Feature Articles 3 Departments 2 6 Spanning The Gap President’s Message John Stocker Lights, Camera…. Martin DenBleyker 10 Bel-Del News 12 Maywood Station Historical Committee Ed Kaminski Hi all, Well it’s 2015 and I’m sitting here writing this while it’s snowing outside. As I sit here, my mind wanders off to a warm summers day and the smell of coal smoke mixed with steam, and the soft panting of 142 sitting on the main ready to take the next train south. Hurry up summer! We have some new and exciting things in the works that will happen this year. That along with the “normal” excursions we run, will make for a interesting year. Now is the time to come out and help us get ready for the new season. 2015 is when the film “Figs For Italo” is scheduled to release and our 142 and coaches are the train in the movie. Last year marked the first time we ran a Polar train on a Friday. This was necessary because of demand for tickets. A special thanks goes out to all who worked to make our Polar and the whole year the success it was. As always there are a ton of things to do and so little time to do them. Your help will make it happen. Come out and give an hour or a day, it all helps. Upcoming work in 2015. Working on the coaches Getting the M1 ready for service. Getting the 501 ready for service. Brush cutting along the ROW. Work in the Station Area. Looking to extend our tracks further South. Come on out to help make 2015 a great year for our Society! As always, my “door” is always open to you, our members. President, John Stocker 2 13 18 From The Current Time Table Ralph Bonanno Shop Talk Martin Den Bleyker Covers Front: NYSW #142 at Bairds Farm during one of our Fall Foliage trips, many years ago Rear Top: NYSW 3010 on the SU-100 in Ridgefield Park on 12-10-10 Photo: Ed Kaminski Rear Bottom: The SU-99 in Rochelle Park at Saddle River Road on 2-16-15. Photo: Kevin Quinn
Spanning The Gap In 1870 the New Jersey Midland Railway was organized, connecting with the Sussex Mine Railroad and with various trade centers in Sussex and Warren counties. The rail line gained access to the Hudson River, and a year later was running from Weehawken NJ through the Paulins Kill Valley to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, by way of the New Jersey side of the Water Gap. Soon it was renamed the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad. Unlike more powerful rail lines, which crossed the Delaware downstream near Portland PA, the NYS&W crossed the Delaware here, at LaBar Island just north of the Gap, on a truss bridge built around 1882. In doing so, it offered small communities along the New Jersey side of the river, such as Columbia and Dunnfield, a chance to participate in the growing tourist trade centered in the more-famous Pennsylvania village of Delaware Water Gap. NYS&W "mixed" trains carried both passengers and freight, and small flag stops provided boat service to riverbank hotels. Some stations were typical of period railroad architecture; others now seem more like local sheds pressed into service for passengers. 3 The NYS&W bridge to Pennsylvania may have had some problems—trains crossing it were limited to 10 m.p.h. — but it was on the job until 1940, when the financially strapped railroad abandoned the bridge and discontinued service to Stroudsburg. Soon after, the truss structure was removed. The stone piers remain today as reminders of an era of trade and tourism that has passed. Karamac Trail bears the name of a river resort that was built here around 1880, and named Karamac in 1920. In the 1800’s there were a string of small communities along the New Jersey side of the Water Gap, served by the New York, Susquehanna & Western line across New Jersey, which crossed the Delaware here beginning in 1881. Some villages, like the slate "company town" of Browning, had sprung up for industry. Other enterprises grew with the tourist trade spreading from the town of Delaware Water Gap PA. Still other place names had already come and gone. Fairview House, a hotel built here in 1880, was in an area once known as Brotzmanville. It overlooked the NYS&W rail bridge, whose stone piers remain today. Fairview House offered ferry service across the river from Pennsylvania for guests arriving on rail lines that crossed the Delaware further downstream. In 1920, under new (Continued on page 4)
The New York Susquehanna & Western heading north along the Delaware River to “The Gap” owners, the facility was renamed Camp Karamac, and Fairview House became Karamac Hotel. In 1924, the hotel accommodated 100 visitors at $15.00 per week each, and a round trip ticket from New York City on the NYS&W cost $3.59. The rail line discontinued service to Pennsylvania in 1940, however, and today this one mile stretch of the abandoned NYS&W rail bed forms Karamac Trail. M uch of this article came from member Harold Fredericks . During our membership meeting in November, Harold entertained us with his "Surprises of a 1924 Vacation". When in your lifetime have you ever had a chance to hear a centenarian tell about the NY Susquehanna and Western Railroad in 1924? It was great! Harold Fredericks, a NYSWTHS lifetime member turned 101 this summer. In fact, during the show, which he recited from memory, he hesitated for a minute and proclaimed,” I am sorry, I am not as sharp as I was at 100!” Harold’s talk was about a young man who went on a train trip from New York City to the Karamac Inn by the Delaware Water Gap. Sadly the inn is no more and the tracks are abandoned. But gladly the railroad beds were turned into rail-trails used by hikers, bikers and equestrians. Harold Fredericks was born on August 19th in Oak Ridge, NJ. His father was the railroad station agent in Oak Ridge and his mother was the postmistress. When he turned 5, he walked ½ mile to his one room grammar school. When he was older, he rode a bus for 10 miles each way to attend Butler High School. After graduating from college in 1937, he pursued a career as an engineer for a conduit manufacturing plant in Orangeburg, NY. Married in 1940, Harold and his wife Alice raised and educated two children as well as built their own house in Pearl River, NY. Having grown up in Oak Ridge when his father was the station agent for the NY Susquehanna & Western RR, Harold developed a love of railroads and came to know their history well. The picture at the right was taken during the meeting with Harold Seated in the center. Left to right, Gus Aversa, Harold Fredericks, Chris Cotty. In the rear, Martin DenBleyker, Nick Zisa, Les Coleman and Victor Zolinsky. 4 With the coming of the railroad to “The Gap” the tourism industry flourished and some amazing resorts were built. Above is a post card from the Kittatinny Hotel in Delaware Water Gap, Pa.
