Shows
Living with SteamWilliam A. Steventon & The Railroad Record Club, Part 3In this episode of Living with Steam EXTRA, we'll conclude the story of William A. Steventon and how he came to develop the Railroad Record Club in the 1950s. It wasn't easy for Steventon to pull this venture off especially in an era where railroad sound recordings were in high demand amongst railfans yearning to relive the days of trains pulled by steam engines. Competition was out there and Steventon strived for a quality product that wouldn't bankrupt him in the process. Also featured in this episode is a fun and informative interview I had with Ken...2025-07-161h 54
Living with SteamTwo, Too Many in Cove, Pennsylvania - July 24-25, 1951On the evening of July 24, 1951, John M Prophet III drove his car into Cove, Pennsylvania; a small “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” town located north of Harrisburg, and right on the Pennsylvania Railroad's Middle Division mainline between Duncannon and Marysville. John wanted to make a special stop in Cove because he hoped to record Pennsy steam and diesel engines pulling trains at full speed. Cove was John’s first stop on the three day road trip he made back in July of 1951 where his intent was to capture as much Pennsy stream action as he could. However, J...2025-01-051h 21
Living with SteamA Day in Palmyra, June 26, 1951This is the second of a three part series documenting a road trip John M. Prophet III made back in July of 1951. In the last episode of Living with Steam, you heard the railroad sound recordings John made in Trenton, NJ; his last stop on the trip. Now, you'll hear the incredible recordings of many Pennsylvania Railroad trains John captured in Palmyra, NJ. In my opinion, these are some of his best work. Whether he liked it or not, John captured a slice of small-town America while he was in Palmyra. His goal may have been to only record...2024-06-161h 23
Living with SteamThe Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Station at Trenton, NJ & Goodbye to PRR Steam in Buffalo
This episode of Living with Steam features recordings John Prophet made at the Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger station in Trenton, NJ on July 27, 1951. As a bonus, the episode also features recordings John made during the last week Pennsylvania Railroad steam engines were used to pull passenger trains in and out of Buffalo, NY.
2024-02-161h 11
Living with SteamLws EXTRA: "PRR Diesels, 1970"In this episode of LwS EXTRA, you'll be introduced to the railroad sound recordings John M. Prophet made after 1955, when he put away his Webster-Chicago wire recorder in favor of a new magnetic tape recorder. The tape featured in this episode is one John labeled as being "#1" in a set of five tapes he had grouped together. As you'll hear, the fourth tape has gone missing. John made these recordings shortly after the Penn Central declared bankruptcy and thus plunged the railroad industry into unprecedented chaos. Although John labeled each recording as being that of a Pennsylvania Railroad diesel...2024-01-0847 min
Living with Steam"Railroad News" & A Week at BV TowerWelcome to the first episode in season 3 of Living with Steam.
In July of 1949, John Prophet paid another visit to New York Central’s Bay View (BV) interlocking tower, which was located in Blasdell, NY. In reality, John stopped by BV tower accompanied by his sister Annette and a few of his close friends six out of the seven days during the week of July 24; recording a few trains every evening. During these visits, John concentrated almost entirely on getting recordings of Pennsylvania and Nickel Plate Road trains. Also featured in this episode is a story about the unbelievable bo...2023-09-301h 16
Living with SteamAngola“About half-past three o’clock yesterday afternoon, the telegraph flashed the news to this city that an accident had occurred near the Village of Angola, to the New York Express train, on the Lake Shore Road, due at Buffalo at 1:30 pm, and that there was a fearful loss of life.” 84 years later, on Sunday, July 22, 1951, John got in his car and drove down to the Village of Angola, NY to make some recordings of NKP and PRR trains. The NKP Angola station wasn't being used at that point, but freight and passenger trains of both railroads raced by the statio...2023-03-1953 min
Living with SteamLiving with Steam EXTRA: William A. Steventon & the Railroad Record Club, Part 2In this episode of Living with Steam EXTRA, we continue the story of William A. Steventon and how he took the practice of sharing railroad sound recordings with like-minded railfans to a whole new level.
