A&A No. 14 on an Album Cover

[Mountcastle]

In the 1970s, a friend of mine had a vinyl album the cover of which featured a picture of A&A No. 14 at Curriers. I believe the image was on the inside of the cover, although perhaps the back; I can't be sure.

Does anyone have or remember this album? I can't think of who the artist was although I suspect it was Boxcar Willie or perhaps Johnny Cash. I may be quite wrong with those guesses; it may have been some country & western artist. I Googled it a bit but couldn't find it.

[BR&P]

Well, there are 2 possibilities.

1. You are mixed up. There is a CD by the local group JB and Company, a country band from Rochester. Name of the CD is "The 709", it's about 5 years old, and has 18 on the cover and a couple other ARA shots as well.

2. You are NOT mixed up, and there is a much older record also featuring ARA steam power on the cover. If that's the case, sorry I can't help you with that one but would like to hear more about it.

Given the amount of detail you recall, most likely it's #2.

[Mountcastle]

It's option '2'.

It was certainly a vinyl album: in the seventies, we had no CDs, only vinyl and 8 tracks. I can recall the picture quite vividly: it was of No. 14 at Curriers pulling the train backwards across the grade crossing. I'm almost certain that the picture was on the inside cover; it's possible it was the back of the cover, but I don't think so. I'm almost sure it was the inside cover.

Whatever the case, the picture was not merely a small shot included with others: it was the whole inside of the cover, like a centerfold...unless it was the back, of course. No. 14 was painted in her original A&A scheme of bright orange trim, exclusively, with 'fancy' lettering on the tender, centered (as opposed to the current, off-center contemporary lettering). It was a fairly 'close-up' shot, featuring only the locomotive, the tender, and just a section of the last coach coupled to the pilot of the engine (the gondola was at the other end of the train back then).

The album was owned by one Kevin Richards of the Town of Tonawanda who brought it with him frequently when we he'd come to visit me at my parents', where I had an HO layout. Kevin, if you're still on the planet and reading this, what was the album?

[Benjamin Maggi]

There IS another option: there is a vinyl record that contains the "sounds" of the railroad. I don't remember if it was a 33 or a 45, but I think it was in the lines of "hold the microphone to the train" thing. I don't know if the railroad released it or if it was an independent label, but I have seen (and lost) two auctions on EBay for them in the past 4 years. They are rare indeed! This COULD be what you are thinking of. I Have a picture of the record at home and maybe I will post it tonight if I remember.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Below is the description of the record when it sold on EBay last year. I DO NOT claim that any of it is authentic or correct, but it might be. Perhaps Pat would copy (though I don't think he has it either as we were both bidding on it and neither of us won!)

Here is a great little item for any railroad fan. It is 45 rpm record produced as an official souvenir of the ARCADE & ATTICA RR. Located in western New York state, this is a working shortline. It went out of the steam loco business in 1941 when it purchased it's first diesel. In 1962 it had the idea of once again adding passenger service for rail fans. They were most successful at it. The record was produced in 1967 and has some great steam sounds on it. Both sides are all about the sounds of a gone by era.Attractive slip case in color of one of the steam locos crossing a rural bridge. Here the whistle blow in your own living room! Happy to answer any questions.

[RS112556]

I have a copy of this souvenir record; produced by Mobile Fidelity Records of Burbank, Ca. in 1967. The size of a 45 but plays at 33 1/3 rpm, it features sound recordings of both 14 and 18. Jacket back contains a brief history of the onset of steam excursion service along with contact info for the A&A. The jacket photography is attributed to Ron Ziel while the engineering and production was by a Brad Miller.

Jim McClenin

[Mountcastle]

That's really great and I wish I had a copy of it...but that's not the album in question, at all. This album, as I mentioned, was some recording artist's album. Again, it may have been Johnny Cash, it may have been Boxcar Willie, it may have been some other C&W recording artist; I just can't remember who, precisely. But it was certainly in that 'direction' if you will.

I've googled it using a number of different searches and I just can't find a thing.

[BSOR Patarak]

If I remember correctly, there is also a more recent local CW artist that used 18 also. I think this inside cover was only an outline of her and was a smaller local release. There was also another local band that posed on the Pennsy Decapod in Hamburg recently.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Up until this year, searching Youtube for "Arcade" "Attica" and "18" only pulled up one video... of some country musician who used footage of one of the steamers. Now, there are lots of movies from this past year. I bet if you wanted to see the country music video (maybe the album had the picture too) you could search that.