Iron Horse Update for January 2014

Westbound Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern freight between Huron and Rapid City, SD seen passing through Wall, SD with CP Rail and Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-2s in June 2007- a year before the CP Rail takeover. JJ Schrader photo

CANADIAN PACIFIC- CP Rail and shortline operator Genesee & Wyoming have reportedly reached a deal to purchase more than 600 miles of former Canadian Pacific (ex Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern, nee Chicago & Northwestern) trackage in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The price tag for the deal was reportedly $210 million and is Genesee & Wyoming's first transaction since last year's takeover of Rail America. The new name for the line will be the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern and will run from Tracy, MN west to Colony, WY by way of Rapid City and the South Dakota capitol of Pierre. According to a GWR press release, the transaction includes a branch from Rapid City to Dakota Jct, NE as well as trackage rights over CP from Tracy to Mankato, MN to interchange with the Union Pacific as well as trackage right over BNSF between Yale and Watertown, SD and a separate line between Wolsey and Aberdeen, SD where the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern could also interchange with the independent regional Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western. This stretch of the line primarily hauls ethanol, wheat, bentonite clay and cement.

Prior to 2008, the line was part of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern system. The DM&E was reportedly interested in expansion by building a new line in Wyoming to access coal from the Powder River Basin and ship it to power plants throughout the Midwest. However, the line between Pierre and Rapid City featured unstable roadbed as well as aging track and bridges limiting speed limits to 10 MPH over that portion of the line and creating a significant bottleneck. With the 2008 CP Rail takeover, a number of proposed improvements were approved but quickly forgotten after competition from natural gas and regulatory burdens on coal drove prices down and the CP Rail installed Hunter Harrison as its new CEO after a 2012 hostile takeover by the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund. With the focus shifting to rising oil traffic from Alberta and North Dakota, the former DM&E lines became viewed as insignificant backwater and an increasing burden by CP Rail management.

The DM&E itself was started up after the Chicago & Northwestern announced their intent to abandon marginal and unprofitable lines through South Dakota and parts of Minnesota in the early 1980s. Responding to pressure from shippers and then-US Senator Larry Pressler, the C&NW spun off their lines between Winona, MN and Rapid City, SD to the newly formed Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern in 1986 and the railroad began operations with castoff equipment and facilities.

In addition to their Powder River ambitions, the DM&E purchased the 1700 mile I&M Rail Link in 2002. The I&M Rail Link ran between the Twin Cities and Kansas City via the former Milwaukee Road/Soo Line main and also ran to Chicago via Iowa. The newly-formed sister railway- called the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern- gave shippers in South Dakota access to the Twin Cities, Chicago, St Louis and the Great Lakes. Ironically, the Canadian Pacific reacquired most of the lines in 2008 with their acquisition of the DM&E and IC&E that their Soo Line subsidiary spun off in the late 1990s. To hardly anybody's surprise, the former IC&E trackage between the Twin Cities and Kansas City as well as the Sabula, IA to Chicago line weren't on the chopping block.

Pere Marquette Berkshire #1225 seen passing a grain elevator in the village of Carland, MI with an excursion on December 13, 2013. Brian Plant photo

MICHIGAN- After a hiatus of nearly four years, Pere Marquette 2-8-4 #1225 is back in service for the Owosso, MI based Steam Railroading Institute. The big Berkshire re-entered service at the end of November, in time for the SRI's Polar Express excursions over the Great Lakes Central Railroad between Owosso and Ashley, MI in December [although some of them were cancelled due to a state of emergency being declared in Shiawassee County, MI due to a snowstorm- NANESB].

The locomotive last ran at the end of 2009, when it was pulled from service for it's FRA-mandated 15 year boiler inspection. A few months prior, the #1225 was one of the marquee attractions at the 2009 Train Fest, which also included fellow Berkshire Nickel Plate #765 and Southern Pacific's colorful 1941-built Daylight #4449.

Appropriately enough, there is another gathering of vintage iron horses- as well as aircraft and autos- within a few months of the #1225's return to service. The gathering is dubbed Locomotives Wings and Wheels and in addition to the #1225, the gathering is scheduled for June 20-22 and will also feature restored WWII era P-51 Mustangs from the Commemorative Air Force as well as SRI's Flagg Coal Company 0-4-0 switcher and visiting steam locomotives from the Little River Railroad.

