Favorite Engines - Conrail RS3 "hammerhead" #9920

This engine is one odd duckling! Some would say ugly duckling, and I would be hard-pressed to disagree. It also has an interesting, if not tortured, history. But, it is local (to this Rochester boy) so I like it all the same. 

The engine was original built for the Pennsylvania Railroad with a high short hood. That hood housed dynamic breaks and steam generator equipment for heating passenger cars. The reason for this unusual equipment was to allow it to pull passenger trains in a pinch, and it was one of a batch of five locomotives designed with these unusual features. Because of its appearance, they were nicknamed "hammerheads".

The engine was later part of the Penn Central merger, and through some paperwork exchanges it became a Lehigh Valley engine. Now numbered #211, it was used in western New York mostly in the Buffalo area but it did make it east to near the Rochester area. It lasted into the Conrail era and was selected to be part of the RS3 rebuilding program in their DeWitt shops in Syracuse. Much of the internals were removed and replaced with EMD parts. Conrail #9920, as it was renumbered, worked in Pennsylvania steel mills and in 1981 was stored.  In the shot below from November 04, 1979, in which it still is probably undergoing rebuilding (notice the shiny paint), it is odd to see the cab number is incomplete. 

 

A year later, this shot taken in Reading, PA in 1980 shows the engine evidencing wear and tear. But at least the cab number is complete!

Five years later, it was purchased by the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum and it can be seen (and ridden behind) there today... though it was repainted in L.V. colors again. The postcard below shows #211 on the track connecting the R&GVRM and the nearby (and located at the other end of the track) New York Museum of Transportation. 

I can't say exactly why I like it, but I am always drawn to local railroad subjects. This engine isn't exactly "local", as it likely never made it into Rochester directly (except when it was being transferred to Syracuse), but it just feels homey. A few models of the engine were produced, but none that I know of were painted for Conrail. Perhaps it will go on my project bucket list for some day...

Railfanning with Harrison

A couple of weeks ago I rushed home from work so that we could quickly drive to Mohawk River Lock 10 near Amsterdam, NY to go railfanning. Despite the heat, it was lovely and lots of clouds did provide some respite. We were quite lucky, as within our first hour we saw 4 trains including three freights. We left after a fifth train, Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, went by.

Harrison absolutely loved seeing the trains. Between them, we spent the time eating dinner, kicking a ball around, and looking for ducks. Several other members of the "Tuesday Night Group" were there railfanning and they had a tent set up for even more sun protection. They are pros!

We even brought Harrison's little Adirondack chair so he could sit and relax with us. However, he was too excited to remain still when the trains went by.

Then, this past Wednesday (July 10) we went out to eat and had some time after so I suggested going downtown to watch a few Amtrak trains pass over the Livingston Avenue bridge. There is a nice park next to it where you can get eye level with the train. On the way we spotted the C.P. local switching Surpass Chemicals in Menands, and we drove there and watched them cut off some tank cars. We even were able to talk to the crew. Harrison loved that.

Then, we drove to the bridge. Imagine our surprise when instead of the normal one eastbound Amtrak train crossing the bridge and pulling into Rensselaer station we saw TWO passenger trains running parallel over the bridge! This picture doesn't shot it well, but there are two trains running parallel to one another behind us that Harrison is staring at.

Within five minutes the westbound Lake Shore Limited left the station and crossed the bridge.

Next, the C.P. local traveled nearby heading south back to Kenwood Yard, shoving the train through the concrete canyon. Finally, the eastbound Ethan Allen Amtrak train (with engines on each end) crossed the bridge into the station. All of this occurred within a fifteen minute window.

About 20 minutes later we saw a CPKC light-engine move of two road units traveling south, presumably from Mechanicville to Kenwood Yard. That adds up to seven trains in my book (the CP local counts as two because we saw it in two different areas doing different things).

Harrison and I have never had it so good! Perhaps he is my good luck charm!

New D&H sign!

My good friend Peter stopped by after work yesterday and presented me with a brand new sign as a gift. I love it! He told me that a couple of local modelers had a small run of these custom signs made and they are currently sold out. I am very surprised that I didn't hear about this, as I thought I had a good pulse on the local D&H scene. But, several things lately have pulled me in other directions. I am very happy that Peter thought of me, and it now proudly sits on top of some of my display cases. 

It is based on a famous sign that hung in Colonie Yard for years. While I own an authentic D&H sign, I like this one a lot better.

Happy Fourth of July!

Continuing my series of Bicentennial engines featured on our nation's birthday, here are some images of two of them. They belonged to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad... the tiny 14 mile long shortline that grew into an international empire. 

The G&W's first engine to be painted in these colors was Alco S4 #36. This shot is dated October 25, 1985 Note hiding in even brighter orange paint behind her is Dansville & Mt. Morris #2 (featured elsewhere on my blog on my 44 tonner post here) It was later renumbered #1776 for the holiday, but later in life was renumbered back to #36 though it kept the colorful paint.

