Last Friday I had the pleasure of riding with a crew from the Valley Railroad in Essex, CT. I wasn’t sure which locomotive would be pulling the train Friday – either the newly rebuilt 2-8-2 Mikado No. 40, or the tried and true 2-8-0 Consolidation No. 97. Once I got to Essex I checked in and signed the liability waiver for the ride, then went poking around a bit to see what my ride would be. As I approached the pit area, my answer was there preparing for the day, and glistening under a mostly sunny sky. It was in fact the shiny and newly rebuilt No. 40.
Rather than do my usual and go through the entire trip picture by picture, I’ll just lay ’em all out on the table, so to speak. First off, thanks to J. David Conrad of the Valley Railroad for letting me join the steam engine crew for a trip from Essex to Chester and back. And of course a big thanks to the crew in the cab themselves – engineer Jim Alteri and fireman Ken Blandina. It was an enjoyable ride – Jim & Ken were friendly and informative. Also, I took my wife & two daughters on the open car for the train & riverboat ride after I got back from the first run – everyone enjoyed that trip as well.
Anyways, here’s the goods. Feel free to comment on the individual photos, or here on the blog if you feel so inclined. I’ll be filling in captions over the next day or two as I get a chance.
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Thanks for looking!
Tom
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