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. 

Goodbye Model Railroader... Hello Railroad Model Craftsman

For years I have held off cancelling my subscription to Model Railroader magazine. As a child, it was the thing that inspired me to learn to read. I remember receiving issues when I was a kid and just studying the pictures (something my son Harrison, who just turned 2, enjoys doing with me now). My first subscription from my parents started in 1988 and I have nearly every issue since then. 

The old ones were filled with great articles and I am leery of throwing them out... even though they are all supposedly available online for a price. To me, a great afternoon is lying on the couch or outside in my Adirondack chair and reading a good train magazine. 

A dream of mine was to have my layout featured in Model Railroader. That will likely never occur, but two of my letters to the Editor were published (October 2006, p.22-24 and December 2021, p.22). I even once cold-called the magazine in the mid-1990s and asked to speak to Jim Kelly, who actually got on the phone and talked to me. I asked him some questions about a track plan he had drawn up and he was gracious enough to answer them for me. I should mention I was 13 at the time! I didn't even ask my parents if I could call long-distance first, for those of you who remember what that was.

And, one method of punishment my mother would sometimes use when I was a child was to ground me from reading my train magazines when I bad. It was effective.

This was all a long-winded attempt to describe how much MR has meant to me for the last 35 years. A LOT. I feel like I am losing a dear friend. But they have been going downhill for awhile now. I don't care that the page count is reduced due to less need for paper advertising, but I miss the extensive scratchbuilding articles and paint shop features. It is now just a magazine designed to get the beginner going on a model railroad. Reading the letters to the editor reveals that the same basic issues keep coming up but after 35 years I can't stand the repetition. And the product reviews, which I used to really enjoy, now just seem to focus on how to work the DCC features in expensive engines... which is what the instruction manual should cover. In essence, MR has become boring.

I stayed with them as long as I could. But since most of Kalmbach's magazines have now been sold to Firecrown Media, a company I have no loyalty to, I have no qualms about jumping ship. My subscription lapsed in May and I held off on mailing them a check. 

Instead, today I started a subscription to Railroad Model Craftsman magazine. As a kid, I didn't like RMC because the graphic design choices and formatting by the Editor were unattractive to me. There was a lot of black and white stuff, and in general it looked dated and old fashioned. I much preferred the colorful modern look of MR. But RMC currently offers the type of content I want, and Editor Otto Vondrak (whom I have known since 2000 when we both attended RIT and were in their train club together) has helped turn it into something special. 

I feel bad for waiting so long, but look forward to the future. Goodbye Model Railroader, hello Railroad Model Craftsman. 

The Great British Train Show (finally!)

In May 2018, I was reading a blog post by Trevor Marshall (whose current blog, The Model Railway Show, is linked to on the right) about a train show he attended in Toronto, Canada. Called The Great British Train Show and sponsored by The Platelayers Society, it was a train show featuring only UK-themed layouts, vendors, and displays. As someone who loves British Railways, this sounded fantastic. And Toronto wasn't that far a drive from Rochester, NY, my hometown, so it seemed a doable trip. In researching it I found out it was held every other year so I would need to wait until 2020 to go. But that was fine.

I had to get a passport because I hadn't been out of the country since 2003... when ironically I had gone to Toronto. My wife had to get one too. And we had to book a hotel. No worries though as we had plenty of time. However, come March 2020 Covid hit and the show was cancelled. So I had to wait until 2022. This was disappointing but it couldn't be helped. However, we were expecting the birth of our son Harrison in May and that made it very difficult to try and plan an international trip to go to a train show. It turns out he arrived a few weeks early in April, right before the show, so it was a good thing we didn't make plans. So, 2024 it was...

And we finally made it! Since it had morphed into a full-family trip, we decided to do some other things too like go to the Zoo and Aquarium. Unfortunately, about three hours in to our trip I realized I left my camera at home on my desk where my back-up battery was charging. Oops! My wife graciously offered to take lots of pictures, which was wonderful of her.

When we got to the show on Saturday morning at 10:00AM (well, we actually got there Friday morning and over an hour early but discovered I had written down the wrong day for the show!) the lot was nearly packed with cars. Though the building didn't look all that large, it was filled with stuff I had only read about in British train magazines. An entire ice rink was filled with displays, layouts, and vendors and I didn't know where to start. So I let Harrison take the lead and we went to the layouts featuring the most movement. Actually, we didn't get more than 10 feet in when he spotted Toby and Henry pulling trains on a large layout based on the Island of Sodor.

It was a nice layout, and like the original show it was done in Gauge 1 with scale models featuring what I assumed were 3D printed faces. Not shown in these pictures are Toby or Percy but they made appearances too. As we were walking around Harrison let out a loud cheer for the layout, and I could hear the layout's owner say "Now that's what this is all about!" And he was right. 

