Northern Central RY and Ma & Pa RR Spots at York PA (with COOL MOW Crew!!)

[@bullfrog1954]

Those guys were very friendly! The guy we were talking to once lived by the OML, and remembers all the numerous tunnels! That was a great Sunday, all in all! Thanx!

[@gtoeasy64]

Nice video, I spent many hours working in that Ma & Pa yard as a conductor and an engineer..... every night we'd take a string of cars to interchange down to Con Rail. Also if you would have gone another block or two south you would come to the old Ma & Pa engine houses...( years ago there was a turntable there) Also the Edmons rail car building shops where they were building Ma & Pa box cars in the 1970's. (And I once spent 30 days in that old York County prison for driving with a suspended licence one too many times)

[@bullfrog1954]

I recall Emons Industries (as they called themselves). They were HQ'd in the York station for a while but not sure if they still exist. They did used to build boxcars there, with the 'Famous Ma & Pa' logo on them. I have photos from the 80s when they were parked on the line between Red Lion and Felton. Shame the track got pulled up-glad I took all those photos now! There was a turntable in York, just as in Baltimore. Hope I didn't bring back too many bad memories for you with that shot of the former prison! P.S. The Ma & Pa lives on in HO scale with me! I have an incredible number of pieces, many now rare, including those boxcars! Thanx for viewing!

[@bullfrog1954]

I was just old enough to drive in the NCRY/PRR heyday-but didn't know about it yet-or I'd have driven to York! And I was alive just as the Ma & Pa's heydays were ending-but just a kid! Thanx 4 viewing!

[@Nitsujy12345]

At about 10:40, that line all the way to the end has been getting updated crossig signals and improved road crossings too. I'm pretty sure there is some factories still being used back there...I know about that scrap industry back there. Also that 'York Industrial Track' that goes around that bend is used once a day to interchange with the now G&W's York Rail Co. , which also operates once a day there. Usually you will find three engines doing the switching there on N queen street, about 99% of the time it is two CF7's and a GP16. Curious, did you go to Windsor St. Yard? It is where the York Secondary track goes to after that bend of track. That then goes to Enola PA. H9G is NS's Yard crew there at Windsor St. and H95 is the Local that goes from Enola and Windsor St Yard. Nice video, your lucky about that trespassing, they have signs up about no trespassing. Really liked the details you got into here. I also liked all the old photos you included. sorry for posting one of those excessivly long comments...

[@bullfrog1954]

Nitsujy12345 I haven't been to Windsor Yard proper, but am very familiar with it. The line actually continues north to Sunbury/Northumberland, and beyond thru acquisitions. To the south the scrapyards are still there, though some of the area got spruced up a bit. I've biked the trail and have a lot of video of that area. I might eventually post vid of it. And I have many more old pix of the area too. I really haven't had a lot of trouble with trespassing. Then again, at my age (and in my condition), the security probably doesn't consider me much of a threat! Also, my lady accompanies me, which seems to help! oddly enough! I'm still cautious, though-you never know. I only wish both Ma & Pa and NCRY still operated to Baltimore! Still-would love to catch a switching operation one day. No problem about your long comment-look at the length of my response! Thanx 4 viewing! -Gus

[@tubite2]

Really like all of your Ma & PA stuff. I was captured by its history a few years ago with the Hilton book. Your videos do well at documenting it as it once stood and as it stands now. Thank you for posting. I created the route digitally in a TRAINZ 2004 layout a few years back. I tried to capture the essence of the trip York to Baltimore, just by eyeballing photos and looking on old maps at right of way. It turned out pretty well. It is on the TRAINZ Download Station out there, but with new versions of the software I don't think it holds up well. I see a study has been made for a trail between South of York to Red Lion and then Red Lion to Felton. (The study is out on the web.) Some of the hardware is still there except for the track of course. The trestle at Red Lion/Dallastown area is there. You might want to check that one out. Nice work and thanks for sharing.

[@bullfrog1954]

Thanx a lot! I'm the quintessential Ma & Pa fan! I probably know more about that than CSX or whatever! I have Hilton's book myself, and read it several times! I also met Charles Mahan, who extensively photographed Ma & Pa in its classic days! They're planning a trail from York to Red Lion, then to Felton? From what I've seen, some parts of the line were built over after the 1984 abandonment of that portion! Oddly enough, there were records of what was to happen to the line in the event of abandonment, but they got burned up in a fire at the Baltimore freight shed in the 1940s! I guess thru eminent domain the adjacent landowners reclaimed it. Wish I could've ridden the line before end of passenger service in 1954, but I was only 6-months(!) at the time! I do recall seeing the line before it got pulled up! I did ride the restrored portion from Muddy Creek Forks to High Rock in 2008 (vid posted)-better than nothing! I also have vid posted of a walk along the ROW in the Little Gunpowder valley graphically showing both standard and narrow gauge ROWs-interesting! And I might've seen that trestle to which you refer-it's a small wooden one, right? I shot it back in the early 80s! Do you have a link to that TRAINZ recreation of the route?

[@tubite2]

bullfrog1954 You have to have purchased the Trainz 2004 simulator or greater to access it on their Download Station. They require a logon and password. You then have to download it and access it thru their software. www.auran.com/TRS2004/DLS.php is the link but you need a username and password ie purchased and registered their software. The feasibility study for the York/Red Lion/Felton piece of the trail I mentioned is accessible from the following link. us.redlionpa.org/borough-forms-publications/borough-forms-publications/all-other-forms-publications It discusses the route and problems. It is from 2010. I note.

[@bullfrog1954]

Thanx for the links! I'll have to sift thru those maps and see if any possibility exists that we'll get a trail!