A True Hodgepodge of a Railroad

The locomotive on the front of this post card is a General Electric B23-7.

The "B" refers to that fact that it is a four-axle (B-B) locomotive. The "23" indicates that the horsepower rating is 2,250 h.p. in the traction motors. And the "7" indicates that it was introduced in 1976. The Dash 7 model is similar to the familiar U-Boat locomotives made by General Electric with a few important changes. The length of the locomotive was increased by 2 feet. The radiators used were bigger than those used on the U-Boats. There are two fewer side windows on the main cab. And the hood is wider than the U-Boat between the radiator cabin up to the exhaust stack. The fuel efficiency (because of a smaller 12 cylinder engine) and tractive effort were both improved with this model. A total of 536 B23-7's were built. This locomotive is operating on the Metro-North Commuter Railroad. Metro-North is the descendant of commuter rail services dating back as early as 1832. By 1969, they had all been acquired by Penn Central. The MTA acquired the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven Lines by 1972, but Penn Central continued to operate them under contract. Service was transferred to Conrail in 1976, when it absorbed most of Penn Central's railroad functions after Penn Central's bankruptcy. The system took its current form in 1983, when the MTA took over direct operation of Conrail's commuter services in the northern portion of the Tri-State Area and formed Metro-North to run them. To understand the title of this particular blog post I recommend that you read the article in Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro-North_Railroad

The photo credit goes to Joseph J. Trifono. The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs out of Earlton, New York.

Three for the Price of One

Last week I published a blog post that included information about the General Electric 44-Ton Locomotive. I also presented some information about the railroad that was running the locomotive, the Southeaster Railway Museum. This week I am going to focus on the railroad, assuming that you have memorized the information about the locomotive. This first post card is

a picture of a GE 44-Tonner at Evanson roundhouse in Wyoming. The back of the post card says that it is Wyoming Car Co. #8568, one of a small group of special military versions of the switcher. The picture was taken in August of 1976.

The second post card is another GE 44-Tonner. This one worked for one of the shortest railroads in history. This website gives you the history of the Hoboken Shore Railroad. http://hbs.railfan.net/ The Hoboken Shore Railroad started off as the Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad in 1902, a shortline that served a large industrial clientele running the length of Hoboken's (New Jersey) waterfront. The line had tight curves, street trackage, a float bridge - all elements that endeared the railroad to its fans. The railroad was renamed the "Hoboken Shore Railroad" in 1954, solely for the reason that "it sounded better!" Traffic started dropping off as industry on the Hoboken waterfront began closing down and moving out. The railroad operated in a limited fashion until at least 1977 and filed for abandonment in 1978. Today, very little of the railroad remains: Its main yard is long gone, enginehouse is now a parking lot, and most of the main is ripped up. A short section of street trackage remains in place from the vicinity of Maxwell House (today a brewery), running to the new park at 5th Street. The picture on the front of this post card was taken in 1975, just before Hoboken started its revival.

And, finally, we have the 44-Tonner, Unit #10 at the Stewartstown Railroad. This website tells you about the history of this railroad. https://stewartstownrailroadco.com/ The Stewartstown Railroad, chartered in 1884, is one of the oldest, continuously running common-carrier railroad companies (STRT) in existence. It has provided freight and passenger service to southern York County, Pennsylvania, since 1885. It operates over 7.4 miles of track which runs from Stewartstown, PA to an interchange in New Freedom, PA with the former Northern-Central Railway (NCR). The Stewartstown Railroad served mostly farmers and a handful of small manufacturing firms in its early years. Unlike many railroads of the past, the Stewartstown Railroad was able to survive the Great Depression and the shift of shipping from rail to truck that occurred in the late 1950’s as a result of improved roads and highways. This was made possible by switching from Steam Engines to Gas-powered locomotives. Despite a decline in business through the 1960’s, a small group of loyal supporters (many of whom held stock in the company) utilized the Stewartstown Railroad until 1972 when Hurricane Agnes struck. While the Stewartstown Railroad remained largely unscathed, the connecting Northern Central Railway sustained major damage. The soon-to-be bankrupt Penn Central owned the NCR at the time and refused to repair the line. The USRA planners for the newly formed CONRAIL (which assumed Penn Central’s rail lines) also refused to include the NCR as a branch line. This left the Stewartstown Railroad without a connection to the outside world. Although it appeared that the Stewartstown Railroad was no longer going to be able to provide freight service, the company continued to maintain its Right-of-Way and locomotives in preparation for future service. The Company’s efforts were rewarded when the PA Department of Transportation reopened the NCR once again giving the Stewartstown an outside connection. The Stewartstown Railroad assumed trackage rights in 1985 and ran trains on the NCRy until 1992. Passenger excursion trains continued on the Stewartstown’s trackage until 2004. Today, with the tireless efforts and dedicated help from numerous volunteers, railroad enthusiasts, and the local community, the Stewartstown Railroad is back in passenger excursion service. Home to the venerable “Mighty-Mo”, a vintage 1943 Plymouth switcher locomotive, we offer various forms of train rides in some of the most pastoral scenery in the northeastern United States. Along the meandering hills and wistful forests of the Deer Creek valley. The post card was published in 1993

Lightweight and Popular

The locomotive you see on this post card is pulling a consist of a caboose from the Southern Railways, Central of Georgia Railroad and the Clinchfield Railroad. It is at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia. It is being pulled by a General Electric 44 Ton Center Cab Unit. My favourite railroad-rlated website, https://www.american-rails.com/laurinburg.html tells us this about the GE 44-Tonner: General Electric's 44-tonner was the builder's most well-known in its early line of industrial switchers with more than 400 produced between 1940-1957. This model was first powered by two Caterpillar D17000 V8 diesel engines, providing a top speed of 35 mph. A total of 373 units were produced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In addition, another 60 were built for the military and 43 more exported to other countries making it a successful model for General Electric. The switcher featured a symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing carbody while also providing ruggedness and reliability. The centercab carbody sported a raised cab with a tapered hood at each end. Their B-B trucks were an all-welded design, somewhat unique as most were produced from castings. They were 33 feet, 5 inches long. Ten 44-tonners were equipped with a pair of Buda 6DH1742 engines capable of producing 205 horsepower each. The Phase IV and Phase V switchers boasted 400 horsepower.

The Photo is courtesy of Howard L. Robins. I found a book on line that features photos “by noted photographer Howard Robins. Enjoy ACL, SAL, SOU, A&WP, GA, CofG, SCL, L&N, and the other smaller roads that made Atlanta, Georgia such an eclectic mix of railroading in the 1960s.” The book’s title is “Trackside around Atlanta 1956-1975 with Howard Robins” The post card was published by Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties, Inc. in 1994. It is 1 of 243 post cards in my collection that were published by Mary Jayne’s.