Steam Favorites

Hi, I have scanned some of my favorite slides. Here are the steam images.

In February 1977 I participated in an early trip on the Cass Scenic Railroad.  The photos above and below were taken at a spot called Bum Field.

In July 1978 I followed the British Columbia Rwy's Royal Hudson excursion along Howe Sound from North Vancouver to Squamish.

In September 1980 ex C&O #614 hauled a Chessie Safety Express excursion up Sand Patch Grade at Foley, PA.

A group of British railfans had a series of charters on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic on October 4 1983.  Here the train is at Coxco, CO.

The SP #4449 was at Lang, CA in Soledad Canyon with a matched set on its way from Portland, OR to the Worlds Fair in New Orleans in May 1984.

Yes there was a time when former PRR K-4s #1361 did operate.  Here at Bellefonte, PA in October 1987 on a trip from Altoona, PA.

Former Reading 4-8-4 #2101 was used to power the American Freedom Train through the northeastern US because the main engine, former SP #4449, was too big.  It passed through Potomac Yard in Alexandria, VA on its way to display at the Pentagon in August 1976.

Thanks for looking.

New York City - 3

Hi, I have reached the final post for my urban railroads images. This post will cover commuter trains on the CNJ and Long Island plus a couple of other Miscellaneous subjects.

The Aldene plan went into effect in 1967.  Under this plan CNJ commuter trains abandoned their Jersey City Terminal to run into the PRR's Newark, NJ station.  To accomplish this the trains ran a short distance on the former Lehigh Valley and then came down a ramp, shown above, onto the CNJ mainline (this is still the case today under NJT).  The Lehigh Valley line crossed over the former CNJ mainline on the truss bridge in the background.  A GP40P leads this short train in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

In the early 1970s a CNJ commuter train was sitting in Newark's Penn Station.  A Penn Central commuter MU is on the right.

The CNJ ran a shuttle from Jersey City to Roselle Park to connect with mainline trains.  It was headed west behind a geep in the new red baron paint scheme in the early 1970s at Elizabethport, location of the CNJ's main shops and a major junction for the railroad.

On the same date an RS3 was switching the nearby yard under the New Jersey Turnpike overpass.

On  trip in the late 1970s a Baldwin S-12 was switching in the same area.

In the late 1960s a GP40P lead a westbound commuter train into the station at Plainfield, NJ.

One of the Rahway Valley's GE 70 tonners was photographed in the late 1970s.

In the early 1970s I was home on a visit and made a trip to Jamaica.  This was shortly after the FA power cars went into service.  This train was westbound arriving at the station led by an Alco C420.

Here another C420 leads an eastbound out of the station.

At Mineola, NY a Long Island train headed out the Oyster Bay Branch with an with a power car made from an FA on the rear.

Another train bound for Oyster Bay was crossing Pratt Blvd. in Glen Cove.

That evening a pair of FA power cars sat on the westbound end of trains in the layup yard at Oyster Bay.

Finally, this black and white image of an Erie PA sitting at the Jersey City terminal in 1956 was left out of an earlier post. Thanks for looking.

Railfanning - 9/19/2013

Hi, I went up to Baltimore again on Thursday with friend Rudy Volin. Our objectives were to check out two CSX locations: first the S. Monroe St. bridge over CSX and second the Russel St. overpass, and then to shoot during the morning and afternoon at the Halethorpe commuter station again. 

We already knew that both bridges over CSX had sidewalks and that Russel St. was an afternoon shot only.  What we learned was that trees plus a ghetto fence block any shot on the S. Monroe St. bridge and that the sun comes around for a shot off the Russel St. bridge very late in the day at this time of the year.

As we were driving up to Halethorpe Rudy spotted a train sitting on the Old Main Line at St. Dennis.  We went down to investigate and found this ballast train.  It was waiting for a southbound intermodal train to clear before it could enter the Capital Sub main and continue its trip east.

Almost as soon as we hit the platform at Halethorpe the final electric powered train, with an HHP-8 pushing, stopped to pick up passengers.  We wanted to photograph from the pedestrian bridge over the tracks, if possible.  It turns out there is no fence on the bridge, just glass and it is possible to shoot through the glass without reflection if the camera is held very close to the glass.

While we were on the bridge we shot a southbound commuter with the MP36 pushing,

a northbound Amtrak Northeast Regional train with an AEM-7,

a southbound Northeast Regional with another AEM-7, and

a southbound Acela.

As we were leaving another MARC train made a station stop.  The man on the left had warning sign (next to his left knee) he would hold up whenever he spotted a train in either direction.  The sign warned of workers on or near the tracks and required the engineer to blow his horn.

Our next stop was Bush St., where all of the CSX images were taken.  First up was Y123, which backed down and headed onto an industrial track to the left just this side of the overpass in the background.

Shortly after the Y123 disappeared the Q031 went south.

Forty five minutes later Q036 came north.

Next a light power move came up from the south and then backed into another branch underneath the bridge.  We never saw what the power set went to pick up.

Meanwhile, the ballast train was sitting just south of Hollins Ferry Rd.  Once the light engines cleared it came up and crossed over.  The Y123 is in the background on the left.

After this eastbound coal train came through we headed back to Halethorpe and go up on the pedestrian bridge again.

First up was an Amtrak Northeast Regional train with an HHP-8,

a northbound MARC train making a station stop,

a Northeast Regional with an AEM-7.

and a MARC train led by an HHP-8 making a station stop on its way to Baltimore.

We then went to the south end of the platform and photographed a northbound Northeast Regional with an AEM-7,

the northbound Silver Star with an HHP-8,

a MARC train running express, and

another northbound MARC train behind an HHP-8 making a station stop. 

In closing I should note that parking in the MARC lot is impossible in the morning and early afternoon.  It is best to find parking on residential streets on the east side of the tracks.  There are elevators in both towers in addition to the staircases, and there are restrooms on the parking lot level of the tower on the right in the photo above.

Thanks for looking.

New York City - 3

Hi, These photos were taken during 3 visits to the former New York and Long Branch in the early to late 1980s with most taken in the spring of 1980.

An outbound was making its station stop in Perth Amboy, NJ on what I believe was the day of the farewell to the GG-1 excursions, October 19, 1983.

In June of 1980 the red G brought a commuter train into South Amboy, NJ.  Diesels would be substituted for the G at the station here.

Later that evening an impromptu night photo session was held.

By day the engine terminal was a bee hive of activity.

For a brief period after the retirement of the GG-1s former Amtrak E60s took over the run from Penn Station in New York City to South Amboy.

The evening rush was a good time to catch a southbound crossing the Navesink River into Red Bank, NJ.  The line is now electrified all the way to Long Branch, NJ.

This tower was south of the Red Bank station.

A northbound afternoon train crossed Shark River in Belmar, NJ.

With Brielle in the background this train was approaching Point Pleasant on its way to Bay Head Junction, NJ.

An early morning in bound is shown crossing the Manasquan River into Brielle, NJ.

By the time this photo was taken the Raritan River Railroad had been absorbed by Conrail.  The tower still stands at the south end of the Raritan River in South Amboy.
 

A local was photographed switching at Milltown, NJ.

Thanks for looking.