I got started on Thomas the Tank Engine in 1989 when Shining Time Station was broadcast on PBS. My son thinks he loves Thomas, but in reality we both do. Some things from childhood never leave you. They had a nice display of S.T.S. stuff from a guy named Adrian who has a podcast (here and here) and managed to get many of the surviving members on it for a reunion show. He also had actual props from the show on display, which was really neat. This might have been the highlight of the trip for me.

As we walked around we came across a 3.5" gauge train display. Normally, these trains are used outside in the garden and are considered the smallest "practical" live steam scale... you can actually ride on them. The were eclipsed in the 1970s and 1980s with larger gauges but as can be seen they are still are hefty. This gentleman started to build some but his wife would let them in her garden, so he just turned them into push toys. They are largely made of steel riveted together, with some cast and molded parts. What a wonderful bunch of toys for his grandkids to play with!

Next was a layout made of Trix Twin Railway products. These are OO gauge (roughly HO gauge) trains that run on three-rail track, much like Lionel O gauge trains do today. They have a certain tinplate charm to them and it was fun to see them go round and round. The third rail proved as advantageous to wiring them as it does to Lionel trains today.

A similar layout featuring Hornby Dublo trains was nearby. Also three rail, this system let two trains run on the same track by having one train pick up power from one outside rail and a second train pick up power from the other outside rail. Two transformers could be hooked up to the layout thusly.  

By far the most interesting layout on display in my opinion was O scale narrow gauge (16.5mm scale, or O scale trains running on 2 foot track... similar to what we call On30 in the States) modeling India's Darjeeling and Himalayan Railway. Having only seen a couple of models of these trains in larger scales before, and never set in a proper layout featuring Indian scenery and structures, it was fascinating to watch. 

Some O gauge clockwork (wind-up) trains were also on display and running. These were temperamental and any bump in the track could cause the very lightweight trains to derail. They only ran about 30 seconds per wind-up, which must have been frustrating for kids wanting to really play with their trains. I can see how electrically powered ones because so popular. But, the models were in excellent condition for bearing nearly 100 years old!

The show was sponsored by Rapido, who had a bunch of their current and upcoming models on display.

Some random shots of other layouts. Most layouts in Britain are small and usually feature a branchline terminus or an engine shed (to display lots of engines) as themes, with a hidden fiddle yard or treverser track off the side. There were another 10-12 layouts I don't have pictures of, including one in N scale finescale (crazy, huh) and many in OO and O gauge. 

One of the nicer O gauge layouts was Roweham" by Brian Dickey. Not only did it operate well and look great, but behind it serving as operators and/or hosts were three people whose blogs I follow (here, here and here) and whose links are on the right of my own blog. It was nice to finally meet them in person, especially Pierre Oliver who had done a lot of custom weathering of my D&H HO scale engines before he retired. Sadly, it was not a layout that my wife took pictures of... sigh.

One thing I noticed is that many of the modelers used hook and loop/link/chain couplers just like their real-life prototypes. While this did replicate a lot of "realistic operation" that everybody seems to strive for nowadays, it was frustrating to watch someone take 5-10 attempts to get one set of cars coupled together. And that was in O scale. They called it "fun" but to the audience I thought that there had to be a better way. Reaching over a backdrop with a tiny hook and flashlight (a necessity!) in attempts to snag the end loop of the chain and carefully drop it over the coupling hook on the other car was tedious at best. If operating by themselves from the front of the layout, I am sure it would have been easier. Thank goodness for Kadee couplers!

I could have spent literally all day here looking at stuff, but we had other things to do. Perhaps next time in 2026 I will budget an entire day of our trip to this show. I had an absolutely wonderful time and came home with a few goodies that I didn't need but thought would make nice souvenirs. These included book on the Great Western Railways for $3 (Canadian!) and three old Hornby O gauge timplate cars that I was told would run on Lionel O gauge track (they do). 

But those weren't the only trains we saw on the trip. The next day, we went to the Aquarium in downtown Toronto and across the street is the Toronto Railway Museum. We didn't go into the museum itself (a wedding was just ending), but we did walk around the exhibits outside.

They are also located right near the Toronto Blue Jay's baseball stadium, which means that people attending the aquarium or a ballgame can get exposure to trains along the way. That is a good thing.

Outside on display for anyone to see and touch were engines, passenger cars, and cabooses surrounding an actual, working turntable. A cleverly designed 7.25" gauge train snakes through the area, but it wasn't operating when we were there.

Another look at some of the displays. A giant 4-6-4 steam locomotive dominated the coal loading facility.

