An amusing April Fools joke from Nevada Northern. Baldwin Locomotive Works contacted them about the extended warranty on 2-8-0 #93 expiring.
An amusing April Fools joke from Nevada Northern. Baldwin Locomotive Works contacted them about the extended warranty on 2-8-0 #93 expiring.
The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington also had a pretty funny one. They said that finding 2-foot gauge equipment was just too difficult and they were tired of having to build their own cars and locomotives, so they were going to convert the entire line to standard gauge.
"The re-gauging is necessary to accommodate the increased traffic on the railroad, which will be operated as a bridge route connecting the Canadian Pacific mainline across central Maine to the currently isolated Rockland Branch. Moreover, the port of Wiscasset will be revitalized in order to relieve congestion at CP’s port in Searsport and to ship containers of organically grown lavender products from SeaLyon Farm to destinations world wide.
As part of a broader consolidation of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, a seamless railway from Canada and Wiscasset will be created all the way into Mexico. With the inclusion of the WW&F into this three-way corporate merger, the CPKC corporation will instead be known as WFCKP (which is pronounced <expletive deleted>).
Buczkowski is in negotiations with Amtrak to use the regauged WW&F as part of its “ConnectUS” plan to link Portland Maine to Greenville (via Wiscasset) and points beyond. Once completed, he is looking forward to using the new service to commute from Alna, Maine to Boston, Mass. on a regular basis. “Clearly, my personal travel patterns illustrate the need to connect the Sheepscot Valley with the rest of the US via convenient rail transportation.” It was noted that each train seat shall be equipped with a cup holder, purely for the benefit of Mr. Buczkowski.
The Museum’s historic collection of two-footers will be relocated to Monson, Maine, along the route of the 6-mile Monson Railroad. Part of this initiative will include the reactivation of the slate quarry, and the use of the narrow gauge trains (including surviving Monson locomotives 3 and 4.) Daily trains will run from Monson to a reconstructed Monson Junction - which is being rebuilt along the route of the WW&F extension from Burnham to Greenville, Maine.
“We felt that Alna was just too far out of the way from anywhere to create a sustainable operation,” remarked WW&F Marketing Director Stephen Piwowarski (the third in a series of unpronounceable surnames, not including WFCKP.) “Moving the railroad to the up-and-coming artist enclave of Monson fits well into our growth plans, and we do not anticipate any trouble running our coal burning, smoke belching locomotives in an area known for its unspoiled scenic beauty and lack of power transmission lines.”
Railroad Superintendent Jason Lamontagne did not offer comment, since his surname is somewhat easier to pronounce than Buczkowski, Lecuyer, or Piwowarski and gauges all of these developments as “stupid.” "
The WW&F did indeed purchase a standard gauge locomotive though. They bought a GE side-rod 45-tonner and had it delivered. It will not be remaining as standard gauge though. Their little 2-axle Plymouth is getting pretty worn out and overworked and they said because it's a rigid-wheelbase locomotive, it's pretty rough on the track. The plan is to convert the 45-tonner to 2-foot gauge, by mounting the traction motor for each end (a 45-tonner uses a single traction motor on each truck with the other axle connected by the side-rods) inside the body and then driving a driveshaft down to a gearbox mounted between the wheels. The result will be a locomotive that has more pulling power, which will be needed once they open the Mountain Division, and is easier on the tracks. It's not replacing any of the steam locomotives (#10 is supposed to return to operation with it's new boiler this year and #11 is progressing nicely) but will instead be used for work trains without using up boiler time on steam locomotives, as well as handling the occasional overflow train or rescuing trains in the event a steam locomotive has a failure. It should be a pretty strange-looking machine when they are done.
R&N shared more photos today of the #2102 being reunited with it's tender and looking pretty complete.
NickD said:Exiting the summit tunnel at Kellerman. Again, more of that excellent roadbed grading.
I'm pretty sure I watched an urban explorer vid about this exact tunnel last year. I'll try to find it again.
