Nostalgia & History > EL 1966

EL train #6111 F7A leading, Fall 1966.

Should be Canisteo Valley, probably near a grade crossing. Assume westbound.

 

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Excellent scene - The EL ALCO FB (in the old paint) as the second unit makes this even better.
Bob

Excellent look back.
—Mac

Very NICE!

texchief1

Thanks for sharing.

Iconic fall scene in the Canisteo RIver valley along the Erie mainline. It's interesting that this train has only 2 elderly cab units for power instead of the more typical three 2nd generation B-B hood units that many of EL's road trains used prior to the arrival of SD45s in 1967. I'm guessing it's some sort of extra or road local?

Fantastic Fall scene of northeastern railroading prior to Conrail.
GFonut

The other thing in this shot is the 'classic' EL/Erie over-superelevation.   The first time I saw the main line around Bear Lake PA (now removed) as a teenager I got out of the car and just stared at what looked like 6" superelevation on the outside rail.   
Later on when I moved to Waterboro Jct. NY the 'curve through the swamp' was similarly set high, and when Conrail lowered the speed to 40mph, the inner rail just got beat to pieces.   They never had a pullover, but when WNYP got the line, they took out all the superelevation in critical areas like that.
I'm assuming that this dates back to the steam era with high centers of gravity and equally high curve speeds, but yeah, wow, you can always tell an ex-Erie shot leanin' on the curve.
My very last EL shot prior to Conrail was the NY piggyback screaming west through the S curves at Kennedy, NY and just beyond, moving at 60+, lots of curves and no speed restrictions.  And you couldn't chase it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/24 08:19 by randgust.

DL&W and E-L were known for their hustle. Move the goods, FAST!