Time Machine: With a little imagination, it's December 1976 at Greenwich Junction, New York. D&H Train SC-17--which normally departs Whitehall in the early morning--was late getting out today. With sunset being especially early this time of year, darkness has now fallen over the landscape. SC-17--with D&H Alco RS-36 #5012 for power--has uncoupled from its train on the siding and gotten into the clear on the main. Meanwhile, Greenwich & Johnsonville Alco RS-3 #4116 has uncoupled from most of its train but still has something else in tow: a former D&H Alco S-2. The G&J was the last bastion of the D&H's black-and-yellow painted Alco end-cab switchers, operating on the line until 1970. This one had been stored in the engine house in Greenwich and--six years later--is finally on its way to a new owner. Though working long hours on the railroad is tough--especially after dark on a cold December evening--both the D&H and G&J crews have gotten into the Christmas spirit, with Christmas wreaths adorning the front of their engines.
In reality, this scene occurred in December 2020 when Batten Kill Alco RS-3 #4116 (former G&J and former D&H), RPCX Alco S-2 #3021 (a former Army and Staten Island Rapid Transit engine), and SNEX Alco RS-36 #5012 (a former Atlantic & Danville unit) convened at Greenwich Junction, the former junction between the D&H's Washington Branch and D&H-owned subsidiary Greenwich & Johnsonville. Though only one of the three engines was former G&J / D&H (the 4116), all three engine types in similar paint schemes were once a common sight at this location. With the exception of the Alco S-2 (which was likely off the property by 1970), a scene like this likely happened many times in the 1970s.
Disclaimer: I adjusted the red levels to make the 4116 look more like it did in 1976. Today, it is quite a bit more faded.
New York state has the largest number of ALCO diesel locomotives working in everyday service. Here are some of them. Soon I hope to chronicle all of them.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
