Nolan Gregory
Russellton, Pennsylvania
One of the most interesting and photogenic locations on the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad is this signal bridge at milepost 10.3 in the small settlement of Russellton, Pennsylvania, just outside the suburbs of Pittsburgh. The bridge stands on an overpass and the break in foliage allows for the whole structure to be well lit in the evening, perfect for a northbound movement during the summer. Armed with intel indicating an afternoon misc. run would operate all the way to the south end of the railroad, friends Zach Pray, Allan Loczy, and myself ventured down to this location with hopes of shooting what we assumed would be lite power headed back to Greenville with the 867 leading.
Unbeknownst to us, this crew was tasked to bring an entire train of 94 empties back north with them, and as soon as we began to contemplate calling it a day, the distinct sound of a non turbo 645 could be heard echoing through the valley and the nose of the orange SD38 soon came into view. A chase ensued to Saxonburg, where they would meet the southbound loads and afterwards we celebrated our good fortune with wings at BeeDubs in Youngstown. In this challenging and sometimes frustrating hobby, it’s days like this with sunshine, good trains, and good friends, that keep us coming back for more.
Russellton, Pennsylvania
One of the most interesting and photogenic locations on the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad is this signal bridge at milepost 10.3 in the small settlement of Russellton, Pennsylvania, just outside the suburbs of Pittsburgh. The bridge stands on an overpass and the break in foliage allows for the whole structure to be well lit in the evening, perfect for a northbound movement during the summer. Armed with intel indicating an afternoon misc. run would operate all the way to the south end of the railroad, friends Zach Pray, Allan Loczy, and myself ventured down to this location with hopes of shooting what we assumed would be lite power headed back to Greenville with the 867 leading.
Unbeknownst to us, this crew was tasked to bring an entire train of 94 empties back north with them, and as soon as we began to contemplate calling it a day, the distinct sound of a non turbo 645 could be heard echoing through the valley and the nose of the orange SD38 soon came into view. A chase ensued to Saxonburg, where they would meet the southbound loads and afterwards we celebrated our good fortune with wings at BeeDubs in Youngstown. In this challenging and sometimes frustrating hobby, it’s days like this with sunshine, good trains, and good friends, that keep us coming back for more.