It is Aug. 10, 1996, in Peninsula, Ohio. Here comes Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad FPA-4 No. 14. It used to belong to VIA Rail Canada and before that Canadian National. When it ran for those railroads it wore roster number 6777.
These days No. 14 wears its old roster number as it toils for the CVSR. Of course as this is posted in January 2021 nothing is running in revenue service on the CVSR due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perhaps later this year we’ll see the 6777 back in action in Peninsula.
Today’s two for Tuesday features Montreal Locomotive Works FPA-4 locomotives on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in different liveries and eras.
In the top photograph No. 14 is shown along the Cuyahoga River during a railfan excursion on May 17, 1997.
Several current and former Akron Railroad Club members were aboard this excursion, which covered the length of the line between Akron and Independence.
The train made several stops for photo runbys and railroad volunteers posed in various scenes for the photographers.
In the bottom image, No. 6777 is approaching Northside station in Akron on Feb. 2, 2017. By now the unit has been given a new livery featuring a chevron stripe on the nose.
No. 6777 was built in March 1959 for Canadian National and is, in fact the No. 14 shown in the top image.
At some point the CVSR reverted it back to its original CN roster number.
My first photograph of a Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train came during a railfan event. It would be another decade before I saw the CVSR again.
Twenty-one years ago today I saw and rode the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for the first time.
I was a passenger on a railfan special that traveled the length of the CVSR.
I don’t remember how I learned about this event. Maybe I read about it in The Plain Dealer.
At the time I didn’t belong to any railroad clubs and the only railfans I knew were a few guys I regularly saw in Berea.
I bought my ticket by phone and during that conversation the ticket agent asked if I also wanted to buy a cab ride. Sure, why not.
Aboard that day were at least three Akron Railroad Club members: Marty Surdyk, Robert Farkas and the late Dave McKay. There may have been others.
Little did I know that photographs made by Marty and Bob on this day would later turn up in book I would publish about the CVSR.
Although I don’t remember it, my rail travel logs indicate the event started at Boston Mill station with the train being pulled to Rockside Road station by RS3 No. 4099.
It would be my first and only time to see that locomotive, which in the CVSR’s early diesel era was one of its workhorses.
At Rockside Road, we got off and did one of many photo ops staged for us by the crew.
This one involved the conductor and two crew members comparing watches and train orders on the platform.
There was also a handing up of train orders at Jaite, a scene of a pickup truck and tractor waiting at a rural road crossing that was located at Szalay’s Farm, and a “farmer” handing up milk cans to a crew member in the baggage section of the combine.
There were photo runbys at various places, including just south of Pleasant Valley Road, along the Cuyahoga River just south of Fitzwater Yard – although it wasn’t a railroad shop at the time – and at Brecksville to get the classic Ohio Route 82 bridge shot.
For the latter, the CVSR got permission from the National Park Service to cut down vegetation growing along the bank of the Cuyahoga River so as to afford a more open view of the train.
There probably were other photo runbys, but I don’t remember where they were. I knew virtually nothing about the CVSR of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in those days.
The train arrived in Akron at the site of today’s Northside Station and we rode buses to the Spaghetti Warehouse to have lunch.
It was one of two times I’ve eaten there. The other time occurred in summer 2013 when fellow ARRC member Paul Woodring and I were scouting for a place to hold the first end of year dinner.
My cab ride came during the last segment of the event. I don’t remember where I got on at, but it probably was at Indigo Lake.
I rode in the cab of FPA-4 No. 14, which today is CVSR No. 6777. The other FPA-4 in the motive power consist was No. 15, which today is CVSR No. 6771.
At the time, CVSR locomotives had a red, black and gold livery that heavily emphasized the gold. It has since been revised to emphasize black on the flanks.
The railfan event was one of just two times that I’ve seen lounge-observation car Saint Lucie Sound operate uncovered.
Most of the time, the observation end of the former Florida East Coast car is covered by a locomotive due to trains operating with motive power on each end.
I don’t recall us being allowed into the Saint Lucie Sound during our trip.
It would be just over a decade before I again rode and saw the CVSR. I’ve been trying to make up lost ground ever since in documenting the CVSR.
There is much I’ve missed that I could have recorded. I arrived in Northeast Ohio three years too late to see former Grand Trunk Western 2-8-2 light Mikado No. 4070 on the then-named Cuyahoga Valley Line.
