LwS S3, E7 - “Railroad Enthusiasts & A Convention in Altoona”
This episode of Living with Steam features the second set of recordings John M. Prophet III made from Tyrone, and Huntingdon, PA. In addition to recording from those spots, John also recorded from Cresson, PA, and eventually, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s famous Horseshoe Curve.
I’ve mentioned dozens of times before on Living with Steam how John’s field notes could drive me nuts when I tried to match them to PRR timetables in order to accurately retrace John’s steps to come up with a timeframe for his recordings. If you scroll a little further down to see John’s actual page of notes, you may not notice anything strange right off the bat, but the gap from when he made his last recording in Tyrone on August 30, to not recording again until the evening of August 31, made for some serious “head-scratching.”
As bizarre as this may seem, John didn’t always make sound recordings and shoot photographs or films at the same time. If he went to a destination to make recordings… that’s pretty much ALL he did because of the difficulties associated with the equipment he brought with him. His Webster-Chicago wire record weighed close to 40 pounds, the power converter weighed roughly 30 pounds, he carried a 6-volt car battery to power the converter, and he connected both with a relatively heavy cable. Add to that a small stool and a wooden box designed to carry the power converter and the battery… you can see why no pictures are being taken. That doesn’t mean John didn’t carry his camera with him because he always had that. As luck would have it, John DID take some photos while he was in Huntingdon on August 31, 1952 which you’ll see further down the page.
Regardless, the gap in his recording activity from August 30th to August 31st was something I couldn’t ignore, but this is where clever research can give you one of those incredible “EUREKA” moments.
John never needed a reason to visit Tyrone, PA. Next to Renovo or Horseshoe Curve, Tyrone was a location he returned to multiple times; even into the mid-1960s. John visited Altoona multiple times as well so there’s nothing unusual about him being there. But in August of 1952, the National Railway Historical Society, an organization talked about in this episode of Living with Steam, held their Annual Convention in Altoona, PA. Since Altoona and surrounding areas were some of John’s “go to” locations, he needed no arm-twisting to attend. One of the “side activities” of the convention was to take a fan trip on the soon-to-be-shut-down Huntingdon & Broad Top Railroad. The gap in John’s recording activity was caused by John taking in the NRHS Convention in Altoona, then driving to Huntingdon, PA to ride one of the last fan trips the H&BT would run.
If you really want to take in something that will blow your mind… the above picture shows H&BT engine 37 pulling the actual fan trip from August 31, 1952. Somewhere on that train is John; enjoying the ride along with everyone else lucky to have gotten on board.
Unfortunately, John didn’t make a recording while on board the train, but this episode of Living with Steam does a pretty good job describing the trip and a little bit of the history behind the H&BT. You’ll also learn about the two railfan organizations that John (and others) brought to Buffalo, NY as a way to get their fellow railfans organized.
Enjoy!
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Since Living with Steam celebrates the life and legacy of John M. Prophet III, it’s only fitting that I include some information regarding a huge part of John’s life as a dedicated if not “professional” railfan. In an effort to add legitimacy to the group of like-minded railfans in Buffalo who had a deep affection for railroads and their history, John and his close friend Russ Shapley, reached out to the National Association of Railroad Enthusiasts to see if they would be willing to sponsor their group as a “division” of the home office out of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1938, the Buffalo Division of the Railroad Enthusiasts was formed. Despite the glowing introduction Russ wrote to a potential member of the Railroad Enthusiasts in the above letter, John was never truly happy with the parent organization. Russ was a great salesman for sure, but the truth of the matter was the fact the Boston home office never took kindly to having a division that far away. The negativity came to a head when Russ tried to lobby for a branch of the Railroad Enthusiasts based in Syracuse, NY. Sensing that the parent organization was going to be nothing but grief, John and Russ pulled the Buffalo group out of the Railroad Enthusiasts in 1942 for the National Railway Historical Society; thus becoming the Buffalo Chapter of the NRHS… the 17th Chapter in the organization’s history.
Today, the Chapter is known as the Niagara Frontier Chapter NRHS and is still going strong.
The top left photograph is of a newspaper clipping from 1945 depicting Bill Kessel on the left, John pointing to a railroad timetable being held by Russ Shapley, and fellow Buffalo Chapter NRHS member Ed Levandowski. The middle photograph is of a newspaper clipping from 1938 depicting the Railroad Enthusiasts’ visit to the New York Central’s Atlantic Avenue roundhouse. John is at the very top left of the photo, while Russ is in the middle row, far left of the engine’s headlight.
Clicking on each image will open a larger version.
In the archives of the Niagara Frontier Chapter NRHS, I was able to locate the NRHS Altoona Convention of 1952 Annual Banquet program, and a souvenir ticket each attendee was given. Albert (Al) D. Kerr was another founding member of the Buffalo Chapter NRHS and one of John’s best friends. It’s very likely that it was Al who accompanied John on all of his recording activities while in Tyrone, Huntingdon, Cresson, and at the Curve in August. In the segment of this episode where John is pacing the mail & express train pulled by K-4s engine 5344… it was probably Al driving John’s car as he leaned out the passenger-side window holding the microphone to capture the fast-moving train.
