Working on the Montour

Heres a picture made at West End Hills with Dave Sherwood, this was an early shot in 1973 as the Coal Run was ready to place the first loaded cut on the main against the hack. Dave is throwing the Loaded Yard Switch prior to shoving back. Note the "Repco" radio in his hand on this nice summer day. You can see a PRR hopper sitting on the Transfer to the PRR, the phone shanty and wayside poles still standing. The bridge and Kamps Cut is behind me. Between the caboose and the hopper on the hillside is where the steel water tank once stood for the steam engines, the standpipe for this was to the right of the hack along the main. Gosh those days were wonderful. Tim Sposato

One winter day in 1979, I had to report to the Superintent at Montour Jct, prior to my shift at Champion yard office. As luck would have it a Champion yard crew was on duty and preparing to leave as a "caboose hop" just when I had finished the meeting. Seeing that I had plenty of time before my 2:00pm shift, I quickly decided to follow the crew to Champion.

I stopped at numerous locations for pictures or just to listen to the single note airhorn sounding for the crossings. A favorite spot over the years was to sit at McLaughlin crossing, and allow the train to get along side of the truck so I could pace it eastbound for about a quarter mile. his particular day was no different, but as the engine rounded the curve as I watched the side mirror, the sudden notion of shooting a picture came to mind.

The #83 was on its last whistle blast, the crossing directly behind my 77 GMC Jimmy, I fired this shot and dropped the camera onto the seat and started rolling as the engine caught up to me. The clanking rail joints sounding with the rumble of the EMD in the lower throttle notch was music to the ears.

The usual good nature banter started as engineer Jack Harvard and I hollered back in forth during the 15 mph chase to North Star Jct. After this short run the track is on a higher grade as the road to Champion from here is on the opposite side of the valley until MP 13 as it enters the Boggs cut. I arrived at the YO just as the Crew pulled in. Then it was another typical day at the Coal Washer.

Note also the short piece of 90# rail, a repair of an early break at one time. These short pieces were a common sight on the 90# rail through out the system. One can also see the general track appearance in regard to the ties and ballast condition.

I always enjoy looking at this shot, the only one I ever did one using the mirror, but these unique shots make them more special.

Here is a photo of Jim Lane taken at Boggs yard on the main. They had just pulled clean coal off the Siding at Champion and were air testing the train for the trip to Montour Jct.

The recent posts of free use of Montour hauled coal allows me to relate another human interest story about Jim Lane. Jim was working as a fireman in late 1930's on a run, late one winter evening out of Montour Jct, he thought it might have been locomotive #33.

As they headed east they passed through Greer Tunnel, over the PRR in the through truss bridge and around the left hand curve. Here they exploded a track torpedo used for signaling a obstruction ahead. They slowed down and caught sight of a flagman giving them a stop signal with a red lantern. After stopping the flagman said his train ahead of them was having air trouble with a pick up off the PRR Transfer at Hills, but expected they would be moving East shortly. The flagman climbed aboard as the engineer (George Barefoot) eased down to stop behind the flagman's caboose.

At this point they had stopped on a short straight stretch east of Greers crossing above what later became the water purification plant for #4 mine along Chartiers Creek. This was also next to an old frame/ log dwelling belonging to an old widow woman. Her husband was a miner all his life, but had past away. I can only believe the miner used to walk either the Montour, or PRR that crossed the creek at this same point, to work every day. Depending if he worked the tipple or entered the mine at the supply yard along the PRR.

Well, Jim living in Hills station, knowing all his neighbors decided to toss some coal out from the tender into her front yard. He said he had tossed coal as he passed by on moving trains before, usually a shovel full or two if he was quick enough. After he supplied her yard he climbed down into the cab and was confronted by the trainmaster. Seems the TM had been lurking around the train stopped in front of them and walked back for a visit. He asked Jim what he had be doing on the tender and Jim replied he was shoving coal closer to the bunker doors and trimming the loose coal so as not to have it fall from the top of the tender. Well the trainmaster knew the real story and wondered why he saw coal landing in the widow's yard, no reply from Jim would have changed the verdict.

The TM reported Jim and disiplinary actions where given in terms of more "brownies" to his record, but the coal remained for the widow. Guess the TM may have had a soft spot himself. I easily imagine the scene of the #33 sitting there shrouded in steam on a cold evening with its headlight illuminating a wooden caboose and the silhouette of Jim against the night sky making sure the old widow woman would be warm for another night.

As you walk east today from Greers Crossing when the foliage is dead you will be able to see the remnants of the old dwelling foundation of the widow's home on the right side of the grade.

I have stood there , looking around, listening, recalling of this story...........

Tim Sposato

Summer of 1976, I have had about 15 months employment by now when we started to safety tie sections of the main between Hills and Library Jct.

Standard procedure was to spend a day or two spreading new ties through a section, then coming back to install them. Most work was done by manual labor, MRR was lean on the mechanized equipment. We would load 30 ties on a push cart

and hi-rail to the drop points. The foreman would be walking ahead with a yellow lumber crayon and "X" the tie end to be replaced. The truck would follow slowly as we walked next to the cart, one man on one side, one on the other.

As we reached the bad tie, one man would snag a new tie with his hands as the other man gave it a push and this would "torpedo" the tie along the six foot. This momentum would allow a man to carry the tie clear of the cart.

This picture was take as we installed the new ties and were tamping them with ballast & cinders against the rail bottoms. The picture was taken east of Turkey farm crossing and west of mile post #34 in Peters Twp. The truck is the RH-2. The man on the left was Jim Beaver, John P Schmidt, foreman in the center and Bobby Dengler on the right. This was a portion of the Section Gang Two based out of Hills Station.

I was a proud member of this gang at the time, since this section covered the eastend by my home grounds. I got the boys to line up for a couple of shots that day including some of the tie distribution action and a shot of a younger me posing with them. Guess I need to copy those to share sometime.

Since that time, JP Schimdt was killed in a construction accident, Bobby Dengler was killed in an automobile accident, I last heard Jim Beaver was in jail.

Amazing how we never know what the future holds......