Mad Dog Bill

Madogmobile on the Pioneer Valley Railroad

Jeffrey Rice 1944-2008

We buried my Grumpy Ol Engineer (Jeff Rice) today. The ceremony took place at 1130 in Greenmount Cemetery . At approx 1145, as if on queue, the Rutland Amtrak train came rumbling down the hillside from Fair Haven, it's whistle blearing for Tom Cat's Crossing then Route 4. It was very fitting. He worked as a fireman and then became a locomotive engineer with the Delaware & Hudson Railroad which later became Canadian Pacific Railroad. He retired in August of 2004, after more than 40 years of service.

Jim

More Old D&H

The Slate Picker switching the Back Half (track name) at the Cot Bed in Granville. Photo by Chris Lynch when he was 15 years old. Spring 1976

The engine is headed south, back to Whitehall. I can't imagine where the farm machinery goes unless it is a part load where something had been removed and now its on its way.

A check of my time book shows that we used these CP engines a lot in Feb. Mar and Apr of that year. I only show one trip on the Slate Picker, in that time period, and the engine numbers are different. I mostly worked Yard Master at that time. Fraz must have been training me, he failed!

Not sure of the date, early 90s probably, Saratoga Yard.

Engineer John Heman Keys St Luc Yard, Montreal, Que. Aug. 1991........John started Sept 1965, retired Feb 2009.

Thanks, Jim Lafayette....more to come!

Last Of The Dinosaurs...

I don't railfan much anymore, but when I saw these locomotives together I knew it was something special. PAR EDMO sitting in Eagle Bridge, waiting for a loaded coal train to pass, with ST 621, B&M 69o and ST 643.

Last couple of shots of EDMO through Reynolds. These are the last three six axles left on the PAR roster. Two SD-26's and the SD-39 in the middle.


Rob D

TRACKS AHEAD!

You can join me in celebrating tonight! I have been contacted by David Baule, Executive Producer of the PBS tv series TRACKS AHEAD. They would like to interview me as well as show several of my night photos in a segment to be included in a future program! Life is great! The interview shoot is planned for August 9th, to be seen on PBS channels country wide! It's pleasure to share some GOOD news with all of you!

More good news! NIK Software, announced last night that Color Efex Pro, has been upgraded for use in Lightroom 2.0! Previously this set of filters, several of which I use much of the time, was available only for photoshop. The downloadable upgrade comes FREE to registered users! Hat's off to the NIK folks! This changes everything again!

This spot on CSX ex-Clinchfield route is famed for it's past PR photo shoots. The night view shows off it's continuing attractiveness. We're just over the Tennessee border here in Huntdale, North Carolina, and a fair bit of driving awaits Gary returning to the compound in Hinesburg! Ha! Seeing no reason to rush into heading "nord", amid warm temps., I spent three enjoyable nights here and at Relief, a mile or so east. The railroad hugs the serpentine curvature of the North Toe River for many miles here, set in a surprisingly deep valley cut through the rolling hills which grow eastward into the Blue Ridge. The tiny communities trackside close up shop at night, leaving you alone with the railroad and river. A most relaxing and enjoyable combo for Gary! My second night here, I must have seen thirty trains pass by between 20:00 and 07:00. Wow! Of course, the majority were going the wrong way, ha,ha,ha! But, all I needed was one, and after hearing several westbounds that had passed me earlier go in the hole, success came with this eastbound loaded coal train, led by an AC6000. A dramatic buildup preceeded the 692's appearance, as crews talked to each other during meets upriver at Poplar and Peterson and a talking detector was acknowledged. I'm sure approaching crews were made aware"someone" was at the church in Huntdale taking night photos! Then a headlight was sighted, you hear GE's choppy exhaust, headlight glow follows the sharply curving river, disappearring for moments until the photogenic church itself became backlit, and CSX 692 swept around the curve and past me atop the stepladder! An AC6000, I like that gold CSX on the hood! Trains move right along through here, I'll guess thirty mph, and the GE was doin' it's trademark chuggin'. What a photo with the church at night!