A train crosses the NYS&W truss bridge at Karamac in 1931. Howeys, a summer flag stop, in 1931 A “mixed” train crosses the ColumbiaDunnfield Road in 1931. The Karamac Hotel. Dunnfield Station in 1910. Camp Karamac in 1967. 5
The M-1 was the classy dining car while the scene was shot from within the other car across the actors playing the part of the disenchanted customers of domestic swill, envious of the party in the passing next car. When the director asked what we call the M-1, we said it was a Budd Car. “Please,” he asked, “could you call it anything else?” One of two college level films was also done about the same time. I’m afraid I have little information about either of them. This one, also done in Whippany and using several of our people as extras, was a story suggested by the Long Island Railroad massacre. This particular project left M-1 in horrible shape. It took months to clean the A “Hollywood blood” out of the car and, in fact, we were still finding some when the floor was torn up for rebuilding a few years ago. Newfoundland Station (owned at that time by member Bill Jentz) became the backdrop for two films, nd many times, we provided the action. I was originally going to mention our latest entry into the media in Shop Talk, but decided this topic was starting to amass some serious content; enough to cover it separately. Over the years, our Society has been part of numerous film shoots for various levels of entertainment, large and small. While being one of the few operators of live steam in this country, steam has not always been the background we provided. Still, it seemed time to share our growing list of screen credits. One of the first projects we were involved in was a Heineken commercial. In Whippany, the M-1 was dressed up as a dining car that pulled up alongside the dining car of a passing train. The fact it was self-propelled made the logistics easier. In Becoming Santa ,the star Jack Sanderson contemplates his upcoming day as Santa on our Polar Express train. #142 seen in Bellows Falls Vermont during the filming of “Cider House Rules” starring Toby Maguire and Michael Caine. 6
starting in 1996 with, I Love You, I Love You Not, with Claire Danes (Reflector Volume 6 Issue 3). Later, it would become the focal point of the independent movie The Station Agent, starring David Dinklage in 2003. That movie was an off-beat comedy filmed at many New Jersey locations, including the PortlandDelaware bridge near our current steam operation, but the station was the star location. It has since been sold to someone not a member of our Society. The current owners have a website that notes it has also been used in J. Crew advertising. Maywood Station, after its renovation, has been used for many photo shoots, including ones by Vanity Fair and for several weddings. It is the subject of The Maywood Station Story, narrated by Carl Quintanilla and is the source of an HO scale model that appeared in an episode of 30 Rock. It is also the focal point of an Images of America series book. After purchasing 142 from the Valley Railroad in Star David Dinklage in the film “The Station Agent” filmed on location at the NYS&W Newfoundland Station. escape of a detective and a damsel-in-distress from a serial killer. It used one of our crews to operate a Bel-Del train. The second college level film briefly used our train Connecticut, it appeared in the major motion picture Cider House Rules with Tobey McGuire in 1999. Labeled “Bangor and Aroostook” for the camera, it was the very first scene in the film, shot in Vermont. After moving to the Bel-Del and starting our regular operation, another independent film was shot there. I recall it being shot in either 2004 or 2005 but we were never to hear from it again. If you look on the Independent Movie Data Base (IMDB, found at imdb.com), it shows a release of The Mercy Man in 2009. It’s as good a time to mention that, according to a friend of mine in Los Angeles, there are three times the films released in theaters there than anywhere else in the country. It would explain both its absence (here) and yet showing a release date. The scene shot was about the convenient passing of a freight train for the in Lehigh Junction for their work. Again, I have little information on the details of this project and, again, we never got to see the results. Polar Express came out in 2004, our first year on the Bel-Del. We were asked if we could provide 142 for Tom Hanks to “arrive” in several major cities across the country on a steam train to tout the film, but that would have been a logistical nightmare and so never became a serious inquest. Two years later, we became a licensee of the name and it has become our most popular event, this year selling out in just a few hours. Since then, in 2010, Becoming Santa was filmed, listed as a comedy. The story follows a man through Santa School, learning all the nuances of the role. His first stop (about 20 minutes into the film) was at our Polar Express ride, where we had him scheduled on one of our four-trip evenings. If there was any doubt The cast and crew of “Figs For Italo” including Society members John Stocker, Chris Cotty, Dylan Vieytes, Martin DenBleyker, Nick Zisa, and Rich Butterworth. Not pictured here as they worked on another day of shooting, members Paul Weinberg, Don Young and Myron Biggar.
