Grassroots Railroad Sports?

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

Definitely a bizarre machine. David P. Morgan visited EMD’s plant in September 1947 and wrote: “When I first saw the prototype BL1 on the erecting floor at EMD, I wondered if all was well.”

C&O probably had the wildest-looking BL2s, in the original C&O passenger paint scheme. They assigned them to commuter runs out on former Pere Marquette territory. The irony was that the BL2 wasn't a bad machine, it was just an F3 under the skin although significantly harder to work on, but it wasn't what railroads wanted.

Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum got the two BL2s from Saratoga & North Creek in the IPH auctions, and they operate on ex-C&O tracks, and have a C&O Kanawah, so I'm hoping that they might paint at least one in C&O colors. C&EI or Monon livery would also be fairly fitting.

One of Rock Island's five BL2s in commuter use in 1965. 

Why EMD went the route they did with the BL2 still kind of baffles me. Alco had introduced the RS-1 in 1940 and had also rolled out the RS-2 in 1946. Baldwin was also introducing the DRS-4-4-1500 and Fairbanks-Morse was also rolling out the H-15-44, so the road switcher formula was established. One theory is that maybe EMD, who had been an innovator and out in front of the competition from day one, didn't want to be perceived as now copying their competitors. Another theory I've read is that late-1940s GM, who was very focused on styling, thought that the basic road switcher formula was very ugly and wanted something more streamlined-looking for when it was assigned to passenger service. 

Western Maryland purchased just two BL2s but got some of the most life out of there's. Originally numbered #81 and #82, the #81 had been renumbered to #7181 as part of the Chessie Systems renumbering. The #81 and #82 ran until 1982, and held down the yard at Hagerstown, Maryland, both of them paired with a slug for more traction. Sadly, neither of them were repainted into Chessie Systems colors, which would have been something to see, but both of them did survive retirement. #81 ended up at the B&O Railroad Museum, while #82 is still in use at the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad.

WM #82 and F7 #243 pulling a string of coal cars on the Durbin & Greenbriar Valley Railroad, looking just like the old days.

Left work at noon, made it to Reading around 6. I stopped in Tamaqua and checked some of my locations I had noted on Google Maps. Most seem pretty good. My main concern is that, by road, Tamaqua is a huge bottleneck. Lots of traffic, one road through, bunch of traffic lights. The good news is, Hometown is adjacent to Tamaqua, but R&N trains have to go out to East Mahanoy Junction, then make a near 180 and head back to Hometown, plus they stop on Hometown High Bridge for photos, so I should be able to catch back up if I don't get held up too long. 

People have confirmed it will be a 19-car train and all seats are sold out.

- Generator Car 1250
- 6x 300 series coaches
- freshly arrived snack bar 1168
- 3x 300 series coaches
- 2x crown class cars 
- Domes 4 and 6
- Coach 212
- Car 8 
- Car 2
- Car 7

Also, looks like rain tomorrow, so 19 cars plus run could equal an interesting show at Hometown Hill. Good thing they got the trailing truck booster operational. Some people are hoping for no diesel assistance, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

NickD said:

Some people are hoping for no diesel assistance, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

And apparently they are going to run without diesels. I'm up in Leesport currently waiting, but photos at Reading Outer Station are on Facebook and #2102 is coupled directly to the passenger cars. Also, no auxiliary tender. It's gonna be a helluva show

In reply to NickD :

Wow, that seems kinda ballsy. 

So, a lot to unpack from today.

I went to Leesport first, rather than try to get anywhere near Reading Outer Station. But when I passed Reading Outer Station, I saw the passenger consist with an SD40-2 hooked up and assumed it would be assisting and providing dynamic braking. I got to Leesport early, parked, and caught #2102 headed down to Reading without an auxiliary tender. Then I check Facebook and see that the SD40-2 had uncoupled and they hooked #2102 up to the passenger train directly. Wild, but apparently Andy Muller wanted to get the vibe of the original Rambles and there were no diesel helpers or auxiliary tenders then either. 

Leesport was a bit of a mess in terms of the crowd. A lot of local residents came out to see what was going on, and a lot of railfans were there also because it's at the end of a 15 mile straight stretch and its easy to get to. There were people all over the right of way, which makes me cringe, as well as setting up a little too close to the ballast for comfort. And then, you have the people getting all bent out of shape because they "can't get a shot without any people in it." Listen, pal, you aren't Phillip Hasting shooting for Trains here, relax a little. If you didn't want there to be a crowd, don't come for the debut. Just get the best shot you can.

From there, I jetted up to Port Clinton, where they make another stop for passengers. Got a couple good photos while they checked it over as passengers boarded.

After a very short stop, #2102 dug in and got nineteen passenger cars started with only a hint of wheelslip. This video captures the earth-shsking power, fury and barely-contained violence of a steam locomotive that internal combustion rarely matches. It sounds and feels like it is furious at the inertia of the passenger cars as it fights to overcome it. Also, the power of the #2202 was apparent in how much faster it accelerated 19 cars versus #425 with 12 cars. A Reading T1 is a whole lotta locomotive.

Easy Mahanoy Junction, just above Tamaqua. There is a sharp curve, a slight grade, and a brief rainstorm, resulting in #2102 furiously clawing for traction here. The final photo in this sequence is, I believe, the greatest photo I've ever taken. Even managed to get it in the vaunted "rods down" position.

