Today's Train of Thought- Like a Maine-iac; Jan 21, 2014

Today's wintry Train of Thought takes us Down East to what was home to a bunch of Maine-iacs.

While Maine isn't home to any big-league sports teams, the Pine Tree State's largest city has been home to a number of minor-league affiliates such as the Portland Pirates (AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes) and Portland Sea Dogs (Eastern League Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox)- to say nothing of Maine Black Bears hockey and football. During the 1990s, when AHL franchises in Canada's Maritime provinces were leaving to go further west, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League stepped in to fill the void in cities like Moncton, Halifax, Prince Edward Island and St John's.

By the early 2000s, the QMJHL had designs on expansion south of the border and in 2003 the Sherbrooke Castors moved to Lewiston, ME- Maine's second largest city- to become the Lewiston Maineiacs. The team did fairly well during its time in Lewiston, including winning the QMJHL title in 2007 and advancing to the Memorial Cup- a three way final between the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and QMJHL- that year. However, the Maineiacs were consistently ranked in the bottom for attendance in the QMJHL and by 2009 the team was openly discussing moving to suburban Montreal. By 2010, the team had changed ownership, although attendance continued to suffer due to persistent relocation rumors. The team disbanded by the end of May 2011- although was by no means the end of hockey in Lewiston. The Androscoggin Bank Colisée is now the home of the Portland Pirates of the AHL as the ownership of the AHL and the Cumberland County, Maine are currently in a contract dispute.

Back in the halcyon days of a QMJHL presence in Lewiston, railpictures.net contributor caught Pan Am GP40 #381 leasing southbound freight RUPO [RUmford, ME to Rigby yard in POrtlnd, ME] over the Androscroggin River between Lewiston and Auburn, ME on a chilly December 28, 2010 afternoon. Trailing the lead unit are a pair of Guilford-painted former CN GP40-2LWs hauling finished paper products from the mills up by Rumford. The train is about ⅔rds of the way to the former Maine Central yard in Portland.

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 Thought- Hop, Chip and a Jump; June 26th 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Tarheel State and gives us a glimpse of the appropriately-named Coastal Carolina railroad. The 142 mile line started out modestly in 1989, operating some 17 miles of a former Norfolk Southern branch between Pinetown and Bellhaven, NC.

The Coastal Carolina expanded considerably in 2007 by leasing the original Norfolk Southern line between Plymouth and Raleigh, NC with the yard at Chocowinty, NC serving as a hub. Traffic includes grain, plastics, woodchips, ethanol, stone, fertilizer, paper products, LPG and feed. To accommodate this massive expansion, the Coastal Carolina purchased an array of secondhand power, including former Grand Trunk Western GP9s, a Duluth Missabe & Iron Range SD9M, a former Illinois Central GP11 and ex-Santa Fe GP30s.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Nick McLean caught Coastal Carolina GP40 #95 with a cut of wood chip hopper cars that dwarf the locomotive as it heads out across the Pamlico River in Washington, NC in April 2010 with Coastal Carolina train 119 [and the trestle in turn seems to dwarf the train- NANESB!].

Train 119 no doubt has some work to do between on its run between Chocowinty to Plymouth. The lead unit started out life in 1966 and strutted its stuff for several years not too far from where McLean snapped these photos of the impressive span- the #95 was actually built for CSX predecessor Seaboard Coast Line. However, Coastal Carolina purchased the venerable EMD from the Mississippi Export rail and hastily relettered it before putting it into service.

The Coastal Carolina line through Washington hugs the banks of the Pamlico (at this point its almost considered Pamlico sound) before crossing over. The bridge was part of the original Norfolk Southern and still had a bridgetender to manually open and close the bridge and inspect the train as it rolls past at a leisurely 10 MPH.

Today's Train of Thought- Cold Turkey, March 29, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the White Mountain State and seems determined to show us that not all birds head south for the winter.

The turkey was said to have disappeared from New Hampshire back in the 19th century, but was reintroduced in the 1970s after a previous failed attempt. According to the New Hampshire Deparment of Fish and Game, the turkey population in the state is at an estimated 25,000 give or take a few toms that wander in front of freight trains.

