Re: PC: PC in the news

["Chris Osterhus" <su_carbs@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Rob:Those were a couple of the E8s I remember. Others were: 224(exL &N 
nee SLSF),266,267,268, at least a couple former UP E-units. It is too 
bad Amtrak did not keep at least some of these engines as spares to be 
used as needed and equip them with HEP as backups for the F40s. My fist 
Amtrak ride, a round tripper between Buffalo and Rochester was with 268 
outbound, and from Central
>Terminal, no less.Boy, did those E8s want to race. The GE Genesis 
engines are not even as good as the F40s when it comes to accelleration 
either. I would give anything to have the E8s back where they truly 
belong.

I also can remember seeing grimy Amtrak, PC, CR, et al E8s down at the 
ex-PRR train station in Pittsburgh.  I also remember the roar of the 
engines, the oily smell that hung around after the trains left, and the 
bins of brake shoes sitting against one of the far walls.  In fact, the 
soot from the diesels is still on the station's inner walls! 

I also remember how decrepit the station was during the late 1970s-mid 
1980s.  Back then, to get to the train platforms, you had to park under 
the round dome, and then walk down a dark, damp tunnel along the side of 
the station. (After awhile, they finally let people drive down here, and 
park inside the station--They turned a former waiting room area into a 
parking lot!). 

That was 20 years ago.  Now, the station has been cleaned up with 
restaurants, offices, and apartments.  Amtrak has a little terminal on 
the 1st floor, with escalators up to the train platforms.  The E8s, PC, 
(and CR now too!), are all gone.

--Chris Osterhus
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/9116
Central Penn Station


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