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Re: (erielack) New Athearn GP-35 in EL GMY

Time for a Christmas story..........
   Speaking of the GP35s on the ELRR or the 2500s as we called them too, I
always thought they ran pretty well and very quietly too - especially in a
heavy snowstorm you couldn't always hear them coming. I know - you guys on
the ELHS list were talking about the HO guage version, but I'm talking about
the 12 inch to the foot ones.
        Among the many jobs I covered in and around Binghamton and Syracuse
in the late 60s/early 70s was the night road hostler, delivering engines
uptown from Conklin or the small ERIE shop at the East end of the ERIE yard.
On the time I'm telling you about, I had 4 covered wagons that were going to
go West and were to be set off in one of the sidings on the East side of the
Westbound maintrack, near the old buildings that housed the Moon Feed Co.
These sidings were just West of the Chenango Street Viaduct. I had picked up
the engines from the DL&W Conklin roundhouse and come up the 'runaround'
track which ended just before the doubletrack bridge over the Susquehanna
River. I sat there with the hostler helper staring at the red dwarf signal
intermittently visible through the snowflakes and it finally blinked to
yellow, permitting us to rumble over the ice-caked river to 'BD'
interlocking which lined us onto the former ERIE westbound maintrack giving
us a straight shot uptown. The old F-units ran like a charm and we shortly
arrived the other side of the Chenango Street viaduct. I had slowed to
permit the hostler helper to get off & line us off the maintrack and now the
fun began. From the west end of the 4 units I was unable to see the hand
signals even when he popped a fusee - in fact I was only able to see a
carlength or so. I thought 'We'll be here all night' and made a swift
decision to change ends and run from the end near the hostler helper in
order to clear up the maintrack. I was wearing a heavy hooded parka that I'd
kept from my Air Force service and those babies really insulated you from
the cold (and everything else). I took out the reverser and blanked the air
then opened the door to the howling snow & wind and started down the ladder
on the firemans side. REMEMBER...we were on the westbound main.....halfway
down the ladder I felt something brush the back of my parka. It was the
grabirons of the lead 2500 on an East man running with a dim headlight as he
drifted into the Binghamton yard ready to make his setoff for the D&H. I
clung to the old covered wagons as the train drifted by slower and slower
and finally stopped. By that time I'd recovered my courage (& sense) and got
off & walked to the other end of the 4 units where we then put them into the
siding.
       What was the use of even mentioning it to the hostler helper?????? I
should have gotten off on the side away from the maintrack and should have
planned the move better. That's how you learn your lessons (assuming you
survive) and it's one of the reasons I still get riled when somebody tells
me what an easy job I had or 'how simple it looks'. Try doing it with a foot
or 2 of snow on the ground and more coming down rapidly, in the dark at 2am,
and in 20 below weather. I can assure you all, the 2500s were QUIET, I can't
speak for the model engines.
       Speaking of models, for the NRHS chapter, it was good to see some of
you at Fred Roses' trainshow & I hope to see all of u at the December
meeting in Cocoa.
Regards to all
Walter E. Smith
ELHS #3278, EL employee # 102156
         ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tupaczewski, Paul R (Paul)" <paultup_@_lucent.com>
To: "'Henry W Jarusik'" <hwjpa_@_fastem.com>; "'Jeff Mutter'"
<jwmutter_@_comcast.net>; "'Erie Lackawanna Mail List'"
<erielack_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 3:21 PM
Subject: RE: (erielack) New Athearn GP-35 in EL GMY


> Henry Jarusik wrote:
>
> > Having avoided Athearn's products for over a decade now, and
> > only purchasing Atlas, Kato, etc. the unanswered question
> > that remains is: Will these run comparable to P2K, Atlas,
> > Kato, and Stewart models?
>
> Yes, they most certainly do.  Most of today's major HO manufacturers have
gone and done their homework with the new generation of drivetrains. If you
haven't seen the EL or Erie F-units, you don't know what you've been
missing!
>
> Also, Athearn's 1970s-era freight cars in the Genesis line are beyond
reproach. They are magnificent! I have about 25 of these cars (they're like
candy, you can't stop getting 'em) - the paint and detail are amazing!
>
>
>
> > What has been the ELHS's collective experiences with any
> > Athearn R-T-R products?
>
> ELHS's? Or do you mean the people on this list?
>
> Personally speaking, I think the latest iteration of Athearn's R-T-R
products are great! The Genesis models are absolutely superb, and even the
"regular line" units have upgraded drivetrains. The GP35s they're doing have
these upgraded drives.
>
> - Paul
>

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