Kevin Burkholders Report On A Russell Plow on The Madison Branch

As I had mentioned in my last posting, I had planned on heading out after work this morning for another round of rail plow action - somewhere. I wasn't sure where I was going to go this morning. I had a phone conversation with Rod Bushway - a well-connected Montreal Maine & Atlantic photographer - and there were no MMA plows planned for this morning. The MMA job 202 was going NORTH with MMA B39-8E 8569 and MMA GP7u 23 - both facing north with few photo angles between Northern Maine Jct. and Millinocket. I thought about yesterday's events and knew a Pan Am plow had gone west to Portland and there were several branches that still were in need of serious work, so I figured I head towards Waterville and formulate a plan as activity developed. I paralleled the Freight Main from Northern Maine Jct. to Newport, realizing nothing had run since yesterday morning's westbound NMED that I had photographed. They have to run a plow east to clear out the right-of-way and keep the traction motors and gearboxes from getting bound up...but would they do that today? The scanner was eerily quiet as I made the trek west/southwardly to Waterville...not a crackle, not a peep. I got to exit 133 (Fairfield) on I-95 and was going to scoot into town and check what was where and if anything looked like it would move anytime soon. I no sooner reached the end of the exit ramp and prepared my turn onto Rt. 201, when I hear - "District 1, MD-1 plow extra is ready to go". Holy you-know-what! I had forgotten about that broken spreader from yesterday - but obviously they are going to plow the branch today! I quickly made a LEGAL u-turn (there was a police officer observing my actions from nearby so I genuinely did it legally!) and headed back onto I-95 southbound for the Oakland exit. MD-1 is given clearance from CPF113 (Waterville Yard) to CPF119 (Oakland) and advises the District 1 dispatcher that they would be using Springfield Terminal GP7 12 and GP9 45, along with Russell plow MWS 77. A double HOLY YOU-KNOW-WHAT! A Russell Plow on the Madison Branch!! I made time for Oakland and set up for the train to leave the Freight Main and head up the Madison Branch. As the MD-1 arrives it passed through Oakland and headed out of sight to the interlocking for the branch. It was extremely shadowed in, so I opted to stay right at CPF119 and the Madison Branch Yard Limit sign to wait out the move. Soon enough the plow extra arrived and was pushing a good deal of snow from the Madison Branch right-of-way. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423402824505.jpgAfter capturing this unique image, I headed out of Oakland on Oak Street/Ten Lots Road, where I knew the MD-1 would cross, though this time of day - morning (08:30 to be exact) was not conducive to perfect lighting, but hey - it is a plow on the Madison Branch, right? As I set up at Ten Lots Road (still technically within the borders of the Town of Oakland) a pair of trucks arrive with railroad officials. The Pan Am Railway System Track Supervisor and the Pan Am Railway District Track Supervisor, emerge and inspect the crossing before the arrival of the MD-1 Plow Extra. Conversing a bit with the gentlemen, I learn that this is rarer than I had first thought. The spreader that was scheduled to operate yesterday is the only plow type that has plied these rails previously - according to the men - as the Russell plow type is prone to derailing at certain areas of low and high spots on this route that closely follows natural terrain. But they are optimistic that today will be historic and the Russell with do the trick. As we discuss this event, the MD-1 Plow extra approaches coming out of the sun. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423380524383.jpgBoth men inspect closely the plow and flanges of the locomotives as it eases through the ice-packed Ten Lots Road crossing. Success is achieved as the plow stays rail-bound and continues northward towards Mile 3 of the branch.http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423355124247.jpgAs the MD-1 plow extra makes its way north - albeit at 5mph from Mile 1 to Mile 6 - the Guilford-adorned geeps accelerate and decelerate to compensate for the snow pack and maintain their speed. As the MD-1 passes through the Ten Lots Rd. crossing - a splendid winter scene begins to emerge. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423333124172.jpgThen - as soon as it is fading off towards Mile 4 - in the company of the Track Supervisors - I manage this going away shot that screams winter and cold. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423311524085.jpgI was overly joyous at the thought of shooting this train into the sun all morning, but if that relatively low speed is maintained past the 5mph restriction - maybe the sun would come around. I comment to the Track Supervisors that they could have waited a few hours to dispatch it - they both chuckle and say - it's amazing it's on this branch at all - let's just hope it "stays" on the branch I respond - referencing the derailment-prone nature of this particular type of plow here. And then it happened, just as I was heading for the next possible photo location - Horn Hill Road in the Town of Fairfield - the scanner chimes out: "MD-1 to District 1 - we're on the ground". Well that didn't take long. Not even to Mile 4 of the branch and it is done. I wonder if they will call off the plow job completely and await the spreader repairs. I head to Horn Hill Road and can observe the leaning plow more than a mile distant. Lots of radio traffic transpires and a decision is made to cut the power off the train and head back to Ten Lots Rd. to retreive the Track