ARCADE, N.Y. — Emerging from its winter home at the Arcade and Attica Railroad, Steam Engine 18 is ready for another season.
“It's like a breathing animal,” said Patrick Connors, chief mechanical officer of Arcade and Attica Railroad. “It pants and hisses. And when it's traveling down the track, it just demands attention.”
She’s also just demanding, according to Patrick. He says trains typically have two names — Betsy being one of them.
“Nothing that we can say on the air,” Patrick Connors smiled and said of the other name.
But the team here loves her. A and A has been 18’s home since 1962.
Since then, she’s carried more than two million passengers. She’s back for her first full season after a year-long rebuild.
“It was the most extensive repair that this engine had seen, probably since it was built in 1920,” Patrick said.
Part of the team is Connors' son, Patrick Jr.
“When I wake up in the morning, I don't think, “Oh, I gotta go to work on Saturday,” Patrick Jr. said. “Yeah, I'm going to the station — and I'm happy to do it.”
Patrick is a part-time worker at the A and A. He holds a variety of positions, but on this day, he’s the conductor.
“I learn something new every day," said Patrick Jr. "Believe it or not, when you work on stuff that's this old, every day you learn something new about that you didn't know yesterday.”
Patrick’s dad tried to keep him off the railway.
“I was kind of resentful towards that,” Patrick Jr.said. “I always enjoyed railroading, primarily because I grew up going to work with my dad every day.”
From near and far, some take a ride to get a nostalgic feel.
“I just like trains,” said Douglas Sernoffsky of Wales. “When I see them, I like to count the cars.”
Others ride to celebrate a milestone.
"Because I love trains,” said Paxton Leach-BanDorn, who was celebrating his seventh birthday.
Others climb aboard because they’re just big fans.
“I've been here five other times,” Luke Conschafter of Akron said.
Folks take the two-hour ride, that wouldn’t be possible without fireman Michael Shears.
“I shovel about a ton of coal for this trip,” said Shears, whose full-time job is at MOOG. “Yeah, it’s not just throwing coal in. It’s about the coal placement; it’s a balance game between water and pressure.”
Shears must listen and watch to get the approximately 400 passengers up and back safely.
“It's very rewarding. I get the train to go up the hill, and all the passengers are behind you," he said.
It’s the journey, not the destination, that makes this so memorable for those involved.
“There's something bigger," Patrick Sr. said. "What's it's like an exciting adventure. Where does the track lead you? And there was a point in this country where you could get on a train in any small town and end up in any other small town.”
Some of the tracks in use date back to the 1880s. The coal burns at 1,200 degrees. So on mainline trains, crews have been known to put pizza, eggs and even bacon on the shovel and cook it over the coals.
Excursions run every weekend from Memorial Day weekend until the last full weekend of September. In October, the steam engine will be on an extended schedule that includes two trains each day on the weekends to take in the fall foliage.
