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.

Iron Horse Roundup For August/September 2013

Arkansas & Missouri SD70ACe #71 is seen crossing Arkansas route 127 at Garfield, AR with a northbound Monett turn on September 23rd, 2013. Michael Harding photo

ARKANSAS- The formerly all-ALCo Arkansas and Missouri has acquired a trio of EMD SD70ACes for use on their 139-mile ex-Frisco line between Ft Smith, AR and Monett, MO. A&M #70, #71 and #72 were released from Progress Rail's Mayfield, KY paint shop in September sporting the new Arkansas and Missouri livery which included larger, more prominent lettering on the sides of the burly EMD's [and immediately reminded some viewers of the fictional Allegheny & West Virginia from the 2010 movie 'Unstoppable'- NANESB!].

The Arkansas & Missouri is the latest US shortline or regional to purchase new EMD power. In 2005, the Montana Rail Link took delivery of 16 new SD70ACEs from EMD while in 2008, the Iowa Interstate took delivery of fourteen new GE ES44AC 'GEVO' units. Strictly speaking, those units were brand new- the trio of SD70ACes that A&M had acquired had logged considerable time as EMD/Caterpillar Demonstrator units.

Even with the new purchase, the A&M plans on retaining much of their ALCo fleet for use on locals between Springdale and Ft Smith, AR.

Paducah & Louisville GP40-3 #2103 is seen heading southbound with the Vermont Railway's Bennington Turn up the grade outside of Arlington, VT on October 1st, 2013. John Cullinan photo

VERMONT- The Vermont Railway has recently taken delivery of a GP40-3 Slug/mate set, borrowed from Kentucky's Paducah & Louiville railroad for trials throughout the VTR system. While slugs are normally designed to produce additional tractive effort at lower speeds and don't even require a cab in many cases, road slugs retain the cab controls and are paired up with a 'mother' unit so they can operate at track speed.

The GP40-3 'mother' for this particular set started out life on the New York Central in 1967 and was paired with road slug #2108, which started out life as a Southern Pacific GP35. Both were rebuilt by VMV of Paducah in 2001.

In recent years, the Vermont Railway has leased SD9043MACs and Gensets from CIT leasing as well. Starting in 2010, the Vermont Railway began handling overhead movements of ethanol between the Midwest and the Motiva facility in Providence, RI via a Canadian Pacific/Vermont Rail/New England Central/Providence & Worcester routing. The initial movement required nine units and more than 24,000 horsepower to get 80 loaded cars over the summit of the Green Mountains on the former Rutland line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT. Subsequent unit ethanol trains have been broken down into two 40-car sets before being moved over the Green Mountain railroad and reassembled in Bellows Falls.

Central Montana GP9 #1809 leads a dinner train over the 1, 698 foot lone Sage Creek Trestle in Danvers, MT in June 2006. Matt Wellborn photo

MONTANA- Sidelined for more than two years, the mostly-dormant Central Montana Railroad will receive federal funding to repair a trestle that was undermined and knocked askew during a 2011 flood. The damaged trestle isolated a number of shippers on the line from the BNSF interchange at Moccasin, MT.

The loss of rail service over the last two grain harvests have cost farmers in Denton and Geraldine an estimated $1 million annually as they've had to move their harvest to elevators some 70 miles further by truck.

While the line couldn't operate freight for the last two years, it still hosts the seasonal Charlie Russell Chew Choo dinner trains based out of nearby Lewiston, MT. In September 2012, a group of railfans chartered a series of photo freights on the undamaged portion of the line, using the line's five unrebuilt GP9s, a caboose and some MofW ballast hoppers.



The line was originally built about 100 years ago by the Milwaukee Road as part of a branch from their Twin Cities to Seattle transcontinental line. However, by 1980 the bulk of the Milwaukee Road's transcontinental line was abandoned, as well as the branchlines around Lewiston. In 1985, the non-profit Central Montana was formed to operate some 63 miles of the former Milwaukee Road branch through Choteau, Fergus and Judith Basin counties as well as another 19 miles of a former Great Northern branch between Moccasin and Kingston Jct.

Santa Fe Southern GP7u #07 is seen trundling along the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe route between Santa Fe and Lamy, NM with a 'mixed freight in March 2012. James E House photo

NEW MEXICO- A shortline whose ownership once included Family Ties actor Michael Gross and was made famous by a particularly tense and dark episode of AMC's Breaking Bad is out of commission.

A message on the Santa Fe Southern website said the railway won't be operating through 2013 and hopes to resume operations by the spring of 2014. The line was also one of the few remaining in the nation to still regularly operate mixed trains [carrying both freight and paying passengers- NANESB!].



The line was also used for filming an episode of the fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed crime drama Breaking Bad in which mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White along with his partner Jesse Pinkman and ex-cop Mike Ehrmantraut orchestrate a complex heist in which thousands of gallons of methamphetamine precursor chemicals are stolen from a tank car on a stalled freight train. The episode was rated one of the best in the series by critics and the producers thanked the Santa Fe Southern for their considerable assistance in the credits.

Lousiville & Indiana GP38-2s #2003 and #2002 leads a northbound Columbus, IN to Jeffersonville, IN turn across a bridge at Sellersburg, IN in September. Photographer Joe Vittitoe points out that faded Pennsy lettering is still visible on the bridge.

INDIANA- Anacostia Pacific's Louisville & Indiana has acquired a trio of GP38s for service on their southern Indiana line between the two namesake cities.

Besides the EMDs being rebuilt, they were also painted into Pennsylvania Railroad-inspired Tuscan red at mid America Car of Kansas City, MO, joining L&I's all-EMD roster. The Pennsy heritage units arrival coincides with the announcement by Louisville & Indiana officials that they plan on spending $90 million to upgrade approximately 100 miles of rail and replace bridges along the route.

