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(erielack) Employee Magazines

<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>I have been having a great time looking over the <bold>ERIE</bold>, 
<bold>LACKAWANNA</bold>, and <bold>ERIE-LACKAWANNA</bold> employee magazines.  
There are some great stories and photos in them.  For instance, 
the November 1954 <bold>LACKAWANNA</bold> has two great shots.  One off 
a New York bound ferry with the return boat in the picture up 
against the Lower Manhattan Skyline.  The picture on the inside of 
the back cover is a totally G/M/Y "Scrantonian" pulled by a 
trainmaster.  What a great looking little train, fairly easy to model.  
It was shot by Jack Emerick.  I guess he submitted it to the 
railroad for publication.


The December 1954 <bold>LACKAWANNA</bold> has a story about snow 
removal.  Page 17 shows track being cleared on the S&U.  It 
almost looks like a rotary is being used but I suspect it is steam 
from the locomotives.  The picture was taken in 1947.  I don't 
believe the DL&W ever owned a rotary.


The March 1955 <bold>LACKAWANNA</bold> was particularly interesting 
because it reported on scouts month February of that year.  That 
had to be the time my cub scout troup toured Hoboken Terminal.  
This was the pre-1955 hurricane, pre-St. Lawrence Seaway 
Lackawanna.  Still profitable, looking like a successful railroad.  
The story reported of CTC being installed on the M&E division to be 
controlled out of Hoboken.  I'm wondering where that was?  Were 
they upgrading the M&E electric lines and Boonton line at that 
time?  I suppose all of that came to an end when traffic began to 
bottom out in the late 50s.


Looking at the carloading and car interchange graphs published in 
<bold>ERIE</bold> one could see "the writing on the wall".  Every year fewer and 
fewer cars were loaded or handled.  The division stories in <bold>ERIE</bold> 
illustrate an updated, well taken care of railroad, that just didn't 
have enough industry along its lines, and not enough interchange 
traffic to keep it going.  I wonder if Perry Shoemaker and Harry Von 
Weiller really knew what the future held for their two companies.


Ed Montgomery


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