Another of the G&W's engines to wear red, white and blue was Alco RS1 #30, which in the spirit of the event was renumbered #1976. This picture of her is from September 16, 1983. She too reverted back to #30 but kept her paint.

Nearly every other engine on the G&W was, and still is, painted in the family trademark orange, black and yellow scheme. So, a bit of variety was a nice touch for this small western New York shortline. I have connections with the G&W as it controls the Rochester and Southern (R&S) which runs through my former hometown of Rochester, and it also controls the Dansville & Mt. Morris (D&MM) which runs through my wife's hometown. I have spent a lot of time railfanning both.

A search of my blog on July 4th will show some of my other featured engines.

Soo Line towing Shark #1216 (June 1979)

This shot dated June 1979 shows the former D&H shark #1216 being towed in a Soo Line train, and based on the date I assume it is being transferred from the Michigan Northern Railway to the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad. I don't know if the other shark, #1205, was elsewhere in the train or perhaps sent via a different train. That white and red Soo Line boxcar scheme is really sharp.

The D&H leased them to the MNR , which managed to damage both of them within a short time. The #1216 fell victim to heavy snow when it tried to run through it and its motors shorted out. The MNR damaged the crankshaft of #1205 too, and both were finally sent to the E&LS for storage (and eventual ownership). Ironically, the #1216 was repaired and ran again but it quickly suffered a crankshaft problem leaving it OOS.

There is hope that the sharks may eventually be publicly displayed somewhere.

Old fashioned crossbuck on D&H (1982)

I bought this slide because of the old-fashioned style crossbuck on the left guarding the road crossing. The slide is dated June 1982, and that is all I know about it. In the background I see what looks like a set of well maintained tracks, so maybe it is near a junction. Then again, it could be anywhere in western NY as these engines were assigned to the G&W salt trains.

D&H train with tank car (1983)

Any shot showing black and white tank cars, which my wife and I both think are attractive, is okay with me. This is from June 21, 1983.

Three plus One on a gloomy day (1982)

This slide was part of a group I purchased and I initially dismissed it because it is poorly exposed. But, it does show three Alco locomotives (#5017, #5012, #405) plus a Geep of some sort (either a GP38-2 or GP39-2) passing through trees and other growth. It was taken sometime in June 1982. 

Secret Message written on D&H #7323 (1985)

A shot from June 12, 1985 with three different Guilford railroads (D&H, B&M, MC) is nice, but what interests me is what is scribbled on the front lower frame sill of #7323. In the dark remnants of battery acid corrosion someone wrote "___ JOB". I can't read the rest. Did they scrape away the rust, or did they write something with oil that resisted the affects of the battery acid? Who knows, but it would be interesting to model. 

Here it is zoomed in:

DERECO engines in Binghamton (1980)

Taken in what must be Binghamton yard in June 1980, engines from the  D&H and controlling parent company (due to DERECO) Norfolk & Western sit around waiting for their next assignments. 

D&H #5017 (1983)

Here is a shot of RS36 #5017 passing what looks like some sort of an agricultural supplier in June 1983. The sign on the building reads "Nutrite Fertilizers", but I don't know if that is the name of the company or just one of the products it sells. I note the tracks look pretty overgrown for either to be considered the "main line", but the rear tracks appears to have had some ballast work done recently.

Bingo! (1982)

This shot from May 1982, taken in what I assume is late afternoon due to all the shadows, has a lot of things I like: D&H locomotives in two different paint schemes, a D&H caboose, and even TOFC. Nearly everything in this picture (Alcos, TOFC, cabooses) is gone from main line railroading today.

I think it is Binghamton Yard.

D&H on my birthday (1983)

Here is a shot of a D&H train in Grenfield, Mass. (which is just north a couple of miles from Deerfield) on May 28, 1983. I really like the Illinois Central orange boxcar, but the reason I bought this slide was the date. I was just celebrating my first birthday when this shot was taken.

D&H #412 basking in the yard (1983)

It's May 14, 1983, and C420 #412 is basking in the sun waiting for its next assignment in an unknown yard. Some interesting things in this shot include the seriously rusted boxcar on the right, and a (I think) blue wheel car peeking out on the left. Maybe this one. I have a fascination with the blue wheel cars for some reason, which is probably why I purchased this slide. The entire engine including the fuel tank is remarkably clean or sun-bleached, which makes me wonder if it was recently cleaned.

Train stopped for instructions (1983)

Here is RS11 #5000 sometime in May 1983. It looks like the train crew stopped at the telephone to call for instructions, but that is just a guess. The location isn't known. I really like the foreground track that is succumbing to weeds and other overgrowth.