Prior to the 1994 formation of the Louisville & Indiana, the line was previously operated by Conrail, Penn Central and the Pennsylvania railroad.

Milwaukee Road #261 heads southbound on the return leg of a Duluth-Twin Cities excursion over the BNSF Hinckley sub at Askov, MN in May 2013. The trip was the first run of the #261 in more than four years.

MINNESOTA- Just a few months after the Milwaukee Road #261 made its triumphant return to the rails with a mainline excursion from its Minneapolis home to Duluth, MN, the big 4-8-4 is slated to return to the mainline during the second weekend of October.

This time, the 1944-built ALCo will hit the high iron on the BNSF Wayzata Subdivision between the Twin Cities and Willmar, MN on October 12, 2013. The total round trip will be 186 miles and will be followed up by a partial reprise of the May 11-12 excursion between the Twin Cities and the Duluth-Superior Twin Ports area over the BNSF Hinckley sub. The key difference between the May Excursion and this upcoming excursion is that the 261 will turn around at Boylston, WI south of Superior instead of navigating its way through the massive yards, crossings and over the swing bridge between Duluth and Superior.

Tickets for the excursions range from $99 to $359 and are available through the Friends of the 261 homepage.

Newly acquired and repainted Paducah and Louisville SD70ACe #4519 is seen awaiting pickup behind the VMV backshop in Paducah, KY in July. Terry Redeker photo

KENTUCKY- Apparently when they aren't sending off their 4-axle mother/road slug sets to Vermont, Four Rivers Transportation's Paducah & Louisville is in search of bigger and brawnier motive power.

The Paducah & Louisville took delivery fifteen SD70ACes from the CSX earlier this year. All units were purchased new by CSX and repainted at VMV Paducah, KY facility- quite literally in the PAL's backyard- before delivery.

CSX owns roughly 40% of the PAL's parent company- Four Rivers Transportation- and there's speculation that the units could end up in service on one of the PAL's sister railways, namely the Evansville & Western and Allegheny and Ohio. Slumping coal traffic on the CSX along with the Class one's affiliation with the parent company likely resulted in some sort of a deal on the newer units that the PAL felt was too good to pass up.

Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 'Big Boy' #4104 is seen during a special night photography session- complete with smoke- at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, CA where it has been on static display since 1961. Mike Massee photo

CALIFORNIA- The largest class of steam locomotive in the world may once again be under steam on the high iron thanks to its original owner, the Union Pacific.

In late 2012, there was speculation that the Union Pacific was scouting various museums and parks with the intent of adding one of their 4-8-8-4 ALCo Big Boys to their steam excursion fleet. This included Big Boys on display in St Louis, Cheyenne, Los Angeles, Omaha, Denver, Green Bay, WI and Scranton, PA.

By July, not only did the Union Pacific make it official that they did intend to restore a Big Boy to operating condition, they had chosen former UP #4104 which had been on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds since its 1961 retirement. The railway agreed to purchase the #4104 from the Southern California Railway & Locomotive Historical Society at the end of June with the stipulation that it be moved after the LA County Fair in late September- the delay also gives UP and the RL&HS time to figure out how to best move the slumbering behemoth from its display area to the nearby mainline.

Once out of the Pomona Fairplex, the #4104 will be moved to Cheyenne, WY for restoration. Cheyenne is also home of Union Pacific's two other operable steam locomotives; 1943-built 4-6-6-4 Challenger #3985 and 4-8-4 #844, which holds the distinction of being the only steam locomotive in the USA that was never retired by its original owner.

Most estimates have the #4104 returning to service by 2016 at the earliest. Once it does return to service, it would displace the #3985 as the world's largest operating steam locomotive. The Big Boy's were originally assigned to the Union Pacific mainline out of Cheyenne, WY.

Nebraska Northeastern SD40-3 #127 is seen leading an all EMD 5 unit lashup through Osmond, NE in May 2012. Kenny Thies photo.

NEBRASKA- In something of a reversal, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe has acquired the Nebraska Northeastern Railway- a 120 mile shortline that was formed in 1996 when the 120 mile line between South Sioux City and O'Neil, NE was sold off by none other than the BNSF.

The line served three major ethanol producers and also hauled popcorn. However, track along parts of the line are in dire need of an upgrade as speeds were restricted to 10 MPH in places and the NENE had the notable disadvantage of having only one interchange partner in South Sioux City- the BNSF. Across the Missouri River in Sioux City, IA, two additional Class 1 carriers (Union Pacific and Canadian National) and the Dakota & Iowa shortline were tantalizingly close but the NENE didn't have any trackage or haulage rights across the river to any of those carriers.

BNSF has promised shippers lower rates since the Nebraska Northeastern takeover would eliminate any interchange between the BNSF and NENE. The massive railroad can carry out much-needed trackwork more efficiently than the NENE. The Nebraska Northeastern was affiliated with the Texas, Gonzalez and Northern Railway prior to the BNSF takeover.

A Class 1 carrier reacquiring trackage that it had spun off years ago is unusual, but not completely unheard of. In 2008, Canadian National took over operations of the 311 mile New Brunswick East Coast and nearly 250 miles of mainline, branchlines and trackage rights from the affiliated Ottawa Central Railway. The NBEC acquisition came almost exactly 10 years after the Canadian National spun off the line in the Maritimes.

Burning wreckage in the immediate aftermath of the July 2013 runaway train in Lac Megantic, Quebec. Sûreté du Québec handout.

