Downeaster Study

The Wheelman was home on hiatus before the next big gig so today we headed south for a relatively low key visit to Pan Am District 2 south of Portland. It was nice to get out with a "mission" too. The idea was to check out the new station in Saco and anything else we could get in the vicinity with actual trains going by. Some Downeaster pics were part of the deal. DT&I Fan and I tried this a few weeks ago and got skunked. Today we took a timetable, scanner and some of Wheelman's luck. It was overcast the whole way so we had sub-par light, but on the plus side, no tough backlighting.

We saw a local switching 22 empty slurry tanks and coal hoppers near Sprague Energy in S. Portland. Unfortunately they stopped right by the bridge over the bay, so no pictures. After a turn around by the old Commercial Street Yard, we headed over to Rigby. Very un-lively at both ends so we moved on to the new CPF201. There we found new signals duly pointing sideways (so crews don't have to obey them and stop) while the old signals live out their final days. Scanner noise sounded like we had a freight coming in from the west so we stayed put. We then heard the detector go off at MP213. The second report was spaced well so it had to be a freight. About 20 minutes later we heard the detector again. That could have meant that two freights passed each other and one would be by soon. We'd know in a few minutes. That's when our EB showed up with 517 on the point (333, 377 trailing). He crossed over to head into Rigby.


Thinking we had nothing else headed our way, we headed south. We went about a mile when a Portland bound Downeaster was crawling by on the heels of the freight. It turns out we mis-read the timetable. Oh well. Catching a freight was tougher.


Onward and upward. We had an hour to kill before a pair of trains stopped at Saco. We dropped into the old Lisa's Pizza (something else now - I forget the name) and got out of there with about 6 minutes to get to the depot. Close call but we needn't have worried. The Boston bound came first (2 at upper left), on-time and about 10 minutes after we arrived. The Portland bound was 40-50 minutes late, and was supposed to show before the other. We waited for the second and tried a new angle for photos. (right and left) The photo at lower left is of the mill complex on Saco Island that is being redeveloped with the Downeaster in mind. The skeleton of the future clock tower for the depot stands at the far end of the depot foundation. The platform is nearly done but the building part in between was just bare concrete awaiting the rest of the construction. Looks like a good sized building.


We figured that we only had a few minutes to the next Boston bound but then we just saw the trainset that would make that run. We re-figured correctly that we wouldn't see another train for at least an hour so we headed down to Wells. There a crowd had gathered to ride, but it seemed that they didn't know of the delay yet. As soon as someone called Amtrak, they migrated inside the depot to get out of the chill. The depot is pretty plush for Amtrak but only visitor info people staff it. No one on hand today. I got some detail shots of the facilities and we waited like everyone else, except the two of us stayed trackside out of habit. We heard on the scanner that SD26 #643 was leading an EB somewhere to the west so we hoped it might amble along (It did not; it was waay off!). The Boston bound train arrives on the left as passengers wait. On the right is the sign which extols the virtues of the Wells depot and who's in charge.

With the bulk of the adventure over, the Wheelman and I pulled straight out of the lot and headed to "The Junctions" and home via the Maine Turnpike's convenient entrance ramp across the street. The "CPDD" at Falmouth perked us up but we got skunked at Danville Jct. and Lewiston Jct. It was a good ride anyway and pretty good for a low expectation day.

Vacation is now officially over!

BC

April's Picture Worth A Thousand Words

This particular shot would be appropriate next month for Memorial Day, if I thought such things should be saved for specific times. I try to remember veterans every day. This is a fairly good sized list of Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad employees who served in World War II. I found it remarkable in a couple of ways. This railroad in particular must have been stretched to the limit during the war with all the region's industrial might focused on all-out war production at that time. Missing all of those employees while this was going on had to compound the challenge. You won't see it well in this thinned out copy of the photo but there are a lot of unusual last names that are listed multiple times with different first names. Must have been families, brothers, or fathers and sons in some cases. Railroads did employ a lot of people from the same families. And, skilled rail workers would have been useful to the military regardless of age. Unfortunately I counted 11 stars next to some of those names.

