After the wonderful Coopersville & Charlotte Valley rare mileage trip, a group of us gathered beside the engine house and met the crew for a rare mileage speeder trip down to Coopersville Jct.
We divided into two groups. The first group, which included myself, would ride south to Cooperstown Jct, while the second group would drive down to the Cooperstown Jct wye, wait and ride back. Randy was in Group 2.
We departed Milford and headed to Cooperstown Jct.
Passing the other locomotive as we left Milford.
We went through the switch and headed out onto the mainline.
Looking back as we made our way down the long straightaway from the shop area.
Taking the first curve.
This crossing had to have the rails dug out.
Each time we stopped to clear branches off the tracks or dig out crossings, we were allowed off to stretch our legs.
Three views looking behind as we headed south down the rails.
Bart and our crewman had to dig out this crossing.
The result of their work as we continued.
One of the curves on this railroad.
Bart opened the gate across the tracks before we passed by it.
Bart closed the gate and we continued on.
The view behind us.
I did not believe these cows knew we were coming.
In fact, some of them tried to follow us. This is a low point along our route just before we crossed the Susquehanna River.
The Susquehanna River.
The 1904 truss bridge over the Susquehanna River.
Bart and our crewman had to dig out this crossing before we could cross.
Greg Molloy, the President of the National Railway Historical Society, took these pictures of us before we left this location.
We departed and continued down the rails towards Coopersville Jct.
This tree was removed by hand.
However, this one had to be cut to clear it off the tracks.
Our route took us under this bridge.
We reached the switch at the top of the Cooperstown Jct wye then made our way towards the formner Delaware and Hudson mainline down the northeast leg of the Cooperstown Jct wye.
We reached the former Delaware & Hudson mainline, now Canadian Pacific Railway, and proceeded along the interchange track to the end of ownership of the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad.
We reached our end point, then reversed to where everyone was waiting.
A Canadian Pacific Railway train came by with BNSF power in its consist. I wished it would have had Canadian Pacific power, but you take what you can get. I then found Randy and he gave me the car keys.
We all settled up for our ride and then Randy would ride and I would drive back to Milford to wait for him after I took some pictures here. I was not prepared for what I came across.
Amtrak GG-1 972, ex. Conrail 4934, exx. Penn Central 4934, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 4934 built by the railroad in 1943.
Amtrak GG-1 4934, ex. Conrail 4917, exx. Penn Central 4917, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 4917 built by the railroad in 1942.
Delaware and Hudson caboose 35707 built by the railway in 1942 from a 1907 box car.
Coopersville and Charlotte Valley FL9 2028, ex. Metro North 2028, exx. Conrail 5018, exxx. Penn Central 5018, nee New York, New Haven and Hartford 2018 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1957.
Coopersville and Charlotte Valley FL9 2010, ex. Metro North 2010. exx. Conrail 5037, exxx. Penn Central 5037, nee New York, New Haven and Hartford 2037 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1960.
Old freight cars including Penn Central.
View of Cooperstown Jct. From here I walked back north but caught the speeder with Randy aboard driving back to Milford.
Randy and Dave on the trailer as the speeder passed me at a grade crossing. I returned to Milford, reboarded the train and completed the North Creek story as I waited for them, then just as I walked outside, here they came back. After I reunited with Randy, we departed and drove south on New York 28, taking that a very short distance to Interstate 88, where it started raining. We drove into Binghamton to Interstate 81, to Exit 5 where we had dinner at Cracker Barrel. Back in the car, we returned to Interstate 81 then turned west on New York 17 and made our way to Sayre, Pennsylvania.
The Lehigh Valley Sayre station built in 1881. It replaced a temporary structure which substituted for the original depot that burned in 1875. This was just a few years after the town had been renamed from South Central Junction. The railroad's original chief engineer, Robert Sayre had the newly bustling junction named after him by the Lehigh's Asa Packer, one of the 19th Century's most prolific rail entrepreneurs. The present structure is built in a High Victorian Gothic style, and has details in the Queen Anne motif. The railroad also constructed a three story brick office building which was was demolished about 1950. Both structures were meticulously landscaped with trees and flowers and were the pride of the railroad during the Valley's golden age.
Lehigh Valley caboose 95011 built by the railroad in 1941. In 1976, it became Conrail 18698 and operated with Conrail until 1990, when donated to the Valley Railroad Museum.
From here, we returned to New York 17, taking that to New York 19, to New York 243 which took us to Arcade and the Nellies Arcade Village Motel for the night.
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