As strange as it may sound to us now, back when the railroad industry dominated the American landscape, railfans were sharing photographs, movies, and eventually, sound recordings of trains with each other. A simple “letter” or advertisement placed in a newspaper or trade magazine would serve to present a person’s offerings to the reader. “I have an incredible collection of New York Cent...2023-01-1859 min
Living with SteamA Dark and Stormy Night at Tower 50On September 22, 1949, John M. Prophet III brought his Webster-Chicago wire recorder to New York Central's Tower 50; a very busy interlocking tower located right in the heart of Downtown Buffalo, and perhaps one of the best locations for capturing non-stop train activity. Unfortunately for John, he arrived at the tower just as Buffalo was about to experience one of the worst weather events of 1949. It was unseasonably cold, with heavy thunderstorms, wind, and hail all occurring throughout the time he was there. John recorded from Tower 50 a total of four times. However, he had told me that, in his opinion...2022-11-2058 min
Living with SteamLiving with Steam EXTRA: William A. Steventon & the Railroad Record Club, Part 1In this episode of LwS EXTRA, we begin our look at the life and legacy of William A. Steventon and the Railroad Record Club. The RRC was a brilliant and very innovative way for Steventon to share the many sound recordings he made in addition to those from other railfans who also started making recordings of trains from the mid 1950s onward. The introduction of the “consumer model” portable tape recorder made it possible for dozens of “Railroad Sounds Audio Recording Engineers” to hit the road and set up their gear near railroad tracks all over the country. Compared to many o...2022-10-0852 min
Living with SteamBay View Tower #6, September 18, 1948This episode of Living with Steam features recordings John M. Prophet III made in the late evening (and early morning) of September 18 (19), 1948 at BV Tower in Blasdell, NY. John made a total of 19 recordings at this interlocking tower and this is one he labeled “#6.”
While the recordings contained on this spool of wire are not spectacular by any means… in fact, the quality of the audio is pretty lousy compared to his other recordings… they’re included here as part of John’s total output simply for the fact that the difficulty he sometimes had using the wire recorde...2022-08-1733 min
Living with SteamLiving with Steam EXTRA: High Iron Company's 1973 D&H Sesquicentennial ExcursionsOn Memorial Day weekend in 1973, Ross Rowland Jr.'s High Iron Company organized an excursion train to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. The train would be pulled by ex-Reading #2102 dressed up to look like D&H #302. Jim Van Brocklin, who along with John Prophet was a prominent member of the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the NRHS, packed his family into the car and chased the train from just outside Hoboken, NJ to Binghamton, NY. Prior to this event, however, Jim did a "trial run" of sorts by recording a similar excursion that ran on the...2022-06-1324 min
Living with SteamTower XC and the Port of ErieIn May of 1951, John Prophet took his wire recorder to Interlocking Tower XC in Erie, PA. XC sat at the junction of the New York Central's 6-track east/west main line, and the north/south P&E Branch of the PRR. This was perhaps the busiest location John ever recorded from as ore and freight trains on the Pennsy ran on a continuous basis as they made their way from two nearby freight yards to the very busy "Anchor Line Docks" that sat right on the shores of Lake Erie. Iron ore and coal were the two primary commodities...2022-04-211h 32
Living with SteamLiving with Steam EXTRA: Buffalo Central Terminal from the 10th FloorThis is the first episode of Living with Steam EXTRA, where between episodes of the main podcast, I'll share railroad recordings made by folks other than John Prophet.