This monument can be found next to Rook Yard west of Pittsburgh. It is next to a residential street by the engine house. It made me wonder; Could a railroad the same size as the P&WV (a small part of the "Alphabet Route" and absorbed by N&W in the 1960's) withstand the loss of this many employees today and keep functioning? I doubt a railroad this size would be classified as much more than a shortline today, certainly functioning with a tiny fraction of the people and a fraction of the traffic. Today, the P&WV is run by the Wheeling and Lake Erie, a classy shortline that also once "assimilated" with the N&W, now NS empire. I'd give anything to see one of those Alphabet Route "Alpha Jets" blasting by Rook Yard enroute to the next link in the chain. Some of those guys on the list probably made that happen back in the day.

BC

HAPT's Brief Visit to the Mojave Desert

So short, but when business brings us places, they're paying the dime so I fit in what I can. On a trip between Anaheim & Las Vegas I managed to steal a few minutes in beautiful downtown Barstow CA. Here are a few shots:

Here's a shot of the Barstow Harvey House:

Here's what is left of the passenger platforms, and the east end of the freight yard:

A Few of My Favorite Things

With a little time to spare on vacation, the aggressions of the day taken out on culverts, leaves and other winter related cleanup, time to play with the files again. Thank heavens for photo files, my lack of actual rail sightings could get me down.

You'll notice that everything in this posting either has or at one time boasted the McGuiness inspired "NH" logo of the once mighty New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Thanks to the guys at the Danbury Railroad Museum for their one of a kind collection and CDOT for their eye on their heritage, NH freaks like me can get a fix now and then. An expedition with the Wheelman to see Ken Buckman (founder of Broken Knuckle Video) on CSX's Mohawk Sub. in New York and a morning chase of the Housatonic RR put us in front of the museum and the commuter train at the right hour of the day.

I've actually seen each of these items, or at least something in their class, in actual operation. The "Washboard MUT's" seen to the right were still going well into the Penn Central era when my family would take the odd train trip from New Haven to NYC to visit old friends - an adventure in its own right. These guys were likely what we rode. I vividly recall the attendant going down the aisles with the candy and newspapers, an NH institution. On the return trips I remember the arcs of the pantographs flashing in the night landscape. Above left are the unique "Roger Williams" high speed RDC's. Danbury has both ends and one of the middle units. In 1975 I caught one end in Amtrak paint off my train as it headed into New Haven station. At the time I had no idea what I was photographing with my Kodak 110 instamatic. The same goes for the FL9's on the left. Another uniquely New Haven item with 5 axles and the capacity to go all DC power with diesels shut down for NYC service. They were also the last EMD "F Units". 1975 was not the last time I saw these guys in action. The Maine Eastern has been using a pair for service to Rockland which naturally I've had to photograph. At over $400 a pop in N scale, I'll pass until I hit the lottery.

The RDC's on the right are a fuzzier item in my history. I never have ridden in one but I have seen them sitting for others to ride. As far as actual NH, I've seen these a couple of times in Amtrak service to Springfield. Again the 1975 trip, one of these was hitched to the "Roger Williams" unit. The next trip in 1977 I got one in the full red, white and blue of Amtrak in Springfield off the Lake Shore Limited. It even had the Hancock air whistle (sound like steam whistles) common on the NH, like this specimen. A shrunken pair of these pose on my N scale layout, and yes, I made sure they have the Hancock's properly attached.

This caboose is the tail end of my Danbury selection. I never got to see these before Penn Central butchered some of them into the bay window with cupola monstrosities you see here. I did see my first at Pitcairn Yard outside of Pittsburgh in 1977 when the Broadway Limited I was on was 5 hours late (a future story). The paint was new Conrail blue but the oddity was duly photographed anyway. It was years before I realized it was a New Haven N5 caboose in it's former life. I've seen plenty of these since that trip. Naturally I've acquired all 5 NH schemes of the original version in N scale, thanks to Atlas and Brooklyn Locomotive Works.

