Today's Train of Thought- Rocket's Red Glare, July 4, 2012

According to Kamblach Publishing's American Shortline Railway Guide, northern Delaware's Wilmington & Western operates freight service over their 10-mile line in northern Delaware with brick and lumber making up most of the traffic. Of course, that was the 1996 edition- the last time they bothered publishing one on paper.

The guide also mentions that the W&W also hosts year round excursions powered by steam, diesel or a restored Pennsylvania 'Doodlebug'- a quick check of their website confirms that they still do. In fact, I'm guessing the excusrions are their bread and butter.

Built in 1873, the Wilmington & Western and its line through northern Delaware's Red Clay Valley was absorbed by the Baltimore & Ohio about a decade later. It remained in the B&O fold for nearly a century until CSX predecessor Chessie System sold the remnants of line off to Historic Red Clay Valley, Inc. who had been leasing the line for weekend excursions since the laet 1960s. The line has seen its share of adversity since 1999, getting struck by floods from Hurricane Floyd in '99 and Tropical Storm Henri in '03. The latter wiped out a number of bridges along the line, shortening the W&W from 10 miles to less than 2. However, by June 2007, the W&W had managed to re-open the entire line.

In addition to a pair of 1940-built EMD SW1s, the W&W also features a trio of steam locomotives; an 0-6-0 Baldwin switcher, an ALCo 4-4-0 American and a Canadian Locomotive Works 2-6-0 Mogul.

Built in 1907, the little Baldwin switcher saw service with the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad, the US Army, and Virginia's Blue Ridge Railway before going on static display at the nearby Avondale, PA Railroad Center before being donated to the W&W in 1997 with the stipulation that she be restored to working order. Renumbered by the W&W to #58 and dubbed the 'Veteran's Locomotive' after her Army service, the little Baldwin switcher was steaming up and down the Red Clay valley in about a year's time.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Christopher Blaszczyk caught the #58 cooling down at Hockessin, DEafter spending July 4, 2010 hauling passengers on the W&W. Onlookers in the background can be seen watching fireworks that, from this angle, look like they were launched out of the #58's smokestack.

Electric Car Company Building Vehicles in Finland After Obtaining US Gov't Loan From Obama Administration

The Obama Administration and Department of Energy are defending a $529 Million loan to Anaheim, CA-based electric car manufacturer Fisker after a report from ABC News on Thursday highlighted the fact that two years ago, the Administration approved the company shifting production overseas to Finland.

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the company's manufacturing jobs are still limited to the assembly of the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car in Finland.

"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here."

Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.

The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley.

Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio.

A department of Energy spokesman defended the loan to Fisker, saying that the company also plans on producing a $50,000 hybrid called the Nina at a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware.

"The Department's funding was only used for the U.S. operations," Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow wrote. "The money could not be, and was not, spent on overseas operations. The Karma also relies on an extensive network of hundreds of suppliers in more than a dozen U.S. states."

He said the first part of the loan, $169 million, supported engineering work at Fisker's U.S. facilities as the company "developed the tools, equipment and manufacturing processes for Fisker's first vehicle" -- though that work so far has not contributed to a production line in the U.S.

But Leistikow said the rest of the loan is still supporting U.S. production of another vehicle line called the Nina.

"Fisker is using this funding to bring a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware back to life and employing more than 2,500 workers. Fisker was attracted to this site in part by the opportunity to rehire some of the trained, dedicated workers who lost their jobs when that plant closed," Leistikow said.

However, industry sources are claiming that Fisker's production of the Nina at the Delaware site has been pushed back to mid-2013. Fisker claims that the car has been designed and built, but remains under wraps to maintain a competitive edge.

Moreover, according to a recent Forbes article, once off its electric motor (reportedly good for 32 miles) the Fisker's Karma hybrid actually gets worse gas mileage than a late model Ford Explorer SUV

Does anybody else remember the various factory and workshop tours that President Obama embarked upon during 'Recovery Summer' last year? All of them seemed to pivot around so called 'Green Jobs'- factories that made electric vehicle components, solar panels or batteries for hybrids. And it seems that this wasn't really by accident, either.

