A Little Steam on a Hot Summers Day

On my way home from the family vacation a few weeks ago, I took a little excursion up to Scranton PA and visited Steamtown National Historic Site. Steamtown is an interesting story. Once called Steamtown USA with its home in Bellows Falls, Vermont, it started with one individuals, Nelson Blount,  PRIVATE collection of steam engines and rolling stock and eventually wound up a National Park Service site in Scranton PA.  It is unique in that its the only Nation Park of its type in the US; a park not devoted to preserving beautiful landscapes or mountain sides, its all about preserving a part of Americana that connected two halves of a country and slowly died the victim of advancing technologies. 

Now housed in the heart of Scranton, PA at the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad yard and round house, the park still services and restores these old iron horses.  A fine example is this 4-8-8-4 Big Boy

Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy

Only 25 of these 4000 class 4-8-8-4 were built by Alco for the Unions Pacific Rail Road.  The UP 4012 is one of only 8 still in existence today and is a beautiful sample of Steam’s hay day on the rails.  It’s amazing to me that this monster found its way to one mans private collection but thank god it did. 

Steam is not the only thing at Steamtown.   This EMD F3, built sometime between 1945 and 1949 by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division is one of 20 A units bought by the DL&W RR.  It has been beautifully restored and is used occasionally for excursion trips. 

DL&W EMD F3A

Although slightly out of focus this photo reminds me of the look often see in a period ads for rail travel.   

 

The greatest thing about a rail museum is it provides for all sort of interesting photography. 

Manual Brake Wheel

2 of the 4-8-8-4’s 16 Drive Wheels

Mail bins inside a Pullman style mail car

It was a very hot day but very fun trip back to a time where Steam was king of the railways and train travel was romantic and glamorous.  If you happen to be in Northeaster part of PA I strongly suggest you stop in and take a look around.  Its an extremely educational location ; very well done by the US Park Services. 

How About a Bike Ride

Finally getting this posted about a week or so late. :( 

We’ve made two trips in as many weeks to The Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.  The trail runs from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA.  No we didn’t ride all the way to Pittsburgh but we did do the 15 miles between Frostburg and Cumberland.  Well to be accurate the first time we road 6 miles north from Cumberland and back again.  This past weekend we took The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad from Cumberland up to Frostburg and then road the 15 miles back to Cumberland. 

Frostburg Station and Trail Head for Frostburg to Cumberland run. 

Caroline on the GAP

Caroline and Terry on the trail

The girls taking a break about half way down the trail

Blurry with blown out sky but I like this one anyway. 

Ol’ 734 steams by

The girls at mile marker 6

Terry showing off;  Look mom no hands!!

End of the trail, Cumberland Station.

A Peaceful and Fun Weekend

Boy have we had a busy couple of weekends.  Last weekend we were up in Pittsburgh visiting Amanda and had a great time.  This weekend we took a quick trip up to Strasburg, PA primarily so Terry and Caroline could go to a Doll House/Miniature show but we also used the trip to visit one of our favorite places, the Strasburg Railroad and as an added bonus we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel in a actual converted Caboose car. 

The Strasburg Railroad

Replacement sets of wheels in the yard

Caroline catches dad in action.  I didn’t like the resulting image so don’t ask to see it

For those who haven’t been to Strasburg its a must see kind of place.  The railroad sits right in the middle of Lancaster’s Amish community and runs from Strasburg to Paradise, PA.   Its a short ride but the old 2-8-0 Baldwin engine is a site to be seen as it rolls surprisingly very quietly by. 

No 90 rolling through the crossing on its way to the station

Old and young alike gather along the line to snap a few photos

Of course standing along the rails snapping pictures is only part of the fun.  Taking a ride is what most want to do.  I’ve ridden that train countless times since I was a little boy but it never gets old.  You just can’t go up there without taking a ride.

Hanging out the window

Just a bit of the scenery along the way

The cool gals awash in amber light 

Tired of the Paparazzi

Along with a normal out and back ride you can get an all day pass and ride as many times as you want or get off at the picnic area about a mile down the line and then hop a returning train later in the day.  For the more sophisticated traveler they also offer a wine and cheese train every evening at 6pm. 

If you look carefully you can see the waiter with a bottle of wine in the window.

 

Remember I mentioned the Amish?  Well here’s one I took not long after the wine train went by. 

Amish buggy crossing train tracks 

Unfortunately, like just about everywhere, Lancaster and Strasburg streets are lined with telephone poles and wires.  At first I didn’t like this image because of those wires but the more I look at it the more I see the juxtaposition of the Amish way of life crossing with our way of life.  Don’t know… What do you think? 

 

The Red Caboose Motel

Caroline hamming it up again

As I said at the beginning we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel which is right along the tracks and within walking distance of the station.  This place has been there for as long as I remember and is literally a bunch of old caboose cars converted into motel rooms. 

One of three rows of cabooses that make up the motel 

Terry and I took Amanda up there once when she was about Caroline’s age so we figured we’d do the same with Caroline.  Well I have to say I’m certainly glad I did.  This has to be one of the most family friendly places I’ve had the pleasure to stay in.  Lots of other families with kids of all ages for Caroline to play with and in the evening the owner set a large bond fire out behind the barn so the kids could roast marshmallows.  During the summer months they show movies on the side of the barn and there is an old dinning car converted into a restaurant which serves dinner type food from 8am to 8pm.   

The owner was telling us that he bought the place 4 years ago with only 6 cabooses in habitable condition.  Since, they’ve been renovating and now have all the cabooses operational as evident with the full house this weekend.  A family run business, all the kids help run, maintain and keep the place clean which lends a great deal to the family atmosphere. 

Anyway, while Caroline was occupied with her scooter, other kids, and the petting zoo I took some time to snap a few images. 

My Favorite 

A lone tree in view as the sun sets over the farmers field 

Cars stream by

As the title of this entry states, it was a peaceful and fun filled weekend. 

Oh and we did manage to get to the Doll House show.  The girls enjoyed looking at all the miniatures and gathering ideas for their grand mansion in miniature. 

Along the Rails

I had a few hours to kill this afternoon after a client visit out in Laurel, MD so before I left the house this morning I loaded up my gear hoping to shoot a few frames. Of course the weather was somewhat uncooperative; rain, snow, cold, what better shooting conditions could one ask for.

Directly behind this client is a set of railroad tracks which at all other times are very busy with freight and passenger traffic. This morning was no exception. While I was working on the few items I needed to complete at least three trains called out to me as they grumbled past. Finally I was done and had at least 3 hours to waste so out into the cold and rain with camera and gear I went. A short trek though a wooded area behind the clients location and I was at the tracks. Surely it wouldn't be long before the next train right? Well maybe not. One hour goes by and no trains; then two and I'm now damn cold. Just my luck... the one day I actually have time to shoot and there seems to be no afternoon traffic.

All was not lost, however, as I did manage to get a few good photos without trains and the rain, snow and cold actually helped make these photos more dramatic.

And of course there's more along the rails than just rails.

The full gallery

Hopefully next time I'll actually capture some trains.