Three days in Oneonta

During a  week of project work in the mountains near Oneonta, I managed to score a few scattered opportunities to railfan after hours each day.    Some highlights:

 

On my way toward Oneonta on Tuesday I swung by Cooperstown Jct. which is still home to a pair of forlorn but seemingly intact and un-vandalized GG-1’s, as well as two relatively pristine looking Metro North FL-9s.

Next, I chanced onto a very good overlook along Rt 7 just north of the Emmons exit, where the view is unobstructed across. It’s behind a barn and farmhouse about 1 mile N of the exit on the right, overlooking where I-88 crosses the Susquehanna River and the CP, very good for afternoon photography.  Best of all there is a 40 ft-high fill to work from so the view is unobstructed.  I spoke to the landowner  last name of Oserthaupt (spp).  Very friendly, and while not a railfan was very well informed about the RR having many relatives and family friends who were D&H Oneonta area employees and intrigued enough with the hobby to be supportive of letting me take pictures and telling me his stories of the D&H. He evidently personally once knew Walter Rich of NYSW fame and was aware of their operations as well.  He was totally fine with me coming back whenever conditions were right all week long for more pictures.  It turns out that the debris making up the mountain of fill was the remnants of the Oneonta roundhouse!   On that first occasion the weather was murky and I just waited there almost until dusk for this northbound train to come by, not having a lineup or any other information to make me go anywhere else:

 

Track speed is a comfortable 40 MPH, and trains seemed to fleet S during the morning and N in the afternoon. No idea what they were doing at night, but on average there was a train about every 2 hours all week long during daytime.  Rt 7 is still an easy but brisk chase, and watch out for speed zone in the little towns along the way like Schenevus, Maryland and Colliersville. Even with those I could easily overtake trains but there's not much time to dilly dally after you shoot a location.

Thursday afternoon was the jackpot.  Just as work was wrapping up, a NB whistled through Oneonta.  I grabbed my rental and caught up to it at Osterthaupt’s. That’s part of the roundhouse fill slope at lower right: 

 

I followed this job north taking advantage of the lack of foliage and afternoon lighting, playing a wishful hunch that there could be a potential meet at East Worcester. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turns out it was a good hunch. Look what was waiting at the south end of the passing siding at roughly 6  PM:

 

 

It was a tightly executed meet and very soon the SB whistled off and was on the move. Judging by internet reports and the freight tonnage makeup this was likely a train from Montreal (the opposing job of 931?).

Needless to say a chase ensued with the trick becoming to fight the hillside shadows in some locations.

 

 

Friday on the way home I cruised Rt 7 from Sidney up to Richmondville.  I scouted some new locations, but no trains until I bagged a SD70m/ES-44/SD-60 combo at Cooperstown Jct as a door prize:

 

Back in Maine Saturday morning, I greeted the morning Brunswick Downeaster 692 coming and going just west of Hillside on my way to the Topsham train show. The brush cutting nicely opens up the inside of the curve

 

 

Local Gems of the Past

Going through some slides and negatives recently I came across a cluster of photos that I had to put somewhere.  They are from a time when my railfan abilities were somewhat hindered by the distraction of becoming a teacher.  I didn't have time or money for trains.  But, I didn't quit either.  I believe all of these are from 1989-1990 or thereabouts.  Blame Carl for their existing at all because I didn't railfan much on my own back then. 

The first few are from good ole Danville Junction.  The old operator's shack is still up and the train order semaphore is even around.  I think it was relative good luck though that got the North Stratford 959 sitting around for interchange and the CDOT former MEC 257 on a passing WAPO or some such train in that time.  I think I was returning for a second shot of the Alco when the WAPO stopped to make a pickup, exposing the CDOT unit for photos.  While the lighting wasn't ideal, it was better than nothing.

I don't know what happened to 257 but apparently 959 is on the Hobo RR, which I believe is where it was heading in the photo.  The Hobo painted the unit in 1990 so this must be shortly before that sometime.  


In about the same era, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic was using about anything they could get their hands on.  They even swapped units with the fairly new New Hampshire Northcoast.   On the left we see an actual NHN gravel train in downtown Dover headed to Boston.  Below is an NHN unit on the SLR at Danville Jct.  1757 is in the company of one of the CV geeps that apparently came with the railroad.  I think these NHN units were former PRR, hence the CR blue on the left.  I think these units were configured to run long-hood forward, so the stripes, bell and ditch lights were on that end.

Danville had other surprises too.  MA&PA RR as well as Yorkrail dropped in.  MPA 84 is a switcher that I only photographed once but it was around for a while.  I don't know if some of the forlorn looking units parked in Danville ever amounted to anything, but I didn't mind seeing such oddball units around.








Some time later we finally got to see the SLR show off its own colors.  While some geeps and leased power may have gotten the first paint jobs, the M420's probably gave it the most character.


 I don't remember if any more than two of the MLW's received the "yellowjacket" paint job and this was about the only time I saw 3517 in the lead.  3569 was the other unit.  The only time the worn out CN stripe paint looked good was when it was on a matching set of units, and I saw a few of those.  This train below was a pure luck catch in Mechanic Falls.  I followed it to Oxford before heading to where I needed to be.  This shot is much later in or around 1998.

 Enough old stuff for now.  Most of us with old photos can ramble on for hours.  I'll spread them out a bit if I get around to it.  I mostly wanted to try out the scanner on some old negs.  I guess the color balance skills need work. 

BC