First-grade field-trip

Pennsy K4 Pacific (4-6-2) #5418 comes off the turntable at Camden Terminal Enginehouse — 1955. (That keystone number-plate is red.) (Photo by Charles Winters.)

Yr Fthfl Srvnt has been a railfan all his life, and in 1951 I was in first grade.
I remember little other than my first-grade teacher was Mrs. Ford.
Perhaps for me Mrs. Ford arranged a field-trip to Camden Terminal Enginehouse of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. (“Redding” not “Reeding.”)
PRSL was the railroad from Philadelphia to south Jersey’s seashore resorts, mainly Atlantic City. Atlantic City succeeded because of that railroad, built in 1852 as the Camden & Atlantic. At first it had ferry-service across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
Later the Pennsylvania Railroad took over Camden & Atlantic, and Reading financed a competitor. (See footnote below.) Pennsy also built a crossing over the Delaware to avoid the ferries. That bridge opened in 1896. It was mainly freight for south Jersey, but it also ran passenger-trains.
At that time our family lived in Erlton (”Earl-tin”), a south Jersey suburb of Philadelphia. Camden was nearby, and across the river from Philadelphia.
PRSL went through nearby Haddonfield (“Ha-din-FIELD”), where my father took me to watch trains. Free entertainment, and I was smitten. I was age-2 (1946).
And back then PRSL was still using steam-locomotives. Many railroads already dieselized, but PRSL used the steam-engines of its co-owners, Pennsy and Reading.
I was terrified of thunder, lightning, and camera-flash. Also loud noises.
But in Haddonfield’s railroad-station I could stand right next to a throbbing, panting steam locomotive.
I used to get in trouble daydreaming about PRSL steamers. “Bobby, you’re daydreaming again.” That was Mrs. Marlin in fourth grade.
“Nine times nine equals 81. So much potential is going to waste.”
I’m sure we rode to Camden Terminal Enginehouse via schoolbus. “Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall....” my classmates were singing, and I didn’t join.
I’m sure my fellow students were bored silly. But not this kid!
What a joy it was to walk around on Camden Terminal Enginehouse’s cinders.
0-6-0 switchers, Consols (2-8-0 Consolidations), and passenger locos. All were steamers, mostly ex-Pennsy or actual Pennsy. Red keystone number-plates in full glory on the passenger-engines.
PRSL’s new Budd RDCs (Rail Diesel Car) were also there. Self-propelled stainless-steel commuter-cars powered by diesel tank-engines. Use of an RDC relieved railroads of commuter-trains powered by locomotives.
We also rode the roundhouse turntable, the height of our trip.
Camden Terminal Enginehouse is long-gone, as is 1951.
But what I most remember about first-grade was our field-trip to Camden Terminal Enginehouse.

An actual ex-PRSL RDC #M413 laying over in Ocean City, NJ. (My wife and I rode it about 1970.) (Long-ago photo by BobbaLew.)