The new ELHS 2011 calendars have just arrived. Let's take a peek at what's inside!
The cover shot is a brilliantly-lit late afternoon "sweet light" shot of an RS3 and E8 at the north end of Hoboken Terminal. Ahhh... those were the days!
The frontispiecephoto is a view of an oncoming Train Master from the cab of a train on an adjacent track on the west side of Binghamton. The "tall" appearance of these units is very obvious in this photo.
January starts off with a wonderfully snowy shot of Train PB-100 flying past the Kent, Ohio station, kicking up the white stuff as it moves along.
February features a dramatic black-and-white image of a pair of SD45-2s leading an eastbound piggyback train around a curve in Tuxedo, NY, with some snowfall still blanketing the ground in this mid-March view.
March has an Erie RS2 leading a westbound commuter train at the Ridgewood, NJ station. The first car out is one of those weird-looking Stillwell "combines." The Alco is clean and shiny in this snapshot of small town America from 1956.
April shows a former DL&W RS3 (only way you can tell it's "former" is because it wears its new 1000-series EL number) leading a long drill east past Water Works Park in Dover, NJ, for what can be mistaken as a true DL&W scene.
May has a consecutively-numbered set of new GP35s (with a light coat of road dirt) sailing through Binghamton, just short of the former Erie engine facility. The hallmark of this location today, the North Shore Drive bridge, is just under construction in this image.
June's image almost appears to be a DL&W publicity photo, with Pocono #1631 clean and shined-up at an equipment display in Cortland, NY (and trailing a rebuilt arch-window-top coach)
July's photo exemplifies the EL freight train of the mid-1970s with a pair of U36Cs leading a freight around the curve at Foster, PA. The condition of the track and power seems to indicate a prosperous railroad!
August's shot features an early F3 A-B-A set leading the Erie Limited at Addison, NY in 1947. While the train makes its station stop, a B&O steam locomotive makes up a train on their tracks.
September's photo is a nicely-framed view of a pair of big SD's leading 2/NY-100 past the classic Delaware Inn in Hancock, NY. Sadly, in researching for the captions we discovered that this Inn succumbed to a fire two years ago.
October's shot is a personal favorite - A pair of DL&W Mikados pause for a water refill at the S-curve in Boonton, NJ in the 1940s, when the main through here was still four tracks wide.
November has a classic DL&W ferry now in the employ of the Erie Lackawanna as it crosses the Hudson River with lower Manhattan in the background. The ferry, the "Lackawanna," is notable for being the only DL&W ferry to be repowered with a diesel engine.
December's view features a trio of SDs making a set-out in the CNJ yard at Lake Jct, with a little bit of winter's first snow on the ground in this December 1975. The "new connection" can be glimpsed just beyond the diesels in this shot.
The rear cover image is HOT! Literally! A weed burner is set into action melting snow around switches at Jamestown, NY.
Full disclosure: I am the head of the calendar committee, but I tried to keep my review fairly objective. I would also like to thank the 14 other members of the calendar committee (many of them listers) for the many days spent on photo selection and seemingly endless edits on calendar captions to ensure total accuracy. Thanks, fellows!
