Today's Train of Thought- Shuffle Off to Buffalo the Hoosier State; March 14 2014

Today's Train of Thought takes us to Indiana and an impressive engineering feat for a part of the country many people assume is as flat as a pancake.

Back in the 1980s, the Illinois Central Gulf embarked on a divestment spree, getting rid of hundreds of miles of track in the Midwest and deep south to focus on their key Chicago-New Orleans route. One of these railroads got its start in 1986 is the Indiana railroad, which recently celebrated its 27th year of operation. The INRD took over operations of the 155 mile former Illinois Central line between Newton, IL to Indianapolis in 1986- which includes a number of trestles and even a tunnel southwest of Indianapolis. While other IC spinoffs from that same timeframe have folded or been absorbed by other Class I carriers, the INRD has been steadily expanding in recent years- purchasing brand new EMD SD90MACs and expanding their reach to Chicago and Louisville, KY via acquisitions and trackage rights.

Here railpictures.net contributor Pat Lynch caught Indiana Railroad SD40-2 #4001 leading symbol freight SAHW [Senate Avenue in Indianapolis to HiaWatha Yard in Jasonville, IN- NANESB!] trundling across the 970 foot Shuffle Creek Trestle along Lake Lemon in Unionville, IN on January 25th, 2011. Trailing the #4001 is another INRD SD40-2 and a Helm Leasing SD60 while nearby is the only tunnel on the Indiana Railroad- the 500 foot Unionville Tunnel.

As impressive as the Shuffle Creek Trestle is, it's not even the longest trestle on the INRD- that honor is reserved for the 2300 ft Richland Creek Trestle- known to some as the Tulip Testle. Both structures were completed in 1906.

Today's Train of Thought- Whoa Whoa Whoa Waterloo, Feb 13th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to Waterloo, IA where a flood-damaged bridge nearly proved to be a successful shortline's Waterloo- for lack of a better term.

Started up in the 1980s from an abandoned and largely unwanted portion of the bankrupt Rock Island, the Iowa Northern operates more than 160 miles in northern and central Iowa between Cedar Rapids and Manly, IA. Although it's fortunes improved considerably with the advent of the ethanol boom in the mid-2000s, it all came to a grinding halt in June 2008 after an important bridge used by the line collapsed into the Cedar River, cutting off the Iowa Northern from their southern interchange with the Union Pacific, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, Canadian National and Iowa Interstate. This necessitated lengthy detours across the DM&E and Canadian Pacific of up to 300 miles that increased fuel and labor costs for the line. To make matters even worse, the IANR didn't even own the damaged bridge- it was part of a lightly used former Chicago Great Western branchline now owned by the Union Pacific. The IANR simply exercised trackage rights over the bridge and the UP was in no hurry to repair it.

After much political wrangling, an estimated $5.9 million was secured- including more than $3 million in state and federal funding- for repairs to the collapsed bridge, which reopened in time for the 2009 harvest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Scott Marsh caught Iowa Northern GP38-2 #3802 trundling across the Cedar River into Waterloo, IA with a southbound freight destined for the IANR's Bryant Yard in the middle of a snowstorm on December 20, 2012. Trailing the #3803 are a pair of rebuilt former Amtrak F40PHs that have seen service on both the Iowa Northern and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic predecessor Canadian Atlantic.

According to the photographer, the storm was in the middle of dumping some 10-12 inches on that part of the Hawkeye State.

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Train of Thought- That Loving Feeling, Aug 30th, 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to the Land of Enchantment [or AMC's Breaking Bad- NANESB!] and features a river that has wound its way through Western lore.

In the 19th century, 'West of the Pecos' became shorthand for the Wild West. The river ran some 900 miles from what is now San Miguel county, New Mexico to Seminole Canyon and the Rio Grande in Val Verde County, TX. Late 19th century saloon-keeper, boxing promoter and justice of the peace Roy Bean at one point deemed himself "the law west of the Pecos". Despite the moniker 'Hanging Judge Roy Bean', its believed that Bean had sentenced only two defendants to be hung- and one of them escaped before the sentence could be carried out.

The Pecos also wends its way through the Permian Basin in southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico, an oil-rich portion of the Mid Continent Oil Field that's seen renewed activity thanks to new drilling techniques. The area also contains substantial potash deposits, particularly in Eddy County, NM.

Two potash mines- one east of Carlsbad, NM and one east of the town of Loving, NM- are served by the 200-mile Carlsbad division of the Southwestern Railroad [just to make things even more confusing, the Southwest has a separate division out of Demming, NM in the southwestern corner of the state- NANESB!]. The Southwest began operation on the 182 mile line between Loving and Clovis, NM that leased from BNSF beginning in October 2004. This also included two twenty mile spurs serving the respective potash mines east of Loving and Carlsbad.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Fotaugrafee caught Southwestern SD50 #5103 crossing the dry riverbed of the Pecos with train R81 in March 2013 just outside of Loving, NM. The two burly six axle EMDs are still painted for WATCo's Austin & Western and started out life on the Chicago & Northwestern. Reportedly, more SD50s from WATCo, CSX and Union Pacific have also arrived on the Southwestern's Carlsbad Division since this photo was taken.

Today's Train of Thought- Hop, Chip and a Jump; June 26th 2013

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Train of Thought- Everything Old is Newburg Again, May 3rd 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the western corner of Oregon and a work train that has the outward appearance of being about 20 years out of place.

Eager to divest themselves of low volume lines in the Pacific Northwest, Southern Pacific sold off and leased hundreds of miles of track within the state or Oregon in the early 1990s. This included one of Genesee & Wyoming's first forays into the West Coast with the Portland and Western. Prior to the sale of lines to shortlines and regionals like the Central Oregon & Pacific, Port of Tillamook Bay, Albany & Eastern and Portland & Western, the lines in western Oregon were considered a holdout for the Southern Pacific's first generation diesels- high hood GP9s and SD9s that were referred to as Cadillacs.

Even with the change of ownership on many of the former Espee lines, there was still a place for the Cadillacs on some of the newly-formed shortlines and regionals, even though they could be considered museum pieces back in the 1990s.

Here, rrpicturearchives.net contributor Matt Adams caught SD9 #4433 and SD9 #4363 lead SD45R #3603 attacking Rex Hill outside of Newburg, OR with a work train on March 28, 2007. Despite the Southern Pacific painted units more than 11 years after the Espee ceased to exist and the fact that the two Cadillacs are on a Portland & Western train, the leading two units actually belong to Lavacot Locomotive Works- although apparently the ratty condition of the scarlet and grey Espee paint scheme on the two vintage diesels is very much in character for the Southern Pacific. Without the GWR orange and black paint, this picture could easily have been taken in the 1970s or 80s- the flatcars behind the lashup- which were being used to carry ties- aren't exactly out of place in timber country, either.

According to the photographer, the 1970-built SD45R experienced electrical problems on the way up Rex Hill and had to be shut down, meaning the two 1955-built SD9s were doing the lions share of the work tacking the grade.

Interestingly, the SD9's owners were well aware of their significance and the trailing unit was renumbered and repainted into the Southern Pacific's classic 'Black Widow' scheme a few months after this photo was taken. Renumbered #5399, she reportedly continues working for Oregon shortlines and regionals like the Portland & Western and Albany & Eastern.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Train Of Though- A Parry Merry Canada Day, July 1 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the hometown of legendary Boston Bruins defenseman and NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Orr.

Located about 150 miles north of Toronto, the town of Parry Sound, ON is located along an inlet on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. For more than a century a large steel trestle remains highly visible throughout most of Parry Sound. The soaring 1,695 bridge over the Seguin River carries Canadian Pacific's transcontinental mainline. Canadian National's Bala subdivison is nearby, but Canadian National and Canadian Pacific have entered into an agreement where northbound CN and CP trains use directional runningon the CP line through town while southbound trains from bouth railways use the nearby CN line.

So despite the fact we're seeing a solitary Canadian National locomotive charging northward across the Seguin River, the trestle and rails are in fact Canadian Pacific.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Don James caught Canadian National C40-8M #2407 handling a mixed freight as it makes its way north over the Seguin Rive on an August 2010 afternoon.

Today's Train Of Thought- A Tomb With a View, May 28, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the final resting place of World War I veteran Edward Earl Price at the Hemphill Cemetary in Chicora, PA.

