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

Amtrak Stations Seeing Reduced Operations

Several Amtrak stations across the system now have reduced hours of operation or are being closed for some or all train arrivals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service advisories posted on the Amtrak website said the changes are until further notice.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, station will see its hours reduced to 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.

The station normally hosts six Wolverine Service trains a day but for now that has been reduced to two, Nos. 351 and 352, which operated to Chicago in the morning and to Detroit (Pontiac) in the afternoon.

The Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago Union Station is no longer being staffed.

Passengers may still use the lounge but will not receive coffee, hot water or fountain beverages. Amtrak said regular and diet soda will be available by request at the front desk.

However, given that the station is not being staff it is unclear who will be providing those beverages to passengers.

Other stations at which the waiting room is now closed but access to the boarding platforms is being maintained include Kalamazoo, Michigan; and East Lansing, Michigan.

With the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian and Harrisburg-Philadelphia Keystone Service not operating in Pennsylvania, Amtrak stations in Lancaster, Harrisburg, Altoona and Johnstown are closed.

Ed’s Pennsylvania Adventure: Day 4

On Monday Aug. 13 the forecast was for a 90 percent chance of thunderstorms for the area where Ursula and I were staying in eastern Pennsylvania.

There were numerous clouds but the sun came out when it was needed.

My photo selection includes Great Western No. 90 passing the oldest cemetery in Lancaster County, a Doodlebug, and the Groffs picnic area.

I couldn’t resist getting an image when we found out what was written on Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4800.

I also caught Canadian National No. 89, Norfolk & Western No. 475, and Thomas the Tank Engine resting inside a shop building.

Finally, you can see that Nickel Plate Road No. 757 is getting closer for its return to Bellevue.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas