A Short Glimpse into Railroads Past

While searching on my computer for some pictures I had taken many years ago in West Virginia, I came across a file containing a small batch of black and white railroad pictures. They were all taken on film, before I discovered the joys and wonders of digital cameras. The pictures were all taken in the Pittsburgh area, mostly in the late 80’s. 

    Trains have always been a part of my life. I think my first memories of trains, after the picture books I had and the train set-up under the Christmas tree, was listening to them pass below the house when we first moved into Shaler. There were two sets of tracks there along with a couple crossings and the trains seemed to go past every 15 minutes or so. As a young boy, my friends and I would walk down to the tracks and watch the trains go by, hoping that the engineer would wave to us and counting the cars. I’d listen to the whistles at night and imagine where the trains were. The love of trains is still with me all these years later.

    This is just to take a short stroll through some of the railroading in the past. A mere 35 years ago the lines often had more than one set of tracks, steam engines still ran excursions through Pittsburgh, and the trains ran more frequently, back in the “good old days!”

    I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did!

Early morning in McKeesport. (1988)

The Pat Train, taken on the morning of its last run. (April 1989)

A Conrail train going through Alleghany Commons Park on the North Side. (1990)

Changing tracks in Sharpsburg. (1988) 

Pittsburgh Railroad Station (1989)

    Back in those days we had a variety of steam excursions come into and through the city. Due to insurance and maintenance costs, they rarely come through anymore. There is nothing like hearing a steam whistle echoing through the valleys as the train thunders past. 

The Nickel Plate 765 crossing the Alleghany River to the Northside

Nickel Plate 765 in Emsworth (1989)

Taken in the Southside

Southside (1993)

Taken from the West End

    Then there were the cabooses. I can remember watching for them as a kid sitting in the back of the car. Slowly they got fewer and fewer until they were almost all gone. I still see one every once in a while, but sadly most of them have been recycled... scrapped. In the town of Sharpsburg there was a scrap yard that did the evil deed; most of them there were Conrail cars.

Taken from the Highland Park Bridge (1988)

Taken from the Aspinwall side of the bridge (1988)

They were lined up all the way down to Millvale at times, like this one. It is a fitting end to this short batch of pictures, the end of the line.