Tropical Storm Irene Aftermath Iron Horse Roundup September 6, 2011

Pan Am ballast train in Greenfield, MA en route to washout at Charlemont, MA on Aug 30th- photo Billy Wehmeyer

Hurricane Irene struck the Berkshires on Aug 28th and there was sizable washouts on Pan Am's former Boston & Maine Fitchburg Division between Ayer, MA and Mechanichsville, NY along the Deerfield River between North Adams and Shelburne, MA. With slow orders in effect for a number of locations, crews were able to get the line reopened by the evening of August 31.

Canadian Pacific's former Delaware & Hudson mainline between Albany NY and Binghamton NY suffered a number of washouts, forcing some trains to be rerouted via CSX's (suddenly ironically named) Water Level route west of Schenectady, NY all the way to Syracuse where they were redirected to Binghampton on the New York Susquehana & Western's Northern Division.

The Canadian Pacific line between Saratoga Springs and the Canadian border at Rouses Point, NY (and on to Montreal from there) suffered minimal flooding and obstruction and for the most part remained open. Besides through freight from CP Rail, the line also hosts Amtrak's Adirondack New York City to Montreal service.

After work was completed on a damaged section of track in Central Bridge, NY, Canadian Pacific resumed operations on the D&H Bridge Line between Albany and Binghaton NY on September 1.

CSX's Selkirk NY to Buffalo Water Level route was flooded, but reopened after a few days while the line along the West shore of the Hudson River experienced a number of floods, washouts and landslides. Crews reportedly had managed to get the line reopened by the early morning hours of August 30th. A CSX service bulletin dated September 3 reports that MOW and signalmen have been working to restore tracks, crossing signals and roadbed throughout affected areas in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland.

The New England Central's former Central Vermont Railway line still remains closed between White River Jct and Essex Jct, VT. Curiously, Amtrak's Vermonter service wasn't affected because passengers for north of Springfield, MA would be served by bus due to ongoing track upgrades along the New England Central since June. The NECR between Essex Jct and the Canadian National interchange in Swanton, VT to the north remains open as well as the line to the south between White River Jct and New London, CT.

Although no timetable for reopening the line between White River Jct and Essex Jct has been announced, a service bulletin dated September 2nd announced a detour train was scheduled to deliver cars to the Canadian National on September 9th.

Washout on the Vermont Railway line in Sunderland between Rutland and North Bennington, VT. Photo- Tim Stockwell

Undoubtedly the hardest hit railroad was the Vermont Railway system, with all of their lines radiating out of Rutland, VT flooded or washed out at some point along the way. The former Delaware & Hudson line between the Canadian Pacific interchange at Whitehall NY and Rutland was the first to re-open, with Amtrak's Ethan Allen resuming service on September 1. The line north between Rutland and Burlington was reopened on Aug 31, with a fuel train to Burlington, VT being the first train through.

However, things were different to the east and south of Rutland. The line south to Bennington, VT and on to the Pan-Am interchange in Hoosick Falls, NY was hit by several washouts. The Green Mountain line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT was much worse off and will likely take several weeks to repair.

Vermont's state-owned rail lines have been heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.

An inspection found that five of the state's railroad bridges have major structural damage and need major repairs before they can re-open to freight traffic.

The middle piers of one bridge on the Connecticut River line in Hartford was moved more than 6 feet by rushing floodwaters. Yesterday, a crane was sent to stabilize that bridge, and allow work crews to install temporary shoring.

The Green Mountain line and the Vermont Rail South line rail beds have also seen a number of washouts, culvert failures and erosion of the rail bed.

Freight traffic is still running between Burlington and Rutland, and the Ethan Allen Amtrak line resumed service on Saturday.

Vermont Rail Systems estimates it will be three to four weeks before freight begins moving again on the Green Mountain rail line.

It appears that the Vermont Railway has put a priority on getting the Green Mountain route open so that Canadian Pacific bridge traffic to the New England Central and Providence & Worcester can resume as well as providing a viable detour route while the New England Central line north of White River Jct. is being repaired.

Crews from Vermont Railway and contractor RJ Corman were reportedly dumping ballast and rip-rap along washed away sections of track between Rockingham, VT and Wallingford, VT using hi-rail equipped dump trucks. Structural engineers are also attempting to shore up bridges that were compromised by the flash floods.

The Washington County (a subsidiary of the Vermont Railway) line between Newport, VT and White River Jct is intact, but WACR/VTR power is 'marooned' in from the rest of the system in Bellows Falls or White River Jct. For the time being, the WACR is borrowing a B39-8 from the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic to serve customers on the line. Until the New England Central line reopens and engineers shore up the damaged bridges around White River Juntion, the only interchange is with the MM&A at Newport, VT where the line heads northwest to Farnham, Quebec.

