The basic and the complicated .. 0-6-0 and the S2

[Miningman]

Found this picture recently. That is the S2 is it not in the foreground? 

A very basic switcher and a very complicated S2. Fleet of Modernism cars too, either a train or being assembled for one. 

[Jones1945]

Miningman

Found this picture recently. That is the S2 is it not in the foreground? 

A very basic switcher and a very complicated S2. Fleet of Modernism cars too, either a train or being assembled for one. 

You are right! that's the S2 #6200. That switcher should be a Class A5 0-4-0 (or Class B6 0-6-0) . The FoM coach behind her is a P70kr coach, not sure about the car type next to it (looks like a de-skirted Pullman sleeper). This photo is the upper left corner of the following pic:

PRR S2 #6200 leads the Manhattan Limited into Chicago in June of 1947. ( Rossiter photo, Kalmbach Collection) 

The P70kr and P70gsr were the mainstays of the Fleet of Modernism. PRR rebuilt at least 166 of them before 1941. Together with another 46 rebuilt heavyweight ex-Pullman sleeper, FoM had more rebuilt cars than new pre-war lightweight equipment.  

[Miningman]

Ah-ha! The rest of the picture. And a great picture it is. Look at all that steam. 1947... that S2 has the clock ticking mighty fast on it's destiny. 

What a shame. 

So first the S2 is gone. Then the switchers. Then the FofM scheme. Then the passenger trains. Then the passénger cars themselves. 

Then the Pennsylvania Railroad 

Then the picture is empty. 

Vanished. Like a lost civilization. 

[Flintlock76]

Ah yes, the S2, another one the Pennsy should have saved, even if it , ummmm, didn't quite  live up to expectations.  A noble effort nonetheless.

At least they tried, and as Jimmy Stewart said in "Shenandoah..."

"We don't know if we don't try, and if we don't try then we don't do,  and if we don't do, then why  are we here on this earth?"

[Penny Trains]

No. 94 survives:

And 0-6-0 No. 1670:

And don't forget the No. 4483 2-10-0:

 

[Miningman]

Nice... thanks. Hope future generations will 'get it'...

[Flintlock76]

Any takers on finding out where that "Hippo" is and firing it up?

Let's remember the second American motto after "E Pluribus Unum..."

"Go ahead!  Nobody's lookin'!"   

[Miningman]

Let me get this right...So you want to clandestinely fire up that old wheezy Decapod and take it for a spin? 

Ok, I'm in ....as long as I get to blow the whistle once and while. 

Of course you know we would get thrown in the slammer for a while, but what the heck. As long as we can have a smoke here and there.  

[Jones1945]

Miningman

Let me get this right...So you want to clandestinely fire up that old wheezy Decapod and take it for a spin? 

Ok, I'm in ....as long as I get to blow the whistle once and while. 

You probably need one more fireman like me and invite Backy to this surprise Decapod ride.

[M636C]

Flintlock76

Any takers on finding out where that "Hippo" is and firing it up?

Let's remember the second American motto after "E Pluribus Unum..."

"Go ahead!  Nobody's lookin'!"   

 

 

#4483 is stored at the Western New York Railroad Historical Society’s work site in Hamburg, NY.

[BigJim]

What I find most interesting in this photo is not the locomotives or the cars, but, the apparent size of the bridge in the background!

[rcdrye]

Those bridges are still there, one of them in daily use, the other pointed skyward.  The near one of the side-by-side bridges is the "B&O Bridge" that led to B&OCT's Grand Central Station.  The far span is the "Air Line Bridge", part of the St. Charles Air Line that still connects the CN lakefront line to BNSF, UP and others. The SCAL was originally owned equally by Michigan Central, IC, CB&Q and C&NW.  CSX has MC's share now.  See elsewhere on the forum for more info.  Amtrak's 14th St Coach Yard is on the same footprint as PRR's.

The bridgetender job was traditionally held by B&OCT, and may still be.

[Jones1945]

If I remember correctly, a visitor can take the water taxi from the heart of Chicago downtown to see these bridges. There is a stop for the water taxi opposite to the Canal Street Railroad Bridge, next to a small park. 

