The Empire Link

[Matt L]

Meanwhile, the SD40-2s had been cut off from the consist they'd brought back from NS and were running light into the yard.



Photo taken by me Mon 8/23/2010 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

Here's a good look at the transload facility. Sand is unloaded from hoppers here and taken by truck the gas drilling sites in the area.



Photo taken by me Mon 8/23/2010 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

WCOR will also use their bigger EMDs for switching as necessary.



Photo taken by me Mon 8/23/2010 at Wellsboro Junction, PA. 

[Matt L]

As I left for the day, I could see #506 had been coupled onto a trio of hoppers further up the tracks. These hoppers were also filled with sand, but they were headed for a glass factory in downtown Wellsboro.



Photo taken by me Mon 8/23/2010 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

As I said before, WCOR (freight) and the Tioga Central (passenger) are owned by the Myles family and run on the same tracks. The Alcos are currently the power for TIOC's excursions. In fact, I rode the Sunset Limited excursion just two days before I chased WCOR's freight operations.

The excursions operate pull-pull, a la the Finger Lakes excursions. TIOC often puts Alco S2 #14 on the south end of the train to power the return trips.



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

Alco #506 was at the other end of the train and would pull the train on its outbound trip north.



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 at Wellsboro Junction, PA. The whistle post is a cool remnant from the New York Central era.

[Matt L]

Added bonus- this trip was a dinner train. We had excellent staff.



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

Before dinner was served, I could walk to another car and catch glimpses of #506 as we headed north.  



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 in Niles Valley, PA.

[Matt L]

This was my delicious dinner. The Tioga Central RR serves the best BBQ ribs I've ever eaten. No knife was needed!



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 in Tioga, PA.

[Matt L]

We got a nice look at Hammond Lake during dinner.



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 in Tioga, PA.

[Matt L]

Our chef, Shannon, was very friendly- he gladly came out to speak with the appreciative patrons. He was featured in Railfan & Railroad the following month for his culinary skills. BTW, Shannon  cooks in a converted baggage car, which is part of the consist.



Photo taken by me Sat 8/21/2011 in Tioga, PA.   

[Matt L]

Here is the 3rd Alco on the Tioga Central, RS1 #62. She is a former Washington Terminal unit, purchased by TIOC in 1988.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/13/2008 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.  

[Matt L]

The dinner trains on the Tioga Central stop north of Hammond Lake before returning southward, but most of the other TIOC excursions stop at the lake so the passengers can enjoy the view.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/13/2008 in Tioga, PA.

[Matt L]

Alco #14 leads the return trip on a drizzly fall day. She was built as #46 for the Buffalo Creek Railway, a joint Erie/Lehigh Valley subsidiary that served the Buffalo waterfront. The S2 was sold after Conrail absorbed BCK and eventually wound up on TIOC circa 1984.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/13/2008 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

Occasionally, the Tioga Central RR will operate the excursion southward into downtown Wellsboro. For an extra charge, passengers can ride in the caboose.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 in Wellsboro, PA. 

[Matt L]

When the excursion runs into downtown Wellsboro, TIOC will bring 2 Alcos (usually #14 and #62) into town separately. An Alco meet is a nice thing to see, IMO.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 in Wellsboro. PA.

[Matt L]

Number 14 brings a photo freight for the excursion patrons to see.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 in Wellsboro, PA.

[Matt L]

This old Erie boxcar sits on a siding nearby.



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 in Wellsboro, PA.

[Matt L]

As hinted by a couple of previous photos, TIOC has a couple RS1s that are OOS. I don't know for certain if they're parts donors, but I suspect they're being used to keep #s 62 and 14 running.   



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 in Wellsboro, PA. 

[Matt L]

Number 506 sits in the TIOC/WCOR on a stormy fall afternoon. She is a former D&H unit. GE rebuilt 10 RS3s with 2000 HP 251 prime movers (an Alco design) for the D&H in 1975. Number 506 escaped the scrapper's torch 12 years later and came to TIOC by virtue of her Bicentennial paint scheme.



Photo taken by me Sat 9/15/2007 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

BTW, 2007 was the final year of separate TIOC and WCOR operations before the Myles family bought both of them. Thus there was no transload facility yet.



Photo tkaen by m Sat 9/15/2007 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

TIOC also has a former Pennsy caboose.



Photo taken by me Sat 9/15/2007 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

[Matt L]

Number 14 is coming back to the yard after finishing operations for the day. 



Photo taken by me Saturday 9/15/2007 at Wellsboro Junction, PA.

There will be more to come in the series some time after Christmas.

[Matt L]

Last August, I was out on the Southern Tier Mainline to catch the NS OCS. As an added bonus, I was able to spend time with the Owego & Hartford Ry, which is part of the Empire Link. This shortline is a remnant of the Lehigh Valley's Auburn Division. Conrail operated the line until about 1982 or so... and this caboose reflects that heritage.



Photo taken by me Wed 8/24/2012 in Owego, NY.

[Matt L]

The O&H has a wide variety of motive power, with engines from EMD, GE and MLW. Here we see an MLW RS18 and an EMD SW1200 in the yard.



Photo taken by me Wed 8/24/2011 in Owego, NY.