New York City Trip - 12/30/09

Happy New Year all,

Went up to NYC with nephew, whom had never been in NYC before. Neat time to be with him as he's a senior in HS aand I will not likely not get a chance like this again.

In terms of RRing did the following:

0921 NJT train to NYPenn from Hamilton. 8 or 10 Older MU's with a wheel with a flat spot directly under the floor where I was standing. Train was standing room only, stopped at New Brunswick, main (as opposed to Jersey Ave), Newark, Seacaucus Jct. and then onto NYC. Had to wait on stop signal at Secaucus as they had one tunnel shut down for trackwork so we moved along with about a 10 min delay. Some people rode in the vestibule all the way in.

MTA subway #1 local down to WTC and Ground Zero (my nephew is a firefighter and very much wanted to see WTC and Station 10 - a hallowed shrine for him, and me too!) Went all around there. Construction very much under way on WTC rebuild. Looks basically like a big construction sight now. Good to see this coming back. Tribute museum very moving..

Since we have a subway day pass, we took full advantage - took R train one stop to South Ferry, to possibly take boat to Statue of Libery. No go as they had too many people booked.

Next best thing and FREE - Staten Island Ferry - My nephew wanted to see Staten Island and I wanted to ride the SI Railway. Great way to see the harbor.

Took the SIR all the way to the south end at Totenville (pronouced "TAHT-enville"). For those of you who know imagine about 25 stops just like the Milburn stop on the Philly Market Frankford El. (the one before 69th street). Same sort of working class neighborhoods but with a touch of Jersey shore thrown in for good measure. The only time you pay is when you get on and off at the ferry terminal at the north end otherwise train is FREE! You can get on and off at any stop free. Trip took about 45 minutes one way.

Saw what appeared to be at least 4 spurs off the line. Coming out of the terminal there is a wye to the west for one stop to a ball park, and eventually to CSX northside freight line and then over to Arthur Kill lift bridge to Jersey, and then the main heading south. Mayor Bloomberg is pushing for passenger service to continue on the northside.

On the main it goes thru a short tunnel and then near street running for 2 stations. Neat modeling ideas there. No grade crossings the entire route.

About 3 or so stations down (can't remember which one now) is a yard (fenced in with high fence and razor wire!) with some ballast hoppers, caboose, and 2 what appear to be either old SW or Alco switchers.

Saw 2 more sidings off the main along the way but couldn't tell what sort of industries they serviced other than the main is fenced off again with high fencing and razor wire.

South End

Saw the remains of the old ferry terminal at the Totenville (just off the end of the platform) which went over to Amboy NJ just down the Arthur Kill about a mile or so. (Amboy has restored their old ferry terminal.) According to my research, the Ferry ran until '63 and then I suspect the opening of the Outerbridge Crossing bridge put an end to it.

The Staten Island RR reminds me of a laidback small time RR where everybody knows everybody. Throw in a bit of Sir Topham Hat and the Isle of Man RR from Thomas the Tank Engine and you get the idea.

Rode back to Manhatten, then ferry across, onto the #1 to Chambers, transferred to #3 express uptown to Times Square. What a nuthouse that was LAST night. (Only can imagine what is like NOW) Doing sound checks on the 2 stages there as well as LOTS and LOTS of people, so LOTS and LOTS of sensory overload. Phew!

Took Grand Central Shuttle over to Grand Central. Terminal looks fantastic as usual. Nice O guage layout in the tourist shop.

Back to Time Square. Always interested in the tunnels that go either way from the shuttle platform. The shuttle has 3 trains that run back and forth. At Grand Central on the east end one track disappears EB but who knows where. At Times Square 2 WB tracks look like they go around to the north to join the 7th Ave. line.

Took #2 back SB to Penn Station.

Caught NJT 1931 express to New Brunswick, with new double deck equipment. Sat in last car of 10 car train...sat is a relative term. I stood 'till New Brunswick (standing room only) then sat. Comfortable ride - my head brushed the ceiling n the way out (I'm nearly 6'5"). Now I can see where they made up for the clearance to fit 2 levels in these cars and still keep the level low enough to ride "under the wire".

Neat trip. Have some pictures via my or my nephews Cellphone, which I will post later but didn't want to be too obvious nor have my nice camera stolen either.

Charles Kadyk

Last Sunday Before Snow

"Look both ways before you cross the busy thoroughfare."

