Railfan Attractions in our Region… Editorial Note… This page is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. We are adding more railfan photo opportunities as quickly as we can.Erie, PA Area… Located about two hours north of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B in Erie, PA is Liberty Iron & Metal. LI&M is situated under the East Avenue Bridge along the CSX [former CONRAIL] Chicago Line. About two years ago, LI&M picked up this GE 25-tonner and a sister unit from Erie Forge & Iron. Both units were originally General Electric plant switchers prior to going to the EF&S. Steve took this photo with permission in June, 2006. Erie Coke Co of Erie, Pa operates four locomotives inside the plant: an EMD SW-91200, a GE 80T, a GE 45T and an Atlas coke quenching car/locomotive. Here is 45 Tonner (GE 11-45 28519) in May of 2007 handling newly quenched coke. The unit, possibly assigned #1 was built for Buffalo Slag as their #8 at this same plant when it was a steel plant operated by Interlake. Sometime, many years ago the unit became property of Koppers, Inc when they operated the coke plant. When Erie Coke took over, the ownership went to them. Nearly 63 years at the same location. Photos can be obtained from the parking lot adjacent to the tracks. B&P Railroad, Butler, PA The Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad at Butler is accessible from a public roadway bridge [PA Rt. 68] right over the shop area, and is less than an hour’s drive from our location. Brad Conant obtained this view while a guest at The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. B&P 922 is an ex-N&W GP18. Photographed in September, 2007 on the B&P mainline by Barry Householder. Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad… With the decline of the American steel industry, the Bessemer & Lake Erie has likewise become less active. No longer an American-owned railroad, the B&LE continues to fascinate railfans with its powerful orange diesels and copious supply of hopper cars. Their hoppers are everywhere… many still wearing remains of their original Rock Island paint. One must drive perhaps an hour or so from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B to access the B&LE. But it can be done! Robert Shook caught Bessemer & Lake Erie ‘Tunnel Motor’ [SD40T-3] 906 at the Hulton Road Crossing in Plum, PA. Sharon-Farrel Area… Steve Timko favors us with #9 from Duferco Farrell Corp. in the Sharon-Farrel area of Pennsylvania–less than an hour’s drive from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. Duferco is the former Caparo Steel and Sharon Steel plant. Duferco operates five EMD switchers, all former Monessen Southwestern units that were sold to Sharon Steel when MSW closed down. DFC #9 is an EMD SW-900 that was originally MSW #30. Steve took this photo in Farrell, PA on December 6, 2007. Note that this photo was taken on plant property with permission. This does not imply that permission will be granted to photographers, nor does it imply that units can be photographed without permission. There are some public roadways surrounding the plant, but visibility of these units is generally marginal. Thanks, Steve! Youngstown, OH Area… Youngstown Sheet & Tube purchased a 23-ton Model ‘EL’ diesel electric locomotive from Plymouth Locomotive Works for its Campbell Works in Youngstown, Ohio in 1940. The locomotive was transferred to the Brier Hill Works when Campbell closed in the late 1970’s. After the Brier Hill Works was closed, the unit sat abandoned inside a bulding at Hunt Steel and later North Star Steel. North Star donated the locomotive to the Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association, still carrying its original #320, and it is presently parked at the east end of Brier Hill on what appears to be Ohio Central Railroad property. The unit carries Plymouth builder’s #4015, making it definitely a ‘one-of-a-kind.’ Brier Hill is located about an hour northwest of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. Both CSX and the Norfolk Southern Youngstown Line are located in the immediate area. New Castle, PA Area… New Castle. PA is about a half-hour’s drive from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B and is rich in both contemporary and historical railroad interest. CSX has a division point yard there which can be viewed from several perspectives [we provide our guests with plenty of information]. The B&P interchanges with CSX there, adding additional interest. The Beaver-Lawrence Railway Historical Society is based there as well. They own several pieces of rolling stock which are at various levels of restoration and repair. The New Castle Industrial Railroad provides short line interest, and the ISSR repairs hundreds of freight cars there every year. We offer an ideal nearby location from which you can access the area. Barry Householder provides a rather sad sight–the 3003 Alco owned by ISSR [on Industrail Drive] is being dismanteled apparently because of high scrap prices. It has originally been painted and restored by the Beaver-Lawrence Railway Historical Society, which has a large collection of equipment on ISSR property. The chapter also owns the former West Pittsburg, PA station just outside of New Castle. The station, likewise, is undergoing restoration. Barry Householder provided this photo. Steve Timko photographed the ISSR ‘BUG.’ It is there for ’safe keeping’ and gets ‘exercised’ now & then. It was one of three such battery-operated animals constructed for CONRAIL to be used as [level ground] shop shifters. The “BUG” is owned by the Beaver Lawrence Railway Historical Society [former Beaver Valley Junction Chapter NRHS]. Steve Raith of the society tells us that the ‘BUG’ was originally from Selkirk Yard in New York and was transfered to Conway Yard in the late 1990’s. It saw little action in Conway because Conway has a roundhouse. Roundhouse tracks have a very slight grade away from the turntable pit to keep locomotives from rolling into the pit. The little unit was not able to overcome the weight of newer units and the grade, which would on occasion cause it spin its wheels. Selkirk and Collinwood are both flat ‘run-through’ shops where these ‘Bugs’ were more effective. One is reportedly still in use by CSX at Collinwood Yard in Cleveland… in a dry indoor environment where it can get enough traction to pull a diesel unit a short distance. Located in the Mahoningtown area of New Castle, just off Rt 18, Interchange Specialty Services–Car repairs and rebuilds railcars for owners. ? Kasgro Rail… Barry Householder continues our tour of the New Castle/Mahoningtown area with these photos of part of the Kasgro Rail facilities. There is some question as to the exact heritage of this roundhouse. Interesting rolling stock can always be found just outside, like the KRL Red ‘n Ready Line flat cars. All of the photos in this series were taken from public roadways which adjoin Kasgro property. Kasgro Rail’s Furnace Street Plant is host to one of the Red ‘n Ready’s tiny critters. The KRL’s freight rolling stock is generally much bigger, including some of the largest heavy-duty flat cars in the world. Kasgro services the one-time Westinghouse depressed center flat cars, which can often be seen waiting for their next ‘high-and-wide’ journey, as well as a fleet of KRL wide-vision cabooses. Check that critter’s drawbar! Photo by Steve Timko. New Castle Industrial Railroad… The New Castle Industrial Railroad [NCIR] is essentially an industrial switching operation utilizing most of the remaining trackage of the four major mainline railroads which once served that community. Barry Householder was in Mahoningtown [New Castle], PA on August 12th and shot this photo. The Ohio Central heritage of NCIR 4032 is obvious. The Nickel Plate caboose is owned by Beaver-Lawrence Railway Historical Society [former Beaver Valley Junction Chapter NRHS] based in West Pittsburg, PA [just outside New Castle]. The trailing caboose is owned by an NCIR employee. Wampum, PA Alaron Corporation is located in Wampum, PA on Rt. 18, about 25 minutes north of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. This GE 25-tonner handles inbound cars from the Norfolk Southern’s adjacent Koppel Secondary. Steve Timko photographed it in June, 2007. Steve cautions against trespassing on plant property due to the nature of Alaron’s business. They decontaminate large machinery from power plants and other nuclear operations. If you venture that way, stay on the public roadways which access the local industries. Koppel, PA… IPSCO #48 is based just a few miles north of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B in Koppel, PA. Steve Timko reports it is a former P&LE NW-2 sold to Babcock & Wilcox for their Beaver Falls plant in the late 1960’s, then later moved to their Koppel plant and sold with the plant to Koppel Steel in 1991. Koppel Steel numbered the unit KS-048. After many years of service, it was stored a couple of years ago when a newer diesel, #35211, was purchased. But the veteran EMD was recently refurbished, repainted, and renumbered for IPSCO. Steve took this photo with permission in February, 2008. Horsehead Zinc Corp., Kobuta, PA… Horsehead Zinc Company is located in Kobuta, PA, along the Ohio River. They use this NW-2, #8821, as a plant switcher. Steve Timko took this photo from the PA Rt. 60 bridge which spans the Ohio River just a few miles from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. Although the Beaver Valley suffered greatly when the local steel industry collapsed, plenty of other industrial operations are still active here. As we’ve been showing you–often with Steve’s photography–that means there are numerous privately-owned diesels of every description operating right in our area. Railfans use our facility as a ‘base camp’ for railfanning this great variety of power and rolling stock. Pittsburgh Intermodal Terminal… A true classic belonging to the Pittsburgh Intermodal Terminal at Ambridge, PA. The facility operates two General Electric 65-tonners. This is stand-by locomotive #3, photographed by Steve Timko on 10/20/07. Ambridge was named for the former USS–American Bridge Division, once termed ‘The Largest Structural Steel Fabricating Plant in the World.’ A huge percentage of the great bridges built in the early 1900’s were created at Ambridge. Many of them, such as the Ohio Connecting [OC] Bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side, have gained prominence in railfan books and other publications. Much of the Ambridge property has now become the Port Ambridge Industrial Park, and is located along PA Rt. 65 just a few miles south of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. Here is Steve’s photo of another of their diesel units, taken in May of 2007. This same diesel worked at the W.H. Sammis Power Plant at Stratton, OH prior to its arrival in Ambridge. Although they remain somewhat hidden much of the day, these fascinating diesels will from time to time make their appearances alongside PA Rt. 65 where they can be photographed from the adjacent PA Rt. 65. Ambridge, PA Area… Looking like something out of LGB, this 16-ton Plymouth Model DDT works at Allegheny Petroleum on Duss Avenue in Ambridge, PA. That’s near the ISPCO-Koppel Steel plant. Steve Timko caught it in July, 2007. The ‘critter’ is usually out in the early morning–before 10:A.M. It’s kept indoors when not in use. The little Plymouth originally worked for Westinghouse at Trafford, PA and is equipped with dual controls. Steam in Sewickley, PA… If you travel across the bridge spanning the Ohio River at Sewickley, PA, you may have spotted this rolling stock below. This is a Porter 0-4-0T ‘fireless cooker’ now located in Sewickley’s Riverfront Park, which is right beside the same busy Norfolk Southern mainline that is across the Beaver River from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. This former U.S. Steel engine that was once located at Station Square in Pittsburgh. It’s coupled to an ex-P&LE/ex-P&OV bobber caboose. Chris, from Coraopolis, PA [across the Ohio River from Sewickley] sent us the photo. POHC, McKees Rocks, PA… Railroads don’t necessarily spot their power for our lenses in either convenient places nor at convenient times. Steve Timko had to indulge in some night photography to capture this image of POHC 8702. Located in McKees Rocks, theOhio Central System operates the Pittsburgh & Ohio Central RR serving Allegheny and Washington counties. The oadquarters are located at he old PC&Y office building in downtown Rocks. Greater Pittsburgh Area… The Bellefield Boiler Plant is located in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section at 4400 Forbes Avenue, about an hour’s drive from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. The plant supplies steam for the hospitals, universities and other businesses in the area. Coal arrives on CSX’s P&W Sub-Division. Bellefield spots the loads and pulls the empties. The plant operates this rare 25-ton Plymouth diesel-electric which was built for the U.S. Navy in October, 1942. The unit carries Plymouth builder’s number 4417. Steve Timko took this photo on July 3, 2001 from private property, with prior permission of the plant personnel. West Mifflin, PA… If anyone can find ‘oddball’ rolling stock, it’s Steve Timko. For example, here’s an industrial switcher seen at Tube City Iron Company in West Mifflin, PA on April 19, 2007. Not much question as to where they got it–it’s former Union RR #566, an SW-9. Even Steve isn’t sure about this one, however. It was also at Tube City Iron, but its heritage so far is unknown. Weirton, WV, Steubenville/Mingo Jct., OH Area… In September, 2007, Steve Timko focused his lens on Mittal Steel [formerly Weirton Steel] SW-1500 #306. This is the former P&LE #1565, originally P&LE #9288. The photo was taken in the ‘Main Street’ yard of Weirton Steel… on private property… with permission. It is possible, however, to obtain photos of Weirton Steel AND Wheeling-Pitt Steel diesels from public property. Both steel mills are located within about an hour’s driving distance of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B. Our model railroad now under construction will include a suggestion of these mills and trackage replicating that in nearby Mingo Junction, OH. The Kiski Jct. Railroad, Schenley, PA… The Kiski Junction Railroad is more than a freight-hauler. It hauls passengers, too! Mostly railfans and folks–including families–who want to take a ride on a real working railroad. Visit their website, www.kiskijunction.com, and see for yourself. The KJRR is a little more than an hour’s drive from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B and has been a destination for many of our guests. Photos by Steve Timko. Youngwood, PA Steve Timko photograhed Buncher Rail Car’s GE 25-tonner in Youngwood, PA, along U.S. Rt. 119 in January, 2007. Much interesting freight rolling stock can be found there. Be sure to also check out the nearby Youngwood Historical & Railroad Museum. A former PRR branch is the primary rail route through the area.