Marshall Greene and Chloë Sevigny rest at the Ol’ Susquehanna Mine during the shooting of James Franco’s Black Dog, Red Dog. about the dedication of our volunteers, you need to hear his comments after a night with us on that train. Once again, we were approached for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010). It’s another project that went nowhere past initial contact. They wanted a steam train for something in the film to be shot in Hoboken. Price was no object to Disney. Having seen the finished product, you would have no idea where it would have fit in. It seems the original plot may have had flashback scenes that were deleted from the final script. After all, Nicholas Cage’s character was 1,000 years old. While, granted, production plans change as a film progresses, the finished film didn’t give any hint as to what they were originally thinking. Next up came Black Dog, Red Dog, another independent film by James Franco, also starring Whoopie Goldberg and Olivia Wilde. We didn’t get to meet any of them as their filming was in another segment of what is an episodic film and apparently was already completed by then. We did get to hob-knob with Logan Marshall Greene and Chloë Sevigny. Shot in 2012, the IMDB kept pushing the date back having cited “in post-production” until about August, 2014. Now marked “completed” as of this writing, it still has no exact date for release. Again, several of our people were used as extras. Our president, John Stocker played the conductor and got a couple of lines. Finally, the impetus for this article is to report on the latest effort. Another independent company is shooting a dramatic short, Figs For Italo. It’s a family story set in World War II Italy. While the budget is low and thus prompts our use as an Italian railway – bigger stretches have been done – some shooting actually occurred in Italy. The two days of shooting in and around Lehigh Junction were the final segments to complete the filming after which it went to postproduction. The producers want it ready for a film festival at the end of the year. IMDB shows it as a 2015 film. One last note: our Society president, John Stocker, had now appeared in three of these films, each time playing a conductor – type casting to be sure. Besides Black Dog, Red Dog, where he actually has lines, you might also hear him in Becoming Santa talking with other of our members in that unscripted documentary. In this latest film, he just got to run a lot as the scene involves an Allied bombing of the train. Fortunately, that scene is easily embellished with modernday special effects and we had no mess to clean up. We are well of aware the reason why there are so few people in this country running steam locomotives. They are expensive to maintain and to run, they require specialized talents to do either and they have special needs, like a pile of coal to burn. We pride ourselves on the fact we continue to carry that torch. While our engine is a 1930’s design and our cars are from the 50’s and 60’s, which tends to limit us in what we can reasonably give the appearance of, I expect there will still be more opportunities in the future to strut our stuff for the camera. During filming of “The Mercy Man” Guenia Lemos rehearses a stunt on the back of our caboose, under the watchful eye of cinematographer Roy Kurtluyan 8
“Figs for Italo” takes place in Nazi occupied Italy during the end of World War II. In the top picture the train was just stopped by Nazi soldiers and the passengers were forced to evacuate. In the bottom picture you can see how the interior of the train was decorated with authentic World War II Italian propaganda. 9
+++ +++ +++++++ It +++ +++ +++ ’s been a busy winter working on our equipment. Each year we have to work much of the winter just to get ready for the coming season. The thousands of people we carry each year, really put a toll on our historic equipment. This year we are rebuilding the interiors of two of our coaches. This entails removing all the seats and seat frames, removing the tile and fixing all rotten areas of the wooden sub floor. Once the new flooring is installed, the whole process is reversed! The Winery Train car has been spruced up with carpeting, while the 530 has a new rubber floor which is specially made for transit applications. Each year the steam locomotive gets an extensive amount of work performed on her by our shop crew. This year we will be doing work on the boiler, rebuilding the air compressor and reverser as well as rewiring the electrical system. Here are some pictures of the work. Left to right, top to bottom: 1. Noah Conrad ripping the rotten floor up in the 530, preparing for a new floor. 2. The 531 after being completely refurbished. This is the Wine Train car and now is carpeted! 3. Keegan Forke prepares the outside of the firebox. 4. CMO Gary Matthews inspects the stay bolts INSIDE of the boiler! 5. Steve James works on rewiring the cab of #142. 6. the whole crew busy stripping the floor in the 531. 7. Kurt Christenson preparing the exterior of the firebox. 8. Keith Cadigan busy heat treating pins. 9. Chad Hubler cleaning the scale off the front end, inside the smoke box. 10. Don Young and Don Gardner working of the water glass valves. 11. the new rubber flooring in the 530. 12. Dylan Vieyles and Wayne Nilsen removing paint from the Plymouth #18’s door. 12. CMO Matthews takes ultrasonic thickness tests while Mat Horning records the results (inside the firebox).