Supervisor and more men and equipment from the Waterville Mechanical Department and take them to the site of the derailment with jacks and cribbing. This isn't looking promising at this point. I decide that this is worth waiting for and after about an hour, realize that the sun is really coming around on the branch and while this is tedious to have to wait - it will benefit me in the end. Another track foreman shows up and we chat a bit - he informs me that the location of the derailment is a known 'hump' in the track and there was anticipation that it would jump right where it did. It didn't let them down! After more than four hours of rerailing efforts, the foreman standing by me gets a cell call from the Track Supervisor aboard the plow - "I am back on board, we are moving and if we derail again, we're pulling it back to Waterville and we'll find another way to get it done". Boy - no pressure at this point... Shortly - at around 14:38 - the MD-1 Plow Extra heads towards Horn Hill Road and is pushing serious amounts of snow. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423291023986.jpgI land a few shots of the approaching MD-1 plow extra and then of the conglomerate of men that replicated a clown car at a circus. The door opened to the MWS 77 and the entire group of men - sans the one to the far left who is the track foreman - emerged. They are inspecting the crossing and will be driven back to their trucks at Ten Lots Road by the foreman.http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423271423892.jpg http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423252023816.jpg http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423230023720.jpgI request permission for a close-up view of the side of the Russell plow - which had been painted last winter and had all markings and stencils updated. This particular plow - MWS 77 - was constructed in 1944. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423203923642.jpgAfter the plow extra departs Horn Hill Road - which is Mile 5 of the Madison Branch - it completes the last leg of its 5mph slow order. At Mile 6, the MD-1 accelerates to a blazing 10mph for the remainder of the trip up the branch to Madison, Maine. I head back out to Martin Stream Road and head north for a crossing with the Madison Branch to see what type of angle I can muster for a shot. Not long after my arrival, the MD-1 is blowing for the crossing (Mile 7) and emerges for a nice wide-angle side view. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423181923546.jpg I had inspected the route earlier to figure out sun angles - what else to do for four hours of waiting, right? - and I had seen multiple trees down along the right-of-way. I had informed the Track Foreman of such and the message was relayed by radio to the train crew. As the MD-1 plow extra approaches Bear Mountain Road, the trees along the right-of-way almost appear to be bowing in its presence. And well they should - this Russell Plow has made it 8 full miles up the Madison Branch - a feat not achieved in more than 20 years (according to the Track Supervisor). http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423153423449.jpgI retreated back to the Martin Stream Rd., knowing that the Madison Branch paralleled for a brief respite before diving into the heavily forested area south of the Town of Norridgewock. I headed to a location that wasn't totally enveloped in dark long shadows and waited. Soon the plow extra rounded the curve into beauteous sunlight - framing up another set of photos on what has turned out to be one of the best winter railfanning days I can remember. http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423131623344.jpg http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423111723262.jpg Next up is Norridgewock - lots of photo opportunities in the town itself, however the later afternoon has caused many of the classic locations to be overshadowed and/or tight for images. And for those familiar with Norridgewock - there is a tell-tale landmark - the old Maine Central bridges the Kennebec River on an impressive branchline structure parallel to Route 201A. The sun has aligned itself for a perfect afternoon crossing of the MD-1. Since it is off the beaten path to get the afternoon image, I opt to head straight for my perch and avoid the downtown imagery - despite the fact that I MAY have made it there - this was THE shot that I wanted. A historic view of the Russell plow crossing the Kennebec -and with the amount of snow that looked to be accumulated on the bridge - there would be a neat effect of falling snow beneath the train - or so I thought. At 16:22 the muffled weak horn of the MWS 77 sounds for the Rt. 201A crossing on the south side of the bridge and then the plow extra tiptoes onto the steel structure. No snow is falling - at least at first.http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423424624613.jpg And no sooner had I said that aloud to myself - the snow did start falling creating an awesome cascade effect beneath the train. I would have to end my sojourn here today, but be back tomorrow for yet another plow extra that would be out and about - TBD. But I knew that today I had captured a historic event that even the railroad solicited photos for their archive from me. The skies and weather could not have been better - cobalt blue and temps in the lower 20's with a light and variable breeze that didn't cut through you like many previous days... http://photos.nerail.org/showpic?photo=2009022423091323178.jpg Tomorrow is another day and plows will still be out and running, tireless crews as well, trying to maintain fluidity on the former Maine Central territory now under the reigns of the Pan Am Railway.

