Switcher Saturday: 2016-May-28

Happy Switcher Saturday. Rich mentioned Memorial Day and I was thinking about my Dad who was in the Army and National Guard (combined) for around 50 years from the 1930's to around 1980. He was at Pearl Harbor within months of the attack helping to protect it during an uncertain time and Iater was at the Battle of the Bulge. So, I thought I should find some patriotic looking diesel to post today, so I chose this snazzy looking tri-power boxcab. 

I noticed besides Rich, Bob (and Mike) is an early riser today!

Tom 

PS-Rich nice video of your A5.

Tom

Happy SWSat guys!

As usual we are off to a great start. That is one amazing center cab CNJ3676. And Tom that Boxcab is a real classic. 

This weekend my family is up in the Adirondacks at our family house and I will be in the yard but the yard used to be a lumber yard, but it was more than a lumber yard it was a logging railroad yard and lumberyard. Now it is just a very weirdly lumpy yard but it used to be home to some switchers. The house itself was the company office and sometimes station. Thanks to rail fans of the past I have pictures of what used to be there. 

This is stucture is all gone but some foundations and one of those sheds is the canoe shed now. This was a double band saw mill that ran 1915 to 1918. The railroad lasted until 1957 and at one point had over 100 miles of track into the woods. It was known as the Emporium Forestry Co. originally of Emporium PA and had operations there in NY and in New Hampshire. The raised platform was for hand carts to move cut wood to drying stacks. The live chain and log dump was on the far side of the building where you can see the steam from a run in train.

The company had 28 engines ranging from 3 truck Shays and Climaxes to rod engines from a 4-6-0, 2-6-0s, ex elevated Forney 0-4-4Ts, an 0-6-2T and various homemade monsters. The common carrier was the Grasse River Railroad. 

That last car #12 is now restored and rideable at Strasburg PA. The car above it that looks like a trolly was called the Rolliam and Lucious Bebee told a story that it was used to bring inebriated loggers back to thier camps after festive Saturday nights in town it had a pad lock mounted on the outside of the door to keep them safely in the car. It was powered by a huge 1905 Thomas Flyer engine (like around the world in 80 days).

After steam ended this 44tonner was used on a much truncated 16 mile Railroad. 

So last up is my caboose which I made by looking at some pictures and an old O scale craftsman kit by Keystone models  of this caboose to full scale. My neighbor milled the structural wood from logs. It sits about 200 feet from the saw mill in the earlier pictures on the location of tracks that would have supplied the mill. I have worked summers on this for about 10 years.

We're en-route to see family, my wife is driving and I'm reading the Baltimore Sun - it's nice to be a passenger sometimes!

anyway, there's a nice article about a guy named John McGrain who is a Baltimore historian and has taken lots of fantastic pictures in and around Baltimore, here is one of the pics from the article, sorry the quality is lousy!

Bob/CNJ3676, 

  Looks like things are getting back to normal or near normal if you posted twice here today! 

Andy/SILVERLAKE,

  I think this is the second or third time I have seen that caboose, very nice. If it was any shorter, the two innermost axles could share brake shoes! Please check your recent emails as I mailed you in the last 2 weeks. Thanks for the history on your Adirondacks railroad, very cool. 

Rich,

  Thanks for another week of posting this for us.

Tom 

early riser..but I had to work.

i

Today I visited a yard that has not seen a train or a switcher in 40+ years. It was last used by Penn Central and had an old Ex NYC work train car in it. All abandoned in place when the mine closed.

This was an escorted trip on privately held land so rare footage. I got tired of waiting for the switcher so I'm afraid that is all I got.  

Not a lot of railroading in the Adirondacks these days.  

Murnane posted:

We're en-route to see family, my wife is driving and I'm reading the Baltimore Sun - it's nice to be a passenger sometimes!

 

anyway, there's a nice article about a guy named John McGrain who is a Baltimore historian and has taken lots of fantastic pictures in and around Baltimore, here is one of the pics from the article, sorry the quality is lousy!

 

Thanks  for the post Rich!!! That is the Ma & Pa RR switcher headed back to York.  Awesome.  Also I really liked your A5 switcher clip !!! Very nice!!!!  Glad to hear everyone is well in your household too.  

In obervance of Memorial Day Weekend I have photographed a  Reading Trainmaster doing some switching for the US Army.... since my Dad was a D Day vet serving in the Big Red One.   Best wishes for a good and safe weekend to everyone and a special thank you to all who have served and are serving in the armed forces.  Remembering this weekend all who have fallen. 

Silver Lake posted:

Happy SWSat guys!

As usual we are off to a great start. That is one amazing center cab CNJ3676. And Tom that Boxcab is a real classic. 

This weekend my family is up in the Adirondacks at our family house and I will be in the yard but the yard used to be a lumber yard, but it was more than a lumber yard it was a logging railroad yard and lumberyard. Now it is just a very weirdly lumpy yard but it used to be home to some switchers. The house itself was the company office and sometimes station. Thanks to rail fans of the past I have pictures of what used to be there. 

This is stucture is all gone but some foundations and one of those sheds is the canoe shed now. This was a double band saw mill that ran 1915 to 1918. The railroad lasted until 1957 and at one point had over 100 miles of track into the woods. It was known as the Emporium Forestry Co. originally of Emporium PA and had operations there in NY and in New Hampshire. The raised platform was for hand carts to move cut wood to drying stacks. The live chain and log dump was on the far side of the building where you can see the steam from a run in train.

The company had 28 engines ranging from 3 truck Shays and Climaxes to rod engines from a 4-6-0, 2-6-0s, ex elevated Forney 0-4-4Ts, an 0-6-2T and various homemade monsters. The common carrier was the Grasse River Railroad. 

That last car #12 is now restored and rideable at Strasburg PA. The car above it that looks like a trolly was called the Rolliam and Lucious Bebee told a story that it was used to bring inebriated loggers back to thier camps after festive Saturday nights in town it had a pad lock mounted on the outside of the door to keep them safely in the car. It was powered by a huge 1905 Thomas Flyer engine (like around the world in 80 days).

After steam ended this 44tonner was used on a much truncated 16 mile Railroad. 

So last up is my caboose which I made by looking at some pictures and an old O scale craftsman kit by Keystone models  of this caboose to full scale. My neighbor milled the structural wood from logs. It sits about 200 feet from the saw mill in the earlier pictures on the location of tracks that would have supplied the mill. I have worked summers on this for about 10 years.

 WOW!!!!!  Very cool photos Siver Lake!!  That quite some history story complete with photos !!!   The caboose is AWESOME!!! Congratulations on stayin

with it for 10 years. What a great accomplishment !

Legacy GP7 #105 is doing some local switching for the Union Pacific. Backdrop is one set up temporarily for photo ops.

Bob,

  Great old photos. Looks like there is even a pole affixed to its sides for poling purposes. 

Tom 

PS- glad things are going well! 

MNCW posted:

Bob,

  Great old photos. Looks like there is even a pole affixed to its sides for poling purposes. 

Tom 

PS- glad things are going well! 

It seems that poling mount may have been a standard offering by IR on these units. This is an image of one on the CNJ 1000 that is now at the B&O Museum in Baltimore. 

Silver Lake posted:

Today I visited a yard that has not seen a train or a switcher in 40+ years. It was last used by Penn Central and had an old Ex NYC work train car in it. All abandoned in place when the mine closed.

This was an escorted trip on privately held land so rare footage. I got tired of waiting for the switcher so I'm afraid that is all I got.  

Not a lot of railroading in the Adirondacks these days.  

Where is this location? I would like to look on google maps to see where it fits with modern lines.