Edit: yeah, here it is.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:NickD said:Exiting the summit tunnel at Kellerman. Again, more of that excellent roadbed grading.
I'm pretty sure I watched an urban explorer vid about this exact tunnel last year. I'll try to find it again.
Edit: yeah, here it is.
That's actually a different tunnel. That was a tunnel on the Southern. The Twin Seams Mining Co. tunnel was on Mobile & Ohio trackage that was cast off when the M&O merged with the Gulf, Mobile & Northern to make the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio. This guy, who runs a channel all about adventure bikes, actually made a series of videos searching for the old M&O/Twin Seams right of way.
Also, I mentioned that Twin Seams Mining Company shut their operation down after a trestle collapsed. I failed to mention that that trestle collapsed as a train was going over it. Yeah, it was a seriously sketchy operation.
In reply to NickD :
Oh wow, I didn't realize there were 2 different abandoned lines in that area.
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
Fishtrap Tunnel was bypassed by the Southern with a new realignment, done specifically because of the flooding issues that the tunnel had.
NickD said:R&N shared more photos today of the #2102 being reunited with it's tender and looking pretty complete.
To add to this, supposedly they had a fire in the firebox yesterday, and there are planned tests scheduled sometime between Wednesday and Sunday. The plan is still for the first train that it hauls to be a freight train, but I'm sure they'll do a couple light moves just to make sure everything is okay.
A Central of Georgia 4-8-2 enters Opelika, Alabama depot with a local passenger train, while a CofG freight with a mix of motive power heads the opposite direction. The #473 has the typical styling traits of CofG power, large diameter smokebox, unusual vertical coil Elesco feedwater heater blocking out the stack, and Ross-Meehan cast pilot. The Ross-Meehan pilot was used by a lot of southern railroads, and R&N #425 is even equipped with one from her time on the GM&O.
CofG preferred to assign their road switchers with a carbody unit leading, like this pair of Geeps bracketed with EMD F-units.
Recon1342 said:
This train looks like he's not mad at me, just disappointed is all.
The southbound Seminole drifts through a cut north of Opelika. The Seminole was a joint Illinois Central/Central of Georgia/Atlantic Coast Line train that ran from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1955, a year after this photo was taken, CofG repainted the #811 and fellow E8A #812 into Illinois Central passenger colors, although they still had Central of Georgia lettering, for use on the Seminole, as well as the joint IC/CofG/FEC City Of Miami, since the CofG power often stayed on into Chicago
A mix of motive power on the head end of the freight passes a track crew at Goodwater, Alabama
Vest-pocket streamliner Man O'War crosses a high fill at Columbus, GA. An RPO and three coaches, the rear one an old clerestory roof car, are all that make up the train.
A CofG RS-3 gets a bath at Columbus, GA.
Atlanta & West Point #280 leaves Auburn, Alabama in October of '52. The A&WP owned two of these Lima-built Pacifics, the #280 and the #290, and while the #280 is long gone, the #290 still survives. It had a brief excursion career of about 3 years, was the subject of a huge legal battle between the Southern and the A&WP, starred in Fried Green Tomatoes, and is apart receiving a slow cosmetic restoration at the South East Railroad Museum.
A lanky ex-FEC 4-8-2, now belonging to the Western of Alabama, prepares to depart Auburn, Alabama. The Atlanta & West Point and the Western of Alabama were jointy operated under the West Point Route banner, with Central of Georgia, L&N, and ACL all in joint control.
The West Point Route handled the Crescent between Montgomery and Atlanta, and FP7 #503 is on approach to Opelika. Because the crossing with the Central of Georgia was not guarded, the fireman would have to climb down and flag the crossing
Andy Muller lit a fire in #2102. Test runs are definitely for later this week, but the R&N is not releasing the schedule. I predict there will be tents pitched along the right of way.
DjGreggieP said:Recon1342 said:
This train looks like he's not mad at me, just disappointed is all.
It has a bit of a Marvin the Paranoid Android expression.
You'll need to log in to post.
