Living with Steam

About Living with Steam

Living with Steam features the railroad sound recordings made by John M. Prophet III, noted Pennsylvania Railroad historian and dedicated railfan for his entire life. Beginning in 1948, John used a Webster-Chicago Model 288-1 wire recorder to make recordings in Buffalo and other areas in Western New York. When stream engines pulling passenger or freight trains became scarce in the Buffalo area, John ventured into Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other areas to continue making his incredible recordings. Visit livingwithsteam.com for more information about each episode.

Publisher

Aaron Heverin

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 May 2020

Latest episode

12 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 35 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   12 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Railroad Enthusiasts & A Convention in Altoona

   John M. Prophet III shares his 1952 recordings from Pennsylvania's Horseshoe Curve and explains his attendance at the NRHS convention in Altoona.

2. 

   2 Jan 2026

   LwS EXTRA: "Train Sounds for the Model Railroad"

   This episode of Living with Steam EXTRA is a bit different in that I’m featuring several of the railroad sound recordings from my collection that were made specifically for adding a bit of realism to a model railroad; specifically that of an O-gauge model railroad. While the post-war period in America saw a boom in the demand and popularity of O-gauge model trains manufactured by Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx, the fact remained that regardless of how authentic these trains looked… they were “toys.” They were INCREDIBLE toys for sure… but still toys. They needed that little something extra... and that's what these records tried to fulfill. But you be the judge. Perhaps these recordings really do lend some much needed authenticity to those classic model trains of the 1940s and 1950s.

3. 

   6 Nov 2025

   Tyrone, Huntingdon, Cresson & The Curve - Part 1

   Right after leaving work on Thursday, August 28, 1952, John hopped in his car and drove to Tyrone, Pennsylvania where he began to record as much Pennsylvania Railroad steam engines as possible. Known as "The Hub of the Highways", Tyrone was a big spot on the Pennsy's Middle Division trackage where the hauling of coal, iron ore, paper products and passengers occurred 24 hours a day... EVERY day. If John or anyone else wanted to make sound recordings or take photographs of PRR steam engines in action, Tyrone was the place to be. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan on this trip. John's "unrelenting standards" of doing everything possible to avoid making any recordings of PRR trains pulled by the new diesel engines caught up with him in a not-so-pleasant way... as you will hear. This is part one of a two part episode featuring the recordings John made from August 28th until September 1st 1952.

Inside a recent episode

Railroad Enthusiasts & A Convention in Altoona

Published 12 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Remember, the NRHS National Convention was still going on in Altoona, this being the last day. It's safe to assume that John made his way from Tyrone to Altoona in order to take in whatever activities remained of the convention. By 1952 standards, Tyrone and Altoona were roughly 15 miles away from each other. Interstate 99 wasn't built yet, so John would have had to drive on old Route 220 or other local roads to make the trip, which would have taken 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. The length of time the trip took wouldn't have mattered to John because whatever road he took to get to Altoona would have run almost parallel to the Pennsylvania railroad tracks for a good portion of the trip. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

24 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

27 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 43 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

66

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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