Appearances to the contrary, this is an early Conrail photo made in Akron. Penn Central F7A No. 1782 is westbound on June 5, 1976. Very soon the train will arrive at Conrail’s ex-Pennsylvania Railroad South Akron Yard. The unit was built by EMD in November 1951 for the New York Central.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Penn Central F7A No. 1772 leads an eastbound passing through Alliance on Feb. 18, 1973. This train is headed for Bayard and then east. It is about to cross the Fort Wayne Line.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Penn Central FP7A No. 4333 and GP9 No. 7337 are helpers on a westbound freight leaving Alliance on July 9, 1972. Helpers were often needed to help trains up the hill from Conway Yard near Pittsburgh to CP Wood and on up to a cut about two miles west of Wood. Many trains could have made this jaunt without help, but helper locomotives kept them moving faster on the busy Fort Wayne Line. The 7337 was built in December 1956 for the New York Central
Photograph by Robert Farkas
You can’t tell from this angle but that is a former Pennsylvania Railroad FP7 sitting at the locomotive service rack at Collinwood Yard in Cleveland in either 1968 or 1969. That would make it a Penn Central locomotive although not but too long.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
PC F7A No. 1703 leads a train bound for Conway Yard near Pittsburgh down the Bayard Branch in Alliance in July 1972. The 1703 was built for the New York Central in May 1951. Although the scene depicts former Pennsylvania Railroad territory, the NYC had a line that passed through Alliance.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
There is something about seeing locomotives lined up elephant style, particularly if they are F units. Penn Central Nos. 1712, 1732, and 1716 are at Collinwood Yard in Cleveland on Sep. 15, 1974.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
It’s a late afternoon in June 1976 in the early Conrail era in Akron. Four Conrail F-units still in full Penn Central paint are headed to Hudson and on to Motor Yard on train AMA which is led by F7A 1744. How thankful I am for photos like these.
A gaggle of Penn Central F7A units sit in Cleveland on Oct. 8, 1972. The photographer said in a note that the units are Nos. 1878, 1656, and 1648. The latter would be painted years later in Conrail blue.
If you can’t get enough of those F units from the camera of Bob Farkas, we’ve got another one for you today. Shown is Penn Central F7A No. 1683 in Cleveland on Sept. 15, 1974. It began life as New York Central 1683. It would later be renumbered by Conrail as 1798 in order to clear a roster spot for a GP15.
My late friend Mike Ondecker took this photo of a Penn Central train heading north through Akron in the summer of 1968.
The Baltimore & Ohio switcher on the stub track most likely was there to remove a mail car from the westbound B&O Diplomat.
As for the railfan, that’s 21-year old me with my Dad’s (soon to be mine) Mamiya C3 twin lens reflex camera.
It’s amazing what one can find in a glassine envelope that may have last seen light 50 plus years ago.
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