Random Ramblings

1) Here's a link for Debate Coach. He'll shed a tear for a time in his past...

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1788656

2) The Maine Scanner Feed was particularly active today. I heard the Boston East dispatcher talking about North Beverly. I'm regularly picking up transmissions from Vermont, including during the day. I'm hoping the combination of a new antenna, a ham radio, and no more foliage makes for a super winter listening season.

3) There's an Internet Radio show found at http://www.letstalktrains.us It's cool! Much of the discussion involves California (since the show is based in San Diego), but there's a potpourri of interesting RR talk. They "broadcast" on Saturday afternoons and one can listen anytime to that week's show via Windows Media Player.

4) Speaking of California, it appears that's where work journeys will be taking The Wheelman for the forseeable future. I'll be splitting my time between Pomona (hello Cajon Pass) and east of Sacramento (hello Truckee and Tahoe).

Remember - Vote Early And Often

All good things must come to an end?

Well this isn't necessarily an ending however in same ways it is. If you don't know what I'm talking about that fine I will bring that up in due time but first I'd like to start off with my experiences at this very special place.
Growing up in North Yarmouth next to District 1, the Brunswick Branch and the Branch to Yarmouth was full of plenty of rail action. Family for me was up north so trips north to Auburn and Paris were common. Whenever it was time to shop at the mall we always went to Auburn. Some of my earliest memories of Danville Junction are actually on the Ski Train which ran from Bethel to Portland in the early to Mid 90's. Our morning trip would always be exciting catching the daily SLR (Then CN, leasing and the Geep 9's) freight building up its train. As I continued to grow up around Danville I witnessed the changes of both Railroads. The SLR continually had new and exciting lease power and sometimes CN power (There is a picture of a CN SD70i at Danville in the 90's) while Guilford was standardizing its power but eliminating Alco's and GE's as well as painting all its Blue former Conrail units into the Guilford grey. I remember when the High Hood GP40's started running around in the Guilford Patch jobs. And all the while as both railroads changed and grew, the junction stayed the same. The place was always full of some activity or excitement. When I got my wheels I began to make my own voyages to Danville, sometimes 3 or 4 times a week. It was always my first destination to check out the action. The setup of the interchange itself was very exciting because it had a shared yard which could only be accessed by the SLR via "the diamond." Diamonds have always been an exciting place to railfan and being as it is probably the most active one in New England, it was always a great place to go.
In recent times, the State of Maine and both railroads have decided it is time to rebuild the junction. As I said before it isn't the end but in some parts it is. It's the end of the Diamond and the beginning of a new change. Of course this isn't to say there will be any lack of action because quite the opposite there wont be but the special place that Danville is will become completely different. After the changes Danville will never be the same to me. I've got some inside info and pictures of the new Layout. I was supposed to receive two pictures of the diagram however only one made it through. I'm going to work to see if I can get the other one but in the mean time, heres the picture.

Texas County Collecting - Day 2

Day 2 in Texas

I started in Flatonia at 8AM. All was quiet and there were no trains in the area. After a side trip to San Antonio to firm up travel plans back to Monterrey, I decided to head southeast and intercept the KCS/TexMex route to Laredo.

My route took down US 181 south from San Antonio. I noticed on my Texas map that there were two towns with Polish-sounding names in Wilson & Karnes counties. Since I’m of Polish ancestry and I didn’t expect to find many Poles in Texas, I thought this was worth a look-see. I traveled to Kosciusko and Cestohowa – not exactly the correct Polish spelling but close enough! I never thought I’d see a Polish flag flying with the Texas state flag, but there it was…

After that dose of rootedness I took the scenic route to Refugio, picking off counties I’d otherwise have no reason to transit. Lots of flat farm and ranchland. (Slightly) exceeding the speed limit on two lane US 77A/183. Once upon a time the train passed through Goliad, with its classic southern-style town square & courthouse. All that’s left is the remnant of an underpass beneath the now-gone bridge deck which once carried SP tracks from Victoria to Beeville.

In Refugio the railfanning began. It was easy to find the UP tracks as they were just a few blocks in from US 77, the main route from Houston to Corpus Christi. When not in a town the tracks hug the road. These tracks carry UP, BNSF and KCS, and I saw all three between here and Robstown. I was driving, again just slightly over the speed limit, so I missed capturing on film the NB BNSF grain train. The NB UP mixed freight gave me enough warning to shoot through the windshield at 70MPH. That was south of Woodsboro, in Refugio Countty.