With all the Wheelman's travels and DT&I Fan's work schedule, getting out as a group on a Sunday afternoon to see anything on District 1 is a rare event these days. This was Sunday November 29th, right after Thanksgiving. Given the time of year, the sun was making an uncommon appearance too.

As has happened many times in the past, the scratches on the scanner seemed to point east. So, off to Lewiston and beyond we go. Somewhere in Lewiston we hear an EDNM closing on Green, so we continue to Leeds Jct. We caught up with the train where it meets the highway. They stop at the solitary signal and we proceed to the junction. There we find RUED waiting to leave the branch (above).

While we are sorting out what might happen next Charles Hastings showed up on his way back to UMO. He stayed around a little while before light and timing for his trek got limited. Some other fans from Berwick showed up right after he left. They watched some of the proceedings and left just before we did. Unfortunately it was just cold and windy enough to force us into our vehicles rather than hang out and be social - much.

Eventually, with EDNM still stopped at Green, RUED pulled out of the branch with a few cars for Bucksport to set out on the siding, apparently for EDNM. Set-out made, the power returned to the branch and EDNM pulled ahead to Cressey. You can see the last car with the marker just cleared the branch.

We then watched RUED pull by on the main, headed west. Apparently both trains were due for crew changes. We left EDNM behind and followed RUED since they would re-crew at Strawberry Ave. in Lewiston. The train wasn't exactly screaming along. As you can see with the parting shot at Leeds Jct, the sun was getting lower.

It would be dark before it got to town. We tried out Stetson Rd. crossing on the edge of Lewiston (and met the Berwick guys again) where I got the last blurry shot in the faded light. I think it was on max ISO and still only had about 1/10 sec. Where was that monopod?

All things considered, it wasn't a bad way to kill an afternoon. Leeds Jct. always provides for unusual meets and the convergence with friends, spare time and nice sunny weather was rare.

Now we have a crust of snow and colder temperatures.



BC

Randomness - Interesting MBTA Red Line Shot

I'm a luddite when it comes to picture taking. I still use film, slides in fact. One downside is I find it very difficult to show blog readers any of my shots.

Before I was enlightened by Debate Coach, I took many, many Kodacolor prints. In cleaning out the archives this week, I found some of the first pictures I took as an upstanding adult. Once upon a time I worked in Waltham MA. One evening after work I detoured via the Red Line yard at Fort Point Channel. To me this is still the New Haven yard, but I'm stuck in a time warp.

Anyhow, I was there just as light was disappearing. This isn't a photograph for the ages, but under the heading of "take the shot while you have it", I happened to get all three generations of Red Line cars running at the time in one shot. This picture was dated October 2000. I'm glad I got it.



The Wheelman

An Hour Or So At Readville.

Most New England railfans get to the Northeast Corridor enough that seeing the same old stuff is not news at all. But, those of us from the northern part of the region are somewhat deprived in that department.

DT&I Fan and I were on an express visit to Mass. on Sunday 12/6 to go to the Marlboro train show, Readville and Ikea. It turned out to be a pleasant day despite the prior night's snow. The snow did slow our departure enough to kill any chance of having coffee with Skull, who had to work. After spending a fortune at the show we drove to Readville for a fix of "speed".

Upon arrival we spied a green signal outbound on the center track. Something was on the way. The audible warnings on the platforms spoke up next. It wasn't long before the HHP on the top of the page showed up. The end of the inbound platform was the right place to be for this guy. Unfortunately I did not bring my monopod and I could have ventured a bit farther down to clear the fence. I had to use the full 300mm to get past most of the clutter.

While this was going on, I thought I saw a headlight inbound. It wasn't long before the signal turned green and the headlight became apparent. Again the audible warnings and whoosh! Standing across the platform from a speeding AEM7, or anything else, is a nearly religious experience.

The W.F.P.T. will never forget Joey's first summit visit to Worcester a few years ago. I had to include a "Purple Train" for the benefit of those who recall the episode. Sorry Joey. I actually put this shot onto Facebook without a thought about Joey because I don't have that many shots of the latest paint scheme on the F40's. This paint scheme was not seen yet the last time I spent time at Readville. The third track showed a blinking green center light well before this guy showed and Sunday is an off day at Readville, so I assumed it wouldn't stop. Not exactly a "woosh" but fun to watch nonetheless.