Green Mountain Railway Alco RS-1 shoving on rear of empty ethanol tank train past Bartonsville covered bridge, April 2011.

While not part of the Vermont Railway System, the photogenic Bartonsville covered bridge (above) adjacent to Vermont Route 103 and the Green Mountain Railway was popular with railway enthusiasts and tourists. Perhaps the most iconic image of the damage Irene had wrought on the Green Mountain state, the covered bridge was captured on video being washed away by the raging torrent of the Williams River by a local resident.

Location of Bartonsville covered bridge after Irene- Both photos from Kevin Burkholder

While the bridge was insured by the village of Bartonsville for $1 million, the polity only covered the wooden structure but not the abutments which will need further repair. A fund for replacing the bridge has been set up on the Rockingham-Bellows Falls town website.

The New York, Susquehanna & Western experienced some flood damage to their right-of-way in northern New Jersey between their Little Ferry, NJ hub and Port Jervis, NY. However, there was no damage reported to the Southern Tier line between Binghampton NY and Port Jervis and their Northern Division between Binghamton and Syracuse, NY also managed to survive intact. The Susquehanna was able to resume operations on their Sparta Jct NJ-Little Ferry, NJ line by September 1.

In the Catskills, the Catskill Mountain Railway is expected to resume operations out of Mount Tremper, operating excusrions on a modified route beginning September 10. Meanwhile, just to the north, a notice on the Delaware & Ulster website announced that the railway was shut down until further notice due to flash flooding from Irene.

Over in rural Washington County NY, the 33-mile Batten Kill railroad suffered some flooding from its namesake river and fallen trees along the right of way, but suffered no washouts or damage to its bridges. While the line remained open after Tropical storm Irene passed, interchange with the Pan Am Railway at Eagle Bridge, NY was limited due to flood damage from the swollen Deerfield River that railway suffered on the line between North Adams, MA and Shelburne, MA.

Despite the damage inflicted to railroads to the immediate north and west, Canaan, CT-based Housatonic Railroad experienced minimal disruptions on their line through Westernmost Massachusetts and Connecticut from Tropical storm Irene.

East Coast Braces for Hurricane Irene's Approach

Tourists and truck drivers evacuating North Carolina's Outer Banks by ferry. Photo: Chuck Beckley- New Bern Sun Journal

A mandatory evacuation order for the outer banks of North Carolina is expected to go into effect Friday as Hurricane Irene gained strength while approaching from the south.



Workers from the North Carolina DOT were inspecting the aging Bonner Bridge after Tuesday's magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia- the bridge links North Carolina Route 12 from Cape Hatteras to the mainland and is a key evacuation route. Further inland, residents jammed the aisles of local stores and markets in order to stock up on food, fuel, water, generators and other supplies.



At least 180 flights to and from major east coast airports have been cancelled with Irene's expected arrival. Amtrak trains south of Washington D.C., already hobbled by slow orders from host railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX after Tuesday's earthquake in Virginia, were cancelled while travellers were awaiting word on any possible service disruptions on the busy Northeast Corridor.



To the north, the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency in advance of Irene's landfall. The US Navy sortied more than two dozen vessels from the huge Norfolk Naval station, including the aircraft carrier Dwight D Eisenhower, while further north, four attack submarines were dispatched from their Groton, CT base to ride out the storm in deep water. Naval aircraft was being flown further inland to ride out the storm.



Officials in New York City are considering evacuations of low-lying areas in a worst-case scenario among other preparations.

The city is making preparations to open 65 evacuation centers, seven special medical needs shelters and 75 general population shelters. These facilities can hold roughly 71,000 people; there are about 272,000 people living in the area most likely to be affected.



Officials recommended residents put together a supply kit, including drinking water, a flashlight, a battery-operated radio and a whistle

The Philadelphia Phillies have rescheduled Sundays game against the Florida Marlins to be played on Sat. In Boston, Sunday's scheduled game against the Oakland A's will likely also be moved to a Saturday doubleheader. Aug 27th as a doubleheader and the Orioles are discussing doing the same with their weekend series against the Yankees. In Maine, the Maine Eastern Railway announced that they were cancelling trains for Sunday, Aug 28th.



All these precautions and preparations are underway despite the uncertainty of where exactly Irene is supposed to make landfall. Numerous projections show her coming ashore anywhere from North Carolina's Outer Banks to Cape Cod while possibly increasing to Category 3 in the process.



