Steaming into Harpers Ferry

Steaming into Harpers Ferry

Former Reading T-1 Class "Northern" 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 2101 leads a west-bound Chessie System Steam
Special across the bridge over the Potomac River approaching Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on a May afternoon in 1977.

This handsome 1940's vintage locomotive pulled a series of special excursions in honor of the
150th birthday of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which became part of the Chessie System.

The excursions operated on several former routes of the B&O, as well as the Chesapeake and Ohio,
and the Western Maryland, the other two railroads that were to form the Chessie System (now the CSX).

As the trips celebrated the sesquicentennial of the B&O, this was one of my favorite images, as it was the
B&O whose westbound mainline served Harpers Ferry on its way to Cumberland, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

The tunnel from which the train is emerging is in Maryland.
The other bridge serves a branch line to Winchester, Virginia.

This telephoto composition was taken from the highest ground in Harpers Ferry, looking down
at the two former B&O bridges and the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

Taken on May 28, 1977, it makes its first appearance here.

Photo + Design ©2016 Steve Ember

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Returning east-bound, approaching Harpers Ferry