The last train was a guess. The 4-5 year old timetable in the truck indicated a train out of Boston at 1510 or so. We hoped it was still true. Not long after we figured that out the outbound center track signal changed to high green. Okay, we'll stick around. I was beginning to get chilled to the bone but a sure thing would be worth the wait. It was a longish wait and the sun was getting low. But, no clouds and the sun should last long enough. This last shot was the result.

Three "religious experiences" with "speed" for a couple of northerners. It was good for the soul.



BC

November Picture Worth A Word or Two.

Who says model railroaders create unrealistic landscapes?

I was looking for something to write about when I came across this photo taken last month. There was a lot of luck, timing and wide-angle lens work to get a pretty mediocre shot. But that's not why I took it. It was the unusual setting that got my attention, in addition to the train itself. This is Tyrone, PA, on the edge of Altoona's "railfan mecca" zone.

In the last couple of years, the coal trains passing through on the old Pennsylvania that were once powered by legions of SD40-2's, have received newer power. At first they got SD50's and SD60's, many still in blue paint. I hear those units were less likely to be overhauled due to the cost relative to emissions standards, so they were on borrowed time. SD60I's seem to be the norm lately and the other units are being de-rated into SD40R's for helper service. I enjoy seeing those wide cab units, especially blue ones. Many were assembled in the Juniata Shops just down the road. My photo files show many in the lead of hotshot intermodals, still in Conrail blue. There's just something about those "isolated cabs" stuck on the head end of a typical high horsepower EMD. They also became visual precursors for the waves of SD70's to follow. Indeed at first I had to look at the trucks to see the difference. Wide cab SD60's were just unique.

In this photo, a coal train is diverting from the mainline through Tyrone and up the Nittany and Bald Eagle line. Here I am standing under the remnants of a bridge, part of a wye that used to be squeezed into this narrow valley town. As you can see from the photo, the road I am on also passes over a bridge to get under the bridge the train is on. Mixed in among all this is a pedestrian bridge to the center of the wye. A model railroader would be laughed at if he built something this unusual. Sometimes reality is better than fiction.

P-448 @ 19:40 24 - 137 - Baggage 1701 ViewLiner Sleeper 62036 2 AmFleet Cars and Horizon Fleet
Dinette "LAKESHORE LIMITED" (Boston).
P-529 @ 19:50 1065 - 6 cars cabcar 1719.
P-536 @ 19:57 Cabcar 1719 - 6 cars 1065 pushing (Boston).
P&W Loaded Coal Train To PanAm Railways in Gardner,Ma. @ 20:10 P&W 2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2006 - 2008 - 4001 30 loads of coal and 1 covered hopper. Past Garden street in Worcester.
NRWO @ 20:45 (P&W) 3906 - 2215 - 4004 30 cars.
Q-115 @ 20:55 587 - 7772 - 5403 lots of J.B. Hunt containers out of Beacon Park Yard.
P&W WX-2 @ 20:55 3001 Stacks to CSX East Worcester Yard. # 1 main track.Returned lite to the P&W's Worcester Yard.
It was fun railfanning with fellow W.F.P.T. member Kevin Castonguay and his girlfriend Ann.Between
Amtrak, MBTA Commuter Rail, The Providence & Worcester, and CSX there was lots of "HOT ACTION".
Thanks to Mike Delage for posting our cell phone reports to the groups. Also proud to note the
ProvidenceandWorcester Yahoogroup now has 300 members! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/providenceandworcesterrailroadgroup Check Em out!

Billy Leazer
W.F.P.T. / H.A.P.T. Worcester Foreign Power Team.Hebron Any Power Team.

Colton Diamonds - Early Morning

This latest trip to Southern California is off to an encouraging start. I flew into Ontario airport last night (and boy , were my arms tired...) and snagged a cut-rate room at the Colton Hampton Inn. Outside my window there were sounds suspiciously similar to train whistles, all night long. This boded well for the morning.

It's easy to be a morning person in the west when you're from the east. Just never change your clocks. I didn't, and was up at 5AM. It was still dark, though the whistles were still blowing. About 6:15AM the sunlight started to appear, so after a quick b'fast I ambled over to what I thought would be a decent spot to catch a few trains.

