Red is the New Gray

The Valley Railroad's Engine House (built in the 1970's) has received a paint job and a striking new color.

All of the rolling stock normally along side the Engine House had to be moved else where for the duration of the project.

 Although the roof of the building has been painted several times, the sides and ends have remained untouched until Facilities Manager Ed Brigman and his crew (Colin Ewart, Bart Hartzell and Liu Jian) washed and scrubbed the building prior to priming and painting.

Ed up on the man lift we rented to paint the upper areas of the Dickinson (River Valley Junction) building and the Engine House.

 The color was chosen to match the adjoining Locomotive Servicing Facility which was built in 2014.

J. David Conrad

What Do You Do With the Ashes?

Visitors occasionally ask: "What do you do with the ashes?" Its a fair question given that all coal contains a certain amount of material which won't burn, generally referred to as ash. 

By law, in the State of Connecticut, the coal we burn must contain less the 2% sulfur. Another characteristic of our coal is that it has a low volatile content, which means it produces little or (if the fireman is doing a good job) no smoke.  

Since ash generates no heat, it is to our advantage to burn coal which is low in ash, ours generally runs between 8 and 10%, which means that if we burn about 500 tons per year we are left with about 50 tons of ash per year. So, what is done with the ash? Years ago, the railroads used it on their tracks for fill and ballast (e.g. - the Lyman Viaduct in Colchester). 

Fireman Ron Olsen loads ash for return to Pennsylvania

Today, it goes back where it came from: the coal mine. A couple of times per year, the truck that brings us a load of coal is loaded with ash which is returned to the mine.

J. David