HAPT Local Samplings

I figured a few local sights would make sense in case someone wanted to know what there is to see in the rail world around here. By "here" I mean Portland and north along the old MEC's "back road", all part of Pan Am Railways now. There's plenty to see but I don't want to build a fancy archive of details. Just a few highlights. The Wheelman has links to maps, freq's and a live scanner feed at his Maine Rail Scanner Yahoo Group also linked on the margins of this blog. Check out the "LIVE Maine Rail Radio" link on the top this page for live scanner action where these pictures were taken.

The picture to the left shows the latest "cabagge" car paint scheme on the Downeaster, complete with a Christmas wreath for the 2006 season. This guy is headed to Boston and is about to pass under the next road south of CPF 201. Double tracking has progressed to this area since the photo was taken. Rigby Yard's south end is around CPF 199 or so.

As we progress eastward past (ignoring) Rigby, we come to the two wyes where a line to Commercial Street and the Mountain Division line begin. That would be where the top photo taken in November 2007 comes in. The eastbound is rounding a curve on the wye for Commercial street and the head end is approaching Mountain Jct., CPF 196, where Amtrak detours up the old Mountain division to the new Portland Amtrak/Concord Trailways depot. The old Portland Union Station site is behind me. On the right we see a shot looking the other way toward the old Maine Central headquarters building and Union Station track area. Tower X is also intact as a small office building. The photo to the lower right is a pair of trains passing each other at Congress Street, CPF 195, at what used to be the other end of the station complex. This is now home to the Union Station Plaza as visible on the left of the photo. To the right out of view is the new Cumberland County "bed and breakfast" for the lawless. The 376 is heading the same train as the top photo, EDNM, and RIED is the westbound with the EOTD. Signalled territory continues east to Royal Jct., CPF185, in Yarmouth where the "lower road" splits off to Brunswick and the connection with the Maine Eastern Ry. After that point "Form D's" are the order of the day for anything that moves so finding trains depends on your scanner set to 160.620 mhz. They need plenty of paperwork to get anywhere so it's a bit like "shooting fish in a barrel" once you find one.

Next we'll skip about 30 miles east to Danville Jct. MP 167.47. This is where the old MEC meets the old Grand Trunk. Nowadays this is the major interchange between Pan Am Railways and GWI's St. Lawrence and Atlantic Ry. You can usually count on seeing trains to and from Rumford, Waterville and Northern Maine Jct. come through here daily. For the last year or two there has also been a local switcher based here as well. The SLR crosses over to work the interchange several times a day and once a week or so they have a local run down to Deering/Portland where they now terminate at Burnham and Morrill Baked Beans. All in all, Danville is a pretty good place to watch trains in this area during daylight hours though you may have some serious lull's between action. There are plans afoot to rearrange the interchange and crossover area in the near future. What this will do to the railfanning opportunities is anyone's guess.

The left photo shows the relatively new sign on the operators shack at Danville Jct. The photo to the right shows the local switcher, DJ-1 about to depart for the industries between here and Auburn. Between the interchange business and the variety of industries, business was getting too complex to leave everything to the passing road jobs to handle, apparently. This view shows the office before the sign was put up. Check out the GRS roster information and other details at the Railroads of Northern New England link on the right margin.

Another date and time (July 2006) finds one of the now rare SD26's in charge of DJ-1. Here the unit and a few cars approach Rumford Jct. (West) siding MP166 with a few cars for the back of a waiting westbound. This was also a joint W.F.P.T./HAPT outing so this action was well documented from the overpass near the Sleepy Time Motel and Channel 8. The lone unit then returned light to Danville Jct. with the crew of the canned westbound. The interesting part is the taxi service provided by the SD26. Follow the blue coolers.

The next stop down the line is Rumford Jct. (East), MP165 the other end of the siding. Just out of view behind the cars in the left photo is CPF 164 where signals guard the yard limits of Danville. A day later in July 2006 two passing trains swap power. Apparently one of the trains lost a unit and the other had one more than absolutely necessary. The result is a bit of shuffling right before our eyes. Again, our Massachusetts visitor from the W.F.P.T. gets to see all the strange operations we locals rarely see. The MEC 309 on the right of the right hand photo of this odd move is currently running around on NS to work off horsepower hours. Now and then it is sighted at Conway, PA by our friend at the Fallston Flagstop.

