W. A. Eby, PRR engineman and foster dad

WAEby

Like many old steam men, PRR engineman W. A. Eby disliked diesels, but he manages a smile in the cab of S12 No. 8734 working the Bellefonte local in 1957. Michael Hauk collection I never knew Walter A. Eby, my dad’s foster father. He passed away in 1963, when I was two years old. I […]

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Pennsylvania narrow gauge

20161223

A passenger train departs Waynesburg, Pa., in 1907 on the Waynesburg & Washington, a 28-mile-long, 3-foot-gauge pike that came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1885. Waynesburg University Museum collection […]

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East Broad Top comes back to life

20161221

In August 1960, four years after Pennsylvania’s coal-hauling, narrow-gauge East Broad Top shut down, owner Nick Kovalchik reopened part of it for tourist operations. People crowd the platform at Orbisonia, Pa., to board one of the first trips. Don Wood photo […]

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Low-numbered Pennsy engine

20161011

Pennsylvania class L1 Mikado No. 26, trailing an additional tender for extra water capacity, heads a train of empty coal hoppers west out of Renovo, Pa., in September 1955. Under PRR’s unorthodox numbering system, the 574-member L1 fleet ranged from No. 2 to No. 8636. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Video: HO scale Blue Ridge & Allegany RR

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Ron Hale’s HO scale Blue Ridge & Allegany Ry. models a freelanced interchange between the Southern Ry. and the Western Maryland Ry. in 1952. Steam and diesel locomotives lead freight and passenger trains through the Appalachian Mountains and city scenes on Ron’s spectacular […]

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Video: HO scale Blue Ridge & Allegany RR

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Ron Hale’s HO scale Blue Ridge & Allegany Ry. models a freelanced interchange between the Southern Ry. and the Western Maryland Ry. in 1952. Steam and diesel locomotives lead freight and passenger trains through the Appalachian Mountains and city scenes on Ron’s spectacular […]

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B&O’s Keyser tower

20161014

The former Baltimore & Ohio tower at Keyser, W.Va., seen here in 2004 under CSX ownership, was a classic “armstrong” mechanical interlocking plant. The pipes travel along the tracks, where levers and cranks transfer the motion to switches, locks, and derails. Concrete pedestals support the pipe lines and other hardware. Historic American Engineering Record photo […]

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