Private Varnish Covers Rare Mileage in New England
HIGH IRON TRAVEL ran a five-car train of private cars from Boston North Station to Mechanicville, N.Y., over the former Boston & Maine on April 13, 2013. The Pan Am Railways executive F units pulled Iowa Pacific ex-Great Northern Big Domes Prairie View in GN orange and green and Summit View in Illinois Central chocolate and orange, along with 14-4 sleeper Cimarron River in Frisco silver and red and Iowa Pa- cific’s sleeper Colorado Pine and sleeper-observation Caritas, both in IC colors. Initially the train was to have spent the night in Mechanicville and then run over Canadian Pacific to Saratoga Springs, where it would then run up the Saratoga & North Creek to North Creek. Before the
Maine Eastern
SEASON START IS DELAYED: Maine Eastern will not begin this season’s excur- sions between Brunswick and Rockland, Maine, until June 26. The railroad will also cut back the schedule to one train a day, leav- ing Brunswick eastbound at 10:00 a.m. and returning from Rockland at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. There will be no connection with Amtrak’s Downeaster service to Boston.
Nebraska Central
HISTORIC TRUSS SPAN IS REPLACED: The Nebraska Central has completed a proj- ect which replaced a 98-foot long through truss bridge built in 1889 in Norfolk, Neb., and its approaches with six deck girder spans on steel pilings and piers. The new bridge was built alongside the older structure, which will be demolished. Now, the route can accommo- date 286,000 lbs. gross weight freight cars.
North County Transit District
NEW SPRINTER BRAKES ARE TESTED: By early May 2013, new, split-disc brake ro- tors had been installed on seven of the 12
26 MAY 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
trip ran, CPR balked at that plan, so, the train doubled back from Me- chanicville to Hoosick Junction, Vt., where Vermont Railway trackage was attained. Passengers spent the night aboard the cars in front of the immaculately-restored former Rutland depot at North Bennington and the next day a leased GP38-2 moved the consist north over the VTR to Rutland, where the cars were added to Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express for Albany/Rensselaer, N.Y. On April 13 (above) the train was west- bound at Eagle Bridge, N.Y., at the Battenkill Railroad interchange. With the train’s rerouting via VTR, the next day the F’s moved a three- well intermodal train from Mechanicville to Ayer on their way home.
Sprinter diesel light rail vehicles, and the cars were making test runs between Oceanside and Escondido, Calif. The split disc design al- lows worn rotors to be changed out without having to remove the wheels, as was neces- sary with the originals. At press time, the NCTD said Sprinter service was likely to be restored “in just a matter of weeks.”
Northwest Railroad Institute
NEW RAIL SCHOOL OFFERS COURSE: With class beginning on July 15, 2013, the newly-established Northwest Railroad Insti- tute of Vancouver, Wash., will offer a six- month, 42 credit hour certificate in Rail Oper- ations for aspiring railroad operating employees. Subject matter will include an in- troduction to the railroad industry, railroad operations and safety, the General Code of Operating Rules, yard switching operations, air brake and train handling rules, freight car and locomotive inspection, hazmat practices and handling, and how to prepare a job appli- cation and how to conduct an interview. Hands-on training in railroad field operations will take place using the school’s locomotive and rolling stock. The Institute is affiliated with the International Air and Hospitality Academy;
www.nw-ri.com.
Oregon Coast Scenic
LEASES MORE TRACK: The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad has been able to lease an ad- ditional 46 miles of former Southern Pacific track from the Port of Tillamook Bay Board of
Commissioners.The first test train ran behind Curtis Lumber Heisler No. 2 on March 30 . The route had been operated by the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad until winter storms in 2007 flooded the Salmonberry River and washed out extensive trackage in the Salmon- berry Canyon. Oregon Coast Scenic now oper- ates 40 miles of track from Tillamook to Salmonberry.
Paducah & Louisville
BUYS AC POWER FROM CSX: Paducah & Louisville has purchased 16 SD70MAC’s from CSX. CSX 4501-4506, 4510-4512, 4516-4520, 4522, and 4523 will retain their numbers on PAL and are being repainted by VMV at Pad- ucah, Ky., and by Progress Rail Services in Mayfield, Ky. Several units may see service on PAL affiliates Evansville Western and Ap- palachian & Ohio. The three railroads are subsidiaries of Four Rivers Transportation, which itself is jointly owned by CSX and P&L Railways.
ROBERT A. LAMAY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68