Adventures at the 1985 NRHS Convention

An Amtrak Metroliner set passes through Lancaster station.

At the Strasburg Rail Road.

At Mt. Holly Springs

Steamers at the Gettysburg Railroad.

Two favorite destinations of mine over the past few years have been the Strasburg Rail Road with the visit of Norfolk & Western 611 and Horseshoe Curve near Altoona.

Way back in August 1985 when I visited these places they had a very different look.

The event was the 1985 NRHS Convention based out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Of the four 4 steamers in operation during our venture, only one will eventually be steaming again, hopefully. Two of the locomotives in operation at Strasburg from the collection of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania were Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-2 No. 7002 and PRR 4-4-0 No. 1223. They were the stars of the convention.

A few years later they were returned to the collection across the street at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Another trip was an excursion on the Gettysburg Railroad. Steamers at the Gettysburg were Canadian National 2-8-2 No. 3254 and Huntingdon & Broad Top 2-8-0 No. 38.

The 3254 was traded to Steamtown National Historic Site for Canadian Pacific No. 1278.

H&BT No. 38 is now at the Everett Railroad. It is the locomotive to be restored, hopefully, in the near future.

The convention concluded with an Amtrak special from Lancaster to Horseshoe Curve/Gallitzin and return.  As you can see this was during the Conrail years.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Many Never to Operate Again

Pennsylvania Railroad 1223 at Carpenters on the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania on Sept. 8, 1989.

Back in 1989 I saw such a variety of steam operating on main lines, branch lines and tourist railroads. Many of us thought this would be around for yearly outings. As it turned out it was not to be. Shown here are some of the locomotives that were operating in 1989 but now may never return in operation.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Nickel Plate Road 587 at McComb, Ohio, June 17, 1989.

Canadian Pacific 1238 on Alleghany Central at Frostburg, Maryland, on Aug. 31, 1989.

Canadian Pacific 2317 on Tunkhannock Viaduct at Nicholson, Pennsylvania, Sept. 4, 1989.

PRR 1223 on the Strasburg Rail Road on Sept. 8, 1989.

Canadian Pacific 1278 on the Gettysburg Railroad at Biglerville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 9, 1989.

Canadian Pacific 1278 at Idaville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 9, 1989.

Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus with Grand Trunk Western 4070 at Peninsula on the Cuyahoga Valley Line on Oct. 28, 1989.

1987 Catches That Can’t Be Caught Again

I had some good catches in the summer of 1987, all of which will never happen again.

In the top photograph, I’m on the Gettysburg Railroad on July 11,1987, in Biglerville, Pennsylvania.

No. 76 is ex-Frisco, ex-Mississippian and now ex-Gettysburg. It was to the late Jerry Joe Jacobson, then sold to Steam Railroad Institute in Michigan with intended to restore it to operating condition.

Years later SRI sold No. 76 and it is now cosmetically  restored as a Baltimore & Ohio locomotive on display in Oakland, Maryland, never to run again.

Next up is Norfolk & Western 1218 on the return leg of a of Bellevue-Columbus roundtrip in Marion on Aug. 15,1987.

This scene can’t be repeated because the signal bridge is gone and AC Tower has been lowered and moved to the south side of the tracks.

Of course No. 1218 is no longer operational and sits in Roanoke, Virginia, at the Virginia Transportation Museum.

No. 1218 is also shown arriving in Bellevue on Aug. 15,1987, between a pair of Pennsylvania Railroad position light signals on the Sandusky District of Norfolk Southern.

The Sandusky District is still there but the signals are gone.

The last image shows Huntington & Broad Top No. 38 on the Kinzua Bridge in western Pennsylvania on Sept. 13,1987.

On July 21,2003 a tornado blew down 11 of the 20 bridge towers. The southern portion of the bridge has restored as a scenic state park, but trains will never again cross this bridge.

H&BT 38 is now owned by the Everett Railroad where it awaits restoration.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas