I spent the weekend in Essex, MT - at the Izaak Walton Inn - what a great place! Many many BNSF trains running right past the place within 200 feet of the front lawn. I highly recommend it! We left at 8:30pm from Wenatchee and arrived in Essex about 9:30am on the Amtrak, which was a great trip too. More about that segment later. Anyhow - I took a bunch of pictures on the trip and while we were staying there - I'll post a lot of them as time allows. But to start with - why is this? IMG_2079_Shrunk by MaxDaemon posted Aug 11, 2017 at 10:41 PM This work train has a nearly new GE loco on the front and the rear. There's also a pair of new locomotives sitting on the front of a four car string of hoppers with ballast in them, along with a caboose. And to boot, there's another apparently unused (maybe being cut in for helper duty?) pair of sparkling new GEs off to one side. So, why all the snazzy new trains instead of old broken down Santa Fe units? Does BNSF have that many spares? .
Probably. Coal business is still down from peak in the past. Are you asking why, concerning the power on both ends? It's simply to make reverse moves easy. They do need to occasionally clear the main track for other traffic. This is nicer than a backup move. There is still a two unit helper on the mountain. Sometimes even two pairs. (Symbols K-WFHWFH and/or K-ESXESX.) Out of Essex or Whitefish as needs dictate. They have tried since the early BN years to eliminate these jobs and every time attempted, it fails. So they put them back on. Modern electronics and power still cannot overcome that mountain.
This PV was on the rear of the CZ that I rode up to Glenwood Springs on. First time catching the well traveled Sierra Hotel in person.
It started life as CB&Q Dorm-Buffet-Lounge-Dome 251 "Silver Lounge". It was built for CZ service. It was rebuilt with the open end platform in '87/'88 and has been privately owned since. It was leased to the Wisconsin Central and the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic in the 2000s.
Yea, I saw the pair of helpers - they left for awhile, then came back. On the work train, it was more that they were four brand new locomotives - hardly with the paint mussed on the trucks - and there they set. Two trains, one with cranes and ties etc, and one with hoppers of ballast. They sat there the whole weekend (we arrived Saturday morning and left Monday night) hitting auto-start every 30 minutes or so. The crews must like having air conditioning and the amenities, eh? .
If they went west, it was either to Belton (West Glacier) or Whitefish. If east, they might have gone as far as Glacier Park (East Glacier), and sometimes even further. They might have simply run up the hill, to help push from Blacktail over the Summit.
Just an update that law enforcement has not yet made any arrests in the CSX Lugoff, SC derailment case of 2-1/2 weeks ago. Local news reports today that CSX is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the parties responsible for this act. I sure hope that this case is cracked. Frightening that some creep and maybe some accomplices are free out there.
For a case such as this, the potential disaster it was, I am surprised they are only offering this amount. Whoever did that needs to be locked up, and I mean yesterday.
I have always liked this photo, taken early in the morning as former McCloud 2-6-2 No. 25 was getting ready to haul a bunch of us railfans to Salmonberry on the Oregon Coast Scenic in 2013. The old smokestack in Garibaldi makes a contrast with the engine's steam plume.
The 7317 isn't that new - it's at least seven years old. Maybe it was just recently overhauled? Here it is back in 2010: http://railpictures.net/photo/321245/
<heh> I guess I think in terms of 7 years for a couple MOW locomotives as being almost brand new, plus there's almost no sign of weathering on those trucks. It just seems strange for a couple million bucks worth of new(er) locomotives to be sitting on a work train - but I think we've hashed that out now. <grin> .
Saw this heading into town, as Mom and I were returning from a short trip. A Rail America 2 unit rail grinder. Cleaning up and shutting down for the day. Had me wondeering what it was, as I'd never seen this type! Just the extra large Loram grinding unit. A look below, before spark guards were put back down. The front end. Not the best, as I shot into the sun. Opposite end had shades pulled down. Could not see inside. If not for an N Scale meeting tomorrow afternoon, I'd hunt this thing down for photos and/or video!
Just a neat old shot of Swartswood Junction (JU) in the wilds of western New Jersey. I'm uncertain of the photographer, but I'll guess the date to be in the early '60s when JU was closed. The Lehigh & New England's line (at the left) joined New York, Susquehanna & Western rails south to Hainesburg Junction where the L&NE separated to again join its own rails to cross the Delaware River and enter eastern PA. The NYS&W's line turned north to cross the Delaware on its venture into PA. Added to it all was the mighty DL&W which crossed both lines at Hainesburg high atop its arched and graceful Paulins Kill Viaduct. I hiked in to find JU in the early 80's and found it standing, but in an advanced state of decay. Sadly, nothing of the L&NE, NYS&W nor the DL&W remains in the region.
Well our part in the saga of the Pullman 6-6-4 Verdy Valley has been fulfilled. The car has finally arrived in Chandler Arizona courtesy of the Union Pacific. It acquired a little more paint in route to help preserve it on the journey. Now it is in the hands of the capable folks out there to restore the car fully.
It is sickening to me to see the damage inflicted by gutter trash taggers. Worse yet the fools who stupidly believe that crime is OK and that this is somehow "art", when it is actually destruction of private property.