Thanks to Mitch Goldman for providing initiative/reviews while I re-examined processing techniques!

Thanks to David Baule (TRACKS AHEAD) and Jim Wrinn TRAINS editor for the great news!

Shot on October 30, 2006 with the 5D and Canons 35/1.4 lens set at f2.8. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

All The Best In 2009;
Gary

The Universe Winks.....

Photographing trains at night in New England I'm left with the feeling many nights, that I must have driven through an invisible, (to us earthlings) portal in time, while inside it the universe winks, and out the other side I come, to nearly empty roads, Coast to Coast AM host George Noory providing company on the radio, arriving in neatly compacted villages, their inhabitants in dreamland, I come across the railroad. Picking out a spot, I emerge from the car to silence while I set up the lights, hoping to photograph a passing night train. New England's "big" power, (excluding CPR's D&H, operating down the west side of Lake Champlain in New York) are SD 40-2's and the last group of C30-7's in the U.S., four axle GP 38's and GP 40's dominate on VRS and SLR rosters, locomotive models long since retired or relegated to the confines of yard duties elsewhere in North America. So after viewing what other railroad shooters are producing on the net, I often get the feeling of traveling through one of those time portals, to emerge back in time when the regions locomotives were the norm, and new, country wide. Last evening was another great example, with big plans after the heavy snowfall on the SLR route in New Hampshire to photograph SLR 393/394 plowing through the deep white stuff, I was all set to depart from the compound, when I found myself waiting for the car to warm up, (not a normal activity for me at night when I'm looking for "a" train) the computer, left on, "dinged" announcing an e-mail. Impatient now to get on the road, I glanced at the message, from my friend Frank Jolin, bringing news of a plow train running to Farnham, Quebec from the east. Not an everyday event! Was I glad I waited around! Arriving in Farnham two hours later, empty of people, I found an MM&A employee walking up out of the yard, and asked about the plow train.........and the universe winked, after a radio conversation, he relays the info that it will be here in an hour! Now, I used to shoot at night here in Farnham years ago when I first began practicing, in admiration for the de-turbocharged ex-SP GP 35's Iron Roads operated at the time. SO I recognized the snowbank! Ha,ha,ha! I set up eight flash units, leaving four unused, keeping in mind we're only lighting up a plow and engine, when my set up was noticed by an employee emerging from the station, who asked the obvious question. Even in french, I could understand the questioning tone of his voice, and I finally communicated "plow train" across the tracks to him. He shook his head in a more obvious (to me) no! "To shop.......to shop" he replied. Knowing fully well what he meant, the "shop" resides in the yard to the east, out of sight for a photo. I walked around to him as he got on the radio, and I thanked him profusely when, after a conversation, he shook his head in a "yes" to confirm in broken english they would come "here", pointing to the track in front of him. "Five to eight minutes" he reminded me before walking away, leaving me in solitude within this familiar setting. Shortly afterwards, "the universe winks" as the odd headlight of snowplow VB-101 emerges from the darkness at the west end of the yard, and the plow train drifts down to a stop in front of me! What year is this? A wood body plow built around 1920, pushed by a B23-7, from a class of the early eighties, (being generous) in front of Farham Station! 2009? I happily click away, full of gratitude for the scene provided me as the men unload and "tinker" around the ancient plow, the engineer walks down the platform towards his car, and hollers across to me, "you're just as crazy as we are, out at this time of night!" I smile broadly and nod, thinking how railroaders are the nicest people. Shot on February 24, 2009 at 00:55, with Canons 5D and Zeiss ZF 35/2 (Nikon) lens set at f2.8. One flash erased behind the plow in photoshop. Many special thanks to "SIR" Frank Jolin! Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

All The Best In 2009;
Gary

D&H Memories....

