Today's Train Of Though- The Bridges of Madison Benton County, September 24th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to a little slice of New England up in the Pacific Northwest- a shortline in the woods complete with a covered bridge.

Although the 1937 construction date makes the Harris covered bridge in Blodgett, OR is pretty new by east coast standards, the structure looks right at home in the forests of Oregon's Coastal Range. The 75 foot bridge traverses the Marys River outside of Blodgett, OR and crosses the former Southern Pacific Toledo branch, which has been operated by the Genesee & Wyoming's Portland & Western since the 1990s.

Here, railpitcures.net contributor Mike Haywood caught Portland and Western GP39-2 #2310 [formerly Santa Fe #3609- NANESB!] leading the Toledo Hauler past the Harris Bridge on Memorial Day weekend 2003. Like other railroads, the Portland & Western has a practice of naming some of their locomotives after cities and towns along the line that they serve.

Today's Train of Thought- The Nut Job, April 13, 2014

Todays' Train of Thought takes us all the way out to the Golden State and California's breadbasket in the Central Valley. Besides the area's once-considerable agricultural yield, the area around Bakersfield sits on top of the Lower Monterey Oil Shale- reportedly the second largest known deposit outside of the Bakken.

While not Hollywood, there has been plenty of drama unfolding in the Central Valley in recent years. Despite the considerable opposition to fracking by Democrats and the state's influential environmentalist groups, production is still taking place in the Bakersfield area among others and Governor Brown stopped short of an outright ban in 2013.

But even before oil was discovered in Kern County, the Central Valley was known for its agricultural production with a favorable year-round climate for growing nuts, berries, produce and citrus. However, since 2009 an unholy alliance of state and federal bureaucrats and environmental groups obtained a court order shutting irrigation in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley Deltas in order to provide a safe habitat for the Delta Smelt, crippling some of California's most productive agricultural land. The shortfall in yields for nuts like the almond has led to an increase in their value and has become a sought after commodity for organized crime, with frequent reports of entire truckloads of almonds or pistachios disappearing after being picked up by truckers with legitimate-looking paperwork.

Even with the recent decline, there's still plenty to keep the two class 1 railways that serve the Central Valley busy. Here, railpictures.net contributor Matthew Griffin caught BNSF GP39-2 #2947 still lettered for Santa Fe parked in an almond grove in Shafter, CA on the Lone Star industrial lead on March 10, 2013. Capable of being operated by remote control [that's what the red sticker on the front hood indicates- NANESB!], the Santa Fe geep- along with a cascade green Burlington Northern unit- is actually awaiting a fresh crew among the falling blossoms.

Today'sTrain of Thought- Joyeux Noël, December 21st, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us north of the border to one of the Genesee & Wyoming's first Canadian ventures- more than 280 miles of disconnected former Canadian Pacific trackage through Central Quebec. By 1997, the Canadian Pacific had moved its headquarters from Montreal to Calgary and began divesting themselves of most of their trackage east of Montreal. The majority of the former CP lines between Montreal and Nova Scotia went to shortlines and regionals such as the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, Quebec Central, Windsor and Hantsport or New Brunswick Southern.

North of the St Lawrence River, the former CP line between Laval and Quebec City (via Trois-Rivières) was purchased by the Genesee and Wyoming along with another disconnected stretch former CP lines between the Ottawa area and the northern Montreal suburb of Saint Jerome. Traffic on the QGRY includes lumber and forestry products, auto parts, propane and chemicals and power is typically painted in the orange and black colors of the GWR family. Initially power for the line was a motley assortment of hand-me-down MLW C424s from Canadian Pacific, former CN wide-cab GP40-2LWs, burly orange and black SD45s from other Genesee & Wyoming lines and SW1500 switchers.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Ken Goslett caught rebuilt QGRY GP39-2 #2302 charging westbound with a local frieght through a snowy Lachute, Quebec around sunset in January 2013. The freight is destined for a suburb of Ottawa on the Quebec side of the river. Interestingly, the #2302 is a fairly new arrival to the QGRY- it started out life as a GP40 for the Chesapeake & Ohio before being rebuilt in 1992 after it was sold the new Virginia Rail Express commuter agency based out of Washington DC and northern Virginia. By late 2012, it had rejoined a couple of other VRE GP39-2us and was sold to the QGRY.

Today's Train of Thought- Geeps and Juice, August 16th 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to the Sunshine State and upon closer examination seems to involve things that are immediately evocative of Florida, such as orange juice, water and things coming down to Florida after having spent much of their lives in the northeastern USA.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Barney Rebel caught CSX GP39-2s #4303 and #4301 trundling across the Manatee River in Bradenton, FL in February 2008 with a cut of general freight and refrigerator cars for Tropicana's Bradenton plant bringing up the rear. On one side of the lowered drawbridge is the older wooden pilings for the trestle while further back and on the other side is the newer, concrete portion of the former Seaboard Air Line span.

Bradenton is also the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates- although many other teams make their home in the Grapefruit league in nearby towns. Meanwhile the Manatee River does in fact boast a manatee population, although depending on the time of the year, they're usually found further upstream.