As we head east still farther, we cross the Androscoggin River from Auburn to Lewiston. In
October 2005 an eastbound shows us the bridge as an angry river floods below. Usually the water is much lower, if not hard to see from this angle. To the right we see a westbound at Fairgrounds West siding heading deeper into Lewiston in July 2006.
We see meets at Fairgrounds, MP 160, fairly often. The crews often head for dinner in this vicinity as well. Just past Fairgrounds East is a convenience store and Subway which are heavily patronized by passing crews. Below we see a westbound just leaving the Lewiston Subway shop and heading toward an eastbound at the end of Fairgrounds siding. Our westbound will then roll by on the siding allowing the eastbound to take his turn for lunch. There aren't many crossings to interfere with operations like this on the edge of Lewiston. The photo shows that the siding is actually shortened "double track" that used to extend over Main St. for another half mile or so. Back before the late 1980's when Lewiston had a yard, the second track extended the length of the city and ended before the Androscoggin River bridge. The second track then picked up again on the Auburn side. Not really double track in the busy mainline sense, but I bet it helped the flow of local operations back when there was plenty to keep a switcher busy and more traffic used the main. I remember seeing an Alco switcher based in Lewiston the few times I visited the real MEC. Somewhere I have photos of 958 switching in Auburn. That unit is now in New Hampshire and I've digressed.

Only a few miles to the east along route 100 is Leeds Junction, MP150.2. It's a bit off the main road but only far enough to miss it. If you cross over the Rumford line, you've gone too far. Here there is a couple of sidings and the wye for the Rumford Branch. One of the road jobs diverges here for the paper mills at Jay and Rumford.

Here we see RIED coming off the branch and heading west in the winter of 2006. This is a daily operation and the location is a public grade crossing. The branch makes for an interesting chase. A grain elevator a few miles up the line gives them an excuse for some switching which one might catch from another public crossing. Here I will also veer off as this is getting long.

Tune into the Maine Rail Scanner site at the top of page to hear trains at these locations and check the link on the right side to find maps of all these locations.

Unexpected Foreign Power in the Reading PA area

Haven’t been out in a while. I think that last time I was out was with Paul “Beefcake” “Wheelman” “don’t ever feed me a fu*^&#$&#ing chicken log again” Apollo, in Feb. A good outing but it’s been a while.

Monday was part of my spring break and while not too chilly it was sunny and nice. I headed for Wyomissing Junction, just west of Reading, to my favorite breakfast eatery, The “Dosie Dough” bakery. I picked up my usual bagel, toasted with cream cheese, a half dozeon of what I call the “sacrificial donuts” which I bring home to my lovely wife, Diane, as an offering of forgiveness for going to the bakery (without her) and for a bit of railfanning. Now mind you she likes to Railfan with me but she wasn’t exactly chipper to be awake at 6 when I went out. Life has its balances and this is one of them.

I also indulged in a “hot cross bun” aptly named from the tune I hear each and every year when I teach beginning instruments in my classes at school. This one was heavenly (unlike some of my student’s interpretations of THAT TUNE) with a cinnamon raisin core with delicious vanilla icing set in a cross on the top. (Perhaps being Easter the day before may have had something to do with it too. – who knows)

Now my goal was to catch the tri-weekly 30J train from Binghampton to South Philly which usually carries CP, Soo, or otherwise non NS power on it. It’s a mixed train of stacks, and general merchandise that makes the run over the D+H to NS in Sunbury PA then down to Harrisburg and east to Philly, via Reading. It usually comes thru early on these days.

No such luck as a friend down here emailed me via cellulite phonium that 30J had already been thru and had tied down in S. Philly at 0530 with 2 Soo units on the point. Too bad.

Well knowing that I decided to just see what comes along.