Kevin Burkholder, FP-C, NREMT-P, CCEMT-P
Flight Paramedic - LifeFlight of Maine, Bangor Basehttp://www.lifeflightmaine.org IAFP Board of Director http://www.flightparamedic.org P 207.471.0041C 207.735.7095

Incredable photography, Courtesy of Nerail.
Posted with Kevin's permission.

First Birthday of HAPT's Digital Magazine

One year ago this week!

With a little inspiration from work and some technical adaptations from the Wheelman, this place was born. Some of the gang has been more prolific than others but there are 108 posts to mark the first year. Over time, as technical glitches, computer phobia, digital camera fluency, and life in general settle out, we might have quite a busy showcase one day. It already does what I'd hoped for - share railfan stuff!

Over the year, I've enjoyed having a common a place to share railfan stuff among friends. Links to video, photos, short stories, the whole shebang. I like the pace better than a listserv which has a different purpose. I certainly prefer to type on without worrying about some clown with OCD checking my spelling or the precision of my facts. No one has to read it but some of us like to write more than clipped reports. I do like the therapeutic escape.

It's also been fun to back-track some on the past and to go over trips we've made this year. Whether it's Wheelman's far flung adventures, Fiddler's video or Skull's sighting reports, I enjoy the variety. We've added a couple of "correspondents" who have produced some real gems from remodelling in Danville Jct. to steam in Abilene, KS. All of us hope they continue. The posts sure piled up faster than I would have guessed.

I always have to put a photo on my posts. Finding one that works this time was tricky. So I found this 2007 photo of Maine Central 519 which is quartered at Steamtown in Scranton, PA. The slight sepia effect I got trying to recover from harsh shadows (using "Gimp") gave it a texture from my old black and white days. The fact that it was taken in anthracite country, yet reflects the MEC, suits my railroading preferences. Put it all together you get the past, the present, visual railfanning and wide ranging geographical diversity. That's what this "HAPT Magazine" is all about!

By the way, last year I discovered the Google Reader gadget on my iGoogle homepage. This is a window that will feed you content from any blog you subscribe to. It does not update any editing done once a post is published and photo's are tough to view, but it does tell you when someone has posted something new. Check out the gadget if you get a chance.

BC

HAPT Slugfest

After the last post I started to wonder just how many slug pictures I could find from the last few years. I also thought it would be good if at least one HAPT person was around when the photo was taken.

The first photo is familiar to anyone in the greater Hebron metroplex. The St. Lawrence and Atlantic at Lewiston Jct. is where one can find "road slugs" around these parts, unless you happen to find them on the way to Quebec. As I understand it, the crews like to have the slugs lead the train because they are quieter and yet have control stands to run like a normal locomotive. This particular shot is a repeat of sorts since I just love those GP40X details on the second unit. You'll note a distinct lack of fans and grills on each end which is the easy way to spot a slug of any kind, usually.

