by Kermit Geary Jr./photos by the author
The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad hosted a railfan photo charter on Saturday, May 28, 2022, featuring two of its locomotives, freshly repainted M420W 3568 in a new PRR-tribute Oil Creek & Titusville paint scheme. Also running was Alco S2 locomotive 85. The trip departed at 3:00 p.m. from Perry Street Station in Titusville, and featured multiple stops for photo and video opportunities along a portion of the 16.5-mile long line, comprised mostly of former Pennsylvania Railroad (and some former New York Central) trackage.
The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad (reporting mark OCTL) is a tourist railroad extending from Titusville south to Rynd Farm, north of Oil City, Pa. Oil Creek & Titusville Lines is the designated operator of the railroad, as well as the freight carrier on the line. The track was formerly Conrail and was out of service in 1986 when it was purchased from Conrail by the Oil Creek Railway Historical Society, with the first tourist trains running on July 18 of that year. Freight operations began September 25, 1986.