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Illinois Railway Museum
THE RUSSIAN IS COMING! On October 30, 2013, the Illinois Railway Museum’s Frisco Russian Decapod No. 1630 was steamed up and passed its FRA inspection. The safety valves were tested and the 1918 Baldwin was run back and forth a few times. The locomotive is expected to be available for service during the 2014 season.
MBTA
SOUTH COAST TRACK WORK BEGINS: The Massachusetts Department of Trans- portation has begun to rehabilitate its Fall River and New Bedford lines, which were pur- chased from CSX last year, for MBTA’s pro- posed South Coast commuter service out of South Station. 42,000 ties will be installed on the two branches which run from Taunton to Fall River and New Bedford, a total of 37 miles. Three rail overpasses in New Bedford dating from 1907 had been replaced earlier. The South Coast route will be an extension of the Stoughton line, which leaves the North- east Corridor at Canton Junction.
Metrolink
LEASES CANADIAN POWER: Metrolink is leasing three former GO Transit F59PH’s, RBRX Nos. 18520, 18522, and 18533, from RB Leasing. 18533 is in the silver colors of Michi- gan’s stillborn MITRAIN commuter line, while the others still wear Go Transit green.
Montréal, Maine & Atlantic
WESTERN CONNECTION IS REBUILT: In late November, trackage serving MMA cus- tomers in a Lac-Mégantic, Québec, industrial park was rebuilt, re-establishing the town’s connection to the rest of Québec and western Canada. The trackage was destroyed in the July 6 derailment of a loaded MMA unit oil train and the ensuing explosion and fire which leveled several blocks of the downtown area. While freight customers now have ac- cess to rail routes east and west of the town, the main line is still out of service and through service remains suspended.
Napoleon, Defiance & Western
TRACK WORK IS COMPLETED: Pioneer Railcorp has finished upgrading the 51-mile Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway main line between the Norfolk Southern inter- change at Woodburn, Ind., the CSX inter- change at Defiance, Ohio, and the end of track at Liberty Center, Ohio. Pioneer acquired the neglected former Maumee & Western in De- cember 2012 and immediately started a brush cutting, tie replacement, ballasting, and lin- ing program. At the time of acquisition, the former Wabash route was entirely FRA ex- cepted track and experienced nearly constant derailments. The NS interchange was also out of service and stored cars blocked the line be- tween Woodburn and Defiance. Now, shippers have a choice of Class I carriers, service inter- ruptions due to derailments have been elimi- nated, and service has been improved overall.
High Hood Alco Restoration Approaches Completion
THE WESTERN NEW YORK RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY is restoring Buffalo Creek Railroad HH660 No. 43 at Hamburg, N.Y. The locomotive was delivered to BCK on March 18, 1940, and had been part of the Relco lease fleet since 1966 as No. RE 606. It last worked at Empak Chemical in Fitzgerald, Ga., and was purchased by WNYRHS in 2000. The restoration was started in May 2005 and the trucks were overhauled in 2006. The cab interior and control stand are nearly finished and while it has yet to be started, the engine bars over easily. The lo- comotive was painted and lettered in the spring of 2013 and work continues on mechanical com- ponents, with the goal of returning the unit to service next year. The Buffalo Southern will loan the group a set of batteries initially, but the group intends to raise funds to buy its own set. For more information on No. 43 and other WNYRHS projects, visit
http://tinyurl.com/wnyrhs.
The Great Locomotive Chase Is Re-enacted “Up North”
DAVID KLOKE’S REPRODUCTION CENTRAL PACIFIC 4-4-0 LEVIATHAN visited Penn- sylvania’s Steam Into History for several days of operation between November 10-13, 2013. The Civil War’s Andrews Raid (a.k.a. The Great Locomotive Chase) was depicted on November 10, with No. 17 playing the General’s role and No. 63 reprising the Texas (above). On November 12 the locomotives re-enacted the Driving of the Golden Spike scene, and on November 13 a classic Matthew Brady scene, reputedly featuring Abraham Lincoln, was set up at Hanover Junction.
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MITCH GOLDMAN
PETE SWANSON
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