No trip with the Wheelman is complete without a tale telling of his famous luck. We started the day by greeting the sun in Canaan, CT to chase the Housatonic RR. We had coffee at the nicely restored Maine Central caboose - now coffee stand - by the depot. This was the usual wild ride along all manner of roads following the line and it's daily southbound (a future story too). With daylight to spare and the timing good, we managed to get into the Danbury museum which we normally see after business hours. With still more daylight, a local map and a Metro North timetable, we took yet another detour to Ansonia to catch a Waterbury Line commuter train. Wouldn't you just know it, it not only had Virginia Railway Express cars, but they were being pushed by one of the CDOT/Shore Line East McGuiness painted geeps. What a day for New Haven fans! Naturally we chased this guy to Waterbury for yet another adventure. And here we were giving up a day of rest that we had originally intended to be home for. What were we thinking!


BC

Overkill Curiosity

I was going through my files again and Altoona seemed to be on my mind lately. Maybe it's the expedition I'm missing soon that brought it to mind. Anyway, I came across this curiosity from August 2005 at Cresson, PA that you won't see in many places. 4 locomotives to move two cars. And not just any 4 locomotives either. 3 of the units constitute 10% of EMD's production of unique 5000 hp SD80MAC's. Norfolk Southern ended up with around 17 or so of the units in the Conrail split-up with CSX. The odd unit of the bunch is a slightly less unique 3900hp GE C39-8. That makes 18,900 hp available to move maybe 200 tons? An old 66o hp switcher would suffice. NS isn't likely to do something like this without reason, but knowing the answer would take the fun out wondering. All units seemed to be running but we didn't check to see how many were on-line. This is the local that works between South Fork and Gallitzin so these units are readily available. They do have the innovative double ended train to reach any siding rapidly just like the Providence and Worcester we New Englander's are familiar with. Last summer we heard this type of setup switching at the lumber yard in Gallitzin (it was a dark night) . All of the popping and hissing that goes on around these MAC's is a bit of a giveaway.

A curiosity and a bit of a bonus for us distant MAC fans, as long as South Fork coal operations hang on to the SD80MAC's.

BC

Scanner Feed Is UP

After performing network maintenance this morning, I'm pleased to announce the Maine Scanner Feed is back UP and running. Enjoy........

The Lure of the Pittsburgh Division

While most of the railfan world thinks of Altoona as "the Mecca of Railroading", which it may well be, it's only one of the many places along the Pittsburgh Division of Norfolk Southern that offer a nice balance of excellent setting and high traffic density. It also helps to have our local guide Phil along to maximize the day as one works outward from Altoona. Phil used to live about 15 miles from HAPT galactic headquarters when he worked for the Maine Central but believe it or not I met him by pure chance in Gallitzin, PA at Tunnel Park. Phil now resides in Altoona and offers a guide service to railfans in conjunction with the Tunnel Inn. What a dream job!

All but one of these pictures were taken in two days in July 2007 while on a tour of the region with the Wheelman, The Fiddler, and myself. This made about my 10th trip to Altoona since 2002 when I met Phil. Most of the time we set up base camp at the Tunnel Inn and this trip was no exception. There's nothing like the rumble of 12,000 horsepower and diesel fumes in the morning! Breakfast on the porch in front of the action at the Allegheny tunnel is unbelievable. Mike the owner is a great host, when he's around, and has a classy establishment that you should experience at least once. The Feb. 2006 shot of a westbound slab train emerging from the Allegheny Tunnel is mere feet from the Tunnel Inn on the public bridge and next to Tunnel Park, outfitted for railfans and the merely curious. The town is very railfan friendly and proud of its heritage. Ask the Wheelman about the scanner antenna he donated for their caboose in August 2002. They sent him an official letter of thanks.

