Nostalgia & History > A few CR one of a kinds OTD 42 years ago @ the Allentown,PA. area

While looking back on some Conrail shots that I took on 4/9/78 in the Allentown,PA. area, it occured to me that a few of the locos were one of a kind. Top shot is of CR 3812 one of 40 ex-PRR GP9s that made their way onto the CR roster. I'm pretty sure this was the only one that got the CR Blue . It was the trailing unit on RUAL (Rutherford - Allentown).  Next two shots are of C-420 2072 (ex-L&HR 21) that was painted at the Bethlehem Engine House by Jimmy Hulsman Jr. This day was it's debut.  He had painted a number of ex-LV EMD switchers as well. The unique thing about these paint jobs was that he did them with a paint roller and stencils. If I remember correctly the Superintendent went ballistic when he saw that someone had wasted time and money painting an Alco. Jimmy was known as "Rembrandt" after this episode.

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Next shot is CR 5487 High Nose RS3 (ex-LV 211,nee-PRR 8445) known as the Hammerhead.  It was working on the West End Drill in Allentown Yard.  Last shot is of BERU (Bethlehem-Rutherford) heading west through Emmaus,PA. with some of the power returning from the earlier RUAL.  This was a crazy one time lash up of  2199 (ex-PRR GP30), 6757 (ex-RDG C630 5304), 3812 (GP9B), 7667 (ex-PRSL GP38). Those were the days !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/20 13:40 by perklocal.

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First-rate set of photos. My favorites are the two photos of CR 2072 because of your backstory.
Bob 

perklocal Wrote:
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> Top shot is of CR 3812 one of 40 ex-PRR
> GP9s that made their way onto the CR roster. I'm
> pretty sure this was the only one that got the CR Blue

Great stuff Rod, love that fresh dip C420 ! As info, GP9B 3827 also recieved a full blue paint job. You are welcome to post more of that 2072 you want :)

Roger Durfee
Akron, OH

Noticed the cabless geep had a horn. How was that blown?

Regards, Jim Evans

Thanks Roger. I didn't know that there was another GP9B that got the full CR treatment. As far as the 2072 goes, you gave me a few shots of it in the dead line at Collinwood in 1979.  Apparently Jimmy's paint job held up better than the mechanicals on this unit. There were 6 ex-L&HR C420s that made it into the CR roster. I believe that CR 2072 and 2076 were the only 2 to get scrapped. The rest eventually made it to a better place on the A&M. I'll keep looking for more in service shots of the 2072.

To reply to Jim Evans question about the Air Horn on CR 3812, I've been looking at all the Conrail GP9B shots that I have and there are only a few that seem to have horns. As far as I can tell from the book I have on Pennsy Diesels, none of the cabless GP9s were delivered with air horns. The ones that were retrofitted with horns probably were to be used when someone had to move these units around an engine terminal with the Hostler Controls. I posted my shot of CR 3814 on the turntable at Bethlehem,PA. on 2/27/80. You can see the Hostler sticking his head out of the porthole as he positions the 3814 on the table. That was a great observation Jim. I not sure if I have the right answer, but that's my best guess. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge of this will chime in.

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B units which are capable of moving theirselves (ie have hostler controls) must have a horn and bell to be in compliance with the rulebook. This is the easiest way to tell on a cab unit if it has hostler controls.
RWJ


perklocal Wrote:
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> To reply to Jim Evans question about the Air Horn
> on CR 3812, I've been looking at all the Conrail
> GP9B shots that I have and there are only a few
> that seem to have horns. As far as I can tell from
> the book I have on Pennsy Diesels, none of the
> cabless GP9s were delivered with air horns. The
> ones that were retrofitted with horns probably
> were to be used when someone had to move these
> units around an engine terminal with the Hostler
> Controls. I posted my shot of CR 3814 on the
> turntable at Bethlehem,PA. on 2/27/80. You can see
> the Hostler sticking his head out of the porthole
> as he positions the 3814 on the table. That was a
> great observation Jim. I not sure if I have the
> right answer, but that's my best guess. Hopefully
> someone else with more knowledge of this will
> chime in.

That was the infamous “Neutron Don” Swanson that took exception to the 2072. As a side note, it was the only L&HR unit to get repainted.

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/20 20:00 by ALCO630.

ALCO630 Wrote:
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> That was the infamous “Neutron Don” Swanson
> that took exception to the 2072. As a side note,
> it was the only L&HR unit to get repainted.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Repainted into Conrail. All but one (28) were repainted into something else.

Posted from Android

Yeah Doug, Now I remember Mike Bednar's story about how Neutron Don got his nickname. Just like a neutron bomb, whenever he showed up at a CR Terminal, the people disappeared, but the buildings remained !

Good thing you stuck with Allentown, I gave up on it after 1977. Some classic stuff in this thread Rod! Love the Conrail blue cabless GP9. I cannot recall ever seeing a photo of one, so it must have been a one of a kind. The Alco is a little to spartan foer me though. The can opener was definitely needed. Nice post!!

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD