Railfanning in White River Junction, VT

I had been to White River Junction before as a kid, but not recently.  About two weeks ago, I was just passing through, but I had my camera on me, so I decided to stop at the station and see if anything was going on.  White River Junction was once one of New England's busiest interchange points, and today it is still a fairly busy place.  I would not call it a "hot spot," but if you go there to watch trains go by you will probably not be disappointed.  At one time, four railroad lines met there.  One line went south along the Connecticut River, through Palmer, MA.  One went southeast through Concord, NH to Boston.  One went north along the Connecticut River to Newport, VT, where it turned towards Montreal.  One went northwest across Vermont on a more direct route to Montreal.  Today, the line through NH only goes across the river to Lebanon, where it serves a few local industries, the rest of the line is a trail.  It is operated by the Concord & Claremont Railroad.  The other three lines are all still there.  The line to Newport is operated as a branch line serving local industries.  The Washington County Railroad, a subsidiary of the Vermont Rail System, operates that line.  The other two lines are operated by the New England Central Railroad, which was recently brought under the Genesee & Wyoming umbrella.  Amtrak's Vermonter operates on the NECR tracks to St. Albans, not far from the Canadian border.

I showed up at 11:00 and a crowd was gathered on the Amtrak platform.  Three SD40-2s were doing some yard switching, and kept showing up at the station and then backing into the yard again.  You can't see the yard from the station because it is around a curve and the trees block your view, but it is close enough that you can see the train as it switches the yard.  The lead engine was an SD40T-2, also known as a tunnel motor, and was painted in the Genesee & Wyoming colors.  The second engine was a patch job from Union Pacific, lettered for Connecticut Southern, and the third engine was also a patch job but for NECR, and it was an SD40-2 in an SD45 carbody.

NECR 3317, an SD40T-2 recently repainted in Genesee & Wyoming colors, leads two other SD40-2s switching the yard.  There is a crowd gathered for the southbound Amtrak train, scheduled to arrive shortly.

NECR 2680 is an SD40-2 rebuilt from an SD45.  Notice the flared radiator grills on the end of the long hood.

The yard switcher backed into the yard again, and a few minutes later, Amtrak's southbound Vermonter showed up, right on time, on its trip to Washington, DC.  The Vermonter has a cab car on the end.  It is led by the P42 from St. Albans, VT to Palmer, MA, where it switches to CSX's main line across Massachusetts to get to Springfield.  NECR and CSX cross at a diamond there, and the two main lines are connected to each other.  However, the setup there allows southbound trains from NECR to go east on CSX, but the Vermonter has to go west to get to Springfield.  So it switches over to the CSX line in Palmer and then is led by the cab car to Springfield, where it turns south to New Haven, CT.  At New Haven, the P42 is pulled off the train and an electric locomotive, either an HHP-8, an AEM-7, or a new ACS-64, pulls the train the rest of the way to Washington.

Amtrak's southbound Vermonter arrives just in time at White River Junction.

Passengers get on board the Vermonter.

The Vermonter continues on its journey to Washington.  The cab car will lead the train from Palmer, MA to New Haven, CT.

After the Vermonter left, the yard switchers pulled out of the yard and backed in one more time, and then pulled the train out and headed south behind the Vermonter.  I have no idea where the train's destination was, just that it was heading south.

3317's conductor steps off the train.

Genesee & Wyoming bought out New England Central recently.  This is NECR's new logo on the side of freshly painted 3317.

B&M 494, a 4-4-0 built by Manchester Locomotive Works in the late 19th century, watches as its modern counterpart heads south.

Once the southbound freight train left, so did I.  I got back in my car at 11:20, having only spent twenty minutes at White River Junction on an unplanned stop not expecting to see anything at all!

Sorry for the Absence

I noticed recently that my lat post was written on August 1, nearly three months ago now.  I have to apologize for that, and I feel I should explain.

Normally we don't share much from our personal lives, but shortly before I wrote that last post, I proposed to Kierra, my girlfriend of the past 4 years.  We both love fall, and wanted a fall wedding, and we got married about a week and a half ago, on October 11.  That only left us about 3 months to plan a wedding, something that most couples spend at least a year planning.  As you can imagine, we have been incredibly busy over the past few months, and I simply didn't have time to write anything on here.  In fact, I've had no time to do any railfanning or model railroading over the past few months, so I've had nothing to write about anyway.  But that is all over now, and you can expect to hear from me more often again.  I do have some photos from White River Junction, VT and from Montreal, which I visited recently, and I will share those soon, so you can look forward to that.

For those who are interested, here is a photo of us from the wedding:

A New Model Railroad

I recently began construction on a new model railroad.  I will post a track plan when I start laying track, today I will talk about the benchwork and my plans for this layout.

