Focus on the Train!!

The train you are looking at on the front of this post card (bottom right-hand corner) is a New York Central train running on the River Subdivision. Today it is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The line runs from the North Bergen Yard in Hudson County, New Jersey, north to Ravena, New York, along the alignment of the West Shore Railroad, a former New York Central Railroad line. This information is from Wikipedia. The post card is not focused on the train, however. It is focused on the Storm King Highway - I know, What is wrong with them? This website gives us information about the highway: https://www.bing.com/maps?q=Storm+King+highway&form=ANNTH1&refig=e722dc6ff90e4ea4acb6441c88a628c0 The Storm King Highway is a three-mile segment of New York State Route 218 between Lee Road in the Town of Highlands at the south end and the Cornwall-on-Hudson village line in Orange County, New York, in the United States. It was built in 1916 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 in recognition of its accomplishment in civil engineering.

The post card was published by Ruben Publishing Company out of Newburgh, New York. This website catches us up on the information about Mr. Ruben and his publishing company: https://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/dumbarton-oaks-archives/collections/ephemera/names/ruben-publishing-co The Ruben Publishing Co. (also Ruben's, Newburgh, N.Y. and J. Ruben, Newburgh, N.Y.) was founded by Jacob Ruben (1882–1974) in Newburgh, New York. Ruben opened a stationery business there in 1906, although his publishing business is listed at various Newburgh addresses, including 13-15 South Johnson Street, 39 Johnston Street, 95-97 Ann Street, and 76 Broadway. Ruben was a Russian-American émigré who became a well-known commercial photographer in the Hudson River Valley area near Newburgh for over four decades until after the Second World War. He was especially well-known for his tourist photographic postcard sets, which he published under his company name. He also photographed new real estate developments, bridge and road building projects, and other civic projects.

A Tragedy with a Happy Ending!

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is a Pacific type (2-6-2 wheel arrangement) #1278. This website tells us about the history of the locomotive: https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/canadian-pacific-1278-4-6-2-the-unheralded-hero-of-modern-day-steam/ It was one of thirty, G-5d class engines built for Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) during 1948 at Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario (serial #2435). Their low-weight, 117-ton construction was perfect for light-rail and branch line duty on CP passenger and freight trains. These 4-6-2s had a perfect power-to-weight ratio and were known as “diggers” that dug in and ran as fast as engineers dared. The more you beat them, the hotter they got—800 degrees F steam heat going into the cylinders, so hot that sometimes their shiny piston rods turned blue! The balanced design of the G-5d had the advantage of a perfect ratio of crank position to small-ish, 70-inch driving wheels. That is important because of the increased number of power strokes per mile, compared with locos having larger drivers but less power. This G-5d steamer loved screaming uphill with 17-20 coaches and 1% grades. The #1278 was equipped with all modern devices of the day, including an Elesco 5-poppet front-end throttle, an Elesco feedwater heater and a mechanical stoker. Inside the firebox, new style button-head staybolts were used to affix the steel crown sheet. A big advantage was #1278’s small firebox with no large, expansive sheets, thus reducing thermal stresses because of limited strain due to less expansion and contraction. The G-5d locos had very strong fireboxes, but with generous grate areas and big ash pans. Like all of CP’s G-5d locos, #1278 had a slotted dry pipe and, therefore, needed no steam dome. They were easy to fire, easy to maintain, and strong as an ox! All G-5d Pacifics have all-weather aluminum cabs, but climb onto the engineer’s seat on a hot July day and you will soon learn that the poorly ventilated, hot, enclosed space is better suited to Canada’s cold winter weather. Along with CP 4-6-2 sisters #1246 and #1293, #1278 was purchased (in 1965) by F. Nelson Blount for use at his expanding Steamtown USA museum and Green Mountain tourist train operation in Bellows Falls, Vermont. This website tells us the history of Steamtown USA in Bellows Falls and its move to Pennsylvania. https://www.steamlocomotive.com/places/steamtownUSA/ Before there was Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA, there was Steamtown U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, VT. Steamtown U.S.A. was owned and operated by Nelson Blount and the Bellows Falls location was not the first. Mr. Blount bought the narrow gauge Edaville Railroad in South Carver, MA in 1955. His first standard gauge locomotive was the Boston & Maine 1455. As he began to collect other standard gauge steam locomotives, it became apparent that he would need a location serviced by standard gauge tracks. So, in 1960 Mr. Blount purchased a Boston & Maine rail yard in North Walpole, NH and moved all of his equipment there. In 1964 Nelson Blount obtained Rutland trackage rights between North Walpole, NH and Westmoreland, NH. Once again, Mr. Blount moved his steam collection from the Boston and Maine rail yard in North Walpole, NH to a new site roughly two miles north in Bellows Falls, VT. This latest location was at the former site of a proposed Rutland yard in Riverside, just north of North Walpole and Bellows Falls, VT. Tracks fanning out from a turntable provided an excellent place to display his collection of steam locomotives. Over the years, excursion trains were run out of four different locations: Sunapee, NH, Keene, NH, North Walpole, NH, and Bellows Valls, VT. Tragedy struck in 1967 when Nelson Blount was killed when his private plane crashed into a tree in Marlborough, NH. Nelson was only 49. This event took a lot of momentum out of Steamtown U.S.A. Most of the operational steam locomotives were either sold or fell into disrepair. Then, in 1970, Vermont passed air quality regulations which prohibited steam operations. Diesel locomotives were then used on Steamtown U.S.A. excursions and ridership fell dramatically. Despite the air quality regulations, the Steamtown Foundation again began operating with a steam locomotive. By 1983, Steamtown U.S.A. again had six operating steam locomotives. Despite the resurrection of steam locomotives, Steamtown U.S.A. was in financial trouble. It was determined that the main problem was its location -- isolated from any major population center. In 1984, Steamtown U.S.A. was moved to Scranton, PA. Still losing money, the Steamtown Foundation went bankrupt in 1986. Congress created the Steamtown National Historic Site and the National Park Service acquired the collection. If it were not for Mr. Nelson Blount amassing the incredible collection of steam locomotives he did, we would not have many of the operating locomotives and museums we do have today.

