Nice treat for nostalgic eyes. Must have been nice to watch such unique motive power.
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Fantastic shot.
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These units certainly went from one extreme to another. Here they are in rural Virginia, which is a lot more rural than anywhere on the New Haven west of it's namesake. While in service for Penn Central, they could find a few spots along the low grade east of Columbia, PA, but nothing as rural as this. Through it all, they ran like champs, despite not getting the best maintenance, until after Conrail got started. I like this shot, even if it is a going away shot. The fact they are on a merchandise job, is unusual, too. While on, Conrail, Norfolk & Western, and Penn Central, as well as the Virginian they made a good living pulling or pushing coal,or iron ore or empty hoppers/jimmies or gons. They weren't wildly popular, since they were noisy and rode rough as far as NH runners were concerned, that is... old Pennsy heads liked them, after having been bounced around by P5a's, GG1's and the EL2b's, the E33s were an improvement. Better still, they'd had a decade with the best electric haulers, ever, the E44s. So, they were among friends.
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So much to take in. No signal at the end of a siding so the railroad must be totally dark. A car on a concrete slab (not stuck in the mud anymore), a house, a garden bounded by creosote ties, some landscaping, and probably two post war kids who will be railfans. Perfect!
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The N&W came through and lengthened sidings and placed position-light signals as part of the line upgrade following their acquisition of the VGN. The scene today features a lengthened siding here; the trees are much bigger than they were, and that hillside in the background is now fully wooded. The house is still there, though.
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Very nice scene. I was a kid then but nowhere near Virginia. Later I would see the units when they got to the New Haven since I spent the first 20 years of my life less than a mile from it. Kids that hung round in yards then didn't use paint for graffiti. However, they did write "wash me" on the closer unit!
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Wow, almost model-like. And is that a chicken in the front yard? Excellent old stuff to look at!
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| Posted by on December 13, 2011 | |
Wow, this is a beauty of a scene, nice to see some more Virginian stuff
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| Posted by Randall on December 13, 2011 | |
A nice treat indeed! Anyone have a current photo from this vantage point?
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Very nice scene. I would like to see a current piture of this place.
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Looks very much like Kumis, VA, off the US 460 bridge (near the Sunset Garage). The old house still stands today, but is painted white. Not much westbound on the VGN at this location today, except the Roanoke "Trash Train". What a great shot!
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