I missed the Delaware & Hudson look-alike livery era even though it played out during my earlier years here.
The photographs I made of that railfan trip from 1997 are my only ones of CVSR locomotives in that first red, gold and black livery.
Given that the CVSR has moved to nearly all year scheduled operations on weekends, it would be difficult to duplicate this event.
It would have to be done on a weekend in the off-season and that would not encourage ridership.
Like so many railfan events, it was a good things that I did it when I did.
Comparing watches at Rockside Road station.
Creating a farm road scene at Szaly’s Farm.
Coming into Peninsula during my cab ride.
We were able to see Saint Lucie Sound operate as it was designed to operate.
Handing up train orders at Jaite.
Do you realize that VIA Rail Canada took its FPA-4 locomotives out of service 30 years ago? Yet two of them were on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s National Park Scenic train last Saturday.
The top and middle images were taken in Peninsula while the bottom photograph was made in Akron as Baltimore & Ohio No. 800 was being towed north.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has been running an autumn foliage special on weekends during October.
Known as the Fall Flyer, it is scheduled to depart Rockside Road station in Independence 45 minutes behind the National Park Scenic in the morning and 40 minutes behind it in the afternoon.
The Fall Flyer operates non-stop to Indigo Lake before returning to Rockside.
Presumably, it was created to take pressure off the National Park Scenic, which often ran well behind schedule during October due to the large number of bikers and sight seers riding the train.
The Fall Flyer will make its last trips on Oct. 29. It is shown above on Oct. 21 coming and going near Deep Lock Quarry south of Peninsula.
The money shot of the day was FPA-4 Nos. 6777 and 6771 framed by the Old Station Road bridge over the Cuyahoga River with a reflection in the Cuyahoga River.
Few things excite a railroad photographer more than a locomotive with a different livery, particularly if it is one he hasn’t seen or photographed before.
Such has been the case with Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad FPA-4 No. 6777, which recently rolled out of the shop with a new paint job.
The 6777 doesn’t look that much different than it did before. The CVSR livery introduced on FPA-4 No. 6771 is still the gold, red and black look that CVSR motive power has had since at least the early 2000s.
But the CVSR winged herald has been removed from the nose in favor of a V-stripe.
Put the 6777 and 6771 back to back and you’ve got a matching set that looks quite spiffy.
I stumbled onto the matching 6777 and 6771 duo the first weekend that it ran. But last Saturday I got a phone call from fellow Akron Railroad Club member Peter Bowler that the two of them were still paired on the south end of the National Park Scenic.
A previous commitment kept me away from the tracks until mid afternoon, just in time to catch the last run of the Scenic for the day.
I was hoping to get the locomotives traipsing through the snow. There was snow covering the ground at my house, but in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park the snow amounted to only a dusting.
It was cloudy as I made my way to Indigo Lake and then up to Brecksville. My objective was to maximize the number of side views because that is when the matching look of 6777 and 6771 is at its best.
Of course, it helps that 6777 has a new paint job that looks shiny and new.
In time the 6777 and 6771 will be broken up and the shine will fade due to wear.
But for now the CVSR has a new look and it’s time to get out and document it because there are darn few places to get a matching set of FPA-4 units.
Trailing at Indigo Lake.
Going away at Brecksville.
C424 No. 4241 leads the northbound CVSR Scenic at Indigo Lake.
Looking down Old Station Road bridge at the nose of the CVSR 4241.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad FPA4 Nos. 6771 and 6777 trail back-to-back as they roll northbound past the golden rod field along Riverview Road between Boston Mill and Jaite.
My apologies to Carly Simon for stealing a line from one of her best-known songs. But I couldn’t resist because as I looked at the top image that accompanies this post I kept thinking that this is way that these units should look and next thing you know one of my brain cells decided to pull up that Simon song and put it on continuous play.
I posted on Saturday night the images that Akron Railroad Club members Roger Durfee and Bob Farkas made last Saturday of the debut of No. 6777 in the V stripe livery that the CVSR rolled out last year on No. 6771.
Unlike Bob and Roger, though, I didn’t know about the new look 6777 when I set out for the CVSR.
My plan was to meet fellow CVSR member Peter Bowler for lunch at the Winking Lizard in Peninsula at 1 p.m. to copy some photographs that he is contributing to my CVSR book that is in the works.
