Today's Train Of Thought- Batten Down the Hatches! March 26th, 2015

With today's train of thought, we bid farewell to a particularly eventful and record-setting winter with this Christmas-card like scene in a quiet corner of upstate New York.

Interchanging with Pan-Am's former Boston & Maine Fitchburg Main at the tiny hamlet of Eagle Bridge, NY, the Batten Kill operates some 30 miles of track in rural Washington County on the ex-Delaware & Hudson 'Slatepicker' line between Eagle Bridge and Salem, NY [which used to run further north to Rutland, VT- NANESB!] as well as the former Greenwich & Johnsonville line between Greenwich and Greenwich Jct, NY.

The primary source of traffic for the Batten Kill is a feed mill around Greenwich Jct, but in recent years the line has also made some extra money storing freight cars on the seldom-used line to Salem during the economic downturn. Up until 10 years ago, the Batten Kill also offered passenger excursions and an intact-but-disused line to the eastern shore of the Hudson at Thomson from Greenwich once made it an attractive candidate for hauling unit trains of PCB contaminated sludge from the river as part of a multi-year dredging project undertaken by GE.

The railroad is best known among northeastern railfans for their historic all-ALCo roster, though. Technically the railroad owns three RS3 roadswitchers- the youngest of which is 62 years old. BKRR #605 started out life on the Lehigh and Hudson River before winding up in Vermont- first as part of the St Johnsbury and Lamoille County and then the Vermont Railway- before being sold to the Batten Kill upon its 1982 formation. The Batten Kill also inherited RS3 #4116 from predecessor Greenwich & Johnsonvlle and is still painted in the orange and black scheme. The third RS3 was also purchased secondhand from the Vermont railway and is kept as a parts supply behind the Greenwich enginehosue.

However, the Batten Kill has also been known to borrow motive power from the nearby Vermont Railway, Canadian Pacific or Pan Am if there are problems with the #605 and #4116 simultaneously or the enginehouse has been cut off from the rest of the line. Most recently, a burly Pan Am SD40-2 was brought in to help the two ALCo raodswitchers with removing more than 40 COFC spine cars that were in storage on the line in February 2015.

Here, Batten Kill #605 is seen with the tiny railroad's flanger at the Pan-Am interchange in Eagle Bridge, NY in the last rays of sunlight on Valentine's Day 2014. According to photographer Colin Buckoski, the #605 headed down with the flanger to clear the line and headed back to the feed mill in Greenwich Jct with five cars from Pan-Am later on that night.

Today's Train of Thought- Happy Australia Day! Jan 25th, 2015

Today's Train of Thought takes us (where else?) Down Under to Australia.

While railways elsewhere in Australia were something of an amalgamation of different gauges and engineering techniques [that apparently weren't brought to a single national standard until the 1980s- NANESB!] the iron-ore railroads of Western Australia's Pilbarra region operate some of the biggest trains in the world in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth.

One of the first iron-ore lines in northwestern Australia was the Hammersley Iron line between the port of Dampier and the then newly-opened Tom Price mine more than 300km inland back in 1966. Japanese manufacturers sought massive quantities of iron-ore from the Pilbarra region and in no time, 230+ car trains of iron ore began winding their way from mines in the unforgiving interior to waiting vessels in Dampier. To the east, a competing iron-ore railway called the Mount Newman Railway was under construction and by August 1969 saw the first iron-ore trains on its rails.

Much more recently, Fortescue Metals Group sought rail service their Cloud Break mine and Port Hedland some 250 miles away. Before spending more than A$2 billion on a mew line, Fortescue sought access to Cloud Break by way of obtaining trackage rights on BHP Billiton's Mt Newman line. However, that faced legal challenges and Fortescue ended up building their own iron-ore line to Port Hedland, with work completed by 2008.

Meanwhile, like railroads in the US, the other western Australia iron-ore rail lines were subject to mergers and consolidations [although unlike the boom and bust cycles in the USA, the Aussie lines have seen steady growth since opening up- NANESB!] and the original Hammersely iron line came under the control of multinational Rio Tino.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Sean McGarraghy caught Rio Tinto ES44AC #8185 on the point of a northbound ore train as it makes its way through Millstream-Chichester National Park on its way to Dampier on May 14th, 2014. These massive trains routinely exceed 230 cars and often require additional power in the middle of the train.

While on the subject of Australia, the Miss Universe pageant was on Sunday. While Miss Australia, Tegan Martin, made the final cut of 10, the grand prize was awarded to Miss Colombia.

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- Throroughbreds and Pumpkins, Oct 31st, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to a pumpkin patch rural central Pennsylvania that just happens to abut the former Pennsy mainline between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, PA. Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor Rick Erben caught Norfolk Southern C40-9W #9978 leading a motley lashup- including an SD60I, an SD40-2, a GP38-2 still in Conrail blue and a C39-8- as it leads an eastbound manifest through the quiet Juniata County village of Mexico on Oct 21st, 2010. The pumpkins in the foreground still have a few days to be scooped and made into jack-o-lanterns or pies in time for Halloween that year.