The Buffalo & Pittsburgh was one of the first ventures for shortline holding company Genesee and Wyoming [NYSE- GWR] outside the state of New York. Seeking to divest themselves of what they saw as a redundant and under utilized rail line, CSX sold the former Baltimore & Ohio line between Buffalo, NY and New Castle, PA to Genesee & Wyoming, who operated it as the Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The B&P saw an expansion in the 1990s when they acquired the nearby Alleghany Railroad and re-opened the dormant Indiana, PA branch.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Kevin Ashbaugh captured this image just a few miles outside the railroad's Butler, PA hub, Buffalo & Pittsburgh GP18 #926 trundles across the wooden trestle near the Hemphill cemetary with local freight BT-3 on May 29, 2007.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Train of Thought- This Ain't No Polar Express, Aug 14, 2010

With a name like Hudson Bay Railway, you'd think that today's rather convoluted train of thought might be the next best thing to The Polar Express. However, you would be off by more than 1500 miles.

In 1997, Colorado-based Omnitrax reached an agreement with the Canadian National to purchase and operate more than 800 miles of track in northern Manitoba between The Pas and the Hudson Bay port of Churchill. At the same time and about 1600 miles to the south, the newly-formed Burlington Northern-Santa Fe began divesting itself of some lesser-used branchlines in Illinois. North American RailNet would end up picking up four disconnected former BNSF lines in the Land of Lincoln. By 2005, the North American RailNet would sell their remaining American railroad properties to Omnitrax, including the Illinois Railway (formerly Illinois Railnet).

In recent years, Omnitrax has taken steps to improve capacity at the port of Churchill, including incrementally rebuilding the track between The Pas and Churchill and purchasing newer locomotives to operate over the line. Included as part of the new power is at least 10 former Union Pacific (nee Missouri Pacific) SD50s.

While the Hudson Bay SD50s were probably assigned to the Illinois Railway for test runs after being rebuilt and repainted in HBRY colors, the Omnitrax Illinois affiliate seems to have taken a liking to at least two of the 6-axle beasts as some of them have been on the property since at least late 2008.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Steve Smedley caught the matched pair of Hudson Bay SD50s #5009 and #5008 and a leased Helm GP38-2 as they crossed the Fox River in Montgomery, IL with more than 50 empty cars on their way back from BNSF's Eola yard in Aurora, IL on Mother's Day 2010.

The train is heading back to Ottawa, IL on home rails after traversing BNSF via trackage rights between Aurora and Montgomery and the cars are bound for US Silica's Ottawa plant. At Ottawa, the Illinois Railway interchanges with the CSX and Iowa Interstate while heading furhter south to Streator, IL where it interchanges with the Norfolk Southern and BNSF.

However out of place the two six axle beasts may be, they certainly do look sharp with their new green/white/gold paint scheme.

Today's Train of Thought- Courtesey the Red White & Blue

Prior to the nation's 1976 bicentennial, a number of American railways decided to mark the occasion by introducing one-of-a-kind bicentennial paint schemes. The paint scheme was usually limited to one or two engines- some of which were renumbered 1776 or 1976 for the occasion.

A number of these locomotives have since been repainted, sold, retired or scrapped since then, but there were a number of holdouts. The Alaska Railroad had a pair of F7As that remained in the bicentenial scheme well into the 1980s. Belt Railway of Chicago had one of their then-new MP15AC's delivered in a red, white & blue scheme which didn't get repainted until the late 1990s. Pennsylvania's Pittsburgh and Shawmut was apparently so taken with their bicentinial scheme that they repainted the remainder of their small fleet of SW9s in red white & blue until their 1999 takeover by Genesee & Wyoming. ALCo holdout Delaware & Hudson had a chop-nose RS3u renumbered 1976 that was stored serviceable by the time then-parent company Guilford divested themselves of the D&H. The locomotive never saw service again with the D&H, but it found a home along Pennsylvania's Northern Tier hauling freight and excursion trains for the Tioga Central- where it still remains in its bicentennial colors.

With that in mind, today's star spangled train of thought takes us to the deep south and features some red white and blue engines hard at work.

