| On the same beautiful fall day as the photograph on the previous page, we see the next train to appear after the engine hop disappeared. Approaching slowly, at walking speed out of the west, was this ballast train, pulled by an old soldier, an SD-40-2. This train was running on the siding, which is north of the two main tracks. This siding is still bolted joint rail, unlike the all welded high speed mains, and this train, escorted by a truck and by men walking, took a long, long time to pass. although you can't see it in this cropping of a larger photo, the first car in the ballast train, coupled to the SD-40-2, was still painted Penn Central, without even so much as an attempt to re-paint it. Very cool, as this photo dates from around 1997 or 1998!! |