Jeff Rice and I on SC-2, the Ti Job. My Dad took the photo. Stopped at the old Whitehall Station for coffee at Citgo, no doubt. Checking the engine numbers against my old time books it looks to be Apr of 1990.
Republic Steel Plant, Mineville, NY (Port Henry) fall 1972.

Jim LaFayette

Greenfield man to speak on historic caboose restoration

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:23 AM EST
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian
GREENFIELD —

Tony Bucca is on the right track, he just needs more people to get on board.The Greenfield resident is leading efforts to restore the 1920s-era caboose at Kings Station Historical Park, at the corner of Route 9N and Porter Corners Road.Tonight at 7 he’ll give a presentation to Greenfield Historical Society about work done to date, what’s left and how people can get involved."The caboose has been completely refurbished," Bucca said.
During the past two years, he and other volunteers stripped off old exterior siding, some of it scorched in a fiery 2006 crash that claimed the life of a local man who ran off the road and struck the caboose. Now the outside has a shiny new surface and custom-made gutters to prevent water damage, and all the iron work has a fresh coat of paint.Next, he wants to spruce up the interior where conductors and other railroadmen lived and worked.“A caboose was really like a rolling office,” Bucca said. “They had a coal stove. They would do all their cooking in there, get in out of the weather.”Such cars were always attached to the end of freight trains. From there, conductors could keep an eye out for problems the engineer couldn’t see from the locomotive. The most common situation was smoking hot boxes, a compartment on train wheels where bearings were housed. Boxes were packed with waste cotton material and soaked with oil to lubricate bearings as wheels turned.Occasionally, material would wear out and have to be replaced, so the conductor would signal the engineer to bring the train to a halt.“That was one of the more important functions of the caboose,” Bucca said.By the 1940s and 50s, roller bearings came into use that eliminated the smoking hot box problem. As time went by, hand-held radios came into use so cabooses weren’t needed anymore.The town of Greenfield purchased its caboose from Delaware & Hudson Railway in 1988 for $1. It had been idled on an old rail spur in Corinth and was brought to its current location on a large flat-bed truck.Bucca has taken painstaking efforts to make sure restoration efforts are historically accurate. From Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad records, he found old stencils to see how exterior lettering was done. That’s one of the jobs he’ll be working on this year.In addition to the caboose, volunteers are also turning the old Kings Station into a museum. The depot was originally located a short distance away, right along the tracks, but was moved to its current site some years ago.Town Historian Mary DeMarco has already created a rail-themed display inside the old ticket office. Future plans call for converting the freight office into a small museum highlighting things such as Greenfield’s agricultural and logging history.The line, opened in 1885, was first known as the Adirondack Railway and carried passengers from Saratoga Springs to North Creek. From there, they would travel by stage and boat to vacation destinations such as old hotels and Adirondack Great Camps, the summer homes of America’s Gilded Age rich and famous.The D&H purchased the line in 1901. During World War II, it was extended north to Tahawus where ilmenite ore was mined to make titanium for military purposes.Most recently, Upper Hudson River Railroad has been using the line as a tourist attraction. Currently, trains run from North Creek to Corinth; it’s hoped, with proper improvements, that they’ll eventually reach Saratoga Springs.Bucca would like to see trains stop in Greenfield, giving passengers a chance to see the caboose and old depot. He’s even chairing a group named Citizens Restoring Our Caboose at Kings Station (CROCKS).A self-employed freelance photographer, he’s an avid model railroader and publishes a hobby newsletter that reaches 400 people from Syracuse to Massachusetts. If someone needs a favor, Bucca will usually lend a hand. If not, he always has a good excuse.“I’ve got to go work on my caboose,” he says, smiling.

Weekly run to Delanson ...........

SNY made their weekly run down to Delanson to interchange with CP/D&H. Normally they use one engine. But due to a large cut of heavy cars they instead ran down with two units, one of which was recently repaired after having a major failure. Here are three shots. Couple at Delanson, NY on CP with their interchange in tow.