A solid set of rent-a-wreck SD40-2s- with red, white and blue Helm Leasing #6204 and #6206 leading the way- trundle across the Chattahoochee River Bridge between Phenix City, AL and Columbus, GA with Norfolk Southern stone train 67G in October 2007. Interestingly, railpictures.net contributor Casey Thomason was watching the train approach from another Time Zone as the Georgia-Alabama state line marks the boundary between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

As all-American as this scene might look, the leading pair of locomotives started out life in Canada, built at EMD's London, ON shops for BC Rail. Not too long after the SD40-2s were delivered, the BC Rail went from a two-tone green paint scheme to red white and blue up right up until their 2003 takeover by Canadian National. The CN deemed the units surplus and they were acquired by Helm Financial and subleased to railroads like Norfolk Southern, Pan Am Railways or Kansas City Southern.

Today's Train of Thought- Peace Through Superior FireHorsepower

Today's train of thought- perhaps unsurprisingly- brings us not only north of the border, but about as far north as one can get on the North American standard gauge railroad network (while Fairbanks, AK would be further north, railcars moving to and from Alaska actually have to travel by ship). Around a hundred years ago, it was determined that the Peace River region in northwestern Alberta was one of the few places remaining for settlers which could support agriculture under the dominion of Canada's land grants. The only problem was that there was no rail link to the rest of Canada, so a series of competing lines were awarded charters to build lines radiating north and west out of Edmonton. After WWI, many of these lines were struggling financially or incomplete and after a series of lease agreements with the province. Alberta would then continue to group these railroads under the Northern Alberta Railways umbrella and the line to Dawson Creek, BC would serve as the railhead to the Alaska Highway construction project following US entry into WWII. The NAR would see some postwar traffic, but it began to taper off when Pacific Great Eastern (BC Rail's predecessor) built a line into Dawson Creek from the south.

Already half owned by Canadian National, the NAR would cease to exist as a separate entity when CN purchased a controlling interest in NAR in 1981. In the late 1990s, much of the NAR lines were targeted for divestiture by the CN, only to have the separate entities (mostly operated by Rail America, Savage Rail Services and CANDO) be reacquired by 2007.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Tim Stevens caught CN SD40 #6001 leading a pair of battered GP40-2LWs as they cross a trestle in Peace River, AB with a slightly overpowered local bound for the Daishowa Paper mill west of town on August 29, 2008.

Also to the west of town is the junction where the line to Hines Creek, AB meanders west while the line to Hay River, NWT heads north. Hay River is terminus for the northernmost standard gauge line in Canada.

I thought I'd close out Canada day with this.

Today's Train of Thought- Meanwhile in Valley City; May 24, 2010

Today's train of thought brings us to an impressive span in a state that is synonymous with 'flat'. About 60 miles west of Fargo, the town of Valley City, ND also goes by the moniker 'city of bridges'.

In addition to the smaller vehicle and footbridges closer to the town center that span the winding Sheyenne River, there's the soaring former Northern Pacific Hi-Line bridge north of town. The 103 year old structure is more than 3800 feet long and 162 feet high and was built by the Northern Pacific to bypass the steep grades in and out of the valley on it's Twin Cities-Seattle mainline. In the course of traversing the valley, the bridge (now BNSF's) crosses a county highway, the Sheyenne River and the Carrington Subdivision on Canadian Pacific's former Soo Line route between the Twin Cities and the Canadian border at Portal, ND.

Above, railpictures.net contributor Bryant Kaden caught BNSF SD40-2 #6885 leading an eastbound Jamestown, ND to Fargo, ND local freight as the 2nd generation EMD locomotives come off the eastern end of the trestle on June 10, 2010. The CP Rail's Carrington Subdivision is just visible in the bottom left of the image.


As a bonus, railpictures.net contributor Jerimiah Rindahl caught the same train at the same time from a slightly different location, offering an even more panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.

I'll let you compare and contrast the two images and see which one you find more appealing.

Today's Train of Thought- The Forestry for the Trees; April 5, 2010

Today's train of thought takes us to Idaho along the remnants of one of the last transcontinental railroads- the Milwaukee Road's Pacific extension between Minneapolis, MN and Seattle, WA.

Construction began on the pacific extension in 1906 and was completed just over three years later with a Golden Spike ceremony at Garrison, MT. Because the line was built so late, the Miwaukee Road had to expand westward by acquiring smaller railroads and purchasing individual parcels of land. However, thanks to abundant hydroelectric energy and available copper from western Montana, the Milwaukee Road became a pioneer in electrification- with much of the line between Harlowtown, MT and Tacoma, WA featuring overhead wire.

