Steam & Excursion > The 1286 - a fine G5!

The date is October 22, 1967 and the trip was the last of five "Steam Safari" excursions over the CNJ that year. The Canadian Pacific G5 4-6-2 was our engine of choice that day. Well designed by the CP in the last days of steam, these engine were a fine piece of machinery. To me, they were the "Corvettes" of steam. No matter what we put behind them, they kept on pulling and pulling at speed. They were easy to repair, to maintain, to fire, and to run. There were ocassions when I'd fire for Charlie Strunk, our CNJ steam engineer. when he'd say "Hank, you run, I'm bored". So we'd switch places. He said there was more to do tending water and coal than to just keeping the G5 moving along. These locomotives were a pleasure to run since it could be done with little effort. Needless to say, a great privilege for me and a relief for Charlie. Didn't happen very often but when it did it was a gas!

The photos are all at Jim Thorpe:
1. 1286 heading to the turntable
2. Engineer broadside at the table
3. Fireman's side heading back to E'port.

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Early 20th Century deign updated to 1968...

* Perfect balance of boiler pressure ( 250 psi) , driver diameter, crank-circle ratio to driver diameter, proper cylinder dimensions, and factor of adhesion ...
* Roller bearings in pilot truck. 
*Aluminum, all-weather cab
*HT-1 Stoker, Tender mounted stoker engine
*8ET Brake Stand 
*Spring engine-tender Buffer.
*Elesco ‘coil-type” feedwater pumping system 
*Slotted dry pipe, no ‘steam dome’.
* Elesco five poppet, front end throttle.
* Cold-rolled, flame-cut, steel plate frames.
* Pressure lubricated frame pivots, Steam operated appliances lubricated by mechanical lubricators ...

A thouoghly modern, mid-century steam engine incorporating many of the design improvents applied to NYC’s Niagaras.
The G5 class, and subclasses, were a wonderful design, powerful performers and were essentially a “Steam GP-9”...

In High Iron’s Excursion Service, 1966, the 1278, ( as MSN #127) “walked right-out of” the CNJ Jersey City Terminal’s  ...
one of the longer tracks, the 18-car train snaked through multiple double-slip switches...she never skipped a beat,
nor did she slip.

The ability of the G5s to take that 18-car train out of the Terminal   —— because the bigger drivered Pacifics of the earlier
Glory Days has stalled with similar-sized  trains when they attempted to take-on that number of double-slips and reverse curves
 —- the larger engines had a reputation for stalling .....

The balanced design of the G5 has the advantage of perfect/proper ratio of crank circle to driver diameter....that’s important because of the increased number of power impulses per mile, over the larger diameter-ed engines.. Thier proportionately smaller crank circles, allowed a long train to more-easily stall the bigger engines. 

127 astonished all the original doubters, and ensured the further success of Ross Rowland’s High Iron Co.... and ALL the successive restorations and revivals over the past 50 years....ALL owe their revivals to the G5d, #1278.

As you visit the 1278 in the Age of Steam Roundhouse, pause for a long moment and reflect what the 1278 had begun & launched...when she marched, unassisted, right out of CNJ Terminal..with wonderful Charlie Strunk, at the throttle...

She started a whole industry of privately owned and privately funded restorations of Main Line Steam Locomotives, returned to scorching the ballast with popular excursions...


​Wes.


 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/18 18:03 by wcamp1472.

Wes...it was a shame what happened to our old friend the 1278.  BTW, any hope for future operation of 1246 or 1286?  And, while I am asking, what about 1201 in Canada?  Is she done too?

My father was from the east, and was a railroader during WW2, and worked as a tower operator on the New Haven, and the Long Island.  He was only a steam fan.
For his birthday one year my brother and I bought him a ticket to ride a trip to Cape May I believe it was!  The engine I think was 127(1278).  I want to say it was sometime around 1975-80, but not sure.  Anyway we knew he was going back east for a visit during that time.  I still recall how pleased he was with the trip, stating that they were going 80 mph a good bit of the trip.  His favorite engines were the Pennsy K4, so he loved those speed trips!  Maybe you guys remember that trip!
Greg Scholl
http://www.gregschollvideo.com

Actually was  May, 1968...
One of our FINEST/FASTEST Trips..

More to come, from ScoopdeJour...The High Iron Co....et. al....

W.
 

Hank -  thanks for posting the photos of the good old days!   My son learned to fire on the Ohio Central on the ex-CPR 1293 at an early age because of my friendship with Jerry Jacobson.  Those were good times on the Ohio Central while it lasted.  He had a great time in 2006 when he got to fire on a mainline trip during the NRHS convention with the 1293 thanks to Tim Sposato!   We all have some great memories to look back on!

