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Having just returned from display in Schuykill Haven for Borough Days, CNJ 0-6-0 113 has run light through Cressona and and back up to Minersville where she resides on a stub of the old Wolf Creek Branch beside the circa 1913 Reading Railroad Minersville depot seen at left. But before parking there she is crossing East Sunbury Street with CNJ 98 in tow to be parked in the siding just across the road. The 1914 built Harlan and Hollingsworth coach was rebuilt in 1930 at CNJ's Elizabethport Shops as a business car and is the other prize possession of the Railway Restoration Project 113 group.
To learn more about Minersville's depot and railroad history and see some historic photos click here: www.rrproject113.org/schuylkill-county-railroads
As for 113, she is a 1923 product of Alco's Schnectady works. Purportedly among the largest and heaviest class of 0-6-0 switchers ever built she is also one of only two surviving Central of New Jersey steam locomotives and the only one in operation, having returned to live in 2013 after a half century cold. Added to that rarity she is also the only anthracite burning locomotive currently in operation making her quite special on many levels. This page will take you to more history of the 113 with many great photos: www.rrproject113.org/cnj-113
Minersville, Pennsylvania
Saturday September 28, 2019
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Mamiya C330 S and Sekor 80mm f/2.8
Kodak Portra 400
This was definately the best show of the rare mileage trip for CNJ 113 from Minersville to Port Clinton and return over RBMN's former Reading Territory. This was a special charity fundraising event that would see the beefy steam switcher making an approximately 18 mile trip south over the Minersville and Pottsville branches to the railroad's headquarters community where the locomotive would be turned on the turntable to lead back north.
She puts on quite the show of smoke and sound as she hammers across across Main Street at MP 89 on the former Reading mainline now designated as RBMN's Pottsville Branch.
They are passing the depot that opened in February 1902 replacing an earlier structure on the line that by this date was already 60 years old! The 40 by 100 ft one story station is constructed of Pottsville conglomerate
rock with trimmings of Indiana limestone. Interestingly I learned while researching this caption that the stone for the depot was repurposed from the old Cressona engine house that had been torn down the prior year.
The depot would serve regularly scheduled passenger trains for nearly eight decades until 1981 when Septa discontinued their diesel service extending to Pottsville. Presently the RBMN utilizes the nicely restored building as their passenger department office and occasionally runs special event trains from here.
As for 113, she is a 1923 product of Alco's Schnectady works. Purportedly among the largest and heaviest class of 0-6-0 switchers ever built she is also one of only two surviving Central of New Jersey steam locomotives and the only one in operation, having returned to live in 2013 after a half century cold. Added to that rarity she is also the only anthracite burning locomotive currently in operation making her quite special on many levels. This page will take you to more history of the 113 with many great photos: www.rrproject113.org/cnj-113
Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania
Saturday June 19, 2021
Downtown Philly afternoon view from JFK Blvd Schuykill River Brodge on the way to Amtrak 30th St Station to go home
EXPLORE #260---Thought I would post a few more-----First described by Alexander Wilson near the Schuykill River (near Philadelphia) in 1810. Of course , we have Wilson's Warbler, Snipe, and Phalarope--all named after him. I don't know about you---but this bird just does it for me--- I absolutely LOVE it!!!! I guess I am just a sucker for that BLUE color!!!!
I am fortunate to own Audubon's First Royal Octavo Edition plate of this bird. (1839-1844)
Another one from a few years ago just adding tov the Flickr albums. This is the caption I originally wrote when posted on FB:
You never know what surprises await when you're trackside!
This entire day was really an impromptu surprise considering that I had no idea 425 was running let alone any intention of seeing her when I left Boston on Friday morning, but here I was in PA coal country on Saturday morning beside her! After chasing the first revenue round trip down to Port Clinton and return we wandered around the depot which seemed to be the heart of the Borough Days street fair. 425 drew lots of attention as did 113 across the street, but there was clearly lots more to see.
These folks were indeed quite the attention grabbers with their two wheeled conveyances that were fashionable some four decades before 425 was constructed in 1928. The Tamaqua based Victorian Highwheelers were dressed in period costumes as they posed with their signature bikes. Some of these classic early bicycles have front wheels as large as 5 ft in diameter. Consider for a moment that is only 9 inches less than #425's 69 inch drivers so they are quite complementary of each other indeed!
So how about a little history of another sort?
The high wheel, also called a high wheeler, ordinary, or Penny-farthing was the first machine to be called a "bicycle." They were popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with large front wheels providing high speeds (owing to travelling a large distance for every pedal stroke) and comfort (the large wheel provided greater shock absorption). They became obsolete beginning in the late 1880s with the development of modern bicycles, which provided similar speed amplification via chain-driven gear trains and comfort through pneumatic tires, and were marketed in comparison to penny-farthings as "safety bicycles" due to the reduced danger of falling.
