Midweek Photos 4/26/2017

Early low nose road switchers Factory GP9 & RS11

Saturday, April 22, 2017 was the date for a sold-out railfan photographers special using 2 of Reading & Northern's BUDD RDCs. The BUDDS left Port Clinton @ 8:30am and returned about 2 pm, at which time tours were given of R&N's facilities, including the steam shop.
Although rain persisted after 12 noon, most of the photo stops were dry. A variety of static and at-speed run-bys were set-up, although trackside growth made some photo lines tight.
The trip was sponsored by the Lehigh Valley chapter of the NRHS, I hope more trips like this are offered in the future; the R&N BUDDS will be running all summer to Jim Thorpe.

A followup to the above post: We were able to tour the shops & HQ at Port Clinton, however people-free shots of the steam engines were not possible.
A employee told me that while #425 will be back out on the road later this year, #2102 will be delayed until Spring 2018, due to the heavy restoration work needed. Kudos to the R&N for being a tolerant host!

Borden Tunnel posted:

A followup to the above post: We were able to tour the shops & HQ at Port Clinton, however people-free shots of the steam engines were not possible.
A employee told me that while #425 will be back out on the road later this year, #2102 will be delayed until Spring 2018, due to the heavy restoration work needed. Kudos to the R&N for being a tolerant host!

Whats the best way to keep up to date with the next 425 excursions? I have never been on one and I would really like to make an effort to get out to one this year. Thanks guys!

J 611 posted:

Borden Tunnel posted:

A followup to the above post: We were able to tour the shops & HQ at Port Clinton, however people-free shots of the steam engines were not possible.
A employee told me that while #425 will be back out on the road later this year, #2102 will be delayed until Spring 2018, due to the heavy restoration work needed. Kudos to the R&N for being a tolerant host!

Whats the best way to keep up to date with the next 425 excursions? I have never been on one and I would really like to make an effort to get out to one this year. Thanks guys!

J 611, your best bet is to stay current with the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway's page of  the Reading & Northern website. www.lgsry.com It's still kind of sketchy as far as what locomotives will be running, and special events are not timed and priced yet, but this is usually how they inform the public of steam powered excursions. 

I took these shots today. 6 trains in less than 90 minutes...

p51 posted:

There's nothing particular striking about these Citi units, but I always enjoy seeing one go past.  The colors work well together and, to my rapidly-aging brain, must be more relaxing than BNSF's orange scheme.  To me, they are a pleasant diversion from the many BNSF/CSX/NS units that pass through Amarillo.

And that Blue Mountain & Reading Budd Car trip . . . I would have been in heaven on that trip.  It looks like it was well done, and I have a real desire to ride an RDC again at main line speed.  I am going to contact BM&R about any future trips of this type.

In 1959, I rode a Pacific Railroad Society excursion on SP's Coast Line, round trip between L.A. and Lompoc, and we stopped for a couple of hours at Santa Barbara on the return trip.  SP allowed us to roam all over the engine servicing area there, and I climbed up on a brand-new low-nose GP9 just like the one in the photo (but spotlessly clean, and even smelling of new paint in the cab).  Good memories, thanks for posting the photo.  As info, our engine was an FP7A-F7B-F7B-FP7A, with the two west units painted black widow, and the two east units freshly painted in the then-new bloody nose.

I agree, Tom, that scheme was a nice diversion here on the old West End, at the Keyser Yard. A fellow railfan and I happened to meet at Piedmont, five miles or so west of Keyser, and as we made photos of this stone train, he informed me a Citi pair were on the front of a manifest, which was parked in the yard waiting crew, from of all places, Grafton.

Here's the stone train:

And the Citi units. As usual, click on small photos at the bottom for larger versions. The stone train, by the way, is not moving, waiting for signal at Piedmont to continue west.

This last one really looks good full size on my 20" monitor!

Ed

Number 90 posted:

 

And that Blue Mountain & Reading Budd Car trip . . . I would have been in heaven on that trip.  It looks like it was well done, and I have a real desire to ride an RDC again at main line speed.  I am going to contact BM&R about any future trips of this type.

 

Tom here is the summer schedule for the BUDDS. While these are not railfan specials, they are modestly priced round trips to Jim Thorpe, a well known tourist mecca in PA. There is also another regular R&N excursion out of Jim Thorpe, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic.
Good news is the R&N has just picked up 2 F-7s and another BUDD RDC for their excursion trains, hopefully the F's will replace the freight EMDS currently used on the Lehigh Gorge trip.
The RDC trip was well run, and I have come to prefer these type of railfan trips to get quality photos. The trip was only $49, a mere pittance considering what I've spent in recent years riding behind 611 and 765.