Today's Train of Thought- Merry Christmas!, Dec 25th 2014

With the world seeming as though it's spiraling out of control with each passing day, it certainly is nice to be able to unwind among friends and loved ones around the Holidays where our concerns may be no more grave than getting black olives on the wrong half of the pizza you ordered for everyone or questioning whether or not a gift card could be considered tacky and impersonal.

This Christmas-card worthy scene that you see here takes place in Caledonia County, Vermont, which is a little ways away from Washington County. Yet despite not going through Washington County [which is where Vermont's capital of Montpelier is located- NANESB!], this line is named after Washington County.

Once upon a time, the Washington County Railroad served the quarries and Bombardier plant around Montpelier, VT. In the 1990s, the railway suffered a catastrophic enginehouse fire, destroying their only two locomotives. After operating under a few different interim operators, the Vermont Railway ended up acquiring the WACR in 1999. By 2003, the Iron Road Railways- which had acquired the Bangor & Aroostook, the former Canadian Pacific mainline between Brownville Jct, ME and St Jean Quebec and the former B&M line from Newport, VT to White River Jct- filed for bankruptcy. Most of the original Bangor & Aroostook as well as the newer Canadian-Atlantic railway linking northern Maine to Montreal was reorganized under the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic [which was in turn re-established as the Central Maine & Quebec after the disastrous 2013 Lac Megantic train wreck and explosion bankrupted the MM&A- NANESB!]. However, the Newport to White River Jct line was acquired by the state of Vermont and almost immediately subcontracted to the Vermont Railway [similar to what the Green Mountain state did in response to the Rutland Railroad's 1963 bankruptcy- NANESB!]. The line was operated under the Washington County- or WACR- banner with the original Washington County trackage around Montpelier being referred to as the Granite District and the 100+ mile line threading its way through northeastern Vermont being referred to as the Connecticut River Division.

As you can probably gather from this image, the WACR is in fact affiliated with the Vermont Railway system. In this winter vignette shown above, the crew of this Washington County Railroad plow train appears to have not that much in the way of accumulated snowfall to worry about. NERail photos contributor Richard Deuso caught Vermont Railway GP40-2 #308 leading a Clarendon & Pittsford GP38 through Lyndonville, VT on January 3rd, 2013 with a VTR snowplow on point. Interestingly, the 308 didn't venture too far from its original haunt, since it started out life as Boston & Maine #303 in 1977.

It doesn't look like there's a lot of snow to clear on this bright winter day, so it's possible it's en route to being repositioned elsewhere for future use.

Today's Train of Thought- This is My Kettle, This is My Spout, October 4th 2014.

Today's train of thought takes us to the north central corner of Land of Lincoln with Ominitrax's Illinois Railway. The railway operates just over 100 miles of track over three disconnected lines in northern Illinois, but more notably the line serves as a sort of test track or proving ground for motive power destined for other Omnitrax lines throughout the US and Canada.


Traffic for the Illinois Railway includes steel, paper, fertilizer and other agricultural commodities, but most noticeably in recent years, frac sand. Much of the sand originates from the US Silica mine near Ottawa, IL and moves in unit trains of anywhere from 60 to 100 cars before being handed off to the BNSF in Aurora, IL. In fact- if the Ottawa sand trains aren't running with BNSF power, then chances are that they're using the Hudson Bay SD50s.


Here, railpictures.net contributor Steve Smedley caught Kettle Falls International GP38-3 #2256 is seen leading a local on the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy tracks outside of Mt. Morris, IL in May 2010 with the IR's Oregon job. The geeps had recently replaced some former Santa Fe GE B23-7s.


As for the Kettle Falls International Railway, they operate more than 130 miles of Y-shaped former Great Northern trackage in north central Washington State and southern British Columbia, hauling lumber, forestry products and chemicals with four axle geeps.

Today's Train of Thought- Austin City Limits, September 9th, 2014

Today's Train of thought takes us to one of WATCO's properties in the Lone Star state- the 155 mile Austin Western.

The Central Texas shortline got off to a pretty inauspicious start in 2007 when one of their freight trains derailed on East 6th street in Austin, TX just days after WATCO assumed operations on former the Union Pacific (nee- Cotton Belt) trackage in Llano, Bastrop, Travis and Lee counties. Between 2001 and 2007, much of the current Austin Western line in and around Austin was operated by the Austin Area Union Terminal.

While not WATCO's first Texas venture, the line was destined to be a handful for whoever was going to operate it once the Union Pacific divested. Parts of the line around the Austin area are actually owned by the Capital Metro Transportation Rail Authority, which operates commuter rail some 30 miles in and out of the Lone Star State's capital city. While this meant the Austin Western benefitted from improved track speeds and maintenance of way, since 2010 the Capital Metro Rail's schedule means that most of the AWRR's activities in Austin have to be nocturnal to accommodate commuter trains.

Additionally, the ex-UP line from Austin Jct. east to Elgin, Butler and Giddings were plagues by occasional derailments before WATCo took over operations in 2007. Parts of the line are still jointed rail, despite the fact that heavy unit aggregate trains frequently originate from the CCI facility in Butler. Interchange is with the Union Pacific in Elgin and McNeil, TX.

Even with some of the restrictions that come from nighttime-only operating and the antiquated jointed rail, the AWRR enjoys a pretty diverse traffic base- hauling anything from beer, calcium bicarbonate, paper, chemicals, crushed limestone, plastics, aggregates, chicken feed and lumber. In fact, the AWRR also handles the PT Barnum and Bailey circus train when the show comes to town- although that's apparently confined to nocturnal operations as well.

