Nostalgia & History > EL westbound passenger train

Two photos I took of EL passenger train arriving and departing Cresco, PA. July 1962

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Those photos are really classics.
Thanks for your excellent post.
ALLEN

Terrific captures! It's a bit ironic that almost 2 years after the October 1960 merger, a Lackawanna side passenger train would use all Erie equipment except for the RPO!

But there's a puzzle here given what looks to be mid-day sun lighting in these photos: an on-line July 1962 EL passenger timetable suggests this westbound train is operating on the #1-#31 Phoebe Snow/Erie-Lackawanna Ltd schedule making its Cresco station stop at 12:37PM?!?. This consist certainly does not look like a typical Phoebe consist! The only other July daylight wb passenger train stopping at Cresco would be either #43, the Monday-Saturday Twilight Ltd stopping at 7:13PM or the Sunday only #41 due in at 7:03PM. But IMO the lighting just doesn't feature the longer shadows of evening. Very interesting!

http://www.jtbell.net/transit/images/Cleveland/EL/EL-19620701.pdf

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Great captures! Old Erie Lackawanna RR Hoboken, NJ and Scranton, PA based passenger train and engine crews worked between Hoboken and Scranton, PA.
 

Great photos, and this area looks nothing like this today.

JPBs post re: the train consist and timing is intersting. Could this be some sort of special taking kids to camp or something?
If it were eastbound, the timing would be right for the "Pocono Express", which was on a later schedule in 1962 than when it ended running.

TJY

When I took this photo, I was expecting E8's on the Phoebe Snow.
I learned later that the regular Phoebe Snow went up the Erie side this day due to a derailment on the Lackawanna line somewhere north before Binghamton.
That is why this train ran on the Lackawanna side.

Like both pictures.

The RPO is an interesting element, too. Did the Phoebe Snow regularly run with one in that era?

Posted from Android

Another Classic:

E-L train #70, east of Otisville (NY) Tunnel, April, 1973

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NS4271 Wrote:
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> When I took this photo, I was expecting E8's on
> the Phoebe Snow.
> I learned later that the regular Phoebe Snow went
> up the Erie side this day due to a derailment on
> the Lackawanna line somewhere north before
> Binghamton.
> That is why this train ran on the Lackawanna side.

That is interesting indeed! The train you captured at Cresco looks like a collection of better than average Erie commuter coaches - perhaps even air conditioned! Except for the RPO of course. Thanks for solving the mystery! Passenger trains run by the individual RRs 50-60 years ago were so much more interesting than today’s Amfleet.

Posted from iPhone

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Like both pictures.
>
> The RPO is an interesting element, too. Did the
> Phoebe Snow regularly run with one in that era?
>
> Posted from Android

Yes. A typical consist for Nos. 1 and 2 usually ran as follows: 2 or three E8s (817-818-820), 1 baggage, 1 RPO car, 1 Express, Diner 769 or 770, 1 10-6 sleeper, 4 68 seat coaches, Tavern-Lounge car (789 or 790) plus 1 or 2 sealed express cars behind the diesels. On November 27, 1966, Phoebe Snow's final westbound consist looked like this:

• E8 814 & 817
• RPO 653 (baggage only)
• Coach 1307 (68 seats)
• Coach 1304 (68 seats)
• Diner 742 (ex Erie)
• Coach 1318
• Coach 1308
• Coach 1324 (off at Scranton)
• Coach 1311 (off at Scranton)
• Chenango (10-6 Pullman)
• Tavern Lounge 789
• Business car D&H 300 (on at Hornell)

 

Ahhh, a substitute consist for #1 that day. When I posted about an extra hauling kids to camp, I didn't consider the RPO car (so they could all write home!).

TJY

148Fireman Wrote:
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> Another Classic:
>
> E-L train #70, east of Otisville (NY) Tunnel,
> April, 1973

That's 2 cars more than usual for a Saturday train. Wonder why?

JPB Wrote:

>
> Yes. A typical consist for Nos. 1 and 2 usually
> ran as follows: 2 or three E8s (817-818-820), 1
> baggage, 1 RPO car, 1 Express, Diner 769 or 770, 1
> 10-6 sleeper, 4 68 seat coaches, Tavern-Lounge car
> (789 or 790) plus 1 or 2 sealed express cars
> behind the diesels. On November 27, 1966, Phoebe
> Snow's final westbound consist looked like this:


Thanks for the detailed response