Also, in the first half of the year, the rail- road was busy upgrading its Auburn Yard. The Pallet Track became a double-ended siding from North to Perrine Streets, the railroad shifted the double-ended siding to the west, and it placed an additional track between this siding and the current mainline. At Owens Runaround, FGLK was busy adding an additional track with the intention of capturing and expanding business on the railroad.
Indiana Rail Road Upgrades
After spending $20 million in 2014 to mostly renew rail and ties, the Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) has allocated $17.5 million in 2015, most of which is aimed at replacing or renewing bridges. Notable bridge projects include the re- placement of two timber bridges on the Chicago Subdivision in the White River floodplain between Linton and Elnora, Ind., according to INRD’s spring news- letter.
The 91-foot northernmost bridge will be replaced by two concrete culverts placed side by side and covered with sub- grade and ballast, while the 184-foot tim- ber trestle to the south will be replaced by a 159-foot steel and reinforced-con- crete ballast deck structure. INRD also plans to continue replacing the 117-year-old White River bridge north of Elnora to accommodate 286,000-pound rail cars. Although 2015 will be a busy year for bridge work, projects planned for both 2016 and 2017 in total will comprise the most aggressive bridge replacement program in the railroad’s history, INRD officials said in the newsletter. The regional plans to replace a 112-foot timber bridge near Newton, Ind., and
replace eight other timber bridges on the Indianapolis Subdivision ranging from 28 to 130 feet long with steel and rein- forced-concrete ballast decks. In addition, the Shuffle Creek Trestle north of Bloom- ington, Ind., will receive a makeover, with components replaced in the 75-foot- tall viaduct’s steel towers.
New Hampshire Central Discontinuance
New Hampshire Central Railroad, Inc. (NHCR) filed a notice of exemption un- der federal law to discontinue service over approximately 6.86 miles of railroad line, between Littleton and Bethlehem, N.H. In its filings, NHCR certified that no local traffic has moved over the route for at least two years and that there is no overhead traffic on the line. The NHCR was formed in 1993 to operate the former Maine Central Beecher Falls line.
Steam in the Catskills
New York’s Catskill Mountain Railroad hosted Viscose No. 6, a privately owned Baldwin 0-6-0 built in 1926 for industri- al use in Virginia. Based out of Dunkirk, N.Y., the small steamer has been trucked to various railroads in the Northeast for special events. The locomotive’s operation August 8 and 9 on CMRR’s current west end operations based in Mount Tremper marked the first time steam has operated on these rails since the New York Central converted to diesel operation in 1949. The embattled CMRR is engaged in a legal battle with landlord Ulster County, who is attempting to end the railroad’s lease so the rails can be ripped up in favor of a recreational trail. Located just 100 miles
north of New York City, the railroad cur- rently operates two separate seasonal passenger excursions in Kingston and Mount Tremper. The current lease with Ulster County is set to expire at the end of May 2016. —O.M.V.
New Bridge for Reading & Northern
Reading & Northern plans to construct a new Nesquehoning Bridge in Carbon County, Pa., with groundbreaking antici- pated in August. The bridge will be about 500 feet long with a ballasted deck, and will be comprised of three spans carrying rail traffic about 40 feet above the Lehigh River on an 11 degree horizontal curve. The project includes 1200 feet of track to connect the two existing lines. Other bridge work includes the re- placement of a full timber deck on a 100-foot-long bridge on the Susquehan- na Branch, started in May and anticipat- ed to cost about $110,000. The railroad also earmarked funds to construct a new garage and storage building to house trucks and equipment at Penobscot Yard in Mountain Top, Pa., and build a new crew quarters facility in Pittston Yard in Pittston, Pa.
Western New York & Pennsylvania
In a bid to market its rail lines as a an alternative corridor for Norfolk South- ern intermodal trains, WNY&P has earmarked funds to fix the one obstacle preventing it from handling double-stack trains on its line. This year, the railroad plans on undercutting the bridge it has with the B&P overhead in Carrollton, N.Y., to achieve full double-stack clear-
Another Alco to WNYP
Former New Brunswick East Coast Railway MLW C424 No. 4204 was languishing in storage on the Morristown & Erie at Cedar Knolls, N.J., for the last four years before it was hauled into the shops at Morristown for repairs at the end of July 2015. Built in 1965 for the Canadian Pacifi c, it worked the New Brunswick East Coast Railway before coming to New Jersey. Owned by Railroad Power Leasing, LLC, the unit will be reconditioned so it can join the fl eet of Alcos on the Western New York & Pennsylvania.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL SULLIVAN
14 SEPTEMBER 2015 •
RAILFAN.COM
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