That is indeed "Uncle Steve".

Howard P.

If the trip depicted in the photos was the NRHS convention trip, it operated westbound via the WM's Dutch Line through Hanover and Gettysburg and probably stopped for water at Gettysburg. At Fairfield, following a photo runby, the WM GP-9 helper was attached to assist on the climb up Jack's Mountain. The return trip operated via the WM main line through Thurmont.

George Hart's mechanical forces replaced the Elesco feedwater heater on 1286. The work was directed by Ben Kantner, an old-time Reading Shops boilermaker and foreman, and Steve Wilsbach, who had been a boilermaker at Rutherford, near Harrisburg. I don't recall what type of injector replaced the Elesco, but it was brand new. Hart had purchased a lot of parts from N&W, so I suspect that's where the injector came from. The work was done in the Ma & Pa's York yard. I helped a bit, carrying pipes and other heavy and awkward items from the shop car to the work site.

I remember this trip well, as my girlfriend (now wife of 43 years) and a another couple, "chased" this trip in a Volkswagen van, no mean feat in the rolling hills of south-central Pennsylvania. We saw the train near New Oxford, then leap-frogged around Gettysburg during the service stop there and saw the train at Fairfield. We got up on Jack's Mountain and saw the train go by one more time. After they reached Highfield, it was no contest at all. The poor ol' bus couldn't keep up as they rambled down the other side of the mountain.