But the fact that the line bypassed populated areas out west proved to be its undoing and by 1974, it had removed all signs of electrification [just in time for the OPEC-induced oil crisis! -NANESB!] and in 1979, with much of the Pacific extension suffering from deferred maintenance and 10 MPH slow orders, the Milwaukee Road decided to abandon all lines west of Terry, MT- more than 1100 miles total.

A few remnants of the Milwaukee Road Pacific extension and the branches that fed into it are in use today. Notable examples include Washington State's Pend Oreille Valley Railroad, the appropriately named Tacoma Rail, Montana's Central Montana out of Lewistown, MT and the 71-mile St Maries River Railroad in Idaho. The St. Marie's started up in 1980 on a stretch of former Milwaukee Road Pacific extension between Plummer, ID and Avery, ID (although the line to Avery was eventually condemned and shut down by the federal government).

For the first 30 years, the line was owned and operated by the Potlatch Corporation. However, in 2010 the line was sold to the Williams Group out of Missouri- which operates another railway (the Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain) further South. Like many other railways, the Saint Maries River found themselves a reliable workhorse in EMD's GP9, which had been with them since the beginning- albeit in a chopped hood variation.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Matt Adams catches GP9s #102 and #101 trundling across the spindly trestle at Lake Benewah, ID with 9 cars bound for the Union Pacific itnerchange at Plummer in July 2008. Not surprisingly, the primary source of traffic for the line is lumber and forestry products. Interestingly, both the track and locomotives come from the Milwaukee Road.

The St Maries also occasionally uses a couple of former MILW cabooses to assist in lengthy backup moves.

Today's Train of Thought- Amber Cars of Grain; Aug 7, 2010

Today's train of thought takes us to the land of Warren Buffet, the College World Series and lots and lots of agriculture.

Omnitrax, like Rail America or WATCo, operates a number of smaller, disconnected shortline and regional railroads throughout the USA and Canada. Among those is the 550 mile Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railway, which operates three disconnected lines in western Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. Not surprisingly, much of their traffic base includes corn and wheat- although they also serve the Gerald Gentleman coal-fired power plant just outside of Sutherland, NE (somewhat surprisingly, ethanol apparently isn't a major traffic source- just grain in it's less refined form).

Here, railpictures.net contributor Craig Walker caught Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railway GP30M# 5 heading across a small trestle at Marion, NE on its way to the end of the branch at St. Francis, KS under wide open skies on a sunny May 2008 day. The GP30 started life on the Baltimore & Ohio before being rebuilt and was retired by successor CSX transportation and purchased secondhand by Omnitrax.

Today's Train of Thought Sure Does Suck- June 25, 2010

Actually, I think this picture by railpictures.net contributor Tom McNair has alot going for it in terms of composition and activity.

But having said that, it still sucks. Allow me to explain- take a close look at that one-car train on the bridge. That's an Iowa Interstate Maintenance of Way special, and on the flatcar behind the IAIS GP38-2 is a vacuum truck being used to clean up the right of way along the Government Bridge, linking Rock Island, IL with Davenport, IA. Since much of the bridge is inaccessible to the truck, the Iowa Interstate figured it would be just as effective if it put the truck on a flatcar and towed it out across the span. Besides the rail line, the span also features a two lane roadway (visible on the lower deck) and the middle span swings out to accommodate river traffic.

Closer to us is Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Barstow Local with GP38-2 #2034 leading an impressive 6-unit lashup as it tiptoes under Government Bridge utilizing trackage rights over the Canadian Pacific/Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern. The motive power consists of former Burlington Northern and Conrail units as it makes its way south on June 24, 2010.

Today's Train of Thought- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; April 22nd 2010

The home opener for the 2010 Phillies season was right around the corner when railpictures.net contributor PRR 6755 caught a quartet of veteran EMD locomotives tiptoeing their way across west Philly with an intermodal train.

The red EMD locomotives are not following Roy Halliday down from Canada, however. This is Canadian Pacific train 164, with red and white SD40-2 #5775 on the point, a grey rent-a-wreck SD40-2 from Citi financial, another red and white CP SD40-2 and a GP38-2 sporting the newer 'golden rodent' logo bringing up the rear. Train 164 is seen in the final stretch of its journey from Montreal to Philadelphia.