MSHC Membership News By Ed Kaminski Santa Visited the Maywood Station Museum on Saturday, December 13, 2014 Santa made a special visit to the Maywood Station Museum for the 13th Annual Santa at Maywood Station event on December 13, 2014. A festive crowd of young ones waited for the jolly red elf’s arrival and the opportunity to visit with him. Santa met with each good little boy and girl and every child received a bag of treats courtesy of Myron Corporation; Operation Lifesaver; TD Bank; Children Are Creative; Atlas Model Railroad Company; the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway; and the Maywood Station Museum. Each child attending also was given a free chance to win special raffle prizes including a BMW Junior Bike Tricycle courtesy of Park Ave BMW, which was won by Wes Crawford and an HO-Scale Train Set courtesy of Atlas Model Railroad Co., which was won by Alexandria Vega. The Maywood Station Museum thanks Tom Richards for his “special” help and thanks to Bob and Donna Funk of Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters & Café who provided refreshments during the event. The MSHC once again look forward to hosting next year’s Annual Santa at the Maywood Station Museum event! Doug Earls, Tim Moses and Tom Callan recently donated two concrete railroad milepost markers to the collection and they have been installed by members on the museum grounds…… John Brown vacationed in Providence Town, MA in September……The Northeast Regional Scout Museum in Rochelle Park, NJ held its grand opening on Sunday, October 2. MSHC member Ed Quinn began work to build this museum in 1999 and serves as its Chairman….. Rob Pisani visited China on business in early October…..Gus Aversa performed in the Maywood and Music theatre group’s rendition of Spamalot at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Maywood on November 15……Work on restoring the original NYS&W semaphore pole has been suspended until the warmer weather next spring. The pole and circuit box have been sanded, primed and received a new coat of paint in advance of winter……The Maywood Station Museum continues to be a popular location for photo shoots this past fall with several being conducted through permission granted by the museum…….Sales of the H.O. scale model of Maywood Station Museum’s NYS&W S2 #206 continue to be brisk……The Maywood Station Museum Annual Holiday Party was held at Gencarelli’s in Lyndhurst, NJ on December 18…….The MSHC welcomes aboard new members Bob and Donna Funk…… Santa made his annual visit to the Maywood Station Museum on December 13, 2014. (All photos by Ed Kaminski) 12 Another wedding photo shoot was recently arranged at the Maywood Station Museum on September 21, 2014. Sean and Leash O’Connell strike a pose with their wedding party aboard Caboose
Westbound SU 99 at Maywood, NJ Sept 2014. MARCH 2015 Ok kids, here we go again. Time for another update on the goings on around the railroad. This time there is a plethora of news to report on, current to when this was typed out. So sit back, relax, while I attempt to disseminate the activities of the past few months. OPERATIONS In the first area of news, there is plenty to report on. The past several months have seen the NYS&W called up on numerous times this summer to provide crews for CSX detour trains. There were several reasons for the detours, including track work on the increasingly busy River Line south from Selkirk, NY, as well as track work on the Selkirk-Buffalo Chicago main line. The track work was compounded by the increasing amount of crude oil traffic to and from Philadelphia via Selkirk and Buffalo to/from Chicago on an already busy artery of traffic. So while I can’t recall each and every detour, I will summarize by noting a few of them. Starting back in May, the first detours started to show when CSX needed maintenance windows to place into service new interlocking at Stony Point and Haverstraw NY on the River Line. As in the past, CSX chose to reroute intermodal trains Q156 and Q004, both eastbound stack trains that terminate in South Kearny NJ. The twist this time was that westbound trains also detoured via the NYS&W to Binghamton-Syracuse-CSXT. These included empty ethanol trains K635 on May 9 and K637 on May 12. In one instance, 20 freight that would have been on the SU 99 was added to the empty ethanol train, and as this was traffic already blocked to go to Syracuse to CSXT, it didn’t run on the SU-99, thus killing two birds with one stone. The SU-99’s still ran, as did the 100’s, although there were instances of NJ-bound traffic added to the CSX detours for movement to NJ, again, killing two birds with one stone, continuing a practice that has long been established with the detours. Two other detours ran in July, both on July 18, when a Q004 and A Q156 followed each other east. As the Q004 was over tonnage, the NJ destined freight was added to the Q156, along with NYS&W power which would turn on the following day’s SU-99. Overall, it has been a busy summer for the railroad just for the detours alone. As CSX is installing double track at the north end of the railroad, it would be a safe bet that when the new track is ready to be placed in service, along with the signals and interlockings related to the track age, there will likely be another round of detours at that point as well. As for other news in the operations department, Westbound SU 99 along Route 23 Oak Ridge, NJ September 2014. 