The white refrigerated boxcars towards the very rear of the train are part of the Tropicana fleet. For 40 years, the company has been shipping juice and concentrate some 1200 miles from the Bradenton area to New Jersey [with unit trains to Cincinnati also eventually added- NANESB!].

The two units actually started out life on Pennsylvania's Reading railroad in the mid 1970s, and while the line was folded into Conrail by 1976, the Reading's fleet of GP39-2s were sent to the Delaware & Hudson along with a handful of former Lehigh Valley GP38-2s in addition to being awarded trackage rights to Buffalo, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Washington DC. CSX predecessor Chessie System had apparently financed the Reading's purchase of the GP39-2s and when their lease came up shortly after the Canadian Pacific purchase of the D&H in the early 1990s, the former Reading units were turned over to CSX where they traversed the system in a motley assortment of colors ranging from Reading green to Guilford charcoal grey to D&H's classic 'Lightning Stripe' scheme before eventually being repainted into CSX colors.

After nearly 20 years of service, the former Reading units seem to generally congregate around the Tampa, FL area hauling aggregates, orange juice, phosphate or general freight. I would make the 'Northeast-retiree-moves-down-to-Florida' comparison, but it isn't analogous- the former Reading GP39-2s are still working on a daily basis [plus its entirely possible that CSX may end up selling them to an out-of-state shortline or regional- NANESB!].

Today's Train of Thought- Target Sighted, April 4th 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Twin Cities, which has seen a number of dramatic changes on recent years as far as both the railroad and sports landscape is concerned.

Since the last time the Twins won the World Series, there was the formation of the Twin Cities & Western, Union Pacific's acquisition of the Chicago & North Western, the merger between the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, Canadian National's acquisition of the Wisconsin Central, the formation of Progressive Rail, Inc to operate former Milwaukee Road and Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern trackage in the Twin Cities- not to mention the startup of the Hiawatha light rail line and the Northstar Commuter Rail starting in 2008.

The sports landscape has changed as well. The Minnesota Northstars moved to Dallas in 1993, but eventually a new NHL franchise was awarded and the Minnesota Wild began playing in the Twin Cities starting in 2000. Although the Vikings still play in the belegaured Metrodome, the Golden Gophers football team left the dome for TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in 2009 and the Twins began playing their home games outdoors for the first time since 1981 with their 2010 move into Target field

Started in July 1991, the Glencoe, MN-based Twin Cities & Western is actually one of the older shortline operations in the Twin Cities, purchasing more than 100 miles of former Milwaukee Road track west of the Twin Cities. Traffic includes soybeans, ethanol, lumber, molasses, coal,  frozen vegetables, aggregates and of course.....lots of grain. Motive power for the TC&W is typically a hodgepodge of Caterpillar re-engined first generation Geeps, although the line more recently acquired a pair of former Kennecott Copper GP39-2s and restored Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 Northern #261 sometimes shows up on TC&W rails for excursions and shakedown runs. The TC&W is also the parent company of the Minnesota Prairie, Red River Valley & Western and Sisseton-Millbank.

The eastern end of the TC&W connects the line with the Canadian Pacific, BNSF, Union Pacific and Canadian National- four of America's six Class I carriers. But these connections aren't without their own inherent problems. In the late 1990s, reconstruction of Minnesota Route 55 and plans for the Hiawatha light rail made the route less viable. Currently, the TC&W reaches Minneapolis by way of a temporary connection over a former Chicago Great Western line converted into a bike path with the BNSF Wayzata subdivision. To reach the Canadian Pacific interchange in St Paul, the TC&W also has to navigate its way past a number of Northstar commuter rail trains.

Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught TC&W GP39-2 #2300 leading an eastbound grain-laden freight in Minneapolis, MN on July 16, 2010. The train is making its way across the Mississippi River to the CPR yard in St Paul. In the background, a Northstar commuter train is parked beneath the overpass waiting to depart while even more prominently in the background is the Twins' new home, Target Field.

Incidentally, the Twins beat the White Sox by a 7-4 final that night in case anybody was wondering.

Today's Train of Thought- Range Rovers, September 24, 2012

Today's Train of thought takes us to the coastal range of western Oregon and Genesee & Wyoming's Portland & Western and their 75-mile Toledo district between Toledo and Albany, OR. It's safe to say that the 520-mile Portland & Western is perhaps the most diverse line in the Genesee & Wyoming family, featuring everything from scrap metal, brick, grain, chemical, aggregates and forestry products to steam-powered excursion trains and Portland's TriMet Westside Express commuter trains.

The remote, rugged former Southern Pacific branch in Western Oregon features dense forests, sharp curves and an average running speed of 10-12 MPH. Despite the sluggish economy and downturn in the timber industry, Portland and Western's Toledo Hauler keeps busy serving the Port of Toledo as well as the large Georgia Pacific mill in town. Train length out of Albany can usually range anywhere from 30-50 cars- the respectable size requires alot of horsepower, so six locomotives- including cabless slugs- aren't unusual.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Charles Bonville catches the eastbound Toledo Hauler crossing the secluded trestle over the Marys River outside of Philomath, OR in October 2009. Although it apprears as though GP39-2 #2301 is leading, the former Santa Fe locomotive is actually the trailing unit on today's consist- power is a mix of rebuilt GP40s, road slugs and GP39-2s- all in GWI industries orange and black.