We usually meet Phil at the Inn and he drives us around. The crackles on the scanner and Phil's built-in knowledge of the potential lineup of trains determines where we go. With his years of local and railroading experience, sun angles, mileposts and other variables come together to get us in front of the most trains possible all day long. Throughout the day we all ask him the numb questions we could easily look up back home - Where does 25K originate?; How long does it take 10G to get here from there?; Who owns Cosco containers?; and the like. Phil is very patient. Plus, he is an expert on intermodal traffic and works hard to stay current. We even get to know something about what commodities are passing before us and what strange places around the world they came from. Phil has a great "voice of authority" which has been captured for a couple of Altoona area "Train Time" videos seen around Maine on Cable Access TV.

Generally we hang out west of Altoona and east of South Fork (starting point of the infamous Johnstown Flood) though we do head out in all directions depending on time, weather and season. Regular haunts include such familiar spots as Cresson, Gallitzin (top center), Cassandra (2nd from top left), Lilly (right & left), Summerhill (lower right) and of course Horseshoe Curve. We do get to less familiar spots (except to locals) like Mill Run (2 top right), Brickyard Crossing, Jamestown Road, Portage, Conpitt Jct. and Bolivar. Whenever we head out to the west of Altoona, we can photograph over 25 trains in a good day. Naturally we miss a few in the process. Lulls always end at McDonald's or Subway when you are safely distant.

Good days always come to an end at some point so we said goodbye to Phil and worked our way east the next morning. Normally, heading east of Altoona costs us a lot because we lose regular contact with the tracks and miss a few trains once we pass Tyrone (left). Trains move faster and don't bunch up as much. The three tracks become only two. There's still plenty to see but it's spread out over more territory. With less in the way, there is less radio traffic to help out, though each train does call the signals. On this trip we had to take the Fiddler back to the Reading area so going via Harrisburg along the line made sense. On the left we have a westbound at McVieghtown and on the right we have a westbound coal empty with ex-Conrail SD60's west of Mt. Union. Naturally, as soon as we finished our fine pub lunch in Huntington, the traffic dried up. As we moved on, one spot we stopped for was Lewistown (lower left) where a local group has restored the depot and is clearing the area around it for railfans to use. We caught quite a parade right at the depot. Further east at Mifflin (right) we were a little deceived by the radio but still managed a westbound by the depot. Best of all, before we lost contact with the line and the setting sun, we caught an eastbound (below) RoadRailer 262(?) at Tuscarora Springs. I like that name and it makes for a good place to wind down the story.

Another HAPT adventure story and travel log rolled into one. Something keeps us going back to the Pittsburgh Division. Maybe you caught a hint of why in this relatively feeble attempt to show it off here. Maybe it's the dearth of high density railroading in Maine that draws our gang, but there are plenty of others "from away" lured there as well. So we are not alone. By the way, this place was a really spectacular way to finish a trip that included West Virginia and Maryland along the old Baltimore and Ohio mainline. Wheelman got plenty of slides and Fiddler has it all on video too. Maybe you've "been there, done that", but when you enjoy the action with friends, it's priceless.

BC

Railfan Report CPF-AY The Heart Of District 3

T-424 @ 15:25 Cabcar 1636 - 7 cars 1010 pushing (Boston / North Station).
T-425 @ 17:34 1053 - 5 cars cabcar 1650 (Fitchburg).
T-427 @ 18:04 1005 - 6 cars cabcar 1646 (Fitchburg).
T-429 @ 18:24 1008 - 6 cars cabcar 1638 (Fitchburg).
T-431 @ 18:49 1122 - 5 cars cabcar 1628 (Fitchburg).
T-426 @ 18:54 Cabcar 1646 - 6 cars 1005 pushing (Boston / North Station).
AY-2 @ 18:59 343(MEC) - 328(B&M) - 350(MEC). Making up AYMO.
AYMO = 343(MEC) - 328(B&M) - 350(MEC).
All was quiet in Ayer,District 3 T.O.M. was talking to a "WORK EXTRA" to be parked in Gardner Yard CPF-345.AYMO looked long with a huge string of bare tables.
Till Next Time Railfans.
Billy Leazer W.F.P.T. / H.A.P.T. 4-8-08

The Worcester Foreign Power Team. The Heart And Soul Of Railfanning.Hebron Any Power Team. The Guardians Of Danville Junction.