Within walking distance of the Hampton Inn is a place I'll call The Spot. The Spot sits in the NE quadrant of one of the busiest sets of railroad diamonds in the United States. At this point, the tracks trending east-west are owned by Union Pacific, immediately east of their enormous West Colton yard. These tracks are the famous Sunset Route, ably described by Debate Coach in a previous post. Eastbound lies San Timoteo Canyon, the Salton Sea, and Yuma AZ. The tracks trending north-south are owned by BNSF, and are the tracks the Santa Fe used to gain access to the Los Angeles basin. Just north lies the Santa Fe San Bernardino yards and depot, and beyond that the wonder of Cajon Pass and the high desert of California. Just south the tracks make a right turn on their way through the Anaheim Hills, to Fullerton and beyond. UP maintains trackage rights on this route as well, through Barstow to their cutoff at Daggett.

So, these diamonds hold some promise for itinerant railfans looking to see something not normally seen in New England - hot, frequent and fast train action! What happened on this random Sunday morning?

In 80 minutes I saw 12 trains. There were more coming, but after 8AM the sun angles are such that the entire UP line is in harsh shadows. Also, it's not cool to cross any of these tracks, so I stayed put in the NE quadrant. I had no complaints. From 6:40AM to 8:00AM here's what I saw:

• EB Metrolink (BNSF tracks, north) to San Bernardino, including a Utah Front Runner Bombardier coach.
  
• EB UP stack train (UP tracks, west) into West Colton Yard
  
• EB BNSF stack train (BNSF tracks, north), including a Santa Fe War Bonnet in position #2 of the consist
  
• WB BNSF stack train (BNSF tracks, south)
  
• Meet on the diamonds of an EB and WB set of BNSF stack trains. The EB included an NS unit in position #3 of its consist
  
• WB Metrolink (BNSF tracks, south) - the same set seen earlier, headed to Fullerton & LA Union Station
  
• AMTRAK Sunset Limited WB (UP tracks, west), which had held for all the cross traffic for 20 minutes. Its consist included two P42s and an AMTRAK California F59PHI, along with a baggage car and 8 Superliner cars.
  
• A WB UP general freight (UP tracks, west)
  
• A WB BNSF stack train (BNSF tracks, south)
  
• An EB UP stack train (BNSF tracks, north)
  
• A UP WB drag freight (UP tracks, west), including many, many gondolas of scrap metal (fluff). It appeared to be headed through West Colton yard toward Ontario.
  

At that point a UP WB was waiting just east of the diamonds, but just sat there. I left at 8AM, and on the BNSF tracks just south of the road crossing was a Sperry truck checking the westernmost rail.

More fodder for the next HAPT slide show.

Picture Worth A Few Words

Folks tend to get a bit excited by the unit coal trains headed to New England power stations - all two destinations! The trains destined to go to Bow, NH are the most notable because they cover more distance, but Mt. Tom gets a few too. Bow's trains offer a lot of variety when you toss in the P&W's contributions from the Port of Providence. I figured it wouldn't hurt to note one of the others, though it is not a "unit train" and pretty much only one railroad is involved. There might even be other places using a few cars of coal in New England too.

The photo above was taken in Peru, ME. There used to be a healthy yard here. A large Diamond Match factory complex was located behind the cars in the photo. A spur still curves off to the remaining plant area. The siding is now called "Dixfield", which is the town across the river, and the cars are located at "Dixfield East". The old depot is now a Legion hall. The photo was taken from the road which takes you from Peru village to the bridge over the Androscoggin River to Mexico and Dixfield.

The New Page Paper mill in Rumford has a smallish coal fired power plant on it's back side along the balloon track surrounding the mill. EDRU, or whatever letters they are using lately, will bring around a dozen cars at a time to the mill often but not daily, making the coal cars an easy way to identify the train. The cars mainly have MEC reporting marks and some still have the old Delaware and Hudson paint under the coal dust.

The coal hoppers are not coming from the mines. They are coming all the way from the Portland waterfront. I'm no authority but I think the Sprague Terminal transloads the coal from ships or barges and I'm also forced to admit I don't know if it is domestic or imported coal. Since I commute on the road where I took the picture, I'm glad they use rail transport. All the extra trucks for coal mixed in with all the pulp, chemical and paper boxes one sees in the area would add to the joys of Route 108. When you see how tight the Rumford mill area is, you can see why they don't have a coal pile for the plant. Besides, that would be even more handling. See how easy it is to move the coal to the siding a few miles short of the mill until it is needed. Good old on-board storage.

