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I wrote earlier about the 100th birthday celebration for Little River #110 (http://yardgoatimages.com/birthday-bash-for-little-river-110). Now that the event is behind us, it might be good to tell you about it.

Being at the Little River Railroad Birthday Celebration

Of course I was there with our video cameras to record this one-time event that took place over three days between Coldwater and Hillsdale, MI. Little River Railroad normally operates between Coldwater and Quincy, but for this special occasion #110 pulled longer trips all the way to Hillsdale.

Besides #110, there were four other steam locomotives in operation, all tank engines. These included Little River #1, Viscose Company #6, Flagg Coal #75, and Lehigh Valley Coal #126. This was the first time #126 operated in revenue service since being rescued and restored by Gramling Locomotive.

The first two days had identical schedules, with four round-trips between Coldwater and Quincy, and one round trip Coldwater-Hillsdale. The tank engines took turns powering  the Quincy trips. It was quite a scene at the Coldwater depot each morning as engines arrived from the shops located near the edge of town. Passenger cars were switched and deposited at the station platform for the first three trips, leaving at 15 minute intervals! Train watchers had a good vantage point at Quincy too, as the Hillsdale train passed through while the “local” was on the siding.

On the third day, there were just two Quincy trips, but the slim schedule was compensated by the sight, sound and smoke of FIVE steam locomotives leading the long train, which included the entire car fleet! The two trips were spectacular with a solid block of five black coal fired locomotives giving there all with tremendous plumes of smoke, and lots of steam whistles.

Each day, there was an afternoon singing of Happy Birthday and five “cakes” made from log circles and butter-creme icing. A cake was delivered to the crew of each locomotive, where it was promptly tossed into the firebox!

Some of my favorite moments were not available to the general public. I made it a point to be at the shop building well before the engines departed so I could record the early morning activities as the crews prepared for the day. The low sun angles lit the glorious scene of locomotives, smoke, and steam. 

I really appreciate having been a part of this and I’m grateful to Travis Bloom and all of the Little River Railroad volunteers who made everything work in spite of the uncomfortable heat and humidity. The owners and crews of the visiting locomotives deserve big thanks as well. 

Our program about this amazing event is finished! You can see it all on the Steamin' Summer Volume 1 DVD.

Thanks, Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images

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Soo Line 2719 is a steam locomotive that may not be as widely known as Union Pacific  844 or 3985, Southern Pacific 4449, Nickel Plate 765, or many of the “big” locomotives operating today. It hasn’t been out on mainline excursions for many years, and is lucky to pull some trips each year between Duluth and Two Harbors, MN on the North Shore Scenic Railroad (former DM&IR) owned by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. 

About Soo Line 2719

Soo Line 2719 is a 4-6-2, built for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway, commonly called the Soo Line. It was constructed in Schenectady, NY by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1923, one of an order of six locomotives.  Four of these have been scrapped but one, 2718, is on display at the National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, WI. 

Soo Line 2719 continued in operation until the mid-1950’s as the railroad replaced steam with diesels. It had the honor of being pulled out of retirement to power the last steam train on the Soo Line on June 21, 1959, a round-trip excursion between Minneapolis and Ladysmith, WI.

After traveling over 3 million miles in service, the engine was donated to the city of Eau Claire, WI and displayed in a city park.

In the mid-1990’s, a group called the Locomotive and Tower Preservation Fund, Ltd was formed to restore Soo Line 2719 to operation. Following a fast paced schedule, the locomotive made its inaugural run on September 19, 1998. It’s home in the early years was the Altoona, WI roundhouse, and it ran many excursions, primarily on the Wisconsin Central.

Times changed quickly and the Wisconsin Central was absorbed into Canadian National  and the engine made its last run in 2003. The Altoona roundhouse was raised in 2004, and Soo Line 2719 was forced to stay outdoors until late 2006, when it was moved to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. The engine would not run again until August, 2007.

Currently Soo Line 2719 is in good hands in Duluth, with the museum leasing it from the Locomotive and Tower Preservation Fund. The railroad, which has a regular schedule of trips during the warm months of the year using many diesels from their collection, brings out Soo Line 2719 only for several weekends in autumn. The steam locomotive is much more expensive to operate than the diesels, however the fares are considerably higher to help make up the difference. 

The next hurdle facing Soo Line 2719 is the expiration of its 15 year boiler certificate in 2013. Will its owners raise and spend the great deal of money needed to accomplish this? What is the museum’s stake in operating Soo Line 2719 in the future? I hope there has been some discussion between the parties regarding fund raising efforts that will be necessary to pull this off. 

