THE BLACK RIVER VALLEY MODEL RAILROAD WEB SITE

Leetonia Railway Shay #1 is the Railroad Museum Of Pennsylvania's example of the 3-truck Shay, gear driven locomotive. Zachary is facinated with logging locomotives, particularly Shays. He has a HO-scale 3-truck Shay that is very similar to the one in the photograph.

This is the same locomotive as above, but from the opposite ange. In this view, the complexity of the Shay's gear drive system is painfully obvious.

A closer view of the Shay's 3-cylinder steam engine. Always full of questions, Zachary asked me how it worked. After giving him as simple explaination, that I'm not sure he understood, his face lit up and he said "Cool."

The Railroad Museum Of Pennsylvania's example of a two-truck Heisler, logging locomotive. Next to the Shay, my grandson's favorite steam engine.

This Climax is another example of a gear driven logging locomotive. The differences betwee this loco, the Shay and the Heisler are obvious. All are favorites of my grandson.

This restored Pennsylvania Railroad E-unit #5901 is my favorite locomotive at the museum. Because the storage tracks are so close together at the museum, it is difficult to get a good photograph of much of their collection. This extreme quarter view was the best I could do.

This black beauty, PRR GG1 #4935 has been restored for the museum. This is a fine example of what an electric locomotive from the last century should be. The loco and its sisters, served the PRR, PC, and Amtrak for more than 50-years before being retired. The GG1 is still one of the most powerful locomotives ever to be put into mainline service.

This is the museums replica of the John Bull. The original was built by Robert Stephenson & Company in 1831 for the Camden & Amboy RR. The original is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. It was last run in September of 1981, the 150th anniversary of its construction. It is the oldest self-propelled vehicle, of any kind, in the world. This replica was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad Shops in Altoona in 1940. Like the original, this little 12-tonner develops 38 H.P. at the drawbar.

Yours truly and my better half posed in front of Conrail GP30 #2233. It is not every model railroader that has a wife who gives up her none too frequent vacation, to visit a railroad museum, ride a tourist railroad, and then tour the Toy Train Museum and the Choo Choo Barn! I am most certainly blessed!

My son-in-law David and my daughter Wendy posed near the Conrail GP30. Although they are not train enthusiasts like their son, they did enjoy the railroad museum and many of the other attractions Strasburg has to offer.

My grandson posed on the pilot step of PRR steamer #5741. He was less than thrilled to be on the locomotive. He was conserned about violating the "Keep Off" signs posted all over the museum. I placed him on the step for the photograph. I told him we had to get a photo of him on a steam engine after traveling more than 400-miles to get there. He was thrilled when I took him down.