As the World Weiner Turns Roasts; A Weiner Bun in the Oven? Delaware Police Interview Underage Girl in Contact w/Congressman

Well, it's been quite the week for New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, the Democrat representing the 9th Congressional district that includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

After his bizarre press conference in which he was upstaged by conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart before confessing to sending sexually explicit texts and pictures to followers on social networking sites on Monday, it was learned that his wife of 10 months, Huma Abedin, is pregnant [she was also noticeably absent from the press conference as well- NANESB!].

There have been bipartisan calls for the disgraced Queens congressman to step down, and news of Huma's pregnancy would give the shrill congressman the opportunity to resign and honestly (for a change) cite family concerns, but Weiner had indicated he intends to ride this scandal out.

Also during Monday's press conference was a reporter asking whether or not Weiner was in communication with any underage girls. Instead of a categorical denial, Weiner curiously gave an answer along the lines of 'Not to the best of my knowledge'. Among the known recipients of Weiner's 'sexts' [including some reportedly unsolicited images] include porn starlet Ginger Lee, a 26 year old single mother in Texas, 21- year old Seattle college student Genette Nicole Cordova and 40 year old Las Vegas blackjack dealer Lisa Weiss.

Now, a review of some of Weiner's communications that were made public (along with some of his followers) seems to indicate that he was in contact with underage girls via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and possible talking dirty to them as well.

At first glance, this has all the makings of some ribald and salacious tabloid gossip, but it's apparently being taken seriously by police in New Castle, DE where two officers from the New Castle County police department appeared at the home of a 17 year old High School Junior to interview her regarding direct online communications she had with Rep. Weiner.

Sources close the student said the girl followed Weiner on Twitter after seeing him speak during a school trip to Washington on April 1. Weiner, after signing on to follow the girl's Twitter feed, direct-messaged the girl on April 13, the sources said, though it is not clear what other communication the two may have had between or after those dates.

A Fox News reporter was at the girl's home when police arrived. The girls name hasn't been released yet due to her being a minor.

[Hat tip- Ace of Spades; Patterico's Pontifications]

Not Another New England Sports Blog! Presents the Gawker-Friendly October Surprise Press Kit

In the wake of the apparent Gawker fiasco involving an alleged one night stand with Delaware Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell by an anonymous author, I though I'd offer a press kit for future 'October surprises' centering around two consenting adults who may or may not have had sex (but probably not in the instance Gawker has highlighted).....particularly if the candidate is a fairly attractive woman running for office as a Republican.

Just use this template for future press releases or disclosures to the tabloid and watch the attention you've so desperately been whoring for come crashing in like a tidal wave:

Dear [insert publication or website name here] ________________:

I never thought it could happen to a guy like me. This took place a few years ago when I was a

[] Superbowl MVP Quarterback

[] Army Force Recon SAS Ranger SEAL Commando

[] Secret Agent Billionaire Cowboy

[] Deadbeat College Student.

It was Halloween and I had been pounding

[] Jello Shooters

[] Budweiser

[] Black Tar Heroin

[] Absinthe poured into an upside down bowler hat

all afternoon when in walked my roomate's girlfriend's cousin's sister's best friend and her classmates. I could tell they all wanted me so bad, but I was all like "Yeah, whatever" as I looked up from the

[] XBox

[] Nintendo 64

[] Laser Tag

[] Gaming platform yet to be invented.

I've gotten used to it with this cursed animal magnetism of mine totally drawing the shorties to me like a moth to flame. But still, it get's annoying after awhile, and one look from my steely azure eyes let them know that I was so not interested.

But this one chick wouldn't take the hint. For her Halloween costume, she was dressed up like

[] A Ladybug

[] A Maid

[] A Bellydancer

[] That Asian Dominatrix I pay to strangle me every week.

It was a good look for her, but she threw off this sort of desperate and clingy vibe that made me uneasy. Plus I couldn't help but shake the feeling that she would some day be in the running for

[] Congress

[] US Senate

[] Governor

[] America's Top Model

on a number of issues that made this 100% red blooded and heterosexual all American ladykiller who isn't afraid to show his sensitive side more than a little nervous. At this point she asked me if she could change right there and before I could even respond, her costume was already in a heap on the floor and [sordid details redacted] _____________________________.

[insert ambiguous and unverifiable boast about your unmatched sexual prowess over hapless, naked, mousy future political candidate here _______________________.]

