[VIDEO] So far Chicago has experienced one major cold snap this year. And I learned over the last few years that to keep Chicago's rail lines in operation that fire is used to keep the switches from freezing up in the winter time. You read this almost three year old article about this process from The Atlantic.
We see a track worker in Chicago starting this process in the wee hours of the morning. This was captured today on the Railstream YouTube channel. I think this scene took place on the tracks going through Chicago's west side.
[VIDEO] Why am I sharing this, because this is cool? Robinson Foundry starts off with the 3D printed model and then uses that model to create a mold to create a bronze metal measuring cube. I was already fascinating by such a contraption like this measuring cube.
Now when I'm ready to create an object with a 3D printer at least I know that I can make this. Of course I'm not quite ready to even work with metal as this man is.
[VIDEO] Simply Railway takes the 46 hour journey which used to go from as far east as Orlando, Florida all the way to Los Angeles. On this day he starts in New Orleans Union Station which was refurbished after hurricane Katrina in 2005. See the longer portion of the Sunset Limited was cut to originating in New Orleans due to Katrina in 2005.
So anyway he starts off in coach class then upgrades to sleeper when he gets to Houston, TX which is a major stop along the way. He did it this way because he found it was cheaper when he was booking his tickets. Since this is more than an overnight trip it's better to do ride in a sleeper than in a coach seat.
He makes another stop in San Antonio, Texas where the train connects with a section of the Texas Eagle. That train terminates in San Antonio however if you're originating from Chicago that is yet another connection to Los Angeles by train as opposed to taking the Southwest Chief.
I didn't know about the Prada Marfa installation in Texas. And then we see the action near the U.S./Mexico border as the train stops in El Paso, Texas. They we see some good shots of southern New Mexico and Arizona. Then arriving in L.A. in the wee hours of the morning.
The Sunset Limited was created by the Southern Pacific Railway in 1894 and inherited by Amtrak in 1971. The train only runs three days a week leaving New Orleans on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday while leaving Los Angeles on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The Texas Eagle departs from Chicago on a daily basis to San Antonio, however, a section of that train which are numbered 421 to L.A. and 422 to Chicago are attached to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and heads towards L.A. Of course that section doesn't operate daily so if you plan to make that trip you might want to be sure about scheduling. Perhaps you might want to spend a day in San Antonio before heading towards Los Angeles.
BTW, the total duration from Chicago to L.A. on the Texas Eagle via the Sunset Limited trains 1 westbound to L.A. and 2 eastbound to Chicago is over 65 hours. A long journey indeed....oh and yet another thought noted in the above video delays are an issue on Sunset Limited, Union Pacific owns the trains and their trains get priority so that means Amtrak has delays. It's one of the worst as far as on-time performance...
[VIDEO] I saw the film Casino over the holidays. It's a Martin Scorsese picture which basically is about the story surrounding the skim of Las Vegas casino's.
In this movie, a man by the name of Sam "Ace" Rothstein arrived on the scene to take control of the Tangiers Casino. The mob put some money behind this casino as illustrated during the course of this movie. After seemingly being concerned about his role or having a license Rothstein who's known as a bookmaker that specializes in betting, takes to his role in the casino with vigor.
Of course there would be no mob movie with members of the Mafia. We get treated to the criminal exploits of Nicky Santoro who was sent by the Midwestern Mafia crime syndicates to Las Vegas to look over their interests. He quickly forms a gang specializing in burglary, the like to cut holes in the targets of the burglaries. In real life as this film's basis this gang was known as the Hole in the Wall Gang.
Anyway the train wreck begins when Rothstein marries a beautiful hustler named Ginger McKenna. He woos her with money, however, it seems she has issues that money just won't be able to solve. We see the marriage of Rothstein and Ginger unravel as we head towards the end of the movie.
Then we see Santoro meet his demise as his counterpart does in real life. We see the life that Rothstein enjoyed also unravel as he is denied his license so he can run the fictional Tangiers due to his own ties to organized crime. And worse still he becomes the subject of a very explosive assassination attempt.
The mobsters who were profiting from the casino skim in Las Vegas well they go under the scrutiny of federal authorities. We find out that Las Vegas has become more of a family friend town which is no longer funded by the illicit activities of gangsters. Rothstein survives living in a home in California back to what he does best being an odds maker for sports betting.
