Northeast Nostalgia
THREE RAILFANS TOOK A ROAD TRIP IN 1968. THEY HAD NO IDEA HOW EPIC IT WOULD BE.
I was born and raised in the Upper Midwest in the late 1940s amid a stronghold of classic Midwestern railroads, notably Illinois Central, Chicago & North Western, Milwaukee Road, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. About 90 miles east of my hometown of Rockford, Ill., Chicago was a gateway to exotic carriers that reached to the Atlantic Ocean.
I love the Midwest and have lived and worked there my entire life — at least thus far. That said, ever since I was a teen, I’ve felt an unusually strong draw to the Northeast in general, and in particular its fascinating railroad network.
Not until 1968, when I was 19, did my quest to explore the Northeast become reality. Jim Boyd, Bill Wagner, and I — three local railfans — concocted an aggressive itinerary that covered a rather amazing variety of territory. Boyd did the bulk of planning, as he had done a sweep of the Northeast in 1966 with a couple other buddies of ours.
What sparked this adventure was Delaware & Hudson’s newly acquired (from the Santa Fe) quartet of Alco PAs for its revamped passenger services. Another major goal was the New Haven Railroad, which we knew was going to end up
eventually being swallowed by Penn Central, born of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central merger less than six months before our trip.
DAY 1: Saturday, June 1, 1968
Our conveyance for this epic adventure was Boyd’s 1966 green Volkswagen Beetle, already well-worn and packed to the gills with our camera gear and suitcases. Being the runt of our trio, I was relegated to the back seat. The first stop was to fix a flat tire before we even left our starting point of Dixon, Ill.
One might expect we would start out by highballing due east to Cleveland or Pittsburgh, but that wasn’t the case. In late afternoon, we were trackside across the river from Detroit in Windsor, Ont. — my first time in Canada. We blitzed the waterfront and Canadian National’s passenger terminal, where I had my first look at Canadian National passenger trains and Montreal Locomotive Works FPAs. By the midnight hour, we were in Toronto Union Station.
DAY 2: June 2, 1968
Toronto Union Station was our home base for the morning, photographing CN, Canadian Pacific, and Ontario Northland trains, as well as trains of the new GO (Government of Ontario) commuter rail system. Also new: CN’s new “Tempo” corridor trains. There was never a dull moment and we kept busy into the early afternoon when we felt it was time to continue east, with a brief stop at Burlington, Ont., before shuffling off to Buffalo.
Boyd’s routine in trips of this nature was to “blitz-and-run.” We made a brief stop at Buffalo Central Terminal and then somehow found Erie Lackawanna’s “new” Babcock Street station (actually a freight yard office turned passenger depot after EL and Lehigh Valley pulled out of the old Lackawanna Terminal downtown) in time to photograph EL’s New York Mail leaving for Hoboken, N.J.
We decided to celebrate our rewarding day at a full-service restaurant — Lauby’s
of Amherst, N.Y. — despite shockingly high prices ($3.95 for a four-course steak dinner!). Then, onward into the night, holing up at Geneva, N.Y.
DAY 3: June 3, 1968
Our main goal was to get down to the Binghamton, N.Y., area for our highly anticipated first look at the D&H, destined to become one of my favorite railroads of the Northeast.
We hit the railroad’s Binghamton yard for some roster photography, but without any road trains scheduled for a few hours, we made a side trip east to Starrucca Viaduct, where EL’s ex-Erie Binghamton-Jersey City main line passed over D&H’s Penn Division.
We were stunned by Starucca, truly a remarkable landmark, which opened in 1848. The world was a different place in 1968 and we didn’t give second thought to walking onto the viaduct, scoping out an angle for a down-on shot of D&H trains. (I wouldn’t dare do this now!)
Alas, action was limited to one EL freight, an EL helper move, and a Sperry railcar on the D&H. Back to Binghamton.
The D&H gods were with us, though. An eastbound freight in the charge of two SD45s and an Alco RS36 was about to set out for Albany. Bingo!