13 traffic is up overall, and it’s pretty plain to see to even the casual observer that there is more and more traffic. The WS-5, the job that handles the work east of Little Ferry to North Bergen and Jersey City has seen its traffic grow quite a bit since this time last year. It is not unusual for the crew to return to Little Ferry after a nights work with 30, 40 and sometimes more cars. This is NOT including the traffic that they interchange with the NS at the extreme east end of the railroad at the three track Marion yard, just east of Resources. There have been times when the NS has delivered over 50 cars in one drop at Marion, and the NYS&W has returned the favor with moderate to heavy interchange tonnage. As for the trackage east of Little Ferry yard, there are several customers, all requiring daily (and sometimes more than that) service. The track age just south of where Amtrak crosses over the railroad, just to
the east of the old Erie/NYS&W Susquehanna Transfer is undergoing expansion as new tracks are being installed within the confines of the yard adjacent to Resources terminal. Most of this traffic is auto racks, although there is a fairly busy soybean transloading facility on the premises as well. It’s not uncommon for the crew to make overtime, and there is the work to support it. In fact, on occasions, one of the daylight crews, either the WS-1 or WS-2 will venture east of the yard to North Bergen to handle some traffic Along these lines, the railroad receives a good amount of interchange traffic with CSX at North Bergen, at CP-3, adjacent to the CSX yard which parallels the NYSW at this location. The CSX daylight crew, symbol Y120, will almost every day, as part of their duties deliver cars to the railroad at either CP-3 or CP-5 in Ridgefield Park, NJ. They will also bring back any outbound freight to North Bergen where it will eventually be placed on trains to Selkirk for classification. In addition, the afternoon CSX yard crew, symbol Y220 will also deliver/pick up freight to the NYS&W, and it’s not unusual for BOTH crews to be on the NYSW property doing their respective interchange work. Add to that the normal radio chatter of WS-3, WS-4, and WS-5 and it becomes a challenge to hear your own crew on the radio. And as always, the SU-100 and SU-99 trains are pretty Westbound SU 99 under cloudy skies approaching Excelsior Mills Sept 14 2014 The WS-5 as noted earlier concentrates its work between Ridgefield Park NJ and North Bergen/Jersey City at the extreme east end of the railroad. And at the start of the New Year, a slight realignment of healthy in terms of tonnage on their runs, minus what traffic gets handed off to CSX and NS in northern NJ. If that traffic were to be added to the NYSW trains, the road trains would most likely be a 5-day a week operation. That hasn’t happened, nor is it expected to happen in the foreseeable future, but given the current traffic levels, what DOES run via the SU 99/100 is still a pretty healthy level of traffic overall. And speaking of the road trains, they are running, as always, on their standard schedule, with the 100 departing Binghamton on Sun/Tues/Thurs evenings, and then returning as the SU 99 the following afternoon/evening. The departure from NJ as the 99 is dependent on when the crew is rested per the Hours Of Service rules, but if all goes well, they generally are on duty at 4 pm out of the hotel and usually westbound shortly after arriving from the hotel and yard office. Before the road crew shows up, however, one of the afternoon yard crews (usually but not always the WS-3) will bring the power from the service tracks to the train at the west end of the MC tracks at Cross Street in Bogota NJ and drill out any cripple cars that cannot travel on the train for some mechanical reason, then assemble the entire train, do the pre departure brake test, and hand off the train to the road crew who then departs. Sometimes they are westbound by 430 pm, sometimes not. It depends on the work involved in assembling the train. As for the rest of the Southern Division, along with the WS-3, there is the WS-4, WS-5, and WS-6 all on duty between 230 pm and 5 pm. The WS-3 is the afternoon intermodal crew, meaning that they primarily work the CSX intermodal yard, drilling cars as needed for the following morning’s outbound Q003, or yarding the Thursday only Q002, among other duties. The WS-4 assembles its train, and then heads west (sometimes before, sometimes after the SU-99), and will work at Passaic Jct, 4th Ave Paterson (Trash), Midland Park (Kuiken Bros Lumber) before heading back to work Malt Products in Hackensack. 14 crews took place. The WS-6, known as the “Sparta turn” was abolished. In its place was a new job, named the SJ-1, based out of Sparta Jct. This job works Monday to Friday, on duty at 4 pm, and has an engine assigned and based there at SJ. It’s generally been the 3022, but occasionally one of the tunnel motors has done time there as well as one of the leased CSX and NS 4 axle geeps. The cars were dropped off and picked up by the SU 100’s and 99’s, usually at the siding track just west (by timetable, northeast geographically) of Sparta Jct. And as of press time, there is plenty of work to keep them busy. This brings up another item. As this goes to press in March 2015, there has been a modification to the SU 100/99 trains. The schedule is still the same, with the 100’s running east from Binghamton Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and the 99’s running west the following afternoon/evening, as noted above. With the harsh winter in upstate NY taking its toll, it has affected traffic