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Action at Marysville
by Andrew Harmantas
Oil on ABS panel
Original Painting Image size 16" x 24"
Framed size 16½" x 24½"
Among the busiest places on the Pennsylvania Railroad was Marysville, Pennsylvania, situated just above the Pennsy's
huge Enola Yard. It marked the approach to the Rockville Bridge and the crossing of the Susquehanna River. The track
layout here is described as a "flying junction," which means trains can move to a different route and change
directions without slowing down or having to cross over an adjacent track. Flyovers and duckunders, with tracks
dipping under another, or crossing over on an elevated bridge make it a very interesting place to watch trains,
which is just what I did many times at this exact spot, so many years ago. Passenger trains coming in from the west
didn't waste time through here, and if the operator gave them a clear track ahead, and the signal, they would
literally burn the ballast as they screamed around the curve. The scene here is just before the train enters
Rockville Bridge, with the imposing escarpment, an area landmark, looming up behind. Similar features continue on
both sides of the river. Of course, the passing freight train heading in the opposite direction has a Western
Maryland Railway boxcar in its consist, with its catchy oxide red, or burnt orange, body with the WM's "high speed"
lettering. These cars were common on trains throughout the East...and as they are in my paintings.
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