This shot is from Green Springs, WV on a HAPT journey to Sand Patch with the Wheelman and the Fiddler. We found this former GP35, now road slug, just as the sun was going down back in July of 2007. It arrived from Cumberland as we got to town. It crawled it's way around this very public wye and continued on a mile or two to the South Branch Valley Railroad interchange. We watched them for a few minutes but the light failed and nothing was happening.


This shot is at the eastbound MARC platform in Brunswick, MD earlier in the same day. A stone train was arriving as we were. Pure luck put my favorite GP30 body style on the point in the form of a road slug. After the elation of another GP30 began to wear off, I noticed those cars rocking real hard on a very low joint right across from where I was standing, so I moved a bit. Brunswick had some scary track and another two mains right behind me, across the parking lot with even scarier stuff. I guess the MARC mains get all the good track in these parts.


This has to be Christmas break 2006, Wheelman and I taking a 24 hour run north. This guy was fun to watch. It was attached to a normal rebuilt geep that is stationed at Coteau Jct, QC. They were sorting cars on the curved yard on the west leg of the wye behind the depot. Let's say there were a lot of rolling cars that stopped rapidly when they found the cut already in place. Reminded me of a hump yard, but this was flat switching. CSX trains and Ottawa Central visit this yard so it can be a busy place. I've seen this same type of locomotive combo all over the CN system, including North Fon du Lac, WI on the old WC. Wheelman has caught them in the deep south on old IC rails. Countless railfans have posted photos of these all over the place.

Here is a bit of Wheelman luck and some wild navigation. This is MLK weekend in 2008 for our previously posted trip to Pittsburgh. The afternoon before we left for home we drove up to Youngstown, OH to see what we could find. A bit of dead reckoning got us to the Ohio Central yards where this item was found. Sure looks like an old RS11 on the top side. EMD trucks seem to be a common touch after a few decades of wear. This one seemed isolated so we didn't know if it was used for road or yard, though my guess would be both.


This little KCS unit has the Alco look. The KCSHS website says it is a former CNW Alco S2, born in 1942. A wartime relic! I've seen it previously nose on but cannot find a photo (probably a slide from when my SLR finally died). It also appears to have matching trucks with it's master. The Kansas Correspondent must have been around for one of these. Here it was kicking around the North Kansas City locomotive facilities in June of 2007 along with a bunch of other off-beat units that held my attention longer.

Above we have a more recent May 2007 shot from the Selkirk hump. The SD38 is still gone but the former RSD12, now slug with EMD trucks, is still going strong in the latest paint scheme. Below, at Buckeye Yard in Columbus, OH in Aug. 1999 a pair of sets work the hump in the old Conrail habit of SD38 plus old RSD12 body slug. I have a similar photo from Selkirk, but we've seen enough of that place here. The DT&I Fan and I were touring Ohio hotspots that year.

I end with a going away (always better than nothing) shot from Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati, OH in Aug. 1999. I think I have photos of a similar setup in this spot from 1980 or so with Chessie System paint. The locomotive facilities are behind me so this was a great place to get photos of that "southern" road (not so southern by 1999). This place is "off limits" now, until someone legally challenges the local Barney Fifes. This looks like a very dull ex-geep slug. Very little character compared to the Alco body slugs. Here we already see SD40's doing heavy yard work. Sure looks like the future at Selkirk.

I'm sure I have more slug photos somewhere to run through a scanner, but this was enough for this task. I just grabbed the handy ones here. Newton, KS always had ATSF slug sets roaming around, set up like CN does with a rebuilt geep. Argentine yard in KC was always good for a few too. Almost any major city east of there was good for finding slugs. Funny how there weren't many further west in Colorado while I was a cub railfan. I'd probably know more about them now. But, with the SLR sporting former GP40x's hooked to later GP body road slugs, I'll get over it.

Another itch scratched.

