railfan.com/railnews Historic Diesels Mark Espee’s 150th
The Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society’s 2015 convention was held in Sacramento, Calif., on October 7-11, 2015, marking the 150th anniversary of the railroad’s founding in 1865. A night photo shoot at the California State Railroad Museum was hosted by photographers Steve Crise and Shirley Burman-Steinheimer. One of Richard Steinheimer’s Ascor Studio Strobes was part of the lighting set-up. Subjects for the October 8 photo shoot were from the CSRM collection and included SP EMD E8 No. 6051, SP Baldwin DRS-6-6-1500 No. 5208, and SP EMD SD45T-2 No. 6819. PHOTO BY STEVE CRISE
163-mile West Texas & Lubbock is now the Lubbock & Western Railway. Watco Companies completed the purchase of both lines in May 2015.
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES EAST STEPHEN KOENIG
New York Central Alco Swap in Adirondacks
The Adirondack Scenic Railroad in upstate New York will add another vintage Alco to its roster of operable locomotives. Privately owned New York Central RS-3 No. 8255 departed the Midland Railway in Baldwin, Kan., at the end of September for its new home in Utica, N.Y. Due to its age, the locomotive had to be shipped by heavy- duty flatcar, with the body on one car and the trucks on another. It will briefly join privately owned NYC RS-3 No. 8223, which is currently the subject of litigation regarding its long-term lease to the railroad.
New Owner for Conway Scenic
An agreement to sell the Conway Scenic Railroad to John Mark Delli Priscoli, owner of Grafton & Upton Railroad in Massachusetts, was announced on
October 1. Priscoli also indicated his partner in the proposed purchase is Al Harper, owner of Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado. Conway Scenic was founded by the late
Carroll P. Reed, Robert Kennett, and Bill Levy, with Dwight Smith providing the rolling stock in 1968. It opened with a Conway run on August 4,
1974.The base of operations is the 1874-built North Conway Station. Russ Seybold came on as general manager and part-owner in fall 1990. He and wife, Dot, purchased the railroad from the partners in 1999. The railroad was awarded the Mountain Division line lease by the state of New Hampshire in 1994 and began operations to Bartlett that year. On September 1, 1995, CSRR ran its first passenger train through Crawford Notch. That lease was renewed in 2004 and again in early 2015. The new owners intend to have Russ Seybold serve as a consultant during the ownership transition period. No changes to the operation have been announced.
Maine Eastern Departs Rockland for Last Time In September, it was announced
that the state of Maine will award the contract for the Rockland Branch, currently operated by Morristown & Erie, to Central Maine & Quebec railway. Subsidiary Maine Eastern
had been operating the former Maine Central between Rockland and Brunswick line since 2003. The new contract carries no provision or subsidy for passenger excursions, and Maine Eastern’s final regular departure was October 25. Following possible holiday- themed runs in December, all equipment will be relocated to Morristown & Erie headquarters in New Jersey, and CMQ will assume operations on January 1. The largest customer on the 57-mile line is Dragon Cement in Thomaston. A press release from the company
stated Morristown & Erie would focus on its freight operations at Bayway Refinery and its original freight route in Morris County, N.J.
Saratoga & North Creek
In mid-October, Iowa Pacific subsidiary Saratoga & North Creek announced it will not be storing tank cars on its railroad since no proposals have come forward. The railroad has been under fire from various local environmental groups since the SNC line serves the heart of Adirondack State Park in upstate New York. While tank cars are out (for now), the railroad hopes to store open top hoppers instead on the former Delaware & Hudson Adirondack Division. SNC began operation in 2013 and hauls freight as well as passenger excursions.
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