S&NY engine #115 and train curves southbound at Marsh Hill on last week’s “Wordless Wednesday”. To the left is the S&NY Marsh Hill depot, and Marsh Hill yard is in the distance. The PRR’s Elmira Branch is directly behind the photographer, and the train will momentarily enter PRR territory and head south on the branch to Newberry, PA.
The #115 was sold and went to Providence, RI after abandonment, per Kaseman’s book. Disposition otherwise unknown.
Last week’s WW is a portrait of S&NY caboose #15 and train crew at Towanda, probably during the winter of 1941-42. #15 was the S&NY’s only 8-wheel caboose.
I do not know the origin of this piece of equipment, but after abandonment, the caboose was sold to the Arcade & Attica Railroad in New York state, and became the A&A’s #303. Miraculously, #15/303 still existed as of 2012 on static display in Attica, NY.
I would very interested in the identities of the men in the photo for completeness sake. Comparing with photos in Kaseman’s book, I believe the man at the far right is engineer Eli Chilton. The others, I have no clue.
Last week’s “Wordless Wednesday” is an elevated view of the S&NY/ LV interchange just south of the Lehigh Valley’s Towanda station. At left center, S&NY engine #119 heads a mixed freight toward the LV Towanda station, located to the viewer’s left rear. The LV bridge over the Susquehanna River is just out of view to the left. Behind the train is the remains of the LV’s coaling pier, replaced by a large concrete coaling tower north of the LV station ca. 1940. Visible in the right background is the building and turntable in “Wordless Wednesday #35”.
“Wordless Wednesday #34” is an interesting shot of the engine service tracks and small yard at Towanda, PA. Engine #116 is simmers at the double-spouted water tank, and a cut of cars with a fascinating variety of pre-war equipment is standing in the yard. In the foreground, a rack of various tools used for cleaning the locomotive fires can be seen. To the right, an S&NY hopper is spotted at the ash pit.
The subject of last week’s “Wordless Wednesday” is snow flanger #11. I believe this was possibly a home-built piece of equipment, and is listed on the 1926 ORER. The 1905 ORER I have does not break out MoW equipment individually, so I do not know exactly when this interesting car first appeared on the S&NY. I would love to scratchbuild or kitbash a representative model some day…
Last week’s “Wordless Wednesday” shows S&NY caboose #16 at Marsh Hill, with the coaling tower in the background, probably during the winter of 1941-1942 several months prior to abandonment.
The S&NY rostered 4 cabooses in October 1940, numbered 14-17. Disposition after the railroad was abandoned is unknown, though the cabooses were reportedly listed for sale for $50 each.
The subject of “Wordless Wednesday #31” is a special passenger movement for an American Legion convention 12 August 1939. 12 coaches, with 650 passengers, probably the longest passenger train ever to run on the S&NY. Train is lead by #115 with #114 trailing. The engines are separated by a spacer boxcar due to weight restrictions on the S&NY bridges. Location is believed to be south of Towanda westbound to Williamsport.
Going by captions from Edward Kaseman’s book on the S&NY, the photo from “Wordless Wednesday #30” was shot near Cold Spring after a winter storm on 15 February 1942 dumped over a foot of snow on the region. The heavy snow pulled down telephone lines, requiring repairs up and down the line, even though abandonment was only a few months away.
Johnnie McGrath is on the pole, and Bill Heskell and Raymond Howe observe from below, per Kaseman.
It has been suggested to me, both online and in person, that some sort of follow-up posts be made to describe some of the locations and subjects of the “Wordless Wednesday” photos. So, for the enlightenment of those who enjoy the “Wordless Wednesdays”, and for the completeness of the online historical record of the S&NY, I present the first ‘Talky Tuesday”:
“Wordless Wednesday #29”: This photo was taken by me during a research/exploration trip up the Pleasant Stream and Schrader Creek valleys in early December 2000. The photo shows the abandoned town site of Masten, PA. My photo is roughly from the same location as this postcard view from the late 1910’s:
“Wordless Wednesday #28”: This photo taken on the same safari as “WW #29” shows the abandoned S&NY roadbed east of Marsh Hill along Pleasant Stream.
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