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 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- 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- Limited Commercial Interruption, August 24th, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Land of 10,000 Lakes- specifically, the gritty commercial, industrial, agricultural and transportation hub that is the Twin Cities.

In this era where seemingly every shortline, regional or industrial switching outfit is affiliated with conglomerates such as Genesee & Wyoming, WATCO or Omnitrax, a shortline operator that doesn't fall under that umbrella is something of a rare find. This is especially true of big-city terminal, transfer or switching roads such as the Minnesota Commercial. Back before there were more than six Class One rail carriers in the United States, the burdensome task of dragging cars from one classification yard to another or switching local industries along the way often fell to entities that jointly owned by the rail carriers serving a given area.

A few such examples exist today- Chicago has the Belt Railway of Chicago, St Louis has the Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis and since 1987, the Twin Cities has had the 150-mile Minnesota Commercial. Going by the MNNR abbreviation, the Minnesota Commercial was the successor to the Minnesota Transfer Railway which was at one time jointly owned by robber barons and fallen flags alike- the Northern Pacific; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Milwaukee Road; Chicago & North Western; Rock Island; Soo Line; Chicago & Great Western; Minneapolis & St Louis and Great Northern. By 1970, more than half of these railways would find themselves part of the Chicago & North Western or the newly-formed Burlington Northern. Most of the MNNR's trackage is within Hennepin county and includes numerous spurs, branches and yard tracks. By 1987, when the Minnesota Transfer was reorganized as the Minnesota Commercial Railway, the Rock Island had dissolved and the greatly-truncated Milwaukee Road had been taken over by the Soo Line.

Since the late 1990s, ownership of the MNNR has been more or less divided up between the four remaining Class 1 rail carriers that serve the Twin Cities- BNSF, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific. The MNNR interchanges with all four of those plus regional Twin Cities and Western in St Paul. The Minnesota Commercial also has something of a following among rail enthusiasts for its tendency to utilize oddball power, such as ALCos, MLWs or rebuilt GEs or EMDs. To this day, a pair of locals serving an industrial park on the north end of the MNNR reportedly utilize a pair of former Green Bay & Western ALCo RS27s.

More recently, the MNNR has moved towards adding older four and six-axle GE roadswitchers onto their roster- including the Santa Fe-rebuilt U36C, reclassified as the SF30C [other examples can be found in Brazil and Mexico- NANESB!]. And like nearby shortlines such as the Wisconsin Northern or St Croix Valley, traffic has heated up in recent years thanks to the oil and gas industry's appetite for frac sand from the upper Mississippi River valley.

Here, Minnesota Commercial SF30C #50 is seen with an MNNR MLW M630 and another 6-axle GE as it charges through the Westminster area of St Paul, MN with more than 100 gondolas of wet sand in tow on the BNSF Midway Sub on May 9th, 2012. According to photographer Brian Kays, the unit sand train also required two B23-7s as mid-train helpers as the Texas bound sand train scaled the line out of the Mississippi River Valley.

Todays' Train of Thought- Annoying Orange, August 1st, 2014

Today's Train of thought takes us to the Peach State and highlights what is sure to be a source of consternation for commuters in Georgia's second largest city and home to the US Army's Ft Benning.

The 26-mile Columbus and Chattahoochee is one of the newer railways in the Genesee & Wyoming family of shortlines and actually the second one to operating in the western Georgia city of Columbus. The line operates between Phenix City and Mahrt, AL was formed in 2012 but has trackage rights over a stretch of the former Central of Georgia line between Columbus, GA and Birmingham, AL to reach the Norfolk Southern yard in downtown Columbus.

To get the that NS yard, Columbus and Chattahoochee trains have to traverse the Chattahoochee River, which forms much of the boundary between Georgia and Alabama. Once across the river, trains for both the NS and Columbus & Chattahoochee have to traverse several blocks of street-running trackage on 9th street, sometimes snarling up traffic at rush hour in the heart of this city of more than 200,000.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Casey Thomason caught Columbus & Chattahoochee SD40-2 #3348 leading a consist on its way back to the NS yard after picking up loads from the paper mill in Mahrt, crossing the river and trundling down the middle of 9th street on September 7, 2012- just two months after the Columbus and Chattahoochee was formed.

According to the photographer, this was a relatively short train that only took up 2-3 blocks. Longer trains on the Norfolk Southern from Birmingham have to slow down for yard limits while westbound trains only gradually pick up speed, creating a rolling roadblock that leaves soldiers and civilians alike scrambling to fins an alternate route.

