I tagged along with Ron Ziel for this trip. I was new to chasing trips and Ron was an old hand. I remember it was bitter cold weather, but that brought out the best in escaping steam on the two locomotives. It always struck me that these two locomotives were poorly paired for the fan trip, but perhaps Ross will add his commentary about that.





Plainfield, New Jersey. This shot almost cost me my 16 year old life. To get the sun correctly, we crossed the four track mainline. As soon as the 127 came rocketing through, we began to run across the tracks, never considering the reality of a CNJ commuter train was right behind the steamer, and trying to keep up with her. I looked up just in time to avoid stepping in front of the Diesel. I resolved from then on, no picture was worth that fate.



Nelson Blount's shop had just rebuilt 1278 into the 127, complete with an Elesco water heater. I'm told she was his favorite locomotive. Ross speaks highly of her.




Seeing her like this she was, I do hope it might raise the incentive to bring the locomotive back, now she's in Jerry Jacobson's possession. Nelson Blount would like that, I'm certain.


At Jim Thorpe, I spent most of my time absorbing the Decapod. Note, she still had the extended smokebox,which I always liked the look of.








A taste of the golden age of steam revival.

Hi Richard

All I can say , Great shots , Pat,

How well did 90 perform on a trip like this? Was/is she a viable "mainline" steam operation candidate? Or was this a one-time thing, not likely to (ever) be repeated again? I'm asking from a performance standpoint, not an insurance/liability/etc etc the usual arguments here...

What great memories and wonderful pictures. We ran those Jersey City-Wilkes Barre,Pa. winter trips on two successive February weekends in 1968 and learned a lot from the experience. Lessons learned:

1. Don't run winter steam trips if you can avoid it. The weather on the first weekend was brutal cold especially up on the mountain west of Jim Thorpe with a wind chill IIRC of minus 15. Thanks to good old steam heat we kept the 16 cars cozy but it sure took a lot of coal and water.

2. If at all possible limit your distance to 200 miles roundtrip.

3. Repeat # 1.

The reason we ended up with # 90 was at the last minute George Hart who was supposed to lease us the use of his 2 G-5's lent them to provide emergency steam heat for a hospital and we had to scramble for substitute power.

The 127 was capable of handling the 15 car train as far as Jim Thorpe but couldn't get her over the mountain grade between Jim Thorpe and Wilkes Barre alone and to keep our word to the ticket holders ( we had advertised double headed steam and the trains were sold out by then) I reached out to the late Huber Leath then the CEO at Strasburg and asked for his help.

He was initially reluctant to go out on the mainline with her but after some convincing agreed to the deal.

The first weekend we had a piece break off the tender of one of the locos ( I think # 90?) which caused a slight derailment as we were climbing the grade out of Wilkes Barre, but thanks to alert train handling with minimum damage.

Here we were with a trainload of people ( about 900 pssgrs.) , running 3 hours late, sub zero cold and derailed on the single track main, in the Pa. woods with no roads other than the rr maintenance road in sight. We walked about 2 miles to the nearest farmhouse, no cell phones then, used their phone to call Martz bus company and they sent 20 buses to take our passengers back to NJ while we re-railed the tender. Everyone got home safe albeit very late. We had enough coal/water on the 127 to keep the steam heat cranked up till the buses arrived so everyone was safe. One of those Murphy's law days in spades.

The following weekend went letter perfect, the exact opposite of the first.

#90 did a superb job and was comfortable running at the track speeds allowed on the mountain ( IIRC 45mph max.?) and for that territory made a perfect helper engine for the 127.

Lots of fun!!

Ross Rowland

Ross, you used 127(8) on a bunch of your trips, including the first one out of Jersey City. I still have that flyer. It was the first fan trip I ever rode.
Talk a bit more about that locomotive, her performance, her quirks, why you chose her.

I'm afraid if I talk too much it will hurt sales of my upcoming book, "My Life With Steam"??

I can't seem to finish the toid chapter as I'm having so much fun writing it and I'm afraid that chapter is getting unduly lengthy? The stories on Willie Lump-Lump, the Mole, the Batman, TGB4th.,and a whole cast of other characters is hillarious.

At any rate the true facts are that Nelson Blount agreed to lease us the 127 in 1966 for one main reason. He had never had the pleasure of running one of his engines on a mainline and when I promised him that he'd have lots of throttle time on the CRRofNJ mainline he was hooked.

After the first mainline HICO trip in 1966 he met me on the platform in Jersey City upon our return and told me " that was the best railroad day of my life". To say that he thoroughly enjoyed running his engine at track speed would be a gross under statement.

The 127 was a fine runner, a great steamer, and rode beautifully and for a relatively little engine could she pull!!! She handled our 13-17 car long trains beautifully and never gave us any major headaches. All the crewmen loved her. The G-5's are perfect excursion engines and except in heavy grade or long distance service the ideal engine.

I too hope JJJ will get around to fixing the damage the jerks at Gettysburg did to her. We'll see.

Ross Rowland

Please tell me how to buy a personally autographed copy.