Once I hit Robstown the KCS/TexMex tracks head west to Laredo, across yet more farm & ranchlands. I hit a KCS goldmine on this stretch of about 120 miles of track. A NB grain train
was canned on a siding just west of Robstown. Like shooting fish in a barrel, I was able to get some great shots of the train with its 2 KCS-belle painted units (1 GE, 1 EMD – unit numbers to appear at slideshow time).

Flat-as-a-pancake coastal plain is the name of the game from Robstown (home of the greatest high school name I’ve ever seen – the Robstown Cottonpickers. I have the water tower pic to prove it) to Alice, a surprisingly large town in the innards of south Texas and the county seat of Jim Wells county. Just east of Alice the FRED frequency chirped, and across the cotton field another KCS grain train sped east. This train was entirely those KCS-newly painted grain cars. Unfortunately the taggers have already sullied a few – it must be discouraging to paint railroad cars for a living.

West of San Diego (just across the county line into Duval county) the landscape transitioned from farmland to classic Texas ranchland. Classic Texas ranchland is mostly brown but some green fields, enclosed by miles of metal fencing from as simple as barbed wire to as elaborate as custom-built, big bucks fence. Occasionally you see cattle. Once in a while you get lucky and spot more exotic fauna. My best catch was the combination buffalo/ostrige ranch.

From San Diego through Benavides, Realitos, Hebbronville (a lot of states have some place named Hebron or close to it), Bruni, Oilton, and on to Laredo, it’s miles of welded rail through the ranchlands. Just west of Hebbronville the FRED chirped again and another EB passed by in the pouring rain (I experienced a couple of Texas thunderstorms, which you can imitate by painting your car windows black, standing on the roof, and pouring bucket after bucket of water onto your windshield), mixed freight pulled by a couple of grey GP60s.

I hit the city limits of Laredo about 10 miles east of downtown. For some reason Laredo has the least expensive gas prices in all of Texas. I filled up for 2.36 a gallon (up in Flatonia it was 2.99).

So that’s the end of Texas for a while. Today’s tally was 7 counties, 13 for the weekend, and 34 total. Only about 200 to go and Texas is complete!

Texas County Collecting- Day 1 of 2

I'm writing from Flatonia TX, about midway between Houston and San Antonio on Interstate 10, exit 661. Flatonia advertises its railfan platform in Trains Magazine. Given this is my last work week in these parts I had to come & check out Flatonia. My motel is 5 minutes away from the railfan platform & diamond - Grumpy's Motel. A clean, basic room with WiFi included was had for $40 a night plus about 12% tax.

Flatonia is a small, pleasant town of about 2,000 residents. Railfan eats are within 5 minutes. The town itself is three blocks east of the railfan platform, about a 7-10 minute walk. The tower that guarded the diamond was in active use from 1902 through 1996. Local residents petitioned to save the Tower, and Union Pacific gave the Tower to the town. The town has moved the tower 3 blocks east, along the tracks and visible from all parts of the village. through.

The sun is super right now (4PM), as the railfan platform was built in the NW quadrant of the diamond area. (The SE quadrant contains a private house, and the SW quadrant is an active hay field contained within a wye).


A E-W line crosses a N-S line at the diamond. Both lines are single track. The line east comes from San Antonio. Trains can proceed east to Houston, or take the NW Wye to the North track to Dallas. A less busy S track goes to Victoria. Noteworthy are the KCS trackage rights from Houston to Victoria.

This isn't the West Slope, or Fallston, but I'm told action can be good. At the moment the sky is azure blue and cloudless, temps are in the mid-80s, and I'm sitting in the shade, an easterly breeze blowing through my train nymph's golden tresses. A rooster is crowing in the pen of the farmer located adjacent to the area.

(The train nymph is firmly planted in my imagination and nowhere else.)

Arrive Flatonia @ 1600
1800 WB UP3992 9304, 68 empty autoracks for San Antonio @ beyond
1853 WB to SB KCS4699, 4680 106 cars of general freight for Victoria @ beyond (certified "luck of the Apollo" train)
Leave Flatonia @ 2000

No digital pictures - just slides. You'll have to wait for the slideshow...
Counties collected - 6