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  • Official Valley Railroad Thread (VALE)

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1504461  by John Smythe
 
What type of coal does the Valley steam locomotives use? Thanks.
 #1506787  by ebtmikado
 
SPRINGTIME UPDATE

it's been a busy winter and spring on the railroad, getting ready for a busy 2019 season.

Ties and other trackwork are being done between Essex and Deep River, as part of the annual upkeep.
Tie replacement is also occurring north of Goodspeed station in Haddam, and through Haddam Meadow State Park.

Equipment is being cycled through the shop for annual maintenance and overhaul.

Thomas the Tank Engine is here on weekends through May 5.

The regular Steam Train & Riverboat, and Essex Clipper Dinner Train season begins on May 11.

Look for three steam engines operating most evenings during the 2019 North Pole Express season.

Lee
 #1510164  by 0475Joe
 
Just came across this link and thought this group would find it interesting. It's a detailed history of our Pullman Dining Car "Wallingford", starting with its days on the New Haven, all the way to present operations. Images and blueprints are included!

http://www.arkansasrailroadhistory.com/ ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1511829  by shadyjay
 
From the "you learn something new every day" files...

We have been working on Coach 1002, which is receiving a new paint job. As I was needle scaling off the existing paint this spring, I noticed yellow/orange paint. Upon asking a fellow employee, he informed me that the car was used on the Chessie Steam Specials back in the 1970s. I just popped on that site and found that not just the 1002, but also 1000 were used on that train.

https://www.themetrains.com/chessie-ste ... roster.htm

And a shot of what may be today's coach 1000 in those colors:
https://www.themetrains.com/chessie-ste ... ch-car.htm

I'm not sure if the 1000 and 1002 pictures/reference/orig #s are correct, however. Back in 1990, what is now Coach 1002 was Coach 1000 and what is now Coach 1000 was Coach 155, having been acquired by the Cape Cod & Hyannis. So at one point there may be a confusion between which Coach 1000 is which. Also back in the early 90s, Coach 1001 was numbered 1101 (there was also a 1102 but that was gone by the time of the renumbering). If one looked close at the exterior numbers on #1002, you could see a "2" covering over a zero. The number #155 on today's #1000 wouldn't have been visible, since it was repainted over.

It is possible that the reason for the renumbering was that it was determined that the #155 was the actual original car #1000 and that's why #1002 got that number.
 #1521581  by b&m 1566
 
Hands on the Throttle, is that a yearly thing they do on selected dates?
 #1521881  by NRGeep
 
I have noticed recent photos posted on NE RR photo archive of vintage diesels at Valley RR in the 80's. What caused Valley RR to move away from 1st generation diesels to exclusively steam (aside from their lil' switcher)?
 #1521920  by Cosmo
 
NRGeep wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:00 pm I have noticed recent photos posted on NE RR photo archive of vintage diesels at Valley RR in the 80's. What caused Valley RR to move away from 1st generation diesels to exclusively steam (aside from their lil' switcher)?
In short: "They didn't."
In detail, they have had at least 2 working 80 tonners for as long as I can remember... going back at least 2 decades.
They recently picked up another 80 tonner.
Generally, the diesels work the dinner trains and occasional charters for crewing considerations... and other reasons.

The RR probably couldn't do everything it's able to do now without SOME diesels on the roster.
 #1522000  by b&m 1566
 
Why did they wait until the last 10 or so years, to expanding northward and start to make a push for Middletown? Was is not the railroad's original goal?
 #1522006  by Backshophoss
 
"The Last NH U-boat(U 23B)with an ex-LIRR power car(FA), the "NYC" E8, and an ex-NYSW RS-1 were part of that museum's fleet.
May have an ex-RDG MU car as well(used on the Essex-New London "shuttle").
 #1522034  by Cosmo
 
b&m 1566 wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 4:16 pm Why did they wait until the last 10 or so years, to expanding northward and start to make a push for Middletown? Was is not the railroad's original goal?
It all comes down to money, my friend.
The Friends group has been clearing the line up North for way more than a decade, but the railroad itself has to consider the cost vs profit situation.
As more funds have become available, the FOVRR volunteers have been getting more and more ties from the RR to put in up North.
But as the active track pushes North, there have been decades old obstructions to contend with. The most recent of these waas Midway Marina, which through careful and years-long preparation turned into a win-win for both parties.
The next two obstacles are the obstruction at Gates Way (a driveway where the old bridge was collapsed onto the track then filled over,) then the Mill Creek bridge which, while not in bad shape, will need work done by contractors. There's a bidding process involved there which I won't get into, but these things take time... and money.
The railroad won't touch Gates Way until the plan, funding, and engineering are in place for the MC Bridge. The two are so close there's no point in doing the first until they're certain the second will happen. Otherwise, there's less than a mile of track to gain. Once the MCB project is finalized, the GW project will be fairly simple and rather less expensive.

Ok, that's a lot to digest and I gotta go eat dinner.
Take care.
 #1522039  by b&m 1566
 
Thank you for the summary. It was over the summer, that I learned the railroad had the lease to Middletown from the very beginning, before learning that I thought it had been a newly acquired lease (early 2000's).
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