D&H special train (2010)

Here is a special picture for me. I saw it listed on Ebay for several years and no one wanted to buy it. Finally, I decided to add it to my collection. It is dated August 16, 2010, and it was taken in Sanbury, PA. Admittedly, it isn't a great shot in and of itself and I suspect the embankment in the foreground is what caused most people to pass. But from the first moment I saw it I knew it was special.

If the train looks familiar, it should. I happened to take pictures of the train only six days before on August 10, 2010. I had been furniture shopping with my wife at Huck Finn's (the former Montgomery Ward satellite building) when we heard a train horn. As luck would have it, I actually had my camera with me (this was before smart phones) and it was light enough outside to take some pictures. I had no idea that the train was going to be a special passenger train movement. 

We rushed down to Kenwood Yard which was only a mile or two away, and because the train was going pretty slow I was able to shoot some pictures of it entering the yard. The one above is in my blog's header. Even though it doesn't show the D&H during the period I model and this specific scene isn't currently on my layout, I think it captures a bit of what I am interested in. Tracks snaking between and around buildings, lots of foliage, and colorful trains.

Because it was late in the day, shadows really wrecked my attempts at well-lit photographs. But, I managed to get a few clean shots of one of the D&H's last heritage units. This is #7312. I have photographed #7404 (though not very well) too but I don't recall if I have seen #7303. 

Considering the rear of the second unit was coupled to the rear of the observation car, I must assume that the owners of the passenger car did not spend much time on this part of the trip sitting on the porch. If you look at the lead off picture from Sanbury, they ran the engines around the car and hauled it the way it should be pulled.

Here is a shot of the observation car "Macintyre." It is owned by Green Mountain Railroad Specialty Cars and more information on renting it can be found here. Perhaps this train was running empty from Vermont to some event in Pennsylvania. Sadly, my location made it impossible to step back far enough to get all of the car or engines in one picture.

In this better-lit shot of #7312, you can see an usual round, white insignia right in front of the dynamic brake blister. I have no idea what it is.

The train slowly eased into Kenwood Yard and disappeared behind a string of tank cars. It was a pretty successful "chase", and a sighting I am especially proud of. It was complete fortune to be in the right place at the right time.