don is still mostly a steam strong- hold, which attracts railfans. This follows the prototypical practice of keeping steam confined to the coal regions in menial service as they worked out their last few years of service.
Coal Is King A RDG homebuilt T-1 assists a westbound past Lavelle and up the Locust Summit grade. The steepest part of the grade is still ahead. The Malho Coal company truck dump is in the fore- ground.
The focal point of the layout is the 2.6 percent Locust Sum- mit grade, which extends about 65 feet and serves quite well as a speed deterrent. Most westbound trains stop at Gordon Yard to pick up a helper engine. Travel- ing uphill is slow and cautious. Eastbound steam-powered trains must stop at Locust Summit and set up retainers before heading downgrade to Gordon. Diesels with dynamic braking have most- ly eliminated the use of retainers. All locomotives, except some yard engines, are equipped with sound decoders. Nearly all the steam engines have TCS “WOW” sound decoders, while diesels use SoundTraxx Tsunami decod- ers. The “keep alive” feature in
the TCS decoders allows steam- powered trains to move smoothly through any bothersome turnouts and dirty track.
The three yardmasters handle working all the businesses and in- dustries within their yard limits, as well as making up and break- ing down trains that work in their yards. The Gordon yardmaster is also responsible for servicing two coal loaders just outside yard lim- its. The yardmasters also govern motive power assignments and coordinate movements with help- er crews. A task sheet specific for each yard advises train make- up and ensures connections and schedules are maintained.
A PN-7 Cab Ride Symbol freight PN-7 was a daily run from Philadelphia to Newberry Junction, connecting with PRR and NYC. Called at 7AM, the train was more of a road lo- cal than a priority symbol freight. Reading routed the PN-7 via the
Mahanoy and Shamokin branch, making it an ideal train to pur- sue and get a flavor of the rugged Shamokin Division in the coal- fields. A trio of F7s in the usual A-B-A lash-up was regularly as- signed to the train. Although the train occasionally used power from other builders, EMD F units were preferred.
Located 100 miles north of Philadelphia and midpoint along the main line to Newberry Junc- tion, Tamaqua was the perfect location as a crew change point. Armed with signed authoriza- tion, I boarded PN-7 as it briefly stopped at Z tower to line switch- es into Tamaqua Yard. As the road crew set out some local cars on another track, a yard drill crew added a block of empty hoppers destined for Gordon Yard. After changing crews at QA office, PN-7 immediately headed west and was soon grinding up the 1.4 percent grade toward Tamaqua Tunnel. After exiting the short bore, our
58 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
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