Another early 70s rainy day in the northeast, this time east of the Hudson River:



March 4, 1973 on the "pit track" at Essex, Valley Railroad 2-8-0 97 is under steam for the first time since arriving at the VRR. Last previous steaming had been October 1968 for some trips over the New Haven.

The guys are working on a head from one of the 9" air compressors. Until 1975 or so, the VRR was know at TRAIN Assoc. conventions as "the Railroad that runs out of a boxcar" (the shop at the time, until the first section of the Essex enginehouse was built.

#103 is under the tarp behind 97.

This is the "pit track" because the inspection pit was the old unloading pit for the coal silos in the background. That pit is still used today, slightly expanded in length. The silos were owned by C. P. Burdick, the coal and oil dealer in town. Torn down in the late 70s, much of the lumber was recycled into sheathing for one of RMNE's B&M outside braced boxcars.

97 entered service in early June, and 2-6-2 #103 was rarely used after that; train length had increased beyond 103's capacity.

Howard P.

Essex Jct, CT

Was their ever a time that the 103 and the 97 were used in tandem? When was #40 acquired?

It is an interesting form of nostalgia to see what our tourist railroads were like a mere few decades ago. Amazing how times have changed.

Nice photo Howard, there aren't too many if any photos on the net that show the old silos. In fact the only place I've seen them is in "the" painting and in some actual prints from those who were there. Not to mention the center mounted headlight and original tender. Also what is that tarped over behind 97? Thanks for adding it.

97 and 103 were used for a few (maybe only one?) Railfan Day events avout 1973 or 74. 103 was out of service by end of 1976.

A&R 40 was acquired in 1977. At the time, there was much discussion in Northeastern heritage railway circles (with Quadrant Press' New York office being the era's "interweb") about the competition for A&R 40. BR&W and VRR were the two hottest contenders, and VRR prevailed, at about $40,000. The locomotive was shipped on a flatcar and arrived at Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven CT, from North Carolina. It was unloaded at Cedar Hill and towed in local freight 30 miles east to Old Saybrook and the VRR connection. Two weeks after arriving, 40 was under steam at Essex.

Howard P.

Yikes these 1970's threads are making me feel old. I still remember going up there to see the "new" engine. And I still think of #40 as the "new" engine... 34 years later...


Rob

Yeah, that and the hair. What were we thinking?

Use it while you got it?

dave