Another Winter of Our Discount Tent

I hadn't pointed my digital SLR at a rail subject in months so I figured I'd get off my duff an do it while the snow was still around.  The scanner was quiet so I decided to catch up on the local sights.  Some minor changes had taken place since summer so on Sunday 2/17/13 those were my first targets.  Pan Am has renamed the sidings so that each end has a distinct name too - no more 'east' - 'west' designations.  I haven't looked them up yet and I didn't notice any signs to photograph.

The St. Lawrence and Atlantic put up a new sanding tower.  So, a couple of shots were in order to show the facility.  The former BAR plow was out resting, yet poised for the next storm.   Sundays are pretty quiet so I didn't linger for long.  The blizzard winds easily discouraged loitering.  By the way, I think the old sanding tower was from the BAR too, Northern Maine Jct. roundhouse in Hermon, ME.

I have no info on the project since I'd only recently heard of its manufacture and had no idea that it was this far along.  Some colleagues knew an apprentice machinist who was making parts for the project.  These educators were fascinated that trains used sand for traction and with how obvious that sounded.











On Monday the sun came out and the DT&I Fan joined me for an afternoon around the area.  As usual we started at the junctions.  Nothing at Danville but the SLR was switching the newer Savage 
/ Safe Handling yard.  The Quebec Gatineau switcher pair was doing the honors.  Although it wasn't a rare sight, the sun was too good to pass up.  When they move on, I'll be glad I caught them.



We figured we'd head north.  Nothing on the  scanner but we knew there had to be a RUPO somewhere.  At first we didn't see or hear anything at Leeds Jct.  So, we headed to Waterville.  However, we only got as far as the overpass over the Rumford line.  RUPO was moving so we did a u-turn back to the junction.  It took a while for it to reach the switch.  Meanwhile, we sat in the warm car by the signal and watched the winds whip the snow by us.  Eventually they got their Form-D clearance to move out and pass our spot.  We were next to a snow pile where the shack used to be.  Carl used the pile for height.  I used the car window to prevent frostbite.  The pile also enabled a coupler high drift to form so the train would have to bash through it.  A third camera down the tracks could have caught the impact but the operator would have been a popsicle before it was over.   

Waterville was our next target.  No real hopes in finding anything but some odd locos were in the neighborhood so we figured we'd give it a shot.  Near town we heard the SAPPI job get clearance to enter the mainline at CPF110.  We exited at Fairfield and found our train at the crossing so we got ahead to MP 111 for a grab shot at the crossing, which I missed.  Farther down in the yard we were able to catch the train entering the yard.  The sun was pretty good for the old "sludge gray". The main tracks were clear for a change.  Unfortunately, that was the last thing of note in town.

 We figured we'd see if PORU was in the neighborhood yet since the scanner was pretty quiet otherwise. (The "Bucksport Job" was active but well beyond our reach) Earlier at Leeds we'd heard that the crew came on duty at 1300 in Rigby.  Maybe a meet at New Gloucester - or whatever they call it now so we headed there off the pike.  No joy.  Turned out that RUPO made it only as far as "Rumford Jct. - West", or "Poland" now.  Their clearance mentioned returning the switch to normal at "Hackett's", formerly "Rumford Jct. - East".  DJ-1 and the SLR were playing in the yard at Danville Jct. so perhaps they had to wait their turn.

Anyway, I finished the day shooting the SLR as it worked among those fancy new switch lock signals.  

BC

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

MEC 52 Encounter

Here is what comes from clean living and some detective work with a scanner!


The DT&I Fan and I set out for Waterville the day before Christmas in order to see what we might scare up on District 1. We figured there was the odd chance we might see Maine Central heritage unit #52 on one of the locals but really didn't have that much hope it would happen. We really wanted to be be out and about but not caught up in the holiday traffic and shopping frenzy.

The ride up was pretty much the norm for District 1. Nothing much happening. We thought we were going to be skunked. The night before DT&I Fan had heard the TOM talking to the SAPPI local led by #51. The TOM also joked about that train being popular with the railfans that night. We knew that meant that MEC #52 was probably on the other end of the lashup. It was also likely that #51 was leading toward the mill. But again, we figured little would happen today due to the holidays. It was good to hear that the "Geeps" were back after a long absence anyway.

Things changes as we exited I-95 at Waterville. We heard the SAPPI local getting permission from the TOM (Train Operations Manager) to move. Problem was, we didn't hear the number or location. Since we heard only the TOM side, we figured the train was distant from town, at the mill in Hinckley. Based on the prior day's intelligence data, we could surmise that #52 might be leading. So we deduced that it might be #52 asking to head south from Hinckley and we should head up the road north.

Well, that bit of detective work paid off nicely as you can see. We got within sight of the long crossing before the mill just as the units had crossed it. We immediately turned around at the store near there and headed to the previously scoped out bridge by the Goodwill-Hinckley School. A gaggle of local fans beat us to it. The sun was nearly perfect so I don't blame them. We knew some of them too. It was windy and frostbite was lurking when the 10mph local eventually made it to the bridge. But it was fun chatting with the other railfans as we waited. They were surprised to learn that we "happened upon" this run.

The gaggle knew where they were going and made more stops but the two of us were happy to continue on to Shawmut. The shot at the top of the page came from there. With the good sun and the cold causing the steam from the mill to show so well, it was the best shot of the trip. The old trio of Geeps gave us a smoke show now and then on the rough track. They let out a good cloud of diesel smoke right after my first Shawmut shot (top of page) and a bit still shows on the left shot. The town was still shrouded with a thick cloud when we worked our way through the streets driving back to Waterville.

We got out again at the Rt.201 crossing (left), again at CPF110, and then the shot on the right at the east end of the Waterville Yard. At this point we could have stopped but the units were visible on the side street next to the yard. Once we'd had our fill we headed to lunch at Burger King and returned to the yard office lot. The units were already tied up there. The gaggle's cars were mostly parked there too but they had disappeared to the other end by the 470 display. It was too windy so we ate lunch and sat in the car until we had some idea if anything was moving. It wasn't. The gaggle returned to their cars and we said our good byes. I took this opportunity to get out and get this final shot of the plow next to the #52. Nice to see an old MEC green plow in light of all the paint work going on lately. The plow on the other end was painted for Pan Am last year.

On the way home, we got pretty well skunked as usual. As we were going by Leeds Jct. we could hear the TOM giving someone clearance from CPF 169 to CPF 185. No way we'd get there before dark. So we headed over to Lewiston Jct. for a look at the SLR. The last shot seemed to be of the quiet before the holiday. This lashup was quietly waiting for the next run. I of course had to record the former GP40X's and their slugs even if the shadows were getting a bit long.


Not a bad day.


BC