Here, railpictures.net contributor JR Leal caught Austin Western GP50 #5001 trundling through downtown Elgin, TX with a carload of chicken waste on a sunny September 8, 2013 with the Butler Turn as it gets ready to hammer the UP diamond in town. Leal points ut that the town of Elgin at the time was busying itself getting ready for the Elgin Hogeye Festival, which boasts a BBQ cook-off, live music, arts and crafts as well as a car show. Between the hot central Texas temperatures and the train's no doubt fragrant cargo, it's probably for the best that particular day's Butler Turn was pretty short.

Today's Train of Thought- Look for the Union Label, September 2nd, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Steel City and features a railway that's been operating relatively unchanged since the time of industrial barons such as Andrew Carnegie. In fact, industrialists like Carnegie sought the protect their interests in steelmaking by outright owning the rail lines or barge companies that fed his steel mills in and around Pittsburgh. Not only was it important to ship out the final product by rail, coal that powered the blast furnaces as well as the raw ore had to be brought in by rail or barge- in some cases, Carnegie would outright buy already-existing railroads or rail lines under construction for the right of way for his new steel-hauling railroads, serving the newly-formed US Steel.

Since 1907, the affiliated Bessemer & Lake Erie handled shipments of incoming iron ore on Lake Erie while the Union Railroad operated as a sprawling switching outfit throughout Allegheny County, carrying some of the heaviest loads in the world at the time. When dieselization came, parent company US Steel opted for end-cab EMD switchers- something the Union Railroad has stuck with since then [even though the last end-cab switcher made by EMD was in 1987- NANESB].

Although the Union has occasionally borrowed bigger 6-axle power from (then) sister roads such as the Bessemer & Lake Erie or Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range and evaluated Gensets from Progress Rail or Brookville Locomotive Works in recent years, the 1970s-built MP15DC roadswitchers are the norm for most Union Railroad jobs. Interestingly, the URR didn't order any of these MP15s new from EMD. Instead, the majority of them were purchased secondhand from Class 1 lines or transferred to the Union from other US Steel lines such as the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, B&LE, Birmingham Southern or DM&IR which traditionally relied on bigger power. By 1988, however, all US Steel [NYSE- X] railways were reorganized under the umbrella of Transtar, Inc- as well as some of the barge and navigation companies. In 2001, the Canadian National ended up purchasing the DM&IR from Transtar and Great Lakes Transportation to fill in a pivotal missing gap on its Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific line between the twin ports of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI and the CN mainline across the Canadian prairie. Also included in the deal was the Bessemer & Lake Erie as well as Great Lakes shipping companies Pittsburgh and Conneaut Dock and Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. Interestingly, the CN continues to operate the B&LE with minimal changes apparent from the US Steel days since the Bessemer has no rail link with the Canadian National.

In 2009, the CN once again purchased a strategically important Transtar property when they acquired the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, giving the Class 1 a much-coveted bypass around congestion in Chicago. At the end of 2011, the Birmingham Southern was sold to Kansas-based shortline operator WATCo which left the Union RR as the last original US Steel railway under the Transtar umbrella.

Interestingly, the railway runs pretty much as intended when it was established in the 1890s- serving the US Steel Mon Valley Works, the continuous slab casting at the US Steel Edgar Thompson Works, the rolling mills and finishing lines at the US Steel Irvin Works and the US Steel Clariton works which produces coke for the blast furnace ironmaking process. Traffic includes coke, ore, steel coils, coal, slag and ore.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Robert Pisani caught Union Railroad MP15DC #21 and four other MP15s storming through the Bull Run section of Duquesne, PA- said to contain the only street crossing on the whole Union Railroad- with a general freight on a sweltering August 2nd, 2010 with a mixed freight bound for the Clariton facility. The front door is open to provide some relief for the crew as the five 1500 HP switchers fight the grade. As hot as it may be that day, the crew is probably grateful they aren't running the 'Hot slab train' which shuttles trainloads of hot steel between mills on specially modified flatcars. The slabs reportedly leave the mill at temperatures near 1300 degrees farenheit.

Most of the locomotives in the Union fleet are blue with white lettering, although the #21 and the third unit have the edges painted a bright yellow, presumably for better in-plant visibility. Some URR locomotives are also painted green or a bright yellow.

Today's Train of Thought- MRS Dash, July 20, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to Brazil one more time [at least until the 2016 Summer Olympics- NANESB!] and features a scene that's reminiscent of a gritty, larger-than-life Lionel trainset- only instead of running under a Christmas tree, this scene takes place in one of Brazil's highest cities.

One of the other major private companies to form after Brazil privatized their rail network is the 1000 mile MRS Logistica [in which VALE mining owns 40%- NANESB!]. While not as big as the other privatized systems in Brazil, MRS links the key population centers, ports and transportations hubs such as Rio de Janerio, Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo.

Shortly after its 1997 formation, MRS inherited a number of diesels from the state run RFFSA including SD18s and SD38Ms, some of which were built under license by Spain's MACOSA in the late 1960s. A number of these units still soldier on in yard or Maintenance of way service for MRS.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Michael R Silva caught the engineer for light power led by MRS Logistica C36-7M #3860-4 leaning over the talk with a crew member on board SD38M #5111-2 on the point of a passing freight train through Barbacena, Minas Gerias.