Eastbound D&H trains out of Binghamton faced a stiff climb up Belden Hill to Belden Tunnel. It was a stellar chase, but the latter prevented us from keeping up with the train once it got through the bore. There was no U.S. Interstate 88 back then, only the winding State Route 7 to the capitol at Albany.
It was near midnight when we ambled into Albany. We headed straight for Union Station, an impressive facility that hosted Penn Central (ex-NYC) and D&H passenger trains. Security was almost unheard of in those days, so we simply headed to the platforms and set up for for some night photography.
But then, where to bed down? After talking to a couple of railroad employees at the station, we learned the Railroad YMCA at Union Station offered rooms (stalls, actually) for a mere $4 a night!
DAY 4: June 4, 1968
The YMCA thing worked perfectly. We were in the right place for the morning action in Union Station, including the eastbound Chicago-Boston New England States (now nameless) and its connecting section to New York. Between New York and Albany, D&H trains were handled by Penn Central with PC power.
Our next quarry was the aforementioned PAs on the northbound New York City-Montreal Laurentian.
Classic Trains readers who have ridden the D&H to Canada — be it on the D&H or today’s CP Rail and Amtrak’s Adirondack — know this line is anything but straight, though the scenery is splendid. The chase on State Route 7 that
parallels the line back then had a 50 mph speed limit. Could we keep up with the train? Well, with Boyd at the wheel — he was a seasoned driver on Chicago expressways — the chase was a bit harrowing but successful.
Meanwhile, as dedicated passengertrain fans, Bill and I hatched a plan to have Boyd drop us off at the Rouses
Point, N.Y., station (the Customs stop) where we would board the train we had been chasing all afternoon and ride its last leg into Montreal’s Windsor Station. Boyd would meet us there.
Bill and I pulled it off, and the venture netted some good photography at Windsor Station while waiting for our ride.
Waiting for a late-running Jim Boyd was nothing new to us. He finally showed up almost two hours after we did. It seems Customs tagged him for a suspicious amount of luggage in his car. It didn’t help when he tried to explain to the Canadian Customs agent that his two cohorts had taken the train into Montreal while he drove in with the luggage.
We closed out the day with night shots — tripods and all — at Windsor Station, although here we ran into a bit of trouble.
Station personnel told us we couldn’t take photos in the station. We explained we were only interested in photographing D&H’s Montreal Limited, which was in the process of boarding. “Oui! You are welcomed to take photos of American trains!” Thus we did, though we did manage to sneak some shots of CP’s Atlantic Limited on a nearby track.
DAY 5: June 5, 1968
We spent the morning at Montreal shooting some CN action, notably the railroad’s electrified suburban service. The best part of the day lay ahead, as we re-entered the States in Vermont, which I’d been intrigued by way before the trip.
I still have dreams of retiring there, snowy winters notwithstanding. My only disappointment was that, in 1968, the Green Mountain State was devoid of passenger train service. (Who woulda thunk how much that would change in 1972 and beyond?)
Boyd was now targeting a Vermont shortline he had read about in an early issue of Trains, the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad, which stretched across the northwest portion of Vermont. It linked Swanton on the Central
Vermont main line with Boston & Maine, Canadian Pacific, and Maine Central at St. Johnsbury. The “Saint J” headquarters and shops were at Morrisville, and by the time we got there it was dusk and time to hit the sack.
We returned to the shops and yard the following day. I was a bit miffed as I yearned to see the B&M, Central Vermont, and MEC — you know, those New England classics. As it so happened, the daily “Saint J” freight was about to head east to its namesake. The chase was on, and by the time it rolled into St. Johnsbury a few hours later, I had claimed the StJ&LC as my all-time favorite short line.
Though a modest-size city, St. Johnsbury, on the Passumpsic River, was quite interesting. It had a large brick depot and divisional headquarters building for
B&M and CP, and an interchange yard used by B&M, CP, MEC, and StJ&LC. I would return here several times during my many trips to New England.
