Hometown Surprise
While I have physically seen and photographed all of Norfolk Southern's 20 original heritage units, there are a few that crossed my viewfinder at inopportune times. One of those units is 8104, the Lehigh Valley, my technical hometown railroad.
Being raised in the Allentown, PA area, hearing stories of Snowbirds, big Alcos, and Bethlehem Steel were a given. Yet for some reason, this heritage unit eluded me for quite a while (perhaps it was my biting desire to leave the area, but I digress).
Just before Easter, I headed down to Leipsic Junction, south of Deshler, OH, to check out the NS and CSX lines through town. Early in the afternoon, eastbound NS stack train 272 passed through with a relatively fresh rebuild C6M leading. As the end of the train approached, I could see two DPUs on the rear, the outer facing one catching my attention. Not sure what it was, I was utterly amazed when I saw the distinct Cornell Red paint of the Lehigh Valley heritage unit!
Talk about a hometown surprise!
Hometown Surprise
While I have physically seen and photographed all of Norfolk Southern's 20 original heritage units, there are a few that crossed my viewfinder at inopportune times. One of those units is 8104, the Lehigh Valley, my technical hometown railroad.
Being raised in the Allentown, PA area, hearing stories of Snowbirds, big Alcos, and Bethlehem Steel were a given. Yet for some reason, this heritage unit eluded me for quite a while (perhaps it was my biting desire to leave the area, but I digress).
Just before Easter, I headed down to Leipsic Junction, south of Deshler, OH, to check out the NS and CSX lines through town. Early in the afternoon, eastbound NS stack train 272 passed through with a relatively fresh rebuild C6M leading. As the end of the train approached, I could see two DPUs on the rear, the outer facing one catching my attention. Not sure what it was, I was utterly amazed when I saw the distinct Cornell Red paint of the Lehigh Valley heritage unit!
Talk about a hometown surprise!