September 19, 2015 – The Pennyrail Online Edition

Pacific Northwest – part 1 by Matt Gentry

September 19, 2015 Jim Pearson No Comments Matt Gentry, Photo Section

Photos by Matt Gentry

As luck would have it, I was given the opportunity to attend the NMRA National Train Show, which was held in Portland Oregon this year. The actual show was held August 28, 29 & 30. But with a set-up day on Thursday the 27th, that meant that a travel day was Wednesday the 26th. So my boss, Craig, and I decided to just take a few vacation days and travel around the Pacific Northwest, with some fellow railfan friends from Southern California, and left Saturday, August 22.
Not being one to watch the news, I had no idea the severity of the drought or wildfires in Oregon and Washington. I was told that the drought is worse up north than it is in Southern California, and it shows. Most of Southern California is concrete so you can’t see all the dead grass! But upon landing in Portland, the wildfires were evident as the atmosphere was smoky. Little did I know it would become much worse as we made our way towards Spokane Washington on Sunday, August 23.

For now, I will let my photos tell the tale of my travels. I have plenty to share, so look forward to more next month.

Amtrak Cascades makes a stop at Portland Union Station on Saturday, August 22. If you look close, you can see the rear end of the 4 car Portland segment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder. Once it departs, it will head for Spokane to be added to make up the full Empire Builder, along with the Seattle segment, and depart for Chicago. Did you notice the smoke in the sky?

Portland & Western (a Genesee & Wyoming shortline) GP39-2 #2317 heads south at Vancouver Washington as it passes Amtrak’s Vancouver Station. This train will cross the Columbia River and head south towards Eugene OR.

A Seattle bound Amtrak Cascades makes its way past BNSF’s Vancouver yard as chopped nose SD9 #1550 works a cut of cars in the yard.

At the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Southern Pacific GS-4 4449 gets a major overhaul. The big Lima-built 4-8-4 is getting its 15-year boiler inspection, and other needed maintenance is being done concurrently. The work was begun in February 2013 and should be completed in Fall of 2015, with the engine ready for use on the Holiday Express in December 2015. When photographed on August 22, 2015, all flues and tubes had been installed, rolling was done on both ends, welding was done on the flues and tube at the rear flue sheet, and firebox work (including installing new steel at the throatsheet and new circular tubes) was underway. A new superheater unit installation will begin shortly, after which there will be a full hyrdostatic test of the boiler. It will be great to see this old Daylight engine operating again – and when it is done, then work begins on Spokane Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 700!

September 2015 – The Spill with President Bill

September 19, 2015 Jim Pearson No Comments Bill Farrell, The Prez Sez

by Bill Farrell, President
Western Kentucky Chapter/NRHS

Well, now that school has started, everything in Western Kentucky seems to be getting back to an even grind. I hope most of you had a good, enjoyable summer, I know we did at the Farrell, Terry house hold.

I would like to thank Tom Johnson for pulling double duty last month on the program and the refreshments. The post of President is easy when you have a membership that will step up to bat and help out. The remainder of our year is down hill now with the club picnic on October 3rd in Crofton, Ky., the Fall Photo Contest on October 17th to the 24th, election of officers on November 16 and our annual Christmas party on December 8th at Brothers BBQ. I have contacted the Crofton City Hall, and have the pavilion for the club picnic. We still have the modular layout to work on but the weather needs to be cooler. I plan on picking a Saturday, and those who can work on the module will come to Hopkinsville and assemble the project.

Blair Terry and I plan on hosting a Railfanning event on Saturday, September 19th in Hopkinsville at the former L&N Depot. We plan on having everything set up by 9:00 am for those who want to attend. Just bring your lawn chair, a camera and enjoy the CSX next to a vintage railroad station. We plan on having a cooler of drinks and maybe a little food, so come one come all.

A reminder to the membership, we have promised Brothers BBQ that we would have twenty five members to attend the Christmas party this year. This means bring the family so we can have the numbers we promised. Brothers have forgone the usual $100.00 fee for the use of their meeting room. So it is important to have the numbers in attendance for the party that night. Brothers has excellent food and more choices then just BBQ. Almost forgot, December 8, 2015, we are also going to have an operating layout at the party.

If any member has railroad pictures or artwork they would like to display in the Depot in Madisonville, please bring it to our next meeting. We have several pieces on display at the present time but, we can use more. Look around and see what you might have in storage. I might add anything you bring should be framed, ready to display.

We will start to issue Western Kentucky Chapter club cards in January 2016. This month program and refreshment will be hosted by Thomas and Jim Bryan. Well this is just more than refreshments; it is the Bryan’s Annual Fish Fry. This is one meeting you don’t want to miss.

Oregon railroad action by Matt Gentry

September 19, 2015 Jim Pearson No Comments Matt Gentry, Photo Section

BNSF #2959 & #2707 sit idle in BNSF’s Lake Yard in Portland OR. - Matt Gentry — BNSF #2959 & #2707 sit idle in BNSF’s Lake Yard in Portland OR. – Matt Gentry

Oregon Pacific GMD1 departs the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, where notably SP #4449 and SP&S #700 reside, with a short excursion train in tow. Once at the end of the line a few miles away, this train will reverse back to the Heritage Center to pick up new passengers for another short trip. - Matt Gentry — Oregon Pacific GMD1 departs the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, where notably SP #4449 and SP&S #700 reside, with a short excursion train in tow. Once at the end of the line a few miles away, this train will reverse back to the Heritage Center to pick up new passengers for another short trip. – Matt Gentry

Tom’s DVD of the Month Review September 21, 2015

September 19, 2015 Jim Pearson No Comments Rail Flicks, Tommy Johnson

Title	Cascade Snow Fighters
Producer	7 Idea Productions
Format	DVD
Playing Time	1 hr. 5 min.
Purchased From	Trainvideodepot.com
Date Purchased	8/17/15
Price Paid	$26.95

We get the usual high quality videography that 7 Idea Productions is known for in this DVD. The video was shot in widescreen format which makes the scenery even more impressive as we watch snow removal activities on the Union Pacific’s Cascade Sub in Oregon. Some of the scenes go back as far as 2004 and some are as recent as this 2013.

We see Nordco M7 snow fighters, flangers, and Jordan spreaders in operation. The Nordco M7 has a blade on one end and a snow blower on the opposite end. It is powered by a supercharged Cummins six cylinder diesel engine. There are 16.5 feet blades on either side to push the snow away from the tracks.

Flangers, of course, are similar to cabooses with belly blades to remove the snow from between the rails. There are some nice scenes from a nighttime cab ride in a locomotive pulling a flanger.

Jordan spreaders are the last line of defense on the Cascade Sub and are put to use when the snow is too deep for the M7s or the flangers. There is some very good spreader action and we even get a cab ride.

The excellent snow removal action, the beautiful scenery, and the high quality widescreen image make this video a keeper.