MONTREAL, MAINE & ATLANTIC- A federal judge approved a $3 million loan that would keep the beleaguered Montreal, Maine & Atlantic operating through the month of October. In August, Canadian authorities ordered the MM&A to operate their trains carrying hazardous or volatile cargo through Quebec with two man crews after the devastating train wreck and fire killed at least 47 people in the Quebec town of Lac Megantic in July.

The loan is structured as a revolving line of credit up to $3 million and may be used only as working capital, according to court documents. It will be secured by the property and tracks the railroad owns in the U.S. and Canada.

“The loan will ensure that the [MMA] and MMA Canada have adequate working capital to continue operating pending a sale of their assets,” bankruptcy trustee Robert Keach wrote in his motion seeking approval of the loan.

Eight potential suitors have expressed interest in purchasing MMA’s assets, and seven have signed nondisclosure agreements, Keach confirmed Wednesday. Gordian Group, a New York-based investment bank Keach has secured to handle the sale of MMA’s assets, is speaking with the suitors this week, according to Keach. He hopes to begin the auction by the end of November.

Keach also said that the Canadian Transportation Agency’s certificate of fitness, which expires Oct. 18, was dependent upon obtaining operating capital.

The Hermon-based railway has been using a $6 million line of credit, provided by Ohio-based Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co., to continue operating since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor and Canada on Aug. 7. Keach said Wednesday that it would continue using that cash collateral to fund operations once a new agreement is worked out with Wheeling’s attorneys.

The bankrupt railroad is slated to have their assets sold off to potential buyers in an auction slated to take place in late November or early December. As many as eight potential buyers have reportedly expressed interest, but only one- J.D. Irving's New Brunswick Southern has been identified. A refinery in St Johns, NB- also owned by the Irving Group- was the final destination of the MM&A oil train that fateful July night.


TEXAS- Dramatic video from west Texas has emerged showing a Union Pacific freight train colliding with a stalled tractor trailer at a crossing in Midland.

Officials say that a semi with a flatbed loaded with pipes was stuck by a train at the railroad crossing on County Road 1130 in Midland.

Officials say the train collided with the semi and pushed it a little over half a mile down the tracks.

cials from Union Pacific, the Department of Public Safety and Midland County Sheriff's Office all responded.

One crossing arm was damaged in the crash and 100 gallons of diesel was spilt due to the accident.

The railroad crossing will be closed until the crossing arm has been repaired.

There were no injuries to the crew and the truck driver was clear of the vehicle before the collision.

Last November, four people were killed when a Union Pacific freight train slammed into a tractor-trailer carrying a veteran's parade float in Midland, TX.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Train of Thought- 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.

Iron Horse Roundup For October 2011

Providence & Worcester B40-8W #4005 traverses the P&W Willamantic branch in Lisbon, CT pulling a joint office car special with officials from Canadian Pacific, Vermont Railway, New England Central and the P&W on October 19, 2011. Photo, Tom Nanos.

NEW ENGLAND: Some of you might recall back in late August that officials from Guilford/Pan-Am and Norfolk Southern [NYSE: NSC] observed progress on the Patriot Corridor project and using a joint office car special, inspected intermodal facilities in Ayer, MA and one under construction in Mechanicsville, NY before Hurricane Irene struck.

A second, separate office car special for officials from the Canadian Pacific [NYSE: CP], the Vermont Railway, Rail America's [NYSE: RA] New England Central and the Providence & Worcester [NASDAQ: PWX] was supposed to take place on the Green Mountain Gateway in late August as well, but was postponed indefinitely because of extensive flood damage both the Vermont Railway and New England Central sustained due to Tropical Storm Irene.

Powered by a General Electric locomotive from Providence & Worcester and with two passenger cars from the Vermont Railway in tow, the OCS got underway departing east out of Whitehall, NY and continuing on towards Bellows Falls, VT on October 19th over the recently-reopened Green Mountain Railway line which was pummeled in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. From there, it continued south over the New England Central to Willamantic, CT via Palmer, MA. At Willamantic, the train continued east over Providence & Worcester's Willamantic Branch to Plainfield, CT.

Reopened in 2007, the Willamantic branch was plagued by a series of derailments in 2010 and the FRA ruled that the line would be downgraded to 'excepted', limiting speeds on the line to 10 MPH and preventing more than 5 cars of hazardous materiel from travelling the line. At Plainfield, CT, the Willamantic Branch intersects with the P&Ws Worcester, MA to Groton, CT line and from these, the OCS headed back north into Massachusetts. Since the derailments, many of the unit ethanol trains that traverse the Green Mountain Corridor simply travel all the way south to the NECR/P&W interchange at New London, CT before continuing on to Providence via Worcester, MA.

Besides unit ethanol trains, the railroads that make up the Green Mountain Gateway hope to compete against Norfolk Southern/Pan-Am's 'Patriot Corridor' and CSX's Boston line for autorack and intermodal traffic. In 2006, the Green Mountain Gateway saw unit trains of imported coal from South Africa being offloaded in Providence, RI with a final destination of Johnson City, NY- just west of Binghamton, NY- via Canadian Pacific's former Delaware & Hudson Bridge Line for a few weeks as the power plant there was test burning various grades of coal. While there is no more unit trains of imported coal for Johnson City, the P&W does still handle unit trains of imported coal to First Light's Mt. Tom, MA power plant and Northeast Utilities [NYSE: NU] Bow, NH plant.

LIRR commuter trains meet at Huntington Station- Photo, Jospeh Meade

NEW YORK: Hundreds of Long Island Railroad Employees may have scammed New York City's MTA and the US Railroad Retirement Board out of more than $1 billion in a pension and disability fraud scheme dating back to at least the late 1990s. Eleven people, including two doctors and the former President of United Transportation Union Local 645, have been charged with the decade-long scam bilking the pension of the nation's largest commuter railroad.

