its northbound counterpart. According to official company records, Casey made that meet, indicating he was on the advertised time. There was no need to keep the hammer down at this point, yet Casey continued to pour on the speed, racing off into the Mississippi night, toward a date with infamy. Secondly, why didn't he jump? Once he had closed the throttle and applied the brakes, there was nothing more he could do. It was up to the laws of physics at this point, rendering him just another passenger while the forces of friction and inertia determined where and when the train would ultimately stop. Like Webb, he probably would have been injured in the fall, but he would have survived. (...And been sooooooo fired as a result, no doubt.) Finally, my biggest peeve in this whole sitch is the song: It's full of crap! Casey was not instantly scalded to death by live steam, as claimed by the lyrics, because # 382's boiler did not rupture during the collision. A piece of shrapnel, (probably a rivet from the backhead), caught him in his throat, lacerating his corated artery. He was found alive in the wreckage and was carried over to the station, where crew members laid him on the station's baggage cart to await the arrival of a doctor. Casey bled to death before the doctor arrived.
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Post by Ashley Benlove on Apr 30, 2007 13:05:53 GMT -5
He could have been kept alive by them putting their fingers on his corated artery, I believe. I think Evelyn in Pearl Harbor (the movie) did that during the climax of the movie.
1006 - Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus. 1789 - On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States. 1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling – overnight – the size of the young nation. 1812 - The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana. 1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor. 1945 - Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. 1966 - The Church of Satan is founded. 1993 - The World Wide Web was born at CERN. 2007 - Last ever day where it is legal to smoke in a public building in Northern Ireland (Yes, ban ALL SMOKING! YES!)
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Post by Nutzkie on May 6, 2007 0:10:21 GMT -5
May 6th...On this day in 1937: (70 years ago today) The airship Hindenburg, (LZ-129), crashes and burns while on final approach to the airfield at Lakehurst, New Jersey, claiming 36 lives in the process. One of the most famous audio clips in history is recorded by NBC Radio reporter Herb Morison at this time, as he broadcasts an emotional first-hand account of the inferno unfolding before him. The Hindenburg on final approach to Lakehurst: Now just moments away from disaster. Tragedy strikes at 7:25 PM in gas cell # 4. A rough composite I put together in photoshop from two pages of a book. Here, members of the Lakehurst ground crew can be seen at their stations in the mooring mast, silhouetted against the white-hot flames of the burning airship. A dramatic plunge by the stern as the great ship settles in. An unidentified passenger is treated for facial burns at the scene. By the standards of the day, this would qualify as a minor injury. Four individuals, including the ship's first officer, Albert Sammt, (second from right), support one another as they stumble to safety. A more extensively injured survivor is escorted from the wreckage by two Navy personnel who were on hand to assist with the landing. Thirty-two seconds after the fire started, the calamity is over, leaving little more than skeletal remains to mark the greatest airship to ever take to the skies.
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Post by Ashley Benlove on May 6, 2007 12:14:48 GMT -5
Do you know where this audio clip is? (Edit: Never mind I'll look)
1536 - King Henry VIII orders translated Bibles be placed in every church. 1682 - Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles. 1861 - American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union. 1889 - The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris. 1994 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel. 2001 - During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
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Post by Nutzkie on May 6, 2007 23:31:58 GMT -5
Do you know where this audio clip is? www.signalalpha.com/html/historical_audio___video.htmlThere's several clips listed in chronological order. Scroll down until you see May 6, 1937, then click on one of the links. There's a couple of different versions posted here. Version two is the one that worked for me. Moving on to May 7th...On this day in 1915: The Cunard liner Lusitania is torpedoed and sunk by the Nacospeak submarine U-20 off the Old Head of Kinsale, claiming 1,198 lives and helping to draw the United States into the First World War. Bears a striking resemblance to the Titanic, doesn't she? Which is which?
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Post by Kayleigh on May 7, 2007 5:57:30 GMT -5
^The bottom one is the Titanic, the upper one is the Lusitania.
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Post by Ashley Benlove on May 7, 2007 7:36:58 GMT -5
Dear Lord, Kayleigh, please tell me that you weren't a Titanic junkie before HSM!
1429 - Joan of Arc ends the Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning wounded to lead the final charge. The victory marks a turning point in the Hundred Years' War. (I always loved her) 1664 - Louis XIV of France inaugurates The Palace of Versailles. (How?) 1697 - Stockholm's royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed in a huge fire (in the 18th century, it is replaced with the current Royal Palace). 1824 - World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. Work was conducted by Michael Umlauf, under the deaf composer's supervision. 1948 - The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress. 1992 - Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise. 1992 - Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its maiden voyage (STS-49). 1999 - Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope that had visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054. 2006 - Rolling Stone magazine publishes its 1000th issue.
