Steamtown Railfest Scranton, PA 2024

Steamtown’s Railfest is this weekend, August 31 & September 1. I went on Saturday, 8/31 and had a great time!
Steamtown website:
www.nps.gov/st...

[@CarolynArbochus]

Thank you so much for the video, it was AWESOME! I was a volunteer there for many years as was my father. My Dad started out when it was nothing but a weed bed and went to Bellows Falls, VT to pick out some trains. It then became Steamtown USA. They kept it going a few years but ran out of funds because it was privately owned. Then the National Park Service stepped in and I am forever grateful to have been a part of it all. My Dad was a conductor on the last run of the Phoebe Snow. I come from a railroading family on both sides. My dad and his father were conductors and my grandfather and his son, my uncle, were engineers! I am so very proud of my heritage. Thanks again for your video, you made my day!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you so much! I love hearing about your history with Steamtown and your family’s Railroad heritage. My mother rode the Phoebe Snow and it’s a wonderful memory for her. Your comment on my video made my day!

[@CarolynArbochus]

@@MyLifesTracks Thank you for your reply to my comment. You made my day! Your mom probably rode the rails with my dad as her conductor! I truly appreciated your video more than words can say! Beautiful memories. Keep up the great work. Your new fan!

[@JohnHuntt]

Thank you for the tour. Steam town looks clean and well maintain.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@JohnHuntt Of all this times I’ve been there, Steamtown has always been clean and very pleasant to visit.

[@pfkinsey]

Great video. The Berkshire was always my favorite. I bought an HO scale Berkshire by AHM in 1967. It has not run in years, which is my fault as I left it stored for too long. When it ran, it had a great sound to it. Very smooth and refined. Thanks for the Steamtown Railfest video, Steamtown is on my bucket list to visit.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@pfkinsey Thank you! I got my AHM Berkshire around 1976 I would say. I mowed a lot of lawns to get it. I still have it and it runs. She does need a little fixing up!

[@caseyjones1950]

As for the 759, and all the NKP Berk's, I'm with you! I much rather see 765, than the Big Boy in action! I wish they would overhaul 759, and get it under steam again. It would be nice to see it double-head with 765!

[@MyLifesTracks]

I would love to see the two of them run together! So far I’ve seen 3 of the surviving 6 NKP Berkshires. The last 3 are all in Ohio. I need to plan a trip!😀

[@ChristopherWright-bk2nw]

Thank you for showing me my 2nd favorite train the Big boy awesome, and I am happy for you that you found your favorite train. Your favorite train is cute and nice too. I am glad you got chance to find and see your favorite train engine nice.

[@MyLifesTracks]

The Big Boy is extremely cool! I always say hi to my favorite locomotive when I visit Steamtown.

[@modeltrainaficionado7195]

excellent... steamtown is the best.... great video! thanks for sharing!!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you. I always enjoy my trips here!

[@yukonjack18517]

Fabulous video! Thanks for sharing this with us! 🚂

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video.

[@WWIIREBEL]

The last time i was at Steamtown, was 2001 for a military display/encampment (I'm a re-enactor) and hung out with the WW2 veterans . I had a blast. I live maybe 5 minutes drive from NKP # 765. She's a beautiful loco as well!.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Very cool! I would have liked to have seen that encampment. The 765 came to Binghamton, NY a few years back and I was like a kid on Christmas morning!😄

[@MarcelosalivaTRENESArg]

Excellent video my friends awesome 😮like 👍🏻 and Greeting 🙋 from Argentina 🇦🇷

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you very much!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Thank you very much for sharing and enjoyed watching. Have a great rest of your Sunday. Steve

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you Steve!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

@@MyLifesTracks you're welcome

[@ladytrainwatcher4475]

Great video Mark. I haven’t been to Steamtown in many years. Glad you got to see some of your favorites. I also like cabooses. Remember seeing them when I was a kid.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you. Cabooses are one of the coolest pieces on the railroad. It would be fun to be able to take a long trip in one!

[@Richard_K1630]

Not much was on display back in April when I first visited. Glad you got to see what you did.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@Richard_K1630 Railfest is always the best weekend, but I’ve always enjoyed Steamtown whenever I’ve gone.

[@RailFanRob]

Great footage man! I miss Steamtown since moving down here to Daytona Florida! I'll be back soon. Thanks for sharing this!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you! Steamtown will always be a special place for me.

[@funone8716]

Cool video, was there like 20 years ago. Looks like it's thriving.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you! If you can, make another visit and see what’s new!

