@N&WY6b posted:Hey Tom,
I thought I'd let you in on the bridge over the Aquatong Creek near Mechanic St. A silent film was done, supposedly, on the "Paulines Trestle" of the "Perils of Pauline"silent movie a long time ago. Yeah hard to believe! There was an actress named Pearl White that played Pauline in the silent movie. Of course, this is rumored and there seems to be not much proof of the claim. I think the name "Paulines Trestle" stuck as an attraction for the railroad, which back in the early years was the Reading. I worked there as a Fireman on #40 (great little consolidation), conductor on 2198 GP30, & 7087, which was scrapped just recently.
I worked on Paulines Trestle with the Foreman- Eric Hessler and three other guy's one day changing out ties that NEEDED replacing, especially after the NRA checked the trestle. It was a succeccful event given the fact that 25-30 ft. below was the creek with a lot of major sized rocks in the water. To this day I can't figure out how they got 614,Ross Rolands 4-8-4 C&O Greenbriar across that bridge to rebuild it years ago in the engine house. That trestle has a tight curve!
Steam Forever
John
John, thank you for the info about ‘’Pauline”. According to Wikipedia, she was born Pearl Fay White and does indeed appear in the film serial, The Perils of Pauline, in 1914. Wikipedia also has a link to an hour and a half of the serial. The opening credits state she is the star. I intend to watch the whole thing hoping to get a glimpse of the trestle… too cool!
Really neat you had a chance to actually work on the trestle and to ‘play’ with #40. I do remember the sharp curve. I also thought about the questions a lot of folks here have about how sharp a radius the Lionel engine will negotiate. The video JohnB sent shows curves on the actual railroad I thought were incredibly tight. Really great for a train layout.
My sister did summer stock at The Buck’s County Playhouse several different years in the late ‘50s & early ‘60s. New Hope had not yet ‘come to life’ back then. My sister had an apartment on Mechanics St which is why I remember it.
Sorry to get homesick on you,
Tom Stoltz
In Maine