BC

February Picture Worth A Thousand Words

"Slugs!" That's what one of my aunts would say when a less polite expletive was warranted. That could have been what I was thinking when I caught this shot of power pushing cars over the hump at Selkirk yard in June of 2005. CSX fans might not think such things but pre-merger fans would. I'm actually talking pre-Conrail merger in 1976. This is the 3rd paint scheme I've seen on these units, and fourth on their types.

One of the few things Penn Central did right was to continue to develop uses for the modern Selkirk yard, then known as "Perlman Yard". It was envisioned by the New York Central and it's leader Alfred E. Perlman in the 1960's to streamline operations. I guess it was inevitable given the shrinking traffic of the times. A regional yard such as this made too much sense to ignore. The yard allowed traffic flow efficiencies for the whole region, reduced many smaller yards and even affected other railroads once the PC got started. It seems to have been a good long-term move and probably was a bit shaky when the owner was the largest bankrupt company in the country to date. Conrail naturally enhanced the place and relied on it to further rationalize operations elsewhere. Conrail could bypass the entire Anthracite region with east-west traffic thanks to places like this. Located where the Boston line splits off the old NYC West Shore line, it is quite a significant place for New England railfans.

The main thing to lament, and the reason for the post, is the remnants of the Alco RSD-12's that were once used in the yards for constant low speed heavy shoving. The six axles provided good traction and medium horsepower deterred slipping. PRR got a bunch of these brutes for yard work. Some of them were eventually chopped down into slugs to work with their EMD counterparts, often SD38's. Of course, even the old brutes once hauled around even older slugs or boosters to add tractive effort. At least the distinctive notch nose was left as a reminder of sorts. I'm sure other items like the frame, which really doesn't have many components to wear out regularly, are still left over. Conrail replaced the Alco trucks with EMD's, probably wisely. The prime mover of course is long gone, as is the cab and other associated gear. A slug doesn't have to look like much, it just has to hold the traction motors on the rails.

It's probably fitting that some remnant of Alco remain at Selkirk since the old Alco plant was just up the road in Schenectady. Maybe someone thought of that. Maybe not.

Before you get too involved with the slug, how about SD38's? They could be a candidate for slug duty. Penn Central and Conrail saved those for hump yard service like the RSD-12's and I've seen them at Conway, Pitairn, Buckeye and other yards around the system. With their more powerful cousins the SD40-2 disappearing, these too may go sooner than we'd like. They are already gone in the photo. They are getting up there in age, my guess is near 40 years. Here they once worked for their latest owner, and I can remember them doing the same thing 32 years ago when I caught my first photo of a PC black one at Pitcairn. Day in and day out, pushing cars over the hump. Sounds kind of dull when you think about it, but it also seems like a lot of work to expect out of any machine.

I heard NS is thinking about retiring their SD38's. At least we saw a blue one working the Conway hump last summer before they disappeared. Can you say; "six axle low-emission hybrid"? I wonder if those new-fangled rigs will last 30+ years.


BC

Play Time

This shot is from a couple of winters ago. Most of the Hebron Any Power Team and Phil were standing on the bridge in South Fork, PA freezing our collective hind ends off. At one point we decided it was time to move on. Trouble was that the trains kept on showing up. We couldn't leave.

Looking to the west, like the shot above, required looking through one of those wonderful small chain link fences and shooting into the sun. I needed the telephoto to shoot through the small openings. Meanwhile, over on the other side of the bridge, looking to the east was near perfect sunlight with a curve and four tracks to look over. Everyone was having a field day. I recall that we may have planned to move because of the sun and the fence. I did eventually move back to the sunny side.

We all have war stories and this one is like most. I was the only one foolish enough to be on that side of the bridge very long, so I was the only one who missed the meet this autorack train had with Amtrak. Paul's video showed it very well. Later on when I reviewed my images on the computer, I thought I had a real loser batch of shots from the fence side.

Enter the wonders of free software. I believe it was Picasa this time but it could have been Gimp. All I did was kick up the contrast and crop a bit. Several going away shots of another train were gems too, for going away shots. This one just caught my eye. Who knows why? Something about the harshness and convergence. Art is in the eye of the beholder. No one else has to like it.

BC