on CSX as well as the NYS&W and other carriers in the region, notably in the Buffalo-Syracuse-Albany corridor of CSX. Usually, the SU 99 goes west with a block for interchange to CSX at Syracuse. However, owing to mother nature and congestion in general, some of you may have noticed the SU 99 running west with less than 20 cars out of Ridgefield Park, NJ. That’s because the CSX-Syracuse block is not traveling on the 99’s. Instead, the freight has been picked up by CSX, usually crew YY220 out of North Bergen, who then take the freight to South Kearny yard for inspection and addition to Selkirk bound trains. The last weekend of February had 109 cars for CSX to pick up, and previous moves involved 97 cars and 67 cars respectively. The Y220 normally delivers inbound freight as well as needed intermodal cars for the CSX Little Ferry intermodal terminal, so it’s not a stretch for the Y220 (of which I’m the regular engineer) to grab the cars and run them to South Kearny. How long this modification to freight traffic lasts is anyone’s guess, but will likely go on until the weather and congestion issues in upstate NY ease up. MOTIVE POWER UPDATE This area has been pretty active the past several months. I’m (Continued on page 15)
Then, in a move that surprised most, the Westbound trash train detour Q710 departing Ridgefield Park, NJ August 2014 not sure where to begin, but here goes. This past summer found several changes among the company’s motive power roster. First off (and in no particular order of importance), the railroad scrapped several locomotives. Among those scrapped were the three GP20’s, acquired with the operations of the TP&W several years back, and retained after giving up that operation. GP20’s 2062, 2064, and 2066, all of AT&SF lineage were scrapped in Binghamton in July by a local contractor. The other sad news (for railfans at least) was that F45 3636 was finally scrapped this summer in Utica NY, along with ex-NS high hood SD40 3020, and GP40 3042, ex NS 1355. The 3636 had a long and illustrious career on the NYS&W and was the last of its model in regular service east of the Mississippi when a catastrophic mechanical failure forced it into retirement where it was cannibalized for parts over several years in Utica, NY. The 3020 was a high hood, ex- NS SD40 acquired with what became the 3018 and 3022, both active on the roster as low nose SD40’s as of press time. SD70M’s became the next three units to leave the roaster, but not by the scrapper’s torch. Rather, the NS acquired all three units as part of their ongoing program of picking up second hand high HP road units for their own use. They became NS 2779, 2780, and 2781 upon their return to service. In early September they were handed off to the NS and transported to Enola PA. Since then, they were moved to Altoona PA and placed in the Juniata locomotive shop for evaluation and eventual rebuilding. The SD70s, purchased in 1995, ran for several years on home rails before being leased out on a long term arrangement with the Indiana & Ohio Railroad who ran them pretty much into the ground for several years. They then returned home and sat unused (after a few runs) until the NS decided to take them. It’s been rumored that a deal was struck with the NS in which they will install PTC and cab signals in the SD60s in return for the acquisition of the 70’s. It makes the story interesting, if that’s the case. And the NYS&W will need to equip their road units with PTC and cab signals soon, as NJT/MetroNorth plans on installing the technology on the Southern Tier between Campbell hall NY and Port Jervis, NY (This was discussed in greater detail in an earlier Reflector column). As for the rest of the roster these days, the rumor mill was in high gear again over the summer, as stories surface stating the railroad was planning to reactivate SD45’s 3618 and 3634. They sent two of the 4 SD40T-2 “tunnel motor” locomotives out to be rebuilt with more Eco-friendly prime movers. As of press time, there hasn’t been any more news on these items of interest, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not going to or cannot happen. In a related sidebar to the above, the railroad leased three Progress Rail (PRLX) GP38-2’s to pick up the slack while the T-2’s are getting worked on. The railroad finds itself in a position of needing whatever power it can get it hands on these days owing to the traffic upswing, and as it’s a customer service based company, the better they can deliver the goods to their customers, the better for all involved. As for the rest of the roster, currently (at press time) the following units are assigned to NJ: NS 5291, 5294; CSXT 2732, 2782, and NYSW 3016, and all are getting a good workout these days. I’m missing info on what’s assigned up on the Northern Division, aside from long time Utica holddown 3040, so if any info can be passed along for next time please let me know. As for the SD60’s, they are certainly earning their keep on the road trains between SyracuseBinghamton-Ridgefield park on the SU-100 and 99’s these days. And in a bow to new technology, SD60 3810 is the first road unit to have cameras installed. One is facing outward from the cab end, and the other outward facing camera is on the conductor’s side, rear end, above the number board. It’s expected, like with the other railroads that have installed cameras, these will greatly aid in the investigations of grade crossing and trespasser accidents. It’s expected the rest of the fleet will eventually have this technology installed as well. Westbound SU 99 at Hawthorne, NJ April 2014 Photo Credit: Marc Hamon 15 (Continued on page 17)
