Riggins with little brother Charlie and little sister Sadie.

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Saturday, Notes.

Well it’s finally Saturday and it looks like a cold cloudy day like yesterday, but that won’t make the train ride any less fun, Michelle came over at 12:00am and we headed into town for the Steamtown Station, We were both so excited, just the sounds and smells are enough to take you back in years.

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              Our coach number 580 awaits us.

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CN Steam engine is waiting to take us to Moscow PA.

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             Michelle with the brave engineer.

 

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                  Inside coach number 580.

At 01:00 pm sharp we left the Steamtown Station for the climb up the 1 1/2 % grade to Moscow. Boy that CN engine earned it’s pay and worked hard to pull  the 6 passenger cars in it’s train up the continuous hill, We went through Nay Aug tunnel and then passed Sam’s Grandmother’s house where his Cousin Sam Genett lives now.

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                         Station Sign.

Steantraintrip10-30-10m                         Sam’s Grandmother’s house.

    As the train climbed southeast out of Scranton the area is heavily wooded now but we passed the Elmhurst Reservoir which supplies water to the Scranton/ Dunmore area.

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                         Elmhurst Reservoir.

The Roaring Brook creek runs along side of and crosses under the tracks the switches sides several times on the way to Moscow.

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                       Roaring Brook Creek.

 Then we arrived in Moscow where the the engine runs around the train on a siding and couples to the rear to pull us back to Scranton.

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             Old Moscow Freight House.

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Blowing out the water from the cylinders at Moscow.

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Engine prepares to run around the train at Moscow.

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               Engine couples onto rear of train.

While we were at Moscow, they had a hot dog roast and sold souvenirs, Michelle got an engineers cap, and I bought myself a tee-shirt.

I noticed this plate riveted to the back wheel assembly of the Steam engine,  even though it was made in Canada for the CN. The rear truck cradle was made in St Louis MO. of all places. A little bit of home away from home.

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                Rear engine truck.

Just to show it was a cold day here in Scranton I took this shot of the steam escaping from the steam heat pipe between the cars, That is how they used to heat passenger cars with steam radiators near the floor. Our car was toasty warm like Grandma’s old parlor used to be.

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               Steam heat connections.

I will say this, Steamtown runs a class act, the equipment appears to be meticulously maintained even though the coaches were built for the Lackawanna Railroad as commuter coaches in the 1920-30’s they have been completely rebuilt including roller bearing axles and all the heaters and bathrooms were spotless and operational.The engine a CN Mikado 2-8-2 performed great pulling this heavy train uphill all the way and sounding like a true champion. This train is fairly heavy for that sixe of locomotive and the grade is tough but there were no slips or stalls.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our ride and would recommend it for anyone visiting the Scranton area between April and Nov.

After we got back I had an invitation to supper as Cousin Sam’s house, I had seen him watching the train go by and he and his wife Miriam provided a great Rigatoni Dinner after which we sat and enjoyed a couple of cocktails, and caught up on Grandkid’s and family. Cousin Sam is very handy in home building and has transformed my Grandmothers 40 era house into a showplace, it is really beautiful, but I forgot to bring my camera so I will have to use that as an excuse to get invited back again. I wish Donna would have been with me because I know she would have truly enjoyed the evening with family.

That’s about it I was late getting this posted due to my full day yesterday. so be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

16 comments:

  1. You gave a little girl a day she will never forget!

    Where we are now in rural Georgia is right next to train tracks. Goes by about every 45-60 minutes. I will have to check it out for you!

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  2. Looks like that trip was right up your alley! :)

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  3. Soun.ds like you and Michelle had a fun day "ridin' the rails". Your grandmother's home looks very nice - anxious to see photos. Maybe you can get a free meal again on your next visit.

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  4. Always enjoy the memories those train pictures bring back for me. The dark olived colored coaches especially. I could almost smell that steam leaking out of the hoses. Old steam locamotives & their coaches had a sweet oil, steam & coal smell all their own. Loved all that as a kid:))

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  5. Loved your pictures of the old steam train!!
    I'll just bet you were so excited you couldn't hardly contain yourself...great pictures!!!

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  6. Thanks for the great Steam Train tour and pictures, it was really interesting. I'll bet that old CN locomotive could tell a few stories about its travels!!

    Your Grandmother's old house looks fantastic, it sure looks to be in great condition judging from the outside.

    Nice of you to take Michelle on that trip, she'll remember it, and you, for a long, long time!!

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  7. Wow it must have been a great ride and the pictures are good just like being there.

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  8. What a fun day! I love Pennsylvania this time of year, and riding an old train in PA just couldn't get much better. The cars look very comfortable, and it was such a civilized way to travel, especially compared to plane travel today. Too bad we opt for speed over comfort and ease.

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  9. You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself. Don't despair not having Donna along. It's a reason to get back there again and show Donna around and take the pictures that you wanted. Stay healthy.

    Paul

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  10. What a great adventure for Michelle. Looks like you two had a very good time. Loved all the pictures.

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  11. What a wonderful day! Nice to know that someone else appreciates BIG STEEL. - Don ( CN Don )

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  12. After seeing your pics and reading the story of the last run for the year, I went to google and put in CN 3254. This gave me all kinds of info and several you tube videos of the train. I have spent the last half hour watching these and almost feel like I was along for the ride. Minus the track clacking. But perhaps you have continuous for that track now.
    Anyway you brought on some enjoyment her on the internet.
    Rod

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  13. looks like you had a great day!!..what a fun tour..a nice piece of canada in there for good measure too!!!

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  14. It's so great to hear you "got away". What a wondful trip, thanks for taking us with you. Dee

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  15. The train trip looked like tons of fun. We put that on our 'to do' list if we are ever up that way.
    Susan & Sam

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  16. Wow.. thanks for taking us along on your train trip! What a great adventure for the little Michelle... You are sure one great Honorary Grandfather!

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    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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