50th For The Vermont Railway

If you had wandered down the m.o.w. access road into Whitehall Yard early in the morning of January 15th, you would have first spotted D&H 7303, still wearing her lightning stripe paint, directly in your line of sight coming down the road, then following the slight curve you would have spotted me, sitting in the parked Civic. D&H 7303 is a regular visitor to the yard, powering a local operating out of Whitehall during daytime into the night. Me on the other hand I don’t usually hang around yards. Once you saw me you would have likely followed my stare out the windshield to see what I was looking at,then you would have sighted my reason for being in there.VRS 311 wearing her new red & white paint and 50th anniversary markings! An ex-CN GP40-2W, 311 was the dog of the fleet until her unveiling recently as the only unit to wear the unique 50th anniversary Vermont Rail System paint scheme. Tonight was her first run on the VRS Whitehall job. For my part, having found 311 in here at night, I was trying to remember what good deed I had done in my recent past to rate such noble treatment! It isn’t every week I get to shoot not one, but two “one of a kind” locomotives during the week at night! Earlier the NS DL&W Heritage unit and now the VRS 311. Soon my attention turned to a more fruitful purpose, listening to the D&H North End on the car scanner. CP 253 had just left northbound and 609 was pulling in to deliver the gas train cars 311 and sisters were waiting on. 253 is told they will meet two southbounds at Howards, around one and a half hours each way from here. Suddenly it dawns on me, there is a window of time coming for CLP 264 to lift the gas train cars and get out of the yard crossing over the D&H main to access VRS rails, and I do not want to get caught here when they leave! Because, if I am aware of the window, you can be sure the VRS crew is working to take advantage of it also. So I hightail it out of Whitehall, and once over in Vermont enroute to Rutland I hear the D&H dispatcher sending 609 north to meet the two southbounds, and I think here comes 311! This is going to happen! They are going to show up before dawn. After quickly checking two spots I arrive at the Baptist Church in Center Rutland as the run over from Whitehall only involves perhaps 25 miles of track. A quick walk around evaluation of this favorite location from the past reveals additions to the scene, two spotlights mounted on the church which are on, one pointing to where I want to shoot from, (how did they know?) and I figure the flash units will overcome them. Two autos parked around the building, and fresh snow! And subtractions, a large overhanging tree trackside has been cut down! Hooray! This opens up the view of the church much more! SO I never hear CLP 264 leave Whitehall as I am going around away from the car scanner setting up the lighting. I no sooner get the lighting setup and do some test shots than I can hear ‘em! The steady drumbeat of EMD prime movers off to the west! I’m impressed! They made very good time over here! A private plow operator with a small dump truck mounted plow with rotating yellow beacon slowly drives by, each sweep of the beacon setting off the entire lighting outfit. Thankfully the batteries are fully charged! I stare at the driver as he drives under the railroad and out of sight. Glancing around “the hood” no bedroom lights are on so everyone slept through the light show! Whew! Balancing atop the stepladder on an incline everything looks good, and I go to move a flash back some but stop in my tracks. Headlight glow is seen down the tracks, holy cow! They are here! I quickly retreat to the stepladder, happy with what I can get at this point knowing the 311 will not be leading everywhere on the VRS system. Engineer Mike Ricketts and conductor Domenic Bourgeois come up Bowmans Hill towards me riding in the 311! What a sight! With a silent press of the shutter release the lighting reflects back a grand Vermont scene at night. With the tree chopped down, the church is seen much better, and 311 wow! Complete with gold painted trucks! Captured in fresh snow on its first trip over to Whitehall and back after being decorated for the VRS 50th anniversary! I’ve never enjoyed a week like this, where I am given the chance to shoot TWO one of a kind locomotives in the same week during the night! Shot on January 17, 2014 at 05:28 in Center Rutland, VT. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed. Special thanks to Mike and Domenic for being there!

 

All The Best In 2014;

Gary Knapp