Janice Fedarcyk, the head of New York’s FBI office, called it a “game where every retiree was a winner.” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the disability pension program was not designed to be “a feeding trough for the truly dishonest,” but authorities say that’s what happened.

Hundreds of LIRR employees falsely declared themselves disabled to collect more pension money from the ages of 50 to 65, when they would otherwise qualify for full benefits, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The complaint said a retired engineering manager who complained of severe hand, knee, shoulder and back pain often played tennis and golf while collecting about $105,000 yearly in combined pension and disability payments.

Another former employee said she suffered neck, shoulder and hand pain from computer work and couldn’t stand more than five minutes without leg pain. She was “surveilled shoveling heavy snow for approximately one and a half hours,” the complaint said. She gets about $108,000 a year in combined pension and disability payments.

The complaint said many workers who retired with disability benefits worked unusually high amounts of overtime in the five years before retirement because pensions are calculated based on earnings during that period. The heavy workloads often continued “right up until the very day when they and their physicians claimed they were utterly unable to continue doing their railroad jobs,” the complaint said.

The complaint also seemed to place some of the blame for the scandal on the pension system itself, saying the “exceptionally high rate of occupational disability applications for the LIRR can be attributed to the fact that the LIRR, and the LIRR alone, offers a pension to employees as young as 50 years old.” The complaint said unscrupulous employees lie about their physical condition so they can retire at an earlier age with a salary almost equal to what they got when they were working.

Three doctors, one of whom has since died, were responsible for 86 percent of the railroad’s disability applications before 2008. One doctor recommended at least 839 LIRR employees for disability from 1998 to 2008, the complaint said.

Authorities said the doctors collected $800 to $1,200 in fees from each patient as they built disability cases by prescribing unnecessary medical tests and physical therapy. They said the doctors then fabricated or grossly exaggerated medical assessments and built illness narratives to show the employees were unable to work.

The charges stem from a September 2008 investigative report in the New York Times which pointed out that nearly 90% disability attriton rate of the LIRR personnel. The claims were not just limited to engineers, conductors or track workers, either- the former deputy general counsel and claims manager were seeking disability according to the New York Times report.

The MTA claimed that it had no say-so in awarding the fraudulent disability payments and that the RRB was acting as a rubber stamp for any claim that came before it. The FBI and RRB's Inspector General have filed charges against the 11 participants in the scheme where they feel they have the strongest evidence. Since its creation in the 1930s, the RRB is the government agency that administers disability, unemployment, retirement and survivor benefits to railroad workers and their families.

Southbound Alaska Railroad freight train at Hurricane Gulch, AK- Photo, Ted Smith-Peterson

ALASKA: The Alaska Railroad broke ground on their 80 mile Delta Jct Extension at the end September by beginning construction of a bridge spanning the Tanana River in Salcha, AK.

The first phase of the project includes the construction of a 3300 ft bridge and 11,000 foot levy. The construction is expected to cause intermittent delays and congestion for the next two years (no work will be done in the dead of winter) but project managers are hoping some 75 truckloads of firewood donated to area residents will offset any inconvenience. The new extension will give the Alaska Railroad access to the US Army's Fort Wainwright as well as potential shippers in the agricultural, mining and petrochemical sectors.

New England Central Rock Train passing Winooski Gorge with Toldeo Peoria & Western GP40-2LW #4053 in the lead at Winooski, VT on November 1, 2011. Photo, Matt Powell

VERMONT: While the railroads throughout the Green Mountain state have reopened in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, the same can't be said for the state's road network. Hit particularly hard was Vermont Route 107 to the west of Bethel. Surging floodwaters from the nearby White River have obliterated sections of the road.

The state of Vermont is hoping to have the highway up and running by mid-December, and to that end they're enlisting the aid of the Vermont Railway and New England Central to do some of the heavy lifting.


The rocks are loaded onto the side-dump gondola cars on the Vermont Railway outside of Burlington and then handed off to the New England Central, where they turn south at Essex Jct and continue about another 50 miles over the newly reopened former Central Vermont mainline to Bethel, where they're dumped down an embankment for trucks to haul the rest of the way to the construction site.

Knoxville Locomotive Works Photo

TENNESSEE: Gulf and Ohio has officially entered the low-emissions diesel market with the unveiling of their KLW20B prototype in October. The Knoxville Locomotive Works website claims a fuel savings of up to 30%, lower rate of oil consumption and compatibility with already-existing components from EMD (the locomotive was made from the frame and carbody of a Norfolk Southern GP38).

Reportedly, the locomotive underwent testing on Gulf and Ohio's Knoxville and Holston River, which is also home to the G&O's 1890 built 2-8-0, Southern #154 that had been fully restored in 2010.

TVRM's Southern 2-8-0 Consolidated #630 leading an excursion on Norfolk Southern's Atlanta North District at Chattanooga, TN over the Labor Day weekend. Doyle Massey photo

ELSEWHERE IN TENNESSEE: Norfolk Southern's 21st Century steam program began in earnest over the Labor Day weekend with Tennessee Valley Railroad Musuem's Southern 2-8-0 #630 powering mainline excursions over the Norfolk Southern's North Atlanta District

The Labor Day excursions over the Norfolk Southern also coincided with the TVRM's 50th anniversary, which featured a number of static displays and some diesel excursions [as well as the largest Moon Pie; no foolin'- NANESB!]. Although Tropical Storm Lee put a damper on some of the celebrations, the TVRM's Labor Day railfest was well attended and the #630 is expected to power another mainline excursion over the Norfolk Southern- this time to Knoxville, TN on November 14th.