Boyd, of course, was anxious to press on. Our goal was to hit Boston the following morning to begin our multi-day quest for New Haven action. We struck out of St. Johnsbury, heading east to Portland, Maine, with a quick side trip to see the Bangor & Aroostook at Northern Maine Junction. That was pretty much a bust, but Portland paid off with some night photography at the Portland Terminal yard.
DAY 6: June 6, 1968
I have no recollection of where we slept after our stop at Portland, but we were indeed at Boston in the morning. Engine terminals were always a focus back in those days, and generally we photographers were ignored by yard crews.
Our stop at the B&M-NH engine terminal netted some interesting scenes: piles of B&M RDCs, the remains of a B&M Talgo train, New Haven FL9s, and lots of rain.
We nailed a bit of action at the throat of South Station and then began following the NH main line westward toward New York. Shortly after entering what is today’s I-95, I spotted an NH passenger train: the westbound Puritan as it turned out, paralleling us. The race was on!
Believe it or not, we beat the train to New London. Unfortuneately we couldn’t say the same for the rain. The downpour let up after the Puritan left town.
Next stop: New Haven, Conn. I grew up on A.C. Gilbert American Flyer trains, which were manufactured there. The toymaker’s huge plant on Peck Street was hard against the NH main line. Perhaps not coincidentally, Flyer catalogs were chock full of surprisingly accurate NH models, including the railroad’s handsome Alco PAs and EP5 electrics.
We first blitzed the NH engine terminal at Cedar Hill and then set up for late-afternoon action just west of the New
Haven depot. It was a bastion of activity with electric-to-diesel locomotive swaps, connecting trains off NH’s Springfield (Mass.) line, and rush-hour commuter trains. EP5 electrics handled consists to and from New York’s Penn Station.
In general, dual-mode FL9s headed trains to and from Grand Central Terminal, where most NH passenger trains originated and terminated.
While photographing this incredible parade of commuter consists, Boyd turned to Bill and me and asked, “You guys ever been to New York City?” “Nope…” I responded.
“Well then, let’s take a spin into town on the New Haven!”
We did just that as the rush-hour eased off.
But what train should we take? I had always dreamed of my first arrival in the Big Apple would be aboard NYC’s 20th
Century Limited. However, looking back, my choice of NH’s westbound Merchants’ Limited was the perfect pick.
We could catch dinner on what was considered NH’s premier Boston-New York train. The diner provided fine meals and FL9 2011 a fast ride. And thus was our introduction to both Manhattan and awesome Grand Central Terminal.
We had less than an hour before catching a suburban train back to New Haven, so we had but a whirlwind tour of GCT, where we had arrived at 9:15 p.m.
It was late evening when we got back to New Haven on train 382, but we still needed to get in closer to New York. We stopped at Bridgeport, Conn., when I realized we could tag another NH train, in this case the overnight Owl between New York and Boston. In the wee hours, we checked into a hotel for two nights at suburban Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Entering the lobby, all eyes were on TV as newscasters buzzed about the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
DAY 7: June 7, 1968
The first morning event was the collapsing of the front passenger seat of the Boydmobile. It was permanently fully reclined and then some.
It had to be fixed somehow, lest I be strapped to the roof of the car, so Jim dropped Bill and me off along the New Haven main line in Mamaroneck to record some fine morning action. He returned a couple hours later, having found a VW seat at a local auto scrapyard (What are the chances?).
The NH main line yielded a parade of activity — both through-passenger and m.u. locals — and one freight led by a pair of red-and-white-striped electric EF-4 “bricks.”
A midday break took us out to Ramsey, N.J., for a visit with Hal Carstens at the Carstens Publications office. At the time, Boyd was establishing ties with Carstens, doing feature articles for Railroad Model Craftsman.
I would never have believed at the time that both Jim’s and my future would involve Carstens in several ways — notably the launch of Railfan & Railroad Magazine and ultimately the sale of R&R and RMC to White River Publications. But that’s another story.
