A trio of B & O units sit on one of the fan tracks in the roundhouse
area. As viewed from the hill, the terminal usually took on the appearance
of a 1:1 scale hobby shop. Athearn couldn't even match the assortment
sometimes found here.BALTIMORE AND OHIO
This page will cover my many visits to the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania engine terminal back in the 1970s. While the nearest actual B & O track was in Philadelphia, the engines of the B & O were ever present in Bethlehem. This was especially true after the NE84 and NE87 through trains were established to compete with the Penn Central for New England to southeastern points traffic. These trains used a combination of Boston & Maine, Delaware & Hudson, Lehigh Valley, Reading and B & O lines to run from Portland, Maine to Washington, D.C. Because the layout of the former CNJ yard in Allentown required the train to change directions, the engines were changed here. Reading and B & O units were swapped out for Lehigh Valley and Delaware & Hudson units.
My first visits to Bethlehem were in the fall of 1973. By
then the CNJ had been gone for over a year and the Lehigh Valley operated the
yard.
There were so many fans that visited the terminal, I think the LV could have
made a profit from the sale of admission tickets!
A trio of B & O units sit on one of the fan tracks in the roundhouse
area. As viewed from the hill, the terminal usually took on the appearance
of a 1:1 scale hobby shop. Athearn couldn't even match the assortment
sometimes found here.
A few grainy images from my first 1973 visit. The CNJ SD35's would be on pool trains with the B & O.
This very interesting power set was there in November of 1973.
By February of 1974 I had a new 35mm camera. This one track seemed to be
the B & O power track.
Same track, but more variety. B & O GP38, Reading C630 and a Reading
GP35. March 17, 1974.
One of those dreary Sunday mornings is brightened considerably by a Chessie System GP
40. 3-31-74.
GP38 3840 and an early GP40 complete the set.
The 38's were regular road train power back in those days. 4-14-74.
It is spring. Sharing a shot with one of numerous fans to visit the
terminal. Perhaps that kid is a visitor to this site? If so,
please drop me a line. Three GP40s on April 28, 1974. That rather
battered old caboose was an old wooden CNJ caboose left behind
when the CNJ pulled out. It eventually just rotted away and Conrail
cleaned out the remaining matchsticks.
Early morning May 5, 1974. 
Later that night after having spent the day chasing Erie-Lackawanna trains from
Scranton to Binghamton and a stop at the LV shops in Sayre. 500 plus miles
on a 1973 Ford Pinto in one day. Ouch.
This set includes an SD40 not normally seen here. They were more suited
for the Alleghany Mountain grades.
Both photos taken on May 26, 1974.
Summer time brings out the weeds. June 30, 1974.
The Chessie colors seemed appropriate for the psychedelic 70's. 7-14-74.
Three older GP7's and GP9's with a repainted GP40. August 18, 1974.
Later that same day, this C & O SD40 and a CNJ SD35 are on the service
tracks alongside a Reading GP35.
Fall colors have returned. GP40-2 4160 on October 20, 1974.
GP30 6976 with three others on November 28, 1974.
Christmas is fast approaching with GP9 6562. December 15, 1974.
GP40 4040 with an odd small nose emblem on the fan. January 5, 1975.
Another drab winter day in the Lehigh Valley. No snow on the ground,
though. January 19, 1975.
A colorful mix of B & O, Reading and Chessie power. September 14,
1975.
3847 under a fall night sky. November 23, 1975. Another marathon day
not to be forgotten.
After Conrail began operations on April 1, 1976, everything
changed. The Reading, LV and CNJ became part of Conrail.
The D & H expanded to include through service very similar to the old NE84,
NE87 trains but they handled the train from Albany, NY
through to the B & O yard in Philadelphia. More on that on the B &
O Philadelphia to Baltimore pages.
While these photos focus primarily on the B & O units at Bethlehem, there are five additional pages of Bethlehem area action.
For the Lehigh Valley, click here.