FAIRPORT,
PAINESVILLE & EASTERN
PHOTOS
In the past few years I have collected about 40 slides of
the FP&E (thanks primarily to eBay); just recently though, I was able to
more than double the size of my collection by obtaining the FP&E slides of the
late Michael A. Tedesco from one of his relatives (to learn a little more about
Michael, click here). I really like Michael's photos because he
took a lot of 'action' pictures, and I think other FP&E fans will
appreciate them as much as I do. I
found an excellent local photography shop to scan my slides (after suffering
through 4 other vendors who did poor jobs)—so it is really thanks to them that
I can share any of my collection on the internet.
Due to capacity restrictions, I am
limited in how many pictures I can display on this webpage; however, you can
view more photos from my collection by going to my flickr pages
("flickr" is Yahoo's photo-sharing website). To view over 40 FP&E "action"
photos, click here; to
view about 20 FP&E "roster" photos (pictures of the locomotives
sitting idle), click here. Make sure to check out the pictures below
before you click on those links!
Because the scanned photos I am
presenting on this webpage are very large in size and cannot be made to fit
here without somewhat reducing their quality, the images below are only
"preview" images; to see the full-sized, better-quality images, click
on the link underneath each picture.
Depending on how your computer's
monitor is configured, these pictures may not appear as 'true' on your screen
as they actually are (this applies both to the photos on this page and in
flickr); if there is a picture you particularly like, then I suggest you print
it out (using a color printer with just plain paper should work fine)—I think
you'll like the result.
This first picture is the oldest in my collection. It was taken on August 22, 1962 by Dave
Ingles. Note the paint scheme displayed
here: bright yellow body with green lettering, green frame and trimmings, and
silver cab roof and trucks.
Click here to
see the full-sized picture.
This next photo was taken by Michael Tedesco on December
29th, 1971. Based on photographic
evidence, in 1970 and 1971 the FP&E changed their locomotive paint scheme
from what it was in the previous photograph to what you see here: a darker
yellow body with black lettering, black frame and radiator grill, and black cab
roof and trucks.
Click here to
see the full-sized picture.
Here is a nice long-distance photo by Michael Tedesco
taken on July 19th, 1972 from the south end of West Yard that shows the western
portion of the Diamond Shamrock plant in the background. Notice the hoppers turned upside down to the
right of the locomotives, which I believe indicates they are going to be
scrapped.
Click here to
see the full-sized picture.
Here is
an interesting photo taken by Warren Opalk on May 3rd, 1978. The exhaust stack has been capped,
indicating that the locomotive has been 'mothballed'; as it turned out, this
unit was being 'cannibalized'—that is, parts were being taken from it to use in
the repair and maintenance of its sister units. Two years later this unit (or what was left of it) was sold to
General Electric Transportation in Cleveland, where it was subsequently
converted into a 'mine motor'—a special type of electric locomotive that can
enter underground mines (see an example here).
Notice how the angle of the shot Warren used allows you to
see through the radiator grill—very neat!
Click here to
see the full-sized picture.
Here is a photo taken on June 8th, 1984 by Nick
Chase. Just 20 days later (June 28th)
the FP&E ceased to exist. However,
locomotive #107 went on to work for the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson
Railroad, where it is still being operated to this day.
Click here to
see the full-sized picture.
And this is what happens to most locomotives in the end:
they get scrapped. These are photos of
former FP&E #105 (the same locomotive at the top of this page) as it was
being cut up in late 2008 at JRB Grain in Cynthiana, IN. (For more about how #105 ended up in
Cynthiana, see my FP&E
Diesel Roster page.) Thanks to the
Bender family for sending me these photos!
Click here to
see the full-sized pictures.
For some other very nice color photos of FP&E diesels
(and a couple caboose photos), I recommend two books: Trackside Around
Cleveland: 1965-1979 and Trackside Around Eastern Ohio: 1965-1995. Both of these books have several good, full-color
photos of FP&E diesels in action—and both books are recent publications, so
they should still be available from any good book dealer. (For more details about these books, see my FP&E Resources
page.)
Created
by Scott Nixon
July 2009
Updated: September 2009