A finely-attired Concert Mistress leads the Saturday matinee performance of the Sunset Symphony, expertly conducting the slow and laborious thugga-thugga-thugga-thugga four-cycle rhythm of the GE section and melding it with the quick 900 rpm 2-stroke chant of her own EMD 710, creating a gallant melody of internal combustion digging in and grinding upgrade. Amid the heavy background whine of blowers and traction motors, the orchestra presents the finest rendition of tractive effort, and in doing so achieves just what God and the composers at Erie and La Grange had in mind.
On a gorgeous winter day in Texas, the trackside hedges give way to the grand amphitheater as the triumvirate lean into the curve at Milepost 161.75, and with westbound tonnage strung out on the drawbar they slug it out with gravity on the 1.09 percent grade of Kingsbury Hill.
There is no finer performance on this stunning January 5th, 2019 than right here, watching and listening to the veteran conductress as she wields the full might of her charges, skillfully coaxing them through the suite and never missing a beat.
And you’ve got the best seat in the house.
Rick Malo©2019