{"id":36426,"date":"2023-06-24T06:21:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T10:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=36426"},"modified":"2023-06-23T22:32:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T02:32:37","slug":"conrail-6281-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/conrail-6281-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Conrail 6281, Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In my monthly column for the July 2021 Issue of Trains Magazine, I featured a discussion of Conrail SD40 6281:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted has-text-color\" style=\"color:#495948\">\u201cDuring the 1980s, I made forays to the former Pennsylvania Railroad crossing of the Allegheny Divide, the route famous for its sinuous Horseshoe Curve west of Altoona, Pa. And here I witnessed SD40s . . . Among the locomotives in Conrail\u2019s Cresson, Pennsylvania-based helper pool was former Penn Central 6281, a January 1971 graduate of EMD\u2019s LaGrange, Illinois plant . . . I wonder how many times I crossed paths with this locomotive over the years, both on Horseshoe Curve on New England Central. After Genesee &amp; Wyoming acquired NECR in 2013, old 6281 was sent to Brookville\u2019s Locomotive Division for overhaul and returned to NECR wearing fresh orange, yellow &amp; black paint carrying its road number 3405.\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The other night while scanning slides at my new home in Pennsylvania, I came across this view from November 1986 of 6281, second unit out on Conrail\u2019s BUOI (Buffalo to Oak Island) at Gang Mills Yard on the former Erie Railroad route near Corning, New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was like the younger me had anticipated the question the older me asked. There I was standing on a bridge in the wind to make a photograph of a common SD40 while looking far into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where is 3405 (nee 6281) today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"320\" data-attachment-id=\"36428\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/conrail-6281-again\/conrail_buoi_w_6842_and_6281_gang_mills_ny_224pm_nov19_1986_km_briansolomon_204211\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?fit=1700%2C1149\" data-orig-size=\"1700,1149\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\\u00a9BrianSolomon2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?fit=709%2C479\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?fit=474%2C320\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?resize=474%2C320\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?w=1700 1700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?resize=709%2C479 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?resize=1022%2C691 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?resize=205%2C139 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?resize=1536%2C1038 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" data-attachment-id=\"36430\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/conrail-6281-again\/necr_6281_palmer_p1390620\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?fit=1700%2C1135\" data-orig-size=\"1700,1135\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?w=1700 1700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?resize=1022%2C682 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?resize=1536%2C1026 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_6281_Palmer_P1390620.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Palmer, Massachusetts, December 9, 2012. Lumix LX3 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" data-attachment-id=\"36432\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/conrail-6281-again\/necr_3405_barratts_hamden_rr_abutments_dscf1978\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;X-T1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1436196094&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18.5&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?w=2560 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=1022%2C681 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Barratts_Hamden_RR_abutments_DSCF1978-scaled.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Near Three Rivers Massachusetts on July 6, 2015. FujiFilm XT-1 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" data-attachment-id=\"36434\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/conrail-6281-again\/necr_3405_palmer_p1640893\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?fit=1700%2C1135\" data-orig-size=\"1700,1135\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?w=1700 1700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?resize=1022%2C682 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?resize=1536%2C1026 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/NECR_3405_Palmer_P1640893.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Palmer, Massachusetts, May 11, 2017. Lumix LX7 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Tracking the Light Posts Daily!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There I was standing on a bridge in the wind to make a photograph of a common SD40 while looking far into the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6060,10,48],"tags":[7565,7566],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Conrail_BUOI_w_6842_and_6281_Gang_Mills_NY_224pm_Nov19_1986_KM_\u00a9BrianSolomon_204211.jpg?fit=1700%2C1149","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2BVuC-9tw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36426"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36426"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36435,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36426\/revisions\/36435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}