Craig identified Akron’s “unknown railfan” as Ed Treesh. Here are three more of his photos.
The top photograph is the approach to Johnstown’s Inclined Plane in September 1966.
In the middle is another September 1966 photo that Ed took of one of the two inclined plane cars and the base station.
In the bottom image is East Broad Top 15 is steamed up in October 1961 in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania.
Former Akron Railroad Club member Michael A. Ondecker, 69, died of a heart attack on Jan. 30.
Services were held at the Tallmadge Cemetery on March 3 with the Rev. Michael A. Matusz officiating. Donovan Funeral Home handled the arrangements.
Mr. Ondecker was born on Dec. 21, 1947, the son of Andrew and Isabelle Ondecker. He is survived by a brother, Thomas, who resides in Florida.
A graduate of Kent State University, he was a retired railroader, having worked for the Erie Lackawanna on its power desk and in its intermodal traffic department.
At the time of creation of Conrail, his former EL boss hired him to work at the Grand Trunk Western. Mr. Ondecker later moved to a position in the intermodal traffic department of the Soo Line.
A resident of Tallmadge for the past 15 years, Mr. Ondecker was a volunteer with the Ohio Museum of Transportation, which collects transit buses that were used throughout Ohio.
He was a friend of ARRC member Robert Farkas, who said that Mr. Ondecker introduced him to railfanning in 1965.
They traveled together on nearly a decade of trips to such places as Birmingham, Alabama; Huron, South Dakota; and New Haven, Connecticut.
“Before his aunt loaned him her 120 roll film camera (decent lens but slow top shutter speed) in 1968, he took a few Instamatic photos,” Bob write in an email message. “The quality of the Instamatic photos was poor because of the camera. On the other hand, what he saw was incredible!”
Three of those photographs made by Mr. Ondecker accompany this post.
“Instead of purchasing a better camera with a high shutter speed, he basically stopped taking photos,” Bob said. “Instead he drove and I took the photos for both of us.”
In the top image, made with the Instamatic camera, EL No. 7354 (an Alco FA), an F3B, and other units are shown at an unidentified location. The image was probably created in the middle 1960s.
The middle image also was made with an Instamatic camera. EL No. 858 (an Alco PA), an Alco FB, and an EMD F3B were captured in the same time period at an unidentified location.
In the bottom image, made with his aunt’s camera, Baltimore & Ohio No. 9131 (an Alco S-2) is in shown in downtown Akron in the summer of 1968.
I recently realized I have been railfanning for slightly over 50 years.
For Christmas 1965 I received a Minoltina (Made by Minolta) 35 mm rangefinder to be used for a college photography class.
For about a year I shot only black and white. I took my first roll of 35 mm slide film late in 1966 with most of the slides being poor to acceptable. Still, a few came out well.
Here is Akron & Barberton Belt No. 27 (a Baldwin S12 purchased in 1951) heading toward the A&BB yard in Barberton in most-likely December 1966.
For those who know the area now, this is a completely different scene. The A&BB is now the ABC, A&BB 27 was scrapped over 40 years ago, the freight cars that can be identified are all fallen flags, the tracks have been removed, and there is no road crossing in this area now.
The cars would now be classics and Kodachrome is a fond memory.
What amazes me now is how few shots I took of the A&BB and AC&Y. These were the home railroads loaded with older rare power, but I can’t complain.
I had to learn what so many rail fans have had to learn that “far away places are fun, but don’t forget the home roads.”
Bob Farkas has long documented the railroad scene in the Akron area. Shown is a photograph he took in April 1971 of Reading Company 4-8-4 Northern Type No. 2102 pulling an excursion train across the trestle in downtown Akron on the former Akron, Canton & Youngstown. Farkas is retiring as a middle school teacher at the end of the current school year.
Long time Akron Railroad Club member Bob Farkas is putting away his chalk and eraser and ending a teaching career that spanned 41 years. Farkas, 62, will retire at the end of the current school year. His thoughts about teaching and his career were featured in an article published in the Akron Beacon Journal.
The article also recounted some of his adventures in teaching including the time in the 1970s when his students tried to telephone the moon during the last Apollo lunar mission in order to wish the astronauts a safe journey home.
Farkas is currently teaching language arts at Manchester Middle School and described his teaching style as “old school.” His principal, Jim Miller, told the Beacon Journal that Farkas “. . . has a quiet, unique approach to teaching. ‘He is not a yeller. He’s a very caring, compassionate individual.”
Bob Eckert, another teacher at the middle school, had Farkas as a teacher 40 years ago. “I remember him always being positive and having kind words to say about students, no matter who they were, and that’s not always easy to do,” Eckert told the Beacon Journal. “It’s so easy to be negative.”
Farkas told the newspaper that he knows not everyone is an “A” student, but he tries to find ways to inspire all of his students. He gets excited when students light up — that’s when he knows they get it.
“Teaching doesn’t have to be dull,” he said. “The students just have to learn. It’s my job to find ways to reach them.”
Farkas attended Manchester schools from the third grade through 12th grade, graduating in 1964 as part of the first class to go through all four years at the community’s then new high school.
To ARRC members, Farkas is known for his railroad photography. Since the 1960s, Farkas has been out capturing railroad scenes, including many that has long since vanished from the landscape. He has periodically displayed his work during programs at ARRC meetings and on members’ nights.
When presenting his photographs of railroads that have disappeared, Farkas is known for saying, “but it will always be there, right?” It is his way of reminding photographers to never take for granted whatever the railroads are operating at moment because railroading is always changing and what might seem mundane today won’t always be here.
To the Beacon Journal article on Farkas, click on this link: http://www.ohio.com/news/46883422.html
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