nership between the NCRA and North- western Pacific for another Railroad Re- habilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan.
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES EAST STEPHEN KOENIG
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Four test coke trains were operated
Coke Test Trains on
jointly by the Wheeling & Lake Erie, Allegheny Valley Railroad, and Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroads. For these test moves, each railroad contributed one of its own locomotives for the entire round trip. Power for the runs was WCOR SD40-2 301, AVR SD40-2R 3002, and WLE SD40-2 6989. The final one ran only with non-B&P power and was an empty train. Symbolled COKE-1, then BFBK once out of Buffalo, they ran be- tween December 11 and December 23. The trips were to test capabilities of the route and to see if Buffalo was a bet- ter access point. No word yet as to any future moves. In a related note, most PRLX SD60Ms are back in service and have dominated mainline trains.
Claremont & Concord
The CC recently added former Con- necticut Southern class N-21 caboose No. 21226 to its roster to be used at the local salt plant it serves. Before the win- ter set in, the railroad performed work on track and switches to facilitate better service American Rock Salt’s plant. The caboose was part of a fleet purchased new by Conrail in 1978, constructed by Fruit Growers Express.
Grand River Railway With operations in full swing by Jan-
Additional Power for
uary, Grand River Railway took delivery of its second SW1200, numbered 1205. This unit will be used in concert with the one already on the property. It is also painted in a B&O-inspired livery. The Grand River Railway is headquar- tered in Grand River, Ohio, and serves customers on the north end of the former B&O Lake Branch. Interchange is with CSX in Grand River.
Carolina Southern to Reopen in March
The Carolina Southern shut down in
2011 when the railroad determined they could not afford to repair structurally deficient bridges along its route from Mullins to Myrtle Beach, S.C. In 2015, R.J. Corman completed its purchase of the line, and began rehabilitation efforts that August. Several washouts were also repaired in anticipation of resuming reg- ular freight service in March. —O.M.V.
ECO Rebuild for Susquehanna
On January 10, New York, Susque-
hanna & Western GP40 3040 was spot- ted heading west on CSX. This unit was being sent out for rebuild work as it typically is assigned to the Utica, N.Y., branch. Sister unit No. 3042 was cut up in mid-2015 after being out of service for several years; parts from that unit were being used on the 3040. The ECO rebuilds being built in Washington from the SD40T-2 No. 3012
and No. 3016 cores will soon be enter- ing service on NYS&W. These units will be similar in appearance to the rebuilt units ordered by Canadian Pacific.
Catskill Mountain Yard A city judge ruled Catskill Mountain Railroad must stop using its Cornell Street Yard in Kingston, N.Y., by Feb- ruary 10. While the railroad is owned by Ulster County and leased to CMRR, Kingston claimed jurisdiction to address the violations of city law. Chief amongst the complaints is that the railroad nev- er received approval to use the Cornell Street property to store railcars and perform maintenance work. CMRR was established in 1983 and leases 38 miles of the former New York Central Catskill Mountain Branch between Kingston and Highmount, N.Y. The railroad has been fighting eviction by landlord Ulster County since 2013. CMRR’s lease is set to expire in May, and there have been no talks to extend the operating agreement beyond that date. —O.M.V.
City Disputes Use of
New Transload for Lycoming Valley
The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authori-
ty released a press release saying that Updegraff Trucking Co. has begun using a transloading rail spur at Lycoming Valley Railroad’s Newberry Rail Yard in Williamsport, Pa. This operation brought the trucks to the railroad and provides better customer service. Upde- graff has been a long-term customer of the railroad and built this site as part of its 2015 expansion.
Lodi Mill Closes
The end of 2015 was also the end of the line for the General Mills cereal plant in Lodi, Calif., as it shut its doors after its initial announcement in September 2014. The closure will result in the loss of 430 jobs at the plant, which first opened in 1947. The mill is located at the end of a long spur track (former Southern Pacific Woodbridge Branch) off of the Union Pacific mainline in Lodi, and featured street running down a few blocks of West Lockeford Street.
PHOTO BY ROBERT W. SCOTT
14 MARCH 2016 •
RAILFAN.COM
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72