Eastern Railroad Discussion > "When" Would You Go, If You Could?

Hello-

Living in Colorado, I don't post on the Eastern Board very often. But I figured this could be an interesting topic regardless of geographic location! If somebody came to you with a time machine and said you could go back to some point in (train) history, but you could only spend a week there, where and when would you go? (And yes, you can take your cameras with you!)

For me, I'd jump back to 1975 and stay right here in Colorado. Rio Grande turned in to Espee when I was only nine years old and I'd love the opportunity to spend a week during the prime of my favorite railroad when second generation diesels ruled the road. Tunnel Motors were still a relatively new thing and you could still find the Rio Grande Zephyr running between Denver and Salt Lake every day..........except Wednesday's, of course!

How about you?

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

I guess I would choose 1965 in the Chicago area. Still lots of first generation power and many more railroads to choose from. Places like State line and Pullman junction ( and others ) are just shadows of what they were in both volume and roadnames.

Posted from iPhone

If immune from death, I would go back to Wahington crossing the Delaware, or with the troops June 6 at Normandy. Sorry--trains do not work into either f these choices.

The New York, NJ, Conn tri-state area circa 1950 or so. Would seem to be the best combination of steam, 1st generation diesels on the Erie, Jersey Central, LV, PRR, New Haven, and of course along the NYC's water level route.

You must be thinking Maybrook, NY?

Bluefield in the 50s with all that N&W mallet action.

I'd probably go back to upstate New York in the early 1970s -- EL, LV, D&H, Chessie (BR&P), and yes, Penn Central -- since that remains one of my favorite railfanning areas and I'd like to be able to see it as it was during the next previous "generation" with Alcos, U-boats, SD45s, and all the other little oddities that the LV, in particular, was known for. I might try to spend a day or two downstate, too, to photograph the commuter and Amtrak trains I remember seeing as a boy -- get me some FL9s in period paint schemes, especially, and document those New Haven semaphores I "just missed" when Metro-North yanked them in the mid-80s.

Connellsville PA anytime in the 50s, 60s or 70s. They had the B&O (later Chessie System now CSX), WM (Now a bike trail), PRR (later Conrail and now SWP), P&WV (later N&W now W&LE) and NYC (and later the P&LE Both now gone). I did get to catch the Chessie, Conrail, N&W and the P&LE in the 70s to the present. Sad.

Horseshoe Curve during WWII.

Post World War II (1948 or so) in the Altoona area; steam would still rule, with
first generation diesels just coming on board. Was fortunate to see the last of
steam there in the late 50's, and would loved to have seen it on the West Slope.

Oh if I could go anywhere it would be the 70's or early 80's to detroit, mi
Back when the big three where the only 3. What rouge must have been like in its hay days. Not the shell that's left today. Just my choice.

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Railroad wise, Hamlet, NC during the summer of 1966. Other wise, riding along on the Enola Gay on its moment in history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay

Bangor, Maine, mid 1970's. Eastern Subdivision, Calais Branch, Bucksport Branch, trains to Vanceboro, three yard switchers around the clock in Bangor Yard, Old Town Switcher, and Northern Maine Jct. Switcher. Loaded with Alco's. I regret not having a camera and camcorder...big regret. I was all about the rides, friends, and partying back then. George Melvin's three excellent books (Maine Central In Color I, II, and III) covers this era and others.

1975 and right here in the Midwest, when the days of the railroad were at their darkest and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. I have always said you long for the things you just missed. The current crop of young railfans they long for Conrail and Santa Fe and CNW, For me it's the PC and the EL and the Rock Island.

CR4103 Wrote:
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> Oh if I could go anywhere it would be the 70's or
> early 80's to detroit, mi
> Back when the big three where the only 3. What
> rouge must have been like in its hay days. Not the
> shell that's left today. Just my choice.

I like this choice, too, though I'd be sure to hit the early end of your range, before Penn Central (and especially Conrail) started shedding branches and shutting down 'redundant' lines. It's hard to imagine now how much freight used to run the Michigan Central or Canada Southern main lines, or the now-abandoned Jackson Air Line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/12 13:03 by toledopatch.

Boylan Tower, Raleigh, NC, Seaboard, Southern and Norfolk Southern all in one place, summer 1944. With my high ISO digitial camera and a computer too.
John

Indianapolis in the late 1920's: Six Class One railroads, plus the IU Railway, interurbans galor, and streetcars. Manual hump yards, a plethora of towers, Union Station, famous trains like the Southwest Ltd. Icing platforms, industrial yards, roundhouses, large freight houses and the Beech Grove Shops.

A wide variety of steam from tea kettles to USRA types, Pennsy K-4's and M1's, and NYC Hudsons and Mohawks.

Within a day's drive (what would be two hours now) were many more roundhouses and railroad towns like Washington, IN, Terre Haute, Peru, Logansport, Lafayette and Fort Wayne, as well as the Indiana coal fields and legendary limestone quarries.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/12 13:42 by NYC6001.

I would go to the northest coridor in the year 2250 to see 500mph trains without tracks,by then i might even have a decent Camera...Scoobydoobydoo

MagnumForce Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 1975 and right here in the Midwest, when the days
> of the railroad were at their darkest and there
> seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. I
> have always said you long for the things you just
> missed. The current crop of young railfans they
> long for Conrail and Santa Fe and CNW, For me
> it's the PC and the EL and the Rock Island.


That's hard core stuff. Every year brought more bad news! Towers, depots and section houses were already rotting away. N&W painted everything as bland as possible, IC had its ugly (to me) Paducah rebuilds in circus colors. Chessie had a neat look, if a bit over the top. E-L power was mighty handsome, though. Too bad the E-L didn't survive.

Nov 5 1971; and tell my father i love him the day before he passed.Steve (up6553)