WOW - April 1968!! (Days 2 & 3)By P. Denny Custer
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This trip report originally appeared in Extra 2200 South (1968 issue 6). A revised version
is used here with permission of the author's son Greg Custer. Although photographs were not
part of the original X2200 South article, they have been added from the collections of Greg
Custer and R. Craig
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Unbelievable! Or, as the man says, "You got to see this to believe it." 2157 miles in 72 hours.
If you missed it, here is a link to Day 1 of the trip. |
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DAY 2. Saturday dawned and Extra 2206 North made a local stop first at
Rigby yard to catch GP38s #257 and #263, a three-unit Mec GP7/9 combo led by #562, an Alco
high-hood MEC switcher #951, as well as a yellow-nose Portland Terminal switch engine. |
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 Maine Central GP38 #257 (Ray Sabo photo) |
 Maine Central GP7 #562 (Denny Custer photo) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Maine Central HH660 #951 (Denny Custer photo) |
 Portland Terminal S1 #107 (Ray Sabo photo) |
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Green high and on to Bangor which produced a pair of Bangor & Aroostook locomotives led by a
very photogenic BL2 #51. Also present was one of the railroad's remaining F3As #42; it was a
neat surprise. From there it was on to Northern Maine Junction and two more BL2s. Only one of
the GP38s was home, and it had been in for some minor repairs. While chatting with local workers,
it was learned that D&H SD45 #801, ex-EMD Demonstrator #4354, was in the shops at the request
of EMD. The story was that the D&H was ill-equipped to handle 20-cylinder 645-driven SD45s.
Regrettably, the shop area was not open to the general public.
We also wandered over to a near-by Maine Central facility and found MEC RS2 #554 working the yard, along with S1 #960. Speaking of photogenic, a pair of first-generation MeC geeps made for a nice composition, particularly the gren #573.  Bangor & Aroostook BL2 #51 (Ray Sabo photo)  BAR GP38 #82 (John Stubblefield photo)  Bangor & Aroostook F3A #42 (John Stubblefield photo)  Maine Central RS2 #554 (Ray Sabo photo)  MEC S1 #960 (Denny Custer photo)  MEC #573 (Denny Custer photo)
Although running late, we stopped at Waterville, Maine in hopes of finding more Maine Central
power. The decision netted us a lone vintage Alco High-Hood 660 belonging to the Portland
Terminal. By the way, no field trip is "official" without a photograph of the crew. The perfect
photo opportunity came during a lull at Waterville, with 2/3 of the ambitious travelers posing
for the camera.  Portland Terminal HH660 #104 (Ray Sabo photo)  Denny Custer (left) and John Stubblefield with Ray Sabo behind the camera.
One final stop at Rigby turned up a couple of new "yellow birds," another two-unit B&M job with
GP20 #1755 in the lead, a four-unit GP7 set, and a Portland Terminal yellow nose (Alco S4 #1061,
ex-D&H #3041). John wanted more B&M so we aimed for Billerica and got there just before sunset. Not Much on the line (some Alco switchers and RS3s, also an RDC Car with B&M crossed-out.) And a guard whose job was dependent on not allowing us to take pictures; consequently, it produced the first big "0" of the trip. At 11:30 PM Extra 2206 North called it a day in Syracuse.  Boston & Maine GP20 #1755 (John Stubblefield photo)
Day 3. An 8:30 AM saw the dispatch of Extra 2207 West with the first stop
being Penn Central's DeWitt yard, which at one-time had been an Alco stronghold. We were lucky
to be allowed a few minutes to do some shooting, thanks to a couple of understanding PC employees.
Although a whole host of power was present, they were so tightly packed that good shooting was
limited. The prizes of the day were two RS-1s, a freshly painted PC and a St. Regis lo-nose RS1,
shot in perfect position.  Penn Central RS1 #9940 (Ray Sabo photo) 
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Some excellent notes by Sam Breck led us to the Lehigh Valley facilities in Manchester, NY.
Several F-units, some C628s, along withsome Alcos . . . good results on a spot easy to find,
accessible, and not busy enough to have permission problems. (A must stop). Sam's notes also
indicated that Highway 33 from Batavia to Buffalo paralleled the PC and LV. The best approach
was to find a nice spot, sit back and let the action come to us.  Lehigh Valley GP18 #301 (Denny Custer photo)  Lehigh Valley Baldwin VO-1000 #142 VO-1000 #142 (Denny Custer photo)   Lehigh Valley Baldwin S-12 #233 (Denny Custer photo) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