I have been disappointed to see Soo Line 2719 pulling trains that have lots of empty seats. Granted, Duluth is not a huge population center, and a bit out of the way for much of the  US and Canada, but look at the success of Durango & Silverton. Duluth has developed a thriving year-round tourist industry, powered in summer by family friendly attractions, camping, cabins, hiking trails, boat trips, and Lake Superior beauty. In winter there is downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. 

The museum has a large collection of operating heritage diesels, passenger equipment, plus an attractive depot and magnificent indoor museum. It is one of the premier railroad museums in North America. With a new approach to advertising and publicity, I believe the museum should be able to expand its train ride business, both steam and diesel, perhaps even on winter weekends. More traffic would make any decisions about restoring Soo Line 2719 much easier. If anything, I think the railroad would benefit if it could acquire a second steam locomotive! With two steam engines and their already great collection of heritage diesels, this could become a true railroad destination.

But, life is uncertain. If you want to see this great locomotive in operation, better get there soon. In the meantime, consider becoming a member like me (lsrm.org), send a donation, or volunteer. In the meantime, I will continue to record Soo Line 2719 in operation as much as possible.

We have two DVDs featuring Soo Line 2719 in action, Midwest Steam 2009 Part 2 and Steam: Trackside & Inside. 

Thanks, Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images

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I regularly participate as a vendor at Model Train Shows. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably been to one or two shows yourself.

You probably also know people who are not into railroading. They probably have some preconceived notion of what we’re all about, based upon some strange uncle who seemed to live in his basement watching trains go round and round. If you really want to amaze one of these people, drag them to a railroad hobby show so they can see the incredible diversity, not only in the participants, but also what is being offered. I’ve been around awhile, and I’m still amazed by at least a couple of things each time I go to a new show.

OK, so we’ve got “electric” trains. Think of all the many different gauges. You can have an elaborate layout that fills your basement, or fits in a briefcase. There are also huge differences in quality (and cost), from the basic set that runs under the Christmas tree to individual highly detailed locomotives costing thousands of dollars.

Maybe you’re into modeling a world for your trains to run in. You’ll need everything: houses, barns, fire stations, fire hydrants, no parking signs, telephone poles, dogs (all breeds), cats, birds, cows, people, cars, grass, rocks, water, drive-in movies, garbage cans, the list goes on. You can buy many of these things ready-made, in various sizes and quality. Or you can buy kits, or parts to make them. Or you can buy the materials to make the parts, to make the object.

Moving away from model railroading, we are also interested in collecting things, like dining car china, timetables, maps, conductor’s punches, bells, whistles, locks, railroad watches, lanterns, tickets, calendars, paintings, photographs, engineering plans, printed items such as napkins, towels, pillow cases, matchbooks, stationary, waybills, pens, pencils, glassware, advertisements, etc.

Yard Goat Images creates and sells DVDs. There are lots of DVDs for sale here at the show too. Railroad DVD subjects include many about modern day freight parades past a particular location, or on a segment of a railroad, or in a part of a city or state. Some DVDs focus on a particular type of diesel engine, or diesel engines from a particular manufacturer, or diesel engines of a particular railroad. Other DVDs are made for casual railfans who are interested in railroading but not in a particular part of it. 

Soo Line 1003 passes a rural Wisconsin crossing, October 16, 2010

Another segment of the DVD industry presents programs originally shot in 16

mm by railfans who came before us, or sometimes professionally by photographers employed by the railroads, or by railroad film icons such as Emery Gulash. And then of course, there’s good old Yard Goat Images, specializing in today’s steam engines performing in mainline excursions, special events, and museum operations.

Let’s move on to the people who attend model train shows. I think they are some of the most interesting and genuinely friendly people on earth. First, there are the little kids, too young to understand much about trains, but are mesmerized by watching the TV screen with a steam locomotive or a model train going around a loop. They are there with Mom & Dad or the grandparents. If they come with the grandparents, they each get one of those wooden train whistles to take home to entertain Mom & Dad. Many of these kids are tomorrow’s “us”. Many of “us” got trains into our blood by being mesmerized somewhere, somehow, and here we are. If we want to see our railroad heritage preserved after we’re all gone, then “Thomas” is our friend, too.

I’m always very excited to see the “Mod” displays, where each modeler is responsible for a section of trackage and scenery. At events like model train shows, the modular units are all hooked together and trains roll.

