Category Archives: Talky Tuesday

Talky Tuesday #113

This “Talky Tuesday ” will refer all the way back to “Wordless Wednesday #155” of May 02, 2018. How time flies! (Mostly due to family and work obligations.) Hopefully any future hiatus will not be so long. However, my supply of decent unscanned and unpublished S&NY photos is dwindling, so the “Wordless Wednesdays” will definitely be spaced out further, and future posts perforce will tend to be centered on the model S&NY.

Anyway, “WW #155” is a simple shot of #119 at rest in the Towanda engine facility, date unknown.

Talky Tuesday #112

Last week’s “WW #154” is a snapshot of a S&NY section crew and their transportation. The “speeder” looks to be a home-built contraption cobbled together from hand-car wheels applied to a Model-T chassis. While probably a pleasant mode of transport to the job site during fair weather, the ride was probably a cold, wet one in inclement weather. On the deck of the trailer we can see a keg of track spikes and a jack of some sort, stacked together with various tools. I cannot identify any of the fellows in the photo; even magnified there is quite a bit a of blur to the faces. The location is also a mystery.

Talky Tuesday #111

Cylinder cocks open, #116 vents her cylinders while pulling slowly away from the Towanda turntable in last week’s “WW #153”. Must be a little dry up in the woods, as the #116 has a spark arrestor placed over the stack.

Talky Tuesday #110

Last week’s “WW #152” shows what may possibly be one of the last trains over the S&NY. Not sure of the locomotive, but in the train we can see one of the S&NY’s 4-wheel cabooses, ancient bunk car #210, a side-dump work gondola, a mixed bag of freight cars, and ditcher #6 bringing up the rear. Perhaps this train was gathering up the last of the revenue freight cars along the line preparatory to abandonment? In any event, the rural nature of the territory served by the S&NY is quite evident. Modelers of the era, myself included, would do well to remember that agriculture was much more widespread (labor being less expensive, for one) and there were consequently many fewer trees along the ROW in the 1920’s and 30’s than today.

Talky Tuesday #109

S&NY 2-8-0 #115 rests at the Towanda turntable in last week’s “WW #151”. Several of the S&NY’s engines sport small tanks in various locations on or near the smokebox. After studying this photo, my best guess is they are likely reservoirs for mechanical lubricators for the valve gear.

Talky Tuesday #108

To my mind, nothing quite epitomizes the romance of old-time shortline railroading like an ancient wooden combine at the end of a mixed train. The S&NY had it’s example, embodied in combination car #204, seen in “WW #150” of 2 weeks ago. The car was on the roster as early as 1905. I am not sure if the car was acquired new, or was bought used from a different railroad. For another view of #204 bringing up the markers, see here.

Talky Tuesday #107

A 3/4 view of caboose #15 is the subject of last week’s “WW #149”. Note the small sign on the back wall of the caboose that admonishes crews to “Switch and Couple Carefully”. Also of interest is a glimpse of a PRR H21a hopper with the original “clamshell” bottom hopper doors. Location is Towanda, given the background structures.

Talky Tuesday #106

The S#NY had only one 8-wheel caboose, #15. Last week’s “WW #148” is a side view of #15, probably taken adjacent to the yard office/depot at Towanda. For another view of caboose #15, see here.

Talky Tuesday #105

Continuing on with the caboose theme, last week’s “WW #147” shows us caboose #14. At first glance, #14 seems similar to #17, but on closer inspection #17 has slightly larger double-hung windows, among other small differences. Either would be an interesting modeling project.

Talky Tuesday #104

Since we’re still on the subject of cabooses, last week’s “WW #146” is another broadside view of caboose #17. For a view of #17 in work train service, see here.