Conrail Days in Black

Big power comes to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's yard in Strasburg, Pennsylvania on the occasion of Conrail Days May 29th to 31st, 2009. Norfolk Southern 7211 is a 5,000 horsepower EMD SD80MAC which had been assembled at Conrail's Juniata engine shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania; one of 17 assembled there. This type represents the peak of power in Conrail days. They are also the biggest power in the current NS roster. I have not photographed a blue SD80MAC but you can find many examples on the web at places like The Conrail Historical Society.

Conrail Days in Blue

I'm proud to be a "Big Blue" fan. They were the people who saved freight railroading in the part of the USA where I live. My arrival in Pennsylvania from the West preceded Conrail by about three years. I was cheered by the new blue paint appearing on engines scarred by Penn Central's awful black scheme. Not that the color black is awful, Norfolk Southern does it very well, but the PC paint scheme was totally without an effort at looking good. It seemed to signify a railroad that had surrendered. The new Conrail colors seemed to signify a hope in a brighter future, something that came to be realized.
Below I have climbed up on CR 5644 EMD SD60I to take a look at the cab. This locomotive is actually Norfolk Southern 6757, wearing its old Conrail number for Conrail Days at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, courtesy of the Conrail Historical Society. Number 5644 was assembled at the Conrail Juniata Shops in Altoona, PA.

Conrail Days

May 29th to 31st were Conrail Days at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA. In addition to the museum's Conrail 2233 GP30 the event folks from the Conrail Historical Society treated visitors with 3 Pennsylvania-built locomotives, the most powerful from Big Blue's fleet. They were:

NS 6757 EMD class SD60I assembled at Juniata Shops in Altoona, PA and still painted as CR 5644
NS 7581 GE class ES40DC built in Erie, PA (and too young to be ex-Conrail)
NS 7211 EMD class SD80MAC assembled in Altoona

The big engines were pulled to Strasburg from the Leaman Place junction with Amtrak's Keystone Line by the Strasburg Railroad's ex-NYC SW8.

I decided to post something a bit different here since there are so many photos of this event posted elsewhere on the net. They include some great shots from the Friday 5/29 night photo shoot session.

Does Passenger Rail Cost Too Much?

We don't hear much right now from legislators and economists who expect Amtrak to be a money-making operation. Strange isn't it how no other mode of transportation is expected to return a profit? Let me know if you know any interstate highway or passenger airport that's turning a profit.

Last year (2008) the federal subsidy to Amtrak was $1.4 Billion. Highways received more money in 2008 than Amtrak has received over its entire lifetime.