Grandpa Smith waving at me and the movie camera
Grandpa Smith waving at me and the movie camera |
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In 1962,The Susquehanna purchased the 1800 horsepower EMD's brand new from General Motors. All three EMD's--the 1800,1802,and 1804 are still running great. They remain on The NYS&W--The Susquehanna--as a vital part of the engine roster. I was 14 years old in this picture and the 1804 was just 2 years old. Still running as an important part of The Susquehanna's locomotive power !! I'm feeling abit emotional right now,as I ran this engine and helped Gramps with the maintenance of this old girl !!
Here I am getting off the 1804. The engine was parked just inside the big double doors of the roundhouse on track # 11.
On a siding outside the roundhouse was my second most favorite engine. It accompanied the # 240 locomotive on some Sunday trips to Hawthorne. Hawthorne,N.J. is my hometown and it had a small freight yard there. When I was unable to go to the roundhouse with Grandpa,I rode and operated the diesel locomotives in the North Hawthorne Yards. The # 240 and # 252 were on most local freight trains,so I operated them the most. Occassionally,they were replaced by one or two of the EMD's--The 1800,1802, or 1804.
The funny part of this duo is that the # 240 had slightly more " get up and go " than the # 252. So when hooked together as a multiple unit--MU for short--the 240 would give a nudge to the 252 as you opened the throttle. Locomotives are tied together for more pulling power. They are electrically tied together by using a heavy cable of wires. These wires are hooked up to a special receptacle found on the ends of certain types of diesel locomotives. On the NYS&W,all even numbered Alco locomotives were MU compatible. When hooked up this way, you can control two or more locomotives, from the lead locomotive. All operations, such as applying the brakes for the engine and any railroad cars being pulled,are done by the engineer in the lead locomotive.A Special NOTE : All the Alco locomotives have been cut up for scrap. The exception is the # 206 Alco switcher,The # 240 Alco road engine,and possibly one or two others. One may still be working in Texas,according to reports on the internet. The number 206 is a museum piece for the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Museum. My favorite locomotive # 240 is sitting with a blown prime mover in Pennsylvannia. The 240 is on a tourist railroad there called The Tioga Central. My brothers are working with their group--The Volunteer Railroaders Association--to try and buy back the 240,and return it to our beloved Susquehanna Railroad. They hope to also get a new prime mover engine installed in her.Then my beloved # 240 could be used for the many tourist train rides The Susquehanna now provides. I really hope this dream of mine comes true some day very soon !!
Grandpa wanted a picture of me on The New York Cental's cabbose. So we went across all the Susie-Q tracks,to get this quick picture on their tracks !
This concludes the first part of my journey back to my days on The NYS&W Railroad--now just called the NYS&W Railway. NYS&W stands for New York Susquehanna and Western For short, just call the railroad by her famous name-- Susquehanna ! I will let you know of any further updates. Good-bye, and thanks for riding the good old " Susie-Q " with me !!
Susquehanna Updates Now Here !I have found pictures of NYS&W engines that still exist. Also included in the updated pages is recent pictures of the way The Susquehanna looks today. My brother's railcar " Good Vibrations " is also included here. I wish to thank my father,James U. Smith,and my brother K.C.--aka Casey--and my brother Billy,as this next series of pictures were taken by them. Without their support, this update would not be possible. The updates start on the next page ! |
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