Visitors from the great white North aren't so unusual in the City of Brotherly Love. Canadian Pacific inherited trackage rights into Philadelphia with their 1991 acquisition of the Delaware & Hudson over what was then Conrail. In 1996, Conrail spun off their Allentown-Scranton, PA line and sold it to the Reading & Northern. Between Allentown and Philadelphia, Canadian Pacific utilizes CSX trackage rights, which includes their high-flying former Pennsylvania Railroad Trenton Line.

Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific have a reciprocating agreement- CP trains are allowed to operate over NS between Detroit and Chicago to access CP subsidiary Soo Line as well as the D&H trackage rights into Philadelphia and Harrisburg via Binghampton, NY while Norfolk Southern trains are allowed to operate over CP's former D&H line between Binghampton and Mechanicsville, NY to interchange with Pan Am Railroad (formerly Boston & Maine) giving NS access to New England.

Today's Train of Thought- Do you Believe in Miracles? Febuary 22, 2010

Today's Train of Thought marks the 30th anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice' by taking a look at some of the railroads serving Lake Placid then and now. In 1979, the Adirondack Railway began operating over the former New York Central branch that ran from north of Utica, NY to Lake Placid, NY. NYC successor Penn Central abandoned the line in 1972, but the state of New York took possession of the right-of-way in 1975 and was re-opened in 1979 as the Adirondack Railway in part to bring visitors to and from the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.

However, keep in mind that the, like the rest of the country back then, the railway industry was in a state of turmoil in the late 70s and on through the 1980s- particularly in the Northeastern USA. Less than four years prior, the bankrupt Penn Central and Erie-Lackawana were merged with smaller, bankrupt and troubled railways like the Ann Arbor, Central Railroad of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, Reading Lines, Lehigh and Hudson River or Pennsylvania-Reading Shore Line to form the Consolidated Railway Corp- or Conrail. The beleagured Delaware & Hudson was only a few years away from being sold to Guilford Transportation for a paltry $500,000 in a short-lived and disastrous marriage and shortlines throughought the country like the Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville; Wellsville Adison and Galeton or Skaneateles Short Line were on their last legs.

But the renewed interest in opening up a route to Lake Placid to accomodate the Olympics gave one tiny corner of the nation's rail network a brief reprieve from the turmoil. This kind of made sense, since Olympic host cities like Salt Lake City, Torino, Nagano and Vancouver are served by large international airports, multiple expressways, railways or ferries. Lake Placid simply didn't have any of those some 30 years ago (and as far as I know, still doesn't)- just some two lane highways cutting through the Adirondacks and the recently re-opened branchline. To haul the passengers, the Adirondack acquired some secondhand ALCO diesels and coaches and for good measure, leased additional locomotives from Conrail and Delaware & Hudson. Here, rrpicturearchives contributor Chuck Edwards caught borrowed D&H RS3 #4075 shortly after its departure from Utica with a northbound consist in the snow at Remsen, NY on Febuary 2nd, 1980.

Sadly, the Adirondack Railway went bankrupt in 1981 and the tracks remained dormant for another decade.



However, in 1992 a group of volunteers began restoring 4 miles of right-of-way on the southern section of the line between Theandra, NY and Minehaha, NY and operating it as the Adirondack Centennial Railway in observance of the 100 year anniversary of the line's completion. The excursions proved to be very popular and in 1994, the railway was renamed the Adirondack Scenic and work began on restoring the line all the way through to the Mohwak, Adirondack & Northern interchange and operating on trackage rights to Utica's Union Station. In 2000, the northernmost 20 miles of the line were reopened, operating roundtrip excursions between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Above, railpictures.net contributor Andrew Blaszczyk caught Adirondack Scenic ALCO C424 #4243 leading it's consist westbound across the Chubb River shortly after it's departure from the Lake Placid station on the last day of August 2006. Although the entire line isn't yet up to snuff for operating passenger trains, volunteers and work crews can send ballast and MOW equipment the entire length of the line.
The Adirondack Scenic generally operates in the summertime and the right-of-way is used as a snowmobile trail in the winter. Aside from ballast for MOW purposes, there is no freight traffic to speak of on the line, although the excursions are becoming increasingly popular with canoers.