"Tip Of The Iceberg" Chap. 12

Thinking about the D&H.....
A round trip from Kingston to Oneonta last weekend has had me on a D&H kick all week. As for the trip, I was curious to see if there was much of the D&H left in Oneonta but, I was also interested in what I would find in the small towns the Ulster & Delaware passed through as well. There were lots of things that captured my attention throughout the day. When I got home I started looking through my slides, taken in Oneonta over the years, and thought an "Iceberg" chapter was possible. The problem was how to approach it. I sent out scans of slides taken before compared with present digital images to some of you during the week. How to chose from scores of images made over many years that I could send to a general audience presented me with a dilemma. I decided on my usual method of sending pictures of the things most folks didn't bother with along with the obvious.

The carts with couplers (5-12-81), an ex Milw Rd box car used for stores (9-82) and the C420 #407 (3-82), were all shot within the same small area by the shops. Of all the engines I took portraits of at Oneonta, why this one? I have a love affair with C420's. Low nose of course!
I made many trips to Oneonta over a period of twenty years. The image of Guilford #374 at FA was from my last trip. (Until last Sunday.) Early Guilford was interesting to me, as was early Conrail. The mix of predecessor equipment made for interesting chances to capture things that were only possible previously by making long trips. Like Conrail, as equipment was repainted the charm was lost within a few years.
The purpose of the "Icebergs" is to share history. I have great shots of the PA's in interesting locations as do 100's of others. I visited Lanesboro in the last weeks of the Penn Div. and recorded things along with about 30 others that day alone. I must admit though that I haven't patience to hang around for the right train in the right location in the right light. I do ocassionally get lucky from time on site however. I like this shot of GP39-2 #7617 (from the original D&H order) at Hudson yard. I got it unexpectedly by just being in the right spot at the right time. This train was moving at a brisk pace on a through run from Sunbury to Taylor. Hudson yard was a favorite hang out of mine until it was removed a couple years after I took this shot.(7-2-81) Today an attuned person can tell there was once a yard there from the random pieces of anthracite that still turn up and the light towers that stand 30 years later. To this day nothing's been built on the site.

Excuse my rambles and enjoy the pictures,

Wayne Sittner