The Non-Irene Iron Horse Roundup for August/Setpetmber 2011: Genset-apalooza Edition

ARGENTINA: At least 11 people were killed and dozens more injured after a bus collided with two trains in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires last month.



CCTV cameras on the nearby station platform filmed as the disaster unfolded. Upon impact with the bus, the first train was knocked into the path of an oncoming train that was also pulling into the station.

Argentine Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said that most of the fatalities were on board the bus. The crossing that the bus used was reportedly protected by gates that lowered on a train's approach.

Arizona Eastern B39-8 #8560 leads a train north into Duncan, AZ on the former Southern Pacific Clifton Branch in April 2009. Photo- Micheal Derrick

ARIZONA: Greenwich, CT based shortline operator Genesee & Wyoming [NYSE: GWR] announced last month that it has completed the purchase of the 200+ mile Arizona Eastern from Iowa Pacific Holdings.

Arizona Eastern operates two branchlines in Arizona and New Mexico. The 130 mile line between the Southern Pacific Sunset Route in Bowie, AZ and the copper mines around Miami, Globe and Claypool, AZ was purchased from Southern Pacific in 1988. In 2008, the AZER purchased the 70 mile Clifton branch between Lordsburg, NM and the Freeport McMoRan [NYSE: FCX] mine at Morenci, AZ from Union Pacific.

The deal is worth an estimated $90.1 million and includes about 50 miles of trackage rights over Union Pacific's former SP Sunset route between Bowie, AZ and Lordsburg, NM to connect the two lines.

Nickel Plate 765 doing a photo runby on the Cuyhoga Valley Scenic Railroad at Boston Mills, OH on September 25th. Photo, Richard Thompson

OHIO: The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's restored Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 travelled to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in September to haul a series of excursions as part of the CVSR's 'Steam in the Valley' event. The steam powered excusrions were in additon to the regular slate of diesel powered excusrion trains on the CVSR. This is the second year in a row that the #765 made an appearence on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The Berkshire travelled northwest to Owosso, MI from the Akron area to haul a series of fall foliage excursions for the Michigan Steam Institute between Owosso and Alma, MI over track belonging to the Great Lakes Central. The October excursions in Michigan are reportedly to help raise funds to bring the Michigan Steam Institute's own Berkshire steam locomotive- Pere Marquette #1225- back into working order after its 15 year boiler inspection.

F Units and passenger cars from Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern make their way across the Hudson River at Stillwater, NY enroute to the former B&M yard at Mechanicsville, NY. Photo, John Bazan

PAN AM RAILWAYS: On August 22nd and 23rd, Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern operated a joint Office Car special between Ayer, MA and Mechanicville, NY to view progress on the rebuilding of the West end of the line as well as the former B&M Mechanicville yard, which is currently being rebuilt as an intemodal and auto unloading facility.

The office car special used FP9s and cars from both railways before being split up at Mohawk Yard in Schenedtady, NY with the Pan Am equipment heading back east and the Norfolk Southern equipment making its way back to home rails via Canadian Pacific and Binghamton, NY.

Freshly repainted into Boston & Maine 'heritage' colors, Pan-Am GP9 #77 is seen at the former B&M yard in E. Deerfield, MA drilling cars with Guilford-painted GP9 #72 on September 25, 2011. Photo, Justin Winiarz

OTHER PAN AM NEWS: Workers at Pan Am's Waterville, ME shops painted former Boston & Maine GP9 #77 into vintage maroon and gold colors complete with the B&M 'Minuteman' herald that adorned the railway's early diesels.

The locomotive debuted in it's 'new' colors in August and saw service on Waterville, ME-based local SAPPI-3 before being transferred to the Boston & Maine's freight yard at E. Deerfield, MA where it was put into service as the yard switcher. Reportedly, more 'Heritage' style locomotives are in the works for Pan Am, including some vintage EMD's that could be painted in Maine Central's green and orange paint scheme.

Photo, Dave Duccolo

CALIFORNIA: Stockton, CA based Central California Traction Company purchased their first genset locomotive, which was completed by the Brookville Locomotive Works division of Brookfield Equipment in August. The locomotive, designated a BL21CG is former Brookville Locomotive Works Demonstrator #259 which was rebuilt from a Maine Central GP38.

In addition to the former Brookfield demonstrator, Central California Traction currently rosters a number of SW1500s as well as a couple of 1st generation GP18s and GP7s.

Brookfield has previously built gensets for both ConnDot and MetroNorth to be used in passenger and work train service.

NBSR GP38-2 #2317 seen heading west on the former Montreal Maine & Atlantic/ Bangor & Aroostook Millinocket subdivision with Maine Northern/New Brunswick Southern Train #901 bound for Brownsville, Jct, ME on July 30, 2011. Photo, Ron Tilley

MAINE: St. John, NB-based New Brunswick Southern Railway has begun operations over nearly 230 miles of track owned by the state of Maine beginning in July. The track was the former Montreal Maine & Atlantic Millinocket subdivision between Millinocket, ME and Madawaska, ME as well as branch lines to Houlton, Limestone and Ft. Fairfield, ME. Previously the line had belonged to the Bangor and Aroostook.

In early 2010, the MM&A filed a notice of intent to abandon most of its northern trackage. The state then reached an agreement with MM&A to purchase the lines for $20 million and then subcontract operation of the lines out to a third part while MM&A would retain trackage rights over the line to serve between St. Leonard, NB to the north and Brownville Jct, ME to the south.

In April 2011, the New Brunswick Southern- part of Canadian congolmerate J.D. Irving's holdings in transportation, lumber, food processing agriculture, retail and shipbuilding- was awarded the contract to operate the former MM&A lines, with the actual transfer set to take place on July 1, 2011.

