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From: MDelvec952 mdelvec952 AT aol DOT com
Date: Sun, 5 Jun 2011 23:25:41 -0400
Subject: DL&W F3 Volunteer - Great Day in Scranton
"663_and_1554_first_trip_6-5-2011_Steve_Barry_small.jpg" - image/jpeg, 1496x831 (24bit)




Greetings all. Those who got to Scranton today got to see something very special. Both F3s were running, back to back as was the classic arrangement of the Scranton helper set during various periods during the steam era and before the merger. The event was the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society's 2011 Convention held this year in Scranton. ARHS chartered the special train, requesting the F3s and Boonton Line coaches just like any other entity would have to do. This was a Park Service train, making this the first official operation of the F3s as part of Steamtown National Historic Site. After the successful restoration of both F3s, the agreement between the ARHS and Steamtown is now an operating one, signed by all parties. This is a big deal, and a landmark event for the National Park Service which isn't used to volunteer organizations contributing to the visitor experience. We are not the first, but how we conduct ourselves will affect how the Park deals with futur
e opportunities. All involved are thrilled with this project.

Back to the fun stuff, the F3s on the main line looked great today. Photos are popping up on line, and Tri-State member and R&R editor Steve Barry provided a selection of pictures to share. It was a big day in Scranton today. In addition to the F3s appearing on working train, thus bringing back an image that first appeared in 1946 on the FTs and hasn't been seen since 1962 when the Erie Lackawanna repainted the last of the Lackawanna freight units, the Delaware-Lackawanna short line debuted its CNJ RS3 1554 that it acquired from ARHS. It looks stunning. One of the photos today positioned the two new arrivals together at the passenger platform.

There is so much to say, and so many people to thank, so many tremendous individual efforts and so many who stepped up at just the right time. The financial contributors were just as important as those with a wrench or a torch. We will describe all of these miracles in future newsletters as our work on the units continues. Watch for notices of future work sessions. For now let's enjoy the pictures, raise a toast and well wishes to everyone for a job well done. These F3s will soon become national treasures.

With the F3s in service, they are available to operate on Park Service trains with little notice. We'll announce what we know about, but you may often see on line that the F3s ran today or yesterday. That can happen. Currently Steamtown officials would like to keep its only operating steam locomotive inside the park so that visitors who visit will see operating steam, so the F3s may be used often on the Moscow trains. Once 0-6-0 26 returns to service, the 3254 will leave the park grounds more often.

For those able to view us on Facebook (Tri-State Chapter NRHS), former railroaders have found us and are posting recollections and some of their own pictures of the F3s in service.

Enjoy, everyone, and take a bow. ....Mike Del Vecchio



Below: The "Don Ball" scene at Nay Aug tunnel this morning with just a bit of sunlight. The 664 was the leading unit going east pulling two Lackawanna Boonton Line coaches. The east portal of Nay Aug weeds up each year, and this year Railpace editor Tom Nemeth led a team of weed whackers to clear the area for today's photographers. This is one of the locations relatively unchanged from DL&W days. Photo by Steve Barry.





Below: The mind could wander back to 1948 -- is this a helper set heading back to Scranton? Relaxing the eyes could imagine a loaded coal train heading to eastern markets. This is a classic DL&W scene. Photo by Steve Barry.





Below: Westbound the 663 was in the lead. There are many Lackawanna elements In this scene with the special train back in Scranton passing Mattes Street Tower with the Railway Express building in the background above the 663. The F3s are fulfilling their ultimate destiny in Scranton, illustrating to the world the steam-to-diesel transition era. The paint design is all art-deco of the times. Inside and out these units are authentic to the EMD catalogs of 1948. These are the oldest operating and unaltered F-units in the world, and future industrial historians will be able to look at them for their technology. As for the gray anti-climber just above the pilot on 663 versus the black on 664: The Lackawanna had them in both gray and black. More of them were gray, so we left them gray on the 663 to show the difference, and to remember that 663 was the "gray ghost" at the 2010 NRHS Convention, similar to an era on the DL&W when it painted F3s solid gray as a cost-cutting move. Ph
oto: Steve Barry.





A pleasant surprise was the positioning of the DL&W F3s with the just-restored Jersey Central RS3 1554, which pulled two of Steamtown's restored CNJ passenger cars on the yard shuttle all day. It was quite a day at Steamtown.
--98f5cb08-23e1-4839-b5cd-bfc15780ebca

663_and_1554_first_trip_6-5-2011_Steve_Barry_small.jpg

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