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- We're Not in Kansas Anymore, June 14, 2014

In honor of the 2014 World Cup, today's Train of Thought takes us not just South of the Border, but south of a couple of borders all the way down to Brazil.

Between 1957 and 1999, most of the rail network in Brazil was operated under the authority of the state controlled RFFSA. The size and scope of railroading in Brazil range from antique streetcars in Rio to some of the world's heaviest trains operating in the northeastern part of the country. Starting in the late 1990s, various lines were privatized and sold off to outfits such as MRS Logistica, Ferronorte, Ferrovia Centro Atlantica, ALL Logistica and VALE SA mining [the lions share of the lines in northern Brazil have been incorporated as part of VALE's considerable mining operations- NANESB!].

Brazil's economic growth in recent years has been so rapid that the various private operators- who have a taste of GE and EMD power- couldn't wait for new power to be built and purchased hundreds of secondhand EMD and GE locomotives from US Class 1's such as CSX, BNSF, Conrail, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Many of these locomotives were pressed into service so rapidly that a number of them were still painted in the colors of their former owners, despite being a hemisphere away.

Some of the power now in Brazil included models and rebuilds that were unique to their previous owner- such as the SFC30, which were Santa Fe U36Cs rebuilt using components from C30-7s and C39-8s in the 1980s. The SF30Cs soldiered on with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe through the time of the merger with BNSF where they were traded into GE for newer Dash Nines or returned to lessor. Sensing the trade-ins still had some mileage on them, the leasing companies began shopping the SF30C and other GE trade-ins to shortline and regional lines- the Minnesota Commercial purchased a few, but the majority ended up in South America on any number of the privatized lines.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Lucas MR caught FCA [Ferrovia Centro Atlantica- NANESB!] SF30C #4718 smoking it up along with other heavy-duty, 6-axle GEs as it leads FCA train U57 out of the yard at Canguera, Sao Paolo state on January 19, 2013. The tracks in and out of Canguera are dual gauge, meaning that both standard gauge and narrow gauge trains can operate into the yard.

Today's Train of Thought- Taken To the Woodshed, June 5th, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Buckeye State and features the regional Wheeling & Lake Erie, one of the few remaining independent regionals in the USA.

The current incarnation of the W&LE takes its name from the original Wheeling and Lake Erie which was completed in 1877 as a link between the coal fields around Wheeling, WV and the ports and steel mills along the shores of Lake Erie. After WWII, the (original) W&LE merged with the Nickel Plate, which in turn became part of the Norfolk and Western in 1964. In the early 1980s, the Norfolk & Western and Southern merged to form the Norfolk Southern.

In 1990, the Norfolk Southern divested themselves of a portions of the original W&LE line between Brewster, OH and Pittsburgh- this new iteration of the W&LE was also able to secure trackage rights over CSX's ex-Baltimore & Ohio Sand Patch line through the Alleghenies between the Pittsburgh area and Cumberland, MD- an agreement the B&O had with the original W&LE that pre-dated the formation of CSX.

By most accounts, the early 1990s were pretty lean years for the W&LE but by 1994 the company restructured its debt and acquired the Akron and Barberton Belt Railway. While some of the traffic- such as iron ore, coal, aggregates and chemicals- has been in the same since the 1990 incarnation of the W&LE, traffic has picked up thanks to increased drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale.

Here, Richard W Thompson caught Wheeling and Lake Erie SD40-2 #6348 with a stone train backing past a bright crimson shed in Bellevue, OH in August 2010. Besides being home to a number of limestone quarries, Bellevue is also home to the Mad River and Nickel Plate Railroad Museum and where rail and real-estate tycoon Henry Flagler first ventured into starting his own business in the 1850s before going on to start the Florida East Coast railroad.

Besides being used for aggregates, limestone is also used for drilling pads throughout the Utica and Marcellus Shale.

Today's Train of Thought- A Tangled Webb, May 20, 2014

Today's Train of thought takes us to the Sooner State and one of WATCO's earlier ventures in the shortline business- the 275-mile Stillwater Central.

As a state, Oklahoma is cris-crossed with the rails of numerous fallen flags such as Missouri Pacific, Katy, Santa Fe, Rock Island and the Frisco. With each line's bankruptcy or absorption into a larger railway much of the trackage either abandoned outright or spun off to smaller regional or shortline railroads such as Farm Rail, Cimarron Valley, Kiamichi Railroad, Wichita, Tillman & Jackson or the Arkansas-Oklahoma railroad.

The Stillwater Central is fairly new- although it's fairly short distance from one of WATCO's earliest shortline rail ventures, the South Kansas & Oklahoma railroad. In 1998, the state of Oklahoma owned the ex-Frisco line between Sapulpa and Midwest City, OK to Kansas-based WATCO, who formed the Stillwater Central. A few years later, the WATCO outfit entered into a lease agreement with BNSF over 120 miles of track between Wheatland and Long, OK, with trackage rights into Oklahoma City proper.