Anyway, I've seen this "overflow" of coal cars sitting in Peru a grand total of 2 times now. Boxcars or log racks are common at this spot but hoppers are unusual. The mill is declining like most and one paper machine is being removed. That means less need for energy. Hopefully we'll have a few more years before the whole line is no longer needed.

BC

More Rest and Recreation Altoona Style

To add to Brad's post earlier about Rest and Recreation I was able to once again return to the Alleghenies once again and on one of those days spend it with Phil Faudi Guide Extraordinaire.

I attended a string teacher's work shop at North Allegheny High School in Wexford, PA, north of Pittsburgh PA on Sat. 10/17 following the previous Monday with Brad and Phil. Great workshop and I came away with many wonderful string teachings strategies.

Of course that's nearly a 5 hour trip from the Hills of Green where I live. OF COURSE I had to stay in the West Slope area for the night on Friday and again on Saturday. Stayed at the Cassandra Motel. At first I was little leary of it but it turned out to be comfortable and modest on it's accomodations. Fine for the thrifty railfan.

Now this particular weekend, especially up on the ridges, there was some snow which added to the magnificent color!

On the way back from the workshop stopped off at Conn Pitt Jct. and in the space of an hour I saw 10 trains if you include the helper moves (2). Amazing.

Next day saw some interesting action. Phil and I met up a 9:30 and headed out to Summerhill where we caught the WB 591 crusing down the hill to hold at South Fork.

Turns out there was some unscheduled trackwork at Conn Pitt Jct. (saw a lot of MOW vehicles there the day before) and this was like the cork in the bottle.

About 10:30 the cork was "popped"! 5 westbounds were at various locations on the hill and suddenly this stream of eastbounds came loose. Caught at least 10 trains in the space of 2 hours and a few more stragglers were on their way thru all afternoon long.

Despite the cold start the afternoon warmed up into the 50's so that early snow up on the mountain tops was gone pretty quick!

Caught trains at several place. Will have video soon on You Tube.

Always good to see Phil and we had a most excellent outing!

The Fiddler

Rest and Re-creation Altoona Style

The Draw of Humans vs. Gravity

A trip to Altoona that I should have taken in the summer had to wait until Columbus Weekend this year. Altoona is a busy railroad zone all the time but the photo potential is terrific when the leaves are changing color. Though the peak colors had not arrived yet, the colors were far better than summer's solid greens or winter's bare trees. Besides, even the classy but colorless NS paint scheme needs the contrast. The wait was worth it.

I met everyone at Tyrone, well east of Altoona, on Saturday. We converged around noon from 3 directions figuring we might get started quicker that way. The Fiddler and his wife could stick around for the day but I didn't have to leave until Monday. Phil Faudi, guide extraordinaire, led us around for the day and I got to enjoy an additional day on Sunday. The photos here are a few selections from the two days. I'll put them into chronological order but I won't make a full "report" other to make comments on the photos. On Saturday we saw 17 trains at 9 locations from noon to dark. On Sunday, Phil and I saw another 24 from 13 locations from 8am to dark. Despite the constant movement, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and returned home totally recharged mentally.

Starting at Tyrone worked out well. We intercepted a few trains in the area before we even started toward Altoona. The top left photo is 22W at Tipton, just west of Tyrone. Before we left there though, radio traffic indicated something interesting nearby. As you might see from the top right photo, Phil guessed that a recently re-crewed coal train #536 sitting at Gray might cross over to head up the Nittany and Bald Eagle line. This gave us a chance to head back to Tyrone to catch this view of the train on the bridges in town. We got there in time to do what we could given the overcast and tight scene. The wide angle lens was necessary for sure.


From the bridges, the next scenes were just east and out of town at Plummer's crossing (left) where 21E was seen. 36A came by before we headed to Fostoria where we caught a photo (right) of 13G under the combination old and new signals at the crossing. There's something about that new steel holding up old position signals!

We eventually wound our way down the back roads from Fostoria to the yard at Rose. Plenty of activity as might be expected. I just liked the look of 18G sneaking through the middle of the yard for it's re-crew. 13G was behind us on the main doing the same thing and getting helpers attached.

We got our fill of Altoona and headed west. We found some interesting places to view things near the east portals at Gallitzin and the old Portage RR crossover past Cassandra. I'll save those shots for another day. As we headed back to Cresson to wrap up the day, Phil and I caught this shot (right) of 21M at Lilly. We lost the Fiddler somewhere in this chase so he was waiting at the park in Cresson.

