Midweek Photos 12/26/2018 Year in Review 2018

In the Scranton yard, we were surprised a bit by having big diesels show up from time to time.  Norfolk Southern was making adjustments to their interchange agreements with local railroads, and with no space at their own yard in Taylor, PA, sometimes their trains would lay-over in Scranton.  This pic of 8026, an ES44AC, parked next to our DL&W hopper and gondola with Lehigh Valley caboose summarized how the ages blend at times. 

President's Day weekend sees a few days of trolley operation in the Scranton area, and Philadelphia Suburban Transportation car no. 80 took on the task. 

The Emerald Ash Borer insect invasion led to the clearing of trees from Steamtown's parking lot.  The upside is you could get this angle of Union Pacific no. 4012. 

The Allentown PA Train Show is also one of the bigger train shows, but no full size equipment gets put on display.  With so many local railroads, you could find one in a short distance.  I went to the Allentown & Auburn RR this year, which is based in Kutztown, PA.  Their operations don't begin until around Easter, but we got a few neat pics of their equipment.

The line is a former Reading branch line, and the station keeps that Reading look about it.  

The caboose train with a flat car and coach make up their excursion consist.  March is coming up. 

It looked as if March was going to be a washout for me on the railroading side.  It seemed not much was happening, and the weather was awful for much of the month.  But on March 30, around the time to leave work, the Delaware Lackawanna RR was doing some switching of a long train that led to traffic back-ups on Lackawanna Ave.  With camera in hand, I documented some of the action.  RS32 no. 211 was leading the way, with one of their RS3s  in the mix. 

The train at times blocks not only Lackawanna Ave, but also the access to and from the Marketplace at Steamtown, the bus station, and the state parking lot.  

These are mostly sand cars.  Sand, used in the fracking business, is part the system of breaking up rock in the ground to capture the natural gas.  Gas is shipped by pipeline, but the railroads around here are benefiting, too. 

On March 31, a few friends and I decided to go to New York City on a drinking tour.  This time, we boarded the train in Newark. 

Although we took the PATH train to the city, I was able to shoot this NJ Transit train pulling into the platform. 

The year starts getting busy for me in April.  Let's see what is ahead. 

April for me began with a trip to Quakertown, PA for a friend's birthday party.  It was held in the old Reading train station there, which is where one of the East Penn Railroad operations is based.  This non operational RS1 has been at the station area for over 20 years. 

The train station is in great shape, and like many other rr stations, is under-used. 

One of the General Electric locomotives the East Penn uses on its limited freight operations.  There are no regular passenger or tourist trains here. 

National Park Week begins Steamtown's operations in Scranton, PA.  After the annual inspection and pin repairs to the drive wheels and rods, Baldwin no. 26, a 1929 0-6-0, was back in service just in time for the beginning of the season. 

This is Champ.  He is one of the mascots for the local baseball team, the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders.  Baseball usually starts the same time as the trains.  

This is how we coal no. 26 these days.  It's interesting, but not quite as historic as we would like.  

May photos are on the way. 

May began with a special excursion run by the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Chapter of the NRHS.  Coordinating with the Reading & Northern, we had two MP15s take the mixed train of passenger and freight cars to some rarely used lines.  We called it the "Oneida Clipper" due to it reaching Oneida Junction on the outskirts of Hazleton, PA.  We also went to the end of track on another line near Delano Junction.  The day-long trip helped raise funds for Boston & Maine no. 3713, a steam project at Steamtown. 

Port Clinton, PA was the point of departure for the day.  The nice sunshine did not last the whole day.  It got downright chilly at times. 

Some of the riders braved the elements by riding this gondola.  The leaves had just started to get beyond the bud stage on this May 5. 

First photo run-by was at Tamaqua, PA.  The hoppers still haul coal as the old Reading Lines did in this area. 

Second run-by location near the Oneida turn-around location.  I forget the name.  This location was rather high up in the mountains. 

Delano Junction, and the train is passing under Interstate 81.  

Last stop for the day, just on the outskirts of our destination at Port Clinton.  