Even if the eye of the storm misses the most densely populated areas, there could still be extensive damage to metropolitan areas thanks to heavy rains and winds in the storm's outer bands. If Irene does strike New England, she will likely be the first significant hurricane to strike since Hurricane Gloria in 1985. Like Gloria, it's also entirely possible that Irene could make landfall multiple times.

Virginia, East Coast Rocked By Magnitude 5.8 Quake

Tremors from a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on Tuesday afternoon in Virginia prompted evacuations in the Pentagon and Capitol building and was felt as far away as Ohio and Toronto.

The quake rocked Virginia just before 1:55 p.m. [E.T.], and authorities said the epicenter appeared to be in Louisa County, about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. The epicenter is not far from Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna nuclear plant, where the earthquake knocked out power, but the utility manually shut down both nuclear units without incident.



"We did lose on-site power, but all the diesel generators are up and running," Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher said 30 minutes after the quake. "Everything appears to be operating just fine."



The quake- the largest in Virginia since May 5, 1897, according to the U.S. Geological Survey- shook buildings and employees were ordered outside across Richmond and other cities in Virginia. Within minutes, Richmond police began receiving calls about possible property damage.

So far, there have been no reports of any casualties or injuries, but there are scattered reports of some structural damage around Mineral, VA and 90 miles to the north in the Washington D.C. area.



The town of Culpepper, VA was placed under a state of emergency and the local jail evacuated immediately after the Tuesday afternoon quake.



To the north, the National Parks Service began shutting down monuments across Washington D.C. as a precaution.



The central spire on Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral- the highest point in the District of Columbia- was damaged in the quake, with cross shaped finial stones being knocked off the top of three out of the four spires and one leaning inward.



Both the Pentagon and US Capitol Building were briefly evacuated- Congress is in recess for the summer, but staffers were still present at the Capitol building.



In Washington D.C.'s Union Station, the quake reportedly knocked down some ceiling tiles in the main concourse, although there was no reports of any injuries. Amtrak was operating trains between Baltimore and Washington D.C. at a restricted speed while commuter railways MARC and Virginia Railway Express briefly suspended operations as track, structures and wiring leading in and out of Union Station were inspected for damage.



Further south, the two main rail carriers operating closer to the epicenter- CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern- restricted freight trains to operating speeds of 10-15 MPH while tracks, bridges, tunnels and signals were being inspected for damage by Maintenance of Way personnel.



Airports throughout the Mid Atlantic region suspended flights on Tuesday afternoon. Dulles Airport, Reagan National, BWI, Atlantic City, Newark, Philadelphia and New York's JFK were among the international airports that had suspended flights with flights resuming by Tuesday night in the New York area. The quake reportedly registered as strong as 5.4 on the Richter scale in New York state.



The Mineral quake comes not even 24 hours after the USGS reported a magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 11:46 PM Mountain Time outside of Trinidad, CO on Monday night. Records indicate it was the strongest quake in Colorado in over a century, although there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Geologists have indicated that the Colorado and Virginia quakes are unrelated.

Iron Horse Roundup for June 2011

photo Brock Hansen

NEVADA: As the death toll from the June 24th collision between a gravel truck and Amtrak's California Zephyr was revised upwards to 6, investigators are focusing their attention on the truck driver, identified as 43 year old Lawrence Reuben Valli of Winnmeucca, NV, and a number of traffic citations and moving violations he accumulated in recent years.

Investigators from the NTSB are also looking into the safety records of John Davis Trucking of Battle Mountain, NV as well as Valli's medical history. The company has has two accidents in the last two years and an January 2011 inspection showed tired so bald on one trailer that it had to be taken off the road. Officials refused to speculate whether or not such a record was typical for a company the size of Davis Trucking (currently with over 100 drivers on its payroll).

The rig in the California Zephyr collision was longer and heavier than the law allowed, but the trucking company was able to obtain a waiver prior to the accident. Investigators also believe that the fireball after the collision was caused by the two sidesaddle tanks, each with a capacity of 110 gallons.

According to a Nevada Highway patrol spokesman, the speed limit on that stretch of highway 95 is 70 MPH and visibility to the crossing was half a mile that day. The gates were also working and should've been activated at least 25 seconds before the train approached the crossing in Churchill County.

AP Photo

INDIA: The death toll has risen to at least 60 in India and is expected to climb as many more passengers are trapped after a passenger train crashed into a bus carrying a wedding party and derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Predesh. Initial reports indicate that the bus with about 80 wedding guests got caught on an unguarded rural crossing when the rear axle broke. Upon colliding with the train, the mangled bus was dragged another 1000 feet before the Kalka Mail was able to come to a stop.

