NEB&W Presents Soph Marty's Photo Album - NYC Locomotives

Last Update: 2007-09-25

Soph Marty's Photo Album Table of Contents
  1. SD Marty photo of Boston & Albany steam. Soph said he received this interesting e-mail from Dave Johnson and the photo. Dave said it is O.K. to send it out... Soph said to enjoy it as he certainly did.
    Dave said: "For some reason as a young lad I was drawn to the NYC because of the steam locomotives they had; how they looked and how that railroad operated. In 1964, I had a chance to work for them that summer in the Collinwood back shops in Cleveland. Weekends, with nothing to do, I went out and rode around on the road between Chicago and NY on the mainline. In 1964 there were still a bunch of older engineers that had started firing on steam. Most of these were quite willing to talk to me about the "good old days" and some showed me where the water track pans had been located ... some special ties still in the mainline and visible ... and told me some of their experiences. I had a blast!
    "I heard years after my dad had died that while he told me not to work for a RR, that he expressed pride that his son had a job on the NYC for the summer .. now that was a real railroad he had said.
    "Anyway, while I never went down the Big 4 line, the steam pictures you are sharing are of utmost fascination. My dad once told me that he and I should have reversed our lives with the interest in steam that I had as a kid. He was right.
    "Thanks for sharing them. For you enjoyment I've attached a picture taken on the B&A. I can imagine myself on the left side, taking such a shot, after I had checked the water level for the n'th time and adjusted the stoker (I dream in the late '30's-early '40's with the more modern steam engines) for the change in track conditions ahead. Looks like they had surfaced up both tracks and will be adding rock ballast to the cribs next. God ... we can dream, can't we?"

  2. SD Marty photo of NYC Mikado 2-8-2 no. 1440, found at the NYC Terminal in Indianapolis, IN, on March 31, 1956. Soph said: "I am sorry about the scratches on the film. Someone knowledgeable with Adobe could easily remove them, but I do not have the knowledge, and, most unfortunately, not the time to acquire it. Since I retired, I have been so busy that I do not see where I had found time to work...
    "The street in the foreground is Leota Street, which bisected the yard at grade, and made it easy to photograph NYC steam without seeking permission. It was a public street. However, in time, when the Structures List is active, I will have photos of the roundhouse, turntable, and the other facilities. To get these, I did have written permission. NYC in Indianapolis was not a problem; they were happy to give permission for any particular day you requested. The problem was that the permission was for one day only. If it was raining, so be it.
    "Anyway, Leota Street was a blessing as Jeff Robertson Park, in Norfolk, was in photographing N&W steam."

  3. SD Marty photo of NYC Mikado no. 1490, at the Big Four Terminal in Indianapolis, IN, on March 23. 1957. She is just coming off the turntable. Soph said: "Alas, my very best NYC slides are encased in glass, and the scanner will not accept glass mounted slides. Since they are safely stored in glass, I see no reason to remove them. My ancient Kodak pre-Carousel projector can easily handle them.
    "The Navy kindly dispatched me to Corpus Christi in July 1958. After a few months there, I noticed black dots on many of my slides. I contacted Kodak who informed that, under the hot and humid conditions prevalent in Corpus Christi, a fungus was growing on the emulsion. Kodak sold me a solution which cleaned the fungus off the slides, provided the fungus had not penetrated into the emulsion. Had it penetrated, nothing could be done. I was fortunate; I caught the fungus in time.
    " Every fourth night, I was 'Officer of the Day,' and I had to stay on base all night. Work varied from nothing to running your butt off. When work was light, I sat in my office with a soft cloth, Kodak's solution, and cleaned slides. After a slide was cleaned, it was sealed in glass, a very tedious process. Since the slides are still pristine, and the tape is not deteriorating, I will leave all glass-bound slides alone. Sorry..."

