Presale orders have begun for a book written by Akron resident Roger Durfee about the early Conrail era. Conrail Rainbow Era: Northeast Ohio is the fifth in a series published by The Garbelly Publishing Comapny.
It is being sold for $45 and will be released on April 1.
In a Facebook post Durfee indicated the book focuses on Conrail operations in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and nearby areas. It contains 160 color images.
The publisher’s website described the content of the book as showing “Conrail’s Alco locomotives, F-units, and first-generation power in the railroad’s earliest years. A smattering of freshly painted Conrail blue locomotives and leased power from other railroads mingled with the patched power from Conrail’s predecessors, adding to the color palette.”
Durfee is a retired conductor for Norfolk Southern who once worked for Conrail.
As Conrail GP40-2 No. 3353 works in the small yard across from the old ex-Pennsylvania Railroad station in Alliance, a westbound intermodal train led by LMS C40-8W No. 710 passes on the Fort Wayne Line on Oct. 19, 1996.
The 3353 was built in March 1979 while No. 710 dates to October 1994. Locomotive Management Services was jointly owned by Conrail and General Electric and provided motive power to railroads, notably Conrail, Union Pacific and Canadian National, that needed additional locomotives to meet their service needs.
Conrail SD40 No. 6352 is eastbound in Alliance in November 1988. This unit was built for Penn Central and had to be repaired after sustaining damage to his fuel tanks during an accident.
Conrail SD70MAC No. 4131 is eastbound in Massillon with a two-unit motive power consist. Both of these are SD70MAC locomotives pulling a train in late 1998 or early 1999.
Here are a pair of Conrail images from the archives for two for Tuesday. In the top image GP38-2 No. 8126 is in Alliance on Aug. 15, 1984. In the bottom image SD40-2 No. 6479 leads a westbound at Center Road in what is now New Franklin on May 3, 1980. In a few minutes this train will be in Clinton and likely head toward Orrville and beyond.
Conrail SD40-2 No. 6479 is on the point of a westbound on the former Erie Lackawanna in Akron on May 3, 1980. Above the second unit is the light tower for the EL’s McCoy Street Yard.
At the same time an eastbound Chessie System freight with a caboose has just passed the 6479.
Note the former EL boxcar behind the motive power. The bridge in the background is Thornton Street. Today there are just two tracks at this location near Voris Street.
Until the latter years of Conrail, the west edge of the Berea interlocking plant was the boundary of three divisions. The Dearborn Division had the Chicago Line west of CP 194 while the Indianapolis Line west of Berea was in the Indianapolis Division. The interlocking plant itself and everything east of it was in the Pittsburgh Division.
Shown in the top image is the division sign on the Chicago Line reminding crews that they have crossed into the Dearborn Division. As seen in the bottom image, the other side of that sign read “Pittsburgh Div.”
The Dearborn Division would later take over all of Conrail’s tracks in Cleveland and the Pittsburgh Division didn’t begin until near Ravenna. However, until the end of Conrail operations here in 1999, the Indianapolis Division continued to end at the west edge of the Berea interlocking plant.
Here are two from Pennsylvania made a decade apart. In the top image, the remains of Penn Central EP-5 No. 4976 are in Harrisburg on Aug. 22, 1978. The unit was built for the New Haven by General Electric in April 1955.
In the bottom image, a bevy of Conrail locomotives are leading a freight west on the Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Marysville on June 27, 1988. Note that one of the units is a Norfolk & Western locomotive in, perhaps, a bit of foreshadowing of what would happen to Conrail a little over a decade later.
akronrrclub.wordpress.com 