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Post by eclogite on May 7, 2007 8:26:38 GMT -5
Do you know where this audio clip is? .... Moving on to May 7th...On this day in 1915: The Cunard liner Lusitania is torpedoed and sunk by the Nacospeak submarine U-20 off the Old Head of Kinsale, claiming 1,198 lives and helping to draw the United States into the First World War. ... Bears a striking resemblance to the Titanic, doesn't she? Lusitania and Mauritiania were originally built to compete with the Olympic class ships (Olympic, Titanic and Britannic) using the same technology. Mauritania lasted long enough to be scrapped in the 30s, as did Olympic, Britannic was sunk by a mine in the Dardanelles in 1916 and Titanic has been sunk repeatidly since her original sinking in 1912. Interestingly the technology in Lusitania and Mauritania was more advanced than were the Olympics in that they featured turbine propulsion instead of the older reciprocating steam engineering plant.
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Post by Nutzkie on May 7, 2007 11:15:53 GMT -5
Lusitania and Mauritiania were originally built to compete with the Olympic class ships (Olympic, Titanic and Britannic) using the same technology. Mauritania lasted long enough to be scrapped in the 30s, as did Olympic, Britannic was sunk by a mine in the Dardanelles in 1916 and Titanic has been sunk repeatidly since her original sinking in 1912. Interestingly the technology in Lusitania and Mauritania was more advanced than were the Olympics in that they featured turbine propulsion instead of the older reciprocating steam engineering plant. Correct. Britannic went down off of Kea Island on the morning of November 21, 1916: The probable victim of a mine laid by the submarine U-73. It is worth mentioning, however, that White Star's Olympic-class ships were equipped with turbine propulsion. The central No. 2 engine was a steam turbine, which operated off exhaust steam from the two larger reciprocating engines that were mounted to either side. June 7, 1906: The Launch of the Lusitania. Note the traditional "four-screw" configuration. Titanic under construction: The smaller, (16' 6"), four-bladed prop in the center was powered by a Parsons low-pressure turbine. The larger, (23' 6"), three-bladed outboard props were driven by triple-expansion reciprocating engines. Together, these three engines combined to produce over 50,000 horsepower. The end result of all this technology.
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Post by eclogite on May 7, 2007 12:57:21 GMT -5
True, but it was a low pressure turbine, effectivley just scavenging steam. The primary plants, at the HP and MP end, were reciprocaing engines. Lose a lot of energy to moving all the connecting rods and the pistons. Granted, the Liberty and Victory ships of WWII were also reciprocating but that was more a function of cost and anticipated service life than anything else.
I hven't got any pictures handy but LP pistons are enormous, so using an LP turbine in their stead makes some sense. I've seen these engines on the USS Texas and the LP pistons are pretty amazing, the things are on the order of twelve feet across.
That five ships of similar design but different technology were built roughly simultaneously is unsurprising. The period from 1898 to 1925 was for naval technology not unlike the 1950s and 60s for aircraft, things were changing at an astounding pace.
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Post by Nutzkie on May 7, 2007 13:03:45 GMT -5
Too true...
I've been in the engine room of the S.S. Jeramiah O'Brian, a restored liberty ship on display in San Francisco, and the LP cylinder was truly enormous.
Incidentally, the "Jerry O" was used by James Cameron to film the engine room scenes in Titanic.
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Post by Kayleigh on May 7, 2007 20:38:30 GMT -5
Dear Lord, Kayleigh, please tell me that you weren't a Titanic junkie before HSM! Oh Lord no, but spending almost 5 weeks researching it for your English class can do that to you. Hehe.
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Post by Nutzkie on May 7, 2007 22:37:27 GMT -5
Dear Lord, Kayleigh, please tell me that you weren't a Titanic junkie before HSM! Oh Lord no, but spending almost 5 weeks researching it for your English class can do that to you. Hehe. Okay, let's see how much you learned then... What were her dimensions? (Length, width, height, gross tonnage, etc.) And what was the name originally selected by James Bruce Ismay as the name for the third ship in the Olympic class? (It was changed to Britannic shortly after the Titanic's sinking.) (I'm a mean little history buff, aren't I? ) Moving on now to May 8th...On this date in 1902: On the Caribbean island of Martinique, Mount Pelee erupts in the early-morning hours, destroying the town of Saint Pierre and killing an estimated 29,000 people. The only survivor is a convict who was shielded from the blast by the heavy walls of his basement cell. Ironically, he had been scheduled for execution later that afternoon.
