HOLIDAY TRADITION ON THE OLD D&H Christmas Spirit BY AMANDA OAKES AND DAN McCARTHY/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHORS O
N THE BRISK MORNING OF SATURDAY, December 7, it was business as usual at Canadian Pacific’s yard
at East Binghamton, N.Y., except for the additional special task of preparing for the 15th running of the “Toys for Tots” train. Founded in 1947, Toys for Tots is a charity program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys and donations to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. This is the second year that Amtrak
has been involved in this holiday tradi- tion
for families throughout central New York state. Amtrak provided two locomotives and eight cars including their business car Beech Grove on the
rear to compliment CP’s freshly over- hauled GP-20 ECO No. 2252. Absent was the usual Delaware & Hudson lighting stripe GP38-2 leading the train, however the rebuilt 2252 looked
just fine leading Amtrak heritage units 406 (a Non-Powered Cab Unit rebuilt from an F40PH in 2011) and 822 (a P40 reactivated and rebuilt in 2009) . Prior to the first scheduled stop at
the north end of East Binghamton yard, train crews were busy working out last minute details as the volun- teers for the day’s journey began to fill the conference room for the safety briefing. Although the Marines are most known for their involvement in Toys for Tots, every branch of service was represented at the Saturday morn- ing meeting. The itinerary included five stops along the former D&H main line in New York, including Bingham- ton, Bainbridge, Oneonta, Cobleskill,
TOP: Freshly rebuilt CP GP20 ECO 2252 leads the Toys for Tots train through a light snowfall at Richmondville, N.Y., on December 7, 2013. This is the 15th year for this annual tradition along the old Delaware & Hudson main line in central New York State. DAN MCCARTHY PHOTO ABOVE: Kids at each stop along the way were treated to a special visit from Santa Claus himself. AMANDA OAKES PHOTO
28 JANUARY 2014 •
RAILFAN.COM
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