Diesel Days 2003 was a great success for the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum this year. With over 1,050 visitors over the weekend, it was our busiest Diesel Days event and our second largest weekend ever! Three locomotives from our historic operating collection were out this weekend, including Lehigh Valley Alco RS3m #211, U.S. Army Fairbanks-Morse #1843, and Nickel Plate Road Alco S-4 #79. All three were celebrating their fiftieth birthdays that weekend, quite the milestone for our historic diesels. Our restored Penn Central and Erie cabooses were pressed into service to transport visitors across our demonstration railroad. Thanks must go out to our partner museum, the New York Museum of Transportation, for all their help at their end getting visitors ticketed and loaded on track cars. And we must thank all of our volunteers for their work both before and during the event. All we can say is THANKS! Photos by Chris Hauf
Ready to go! The engine line-up awaits the start of the operations on Saturday morning. Lehigh Valley #211, 50 years old this year, was running, but was not operated for the event. Visitors, however, were allowed the tour the cab and hear the 211 idle.
Another 50 year old… USA 1843 pushes the museum’s Erie caboose around Scanlon’s curve along the museum’s demonstration railroad. Museum volunteer Mike Smith guards the rear platform of the historic F-M locomotive.
The last of the three 50-year birthdays was for NKP 79. Here #79 pulls the museum’s restored Penn Central transfer caboose during the 2003 Diesel Days event.
Also operated, ALCO RS-1, Eastman Kodak Company #9, descends the hill block with a combination of museum volunteers and Diesel Days visitors. Volunteer Joe Werner helps keep visitors safe as the train decends into Indsutry Yard.