Besides agricultural products, the Stillwater Central has also been kept busy with hauling oil from the Anadarko Basin and Bakken Shale handed off by the BNSF to Oklahoma terminals and refineries in recent years, pooling BNSF power in most instances. The Stillwater Central also garnered 2010 Shortline of the Year honors from BNSF.

Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor SP Grabman caught Webb Asset Management (WAMX) SD50 #5112 leading a mixed bag of Helm Leasing and GATX SD40s as it heads eastbound with the Eagle turn at Lawton, OK in September 2008. By 2013, the #5112 left the property and was shipped to Larry's Truck and Electric in Ohio where it was stripped of usable parts. Currently the line is using mostly former Burlington Northern SD40-2s marked for Webb Asset management and some locomotives from other WATCO properties.

Today's Train of Thought- Glengarry Glencoe, May 13, 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the land of 10,000 Lakes (give or take) and features one of the Midwest's few remaining independent shortlines.

Originally built by the Hastings and Dakota Railway in the 1870s, the former Milwaukee Road line west of Minneapolis- also dubbed the Ortonville line. Prior to the 1977 abandonment of all Milwaukee Road lines west of Miles City, MY, the Ortonville line was a key line for the Milwaukee Road, linking the Midwest with the Pacific Northwest. However, the Ortonville line became redundant a few short years after Soo Line's 1985 takeover of the remnants of the Milwaukee Road when the Soo had a number of parallel lines.

In 1991, the Twin Cities & Western began operation on the Ortonville line with an assortment of former Santa Fe CF7s and ex Illinois Central GP10s [products of those railroads Cleburne, TX and Paducah, KY shops respectively- NANESB!]. By the mid 1990s, they began operating rebuilt Caterpillar Generation II locomotives that were operating the EMD locomotive's original chassis. With the expansion of Minnesota route 55 along the TC&W right of way and the Hiawatha light rail line, getting into the Twin Cities from the west was less than straightforward for the TC&W. Since the late 1990s, the TC&W has used a temporary connection along a bicycle trail in Hennepin County before operating over BNSF's Wayzata subdivision. While this was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, it remains in use as the TC&W and local transportation officials are at an impasse over how best to re-route TC&W trains out of the Minneapolis area.

Further west along the former Ortonville line, the logistics are far less complicated. Like many other towns throughout the upper Midwest, Glencoe, MN features a grain elevator adjacent to the railroad tracks that run through town.

Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor Todd Reineccius caught TC&W GP20CAT #2004 leading another GP20CAT, a GP15CAT and a GP10 from affiliated railroad Red River Valley & Western through Glencoe, MN with a short train in July 2011.

The Ortonville line also frequently plays host to Milwaukee Road #261, who can sometimes be seen returning to 'home' rails during shakedown runs or hauling excursions with original varnish from the Milwaukee's Hiawatha- but this is first and foremost a freight railroad.

Today's Train of Thought- And They're Off! May 8th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to the Bluegrass State in the leadup to the Kentucky Derby- despite the very visible presence of a steam locomotive, this shot was taken in the not too distant past.

Besides the mint juleps and Southern belles in big hats, the Kentucky Derby also brings out special excursions for the railroads that serve Louisville. CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific, RJ Corman Lines and Amtrak have all operated special trains for the sole purpose of shuttling VIPS to Churchill Downs [CP sold their former Milwaukee Road line to Louisville, KY to the Indiana Railroad a few years ago, and Amtrak stopped service to Kentucky's largest city in 2003, but Amtrak power still hauls a charter train from Chicago to Louisville for the Derby- NANESB!].

Here, railpictures.net contributor Chase Gunnoe caught RJ Corman's 2010 Kentucky Derby special steaming through West Frankfort, KY under rainy skies with a rather distinct lashup on May 1, 2010. Leading the charge is Chinese-made QJ 2-10-2 steam locomotive #2008, followed by one of RJ Corman's Railpower GenSet demonstrators and a pair of F units from My Old Kentucky Dinner Train on Corman's Bardstown line. The big Chinese QJ, which the late RJ Corman had imported from China and fired up for service on the old Louisville & Nashville 'Old Road' Line in 2008 goes by the moniker "Big Smokey"- somewhat ironic considering that the QJ is actually newer than the F-units behind it.

Corman's QJ has another 15 or so miles to go before uncoupling from the rest of the train in a siding at Christiansburg, KY. Ever since the 1990s, CSX has prohibited the operation of steam locomotives on their rails, and RJ Corman's line in Kentucky exercises trackage rights on CSX around Louisville, meaning the F units will take the passenger consist the rest of the way.

Despite the rainy and overcast weather, the Kentucky Derby went off that day and Thoroughbred Super Saver was the Derby winner.