Prior to the agreement, the New Brunswick Southern already operated over 100 miles of former Canadian Pacific track in the state of Maine as the Eastern Maine Railway between the Maine Central/Guilford/Pan-Am junction at Mattawamkeag, ME and the international border at Vanceboro, ME as well as the MM&A connection in Brownsville Jct.

Parent company J.D. Irving said that they expect to hire 30 additional employees and purchase more rolling stock as a result of the agreement with the state of Maine. To accomodate the expansion, the NBSR also purchased a pair of former Union Pacific GP38-2s that arrived in July


OREGON: The former Southern Pacific branchline between Eugene and Coos Bay, OR has been reopened and is seeing limited freight service as the Coos Bay Rail Link ran the first through train over the line in nearly four years.

Rail America's Central Oregon & Pacific last operated over the line in September 2007, electing to shut down most of the branch west of Eugene due to at least nine aging tunnels that would cost an estimated $7 million to repair. A month later, the Port of Coos Bay filed a $15 million suit against Rail America saying that they failed to provide the required 180 day notice prior to shutdown. In late 2008, the surface transportation board ordered Rail America to sell the line to the Port of Coos Bay for $16 million. Since then, contractors have gone to work replacing washouts, strengthening tunnels and inspecting trestles and crossings. In April 2011, it was announced that Arizona-based ARG Trains would handle the railway operations of the 133 mile line.

The first revenue Coos Bay Rail Link train departed Eugene on October 11th with a single SW1200 and dozen centerbeam flatcars, arriving in Coos Bay the following day.

MPI GP15D Genset #1509 and GP20D #2009 are seen waiting to enter yard limits in Rutland, VT with a local freight on August 10, 2011. Photo, Kevin Burkholder

VERMONT: The Vermont Railway began testing a pair of MPI Gensets in early August. The two locomotives- a 1500 HP GP15D and 2000 HP GP20D- were scheduled for three months of testing and began service as a pair on the Rutland to Florence, VT local their first week.

At around the same time, the VRS has started the long-term lease of two former Rail America GP38-3s- numbered 3801 and 3803.

Iowa Interstate 2-10-2 QJ steam locomotive #6988 seen running around the wye at Bureau, IL on September 9, 2011. Photo, Erik Rasmussen

IOWA INTERSTATE: Just because Trainfest 2011 is over and done with doesn't mean that the Iowa Interstate was finished with steam for the year. On the weekend of September 9-11, the town of Geneseo, IL- just east of Rock Island, IL on Iowa Interstate's former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific line- was home to the 5th annual 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'.

Besides vintage aircraft and automobiles, the Iowa Interstate provided the trains by having Chinese built 2-10-2 QJ class steam locomotive #6988 on display along with a switcher from Patriot Renewable Fuels. The #6988 also powered short excursions out of Geneseo with Iowa Interstate coaches.

Iowa Interstate ES44AC #513 is seen leading detoured freight BICB (BI = Indiana Harbor Belt Rail Yard at Blue Island, IL; CB = Council Bluffs, IA) off IAIS rails in Peoria Heights, IL on October 9, 2011. Photo- Craig McGregor

OTHER IOWA INTERSTATE NEWS: A derailment in Tuskwila, IL on October 7th forced the detour of Iowa Interstate's daily Chicago-Council Bluffs, IA (and its eastbound counterpart) BICB/CBBI by way of Peoria, IL and then west to Colona, IL on the BNSF via Galesburg, IL.

About a half dozen cars loaded with ethanol ignited and the village of Tuskwila had to be evacuated after the derailment in the early morning hours. Nodoby was injured in the wreck and the fire was contained by mid-morning.

The NTSB is dispatching a 6-person team to investigate the cause of the derailment.

New Genset from Tacoma Rail basking in the sun enxt to Mount Rainer Scenic's Restores Polson Logging 1922-buil Balwin on Aug 27th. Andrew Temoshek photo

WASHINGTON: Tacoma Rail has taken delivery of its first genset, an 3GS21B from National Railway Equipment. The locomotive arrived on the property in time for an open house where the 3-day old diesel was on display with Mount Ranier Scenic Railway's restored 1922-built Baldwin 2-8-2 #70, contrasting the old and the new.

[Hat tip: Steel Wheels Photography; Canadian Railway Observations; Peoria Station]

Iron Horse Roundup- Yet Another Tropical Storm Irene Cleanup Edition

New England Central detour freight MFMO (Millers Falls, MA- MOhawk Yard, Schenectady NY) preparing to head west at Pan Am's former Boston & Maine yard in East Deerfield, MA on September 8, 2011. Only a stone's throw away from the NECR interchange at Millers Falls, the train will then continue north to Whitehall, NY where it will traverse over the Vermont Railway system via Rutland and north to 'home' rails at Burlington, VT- Photo, Matt Baj

As cleanup from Irene continued throughout the Green Mountain state and elsewhere, Class 1 and regional rail carriers were scrambling to accommodate an array of detour traffic over the regions intact lines throughout the month of September.

Canadian Pacific ES44AC GEVO #8780 and a pair of former BNSF SD40-2s blast out of the East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel in Florida, MA with loaded unit ethanol train MOPW (MOhawk Yard to Providence & Worcester interchange at Gardner, MA)on September 10, 2011. The first car is actually a spacer, while the ethanol tak cars are obscured by the shadows. Photo, Matt Rooks

The flurry of activity breathed new life into obscure and long-forgotten junctions and spawned an alphabet soup of new and improvised train symbols on one railway.