On a cold, early evening in February 1993, I was inside Central Terminal in Buffalo, NY having a "look-around" with several friends. While everyone was off exploring the tower section, I wandered up to the 10th floor because I wanted to attempt to make a recording of what the outside of the facility sounded like. The mainline of the NYC (then Conrail) was obviously several hundred feet in front, and...2022-04-0620 min
Living with SteamTower 47, The West Shore, and Robber BaronsOn Tuesday, May 1, 1951, John M. Prophet III brought his wire recorder to New York Central's Interlocking Tower 47; located on the Central's mainline about a mile east of Buffalo Central Terminal. At first glance, the tower seemed like it was built in a spot where it wasn't needed. But when you dig deeper, Tower 47 played a very important role in keeping New York Central's steam engines (and later diesel locomotives) operating in perfect working order. The tower also controlled freight train movements in and out of various New York Central freight yards in the vicinity, including their colossal Frontier Yard...2022-01-291h 06
Living with SteamThere's No Place Like Westfield, NY for the HolidaysAfter spending Christmas of 1948 with his family, John M. Prophet III drove to Westfield, NY to visit some friends on the 26th. While there, he stopped at the Westfield passenger station in order to set up the wire recorder and capture whatever train happened by. If the town name "Westfield, NY" sounds familiar to you American History aficionados, then you'd be correct in saying that Westfield has a definite page in the book of American History.2021-12-0828 min
Living with SteamThe Life of John M. Prophet III & The First Recordings at BV TowerWelcome to Season Two of Living With Steam. In this episode, we'll learn about the life of John M. Prophet and how he came to be such a knowledgeable and dedicated railfan; eventually becoming the foremost expert on the Pennsylvania Railroad for his time. John was born in 1915, and from a very early age, he was constantly exposed to railroad activity that serviced his family's business in Mt. Morris, NY. It was inevitable that trains would become the primary focus of his life... eventually leading to a job as a clerk in the freight offices of the New York C...2021-11-071h 26
Living with SteamA Trip to Virginia and the N&WIn June of 1953, John Prophet packed up his car and drove out of Buffalo to begin an excursion by heading east/south-east. He visited Altoona, Tyrone, and Cresson, PA, and he also went as far as Cumberland, MD... always trying to stay within sight of railroad tracks... always on the lookout for active steam engines on ANY railroad. On June 28, John found himself in Shawsville, VA. His intentions may have been to photograph and record trains of the Norfolk & Western in Roanoke, but instead, he visited several smaller towns outside of Roanoke and was able to make some incredible r...2021-04-031h 47Living with SteamThe NRHS Rochester Branch Excursion of 1952The Pennsylvania Railroad's Rochester Branch ran through some of the most picturesque scenery in New York State, including Letchworth State Park, as wound its way between Rochester, NY and Olean, NY. Built on the abandoned towpath of the old Genesee Valley Canal, the Rochester Branch served dozens of small communities in this part of New York until regular passenger service was stopped in 1941. Freight service continued until the line was completely abandoned in 1963. The Niagara Frontier Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society chartered a special excursion on the Pennsy's Rochester Branch in October of 1952. John Prophet recorded a portion...2021-02-091h 29Living with SteamPort Jervis & Saratoga Springs, NYBy the early 1950s, John Prophet was discovering all too well that steam engines were being dropped from mainline railroads all over the country. Even at Buffalo in 1951, John was seeing more diesel engines on the tracks of the New York Central than he had noticed only a year earlier. In order to try and capture steam engines still in use, John began to venture out of the Western New York area and into localities where railroads like the Erie and Delaware & Hudson were still running steam. This episode features the only recording John made of an Erie steam...2020-12-311h 04Living with SteamA Visit to Tower 49-A in October of 1951 - Part 2We return to NYC's Tower 49-A in Buffalo, NY on a warm evening on October 21, 1951. John Prophet is in the tower with his best friend, Sam Herrington for what amounts to a very busy remainder of Sam's shift. We'll also hear about Sam's hobby; building miniature steam trains, and how one was used in a Western New York amusement park.2020-12-0750 minLiving with SteamA Visit to Tower 49-A in October of 1951 - Part 1Interlocking Tower 49-A was a New York Central signal/switching tower located a mile west of Buffalo Central Terminal. John Prophet made some of his best recordings of New York Central, Pennsylvania, and Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo trains from here. John's best friend, Sam Herrington, was an operator in the tower and he was able to get John inside to make recordings dozens of times when working the evening shift. It was a very warm evening this Sunday, October 24 in 1951, and the neighborhood surrounding Tower 49-A was alive with activity. John captured