Check out the link below to see an image of the Railroad Museum's freshly restored ex-Coudersport and Port Allegany RR Russell snow plow. Working from photos in the Museum's archives, the plow was backdated to its original c.1890s appearance. This has been a work in progress since 1994 and the restoration staff and volunteers have done a superb job! The plow will be moved into Rolling Stock Hall on track four for exhibition shortly. Hats off to Allan Martin and his crew for a job well done!

K.R. Bell
RR Museum of PA

http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/restorat/restore2.htm
c-kbell@state.pa.us

Beautiful work, and a much better reason for Coudersport to be in the news than Adelphia's woes!

And check out Allen Martin and that Conrail paint job on the GP-30 in Altoona down the same page!

eledbetter@rypn.org

Nice work and nice explanation of the restoration shop on the website. Makes up for the time I was rudely given the boot out of the place by a zealous volunteer safety enforcer, despite having previously received permission to be there.



ryarger@rypn.org

Hey All

Love that Conrail GP-30. Glad to see RR Museums preserving the "recent" past as well as the distant past, its all history. Here's a question, is this the only Conrail engine preserved as a Conrail engine? By that I don't mean Conrail units still running, or retaining their old paint in pre-restoration status at various musuems. If memory serves, wasn't this engine painted in a late PRR scheme about 15 years ago on the West Shore? Neat point to ponder.

By the way, the plow looks great too!

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

It looks as though Altoona is trying to get rid of all that blue paint, because just recently, I saw a freshly painted ex-Conrail, now Norfolk Southern SW1001 painted in blue. Unfortunatly, while it was being stored in a yard one night not even two days after leaving the shop from an overhaul, some kids got inside it, released the brake, and smashed it up. It's a real shame. Last I heard the shops are going to fix it.

jtjjtb@aol.com

To answer Dave's question, Remember the discussion about E-8 4022? Well as the slogan once said, "Let Conrail be Conrail". The engine will remain in Conrail OCS paint. We will eventually clean it up after the current and the following project, but it will remain Conrail!



v-scarpitti@worldnet.att.net

> Hey All You Blue People:

I was one of the museum members that voted to restore that engine to Pennsylvania RR colors.

If you want to preserve Conrail do it on something that they ordered and operated. Not PRR equipment!

Museum habits die hard. Especially at government run museums! I bet you dollars to donuts that the next time that Diesel is painted it gets another coat of blue.

Go paint a fence if they want to use up that old blue paint!

Just my thoughts.

Ted Miles



ted_miles@nps.gov

> I was one of the museum members that voted
> to restore that engine to Pennsylvania RR
> colors.

> If you want to preserve Conrail do it on
> something that they ordered and operated.
> Not PRR equipment!

> Museum habits die hard. Especially at
> government run museums! I bet you dollars to
> donuts that the next time that Diesel is
> painted it gets another coat of blue.

> Go paint a fence if they want to use up that
> old blue paint!

> Just my thoughts.

> Ted Miles
Wow Ted, I thought that I was the only person who thought exactly as you do. Dick Sanders is turning over in his grave! (the guy whose estate donated the '30) I would have preferred to see the inductive train phone antennae reproduced and reinstalled, since I think they were one of the last locomotives to get that system. Why not a GP40-2 or GE C30-7 (hey! built in PA)

schwartzsj@juno.com

I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Miles. Choose an engine ordered and operated by Conrail. The GP30 should be in PRR livery - preferably as delivered. Does anyone know what the first Conrail -ordered engines were?

hcastle@rcn.com

> I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Miles.
> Choose an engine ordered and operated by
> Conrail. The GP30 should be in PRR livery -
> preferably as delivered. Does anyone know
> what the first Conrail -ordered engines
> were?

Though I might concur with the idea of restoring a train-phone antenna, the fact is that Sanders (an officer in my NRHS Chapter) had the loco restored to completely accurate as-delivered PRR colors--which is to say, a HIDEOUS dip black with a couple TINY PRR keystones on the nose and sides! That loco NEVER carried "Pennsylvania" lettering. I remember enthusiasts at the West Shore RR grousing about the "cheap-a**, chintzy" repaint of the loco, and the staff had to keep photos of PRR GP30s around to prove that the railfans' memories were faulty!

I'm also positive that by 2002 the loco did need a full and professional repaint. That loco spent far more of its life as a Conrail loco than it did a PRR loco (ten or eleven years instead of five--remember also Penn Central for eight years!). Personally, I'm quite happy to see a fresh, semi-free paint job show up on any loco in a museum.

As for the debate as to what the first CR diesels ordered should be, well, I'm no expert, but I think CR ordered a few SD40-2's before going to SD50's, and a few GE Dash Sevens before the Dash Eights came out of Erie--but if they get a loco ordered by Penn Central, are you going to demand it be painted in "mating worms" black? Methinks a bit of Keystone prejudice is at work here, don't you think?


lner4472@bcpl.net