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| Sunset on the Pacific, Meatballs on a Stick https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30087 |
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| Author: | robertjohndavis [ Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Sunset on the Pacific, Meatballs on a Stick |
Short post now, longer to come. In short, Steamtown's Railfest 2010 was a lot of fun and IMHO the best of the 4 held so far. It's so good to see the abatement work going on, and the visiting 2 pair of F units really engaged the crowd. Both #2317 and #3254 were in steam. The Reading FP7's and the NKP GP7 also saw use. Shortline Delaware-Lackawanna and the east coast class one's had displays as did Amtrak. The Steamtown management wisely saved 2 days of #2317's federal ticket for Railfest. Confined to the shuttles across downtown Scranton, the crews made her earn her last two days under steam. About 5:15 her fire was dumped. By 5:45 she was in the roundhouse, her last move under steam. About 25 of us gathered to watch and gave a round of applause. Will she steam again? Maybe, but not soon. The fest was a great way to send her into retirement, but more importantly, it drew thousands of visitors out to experience railroading past and present. The mix of historic displays and modern displays really played out well. Rob |
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| Author: | tim o'm [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Sunset on the Pacific, Meatballs on a Stick |
The slew of unrelated projects and reports on them throughout the year certainly helped in bringing the crowds out, too. The asbestos removal from the steamers and passenger cars will help long term, but in the short term, it drew attention to the visitors that their favorite locomotive wasn't on display. Even just moving these pieces which have sat still for over a decade brought interest that something big was going on in the park. I would even say that the excitement generated by the NRHS convention in the beginning of the summer drew people to the big public event for the end of the summer. Many of the visitors bought tickets for the Foliage and Holiday trains, too. The Reading FP7s only showed up in town last October, and their occasional runs brought out a new crop of fans. Quite a few took the Whistle Stop train to Scranton just for the pleasure of running at good speed behind these 60 year old units. Re-painting the Jersey Central F3s took the railroad press and forums by storm throughout the year, and it was only a day before Railfest that they were mated, creating a debut photo for most attendees. The ARHS/Tri-State folks were on hand to talk with visitors and show off their beauties. 2317's last days of operation were fought over several times over the last year or so, so with the arguments out of the way, it was just time to wish her a fond farewell. Railfest was a perfect time to do this. I was the lone person at the turntable in December 1999 when Baldwin 26 made her last run after the Polar Express train ran that night. CN 3254's varied operation on the caboose experience one day and the Moscow excursion the next meant you could come back without getting a repeat performance. Plus the Ohio River's and Amtrak's crews were out in force to chat up their various operations, rebuilds, trip opportunities and all. In a way, it seemed that all the railroad world was meeting up in Scranton. It's not that far off, either. The lectures, performances and general railroad action kept things festive throughout, up to the last minute! This will be tough to beat. |
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