Friday, January 30, 2015

Plowing the Right-of-Way

We pulled out our historic Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington snow plow for the second time ever this week, to clean up the 2' of snow that storm Colbie dropped in Essex and along the CT River in preparation for our Eagle Flyer excursions, Feb 14-16.

Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant

We were fortunate to have two media outlets come along for the ride, and the results are in!
Much thanks to the Valley Railroad crew for their hard work and for inviting the media along - providing Connecticut residents with a behind the scenes look at vintage railroad equipment and operations.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Around the Shop

The new Locomotive Servicing Facility is being put to really good use this winter as the boiler work on Locomotive 40 gets underway, work in preparation for the annual FRA locomotive inspection nears completion and work on Locomotive 1606 progresses.  This addition to our shop facilities has greatly enhanced the capabilities of our Engine House crews to get necessary work on the equipment accomplished in a protected environment.

Locomotive 1606 "under the hood"
 Meanwhile, inside the shop itself, two passenger cars are receiving much needed work.  At the south-end, Great Republic is receiving a restroom upgrade and some steelwork, while in the north bay, the Open Car (Riverview) is receiving extensive repairs and upgrading. 

Riverview Upgrades and Renovation

Once space opens-up, Coach 603 will be in for major restoration work and Dacosta will be back in to receive its generator, power control systems and air conditioning.  All of our space in the shop facility will be fully in use throughout the winter months, as we fulfill our mission to maintain and restore historic railroad equipment.

Much thanks to Bob Wuchert and "The Smokestack" for a thorough update of what's happening behind the scenes!