Rail America's New England Central got the ball rolling on September 9th with a southbound detour train from Essex Jct, VT that consisted primarily of empty welded rail cars from the track improvement project on NECR's Roxbury and Palmer subdivisions and backlogged freight cars. The detour train (NECR gave it the symbol 323X) would traverse the western end of the Green Mountain state between Burlington and Rutland before heading west to the Canadian Pacific interchange at Whitehall, NY on the Vermont Railway's former Delaware & Hudson's Rutland branch.

Once on CP rails, the detour freight would be handed off to the Pan Am railway at Mohawk Yard just outside of Schenectady, NY. From there, the NECR detour would continue east over the former Boston & Maine Fitchburg Main to the NECR interchange at Millers Falls, MA.

At least one unit ethanol train was rerouted off VRS's Green Mountain Gateway in the wake of Irene. On September 10, Canadian Pacific handed off a 50 car loaded ethanol train to Pan Am at Mohawk Yard. From there, the train would travel as far east as Gardner, MA on the former Boston & Maine line where it was handed off to the Providence & Worcester.

Vermont Railway GP38-2 #303 leads a solid set of red EMDs north out of Crescent, NY after having just swapped cars with Pan Am freight EDSR (East Deerfield, MA to Canadian Pacific's yard at SaRatoga, NY) on September 11, 2011. The Pan Am freight picked up carloads of limestone slurry and handed over ballast cars and empties. Normally, the interchange would take place in Hoosac Falls, NY. Photo, Gary R. Schermerhorn

The B&R line between Rutland and North Bennington, VT was also damaged in the aftermath of Irene. In addition to local lumber and grain traffic, this portion of the Vermont Railway System also hosts a weekly unit limestone slurry train that is handed off to Pan Am in Hoosac Jct, NY and on to Maine from there. Interestingly, the original routing for the slurry train when it first started was over the Green Mountain gateway where it was interchanged with the Pan Am at Bellows Falls before continuing to Maine. The south end of the B&R branch was reopened in recent years to accommodate the slurry train and give the VRS and Pan Am a second interchange point.

Like the NECR detours, the VRS slurry train reached the Pan Am via Canadian Pacific at the Whitehall, NY interchange and used Vermont Railway motive power- although instead of travelling to Mohawk Yard, they apparently met with a Pan Am freight just outside of Saratoga, NY on Canadian Pacific's former D&H Bridge Line.

New England Central GP38-2 #3857 leads a mixed bag of power from other Rail America roads and leasers across the Hudson River on the former Boston & Maine west end in Mechanicsville, NY at dusk on September 16th, 2011 with symbol freight MFMO. This would be the last NECR detour train using the Pan Am routing as the Green Mountain Railway line would reopen to through traffic less than 24 hours later. Photo, John Bazan

On September 16, the Vermont Railway's Green Mountain Line re-opened to through traffic between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT. Not only did this mean that through trains could resume on the former Green Mountain Railway, but that the NECR could utilize a less circuitous detour than the Pan Am and Canadian Pacific lines through Western Massachusetts and Upstate New York while work was continuing on reopening their Roxbury Subdivision north of White River Jct, VT. Instead, NECR trains could travel from New London, CT or Palmer, MA as far north as Bellows Falls, VT before detouring over the Vermont Railway System.

Former Goderich & Exeter GP38 #3843 leads a NECR GP38-2 and Connectictut Southern B39-8 as they lean into the curve at Royalton, VT with New England Central train 323-21 on September 21, 2011. This is the first northbound through train on the former Central Vermont Roxbury Subdivision since Tropical Storm Irene struck. Photo, Kevin Burkholder

After weeks of clearing fallen trees and moving in train loads of ballast, rip rap and gravel, the NECR line north of White River Jct and south of Essex Jct, VT had been reopened to through traffic on September 21st.

Crews had been working around the clock to reopen both the VRS and NECR lines since late August. The final NECR work train reportedly ran north out of White River Jct. on September 25 with a Florida East Coast GP40-2 (ironically, with the 'Hurricane' logo on the hood) and a NECR GP38-2 followed by 9 cars of rip rap to shore up repairs made along the line.

While most of VRS's Washington County Railway line between Newport, VT and White River Jct survived Irene, the trestle across the White River itself was undercut when floodwaters twisted one of the stone piers supporting it, causing the deck to drop almost 6 feet our of alignment. Crews have erected a temporary support system and will replace the damaged piers with a concrete pillar. The bridge might be carrying trains as early as this week. Since the warped trestle isolated the WACR's Connecticut River Division from the rest of the Vermont Railway system, the WACR has been borrowing a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic B39-8 to service the line south of the MM&A interchange in Newport.

Tropical Storm Irene Aftermath Iron Horse Roundup September 6, 2011

Pan Am ballast train in Greenfield, MA en route to washout at Charlemont, MA on Aug 30th- photo Billy Wehmeyer

Hurricane Irene struck the Berkshires on Aug 28th and there was sizable washouts on Pan Am's former Boston & Maine Fitchburg Division between Ayer, MA and Mechanichsville, NY along the Deerfield River between North Adams and Shelburne, MA. With slow orders in effect for a number of locations, crews were able to get the line reopened by the evening of August 31.

Canadian Pacific's former Delaware & Hudson mainline between Albany NY and Binghamton NY suffered a number of washouts, forcing some trains to be rerouted via CSX's (suddenly ironically named) Water Level route west of Schenectady, NY all the way to Syracuse where they were redirected to Binghampton on the New York Susquehana & Western's Northern Division.

The Canadian Pacific line between Saratoga Springs and the Canadian border at Rouses Point, NY (and on to Montreal from there) suffered minimal flooding and obstruction and for the most part remained open. Besides through freight from CP Rail, the line also hosts Amtrak's Adirondack New York City to Montreal service.

