This May 19, 1985 excursion on the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad was likely run in conjunction with the annual Ferndale Day festival. Following BLA 50, a GE 70-tonner, are the Pullman “Defender” and RRP coach 3587. Safety, apparently, was not high on the promotion list, as there was what appeared to be an entire family, including small children, riding just outside the locomotive cab, and the uniformed conductor can be seen riding on the walkway along the hood. The train is shown here southbound crossing the Patapsco River, on the return trip from Baltimore Highlands to Ferndale, where the excursion originated.
Ultimately, the B&A traded BLA 50 to CSX, in return for C&O SW9 5092 (which became BLA 87). On September 16, 1986, CSX donated the GE 70-tonner to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, where it resides today.
