In mid-May, Lerro Productions and the Black River & Western Railroad of New Jersey operated a photo charter utilizing the recently-restored Great Western #60. The 60 is a coal-burning, 80-ton, Alco 2-8-0 that was built for the Great Western Railway of Colorado in 1937. The engine was one of nine Great Western steam locomotives that hauled sugar beets from the fields to the refining facilites of the Great Western Sugar Company. As the only Alco in the fleet, she saw relatively little use on the line and was a relative youngster as steam engines go, when she was retired in the early 1960s. She was sold to the Ringoes, New Jersey-based Black River & Western in 1964, and has hauled tourist trains there for many years. For the past dozen years, she's been sidelined, pending completion of an FRA 1,472-day inspection. That inspection was completed late in 2012 and she's good to go for another 15 years, or 1,472 days of operation.

For the May charter, the 60 was returned to her original Great Western livery by the Lerro Productions crew. Getting the details right took some research, as there are not a lot of photographs of the engine's original paint. The locomotive hauled a short mixed train, consisting of a couple of freight cars, a caboose and a two steel coaches. Run-bys were done at a number of scenic locations, and at one point, the train even hauled a couple of revenue freight cars from an NS interchange to a customer site.

Here are a few photos from what turned out to be a nice, sunny day:

Picking up revenue freight at Three Bridges

Making a station stop at the old CNJ Depot in Flemington

Tying up traffic with an old Lincoln Continental at Toad Lane

Running upgrade past a farm in the late afternoon light

Smoking it up in the evening sweet light at Pumpkin Junction

A wide broadside just before sunset

A night shot with the old Continental at Toad Lane crossing

The 60 and her volunteer crew at sunset

Thanks for looking!

/Kevin