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

Great to see nickel plate 190 out I look forward to seeing it operate for the first time in a long time

[@MyLifesTracks]

I’m looking forward to that too! I hope I can make it to Scranton see it make its first trip.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

@@MyLifesTracks I live all the way in Texas I’m not gonna be able to see it but I’m gonna see the video of it operating

[@ИринаРатникова-т7п]

Спасибо за шикарную экскурсию!! Я из России и я фанатка американских паровозов😊❤❤❤ мой самый любимый это Большой Мальчик 4014💯💥💯💥

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you for your comment. The Big Boy is so massive when you stand next to it! 🚂

[@MU-2]

Yeah, Scranton! 👍 Steamtown is a nice side trip for anyone passing through the area. Thanks.

[@MyLifesTracks]

It’s always fun to stop by and see what’s on display!

[@MU-2]

@@MyLifesTracks And you can always shop for a pack of Dundee Mifflin copy paper. 😂 Enjoy your day.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@MU-2Last time I was at the Trolley Museum they had a whole section of The Office stuff in the gift shop! 😀

[@jimtrack3786]

You nailed it when you said the Berk may not be the biggest or most powerful, but I don't care. So true. Mine is the Niagara. I found an old railroad calender in a second hand store that showed a painting of New York Central passenger train with a PA 1 on the head rolling along beside the Hudson river in a rainstorm. I now have that picture in a frame in my living room and I model the New York Central. Thanks for the tour.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you. It’s always interesting to hear what circumstance leads someone getting a favorite locomotive or favorite railroad. Thank you for sharing!

[@sparky107107]

it is a great day when hanging out at railfest, they do a fantastic job , next year, you should put on a bit of a meet and greet.

[@MyLifesTracks]

I tried a Meet & Greer once before and only Me, Myself and I showed up! 😢😄

[@brucegordon4992]

I am glad to see UP 4012 has had some restoration done since I saw it there some years back. And when I was in high school I think all the the MGs were orange...

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@brucegordon4992 Steamtown did such a nice job with 4012’s cosmetic restoration, she looks like she is ready to hit the road! I think orange was as flashy as MG’s got. I have a MGB and she is brown.

[@marktoken6052]

Haven't been to Railfest since 2018 but maybe next year as I had to work this weekend.

[@MyLifesTracks]

I hope you can make it next year! Railfest always has some nice visiting equipment.

[@Maurice00PA]

Didn't get there. Thanks for sharing. That FA under going work was something I didn't know about.

[@MyLifesTracks]

I didn’t know they had an FA either. Hopefully we’ll get to see that run soon.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

The Ten Wheeler you briefly showed a photo of they are calling Nickel Plate #44, the oldest existing Nickel Plate locomotive of any kind, later became Akron, Canton and Youngstown #304, the last existing AC&Y steam locomotive. It exists because it was bought by the Danville and Mt. Morris Railroad in upstate NY, and served there longer than it did on either the NKP or AC&Y. From there it was bought by Nelson Blount for Steamtown in the early 1960s. Baldwin shop switcher #26 was later sold to Jackson Iron and Steel Co (JISCO) in Jackson, Ohio to be their plant switcher until the mill closed in the 1970s. That is where the late Jerry Jacobson found it in the late 1970s, bought it and restored it to operation, which is where I came in, as part (a very small part) of his restoration crew. He later traded it to Steamtown for their CN Ten Wheeler #1551, which he used for years on his Ohio Central excursion trains. It now resides in his Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you for the information. I always like to learn more about railroad equipment. I wish more of Steamtowns collection was under cover.

[@michaelwademan]

Hello from Scranton Pennsylvania

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@michaelwademan Hello from Binghamton, NY!

[@NotGavin]

Can't wait to see B&M 3713 when it's all finished, hopefully they resume restoration soon. Great coverage of the event!

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@NotGavin Thank you. I would love to see some bigger steam running at Steamtown.

[@buffaloarearailfan9928]

Excellent Video! Looks Like it was a fun day!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you! There is always something going on through the day at Railfest that makes it fun!

[@Brveezy]

DAMN IT I WISH I COULD HAVE GONE IM ONLY 3 HOURS AWAY

[@MyLifesTracks]

Hopefully you can make it for the next Railfest. It’s always a good time!

[@intercityrailpal]

353 used to be owned by Richard Horstman of Syracuse kept at the East Syracuse station until he died. It traveled the country behind Amtrak. The Palour Car that the LV kept with it in the shops at Sayre is rusting away in Winslow Jct, NJ. The tail car of the Diamond was rebuilt into a mid train lounge. One Is at Cooperstown, NY downtown offices of the N&S&W .