Just after Memorial Day, the International Conference of Cast Iron Artisans took place in Scranton.  Part of the event was an excursion over the railroad line taking the riders to two of the cast iron pours.  The Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society provided the train as it ran over the Delaware Lackawanna Railroad from Scranton to East Stroudsburg, PA.  We see the train in Scranton passing the Salvation Army building on the former Delaware & Hudson RR.  That is the Lackawanna River in the foreground. 

The train had a trouble-some locomotive, so a switch-out in the Steamtown yard took place.  We see the train passing Mattes St tower and the Lackawanna Railroad locomotive shop buildings. 

Time to board the train. 

Here we are in East Stroudsburg.  The location of the historic station has changed after a fire in 2009.  The Trackside Grill is now where the station once stood.  You can see the DL&W's Santa Fe style water tank on the left. 

Part of the conference was in the live pouring of molten metal into castings.  

Another iron pour took place in Gouldsboro, PA.

C630 no. 3000 led the train on the westbound journey back to Scranton.  Heavy rains and hot muggy days were the ruling weather days this Summer.  

Here is our train at the end of the run.  The location is the Radisson Lackawanna Station in Scranton.  The University of Scranton is on the left. 

More Norfolk Southern power, including a couple of Union Pacific locomotives, came to town in June.  On at least a couple of trips, the Delaware-Lackawanna ran a few of their freights with the foreign power.  

That doesn't mean that their own units didn't run.  We caught a few of their smaller engines pushing cars southward under Bridge 60 in the downtown of Scranton. 

The next day, power runs light under Bridge 60 and towards the nearby Lackawanna Ave bridge. These units will arrive at the Steamtown yard (upper tracks in the photo) in about 10 minutes. 

after the Iron Conference mentioned in the previous post ended, I caught the duo of "Lackawanna F3s" switching around some of the cars used for the artwork displays.  

A few days later, Steamtown used the F3s on an excursion ( I think to Tobyhanna) and the train posed next to the Electric City Trolley preparing to make a run to Moosic, PA.  D-L was running a freight through the yard on the far right at the time. 

Another side view of the Big Boy, Union Pacific no. 4012.  A small scale asbestos abatement project was done on the locomotive after hours, to clean up some obvious gaps in the jacketing.  Full abatement will probably take place in 2020. 

Rather than go backwards, I have a few I've taken recently.  My goal for this year was to shoot more with large format cameras (4x5 & 5x7), and I did exactly that.    I've mostly used black & white film but the past couple of weeks I used some color film as well (Portra 400.)  I've been getting mixed results from the color film and I'm not sure I'll buy any more.  Some shots:

1. Vermillion, SD.  Grain bins along the BNSF Aberdeen sub.

2. Tripp, SD.  Elevators along the BNSF Aberdeen sub.

3. Sioux Falls, SD.  BNSF Veteran's Appreciation train.  Shot on Ilford HP5 film, Rodenstock 135mm f5.6 lens, Chamonix 4x5,  #25 flash bulbs.  Old school, baby!

4. Corson, SD.  Grain train on the BNSF Corson sub.

5. Sioux Falls, SD.  The old Great Northern depot, still in use by BNSF.  Caboose is used for switching in the industrial area.

Kent in SD

Here we are now in July.  Track work on the mainline in Scranton under the National Park Service ownership allowed me to take these unusual photos on July 1. The track truck is posed on the newly installed rails.  It is Sunday, so no track work takes place on this day. 

The Steamtown excursion train roars past... 

Followed a bit later by the Scranton Limited, powered by Baldwin no. 26. 

An excursion the next weekend, which delved into anthracite mining history, led to this pose in Archibald, PA.  The building is the shifting shanty, where mine workers signed in and out of work, changed in and out of work clothes, and then mined the coal at the various outbuildings in the area. 

The F3s stayed busy in July, with excursions running to Moscow, also. 

And to Gouldsboro, PA.  We see the train returning from the run-around location in Tobyhanna, PA. 

C424 no 2423 for the Delaware Lackawanna Railroad sits in the Steamtown yard the day after their official 25th anniversary excursion over the line. The banner commemorates this special train. ELDCPS cars and the D-L business car no. 2 made up that train. 

