On Nov. 16, 1984, the Akron & Barberton Belt ran a passenger excursion powered by SW1500 Nos. 1501 and A&BB 1502. It is shown in Wadsworth on what used to be the Erie Lackawanna mainline. Today the successor to the A&BB, the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway operates over the ex-EL as far west as Rittman. These units both have operated for the ABC.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Conrail GP38-2 No. 8010 is westbound west of Massillon on May 11, 1985. More likely than not, this is an Orrville Railroad Heritage Society excursion returning from Pittsburgh.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
It’s a sunny early Saturday morning in western Indiana. Amtrak’s westbound Cardinal was on time leaving Crawfordsville, but has lost about 12 minutes due to a CSX work zone.
Train 51 has its usual consist of a P42DC, two Amfleet II coaches, an Amfleet food service car, Viewliner sleeper and Viewliner baggage-dorm car bringing up the rear.
The image was made from the U.S. Route 231 overpass just south of Linden.
The track No. 51 is traveling is the CSX Monon Subdivision, named for its former operator.
During the two years that the Chessie Steam Special ran hundreds of people came out to watch, photograph or ride the trains.
Here are two photos of the westbound Chessie Steam Special pulled by Chessie 2101 (ex-Reading 2101) in Nova on Aug. 19, 1978.
Notice how the interlocking tower didn’t seem to be leaning as much then as it did in later years before it was dismantled.
Former Grand Trunk Western No. 4070 was a mainstay in the early years of what today is known as the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
But back in the 1970s and 1980s the railroad was known as the Cuyahoga Valley Line and the 4070 steaming along with its train was a common sight.
Here it is putting on a show southbound in Brecksville along the Cuyahoga River on Oct. 27, 1979.
The Silver Solarium is, arguably, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s premier feature car.
Built by Budd in 1948 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the dome-observation car operated on the original California Zephyr and joined the CVSR fleet in late summer 2018.
It features lounge seating in its observation section, three private compartments with sleeping accommodations and table seating in the dome.
CVSR charges premium prices for the experience of riding in the car. It has appeared on the steam trains pulled by Nickel Plate Road No. 765 and the Fall Flyer among others.
You can enjoy dinner in the dome section of the Silver Solarium on one of the CVSR’s weekly dinner trains.
The Silver Solarium is shown here beneath the Y bridge in Akron in the consist of the National Park Scenic during the train’s station stop.
The equipment assigned to the Scenic is doubling in November as the section of the Polar Express that departs from Rockside Road station in Independence.
It is notable that for Polar Express service the Silver Solarium is operating with its observation end pointed southward. Normally it is pointed northward.
In case you were wondering, each section of the Polar Express this season has 11 cars. Both similar consists including a concession car.
The Rockside Road section of the Polar Express is operating with dome car Silver Bronco, six coaches, dining car A.A. Augustus, lounge car Cuyahoga Inn, and the Silver Solarium.
The Akron section of the Polar Express is operating with dome car Silver Lariat, five coaches, parlor car Paul Revere, ADA-compliant car Fort Mitchell, Table car 161 and the Saint Lucie Sound.
The photographer reports that he recently realized that he has been photographing the CVSR and its predecessor the Cuyahoga Valley Line for 44 years.
A while back I posted a story about a chase of an excursion train that I made between Springfield and Lima, Ohio, that was led northbound by a former Clinchfield F unit.
Here are two more images from that chase that didn’t make it into the original post.
In the top image the Clinchfield unit is trailing as the train heads southbound to return to Springfield.
The image was made at Clay Road south of St. Johns, Ohio.
In the bottom image the consist passes through a stand of color on each side of the former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton tracks at Santa Fe-New Knoxville Road north of Quincy, Ohio.
The excursion was sponsored by The Ohio Rail Experience and billed as a fall foliage special.
The Orrville Railroad Heritage Society was known for its excursion trains on the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway.
But years ago the ORHS hosted a few excursions on Conrail.
These trips often ran to Pittsburgh from Orrville. The photographer believes that this was one of those trips.
The image was made on May 11, 1985, in Canton, and appears to be Pittsburgh bound.
On the point is GP28-2 No. 8258 along with a sister unit.
Early in its history, the modern Wheeling & Lake Erie held a competition among its employees to design a locomotive livery.
The winner was a bright combination of red and gold that was applied to two GP35s, Nos. 2662 and 2679. W&LE CEO Larry Parsons often referred to them as the “painted ladies.”
Parsons believes that the best color for a locomotive is black so the red and gold look was not widely applied.
No. 2679 has since been rebuilt and repainted in the W&LE’s standard livery, but No. 2662 remains on the active roster in its red and gold appearance.
The two units are shown together in the above images in Akron on May 8, 1994.
They had led an excursion train from Bellevue into town and parked it near Summit Street.
Passengers were taken by bus to Quaker Square for dinner. I remember that it was Mother’s Day.
The two “painted ladies” are shown ready to return to Bellevue. The train was sponsored by the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum and operated under the name Bradley Memorial Limited in honor of a boy who had died far too early.
The fact that No. 2662 is still in service means the image is not yet lost history, even if it is historic.
The images also qualify as nostalgic because the W&LE no longer will agree to host excursion trains such as these.
This would be the only time that I saw the two “painted ladies” paired together on the same train.
Last month I posted some images made of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 passing a swamp located south of the Brecksville station o n the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
I had walked along the tracks to reach that location. But the steam locomotive wasn’t the only thing I photographed there.
I also captured the CVSR diesel on the north end of the train, RS18u No. 1822, and some passenger cars.
Note how the smoke in the bottom image is still hanging in air back near the Brecksville station. It almost looks like the 765 is still there.
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