Adirondack Scenic Railroad (ADIX) Discussion - 2012

So why not upgrade and restore the already abandoned portion of the corridor running from Lake Clear to Malone and PROVE, once and for all, what you people are claiming???

methinks someone is just here to stir the pot. Unless the state actually did spend the money to rebuild the line for high speed rail, the amount spent to rebuild tracks is barely a drop in the bucket of the state budget, and money that will just be spent elsewhere anyways. Complaining about the tax dollars is a straw dog.

Where are the Alcos/MLWs operating on the Adirondack Scenic these days?

Motive power break down:

ALCOs:

RS18u 1845 is powering trains out of Utica.

RS18u 1835 in Rome shop receiving new paint (this week?).

RS3 8223 in Rome shop ready for turbo replacement.

S1 9411 stored in Rome. Still owned by industrial park. Not yet officially on the roster.

EMDs:

FP10 1502 Thendara local.

GP9 6076 Lake Placid.

SW1 705 Thendara engine house.

F7A 1508 OOS Utica needing engine work.

how is the 9411 going to make it to utica anyway?

I heard that MA&N conductor wanted to do it.

The turbo is on order waiting for the payment and the lease for the engine is in the works now. We just gave the railroad the final draft. For what it's worth, the railroad and the owners have made the choice together at the last meeting to only extend the lease for 6 years starting this season, after that the unit is going into full retirement. From what I understand the railroad is planning to get all of it's own motive power and 8223 will get used less and less over the next 6 seasons. So I would keep this in mind if you want to get photos or ride behind it. We surly hope that the railroad is able to have trains running daily to Lake Placid before it's done so we can see the 8223 make the full trip to Placid! And I want to be clear about the choice to not keep 8223 longer was by BOTH parties and it was the right choice for the 60+ year old engine witch will have over 25 years in with the Adirondack. Fun fact of the day, ADIX will be the longest job 8223 has ever held, 1950 to 1968 with NYC, 1969 to 1972 to 1984 with Amtrak and the Current owner from 1984 to ???? and from 1993 to current with ADIX on lease.

Probably, the MA&N will pick up the 9411 seeing as they're in Rome pretty frequently, and return to Utica with it, just like any other Adirondack locomotive.

Friction Bearings

Yes, but it's not technically being interchanged, MA&N has rights to run Rome to Utica; it may depend on what's specifically in the agreement. TheMan can probably answer this one the best -

The New York Central had some very long districts when it came to locomotive use. I can think of a number of them that were longer than Utica - Lake Placid. For one thing at one time the RS-3's ran through between Utica and Montreal. Other long engine districts were Boston - Albany or Selkirk, Selkirk - Buffalo or further. While many of their runs were relatively short, the railroad did not hesistate to use them on longer runs as necessary especially in their earlier days on the railroad.
Noel Weaver

lvrr325 wrote:Probably, the MA&N will pick up the 9411 seeing as they're in Rome pretty frequently, and return to Utica with it, just like any other Adirondack locomotive.

Yeah, But what Guns' point was with "Friction Bearings" was that CSX doesn't like units with friction bearings on their tracks. But I don't think it would be hard for the MA&N to negotiate with CSX on being able to transport 9411 a short ways on CSX tracks, considering Rome is like 2 feet from Utica. (Well not really 2 feet, but you know what I mean. The MA&N Interchange near Rome is only about ten miles on CSX from the Utica Station Area).

But is the "Friction Bearing" policy different if it is a trackage-rights train providing the transport rather than an actual CSX train?

Alek S

Locomotives with friction bearings can still be moved, but not in general unrestricted interchange.
If a railroad is willing to do it in special move, or with riders present, to check bearings at regular intervals.

you mean regular intervals like when it leaves ROme and when it gets to Utica?

Alek9997 wrote:

lvrr325 wrote:Probably, the MA&N will pick up the 9411 seeing as they're in Rome pretty frequently, and return to Utica with it, just like any other Adirondack locomotive.

Yeah, But what Guns' point was with "Friction Bearings" was that CSX doesn't like units with friction bearings on their tracks. But I don't think it would be hard for the MA&N to negotiate with CSX on being able to transport 9411 a short ways on CSX tracks, considering Rome is like 2 feet from Utica. (Well not really 2 feet, but you know what I mean. The MA&N Interchange near Rome is only about ten miles on CSX from the Utica Station Area).

But is the "Friction Bearing" policy different if it is a trackage-rights train providing the transport rather than an actual CSX train?

Alek S

I'll just repeat myself: Since the unit is not technically being interchanged (at least not to CSX), they may be able to get away with moving it via their trackage rights. It depends on what specifically is in the agreement as it was drafted or amended since. Old engines have a lot of potential issues now - coupler stop locks, what bearings it has, switchers are often limited to 30 mph regardless of bearing, etc etc etc -