Midweek Photos 12/30/2015 Year End Review

  I didn't get out as much as I would have liked to in 2015 but I did manage to get in some quality trackside time.

  First on the list is the result of getting up at 3AM in order to be trackside before dawn - the place - the CSX container facility at North Baltimore, Ohio

 Second - a trip over to Pennsylvania to stay at my favorite B&B and watch trains cross the Rockville Bridge

Third - managed to catch the Lincoln Funeral Train exhibit when it came to town during the summer.

...and finally, late fall, a trip over to Strasburg to catch some steam action.

Terrific views, Robert!  I also did not go far from home this year, so I took my camera mostly to local rails.  Most of the rest of the year's photos are of Steamtown trains and the various locomotives borrowed to keep up the schedule.

On April 18, I was waiting for the first day of Steamtown's operations, and caught this Delaware-Lackawanna RR freight running ahead of the Scranton Limited, Steamtown's downtown train.  D-L brought out the big power for this train:  Alco C636, and Montreal Locomotive Works M636.

April 19 was the debut of Steamtown's Nay Aug Gorge Limited, a Sunday-only train that journeys an extra mile to Nay Aug Park.  F3 664 was the power all year on the Limiteds, except during the RailFest in September.

April 25 was the first excursion of the year for Steamtown, a special run to Scranton for the City's sesquicentennial kick-off.  We see the inbound train, which originated in Jessup, about 10 miles away, coming through the former Delaware & Hudson's yard in the Green Ridge section of town. C420 number 405 takes this train.

In May, for National Train Day, Steamtown ran a train, also on the old D&H, going to Carbondale, PA.  Here is that train, with C425 power on the point, getting ready for departure back to Scranton.

Also, in May, I got in a bit of a chase with this Canadian Pacific train along the Scranton Expressway.  Two CN units led this time.

On June 13, the wildflowers were in bloom, and ready to send off the excursion that was heading to Moscow, PA.  This is the Steamtown boarding area in Scranton.

The end of June found the train in Delaware Water Gap, PA with the train coming into the station under I-80's bridge after running around the coaches in Slateford Junction, PA.

More of the year in photos is coming your way.

I always had a good time on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  Thank you for adding your photos, Ed.  It just occurred to me that I have not been there in 10 years.  I'll have to make up for that.

In July, I had the honor of working with a lot of cool people in railroading by being a counselor for the National Railway Historical Society's RailCamp.  We went to Wilmington, DE for the Amtrak Training Center.

A couple of the evenings, we railfanned at Newark, DE's Septa station, a former Pennsylvania RR line.

One of the days, we took the train from Wilmington to Washington, DC Several trains, like this Acela, passed us while we waited.

Washington, DC.  We took a full tour of the facility.

We also spent a bit of time on the Strasburg Rail Road.  Among the trains we took were the Cagney Amusement Park sized steamer.

Full sized trains we viewed or rode were the 2-6-0 number 89,

And the 4-8-0 number 475.  That does it for July.  More photos coming right up.

August brought me back to reality.  Plenty of trains ran on the lines around Scranton, so let's hop to it. 

On two different dates in August, I caught the Electric City Trolley in Scranton.  Above, we see car 80 from the Philadelphia Suburban Transit (Red Arrow) line coming up to the crossing at South Washington Ave.   Below, the car meets a bus at Cedar Ave.  The old Laurel Line freight depot is the brick building on Cedar.

Members of the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society spruce up their pair of FP7s in the Steamtown parking lot in preparation for Steamtown's RailFest.

The roundhouse was also spiffied up for RailFest and a special guest.  September's photos are next.

September saw RailFest at Steamtown.

Big steam was the star attraction, and the biggest star in the Northeast this year was Nickel Plate Road 765.  Here she backs off the turntable to get ready for the opening ceremony and a trip to Delaware Water Gap.

Norfolk Southern was one of many railroads representing at STEA this year.  Along with the old railroad, the Delaware Lackawanna & Western, in F3 form.

The Central of New Jersey RS3 couples up to the coaches for her short runs in town.