Baldwin no. 26 ran a few trips on "rare" tracks while the mainline was being rebuilt.  The receiver track allowed for a few different angles photographically, even though the train is only about 20 feet away from her normal route. 

This year was the first year I decided to step out of the modeling world and go out to see some real trains, especially steam locomotives. It all started in the last weekend in July with a trip out to the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. This was my first time seeing 765 in person, although it wasn’t under steam then. It’s size was impressive.

My dad and I were expecting to stay for hours, but we only stayed for about 40 minutes. We stayed at the Hilton hotel downtown for the night, and decided to stop by the shop again on the way back the next day. And boy did we make the right decision.

We came back to the shop expecting to stay for 15-30 minutes, until a volunteer came up to us and a family from Marion, OH and said, “We’re friendly, so if you have any questions....” He then showed us around the locomotive and explained that the crew just completed the 1472-day inspection, and then let us up in the cab. Being in the engineer’s seat was an incredible experience. We ended up staying at the shop for an hour and a half that day.

We also had the privilege of meeting Gary Bensman, a steam preservation “legend” and a very experienced locomotive engineer. We’ll get back to him later...

August was not a busy month. Only thing that happened was on the last day of the month, my mom and I went to the Dennison Depot Museum, mostly to see C&O 2-8-4 no. 2700. Because my mom didn’t go to Fort Wayne with my dad and I, I wanted her to get an idea of the size of the 765, for a reason you’ll see soon. I also wanted to see 2700 while it still looked good, because I’m sure it’s cosmetic condition will begin to deteriorate again in the next few years. But for now, except for a few things, no. 2700 looks very good.

Something a little concerning I noticed about the 2700 and the fireless locomotive at the other end of the depot was that they both had wasps flying around them. Luckily we didn’t get stung.

September was a very busy month. It began with September 8, 2018, the Midwest Railway Preservation Society’s open house. Their historic B&O roundhouse houses two steam locomotives: Grand Trunk Western 2-8-2 no. 4070, and American Steam Railroad’s Reading 4-8-4 no. 2100.

The Midwest folks are very under appreciated in my opinion. I think they could really be something different if there were more people supporting them.

Now we get to the good stuff. September 23, 2018 was my first experience with a operational steam locomotive: Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 no. 765 on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. When we arrived, the 765 was just beginning to pull forward to make room for the regular Scenic train to pull in, led by CVSR’s B&O unit no. 800. After the Scenic left, the 765 backed up and pulled back in for people to take pictures and videos.

The trailing diesel no. 6777 started out pulling the train north to Jaite, and then 765 pulled the train back down south to Boston Mills, where her passengers got off for a series of photo runbys. There were 3 runbys, so I’ll just show one.

The 765 then continued to proceed south to Akron, and almost too soon we had arrived back at the station. Something I hadn’t realized until after the trip was that Gary Bensman, who I had met during my visit to Fort Wayne was running the engine when I was riding.

My dad and I headed back out to the CVSR the following weekend to take more videos, but two things were different. First of all, I came with a tripod, and second (and most noticeably), the 765 was equipped with the whistle of scrapped sister no. 760, which she was wearing to bring attention to the Bring Back 757 campaign by the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, OH, to whom the whistle belongs. We started out in Brecksville on Saturday morning, where there were hundreds of people there to see the locomotive. We caught the train going both ways there: 765 leading at about 10 a.m. and 6777 leading at about noon.

After the morning trips were completed, we went to Jaite to catch the afternoon train. It was an hour and a half of waiting before the 765’s Mars Light was seen wagging and her brilliant 6 Chime whistle was heard singing at around 2:15 p.m.