Today's Train of Thought- Copper Toned, July 7, 2012

Today's Train of thought takes us to the Grand Canyon state and the 60-mile Copper Basin Railway. Since the late 19th century, copper mining has been pivotal to Arizona's economy with the completion of the Southern Pacific railway across the southern portion of the state making it economical to ship copper to market.

The extraction and refining of copper continues to be an important part of Arizona's economy, with the largest copper mine in the USA being located at Morenci in rural Greenlee county. Not surprisingly, Copper has also been big business for Arizona's railroads with some of them having been constructed for no other reason but to haul copper ore, copper concentrates and acid for leeching.

Central Arizona's Copper Basin started up in 1986 when they purchased a former Southern Pacific branchline from Magma Jct, AZ to Winkleman as well as the 7-mile former Kennecott Copper line from Ray to Ray Jct.

Since the beginning of the Copper Basin, the eastern end of the line has acted as a conveyor belt for the ASARCO's Ray mine and the smelter in Hayden, AZ. The Copper Basin also recieves ore from BHP Billiton's [NYSE- BHP] 30-mile San Manuel Arizona Railroad. In addition to shuttling ore, the Copper Basin also hauls gypsum and acid to and from the Union Pacific interchange and Magma Jct. Formerly held by Rail Management and Consulting Corp, the Copper Basin was purchased by Grupo Mexico [BMV- GMEXICOB] subsidiary ASARCO in 2006.

For more than 20 years, Copper Basin has operated primarily with a fleet of hand-me-down second generation EMDs. Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ireland caught Copper Basin railway GP39-2 #401 emerging from a short tunnel at Riverside, AZ near Ray Jct in the setting sun on September 8, 2009. From a photographger's perspective, Ireland speaks very highly of the Copper Basin due to the desert terrain the railway runs through and their very precise schedule, particularly in running the ore train.

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 Thought- All Clear(Water), Aug 31 2011

Today's Train of Thought takes us down to the Sunshine State right outside of Tampa.

Like so many individuals in Florida, CSX GP39-2 #4301 had started out life elsewhere. In this case, the four axle geep was part of an order delivered to the Reading railroad not too long before the formation of Conrail. The 20 units wound up on the Delaware and Hudson after 1976 and made their way into New England when D&H was brought into the Guilford Transportation fold, meandering anywhere from Northern Maine to Potomac Yard just outside of Washington DC.

However, that was not to last and in 1988, Guilford divested themselves of the D&H. The New York, Susquehanna & Western was appointed the designated operator until Canadian Pacific took over in 1991. Since the GP39-2s were something of oddballs as far as CP was concerned, they were sent to the CSX (CSX predecessor Chessie system helped the bankroll the Reading's purchase in the 1970s), so in a sense, the former Reading units were heading 'home'.

One key difference between CSX #4301 and the numerous people who move to Florida after a long and productive career in the Northeast is that the 4301 is still working. Here, she is seen heading down the street running trackage in the middle of East Street and past the former Seaboard Air Line Clearwater, FL depot with 30 stone hoppers on local frieght O701 in June 2003. According to photographer Mike Woodruff, the depot has since been razed.

To this day, a number of the former D&H/Reading GP39-2s have wound up in service for CSX in the Tampa area.

Today's Train of Thought- Hoosier Home Cookin', July 27 2011

Today's appetizing train of thought takes us to the Hoosier state and the Anacostia Pacific-run Louisville & Indiana shortline.

The LIRC began operation of the former Pennsylvania Railroad line between Louisville and Indianapolis in 1994 and has served as a regional bridge line between the Midwest and the Bluegrass state. Online traffic includes potash, cement, scrap metal and plastic products, but in recent years it's role as a bridge line has become increasingly prominent with the CSX and Indiana Railroad shifting traffic off the former Monon Hoosier subdivision between Chicago and Louisville in late 2009- each of them opting instead to use trackage or haulage rights over the LIRC between Indianapolis and Louisville.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Micheal Biehn caught Louisville & Indiana GP39-2 #2376 heading south with northbound the Columbus, IN- Jefferson, IN symbol freight CJ as it passes by the front steps of Lucille's Home Cookin' in Crothersville, IN on April 22, 2009.

Today's Train of Thought; October 12th 2009- Hoofing It

Today's train of thought comes to us from railpictures.net contributor Charles Bonville as Portland & Western GP39-2s #2303 and #2305 hustle a log train past some grazing cattle in Oregon's Willamette Valley, just outside of Albany in July 2008. The trailing unit is wearing the trademark colors of Porltand & Western's parent company, Genesee & Wyoming, while the lead unit is still wearing the colors of it's last owner (the Santa Fe Railroad) with a Portland & Western logo applied to the long hood.

Feel free to take a gander at the Huron Central entry in today's Iron Horse Roundup for an example of another Genesee & Wyoming railway.