Digging into the archives, here’s one from 2010. Winter 2010 saw fresh snow on the ground for a photo charter on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. At that time we were celebrating Mr. Helmstetter’s new barn which was built with the help of railfans to replace the one he lost in a tragic fire the previous summer.
Hard to believe its been 13 years already.
Happy Friday!
Standing in the roundhouse in June of 2018, as I took this photo of a sunbeam illuminating #16’s pilot, I never thought I’d see the day that a steam locomotive would move under its own power at the East Broad Top Railroad.
Happily, I was wrong. On Wednesday February 1st, 2023, Locomotive #16 moved under its own power for the first time in 67 years! Congratulations to the entire team at the East Broad Top Railroad on a job well done!
Happy Friday!
The belt driven machinery of a former flour and feed mill rest silently during an Abandoned America photo tour. Thankfully, unlike some of the other abandoned sites I’ve visited, this one is being maintained and preserved for the future.
Happy Friday!
The last time the rotary was used to remove snow on the Cumbres & Toltec was May of 1997, so when I saw the announcement over Easter weekend of 2019 that the railroad was planning to run the rotary again in 2020, I instantly emailed to get on the ticket waiting list. This was going to be the charter to attend in 2020!
For those not familiar with snow fighting operations on a railroad, small to medium amounts of snow are typically removed with pilot mounted snow plows or larger plows pushed by locomotives. Often spreaders are used to widen the clearances between the rolling stock and the walls of snow on either side of the tracks. Flangers are used to clear the snow from between the rails. When the snow is too deep for plows, flangers and spreaders, you call the rotary; a snow blower on rails.
During the common carrier days of the D&RGW, rotary plows were strategically stationed four rotary snow plows, OO, ON, OM & OY where heavy snow frequently occurred. Today only OM & OY survive. Rotary OY was typically based out of Alamosa and cleared snow east of Cumbers Pass. For this trip, it was running out of Chama, traditionally Rotary OM’s territory.
Less than a week after this event occurred, the world shut down due to the COVID 19 pandemic. How lucky we were to get to see the greatest show on rails!
The rotary exits the narrows on the way to Lobato Trestle:
Stopped momentarily at Hwy 17 Crossing:
The photoline observes the rotary in action:
Rounding Orgasm Curve:
Cresting the top of Cumbres Pass:
In February 2020, the Cumbres & Toltec hosted a special photo charter featuring Rotary Snow Plow OY. This was the first time the railroad had run the rotary since the 1990’s so it was a special event; it was the greatest show on rails.
Check back on Tuesday for a trip report.
Happy Friday!
Pere Marquette 1225 storms past Carland Elevator in Elsie, MI on a late evening run west. More to come Tuesday in Part 2 of my Steam Railroading Institute Trip Report. Check out Part One here.
Happy Friday!
With all of my photo plans cancelled by the restrictions on gatherings and closure of state and national parks, I’ve been working on my backlog of images that need to be edited. First up in that group were images from a Lerro Photography charter at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan in January 2019. This was a two day charter featuring Pere Marquette 1225. For those who have seen the Polar Express, this is the locomotive that they used as inspiration for the animated locomotive in the movie. They even went so far as to have Skywalker Sound record Pere Marquette 1225 for use as sound effects for the movie.
Over the course of two days, we covered a number of locations over the 15 miles between Owosso and Elsie. The following are a few of my favorites in no particular order:
West Wilkinson Road Sunrise
North Smith Road Farm
King Road Crossing
Carland Elevator
South Woodbridge Road Crossing
West Wilkinson Road Sunset
Check back next Tuesday for Part 2, including images from the night sessions.
Working on my backlog of miscellaneous images. I was in Fishersville Virginia last November for the Virginia Woodturning Symposium. The weather was good so I stopped by Raven’s Roost Overlook in search of the Milky Way.
Maroon Bells at twilight from my 2016 trip to Colorado. I really like the stars that appear around the clouds in this one.
Happy Friday!