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Post by Kayleigh on May 8, 2007 15:01:24 GMT -5
Oh Lord no, but spending almost 5 weeks researching it for your English class can do that to you. Hehe. Okay, let's see how much you learned then... What were her dimensions? (Length, width, height, gross tonnage, etc.) And what was the name originally selected by James Bruce Ismay as the name for the third ship in the Olympic class? (It was changed to Britannic shortly after the Titanic's sinking.) Hmm... the length was about 900 feet (or three football fields as we were told... )? Heighth... 60 feet from water to the deck. The third ship was the Gigantic, correct? As for the tonnage and width, I'm not sure.
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Post by Ashley Benlove on May 8, 2007 15:15:20 GMT -5
1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo. 1794 - Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined all on one day in Paris. 1821 - Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia. 1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto – Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war. 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed 1945 - World War II: VE Day. Nacospeak forces agree to an unconditional surrender. 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
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Post by Nutzkie on May 9, 2007 0:12:06 GMT -5
Hmm... the length was about 900 feet (or three football fields as we were told... )? Heighth... 60 feet from water to the deck. The third ship was the Gigantic, correct? As for the tonnage and width, I'm not sure. Very close on the dimensional data. The vitals are as folows: Length: 882' 9" Beam: 92' 6" Height: 63' (water line to boat deck) Draught: 34' 7" Gross Tonnage: 46,328 GRT Displacement: 52,310 Long Tons Current Location: 41 degrees, 43 minutes, 32 seconds north lattitude 49 degrees, 56 minutes, 49 seconds west longitude"Gigantic" is correct. This was changed shortly after Titanic's loss, as management at the White Star Lines realized that the whole ego-centric name game wasn't going to play to well in the public arena any more.
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Post by Ashley Benlove on May 9, 2007 7:53:29 GMT -5
1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final journey to the "New World". 1671 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. 1868 - The city of Reno, Nevada, is founded. 1901 - Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne. 1926 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of his diary seems to indicate that this did not happen). 1950 - L. Ron Hubbard publishes his book on Dianetics, entitled "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. 1960 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves sale of the birth control pill. (Booyah!) 1970 - Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters peacefully demonstrate behind a barricaded White House. 1974 - Watergate Scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon. 1980 - The first meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury takes place in Ghana. (Why the hell in Ghana?) 2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is selected as the successor of Pope John Paul II.
Births: 1874 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (d. 1939) (DISCOVERED KING TUT'S TOMB!) 1918 - Mike Wallace, American journalist
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Post by Nutzkie on May 10, 2007 0:53:34 GMT -5
May 10th...On this date in 1869: America's first trans-continental railroad is completed at Promitory Summit, Utah. Leland Stanford and Thomas Durant mark the occasion by driving a ceremonial gold spike. More information can be found here: www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/40/hh40toc.htm
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Post by Ashley Benlove on May 10, 2007 7:26:54 GMT -5
1291 - Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. (he was the jerkoff who killed William Wallace, but he's one of my favorite Monarchs for some reason) 1503 - Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there. (Oooh... Tortuga...) 1774 - Louis XVI becomes King of France. 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Fort Ticonderoga is taken by a small force led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold. 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the 13 colonies of the United States meet in Philadelphia and raise the Continental Army to defend the new republic. They place it under command of George Washington of Virginia. 1865 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia. 1872 - Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States. (Good job, jolly good! She got a thousand votes, I believe) 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remains so until his death in 1972. 1933 - Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings. 1940 - World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 1994 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president. 2003 - Record shattering tornado activity during the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence. 2005 - A hand grenade allegedly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 65 feet(20 meters) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate. 2007 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair announces his June resignation after ten years in office.
Births: 1838 - John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865) 1899 - Fred Astaire, American dancer and actor (d. 1987) 1955 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon 1960 - Bono, Irish singer (U2) 1963 - Lisa Nowak, American astronaut 1965 - Linda Evangelista, Canadian supermodel (this one is worth noting because... CANADA HAS SUPERMODELS?!) 1978 - Kenan Thompson, American actor
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Post by Nutzkie on May 18, 2007 0:36:14 GMT -5
May 18th...On this date in 1980: At 8:32 AM, in upstate Washington, Mount Saint Helens erupts with a force equivalent to 432,000,000 tons of TNT. Roughly speaking, that's the same as 27,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!
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