Howe Scale

The time is early Sunday morning and we are in the former Green Mountain Railway yard in Rutland, Vermont, now a part of the VRS yard here as an eighty car loaded ethanol train passes eastbound through the city, heading for the mountain. The substantial grade over Mount Holly can be observed looking southeast from my location here as the climb noticeably begins a few hundred feet away. Once the train is outside of the main city area it will be split into two sections bound for Bellows Falls and the NECR where it is recombined into one train.  Leader GMTX 9000 is trailed by a mix of seven leased and Vermont Rail System (VRS) owned GP 40’s and GP 38-2’s. The imposing SD 60 is the largest locomotive calling an engine terminal in the state home at present I believe!

 

I settled on shooting the 9000 here alongside the Howe Scale building after I scouted out the area below the bridge in Cuttingsville some twenty minutes away by car.  The river running under the bridge was completely covered by snow and ice, leaving me with the impression that too many things could go wrong in there tonight alone to make it worth setting up for a night photo. When the river is open you can tell where the water is, but covered by snow and ice? No thanks! So I scooted back down into Rutland to set up at the Howe Scale building only to discover I would have to alter my view slightly as an OMYA covered hopper was right up against the grade crossing. Reminding myself the situation could be much worse, with the near siding filled with cars, blocking the view entirely, I got to work setting up the lights. At nearly the same time the ethanol train is departing from the VRS yard at the CP connection in Whitehall, NY. Some forty five minutes later I am waiting atop the stepladder as the 9000 peeks it’s cab into view onto the tangent track above my location!

 

After a short stop at the yard office I can hear the eight EMD’s notch out a little on the throttle to get the train moving again, and here they come drifting down past me at around ten mph! I was concentrating so on the SD 60 9000 up front, I never noticed it had begun snowing until I viewed the photo afterwards! When the snow is flying at night is my favorite condition for night photos I believe! The snow seems to add a sense of wildness to the scene! At least to me. As the collection of EMD’s comes up to me it is clear by their exhaust they are not idling along on this level stretch of track, but in the lower notches pulling. With the 9000 pilot arriving in position over the grade crossing I do the usual half second pause, then press the shutter release, capturing the image! Success! Oh man! She looks good here also! The blue & white paint contrasting with the more muted colors of the Howe Scale building. See what you think! Please enjoy! Comments are welcomed. Shot in Rutland, Vermont on January 25, 2015 at 03:52.

 

All The Best in 2015;

Gary Knapp