We went back up to the CVSR the next day, starting in Peninsula, a small little town nestled in the heart of the park. It took about an hour of waiting before 6777’s lovely horn was heard just before noon. After the train had passed, we hopped on our bikes and rode the towpath trail to our next film location just out of Peninsula, where the railroad crosses the river. It was an additional hour of waiting before 765 quietly chugged across just after 1 p.m. After the train left, we went down to Akron to shoot from Cascade Park and get the train departing, but we also paid a visit to the Northside Station and picked up a copy of “Listen for the Whistle”. After an hour of waiting, the 6777 pulled out just after 3:30 p.m., showing why ALCo diesels were nicknamed “honorary steam engines” by some. The final shot of the day was at Indigo Lake station, one of the most popular viewing sites for the engine. We ran into a couple of guys who had been chasing trains together for several years. After over an hour and a half of waiting, the 765 sped through at 5:40 p.m.

October was quite the opposite, I didn’t to anything train-related of note that month.

November was a good month. During my grade’s school trip to Washington, D.C., one of our stops was the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I knew they had Southern 4-6-2 no. 1401, but I didn’t know they also had two other steam locomotives. I got pictures of all 3, but they were all shaky because we were all in a hurry to get through the museum, so I won’t share them on here. I will say that all 3 are in pristine condition, and it is definitely worth checking out.

During a trip down to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with my family, I paid a visit to the North Carolina Transportation Museum, which was an hour and a half away from where we were staying in Charlotte (with traffic of course). The roundhouse and other facilities are in excellent condition overall.

And finally, even if it’s not real trains, my Lionel Western Allegheny H10 arrived. I’m currently having a problem with the smoke unit, but other than that it’s a great engine.

Now, we are in August.  Another overcast day, and I am in Schuylkill Haven, PA.  I went looking for the Reading & Northern F7s, but found this business car and RDC.  A freight was operating nearby, but never reached where I was. 

Another old Reading station.  This has been re-purposed lately by the railroad to be the passenger department office.  Very nice. 

While later passenger trains were known to be a two-tone green, you can't do that to an RDC.  They lettered it like the first streamlined Crusader train set.  The blue is sharp on the silver of the car. 

A few days later, I'm in Moscow, PA for the Country Street Fair.  The F3 units led this Steamtown train.  

The tracks are just close enough and yet far enough away to make a photograph of the train in town very difficult. This is the best I could catch. 

Also in August, I took a trip into Philadelphia for the day.  I began by driving to Norristown to take the high speed train into the city.  

I think I can safely say that these trains are unique to the Norristown line. 

I think this is the 59th Street Terminal where subways and streetcars meet the High Speed Line.  Very busy place as the trains pull in and get ready to go back to the city. 

Near the Woodlands Cemetery, this trolley tunnel is a beehive of activity.  Cars are everywhere, here. 

As night fell on the city, I caught this shot of 30th Street Station while waiting for a regional rail train to take me back to Norristown.  

Steamtown's annual excursion to the Carbondale Nights street fair, and heavy rains most of the Summer, allowed me to get this fresh view of our train while it was pulling up at the boarding platform in Carbondale, PA.  

Back in Scranton, once again, I catch Baldwin no. 26, only this time, crossing over the Spruce Street complex.  A banner on the bridge fence promotes La Festa Italiana and the upcoming Railfest.  Both take place over Labor Day weekend.

Railfest pics and more in the next post. 

First of all, thank you to those who have posted, either today or any time in the past year.  Your contributions make the thread that much more interesting than what I alone can offer.  Now, on to Steamtown's Railfest. 

It was quite a time at Steamtown during the 12th annual Railfest, and of course the star was Baldwin no. 26, which ran the Scranton Limited trains the whole weekend. 

The Lackawanna F3s led the excursions to Moscow both days.  

The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad's business car, originally no. 2, was on display for the weekend.  It took up a stall in the roundhouse. 

Canadian National no. 3254,  celebrating 100 years, was open to the public through the weekend. 

On Saturday, September 1, there was a two part excursion, with a chance to ride parts of the Lackawanna Railroad, the Erie Railroad, and the Delaware & Hudson canal.  Another interesting twist, is the two F3s operating at Steamtown, and the BL2 both originated on the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad in the 1940s. We took a bus between Moscow to Lackawaxen, where the riders boarded the Stourbridge Railroad. 

The BL2 is exactly the same inside as the F3s, with an unusual body shell.  This is in Honesdale, PA.