Then she got all clingy and would like e-mail me and text me every month and be all "The restraining order says 50 feet- why is that so hard for you to understand?" "Hey- do you wanna hang out?". This chick would seriously not leave me alone, but being well versed in the art of seducing women I had absolutely no interest in, I was used to it. I didn't give it too much though at the time until just recently when I was watching TV and saw footage of

[] Christine O'Donnell

[] Nikki Haley

[] Yulia Tymoshenko

[] Lousie Slaughter

and I was like "Oh my god! That's so totally the chick that wouldn't leave me alone!". I mean..... "That's so totally one of the many chicks who won't leave me alone because I'm so awesome in the sack that I always leave them panting for more".

Why am I writing this, you may ask? Some of you out there might think I did it for the six figure check [insert name of publication or website______] cut me while others might think this anonymous, one-sided version of events is simply self serving bragging about one-night stands to compensate for experimenting with my bunkmate at the all-boys sleepaway camp advertise my Lothario-like charms and unmatched allure to all the chicks out there. To that, all I can say is 'shame on you'.

No, my pure and unselfish reasons for doing this are to warn you of the consequences of voting for somebody I totally did.

Well...OK, technically I didn't 'do' her, but she was like right there in front of me, and her being in the same room as me is clearly an indication of her longing for an unforgettable carnal encounter with yours truly, and she probably knew I was going to ditch her anyways.

So in closing, don't forget to vote for

[] Chris Coons

[] Vincent Sheheen

[] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

[] Keyser Soze

on November 2nd.

-Sincerely

Anonymous dude who's totally awesome in bed

Small Wonder: Longshot Tea Party Candidate Upsets Incumbent Congressman in Delaware Senate Primary.

Giggty....I could caucus with that all night!

Yesterday was pretty much the big wrap-up for primary elections across the country, with voters heading to the polls in Massachusetts, Washington DC, New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Delaware.

The biggest news from Tuesday night's primaries came from the 2nd smallest state in the union, where upstart Christine O'Donnell defeated former governor and nine-term Congressman Mike Castle in Delaware's Republican primary for Vice President Joe Biden's vacant senate seat.

The result immediately created a schism between GOP Leadership and the Tea Party, who's candidates have defeated other Republican candidates seen as favorites by the GOP establishment at earlier Senate primaries in Nevada, Alaska and Kentucky. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (who were heavily invested in Castle) had to walk back an earlier report that they would not provide any financial support to O'Donnell's campaign on Wednesday. For now, it appears as though Castle has picked up his toys and left in a huff, refusing to endorse his primary opponent after launching a series of attacks against O'Donnell immediately before the Primary. Keep in mind this is the same NRSC that supported such stalwart and loyal conservatives like Charlie Crist, Jim Jeffords and Arlen Specter.

Personally, I figured a fairly dark blue state like Delaware would pick the more liberal/moderate/RINO-ey/whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-it Castle to represent them in the Senate, so I was a little surprised. And as far as I know, the state of Delaware doesn't have an open primary, so it's not as though Democrats and liberals were trying to derail Castle's campaign by showing up en masse to vote for his primary opponent.

Unlike Carl Rove, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over this. Castle was one of eight Republicans who voted for the onerous, job-killing cap and trade bill in Congress. If a Congresscritter voted for cap and trade, odds are I wouldn't cross the street to piss on them if they were on fire- unless I could magically piss some sort of flammable liquid [gotta watch out for that splashback tho', NANESB!].

The conventional wisdom was that if Castle lost, the state would automatically go deep, dark blue. However, the more I find out about New Castle County commissioner and self-proclaimed bearded Marxist Chris Coons (the Dem candidate for the Senate seat), the less convinced I am this seat will automatically go to the Dems. Apparently Coons nearly bankrupted New Castle County in his 5 years as Commissioner as well, but is branding himself a fiscal conservative for Halloween this election.

Having said that, I know just as much about O'Donnell herself. Right before the primary, Castle saw it fit to bring up a civil suit in which she was a plaintiff and her falling behind on mortgage payments recently. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, but I had my doubts about how much weight those endorsements would carry in Biden country.

[New Castle County is the northernmost county in Delaware and includes Delaware's largest city, Wilmington, as well as Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and I-95 in its boundaries- NANESB].