Another at Schoharie Turnpike on the Albany Main in Duanesburg with interchange from CP/D&H.

Dean

Worth Waiting For.....

Fully engaged in the celebration for the years first snowstorm, after making the three hour drive back to the compound from North Stratford, NH, I slept well, then followed breakfast with a drive over to Plattsburgh. Again, the Vermont roads were in worse shape than New York's. Great snow tires and no traffic made for an enjoyable combo to help deal with the weather! Arriving in Plattsburgh, after an hour or so of no activity on the scanner, I decided to set up the lights anyway, gambling on a southbound before morning, a safe bet here on the North End, where three southbounds are scheduled nightly. Halfway through setting up the dispatcher comes on the airwaves, speaking with 250 arriving to my north in Rouses Point! Then I hear of 252 trailing behind 250! Wow! I may see both trains here tonight! I mentally check the weather forecast which said snow between three and five a.m. and smile! All set-up later in the hour, the dispatcher tells 250's outgoing crew to plan on working at Bluff Point Yard from the siding, which tells me of plans to run 252 around them, or at least to run 252! A rare night indeed, two photo opportunities. 250 had a 9500 series leading, wearing the ragged "dual-flag" paint scheme, and in spite of this, looked pretty good passing the station wearing the trademarks of doing battle with snowdrifts up north. I noted the trailing CEFX AC as the preferred unit to see leading here over a 9500. Oh well! The photo was worth the trip over. Within the hour 252 was recrewed and departed Rouses Point as 250 finished it's work and left Bluff Point Yard. I did'nt touch a thing with the set-up or lens focus, remembering the chain reaction that can occur when one does a little too much tweaking! The dispatcher does'nt address 252 by his lead unit, so I'm in suspense as they pass the talking detector eight minutes out.............and acknowledge the detector's message with their train number and lead unit......CEFX 1045! I look over the view once again, and think, but the snow has stopped......I would like some snow please! It starts to snow! Thinking I might be onto something, I wish for bigger flakes, (I mean......come on, I've been given the desired locomotive leading....) and the snow increases in intensity, with bigger flakes! Wow! Could mind's intention be this powerful? I follow that thought with the obvious, take a good shot of this CEFX unit. 252 is whistling on the north side of the city, a couple minutes out when this jogger comes down the street, I ignore him as he jogs by, then he turns around, not wanting to be caught by the train, and jogs up by me again, I offer a "good morning" to him, he returns the greeting, then he stops, and says...."great photos"! I'm concentrating on the incoming 252 more than the jogger, and I'm caught by surprise, and respond..."what...what's that?" He replies, "I've seen your photos....they're great!" I thank him, contemplating how in the world does he know of my photos, as he jogs off up the road, then I remember the article which ran in the Plattsburgh paper's quarterly magazine, ha,ha! To be so fortunate! As CEFX 1045 leads 252 through the city, he returns down the street to watch the flash units do their thing. And they do it well, with the falling snow adding to the scene! I let the head end run further towards me this night, to try and accent the cab lines and station towers more. One of my best results from Plattsburgh I think. After spending time on VRS and SLR, with their GP 40's, it quickly becomes evident returning to CPR's D&H, that we are outside of New England now, no matter how close we are physically. 136 pound continuous welded rail get's my appreciation, as do the AC4400's which seem to be immense machines after shooting GP 40's! Within minutes of 252's passing, the snow stops! I don't know....but I sure counted my blessings! Shot on January 8, 2009 at 05:51 with the 5D and Zeiss ZF 100/2 (Nikon) lens set at f2. One flash to left of 1045's cab erased in photoshop. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

All The Best In 2009;
Gary

Merry Christmas From Gary Knapp!