It is a small switching layout loosely based on the Hillsboro Branch in southern New Hampshire.  The real line is owned by Pan Am Railways, but on my layout it will be operated by a semi-fictional railroad, the Boston, Concord, and Montreal.  I will go into a more detailed description of the story behind BC&M later, and include a map of where the branch line is.

I tried a few new techniques on this model railroad that I have not tried before.  First, I used plywood instead of dimensional lumber.  I found that using 3/4 inch plywood and cutting it into the various dimensions I needed would cut my lumber cost in half.  I had just enough lumber from one sheet of plywood to build what I have built, however, I still have a small staging yard to build, and I will just buy dimensional lumber for that rather than get a whole new sheet of plywood only to use a small piece.  I found that I could not use screws to hold the plywood together, as the screws would split the plywood.  I ended up using finishing nails and wood glue to hold all the boards together.

I built most of the benchwork out of 4 inch boards, however, along the fascia, I did not want to cut holes through plywood to mount toggle switches and other fascia mounted controls.  I instead used two, 2 inch boards, spaced two inches apart, and I will mount fascia controls in a recessed pocket in the 2 inch space.  This meant a couple of changes.  Since the 2 inch boards aren't very sturdy, I put a 4 inch board 6 inches behind them to be the main support at that side of the benchwork.  It also made the whole front of the structure 6 inches wide, and I had to use 6 inch boards at either end of the fascia side to support the 2 inch boards.  If you are confused now, it will make sense when you see the photos.  The downside to this method, which I did not foresee, was that it is difficult to squeeze tools into the 6 inch space between the fascia and the support beam, but I managed to make do.

The main part of the layout is 8 feet by 6 feet, and it is L shaped.  I say the main part, because there are two extensions.  One extends behind the door to the room, giving me more space for a passing siding while not eating any otherwise usable room space.  The other extension, which I have not built yet, will be a 5 foot 3 track staging yard.  I do not have space to make it longer than that, so it will be a stub end fiddle yard.  The door extension is 6 inches wide, and the staging yard will be 8 inches wide.  The rest of the benchwork is 18 inches wide.

As you can see in the photos, there is no surface to the benchwork yet, and I have started wiring.  I will explain the details of the wiring in a later post, when it is finished.  I wanted to get as much wiring done before putting down a plywood surface, to minimize crawling underneath the layout as much as possible.  Of course, some wiring, like track feeders, will have to wait, but I am installing all bus wires and toggle switches while I have access to them from above.

Track on this layout will most likely be handlaid.  I have never handlaid track before, but I have always wanted to give it a try.  This is a small enough layout that I feel comfortable trying it out.  However, if I choose not to handlay the track, I will probably splurge and use all Peco track.

All turnouts will be powered with Tortoise slow-moving switch machines.  While this sounds like overkill for a branch line that has no signalling and all hand throw turnouts, I have been to many operating sessions where people damage hand throws and other parts of the layout when reaching across the layout.  I want to reduce the reaching across the layout as much as possible, and all turnouts will be powered to prevent this.  They will all have dummy ground throws so they look right, but the actual turnout controls will be on the fascia.

Well, without any further ado, here are some photos of the layout:

A general view of the layout, from the staging yard end (staging yard not built yet).

Another general view of the layout, seen from the door to the room.

The extension behind the door to allow a longer passing siding.

The main power outlets for the layout, where the DCC system and accessory power will all plug in.

These photos, along with all future photos of the layout, can be seen in the photo album on our Facebook page.  If you haven't liked us on Facebook yet, you are missing out!  We have all kinds of photos and extra information on there.

Passengers Say the Darndest Things!

Lately I have been working on the extra board, and in the past two weeks, I have caught a lot of passenger trains that way. While I do enjoy working on the passenger trains, I have found that sometimes passengers say things to which I do not know how to respond. Many of our summertime passengers are not from Alaska and many of questions simply are the result of being in a place with which they are unfamiliar. That is to be expected. But it also seems that at least once or twice per trip, someone asks a memorable and ridiculous question. Here are a few examples from the past couple of weeks that stand out in my mind.

Last week I was on the Glacier Discovery train, which operates daily between Anchorage, Whittier, and Grandview. The train leaves Anchorage in the morning, goes to Whittier, and then goes into Chugach National Forest, making stops in Spencer and Grandview. There is a brief layover at Grandview, and then the train heads north, going back to Whittier and ultimately returning to Anchorage in the evening. Many passengers ride the train to Whittier for scenic boat tours, and then return on either the train or a motor coach. Others ride to Spencer for rafting or hiking and then return to Anchorage via motor coach. While there are a few people who go out to Spencer or Grandview for camping, the majority of the passengers on the train return to their point of origin on the same day as they departed. In any case, the train only operates during the day.