So right now, I think the big takeaway from all this is that not even incumbent Republican seats are safe from the rising tide of anti-incumbent sentiment. Let's also keep in mind that the increasingly influential Tea Party doesn't have the monopoly on anti-incumbent fever. It remains to be seen whether or not O'Donnell can gain any traction after her primary win or if in 50 days people will be having a conversation on whether or not it was better for the GOP and conservatives to have lost a blue state with a more conservative candidate or won it with a very liberal Republican congressman.

Today's Train of Thought: Small Wonder- July 28, 2010

Today's train of Thought features another line that's gone through a number of owners over the last few decades. The former Reading line between Wilmington, DE and Reading, PA was not included in the 1976 formation of Conrail, nor was the branch that extended southeast from Chadds Ford, PA to the Maryland state line at East Nottingham Township, PA.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania immediately claimed the lines in the hopes of eventually expanding the SEPTA Network south and west to Chester county, PA.

Even with the line cut back to Coatsville, PA as its northern terminus, there was still frieght to be hauled on the line, including Herr Foods in Nottingham. The first such operator was the Octoraro Railroad, which started up in 1977 but filed for bankruptcy in July 1994. One of Rail America's earlier properties- the Delaware Valley Railroad was designated by the Pennsylvania DOT to take over operations of the line until 1998 when the Bethlehem Steel-owned Brandywine Valley Railroad got permission from PA DOT to operate the length of the line from Coatsville to Wilmington. However, Bethlehem Steel would go bankrupt in 2001 and its assets sold off to International Steel Group (later Arcelor-Mittal) two years later, with the Brandywine Valley reduced to the steel mill trackage around Coatesville.

This left the PA DOT scrambing to find another operator- this time New Jersey Based Morristown & Erie in 2003 was given the reigns until arrangements were made in late 2004 with the East Penn Railroad- a shortline operator with extensive background in operating several disconnected branchlines in the reigon. The former Octoraro/Delaware Valley line became the East Penn's Wilmington & Northern branch and to this day sees some failry robust carloadings in the form of scrap, steel, paper, grain, cotton seed oil and foodstuffs for Herr's. And even back in the Octoraro days, the need for bigger power was understood. The East Penn went with GE Dash 7s purchased secondhand from Conrail and Union Pacific.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Steven Jansen caught two of the ex Espee GE's rounding a tight curve at Granouge, DE heading south to the CSX interchange at Elsmere, DE on the next-to-last day of 2009 after starting it's trek ion Kennet Square, PA. B30-7 #7874 is in charge of this southbound with what looks like a cut of finished product from the Arcelor-Mital plant in Coatesville.

VP Biden's 2008 Campaign Ordered to Pay $219,000 For FEC Violations

The Federal Election Commission has ordered Vice President Biden's 2008 Presidential Campaign to pay more than $219,000 after an audit revealed sloppy bookkeeping, accepting excessive contributions and at least one free flight on a private jet during his campaign.

[The audit] determined that the Biden campaign accepted an illegal corporate contribution in the form of a round-trip flight between New Hampshire and Iowa in June 2007 for three people. The Biden campaign paid GEH Air Transportation $7,911 for the first-class airfare, but regulators say the campaign should have paid the charter rate of $34,800.

The FEC also found that the Biden campaign received at least $106,000 in donations that were over the limit, and the campaign was ordered to pay the U.S. Treasury more than $85,000 for stale-dated checks.

The Biden campaign also failed to disclose more than $3.7 million in payments and roughly $870,000 in debts.

Sure old Joe Bite-Me can be a little forgetful with the campaign receipts every now and then, but in 2008 the media was working hard to place the nation's fury and righteous indignation back where it truly belonged: on Caribou Barbie's Sarah Palin's wardrobe.

Good things we have such a fiscally responsible group of people in the White House, Senate and House of Representatives- otherwise we might have a nationwide unemployment rate of 10% or so after voting for costly entitlement programs and $787 billion of taxpayer money foolishly spent on kickbacks thinly disguised as 'economic stimulus'.....

And- those few fiduciary oversights from his camaign aside- VP Biden predicts that the American voting public will want more of the same in November's mid-terms.

Biden sort of reminds me of that wierd, loudmouth uncle you're reluctant to visit or be seen in public with. Every now and then, he gets things right but more often than not he comes off as a loud, ignorant buffoon. The kind who will buy a pack of Marlboro's at Cumberland Farms with a 1933 $20 Gold certificate- oblivious to the fact that it could've been worth more than $20.