Besides being situated on the Rio to Brasilia BR-040 highway, Barbacena was once the junction of the narrow gauge Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas line and standard gauge lines. The burly six-axle GE began life in 1979 as Santa Fe #8078 while the 5111 was constructed in 1967.

Today's Train of Thought- ALL or Nothing, July 11th, 2014

Resuming our Brazil-centric Train of Thought after a hiatus to accommodate the 4th of July and Canada Day, Today's Train of Thought takes us to a vital economic hub in southeastern Brazil and features a familiar look to some out in the western USA.

Production for EMD's SD40T-2 began in 1974 and was similar in many respects to the best-selling SD40-2, but featured prominent radiator intakes designed to take in fresh, cool air while operating in tunnels and prevented other units from drawing in hot exhaust while in long tunnels or snowsheds. Not surprisingly, this locomotive was primarily marketed to railroads out in the Western USA [although the Clinchfield was reportedly interested in the 'Tunnel motors', the order was changed to regular SD40-2s at the time of it's merger with CSX predecessor Family Lines System- NANESB!].

EMD had takers for the distinctive variant of their popular SD40-2 in the Denver, Rio Grande & Western, Southern Pacific and its subsidiary Cotton Belt. And they would soldier on for those respective railroads for the next 20 years until the Union Pacific merger in 1996, when the UP merged with the Southern Pacific and apparently was (briefly) the owner of nearly all the SD40T-2s ever made. However, after the troubled takeover of the Espee, the Union Pacific began modernizing former SP lines and ordering new power from GE and EMD. Many of the SD40T-2s the UP inherited from the Espee takeover toiled away on yard jobs, local freights and MofW trains before they started to sell them off the shortlines, regionals and leasing companies.

Takers for the unique EMD variants included the Bessemer & Lake Erie, the Ohio Central, RJ Corman Inc, the New York, Susquehanna & Western, Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis, Progress Rail Leasing, the Ft Worth & Western, the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range, Trona and Larry's Truck & Electric. Ironically, in the early 2000s the locomotives that were supposed to replace the recently sold SD40T-2s took longer than anticipated to deliver, meaning UP had to lease back the SD40T-2s from LT&E almost immediately after selling them off.

Around the same time the Union Pacific was having trouble fully absorbing the remnants of the Southern Pacific and Rio Grande lines throughout the west, Brazil's railways were considering privatization as well. In 1997, Ferrovia Sul Atlântico (South Atlantic Railways) began operating the formerly state run lines in the states of Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande Del Sul. By 1999, the company changed it's name to America Latina Logistica or ALL and had won the concession to operate the southern portion of the formerly state-run railways in Sao Paulo state. By the time ALL acquired the trackage and assets of Ferronorte and Novoeste in 2006. To deal with the increase in traffic, ALL began looking beyond their own borders for additional power. New locomotives could not be built fast enough, so secondhand power was purchased from the USA, Canada and even Namibia and put into use on ALL's standard gauge lines- oddly enough, many of the imported locomotives required little to no adaptation to be pressed into service on Brazilian rails.

The SD40T-2 is one of the models that found itself on the ALL roster in Brazil- a long way from California's Donner Pass or Siskyou Line. The Brazilian line reportedly rosters nearly 50 of these former tunnel motors as well as 39 standard SD40-2s purchased secondhand from Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor Steen Larsen caught ALL SD40T-2 #9498 leading a pair of former CP Rail SD40-2s over the Ponte do Guaria in Araucária, Parana in June 2010 [wintertime in that part of the world- NANESB!]. Araucária is on the outskirts of the state capital of Curitiba, which is one of the 12 host cities for the World Cup this year.



As the embedded video shot by L Basetti shows, the viaduct just outside the ALL yard in Araucária soars over a rotary with state highway 423 running beneath it. Besides being a World Cup host venue, Parana is also a pivotal agricultural hub for southern Brazil, producing soybeans, corn, sugarcane, poultry and coffee.

Today's Train Of Thought- Faded Glory, July 4th, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to South Dakota and features a one-of-a-kind throwback that has withstood more than two decades of service on the harsh conditions of the Great Plains.

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-2 SD40-2 #6359 started out life in 1974 as Milwaukee Road #193 and served the troubled class 1 until the Soo Line took over a little more than a decade later. By the early 1990s, a small fleet of secondhand SD40-2s were sold to Cedar Holdings' fairly new startup, the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern. The line operated hundreds of miles of secondhand former Chicago & Northwestern trackage across the state of South Dakota as well as parts of Wyoming, Nebraska and southern Minnesota. Although generating traffic was seldom a problem- the western end of the line generated aggregates, wheat, cement, Bentonite Clay and more recently, ethanol- the condition of the track and bridges between Pierre and Rapid City, SD restricted the DM&E to 10 MPH running. Still, in 2002 Cedar Holdings was ambitious enough to purchase the Washington Group's I&M Rail Link [parent company of the Montana Rail Link- NANESB!- a cluster of former Soo Line- nee Milwaukee Road- mainlines through the Midwest that linked the Twin Cities with Kansas City, MO and Chicago via Sabula, IA. The new railway was a sister company called the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern

Meanwhile, the DM&E was working on a project that would give them access to Wyoming's Powder River Basin and open up that state's coal fields to competition from a third rail carrier- breaking Union Pacific and BNSF's duopoly on the region. However, a number of obstacles had to be overcome before that could become a reality- such as the extremely slow track between Rapid City and Pierre and noise mitigation near the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

As estimates for work on a completed line between Wyoming's coal fields and the Mississippi River at Winona, MN continued to skyrocket Canadian Pacific decided they should be the ones to step in and undertake such an endeavor, and purchased Cedar Holding's rail properties outright in 2008. Besides the proposed Powder River expansion, CP Rail got their former Milwaukee Road lines to Chicago, the Twin Cities, Kansas City and branchlines to Mason City and Sheldon, IA.

