Sheesh guys, doesn't someone else have photos of the Central? I'm beginning to feel like the Lone Stranger here.
Roger, the ones you have posted have been wonderful. The only ones I have of steam are ones I purchased from Harold K. Vollrath, and unfortunately I took very few when I was young and (unknowingly) witnessing the last of steam on the Mohawk Division. They were lost when I went to college and mom gave away my darkroom stuff. The others that I have posted were from dad's photos, and I think I posted all of them. Aha, you triggered a memory. I was writing an article about the rerouting of the tracks in Little Falls, and some people sent me photos. Let me go find some. :tb-biggrin:
Sadly, I had a camera, but didn't use it. Looking back, what really ticks me off is that my mother and I took numerous trips (~15 miles) over to Harmon and parked on the bluff overlooking the engine terminal for hours just watching engines being changed on all the passenger trains in and out of GCT. :tb-hissyfit:
Roger, please understand that we are very grateful for your postings. The data base you are accessing is phenomenal. I wish there some way to acquire and digitize my memory's images from Harmon, GCT, and the length of the Harlem Division from GCT to Chatham, NY. Then there was my exciting ride in 1951 on the B&A from Chatham to North Adams, MA on lousy trackage north of Pittsfield. I was standing next to the engineer so I knew we were doing 80 for at least 10 miles, rocking and rolling, but it was absolutely straight, thank the Lord!
Here are two that were sent to me by Matthew Rapacz, who was working for the Little Falls Evening Times, answering my request for any photos that showed the old and new routing of the infamous "Gulf Curve" done by the Central in 1947. The one above clearly shows the old sharp curve to the right, and the new shallow one on the left. The one below shows a passenger train entering Little Falls before the rerouting, headed westbound. Looks like a Hudson on the point. The spur with trestle, which I walked many times as a kid, is the Dolgeville branch. House visible just above the trestle was destroyed in a highway accident a few years later. Tanker truck carrying gasoline missed the curve there on SR 5 into Little Falls, rolled over, burst into flames and destroyed that house. Thanks for triggering my memory, Roger.
Jim, nice photos, and interesting descriptions. IIRC, I went through Little Falls November '45, May '46, September '46, and May '47, probably at night on all trips. I would have awakened and waved had I known you were watching, or at least been aware of my train's passing, sorry for my rudeness. :tb-embarrassed:
It was an engineering and construction marvel, that won some prestigious award for the railroad. Not only the railroadbed had to be rerouted, but so did the natural route of the Mohawk River. Not an easy task in the area where very hard Gneiss rock formations dictated that River bed. Lots of dynamiting and excavating, involving Coffer dams in the river bed, huge Euclid earth movers carrying the rock and dirt, quite exciting to watch for a young kid (me) at the time. If you are interested, I have some snapshots of some of the construction. :tb-sad:
OK, try again after an errant click destroyed a long message with photos. Grrrrr. All of these construction photos were sent to me by Robert McEvoy of Little Falls in response to an ad I posted looking for just this sort of thing. Unfortunately Bob has since passed away. I really appreciate his photos and dedicate this post to his memory. This one shows a Lima "steam" shovel loading blasted rock into a Euclid earth mover. This one shows some of the coffer dams required to drain parts of the river, and install base structure for new bridges. Note the New York Central freight passing on the old roadbed in the background.
I'll post these two at a time so as not to lose them. More earth moving with the new tracks in the foreground. Niagara-Hudson sign in the background. Dymamite blasts freeing up more rock.
More. At first I thought this was the new track, but now I think it's the old routing. Construction continuing. This one taken 51 years later by my high school buddy Andy Reals. Two of the old mains are gone in 1998, CSX and NS are running on the NYCS tracks, the old roadbed is completely overgrown and invisible. Sad.
Interesting seeing that old smoke stack still standing. Helps a lot in orienting the two views. I sure like seeing those old front scoop bucket and clamshell shovels. Reminders of when I was a boy. Boxcab E50
