New England Glory - Take 3
This was the third of a four day mini railfan vacation in Northern New England that would feature GP38s in glorious conditions...simply the kind of trip dreams are made of!
We split up two days in the Granite State shooting Conway Scenic trains for one day in the Green Mountain State with the Vermont Rail System. This was the seventh day of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) Autumn Explorer VI that would see the special train traveling north from St. Johnsbury to Orleans then back south to Bellow Falls via VRS' Washington County Railroad, the former Canadian Pacific and Boston and Maine Conn River mainline.
Having just departed Orleans less than 30 min earlier the southbound special is seen at one of the scenic highlights of the line and a place I'd long wanted to photograph. The railroad parallels Crystal Lake for two and a half miles and the northern mile or so is right on the shore, a location of many famous photos of CP passenger trains and B&M pool freights led by steam and later a mix of red Alcos and blue F units and geeps.
The train of is seen at about MP L14.7 led by VTR 206 a GP38-3 206 blt. Oct. 1969 as SOU 2718 and originally a high nosed straight GP38. Trailing is VTR 313 a GP40FH-2 that was rebuilt from original NYC GP40 3078 (blt. 8-67) for New Jersey Transit commuter service. She later ended up working for Iowa Pacific on their assorted passenger operations until that company went belly up and then was purchased in the bankruptcy auction by VRS in 2020.
As for the train it consists of seven private cars:
Blue Ridge Club blt. 1950 by Pullman-Standard
Pacific Home: blt. 1949 by Budd
www.rideaprivatecar.com/directory-private_rail/listing/pa...
Northern Dreams: blt. 1955 by Pullman-Standard
Northern Sky: blt. 1955 by ACF
Dover Harbor: blt. 1923 by Pullman
Colonial Crafts: blt. 1949 by Pullman-Standard
NYC 3: blt. 1928 by Pullman
As for the railroad, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad first arrived here in 1857 when their line was extended from St. Johnsbury to Barton, then in 1863 they built on to Newport and then finally to the Canadian border in 1867. It operated independently until 1887 when it was leased by the Boston and Lowell only six months before the B&L itself was leased to the Boston and Maine which affected practical control from then on.
In 1926 the B&M leased the line from Newport to Wells River to the Canadian Pacific which ultimately bought it outright in 1946. If interested here's a cool article from a century ago about that lease which was newsworthy enough to make the New York Times!
www.nytimes.com/1926/06/01/archives/cpr-gets-new-line-acq...
The Canadian Pacific Railway had been operating in the state of Vermont for 115 years when they finally retrenched in 1996 and sold their Newport and Lyndonville Subs to Iron Roads Railways which created the new Northern Vermont Railway which took over on September 28th of that year. The Iron Roads system was bankrupt within a half dozen years and the NV ceased to exist with the Lyndonville Sub and the former Boston and Maine Conn River Mainline between Newport and White River Junction being purchased by the State of Vermont and contracted to Vermont Rail System's Washington County Railroad Subsidiary. The WACR has surpassed the two decade mark operating the 103 mile line while the Newport Sub north into Canada passed to succesors Montreal, Maine and Atlantic and then Central Maine and Quebec until remarkably returning to the CP fold in 2020 when they purchased the CMQ.
Barton, Vermont
Friday October 10, 2025
New England Glory - Take 3
This was the third of a four day mini railfan vacation in Northern New England that would feature GP38s in glorious conditions...simply the kind of trip dreams are made of!
We split up two days in the Granite State shooting Conway Scenic trains for one day in the Green Mountain State with the Vermont Rail System. This was the seventh day of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) Autumn Explorer VI that would see the special train traveling north from St. Johnsbury to Orleans then back south to Bellow Falls via VRS' Washington County Railroad, the former Canadian Pacific and Boston and Maine Conn River mainline.
Having just departed Orleans less than 30 min earlier the southbound special is seen at one of the scenic highlights of the line and a place I'd long wanted to photograph. The railroad parallels Crystal Lake for two and a half miles and the northern mile or so is right on the shore, a location of many famous photos of CP passenger trains and B&M pool freights led by steam and later a mix of red Alcos and blue F units and geeps.
The train of is seen at about MP L14.7 led by VTR 206 a GP38-3 206 blt. Oct. 1969 as SOU 2718 and originally a high nosed straight GP38. Trailing is VTR 313 a GP40FH-2 that was rebuilt from original NYC GP40 3078 (blt. 8-67) for New Jersey Transit commuter service. She later ended up working for Iowa Pacific on their assorted passenger operations until that company went belly up and then was purchased in the bankruptcy auction by VRS in 2020.
As for the train it consists of seven private cars:
Blue Ridge Club blt. 1950 by Pullman-Standard
Pacific Home: blt. 1949 by Budd
www.rideaprivatecar.com/directory-private_rail/listing/pa...
Northern Dreams: blt. 1955 by Pullman-Standard
Northern Sky: blt. 1955 by ACF
Dover Harbor: blt. 1923 by Pullman
Colonial Crafts: blt. 1949 by Pullman-Standard
NYC 3: blt. 1928 by Pullman
As for the railroad, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad first arrived here in 1857 when their line was extended from St. Johnsbury to Barton, then in 1863 they built on to Newport and then finally to the Canadian border in 1867. It operated independently until 1887 when it was leased by the Boston and Lowell only six months before the B&L itself was leased to the Boston and Maine which affected practical control from then on.
In 1926 the B&M leased the line from Newport to Wells River to the Canadian Pacific which ultimately bought it outright in 1946. If interested here's a cool article from a century ago about that lease which was newsworthy enough to make the New York Times!
www.nytimes.com/1926/06/01/archives/cpr-gets-new-line-acq...
The Canadian Pacific Railway had been operating in the state of Vermont for 115 years when they finally retrenched in 1996 and sold their Newport and Lyndonville Subs to Iron Roads Railways which created the new Northern Vermont Railway which took over on September 28th of that year. The Iron Roads system was bankrupt within a half dozen years and the NV ceased to exist with the Lyndonville Sub and the former Boston and Maine Conn River Mainline between Newport and White River Junction being purchased by the State of Vermont and contracted to Vermont Rail System's Washington County Railroad Subsidiary. The WACR has surpassed the two decade mark operating the 103 mile line while the Newport Sub north into Canada passed to succesors Montreal, Maine and Atlantic and then Central Maine and Quebec until remarkably returning to the CP fold in 2020 when they purchased the CMQ.
Barton, Vermont
Friday October 10, 2025