CANADIAN NATIONAL- Just days after a fiery train wreck and derailment in Casselton, ND, a Canadian National freight carrying crude oil and liquefied propane derailed in rural New Brunswick near the village of Plaster Rock. According to a CN spokesman, 19 cars and one locomotive derailed on the 122-car four locomotive train.

Unlike the Lac Megantic disaster last July of the BNSF oil train explosion in Casselton, ND earlier this month, the CN train involved in the derailment was a mixed freight, meaning it was carrying other commodities besides petroleum and liquefied natural gas. However, the wreck prompted the evacuation of nearby residents and some of the derailed cars burned for four days after the derailment.

Transportation officials believe that a mechanical failure prompted the train to apply the emergency brakes prior to the derailment. There were no reports of injuries to the crew.

Plaster Rock, NB is about 30 miles away from the Canada/US border in the northwestern corner of New Brunswick and has a population of roughly 1100 according to Canada's 2011 census.

Steamy Iron Horse Roundup for August 2012

NORFOLK SOUTHERN- Throughout much of their 22-state system, the Norfolk Southern railroad has been observing its 30th anniversary with a employee specials powered by steam locomotives from NS predecesors.

This included the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 making a rare trip to the Keystone State to power employee specials out of the NS facilities at Conway and Enola, PA [just outside of Pittsburgh and Harrisburgh, respectively- NANESB!].

Scores of rail enthusiasts, photographers and onlookers record the big Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 as she storms through Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, PA on her way back to Indiana on August 20.

With Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate heritage ES44AC #8100 trailing, the 765 steamed across the Alleghenies on the former Pennsylvania Railraod mainline from Conway to Enola under her own power on August 13th. The 765's Keystone state sojourn marked the first time since 1977 that the famed Horseshoe Curve just west of Altoona has seen a steam engine pass through the landmark under her own power- former Pennsy K-4 4-6-2 #1361 was on static display at Horseshoe Curve until the 1980s.

It had also been nearly as long since a steam locomotive crossed the ¾ mile former Pennsy stone masonry Rockville bridge [the Aug 19th run shown at the top of this entry] over the Susquehanna north of Harrisburg. Interestingly, in addition to the dozen or so coaches and equipment cars for the #765, the train had made the ferry moves from Conway to Enola and back with four NS gondolas in tow- at least two of them loaded down with coal and one carrying a front-end loader, making the 765's ferry move and return trip to Indiana undoubtedly the most popular mixed train to operate in Pennsylvania in decades.

Earlier in the month, the 765 had powered employee specials on the former Norfolk & Western Pocohontas Division and in early September will head to Missouri to operate specials out of the St Louis area.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's former Southern 2-8-0 #630 seen leading an employee special out of the Bristol, VA area on a rainy mid-July day. Sid Vaught photo

The 765 wasn't the only steam locomotive active on Norfolk Southern this summer, however. Norfolk Southern's original partners in the pilot excursions for the 21st Century Steam- the Chattanooga, TN-based Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum- provided the use of their recently restored 1904 built 2-8-0 Consolidation for a series of employee excursions throughout the southern part of the Norfolk Southern system.

The former Southern Railway ALCo steamer spent a good deal of this summer on 'home' rails powering excursions out of Atlanta, GA, Chattanooga and Knoxville, TN as well as Bristol and Roanoke, VA. She reportedly suffered some mechanical difficulties while on one excursion out of Bristol, leading the Norfolk Southern to pinch hit with their Savannah & Atlanta-painted heritage SD70ACE. The #630 was reportedly brought back to Chattanooga for inspection where she was recently put back in service hauling the TVRM's Missionary Ridge excursion trains this month.

The TVRM is also working on restoring 101 year old former Southern 2-8-2 Mikado #4501. Given the Baldwin's Southern Railway ancestry, it's also highly likely that the #4501 would also be made available for Norfolk Southern excursions and specials.

Ohio Central 4-6-2 #1293 preparing to depart the Indigo Lake station in North Arkon, OH in September 2008. Peter Bowler photo

OHIO- Northeastern Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley announced that they will be holding their 'Steam in the Valley' event, with Ohio Central's former Canadian Pacific 4-6-2 reportedly doing the honors on September 8th..

