Hello

Remembering the thread about the former Long Island, then Moscow, Camden & St. Augustine Combine, I flipped through my (increasingly vast) collection of vintage tourist railroad postcards and found one with a good shot of the car on the Reader Railroad.

Figured each week or so I could put up a different vinatge tourist card for the heck of it if people are interested. Since I'm using geocities and can't directly post a picture, you'll have to click the link to the 2004 section. The link to the postcard is near the bottom. (As soon as I can find the photographer's name again, I'll post it too.)

I'll post more now and then if the interest is there...

Dave Crosby

http://www.geocities.com/scrantontrains2004
bing@epix.net

> Hello Dave,

I too have a collection of tourist railroad cards. Sure you should keep them coming!
Did you ever see any cards of the 2 foot gauge Steam Village in Gullford, New Hampshire?

Ted Miles


ted_miles@nps.gov

Hello Ted

Yes, I remember you said you collected them as I do. I haven't seen any of the operation you mentioned. How about the Leatherstocking Line's 0-4-0t in NY State? I've been trying to pin that card down for a while...

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

Now I have to go through my cards... I don't collect anymore, but as a young lad in the '70's I blew all of mom's dimes on cards and never got rid of any of the tourist road cards...

Between them and the STEAM Directory, I planned many a vacation... even convinced mom to take a few of those trips!

trains@robertjohndavis.com

Hello Rob...

I wonder how many of us got the idea to drag our parents on some road trip based on a postcard or ad in the Steam directory... The early tourist roads were my first exposure to any kind of railroading. I can still remember, plain as day, my first train ride on the Shay at the Pine Creek RR.

If we can ever work out a Yeungling for postcards arrangement Rob, you let me know...

Said with a smile...

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

Rob and Dave,

My interest in steam, tourist lines and railway museums was certainly influenced by reading earlier editions of the Steam Passenger Service Directory. I recall my dad purchasing the 1979 edition for my birthday in the ex-BAR center-door combine (gift shop section) at the Black River & Western in Flemington. Boy, did I ever wear out that dogeared, tattered copy!! I remember being fascinated with the listing of the Otter Valley RR in Vermont for some strange reason--must have been the odd name! The photography in each edition was superb and I always enjoyed the locomotive and rolling stock summaries. I always wondered what the private photo collections of John J. Hilton, Mike Eagleson, Ron Ziel, Howard Pincus, John Briggs, John Helbok, Carl Price, et al., might have contained in terms of outstanding, older steam tourist line photos that never made it into print, since so much of their best work appeared in the Directory over the years (no doubt close associates of editor Steven Bogen). I'm sure many kids like me were drawn into railway preservation just perusing annual issues of the Steam Directory (as we used to call it). It was such a central part of the railway museum culture, and kept all of us "together" between two covers, year after year.

By the late 80s and early 90s the format began to change to accommodate new audiences (and publishers) and I recall it lost some of its old charm. Little did I know that in the summer of 1990 I would land a job as an editiorial assistant at the late, great--and much lamented--L&RP in Richmond, Vermont where I got to fulfill (at that time) a lifelong ambition to work on the Steam Passenger Service Directory!! Mark Smith and Mitch Giroux were great mentors, and it was in the offices of L&RP where I first earned a lifetime membership in BURP--the Brotherhood Union of Railroad Preservationists. The initiation ceremony consisted of getting drunk on eight Heinekens, which at age 17, was truly an unforgettable experience. ;-) But nothing could beat the afternoon daily CV merchandise freight which rambled past the Blue Seal Feeds building in Richmond (where L&RP called home for five years). Its daily passing kept us in good spirits.

I only met Bob Yarger once who popped in from time to time and did not know him too well. Dick Gruber was fond of him and often shared his colorful stories of working in CV enginehouse at St. Albans.