On one of the trips I made on the Glacier Discovery last week, a gentleman approached me and asked me, "Does this train have a sleeping car?"
I replied that it did not, to which he replied, "Do any of your trains have a sleeping car?"
I responded, "No, we run all of our passenger trains during the day, so there is no need for sleeping cars."
He asked, "What about the trains that run at night?"
I was a little bewildered by that question, but said, "We don't run any passenger trains at night, they only run during the day. Just freight trains run at night."
He said, "Oh, well where do people sleep then?"
I said, "If you want to take a nap, you can do it in your seat."
I guess that was the answer he was looking for, because it seemed to satisfy his questions about railroad sleeping accommodations.

Alaska Railroad allows passengers to ride in the vestibules at the ends of cars if they wish. If there gets to be a crowd, people are asked to limit their time there so everyone gets a chance. All the entry doors on our passenger cars are Dutch doors, and we usually leave the top portion open. Because of this, the vestibules are quite popular for people taking pictures of the scenery, because it allows them to do so without glass in the way. However, when riding in the vestibule people are not supposed to lean or reach beyond the body of the car for obvious safety reasons.

On another trip on the Glacier Discovery, the day after the sleeping car interrogation, I noticed that some people were leaning way out of the side of the car ahead of the one I was in. It appeared that they were trying to photograph the locomotive in a curve, but they were hanging precariously over the side of the car. I walked up to that vestibule and spoke to them about it. They appeared to have been drinking, but they were polite and promised not to do it again. Less than a mile later, I happened to be in a position where I could see that vestibule from another car again, and noticed the same people doing the same thing, this time on the other side of the train. I walked to that vestibule again and asked them to find their seats. They protested a little but sheepishly made their way to their seats. As they were filing out of the vestibule, one of the people in the group asked, "Are you afraid we're going to try to jump off the train or something?"
I said, "No, I am more worried about you hitting something close to the tracks or losing your balance."
He then asked, "What would you do if we did jump off?"
The way he asked the question made it obvious he was just trying to get a reaction out of me by asking something ridiculous, so I replied, as stoically as I could, "Once you're off the train, you're not my responsibility."
He looked a bit surprised but did not comment.

This week, on a train chartered by Holland America Tours, one of their passengers asked me what is perhaps the vaguest question I have ever heard. Holland America has their own service staff on the trains, which does include tour guides to narrate the trip. As I was walking through the car, a man stopped me and said, "Excuse me, I just wanted to ask you about something the guide said earlier."
I knew right then that this was going to be interesting, because I had not likely been around to hear what the guide had to say in the first place, but against my better judgement I said, "Alright, I'll try to help."
He then explained, "Well, a while ago we were going through the Alaska Range and I saw this one mountain with some snow on it and it looked like it also had a glacier on it. Our guide said she didn't know the name of it and I was just wondering if you knew the name."
I expected it to be something I could not answer, but this was even more hopeless than I had anticipated. Before I could respond, he continued trying to describe the mountain, "It must have had a glacier, I mean, the glacier was pretty big. The mountain was pretty big too, but I don't think it was Denali, and I was just wondering if you knew the name."
He paused, during which time I was still blown away by the ambiguity. Once again, before I could say anything, he continued, "I know not all the mountains in Alaska have a name, but if this one does, I was just wondering if you knew. I know this might be a little bit of a stretch, but if you can help, I'd really appreciate it."
By this point I was thinking this was a lot more than a little stretch! I finally had a minute to respond and said, "I would probably have to see it to tell you what it is called."
I guess he thought he hadn't described it well enough, so he continued, "Well, it was pretty big and it was in the Alaska Range. It also had a big glacier on it, and it looked like there might have been some snow too. We just went by it a little while ago, it was on the left."
I told him again, "I'd have to see it to be able to tell you."
He then asked, "Well, do you think it even has a name?"
I said, "It probably does, most of the bigger mountains do, but I just don't know which mountain it was without seeing it."
He replied, "Oh ok, well if it has a name, do you know what it was?"
Figuring there was no other way out of this one, I simply said, "Nope!"
I guess that's all he was looking for, although I cannot imagine I gave him any more information than the tour guide already had.

Earlier today I had a man approach me and explain that he worked for New Jersey Transit. We chatted for a bit and compared notes on the electric railroading there and mountain railroading here. He suggested that I try to get on the railroad there, and told me that my seniority and vacation time would transfer. I was a little surprised by that, since it is a different railroad, but he went on to tell me that my seniority and vacation would transfer to any railroad in the country, and I should do my research. Having gone from BNSF to Alaska Railroad, I am well aware that seniority and vacation do not usually transfer from one railroad to the next. He was quite shocked when I told him that Alaska Railroad does not participate in Railroad Retirement or the United Transportation Union's "National Agreement." We tend to do our own thing up here in those cases. After he headed back to his seat, I could not help but wonder why he thought I would be interested in working for a railroad in New Jersey. We had this conversation as the train was passing through the Alaska Range and over Hurrican Gulch, and I could not help but think that by comparison, New Jersey has extremely little that appeals to me!