This would mark the first time since the Genesee & Wyoming's 2008 acquisition of the Ohio Central that locomotives from the former OHCR system would be operating. With GWI's acquisition in 2008, former OHCR CEO Jerry Jacobsen began working on building a roundhouse from scratch from a 34 acre lot in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Although the 2008 transaction with Genesee & Wyoming's included all the modern equipment, Jacobsen retained possession of the OHCR's steam fleet and some vintage rolling stock while construction began on the Age of Steam roundhouse. Interestingly, although Jacobsen had reportedly carved out a provision to retain possession of all ten steam engines, the Age of Steam Roundhouse reportedly has no plans to operate excursions over the OHCR, instead oping to allow tourist lines to make use of some of the former OHCR fleet as well as operate over the Ohio Central for break-in runs and transiting to another tourist line. Apparently the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic is the first railroad since the Genesee & Wyoming takeover to borrow one of the former OHCR's steam loco from the Age of Steam.

Interestingly, since former Canadian Pacific #1293 is no longer part of the Ohio Central's steam fleet, the locomotive will reportedly revert back to its Canadian Pacific lettering. Since the GWI takeover of the Ohio Central, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 has put in a couple of appearences for the Buckeye State scenic railway.

Started up in 1972 on a former Baltimore & Ohio branch between Cleveland and Arkon, OH, 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of CVSR operations through Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The historic line dates back to 1880 and much of its route parallels a former Ohio & Erie canal and towpath.

Today's Train Of Thought- Steaming Through A Winter Wonderland- December 24, 2011

Today's train of Thought has the look and feel of a blast from the past, but is actually not even 4 years old.

Pere Marquette #1225 is a 2-8-4 Berkshire class locomotive that was built by the Lima locomotive works as part of an order of eleven that was completed in 1941. The #1225 and its sisters spent the early part of their careers shuttling steel and wartime materiel between northern Indiana and Saginaw, MI.

By 1947, the Pere Marquette had merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio although the Berkshire locomotives would remain lettered for Pere Marquette until their retirement in the early 1950s. While most of them would fall to the scrappers torch, the 1225 and sister 1223 were preserved.

The 1225 wound up in East Lansing, MI on the campus of Michigan State where the boiler and whistle were eventually restored to working order. A few years later, the title was transferred to the newly-formed Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation and was moved to the former Ann Arbor Railroad shop complex in Owosso, MI in the early 1980s. In November 1985, the #1225 moved under its own power for the first time since its 1951 retirement.

Since 2007, the Michigan Steam Railroad Association has been operating excursions over the former Tuscola and Saginaw Bay line out of Owosso- now the Great Lakes Central Railroad. In early 2010, the PM #1225 went in for its required 15 year boiler inspection and now the Steam Railroad Association is raising funds for repairs and reassembly of the Berkshire- including a $100,000 receiving matching grant.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Micheal F Allen catches the #1225 heading out of Owosso with a consist of vintage freight cars at King Rd in February 2008. Out of the entire Pere Marquette fleet of steam locomotives, the only two that escaped the scrapper's torch were Berkshires #1225 and sister #1223, kept on static display in Grand Haven, MI.

Speedy, Steamy Iron Horse Update for December 6, 2010.

China Digital Times

CHINA: Engineers in China celebrated late last week as a Chinese-built passenger trainset became the fastest unmodified train in the world, setting a new record at the speed of 302 MPH. In 2007, a modified SNCF high speed train in France reached speeds of 357 MPH during a special test run. The Chinese CRH trainset reached the 302 MPH speed on a recently completed line linking Beijing and Shanghai and reportedly took 22 minutes to accelerate to the record-breaking speed from a standing stop.

The Beijing-Shanghai line opened up nearly a year ahead of schedule and is expected to begin regular service next year. It is estimated that the journey between the two cities will take 4 hours versus the current 10 hour trip.

Steven McCay

More Chinese steam than that dim sum joint!

IOWA/ILLINOIS: Organizers in the Quad Cities have announced details for Train Festival 2011, set to take place in Rock Island, IL from July 21-24, 2011.

Some of the locomotives expected to appear include Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 as well as Iowa Interstate's Chinese built 2-10-2 QJ Class steam locomotives #6988 and #7081 (above), among the last mainline steam locomotives to operate in the world. China Railways retired the QJ locomotives in 2005 and the Iowa Interstate purchased the pair the following year.