765 takes about 14 cars and a caboose to the Gap, passing Scranton's station.

The caboose was a DL&W piece built in Scranton in 1948.  It is owned by the D-L now, and was used as the "executive class" car on the excursion.

1554 on the Scranton Limited just a few minutes after the steam train passed.

Amtrak's Electric Veteran's unit always had a line of people waiting to get in.

Lehigh Valley C420 414 took the excursion to Moscow, PA on Saturday of RailFest.

D-L also took their 1935 EMC switcher off display at Steamtown to get back in running order. She led the Caboose Experience trains for the weekend.

The Sunday Moscow train saw this D-L RS3 in a Delaware & Hudson inspired striping and this photo runby at the Moscow station.

Finishing out the year, here are a few examples of trains in and around Steamtown.  

Here are two trains that ran to East Stroudsburg, PA in October.  For Columbus Day weekend, C425 2461 leads the train in Scranton past the old DL&W locomotive shop complex.  Below, we see RS3 1554 in East Stroudsburg two weeks later.  

In November, I was in Milwaukee, WI.  Among the things to catch my eye was this freight train on the edge of the downtown.  

Also in November, Santa Claus trains started up right after Thanksgiving.  It was very warm weather, as the train led by C420 414 and carrying streamliners from the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Society needed to turn on the air conditioning instead of the heat. 

For December, the ELDCPS ran a few more Santa specials.  Here is 414 with her wreath.  Along with the red flag on her nose, she is all set for the holidays. 

And closing out the year, we have Baldwin Locomotive Works 0-6-0 under steam inside the roundhouse.  The last time this happened was in December, 1999.  It has been a long time coming, but she was able to leave the Roundhouse in Scranton for a couple of hours on December 10.  With a few more adjustments, she is expected to run flawlessly for several years, beginning in April. 

Thank you for sharing, and indulging with these photos.  The thread isn't over yet.  Remember to bring your cameras along in 2016 for another train-filled year. 

No trains running in St. Louis this week.  

The Meremac River has swallowed up the BNSF...

2015 was one of the most active railfan years I've had in my lifetime. Not since 15 years ago, when I was deep into my Kodachrome years, have I done so much and went so many places. Fortunately, time and available funds all cooperated.

A decision to ride N&W #611 out of Manassas,VA. in June motivated me to start taking pics in April, and obtain a new digital camera in May.
Besides riding behind the J611 in June, another day was spent chasing and taking in the Manassas Railfest.

3 trips were made to the Western Maryland Scenic, a diesel cab ride in May, steam cab ride in September, and a regular chase day in October. With Frostburg being my hometown, these trips were all trips down memory lane...

Labor day weekend was spent in Scranton,PA., with a trip behind NKP#765, and another day spent chasing the big Berkshire over the Poconos.
2 other days were spent attending the Steamtown Railfest, the 4 days were probably the most railfan-intensive I've ever spent, Kudos to Ranger Tim and everyone involved.
Upon learning of the Everett RR#11 trips, I ventured up to Hollidaysburg in early November to take in what proved to be one of the most professional outfits in tourist railroading.
In between all the trips to see live steam engines, I spent time with the more local to me operations, i.e. NS out of Hagerstown, CSX in Cumberland and Brunswick, the Maryland Midland here in Thurmont.
I never caught up to any heritage engines, but did get the NS #911 in both Harrisburg and Scranton.
Hopefully in 2016, my priorities can be; more #611 and Everett #11, WMSR #1309, and maybe R&N's #425.
Warren W. Jenkins

I started the year with a story, and will end it the same way with the last set of photos from my wife & I's trip to Pittsburg.  Her meeting was over on Friday morning, so going on a tip from my thread here (Ed?), we headed south to Cumberland MD.  We tried to buy a ticket on the WMSR but it was sold out.  So, we loaded up on goodies from the gift shop.    At sunset on Friday we parked the car at the bike trail parking lot, loaded the flash gear into a regular wheeled suitcase, and set out for the Brush Tunnel a mile up the mountain.  Plan was to catch it w/b at the west portal.  We're in good shape and had no trouble with the hike despite a fast march, and I spent time carefully coming up with a composition and where to place lights.  The hillside was narrow & steep so I ended up tying some flash to saplings!  Since we flew to PIttsburgh, I only brought five small flash & stands with me.  I thought I was only going to be catching diesels!