every bit of it.2020-10-0237 minLiving with SteamThe B & O Railroad Buffalo DivisionThe Baltimore & Ohio Railroad entered Buffalo, NY after it had acquired the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh in 1932. Regardless, it used the trackage and stations the B R &P had been using since 1881. John Prophet visited the Buffalo Division of the B & O, which ran between Buffalo and Pittsburgh, and made dozens of recordings featuring steam-powered trains as they were either approaching or leaving passenger stations. He also took several cab rides in B & O engines. These recordings were made in 1950 and 1953; the last years of B & O steam on the Buffalo Division. This episode of Living With Steam features some...2020-09-1556 minLiving with SteamTrains, Thunderstorms & MurderThunderstorms and trains together create a fantastic audio experience. When the "train" is pulled by a steam engine, the experience is even more thrilling. In this episode, we'll travel with John Prophet to Big Moose, a small town in the Adirondack Region of New York State. It's here, during a strong thunderstorm, that John captured two New York Central trains on the Central's Adirondack Division which ran between Utica, New York, and Montreal, Canada. Big Moose was also the scene for a well-known murder that put the small Upstate New York town on the popular-culture map. Thunderstorms, trains, and...2020-09-0141 min
Living with SteamNew York Central's Tower 65 in Niagara Falls, NYEpisode 6 of Living With Steam takes us to Niagara Falls, NY, and New York Central's Tower 65. This area was known as "Suspension Bridge" on all NYC timetables due to the history of this area where the very first railroad suspension bridge was built back in 1855. We'll learn more about the original Suspension Bridge, built by Charles Roebling, and how a visit from a special Pere Marquette train brought John Prophet out to Tower 65 in December of 1948. Be sure to visit Facebook.com/LivingWithSteam for maps and other visuals that will help better describe this complicated area of Niagara Falls.2020-08-1858 minLiving with SteamBuffalo's Streetcars and Tower F in Black RockIn this episode, we learn about Buffalo's streetcar system and hear IRC recordings made in North Buffalo in June of 1950. Then, we visit the Erie Railroad's Tower FW and learn how interlocking towers work. Finally, we take a ride with John Prophet on TH&B train #380, pulled by Hudson engine #502, as it makes its run from Hamilton, Ontario to Buffalo, NY. 2020-08-021h 29Living with SteamNew York Central's Tower 50 & John's Special Place; Renovo, PAIn this episode, we visit New York Central's Tower 50 in Buffalo. NY on November 26, 1949. While perhaps not as "glamorous" a location as some others that John visited because there were no grade crossings where an engine could show off its whistle, Tower 50 was nonetheless an incredible location if you wanted to hear "train movements" since the tower was surrounded by tracks coming from several busy NYC lines in addition to freight yard trackage. We'll also hear the story of how John Prophet came into my life and why it's important to make it a point to record conversations you...2020-07-201h 29Living with SteamWhat is a Webster Chicago 288-1 Wire Recorder?If portable tape recorders weren't available until around 1955, how did John Prophet capture his railroad sounds beginning in 1948? We'll learn all about the Webster-Chicago wire recorder in this episode and how John was able to work around its limitations in order to make the recordings featured on Living With Steam. This is portable "home recording" in its infancy and we'll explore how it was done.2020-07-051h 09Living with SteamEarly Cameras and Bay View TowerBefore 1948, when portable sound recording devices came on the market, the only way for a Railroad Enthusiast like John Prophet to capture and preserve their love of trains was to use a still camera or a movie camera. What types of cameras were used and how difficult was it to capture a moving train using an old-fashioned 8mm movie camera? Featured in this episode are recordings from Bay View Tower in Blasdell, NY.2020-06-2158 minLiving with SteamWhy Preserve Anything?In this episode, we’ll take a look at why archival preservation on film or audio recording device is such a necessity. Since we’re interested in the railroad industry of Buffalo, why was it so important to take pictures or make sound recordings of trains? Why did people find the need to preserve anything especially if what they were interested in was so common and thought to never go away? If the railroad industry was such an important part of American lives, why did most of it seem to disappear so quickly?2020-06-071h 01Living with SteamLiving With Steam - Pilot EpisodeWelcome to Living With Steam. This bi-weekly podcast features the sounds of railroading in Buffalo and Western New York from 1948 to 1955. The recordings featured in this program were captured in the field by John Prophet using a portable wire-recorder; a technology that many people have never heard of. Regardless of how "lo-fi" they may be, these recordings capture an element of industrial history that has long since vanished from Buffalo, NY.
Each episode contains stories about how the recordings were made in addition to how my involvement with the archiving of the wires came to be. Some h...2020-05-2739 min