The wayback machine is set to bring back memories of the Chessie Steam Safety Express era. Here we see Chessie System 4-8-4 No. 614 is in Akron on the weekend of June 27-28, 1981. The 614 pulled a roundtrip between Akron and Pittsburgh on Saturday and then made a one-way ferry move to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
A Pennsylvania short line railroad plans to run a steam excursion to raise money in support of preservation of a former Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotive.
The Everett Railroad will run the hour-long trip on May 6 with its own 2-6-0 steam locomotive No. 11, which for the occasion will carry a PRR three-chime Blue Ribbon whistle.
The proceeds from the excursion will be devoted to efforts by the Railroaders Memorial Museum of Altoona, Pennsylvania, to restore PRR Class K4s steam locomotive No. 1361.
The 4-6-2 No. 1361 was built in the PRR Juniata Shops near Altoona in 1918. The restoration project is expected to cost $2.4 million.
Tickets for the Everett excursion will cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for children ages 3-12 and $5 for children under age 3.
The excursion will depart from Hollidaysburg at noon and run to Brookes Mills before returning.
Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern T-1 No. 2102 pulls a Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 150th anniversary trip in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1988.
Photograph by Paul Woodring
Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 is slated to return to the rails in late May as part of the 2023 season of the Indiana Rail Experience.
The Indiana Rail Experience said the 765 will help pull select excursions that will include an ice cream train out of Angola, Indiana, on Memorial Day weekend.
Other events set for this year include all-day excursions to Hillsdale, Michigan; wine and whiskey trains; a railroad open house featuring steam and diesel locomotives at the Indiana Northeastern shops in Hudson, Indiana; and fall colors and Christmas trains.
The ice cream trains will operate on May 27 and 28. Tickets will go on sale on April 19. Some excursions will be pulled by diesel motive power.
Ticket classes include coach, first class, lounge and dining car seating. Group packages and private rail car charter packages are available.
I made my first visit to the Arcade & Attica short line railroad in New York State on July 17, 2010. It was part of an outing held by the Forest City Division of the Railroad Enthusiasts.
I was in a party that traveled in a van that stopped at Bort Road near North East, Pennsylvania, while en route to Arcade, New York. That was my first visit there. We drove along the GE Erie test track but nothing was out running at the time.
We wrapped up the outing by driving up to Amtrak’s station in Depew, New York, which serves Buffalo.
The star attraction on the A&A was 2-8-0 No. 18, which had been built by Alco in 1920. We rode the first excursion of the day from Arcade to Curriers, and stuck around to photograph No. 18 leaving town for its second trip.
In both images No. 18 is pulling up to couple onto its train and will run tender first back to Arcade.
The two images above were made at Curriers during the layover. There is not much to see there, but the locomotive’s runaround move proved to be of interest to some passengers.
Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders
The East Broad Top has been my favorite narrow-gauge railroad since 1962 when my parents took me there after we visited Washington. Fast forward 20 years to May 1, 1982. Jim Bacon, Paul Woodring, and I visited the EBT, and it was then that I took this photo of EBT 12 heading back to Orbisonia, Pennsylvania. How blessed we are that soon steam is supposed to return to the recently reopened EBT.
Article and Photograph by Robert Farkas
We started our walk to Brush tunnel from Helmstetter’s Curve at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, arriving at the tunnel at 11:14 a.m.
Again, we encountered hikers and bikers on our trek to the tunnel, inside and outside and on the other side.
Before the train arrived we were joined by a rail photographer from Buffalo, New York.
Just after 12:15 p.m.the train popped into the tunnel. Fifty-five seconds later it popped out with the steamer’s smoke pulled out with it as in the final photos. What a conclusion to a fantastic weekend.
Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
I found that our weekend in Cumberland, Maryland, chasing Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad would prove to have a flurry of passenger train activity within walking distance of our hotel.
On the afternoon of Oct. 22, a Saturday, the passenger train with the 1309 returned to the Western Maryland passenger station just before 4:30 p.m.
The first five photos with this post, including the top image, were made at the Cumberland WM station.
As I was photographing the watering of the tender (seen below), a voice to my left asked if I was getting good photos.
The voice was again very familiar. It belonged to Akron Railroad Club member Dennis Sautters, of North Canton, who had just arrived in town. He told me he would be riding behind the 1309 on Sunday in dome car Stampede Pass.
Dennis also said he had just come from riding the Potomac Eagle. Before that he had been at Cass Scenic Railroad Park in West Virginia
On Sunday morning the Amtrak website showed that the eastbound Capitol Limited was running on time.
We were already checked out of the hotel and drove to the Amtrak station, located a short distance from the hotel, on the ex-Baltimore & Ohio mainline.
No. 30 arrived at 9:19 a.m. I had no idea that I would be happily surprised when I saw the “bloody nose” on the point.
It was my first time seeing P42DC Phase 1 heritage unit No. 161, which is the replacement for the 156 Phase I heritage unit.
While we were here we heard the horns of the Pumpkin Train arriving at the Western Maryland station across town.
We had plenty of time to see it before its departure at 9:30 a.m.
Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
I continue with my chasing Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad adventure of Oct. 22.
After making photographs at Helmstetter’s Curve, we headed for Woodcock Hollow. This location is also on a horseshoe curve.
With the railroad on an uphill climb, the 1309’s stack talk was heard for several minutes before its arrival as seen in the top image.
The next three images show the train after its arrival in Frostburg, Maryland.
In the first photo below you can see Akron Railroad Club member Dave Shepherd on the right.
Photos three and four show my former brother-in-law and his son Own enjoying the steamer.
The plan was to have a nice leisurely lunch in LaVale. We did at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant. After lunch we drove back to Helmstetter’s Curve to see the departure of the 2 p.m. Pumpkin Train as shown in photo five.
The photo at Helmstetter’s Curve is the return departure of at 2:45 p.m.
We then walked the bike path the quarter-mile to West Helmstetter’s to await the return of the steam train.
During our relaxing wait we saw a continuous passing of bikers, joggers, hikers, mothers with children and strollers, and also railfan heading to Brush Tunnel.
Photos six through nine are the excursion shortly before 4 p.m. We then started back to the car at Helmstetter’s.
Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
A few weeks ago my former brother-in-law Karl and his son, my nephew Owen, became available for a railfan adventure the weekend of Oct. 22-23.
Our destination would be Cumberland, Maryland, to see the Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.
We departed Geneva at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday.
Our destination was Helmstetter’s Curve, which we hoped to reach in time to photograph the arrival of the first Pumpkin Patch train of the day that would have departed Cumberland at 10 a.m. We arrived at Helmstetter’s at 10:15 a.m. and set up at the cemetery overlook.
A few minutes later one other car pulled up next to ours. From a distance as they got out of their car I noticed they looked very familiar.
To my surprise they were Akron Railroad Club members Don Woods and Dave Shepherd. After exchanging greetings, we heard horns. The photograph above is the arrival of the Pumpkin Patch train.
After getting our photos, I suggested to Karl that we head to Ridgeley, West Virginia. My thinking was that the 1309 would have to be there to wait for the return of the Pumpkin train.
I was correct and the next three images were made at Ridgeley.
We then drove to a spot in the Narrows. The steam train would be about a half hour behind its scheduled 11:30 a.m. departure from Ridgeley. It would depart the Cumberland station about noon.
The next photo is at the Narrows at about 12:08 p.m. followed by photos made at Helmstetter’s Curve at 12:25 p.m. Part 2 of the series will continue to Frostburg.
Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
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