Wyeing In White River
In September 2014 I was home from Alaska where I was still living at the time and was headed to North Conway for another Railfans Weekend. Coinciding with that weekend was the Glory Days of the Railroad Festival that used to be held in White River Junction, VT. Pan Am was sending two business cars along with their OCS FP9s and two heritage GP9s for display. I took the opportunity to chase this special all the way north up the Conn River Line, and while most of my shots from this day are sub par I got a few keepers and a lot of memories.
PAR 1 and PAR 2 are ex Canadian National FP9s 6505 and 6516 built in 1954 and 1957 respectively by GMDD. They passed from CN to VIA Rail in 1978 before being picked up by the Conway Scenic in 1995 when they expanded into Crawford Notch. After 15 years spent hauling tourists in the White Mountains 6505 & 6516 would become PAR 1 & 2 when traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216.
They are seen here shoving around the north leg of the wye east onto the Connecticut River Bridge toward West Lebanon, NH so they can turn their train to face back south. They are on the remains of the once mighty Northern Mainline that was the B&M's gateway from Boston via Nashua, Manchester and Concord. By this late date the former B&M Conn River mainline north of here was (and still is) owned by the state and operated by the Vermont Rail System to Newport and the Northern was abandoned and removed from just north of Concord to a point only a couple miles south of here in Lebanon.
Pan Am, as legacy successor to the B&M, still maintained trackage rights and was running all the way up here to WRJ three times a week back when this was taken....their last link to their legacy in the north country.
White River Junction
Hartford, Vermont
Friday September 12, 2014
Wyeing In White River
In September 2014 I was home from Alaska where I was still living at the time and was headed to North Conway for another Railfans Weekend. Coinciding with that weekend was the Glory Days of the Railroad Festival that used to be held in White River Junction, VT. Pan Am was sending two business cars along with their OCS FP9s and two heritage GP9s for display. I took the opportunity to chase this special all the way north up the Conn River Line, and while most of my shots from this day are sub par I got a few keepers and a lot of memories.
PAR 1 and PAR 2 are ex Canadian National FP9s 6505 and 6516 built in 1954 and 1957 respectively by GMDD. They passed from CN to VIA Rail in 1978 before being picked up by the Conway Scenic in 1995 when they expanded into Crawford Notch. After 15 years spent hauling tourists in the White Mountains 6505 & 6516 would become PAR 1 & 2 when traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216.
They are seen here shoving around the north leg of the wye east onto the Connecticut River Bridge toward West Lebanon, NH so they can turn their train to face back south. They are on the remains of the once mighty Northern Mainline that was the B&M's gateway from Boston via Nashua, Manchester and Concord. By this late date the former B&M Conn River mainline north of here was (and still is) owned by the state and operated by the Vermont Rail System to Newport and the Northern was abandoned and removed from just north of Concord to a point only a couple miles south of here in Lebanon.
Pan Am, as legacy successor to the B&M, still maintained trackage rights and was running all the way up here to WRJ three times a week back when this was taken....their last link to their legacy in the north country.
White River Junction
Hartford, Vermont
Friday September 12, 2014