Clicking on each image will open a larger version.
Above are examples of the locomotives John recorded in this episode of Living with Steam.
Top row:
1 and 2: PRR K-4s Engine 5344, the engine pulling the mail & express train John recorded east of Huntingdon.
3: K-4s engine 5344 (on the right) and a streamlined K-4 as shown in a classic Grif Teller painting.
4: PRR M-1A engine 6717.
Middle row:
1: PRR M-1A engine 6717
2: PRR B-6SB similar to the one recorded pulling onto the Bald Eagle Branch in the Tyrone recording from the evening of August 31, 1952.
3: An example of a PRR J-1 locomotive.
4: Another example of a PRR B-6SB.
Bottom row:
1: PRR train pulled by a set of EMD F-7s through Cresson, PA
2: A Pair of PRR EP-20 diesels pulling a train around Horseshoe Curve.
3: Grif Teller’s famous “Horseshoe Curve” painting as seen on the back of a Pennsylvania Railroad public timetable.
Clicking on each image will open a larger version.
Although John didn’t make a recording while he was riding the Huntingdon & Broad Top Railroad’s railfan excursion on August 31, 1952, it’s only fitting you see some examples of the H&BT in its heyday. It’s pretty clear why John and the rest of the NRHS Annual Convention attendees were so drawn to it. All images courtesy of Matthew Hurst.
Top row
1: H&BT combine car number 27. Combine cars had seating for passengers in addition to a section for handling mail and baggage.
2: Another view of combine car 27.
3: Railway Post Office (RPO) car 26.
4: Both H&BT combine and RPO cars together waiting to be picked up and inserted into a train.
5: H&BT engine 30 at Huntingdon pulling out with the combine car in tow.
Bottom row
1: H&BT engine 30 pulling the Supplee milk car, the combine car, and the RPO car.
2: A much older image of engine 30 pulling a passenger coach, RPO car, and a box car near Riddlesburg, PA.
3: A rare color photo showing engine 30 with the RPO car.
4: H&BT engine 34 pulling out of Huntingdon and crossing the Huntingdon Bridge. This photo could be depicting one of the H&BT’s railfan excursions. Note the absence of the Supplee Milk car.
5: H&BT engine 38 again shown at Riddlesburg, PA as it pulls a local passenger train.
Clicking on each image will open a larger version.
The Huntingdon & Broad Top images above are from the personal collection of Matthew Hurst.
Top row
1: H&BT engine 30 pulls a local passenger train out of Everett, PA. Note the Supplee Milk car right behind number 30’s tender with the combine car directly behind it.
2: In this image, H&BT engine 33 pulls a mixed freight train near Sandy Run, PA. Since the H&BT serviced the coal and iron ore mines in this section of Pennsylvania, it’s no surprise there are a number of ore cars directly behind the tender.
3: Another view of H&BT engine 33 with a Pennsy ore car behind the tender. More than likely, this train contained a number of ore cars bound for Huntingdon to be picked up by the Pennsy. This view was taken in Saxton, PA.
4: Crossing the bridge over the Juniata River at Huntingdon is H&BT engine 35 pulling it’s combine car and the Supplee Milk car.
Bottom row
1: H&BT engine 37 waits with a passenger train at Huntingdon station. The main line of the Pennsy is on the left. Of course, there’s the Supplee Milk car ready to be dropped off at Bedford, PA.
2: At Mt. Dallas, PA, H&BT engine 38 is MANUALLY turned around at the combination turntable/ash pit. Notice the two bicycles just below the men working hard to rotate the heavy locomotive. I’m wondering if they were locals who aren’t normally stationed at Mt. Dallas, but ride their bikes in to assist with locomotive movements when they hear an engine blow its whistle. Such simpler times for sure.
3: The Huntingdon Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station showing both a Pennsy M-1 and an H&BT train waiting to head out. If you look right in front of the passenger platform, you’ll notice several white sacks of mail and packages. Right behind the engine’s tender is the H&BT’s RPO car so mail is either waiting to be loaded onto the car or it’s just come off.
Clicking on each image will open a larger version.
Above is a section of the 1895 Railroad Map of Pennsylvania. Huntingdon County is right in the middle of the map and the H&BT’s track is shown in black. To the west of Huntingdon County, PA is Blair County. Look carefully and you’ll find Altoona, and to the west of there, you’ll find Cresson. It’s difficult to spot on the map, but Horseshoe Curve is also called out.
As mentioned earlier, John did indeed take two photographs while he was in Huntingdon on August 31, 1952 to ride the special fan trip on the Huntingdon & Broad Top Railroad. The photo on the left shows PRR M-1a Engine 6736 heading west with a gondola and caboose in tow. The photo on the right was taken from the Pennsy’s Huntingdon Station passenger platform looking toward HUNT Tower.
Last but not least, here is John’s page of notes from his August 31 to September 1 recordings in Tyrone, Huntingdon, Cresson, and Horseshoe Curve.
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