| CR 6997 is on ALHB making its doubles before heading out of town at CP-BURN in Allentown, Pa 10/1995. The 6997 was one of the SD40s Conrail rebuilt to Dash 2 specifications in their Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pa. I actually worked a yard job on the 6997 in January of 1999. The engine for some reason wasnt loading and there was no heat in the cab. We went from mild temperatures and pouring rain to a flash freeze. The precipitation ended before it got really cold. The winds were whipping so badly that the lights under the New Jersey Turnpike were swinging like Church Bells!! If I remember correctly, it was in the mid 40s when the shift began and dropped into the teens or twenties by the time my shift was over. The engineer wanted to shop the set, but he was told that there wasnt enough power at 91 Bay to replace the set. Thats why the power we had that night was the 6997, the 6998 and an SW1500. I remember us going back up to the hump and over from the shops and the transfer yard, the SW1500 died and all we had providing power was the 6998. That SD40 was screaming up the hill, the wheel slip indicators were going nuts and at the crest and the alarm bells were going off. I was glad when the shift was over. Without cab heat, the cold goes right through you. I didnt warm up until I got home with the heat in my car going full blast. I remember my father calling the rebuilt 6900s as "Altoona Junkers". Some of the locomotives used as fodder for the 6900 rebuilds came from the KCS and as a result, some of the 6900s had five chime Leslie horns similar to the horns found on the Seaboard System and Norfolk Southern. BTW, the reason Conrail named this Interlocking CP-BURN, is because The Reading line crosses Auburn Street here. This was formerly known as East Penn Junction. The signal visable in this photo guards what is known as the "hole" track that leads directly to the Lehigh Line. This was formerly an interchange track the Lehigh Valley used to get to the small yard that was here that was used by the Reading, CNJ and Lehigh Valley. BTW, the job I was on was the YPOI34 that signed up at the hump. |