Phil wanted to try out a new spot in Cresson so we walked over to check it out. Good for eastbounds but less so for westbounds. In the meantime we caught the #262 Roadrailer (below). At about this time, a helpful railfan across the tracks told us about an RJ Corman train coming to town. We shifted places quickly since it was "westbound". Phil and Fiddler went over to the platform where the switch for RJ Corman is located. It was too close for me so I crossed over to the park parking area. As it turned out, that railfan I mentioned was none other than Doug Keenan of the W.F.P.T.!!! I didn't know that when I shot the photos. It was great to meet him and we saw more of him on Sunday too. Skull would have called it an impromptu summit at the summit of the Alleghenies.

Sunday 10/11

On Sunday morning Phil picked me up from the Motel 6 (Tunnel Inn was booked) at 7:50am and we headed to Alto Tower to see #650 and 25Z meet before our eyes. Meets like this were common on this trip. We actually headed right out to the Sportsman's Club to hike up to the ledges. After 10G (left) passed, we saw another meet with 26T and 227. Phil is really polishing his craft and I believe we missed only one train in two days! Thanks Phil!

Back in Altoona, another meet between 18N (above right) and 591 (left) at Slope. 18N wasn't in a hurry so Phil moved us to Alto to catch it again and the 36A that was behind it. There was a bit of a gap in traffic so it was a good time to head west.

Apparently we were not early enough to hear the light power move that was ahead of us. Ten SD80MAC's had gone west to South Fork before we even left town. We caught up with some of those units in the yard at South Fork (lower left). The place was hopping as it turned out. The remaining 5 MAC's (now designated as train C51) had to wait for 20T and 261 before they could move to Conemaugh. We caught them leaving the yard and waiting at the wye.




We headed east sensing a lull. We stopped at the Route 53 bridge for 20T (left). We traveled by AR tower and Cresson a couple of times. The sun made an appearance for these helpers later in the day. As you can see from this shot of helpers coming out of the Allegheny Tunnel (right), track 2 was out of service as the tunnel was getting some repairs. This put most eastbounds through the Portage Tunnel.

We made our way to the "Tunnel Overlook" over the east portals in Gallitzin. The top photo was from this spot. I have always enjoyed this view in old photographs (with few trees) showing the flyover going over the connection to the now abandoned Hollidaysburg Line. It can still be spectacular when we see a pair like this (20T & 593).

Back through Gallitzin, we stopped by the Route 53 bridge for a few trains. Among those trains was 21M which had KCS and former SP power. Fiddler had called us earlier to warn us that this was headed our way. Most fans trackside had also received similar warnings and so many had the same idea as us: set up for a sunny westbound shot. Doug was at the bridge too. In the process we also saw 20Q, 13G and an eastbound Amtrak.

Coal train #578 came down the branch and gave us reason to return to South Fork. It had a blue leader, which we caught by the yard, and it headed west to a Columbus power plant. A Mechanicsville, NY railfan was in the wye area and we had a nice chat while we waited for 10N to go by - one of the reasons many of us enjoy this activity.

It was getting late in the day so we headed east again. 10N was headed our way, and slowing on the hill, so we got ahead at Carney's Crossing. Here we expected to see a legion of fans but only one was around. That one fan was the W.F.P.T.'s own Doug again. Great minds think alike! We caught 10N and 20R before calling it a day.

Another great adventure in the bag. Phil and I headed back to Altoona for pizza and videos. The final shot is the westbound Amtrak we caught on the way back at the Route 53 bridge. For a shot of Amtrak, I didn't think it turned out too badly. Nice way to end the day.


Till next time,

BC

California Catch-Ups

Connections!

Funny how some of my prior posts were "nudged" by things seen in California last August. I figured it was worth a post to just play around with the connections.

Since my prior post had something to do with Geeps, I thought I'd start with an outrageous example of one. It not only sports the ill-fated SP/ATSF merger colors, it is almost top-heavy with all those typical SP lights on the nose.

Our first encounter with prior posts was with the EMD GP15-1 or "baby tunnel motors" discussed in a May 2008 post. UP has more than anyone else since it has taken-over the largest and one of the medium owners of those units; MoPac and C&NW.

Lucky for us, California Northern bought a few from C&NW before the merger so we got to see a less homogenized copy of the semi-unique C&NW version. This one apparently had work done in Roseville or there is some kind of run-through arrangement that brought it before our cameras. I didn't realize back in May 2008 that California Northern got most of the ex-CNW units.

