Welcome Daylight Savings Time!

The first day of Daylight Savings Time in Maine turned out to be a nearly 60 degree sunny day, perfect for getting out of the house. The DT&I Fan and I made an impromptu trip out to PAR District One to see the slim pickens in glorious sunlight and actual warmth. A nice change from winter blahs.

Our first leg of the visit took us by the usual sights at Lewiston Jct. Nothing was happening as is now normal for a Sunday on the SLR. I took the opportunity to take this portrait shot of 3007 near the crossing and then pointed the other way for the 805 slug and plow. A prime mover sits under a tarp on the flat car. It's been around a while.

We managed to head over to Danville Jct. and then head toward Leeds Jct. without seeing a thing. However, the scanner told us that our eyes had been deceived. Nearly in Greene, well past Lewiston, we deciphered enough radio chatter to determine that RUPO (Rumford to Portland) was near and it was going to meet PORU (Portland to Rumford) at Fairground siding in Lewiston. Sheesh. Nearly skunked at both ends. Anyway, I turned the car back to Lewiston and we headed to Strawberry Ave. There we saw PORU throw the switch for the siding and head toward us. As you can see at the top, RUPO appeared around the bend right on cue.

We initially began to follow PORU but got to Greene and found the sun angle and shadows to be pretty harsh for photos so we headed to Danville Jct. We figured we can get over to Brown's Crossing at the far end in plenty of time for photos. Well, we were partly right. It turned out to be a pretty long wait. As you can see at the bottom, I took the time to photograph the odd "ferroequinarcheological" artifacts around the area. The sun was headed down and the shadows were growing by the time RUPO came along.

The rail is Bethlehem/Steelton 112lb rail from 1934. The concrete pieces are former signal mast footings. The wiring and pole shots are from the old signal and communications system. Brown's Crossing (right) was closed down years ago but is still visible to some degree. The track signals were removed when Danville Jct. was upgraded so the footings are just sitting discarded. The site is now just out of sight of the newly reconfigured yard.

The day was just a good chance to get some fresh air and sunshine anyway.

BC

Vermont '95 Trip & Slide Dupe Testing

These images are the result of a test I've been doing with some old slides. I purchased an old fashioned slide duplicator for the front of my camera. At $55 I can imagine it won't do the same job as a $600 slide scanner, but I'm testing it here to see if it will do well enough.

The images themselves are from a trip to Vermont in 1995. The drive included places like Rutland, Bellows Falls, Chester, White River Jct., and St. Johnsbury. I'm guessing it was late spring or summer. Everything green has had a chance to grow.

On the right are two shots around the Bellows Falls depot which is a terminal for the Green Mountain Ry. as well as an Amtrak station. Not much has changed but I believe the red building behind the depot in the lower shot is now gone.

I found the images to be interesting because I've been back since and things have changed. I don't think Chester has changed that much but I think the colors are now different. I know that work truck is likely worn out and gone by now.

The old Springfield Terminal bridge has at least been paved over if not dismantled. The track here is still intact and at the time much of the original route could still be seen. Now, development and encroachment has erased much of the old line. The shot below is at Claremont at the Claremont and Concord engine house. The old Springfield Terminal 44 tonner is in it's old ST colors. Turns out it was quite a find, in hindsight. The engine house burned before our return visit.

Below is a Rutland wooden boxcar apparently relegated to shed duty. I don't recall what town it was in but there is a suspiciously similar one in Danbury now. I don't know if it's the same one though. I'll check my pics. The White River Jct. depot looks the same as ever. I think the tracks have been thinned out but otherwise Amtrak still visits.










Here I seem to have a Central Vermont freight house. I recall that it may be next to a brewery, and one day I'll remember which one, but that's all I have as far as location. The sign is hard to read but it does have the CV Ry. part clear enough. I just cannot read the next line.

Finally we have a last stop in St. Johnsbury. I have the now classic view of the granary and depot looking north. The slides pretty much panned the whole weed field that was once the yard area for CP and MEC. The NHVT unit was among those weeds. The old CP Rail yard office was notable as well.












They aren't bad compared to nothing. IPhoto was used to trim the slide corners and enhance the fading colors. I suspect a little more practice and patience will be required to make any improvement. I need to work on even lighting though a lamp has done okay here. However, I do like the price!

If noting else, I got a batch of slides from a 17 year old trip posted! That's something new.
BC