Spring Reconnoitering in Maine

The Downeaster awaits a 1755 departure for Boston.

 There's nothing like a spring day to give you the urge to get out of the house and explore, even if it's only over to District 1 on Pan Am Railways.  Never mind the snow.  Today, I did consult a schedule for the Downeaster and found that they would have something departing Brunswick in daylight now that we are in Daylight Savings Time.  I headed there after the usual pass through "the Junctions" in Auburn.

I left the house as PORU was getting a Form D to go up the Rumford Branch.  They had left a couple of units at Danville Jct. for DJ-1 as near as I could tell from the scanner.  I saw the units deep in the yard as I passed through.  With nothing else around and the SLR at Lewiston Jct. quiet, I moved on to Brunswick.

View of "layover" and wye (Lewiston Lower) from platform.

Aside from the annoying town of Brunswick itself with one-way streets and tons of traffic, the new station area was pretty quiet.  I went to the Hammond Lumber by the Spring St. bridge first to get shots of the trainset in layover.  It turned out more interesting than I thought since there was an F40 commemorative unit on the point rather than a standard "cabbage" unit.  I did like the old paint scheme too.  I didn't get too worked up about the "Shamu" style "mud missile" at the other end.

Amtrak "Heritage Unit".  Appears to be a full F40, not cabbage.

Over at the station itself I found plenty of parking and wandered over to the platform.  In the process I figured out where the Visitors Center was located and found helpful people around.  One of them was a local character I've run into before in the area.  Apparently he now counts passengers and otherwise volunteers around the station.  I think his nickname was "Cookie" but I may have heard it wrong. 

New Downeaster facilities in Brunswick.

DJ-1 with 2 more units left by PORU.

I couldn't see how I'd do much better by waiting another hour for the train to depart.  The back-lighting was harsh and I already got the head end from the bridge.  So, I reversed course back to "the Junctions".  This time my luck was a tad better.  RUPO was passing under the turnpike as I arrived so I headed for Danville Jct. from the west end.  There I caught DJ-1 and the other two units all assembled by the crossing.  Good timing.  I got a "two-fer" as RUPO passed.  I'm sure I could have stayed longer and watched a few more moves but it was a bit drafty and cool for such things.  And, I was parked in quite a muddy spot next to a melting snow pile.  No, the "excitement" of Danville Jct. and District 1 could wait for another day when I had the right jacket and more time.

RUPO passing DJ-1 at Danville Jct. 

 BC

Annual Catch

For a third year in a row I've managed to have a camera on hand for something moving on the Rumford branch of the old MEC.  This time, owing to construction near my usual spot in Peru, I pass over the branch in Canton on the way to work each morning.  This spot is near the old wye that used to take the line down to Rumford Jct. in Auburn.  Yesterday the crossing lights lit up as I neared the crossing so I pulled out the mini-camera.  The train was a good distance away and putting along so I sped ahead (like everyone else) and turned to the crossing in the center of the wye where I caught this guy.  There's little traffic on the road so I just sat there with the camera pointed out the window short of the crossing.

This year, like the last two, a blue high hood GP40 was on the point.  The difference this year is that I got the other end of the number class.  I got 370 the last two times.  Now I have the recently acquired oddball 382 at the other end of the class.  I don't recall precisely, but isn't that a unit from NS to make up for one wrecked by them somewhere?

Here is my last encounter, and the first encounter, with something on the Rumford line. 

For me it's a minor victory. 

BC

Billy's Maine Adventures Part 2

Here are my photos and some commentary for the second half of Billy's trip to Maine. 

FRIDAY JULY 13, 2012  (Commonly referred to as Friday the 13th)

As I did in Part 1, I will start with Billy's listserv post and fill in only as needed...

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Fri Jul 13, 2012 11:11 pm

We left Danville Junction around 08:30am after Coffee at Dunkin doughnuts we headed north. We stopped in Waterville Yard where we saw the two(2) BNSF engines along with 306 / 374.From there

we headed up to Northern Main Junction Yard in Hermon where 313 was parked and when we returned around 18:00 it was still there.From NMJ we headed up to "THE KEAG" Mattawaumkeag where we

caught up with POSJ (Portland,ME to Saint John,N.B.) in Lincoln with 315(E) - 512(E) - 511(W) and 69 cars. We arrived at 12:45pm. The train arrived at 13:55. The Maine Eastern Crew was there waiting. The PanAm yard was full. The NBSR had the interchange train in a siding east of the Keag on there "Mattawaumkeag Sub".

