In operation, just a few days ago:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=141075

Does Williams Grove have any freight equipment that they could make up a short photo freight to run behind the old girl? Also, is that an early authentic PRR headlight?

Les

As I recall, Wiliams Grove has one ex-Ma & Pa wooden boxcar (really nice last time I saw it years ago), a flat car, a steam crane, and an ex-PRR wooden caboose. I think there may be another flat or two set up as passenger carriers, more closely resembling gondolas with notches and roofs.

Sounds like enough! I also know where there are apparently a few vintage PRR gons that would nicely round out such a train if one was donated and then painted and lettered. Do they have enough track to make a photo freight a "doable" thing?

Les

There is also and ex-DL&W passenger car and a Reading passenger car at the site. However both are in horrible shape and the ownership of these cars is not clear.

Found this link with some other shots of Williams Grove. The pics aren't very big, but it shows the freight equipment, diesel, and crane. Scroll down towards the bottom for all the railway pics. (unless you're into antique tractors, then start at the top!)

http://jhawkins.150m.com/wg-sm/imagepag ... eindex.htm

Freight equipment at Williams Grove consists of 2 flatcars, 1 M&P wooden boxcar, 1 tank car and the PRR N5c cabin car. They have about a mile of track with enough change in scenery and grades to make a photo freight doable. Around 1980 we repainted the cabin into something close to tuscan and applied lettering with the correct number. For reasons I do not know it was painted a brighter red with no lettering the last time I saw it. The train would look better with the cabin repainted and properly lettered. One other possible limitation to a photo freight could be nonworking brakes on some of the cars. I have no idea how many that may or may not be.

If you look closely at the photo that started this thread you will see the engine is going over a switch that is being built to make the stub siding the old Everett equipment was stored on into a pass track. Considering the sze of their work force I suspect completion may still be a couple of years away but when complete this run around track would give them the ability to have the engine pull a train with the front coupler. That is something I have never seen but was common for switchers to do. Such a move would add some interest to a photo freight. For now the effect could be achieved using the diesel to pull the train by the steamer.

I have advocated a photo freight at Williams Grove since I went there in the mid seventies. I suspect it could be done rather cheaply. By todays standards I think a photo freight would be a real bargain for the participants.

John Bohon

John- Thanks for the info. I too like the idea of freight cars pulled by the engine while running in reverse for variety. Sounds like after the 643 is finished, some attention to the cars, caboose and the passing track, might eventually result in the desired freight train operation. Something to hope for and look forward to.

Les

Yes indeed, the freight equipment and the N6b all need some tender loving care. In fact pretty much all of our rolling stock does. Out of necessity 643 has been the main focus the last few years, with her restoration almost complete we will hopefully be able to focus more on other projects.

The passing track is very much a project we look forward to completing. It was started while 643's boiler was away being worked, and since we got the boiler back it has become a bit of a secondary focus. Other factors I won't discuss here also led to it being put on the back burner, but recent developments will help with that. The passing track will give us more flexibility in running our trains, and also the ability to run two trains if crew and crowd numbers permit (say 643 on 2 cars and our little whitcomb on 1).

Of course the big factor in most of these projects is the old standby of time and money.

Tom von Trott

Oh, also, we are very open to charters, the rates are not set yet for this year, but feel free to e-mail us at wghsea@hotmail.com if you are interested.
We ran something of a photo freight in '01 for 643's 100th birthday, but in rained and sort of drove the crowd away.

Also, there is some possiblity of us operating engineer schools while the PRR Technical and Historical Society convention is in town the weekend of May the 6th, if we get enough interest that is. We would have tried and gotten something on the offical program for the convention, but we did not know that much in advance if we would be ready to run by then, and we do still have some mechanical issues to take care of this weekend, so we probably won't be taking any offical reservations till next week. Again, e-mail us if you are going to be in town and are interested, and we will let you know if we able to go ahead and do it.

Tom von Trott