(erielack) A prototype for everything

[Kevin DeGroff <kadegroff_@_xtn.net>]

I came across these interesting photos which show EL GP35 2578 incorrectly renumbered
to "CR 2578", which temporarily conflicted with the assigned number that EL U25B 2509
was supposed to receive on the Conrail roster.  I wonder if both CR 2578's existed at
the same time, or whether the GP35 goof was noticed when somebody went to renumber the
U25B and discovered that number was already used in the computer system...

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=85296

The date of this photo is July 1977, however, by Sept 1977, the error had been discovered
and the GP35 now wears it intended Conrail number, 3684.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=16748

Notice how hasty and crude the numberboards and cab-side patch job was performed once the
error was discovered.  Conrail usually applied numberboards which featured white numbers on
a black background, yet the 3684 wears the opposite, EL-style black-on-white.  Also note the
atypical numberboard font as well.


Also, another item of interest...

In the top photo, "CR 2578" is sitting next to B&O 4013 at the diamond in front of JO tower
in Akron.  The 2578 is northbound on the PRR Hudson Secondary (which connects the PRR
Alliance-Cleveland line at Hudson OH with the PRR Fort Wayne main at Orrville OH - the
B&O had trackage rights on the Hudson Sec between Warwick and Cuyahoga Falls OH).
B&O 4013 is eastbound on the EL main at JO.  Apparently the detouring B&O train entered
the EL at South St. block station, the infamous crossover in Akron which allowed trains
on the EL to enter/exit the Hudson Sec., thus redirecting them to/from Chicago via Orville
and the PRR Fort Wayne main.  After entering the EL main at South St, this B&O train passed
the EL Akron yard, and now sits at JO, waiting to get across the very tracks it normally
utilizes. Apparently, there is a blockage on the PRR between JO and Cuyahoga Falls, or on
the B&O somewhere east of C Falls.

My question is: where on the EL system did B&O trains detouring in this manner typically
re-enter their home rails?  Kent?  Ravenna Arsenal trackage?  Deforest Jct?  Niles?  Where is
the next logical B&O/EL connection east of Akron that is capable of reuniting eastbound
B&O detour trains with B&O mainline rails?

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