[@MyLifesTracks]

I could get use to traveling all around in this car! I might be passing through Cooperstown this Friday. If I do, I’ll check that car out.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

I thought that was the car I was thinking of. Charles Kuralt featured the car in one of his "On the Road" segments for CBS about 40 years ago. When I worked as an attendant for Amtrak in the 1980s and '90s I used to see that car on Amtrak trains, and had it on the rear of the "Montrealer" more than once. I fixed Mr. Horstman up with a few bags of ice from my lounge car once and he let me come back when I had a break and stand on the rear platform for awhile while we were moving. I was sorry to see that car fall into disuse after he died, it was one of the nicest PVs in Amtrak service, but I'm glad it's preserved at Steamtown.

[@intercityrailpal]

@@MyLifesTracks A short distance a way is the D&H passenger station. Hidden behind trees! What a building! It's a house now.

[@intercityrailpal]

I could have bought that sleeper many years go for just 7,000 dollars in Michigan. The first private owner was a doctor that died. It has had a few owners since then. C&NW sold at auction for 55,000 dollars in Clinton, Iowa. The owner donated it to the Dining Car Society. They sold it to Delaware Lackawanna.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Very interesting. Thank you for the history on it!

[@aaron-prime117]

At least 759 is kept in good cosmetic condition, but after that boiler freeze of hers, it was a shame. and she does deserve to steam again but now it’s one of the Baldwin locomotives that’s operational at this location, but they should overhaul 759 and restore her again too. Then she along with 765 and 1225 will be operational again just like they used to be.

[@MyLifesTracks]

I’ve heard 759 is still in great shape for a restoration. I’ll be so happy if she gets to run again!

[@DonVideoGuy007]

09:46 - That is specifically an ALCO FA-2 diesel locomotive - the first ones came out of the assembly buildings in October 1950.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@DonVideoGuy007 I would love to see it run again!

[@MrStevesTrains]

In Michigan we have the 1225 Pere Marquette Berkshire. It’s the biggest engine I’ve seen movin. Huge drive wheels.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@MrStevesTrains I would love to see 1225 in person someday. She’s a beautiful locomotive!

[@legiontheatregroup]

Beautiful photography.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@legiontheatregroup Thank you so much. I tried to give the viewers a feel of the place and how there was always something happening through the day.

[@johnkranick1287]

A lot going on this weekend...Loved getting close to the Lackawanna Heritage Unit!

[@MyLifesTracks]

There doesn’t seem to be a dull moment during Railfest! I’ve never been that close to a SD70ACe. It was pretty cool to look at pieces!

[@louislamonte334]

Hopefully Steamtown will concentrate on restoring a Big Steam engine! And they have plenty to chose from!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Hopefully they can get Boston & Maine 4-6-2 rebuilt soon? It’s been worked on for years. It would be nice to see a Pacific type running!

[@joekelley1014]

Dave, you keep filming motorcars... you need one so you can operate it! Talk the mine into buying you one!!! The A 3 I have that is all restored would be an excellent car. It has a 4 cyl engine with a 4 speed transmission and reversing rear end.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@joekelley1014 I would love to have one, but I have no place to keep it. The one piece I have always been fascinated by is the Velocipede. Happily the dream of riding one come true at Railfest! I’m a former bicycle racer, maybe that’s why I find the Velocipede so appealing.

[@steamenginefan100]

Funny story, I actually worked on rebuilding the generator for the nickel plate car when it was owned by Operation Toy Train, we pulled it out and rebuilt the generator from the bare block

[@MyLifesTracks]

Very cool! Was the NKP car in Port Jervis when you worked on it?

[@steamenginefan100]

@@MyLifesTracks yes, I have a picture of me after I “crawled” out of the generator😂

[@user-yn8do4px8e]

Steamtown USA most known steam locomotive was #3254 she stopped running due to a cracked frame in 2017. You'll Love Bethlehem Steel I live a few blocks away and the amount of American History there is beyond anything you have ever seen in America. Just in that small area around the Steel Mill has lots of History as well, make sure you make it a thing to stop at the Oldest Bookshop in all of America known as the "Moravian Book Shop" which first opened in 1745 and is still open to this day at the original location across from Hotel Bethlehem.

[@MyLifesTracks]

I’ve taken a few trips behind 3254 when they would go over the Nicholson Bridge. Going to Bethlehem looks like so much fun. Thank you for the info. That book store sounds great!

[@user-gk8gg1zt7l]

Very nice video, likes from me

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you so much!

[@intercityrailpal]

Sorry, but my favorite NKP engine is the Hudson used on passenger trains like the BLUE DART AND THE CITY OF CHICAGO. It's in the Kirkwood railroad museum. 4-6-4 Hudson. Check that date on the Berk I think it's 1949 which would make it 75 years old! Make a date with NICKEL PLATE. The shortest distance between NY and Chicago. 927 miles vis DL&W and Scranton.

