New Castle Industrial

Bing Crosby in his 1954 White Christmas introduced us to the lovely Haynes sisters. Now the New Castle Industrial hosts two BN sisters, thanks to the latest motive power addition to the blue house off of Moravia Street. NCIR recently purchased a second SW1500, giving them a matched pair of high-vision end-cabs that both trace their lineage back to the Burlington Northern roster. (41 goes back to the Frisco.) Two SWs in MU lashup will mean more pull for the bigger hauls up from the Class Ones, and a third unit will no doubt bring that greatest of shortline luxuries: a backup locomotive when another goes offline. Despite CSX missing the mark and shipping 46 all the way down their line to Baltimore, and then having to send it back this way, the men of the NCIR have wasted no time in applying the road's handsome red-on-black with-a-white-stripe paint scheme. A few more odds and ends to tend to and they tell me she'll be up and running for them in no time. It'll be Rosemary and Vera all over again.

"Sisters. Sisters. There were never such devoted sisters."

Life circumstances kept me away from the New Castle enginehouse and my NCIR friends for a full year, and during those twelve months the railroad sold off Canadian Geep #4032 and secured itself a third EMD SW1500. The Industrial wasted no time in applying their sharp trademark red/black/yellow scheme to the new switcher -- a lease to own unit from just over the Ohio state line, from Larry's Truck & Electric. Like her two sisters, 1515 also has Burlington Northern and then BNSF lineage. She carries her LTEX number for now, but word around the shop is that she will become #51 if in fact she finds a permanent home in the big blue shed. Three SW's gives the NCIR great flexibility, including 2-unit lashups for heavy hauls up from the CSX when needed ... while still leaving a third unit free for shunting. And 1515's arrival proved timely, as by December #46 was out of service with a bad leaf spring in a truck. When #46 comes back from repairs, we'll have to talk to my friends at the top about staging a 3 unit photo shoot.

Sometimes persistence pays off. For many months I drove by the New Castle Industrial enginehouse, 15 minutes from my home, hoping for (a) sunny skies and (b) a shot with a locomotive near the building. In western Pennsylvania, sunny skies can be a rare treat. I've always been impressed that this little road took the time to build a great looking blue metal shop that included their name on it for the public to see. It's a nice touch for a pike the plies the otherwise spartan industrial sections of this former steel town. Well, one summer my persistence paid off. Railfan pal Ben Wells and I rolled up on the shop on a sunny July afternoon and found Canadian Geep rebuild #4032 idling just outside, paused from daytime switching duties.

Turns out that the folks who own and operate the New Castle Industrial are wonderful hosts, generous in their hospitality to this local railfan. I've very much enjoyed getting to know them this year and appreciate their invitation to be on the property and in their cabs. Riding the NCIR is like moving around in a jigsaw puzzle all day long; spurs and siding run in every direction, and every move requires thinking through the next five. It is like running a 12" = 1' switching shelf layout. What's more, I now have a new favorite locomotive. When as a kid I spent a day in the cab of Columbus & Greenville road switcher, my father joked that the otherwise ugly CF7 was my new favorite locomotive. Too true. Now, thanks to the men who make the NCIR move every day, their well-dressed SW1500 is my new favorite locomotive! To be sure, I've long loved switchers; that's not new. What can beat the lines of a late model SW body? But to ride along in the cab of this 45+ year old veteran while she plies their 10mph pike, shunts the day's loads and empties from here to there, and grabs on to long cuts of sand and salt and pulls them up grade with all her might -- well, #41 is on the top of my list for now. Thanks to Dale and crew for allowing me to hang around the blue house from time to time. A great mover in the care of great people.

And word is, a sister SW1500 arrives soon. Can't wait to meet her.