Official Valley Railroad Thread (VRR)

[CVRA 7]

Hello VRR folks- let's get this new site rolling.
What's new with the Track Team?
When will the shop re-open?

[shadyjay]

Yes, good to be back isn't it? Did anyone happen to save the posts from the old forum (like the first time the old board went down?)

According to the official EST&R site, a Gillette Castle connection will be offered this season. Now finally, something new to offer. Reportedly, the train will drop off passengers at Ferry Road and they will be able to walk to the ferry, ferry across, then walk to the castle. Hopefully some sort of platform will be built at the crossing. And last time I remember, there was no sidewalk along the narrow Ferry Road leading to the ferry. No shoulders, either. Should be interesting to see how popular this connection will be.

Also, supposebly, there will be a Yahoo group for the Friends of the VRR. I subscribed but have yet to be authorized. Has anyone else been accepted membership?

Let's also see how the railroad company operates the boat. We all know what happens when the boat company runs the railroad :D

-Jay Hogan

[Nada Employee]

Track gang???? 50% of the "official" VRR track dept. is now the highest paid switchboard operator in VRR history.

[Goodspeed]

Woh, what happened to the site? This past saturday, four of the Friends finished up some work in the Haddam Meadow area. If any of you are in the area, feel free to check it out. Next up, we should be going back to the Higganum area for a bunch of clean-up work within the next few weeks. Several of us are also tossing around the idea of doing some work on Tuesday nights if the weather and daylight permits.
The groups New Haven PS-1 boxcar, #35386 may be headed to the shop within the next week or two for its sandblasting and paint work. With a little luck, the railroad will be back on line in a few more weeks.

Jay,
I think that e-mail group is only for railroad employees and volunteers. Come down on a Saturday and help us cut, I am sure you would be able to gain access to the group. No saw required. :D

Later,
Seth E.

[Scott]

The winter cutting gang was back at it on Saturday. For a change of scenery, we cut north of the Higganum bridge. That's right, north. Make a note of the date (3/20/04), as we also ran a flanged wheel over the Higganum bridge for the 1st time in 30 (?) + years. OK, it was only a small tool cart that we pushed, but it was a flanged wheel. We clear cut the track working north of the bridge. Nice to remind the neighbors that there really is a set of rails there. Probably a couple more days worth of work cutting the nasty stuff, vines, prickers, poison ivy, etc., then the cutting becomes easy until almost Middletown. It will be a great stretch to run the highrail truck and speeder on this year. Stay tuned!

[CVRA7]

Back in the olde days a couple of motor hand car trips were run up to Maromas - if I remember correctly the runs were made in 1969 and 1970 by Don Wolfgang, who owned a former New Haven track car. After that I don't think any runs were made north of Goodspeeds until around 1978, when the line was reopened as far north as the filled-in bridge site (sorry I'm not qualified enough anymore to remember the name of the road.) for motor hand car traffic. I remember having problems then with the Midway (?) Marina, who had occupied the right of way with stored boats and other items. Interest during most of the seventies on reopening the line was minimal as most resources were put into the operating portion
(Essex-Deep River and later Chester) and keeping the line to Saybrook Jct. passable. In the eighties during the Mackenzie era interest in heading north was revived, but the lack of activity created overgrown trackage and also furthered NIMBY opposition. Had the line been kept open even just for track cars I would guess the filled in bridge would not exist and NIMBY opposition would have lost some of its punch.

[Scott]

The filled in bridge is still a problem, as well as the Marina issues. There is also the wash-out a bit north of the Haddam Meadows, some missing rail in Higganum where a switch was removed way back when and tons of fill on the track in Higganum due to an old dredging project. Beyond that the obstacles are much smaller until you get to Middletown by Pratt & Whitney, a lot more fill on the tracks and the biggest tangle of vines and prickers you ever saw. In between all those problems are some nicely cleared stretches of track. You can run a highrail from the High bridge (by the shad shack) all the way up to the paved over crossing at the Haddam meadows. The goal is to clear and connect these sections of tracks as much as possible without a huge influx of money. If you haven't been to some of these sections of track in a while, you wouldn't believe the difference. Northward we go!

[shadyjay]

You don't need to tell me twice about the vines at P&W, Scott. I've hiked it several times. I tried to cut through with a machete but it was too much.

Anyway, I found some information for the old brill car M-55 which was at Essex for years. Apparently, it's doing quite well at its new home and has been restored. Check out www.rypn.org and click on BRIEFS and scroll down to 1/6/04. Looks good and has been repainted and fitted with seats. Enjoy!


-Jay Hogan

[Goodspeed]

Scott, I heard that you and the others went down this past Tuesday night. How did it go?

Later,
Seth E.

[Mr rt]

A stop at Gillette Castle ... you are serious I guess, but don't count on many to do it !
That castle is way up on top of the hill, yuck.

Now if the customer was able to drive his car onto a Valley Flat and able to drive it off at the Gillette castle stop, then maybe.

BTW, I'm related to that family, realy I am. A Gillette rode with me on the school bus to East Hampton. He graduted in 1963. That family was involved in some of the Goodspeed plays, although he was mainly a Brodway kind of guy.

[XRails]

Now if the customer was able to drive his car onto a Valley Flat and able to drive it off at the Gillette castle stop, then maybe.

Now that's an idea! Sorta like a mini auto train! Who knows, will the VRR one day bring us commuter rail on the Valley Line? I'd sure like to use it to get to the sailing races in Essex from Middletown!

[Cosmo]

How hard would it be to run a shuttle bus from the train to the castle via the ferry? I'm sure the cost of the ferry and the bus could be dovetailed (with a certain amount of verry CAREFUL negotiation,) into the cost of the train ticket.

[shadyjay]

Check out the NERAIL photo archive photos.nerail.org and you'll see some s ... ssex. -JH

[H.F.Malone]

Jay (and Seth, too):

Consider "BandA Fan's" images of that by-gone era as the illustrations to the old VRR threads that you all remember from previous incarnations of this RailroadDotNet. You do recall those "discussions", eh??

[Scott]

The season officially starts down at the Valley this weekend. It's also a Friends of the Valley Railroad Caboose Weekend! We are putting the caboose on the train the first weekend each month this year, to raise money for our efforts. Be sure to stop by and say hi this weekend. Let's get a shine on those rails!