Representing New England With Pride
In 2014 the North Carolina Transportation Museum held their biggest party ever and in my humble opinion the single greatest railfan event I've ever attended before or since. Following up on their wildly successful heritage unit family portrait event for Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary they planned something even bigger.
Gathering 26 surviving freight and passenger diesels from the classic first generation era, they all came together for three days of festivities centered around the old Southern Railway turntable. New England was well represented and in this frame I captured three of the visitors that spent decades polishing the rails of my homeland.
Front and center on the turntable representing the second generation of American streamlined passenger power is Amtrak 406. The EMD F40PHR was blt. Jul. 1988 and converted into an NPCU in 2011. One of the last of her kind in revenue service at Amtrak she was part of order number 877008, the final 10 of the model acquired by Amtrak. After the fledgling government road's first new power, the six axle SDP40Fs failed to meet expectations, these four axle successors were wildly successful and defined the railroad for decades from coast to coast. 406 was no stranger to the Northeast Corridor hustling back and forth between Boston and New Haven leading Amfleets at 100 mph before the catenary went live in 2000.
She was repainted in Phase III heritage colors as part of Amtrak's 40th anniversary where she traveled around with a special train that told the story of Amtrak's history which also was in attendance at this event.
To her left and sent by the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston, CT is New Haven FL9 2019 that received a complete restoration and paint job prior to this event. Built by EMD in Oct.1960 as NH 2049 the dual mode 5 axle unit unique to the New Haven spent her whole life hauling passengers on the rails for which she was built passing from the NH, to PC, CR and then Metro North before being sold to the state of Connecticut. One of 10 such ConnDOT units she was rebuilt by Chrome Locomotive in 1985 and returned to her original McGinnis era New Haven livery. Retired around 2002 I believe she still operates in CT on the Naugatuck Railroad's excursion trains on an ex NH branch to Torrington.
And of course at right is PAR1 a unit that needs no introduction to New Englanders. The FP9 was built in 1954 by GMDD as Canadian National 6505. She 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 would become PAR 1 when she and sister 6516 were traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216. Alas, in 2022 she left New England for an uncertain fate in Waycross, Georgia now the property of CSXT.
If you want to learn more about this railfan event of the century in case you weren't there this gentleman has a fabulous overview on his site: www.wvncrails.org/streamliners-at-spencer.html
Spencer, North Carolina
Friday May 30, 2014
Representing New England With Pride
In 2014 the North Carolina Transportation Museum held their biggest party ever and in my humble opinion the single greatest railfan event I've ever attended before or since. Following up on their wildly successful heritage unit family portrait event for Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary they planned something even bigger.
Gathering 26 surviving freight and passenger diesels from the classic first generation era, they all came together for three days of festivities centered around the old Southern Railway turntable. New England was well represented and in this frame I captured three of the visitors that spent decades polishing the rails of my homeland.
Front and center on the turntable representing the second generation of American streamlined passenger power is Amtrak 406. The EMD F40PHR was blt. Jul. 1988 and converted into an NPCU in 2011. One of the last of her kind in revenue service at Amtrak she was part of order number 877008, the final 10 of the model acquired by Amtrak. After the fledgling government road's first new power, the six axle SDP40Fs failed to meet expectations, these four axle successors were wildly successful and defined the railroad for decades from coast to coast. 406 was no stranger to the Northeast Corridor hustling back and forth between Boston and New Haven leading Amfleets at 100 mph before the catenary went live in 2000.
She was repainted in Phase III heritage colors as part of Amtrak's 40th anniversary where she traveled around with a special train that told the story of Amtrak's history which also was in attendance at this event.
To her left and sent by the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston, CT is New Haven FL9 2019 that received a complete restoration and paint job prior to this event. Built by EMD in Oct.1960 as NH 2049 the dual mode 5 axle unit unique to the New Haven spent her whole life hauling passengers on the rails for which she was built passing from the NH, to PC, CR and then Metro North before being sold to the state of Connecticut. One of 10 such ConnDOT units she was rebuilt by Chrome Locomotive in 1985 and returned to her original McGinnis era New Haven livery. Retired around 2002 I believe she still operates in CT on the Naugatuck Railroad's excursion trains on an ex NH branch to Torrington.
And of course at right is PAR1 a unit that needs no introduction to New Englanders. The FP9 was built in 1954 by GMDD as Canadian National 6505. She 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 would become PAR 1 when she and sister 6516 were traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216. Alas, in 2022 she left New England for an uncertain fate in Waycross, Georgia now the property of CSXT.
If you want to learn more about this railfan event of the century in case you weren't there this gentleman has a fabulous overview on his site: www.wvncrails.org/streamliners-at-spencer.html
Spencer, North Carolina
Friday May 30, 2014