I enjoy this movie because in real life a lot of the characters with Rothstein and Santoro were actually Chicago based. I learned that one of the consultants for this movie was a Chicago gangster - though not a "made man" - named Frank Cullotta who you might have seen in a few brief scenes in the movie as a mafia hitman. His character was represented by Frank Vincent - Mr. "Go get your shine box".
There are no specifics as far as which cities were involved with the skim. We know that this is primarily a Midwestern operation. Kansas City, Missouri is mentioned the most in this film though in real life Chicago and Milwaukee were noted as part of the casino skim in Las Vegas.
So basically the lights of Las Vegas is the most appealing part of this movie. Seeing a man grow into his role of running a casino being given the non-descript title of food and beverage manager. Then it all falls apart from the bedroom to the casino to even falling apart in front of the gaming commission. One scene was inspired by Lefty Frank Rosenthal (Ace Rothstein) and his confrontation of future U.S. Senator Harry Reid. And from the fallout with the mafia to ultimately a very explosive attempt on Rothstein's life just shows us the web that was tangled.
I can't wait for my next visit to Vegas which doesn't have as much organized crime influence as it might have in the 1970s. It's probably more family friendly relatively speaking, and if I wanted a blueberry muffin I hope chefs in casino kitchens use enough blueberries in each muffin. I probably won't be gambling, however, it would be cool to at least visit The Stardust which was one of the casinos that Lefty Rosenthal was charged with running at the behest of the Midwestern crime syndicates.
Beyond that it was great to finally see this movie again after so many years....
[VIDEO] I'm sorry I missed this last month. Remember seeing a post here about Amtrak opening a new train depot in Ft. Madison, Iowa it was over the past summer/fall perhaps August/September but then again it didn't open right away.
Last month the depot opened. And it's been cool to see trains finally stop there since Amtrak used to pass it up since I've been watching the webcam via Virtual Railfan. If you had been watching the webcam you might have seen them working to lay a new boarding platform for Amtrak passengers. Now you can see them get off to stretch their legs or then board or detrain.
BTW, this brief video afflicted with vertical video syndrome is my excuse to unveil my new railcam page which I constructed on another space featuring other webcams via Virtual Railfan along the route of Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Basically cams in Galesburg, Illinois; Ft. Madison, Iowa; LaPlata, Missouri; Santa Fe Junction in Kansas City, Missouri; Flagstaff, Arizona; Barstow, California; and along the Cajon Pass also in California.
Hope you enjoy and as an added convenience I found and posted a link to a Southwest Chief schedule online since Amtrak no longer publishes pdf files of schedules. You can go here before your trip to print a schedule that is very convenient for you. You can at least see where your train will stop and the exact schedule of your train.
[VIDEO] Wrestlelamia takes a look at this most unusual booking decision from last nite's Day 1 PPV. For starters earlier on Saturday Roman Reigns' tweet that he got coronavirus.
As an aside that's a bit scary since Reigns has an underlying condition. Remember a few years ago he had to drop the Universal Title because he had a recurrence of leukemia from which he returned in less than a years time. He went from being in a feud with Baron Corbin who smeared dog food on the Big Dog to being Head of the Table with a stable known as The Bloodline with his cousins SmackDown tag champs The Usos.
Anyway, Brock Lesnar was supposed to challenge Reigns for his Universal Title however this virus cancelled this match and a change of plans. As Lesnar to the four way match for the WWE Championship and challenge the champ Big E. Lesnar hit the F5 on Big E pinning him for the victory.
Wrestlelamia explores why Lesnar was booked to win the top title on Monday Nite Raw and also why it was a bad idea. Does this mean Lesnar will ultimately face Reigns when he's well enough to return to action? Does this mean the WWE title and the Universal title could be unified at some point? Does this mean that Lesnar will make appearances on both Raw and SmackDown in the absence of Reigns?
Another thing of note is the title reign of Big E. Some of the sources I follow don't consider his reign very memorable. Also Wrestlelamia questions of the booking of Big E being pinned by Lesnar to lose the title. The question here is whether or not this made Big E look weak since he's considered the muscle of the New Day faction.
Otherwise a pretty decent New Years' Day PPV with an unexpected ending as a result of an unexpected real life event....
BTW, forgot to add I like the prospect of finally seeing Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar. We got a taste of that during the fatal 5 way match. It's been said a match with Lesnar was one major point when Lashley returned to WWE. So perhaps Lesnar could drop the belt to the almighty before he faces Roman Reigns again. Time will tell however....