The name came from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing. Although the name "penny-farthing" is now the most common, it was probably not used until the machines were nearly outdated; the first recorded print reference is from 1891 in Bicycling News. For most of their reign, they were simply known as "bicycles". In the late 1890s, the name "ordinary" began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles; this term and "hi-wheel" (and variants) are preferred by many modern enthusiasts.
Although the trend was short-lived, the penny-farthing became a symbol of the late Victorian era. Its popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.
If you want to learn more check out this group's club site here: www.highwheel.8m.net/index.html
So what did you take away from this? Well I know I learned something new because of the mere accident of running into these folks and grabbing a photo which piqued my curiosity to dig deeper as I wrote my caption. That really is a rewarding thing about this strange hobby of mine and this strange new passion for sharing and wring here. And isn't it interesting that there are fans of antique bikes just like there are those of us who love antique trains? Something about transportation just seems to tug at us no matter what particular mode we are drawn to....
And how about the fact that these bikes are called "ordinaries." Did you think about that? While they were "ordinary" for only a short time, some 130 years after falling out of fashion the name sticks....and though steam locomotives were "ordinary" for far longer they too have long since fallen out of fashion and the sight of one living and breathing will draw folks from far and wide...in fact as far as 7 hrs away after working all night just to see what was once ordinary but is now anything but!
Schuykill Haven, Pennsylvania
Saturday September 28, 2019
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Konica Hexar RF and Voigtlander Color-Skopar 21mm f/4
Fuji Reala 100
By the end of the day at the Dad Vails there were tons of rowers walking around with their medals. I thought that getting a picture of some one who won would be a great stranger, however most of the people I passed didn't seem quite "right" to me.
Then, while I was sitting on the curb drinking a coffee three girls walked up to me and asked me if I would take their picture in from of the "Peep car" (car fashioned to look like the easter candy "Peeps"!) Taking this as a serendipitous occasion I then asked if I could take their picture. While getting some group shots I learned they just won the Novice light weight 8 and they were from Berkley California. That's a long way to go for a race but they did get to fly!
I asked if one of the girls would like to be a single portrait for me and Jessica here volunteered! She told me about how they had to borrow Georgetown's boat and then proceeded to beat them in their own boat! Thanks so much girls and good luck next year!
This picture is #13 in my 100 strangers project. www.100Strangers.com
RBMN 425 climbs the grade through Tuscarora State Park just due north of Tamaqua, PA. After getting situated in a small pine tree, I capture 425 crossing the Little Schuykill River before entering the south portal of Tamaqua Tunnel.
Strawberry Grape / Uva fragola
Introdotta in Italia intorno al 1825. Presenza di acini verdi (acinellatura) nel grappolo maturo. Ottimo sapore e possibilità di conservazione per alcuni mesi. Dalla sua vinificazione si ottiene un prodotto con bassa gradazione alcoolica, ma comunque gradevole e stabile per almeno un anno. Si raccoglie in ottobre quando il picciolo assume una colorazione rossa e si stacca facilmente dal tralcio. È di gran lunga la varietà più diffusa fra quelle del gruppo
An eastbound freight makes it's way across the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia PA, March 8, 1952 in this original 6x9 B&W negative by Wayne P Ellis.
This is similar to a shot I took on a prior visit, but the light was particularly good this time.
More photos from Philadelphia are in my set
Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River at the southern edge of Fairmount Park East with the Schuylkill Rowing Basin in the mid-ground and the Fairmount Dam in the foreground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania looking north northwest.
A couple of summers ago, I was in Philly for work. Before coming home I had some down time, so I did a bit of wandering and ended up at the Farimount Water Works, which sits between the Museum of Art and the Schuykill River. The Downtown skyline is in the background.
The huge Sycamore at Pawlings farm, Valley Forge National park, is called Witness tree.
It is supposed tobe standing tall at this place for more than 250 years.
As George Washington's army set up their base at Valley Forge in 1777, they cut a lot of trees for building their huts and everyday needs.
It is believed that this Sycamore is standing there from or prior to that time in history, and therefore it has witnessed a lot.
Though there is no definitive proof of its age, still if you see that tree, you know that you are in front of a strong old soul ;)
I have been to this place many times a year... secluded, invisible from any road, and most of the time I was the only human around (though the trail is just quarter mile away),
I felt very much connected to this tree.
Sharing from one visit in May 2016
A set of Conrail light engines crosses the Schuylkill Arsenal bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The one-time swing bridge, which connects the University City and Grays Ferry sections of the city, provides access to the south Philadelphia waterfront near the navy yard and the sports complex.