Since I was 8, I have collected all kinds of tourist railroad ephemera over the years--postcards, timetables, tickets, passes, postcards et al, and I probably have one of the largest collections of its kind anywhere. Someday I hope to incorporate all of this stuff into a book on the classic steam tourist railroads of the east--after I get my other four book projects done, of course. Marriage and kids may delay my plan of action a bit but it will eventually all get done. Stay tuned.

K.R. Bell
BURP member

> Hello Rob...

> I wonder how many of us got the idea to drag
> our parents on some road trip based on a
> postcard or ad in the Steam directory... The
> early tourist roads were my first exposure
> to any kind of railroading. I can still
> remember, plain as day, my first train ride
> on the Shay at the Pine Creek RR.

> If we can ever work out a Yeungling for
> postcards arrangement Rob, you let me
> know...

> Said with a smile...

> Dave Crosby

Hello Kurt

When's the last time you made it out to EBT? When I visited last July they had an exhibit in the Orbisonia Station of, all things, vintage EBT souveniers. I remember my friends having to peal me away from the case to watch the 2-8-2 steam by...

DBC

bing@epix.net

Dave,

Yes I have a couple of cards from that one. The engine is listed in Conrad as a HK Porter industrial tank engine.

Do you have the books? I think he says it was active about 1965 and the engine is now in storage. Let me know if you need more?

Ted Miles

ted_miles@nps.gov

Those were great times when there were small steam operations all over the map!

Pennsylvania had a bunch of them, many more than Strasburg and EBT.

ted_miles@nps.gov

Kurt,

Here is one you may not have run across. I have a flyer and a post card from the Steam Village in guilford, NH. It was a 60cm (two foot) line with a Geerman Hrnchel engine and a couple of open cars. I believe it only ran for a couple of years.

Atwo foot line that was not part of Edaville!

Ted Niles

ted_miles@nps.gov

Hi Dave,

My Mac blew up again (literarally, this time the monitor went poof) and ate my e-mails. I've tried an alternate method to return your e-mail... did it work?

Rob

trains@robertjohndavis.com

> Rob and Dave,

> My interest in steam, tourist lines and
> railway museums was certainly influenced by
> reading earlier editions of the Steam
> Passenger Service Directory. I recall my dad
> purchasing the 1979 edition for my birthday
> in the ex-BAR center-door combine (gift shop
> section) at the Black River & Western in
> Flemington. Boy, did I ever wear out that
> dogeared, tattered copy!! I remember being
> fascinated with the listing of the Otter
> Valley RR in Vermont for some strange
> reason--must have been the odd name! The
> photography in each edition was superb and I
> always enjoyed the locomotive and rolling
> stock summaries. I always wondered what the
> private photo collections of John J. Hilton,
> Mike Eagleson, Ron Ziel, Howard Pincus, John
> Briggs, John Helbok, Carl Price, et al.,
> might have contained in terms of
> outstanding, older steam tourist line photos
> that never made it into print, since so much
> of their best work appeared in the Directory
> over the years (no doubt close associates of
> editor Steven Bogen). I'm sure many kids
> like me were drawn into railway preservation
> just perusing annual issues of the Steam
> Directory (as we used to call it). It was
> such a central part of the railway museum
> culture, and kept all of us
> "together" between two covers,
> year after year.

> By the late 80s and early 90s the format
> began to change to accommodate new audiences
> (and publishers) and I recall it lost some
> of its old charm. Little did I know that in
> the summer of 1990 I would land a job as an
> editiorial assistant at the late, great--and
> much lamented--L&RP in Richmond, Vermont
> where I got to fulfill (at that time) a
> lifelong ambition to work on the Steam
> Passenger Service Directory!! Mark Smith and
> Mitch Giroux were great mentors, and it was
> in the offices of L&RP where I first
> earned a lifetime membership in BURP--the
> Brotherhood Union of Railroad
> Preservationists. The initiation ceremony
> consisted of getting drunk on eight
> Heinekens, which at age 17, was truly an
> unforgettable experience. ;-) But nothing
> could beat the afternoon daily CV
> merchandise freight which rambled past the
> Blue Seal Feeds building in Richmond (where
> L&RP called home for five years). Its
> daily passing kept us in good spirits.

