In February of 1977 my dad and I took a trip along the Hudson River Line to try and catch some Amtrak E8s before the Turboliners took over. This being the days before the Internet and with neither of us tapped into the railfan community, our information was months outdated,so we actually spent the day shooting Turboliners instead. (In the months that followed, the Es would return on many runs for awhile of cousre.)
This is my first ever shot of an RTL Turbo, on the Salt City, as it comes into Croton-Harmon.
I believe I have a picture (B&W) someplace in my collection of a Turboliner stopping at Rome, NY. If I can find some time, I’ll look for it. It would have been about the same vintage. Wish I remembered it better…
One of my favorite train ride experiences was on the Turboliners, about 1981 I would say… from Grand Central to Albany… went without a camera because I knew that sleeping arangements in my friend’s dorm were iffy at best and we would be giong out at night, so I didn’ want to risk my camera being stolen. Missed a lot of good shots because of it.
Uhh - I hate to say this, but - even if you and your Dad had been lucky enough to find E8s, as some of Don’s photos illustrate: A black Penn Central E8 with snow covering the ground - why bother with color film at all ? Who could tell the difference from B&W ? [;)]
Just teasing - thanks for sharing, both of you. I do like the photo of the Turboliner, and the rarely-seen roofs of the RDCs - I rode up that way a couple of times in 1975, but always on standard equipment, and never had a decent photo opportunity. I never knew that an Amtrak train was named the ‘Salt City Express’ - that would have been a good one for the now-defunct History quiz thread here.