When Saturday morning proved to be a sunny day, I called Peter and suggested we move the lunch up by an hour and then do some railroad archaeology work afterward, namely hiking in and finding the bridge over the Cuyahoga River on the rail spur that led to the paper mill at Jaite.
Peter had things to do so he could only meet me 15 minutes earlier. I decided to leave the house early enough to catch the northbound CVSR National Park Scenic train at Brecksville or Jaite.
I figured to post an image of it with a story about the opening of the 2017 CVSR season.
As I got into my car I got a text from ARRC member Todd Dillon saying that the 6777 and 6771 were running as a matched pair.
I didn’t know until I made the going away shot at Jaite that the 6777 had recently been repainted into the V stripe livery.
Let me tell you that new paint job glistened in the sunlight and I knew that Peter and I would be chasing it that afternoon.
Peter had not been railfanning for more than a month and had a brand new Nikon camera he wanted to try out. He needed to get out for the day.
With time to kill before meeting Peter for lunch, I went for a walk on the towpath trail out of Peninsula. Peter got done early with his errands and called me on my cell phone as I was walking back to toward town to let me know he had arrived.
The National Park Scenic had already arrived as we stepped out of the Winking Lizard after finishing lunch, which for me featured a chicken quesadilla and a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale draught beer. We also put away a bag of popcorn.
The sunshine was gone and would not return for the rest of the day. At best we had filtered sunlight.
We made some images in Peninsula and went to find that bridge over the Cuyahoga, a story that will be the subject of a future post.
For the afternoon northbound chase, we wanted a side image and elected to set up at the golden rod field along Riverview Road between Boston Mill and Jaite.
How striking that matched pair would have looked in late day sunlight had the clouds not moved in.
There is one no insignificant difference between the 6777 and 6771. The 6777 has a bright metallic trim around its front windows. On the 6771 that trim is painted black. The metallic trim makes the 6777 stand out in direct sunlight.
The CVSR will be operating Saturday only through late February. We can only hope that the 6777 and 6771 stay together on the south end of the train during that time.
But operating three locomotives on a train is the not SOP of the CVSR. It typically only puts two locomotives together on the south end during the autumn foliage season.
I hope the 6777 and 6771 stay together. I have plans for other images I want to make of this dynamic duo.
Looking sharp at Jaite.
Trailing as the first northbound trip of the season passes through Jaite.
Look at the front windows and you will see a difference between the 6771 and the 6777.
Posing in Peninsula.
Throttling up out of Peninsula en route to Akron.
A crew member looks back from the cab of 6777 in Peninsula to check on how passenger boarding is going.
New hoses dangling in front of the 6777 in Peninsula.
The 4241 was on the north end of the Scenic. It has been a while since I’ve seen a Scenic with all locomotives wearing CVSR colors.
At Peninsula with a bit of fog lingering in the trees.
Cruising at Bath Road.
At Akron Northside station.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad opened up the 2017 season on Saturday by using fresh out of the shop 6777 back to back with 6771. How cool is it to see and hear in 2017 an FPA4 set, with both of them in a clean and sharp paint scheme.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad started its 2017 season on Saturday with matched Montreal Locomotive Works FPA4 diesels on the southbound end of the train. CVSR 6777 just received this paint scheme. Here are CVSR 6777, 6771 at Akron Northside Station. Also shown is ex-Pennsylvania Railroad Paul Revere, which was part of Saturday’s train.
Montreal Locomotive Works FPA4 No. 6777 is expected to return to the rails of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad this summer after a rebuilding that began last year.
CVSR shops forces have been overhauling the locomotive in an effort to reduce its fuel and oil consumption as well as cut its emissions.
The work includes rebuilding the prime mover, and upgrading the fuel injection, turbo, wiring, air brake and auto-start systems.
No. 6777 is also receiving new wheels and traction motors.
The prime mover was to be placed back into the carbody in early April and the unit was expected to be road tested in May.
No. 6777 was built in March 1959 for the Canadian National and pulled passenger trains for VIA Rail Canada before being acquired by the CVSR in 1995.
For a short time, it wore the Cuyahoga Valley Line’s blue and silver with yellow striping livery and carried roster number 14.
When it was repainted into the CVSR’s red, gold and black livery it was re-assigned its original roster number.
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