"You Guys Want a Ride?"
In the early Conrail days, Conrail and the RF&P instituted a short-lived run-through service between Allentown, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia. The power was typically three RF&P units with a Penn Central leader, necessary for cab signal compatibility on the NEC between Philadelphia and Washington.
Late on an April day, a college buddy and I were shooting the RF&P units in the Bethlehem Engine Terminal when a crew boarded the consist. The engineer approached us and said, “Do you guys want to ride to the other end of the yard?” Soon we were aboard the lead unit, Penn Central SD35 6029, and backing to Steel Tower to cross over onto the ex-CNJ main.
As we approached the light side hump (at that time Allentown had two humps), it looked a little like the “old days”, as we met a D&H train with an ex-LV GP38-2 on the point passing the hump power, which included an ex-LV RS11. I decided to squeeze out a shot in the evening light. The result is a little soft, but I’m guessing that my shutter speed for this hand-held shot aboard a moving locomotive was about 1/15 sec. It’s still a nice reminder of a one-time experience and the long walk back to our car.
"You Guys Want a Ride?"
In the early Conrail days, Conrail and the RF&P instituted a short-lived run-through service between Allentown, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia. The power was typically three RF&P units with a Penn Central leader, necessary for cab signal compatibility on the NEC between Philadelphia and Washington.
Late on an April day, a college buddy and I were shooting the RF&P units in the Bethlehem Engine Terminal when a crew boarded the consist. The engineer approached us and said, “Do you guys want to ride to the other end of the yard?” Soon we were aboard the lead unit, Penn Central SD35 6029, and backing to Steel Tower to cross over onto the ex-CNJ main.
As we approached the light side hump (at that time Allentown had two humps), it looked a little like the “old days”, as we met a D&H train with an ex-LV GP38-2 on the point passing the hump power, which included an ex-LV RS11. I decided to squeeze out a shot in the evening light. The result is a little soft, but I’m guessing that my shutter speed for this hand-held shot aboard a moving locomotive was about 1/15 sec. It’s still a nice reminder of a one-time experience and the long walk back to our car.