For the afternoon, we repositioned ourselves to shoot photos at Newark
Penn Station across the Hudson River southeast of New York City.
The commuter-focused Aldene Plan that had taken effect in 1967 had drastically changed passenger operations; nowhere moreso than at Newark. Central Railroad of New Jersey’s sprawling terminal facing Upper New York Bay at Jersey City — which had hosted Jersey Central, Reading, New York & Long Branch, and Baltimore & Ohio passenger trains — had been closed along with CNJ’s Newark Broad Street Station.
The passenger trains of those carriers were funneled into Pennsylvania Railroad’s
Newark Penn Station through new connections. This packed the ex-PRR main line between Newark Penn and Aldene (Elizabeth, N.J.) with an unbelievable amount of rush-hour passenger action, only a sampling of which I can show.
We ended the day back-tracking up the Hudson River to Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx for a few trains. There, Penn Central’s ex-NYC Hudson River main out of Grand Central joins the ex-NYC freight line into Manhattan (now Amtrak’s line into New York Penn Station).
DAY 8: June 8, 1968
On this bright, sunny morning, we wanted to sample some ex-NYC electric operations and closed in on North White Plains, N.Y. The location marked (and still does) a transfer point between diesel-powered suburban trains and electric runs into GCT.
This was followed by a quick midday visit to the Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica, Queens.
Here, we began the trek back to the Midwest, though not with a straight-shot drive in one day. We still had one major destination to conquer the following day: Horseshoe Curve and Gallitzin Tunnels.
Once out of New York City, we aimed northward to Warwick, N.Y., for a brief check-out of the Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad, and then west to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to scope out some modest D&H, CNJ, and LV activity. We ended up at Forty Fort, Pa., to visit a friend of mine and his parents.
We plunged into the night, heading for Horseshoe with great anticipation. This was my first time ever in the Keystone State, another one of those places that for years I had yearned to visit.
I don’t remember much of the drive. It was some 150 miles between the Wilkes-Barre area and Altoona, much of it on two-lane highways. I do remember having that “I’ve been here before” feeling.
DAY 9: June 9, 1968
Frankly, I don’t remember if we drove all night or holed-up somewhere. I suspect the latter.
Horseshoe Curve and its environs astonished both Bill and me (Jim had been there for the first time two years earlier). As is often the case with many first-time visitors to Horseshoe Curve, I didn’t realize that the Curve itself was perched on a mountainside, and to get up to track level, one had to climb more than 100 stairs from the park’s entrance and parking area.
On display at the upper-level portion of the park was a Pennsy classic: K4 4-6-2 No. 1361. A small stone maintenance building stood at the apex of the curve, and there was no fencing anywhere along the four-track main line as there is today.
I never would have dreamed that, some 30 years hence, a map I created of the whole Horseshoe Curve territory would be on display today at the apex of the Curve.
The fun started with the eastbound Pennsylvania Limited dropping down the hill. Plenty of freight action followed, with most trains having helpers — SD40s primarily — both uphill and down.
When finished with their work, they back ran solo for repositioning.
Eventually we climbed up the side of the west slope for some choice views of action down on the Curve — a hike that would be difficult to pull off today without ending up in the klink.
We spent the remainder of the day in the Cumberland, Md., area (surprisingly close to Horseshoe) photographing the B&O and Western Maryland.
DAY 10: June 10, 1968
We were now officially on our way home, but it was hardly a straight shot with Pittsburgh in the way. The Steel City region really deserves several days (which we didn’t have) for exploring its fascinating railway network. We chose to check out the Bessemer & Lake Erie and short line Monongahela Railroad.
The visit to the B&LE led to a side-trip up to Greenview, Pa. — the Bessemer’s nucleus — so Boyd could check out stored steam engines there. Then it was back to Pittsburgh to see its streetcar system before hopping on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and highballing for home.