The San Bernardino Railway Historical Society also announced that Santa Fe #3751 is expected to make the trip out from California to attend the 2011 Train Festival. Minneapolis/St. Paul-based Milwaukee Road #261 has been the featured power on previous excursions to and from the Quad Cities, but is currently undergoing it's 15 year overhaul and it's not known if it will be ready in time for Train Festival 2011.

Excursions are expected to run between Rock Island and Bureau, IL to the east and Iowa City to the east, as well as shorter excursions to Walcott, IA.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN: The Norfolk Southern has announced plans for a limited return of mailine steam excursions, which were discontinued in 1994. Initially the excursions are supposed to be limited to southeastern Tennessee and use a trio of restored steam locomotives from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

The TVRM announced that the Southern Railway 2-8-0 Consolidated #630 was ready for steam up testing to check for any potential boiler issues as of November. Norfolk Southern plans on using the #630 along with Southern Railway 2-8-2 Mikado #4501 and former US Army Baldwin 2-8-0 #610- which the TVRM's current steam workhorse- for excursion service.

TVRM #610 leading excusrion through Rock Spring, GA on October 2008. Photo- John Higginson

In fact, the #610 is the only one of the three aforementioned steam locomotives currently operating. The resumption of steam on the NS excursions in Chattanooga and finishing touches on the #4501 and #630's restoration would also coincide with the TVRM's 50th anniversary.

Iron Horse Roundup- October/November 2010 Edition

BBC Photo

INDONESIA: At least 36 people were killed in an October 2nd collision between two trains at the Petarukan station on the island of Java.

Officials believe that a signalling error one one of the trains was what led the Jakarta-Surabaya train to collide with the rear cars of the stopped Semarang-bound train.

That same day, another accident in nearby Solo resulted in at least one fatality.

UKRAINE: At least 43 people were killed when a train collided with a bus packed with commuters in the eastern part of the country on October 12.

Officials from Ukraine's interior ministry said eyewitnesses reported that the bus ignored warning lights and bells from the level crossing in the town of Marhanets in the Dnipropetrovsk region that indicated an approaching train.

All of the fatalities were on the bus.

Doyle Massey

UNION PACIFIC: Aside from it's regularly featured stint of hauling visitors between Denver, CO and Cheyenne, WY for Cheyene's annual Frontier Days, Union Pacific's 4-6-6-4 Challenger #3985 also got to stretch its legs hauling the Ringling Bros. Circus train from Cheyenne southbound to Denver at the end of September. The #3985 then continued on with the scheduled Missouri River Eagle excursion to Kansas City and St. Louis after briefly returning to Cheyenne.

Here, the 3985 is seen racing southbound through Platteville, CO with the circus train on its way to Denver on September 28, 2010.

Cody Zamostny

FT. WAYNE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The gem of the FWRHS's collection, 1944 Lima-built Berkshire Nickel Plate 2-8-4 #765, has been pretty busy since Labor Day. In September, she was deadheaded over the Norfolk Southern and Wheeling & Lake Erie to Akron, OH where she operated a series of excursions over the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

In October, the 765 powered a series of excursions out of Owosso, MI for the Steam Railroading Institute while their own Berkshire- Pere Marquette #1225- is being disassembled for it's 15 year FRA boiler inspection.

Upon completion of her whirlwind tour through the Buckeye and Great Lakes State, the 765 returned to the FWRHS facilities in New Haven, IN where she'll go into storage for the winter.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Aberdeen, Carolina & Western has acquired a pair of former Canadian National, nee Wisconsin Central SD40-3 locomotives for service on it's line between Gulf and Charlotte, NC.

CONNECTICUT: Six cars of an 80 car unit ethanol train derailed in the late night hours of November 9th at the Providence & Worcester yard in Willamantic, CT. The derailment took place within yard limits, which meant that the train was travelling at a slow speed. None of the derailed cars ruptured, and the contents of the tank cars were transloaded from the two that had actually hit the ground. The train had arrived from Rail America-affiliated New England Central and Brattleboro, VT.

There were no injuries and the FRA continues to investigate the cause of the derailment.

NORTH DAKOTA: Officials from the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western are disputing the FRA's findings regarding a March 2010 derailment in Washburn, ND that killed DMV&W conductor Jeff Heitzmann and injured the train's engineer. The FRA's report stated that an obstructed drainage ditch contributed to that saturation and undermining of the roadbed which in turn sent the lead two locomotives down an embankment.