A young railfan grabs a shot at Hammond/Whiting Indiana Amtrak station, July 19, 2009

The part that excites me is seeing the teenage and young adult club members who are among this segment of rail enthusiasts. They’re using the high tech knowledge they grew up with and applying it to our “electric” trains, resulting in far more realistic operation.

I enjoy watching some of the seasoned hobbyists at the model train shows. They know what they want and where to get it. They arrive early and head to the sellers they’re interested in, and make their purchases. If you’re selling something they’re not into, they barely glance as they hurry by. But afterward as they walk past with their packages, they might slow down, sometimes even get into a conversation. I enjoy this because I learn where they grew up, how they got interested in trains, what part of the hobby fascinates them, how much “stuff” they have, and some of their other interests. Many are current or former railroad employees, or the son or daughter of a rail worker. I found that many rail enthusiasts also have other passions, such as ham radio, old cars, steamships, airplanes, samurai swords, motorcycles, guns, computers, etc.

Well, I hope I haven’t offended anyone. I just think we are all lucky to have found one or two things about railroading to fall in love with, and make it a lifelong passion.

Mine is steam….I love it.

Thanks, Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images

Canadian National 3254 heads to Scranton during the NRHS convention, June 24, 2010

Comment (1)

Being in the business of producing railroad videos, I pay attention to what is going on in the community. By community, I mean railroad museums and attractions, groups working to save and restore locomotives, cars and other railroad equipment, specific railroad interest groups like the Great Northern, Soo Line, Milwaukee Road historical societies, etc.

The Friends of the 261 has been in the news frequently as they work to bring back this beauty for another 15 year run. They were able to purchase the locomotive from the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay recently, but were forced to spend the money they were intending to use for restoration to buy it instead. They’ve been working hard to raise more money for the work, which is 

261 thunders west on CP's River Sub on one of many annual Fall Color Trips

never easy. Hopefully they will succeed and we will once again be able to ride behind 261 in the not too distant future.

Other famous locomotives, such as Pere Marquette 1225 also face an uncertain future. Another is Soo Line 1003 with a boiler whose time is up in 2011, and the folks in charge aren’t sure what the future holds for this engine.

GN Wooden Boxcar 5124 is outdoors but under cover, Lake Superior Railroad Museum, Duluth, MN

Add to these the countless steam and diesel locomotives which are in various stages of life; rusting away, in pieces, intact but no money for preservation, recently restored, or operational. Then there are streetcars, interurbans, passenger and freight cars, depots, roundhouses, and other structures. Not to mention historical documents, photo and map collections, engineering drawings, and other memorabilia worth preserving.

The good news is there are many people who have a passion for making things happen. They want to raise money to protect, preserve, and operate or display these objects. Many individuals and groups are donating not only money, but their time and talent to these causes.

We owe these folks our admiration and gratitude for what they are accomplishing. But do you know what? They can’t do it without more help.

Can you devote a few hours now and then to your local railroad museum or history society? They can always use an extra hand to repair a piece of equipment, digitize some documents, operate a locomotive, sell tickets, replace a tie….the list goes on. Stop by. Get to know them. Chances are you have a lot in common and you will enjoy working with them.

On a larger scale, consider writing an article, or serving on a committee of one of the many railroad historical societies. Many concentrate on just one fallen flag railroad, such as the Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Society or on contemporary railroads such as the Union Pacific Historical Society. Most of these organizations publish fine magazines as part of the membership package and have really interesting annual conventions. But they need authors and people to help organize the activities. As an individual you can help, often from your own home via the internet with many of the tasks.

How about money? If you’re one of those lucky people who still gets a paycheck, or maybe you have retired with some monetary cushion, how about some regular donations to one or more of your favorite railroad organizations? Without money, even the most ambitious group of volunteers will not be successful in preserving our railroad history for future generations. Also, while you’re still of sound mind and body, consider adding some of these organizations to your will.

Let’s not forget about the future. Many of us grew up when steam engines and early diesels were common, or remember taking a ride on an interurban or streetcar. There was still a person working in that now boarded up railroad station. Generations that followed did not get the same exposure to railroading as some of us. Thanks to the likes of Thomas & Friends, YouTube, and efforts by our museum community to give children and families activities around operating rail equipment, many young people are now joining the railfan community.

You can help here too. Maybe you have nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or neighbor children. How about organizing a visit to your local rail or trolley museum, or a railroad gift such as a DVD, book, magazine subscription, etc.? Many young people are interested in technology and speed, so maybe you can get them interested in the latest light rail line, high speed trains, and technology advancements of freight railroads.

You get the idea.

Thanks for reading.

Steve Mitchell

http://www.yardgoatimages.com

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