|
|
|
|
About the author: Philip M. Goldstein
I was born in Brooklyn in 1969, and I have always been heavily interested in railroading, and it runs in the family.
I was introduced to trains and railroading at an early
age by my father Stan. . . |
|
|
Around my second birthday, (1973)
#759, a 2-8-2 Berkshire type, formerly from the New York, Chicago & St
Louis Railroad (better known as NKP or the Nickel Plate Road) was laying
over in Warwick, NY at the Lehigh & Hudson River RR shops, after a High
Iron Excursion.
My mother Sharon took the picture (seen at left) of me on it's front coupler being held by my father. If only they knew where that would lead.... |
I may have been born a little too late for the BEDT steam show; but I did get to see some BEDT diesels in action, as well as Bush Terminal and New York Dock diesel operations. Matter of fact, when I was a child; I was fortunate enough to get a ride in a New York Dock RS3 diesel (in background) at Bush Terminal in October 1974. |
|
|
The picture at left was taken by my father on April 14, 1975. Here I am seen at the New York Dock Fulton Terminal enginehouse in downtown Brooklyn. I may not have had good fashion sense (checked pants with plaid jacket with a striped engineers cap?), but I had good taste in railroads! |
| By the time I able to use it, I had
my own camera, a Yashica GT with 45mm f1.7 lens; and it saw plenty
of use at railroad yards up and down the East Coast.
I always seemed to be at Sunnyside Yards located in Long Island City, Queens, NY; at least several times a year as well. Here's a shot of me on the 39th Street overpass which overlooks Sunnyside Yards. I still have this camera as it holds some very fond memories, and it has taken quite a bit of railroad photos. |
|
I also summered every year in Strasburg, PA, and I was constantly around operating steam locomotives which as you can imagine; were never boring.
In addition to the NYD cab ride mentioned above, I have also had a cab ride in a steam locomotive, and I have also been fortunate to have had at least one cab ride in every piece of motive power of the Delaware & Ulster Railroad: ALCo RS36 #5017, ALCo S4 #5106 & #1012, GE 44T #76, Brill M405.
I have also had the pleasure of operating a nineteenth-century trolley on several occasions, for the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association when it was located on the Van Brunt Street Pier. This trolley, #3; is a genuine museum piece and is an overhead electric four wheel trolley built in 1897 by Mann-Schukert in Germany; for use Olso, Norway. It is currently located at the Trolley Museum of New York, in Kingston, NY.
I have also been certified to operate #358, a 1925 St. Louis Car Foundry self propelled diesel (ex-Johnstown, PA); for the Trolley Museum of New York.
I am also certified to operate railcars thorough the North American Rail Car Owners Association (NARCOA) and anticipate the eventual purchase of my own railcar.
The following is a summary of the railroads
and railroad museums I have visited, photographed, in some cases had the
opportunity to ride:
Class 1 / Revenue / Commuter / Industrial |
||
| road | city / town | state |
| Penn Central |
Horseshoe Curve Tappan |
PA NY |
| CSX | Kingston - Saugerties Arlington Yard, Staten Island Baltimore Yard |
NY NY MD |
| New York Container Terminal | Staten Island | NY |
| Norfolk Southern | Port Clinton Sandusky |
OH OH |
| Soo / Canadian Pacific | Oneonta | NY |
| Baltimore & Ohio | Baltimore | MD |
| Long Island Rail Road |
Sunnyside Yards, Queens Jamaica, Queens Bayside, Queens Oyster Bay |
NY NY NY NY |
| Amtrak |
Sunnyside Yards, Queens Rhinecliff Albany Hollywood Marshall |
NY NY NY FL MI |
| Metro North | Poughkeepsie | NY |
| New Jersey Transit |
Ramsey Rutherford Suffern |
NJ NJ NJ |
| New York City Transit Authority |
Coney Island Shops (Bk) 39 St Yards (Bk) 50th Street Tower (M) |
NY NY NY |
| Auto Train (Northbound) | Sanford to Lorton |
FL VA |
| Seaboard Coast Line | Florence | SC |
| Kellogg's Factory | Battle Creek | MI |
| Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal | Brooklyn | NY |
| Bush Terminal | Brooklyn | NY |
| New York Dock | Brooklyn | NY |
| New York Cross Harbor | Brooklyn & Jersey City (Greenville) |
NY NJ |
| South Brooklyn Rwy (NYCTA) | Brooklyn | NY |
|
||
| Strasburg | Strasburg | PA |
| Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | Strasburg | PA |
| Steamtown |
Bellows Falls Scranton |
VT PA |
| Cadillac & Lake City | Sandstown | MI |
| #759 (High Iron Excursion layover) | Warwick | NY |
| Morris County Central | Morristown | NJ |
| Bush Woodlands | Cooperstown | NY |
| Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley | Cooperstown | NY |
| Florida Gulf Coast | Parrish | FL |
| Freedom Train (runby 1976) | Ramsey | NJ |
| Branford Trolley Museum, CT | Branford | CT |
| Delaware & Ulster Railroad | Arkville | NY |
| Catskill Mountain Railroad | Phoenicia | NY |
| Ulster & Delaware RR Historical Society | Roxbury | NY |
| Trolley Museum of New York | Kingston | NY |
| Empire State Railway Museum | Phoenicia | NY |
| Brooklyn Historic Railway Museum | Brooklyn | NY |
| Reading 2101 (running! - NJT Port Jervis Line 1998) |
Harriman | NY |
| New York, Ontario & Western (walked r.o.w.) |
Summitville | NY |
| Ulster & Delaware RR (walked r.o.w.) |
Kingston - Oneonta | NY |
| Red Caboose Lodge (slept in a real caboose!) |
Strasburg | PA |
In addition to the research of, and collecting photographs
and memorabilia from Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal, my other railroad
related hobbies and interests include:
history and research of Industrial Railroads & Locomotives that operated in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx and Manhattan; NY;
history and research of Military Railroads & Locomotives that operated in the New York Metropolitan Area;
history, research & collecting memorabilia from
railroads that operated in the Northern Catskill region of NY
(Delaware, Ulster & Greene Counties, NY);
collecting NY Transportation Company (Transit) emphera & exonumia;
all items specific to Erie Railroad L-1 class 0-8-8-0 (Articulated Camelback) locomotives; and finally;
scratchbuilding HO scale locomotives of BEDT and Erie L-1;
Pennsylvania RR electric locomotives (especially the early models);
all side and saddletank type locos, regardless of wheel arrangement;
all "camelback" style locomotives;
(Erie L1 0-8-8-0 camelbacks and the St. Clair Tunnel
Co. 0-10-0 sidetank camelback are two of my favorites)
.
Currently, my full time occupation (unpaid) is research and historian of Industrial & Offline Terminal Railroads of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx and Manhattan. This "occupation" goes hand in hand with my full time responsiblities as a stay-at-home dad from April - November.
From November through April however, I am employed in the Building Services Department of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, located in Highmount, NY.
Othertimes, when funds and time permit; I can be found chasing trains with my son Joe, who is about as rabid about trains & railroads as I was at his age!
 |
 |
Should you find the need to contact me, please feel
free to email:
or call
(845) 586 - 4672