(Continued from page 15) FINALLY Well, for the first time in a few columns there are no retirements to report on (though that may change next year). In short, traffic is steady if not up, and the railroad is humming right along and doing what it was established to do: provide customer service the best it can and as safely as possible. I realize this column has a bias to the Southern Division, but I am always looking for Northern Division news and info as well. If any readers can provide me with such info, please do so. My email is: blet601@gmail.com. Remember, this is YOUR NYSW THS since it’s YOUR dues that allow us to publish this magazine and the annual calendar. We are only as good as the members who support us, so please get involved and help keep this group to preserve and record the history of the NYS&W, whose final chapter is far from being written. Until next time… Photos by Ralph Bonanno unless otherwise noted. 17 Photos page 16. Top: Eastbound detour combo Q004/SU100 at Ridgefield Park NJ July 2014 Photo Credit: Marc Hamon Bottom: SU99 meets a southbound CSX train with CN power, Ridgefield Park, NJ Jul 2014 Photos this page. Top left: Westbound SU 99 led by SD45 3618 at Pompton Lakes NJ July 2008 Top right: Westbound SU 99 along Route 23 approaching Stockholm NJ June 2013 Bottom left:F45 3636 at Mayhill St, Saddle Brook, NJ March 2006 Bottom right:F45 3636 westbound at Rock Road, Hawthorne, NJ June 2006
three weeks late, we were already in gear for the 2014 season. While our 11th season started with the Easter Bunny, it is May 1st we passed the ten year anniversary of the Bel-Del operation. The one Saturday in between was our annual rules class. As it turns out, the Easter Bunny was way -laid on the last day by a brush fire along the tracks that delayed the first train for hours and cancelled the second trip. It was not one of our better days. Ironically, we had just taken a radical step to keep T he last edition was a recollection of 25 years of mechanical doings. This issue is back to the usual business of more recent doings and will cover all from where I left off in 2013 through 2014. After retiring 142 for the winter came Polar Express, with its record timing sellout of the previous August. Expecting a sellout every trip was an issue going into the worst winter we can remember in a long time. The cold started three weeks early, which meant baby-sitting the diesels for a longer period. That was further complicated by a new power station for keeping them warm being operational some six weeks late. Then the snow started and we were once again faced with a day that many of our customers were unable or unwilling to come out. For the second time, we ran an extra weekend for makeup trains. The number of customers who missed didn’t add up to quite the number the last time it happened and we went for an entire weekend rather than two trips and opened it up to additional sales. It went just shy of sold out again. The winter also made it difficult to accomplish much, at least of any outdoor activity. When it finally broke, about the brush controlled along the way. The Society’s newest acquisition is a brush cutting machine, which went to work the week after the bunny retired to his hutch. Society members have often formed brush parties to keep the rightof-way clear on the whole railroad, not just the active part. This action on the out-of-service portion is important as the day a track gang starts to work on rehabilitation of the track, they don’t have to begin with several days of brush cutting. This saves on the cost and increases the productivity of the track gang. The brush cutter is also a potential source of income working for other railroads when not in use on our own. While this column sees about a two-month lag time from writing to mailing, photos tend to be more up-to-date and a photo of the new machine appeared in the last issue. Plymouth #18 was further reconditioned during the winter. The transmission had some issues, electrical wiring improved, new windows are in, the paint job is pretty much complete and it will be lettered “MW 18” to reflect its status as a piece of maintenance equipment. It will soon be able to make maintenance moves that are particularly important in the out-of-service track. Similarly, the member-owned GE 45 tonner nears completion. It has been numbered 146 and has a new herald on the cab showing “DRR” over a Pennsylvania keystone. This engine was never railroad-owned having come from the power plant in Holland, NJ. Another anniversary in May was for 142, when it became 25 years old and officially an antique. When it got its annual inspection pressure test, it showed no leaking The railroads new locomotive #1567 which we use for The Polar Express and The Easter Bunny Train. Photo Rick Glosser 18