Sometimes the hardest part of the job is maintaining a straight face when someone says or asks something ridiculous, but it completely serious and expects a serious reply.

Deseret Power Railway

Starting in 2005, I spent several years living in Utah while I was in college. One evening, as I was surfing the internet, I came across a reference to a "Deseret Western Railway" being the only electric railroad in the state of Utah. Up to that point, I had always assumed that Utah had no electric railroads. Union Pacific and Utah Railway are the two major railroad presences in that state, and both maintain fleets of diesel locomotives. Since it was located several hours away and I did not own a car at the time, I filed it away in the back of my brain as something I would like to go check out in the future.

Photo by "Chip" of www.coloradorailfan.com

A couple of years later, I decided to go check out this electric railroad in eastern Utah. A roommate and I were bored one afternoon, and he had just bought a new car a few weeks earlier and wanted to drive. However, he complained to me that he did not know where to go. I suggested we go check out the Deseret Power Railroad and gave him a brief explanation of what exactly it is. He agreed, and off we went.

The Deseret Power Railroad was built in 1984 as the Deseret Western Railway. It is the only electric railroad in the state of Utah, and is not connected to the rest of the North American rail network. The 35-mile railroad is owned by the Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative. Coal is moved from the Deserado Mine, near Dinosaur, CO, to the Bonanza Power Unit, a 400-megawatt power plant located near Bonanza, UT. There is a loop on either end of the railroad, and no sidings or stations in between.

All trains operating on the Deseret Power Railroad are electric, using power generated by the coal it hauls. The Bonanza Power Unit generates electricity to operate the railroad and the coal mine, all of which are owned by the same company. The railroad uses seven General Electric E60C locomotives, which draw power from a 50,000 volt overhead catenary.

Our little road trip out to see the Deseret Power Railroad was fun. It was quite something to find this electric railroad line out in the middle of the desert. It does not run directly through any towns, and even the nearby ones are pretty small and isolated. It goes through an area many would call "the middle of nowhere." I took pictures at several locations online. Despite driving to several locations on the railroad, we did not see any trains.

The following photos are some that I took on that trip, the entire bunch of them can be found at the Ogden Brothers Trains Facebook page. You do not need to be a Facebook user to see the photos.

Looking east down the tracks, near the Deserado Mine.

One of the only grade crossings on the railroad, just outside the Deserado Mine.

A rural crossing near the Colorado-Utah border.

There sure is a lot of open land around this railroad!

Catenary support.

Union Pacific Big Boy #4014

Union Pacific recently purchased one of their Big Boy locomotives, a massive 4-8-8-4 articulated steam engine, from a park in southern California.  In late April and early May, the engine was moved from California to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for restoration.  Once restoration is complete, it will join the Challenger #3985 and the Northern #844 in Union Pacific's steam program.  While on the move, the Big Boy was put on display in various towns along the way, including Salt Lake City, UT and Ogden, UT.  I was still living in the area then, and I was able to go up to Ogden to see the engine on the day it was on display there.

The Big Boys were designed for Union Pacific's steep mountain grades between Ogden, UT and Green River, WY.  In modern days, when more horsepower is needed, more locomotives are put on the train and cables are connected between them so that one train crew can control all the locomotives from the lead locomotive.  In areas where helper engines are needed, these are put on the back of the train and usually have their own crew.  Steam engines, by nature, can't do that.  Every engine on a train has to have its own crew.  That is why, in steam days, you rarely saw doubleheaded trains.  Both engines had to have their own crew, and had to rely on whistle signals to let each other know what they were doing.  This was inconvenient, and Union Pacific didn't like doing it on their line between Green River and Ogden.

Thus the Big Boy was born.  UP wanted a locomotive that could pull a train on that line without help.  They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, meaning they had two sets of eight driving wheels each.  They burned coal, but the 4005 was later converted to burn oil, but the conversion was poorly designed and did not work properly.  The design has been improved since then, and like the other two engines in UP's steam program, the 4014 will be converted to burn oil.  They were built by American Locomotive Company, the first twenty (4000-4019) were built in 1941 and five more (4020-4024) were built in 1944.  They earned their nickname when a worker at the ALCo plant in Schenectady, NY wrote "Big Boy" on the front of one of the engines as it was under construction.  The nickname stuck, and today that is what everyone knows this design by.  The locomotives were not in service long, as diesels began taking over shortly after they were built, and the last one ran July 21, 1959.

Below are some of the photos I shot in Ogden, for a full album visit our facebook page.

For the rest of the photos, please visit the photo album on our facebook page.  If you have not "liked" our page, search for "Ogden Brothers Trains" on facebook and you will find it.