Grassroots Railroad Sports?

Adirondack Railroad is running trains for an Easter special and they are leaving from Holland Patent, going to Remsen and coming back, and doing that trip three times that day. I'm going to have to try and get out there and take photos that day, because the problem is that the Utica-Thendara segment is typically only one train a day in each direction (they run several trains from Thendara south to Otter Lake and back), and since they have a lot of ground to cover, they really haul ass. So chasing it can be a bit difficult because, if traffic or conditions don't cooperate, you might miss them at one spot or another. But with three trips, I'll get multiple chances. Them not operating the Utica-Holland Patent section is no big loss because that section is a mix of either totally inaccessible (where it crosses Utica Marsh) or scenically underwhelming (where it runs through Marcy), but the Holland Patent-Remsen section is all pretty good stuff. I'm also imagining that since there is no runaround track at Holland Patent, they'll be running in push-pull configuration with a locomotive at each end, so it'll be different on the north and south trips (unless they uses both of the RS-18us, in which case the numberboards will be the only difference). Hopefully I can finally catch them climbing Remsen Hill.

Cotton Belt 4-8-4 #819, Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 #1218, Union Pacific 4-8-2 #844, and Frisco 4-8-2 #1522 at St. Louis, Missouri for the 1990 NRHS convention. A sight unlikely to be seen again, between various Class Is steam policies, PTC requirements, and the fact that three of the four steam locomotives are no longer operational.

Poor Cotton Belt #819, a short-lived, and somewhat forgotten, excursion star. Built in '42 at the St. Louis Southwestern's own Pine Bluff, Arkansas shops as the last of their 20 Northerns that they owned, she was retired by '53, after just over 10 years in service, and donated to Pine Bluff for display in '55. The sole surviving SSW locomotive, it sat on display until 1983, when a group of enterprising individuals made the decision to restore her. The #819 was moved to the same Pine Bluff shops where she was built and restored by a mix of volunteers and Cotton Belt employees, and made her return to operation in '86. The big Northern piled on the miles with a number of excursions over the Cotton Belt and SP, including that memorable trip to St. Louis for the 1990 NRHS convention. By 1993 though, the #819 was due for an FRA-mandated overhaul and was torn back down at Pine Bluff. Shortly after the restoration began though, Southern Pacific, and it's subsidiary St. Louis Southwestern along with it, was engulfed by Union Pacific. Union Pacific's standing policy of not allowing any non-UP steam locomotives over their rails put the brakes on the restoration, and the #819 has been slowly being put back together for cosmetic display ever since. Now with PTC requirements, Amtrak discontinuing charter excursions, and high insurance rates, it seems highly unlikely that the #819 will move under power ever again.

The Cotton Belt oddly skipped the Pacific and the Mikado, relying on Ten-Wheelers for passenger power and Consolidations for freight power prior to 1930. The St. Louis Southwestern's reputation was of a pokey secondary railroad with outdated power. But that began to change in the late '20s, when they approached Baldwin about a modern Berkshire to speed up freight service. For reasons unknown, the design morphed into a 4-8-4 instead and Baldwin delivered ten of them, #800-#809, in 1930. In 1931, the Cotton Belt Route introduced their Blue Streak Merchandise fast freights, with 800-series Northerns assigned to them, and almost overnight transformed their image into a hot shot midwest fast freight railroad. They built another five Northerns at the Pine Bluff shops in 1937, then churned out the final five in 1942.

It's sad that the days of those big railfan weekends or huge NRHS conventions where a bunch of these big mainline excursions engines would gather seem pretty much dead and buried. The 1987 NRHS convention had N&W #611 and N&W #1218 storming side-by-side down the Norfolk Southern mainline for miles on end. The 1988 NRHS convention was a E36 M3show, but was definitely ambitious, with over 100 events planned for the week including a visit by NKP #765 and excursions over the NYS&W, Conrail, Reading & Northern, Morristown & Erie, and New Jersey Transit. The 1990 NRHS convention had Cotton Belt #819, N&W #1218, Frisco #1522, and UP #844 all together at St. Louis. Steamtown's opening weekend had their three locomotives, CP #2317, CN #3254 and Baldwin #26, joined by Milwaukee Road #261, Reading & Northern #425 and NYS&W #142 (Pere Maruette #1225 was also supposed to be present but had clearance issues on CP), along with excursions over the D&H and the NYS&W. Railfair 1999 had, amongst many others, SP #4449, SP#2467, ATSF #3751, UP #3985, UP #844, and UP #4466 all on site.

Now, with current excursion climates, it's just too difficult to get multiple large steam locomotives together. UP, CSX, CP and CN don't play ball at all, Norfolk Southern is very particular, and BNSF is kind of a question mark. There's a lack of suitable sites, either due to being landlocked by a railroad that won't allow a move or due to physical restrictions. Strasburg is too small, Steamtown is mired in bureaucracy, Andy Muller isn't keen on hosting because it steals the spotlight, Ohio Central was sold to Genesee & Wyoming by J. J. Jacobson and G&W is openly hostile to excursions, etc.

Declining NRHS membership is another big factor, I'm sure, but that's a whole other discussion.

I watched this vid about Russia's failed logistics regarding the invasion of Ukraine, and ironically it's mostly due to their heavy reliance on railroad transportation. While it allows them to move troops & hardware around their vast country quickly - especially with the railroads being state-owned - once they reached the Ukrainian border, where the railroad connections had been severed, their logistics just fell apart. 
 

