How About A Ride On The New Haven?

[Flintlock76]

And from Maybrook to Cedar Hill Yard?

I found this post-war promotional film produced by the New Haven RR in co-operation with Alco-GE.  In color, with plenty of action with steam and diesels.

By the way, when they start telling you how great the new diesels are it's OK to give 'em the raspberries!  I did!  Although I had to clean the computer screen afterward!

So, have fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO_qDDoa6Cc  

[rrlineman]

great video. loved it !

[Overmod]

Interesting that although you see DL109s, the film doesn't mention them at all, even though they were only about a half-decade old themselves and nominally still famous for being actual dual-service power on NH as opposed to facile wartime excuses to charm the WPB out of its socks.

It is interesting to tot up all the ways the three-unit FAs improved traffic dramatically.  Note that this is before the great changes that wiped out most mainline steam in the Northeast (NYC was still justifying high speed work with Niagaras and PRR was restyling T1s at this point... and did anyone catch that Cedar Hill was bigger than Enola?), so the savings in time and trouble should be looked at as dramatically real.  Think of the investment saved at Hopewell Junction alone, between additional power to run shorter trains more slowly and the need to stop and tinker.  They didn't even have to stress a claim about not having to turn the power, although they certainly seem to have shot the film, and cut it in order, to make that claim for the A-B-A sets.

I believe Joe ran this route extensively and can comment on how train-handling was by the latter Sixties.  Funny that I never realized the track on the Poughkeepsie Bridge was gantleted...

[Flintlock76]

I didn't know the Poughkeepsie Bridge was gantleted either.

Of course, now it's got no track at all.

At least the bridge is still there.  

I suppose they didn't mention the DL109's since they were out of production by the time the film was made and Alco was trying to sell FA's, and PA's too when you come down to it.  

[MidlandMike]

I learned the Poughkeepsie bridge was gautleted in John Armstrong's book Track Planning for Realistic Operation,  c.1963.  The originally double track bridge was gautleted to handle the 2-10-2 locos.