Photo of the Week: 3/23/2012

A while ago, I mentioned that I rarely see trains on the Hillsboro Branch, out of Nashua, and I would love to railfan the line sometime. Recently, however, I was driving around town and happened to see a train on the Hillsboro Branch. Armed with my camera and some free time, I followed it back to Nashua Yard. I still didn't get to railfan much beyond what I talked about last time, but at least the train was more than just a light engine!

Here the train is pictured crossing Main Street in Nashua. Most of the crossings on this line are not protected, and someone has to get out of the cab and wave a red flag at all the crossings. Most people still drive through the crossing anyway, until the train blocks their way.

The locomotive is a GP40 painted for Pan Am Railways, the operator of the line. It has B&M reporting marks, but it is not an ex-Boston & Maine engine. Boston & Maine had a small fleet of GP40-2s, numbered 300-317, but Guilford, Pan Am's predecessor, sold those off many years ago. These GP40s came from Conrail, originally purchased by Penn Central for the Boston & Albany line, B&M's direct competitor across Massachusetts.

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