Shot 13 (front end, Engr. side #90) looks like Andy Barbera with the white cap. Howard P.? J. David? help me on this one.

That's NOT Andy B. The gent with the glasses is Strasburg's Huber Leath.

I think #90 had just been placed into service by SRC and these trips were some her first Eastern operations; it arrived in Lancaster County in 1967, if my recollection is correct. Kelly, Linn, help me out here!

Howard P.

I recognized Mr. Leath but wondered about the other fellow. Wasn't quite sure when Andy B. became involved.

I think Andy B. became involved around the time that 759 first operated on the E-L (the October 1969 Scranton trip). He was around HICO quite a bit after that, and came to Steamtown in Aug 1971 when 759 was returned there.

Howard P.

IIRC the gent standing next to Huber Leath was the local CRRofPa. Trainmaster who turned out to be a steam lover.??

I think Howard P. is correct that Andy Barbera got involved with us when we ran the first HICO excursion on the EL ( 1969-70?) and stayed active with us until we returned the 759 (live) to Steamtown ( 1971?). Andy was a retired DL&W locomotive engineer and an unabashed steam lover, good train handler and a high class gentleman.

After Nelson Blounts untimely death when the private plan he was flying ran out of fuel ( 1968?) Steamtown floundered without his leadership and in the early 70's hired Andy's son Bob to be its Exec. Director. It turned out to be a VERY bad decision and the reason I elected to return the 759 to Vermont and not use her on the American Freedom Train as Nelson and I had planned to do.

Bob Barbera came from the insurance industry and knew nothing about railroading and even less about steam. His tiff with the D&H was the reason they pulled the 759 out of their heated roundhouse in the winter of (1977?) without winterizing her with the resultant freeze damage. Just before the D&H did that, a friend of mine fairly high up in the D&H management structure called me and asked if I could help him in his attempts to deal with Bob Barbera. I told him of my bad experiences and that Barbera's wacky ideas were why we had returned the 759 to Vermont, and I had no clue as to how to reason with him. A few days later out came the engine into the sub zero weather full of water.

The straw that broke my camels back was he insisted in 1971 that for all future HICO excursions starting with the '72 season we install large canvas flaps on both sides of the locomotive to hide the running gear from view so that the chasers couldn't get good photos " for free". We were to remove them for photo run-bys and only for run-bys. I'm serious!! That convinced me that this guy was a total wacko and the further we got from him the better. Even his son Andy couldn't reason with him.

Darn shame as he certainly didn't do the Steamtown collection any favors. IIRC he did attempt to actually implement his canvas flaps on a local steam trip in Vermont somewhere?? Anyhow, he lasted a few years thereafter until the Steamtown BOD ( from which I resigned when we sent the 759 back to them) finally had enough of his nonsense and fired him ( 1978-79?).

Shortly prior to Nelson's death we commenced discussions with senior management at the the CRRofNJ pertaining to redoing part of the beautiful Jersey Central's terminal building in Jersey City into a world class steam museum to house Nelson's collection. Nelson was very impressed with the huge crowds he witnessed drawn trackside by the early HICO excursions and saw that long term, the collection could draw much greater support in the huge tourist market there vs. remote Vermont. IMHO there was a strong chance that it would have happened had he not been killed in the accident which left the collection under the control of a BOD made up primarily of folks who preffered rural to metrpolitan. Darn shame as I think it would have prospered there?? Wasn't meant to be.

I called Bob Barbera after he issued his canvas flap edict and said we couldn't/wouldn't live with that and that I was returning 759 to him and canceling the lease ( truth is it was in our care/custody/control based on a 1968 handshake agreement Nelson and I made) and he said " you can't do that". I said, oh yea, that's what you think and while I was talking with him he heard the whistle blowing down the track from his Steamtown office....it was the 759 arriving live, having deadheaded over night from NJ to Vermont.

My crew called me as they were getting ready to leave Bellows Falls for the last 3 miles into Steamtown so I knew when to call him so as to time my call with her arrival!!

In the interest of keeping it G rated I will not tell you where I suggested he insert the live locomotive, a suggestion which also served very effectively to end the call.

More in the PG-13 rated book.

Ross Rowland

I second and third RER's last post.

Howard P.

I do wish there was a climate for putting 759 back to "rights" and getting her out on the mainline once again. When Trains published a photo of her in her Steamtown display paint, smudged, but steaming, and not yet refinished, you could almost hear a collective "Ohhh!" around the nation. Here was a gem from the steam era, a real prize, brought back. It was a miracle that really began the "golden era" of locomotive re-birth.

Perhaps another entrepreneur will find a way to lease her again, restore what is required, and run her once more. A meeting of 765, 1225, 763, and 759, couldn't be a bad thing. A very long shot, but not as bad as your Power Ball odds!

Ross said, "I'm afraid if I talk too much it will hurt sales of my upcoming book, "My Life With Steam"??"


You MUST post the release date and publisher for you book. I would think that will be some "riveting" reading(sorry for the pun). I know I'd buy a copy.