Here, NE Rail Photo Archive Contributor Jerimiah F Cahill catches a rafter of wild turkeys waddling across the tracks ahead of Pan Am Southern local NA-1. GP40 #328 is in charge on a snowy February 17, 2009 at Merrimack, NH as future thanksgiving feasts try and clear the tracks.

Today's Train of Thought- Slurry With the Fringe On Top, Jan 7 2012

Today's Train of Thought brings us to the far southwestern corner of the Green Mountain state, although as this image shows that they aren't always as green as advertised.

Over the last couple of years, the Vermont Railway and Pan Am Railroad began intechanging via the newly-reopened interchange between North Bennington, VT and Hoosick Falls, NY. While there is a grain elevator and feed store adjacent to the small yard in North Bennington, the VRS mainly uses the interchange to forward unit trains of limestone slurry destined for the paper mills of Maine. When the slurry first began moving in dedicated trainsets, they moved via the VRS's Green Mountain line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT where they were interchanged with Pan-Am via trackage rights over New England Central south to Northfield Jct, MA. Once on 'home' rails, it would move a few miles south to the former Boston & Maine yard in East Deerfield, MA before moving east to Waterville, ME.

However, more recently the VRS simply moves the slurry south between Rutland and N. Bennington a few cars at a time over the course of about a week before being assembled into a unit train and hauled the last few miles to the junction with Pan Am's west end at Hoosick Falls.

Once on Pan Am Rails, the train is given the symbol NBWA (North Bennington to WAterville, ME) or NBED (North Bennington to East Deerfield, MA) if there's any additional freight cars to be picked up between Hoosick Falls and Waterville.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Tim Stockwell catches NBED curving along the Hoosic River and state route 346 throught Pownal, VT. Here, high hood Maine Central GP40 #374- still in Guilford grey- is in the lead as it charges eastbound on February 2010.

Today's Train of Thought- Once Again Whistling Past the Graveyard, October 25, 2011

Today's train of thought seems to have a little bit of everything- some New England Fall Color, 'classic' motive power, clear skies, branchline railroading and- fittingly enough a few days before Halloween- a graveyard.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Brian P Bennett caught up with Guilford/Pan-Am local BK-1 as it makes its way south with light power. EMDs are trundling past the Riverview Cemetery in N. Bucksport, ME in October of 2007 enroute to do some work at Bucksport on a crisp day as the leaves are approaching their peak colors.

Lettered for Guilford/Maine Central, GP40 #381 has the honors today, followed by high-hood GP35 #212. The photographer has traced the lineage of the #381 as far back as 1969 when it was built as Seaboard Coast Line #1577. The trailing #212 is slightly older, being built in May 1964 for the Nickel Plate before their October 1964 merger with Norfolk & Western.

And to the best of my knowledge, none of the headstones in the Riverview Cemetery read 'Gage Creed'.

Today's Train of Thought- Bandits of Wall Street; August 5, 2011

Following a lengthy downward spiral, the Chicago, Milwaukee St Paul & Pacific- the nation's last transcontinental railroad- ceased to exist in 1986 as the beleaguered railroad's assets were purchased and absorbed into the Soo Line's. By that point the CMStP&P- better known as the Milwaukee Road- was a rump of its former self, having abandoned the entire railroad west of Miles City, MT in 1980.

Remnants of the Milwaukee Road west of Miles City still exist in some places such as the Chehalis-Cenralia railroad in southwestern Washington state, the rather self-explanatory Tacoma Rail in Tacoma, WA, the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad north of Spokanne, the St. Marie's River in Idaho's panhandle and the Central Montana Railroad (home of the Charlie Russell Chew Choo).

Between 1980 and 1985, the Milwaukee Road struggled to make ends meet as a much smaller regional railroad, continuing to abandon or sell off underutilized trackage in the Midwest before purchase from the Soo Line. Besides the right-of-way, Soo inherited a number of the Milwaukee Road's locomotives painted in the road's distinctive orange and black. While some of these were sold off or returned to lessor, a number of them stayed in service with the Soo Line. However, the Soo shop forces weren't able to re-paint the entire former Milwaukee Road fleet and a number of the locomotives retained their distinctive orange and black paint scheme with 'SOO LINE' lettering hastily applied- locomotives with the impromptu markings were referred to as 'bandits'.

