It’s the late 1960s in Akron and a westbound Erie Lackawanna intermodal train is passing beneath the Wilbeth Road footbridge.
On the point are EL 7104, 7393, and 6561 with the latter still painted in its original Erie Railroad livery.
Note the Baltimore & Ohio color position signal on an adjacent track, which was also used by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Tags: EL locomotives, EL motive power, Erie Lackawanna, Erie Lackawanna in Akron Ohio, Erie Lackawanna intermodal trains, Erie Lackawanna locomotives, Erie Lackawanna motive power, Photographs of Akron railroads, Railroads of Akron Ohio, Robert Farkas photography, Wilbeth Road in Akron
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October 5, 2020 at 9:58 am |
An aside about that B&O CPL signal, and how to understand it. You can tell this is an automatic, or “Intermediate” signal; that is a signal not controlled by the dispatcher and one that does not govern any turnouts, but is lit-up by the entrance of a train into the preceding block, because it has a number plate. This intermediate signal is unusual in that it also has a “P” or “Proceed” marker in addition to the number plate. Under B&O operating rules at that time, a train that came to an intermediate signal displaying red would have to come to a complete stop before proceeding at restricted speed, looking out for trains or equipment ahead. A “P” marker gives trains coming to a red indication at that signal permission to continue moving at restricted speed without stopping. Having both a number plate and a “P” marker at this signal might have been unusual, because under current CSX rules, a “P” marker also indicates an intermediate signal, so the number plate would not be necessary, but I don’t know if that was the rule on the B&O 50 years ago. The current CSX rule for all intermediate signals is that trains do not have to come to a complete stop before proceeding at restricted speed past a red indication.