An associate who dropped in on me to pick my brain for leads on parts for various and sundry projects reports to me that there is a group now based at the Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline railroad between the namesake towns in northeastern Pa. (a spur off the former Lehigh Valley main). This group, purportedly operating under the name Susquehanna Rail, plans an excursion operation on the TMSL. Now, the TMSL has at least until recently been operating with an EMC (not EMD!) SW1 (Feb. 1939, c/n 909) repainted into Lehigh Valley red and black. Supposedly the group now has some rolling stock from the Tioga Central operation, and apparently some refugees (people or rolling stock) from Jim Thorpe as well.

Has anybody up that way seen or heard anything more definitive about this operation of late? My associate said firsthand that someone connected with the operation was shopping for motive power, and was reportedly looking at a "Dewitt Geep" EMD-re-engined Alco RS3 that Amtrak supposedly used as a switcher, supposedly now numbered #106. Unfortunately for my associate, the website listed on the business card for "Susquehanna Rail" proved to be little more than a "space-holder" website set up by a "URL poacher" hoping to resell the URL and filling the space with ads in the meantime.

While I hadn't heard anything about this, I had thought for a long time what a beautiful section of railroad that is. This would be either a perfect fit or a tough sell, since there are other short line excursions and museums nearby (Tioga Central in Wellsboro, PA), (Tioga Scenic in Owego, NY) (Steamtown in Scranton) without Towanda being "close" to any of them. There is a very low population in that portion of NY and PA. Perhaps when the NY Southern Tier Expressway becomes the Interstate it is planned to be, it will be more accessible, but still a haul from any place.

I wish them the best, and hope to ride, but I don't see this becoming a smashing success, or very well known.

I know that the TMSL owns an ex-Erie ACF Berwick built baggage car. What is track condition like? Perhaps they are looking for a second locomotive to do a "pull-pull" operation.

The TMSL has always been an interesting little freight operation but it is really remote! It is easily 45 minutes to 1 hour off any major highway.

STB Finance Dockets 34806 and 34807:

Susquehanna Union Railroad Corporation will obtain all outstanding shares of:

--Juniata Valley Railroad Co.
--Lycoming Vally Railroad Co.
--Nittany & Bald Eagle RR Co.
--North Shore RR Co.
--Wellsboro & Corning RR Co.
--Union County Industrial RR Co.
--Shamokin Valley RR Co.

Susquehanna Union Railroad Corp. will be a non-operating holding company -- something akin to Delaware Otsego vis-a-vis NYSW and CNYK.

(Originally was going to be referred to as Susquehanna Valley Railroad, but a conflict required minor modification of the corporate name - the second Docket describes that).

That Susquehanna Union/Susquehanna Valley RR operation *should* be a completely separate function from any Towanda operation. It's basically a corporate reorganization of what central Pennsylvanian railfans had colloquially referred to as the "Robey empire" started by Dick Robey back in 1984 with the North Shore RR and Nittany & Bald Eagle. Robey himself is at or close to retirement age, and I believe the SURR setup is designed to facilitate the transition from a one-man empire (which, in effect, it has been all along) to a more corporate management.

Not to be excluded in this discussion, however, is that Robey and several of his underlings are/were/have been card-carrying railfans and preservationists, with a long track record going back as far as perhaps 759, and definitely major involvement in the PRR 1361 project. The "railroad" has its own handsomely-kept business-car/coach fleet, most of it a by-product of the old West Shore RR excursion operation out of Lewisburg, and has been hosting train rides during several town festivals (Danville, Sunbury, etc.) this summer. In addition, the operators have had direct involvement with Tioga Central, Bellefonte Historical RR, and the Lackawaxen line.

So--different bunch, most likely. But who knows for sure?

Yes the North Shore does indeed have a nice passenger fleet. Made this photo about two weeks ago.

Ed K. cp Laurel Run
http://dieselairhorns.com/bythetracks/a ... 282%29.jpg

Ed, try posting a full-sized photo. That has to be the smallest thumbnail I've seen in a while!