Penn Central 50 years

[Miningman]

Yes, but just transfers, not out on the road. Pretty sure this was the only point where PRR entered Canada. I wonder if they ever sent over a  switcher on the Ashtabula in Port Burwell once in a while.

Baldwins to boot!!

PRR 8108 8105 Baldwin RS12's with a transfer from Buffalo to CNR. Fort Erie September 1963 Bill Thomson

[rcdrye]

Miningman

PRR unit in Canada...a very rare occurance until Penn Central.

Didn't PRR do transfers to Fort Erie from Buffalo?

[Miningman]

PC 22882 caboose with some work cars ahead of it. The all too brief Penn Central era. St.Thomas yard.

Conrail 7435 (ex PC 7435 nee NYC 6035) GP9 GMD A1080 4/1957 
Windsor 4/5/1980 John Lameck/Sam Beck Collection

[Miningman]

Canada Southern 

Rolling Stock 

 

Stencilled lettering inside circle reads: 

RETURN TO C.N.R.
VIA BUFFALO

FOR ORE LOADING
DANE, ONTARIO
CANADA

This iron ore traffic commenced in 1965 and continued until 1971 between Dane, Ontario, on the ONR and Jones & Laughlin steel mills in Pennsylvania on the NYC/PC. The participating road haul railways contributed cars to the pool based on the total mileage operated over their respective lines. The breakdown was 22% ONR, 40% CNR and 38% NYC. The total pool consisted of 345 cars - 75 ONR, 140 CNR and 130 NYC. Cars of NYC, TH&B, CASO and P&LE ownership comprised the NYC proportion of the pool. Lance Brown

 

 

[Miningman]

Well thank you guys for the air start explanations and videos.

Here is the NYC on the CASO just before the merger. Those huge mail/mail storage trains were frequently seen over the CASO and continued on into the Penn Central era. The various Pennsy and NYC E units got real ratty looking as did the cars. Sometimes these were 30-35 cars long. They hustled along at a good clip but encountered several restricted speed areas as the deferred track maintenance caught up to operations in the Penn Central era. 

 Knew these trains were on their last legs just by their condition but the freights always looked ok. The C&O and N&W (Wabash) also had deteriorating track but appearances were kept up pretty well.

I was expecting that the Penn Central era would usher in new life for the CASO but how wrong that hope turned out to be. 

Conrail was around for a wee bit, not long. 

I can still picture Hudsons and Mohawks, 2-8-2's galore on the main and some smaller tea pots for the branches. That was some railroading.

NYC 4051 (E8A EMD 15311 4/1952) _4005 (E7A EMD 2870 10/1945) 

NYC 2028 leads freight on Canada Division mainline which also hosted C&O on trackage rights. 
Parallelling CNR's Cayuga Sub. which hosted Wabash (later, N&W then NS) on trackage rights. 
and crossed CNR's Dunnville Subdivision.

[NDG]

Thank You.

[SD70Dude]

Miningman

Air start--Is that the super loud BANG! that rattles your bones. 

Never been around any ALCOs, but newer EMDs also have an air start system:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=II94U1lpGjI

It has its ups and downs, from a crew's point of view the main advantage is that you can restart a dead unit simply by hooking up the main reservoir line from another locomotive, no fooling around with jumper cables.

The downside is that you need another locomotive for this, so air-start units cannot be manually shut down if you want to use them again later, as the starting air supply can leak off.

We had a incident a couple years ago where a train powered by 2 SD70M-2s was parked for a day, and the crew shut down both locomotives to save fuel as per our operating instructions.  When the new crew arrived to pick up the train they could not restart either locomotive, and had to wait for another train to stop and help.

[Miningman]

Run through power. 

NYC/TH&B/CPR Buffalo/Welland/Hamilton/Toronto Yard. 

NYC 7431 and PC/ex NYC 7430 (see below) likely with a third unit. Toronto Yard 5/1970 Paul Mc Grane 

PC 7430 ex NYC 7430

Pretty snazzy looking and very clean 

[Miningman]

Air start--Is that the super loud BANG! that rattles your bones. 

[Overmod]

Even harder to believe is that some C636s actually were delivered from Alco in PC paint; hard to remember they were so new when you'd see them on heavy freight.  One of these, going through Trenton in the early Seventies, had the loudest exhaust I have ever heard in a locomotive, more painfully experienced than heard.  And then there was the noble experiment of Hi-Ad trucks in both B and C styles, cutting-edge modern and fast as hell to a 10-year-old ignorant of anything like harmonic rock on worn-out track...

Air starters, those I never quite 'got'.  Except perhaps as budget alarm clocks, only need one for a whole subdivision and no need for a snooze bar ...

[Firelock76]

Man, those ALCO's looked formidable, didn't they?  More like weapons of war than locomotives.  Imagine them with cannon sticking out of the nose and tail and machinegun turrets along the top and you'll see what I mean.

[Miningman]

PRR unit in Canada...a very rare occurance until Penn Central.

Also front view of 2059, the last loco's ordered by New York Central and delivered in their paint scheme. 

St.Thomas 

Long time headquarters of CASO operations under Michigan Central/New York Central. 

Penn Central era began February 1, 1968. 

PRR 6301 leads NYC units (below) early Penn Central era. Alco C-628 2750 HP 3404-02 3/1965

 

[Miningman]

 These powerful Alco's were the last locomotives ever ordered by the mighty New York Central and delivered in their paint scheme. So it ends there, all those locomotives, 4-4-0's, 999, Hudsons, Niagara's, Mohawks galore, Mikes, PA's, E7 & 8's, Baldwin, Lima's, all their history and contributions to moving people and freight and building Nations. 

Next stop the ill fated and destitute Penn Central. 

Enjoy this last glimpse of the astonishing and grand New York Central. 

And how about this rare bird beauty....

NYC 2059 one of 10 (2050-2059) Alco C-430 3000 HP

Originally posted this in String Lining last year but I don't think many saw it. We are already well into the merger in Mar. '69 and we are on the CASO in St.Thomas, Ont.

The NY Central is gone, the Penn Central is gone, the Alco C-430 is gone, the CASO is gone. 

The magnificient and huge Freight/Passenger Station is however still with us.