Please enjoy the attached photo. Saturday night's do not usually find me trackside, for one reason or another, however, with the fresh snowfall(s) and mild (relatively) temps., it became obvious to me it was'nt the night to hang out at the comound. Driving north up I89, bound for CPR's D&H North End, you can imagine my delight at overhearing NECR's 324 departing St. Albans behind the 3847! Any plans for the night were redirected! After a short "stakeout" at the Georgia Whey Plant crossing, 324 passed by with 3853 trailing 3847 along with a leased ex-FEC SD 40-2! An exceptional locomotive consist. It's not the norm to find a pair of the original GP 38's working together. So back southbound I drove, choosing to set up at South Royalton, perhaps the quintessential Vermont village, to showcase the pair of NECR 3800's. After a slow cruise down I89, respecting the snow covered highway and "more slower" drivers, I arrived at the town green here, entering into a different world. Bare trees adorned with christmas lights, fresh snow plowed into huge piles, the buildings, and up in back, the railroad! Not knowing how far ahead of 324 I was after the slow drive, I quickly set-up the lighting around the green, then the freight house and railroad, getting in some exercise wading around the green in knee deep snow. After shooting the first test shot at 02:15, it became apparent all the twenty or more propane tankers I had noticed in the trains consist were bound for Montpelier Jct. north of me, as it would be two hours before "train time" here. Providing opportunity to be grateful for being able to capture the upcoming moment, the setting in front of me, on a Sat. night, now Sunday morning no less. This is the first opportunity I can recall to return here in winter, to shoot again the night photo scene the editors of TRAINS Magazine chose as one of the 100 best railroad photos! What a year! While tonight features less snow flying, and more on the ground, we also have the pair of NECR GP 38's, as opposed to the lone 3848 leader in the earlier photo. The longer you wait, the better you get at ignoring the train sounds your mind produces from time to time. So it brought a big smile to my face, when I heard the real thing, non-turbocharged EMD's echoing among the hills as 324 approached South Royalton. Within two minutes engineer Jeff Howard (who we last saw at Mud Pond, eh?)brings 324 downgrade out from behind the freight house and into the scene. The 3800's pulling well, exhaust echoing between the buildings, were a delight to the ears, the moment a delight to the eyes, the photo a Christmas Card from along New England Central in Vermont! Shot on December 21, 2008 at 04:45 with Canon's 5D, (ISO 1600 & 1/200) and Zeiss ZF 28/2 (Nikon) lens set at f2.8. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

Merry Christmas!
Gary

Merry Christmas From Kings Station!

Tony Bucca in front of Kings Station and the D&H caboose, Merry Christmas!

The Secret Ingredient.......

The first bonafide snowstorm of the season arrived around midnight last night. To me, trains look their best at night in snow, preferably falling as well. It's the secret ingredient that makes night photos of trains in winter so appealling to me. So when I discovered a snow storm arriving from the Great Lakes late last night, I scrambled out into the car and headed for Westport. Guaranteed to be "a mess" with temps in the low thirties, wet snow would act like rain on the locomotives, bringing out the deep colors! My concern was first, would I see a train, and second keeping the flash units dry enough once set-up. Driving into Port Henry, I most fortunately overheard dispatcher Kelly Knight telling 415 at Whitehall of a 253 coming towards them! Whoa! 251 & 253 have been powered by SD 40-2's on occassion lately, and running time up to Westport would be around two hrs. I figured. Should I wait to hear from 252 or set up for 253 and hope.....for an SD 40-2 leading? Pulling into the lot here at Westport around 01:30 brought my answer. WOW! At worst, I thought, this would be good shooting practice for the Holiday Train I planned to encounter on Wed. An hour and a half later the flash units are in position, protected from the wet snow by zip lock freezer bags, I get everything powered up and take a few test shots. The approach signal for "Howards" just out of sight down into the curve here, lights up green over yellow, indicating to me, and the approaching 252, of a meet with 253. By now the weather is a mess with the temps. on the edge of freezing, sleet starting to replace the snow, BUT the surroundings look gorgeous! "They might", I'm thinking to myself. They might run an SD 40-2 tonight! After 252 sweeps past with an uncharacteristicly short train, I contribute a "light show" for the early risers in the neighborhood when one of the flash units gives in to the sleet and starts firing continuously, causing the Pocket Wizard remote attached to it to send out "fire" signals in turn to the rest of the system, which obediently follows suit! Jeesome Crow! So I change out that flash with the only unit not used, still dry, do a quick check around and don't see anyone at their window, don't hear anyone cussin' and happily walk back to the stepladder and the black umbrella propped against it, protecting the camera and lens. The sound came after 04:30, the familiar sound of SD 40-2's pulling upgrade into "Howards" from the lakefront trackage north of Port Henry. We're in business! Up on the stepladder, you hear the small tree branches snapping nearby under the wet snow as you see 253's headlights at the horizon while they pass the talking detector just north of "Howards", and within a minute or so, CP 5671 comes out from behind the station here into a sea of white under a black sky completing a Christmas Card scene. Three hours and a half after arriving, success! Shot with the 5D and Zeiss ZF 28/2 (Nikon) set at f2, on Nov. 25, 2008 at 04:56. Flash units on the platform and the walkway up back were erased in photoshop as were Gary's footprints. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,
Gary