Another 200 people were injured, with some being treated at the scene or in nearby hospitals in clinics.

Railway officials estimate that the express train was travelling 108 Km PH at the time of its impact, close to it's maximum speed limit along the route.

Last BNSF train makes its way through Minot, ND as the Souris River tops the levees on June 23rd

NORTH DAKOTA: Traffic levels for the BNSF mainline through North Dakota began returning this week as record flooding of the Souris River in and around Minot, ND severed both the BNSF's former Northern Pacific's Northern Transon line and Canadian Pacific's former Soo Line track between Portal, ND and the Twin Cities.

An official for the North Dakota National Guard said that an estimated 4000 homes in Minot and Ward county have been damaged by floodwaters that have reached anywhere from 6 to 10 feet. Unofficial estimates say that as many as 800 homes may have to be demolished as the floodwaters recede.

A pair of BNSF GE's lead a ballast train through Minot as the floodwaters begin to recede on July 4- Stephen M Welch photos

The BNSF line through Minot reopened to work trains on the 4th of July and saw some of the detoured traffic return gradually throughout the week. Amtrak's Empire Builder- operating on BNSF's Northern Tanscon- was suspended between Havre, MT and St Paul, MN. While it's not unusual for BNSF or Canadian Pacific to divert traffic over each other's lines in the event one line is shut down, the two lines intersected at Minot, necessitating even longer detours for the carriers. The BNSF rerouted trains south across its former Milwaukee Road line through South Dakota while Canadian Pacific detoured trains through Manitoba and on south through Glenwood and Thief River Falls, MN for its Chicago to Vancouver traffic while repositioning motive power and Maintenance of Way equipment over the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western south of Minot.

A leased Willamette Valley GP35 leads a work train through on the North Western Pacific line in Penngrove, CA in July 2009: Photo- Kevin Sheridan

CALIFORNIA: Final preparations are underway for limited freight service to resume on a 62-mile stretch of former Northwestern Pacific trackage in Northern California this month after the line's operator ran a series of test trains on the rebuilt trackage.

In late June, a single NWP Co locomotive and a pair of loaded freight cars traversed the tracks between Napa Jct and Petaluma, CA to gauge the status of different trestles and crossing signals along the line with further test trains scheduled to run to the current end of the operable track at Windsor, CA.

A number of shippers in communities along the dormant line have expressed an interest in shipping by rail once the line is reactivated. Traffic is expected to include grain, feed, aggregates, lumber and wine.

Multiple environmental agencies in the area have threatened to sue the North Coast Rail Authority- the line's owner- if the NWP resumes operations without addressing their concerns, claiming that re-opening the line would endanger the Eel River if the former NWP line between Willits and Eureka, CA reopened [inquiring minds want to know- did the Natural Resources Defense Council put them up to it, or are environmentalists naturally inclined to be insufferable douchewaffles who savor keeping more trucks on already crowded highways and even more people out of work? -NANESB!]

John Sesonske photo

NEW YORK: New York's newest railway is expected to begin operating in a few days as crews familiarized themselves with new motive power along the former Delaware & Hudson North Creek branch between Saratoga Springs and North Creek, NY. Over the winter, Wayne County and the town of Corinth- the line's owners- announced that Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings would be the new operator of the line. The new railroad will operate as the Saratoga & North Creek and power will be a pair of GE B39-8s and a rare EMD BL2 painted in a scheme reminiscent of the D&H 'Lightning Stripe' colors.

Previously, the limited excursion service over the line was operated by the Upper Hudson Railroad. Iowa Pacific presently operates a number of shortline railroads in the western USA- a number of them, such as the Arizona Eastern or San Luis and Rio Grande, also operate excursion trains.

An invitation-only VIP train is scheduled to operate on July 12th while regular excursions will begin on July 14. By re-opening the line to Saratoga Springs, the line is not only able to connect with Amtrak passenger trains, but also the national rail freight network by interchanging with CP Rail's former D&H Montreal-Albany line. Iowa Pacific is hoping to court Barton Mines, LLC as a shipper while the town of Corinth is hoping that a rail connection could attract a potential tenant to the dormant International Paper mill in town.

Bob Lyndall photo

WISCONSIN: For the first time in over a decade, the Mid-Continent Railway Muesum in North Freedom, WI will have trains powered by steam. Diminutive 1930-built Porter 0-4-0 #75, built for Flagg Coal, will be trucked into the museum in August by the family-operated, family-run Gramling Locomotive Works. The Museum plans on operating an extended schedule for August, anticipating additional riders with the arrival of the old Porter.