After work was completed on a damaged section of track in Central Bridge, NY, Canadian Pacific resumed operations on the D&H Bridge Line between Albany and Binghaton NY on September 1.

CSX's Selkirk NY to Buffalo Water Level route was flooded, but reopened after a few days while the line along the West shore of the Hudson River experienced a number of floods, washouts and landslides. Crews reportedly had managed to get the line reopened by the early morning hours of August 30th. A CSX service bulletin dated September 3 reports that MOW and signalmen have been working to restore tracks, crossing signals and roadbed throughout affected areas in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland.

The New England Central's former Central Vermont Railway line still remains closed between White River Jct and Essex Jct, VT. Curiously, Amtrak's Vermonter service wasn't affected because passengers for north of Springfield, MA would be served by bus due to ongoing track upgrades along the New England Central since June. The NECR between Essex Jct and the Canadian National interchange in Swanton, VT to the north remains open as well as the line to the south between White River Jct and New London, CT.

Although no timetable for reopening the line between White River Jct and Essex Jct has been announced, a service bulletin dated September 2nd announced a detour train was scheduled to deliver cars to the Canadian National on September 9th.

Washout on the Vermont Railway line in Sunderland between Rutland and North Bennington, VT. Photo- Tim Stockwell

Undoubtedly the hardest hit railroad was the Vermont Railway system, with all of their lines radiating out of Rutland, VT flooded or washed out at some point along the way. The former Delaware & Hudson line between the Canadian Pacific interchange at Whitehall NY and Rutland was the first to re-open, with Amtrak's Ethan Allen resuming service on September 1. The line north between Rutland and Burlington was reopened on Aug 31, with a fuel train to Burlington, VT being the first train through.

However, things were different to the east and south of Rutland. The line south to Bennington, VT and on to the Pan-Am interchange in Hoosick Falls, NY was hit by several washouts. The Green Mountain line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT was much worse off and will likely take several weeks to repair.

Vermont's state-owned rail lines have been heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.

An inspection found that five of the state's railroad bridges have major structural damage and need major repairs before they can re-open to freight traffic.

The middle piers of one bridge on the Connecticut River line in Hartford was moved more than 6 feet by rushing floodwaters. Yesterday, a crane was sent to stabilize that bridge, and allow work crews to install temporary shoring.

The Green Mountain line and the Vermont Rail South line rail beds have also seen a number of washouts, culvert failures and erosion of the rail bed.

Freight traffic is still running between Burlington and Rutland, and the Ethan Allen Amtrak line resumed service on Saturday.

Vermont Rail Systems estimates it will be three to four weeks before freight begins moving again on the Green Mountain rail line.

It appears that the Vermont Railway has put a priority on getting the Green Mountain route open so that Canadian Pacific bridge traffic to the New England Central and Providence & Worcester can resume as well as providing a viable detour route while the New England Central line north of White River Jct. is being repaired.

Crews from Vermont Railway and contractor RJ Corman were reportedly dumping ballast and rip-rap along washed away sections of track between Rockingham, VT and Wallingford, VT using hi-rail equipped dump trucks. Structural engineers are also attempting to shore up bridges that were compromised by the flash floods.

The Washington County (a subsidiary of the Vermont Railway) line between Newport, VT and White River Jct is intact, but WACR/VTR power is 'marooned' in from the rest of the system in Bellows Falls or White River Jct. For the time being, the WACR is borrowing a B39-8 from the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic to serve customers on the line. Until the New England Central line reopens and engineers shore up the damaged bridges around White River Juntion, the only interchange is with the MM&A at Newport, VT where the line heads northwest to Farnham, Quebec.

Green Mountain Railway Alco RS-1 shoving on rear of empty ethanol tank train past Bartonsville covered bridge, April 2011.

While not part of the Vermont Railway System, the photogenic Bartonsville covered bridge (above) adjacent to Vermont Route 103 and the Green Mountain Railway was popular with railway enthusiasts and tourists. Perhaps the most iconic image of the damage Irene had wrought on the Green Mountain state, the covered bridge was captured on video being washed away by the raging torrent of the Williams River by a local resident.

Location of Bartonsville covered bridge after Irene- Both photos from Kevin Burkholder

While the bridge was insured by the village of Bartonsville for $1 million, the polity only covered the wooden structure but not the abutments which will need further repair. A fund for replacing the bridge has been set up on the Rockingham-Bellows Falls town website.

The New York, Susquehanna & Western experienced some flood damage to their right-of-way in northern New Jersey between their Little Ferry, NJ hub and Port Jervis, NY. However, there was no damage reported to the Southern Tier line between Binghampton NY and Port Jervis and their Northern Division between Binghamton and Syracuse, NY also managed to survive intact. The Susquehanna was able to resume operations on their Sparta Jct NJ-Little Ferry, NJ line by September 1.

In the Catskills, the Catskill Mountain Railway is expected to resume operations out of Mount Tremper, operating excusrions on a modified route beginning September 10. Meanwhile, just to the north, a notice on the Delaware & Ulster website announced that the railway was shut down until further notice due to flash flooding from Irene.

Over in rural Washington County NY, the 33-mile Batten Kill railroad suffered some flooding from its namesake river and fallen trees along the right of way, but suffered no washouts or damage to its bridges. While the line remained open after Tropical storm Irene passed, interchange with the Pan Am Railway at Eagle Bridge, NY was limited due to flood damage from the swollen Deerfield River that railway suffered on the line between North Adams, MA and Shelburne, MA.

Despite the damage inflicted to railroads to the immediate north and west, Canaan, CT-based Housatonic Railroad experienced minimal disruptions on their line through Westernmost Massachusetts and Connecticut from Tropical storm Irene.