Roger has been shooting Conrail action since the beginning in his home area of Ohio. These superb photos come from Roger's extensive collection.Â
Renumbering of Conrail's heritage fleet took a while, but it was still neat to catch "pure" and "renumbered" units together. Erie Lackawanna C424 2407 is still in it's EL number while CR 2484- ex EL 2410- is close by. Most if not all of the ex EL C424's were renumbered at the Brier Hill shops in Youngstown,Ohio due to their assignment at that former Erie facility. These two are shown at the ex EL E. 55th St facility in Cleveland that is located on the Youngstown to Cleveland line.
Cold and snow during February of 1978 made things pretty tough for Conrail in Northern Ohio. Two trains sit outlawed at South St TBS in Akron, a Cinci to Meadville freight with ex EL C424 #2484 leading, and the west local with ex PC GP-9 #7356.
Conrail and the Chessie System split a USS coke contract, 6 months each in the mid 70's. Former PC U25B 2532, U33C 6565, and SD45 6083 have USG-61 southbound on the former PRR in Akron, Ohio.
Former NYC and PRR units team up on the former Erie in Kent, Ohio in Nov 1977 waiting on a rested crew to continue east.
A trio of former PC units cross the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, Pa on the former Reading.
Still sporting it's EL nose diamond, this former Erie Lackawanna U25B (ex EL 2502) has probably turned it's last revenue mile for Conrail as it sits dead at Collinwood on this early April 1979 day. It's a "classic" U25B with the large one piece window.
How to store an engine, Conrail style. With lots of newer power delivered and business still down, Conrail started storing older GE units around the system. At Collinwood the hood doors and windows were banded to keep the shop boys from robbing parts, and each was assigned a deadline number, "42" in the case of this ex New Haven unit- see it spray painted below the cab windows. It would never run again. This was a good view to show the lack of dynamic brake grids on the ex NYNH&H U boats.
Two deadline residents at Collinwood in 1983, a former New Haven U25B and a former Penn Central U33B bought new by the PC in 1968.
A late day photo of a westbound on the ex PRR Ft Wayne Line hitting the Big 4 diamond in Crestline, Ohio. In this April 1979 shot the old passenger depot was still standing, and was that a CR blue phone booth? Today, phone booths are about as rare as U23B's!
A set of 3 Lehigh Valley U23B's work the former PRR/PC South Akron yard with OM-8. This was the first non-PC or EL power to show up on the new ConRail in Akron- only 3 days into April 1976. LV 502 would become CR 2778.
Three Lehigh Valley U23B's would be the first non PC/EL power I would see after the ConRail merger. They had come up from Columbus on OM-8 on April 3rd, and I just had to get them in front of an Akron icon, the Firestone Tire and Rubber factory. Solid sets of heritage power like this would soon be a thing of the past.
A Lehigh Valley U23B leads 2 Penn Central units east on the former EL as a local with PC F7A 1790 tip toes down the 103 track beside it in this May 1976 view at Akron,Ohio. Grubby day, but I figured this shot was worth it.
Just a grab shot from the famous Sayre,Pa footbridge of a packed ex Lehigh Valley engine facility. Those LV Uboats are surrounded by a variety of Penn Central diesels and a lone EL SDP45. It's September 1976 and Conrail is still using the LV main through here, but all to soon scenes like this of a full Sayre engine house would be history.
U-boats from the Lehigh Valley and Penn Central work the former Erie Lackawanna yard in Akron, Ohio in October 1976.
Conrail power was no stranger to P&LE's Gateway yard in Struthers, Ohio, a holdover from the days of NYC control of the P&LE. Power off the New England Bow coal trains could often be seen here, including this example of Conrail U30B 2830, Boston and Maine GP-18 1750, B&M GP-9 1719, and a Conrail U23B. Little remains of the P&LE today.
Conrail leased many units from Precision National Corp in those first couple of years to help it through the power crunch. Here in Akron, Ohio a pair of CR U30B's have a pair of PNC geeps between them as they back up to their train on the former EL. In order : 2831, 545, 562, 2881.
I get a wave from the head end man as TV-11A passes through the Canton, Ohio Amtrak station. Note the Amtrak sign off to the left. Amtrak no longer serves Canton.
Former PC and Reading power pass a former CNJ tower. That's my guide for the trip trying out a low angle for his shot.
A westbound freight on the Cleveland Line waits for Amtrak to finish up and get out of the Cleveland station over on the Chicago Line. Normally a middle of the night train in these parts, today's Lake Shore Ltd has been delayed due to weather. The old Muni stadium has since been torn down and replaced with a modern structure and the once mighty NYC line is now just one track. Both the ex PRR the Conrail train is on and the ex NYC came together right behind me at Bridge 1.
A pair of PC GP-40's are eastbound on the former Erie Lackawanna in Akron ,Ohio March 1977. The high/wide loads head out were an Erie trademark that continued into Conrail until this line was abandoned in the early 80's.
Here's one example of a diesel making more smoke than a steamer. A westbound blasts out of Kent, Ohio in May of 1977 on the former Erie. It's passing former Reading 2102 in town for some weekend trips.
A variety of color can be seen in this 1978 view of a w/b on the former EL in Akron,Ohio as it passes a local with a fresh dip GP-9. I sure wish that ex LV unit had been leading.....
Conrail train TV-22 passes RAVE tower in Ravenna, Ohio in March of 1983. GP-40 3232, the "Con ail" unit, is leading. The tower and PRR style signals are gone now, but this is still a busy crossover location on the Cleveland Line, and it is as far east as the Dearborn Div goes- it's the Pittsburgh Div from here east.
A nice treat this day was a former RDG GP40-2 leader on this e/b at Brady Lake, Ohio in August of 1978. This is the only higher up view I have of one of these, but traces of the roof number are visible under the loupe.
Conrail train TV-98 has a colorful leader in the form of ex Reading GP-40-2 3279. It was number 3675 on the RDG, it's Norfolk Southern 3002 today. This was the only "hot" train left running on the former EL east of Akron.
The circus train passes through Akron,Ohio in October 1980. The train is on the former Penn Central Hudson to Orrville "CA&C" line at MP 15. CR GP40-2 3322 would become CSX 4419.
Westbound on the former EL in Akron passing the e/b 613-2 searchlight signal.
What's that you say...Conrail 3611?? It seems the Ann Arbor's 10 GP35's were assigned CR numbers, but late in the game the State of Michigan took the Annie to keep it out of Conrail's hands- and probably saved it from an early demise. Those Alco trucked EMD's did see time running on Conrail though as witnessed by AA 386- it would have been CR 3611- getting some work done to it at the Collinwood shops in Cleveland. Pairs of Annie 35's would also run from the sand pits located on the Ann Arbor railroad on the "sand man" to the Ford Brookpark engine casting plant near Rockport yard in Cleveland. A former Penn Central SW-9 keeps this "almost Conrail" unit company this August 1976 day. Today's AA still rosters 3 ex Conrail GP38's in it's "fleet", the 386 was scrapped several years ago.
A Conrail w/b rounds the big curve west of CP Wood as 1976 draws to a close. The Reading Lines and Penn Central units are still "pure", but that ex EL SD45-2 already has it's new CR number of 6664. In a few short miles this train will be in Ohio in this December 1976 scene at Homewood, Pa.
A short eastbound train gets a look over from the op at RU tower in Sterling,Ohio in August 1977. The train is on the former Erie Lackawanna, the tower is ex EL, and that's the Chessie (future CSX) over to the right. All that remains today is the CSX main as the tower and the EL are long gone from here.
