NYSW 142

The 261 has a good roll on as he passes the station at Marathon.

The 261 has cut off his train, and will couple to the NYSW 142, then back both engines onto the train, and put the whole thing back together, with E 8 2400 taking up the rear.

Taken out of service in 2018 for her 15-year overhaul, the in-house project took a hit from the Pandemic. She is better than half-way through her stay in the shop as the NYS&WT&HS crew performs nearly all of the work themselves in hopes of getting the 142 back on the main in 2022. Don't try this at home, folks, this is an undertaking of huge proportions...

NYSW 142 is on a fall foliage excursion at Ridgefield Park, NJ 10/2001.

NYSW 142 is at Lincoln Park, NJ 10/2002 after an overheated bearing sidelined it for the rest of the season.

NYSW 142 was the power on the south end of the Maple Festival train, and it made a good show of getting out of town on a very cold Saturday morning.

One of the more scenic views along I 81 is near a place called Hoxie Gorge, between MP 46 and 47 on the highway. Im at the north end of the bridge to catch the train down in the valley.

NYSW 142 is ready to go on its move from Cortland to the Maple Festival in Marathon. The steamer next to the DLW stbtion and crossing guard tower evokes the feel of a much earlier era.

Looking for all the world like an early 1950s secondary train, the Maple Festival train pulls out of Cortland, the engine sending a large plume of smoke skyward.

Several places along I 81 provide good views of the tracks, though I dont recommend sitting on the side of the interstate to do this. Its a volation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law for one thing, and not terribly safe for another. Nevertheless, a shot of a steam train was too much to resist, so we have this shot of the Maple Festival train near Messengervilie, seen from the shoulder of I 81.

The NYSW is running on the former DLW Syracuse Branch, which for a good part of its length south of Cortland follows the Tioghnioga River. We see the train a couple of miles out of its arrival at the festival in Marathon.

The NYSW ran excursions for the annual Mapathon Maple Festival, starting with a run down from Cortland. Mikado 142 was the star of the train for several years. In 1993, it was brutally cold and snowy-there had been a!20 plus inch snowfall a week earlier-even for the festival, which was notorious for its awful weather. While it made for a challenging chase, steam in the snow made for a great show.

That is the roof of NJT's BOYD Tower

River Road is literally side-by-side with the Bel Del trackage for several miles between Carpentersville and Riegelsville. My grandsons loved pacing the steam locomotive at close quarters as it chugged southward.

On our drive back home to the Lehigh Valley, we intercepted NYSW 142 and had an enjoyable chase along River Road.

ex-PRR trackage. Location is about a quarter mile south of the I-78 bridge across the Delaware River

One of the runby locations was at Tully, where we lined up along a baseball field to get an open shot as the rain pelted us.

True to form for the Tier, the weather for the trip I rode was dreadful, cold and rainy. I rode Sunday's trip, originating in Syracuse. They ran a couple of runbys along the way, one in Tully, the other here at Lisle. We see the train smoking it up as it comes out from under the I 81 overpass. The photo line is standing on the flood wall that keeps the Tioghnioga River from periodically inundating Lisle and Whitney Point. The NYSW was optimistic by putting the 4006 as lead diesel. This is the unit that crunched a dump truck at a grade crossing during the 1988 NRHS convention.

The Saturday SB&NY trip rolls north past the NY 392 crossing as supervisors in an NYSW truck monitor its progress.

The trip that originated in Binghamton on Saturday rolls along the Tioghnioga River near Marathon in fall splendor.

This is probably why shortline volunteers 'volunteer'; a quick cell phone pic, and back to work at the Belvidere & Delaware River Railway shops. A day on the RR is not easy, but scenes like this surely make it worthwhile...

Getting ready for her excursion duties on this beautiful late summer day, 142 backs out of the shop area to access the BDR mainline...the old PRR Bel-Del main along the Delaware River.