Seeing those Milwaukee units at 1:30 made me remember that at one time there was talk of the EL merging with the Milwaukee Road. The Milackawanna! That would have been one hell of a long haul on that mainline. Alas....
Wow! Someone spent a lot of money to purchase the film and get these great EL shots (great sound for Super 8 too!). Thanks for sharing this vintage footage!
I’m old enough to remember Kenton Ave and the lonely man coming out with the stop sign to hold traffic… what a time it was.. thank you so much for posting this footage!
@@fredstuckmann Ya know Fred, if they had that one back they might have picked the EL over the Pennsy thru Fort Wayne! I guarantee you over-all the Erie was in better shape! Assassins is right!
@@b3j8 Having worked the EL and then Conrail, I know that one of their complaints was that we didn't have any major terminals when compared to the PC. Since we had less clutter, we could run our UPS trains without hindrance. On Conrail's first day, those 4 trains were off our rails.
I recall massive lashups of E units on the PC in Ohio in the early 1970's. They seemed to be abused by a fading Pennsy Empire? But the Alco representation in this video is pretty nice. I fell in love with 244 Power in the 1960's as they still roamed the North American Continent. The RS and Century units are pretty well documented in this video.
If that is a Milwaukee Road unit with a very early E-bell, I finally know what one actually sounds like now! I've been searching for years of what one early E-bell would've sounded like!
@@JosueRodriguez-kk6wn Prime huh? interesting. I guess a got a little carried away with my excitement. Couldn't really tell to be honest since this is off of film. Thank you for the clarification!
Jiggling and wobbling on some knotty track. And, looked like passenger E8s on a freight. Someone said EL re-geared the Es for freight work, though Rock Island, which also used old ex-passenger E8s in freight, did not re-gear their units. Classic stuff here, as usual.
Correct, the EL regeared their E units for freight service, and for the most part, they did an excellent job at pulling freight on the west end of the EL. I've heard quite a few old-timers praise their ability to pull frieght once they were regeared and called the E units some of the smoothest riding locomotives the EL had.
if I had to take a guess looking at the style of that it was once a wigwag that no longer was used... or the lights were removed from a regular flasher and all that was left was the pole in and the bell. looks like that was taken somewhere in Mansfield Ohio
CSX didn't, Conrail did. I don't have a definite answer as to why other than advances in technology meant it was cheaper to control the plant from Indianapolis rather than locally. Radios and automated hotbox detectors meant trains didn't to be observed for defects by a human.
Shame.. The railroad looked like it was still in good shape, Rails didn't look that bad. Imagine all the money Conrail poured into the Pennsy and NYC just to get the tacks replaced
For Yard move fans, like myself, the RS-3 at 6:19 is working the last cars of an eastbound freight in Marion's East Receiving Yard. The RS-3 he passes is probably working as a trimmer in West Yard. The next RS unit is delivering a very large transfer to the N&W in 2 passes shoving the first far enough into the N&W connection to fit the 2nd cut as well. Gave the Operators up in AC Tower fits since the move tied up the interlocking for quite awile.
The E8’s usually had M3 horns but was surprised to hear one with single chime GG1 style horn. It must have been a shop replacement perhaps from an RS3 or GP7.
the Erie's E8s were fitted with M3s while the Lackawanna's were fitted with & remained fitted with A200s for the most part; never standardized on one horn for the E Units but the clear preference for the EL was usually a Leslie three chime or a single chime in some cases
Actually if you compared the EL main to the Penn Central thru Fort Wayne the PC was in far worse condition! I still think Conrail should've kept the Erie Lackawanna to Chicago. The old PRR later was downgraded anyway.
18:40 So nice to hear that teardrop bell!
Seeing those Milwaukee units at 1:30 made me remember that at one time there was talk of the EL merging with the Milwaukee Road. The Milackawanna! That would have been one hell of a long haul on that mainline. Alas....
It would have been my 2 favorite. Roads
Wow! Someone spent a lot of money to purchase the film and get these great EL shots (great sound for Super 8 too!). Thanks for sharing this vintage footage!
my grandpa worked The Hump in Marion Ohio during those times. His EL name was "Chum", an avid coin collector.
Man I love those old smoking alco s ,switchers and slug units are my favorite units
I’m old enough to remember Kenton Ave and the lonely man coming out with the stop sign to hold traffic… what a time it was.. thank you so much for posting this footage!
The assassins rode that train at 13:50 to 16:30.
What assassins
@@logandetwiler4483 The ones who deemed the west end of the EL not worthy of inclusion into Conrail.
@@fredstuckmann Ya know Fred, if they had that one back they might have picked the EL over the Pennsy thru Fort Wayne! I guarantee you over-all the Erie was in better shape! Assassins is right!
@@b3j8 Having worked the EL and then Conrail, I know that one of their complaints was that we didn't have any major terminals when compared to the PC. Since we had less clutter, we could run our UPS trains without hindrance. On Conrail's first day, those 4 trains were off our rails.
