Hello, and welcome once again to the Midweek Photos thread. We only have a couple days left of Spring. It seemed to take so long to get to us, and now, Summer is on the way. On to the photos...
On June 8, a local art festival called "Arts on Fire" took place in Scranton, PA at the Scranton Iron Furnaces state park. One of the exhibits at the park was Steamtown's steam locomotive no. 26. This is an 0-6-0 switcher built in 1929. She also brought a Scranton-built Delaware Lackawanna & Western RR caboose, no. 889. In the above photo, we see the train taking a track normally used by the Electric City Trolley, and the train is passing the DL&W locomotive erecting shop. This is now a US Army/ General Dynamics artillery shell factory.
Pushing over Cedar Ave, the train also passes one of the oldest RR Crossing signs in the East. I would date this to 1905 or so, when the track, known as the Brady Lead, was installed to connect the Lackawanna Railroad with the electrically powered Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railway.
This shot is from mid afternoon. The steam engine is displayed at a boarding platform built in 1991 so that Steamtown could run tour trains to the Iron Furnaces, and give tours of the site. In the mid 1990s, this was one of Steamtown's biggest trips.
The Iron Furnaces location is where the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. smelted iron ore to make a useful iron product. By 1900, this facility made about i out of every 6 steel rails for the railroads. By 1902, it was all gone, being relocated to Lackawanna, NY. We see the DL&W station above, where Steamtown trains normally run.
Later in the day, around 5:30, we see the Sun shining on the face of Baldwin no. 26. It was almost time to return to Steamtown.
This photo does not do justice to the wild twists and turns that this track takes. The short train doesn't help either.
Time to bid farewell to this little train for now. A failure in the brake pump led to a slightly early departure for this train from the Arts Festival.
Time for you to add a few photos of your railroad scene. Not many festivals happen near railroad tracks, due to the inherent nature of many people being right near the tracks when trains are running. But, this location was built for a train. Baldwin no. 26 has not been on this line since 1999. Talk to you soon.