The Rutland Lives!

I bought a Bachmann-Spectrum 2-8-0 with sound and have been having fun with it. It doesn't fit well into the Skene Valley Railroad so I decided to run a Rutland Milk Train, just for the fun of it.

Jim Lafayette D&H (ret)

Operation Caboose!

The CP 422986 was purchased by Operation Lifesaver from the storage yard behind the engine shop in St Luc back in the spring. It was transported to Saratoga for delivery to the Ballston Industrial Track so the Saratoga County Fair could truck it to their property. It was delivered in July and was expected to be moved in August. The move was delayed until the first week in November and it is now 'home'. If all goes as planned, it will get a nice red paint job and general rehabilation. Fortunately the moving contractors revised their plans...they wanted to cut off the copula for the move but it ended up going over with only the brake rigging etc. removed. Gene Corsale, Community Coordinator for Operation Lifesaver, Ballston Spa School system worked endlessly to make all this happen.

The caboose was built 11/1970 as CP 434325 at their Angus shops, and renumbered 422986 at St. Luc on 9/20/94.

Going through the streets of Ballston Spa. D.A. Collins moved the caboose, started 7am.

Backing into the fairgrounds, around 4pm.

Doin's In Porters Corners....

Brad Peterson's Kayaderosseras & Southern Adirondack Railroad. On Sept. 14, 2008 we had a tent set up for shade and a safe work area. Here Rich Veldman has just finished cutting over 200 new ties for the rail that has just arrived. Skip Densing and Bob Hosmer are getting ready to start drilling the rail ends for joint bar installation by Tim Stockwell.

This was my biggest project of the summer, I finally found the hardware for the helix and got it all put up. The upper level (QS cabin and beyond) turned out to be too high, so I still have to get around to lowering things to fit. I also added to the B&M engine shop area in September, though there is really no track installed to speak of.

Nov. 2, 2008 Work Extra D&H 42 gets ready to head south with a full load of stone for the new section of track built since September. Not ready for a picture to be taken.

Final touch up to the ballasting done today is being supervised by Bill Bibby with Tim Stockwell and JR Stevens doing the dirty work. This is the trackage adjacent to the driveway near the culvert.

After the workers have gone home and things have settled down this view of the K&SA shows signal 0.2, MP 1, the crossing cross bucks and the end of track is behind the little green man.

Thursday at Frank's

We had a great turnout at Frank Adamec's house on Thursday October 30th. Frank surprised with scenery finally getting underway in the new section of the layout. He also tore out the old shops, and reorganized the paper mill area. He will eventually add large diesel shop in the middle of the layout. Mark Oliviere took a few great shots on one of Frank's scratch built bridges.

