Railfan Dream Location in Akron

Mike Ondecker and I were in Akron on a morning in 1967 or 1968. Pennsylvania Railroad switch engine No. 9115 is eastbound on the eastbound Baltimore & Ohio main that is shared with the Pennsy between Arlington Street in Akron and Warwick Tower in Clinton.

Perhaps the crew is going to interchange cars with the B&O at Akron Junction.

On the next track is the westbound B&O Diplomat making a station stop.

Beyond the Diplomat is the Erie Lackawanna passenger station. Notice the man at the open window. What a railfan’s dream location this was.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Altoona Museum Received ex-PRR Baggage Car

A former Pennsylvania Railroad baggage car has been donated to the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The model B60b baggage car was built in the 1920s. Aside from working for the PRR, it also served Amtrak in maintenance of way service.

Amtrak sold the car in late 2022 to Railway Excursion Management Company, which donated it to the Altoona museum.

The car will be used in a planned exhibit train of PRR passenger cars to accompany K4s No. 1361, which is currently being restored.

A report on the website of Trains magazine said the history of the car is uncertain, but it may have had roster number 9004.

The car is being stored for the time being on the Everett Railroad in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, until it can be moved to Altoona.

On the Way to Grandma’s House

It is 1966 in Dennison. My family is heading south to visit my grandparents in Oco, Ohio. As we drove past the Pennsylvania Railroad yard in Dennison, I took these three photographs through the window.

We see a yard scene with work train cars, another yard scene and PRR cabin car No. 986805 without its trucks in the yard.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

One Day at Wilbeth Road in Akron

It is between 1967 and 1969 in Akron when Pennsylvania Railroad No. 6217 heads an eastbound freight underneath the Wilbeth Road walk bridge.

The train is on joint tracks used by the Pennsy and Baltimore & Ohio between Warwick Tower in Clinton and Arlington Street Tower in Akron.

Looking down makes the superelevation of the curve at this location seem more severe than it is. The nearest track is PRR/Penn Central. The next two are the B&O-PRR mainlines.

The three tracks on the other side of the B&O-PRR mainlines are the Erie Lackawanna mainlines and a long EL track to serve industries paralleling the EL mainlines.

Today only the two ex-B&O-PRR mainline tracks are still in place here.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

All Contribute to the History of This Place

A signal, a boxcar and a building. Each of them contributes to the history in this photo. We are in Clinton somewhere between 1967 and 1972.

The eastbound signal guards the unseen (now-removed) Pennsylvania Railroad/Penn Central line that diverged just east (photo right) of here from the eastbound main

The train is heading west and the boxcar is not the usual boxcar red B&O boxcar.

Most likely it has special paint because of its insulated cushion underframe.

The building behind the train seems to have been around since long before I started railfanning. Today it houses a restaurant/bar and apartments.

Boxcars such as this are still in use. They have about a foot of cork insulation inside all around, and are used to keep things such as beer and wine cool, but not ice cold, which would account for the cushion underframe if hauling glass bottles. 

It looks like the plug door may have come from a different car, since the color doesn’t match.

Today CSX has only a single track instead of an eastbound and westbound track. The ex-PRR track diverged here and went west past Warwick Tower toward Orrville is gone.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

The Pennsy Yard Scene in Dennison in 1967

Mike Ondecker and I found this Pennsylvania Railroad scene at the yard in Dennison in mid-1967. Notice the damaged boxcar.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

An Alco Two for Tuesday

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

Merry Christmas from the Pennsylvania Railroad

Back in the day railroads would promote travel on their passenger trains during the holiday travel seasons by creating elaborate advertisement with seasonal themes. It is a practice that Amtrak has all but abandoned. To celebrate Christmas Day we bring back a slice of the past in the form of this Pennsylvania Railroad advertisement. It also is a reminder of a time when train travel was as popular as air travel today.

Pennsy Two for Tuesday

Here are a pair of Pennsylvania Railroad images for two for Tuesday. In the top image E7A No. 4212 is in the Penn Central scrap line in East Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1969 or 1970.

In the bottom image, cabin car No. 477628 was photographed most likely in 1966 or 1967. Amazingly, it still had a Trainphone antenna. There is a good chance that this photo was taken through a car window as we passed the PRR yard in Dennison.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Rare Alco Find in Altoona

Pennsylvania Railroad No. 6808 has a Penn Central roster number and I caught it in the East Altoona, Pennsylvania, scrap line in 1969 or1970. This is a rare Alco RSD-7.

Photograph by Robert Farkas