Name your favorite shortline! Anything! Reading & Northern, East Penn Railroad... Provide pictures if you want!
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As interesting to me, the only current shortline I am aware of is the Strasburg, unless you want to include the tourist narrow gauge roads of Durango and Silverton, and Cumbres and Toltec. My favorite vanished shortline is the Great Western, the NE Colorado sugar beet road. These are or were steam roads, although the GW ended with diesels.
I have never seen one of their trains but, have been partial to the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern for some time now. For some reason, that name just screams "railroad" to me.
Curt
Great Western Ry/Colorado. Duluth & North Eastern/MN and Hoopole, Yorktown & Tampico/IL. The first two were steam late-term holdouts. The latter, a champion of decrepitude!
The Morristown & Erie Railway .... a NJ freight shortline.
Among other things, they deliver lumber to the building supply store right near my house ......
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My favorite was the Buffalo Creek, and Gauley RR, in West Virginia.
Right now, I'm fond of those all-Alco regionals in Pennsylvania and New York, as well as the Missouri & Arkansas.
My lifetime favorite has long been a fallen flag -- Pacific Electric, as I lived near their track and they had many endearing quirks, such as Baldwin VO-1000 switchers with trolley poles mounted on the hood to activate crossing signals when operating under trolley wire. And they also used every variety of Magnetic Flagman wig-wag crossing signals, including some unique to PE -- many mounted on the wood catenary pole close to a crossing, and one suspended from wires like a traffic signal. Who couldn't like the PE?
The Allegheny Valley Railroad , Wheeling and Lake Erie, and the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central are the three current local roads which I like. I'm also a big fan of the Montour Railroad.
Central New England (CNZR) which runs along the University of Hartford Campus and New England Central (NECR) which runs through the woods behind my home.
I'm kicking myself for not buying the MTH-CNZR engine or the Weaver-NECR engine.
Lad Nagurney
The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, no doubt, in either its 3-foot or standard gauge forms. What's left of it is called the East Tennessee Railway and is run by G&W...
Pioneer Valley RR running on what's left of the New Haven canal line in Westfield, Ma to Holyoke, Ma.
My favorite is the Delaware Coast Line Railroad, close to where I live. They own some old Alco's and GE's. Not my pics.
Two former Conrail B23-7s:
An RS-18:
An ex-PRR T-6:
A GE center cab:
An RS-36:
An ex-SOO RS-1, now scrapped. Had a cracked engine block.
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I also have a soft spot for the Puget Sound & Pacific, which runs within sight of my back yard. It's also owned by the G&W:
I do miss the old pre-Rail America paint jobs, though:
I would love to have seen East Broad Top RR in Pennsylvania.
My favorite regional is Reading & Northern RR they still have a few pieces of Reading equipment that never went to Conrail.
Lee Fritz
phillyreading posted:I would love to have seen East Broad Top RR in Pennsylvania.
I went there once in the late 90s, but they didn't happen to be running that specific Saturday. I didn't realize then that I'd missed what might be my only chance to ever have ridden the EBT. I've been on a long-term mission to see every narrow gauge RR in the US that isn't in an amusement park. I'm extremely close to meeting that goal, but the EBT falls under the "I walked around the tracks" heading for that search, as nothing was running then. I now so badly wish I'd gone back the following weekend to actually ride it, but it was a long drive from Aberdeen, MD where I was stationed at the time...
Aberdeen Carolina & Western
Two Fallen Flags....#1. Coudersport & Port Allegany...."The Allegheny River Route" (note old and new spellings)
#2. Wellsville, Addison & Galeton Railroad...."The Sole Leather Line"
Both serving northern Pennsylvania and southern New York.....
Loaded and off loaded several tons of freight on both lines.
Manufacturers Railway in St. Louis was owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch. Had a really classy paint scheme, too! Like most classy/interesting things about the company, it went away after the In-Bev takeover. The line is now operated by FTRL (Foster Townsend Rail Logistics); I have not been by lately to see whether their day-glo orange paint has replaced the green yet.
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/359562/
https://condrenrails.com/My%20...es/My-Favorites.html (Scroll down halfway)
It was also among the Umpteen short lines represented on Lionel/MPC's 9400 series boxcars 
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Belt Railway of Chicago.
I grew up with them in my backyard!
photos not mine.
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These guys aren't too bad!
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Chesapeake Western
And Aberdeen Carolina and Western
Cool paint schemes too...
No surprise I would say mine is the road I worked with, Quanah, Acme & Pacific Rwy. The shortline that never reached its charter goals, worked the ICC environment to its advantage, hosted some of the country's more famous fast freights, became a crown jewel of the Frisco, hosted all the stockholder brass on motorcar quail hunts (right up to the days we were hauling it away).
This railroad's complete story is well documented and shows a strong similarity to dozens of other shortline roads in America. Reading the QA&P story serves as a recap of how and why America experienced a railroad building "mania" during the early 20th century.
The handsome depot and headquarters has been restored to serve as a museum.
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I'll be the third to say the Aberdeen Carolina and Western. They are the train line that runs through the little town of Oakboro NC where I live.
Housatonic line.
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Gilly@N&W posted:Chesapeake Western
And Aberdeen Carolina and Western
Cool paint schemes too...
OK, what model are those safety cabs?
Dominic Mazoch posted:Gilly@N&W posted:Chesapeake Western
And Aberdeen Carolina and Western
Cool paint schemes too...
OK, what model are those safety cabs?
GP40-2LW
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Thank you for all the comments so far. As my name suggests my favorite shortline is NJ's own Raritan River Rail Road. But I'm also dedicated to roads such as the Erie Western and Morristown & Erie.
What is the current status of the East Broad Top? And is there anything published on the Hoopole, Yorktown, and Tampico in Ill.? It sounds like a teakettle road serving dilapidated grain elevators in the prairie..... There was one Ill. shortline that owned one tank engine to serve one grain elevator, but I don't remember the name of it.
Strasburg Railroad is my all time favorite shortline for many reasons while the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad is is my second favorite since it's my area's local shortline.
Ron045 posted:
If I'm correct, SMS has all those Baldwin switchers. Another favorite of mine. Think they even have an ex US army steam engine.
Youngstown & Southern. Was about 1 mile from my grandparent's house, and in the late 80's I got the chance to pace 71 and its diminutive trains with my grandparents a few times.
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr183.htm
The AC&W rr is about 15 miles from where I live.And yes the look of their locomotives is really cool.The others are the new brunswick southern.The Avr rail road the wheeling and lake erie.
Anyone remember Delaware Lackawanna? 
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Florida Central (FCEN)... their client base has diminished over the years, but they've still added a few new locomotives to the roster over the past decade. I love their paint, and would be thrilled to see one of the manufacturers produce something.
FCEN's roster is made up almost entirely of CF7's from ATSF and more recently, GP9's from CN. There's also two chop-nose GP7's, one high-hood GP18, and at one time there was a GP35, but I haven't seen it in 15 years. Their shops are visible from a major road, and it's always tough to see another one getting scrapped as you pass by. Short lines give us those rare opportunities to see some old school power; I always tell my son to take a good look, as they won't be around forever.
Here's a picture I took of my personal favorite FCEN motor, GP7 55 (also an ex-ATSF), with a new friend from CN.
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