Home | Open Account | Help | 301 users online |
Member Login
Discussion
Media SharingHostingLibrarySite Info |
Nostalgia & History > One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pumpDate: 03/26/23 04:25 One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Roadjob The barrage continues on the build up to Conrail day on April 1st. We'll take one more look at the interesting PC, before we do a dive into the pool of railroads that went down the crapper with it. This is probably not going to interest a lot of you, but for us old timers, it is a cathartic cleansing for sure. Big, bad, and black, except on its balance sheet, PC was fun to watch. Never seeing its legacy roads to any extent, it was easy for me to cling to big black. In my area, I am sure if I were a Pennsy fan, and saw this travesty unfold, I would have has PTSD as well. But, like you folks that liked Chessie, but never saw the pure B&O, I get you!
top...rare C430 on westbound at Hammond Indiana middle...location los, but another one of those three way meets bottom...Coolest tower on the railroad. Pittsburgh. Bill Rettberg Bel Air, MD Date: 03/26/23 04:28 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Roadjob top...early Amtrak eastbound at Benny, Altoona bound
middle...helpers shoving eastbound up west slope east of South Fork Pa. bottom...eastbound coal just below Horseshoe Curve. Bill Rettberg Bel Air, MD Date: 03/26/23 04:33 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Roadjob top...north of Pittsburgh, railroad east, both trains are actually eastbound. B&O is on original B&O main going into Pittsburgh[Glenwood yard.] PC is eastbound on Conemaugh Division.
middle...Obviously a transitional shot in 1969. Mail train is about to cross Rockville bridge. bottom..westbound west of Harrisburg near Cove Pa. Bill Rettberg Bel Air, MD Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/23 04:34 by Roadjob. Date: 03/26/23 04:37 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Roadjob top...another look at Enola shop area
middle...Conway yard west of Pittsburgh. bottom...what the view of the west end of Enola looked like before I81 blocked the shot. Caboose sits on a graded track, so a westbound could pull up and get its cab without extra yard movements. It would just drift down the hill to the rear of the train. Bill Rettberg Bel Air, MD Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/23 04:42 by Roadjob. Date: 03/26/23 06:51 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: cr7998 Bill - Thanks for another fine group of shots. When I recall the volume of traffic at places like Rockville Bridge or Horseshoe Curve, or even the main lines across Ohio, it was hard to believe they were bankrupt. Whatever one might say about PC, it was held together by some very dedicated people who worked very hard and made the best of what they had. I got to know some of them when I went to work for "Big Blue" in 1979, and those that stuck around helped make Conrail a profitable entity.
You have said numerous times you have no interest in doing a book. I'll just say that your images are more than worthy of one. A couple of comments about some of these PC photos: #2 is at East Conway, PA, east of the tower. The Aliquippa Works of Jones & Laughlin Steel are across the river. The track in the foreground is the Economy Industrial Track that went up the hill to serve some industries in Economy and Ambridge. This was a regular place to hold trains waiting to get into Conway Yard, and meets like this were common in this vicinity. #3 The tower at Federal Street on the "North Side" in Pittsburgh, was one of the first casualties of the Pittsburgh area CTC project. Many changes here since this photo was taken. The tower was closed in the early 1970's and quickly demolished. The buildings to the left were taken down to make way for I-279 which now runs next to the railroad. This picture had to be taken in 1970 or later, as Three Rivers Stadium opened in the summer of 1970. Three Rivers would last little more than 30 years, replaced by Heinz Field (Steelers) and PNC Park (Pirates), and be imploded in 2001. One thing that remains is the D. L. Clark Company building behind the train, a long-time Pittsburgh landmark. D. L. Clark produced candies including the Clark Bar and Zagnut Bar until sometime in the 1980's. Clark once had an elevated PRR siding. The building is now used for office and business purposes. #8 Amazing to see an Alco on a Mail Train. PC must have really been short of power that day. Thanks for the look back at the "big, bad and black" PC. Steve Salamon Valley City, OH Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/23 06:56 by cr7998. Date: 03/26/23 06:57 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Gonut1 I saw that caboose track but it was already unemployed by the time I saw it. Of course by then I-81 blocked the view completely. I was also on the new "Iron Bridge" with its camera ports in the chain link fencing. At the time my daughter and Fiancee lived in Enola. I spent an afternoon there and by Rockville Bridge with my younger son while his Mom was with his sister having her bridal shower. His older brother was being a "grown-up" at maybe 14 years of age and hung with the other men to play video games. Now the youngin is 30 years old!
I stopped many times above the Enola enginehouse during Conrail's time and was always amazed at the collection of locos. I felt there was just no way to get a "good" photo but took them anyway. Yours are much more interesting with catenary and pantographs! Everytime I saw a PC train it really was a rolling wreck! Usually crawling along with Slow Orders with rag-tag locomotives. The big wreck I recall was at the siding switch where my dad worked in King of Prussia, PA. PC stacked up more than 50 cars at their front door! It was an eastbound freight from Harrisburg to Morrisville on the Trenton-Cutoff with over 150 cars. The financial situation was looking bleak with PC already bankrupt and the other CR predecessors were already being sucked into the swirl. It was a ticking time-bomb that soon blew up! It became a black hole that soon turned blue taking all other colors with it only to turn from blue to black and gray in some short years! Thanks for the great posts. In a way I miss those bleak days that your black and white photography so well captures. Gonut Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/23 07:06 by Gonut1. Date: 03/26/23 09:18 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Ritzville Very interesting look at the PC!
Larry Date: 03/26/23 13:24 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: ironmtn Anotherr fine set, Bill - many thanks. Like you, I developed a certain feeling for Big Black, though out on the prairies of Illinois and Indiana on the line to St. Louis, and to a lesser extent around Chicago. One would always wonder how they kept things going. When you spoke with crews and tower operators they were a pretty depressed bunch, although dedicated and hard-working. Just trying hard to hold the whole thing together. Somehow.
But despite all of that, it was still a good show for us railfans, and by and large PC gave pretty good service into the important St. Louis gateway. Looking forward to more. Rolling wreck though it may be. MC Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/23 13:28 by ironmtn. Date: 03/26/23 16:44 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: jgilmore More great PC stuff, love the shot at Federal St. and Cove, among others. After seeing all the PC posts the last few days with so much great variety, I'd imagine you have little regret about your PC coverage before it went away...
JG Date: 03/27/23 18:50 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: Rule99 Wonderful photos and history!
The Federal St Tower is / was amazing. Date: 03/28/23 21:02 Re: One more look at the rolling wreck! Priming the pump Author: GN599 Thanks for another great PC installment! Much has been said about the dedication of the employees. I couldn't agree more. On YouTube there is a Penn Central video, made by the company. It was a plea movie for more government assistance. Some of you may be familiar with it. I can't recall the title off hand. Anyway it's worth a look as many employees out in the trenches were interviewed. Pretty sad hearing some of them talk about how bad things had become.
|