THE 80'S PT5

After the AP&W merger, local railfanning became even more popular, as units from the various affiliated railroads showed up in Hillsdale.

Even during the late 80's, the lot of Tony's Garage was full old classics! The 59' El-Camino and 55' Bel-
Aire are still running today, thanks to the Moltello family! The old Dodge passenger van was once used to carry APRR work crews around southern Pennsylvania; after it was retired by the railroad, a former employee bought it. The Airstream camping trailer is still around; it now sits behind the garage.

Twenty years from now, this spot will be occupied by a storage building; but today it's a prime location for trackside railfanning for a father and son! The two waive at a passing Amtrak Steel City Express, two years before the train's discontinuance.

The two are joined by the young mother as a real treat comes along - an ex-Frisco GP15-1!

The boy waives as the colorful unit rolls past. One of 25 ordered by the Frisco (officially, the Saint Louis-San Francisco), the GP15-1 was EMD's attempt to cash in on the locomotive rebuilding craze of the 70's. The Frisco sent 25 worn-out GP7's to EMD, who then re-used various parts in building the new locomotives. Seen in this view is one of the trademark features of Frisco engines; the nose mounted warning gyralight.

The class unit, 100, rolls its local into Hillsdale Yard. While the Frisco GP15-1's weren't renumbered after the merger, most of them did stay in their home territory in the Great Plains, so seeing this unit in Pennsylvania was a real treat indeed!