  4. SD Marty photo of NYC Mikado no. 1977, found in the Big Four Terminal, Indianapolis, IN, on a cold January 14, 1957. Soph said this slide is Kodachrome and still has its original color.

  5. SD Marty photo of NYC 2800. Soph said: "The photo is in sharp contrast to our goofy weather. Usually, in Iowa, in early January, it is about 15 degrees. Today was 34 degrees!
    "New York Central 4-8-2 No. 2800 was seen again on January 14, 1957, shot from Leota Street (written permission not needed), in the Big Four Yards, in Indianapolis, IN. Note the coal loading apparatus on the left, and the water stand pipe on the right. No massive coal tower here. Note the barrel with the cover askew. Neat detail. These prototype people really know how to add detail to a scene. They really have the touch to make it look real...
    "Also, note the green REA cars and the geep with the lightening stripes."

  6. Another SD Marty photo 2800. Soph said "How many of you realize that this year is a palindrome? (2002, reads the same forward and backward.) And we will not have another palindrome year for 110 years (2222). I can hardly wait...
    "New York Central 4-8-2 No. 2800 is just emerging from the roundhouse in Indianapolis, IN, on April 29, 1956. It is obviously a yucky day, but I had written permission to tour the place and you gotta go when the paper says you can go. The roundhouse was almost a complete circle. I wonder what the EPA would say about the ground...
    "The slide is Anscochrome and it has held up pretty well."

  7. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 2826.

  8. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 2858.

  9. SD Marty photo of Mohawk no. 2893.

  10. SD Marty photo of Mohawk no. 2936.

  11. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 3014.

  12. SD Marty photo of Mohawk no. 3047.

  13. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 3120.

  14. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 3121.

  15. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 3125.

  16. SD Marty photo of NYC Hudson no. 5273. Soph said: "The enclosed slide made me think of resurrection. It is an Ektachrome slide and, unfortunately, for a period in the 1950's, I tried Ektachrome, Agfachrome, and Anscochrome films, before I wised up and returned to Kodachrome. Alas, many of my steam photos are on Ektachrome, and it has all turned sepia...all color is gone, except for shades of brown and white, as is the original of this slide.
    "The HP S20 scanner has some color controls, so I scanned the enclosed photo to see what I could do with it. The scanner also has setting for "Color Slide," "Kodachrome Slide," and "Old or Faded Slide." So, I scanned at the "Old or Faded Slide" setting. Imagine my surprise and delight when the scanner, automatically, returned the photo image to near its original colors. I didn't do anything to it; what you see is what the HP S20 did.
    "So, enclosed is New York Central 4-6-4 No. 5273, which had just arrived at the Big Four Terminal, in Indianapolis, IN, on August 6, 1955. Smile...I sure did."

  17. SD Marty photo of NYC J-3 Hudson no. 5310, which had just arrived at the Big Four Terminal in Indianapolis, IN, when Soph happened by on January 21, 1956. Soph said: "This is another sepia Ektachrome slide partially restored by the computer. Until the last restored sepia slide I sent out, I did not know that anything could be done with these old Ektachromes. Unfortunately, I went through an Ektachrome, Agfachrome, and Anscochrome period in the late 1950's before I wised up and returned to Kodachrome. I have no experience with Fujichrome, but friends who use it, like it. The question is whether or not it will hold up 50 years from now as Kodachrome does. I have D&RGW narrow gauge Kodachromes given to me, from the 1930's, which still have vibrant color.
    "I wish I could go the other way...from computer restored photo to slide. I have a 21 inch CRT, so these slides are huge on it. Has anyone tried to photograph off the CRT, such as photographing this locomotive back on a Kodachrome slide? Sure, I could print it out, but there is only so much storage space and retrieval capacity, and I store all images on 35 mm slides."