The DMV&W, however, said that the stretch of track where the derailment took place had been inspected regularly in the weeks prior to the derailment and hasn't been a problem in their nearly 20 years of operating the line between Bismarck and Max, ND. Railroad officials insist that it was an underground spring located some 6 or 7 feel below the roadbed that undermined the track, causing the derailment.

2010- Year of the Iron Horse

Well, here we are barely 4 months into 2010 and already we're only a few weeks away from some heavy-duty iron horses getting out and stretching their legs.

(CP Swami/Railpictures.net)

On the weekend of May 1st and 2nd, the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society will be operating their 1927-built Baldwin 4-8-4 on a special train between Los Angeles Union Station and San Diego's Santa Fe Depot. More information about tickets and departure times can be viewed here. The #3751 will also be on hand for San Bernardino's bicentennial the weekend of May 8th, although no excursions are planned.

(railpictures.net/Drew Jacksich)

Coinciding with National Train Day, the Grand Canyon Railway will be operating series of short excursions out of Williams, AZ on May 8th using former Chicago Burlington & Quincy Baldwin 2-8- #4960. As reported earlier here, the #4960 has been converted to burn vegetable oil. According to the Grand Canyon Railway's website,the #4960 will be used to power the Cataract Creek Rambler an 8-mile roundtrip excursion out of Williams, AZ. They also announced plans for additional Ramblers on Memorial Day weekend, Independence Day and Labor Day as well as a special all the way to the South Rim on September 18th, 2010.

(Kevin Madore/railpictures.net)

Western Maryland Scenic's 1916-built Baldwin 2-8-0 #734 will be making its way to West Virginia's Potomac Eagle excursion to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the completion of the former Baltimore & Ohio railroad line into Petersburg, WV this June. The excursion operates over South Branch Valley's former B&O Green Spring-Petersburg WV line. The 3 day celebration is scheduled to take place june 25-27. The #734 will also be joined by New Hope Valley Railway 0-4-0T #17 and Flagg Coal Co. 0-4-0T #75 for the event.

(Sam Botts/railpictures.net)

Another event in June will be the National Railroad Historical Society's Endless Mountain Rails in Scranton, PA between June 21 through 27. Holding an NRHS event in the home of Steamtown seemed like a no-brainer for the organization, but also keep in mind there's only so many times they could do that. Besides Steamtown's resident Canadian National 2-8-2 Mikado #3254 and Canadian Pacific's 4-6-2 Pacific #2317, Reading & Northern's 1928-buit Baldwin 4-6-2 Pacific #425 is expected to operate a Dureya to Port Clinton, PA excursion on June 26th.

Union Pacific has also announced a series of excursions for 2010 in Iowa, Oregon, Missouri and Texas featuring their 4-6-6-4 'Challenger' #3985 and 4-8-4 Northern #844- this is in addition to their regularly scheduled Frontier Days steam specials between Denver, CO and Cheyenne, WY between July 22 and 26th.

Keep in mind this is only a partial list- the Owosso, MI-based Steam Railroading Institute hasn't announced anything regarding their Pere Marquette Lima Berkshire 2-8-4 #1225, nor has anything been finalized regarding Southern Pacific Daylight #4449 or SP&S #700- both based out of Portland, OR.

Today's Train of Thought- The 'Real-life' Polar Express? A Berkshire Christmas Dec 23rd 2009

Today's yuletide train of thought looks for all the world like a blast from the past and features a movie star of sorts. Here, Pere Marquette 2-8-4 'Berkshire' leads a string of freight cars south over Ann Arbor trackage at Carland, MI. This image is courtesey of railpictures.net contributor Mitch Goldman, and was actually taken on a wintry midwestern Febuary day....in 2008. Here, she is seen ferrying some vnitage freight cars

The 1225 calls the Owosso, MI-based Steam Railroading Institute home and belive it or not, the real-life 1225 was featured in the animated Polar Express movie. Technicians from Warner Brothers flew out to Michigan to record digital auido of the 1225 under steam for use in the film as well as get detailed measurements for a CGI-rendering of the locomotive.

Even with the Christmas-themed road number, the 1225 sees service the rest of the year hauling visitors on shot excusrions for the Steam Railroading institute.