After East Mahanoy Junction, they go out over the Hometown High Bridge. There are grades on both sides of the bridge and they slow to a crawl on the bridge, so there's usually a big show getting up the hill. With the rain, I was prepared for an epic battle, but #2102 never lost her footing once. Granted, that doesn't mean it was drama-free. They had the reverser down in the corner and the throttle open pretty far, and the exhaust was thunderous, but it was gaining speed as it passed. Like I said, a Reading T1 is a whole lot of engine.

Nesquehoning

Getting serviced at Jim Thorpe after the train was wyed. On the right is the Black Diamond, Andy Miller's private car and originally purchased by Jay Gould himself as a wedding gift for his daughter. Yeah, lotta history there. It was hooked to the F-Units because Andy wanted to be present for the going-ons.

And speaking of Mr. Muller, I met him. He was like a proud parent watching his child and was saying that this trip was sold out and the June trips are nearly sold out. I profusely thanked him for all that he does.

Another gentleman was telling me that his son asked Andy if he could see the inside of the Black Diamond observation car. Andy said it wasn't a good time because his dogs (some monster Belgian Shepherds) were aboard but gave the kid the phone number for his secretary and said "Call her and we'll get you a tour of it at Port Clinton sometime." Pretty class act.

The train was wyed with a pair of SD40-2s. While they weren't in the consist, they were following a ways back, just in case #2102 stalled and needed an assist.

And a Lehigh Gorge Scenic train behind a shiny GP38-2

They backed #2102 down into Jim Thorpe during the layover and you could climb up through the cab. Apparently this was a thing during the original '59-'64 Rambles, and Andy was intent on replicating the experience.

And then away out of Jim Thorpe. Around the 1:02 mark, you can see it puffing steam out of the left cylinder and then the open and close the cylinder cocks. I think they had a cylinder cocks or a snifting valve sticking.

At Zehner, just outside Tamaqua

Arriving at Port Clinton. Note the neat banner signal to the right that Reading was fond of.

And sitting next to the parked diesels

I broke off here and called it a day

Also, my hotel is right near the end of NS's North Reading Yard.

Note the still-standing telegraph poles that still have insulators!

And a bad shot of the Erie-Lackawanna heritage unit

Also, the freaking NRHS shared my video I put on Facebook!

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In reply to NickD :

That sounded like an amazing day!

Nick,

Thank you so much for bringing all these great videos and stills to our screens! It is amazing!

Lou Manglass

I'm definitely glad that I was able to go, because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After leaving Reading on Sunday morning I made the slight detour to Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge in Honesdale, PA. They operate 25 miles of ex-Erie-Lackawanna trackage from Honesdale to Lackawaxen, which was constructed in 1829 by Delaware & Hudson Canal Company as a gravity railroad to bring anthracite from Carbondale over the mountains to Honesdale to be loaded onto barges and shipped to New York City. It took delivery of a British-built steam locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, in 1829, making it the first commercial locomotive on rails in the western hemisphere. The Lion was ultimately too heavy for the rails (the spec was for 4 standard tons, the builder thought they meant 4 metric tonnes) and after just a few test runs was parked, and ultimately parted out. The Erie ended up with the line in 1860, operating it as the Hawley Branch, and it was profitable in the Erie-Lackawanna era, but it was sold to Wayne County when Conrail was formed. Wayne County has had several operators for the line, including Delaware-Otsego Corporation, Morristown & Erie, and the current Myles Group.

I was not expecting to see a GP9 in Northern Pacific colors in northern Pennsylvania. This was part of the equipment that was owned by the defunct New York & Greenwood Lake and was stored at Passaic. A new owner plans to move it back out west and it is stored there undergoing work to make it ready to move. The other NY&GL equipment was also there, including an Erie-painted GP9, an ex-LIRR Alco FA "power pack", and an ex-LIRR F-Unit. There's also an ex-B&M/Springfield Terminal/Guilford Rail System GP7 waiting to go up to Conway Scenic and an FL9 the DL&S crew are cosmetically restoring for a museum.

The DL&S also has a large number of privately-owned cabooses on the property, including this C&O caboose and an absolutely gorgeous B&O wagontop caboose. The owners can come up on a weekend and have them cut into a consist and rode all weekend, and indeed there was one out this weekend.

A wooden V-plow of unknown origin. It's going to need some stabilization in the near future because it's starting to sag in the middle.

What I really came to see: their ex-Bangor & Aroostook EMD BL2. It has a really wild, deep horn on it that sounds like a naval foghorn.

The other power was an ex-CP FP7 painted up as a PRR unit. If you look over the cab, you can see that rather than a horn, it has the lesser-seen Hancock 4700 air whistle. New Haven used these on their FL9 and the Conrail OCS E8s also had them. Minor gripe, they had the nose door open all day, preferably to move some air through the cab, but I would have liked it closed for appearance sake.

They do have an ex-B&LE F7 that is painted in Erie-Lackawanna colors that they said should be up and running later this year. For $20 they offer a pretty nice 18 mile roundtrip ride up to just shy of Hawley and then return. The route follows the Lackawaxen River and has some nice scenery and plenty of wild life. I will say, the conductor spent a lot of the trip telling schlocky dad jokes over the PA system, and I would rather he had just stayed quiet. After the ride was over, I went up to Hawley, grabbed fireworks to snuggle back to NY and then went to one of the few grade crossings to catch them going by.

The FP7 blowing that cool Hancock air whistle for the crossing headed up.

 And the BL2 leading the way back.

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And then it was back to NY