  18. Another SD Marty photo of Hudson 5310.

  19. SD Marty photo of Hudson no. 5415.

  20. SD Marty photo of Hudson 5439 at the head of a passenger train. Note the mis-matched equipment. Soph said: "New York Central Hudson 5493 was passing through the southern part of Indianapolis, enroute to the Union Station, on August 28, 1955. It is Train No. 3, the James Whitcomb Riley, an all coach, reserved seat train from Cincinnati to Chicago, with one intermediate stop in Indianapolis.
    "This is another sepia colored Ektachrome..." (rescued by Soph's scanner.

  21. SD Marty photo of J-3 Hudson 5443, at the Big Four Terminal, Indianapolis, IN, on January 21, 1956.

  22. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 6015.

  23. Another SD Marty photo of steamer no. 6015.

  24. SD Marty photo of steamer no. 6015.

  25. SD Marty photo of NYC 0-6-0 no. 6783, found in the terminal in Indianapolis, IN, on March 23, 1957. She had been built by Lima in 1913. (Soph said he did clean the slide...)

  26. SD Marty photo of NYC 0-8-0 no. 7796, backing up across Leota Street, in Indianapolis, IN, on March 31, 1956. Soph said the Central had a huge terminal in Indianapolis, bisected exactly across the center by Leota Street. Though you needed written permission if you wished to visit the roundhouse (almost a complete circle), you could stop anywhere and any time you wished on Leota Street and photograph whatever you wished. It was a public street.
    The street ran north-south. To the left was the roundhouse, coaling tower, sand facilities, and water tank. To the right of the street was the engine yard with live steam engines gently steaming there as they waited to go to work. The structures will be run someday in the Structure Distribution List.
    It was a wonderful place...and now all gone.

  27. SD Marty photo showing, he said, NYC 0-8-0 no. 7803 on the right switching, and 0-8-0 no. 8014 at the coaling tower on the left, in Indianapolis, IN. Even though it is April 9, 1957, it was still a gray, chilly day. The photo was shot from Leota Street. And all is gone...

  28. SD Marty photo of NYC steam switcher no. 7805 on a snowy day. (I think I already posted this same shot in the Clark Propst album, but it won't hurt to do it twice.) Soph said it was photographed from Leota Street (remember Leota Street is public property which bisects the NYC engine terminal?), Indianapolis, IN, on 14 January 14, 1957. He said it looks cold because it was cold; temperature was +4 degrees. (And he said that back the, wind chills were not being calculated for the public in those days.)

  29. SD Marty photo of NYC steam switcher no. 8014 at the coal dock.

  30. SD Marty photo of NYC/P&LE Berkshire no. 9403. Soph said: "The Berkshire was found in the Big Four Terminal, in Indianapolis, IN, on December 25, 1955. This is the only Berk. I have ever seen on the NYC. P&LE No. 9304 was a huge machine. Look at the flat boiler and cab roof for clearance problems. The tender does not show in this photo, but it was lettered 'New York Central System', not simply 'New York Central' as the other locomotives. "P&LE" appeared in tiny letters beneath the number on the cab.
    "If anyone wants to see the tender, let me know and I will scan it and sent it out.
    "In steam days, Christmas Day was usually and excellent time to visit. Not much was moving and, on some railroads, such as the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line, every engine they owned was sitting in the yard sending clouds of smoke up into the sky. Some day I will show the N&PBL."

  31. Another SD Marty photo of Berkshire no. 9403. Soph said: "I have had two requests for a view of the tender of that NYC (P&LE) Berkshire (above). I thought I might have had more, but I found only two more slides of the locomotive, so faded and brown (sepia) that I thought they would be worthless, nevertheless, I brought them up out of the crypts and scanned them, and the HP S20 did something magical to them. One is acceptable and the other is so-so. This is the "acceptable" one.
    "New York Central (P&LE) 2-8-4 no. 9403 was found in the Big Four Terminal Indianapolis, IN, on August 20, 1955. Since I had moved to Indianapolis on 1 July 1955, it obviously did not take me long to find the RR yards..."

  32. A third SD Marty photo of no. 9403.