You will note some C&NW spotting features on this California Northern example. There are extra louvers along the engine room roof line and of course the signature C&NW bell in the nose. Experts can probably spot more things but those stand out from memory. I included the photo, taken a few days later from the same spot in Roseville, of a probable ex-MoPac GP15-1 for comparison. Since UP is good at standardizing things (given the massive roster) it is harder to spot ex-CNW power, but odds are in my favor.

I couldn't help myself by including a photo of a true "tunnel motor" just for comparison sake. We were fortunate to see this "snoot" version in Roseville given that a lot of power is in storage. I believe it's my only photo of one in full UP paint.

A somewhat more recent post in July mentioned a few things about scale test cars based on a photo of an old MEC test car. Well, didn't this test car catch my attention when it went by the old Tunnel #1 site on Cajon Pass. Again, it messed with tradition in so many ways. If I had to guess, I'd say it has some fancy technology buried behind the outer doors. Just the layers of paint patches could throw off the weight of the car. Anyway, it was a strange looking car.

How about SD38's? We ran into one at Roseville on the Amshack end of the yards. Those rigs are disappearing fast here in the east. I assumed that UP's old pre-merger examples would have long since been eliminated. Wrong! This guy, and the SD40-2 coupled to it, had a unique sound (un-turbocharged?) that got louder as it shoved harder on a string of cars. Back in a February post, I mentioned ex-Conrail SD38's, so I had to show this one off.

The final "catch-up" item is a GP30. Nothing special about this particular one except that it is in operating condition at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA. I encountered it's unique brother unit - 844 - in Nevada a year earlier while doing some light railfanning in Vegas. That was a June 2008 post.


An itch has now been scratched.

BC

September Picture Worth A Thousand Words

"Gee wizz, not another geep!"

This photo is a typical shot obtainable in Waterville, Maine, with minimal luck. In this case it was a Labor Day Sunday, and lately, not much happens on any Sunday on Pan Am's District 1. As I went over older photos for various reasons, I noted that geeps such as these - GP7's & 9's with intact high short hoods - are getting tougher to find. Most railfans know this. While true nationally, it is not true in Waterville. The smaller photo below shows another pair hiding a bit deeper in the yard. That's at least 4 in one spot. That's hard to find anywhere in the entire nation! Even shortlines have tended to replace these units or buy rebuilds with low hoods.

For the number cruncher those are numbers 51, 71, 15 & 45. I'm not going to go into the predecessors except to say this small and shrinking class of units came from the old Boston and Maine RR and the Maine Central RR. Guilford/Pan Am seems to be keeping a few around Waterville to service the branches to Madison and Hinckley. The track on these branches is still light rail on the order of 80-85 lbs. and not in good repair either. These geeps apparently negotiate these rough lines at very slow speed (1-10mph) without making things much worse or falling through the track like a larger and heavier unit might. It also helps to have repair shops in Waterville. Original MEC GP38 #252 apparently mixes in acceptably with these guys, at least on the SAPPI local to Hinckley and is often found in Waterville. I don't know if the GP35's can replace these units one day. They are getting pretty old themselves and they are heavier and rougher on the track. The next few years should be interesting in Waterville (as long as the mills are open anyway) to see what happens after the geeps are finally retired. Fixing the tired track could open a few options, but why would anyone build new track to a troubled industry?

Back to how I ended up on this in the first place: The older the photo I was looking at, the more likely I was to spot a geep, or it's 6 axle counterpart, the SD9. The old Burlington lines where I grew up - CB&Q, C&S and FW&D - were loaded with SD9's switching light branch lines or local industries. They could also be found in road freights. Reviewing locations farther away, featuring the UP mains, AT&SF, D&RGW, CRI&P or MP, and the old photos include plenty of the good old geeps. In fact, I remember many a time I'd pull into some town, locate the depot and then feel let down that there was "only another geep" in attendance. Open any book featuring anything prior to the "megamergers" in the diesel age, and you find geeps everywhere! Newer photos since the late 1970's feature rebuilt units with lowered short hoods and even those were sold off to scrappers and shortlines in the 1980's. Built in the late 1940's and 1950's, they were old units then! That makes those guys in Waterville downright ancient!

Catch them while you can, even if they bore you to tears! You won't be sorry.

BC

Framingham Joint Summit 9-8-09 CSX Boston Sub

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