> I only met Bob Yarger once who popped in
> from time to time and did not know him too
> well. Dick Gruber was fond of him and often
> shared his colorful stories of working in CV
> enginehouse at St. Albans.

> Since I was 8, I have collected all kinds of
> tourist railroad ephemera over the
> years--postcards, timetables, tickets,
> passes, postcards et al, and I probably have
> one of the largest collections of its kind
> anywhere. Someday I hope to incorporate all
> of this stuff into a book on the classic
> steam tourist railroads of the east--after I
> get my other four book projects done, of
> course. Marriage and kids may delay my plan
> of action a bit but it will eventually all
> get done. Stay tuned.

> K.R. Bell
> BURP member
K.R., Speaking of the late and lamented L&RP, Do you know how Mark Smith is doing these days? I lost track of Mark after the magazine closed, but Mark and I spoke frequently in the early 90's, and I am proud to consider him a friend and mentor.

GGRAYRKE@MSN.COM

and it was
> in the offices of L&RP where I first
> earned a lifetime membership in BURP--the
> Brotherhood Union of Railroad
> Preservationists. The initiation ceremony
> consisted of getting drunk on eight
> Heinekens, which at age 17, was truly an
> unforgettable experience. ;-)

Similar initiations have been held at various establishments in Old Sacramento during each of the past Railfairs. Nice to know that our fraternity has the same traditions on both coasts!

The LIRR equipment sure gets around. A few of the old LIRR commuter coaches used behind the Geeps as late as 1998 are now operating on the Sierra Railroad all the way in Northern California! At least one of the cars has been converted for use on the "Golden Sunset" dinner train. I saw an untouched, dirty LIRR coach running behind a Sierra 28/Quincy #2 doubleheader at the Iron Horse Roundup too. As someone quoted "That's not at the Sierra, that's a Long Island Railroad commuter train circa 1996 at Oyster Bay!", commenting on how ancient the movie power was to us living on the un-electrified branches of the Long Island Railroad. It made the folks down west jealous when we got the shiny new double decker coaches and blue, yellow, and silver engines. Now they are getting their new electrics which are really neat. I had the pleasure of riding one when I had to detour on a Port Jefferson branch train last year. A recent trip on the Metro-North found several of the new M7s painted in blue zebra stripe at Harmon for use on the Metro-North line.

-Ed Kelley

GTNGRR@aol.com

> Yes I have a couple of cards from that one.
> The engine is listed in Conrad as a HK
> Porter industrial tank engine. I think he says
> it was active about 1965 and the engine is now
> in storage.

The 36" ga Porter 0-4-0T with added tender (ex-Raritan River Sand & Gravel 3) that was at the Leatherstocking Line at the Busch Woodlands Museum in Cooperstown, NY is now at the Agrirama Museum at Tifton, GA. It's no longer a saddletanker. See the below link for photos and a well-detailed history of this engine.

Speaking of tourist line postcards, I too have a rather large collection. I started collecting them in the 1960's when the various tourist lines/ railroad museums / fantrip operators first began opening up (it sure didn't take them long to get postcards made after they first opened for business!). I stopped collecting the cards about 1990 after amassing 1204 examples that currently fill 2 shoeboxes! The early tourist railroads must have had scores of these cards made. Even in the late 1980's you could easly find "new" "mint" cards from defunct railroads of the mid 1960's. Even today they seem to turn up quite regularly on dealer tables at model train / railroadiana shows. Check out these shows in case any of you folks want to build (or add to) a collection. Also, these shows are a good place to find early editions of the Steam Directory as well. Yes, I've had to replace (and located thanks to these shows) the first few "Directories" that had become "dog-eared" from too much reading in my younger days--Kurt you're not alone!!

Regards,
Jim Robinson


ex-Leatherstocking Line Porter