[@MyLifesTracks]

Seeing the NKP Hudson is on my list. Next time we drive out to Colorado, I hope to stop by and see it.

[@intercityrailpal]

@@MyLifesTracks It really west of Saint Louis Kirkwood, the next town. Amtrak passes four times daily but doesn't have a stop there. I have to cab from Saint Louis. Boy I love that engine too.

[@rjjrrailsgscalesolenske5231]

Question, I went there last year for a visit and don't remember seeing alot of this stuff, do they bring stuff in for railfest etc.shops where also closed ! Need to get up there again

[@MyLifesTracks]

There are usually many visiting pieces of equipment for the Railfest, like the Speeders and the big Lackawanna diesel. I think during the rest of the year they offer shop tours you have to sign up for. Railfest is definitely the best time to come!

[@tyler_m_sonic_merch_hunts610]

I am standing in the middle on the walkway. I am the one wearing white long sleeve and black shorts at 19:11

[@MyLifesTracks]

You didn’t wave!😄 I thought about going up the walkway, but I wasn’t sure when the train would move.

[@tyler_m_sonic_merch_hunts610]

@@MyLifesTracks I just got there when the train was still there and was wondering when it was going to leave.

[@billxam2674]

Thank you for the video and your work. Very nice. What's the deal with that little blue jeep thing on 514?

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@billxam2674 Thank you. That is a Whiting Trackmobile. I’m guessing it was built in the 1960s?

[@bennyztrainz]

The Bethlehem museum I drove that narrow guage switcher

[@MyLifesTracks]

That’s so cool!

[@bennyztrainz]

@@MyLifesTracks yeah you should give it a try sometime they do at the throttle at that museum💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@TheNorthwestWind]

awesome

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you. It was a great time!

[@Dawsonsrailfanadventures74]

I would have gone if i had time

[@MyLifesTracks]

Hopefully you can plan on coming to the next one. Have you been to Steamtown before?

[@Dannyedelman4231]

NKP 190 used to be doyle Mccormicks locomotive

[@MyLifesTracks]

I saw him at Steamtown when the 190 first arrived!

[@ChristopherWright-bk2nw]

My first favorite train is the bullet train 🚅, of course you know my 2nd favorite train the Big boy, 3rd favorite train is the Amtrak, 4th favorite is nice beautiful blue engine is the Conrail and the blue coobse, and my 5th favorite train is the Santa Fe my 5 favorite trains

[@MyLifesTracks]

Very cool! I always enjoy hearing about rail fans favorite trains.

[@DELSTAR1]

Delaware & Hudson rebuilt real their PA 1s into PA 4s. The Nickel Plate painted PA 4 you see is one of them.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@DELSTAR1 Sadly I never got to see them run on the D&H even though I didn’t live that far from their tracks.

[@ModelingSteelinHO]

Foaming.

[@funone8716]

LOL

[@MyLifesTracks]

The one F word I never say! 😀

[@intercityrailpal]

Keep Cabooses on tourist RR's where you can run them!

[@MyLifesTracks]

I love riding in cabooses!

[@TazhumgChennai]

Nice raiway

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@TazhumgChennai Steamtown is a great place!

[@railfansammy4974]

Nice

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@railfansammy4974 Thank you!

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

I got an Idea would R&N 425 run from reading to steamtown and Buffalo and would CP 2317 and 1246 run both steamtown and the New York Central.

[@MyLifesTracks]

425 has been to steamtown. I’m not sure we’ll ever see it run to Buffalo.

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

@@MyLifesTracks i did this for the New York Central.

[@railfanoverlander]

I plan on going to steamtown on day, I hope when I go they have fixed the heating pipes.

[@MyLifesTracks]

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Steamtown in the winter, so I don’t know about the heating pipes.

[@railfanoverlander]

​@MyLifesTracks according to the steamtown National Park site, 3 buildings are closed until they are fixed

[@MrStevesTrains]

Talk about small confined spaces.

[@MyLifesTracks]

@@MrStevesTrains Are you talking about the passenger cars? In those I had to keep ducking into rooms to let others pass in the hallway.😀

[@johnvcramer5517]

You may like 759 but i like UP 4014.!!!!!!!!!

[@MyLifesTracks]

There isn’t a locomotive I don’t like. The Big Boy is very impressive. The NKP Berkshire is just my favorite. 🚂

[@arunbhoopathyt6503]

❤ tonish gloss ish 2 good luk on u. 🎉. ❤

[@MyLifesTracks]

Thank you.

[@johnvcramer5517]

II also don1t like High Hoods.!!!!!!!!

[@MyLifesTracks]

Everyone has their likes and dislikes.