However, that is not the biggest news for the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, as a local foundation offered a $250,000 challenge grant to go towards the full restoration of the MCRM's last operating steam locomotive- 1907 built Chicago & North Western ALCo 4-6-0 #1385. The old C&NW Ten Wheeler routinely saw service hauling not only the museum's excursions, but also the Baraboo Circus Train based out of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI until the flatcars used to haul the wagons were deemed too old to operate on a common carrier after 2000.

In order for the MCRM to obtain the $250,000 grant, the museum must raise an additional $250,000 on its own.

"We have supported the museum over the past few years and have been impressed with their programs, their popularity with young families and their determination to recover from the destruction of 2008's flooding," said Dick Wagner, president of the Wagner Foundation. "We couldn't think of any more important way to support the museum further than to help it get its steam program going again."

When the restoration project begins, it could take as long as 18 months to put the engine back into service. But museum officials hope to get the ball rolling soon, and have named Tom Diehl, president of the Tommy Bartlett Shows and Exploratory World in Wisconsin Dells, honorary chairman of the fundraising campaign to match the grant.

The 1385 has been out of service since 1998- the locomotive was awaiting boiler work when the FRA revised the guidelines for steam boiler operations, nearly tripling the costs of restoring the disassembled steam locomotive.

At Least 3 Killed as Amtrak Train Collides With Dump Truck in Rural Nevada

Ron Almgren photo courtesey of Reno Gazette-Journal

Amtrak's Westbound California Zephyr was struck at a crossing by a gravel truck in Churchill County, NV on Friday morning at a grade corssing on the Union Pacific mainline northeast of Reno, NV, killing at least three people.

So far 104 passengers have been transported from the scene of a train and tractor-trailer crash in north Churchill County, authorities said.

Both Care Flight and a U.S. Navy helicopter have landed at Renown Regional Medical Center and dropped off patients.

Other passengers have been taken to a Fernley elementary school.

The vehicle that hit the train was a bottom-dumping gravel trasport, said Bob Knoll of the Reno Fire Department.
The train caught fire after the truck hit the second or third passenger car, Knoll said. It appeared the contents of the passenger car were what caught fire.

The Union Pacific, which owns the tracks the Zephyr was operating on was assessing whether or not to open up the paralell former Western Pacific mainline to bi-directional traffic while investigators from the NTSB review the accident scene.

The driver of the gravel truck was also killed in the collision.

UPDATE: A spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol said that the crossing where the collision occurred had both flashing lights and arms that raised and lowered whenever a train approached.

Today's Train of Thought- Say "Adirondack"; October 28, 2010

Today's train of thought takes us to the opposite shore of Lake Champlain and the Canadian Pacific's former Delaware & Hudson line between Albany, NY and Montreal, QC.

This end of the D&H wasn't historically as busy as the Mechanicville, NY to Binghampton, NY segment, which to this day serves as a bridge line between New England and the mid-Atlantic states and points west. However, besides being the railroad's gateway to Canada, the more northerly and scenic portion of the D&H was noteworthy in that it hosted one of the few post-Amtrak passenger trains where a freight railway used their own locomotives and rolling stock, when the railroad resumed passenger hauling with the Adirondack in 1974.

Amtrak eventually assumed control of the Rensselaer, NY to Montreal segment of the Adirondack and to this day is rated as one of the passenger carrier's most scenic routes. Through it all, the Adirondack has continued operating through the host railroad's acquisition and subsequent messy divorce from Guilford Transportation, the more amicable divorce from New York Susquehanna & Western and it's current ownership by Canadian Pacific.

In fact, traffic on the Albany-Montreal section of the D&H is expected to see an increase, with the Canadian Pacific and CSX reaching an agreement on hauling CSX freight between Selkirk, NY and Montreal, eliminating a lengthy detour via Syracuse, NY for CSX. In return, CSX would handle Canadian Pacific's freight between New York City and Selkirk. Aside from the already existing CP traffic and newly rerouted CSX traffic, the Adirondack also has to compete with trains 666 and it's less satanic counterpart 667, a unit ethanol train that runs between North Dakota and Providence, RI via Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and Rutland, VT (onto the Vermont Railway, New England Central and Providence & Worcester).

Railpictures.net contributor Frank Jolin knows this line well, and on October 23, 2009 he caught Amtrak P42CD #16 leading the southbound Adirondack (train #68 on most timetables), complete with a dome car, making it's way past the Red Rocks above Lake Champlain's Willsboro Bay, just north of Willsboro NY.