Anyone have a date for when this company began operationing this segment of ex-B&O/BR&P? All that I can recall, is circa the mid-1980's? Boxcab E50
As they say, I was there, though I'm a bit fuzzy on dates without my notes handy. TRAINS ran a nice article on the railroad about a year ago if you check the online indexes. I think John Murray might have written it...? It went in two stages. The Ashford Jct. to Rochester was formed and operated first as the Rochester & Southern. It must have been two years later that CSX sold the Kittanning - Buffalo portion as the B&P. For a while you could catch CSX and R&S in Salamanca, at the same time that the Sea-Land trains were coming through with Susquehanna F45's on the point! R&S had rights into Salamanca and left the power there. B&P then acquired the Allegheny Railroad from Renovo to Erie with the prime interchange at Johnsonburg - about 1994 - and called it the Allegheny & Eastern. The A&E has now been fully folded into the B&P. St. Mary's has now been abandoned; the Johnsonburg - Erie line has just been retied and surfaced again and is still a relatively well-used line though it is no longer the full "Philadelphia & Erie". I'll take a guess it was 1985.....because my oldest son wasn't born yet, as I remember. B&P power here in Warren varies from the just painted orange to the nearly scrapped in condition; the prime thing is that nothing ever matches.
Seems like there's more to it than I had ever heard. Guess I had it wrong, as I was thinking this was an all in one startup situation. The name Rochester & Southern sounds familiar. Are these companies affiliated with the Genesee & Wyoming? If you come across a date for the B&P, I'd be interested in getting it for my notes. Boxcab E50
Here's a resource: http://24.169.115.143/rochesterrailf/rsr.htm "GWI purchased the Rochester - Silver Springs line from CSX in 1985 and the RSR started service on July 21, 1986." (B&P) "The former CSX line was partly leased and partly purchased on July 19, 1988." All the GWI family diesels get the "Something & Something" orange paint scheme: http://www.morscher.com/rr/1993/19930424_06.jpg The only exception seems to be the Allegheny & Easterne; no units ever painted, and the reporting marks were retired this year (ALY, A&E) Dates do sound right to me.
Come to think of it, I don't believe the B&P ever operated using train orders. Just track warrants. Certainly confirming that 1988 date. Which was right in the period when the big switch to TWs was on. I'll go check those web sites. Thanks!!! Boxcab E50 [ 23. July 2004, 04:31: Message edited by: BoxcabE50 ]
I was living up there when they had that last horrific head-on collision on CSX just south of Buffalo that killed the crews. The railroad was 'dark' above Ashford Jct., if I remember right, but running on train orders. They put a memorial stone at Salamanca near the BRP depot. The coolest shot I ever got on the line was the ex-BN F45's hauling a Sea-Land container train just north of Salamanca. I about drove into a tree when I saw that coming. It was a dark day, but it was still a great luck shot. Saw Springfield Terminal ex-ATSF SD26's at Salamanca on the same day headed east, still in blue and yellow. They were parked right next to the freshly-painted R&S units!
I've been searching my memory for recollection of news on the wreck you described. But all that comes into mind right now, is that runaway diesel. What were the details? Boxcab E50
I was accurate in remembering that it was investigated by the NTSB. If you search NTSB.gov for some key words, the link for the accident report is present. Here's the summary description paragraph: Head-on Collision of CSX Transportation Freight Trains Extra 4443 North and Extra 4309 South in East Concord, New York on February 6, 1987 Here's the spot: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&address=&city=East+Concord&state=NY Cause : Railroad operator faxed the train orders to the wrong station. Railroad management failed to issue and enforce procedures for traincrews to verify the accuracy of train orders before acting on them.
