Excellent photo John West...I hope you have others to share. I also rode the Independence Limited this date from Rook Yard to Cumberland, Maryland via the P&WV and WM but was just about 16 years old at the time, and had just a junky 126 Instamatic Camera. This image flooded my mind with wonderful memories of this trip. In addition I also was lucky enough to obtain the Train Sheets from the Rook Train Dispatchers Office for the trip from Pittsburgh Junction to Rook, then this trip on Saturday July 7th that show the trains movement and the meet at Monessen with Western Maryland locomotives. At Longview Station, 6 miles ahead the N&W had GP-38's waiting incase the 4501 stalled on the climb that reached a 1.31 percent gradient. Your photo shows the excellent condition the P&WV was maintained at during the N&W era, quite unlike today. Mile Post 52 and its location was a real surprise for me as I always thought it was on the opposite side of the right of way...but this concrete mile post was long gone before I began my indepth documentation of this railroad which still persists to this date. As a note of correction, Mile Post 52 is actually West Liberty on the P&WV and 4 miles East of Rook Yard. Pittsburgh's famous Liberty Tunnels are just off to the immediate left. The rickety track with rusted rails was once part of West Liberty Yard that was a interchange point between the P&WV and P&LE, with P&LE train crews operating over the P&WV - West End Branch on a monthly rotation schedule. PLEASE, I hope you have more photos of this sensational event to share.
Gene P. Schaeffer
Pittsburgh.
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