New York Susquehanna & Western (NYSW) 3614 - EMD SD45

NYSWs SLN 5 passes the Cortland Corset Cos building in its namesake city, led by a classic EMD model, and SD 45, and an equally classic Alco companion, an M 636 of CP heritage. The train will be handed to Conrail at CP 291 in Solvay.

Marc Grinter photo

Marc Grinter photo

NYSW 3614, NS 4041, TP&W 2062 and OWY (Oakway Leasing) 9087 have dropped their train on the MC tracks and head east for the fuel pad at Ridgefield Park, NJ 11/1999.

StL&H 5448 is on the point of SU-100 at Riidgefield Park, NJ in the early morning of 12/4/1999. The 5448 was built as Texas & Pacific 831, then it became Missouri Pacific 3130. It was sold to NRE as its 3130. It was rebuilt in 1993 and was painted primer grey. In 1994, it was purchased by CP Rail as its 5448 during a mass purchase of second hand SD40-2s. The 5448 never was painted CP red. It was patched as StL&H 5448 in 1998. The StL&H 5448 was sold to Mandak for scrap in May of 2005.

conklin yard old pic from my lousy kodak

Three trains await crews in the D&H Mohawk yard on 05SEP1988

An ABBU waits for a crew on the Buffalo Runner with a train of empty grain hoppers to go back to Buffalo, and eventually to the SOO for reload in Minneapolis. The B23 assigned to Conrail's WABH 11 sits in their yard, and to the left of the signal we see a derelict C 430.

MEBU has left East Binghamton, and is now passing the NYSW shop downtown as BH 1 works with a trio of 4 motors.

The east side of Waverly has some notable features. Note how wide the tracks are here. There was a center siding here during Erie and EL days, which was removed by Conrail, but the tracks were never straightened. At left is a pet food plant, which would remain a Conrail customer for several more years. We see PLMT, a coal train for Mt Tom Mass, rolling past with four yellowjackets.

A four unit set of NYSW 45s has an eastbound PLMT, symbolled RC 1, for ReCrew, a dogcatch crew that relieved the outlawed crew from Buffalo, rolling through Waverly past the classic buildings that serve as a backdrop here. The semaphore has dropped to stop now that the train is several hundred feet past the signal.

MEBU rolls through the S curve at Sanitaria Springs, showing off its five yellowjackets. As good as this was, the real prize was in Binghamton on BUOI-an MKT SD40-2.

MEBU with five NYSW yellowjackets crosses Wylie Creek as seen from NY 235.

MEBU crosses Moottown Rd and the north end of Dyes siding as it rolls downhill toward Binghamton.

The pusher set on this PYRP has a pair of SD 45s, not uncommon for the time. The odd unit is against the train, NYSWs remaining C 420, which did not typically work in this type service.

SLN 5 rolls west as seen from the NY 352 overpass. The area here, Big Flats, is well named. That's NY 17 in the background. It's a four lane road that runs the length of the Tier, making a train chase a really doable proposition.

BH 1 was sometimes a maid of all yard work on the downtown side of the operation, working the NYSW yard and also Bevier St if it needed switching. Here we see it with 2012 and an SD 45 on the D&H side, next to the Jordan Spreader that sat there most of the summer.

RPPY arrives at East Binghamton, the power pulling all the way to Terrace Dr with a long train as a pair of SD 45's works in the yard. The power will cut off and go to the house, and the train will be switched. A set of southern power will take it to Potomac Yard.

A set of four new B 40s has just been set out by the BUME at right, and will be taken to the shop for set up. They still had that new car smell.

One of the new B40s has the lead as it rolls PYRP under the Conklin Av bridge at Holmes Crossing. Ahead is the Susquehanna River bridge and BD, then Belden Hill.

Sometimes if there was a conflicting move on the Erie side, the Hornell dispatcher would run a train in or out of East Binghamton on the DLW side, known here since EL days as track 3. MEBU is getting the DLW side this morning as it heads west. It will go past the Lackawanna station downtown as it heads for West BD and the Erie main there. It's a Saturday morning, and the faithful are on hand to see the action.

PYRP is about to cross Conrail and Court St as it approaches the diamond at BD.

Gonna listen to my 45s...in the words of Billy Joel. Binghamton was a good place to do it. Four of them sit outside the shop.

MEBU rolls through Elmira at speed, making its way to Buffalo for a mostly NS connection. An NYSW unit leads diesels from three different fleets.

BUME rolls across the Susquehanna with its NW GE long hood first, even with dual control, not the easiest way to run.

An NYSW SD45 leads a mixed set of power past the old yard office at Bevier St on its way up the hill to the tunnel.

Despite Guilford havng cut loose on the D&H, their power would sometimes still show up. This BUAB has cut the power off to drop one unit at Bevier St, revealing a pair of ST SD45s trailing the NS and NYSW units leading.

BUAB rolls up to the north end of Bevier St where it will get a new crew and then head for Mechanicville after dropping the trailing unit.

Lots of opportunities for these at the time. NYSW had their power everywhere, and one of these units was bound to show up.

A pair of EMDs has the new crew on and is pulling a Sea Land stack out of the yard for a run to Buffalo.

A pair of NYSW units mix with the usual assortment of borrowed power to get MEBU underway from QD.

BUAB rolls back to its train after dropping D&H 7409 on the adjacent track. D&H 7409 on the adjacent track is giving away its Reading heritage.

A still green NYSW SD 45 leads SLN 3 as it waits to get out onto the Tier.

Six units lead todays SLN 3, five of them Yellowjackets.

Wherever possible, Walter Rich told his operating people to run a Yellowjacket unit in the lead. They did well on this MEBU waiting to get onto the Tier for its trip to Buffalo.

MEBU rolls through Bevier St on its way to QD and a trip on the Southern Tier.

RPPY rolls out of Belden Tunnel and toward Binghamton. It will meet a northbound at Dyes Siding, between here and I 88.

An RPPY rolls south at Hancock Rd in Sanitaria Springs behind an NYSW SD45. This is a great spot for a southbound in the afternoon, though the power has changed some since then.

An MEBU rolls through Owego on its way to Buffalo. Today we have D&H leaders, though NYSW tried to put one of their units in the lead whenever possible.

Down under Starrucca, where the D&H Penn Division once ran-you can see the right of way beyond the picnic table-is a small park. A little over a dozen years ago, you could see SD 45s here on a regular basis-the gray, maroon and yellow of the Erie Lackawanna, along with C628s on the D&H. The Penn Division is now only a memory, but its still good to see SD 45s on the viaduct.

This old silo was at the west end of Deposit. SLN 4 passes.

SLN 4 rolls past the automatic at MP 207 in Kirkwood as it makes a run for Starrucca and Gulf Summit.

SLN 4 has made the hard climb to the top of the grade at Gulf Summit, and now has a fairly easy ride the next 80 plus miles into Port Jervis.

SLN 4 paces along NY 17 as it makes its way toward Hancock, and eventually New Jersey.

SLN 4 rolls around the big curve at Roods Creek-between Deposit and Hancock-though you cant see much of it for the foliage. This is a great spot in winter, but the NYSW SDs look good here in new paint.

SLN 4 rolls down the Delaware valley near Deposit with three SD 45s and containers stretching back into the distance.