Mark got another shot. With all the pink and blue styraform in need of plaster.

More of a dramatic shot by Mark.

I got a shot of Frank and a long freight going over a rough copy of the Hudson River bridge in Mechanicville that Frank also scratch built.

They look like snow capped mountains but really just need some paint. Such a small space, Frank decided to add a mirror to double the room size, pretty neat effect.

Rob Gould's EL Updated!

My basement is now back together now, after a new addition on my house caused a large section to be dismantled. EL 315 bringing a block of cars to the upper tracks for pick up of a road job. The road jobs travel around the dog bone swapping blocks of cars between several locations on the layout. Avery self adhesive stickers are color coded with two colors which represent the two "locations" that the blocks travel between. On my "pre-addition" layout every car had a sticker. This was quite arduous because the random nature in which I applied the stickers caused capacity problems at various locations at various times. Although it mirrors CP operations in the capital region and thus adds a touch of operational realism, the train movements became anything but standardized. Now I just put a matching sticker on each end of a block of cars.

At the other end of the layout we see the open staging area. The two trains toward the left are opposing movements to the two on the right. One of the layout "locations" is seen on the left. It is a three track stub ended yard representing Jersey City. So operationally a block of cars with a light blue/dark blue sticker on each end will travel from the Jersey City tracks to the C&O tracks and return in a subsequent session.

This photo shows the bulk of the layout that was dismantled for the construction of a new bathroom in the floor above. Contractors were able to kneel on the bench work while installing the plumbing. A friend & fellow model builder is kitbashing a huge Ford plant which will obscure the two trains you see here.

Three different ballasts can be seen representing the three railroads using the yard. Soil for EL, gray for PC and tan for C&O. The abandoned tower on the upper level obscures the hole in the wall for the loop on this end of the dogbone layout. Notice color sticker on top of the ICG car.

That's me and here you can see the new ballast at lower Cheshire yard. The C&O transfer run is coming in on the right from a two track, stub ended, hidden yard. The entire middle of my layout was dismantled last winter when we had an addition built to our home. Notice the plumbing access hatch in ceiling. Also notice crooked tangents in track work allow for an appearance closely following the practices of CP Rail in Albany and Saratoga, LOL.

Trainwatchers Gather At North Stratford.........

We are visiting the newly renovated North Stratford, NH station (ex-Grand Trunk) tonight. All decked out for Halloween, the building is the new home for the town library. I'm sure the location provides a good reading atmosphere during the daytime hours, as the only trains pass by late at night. I like the replaced semaphore. The priceless stuffed straw figures accent the lines of the station windows while they turn viewers attention toward the power. Plus they are free models! I got away with moving one down to this end, and did'nt push my luck any further! LOL! This location was among legendary photographer Phil Hastings favorite destinations in the late 1940's, a superb Hastings photo of the MEC conductor signing the register book from inside the bay windowed operator's room is in Ron Johnson's "Maine Central Railroad, Mountain Division". Sixty or more years later, the light ten wheelers and their mixed trains that captured Phil's creative mind are long gone, but the railroad remains in a more modernized state as the New Hampshire Central curving away from the SLR main behind the 804 in this scene. Tonight's train 393 is led by road slug 804, with a trio of orange & black brothers trailing. Shot on Oct. 11, 2008 at 02:17 with the 5D, and Nikkor 14-24 lens set at f2.8 and 15mm. I'm ecstatic over the new lens's performance here at f2.8 with sharpness out to the right bottom edge! "Much lighter processing used here also, having learned something (hopefully) from the last attempts at processing the daylight photo from Willsboro. Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed.

All The Best In 2008;
Gary

What year is it?

Randy Epstein sent along a few pictures. B&M and N&W bicentennial schemes. He says "an unlikely combination" but still neat and maybe not too far fetched.

A neat shot of B&M 211 switching cars........