staybolts. That would be the first time in years we had none. Annual testing and reassembly became almost routine for once only to find, on the last day of the season, the engine crew came in the shop in the morning and found a leaking staybolt in the firebox, knocking it out of commission from its last scheduled appearance of 2014. Even before the Easter trips, car #500, the gift shop, was sent out to Topton, PA to get body work and a new coat of paint. The Society board voted to paint the cars in Stevens (Institute of Technology, Hoboken) Red with black ends and silver roof. This is consistent with the 1942 paint scheme for NYS&W coaches. While the new color stands out sharply against the other cars, that edge should fade as the other cars start to match. We will send them out as funds and down-time permit. If you would like to speed up the process, click the “DONATE” button on our web site. Here too, a photo of #500 appeared in the last issue, before the lettering was applied. It should be noted the other class of coach we have, the gallery bi-levels, will step back an additional two years to the 1940 paint scheme. The Stevens Red will be applied to the lower section up to the height of the LIRR cars and will have a gray band for the upper windows, matching the power car that runs with them. Since the “Squeak” never had bi-levels, this is a bit of a stretch applying the 1940 scheme to them, but it is expected to make the train as a whole quite impressive when all the cars are painted and together. The 33 has to have the red touched up though to match the new look. As the test subject for this program, its color isn’t quite the same right now. Once all ten cars are done, it should not only match, but also hold down maintenance issues for some years to come. And then, six months later and the seasons reversed, the winter may have still been affecting us. Thomas the Tank Engine visited in July as usual although, on its sixth visit, it was one weekend later. We always seemed to pick the two hottest weekends of summer and the thought was to skip at least one of them, as well as avoid July 4th also sold out in hours. In order to accommodate everyone, we started a new boarding procedure where everyone had an assigned entry point, marked by a letter. The thirty trains were packed with nearly 3,000 more people than we would ordinarily carry and, aside from running a bit late the first Saturday (which always seems to be the case), the trips ran without a hitch. We took the rainy Saturday over the snow, so no makeup trains this time. The only snow was leftover on the ground the first weekend from an early cold snap and mild December weather took over. In fact, it rained several times until the last week of January when the snow and cold then stated in earnest. Meantime, the railroad’s latest acquisition was an SW-1500 switcher that had worked for NS in Altoona the as it was on a Friday. Well, something was missing this time – ninety degree weather. Summer, 2014 turned out to be cooler than usual, perhaps set up by the harsh winter, and the only 90+ degree day was on a Tuesday this July and not again until the very end of August and early September. The first Sunday was incredibly muggy but the thermometer stopped rising at 88. The Easton fireworks that night started a bit early and were rushed, for good reason. A severe thunderstorm wrapped up that weekend just as I got home after the fireworks. My count, taken from the Conductors’ reports, was 18,656 fares in those six days, 14,921 on Thomas and the rest on our “regular” train. Using two bi-level cars, 142 hauled 878 people to the mine on its best day. Dinosaur Train followed in August. Considered by many of our customers to be our best event, it none-the-less had a disappointing turnout and will not be a return event. Three of the four days, the weather was great. Only the second Saturday did we have to contend with rain much of the day. Finally, two years ago we installed conduit between the ticket office and station building with an access point in between only to have someone mistake the tubes as recycling ports. While one pipe easily blew its contents back out to run power, we finally had the time and ambition recently to clear out the second pipe in order to install communication lines between the buildings. The permanent PA system, internet, an intercom and possibly a phone are planned. Coming full circle back to Polar 2014; we thought selling out in a month was quick. This time, we sold out in four hours. Despite overselling the trains, we were still disappointing many customers who were shut out and, for the first time, we added a Friday pair of trips to the schedule, which 19 45 tonner belonging to member Don Chaudruc at Baer Yard. previous 20 years. It received a fresh paint job and was shipped to us for Polar. It is now the assigned locomotive for the Bel-Del and the Geep left shortly after Christmas. At the north end of the train with an also freshly painted caboose right behind, it made for an impressive entrance into the station. We found out the hard way it drops its water in cold weather rather quickly (to protect it from freezing) and it had to be shuttled between the power station at Kent and the train at the yard daily. The cold weather baby-sitting was none-theless easier. As you can see, into our second quarter-century, we’re not standing still. Like always, I invite you to come out and pitch in, even for a day. Every little bit adds up. Personally, during the winter we all could have done without, I found a project I could do in the comfort of my warm home, converting the LIRR car marker lights to LEDs, which makes them bright enough for legal requirements and more dependable. The light bulbs easily burnt out, but not before melting some of the red lenses. When we finally make Riegelsville, it will facilitate the runaround to just flip the switch for taillights, but they already came in handy when we did not use a caboose on the trains in 2014. See? Every little bit helps. Contact Mechanical@nyswths.org for information on how to help keep us moving forward.
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