Vacation Pix: Steamtown and Shenandooah Vally

[steamboateng]

First let me say that the Scranton (PA) Steamtown National Historic Site is an excellent take in. Managed by the National Park Service, the facilities are clean and well managed. Adult entry is $7 a head, a deal in todays economy! We had free acseess to all buildings except the backshops, which are acessible only as a guided tour by one the park guides, who are knowledgable and readily answer questions.
I will post pix over the next several days, as there is quite a bit view.
All pix were taken with an Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom 8.0 megapixal camera without flash or additional lenses. The finished photos were resized and touched up in PSP9.
Of course the star of the show is this guy..........

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This is a'Big Boy' and big it is. It's so big I can't get a profile photo of it into photobucket or image shack.
It sits there on the track all painted up pretty, but unfortunately, It won't steam no more.
As a gage to its size, heres a pix of the Chief Mate (5'-6") posing purty alongside.......

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Here are pix of drivers and valve gear along the port side (that's left to you landlubbers).

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Ditto along the starboard (right........) side.

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I also have pix of the drawbar and stoker arrangement and the tender bogie arrangement , which I will post if requested.
I'm stillprocessing pix, so more to come ...........boiler internals, backshop erection floor.....etc.
By the way, this is my first attempt at uploading pix directly to the Forums; suggestions for improvement are welcome.
Regards,
and keep on Trainzin'

 

[JCitron]

Those picts are awesome, Mike.

I'm glad you had a great trip. The last time I was up in Scranton, the park wasn't even setup yet. The mainline tracks were all weeded over and everything looked derelict.

John

 

[steamboateng]

Thanks John; it was a great vacation. Scranton was our last stop, which a condescending Chief Mate finally admitted was an interesting stop-over! I was last there about 16-17 years ago, when the young-un's were still young. Steamtown is much improved since then. The facilities are in great shape. The pix should show that.
First a full view of 'Big Boy':

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The Roundhouse and turntable are well maintained:

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This Illinois Central 4-8-0 was in great shape:

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Of course there were a few ragamuffins hanging about the place' like this CN oddball:

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Then there's this antique industrial loco:

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I would be remiss to ignore these beautifully restored Diesels; a set of Lackawanna F3's;

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And a pair of Reading F7's;

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Steamtown does offer a short excursion pulled by a restored steam engine. Here's a Canadian National 2-6-2 pushing the cars to the loading point:

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With a full head of steam and paying passengers, both engine and engineer are happy campers:

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I have backshop and erection pix which are really quite interesting, as two steam engines are in the process of being restored. I will upload them soon.


Till next time.......keep on Trainzin'...

 

[BobCass]

steamboateng: Nic Pics Thanks for sharing..

 

[pware]

I was in Scranton during May of last year specifically to visit Steamtown and the Electric City Trolley Museum. I was very impressed by the way the roundhouse at Steamtown has been turned into a museum and display area. The short trip along the mainline beside the museum pulled by CN 2-6-2 (3254) and the longer trip on the electric trolley car out to the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre baseball stadium along the former Laural Line were both very memorable. Add to that the ride on the mine cable car into the underground coal mine at McDade Park on the outskirts of town made the visit to Scanton one of the high points of my Canada-USA trip in 2011. Hope to return.

Peter Ware

 

[steamboateng]

Bob and Peter, thanks for your comments.
Peter, you were a long way from home. I trust your visit here met your expectations. Scranton does sit at the eastern edge of Pennsylvania coal country. The heart of the Pocono Mts., a popular recreational area, is only a short 45 min. drive away. We may return to that area next summer for some fishing,canoeing, hiking, etc.
A tour of the Steamtown backshops was of particular interest to me, as a proud New England railroading icon resides there........#3713, a Boston & Maine 4-6-2 Pacific passenger loco. #3713 has been undergoing restoration for many years; she is being rebuilt to steam again, the largest restoration project the facility has taken on. This is the same engine that graced the front of the Museum of Science, in Cambridge, for many years. She will be restored to her former glory, to once again pull passengers for Steamtown.
On to the backshop, where an 0-6-0 steam switcher is being rebuit.
Her Drivers get new tires:

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and a new fabricated ashpan for the firebox....

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The bioler has been completely rebuit.........

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and is being hydro tested for integrity.

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Patience finaly paid off and I caught a glimpse of #3713 at the far end of the ecection floor;

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She ain't too purty in this stage; her boiler and firebox.....

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will be rebuilt and retubed with these..........

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Although the loco is in pieces and spread about the shop, I did manage to locate her trailng truck, here....

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I don't know when she will be completely restored; that's several years away, I'm sure. Hopefully, I'll be around to see her steam again.

I have one last set of pix, showing a full size 0-6-0 boiler cut away with internals exposed. I'll upload them soon.

Keep on Trainzin'

 

[JCitron]

I'm glad they're restoring the old Pacific back to operating order. Personally I hate stuffed locomotives and would rather see them in operation!

I wonder if they'll put some nice Tuscan red American Flyer coaches behind her when they power her up.

John