I will never forget the High Iron trip to Bridgeton, NJ down the old CNJ Southern Division.  It was a great trip and we had lunch in the diner, quite an event for a teenager.  The 1286 did a great job on that trip and we had a photo run-by near the Rt. 539 crossing.  I always think of that trip when I cross the tracks on my way to the shore!!  I think that trip was in 1968?

Thanks for the memories!

Ron

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I was told that the 1286 and sister engine 1238 have been sold from the Jack Showalter Estate to someone in Canada.  The last time that these two G-5's operated to my knowledge was on the former Western Maryland Railway line from Cumberland, Maryland up to Frostburg, MD and return back in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  The operation was called "The Allegany Central Railway."  Today the line is the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  The story most folks have been told is that Mr. Showalter had a contract for the operations but when his contract was expiring, the State of Maryland would not give him a new one as he apparently wanted too much money to keep his locomotives in operation.  So he and both engines left the property and went down to Virginia where they wound up being parked on a siding and they never operated again as he could not obtain an agreement with CSX.  Anyhow, those G-5 Canadian Pacific engines were nice locomotives and made many trips especially around the Maryland area including a special NRHS circle trip in 1969 over the former Pennsylvania Railroad from Baltimore up the "Port Road" to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and return via the former Northern Central Line back to Baltimore.  As it so happened, these two steam engines became the last steam train to traverse the entire former Northern Central Railroad from Harrisburg down into Baltimore back in 1969 since Tropical Storm Agnes hit the area in 1972, and the bankrupt Penn Central Railroad decided not to rebuild most of the line which had been washed out in many places above Cockeysville, Maryland.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

ClubCar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was told that the 1286 and sister engine 1238
> have been sold from the Jack Showalter Estate to
> someone in Canada.  The last time that these two
> G-5's operated to my knowledge was on the former
> Western Maryland Railway line from Cumberland,
> Maryland up to Frostburg, MD and return back in
> the late 1980's and early 1990's.  The operation
> was called "The Allegany Central Railway."  Today
> the line is the Western Maryland Scenic
> Railroad.  The story most folks have been told is
> that Mr. Showalter had a contract for the
> operations but when his contract was expiring, the
> State of Maryland would not give him a new one as
> he apparently wanted too much money to keep his
> locomotives in operation.  So he and both engines
> left the property and went down to Virginia where
> they wound up being parked on a siding and they
> never operated again as he could not obtain an
> agreement with CSX.  Anyhow, those G-5 Canadian
> Pacific engines were nice locomotives and made
> many trips especially around the Maryland area
> including a special NRHS circle trip in 1969 over
> the former Pennsylvania Railroad from Baltimore up
> the "Port Road" to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and
> return via the former Northern Central Line back
> to Baltimore.  As it so happened, these two steam
> engines became the last steam train to traverse
> the entire former Northern Central Railroad from
> Harrisburg down into Baltimore back in 1969 since
> Tropical Storm Agnes hit the area in 1972, and the
> bankrupt Penn Central Railroad decided not to
> rebuild most of the line which had been washed out
> in many places above Cockeysville, Maryland.
> John in White Marsh, Maryland

They operated several trips out of Virginia after they left Cumberland.... and the story why Jack departed is a little more involved and not quite what you heard. 

Tim W.
 

I only had the chance to fire 1286 for one season while working for Jack Showalter. Fresh from a rebuilding, she was a pleasure to fire. I never got a chance at the right hand seat, I was prefectly happy on the left side seat... besides who else besides the fireman could say "My job is to keep a 125 ton Black Lady hot for 90 minutes"..........

Tim W.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/18 05:20 by DTWilson.

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> They operated several trips out of Virginia after
> they left Cumberland.... and the story why Jack
> departed is a little more involved and not quite
> what you heard. 
>
> Tim W.
>  

I believe they ran only 3 weekends out of Charlottesville, in October 1993.  We did one day in October
and it was pretty cool really.  Some nice grades, an 8 coach train with both engines, and some fall colors.  These
ran the same weekends as the New River Trips with fake C&O 2765(NKP 765).  We did one day of the Virginia Central(Pacifics),
and the Sunday with 2765.  I have some footage of the pacifics running in a video we did called Great Steam Trains-Volume 3.
It was a shame it didn't last longer, as it was a really scenic line to Clifton Forge and back.
Greg Scholl

Back about that time, There was rumors about the Hot Springs Branch and Showalter’s Engines.
Was there any excursion activity on that line with theses engines.?

W.

 

I photographed them at Buffalo gap in 1993, when they were running from Charlelottesville to Clifton Forge and back.  Just happened to learn of their trips and copied a video from a fan who videoed them turning on a turntable in Clifton Forge.

Ron - where is the 1293 now?
Hank

Scoop..

See Age Of Steam Roundhouse....
Both 1278 &1293, As well as many more are there..

Sometime when you’re better, we’ll schedule a trip out there ....I’ve been there twice...in past couple years..
Seeing poor 1278, after Gettysburg, chokes me up...

​W.