There engine line up was 9801(E)(ME.Northern) - 917(E) HLCX(Ex.U.P.) - 2612(E)(NBSR) - 6200(W)HLCX(NBSR) (6Axle). As POSJ Arrived the NBSR backed east by the bridge and the PanAm train pulled up then cut off and backed onto the yard track to clear, 

The NBSR then pulled forward and hooked onto the 69 cars. Pulled onto their track "Mattawaumkeag Sub" and pushed train west. When they returned they went east to the siding and returned with 86 cars mostly empty oil tanks behind general freight. The "Maine Eastern Forman told me this was the second train today. 

..................................................................

Here we take a short break from Billy's post.  
The following photos are of the "choreography" that went on between PAR and NBSR.  The NBSR apparently couldn't just leave cars lying around on the main track so they had to put cars away in sidings, which were 'conveniently' located a mile or so on either side of town.  The sequence was sort of along these lines:

*The NBSR power moved down toward the bridge from the "depot".  This put them past the switch connecting to PAR and left room for the PAR units to "escape".

*PAR's POSJ pulls through a siding short of Rt.2  and cuts off the "leftover" cars that don't fit in the siding.   This leaves one clear track for SJPO to leave town.

*POSJ then pulls down with the leftover cars and cuts them off past the Rt.2 crossing. 

*POSJ power then pulls down past the depot to clear a switch to a siding.

*POSJ power pulls into the siding and pushes some hopper cars out of the way.


*POSJ power is now clear of the PAR main.  

*With POSJ now clear of the PAR main, NBSR power pulls down the 'leftover' cars.

*The 'leftovers' are pulled onto the NBSR main and backed to a siding on the west side of town.  


Here we see a sequence of the two crews passing each other during the NBSR's getting POSJ cars.  The cars are pulled past the switch by the bridge and the train backed up west.
 


*PAR power simply sits out of the way until NBSR returns.  




*NBSR power returns and then proceeds to the siding east of town to retrieve 84 cars, including half of the recent empty oil train cars.  Power is cut off by the bridge and heads back to the cut west of town.  
 


*SJPO power pulls out of its siding and down to the bridge to couple on to the train.  Naturally, the PAR crew leaves the door open on the lead unit this time of year. 
 

*SJPO pulls through town with its train and stops to allow the marker to be put on.  

 
This particular train had about half of a recent empty North Dakota crude oil train, the second of its kind on PAR, which went to Saint John and the Irving refinery.


*SJPO departs town.  NBSR will later reassemble the old POSJ train and head east.

..................................................................
We now return to Billy's post...

We left Mattawaumkeag around 16:00 for Oakfield the SJPO was still there.

After running around Oakfield,ME. and the Maine Northern we headed to Dysarts Truckstop for

supper, after running by Northern Maine Junction Yard.After a nice supper we meet up with fellow

H.A.P.T. Member Joey Kelley in Waterville Yard,Joey was returning from Tim "RADIO MAN12"

Zimont's wake. We also met Eugene "WOLLY DEVIL" Ketchen there as well. Next to the two snow plows was GMTX 3005 in NEW PanAm Blue Dip Paint along with 328(B&M). It was a fun filled day with NO BAD LUCK, Just GREAT LUCK !

After all it is Friday The 13th. Special Thanks to my good friend Gary" THE BOSS" Young for posting

phone reports for us today.The Keag Was Hopping With Action Today.The Maine Eastern Crew

outlawed there and were awaiting a recrew that was on the way. The PanAm train was recrewed as

well. Watch For the empty oil train to head west sometime (MAYBE) Saturday morning.

Till Next Time Railfans.

Billy Leazer W.F.P.T. / H.A.P.T.

Brad Conant H.A.P.T.

Carl Harrison H.A.P.T.

Joey Kelley H.A.P.T.




SATURDAY JULY 14, 2012 

Billy did catch the empty oil train (I was at a wedding) so I'll leave his photos for him to post.  What follows on Sunday is simple luck as we assumed Billy was leaving for Mass. at any minute.


 SUNDAY JULY 15, 2012

Billy and I met at Roy's at the rotary in Auburn for breakfast.  We figured it was good-bye for now.  But, I'd forgotten a DVD of Train Time shows left for him by Paul Lodge.  So, off I went to retrieve them after breakfast.  As I approached the Sleepy Time Motel, I could see an eastbound train coming at us by the IP plant.  I knocked on Billy's door and suggested that we walk over to the bridge. 


   Had I seen the listserv chatter I might have anticipated the 3rd crude oil train.  Billy had just posted that it hadn't reached Danville yet.  That changed with a quick call to Gary.

Apparently the "Wheelman" doesn't have to be around for there to be some "Luck of the Apollo" for us to use in these circumstances.

Not a bad way for Billy to end his vacation time in Maine!

BC