The death train as some call it.
Holy shit, standing on the platform between 2 rocking Penn Central trains, did you have a death wish?!?
3:34 weird to hear a EL C-unit with a single chime horn ...
Thank you for railroad media archive for posting this I loved it
Manh this is GREAT and good quality for super 8!!!!
Gotta love that Alco sound.
at 4:00,,,this train is heading south on the Dayton branch. you can see it backing out of the yard.
I recall massive lashups of E units on the PC in Ohio in the early 1970's.
They seemed to be abused by a fading Pennsy Empire?
But the Alco representation in this video is pretty nice.
I fell in love with 244 Power in the 1960's as they still roamed the North American Continent.
The RS and Century units are pretty well documented in this video.
Gotta love that shot at 20:36 with the big line of ALCos.
Also I'd say the final shot is in Caledonia
Fantastic video, thank you
If that is a Milwaukee Road unit with a very early E-bell, I finally know what one actually sounds like now! I've been searching for years of what one early E-bell would've sounded like!
that's a gong bell
It's a Prime PM-516 bell.
@@JosueRodriguez-kk6wn Prime huh? interesting. I guess a got a little carried away with my excitement. Couldn't really tell to be honest since this is off of film. Thank you for the clarification!
@@traepederson6868 Alaska Railroad still uses prime bells the one they use is the PM-733. ruclips.net/video/_vFSvQiOc1U/видео.html
@@SouthJerseyRailfan No, that’s one of the prime E bells the Milwaukee utilized. they never used gongs anyway
Jiggling and wobbling on some knotty track. And, looked like passenger E8s on a freight. Someone said EL re-geared the Es for freight work, though Rock Island, which also used old ex-passenger E8s in freight, did not re-gear their units. Classic stuff here, as usual.
Correct, the EL regeared their E units for freight service, and for the most part, they did an excellent job at pulling freight on the west end of the EL. I've heard quite a few old-timers praise their ability to pull frieght once they were regeared and called the E units some of the smoothest riding locomotives the EL had.
Those Alco C-units just had a single horn?
Apparently so.
killer fucking Alcoa power that's for sure nice to see those
That scene around 4:00 - the Dayton Branch?
Yes, east of Green Camp.
And if you noticed the Alcos has to back the train through town to be able to go south down the branch. I
18:46 where was this, a crossbuck with a bell???
if I had to take a guess looking at the style of that it was once a wigwag that no longer was used...
or the lights were removed from a regular flasher and all that was left was the pole in and the bell.
looks like that was taken somewhere in Mansfield Ohio
I have a question about AC Tower... Why did CSX close the tower in January 1995?
CSX didn't, Conrail did.
I don't have a definite answer as to why other than advances in technology meant it was cheaper to control the plant from Indianapolis rather than locally. Radios and automated hotbox detectors meant trains didn't to be observed for defects by a human.
Great stuff!!!
Shame.. The railroad looked like it was still in good shape, Rails didn't look that bad. Imagine all the money Conrail poured into the Pennsy and NYC just to get the tacks replaced
did not have to pour much Money in to the NYC. Most of the money went in to the PRR
Lot of good Joe Slanser footage
For Yard move fans, like myself, the RS-3 at 6:19 is working the last cars of an eastbound freight in Marion's East Receiving Yard. The RS-3 he passes is probably working as a trimmer in West Yard. The next RS unit is delivering a very large transfer to the N&W in 2 passes shoving the first far enough into the N&W connection to fit the 2nd cut as well. Gave the Operators up in AC Tower fits since the move tied up the interlocking for quite awile.
The E8’s usually had M3 horns but was surprised to hear one with single chime GG1 style horn. It must have been a shop replacement perhaps from an RS3 or GP7.
I’m pretty sure some of the original e8s had the original style Leslie a200 horns I would say idk.
@@MattKonsol could be. Pennsy I think had them too. Leslie Tyfon horns.
the Erie's E8s were fitted with M3s while the Lackawanna's were fitted with & remained fitted with A200s for the most part; never standardized on one horn for the E Units but the clear preference for the EL was usually a Leslie three chime or a single chime in some cases
Love the big e
AC Tower was still open during this time period. The grain elevators are still there and haven’t changed one bit.
AC Tower did not close until January 1995...
I remember that. Hope all is well with you
The track looks bad.
Well..it was the seventies after all...
Actually if you compared the EL main to the Penn Central thru Fort Wayne the PC was in far worse condition! I still think Conrail should've kept the Erie Lackawanna to Chicago. The old PRR later was downgraded anyway.
Conrail didn’t want the EL west of Marion, Ohio. Despite its superior engineering, there was little on-line business on that stretch of track.
@@cbalducc what Superior Engineering
@@b3j8 i love the EL but the NCY was a better choice. over 60% of the El was kept