[BaltACD]

Jones1945

If I remember correctly, a visitor can take the water taxi from the heart of Chicago downtown to see these bridges. There is a stop for the water taxi opposite to the Canal Street Railroad Bridge, next to a small park. 

As a kid I frequently rode B&O trains into and out of Chicago over the various drawbridges that the B&O route used - they were 'massive' in the manner pictured above.  As a Train Order Operator on the B&O Akron-Chicago Division I worked the Operator-Bridge Tender position at Bridge 460 over the Cuyahoga River in Clevelend (several blocks away werer Bridges 463-464 on the B&O route to interchange with the NYC at Whiskey Island in Cleveland).  All these bridges were constructed in the same manner as those pictured above.

When moving to Jacksonville and traversing I-95 you get a view of the CSX (former ACL) bridge over the Savannah River North of Savannah - the bridge looks like a relative 'Tinker Toy' compared to the 'industrial strength' bridges of the B&O, pictured below.

[Flintlock76]

That STC "Airline" bridge!  Wow!  What a monster!

Looks like this thing on steroids...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLCCVLjM2NE  

[Penny Trains]

Flintlock76

Any takers on finding out where that "Hippo" is and firing it up?

Here's the website where the photos originated: http://www.rgusrail.com/nyprr4483.html

Click on "Roster" and see all of the photographer's wonderful database of visits.

[Jones1945]

Penny Trains

Here's the website where the photos originated: http://www.rgusrail.com/nyprr4483.html

Click on "Roster" and see all of the photographer's wonderful database of visits.

Thank you very much, Becky! This website almost like a Disneyland of railfans, if all these steam trains are still working. I remember when I try to find how different types of booster engine look like, I found this page but can't see the "Roster" button...  It is hard to find another website this informative and photos originated! Is there any good site like this which I missed? 

[daveklepper]

Is my eyesight different from everyone else's?  When I enlarge the photos I see three drivers, not two, and the locomotive is the very familiar B-6 0-6-0, not an 0-4-0.

[rcdrye]

Some of the Chicago River Tours that leave from the pier east of Michigan Avenue go as far south as the 21st st. bridge - right undr the SCAL.

PRR had about a dozen tracks in the coach yard.  Behind the coach yard was a large holding area for freight cars being served by PRR's huge Polk Street freight house.

[Miningman]

Thanks Dave-- I believe that is correct. Originally I wasn't sure and put (0-6-0? ) in the title but edited it when folks started talking 0-4-0. Now I'm going to edit it again! 

[Flintlock76]

Thanks so much for that link Becky, that's a wonderful cornucopia of surviving power!  It's a nasty miserable day here so I'll probably spend a bit of time checking it out.  May even save it to "Favorites."

Mr. Jones, if your computer's like mine and that link comes up in a BIG way so you can't find "Roster" try what I did.  Look on the bottom of your screen for the directional arrow, scroll to the right, then scroll down with the down directional arrow, you should find "Roster."  That's what I did, worked for me.

Back to bascule bridges, Balt mentioned Jacksonville Fl.  Check out this monster, the FEC bridge over the St. Johns River.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mglWz1kqDeo  

Wow. Oh wow.  I just went to the website Becky suggested, you're not going to believe the stuff that's in there!

Here's the main site.  http://www.rgusrail.com  

On the title page there's a "What's New" list of contents, among which are Chicago and New York World's Fair contents.

Since we've got a "World's Fair Wonder" thread going here's a couple of quick links about the same, I'll post them there as well.

http://www.rgusrail.com/nynywf.html   Worlds Fair Locomotives and displays.

http://www.rgusrail.com/fairnynywf.html   World's Fair Brochures!  

Stunning!

Becky, you're the best!  Thanks again!

[Jones1945]

Thanks a lot, Wayne. I didn't know I miss many of these awesome content! This is truly one of the best websites about American railroad history. By the way, thank you for the computer tips the web, that is really considerate! In return, I have a simple tip for you guys too! If you want to find something on a webpage full of text, you could type Ctrl + F and type what you are looking for on that page, the keyword you input will be highlighted on the page, just like what we did when using MS Word and Excel.