However, with the hostile takeover of CP Rail by the Pershing Square hedge fund in 2011 and the slumping demand for coal thanks in part to the onerous regulatory burdens placed on them by an EPA determined to kill off the coal industry, CPR lost their appetite for the Powder River expansion and by extension, much of the original DM&E trackage. By late 2012, much of the 600+ miles of Marshall, MN was placed for sale. In early 2013, CPR announced they had reached a deal with the Genesee & Wyoming family of shortlines to sell off the trackage between Marshall, MN and Colony, WY via Pierre and Rapid City, SD to form a new railway called the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern. Reportedly included in the transaction is a number of former DM&E SD40-2s to be used as power for the Genesee & Wyoming startup.

During CP's tenure at the helm of running the DM&E, it was often difficult to tell whether or not they had in fact taken over. Most of the trains still regularly sported former DM&E or ICE power and to makes things a little more confusing the Dakota, Minnesota & EAstern purchased a number of secondhand SD40-2s from Canadian Pacific- many of which were still painted CPR red but stenciled for the DM&E at the time of the Canadian Pacific takeover.

Moreover, the DM&E had a habit of naming some of their units after the towns the main line went through- SD40-2s were dubbed 'City of Wall' or 'City of New Ulm'. However, DM&E #6359 was a little different- in 1991, she was painted with a special mural of Mount Rushmore to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the national monument and dubbed the Mount Rushmore.

Despite the number of changes that have taken place over the DM&E in the last 20+ years, DM&E #6589 still sports the Mount Rushmore mural on her long hood. While it may not be included in the batch that CPR sent to the Genesee & Wyoming line, the #6359 still gets around plenty, making its way as far east as CSX's massive Selkirk yard outside of Albany, NY in the past few years as run-through power on unit ethanol trains.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Michael Polk caught the Mt Rushmore leading two other DM&E SD40-2s on an empty grain train on a branchline near Onida, SD on July 3rd, 2013. The final destination are the elevators just outside the town of Onida. This quintessential granger scene seems largely unchanged from the last 20 or so years, despite the presence of CPR red among the cornstalks.

Today's Train of Thought- Canadian Club, July 2, 2014

In [slightly belated] honor of Canada Day today's Train of Thought takes us north of the border to Ontario for something of a throwback that is distinctly Canadian.

The GMD 1 was manufactured by Canada's GM subsidiary starting in the late 1950s and initially found only two buyers- the Canadian National and the Northern Alberta Railways [which was absorbed into the CN system in 1981- NANESB!]. Unlike the ALCo, MLW or EMD end-cab switchers of the time, the GMD1's slightly off-center cab and overall body style was more reminiscent of the ALCo RS1 than any EMD product. The uniquely Canadian units spent much of their service life toiling away on isolated prairie branchlines in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, hauling grain over rail too light for most other locomotive types on the CN roster at the time.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Canadian National underwent privatization and began divesting themselves of some of the marginal prairie branchlines while acquiring American Class 1 or regional lines such as the Illinois Central or Wisconsin Central. While Canadian National began retiring and selling off a number of the 1200 HP GMD 1's as switchers for quarries, grain elevators and even Cuba's national railways.

Still, a number of the distinctive GMD roadswitchers not only remained on the CN roster, but were put into service systemwide as yard switchers or powering local freights after the prairie lines had been largely abandoned or sold off.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Ryan Gaynor- aka LocalRailfan- caught Canadian National GMD 1 #1444 out on the mainline in Dundas, Ontario on July 6th, 2012. Here, the #1444 and CN GP38-2W #4776 are seen pushing hard on the rear of Toledo, OH to Toronto mainifest freight, Train 385.



The head end power [a CN C44-9W, C40-8 and GP9R] was having a difficult time ascending the Niagara Escarpment on the line between Niagara Falls and Toronto and the #1444 and wide-cab GP38 were summoned from nearby Aldershot Yard to assist the heavy manifest freight up the grade. Fortunately, LocalRailfan has video evidence of this CN freight's epic struggle against gravity on his YouTube channel.

Not only is the power [both head-end and tail-end- NANESB!] increasingly rare and unique, so are manned helpers on Class 1 lines such as the CN. Lately, railroads prefer to tackle difficult terrain using strategically distributed power (DPUs) that can be controlled from the lead units

Today's Train of Thought- Getting in the Spirit of Things, June 20, 2014

In honor of the host country for the 2014 World Cup, today's train of thought takes us back to Brazil.

The 905 km EFVM [Empresa Ferroviário Vitoria a Minas or Vitoria-Minas Railroad- NANESB!] is one of a couple of subsidiaries of VALE S.A. that won concessions to operate newly-privatized rail lines in Brazil. Although the line is one of the few that hauls long-distance passenger trains in Brazil along with commodities such as ore, grain, aggregates, pulp, steel and soybeans, what makes the EFVM stand out from heavy-duty railroading in the USA [and other parts of Brazil- NANESB!] is that it's done on narrow gauge. While narrow gauge in the USA and Canada is mostly for preservation and tourists, when your parent company is the third largest mining company in the world, it should probably some as no surprise that heavy hauling is expected.