Another unit used on this 25 mile portion of the trip is this F9, which began on the Canadian Pacific Railroad.  It is believed that this engine spent time in the area of the Bangor and Aroostook in Maine, so this trip is possibly a reunion of these four historic units. 

Sunday of Railfest, there was a special charter of Central of New Jersey RS3 no. 1554.  Along with a couple cars, this would have some chances for photo opportunities on the line.  

One of the stops was at the Nay Aug Tunnel, with many poses and chances to photo from various spots of the train. 

One of the prime photo spots of the charter, along with the Scranton Limited train is at Bridge 60.  

Two of Steamtown's steam superstars were out of the roundhouse for the weekend and a few days afterwards, too. 

Here is Canadian Pacific no. 2317.  This was her first time outside for quite a while since 2010's Railfest. 

A week after Railfest, the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society held a 70th birthday excursion for the F3s, and brought the B unit, originally a Boston & Maine F7B, along for the trip.  Over 7 photo stops took place on the former Delaware Lackawanna & Western RR.

Then it was off to Chicago, to ride the Joliet Rocket led by Nickel Plate Road no. 765 on the former Rock Island Line. 

This was the scene at Lasalle Street Station in Chicago. 

In Joliet, this Metra unit hauled the train back to get ready for the afternoon excursion. 

We caught the later train not far outside the downtown of Joliet. 

The next day, we took in the sights at the Illinois Railway Museum.  The Frisco 2-10-0 no. 1630 was fired up, and so was the Burlington E5 with the Denver Zephyr train set. 

The early 1990s executive train from the Burlington Northern now resides in the museum. 

A lot of unusual pieces are here, such as this Chicago & Northwestern ALCO RSD3(?)

I believe all of the train sheds were open this weekend, and I tracked down the South Shore Little Joe, a Burlington Northern E9 and former Lackawanna Alco- GE Ingersoll Rand boxcab engine no. 3001. 

It was a day of firing up J. Neils Lumber Company no. 5.  This 3 truck Shay has been undergoing work for decades.  It still had a few glitches to work out, so she did not move much on that day. 

Catching the Denver Zephyr passing the tower, and coming into the station. 

Old and "new" can be found at this museum.  If you are in Illinois, make plans to visit. 

October is the peak of excursion season, and off we went into the Pocono Mountains for several trips.  Above, we see the train while it rested in East Stroudsburg, PA.  The Fall festival there added to the activity offered by having a train stop in the center of town. 

The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Chapter held another round of special charters this October.  On Friday, October 12, a charter was held on the Stourbridge Lion once more.  This time, the train was round trip with a few photo opportunities.  The first photo stop was in Hawley, PA where the tracks cross US 6. 

The second stop was in Lackawaxen, PA.  The business car is originally B& O, but painted for the Pennsylvania Railroad. 

The Pennsy F9 again at Honesdale, The light was perfect for these shots. 

Back to Scranton for the following weekend, we see the foliage season is good for trolley travelers, too. 

Steamtown's train ran to Moscow this Saturday. 

For Sunday, it was a trip to Cresco, PA. This was shortly after arrival at the station.  The train needs to go to a local lumber yard to perform the switching moves so that the locomotive and cars are spotted for the return to Scranton. 

All set to go!  

Great pictures.  I always say that you can not beat Pennsylvania for railroading/rail fanning

Tim,

Thanks for your weekly post.  I always enjoy looking.  Don't get to do much railfanning so I don't have much to contribute.  I do have some pictures of a string of cabooses that I'll try to post when I get home tonight.  Do the Lackawanna F units belong to Steamtown or the Delaware-lackawanna?

Hi Coach Joe:  The Lackawanna F3s belong to two historical societies.  No. 663 is owned by the Tri-State Chapter of the NRHS, whereas the 664 (both the A and B unit) are owned by the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society.  These two groups work together in keeping the locomotives running, but since they own no track, they got into a partnership with Steamtown to run on Steamtown's excursions.  Partnerships like this get renewed every five years.  If for some reason, it doesn't benefit both parties, it can be dissolved, and the locomotives can move on to some other location.  

