A good read for steam heads…
A great story, indeed!
Nice reading, brings back a lot of fond memories on the steam days, which I was lucky to still see in my youth.
That was in one of the railroad magazines-IIRC Trains Magazine.
Still a very nice read.
Yep it was Trains and had a two page color spread.painting of a T1 by Gil Reid at the top of the article.
very glad you posted it, it was a wonderful read this morning, and gave me a appreciation for the Pennsy T1.
thanks
Great story indeed!
It also emphasizes that the so-called, `Romance of the rails,’ is actually hard, DIRTY and dangerous work.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with steam locos burning low-quality coal)
I once read a similar story about a crew that was assigned to move a work train, and an old C&NW 4-4-2 had been assigned – those engines had 84" drivers. They crew wanted to see what the engine could do, and it was the last days of steam …
Dave Nelson
The PRR shops in Fort Wayne are long gone as well as the coaling tower. The area is used today as staging for NS roadrailer trains.
The station referred to is still standing and well preservered by a resident architectural firm. It is called the Baker Street Station. The main concourse can rented as a reception place and it is used as a voting precinct. The building next door to the station is an old postal annex at least that is what it says on an engraved piece of limestone set in the facade. The annex building is used by an office furniture retailer and the other end is used as a worship center and has one of the best sound stages in the area. It still has an elevator to get up to the track level.
The PRR used to be a 4 track main through downtown Fort Wayne but now it is just a single track. NS uses the old Wabash right of way (once 4 tracks as well , now just 2) which came in from the southwest and ran next to the PRR before it crossed over to the north side of the PRR tracks and continued east toward New Haven, Indiana. The PRR at this point went to the southeast.
There is not much left of the old railroad facilities in this old railroad town. Baker Street Station, an old Wabash frieght depot about a block from the station, and the New York Central passenger station that is used by an outfitter that sells bicycles, canoes, and kayaks. The NYC frieght house was torn down in the last couple of years.
The Nickle Plate Road 765 is owned and operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and lives East of New Haven when it is not outpulling an excursion.
I am surprised this is still up without permission to post a published article from Kalmbach.
Well, considering all the recycled and pasted together MR articles that pass for PDFs and books from the Big K, it’s only fair.
Any story written by John R. Crosby is great. His tales of operating diesels in the pages of Trains read just as well as this steam story.