And that's what the EFVM DD45s have basically been doing since 1970. At the time these narrow-gauge behemoths were built by EMD, they represented the most powerful single-engine locomotive available. With 3600 HP, the units were made to EFVM's unique specifications and followed the same design as the standard gauge EMD SD45 at the time- only the SD45 used two powered three axle trucks. While Union Pacific could boast of larger locomotives such as the DD35, DD35B and DD40AX, those had multiple engines on the same frame, unlike VALE's DDM45. The DDM45s [the 'M' reportedly standing for Meter gauge- NANESB!] entered service in Brazil in 1970 and have been faithfully soldiering on ever since- although new and secondhand locomotives from the USA have been added to both the EFVM fleet and others to help deal with the increasing traffic throughout Brazil.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Nicolas Fagundes caught EFVM DDM45 #877 in VALE colors leading an empty stone train that's snaking its way past a wood pulp train along the shores of Rio Doce- the namesake of one of VALE's predecessors- in Barbados, Espirto Santo in October 2013. The pulp train is likely headed to a yard further down the line along the banks of the river while the #877 is likely going at least as far as the junction town of Colatina, about 12 km further west.

Today's Train of Thought- The Master(s) and Commander, April 19th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to the Peach State- specifically the home of James Brown and the Masters golf tournament.

Augusta is an eastern Georgia city that's home to about a half million people, an Army base and former Southern and Georgia Railroads through the municipality. However, the main line into town from the east is kind of hard to ignore- especially if you're travelling down 6th street, where you have to share the right of way with the Norfolk Southern.

Here, railpictures.net photographer Ant Davis caught former Oakway SD60- now GMTX Leasing #9027 leading Macon, GA-bound train #191 down the middle of 6th St in March 2011. The tail end of the train is still most likely on the bridge over the Savannah River, which divides Georgia and South Carolina. According to the photographer, he was able to get this slightly elevated view of the NS freight rumbling down the middle of the street under a canopy of blossoming dogwoods at the expense of some scratches in his car's trunk- no doubt catching the attention of the Richmond County Sheriff's Deputy in the cruiser to the right of the train.

Built in 1986, the burly six-axle EMD motor spent most of its first 20 years plying the Burlington Northern as part of a novel lease arrangement where the BN leased the units [painted in the colors of EMD demonstrators at the time- NANESB] based on electrical power output of the individual locomotives rather then an arbitrary amount of time or miles travelled. After more than 20 years of serving the BN and BNSF route, the locomotives were eventually returned to EMD and continued serving as leasers for Norfolk Southern. However, despite purchasing SD60s secondhand from Union Pacific in the last year or so, the #9027 can no longer be found on NS. In 2012, the Canadian National purchased more than 40 former Oakway SD60s from GMTX leasing and Oakway/GMTX #9027 would go on to become CN #5403.

Today's Train of Thought- Springtime Is Near-Lee Here, March 20th 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to the hills of western Massachusetts and the busy-yet-picturesque Housatonic Railroad.


The hills of Berkshire County generally get more snow accumulation than the valleys, forests and open terrain further east- although this winter, much of New England got shellacked by old man winter regardless of elevation. Still, while places in the New York or Boston metropolitan area may only get a light dusting, this translates into more snow for ski resorts and bucolic state parks in the far west corner of Massachusetts [even if Mother Nature or old man winter can't provide the white stuff in a timely manner, the resorts are often equipped with snowmaking equipment for the slopes- NANESB!].


Neglected and split in two by indifferent class one railroads, the former New York, New Haven & Hartford's Canaan running track between Danbury, CT and Pittsfield, MA runs through the heart of this territory sought out by skiers and snow-shoers in the wintertime. Since dieselization, the New Haven provided both freight and passenger service on the line with Alco RS3s and self-propelled Budd RDCs. However, by 1969 the bankrupt New Haven's assets were purchased by the Penn Central- the ill-fated merger between the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad that would give way to Conrail in early 1976. The Canaan running track was one of many branchlines Conrail wasn't interested in, since two years prior the middle section between Boardman Bridge and New Milford, CT was abandoned and not included in the formation of Conrail. By 1982, the stretch just south of the Connecticut state line in Canaan and the Conrail interchange at Pittsfield, MA was purchased by the Boston & Maine. However, within two years the B&M would become part of Guilford and the line was still considered a fairly insignificant backwater and prime candidate for abandonment.


But in 1983, a company revived the name of New Haven predecessor Housatonic Railway and began operating nearly 30 miles of the abandoned ex-New Haven track that wasn't included in Conrail. By 1992, the Housatonic had purchased the Canaan running track from Guilford and was able to interchange with Conrail's former Boston & Albany mainline in Pittsfield, MA.


Both carloadings and speed limits were low in the early years as the Housatonic operated with a hand-me-down SW switcher, a GP9 and a rebuilt RS3. Traffic north of Canaan usually consisted of plastic products from Beckton Dickinson in Canaan and paper products from the Mead-Westvaco paper plant in Lee, MA. Throughout the 1990s, improvements were made to the tracks that allowed the Housatonic to operate longer trains with bigger power in the form of five rebuilt former Pennsy GP35s between Danbury and Pittsfield.