The Milwaukee's former Twin Cities to Kansas City line (by way of the Quad Cities) remained something of a backwater on the Soo system, even after Canadian Pacific gained full control of the Soo. The line- along with the Sabula, IA to Chicago line- was sold off to the Washington group in 1997 (owners of the Montana Rail Link) and operated as the I&M Rail Link until Cedar American Holdings purchased the line from the I&M in 2002. Cedar American holdings was the parent company of regional railroad Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern- the former I&M/Milwaukee Road segment was operated as the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern up until Canadian Pacific purchased both the DM&E and IC&E from Cedar American in September 2008.

This rather convoluted chain of events coming full circle is summed up rather nicely in this image snapped by railpictures.net contributor JoshD. Here, former Milwaukee Road GP40 #2066 in all its faded orange and black glory is seen with a Soo line GP38-2 trailing as it makes its way down an branchline in the middle of Wall Street in Winona, MN with local freight G77. Besides the middle-of-the-street-running trackage, G77 is something of a throwback as it also regularly features spartan cab four-axle diesels and a caboose to facilitate backing down the street- a Brach's candy factory and brewery are among the customers on this particular branch. Once finished, the train will tie down at the yard leading to the former Milwaukee Twin Cities/Kansas City line.

The date? Try July 2011- there's a reason that paint looks so faded. Hard to imagine, but some 25 years after the Milwaukee Road ceased to exist, Soo Line #2066 is still representing the fallen flag in its orange and black.

Today's Train of Thought- Wheeling and Dealing, March 30, 2011

Today's Train of Thought bids us a not so fond farewell to the month of March as we all are getting ready to turn the page on the calendar and welcome the change of seasons.

Here, railpictures.net contributor J Alex Lang and company caught a pair of Wheeling & Lake Erie GP40s running light through the snow at sunset in Castle Shannon, PA on their way back to W&LE's Rook yard in Pittsburgh on December 20, 2009.

The Rio Grande paint scheme is no accident, either- Wheeling & Lake Erie #303 started out life as GP40 #3085 in 1969. #303 is one of many Wheeling & Lake Erie locomotives that remain in Denver, Rio Grande & Western markings- including a stable of SD40T-2s.

The original W&LE had merged with the Nickel Plate Railroad a few years after WWII, while the Nickel Plate in turn merged with the Norfolk & Western in 1964. The current version of the W&LE came about when Norfolk Southern spun off much of the original trackage from both the original Wheeling & Lake Erie and one-time rival Pittsburgh & West Virginia in 1990. Interestingly, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia [AMEX: PW] ceased to exist as a railway with its 1964 merger with Norfolk & Western (now Norfolk Southern) but still functions as a Real Estate Investment Trust (or REIT), owning the land under 132 miles of track as well as various facilities and offices since 1967. Essentially, P&WV owned the land and track and leases it back to the Norfolk & Western (and then the W&LE) under a 99 year agreement.

Today's Train of Thought- Fall Colors and Fallen Flags in the Upper Peninsula

Today's train of thought is an excellent catch by railpictures.net contributor Dean Sauvola, proving that New England isn't the only place to catch some good autumn foliage.

Here, we see Wisconsin Central GP40# 3024 cross Moore Road in Bessemer, MI at a leisurely 10MPH with the White Pine local on October 11th, 2009. The Wisconsin Central ceased to exist in 2001, taken over by Canadian National. Since then, WC's fleet of older motive power has been systematically sold off or retired and replaced with newer power from Canadian National (or one of the many railways CNR has acquired this past decade like the Illinois Central; Duluth Missabe & Iron Range or British Columbia Rail). But as this shot illustrates, CN hasn't repainted all of the WC power that it retained.

It was also announced that the copper smelter at White Pine, MI which this line services anticipated shutting down in 2010. So like the leaves on the trees themselves, the 3024 and the line through the northern Michigan woods is on borrowed time.