The post card was published by Forward's Color Productions out of Manchester, Vermont. The picture on the front of the post card was taken by Frank L. Forward, the president of this company. It was started in 1964. The internet search showed that in 2002 the registry was still open, but the company is no longer active.

Continuing with the Soo Theme

Last week we saw a Pacific (4-6-2) locomotive owned by Soo Line Railroad.

This week we are looking at a Northern (4-8-4) locomotive owned by the same railroad. This one is viewed at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in July of 1951. Both post cars were published by Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc. This photo was also taken by A. Robert Johnson.

So, Is It Soo or Saulte?

The locomotive on the front of this post card belongs to the Soo Line

Railroad. It is a Pacific type engine which means its wheel configuration is 4-6-2. Here it is viewed in Bruce, Wisconsin on June 21, 1959. It is a ten car special passenger train and it was a special train, because it was this locomotive's final run. This website gives some very detailed history of the Soo Railroad. I have shortened it very much. https://www.american-rails.com/soo.html Despite maintaining a respectable 4,700-mile network linking the Twin Cities with Chicago/Milwaukee the Soo Line was dwarfed by Midwestern giants Chicago & North Western, Milwaukee Road, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. The Soo Line was created for a singular purpose, to improve the Twin Cities' transportation choices. All railroads reaching the Twin Cities did so via Chicago. As the lone eastern gateway this meant freight rates were controlled by that city. To correct this problem several businessmen came together for the purpose of constructing their own railroad. On September 29, 1883, the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway was incorporated. The railroad's target was Sault Ste. Marie within Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This town was based along the south bank of the St. Mary’s River, which allowed for interchange with Canadian lines through Ontario and southern Quebec. On June 11, 1888 the Minneapolis & Pacific, Minneapolis & St. Croix, and Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic merged to form the new, 737-mile Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway. It officially became the "Soo Line Railroad" in 1961. The picture was taken by A. Robert Johnson. I could find no information about him on the internet.

The post card was published by Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc. She was a very nice lady. I have 243 of her post cards in my collection. Her company is my second largest supplier. Here is a snippet from one of her obituaries: Mary Jayne Rowe of Covington, Va., — who disseminated railroad history bit-by-bit through the U.S. Mail via her railroad postcards — died on Oct. 9 at the age of 82. She leaves behind her husband of 59 years, John Z. Rowe. Rowe’s company, Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties was incorporated back in May 1973. At the time, the Rowes owned a land surveying company in South Florida, but the postcard sideline soon blossomed into a business in its own right. Mary Jayne’s became a publisher and reseller of thousands of railroad cards. By the time the St. Petersburg Times ran a picture of Rowe’s table at a local postcard show on the front of its features page in 1978, it ran with the caption, “Mary Jayne Rowe’s specialty is train cards—7,500 of them!” This was taken from this website: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/14-mary-jayne-rowe/