Living with Steam

This slightly different episode of Living with Steam EXTRA features my two favorite sounds combined; trains and thunderstorms. While visiting the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society’s archives in Lewistown, PA., I set up a portable recording studio to capture the constant train activity taking place outside the building… which just happens to be the former PRR passenger station. Rain had been in the forecast for one of the days I was scheduled to be in Lewistown, but it never happened.

Although disappointed, I decided instead to make a soundscape similar to what Brad Miller created in his classic “Steel Rails Under Thundering Skies” album release from 1971. In other words, if the real thunderstorm wasn’t going to happen while I was recording in Lewistown, I’d make my own.

So, this episode of LwS EXTRA is designed simply for listening enjoyment. There’s nothing historical or technical to take in. Even though my intent was to follow in John Prophet’s footsteps while making my recordings at Lewistown, I later realized that by making this soundscape, it’s best to simply sit back and enjoy it for what it is; trains in a thunderstorm.

This episode of Living with Steam features the second set of recordings John M. Prophet III made from August 28th to September 1st in 1952 from Tyrone, and Huntingdon, PA. In this set, John also recorded from Cresson, PA, and the Pennsylvania Railroad’s famous Horseshoe Curve.

In addition to hearing the recordings, you’ll learn why John made the trip to Tyrone in August 1952 in the first place; to attend the NRHS Annual Convention in Altoona, PA.

This episode of Living with Steam EXTRA is a bit different in that I’m featuring several of the railroad sound recordings from my collection that were made specifically for adding a bit of realism to a model railroad; specifically that of an O-gauge model railroad.

While the post-war period in America saw a boom in the demand and popularity of O-gauge model trains manufactured by Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx, the fact remained that regardless of how authentic these trains looked… they were “toys.” They were INCREDIBLE toys for sure… but still toys. They needed that little something extra... and that's what these records tried to fulfill.

But you be the judge. Perhaps these recordings really do lend some much needed authenticity to those classic model trains of the 1940s and 1950s.

Right after leaving work on Thursday, August 28, 1952, John hopped in his car and drove to Tyrone, Pennsylvania where he began to record as much Pennsylvania Railroad steam engines as possible. Known as "The Hub of the Highways", Tyrone was a big spot on the Pennsy's Middle Division trackage where the hauling of coal, iron ore, paper products and passengers occurred 24 hours a day... EVERY day. If John or anyone else wanted to make sound recordings or take photographs of PRR steam engines in action, Tyrone was the place to be.

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan on this trip. John's "unrelenting standards" of doing everything possible to avoid making any recordings of PRR trains pulled by the new diesel engines caught up with him in a not-so-pleasant way... as you will hear.

This is part one of a two part episode featuring the recordings John made from August 28th until September 1st 1952.

In this episode of Living with Steam EXTRA, we'll conclude the story of William A. Steventon and how he came to develop the Railroad Record Club in the 1950s. It wasn't easy for Steventon to pull this venture off especially in an era where railroad sound recordings were in high demand amongst railfans yearning to relive the days of trains pulled by steam engines. Competition was out there and Steventon strived for a quality product that wouldn't bankrupt him in the process.

Also featured in this episode is a fun and informative interview I had with Ken Gear, who was at the right place at the right time to acquire the entire Steventon estate of Railroad Record Club archives even though it was in serious danger of being destroyed and lost forever.

On the evening of July 24, 1951, John M Prophet III drove his car into Cove, Pennsylvania; a small “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” town located north of Harrisburg, and right on the Pennsylvania Railroad's Middle Division mainline between Duncannon and Marysville. John wanted to make a special stop in Cove because he hoped to record Pennsy steam and diesel engines pulling trains at full speed. Cove was John’s first stop on the three day road trip he made back in July of 1951 where his intent was to capture as much Pennsy stream action as he could. However, John wound up hating the recordings he made at Cove. But in listening to them now, does the spool of wire still deserve the final resting spot John had intended for it; the garbage can?

This is the second of a three part series documenting a road trip John M. Prophet III made back in July of 1951. In the last episode of Living with Steam, you heard the railroad sound recordings John made in Trenton, NJ; his last stop on the trip. Now, you'll hear the incredible recordings of many Pennsylvania Railroad trains John captured in Palmyra, NJ. In my opinion, these are some of his best work. Whether he liked it or not, John captured a slice of small-town America while he was in Palmyra. His goal may have been to only record PRR trains, but he also caught all the activity taking place in Palmyra's business district from early in the morning to the early evening. The Pennsy trains that ran through Palmyra every few minutes were part of the everyday life in 1951.

This episode of Living with Steam features recordings John Prophet made at the Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger station in Trenton, NJ on July 27, 1951. As a bonus, the episode also features recordings John made during the last week Pennsylvania Railroad steam engines were used to pull passenger trains in and out of Buffalo, NY.

In this episode of LwS EXTRA, you'll be introduced to the railroad sound recordings John M. Prophet made after 1955, when he put away his Webster-Chicago wire recorder in favor of a new magnetic tape recorder. The tape featured in this episode is one John labeled as being "#1" in a set of five tapes he had grouped together. As you'll hear, the fourth tape has gone missing. John made these recordings shortly after the Penn Central declared bankruptcy and thus plunged the railroad industry into unprecedented chaos. Although John labeled each recording as being that of a Pennsylvania Railroad diesel locomotive, the timeline is such that what John actually recorded were PRR diesels that had been stripped of their original identify and painted over in Penn Central colors and road numbers.

Welcome to the first episode in season 3 of Living with Steam.