Here- railpictures.net contributor Ryan Parent catches Housatonic GP35M #3604 busting through a snowbank behind the old Hurlbut paper mill in Lee, MA in March 2008 with symbol freight NX-13x [a revival of New Haven-era train symbols- NANESB!]. Besides the plastic pellets, and paper traffic, the Housatonic has also been kept busy hauling lumber, propane, trash, limestone, construction debris and even the occasional carnival train.


The Housatonic is also fairly unique in that it is one of the few revenue freight carriers in the USA that is seriously looking into reviving passenger service- the only way into and out of some of these ski areas in the Berkshires from Connecticut and New York's suburbs is usually a narrow and winding US Route 7. Passenger service along the Canaan running track would save a lot of hassle and treacherous wintertime driving for a number of visitors.

Today's Train of Thought- Whoa Whoa Whoa Waterloo, Feb 13th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to Waterloo, IA where a flood-damaged bridge nearly proved to be a successful shortline's Waterloo- for lack of a better term.

Started up in the 1980s from an abandoned and largely unwanted portion of the bankrupt Rock Island, the Iowa Northern operates more than 160 miles in northern and central Iowa between Cedar Rapids and Manly, IA. Although it's fortunes improved considerably with the advent of the ethanol boom in the mid-2000s, it all came to a grinding halt in June 2008 after an important bridge used by the line collapsed into the Cedar River, cutting off the Iowa Northern from their southern interchange with the Union Pacific, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, Canadian National and Iowa Interstate. This necessitated lengthy detours across the DM&E and Canadian Pacific of up to 300 miles that increased fuel and labor costs for the line. To make matters even worse, the IANR didn't even own the damaged bridge- it was part of a lightly used former Chicago Great Western branchline now owned by the Union Pacific. The IANR simply exercised trackage rights over the bridge and the UP was in no hurry to repair it.

After much political wrangling, an estimated $5.9 million was secured- including more than $3 million in state and federal funding- for repairs to the collapsed bridge, which reopened in time for the 2009 harvest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Scott Marsh caught Iowa Northern GP38-2 #3802 trundling across the Cedar River into Waterloo, IA with a southbound freight destined for the IANR's Bryant Yard in the middle of a snowstorm on December 20, 2012. Trailing the #3803 are a pair of rebuilt former Amtrak F40PHs that have seen service on both the Iowa Northern and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic predecessor Canadian Atlantic.

According to the photographer, the storm was in the middle of dumping some 10-12 inches on that part of the Hawkeye State.

Today's Train of Thought- The Wind In The Willow (City), November 7th, 2013

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Today's Train of Thought Takes us to the northern Great Plains right around harvest time where a strategically placed stand of cottonwood trees could technically count as 'fall foliage'.

Before oil drilling in western North Dakota's Bakken shale took off and provided class 1 carriers such as BNSF or Canadian Pacific with exponential increases in traffic, wheat and grain were still big business for rail carriers in the Roughrider State.

Although Class 1 carriers like the BNSF have been experimenting with expedited 'shuttle' trains, by and large the grain has been gathered and shipped the same way for the last century or so with the harvested grain from nearby farms being shipped a short distance to a relatively centrally located elevator where they await further shipment in railcars. These small elevators were the Raison d'être for numerous branchlines throughout the US Great Plains and Canada's prairie provinces.

Here, railpicures.net contributor Mitch Wahlsten caught BNSF GP39M #2872 leading orange and Pullman green GP38AC #2161 past a stand of cottonwood trees changing colors on their way to pick up a cut of cars at the elevator in September 2007. This image is an increasingly rare example of a Class 1 providing branchline service- starting in the late 1970s, many marginal lines were abandoned or sold off to shortlines operators across the USA.

Today's Train of Though- Dirty Work, October 17, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Great Plains, yet features a distinctly northeastern cargo.

After World War II, manufacturing plants owned by General Electric [NYSE- GE] in upstate New York discharged more than 100 metric tons of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) into the Hudson River. By 1983, the recently-formed Environmental Protection Agency declared a 200 mile stretch of the Hudson River from Hudson Falls, NY and New York City a superfund site and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation prohibited fishing in the Upper Hudson due to concerns over PCB studies.

Following more than a decade of studies for remediating the PCB contamination through the Hudson River, there were two possible solutions- leave the riverbed as-is and let additional layers of silt form of the PCB contaminated soil or start a lengthy project of dredging nearly the entire length of the Hudson River.

Phase one was completed in 2009- the contaminated soil was loaded onto barges that went up to Fort Edawrd, NY before being processed, put into liners and placed onto an 81 car train who's final destination is a landfill along the Texas-New Mexico Railroad in Andrews, TX.

In 2013, dredging began on a 12 mile stretch of the Hudson River between Fort Edward and Schulyerville, NY, with a new disposal site selected in Oklahoma.

Here, CSX SD50 #8513 is seen heading westbound through Ellinor, KS on BNSF's Emporia Subdivision with BNSF train U-CSXAVD [CSX interchange at Chicago, IL to Avard, OK] a unit train laden with the Hudson River's toxic bounty. According to photographer Austin Seely, once in Avard, the soil is offloaded from the railcars and onto trucks before being taken to some abandoned quarries in northwestern Oklahoma

Today's Train of Thought- Junk Along the Trunk, Sept 12th 2013.

Today's train of thought takes us along the western end of the Vermont Railway system and the tiny burgh of Danby, VT.

There's that old saying 'One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure' which seemed to have gained new life after the 2010 debut of American Pickers on the History Channel [the premise, for those of you who have never seen it, is two guys from the Midwest in a van travel cross-country in search or rare an valuable antiques that they hope to sell at a profit at their own shop- NANESB!].

