LIRR 2053
PECONIC
Parlor #2053, “PECONIC” is laying up at Montauk,
NY on August 29, 1970.
The car name has not yet been stenciled on the side of the car,
which bears only the large road number.
George E. Votava photo, Dave Keller archive
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PECONIC in the yard at Montauk, laying over between runs, August
10, 1975.
Photo/scan by Ed Frye.
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PECONIC at Montauk Yard on September 14, 1975.
MERRICK is the car on the left.
Photo/scan by Ed Frye
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PECONIC in the yard at Montauk on July 4, 1976 ...
the bicentennial of America's Indepedence Day.
Photo/scan by Ed Frye
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Reflections by the photographer:
Eastern Long Island is host to a multitude of creative
moods and impressions, many of which are inspired by Nature’s
plentiful ingredients that symbolize the unequalled East End climate.
The seemingly infinite array of cloud and sunlight combinations
(or even the occasional absence thereof) that compose any day
at Montauk were equivalent to dialogue in theater, bringing to
life the parlor cars like players on stage, in whatever role they
assumed, be it a summertime layover between assignments, or their
final rest upon retirement in the throes of winter cold.
Akin to scenes in a play, I captured these moments at various
times, from “sun up” through “sundown”,
each event unique, yet linked in spirit and tone to the wholesome
story of the Montauk Parlor.
In these mid-to-late summer views of Peconic, the sun –
directly above in the tall midday sky – casts an expanse
of light upon the yard, what I personally refer to as “overhead
beach” sun…something I’ve never experienced
elsewhere. The August 10 image typifies this feeling precisely;
a curtain of brilliant sunlight draws down along the cars’s
smooth – though aged – exterior, while exaggerating
the granular terrain below. Conversely, the “Bicentennial”
view of Peconic – during the car’s last season of
revenue service – depicts a different afternoon at Montauk
when summer humidity and diffuse sunshine prevailed, disguising
the car’s imperfections in a somewhat sullen tone.
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August 2009
A railroader with camera in hand found the former PECONIC in a
semi-derelict condition on a siding about thirty minutes from Columbus,
Mississippi.
Its been 33 years since the car was retired by LIRR. |
Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck |
Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck
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Photo by John Suscheck |
Updated 9/06/2009
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