A Sunday on the Strasburg, July 2017

Ed KapuscinskiPhotos, Videos , , , , ,

The Strasburg Rail Road is a national treasure, and every once in a while I must go there to “center myself”. Maybe it’s because I went a lot when I was a kid, but it’s always loomed large in my mind of what a railroad is and should be. I recently made a pilgrimage, and while my photographic and video output wasn’t as amazing as I’d have wanted, I like to think it’s worth checking out.

First, let’s start with the video.

If you don’t have time for that though, here are some photos.

A missed opportunity. I really wanted to capture the only place I know of where two steam powered trains meet. I, however, was just a second too slow on the shutter button.
Strasburg #90 pulling out of Groff’s Grove after its meet with #475’s half-hourly train.
A grab shot of 475 taken as I jumped out of my car on arrival at Leaman Place.
475 is a beautiful engine, no matter what some folks may say. 90 has been my favorite since I was a kid, but she’s a close second.
One of my friend Steve’s goals was to catch the meet of Amtrak and Strasburg. The timing was about a minute off (475 was backing back to its train here), and the Pennsylvanian caught me off guard.
Check out those Amish trespassers!

I love that Strasburg runs more trains per hour through this spot, on its single track mainline, with steam engines, than Amtrak does on its fancy electrified and concrete tied Harrisburg Line. Just a few minutes of solitude separated the departure of 475 and the arrival of 90.

90 pulling the hourly into Leaman Place. Even its tender has character.
90 “giving her the runaround”.
90 coming back to its train in East Strasburg after being watered.

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