8 CLASSIC TRAINS FALL 2019
Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Summer 2019 issue
Archive Treasures treasured
I am delighted to see the excellent feature on photos by my favorite anthra-cite roads photographer, Donald W. Furler [“Archive Treasures: Quiet Mon-
sters Coming to Life,” page 16]. I hope you enjoy a Lehigh Valley picture I took
in 1973 at almost the same spot as Furler’s Central of New Jersey shot on page 4.
The most obvious change is that the imposing Lehigh & New Englandbridge is gone, removed in 1967. The LV train is running on ex-CNJ trackage
eastbound behind three GP18s as the CNJ pulled out of Pennsylvania in 1972.
No doubt the eastbound has work in the yard at Allentown, otherwise it would
be using the original LV main on the opposite side of the river. The highway
shown in the 1946 photo through the Lehigh Gap was cantilevered in an am-
bitious highway restructuring in 1958.
Steel high-tension power lines are visible in the 1973 scene as well, but thehillside looks remarkably the same. Today, the LV main line on the opposite
side of the river is gone. It is a popular trail, which my wife and I frequent on
our bikes. On occasion, we stop at the location of the former L&NE bridge and
ponder what it was like nearly 75 years earlier.
Thanks for the memories.
Jim Hertzog, Mertztown, Pa.Lehigh Valley GP18s 302, 303, and 304 roll through the Lehigh Gap in 1973. LV acquired the
line, now run by Norfolk Southern, when CNJ pulled out of Pennsylvania in 1972. Jim Hertzog
I have only three words for Scott Lothes’
article on the photography of Donald W.
Furler, “What a pleasure!”
I. E. Quastler, San Diego, Calif.
I especially enjoyed the article with the
magnificent photographs by Donald W.
Furler. The title page photograph of a
Chesapeake & Ohio Class H-7a 2-8-8-
locomotive, in mighty action with a long
freight consist, really caught my eye. The
article stated that it was one of Furler’s
all-time favorite photographs and hung
in an enlarged print over the mantel of
his home for many years.
I could certainly see why!
James Cloud, Tucson, Ariz.Thank you for the article and photos
about Donald W. Furler. I always enjoyseeing the photographs for the well-
known photographers, but it’s a special
treat to see the images from the lesser-
known shooters. I’m looking forward to
future installments of “Archive Treasures.”
Alan Miller, Suttons Bay, Mich.Steel City memories
I especially enjoyed the articles by
George A. Forero Jr. [“Golden Spike Cen-
tennial Prelude,” page 30, and “Four Days
with the Golden Spike Centennial Limit-
ed,” page 78]. In May 1969, I had ob-
tained my first camera and started rail-
fanning on my own around Pittsburgh. I,
too, was out watching and photographing
the Golden Spike Centennial Limited.
The photo on page 37 of the Union
Railroad in Universal, Pa., brought back a
memory. In the 1960s and ’70s that rail-
road’s police were exceptionally hostile
toward railfans or anyone else, for that
matter, who were photographing their
trains. If you were caught on Union prop-
erty, you would be arrested for trespass-
ing. If you had a camera, your film would
be confiscated, if not your camera.
In 1970, a friend of mine was a public
official for a municipality that the Union
passed through. He was also the scout-
master of a local Boy Scout troop. One
weekend, he used his contacts at the rail-
road to arrange a tour of its enginehouse
for the boys and asked if I would like to
go along. Naturally, I was happy to help
out the Scouts — and take some pictures
for myself. My job was to escort the four
or five boys, including his son, who were
railfans. So, one Saturday, I ended up in
the Union’s enginehouse, happily snap-
ping photos with a group of other fans.
Standing behind us were two URR po-
licemen, actually snarling because they
could do nothing to stop us!
Joseph Birsa, Plum Borough, Pa.That shot of Monongahela 1210’s cab
on page 35 brought back a memory for
me. In the early 1970s I was a young fan
visiting the railroad’s shops for the first
time. A crew operating 1205 saw me and
welcomed me aboard. The engineer va-
cated his seat, sat me down, and proceed-
ed to show me how to run the unit a few
miles south to a yard where 1205 and
1216 were to pick up a cut of cars. At that
point the engineer took over, but not be-
fore I had actually “run a Shark!” Fifty
years later it remains fresh in my mind.
Lee Gregory, Pittsburgh, Pa.