Railyard Productions “Cuba” Last Days of Steam International Tour February 2017
Railyard Productions Railfan tour to visit heritage railroads, sugar mills and other points of interest. Join us as we take a step back in time and catch a fading glimpse of 1950s Cuba. See classic 1950s and older American automobiles, Operating American and European locomotives and others from around the world. Join us as we visit tourist railroads running Steam and early Diesel. And then of course there is the beautiful Cuban countryside, Historic architecture and awesome beaches. sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.
Arrive in Cuba on January 31st depart Cuba February 9th 2017.
UPDATE: The Cuba Railfan Trip will take place in February 2017. Contact us soon if your interested in joining.
Please Note Cuba is constantly changing. Railyard Productions can make no guarantee on what locomotives we will see or what trains will be running. While steam is no longer used in regular service we will be visiting Railroad Museums and Tourist Railroads.
Work on a Locomotive! Our next work date will be in July. Date not yet determined.
We are Looking for volunteers to join Railyard Productions for a work date of Sunday May 15th 9:00Am to 6:00PM 2800 College Dr, Sidney, MI 48885 to spruce Up Grand Trunk 7456. The locomotive is on the grounds of Heritage Village in Sidney Mi. Plans are to install the two drive rods and The Steam/Sand Domes if we have enough time.
Hopefully we can work on this project several times throughout the summer. Maybe even getting a new coat of paint on her. Heritage Village has a festival each year in August so it would be nice to get much of this work done before August. Contact Me for more info.
Thank you,
Robert Teed
Railyard Productions
A little info regarding the star attraction:
CN O-18-a is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives formerly owned by Canadian National Railways. They were switchers built by the Grand Trunk Railway‘s Point St. Charles Shops. Canadian National used the letter O to designate 0-6-0s.
The Grand Trunk Railway built 50 of these locomotives between 1919 and 1921 and designated them F9 Class. The GTR also had 25 more built in 1920 by the Lima Locomotive Works for use in the United States. In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway was absorbed by the Canadian National Railways. CN classified the homebuilt locomotives O-18-a and the Lima-built F9s became GTW O-18-b class.
The O-18-a locomotives were numbered 1749–1798 by the Grand Trunk, and were renumbered as 7423–7473 by the Canadian National. They operated right up until dieselisation.
Upon retirement, 47 of the 50 locomotives were scrapped, but three were sold. CN 7439 (GTR 1764) was sold to International Harvester in 1958, but was scrapped only three years later in 1961. Canadian National 7456 (GTR 1781) and Canadian National 7470 (GTR 1795) were sold to Canada and Dominion Sugar (Chatham, Ontario) in 1959. Two survive to the present. (7470, and 7456)
O-18-a number 7456 is at Montcalm Community College as a display locomotive, while number 7470 resides at the Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire and is currently unoperational due to its federally mandated inspection for the next two years.
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Email
Robert Teed – Railyard Productions – 5142 Ann dr – Bath Mi 48808- 517-648-0628
I have posted videos on Youtube for those of you who are interested. Railyard Productions on Youtube.
CLARA’s Lansing Station CLOSING!
Clara’s Lansing Station will officially close on June 26th.
Dining:
If you are staying near Lansing we recommend: Clara’s Lansing Station
Clara’s is set in the old ”Union Depot” which began passenger service for the Michigan Central and Pere Marquette Railroads in 1902. Fabulous architectural setting, great food (huge menu) and service, and you can choose to eat in a real Pullman dining car, and indeed watch trains glide by you on adjacent track.
Clara’s Lansing Station
Address: 637 E Michigan Ave, Lansing, MI 48912 Phone:(517) 372-7120 Hours: Monday 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
If you need lodging plan on staying in Okemos or Flint. There may be some rooms in Owosso or Durand but we know that Hotels/Motels fill up fast.
Durand is about 12 miles from Owosso.
Okemos about 30 miles and Flint about 32 miles.
The Real Polar Express. The PM 1225 in 2009 with Polar Express logo
Fun Fact: The “REAL” Polar Express. The Pere Marquette 1225’s blueprints were the prototype for the locomotive image, and its sounds were used in the 2004 film The Polar Express. The film was based on the Caldecott Medal winning book of the same name. The children’s book was written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, who grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and as a child attended every home football game at Michigan State, next to which this engine was on static display.
