The Steam Train and Riverboat Excursion
The Excursion: From Essex Station traveling north to Deep River Landing, then on a diesel riverboat up to within sight of Goodspeed's Opera House and the swing bridge (Haddam, CT); back to the Landing; board the train; and then south back to the station.
The steam engine was a 1989 (!) Chinese Tangshan SY 2-8-2 built to look like a Mikado. It was formerly with the Knox & Kane RR in PA. From the website, the first class seats reminded me of my MTH PRR model's heavy weight car chairs. For some reason I think those chairs look silly and so I decided it was not worth the extra cost to sit in a Lazy-Boy on trucks when I got my tickets. Coach was good enough for me.
The trip north to the boat landing was in No. 501, a 1915 Pullman former Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western. The trip south was in No. 502, a 1914 Pullman, also former DL&W. I took two cameras. Most river photos were taken with the brand new camera that I bought just for the trip because I thought my old camera was failing. (I can never get a close-up shot to show you guys my latest model cars and engine purchases.) It turned out the new camera couldn't focus to save its soul. Fortunately, my old camera came through. This is a model train forum anyway, so take my word for it: the water was nice, too. (The riverboat was the former Southern Belle. It was built in 1961 and had 380 hp?)
I went back a couple of days later driving by car so that I could photograph the train stations, cars on sidings, and the river boat landing without throngs of people or passenger car windows and rivets framing every shot. It turned out to be a good decision.
Ready to roll:
Yes, it really was built in China and shipped to the U.S.:
Looking out the window of Pullman passenger car No. 501 at a dinner train ready for its run and in anticipation of my own dinner trip the next day:
The inside of 1915 Pullman, No. 501:
At Deep River Landing, the terminus for this particular excursion:
The Becky Thatcher (a bit smaller than I imagined but fun none-the-less):
Back from the river cruise, the open air car and first class passengers had to show their tickets. Cheapskates in coach like me didn't have to bother. Here's the open air car, a 1917 Pullman. The engine moved to the south end via a siding in preparation for the trip back:
I chose No. 502, 1914 Pullman for the ride back to the station. Here are two photos showing interior details:
Back at the station in time to pick up some goodies at the gift shop:
Tomlinson Run Railroad