We spent about an hour just sitting in the dark, waiting for the train to come.  After sundown we didn't see another soul--we had the place to ourselves!  My wife was a little spooked about bears so I cut a pole with my Swiss Army knife and whittled her a stout spear.  It made her feel better.    We could hear the train approaching from miles away, and finally heard it laboring hard up the grade.  It burst from the portal;  my wife was screaming over roar, "SHOOT IT!"  I only get one shot with the flash and waited until the engine was exactly where I wanted it.  I firmly pressed the trigger.  The mighty engine and towering column of smoke was instantly illuminated!   I checked the LCD after the train had rumbled by.  Nailed it!   We packed up and moved to the east portal, set up, and waited.  And waited.  Eight o'clock came, no train.  Nine o'clock came, no train.  Ten o'clock came, no train.  Uh oh.  We had moved into the tunnel to stay warm on the 28 degree night.  Frost glittered on my tripod and lightstands.  The lights inside the tunnel switched off at 10pm, leaving us in total darkness. Finally we heard an engine heading our way, but it was coming from the east.  And, it was a diesel.   I figured it was coming to rescue the steam train, and I was right.   (Turned out the turntable in Frostburg was broken and they had to pull the train backwards with the diesel.)  I quickly repositioned for a w/b and took a shot of the rescue engine before it disappeared into the tunnel.  We packed up and headed back down the mountain, my wife clutching her spear and watching for bears.  (She has a thing about "getting et by a bear."    )

The next day we did some sight seeing, and my wife surprised me by saying she wanted to do the "train thing" again.  She's usually up for an adventure!  Once again we parked in the bike trail lot at sundown and hiked up the mountain.  Her spear was right where she had left it the night before and she brought it along.  I told any bears were likely hibernating.    We set up on the steep grade where a cut widened out enough for me to safely place flash and set up my tripod.  It took me awhile to get the flash exactly the way I wanted it--my wife was a big help with that!  As we were setting up, a rather odd guy walked up the trail and began to talking to us.  He asked me if I was carrying a gun.  I responded, "Maybe.  We are from South Dakota."  He chatted but kept his distance as the forest went dark.  My wife flashed the hand signal, "This guy is making me uncomfortable."  I returned our hand sign for "Let's stay 30 feet apart."  (Makes it harder to attack us.)  The guy walked on up the hill but sat down on a boulder about 80 yards ahead, in the dark.  Hmmm.

The train was coming closer and closer.  We could clearly hear the mighty pistons pounding in the darkness and the chuff chuff as it breathed hard on the steep grade.  Steam poured out of the cylinders, smoke shot 40 feet up into the air, the whistle was SCREAMING!   Oh man,  absolutely better than a diesel!      When the train hit the spot I had marked, I popped the trigger.  The flash, the camera, the focus, the exposure--everything was PERFECT!!!  You can even see the engineer in the open cab window.  Nailed another one!   We began to pack up with the idea of heading up to the east portal to finally get that shot when the odd guy came back.  He began talking about offbeat stuff, like the recent finding of General Braddock's body not far from there.  My wife flashed the signal, "Let's leave."  I began packing up the flash and the guy followed me into the woods!  In the dark, I pulled out my Swiss Army knife and opened it, hiding the 3 inch razor sharp blade against the underside of my wrist.  We got everything packed and the guy asked if he could help carry something.  I thanked him for the offer, but said we could get it OK.  He left, walking back down the hill.  My wife wanted to head back to the car immediately, but I had us wait another twenty minutes.  It was getting cold and the odd guy was lightly dressed.  He was unlikely to linger between us and the parking lot.  We finally left, my wife walking  30 feet ahead with a flashlight and her spear; me behind with knife in hand walking quietly in total darkness.   We got to the car and found we were completely alone.  Our thoughts once again returned to the great shot we had taken as well as the fantastic experience of watching a large steam engine pulling uphill in the dark! 