Well what a day for foreign power! Starting off with the H-33 local who comes hightailing west out of Reading, I mean to tell ya! He had an ex BN unit still in green but lettered for FURX on the front and a still CR blue SD-40-2 on the back.

It gets better.

Train 22V – Stacks from Chicago to North Jersey shows up with a C40-8W and SD-60 on point, both in blue heading eastbound. They drop down the connection to the line to Allentown and north jersey.

Later in comes the Herzog ballast train, #922, with a UP leader (4819) a CR blue unit behind and an NS unit with about 60 or so empty ballast cars heading for the Dyer quarry near Birdsboro PA, not far from Reading to the southeast.

In the mid afternoon Diane and I went out to lunch at one of the many bastions of Dutch country cookin’ called the Heidleberg diner out on US 422 near Womelsdorf PA. We picked up some seriously EVIL chocolate chip cookies for dessert to go, and I go to show Diane one of the nifty train watching spots nearby at Dorf siding while we munch our confection. Well wouldn’t you know along comes train 14G, Merchandise from Conway yard near Pittsburgh to Morrisville yard near Trenton NJ with another blue C40 on the point and right behind an SD-40-2 EMD leaser in blue and white.

The fun continues.

That evening before supper I hear on the scanner that the train 35A, transfer job from Allentown to Abrams yard, near King of Prussia, is coming east with a BNSF leader, #4707. After a delicious dinner of pigs in the blanket Diane and I head out to MP 54 over in Mount Penn, on the main line heading east to Philly.

Well unfortunately darkness fell on this lovely evening before the 35A made his way out of Reading east. We did see him and I think it was a war bonnet unit.

You probably notice that food features prominently in my blogs but hey that's half the fun of railfanning - trying out new places to eat.

It was a day filled with surprises for sure!

Joint W.F.P.T. / H.A.P.T. Summit At CP-DD CSX Fitchburg Sub.

Saturday night at 8pm ,I started hearing The Bee Gee's singing on my cell phone indicating a

phone call of the most important status,

The "WHEELMAN"was calling.Paul was in Worcester,Ma in I-290 heading back to Hebron,Me.When I suggested a "SUPPRISE SUMMIT" At the Dunkin Doughnuts in Northboro,Mass.Located a few short yards from the grade crossing of U.S. route 20 and the CSX "Fitchburg Sub"."Beefcake" and I used to do supprise summits all the time.REMEMBER The

Famous "-20f Summit At The Southboro T Station"? I do! We had coffee and Paul loaded up on H.A.P.T. Energy Pockets.Actually FOUR. "Jelly Doughnuts"For most of us it is a 3 hour ride,NOT FOR "The Wheelman"about 90 minutes for Paul up to Hebron.We discussed important business,and maybe future announcements will be made.It was good to see Paul again. We discussed "FOREIGN POWER" and of course For Joey "PURPLE TRAINS".

A short joint summit.

Billy L.

Another Picture Worth A Thousand Words

Any other slogan would render this caboose almost invisible.

Not only is this guy sitting on the only rails around, the "big train" has packed up and moved to the edge of town. This is Marysville, Kansas and the UP mainline from Kansas City to Gibbon Jct. used to pass right through the downtown area. The main and yard tracks were recently moved outside of town where the crew change facilities are still being developed. Even this caboose was moved, though just down the street along the old main to make room for a small park where the tracks used to be.

This very caboose (or at least one with the same slogan) has caused several good laughs at HAPT slide shows as it used to work the Salina, KS (on the old KP line) to McPherson, KS branch behind the usual 4 or 5 cars and loco. Three of us "contributors" went to Bethany College in Lindsborg which is right on the line where it crossed the MoPac's Pueblo, CO main. One memorable slide features only the loco and caboose running light on the branch. So much for "big train". The slogan would be a bit more believable behind a long train rolling over Sherman Hill in Wyoming but those new fangled bay window cabeese bumped some of these old guys to side routes. Of course all of them, old and new fangled alike, are "bumped" now. Even the rails through Lindsborg are all gone.

BC