The final interior details of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's P&LE caboose have been fixed up, and we look forward hosting guests visiting this year, celebrating 50 years since the Museum's opening.
From March 1984 at Montgomery AL, a badly faded Western Railway of Alabama 150 Bicentennial Caboose. The road had two in this special paint, 150 and 151.
It says a lot on how tough Saluda was when one sees how many locos are needed to pull this short train up the grade! It was far, far tougher on downhill trains, sometimes...
For sure a historical and notable grade.. A lot of power needed. Much respect. Kinda sad it is no longer in service. A very wise author, once said, that as Americans we once saw opportunity in difficult things (Saluda). But now we see difficulty in opportunity, Saluda, Tennessee Pass, et others). Regrettably there will be a price to pay. I remember bringing a 105 car loaded coal trains into Minturn CO (1995), with 4-5 units on the head end, with 2 SD's cut in 17 from the rear, then another 6 SD's cut in "swing" or like 55 deep. I never got any sleep when those trains were in 8 throttle before the head end power cleared yard limits, The earth trembled when a loaded coal train left towards the 3.5% TP grade. All those SD's were on their hands and knees on the ruling grade. And that was nothing compared to Saluda. Much respect to those RR's.
This shot is from July 2017. The bridge in the foreground in the above picture can be seen here. I'll be that we couldn't see anything but vegetation today. The contractor that will turn this into a hiking trail will have his work cut out and the rails and ties are still in place on the entire grade.
Those are the grades that can fry traction motors if care isn't taken in train handling. Probably would have even given Baldwins a run for their money! Looks like the runaway track switch and the former switchman's shack. He listened for the whistle signal from a runaway train on the down grade and threw the switch so the train went into the runaway track instead of going into the ground lower down and ripping up the main in the process. I read some pretty hairy stories about trains - steam and diesel powered - that went down into that track.
In latter years an automated timing circuit was installed and if a train took a lesser time to descend the grade than was the rule, the switch stayed set for the runaway track. The last runaway was in 1971.
April 1986 at Saluda. The depot used to be located here. It was moved several hundred yards to a new location in town for retail use.
July 1977 at Red Bank, NJ. CR 18870, Class N4B, former CNJ built 1942. She's at at the Whippany Railway Museum today, restored to CNJ 91529.
Ha! Me too and a great song. That was from 1982, so was smack dab in the middle of my living in the region. Billy Joel sang the song in Allentown/Bethlehem back then on tour and Allentown's Mayor loved it.
