Sitting in front of the rc Willey. Terrible air quality selling scout popcorn with the kids. We have a bin where you can donate popcorn to calfire. The air quality is really nforcing those donations
Back on the Lake State again this week, but 24 years in the past. In the summer of '97, the deal has been made to sell Detroit and Mackinac to LSRC. D&M's Alcos had been patched out but not repainted on an overcast afternoon when my buddy Tim and I chased this freight down the lake shore from Alpena to East Tawas. This resulted in numerous photos including these two. Note the changes in the vegetation as the train traveled south. Perhaps the saddest casualty of this development was Mackinac Mac, who no longer graced the cab sides of the Alcos. D&M had four of these C425M's- 1280. 181, 281 and 381. As many as three of them could be seen on the point of a freight or possibly an RS2 or RS3 could be thrown into the mix instead. All are gone now but are not forgotten. One interesting note is that this photo, like last week's, captured a string of covered hoppers. These are southbound empties, having already unloaded fly ash at LaFarge Cement.
Gavin Yard tower was built in 1956 as part of the principal classification yard on the Great Northern system to control its hump (the retarder controls are now at the RR Museum of Minot), but now that a modern office building has replaced the tower, it is scheduled to come down in about 2 weeks. Here's a selection of action from a nearby overpass. Durned car trouble... One of these things is not like the other.... MOW equipment (tampers, I think) leaving Gavin Yard: Northgate Local, eastbound arriving on the Gavin Yard lead:
The Coudersport & Port Allegany snowplow rests out of the heat and humidity at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania last Monday. This is probably one of the oldest snowplows left. It is designed for clearing single track railroad.
The 497 was eventually brought back into service on the Durango & Silverton but was deemed too large and heavy for that line so was traded to the Cumbres & Toltec. Durango, June 1971. On the D&S outside of Silverton. Chama, New Mexico, June, 1998.
