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The New Haven had a branch off the Pittsfield line starting somewhere around Housatonic and ending at an interchange with the B&A/NYC timetabled as State Line. It existed so the NH could get better rate divisions vs. the B&A, plus possibly better grades and avoiding congestion in downtown Pi...

The Pioneer Zephyr, Flying Yankee and subsequent articulated Zephyrs were descendants of Budd's experiments with Michelin rubber-tired railroad vehicles (think Montreal Metro wheels under an odd swiss army knife 2-car train on the D&RGW). The diesel-electric drive was based on EMC's motor car ex...

Apropos of infrastructure required for multiple classes of service on a route, in 1984 the Japanese Keisei line operated 4 classes of service on 2 tracks Ueno (Tokyo) - Narita: no stops, 1 stop, a dozen stops, all stops. Riding the "dozen stops" train, we overtook 2 or 3 locals with cross-...

Between 1916 and 1932, there was a small trolley freight operation in Amesbury, MA, associated with the Mass. Northeastern trolley line. It didn't really have a main line, using the Mass. Northeastern track to reach its spurs from its B&M connection. Its one locomotive is said not to have been a...

Seashore Trolley Museum has a couple of "jump frogs" in yard track. They behave best when everything using them has the same wheel tread width. This is not the case at Seashore.

While the "Buy American" idea was taking off under Nixon, the US Department of Transportation developed the "Standard Light Rail Vehicle" as a replacement for aging PCCs etc. across the US. Only Boston and San Francisco bought in, Philadelphia didn't because it wouldn't clear the...

The frame of the new South Boston Carbarn has been erected. Roof and sheathing should be complete by about the end of January. Electrical work will take another week or two. Seashore's Track Department will have plenty opportunities for volunteers building the connecting tracks once the ground dries...

The turntable pit of the former Portland & Ogdensburg/Maine Central engine terminal in Conway NH still exists. It's in a forested area north of the State of NH/Conway Scenic materials yard east of the MEC main line and north of Depot Rd. in Conway NH. Masonry walls and the center pier are present.

Depending on how much fill they bring in (and it won't come by train these days) Widett Circle will be subject to fairly regular flooding in the 20-30 year time frame.

In the early 80s, I spent a couple of nights in a hotel on Market St. San Francisco. The diesel buses were noisy from 8-10 floors up. You could hear the streetcars, but with resilient wheels they weren't disruptive. I only knew trolleybuses were passing by looking out the window. I hadn't actually u...

With (R) in control of the NH Governor's office, Executive Council and Senate, not expecting a lot of progress. (D) control of the House would help, though.

I recall the area being flat and somewhat marshy. I don't remember seeing empty embankments for removed connections, but I wasn't even a teenager in 1968. There wouldn't have been much reason for moves from Wilmington Jct. to Wakefield Jct. or Danvers, or between Danvers and Peabody Sq. via West Pea...

The P&O/Rutland roadbed from Champlain NY (west of Rouse's Point) to Ellenburg NY is fairly close to NY 11. It's mostly out of sight of 11 from there to Malone, where the old station still stands and bridge abutments are visible. West of Malone I'm less sure, as I rarely drive that part of 11. I...

I don't know nuances of PCC trucks, or which are compatible with which variants. But Seashore has a *lot* of Boston MTA PCC trucks. If someone is looking at re-gauging TTC 4601 feel free to contact me.

For those who haven't looked at project3713.com, here's a quote from their January 2022 Donor Update: [quote]The start of the pandemic coincided with a periodic review of the Project3713 partnership agreement. While these reviews have been fairly quick and easy in the past, Covid-related disruptions...