Today's Train of Thought- Tiptoe Through Across the Tulips, August 18, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Hoosier State and the Indiana Railroad, which had just turned 25 last year. The INRD started in 1986 when the Illinois Central Gulf was in the process of divesting themselves of several unwanted subdivisions- although some of them, such as the Chicago Central and Pacific were eventually brought back into the Illinois Central fold before the IC itself was acquired by Canadian National.

The Indiana Railroad started out with the original former Illinois Central line between Newton, IL and downtown Indianapolis before expanding considerably in the last decade- north via trackage rights to Chicago and south to Louisville, KY- at first by the former CSX line between New Bedford, IN and Lousville and then via haulage rights over the Louisville and Indiana. The INRD has also been working with Rail America's Indiana Southern to construct a 5-mile branchline from scratch to service Peabody Coal's Bear Run Mine in Sullivan County, IN.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Brian Wiggins catches a trio of freshly-painted GP38s trundling across the Richland Creek Viaduct, also known as the Tulip Viaduct in Tulip, IN on a sunny October 2007 day. With the corn in the foreground harvested, GP38-2 #3805 en route to Indianapolis after working the Indiana Southern interchange in Switz City.

Today's Train of Thought- Snowy Stampede, March 5, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to Washington State and a portion of the former Northern Pacific once deemed redundant and mothballed.

Completed in the late 1880s, the Northern Pacific line through Stampede Pass was pivotal for the railway to compete with other lines serving the fledgling timber town and seaport of Seattle. While some lines had opted for the less topgraphically punishing route along the Columbia River before making the (relatively) short trip up north from Portland, OR or Vancouver, WA, one of Northern Pacific's competitors- the Great Northern- was working on a line through Stevens Pass.

Both the Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines through the Cascade range east of Seattle were fraught with numerous, time-consuming switchbacks- Northern Pacific could reportedly only run 5 cars at a time over the Stampede pass line when it first opened. Both lines would resort to drilling tunnels under the mountain ranges.

The Northern Paficic's Stampede Pass Tunnel would weigh in at just under a mile, and ironically, would be considered redundant a little over a decade after the Northern Pacific and Great Northern merged (along with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and Spokane, Portland & Seattle) in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern.

By the mid-1980s, the line through Stampede Pass was mothballed and the Burlington Northern track east of the pass and in the Yakima area was sold off to the Washington Central shortline. However, by the early 1990s, congestion problems at Stevens pass were becoming apparent and by the time the Burlington Northern's merger with the Santa Fe was complete, the Stampede Pass line was reopened and the BNSF purchased the former Northern Pacific track back from Washington Central.

While this did alleviate much of the congestion on both the Columbia River lines and Stevens Pass Route, a new problem arose a few years after the Stampede Pass line reopened. The tunnels and snowsheds were too low to accomodate double-stacked containers. Instead, the line primarily handles unit coal and grain trains as well as general merchandise freights.

Of course, even if it can't handle double-stack containers, one still needs to keep the line clear of snow and obstructions. Here, railpictures.net contributor Mike Bjork caught BNSF GP39-2 #2901 and GP38 #2260 with rotary snowplow #972811 making its way across the high trestle at Stampede, WA on the final day of 2007. A month later, the plow would be involved in a derailment at East Auburn, WA.

Today's Train of Though- The Weather Outside? Still Kind of Frightful, March 27, 2011

One sure sign that spring is right around the corner? We're less than a week away from the start of baseball season!

But don't let that lull you into a false sense of security, as the weather in New England is always subject to dramatic change with no warning. One minute you could be enjoying tempratures higher than those in Florida or California, and the next you could be reduced to a shivering, soggy mess by an abrupt snowstorm or freezing rain.

Of course, railpictures.net contributor Ryan Parent likely didn't have that problem when he snapped this picture of northbound New England Central train 323. Since this picture was taken at the beginning of February 2008, Parent likely knew he was in for at least another month of inclement weather before 'mud season' but braved a snow squall to catch NECR GP38 #3849 and two other Rail America GP38s heading north through Cornish, NH.

The unassuming Granite State town of about 1600 was home to the reclusive author JD Salinger and two covered bridges, including the 1866-built 450 ft-long Cornish-Windsor covered bridge spanning the Connecticut River between Cornish and Windsor, VT. Traversing the former Central Vermont Railway line to White River Jct and north to Burlington and St Albans, VT, train 323 will cross the Connecticut River into Windsor a few hundred yards to the south of the Cornish Windsor bridge on a steel trestle.

Today's Train of Though- Of Sound Mind; Dec 4th, 2010

The Puget Sound & Pacific is a fairly new arrival as far as some of the shortlines in the Pacific Northwest are concerned. After already successfully starting up the Arizona & California and California Northern railroads, the ParkSierra group ventured into the Northwest with their purchase of the former BNSF (nee Northern Pacific) line between Centralia and Grays Harbor, WA (as well as the branch between Elma and Shelton, WA and on north to the naval base at Bremerton) in the summer of 1997. In 2002, ParkSierra Group was purchased by Rail America and the Puget Sound & Pacific as well as the California Northern and Arizona & California were brought into the Rail America fold.

Traffic, like other shortlines in the Pacific Northwest, consists of about what you'd expect- like forestry products. Of course, with the line also serving the Naval base at Bremerton, there's also a touch of the unexpected, like garbage, munitions and Trident missile insertion tubes.

And like other Rail America operations, over time this would mean an influx of power from other, more distant Rail America lines. With the leaves changing on this sunny October 2010 afternoon, railpictures.net contributor Joel Hawthorn caught Puget Sound & Pacific GP38 #3802- still in its ParkSierra paint scheme- rounding the curve and in charge of seven units with the Shelton-Bangor Turn, including power from the Florida East Coast and Dallas, Garland and Northeastern (still in Norfolk Southern paint). The heavier grades north of Shelton require additional power.