5 years ago this weekend

My sister, my youngest son and I rode the May 25 trip that year.  I occasionally enjoy watching the video I shot from inside the train particularly where we overtook and passed a double stack while ascending and rounding the curve.

I know having the intermodal between them and the excursion train po’d photographers positioned on the outside of the curve but, how many times have people been able to witness a steam engine overtake a double stack on Horseshoe Curve?  That alone made it special.  👍

Curt

Thanks for sharing

This was the weekend that I decided it was time for me to retire from the 765 crew. It took a couple more years to make it happen, but this was the weekend that set my retirement process in motion.

On Thursday of that week, one of our members suffered a death in his immediate family. Therefore, he could not make the trip. That meant we had to shuffle some people around on the crew. The fella who was to be the crew van driver that weekend stepped up to handle the work that the absent member was to do. That meant we had to assign someone else to be the van driver. Only a few of the 765 crew members were on the rental van insurance, and I was one of them. I took a look at the roster of 765-qualified engineers I had available that weekend and realized that I could cover the operating schedule with properly rested engineers, even if I took myself out of the running rotation. I rescheduled the 765’s engineers for the weekend, took myself out of the running schedule and took over the van drivers slot on the crew for that weekend.

The 765 ran three of the most significant trips in its excursion career over that weekend...3 trips around the world-famous Horseshoe Curve. I drove the crew van. I didn’t run the 765 one mile that weekend.

And I didn’t miss it.

That’s when I knew it was time to pull the pin.

Rich,

I was a pilot, CFIAI and airplane owner many years ago and had to quit because of a medical issue. I had been fascinated by airplanes since childhood. Eventually, other things took its place and I learned to do without it. But I often still miss it.

MELGAR

I am still an active pilot, flying a King Air 350 for its owner 200+ hours per year.

My locomotive engineer license expires in 3 days. I have chosen not to recertify, so as of June 1 I will no longer be a licensed locomotive engineer.

OGR Webmaster posted:

This was the weekend that I decided it was time for me to retire from the 765 crew. It took a couple more years to make it happen, but this was the weekend that set my retirement process in motion.

On Thursday of that week, one of our members suffered a death in his immediate family. Therefore, he could not make the trip. That meant we had to shuffle some people around on the crew. The fella who was to be the crew van driver that weekend stepped up to handle the work that the absent member was to do. That meant we had to assign someone else to be the van driver. Only a few of the 765 crew members were on the rental van insurance, and I was one of them. I took a look at the roster of 765-qualified engineers I had available that weekend and realized that I could cover the operating schedule with properly rested engineers, even if I took myself out of the running rotation. I rescheduled the 765’s engineers for the weekend, took myself out of the running schedule and took over the van drivers slot on the crew for that weekend.

The 765 ran three of the most significant trips in its excursion career over that weekend...3 trips around the world-famous Horseshoe Curve. I drove the crew van. I didn’t run the 765 one mile that weekend.

And I didn’t miss it.

That’s when I knew it was time to pull the pin.

I'm certainly glad you stuck around a while longer, especially 28 months later on 9/5/2015.  This is when I would have my next adventure with 765 in a certain tunnel in Scranton, PA.
The second pull through Nay Aug tunnel was amazing, I was in the 4th coach behind the engine.
I can assure you that trip to the Delaware Water Gap was challenging for engine,crew, and patrons.

OGR Webmaster posted:

I am still an active pilot, flying a King Air 350 for its owner 200+ hours per year.

My locomotive engineer license expires in 3 days. I have chosen not to recertify, so as of June 1 I will no longer be a licensed locomotive engineer.

You may be retired, but you got a lot of stories to tell.  My favorite is “The Hill” when you were told to hit it hard.  

Larry

Here are a few more photo's of the 765 on that trip.

That was a weekend that I will never forget!  I was asked to ride on the train that weekend shooting video for the FWRHS along with MartyE.  We boarded the train in Lewistown, PA on Saturday morning and rode all day shooting video both on and off the train.  When we left Altoona and started up the east slope of Horseshoe Curve I had a great view shooting video out of the tool / crew car.  As we started around the curve it only got better as the crowds came into view and the 765 and crew put on a great show as we marched up towards the summit of the curve at Gallitzin, PA.   Those were long days but I had a blast!

Here are some pics from that weekend.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I rode the Saturday excursion. It was my first steam excursion on a class 1 railroad and my first excursion with NS and Fort Wayne. With Amtrak's current attitude toward excursions, it's unlikely we will see steam over Horseshoe again. NS no longer wants to host steam excursions unless they're operated as Amtrak excursions. But with Amtrak banning most excursions, that brings the 611 steam program to a halt, again. I'll probably never get to 765's normal operating territory, so my last excursion with 765 was the one from near Bethlehem to Pittston and back.

I'll add a few videos from that trip with Mr. Slie. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Marty:

I managed to accidentally get you in a video shot on the platform in Lewistown. Didn’t know it was you till I saw a subsequent post on the forum and saw your avatar photo.

Curt