Caboose #35794 with side damage (1986)

Here is a shot of caboose #35794 in Binghamton, NY in March 1986. All that damage on the side tells stories... perhaps sideswiping or other wreck damage. It would be interesting to model with an embossing tool followed over with dark paint to settle in the recesses.

D&H #4075 on Adirondack Railway (1980)

I haven't posted in ages, but I haven't had time to work on my layout in ages. So it goes.

Here are two shots of my favorite D&H RS3 #4075, formerly Boston and Maine #4075 (which the D&H got in a swap with the B&M when it needed locomotives with steam heaters for its passenger trains). It is probably the most photographed D&H Alco (aside from the PAs), because there were so few RS3 engines remaining in the 1980s and its color just stood out.

In 1980, it was loaned to the Adirondack Railway for use on their trains between Utica and Lake Placid where the Winter Olympics were being held (including the "Miracle on Ice" hockey game between the USA and the Soviet Union). 

Here are two shots in my collection showing the engine at work that February, 1980. The first one is captioned to be located somewhere in Utica.

This second one features a smaller station and is probably somewhere along the route.

Someday I will take my family on part of the line on the Adirondack Railroad.

Springfield Train Show 2024

Another Springfield train show has come and gone. I again went with the local NMRA Division on a chartered bus on Saturday and had a great time. But, I miss coming with my wife because she helps me from getting lost and forces me to slow down and take in the layouts. I look forward to the day when I can bring Harrison with me. However, it still was a good time.

Out of the eight hours of the show, I worked at the NMRA table for two of them so I was already in a bind to see everything. And I know I missed a lot. But here are some pictures I took of interesting things I came across (I left my small memory card in my camera and quickly maxed out on the number of pictures I could take... GRRR!)

There was an O scale layout called the "Crystal Cove" which ran off of live overhead wire. It was very well done and I watched the little train trundle back and forth for awhile.

The other end of the line featured a neat waterfront scene.

On the O gauge layout that kids are allowed to operate via pushbuttons, a Big Boy was pulling a long train. To me it is a large engine... to a kid of 5, it must have been gigantic!

A custom painter and engine detailer had some neat GE HO scale engines on display. The interiors were lit including the display stands, engine meters, track lights, etc. I liked the leaves stuck on the sides of the vents the most though.

Here is a Bar Mills model kit ("Fenster's Farm Fresh" that I want to build for my future O scale layout. But I might scratchbuild it instead of using the kit. I haven't decided yet. But it is a nice kit and ripe to add lots of details. 

While strolling by a large T-trak layout, I came across this one. It certainly gets originality points.

There were at least a half-dozen Z scale layouts scattered around. Here was a well done one that I suspect was built on a pre-fab base. The owner was explaining it but I came too late to hear all of the details.

Here is another Z scale layout in a guitar case. A simple loop is on the left, but a branch line off of it climbs up and over and down the "guitar neck" to a switching yard area. Neat.

The first actual T gauge (1:450) layout that I have seen (as opposed to a train on display). It ran well though it seemed more of a novelty piece than having potential for an actual model railroad. But to each his own.  

Some very old Trebel O train sets, which were the precurser to N scale. For complete in box, the prices seemed very reasonable if you wanted to capture a piece of N scale history.

Here was a large N scale display that was fantastically detailed. I took many pictures of it and could have stared at it for much longer. A plaque on the end identified it as built by "The Great South Bay Model Railroad Club". 

Another picture of the other end of the same layout. It was filled with neat little details and scenes that all looked so natural and realistic.

The display by the South Port Model Works. Yes, on the very right hand side there is a train siding with a boxcar but I was taken aback but all of the wonderful boat models. 

And I bought a couple of things too. Harrison is struggling to get a Lionel steam locomotive (with all of the pilot and driving wheels) AND tender on the track and connected up... hey, he is only 20 months hold! So, I bought him a cheap Lionel MPC engine with only 8 wheels and durable metal handrails to use on his layout. For $65 it was a good deal even though it is painted for the Union Pacific. If this leads him to a lifetime of modeling the UP I will kick myself forever...

I also bought two O scale bulkhead flatcars including one with a pipe load for $20 each. I will modify them and add new loads sometime in the future. Finally, I bought a Conrail caboose for $30. The seller had an Atlas trainman caboose (with less details) for $30 and I saw it last year at the show and forgot about it. I bought it this year but the seller pointed out more detailed Lionel one for $10 more. Sadly, I didn't have the extra $10 in my wallet but the guy had pity on me and sold it to me for $30. Yay!

I looked and looked for wooden Thomas trains to buy Harrison but didn't see many for sale. Maybe this year sellers of kid toys were in short supply. So, I bought him a pair of train socks instead which are a little too large but he will grow into them.

All in all it was a great time. But, next year I want to spend a lot more time just staring at the layouts on display and less time searching for elusive things to buy.