These two photos of the Alco S2 switcher No. 507 were taken only a few years apart. In the top image, No. 507 is shown in Akron 1967 or 1968 still wearing its Erie markings. The bottom image shows the unit in Marion on July 29 1972.
Photographs by Robert Farkas
Marty Surdyk and I had a few more adventures before and after our ride and lunch stop last Sunday as we ventured to Titusville, Pennsylvania, to ride the Oil Creek & Titusville.
On a siding in Titusville were two Alco S2’s. For many years No. 75 was the passenger power for the OC&T.
Back in the 1980s we rode behind and photographed it on the New York & Lake Erie out of Gowanda, New York. It was formerly South Buffalo Railroad. No. 85 was used by the OC&T as standby power.
Erie S2 No. 518 was donated to the French Creek Valley Railroad Historical Society by the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson.
Prior to being on the AC&J roster it was owned by the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company for use at its Ashtabula facility.
Before that it was used by Erie Lackawanna and the Erie. It is now on display in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
The original slide from which this was taken was non-Kodak processed, underexposed, and had a strong purple color to it. Still, this may be of interest to some. Norfolk & Western Alco S2 switcher No. 105 (ex-Akron, Canton & Youngsrtown) is still in full AC&Y paint in Akron in December 1966 or January 1967.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
A former Baltimore & Ohio Alco S-2 switcher has been donated to the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
The authority is now seeking to raise money to pay to transport the engine from its current location in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The switcher must be moved by truck rather than by rail at an estimated cost of $700,000.
Once it arrives in Martinsburg, the switcher will be displayed at the former B&O roundhouse there.
Built in 1949 as B&O 9115, the roundhouse authority plans to restore the unit to its as-built appearance.
The Martinsburg shops complex, which includes the roundhouse, has one of the last fully-enclosed roundhouses in existence, as well as the adjacent bridge and machine shop, frog and switch shop and blacksmith shop.
It was built between 1866 and 1872 and once included a second enclosed roundhouse that was destroyed by fire in 1990.
Contributions may be sent to the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority, c/o Jeff Hollis, 56 Corning Way, Martinbsurg, WV 25405.
Here are some of my favorites of Viscose 0-4-4 saddletank No. 6 and Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson No. 107 during the steam excursion event of Aug. 30 and 31, 2008.
No. 6 was built by Baldwin in September 1924 for the American Viscose Company of Roanoke, Virginia.
In 1960 it was sold to the Gem City Iron & Metal Company of Pulaski, Virginia. In September 2004 it was purchased my Scott Symans of Dunkirk, New York, and restored to operating condition.
AC&J 107 is an Alco S2 switcher built in June 1950 as Nickel Plate Road No. 45. It became Norfolk & Western No. 2045 after the 1964 merger of the NKP and N&W.
The Fairport, Painesville & Eastern purchased it in February 1968 and it became their No. 107. The AC&J acquired it in June 1984.
We’ve got an Erie Lackawanna Alco S2 switcher for EL Monday today.
No. 518 is working with a train in Akron in 1968 in front of the passenger station.
McCoy Street Yard was a short distance out of sight to the left.
Northeast Ohio short line railroad Fairport, Painesville & Eastern had a fleet of eight Alco switchers numbered 101 to 108.
In the top photograph, S4 No. 105 and S2 No. 101 are sitting 105 and 101 are near Fairport Harbor, Ohio in the late 1960s
FP&E 101 became Ohi-Rail No. 101 and it is seen in the bottom photograph along with another Alco S2 in in Minerva in October 1997.
Nos. 101 and 102 both worked for the FP&E before winding up on Ohi-Rail.
At first glance, these two photographs appear to have little in common.
The top photograph depicts former Lake Superior & Ishpeming 2-8-0 No. 33 at Sugarcreek on April 19, 2008, during one of its few outings under Ohio Central ownership.
In the bottom photograph is Oil Creek & Titusville Alco S2 No. 85 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on April 20, 2006.
Both images feature good composition that invites you to linger over them for a moment or two.
But what these have in common are little things that maybe you noticed but might not have stopped to think about the role they play in creating a story.
In the photograph of No. 33 there is a figure standing next to the locomotive looking it over.
He appears to be a crew member and is wearing a broad brim hat. No. 33 is a smallish steam locomotive, but even if dwarfs a person standing next to it.
In the OC&T image, there is a portion of a pole line visible along the tracks. That combined with the large and old red brick industrial building in the background suggest another era.
The boarded up windows of the industrial building indicate that era is well past.
It used to be common to see pole lines along railroad right of ways, but in the past decade or so railroads have pretty much removed them as they rely on other technology to communicate.
Of course nothing says “another era” like a steam locomotive. And Alco has been out of the business of building diesel locomotives since 1969.
There is another link between these two images as well. Both locomotives were used in tourist train service and part of the rational for having tourist trains is to provide a glimpse of the past.
Railroading hasn’t gone away and figures to be around for a long time to come. But in many ways subtle and obvious it is always changing. Hence it’s nice to have reminders of the past, including those things we may have forgotten from it.
It is (almost surely) 1967 or 1968 in the Norfolk & Western yard in Brewster where N&W No. 2542 (Alco RS3), Nickel Plate Road No. 35 (Alco S2), and N&W No. 2038 (Alco S2) sit in the dead line.
These locomotives aren’t coming back to life but live on in photographs and memories.
Here are three images of Erie switcher 532, an S2, working in Akron in the middle 1960s.
By then, of course, this was Erie Lackawanna territory and the Erie Railroad was just a fond memory.
The photographer is standing on the now-removed foot bridge over the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio and EL.
The bridge was a short cut between the Firestone Tire assembly plant and headquarters and Ira Avenue.
The 532 is sitting on the track used to switch local industries north of the EL east (bottom track) and west (middle track) mainlines.
The top image shows the full scene. The middle image is a closer crop while the bottom image is from a different angle.
This locomotive would later be repainted into EL colors and markings and Bob could capture it in 1973 working in Akron.
To see that image go to https://akronrrclub.wordpress.com/2019/12/23/what-once-was-el-monday/
