Penn Central SD40 No. 6272 leads a manifest freight at an unidentified location in the early 1970s. It was built for PC in January 1971 and would later serve on the Conrail motive power roster before having a second career as a leased power unit, eventually being rebuilt into an SD40-2 for First Union Rail.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
The wayback machine has taken us to Alliance in December 1974. Conrail is still two years away and Norfolk Southern is still the name of a regional railroad in Virginia and North Carolina. This is a Penn Central town and we see U25B No. 2743 on an assignment.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
This image was made at Penn Central’s Collinwood diesel shop in Cleveland in 1968 or 1969. From right to left there is what looks to be the back of a Pennsylvania Railroad GE U25B, a New York Central Alco RS32, an NYC Alco RS1 and an NYC Alco FB.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
A trio of Penn Central locomotives, Nos. 2552, 2649, and 6337, lead a train through Collinwood Yard in Cleveland during the period of 1969 to 1972.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
How strange, especially at this time of year, to think that the mail once moved by train. For a long while special cars had postal agents picking up the mail, sorting the mail and getting it ready to drop off at other cities.
When manned mail cars were no longer used, mail trains that just carried already-sorted mail from city to city could still be found.
This is Penn Central’s Mail 9. The PC found a good use for some of their E-units that were no longer needed after Amtrak took over the nation’s passenger trains.
Leading the Mail 9 is PC E8A No. 4246 westbound past Fairhope Tower in Canton around July) 1973.
The motive power consist includes an E8A, E8A, E7A, E7B, E8A, and another E7A.
Article and Photograph by Robert Farkas
We know many of you enjoy seeing Alco locomotives so here are two of them for Tuesday.
In the top image former Pennsylvania Railroad Alco RS11 No. 7621 has a Penn Central roster number as it sits mostly backlighted by the sun in the Conway Yard engine facility near Pittsburgh in September 1968.
In the bottom image, Alco RS3 No. 5550 is in Conway the same month. To the left are two Alcos and to the right are two Baldwins.
Photographs by Robert Farkas
Early Penn Central provided some interesting lash-ups coming through Akron. Mike Ondecker caught former Pennsylvania Railroad 2210, a GP30, and former New York Central No. 1753, an F7A, northbound in the summer of 1968.
Photograph by Mike Ondecker
Every once in a while, I’ll find some glassine envelopes containing treasures from a long ago trip. The first part of one such envelope contains photos of the Penn Central scrap line in East Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1969 or 1970.
We see former Pennsylvania Railroad 6810 (6810 is its PC number), formerly PRR 8610, an Alco RSD-7. We also see New York Central Alco S4 No. 9760. On the far right is my good friend John Woodworth taking down the roster numbers.
Behind the 9760 is PRR Fairbanks Morse Train Master No. 6707. A side shot is blocked by the next line of locomotives.
Other images include PRR 6708, an FM H24-66 Train Master. NYC 8305, an FM H12-44, and a second NYC FM switcher are sunning themselves. Soon these locomotives will feel the heat of the scrapper’s torch.
Finally, we see PRR 4216, an EMD E7A, and PRR 7949 (PC number), which I believe this is a Baldwin DS44-1000.
Photographs by Robert Farkas
It is early in the Penn Central era (1968 or 1969) in Akron. A northbound PC freight headed by three former New York Central locomotives is heading east on the joint tracks shared by the Baltimore & Ohio and PC. More than likely, this train will cross over at Arlington Street to the ex-PRR line that runs from Akron to Hudson and go north to Motor Yard and beyond.
The train is passing the west end of Akron Union Depot.
Article and Photograph by Robert Farkas
Oh, how we would like to go back in time for even one day to see scenes such as this. Fortunately, we have the wayback machine to remind us what we missed. Shown is Penn Central F7A No. 176 at the Collinwood engine facility in Cleveland on Oct. 8, 1972. This unit was built for the New York Central in March 1952.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
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