DOES ANYONE LIVE NEAR RENOVO ?

I was curious, is there anything left over, at Renovo, from Conrail ? Are there any cabooses still stored there, and is the old ALCO switcher still rusting away ? I am looking for some LV hacks, and was wondering if they were still stuck at Renovo, even though I understand the area is undergoing some type of re-vitalization. Any news is appreciated. Regards

You must have missed this post from last month:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16084

I saw, and photographed the equipment in the Renovo Yard (what was left of it) myself but have no idea of the current disposition of the rolling stock stored there.

Thanks Art (Shemp ? the most talented, and most underated, of the Stooges ) for that link. As of <5> years ago......, that is a lifetime, in the real world of scrapping railcars. Any chance you have some pix, to share, of what you saw, when you were there. Specificaly looking for Valley hacks, and what might have been there, the last time you looked. I would imagine someone out there lives in the area, and might know if any of those cars, are still in the area. Regards

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:Shemp ? the most talented, and most underated, of the Stooges

My sentiments exactly.

GOLDEN ARM wrote: As of <5> years ago......, that is a lifetime, in the real world of scrapping railcars. Any chance you have some pix, to share, of what you saw, when you were there. Specificaly looking for Valley hacks, and what might have been there, the last time you looked.

I do have a number of photos, will have to review them. It almost seemed to me at the time that there was "one each" of cabooses from Conrail predecessor roads, as if someone was purposely collecting cabooses of various heritages. (I believe I photographed one caboose with a New Haven scheme showing through the fading or peeling Conrail paint.)

Contact me via PM or email (address in profile), it will take a while for me to find, sort and scan the photos.

I passed thru there in April of 2004 on the way to a wedding in St. College and there were still several around but as to where they had come from I'm afraid I can't tell you, I think I actually spent more time railfanning on that trip then I did at the actual wedding and reception when you get right down to it.

Edit: If there were any locomotives there I didn't come across them but they could have been closer to the shops then I dared to get.

Aa3rt,

Do you know how many New Haven cabooses are there, I would be interested to see whats there as well.

HighlandRail/DEY-7 652 wrote: Do you know how many New Haven cabooses are there, I would be interested to see whats there as well.

As noted in my previous post, it seemed to me that there was one from different Conrail predecessors but it's been a few years and I need to refresh my memory. Additionally, I can't be sure that I photographed each of the cabooses that were there. I'm not at home at the moment and it will probably be tomorrow evening before I can even go through the photos. I will make a post with numbers (if I can make them out) after I've had a chance to review my photos.

Not a "solid" rule, but most of the Valley hacks would have had sliding screens, on the side windows, so even if you didn't see a number on it, if the side windows had sliding window screens on them, most likely a Valley hack. The screens were actually expanded metal, not screen at all, more like safety gratings. Thanks again, for looking

If they are the cabooses I think they are. They were bought for future use as a hotel. That fell through and the owner has advertized them for $7500 a caboose. I think he has sold several. Look them over once, they are in different stages of repair. Most were New Haven.

GOLDEN-ARM,
I think the cabs from Renovo ended up going to Avis, Pa. in some old NYC RR yard there at least that is what i had heard or remember reading a year or so ago.The last i knew there was only 2-3 of the LV hacks left remaining at Renovo along with some of the New Haven hacks.You might want to check Scot's LV caboose survivor list as i think it has those 2-3 LV hacks that ended up going to Avis as being for sale.

Thanks for the tip, Drawhead. I have been using the LV hack survivor list, and the ones I am looking for, are unfortunately, MIA, on the list. Of the four I was searching for, two have been located, and are not for sale. This leaves the "last" one, and the Bicentennial one, which were specific units I wanted. As a wise man on this very forum once spoke "KEEP ASKING-KEEP LEARNING", or something to that effect Regards

I finally had the opportunity to go through some photos this evening. There appeared to be approximately one dozen cabooses in Renovo when I was there. Unfortunately, I didn't date the photos but my guess would be either 1999 or 2000. The cabooses were in rough shape and I had a hard time making some numbers out.

If the Conrail numbers help, here they are:

23866, 19858 (one of the cars with the New Haven paint showing through), 16652 (or 16632-GOLDEN ARM , this fits your description of an ex-LV car) 18847, 46142, 19820, 23080, 19859, 19659 (which I believe was ex-Erie).

There were also two passenger cars, one gray and one yellow with a silver roof, looking like a calssic PRR MOW car, numbered "PRR 493399", a Whitcomb switcher with the Wolfeboro (NH?) Rail Road emblem on the cab, numbered B7 or 67 or 87, take your pick-a large streak of rust obliberates part of the number.

Finally a yellow end-cab switcher with the number 6 in the number board. This was apparently a steel mill switcher, corners of the cab roof are chopped down and there are fixtures for lights used on locos in remote operation. I'm not sure, but the nose angles are too sharp for an Alco, it may have been a Lima switcher. (All identifying plates had been removed.)

Sorry, caboose afficianados, that I didn't focus on the numbers. This was my first trip back to Renovo in over 25 years and I was in a state of shock to see what had become of the once mighty PRR shops in the town.

Here is what I have, from the numbers you provided. CR-23866 EX-NH- 688, CR-18858 EX-NH-620, CR-18847 EX-RDG-94063, CR-46142 (M.O.W.) EX-PRR-477437, CR-19820 EX-NH-585, CR-23080 EX-PRR-477961, CR-19859 EX-NH-595, CR-19659 EX-EL-C225. Unfortunately, I am unable to match either of those other two numbers (16652 or 16632) as they do not match up with Conrail caboose numbers from my lists. Is it possible one of the digits is actually different, and it only LOOKS like the numbers you gave ? (a 16 instead of an 18, for example ?) Unfortunately, no Valley stuff there, from my rosters anyways. Thanks for looking, maybe someone else can shed a little light on the missing numbers here ?Regards

Sorry, some of these cars were so rusty/cruddy that I can't make out the numbers, even with the help of a magnifying glass. What are the LV/CR numbers you are looking for?

I think I can make out 18602 (possibly another ex-RDG car) and 16697 (?). Another one I'm having a hard time with is 18(?)82, could be 18(?)32. There's a huge rust streak running down from one of the window grills making these numbers difficult to identify.

As an aside, I attended junior college in Williamsport from 1971-1973. After graduation, my first job was in Towanda. A good friend lived in Sayre so I did a lot of train watching there in 1973/1974 before Uncle Sam decided he was in need of my services, so I am somewhat familiar with the LV.

Hey Art, those hacks I am wondering about, off of your list, are probably in the 18000 series. I have no info on a hack, in the 16000 series. I will cross-reference some numbers here, shortly, and see if I can "match" enough numbers off the list, to accomodate your photo's. Not an exact science, to be sure, but pending no further info, on the numbers in question, it MIGHT be the only way to accurately guess if these are the "missing" hacks. (I know, accurately and guess being used in the same sentence ) Will let you know, what I have, shortly. Regards