TrainPics1

A sampling of our Railroad Photography

Here is a random selection of some our our photography from a span of years. Unfortunately, we didn't often record dates in the early years. Many of these shots are originally on 110 film, and have been cleaned up as much as possible for showing on the net. Still, they give a small glimpse of what railroading presented to us in the past and what we seek out now.

Here is one of a number of shots taken in the 1980's while standing in the parking lot of the Brook Park RTA Rapid Transit station, which is on the (heavyweight) Red Line which runs from Cleveland Hopkins Airport into Cleveland Union Terminal in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This is right at the throat of Conrail's Rockport Yard, and offered great train watching in those days as the old Geeps struggled up the hill either while switching or pulling transfer runs. Here, a former GP-7, which I believe by this time had been rebuilt to GP-8 status, is really wound up pulling the grade.

Here is a three unit set of EMD GP units pulling out of the yard. The last one is still in black, with "CR" stencils. These kinds of sights were very common at the time, and I still remember the sound clearly.

Conrail 7350, a GP-9, pulls up near the boarding platforms at the Rockport Rapid Station while switching the yard. You could even see ex-Pennsylvania GP-9B units around if you watched long enough. Unfortunately, we never had the camera when one came through.

Conrail 7525 and 7526 enter Rockport Yard with a transfer run. This pair seemed to stick together for a while one train watching season; wherever one went, the other was coupled to it.

This shot was taken around the same time, and shows a Conrail merchandise train flying past the museum in Conneaut, Ohio, which is right adjacent to the NYC "Water Level Route" main line, and which contains a preserved NKP Berkshire. The units in charge here are a former NYC GP-40 and a former Reading U30C. By this time, we didn't see too many U-boats around, but they were not yet extinct either. However, there were still lots of old Geeps in the yards and GP-30 and GP-35 units on the main line. Trips East on the RTA rapid traveled into Norfolk & Western territory where gaggles of ALCO T-6 switchers could be found. Yes, right at the twilight of "classic" hood units.

Moving more toward the present day, here we see the Lorain & West Virginia painted ALCO-GE RS-3 which was used at the Lorain County Fair, in Wellington, Ohio a number of years back to haul short excursion runs. A historical society was trying to restore the washed-out L&WV, originally built to connect Lorain's docks with the Wheeling & Lake Erie. Ultimately, they failed, and much has been torn up. It was an exciting prospect -- even with offers to restore rail service to Lorain steel mills. I do not know the disposition of the RS-3.

This shot, also from the mid 1990's like that above, is of the abandoned (since about 1964) Lorain & West Virginia just south of where it crossed Detroit Road. Just north of here is a trestle, one of two on the line. Believe it or not, after the Nickel Plate bought and merged the Wheeling, NKP Berkshires hauled coal and iron ore over this very track, just dozens of feet from homes at this point.