Veterans Day weekend was the last of public runs of steam at Steamtown, so with decent weather, I went out to catch Baldwin no. 26 before the year was over.  While we fully expect her back in service in 2019, in the steam world of today, you never know when your last chance to experience it will be. 

Being that it was a Sunday, the Nay Aug Gorge Limited train was running.  With this extra long yard trip, (about 5 miles round trip) you get a few more chances to shoot in different locations.  The newly opened Harrison Ave. Bridge in Scranton and the recently removed bridge opened up a different angle, as we see above. 

The return from Nay Aug allowed me to shoot from atop the bridge.  I'm not sure if the wood planking on the receiver track will remain after the construction project ends. 

On November 12, I took this one of the same train crossing the South Washington Ave Bridge. 

A few days later, we had over 9 inches of snow fall in town.  A perfect coating for the Santa Parade.  This tractor trailer is part of the fund-raising effort of the Scranton streetcar no. 505.  

On Thanksgiving, I traveled to New York City by rail, and these two trains passed my inbound trip on the NJ Transit Morris & Essex line. 

Just after Thanksgiving, Steamtown ran their Holiday Express trains to Santa's Station. Quite a bit of snow remained in that location from the November 15 storm. 

Here are some of Santa's helpers, ready to sell you some stocking stuffers, or snacks if you don't want to wait a month to chow down. 

On November 25, I watched the assembly of the Holiday Express train.  The coaches are kept inside the locomotive shop to keep them warm. 

Last photo of November is the moving of Central RR of New Jersey crane no. 5. An asbestos leak will be addressed before too long, but we decided to move this car out to the yard for the time being. 

The year is coming to a close, and so is my contribution to the thread.  Looking back, it is interesting each year to see where our trips have taken us, and some of the trains encountered.  On December 1, Santa Claus came to Steamtown as part of a program called "Christmas in a Small Town."  Six communities hold Santa Claus parties and Steamtown's train brings Santa to those towns.  I caught the train in Carbondale, the first stop, and my friend Joe Link captured the arrival in Scranton, the final stop. 

Here is the Santa Train in Carbondale, all dolled up for the event, and wearing a brighter wreath than she had ever had in the past. 

Locomotive engineer Mike Rinkunas cooks a few sausages on the coal scoop.  The fire made these crispy in a few seconds. 

Joe Link caught 26 upon her crossing Lackawanna Ave in Scranton.  She put on quite a show when she climbed the only hill on the trip, Strawberry Hill.  This was used as a connection to the DL&W from the D&H mainline, as well as a connection to their passenger station which once stood at the location of the parking lot. 

The Santa Train arrives at center stage, the turntable at Steamtown.  

The day after the Santa Train, I found Santa and an elf posed by the F3 locomotives.  There was a qualifying run on the mainline for Steamtown crew members, and a Breakfast with Santa event at the Lackawanna Dining Car. 

Paul Cappelloni passes a breakfast over to Samantha Kuczynski, who worked on the F3 trip. 

Pete Sollberger and Dave Long attempt a 1940s Dining Car advertisement pose at the railroad cars and locomotives. 

Steamtown's Spang Chalfont no. 8 became our decorating victim for this year's holiday season. 

A walk through the Steamtown shop found the F3s resting after one of their busiest Summers. 

Then, it was a trip to Portland ME to help a friend and his operation on the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad's Polar Express train.  I began the year with a 2-foot steamer and am ending it with another.  This is Bridgton & Saco River no. 7. 

By midday, no. 7 was all ready... well in advance of her first trip to the North Pole departure at 2:45 PM.

She ran several trips.  The Sun sets earlier in Maine than it does in Pennsylvania, so early trains are pretty gosh darn dark. 

The final trip pass through the Magic Tunnel after leaving the North Pole. 

A New Year begins on Tuesday, and 365 chances to capture your railroading fun.  I look forward to what you have to offer.  Have a Happy New Year!!

BNSF makes a visit to the A&M shops in Springdale Arkansas.

My only contribution from Tilton, NH a cadre of cabooses (cabeese?)All pictures taken by me.