Stopping by the CVSR on a Snowy Weekend

There is nothing like the nose of a covered wagon breaking a blanket of freshly fallen snow. (Photograph by Roger Durfee)

By Roger Durfee

On weekends in January and February the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic runs it calls its “Cabin Fever” trains from Independence to Akron and return.

Most tourist railroads shut down during the winter months, but the CVSR has found that folks will take a train ride any time of the year.

The beauty of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in the summer is well known, but there is also a quiet serenity in the valley under a blanket of snow, and what better way to view that than from the cozy confines of a passenger car.

For the railfan photographer, a predictable train running through a winter wonderland with vintage Alco power is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of big mainline railroading.

The following are a few of my photos from the past two weekends. All runs had Alco (MLW) FPA4 bookends, and there are two round trips each weekend day.

Along Riverview Road. Onboard the train the passengers were warm and toasty.

Few people are out along the Cascades Locks in downtown Akron as the CVSR train heads back north to Independence.

The engineer changes locomotives after the train has reached its destination at Akron Northside Station.

The train creates its own little blizzard as it nears Bath Road.

You can almost hear Robert Frost reading a line from his famous poem, "between the woods and frozen lake."

It is going to be a while before any passengers will be boarding at the Indigo Lake Station.

The distinctive shapes of an Alco stand out well in this going away shot north of Boston Mill.

A crfew members climbs on the nose to work on unsticking a frozen bell during a run in the 2009 season. The train was pausing in Peninsula.