Oil burning leased ATSF 5034 is in the process of being fired up for Sandusky coal service, an overhead view from St. Clair Ave. comes courtesy of friendly PRR employees. They had tipped John and his friend Bill Rosenberg on August 11th that the last (5034 & 5035) of the eleven ATSF leased engines were due to be fired up for coal service in the next week. With the intel in their back pocket, they made their way west to capture photos in both Chicagoland and Detroit/Windsor before returning (by bus) to Columbus on the 14th where they re-friended the PRR employees at the roundhouse and documented this activity over the next days. In the background are the oil tankers Pennsy shoved in to supply fuel, next to the turntable, obscured by the coal tower. PRR hoggers had the opportunity over the summer to compare the operating characteristics of the Santa Fe engines and their own J1's. A good read on the summer of Santa Fe steam in Columbus is found at ColumbusRailroads.com. Most of what you see here is obliterated, a scar of the roundhouse seen in satellite views alongside the I-670 corridor on Columbus' east side.
