Gp38 expierence

I used to live in Hampton Bays next to CPI about 10 years ago. I was about 50 yards for the tracks. I remember hearing 8-2's & the MP 15's shaking the house every time they passed. the new $h!t they got is trash.
BRING BACK THE OLD STUFF!!!
GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!!!

Ahhhh the memories. I still can hear the sound of the 38's accelerating out of Smithtown whether from my bedroom window or at the station. Of course the best memory was bottoming out on the top of "Bread n Cheese Hollow Road" in KP doing 85mph eastbound with your head out the cab window. Many rides, lots of fun.

After owning my first ALCo, I couldn't understand EMD.....

Ritchie was a great guy, as I am sure Gabreski was. Miss "the Island" too. Someday somebody will get me a website to post some pics on - plenty of good cab shots to share.

Fred.

P.S. I'd take a 38 over an SD70 or 9043MAC any day of the week !

My first experience on a GP38 was on the Oyster Bay branch. I was with my mother and at Greenvale wanted to see the engine. The Engineer was a nice man and let me come up on the engine to see it and then asked my mother if she minded if I took a ride with him. She met us in OB and I had the thrill of my life. That was when I decided I wanted to work for the LIRR.

Dave, you left off one very important name that was shown on a plaque on a GP-38 (#?)
Bob Giannuzzi was my engineer for the last couple of years before I retired and stayed on a few more years himself.
While he was still working, he was running steam on the Valley RR in Essex, CT and I believe he still is. He was one of the best engineers that I had had the privelige of working with.

JJ:

I don't know how I missed this post of yours from way back in February, but that's the reason I never acknowledged it! Sorry!!

Can you give me some idea of the locomotive number? I've compiled a webpage list and Steve Lynch has been illustrating it.

Thanx!

Dave Keller

Wow, do I miss the old GP38's (and all the old diesels). I unfortunately have really lost interest in railfanning the LIRR over the last few years, and it's probably because of the DM30's. I used to be constantly out there railfanning years ago, and noticed it's become less and less over the recent years. I didn't stop on purpose, but I think it's an unconscious occurance....the railroad lost it's uniqueness when the old trains went. I know the coaches were rolling disasters, and it needed to be done....but wow, could they have picked uglier and more utilitarian engine replacements than the DM30's?
And it's getting worse each year....the high level platforms...the loss of old towers over the last 10 years like PD and Fremont, stations like East Williston.... I miss the railroad of 10+ ago.....
This revelation came to me at Ronkonkoma a few weeks ago when I was waiting for a train, and a NY&A train came through with two GP38's on the train, and man did I all of a sudden remember what I missed about the railroad, the noise they made and the smell just brought back so many memories.....
There was nothing like it..... Miss them terribly....

You said it GP 38.

AMEN, BROTHER!

GP38 wrote:Wow, do I miss the old GP38's (and all the old diesels). I unfortunately have really lost interest in railfanning the LIRR over the last few years, and it's probably because of the DM30's. There was nothing like it..... Miss them terribly....

GP38-2: I understand your sentiments.... Do you have any stories to share, photos, etc. that Dave Keller and I (Steve Lynch) can post to the website to save your memories?

http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/LIRR%2 ... iesels.htm
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirrphotos/lirrphotos.htm
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrcontents.htm

Thank you.
Best

I remember my very first sighting of a GP-38. I could see it from the window of my english class in the north west corner of Smithtown High school East. I had a good clean view of the Pt Jeff line just before it went over the 25A bridge in St. James. Anyway, I thought it was cool to have something "differant" than the Centuries.

My first up close and personal view was at the St. James station a few days later and I couldn't believe how the car body doors were shuddring and the locomotive vibrating and all that noise as it went by the platform shoving west. I noticed it didnt seem to get the train up and going like a Century could.

So much for first impressions.