The night was not over, however.  We headed to the Frostburg depot to buy something hot to drink and snack on.  We found the train crew and asked them where the road crossings were and if there were any big trestles we could easily get to.  The crew was extremely helpful, as was everyone else there.  We headed back along some narrow & twisty roads guided by my navigator/wife and her GPS.  We got to the first crossing and she quickly set up three flash as I pre-focused the camera.  I was able to pop one test shot and adjust.  Then, the train was right there!  Popped the shot and once again, nailed it!   We threw the flash and tripod mounted camera into the backseat and took off for the next crossing.  I set out three flash again while my wife set up the camera and popped two test shots.  The train was coming around the bend!  I ran back to the camera, composed, and took a shot.  I then counted to four (recycle flash) and took a second shot as the engine went around the curve towards us.  Two more nice shots in the bag!   The train thundered by and smoke drifted over us as we laughed with joy.  My wife yelled out, "Wow that was fun!"

I've shot rolling steam engines before, including both UP giants 844 & 3985, but I have to say the WMSR was the most fun of them all.  I still can't believe that all five shots came out perfectly!   Part of that might be due to 10 years of experience, but a big part was due to help from my wife!    Over dinner she suggested we come back next year and get tickets early enough to do the afternoon ride, then come back at night for more photos.  This time I'd like to bring more flash power AND my 4x5 camera.  Shooting b&w film with a 4x5, of a steamer at night in O. W. Link's old stomping grounds has been a dream of mine for about the past 12 years.  Finally, it's all coming together!   I might even buy an 8x10 camera for it--you can make life sized enlargements from an 8x10 negative. 

Over breakfast the next morning we came to the conclusion the odd guy the night before was almost certainly harmless.  I suspect he was autistic and just as uncomfortable about us as we were of him.  I mean after all, my wife was hanging around behind him in the dark with a spear!   We were already discussing plans to see the 1309 for next year's Santa night run.  Ed, want to join us one night? 

So, I close out the year with this story.  In a way I have killed two birds with one stone.  I've finally posted my tale of our nights on the mountain, AND posted my best photos of the year.  Two of these shots just might be the best night images I've done......ever!  It's going to be tough for me to go back to my usual grain trains and their boring diesels.  Then again, tomorrow morning my dad and I are heading out to Medora, North Dakota along the old NP Transcon west of Bismarck.  There's a steady stream of BNSF trains running in the snow in that far corner of ND, both day.............and night. 

Happy New Year!

Kent in SD

some shots from the 765 sunday trip out of allentown.

here is a video from that sunday run. (not my video)

Pete, some mighty fine photos of some rare stuff indeed. 

Kent I also appreciated your nighttime shots. Magnifico! Kudos to your wife and her "Bear Spear" helping you. I promptly passed your account onto my dear wife hoping to give her a hint. LOL

Dan Weinhold

Tim, thanks for your efforts. That was quite a year you had. Thanks for making the most of your photo opportunities. I forgot you live in PA. (correct?) I'm only a few miles from Strasburg.

Dan Weinhold

I joined an army of railfans when 765 stopped at Jim Thorpe.

The crew of the private car DOVER HARBOR included this distinguished gentleman.

As 765 worked on mountain grades, engineers applied sand. Her drivers acquired a light coating of dust.

The Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern repainted ex-Gulf, Mobile & Northern No. 425 just in time to dispatch her to Jim Thorpe and meet 765. Here she is at the former Jersey Central station.

She sports a fancy herald based on the Gulf, Mobile & Northern herald in her Baldwin builder's photo. I caught a gimpse of a New York, Ontario & Western herald, too

This caboose was part of the consist of a Santa Claus Special at Tamaqua.

I also met Andrea Biesecker, 26-year-old machinist, fireman and engineer on the Strasburg. To read an article and see more photos of her, go to www.strasburgrailroad.com. Scroll down to "26-year-old . . ." Click on that

pped in Jim Thorpe