Today at the Pontiac Michigan passenger Depot. Wow that's ugly....

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

Saw one of those with a "B" (?) unit on a passenger train in Duluth, GA yesterday. Headed towards Atlanta. 

Lou Manglass

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

Amtrak has had a habit of buying the box the locomotive came in since the Genesis was introduced in 1992...

Those new Siemens Chargers are already making me nostalgic for the GE Geneses (apparently that is the correct plural of Genesis). The Genesis do look better in the older paint schemes, particularly Phase I and Phase II, the Phase V was just awful. Even the guy that designed the Genesis lambasted that livery. I do hope that someone saves a Genesis since they dominated the North American passenger scene for the past 30 years. The problem is that Amtrak cannot legally donate any equipment, if you want it, you have to approach them and purchase it off them.

On the subject of modern preservation, Wabtec (GE) has donated GECX #6002, one of two AC6000CW demonstrators, to the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East, Pennsylvania. This makes it only the second modern AC traction diesel locomotive to be preserved, the other being SD70ACe #4141 at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. The Lake Shore Railway Museum is quite a hotbed of GE preservation, with one of the GE 132-ton center cab switchers built for the Ford Motor Company, an ex-Chicago, South Shore & South Bend "Little Joe" electric, an ex-Norfolk Southern B32-8 (the only Dash-8 in preservation so far) and an ex-NYC U25B. They just need a Dash-7 and a Dash-9 now.

In addition to converting 2-6-0 #11 to burn oil, there have been three new passenger cars acquired over at the Everett Railroad. First, an ex-PRR/Penn Central B60b baggage car was delivered a week ago. Solid-looking car, but in primer with some surface rust. Then just yesterday, there was also the announcement that Everett Railroad also purchased two heavyweight Pullmans from the now-closed Fillmore & Western. One is "Powhatan", a 1928 Pullman cafe-parlor originally built for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac, while the other is "Rancho Sespe", a 1922 Pullman coach built for Colorado & Southern. 

Perhaps a second set of cars for Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain 2-8-0 #38, which is under restoration? Although I was under the impression that that was a "rainy day" project that they were picking at and was progressing slowly. I know that #11 is pretty small and light, so they can't realistically run too large and heavy a consist behind her, unless they want to start using diesel assistance, at which point you end up like Conway Scenic or GSMR, where you have a small engine on the head end of an absurdly long string of cars, just kind of looking the part, with a pair of diesels shoving on the tail end doing the hard work. I hope they don't go that route.

Apologies if you already posted this. https://www.timesleader.com/news/1546495/reading-northern-returning-historic-steam-locomotive-to-excursion-service

In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :

I was actually fortunate enough to get to tour the steam shops at Port Clinton this summer.

I'm going down to chase the first passenger run on May 28th. Andy Muller has also said that the plan is for #2102 to make it's first operational run of the 21st century on the head end of a freight train, so that will presumably happen sometime between now and then. I'm curious if they'll run #2102 on any of the Lehigh Gorge Scenic trips up out of Jim Thorpe to Penn Haven. If they do, I'd like to try and get a cab ride on one of those (unlike most railroads, R&N does offer cab rides without needing special connections).

This gentleman's blog gives a look into just how unique the R&N is as a railroad these days. The newest power is from 1986, there's not a wide cab in sight, regularly scheduled fast freights, they still use the old semaphore signals, you can walk near the company offices without having security draw guns on you, they offer regular excursions and passenger service, often behind steam power. And the craziest part is that this isn't some obscure little shortline that's barely hanging on and stuck in the old ways, this is a fast, efficient, modern regional line that continues to set record growth and kick the E36 M3 out of competitors. Hell, they hauled a quarter of a million passengers last year alone.

http://thetracksidephotographer.com/2022/03/24/a-railfans-railroad/

R&N's passenger department posted a photo on Facebook today, with them painting the running gear on #2102 today.

Reading T-1 #2100 at Allentown, PA along the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Canal in '49

The Reading T1s may have had some aesthetic foibles, but they were still an imposing looking machine and solid performers. In '56, PRR ended up leasing nine of them after being caught out by a motive power shortage, and PRR crews came away very impressed with the big engines. 

#2125 and #2126 at Coopersburg, PA on the Bethlehem Branch. The last 10 T1s that were constructed were built with roller bearing rods, and intended more for passenger usage, but also saw freight service as well.

Reading #2125 at Emmaus Junction. Check out the cool Hall Disc, or banjo, signal to the right of the locomotive, which the Reading was so fond of. There's actually one of those still at R&N's Port Clinton facilities, but it isn't operational. A cloth disc would drop in front of the window to show caution for daytime indication, the disc would rise and the window would become clear to show the daytime indication of clear.

Reading #2102 herself with a 1962 Reading Iron Horse Ramble excursion.

Reading #2115 has the sanders on as she digs in at East Penn Junction

Reading I-10sa Consolidation #2008 approaching the East Mahanoy Tunnel at Barnesville, PA. The I-10sa Consols were the donor engines that were rebuilt into the T-1 Northerns, although the amount of components used in the T-1s was actually very low.

I-10sa #2002 resting at Tamaqua