Of course, growing up in New England, I remember that in many cases the only thing that separated hoarders from antique 'dealers' was usually a sign that said "ANTIQUES" out front. The antiques shop shown above in western Vermont might've been one such instance- although the relatively new car out front seems to imply the antique shop was actually open for business and not just a motley collection of rusted junk with a sign in front of it.

The dealer has set up shop in the former Rutland Railroad Danby, VT depot located along what is now the Vermont Railway's B&R line (Bennington to Rutland). This stretch of the Rutland line used to go as far south as Chatham, NY until the 1960s when it was abandoned.

Here, NERail Photo Archives contributor John Bazan braved free range chickens and tall grass to catch Vermont Railway GP38-2 #201 heading south towards North Bennington and the Pan-Am interchange at Hoosack Falls, NY with a mix of grain and limestone slurry in May 2008.

While it seems as though the guys from American Pickers would've had a field day at the old Rutland depot turned antiques shop, the building is no longer standing. It was already in poor shape when Bazan snapped this photo, plus there apparently was drainage issues as well before the depot was finally torn down in 2011.

Today's Train of Thought- A Berry Special Edition, July 28th, 2013

Best known as the land of LL Bean and otherworldly horrors visiting quaint New England towns courtesy of horror author and native son Stephen King, Today's Train of Thought takes us Down East.

Despite Pan Am aggressively courting oil and intermodal traffic in recent years, paper remains a significant source of traffic for Pan Am and other regionals within the state of Maine- both the chemicals used in papermaking and the finished product have traditionally moved by rail. This remains true despite the fact that many companies in the paper and forestry industry falling on hard times themselves.

Still, even with the paper and forestry industry in decline lately, Pan Am operates a near-daily train between the former Maine Central Rigby Yard in Portland and the mill town of Rumford, ME to the north. The trek between the western Maine mill town and Portland has been a ritual that predates the advent of Pan Am or Guilford by decades.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Dan Nelson caught Pan Am GP40 #307 leading southbound RUPO [RUmford to POrtland, ME- NANESB!] under Route 115 in Yarmouth, ME on July 22nd, 2010. The photographer did an excellent job of framing the southbound freight, which is fairly close to its final destination, with some (and likely inedible) berries off to the right.

Today's Train of Though- (Iowa) Interstate Love Song, July 24th, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Hawkeye state and features the somewhat quirky Iowa Interstate Railroad. The 580 mile regional got its start in late 1984 from the ashes of the Rock Island, operating between Chicago and Council Bluffs, IA.

For nearly 20 years, motive power for the IAIS consisted of primarily former Illinois Central Gulf GP10s and GP8s along with former CSX GP16s, ex-Providence & Worcester M420s and ex Illinois Central SD20s showing up long enough to get a coat of paint before being scrapped or re-sold.

By 2003, with traffic on the rise thanks in no small part to the growth of ethanol and the fleet of IAIS rebuilt geeps were beginning to show their age, the units were gradually replaced with former Conrail GP38-2s purchased through LLPX leasing, followed by ex-Reserve Northshore Mining SD38-2s also purchased through LLPX.

The motive power selection for the Iowa Interstate only got more interesting after the acquisition of the 6-axle EMD's- by the summer of 2006, the IAIS purchased two 2-10-2 QJ Class steam locomotives from China's national railways for use in excursion service. Two years later, the Iowa Interstate broke with tradition and purchased brand new ES44AC GEVOs from General Electric- joining Montana Rail Link and Indiana Railroad in purchasing new locomotives from GE or EMD instead of using secondhand power purchased from Class 1 lines or other regionals.

Here, railpictures.net contributor BA Tiemann caught Iowa Interstate SD38-2 #150 leading mixed freight ICCR [Iowa City to Cedar Rapids- NANESB!] around the curve on the former Milwaukee Road line between Cedar Rapids and the interchange with the IAIS Council Bluffs-Chicago line at Homestead, IA on May 9th, 2007. The line is actually owned by the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, but is subleased to the Iowa Interstate and is the IAIS access to interchanging with the CRIC, Canadian National and Iowa Northern in Cedar Rapids.

While the lead unit has been repainted, some of the trailing units are still in their blue and white Reserve Northshore mining colors. Although the CRIC originally had a more direct former interurban line between its namesake cities for interchange with the IAIS, it was surprisingly hilly considering that its Iowa and is seldom used to this day. Today, the much newer GEVOs are likely to appear on the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids run either in solid sets or working in tandem with the older 6-axle EMDs.

Today's Train of Thought- Roving Badgers, July 21st, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the heart of Dixie and highlights some visitors who are out of place.

With the 2001 acquisition of the Wisconsin Central by Canadian National, remnants of the Wisconsin Central fleet began showing up further afield almost immediately. Part of this had to do with CN repaying horsepower hours owed to CSX and Norfolk Southern- while newer CN units were assigned to the former WC, for awhile, your best bet of finding a unit still painted in Wisconsin Central colors was actually further afield in Pennsylvania or Florida.

One such train that regularly drew WC power far from home was CSX unit molten sulfur trains between Chicago and Florida. Sulfur- which can be used in making steel, acid or fertilizer- is typically melted so it can be shipped with relative ease.

