Selkirk off of the Berkshire Sub. If it is the standard-cab locomotives
on locals in the less traveled areas that spark your interest, tracking down one of the Port Subdivision locals will make for some good southbound views, espe- cially a midday train through the rock cut at Glenmont from the Route 144 overpass. Generally B763 to Rensse- laer or B761 to Troy cross the Hudson River shortly after 8:00 a.m. and you can add some nice views to your collec- tion in either direction, given their morning eastbound and afternoon westbound operating pattern. If you’re looking to photograph the Carman Sub for these locals, the only public and open views of this section are from Chrisler Avenue in Rotterdam (I-890, Exit 7), usually in the early morning or mid-afternoon. The issue I have found with watching
CSX trains in the Capital District is there can be a train in or out of Selkirk at any moment that has that some unique attraction. There are highways to get you to the reaches of the Mohawk River Valley to the west, Hudson River Valley to the south, or the “Battle for the Berkshires” to the east. If variety is your wish, then you will not have to travel far to document all CSX has to offer.
Canadian Pacific Canadian Pacific would be the next
largest network of tracks in the Capital District. Its former Delaware & Hud- son lines that traverse Albany and Sch- enectady are primarily “bridge lines” to New England and Canada from the south, as previously marketed by the D&H. Norfolk Southern utilizes the Canadian Pacific for its own “bridge network” to access New England and Canada through trackage and haulage rights. While this network cannot com- pare to the sheer mass of traffic han- dled over CSX, it has a history of at- traction to the railfan community. Canadian Pacific enters the Capital District in Schenectady from the south- west on the Freight Subdivision from Binghamton. It brushes alongside the CSX Hudson Subdivision in downtown Schenectady, then crosses the Mohawk River into Glenville. At Glenville is a small freight interchange yard with the Pan Am Southern, referred to as Mo- hawk Yard. Just above Glenville, the tracks split with the line north contin- uing to Saratoga Springs and eventual- ly Montreal; the line east goes to Me- chanicville, a distance of approximately ten miles). At Mechanicville, the Colonie Sub starts and runs 19 miles south into Albany (one terminus of the Canadian Pacific). At Mechanicville is the new Albany Transportation Corporation (ATC) which is a conglomerate ownership be- tween Pan Am Railways, Canadian Pa-
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cific and Norfolk Southern. This is on the site of the former D&H and B&M yards that once had a claim as the largest facility in New York State (see Jim Shaughnessy’s profile beginning on page 34). The ATC marks the pres- ence of increased intermodal traffic in the Capital District and is just in its be- ginning stages. It is expected to expand to include multi-level (auto rack) traffic in addition to the intermodal traffic by the close of 2012. Albany is also home to Kenwood
Yard, which boasts a strong customer base for CP operations. The yard bor- ders South Pearl Street and I-787 in the “Port” district and hosts inter- change with the Albany Port Railroad and CSX, spots for ethanol, crude oil, and diesel fuel, and classification for Colonie Sub customers.
Pan Am Southern
The Pan Am Southern (operated by Guilford Transportation) consists of the Rotterdam Branch which connects
with CSX at a small yard in Rotterdam Junction and operates east to Clifton Park where it joins the Canadian Pacif- ic Freight Subdivision (Waite Road in the town of Clifton Park). The PAS has joint ownership with Canadian Pacific ten miles east to Mechanicville, where its line then splits east to its gateway to New England. The western portion of PAS primarily receives interchange with CP, NS, and CSX; however, there are a few local customers between Rot- terdam Junction and Scotia.
CP/PAS Operations While the Canadian Pacific network
in the Capital District can be perceived as 37 total track miles covering the dis- tance between Schenectady and Al- bany, it is not scarce on traffic. The Pan Am Southern really only adds another ten to 12 miles to that equation. Lis- tening to the radio can help the visiting fan understand what is going on. Week- days have a clear advantage as the track department is always looking for
TOP: Amtrak’s Adirondack meets CP train 413 at the Schenectady Amtrak station on April 16, 2005. Here is one location where the D&H connects to the CSX Hudson Sub, primarily for Am- trak service. ABOVE: CP ES44AC No. 8765 passes a work train at the south end of Mohawk Yard right off Maple Avenue on September 21, 2008. — TWO PHOTOS OTTO M. VONDRAK
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