(The following story by Paul Paterra appeared on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review website on October 15.)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Tony Kimmel has been a self-declared “rail buff” since he was a boy.
That interest in trains brought the Johnstown man to Latrobe Tuesday to check out one of Norfolk Southern Railway Corp.’s finest vehicles — a vintage 1950s locomotive. Kimmel traveled with Dan Sojak of Johnstown just to take pictures of the train while it was parked on the tracks on Depot Street.
“It brings out a lot of rail fans,” Kimmel said. “It’s the vintage of it, being from the 1950s. The locomotives are very rare for this day and age, especially on a major railroad like Norfolk Southern.”
Spokesman Rudy Husband said only that the train was in use for inspection by Norfolk Southern’s senior management. “It’s what we use for inspections of our properties — tracks and facilities,” he said. The train’s final destination is Chicago.
Its four engines were followed by nine passenger cars identified by state names, including Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Georgia.
Kimmel was knowledgeable about the locomotive — information he has gathered from years of following the train and from a friend who is an engineer.
“The train is a special office car business train for entertaining executives,” Kimmel said. “It’s their pride and joy. They rebuilt the engines about 1 1/2 to two years ago. Ever since then it’s been going all over the country.
“Every time they make a trip between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, my buddy lets me know. So I go out and catch it. I’ve seen it three or four times in the last week or two. It’s not something you see all the time,” he said.
Norfolk Southern maintains a fleet of “office cars” to entertain its customers at special events, as it did in June 2007 when the U.S. Open golf tournament was held in Oakmont. The railroad operates in 22 eastern states and Ontario.
Brian Holzer and his mother, Elaine, of Latrobe were among other folks who made their way to the tracks yesterday to get a glimpse of the vintage locomotive.
“It’s neat,” said Brian Holzer, owner of The Train Shoppe at Holzer’s Deli in Latrobe. “I was driving by and just thought I’d stop and see it.”
Kimmel waited to get a final picture or two yesterday afternoon as the train left Latrobe.
“It’s in my blood,” he said of his interest in trains. “Like when your grandparents buy you a Lionel train for Christmas, the bug bites you.”