Here, railpictures.net contributor William H Davis Jr caught  Wisconsin Central SD40-2 #6005 leading unit molten sulfur train K841-24 through New Castle, AL with another WC SD40-2 as well as a Santa Fe painted BNSF C40-8W and CSX EMD trailing on a sunny April 2004 day. The lead unit started out life as Algoma Central #187 in the late 1970s, which the WC obtained from their 1995 takeover of Canadian regional Algoma Central.

Today's Train of Thought- Stopping Power- June 18th, 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to rural northern Louisiana and a railroad town that's better known for being the end of the line for an infamous duo of Depression-era fugitives.

Sometimes known as the Jonquil Capital of Louisiana, Gibsland, LA is a railroad town that is perhaps best known for being where Bonnie & Clyde met their end. The duo met their end off of Louisiana Route 154 south of town when they drove into an ambush set up by Texas and Louisiana lawmen in May 1934. In town, a museum commemorating the ambush that ended Bonnie & Clyde's interstate crime spree was opened by the son of one of the posse members was part of the manhunt that took down Parker and Barrow.

No less than three railroads made themselves at home in Gibsland as well. The east-west line through town belonged to the Illinois Central until the mid 1980s, when successor Illinois Central Gulf spun off lines from Iowa to Louisiana in order to focus on its primary Chicago-New Orleans line.

This included the 1986 formation of MidSouth Rail, which ran from Shreveport, LA to Meridian, MS by way of Vicksburg and Jackson, MS. Within a year of MidSouth's formation, they would acquire a controlling interest in the North Louisiana & Gulf logging railway, a shortline formed in 1901 that ran between Hodge, LA and Gibsland where it would interchange with either the Illinois Central or Louisiana & Northwest- another independent shortline.

By 1994, the Kansas City Southern would acquire the MidSouth, seeing it as a key asset for establishing what would be known as the Meridian Speedway- a strategically located rail line that would link Dallas with Atlanta thanks to cooperation between the KCS and Norfolk Southern.

As KCS continued expansion through the deep south, Texas and Mexico, the Class 1 carrier became less interested in some of the marginal branchlines that were included in the MidSouth acquisition. This included the former NL&G line between Hodge and Gibsland and in 2005, KCS announced they were leasing the line to Kansas-based WATCO (along with other branches in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi).

In the summer of 2005, WATCO began operations on the somewhat deceptively-named Louisiana Southern [the entire line is located in the northern part of Louisiana- NANESB!], which continues to haul logs, paper and forestry products along the Hodge line.

Three years later, the previously independent Louisiana & Northwest would be acquired by Patriot Rail- which to this day operated between Gibsland and McNeil, AR some 70 miles north.

Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor James Jackson caught WAMX GP50 #5005 thumping across the KCS diamond at Gibsland with a cut of woodchip hoppers for WATCO's Louisiana Southern on May 12, 2006. The lead and trailing units are still in Union Pacific yellow, but the bell on the nose of #5005 indicates that this unit started out life on the Chicago & Northwestern. The middle unit is a former CSX GP38 borrowed from Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX)- the unit actually did wear orange during its later days on CSX; the railway set aside a number of older GEs and EMDs for dedicated Maintenance of Way service and would paint them orange.

Once the train clears the KCS line, the gate emblazoned with all the stop signs will be swung 90 degrees to block the Louisiana Southern/Louisiana & North Western line from the KCS mainline. The gate, while not designed to bring a freight train to a halt, is meant to provide a clear indicator of which line is open and which trains should yield.

Today's Train of Thought- Taste the Train-bow, June 5th, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to Oklahoma's panhandle. With all the vicious weather the Sooner State has been experiencing lately, consider this a gentle reminder that Mother Nature isn't necessarily out to murder every last soul that resides in tornado alley.

The 250+ mile Cimarron Valley Railroad got its start in 1996 after the newly formed BNSF decided to divest themselves of a cluster of trackage in southwestern Kansas, eastern Colorado and Oklahoma's panhandle. Having already taken over operations of a former Santa Fe branchline in southern New Mexico with the Southwestern Railroad, Western Railroad Builders purchased the former Santa Fe lines and formed the Cimarron Valley Railroad. The rather far-flung network was initially served by a half dozen former Rio Grande GP30s that were painted in a blue and white scheme almost reminiscent of Conrail. However, after a 2003 derailment, locomotives from sister Southwestern railroad began showing up on the CVR, including a pair of rare GP26s.

The GP26 was a model that was never offered by EMD. Instead, the only two GP26s ever made were rebuilt by the Illinois Central Gulf shops in Paducah, KY in the early 1980s. Basically the two GP26s are a pair of heavily modified former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio GP30s that still used the trucks from the ALCo FA-1s that the GM&O traded in to EMD. They were intended to be a pilot program for the ICG to market to other railroads with aging GP30/GP35 fleets but they never caught on. As it turns out, the Illinois Central Gulf was ahead of its time. In 1986, they sold off the Paducah shops in western Kentucky to VMV enterprises. By 1988, the Burlington Northern had approached VMV about rebuilding their aging fleet of GP30s and GP35s- to this day, many of those units are still in service on the BNSF using the GP39M or GP39V designation.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Drew Mitchum caught half the GP26 fleet idling outside of Boise City, OK in perfect 'storm light' in March 2008. Cimarron Valley GP26 #2601 and a former Rio Grande GP30 (unmodified) wait to proceed to the BNSF interchange in Northwestern Oklahoma. A brightly colored rainbow is bracketed by a weathered crossbuck and the CVR freight in Mitchum's perfectly composed shot.