405 on Freight
With the disappointing news that the most famous Alco on New England has been winterized and put up for the season due to no fall foliage trains this year I dug out one more from earlier in the year when I shot her making a rare freight run.
With motive power continued to be tight at the time due to the then ongoing daily Pan Am detours for the third time (I think) this past winter veteran Green Mountain railroad Alco RS-1 was pressed into freight duty. The classic first generation road switcher was built in November 1951 for the Rutland and has spent her entire life here on "home rails." These days she is a pampered pet reposing all winter in the ex B&M North Walpole, NH roundhouse and generally only used on summer and fall excursion passenger trains.
On this day, however, she was again briefly awakened from her winter slumber and fired up for an 0700 call to run light to Smithville to pull one hit load from the Emerys talc plant.
Here she is pausing at Depot Street beside the 1871 brick depot built by the Vermont Central during the time period that road was leading the Rutland. She is on her return trip back east toward Riverside Yard operating as symbol XR-1 with one covered hopper in tow. After waiting for the crew to grab lunch at Lisai's Chester Market she would soon be back on her way along the same rails she's trod for almost 70 years.
Chester, Vermont
Friday March 27, 2020
405 on Freight
With the disappointing news that the most famous Alco on New England has been winterized and put up for the season due to no fall foliage trains this year I dug out one more from earlier in the year when I shot her making a rare freight run.
With motive power continued to be tight at the time due to the then ongoing daily Pan Am detours for the third time (I think) this past winter veteran Green Mountain railroad Alco RS-1 was pressed into freight duty. The classic first generation road switcher was built in November 1951 for the Rutland and has spent her entire life here on "home rails." These days she is a pampered pet reposing all winter in the ex B&M North Walpole, NH roundhouse and generally only used on summer and fall excursion passenger trains.
On this day, however, she was again briefly awakened from her winter slumber and fired up for an 0700 call to run light to Smithville to pull one hit load from the Emerys talc plant.
Here she is pausing at Depot Street beside the 1871 brick depot built by the Vermont Central during the time period that road was leading the Rutland. She is on her return trip back east toward Riverside Yard operating as symbol XR-1 with one covered hopper in tow. After waiting for the crew to grab lunch at Lisai's Chester Market she would soon be back on her way along the same rails she's trod for almost 70 years.
Chester, Vermont
Friday March 27, 2020