Did a 24-hour jaunt to the Mohawk River Valley to watch trains along US 5 from Amsterdam to Herkimer NY. Stayed in a converted D&H caboose on Thursday night in St. Johnsville which was within earshot of the tracks (MP206). Just before sunset Amtrak came by heading west featuring a heritage engine (#145 "1971-2011") and it had 2 historic cars on the end - Pacific Island Pullman and New York Central Hickory Creek observation car. Don't blink watching it as the trains fly along US 5.
Went for a bike ride this morning along the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern line. Now Canadian National.
This train was sitting quite awhile with a red light waiting for the oncoming train to pass.
Here is a custom car opportunity.
The rest of the train was broken up into 2 sections so as not to block streets while waiting for the green light. Once he got the green light he had to backup and reconnect the train.
These tracks are known as the “Chicago Outer Belt Line”. It historically connects class 1 lines from the east to class 1 lines to the west. It starts in Gary Indiana and then goes in a big arc up to Waukegan Illinois by the Wisconsin border. It also moves steel out of Gary/south Chicago.
Good catch, Steve! I see those CN red-white-black diesels here in Butler, Pennsylvania now that they took over the former Bessemer & Lake Erie. I don't know modern diesels, but I know they are newer and more powerful than the B&LE ever ran.
@Mark Boyce posted:Good catch, Steve! I see those CN red-white-black diesels here in Butler, Pennsylvania now that they took over the former Bessemer & Lake Erie. I don't know modern diesels, but I know they are newer and more powerful than the B&LE ever ran.
Same on knowing the newer engines. They do use helper engines in the middle or end of the train a lot too. Which is cool to see.
It doesn't get much better than an early morning rise with a fresh cup of coffee and the sunrise on the French's Hollow trestle in Guilderland, NY not far from the popular Voorheesville train watching platform. When standing on the walking bridge the swallows darting around the falls will keep you busy while waiting for the next CSX freight to venture through.
I'll be traveling tomorrow, so here are mine for this week -
Dobbs Ferry, NY -
La Fox, IL -
Ashland, VA -
Blue Island, IL -
Excellent photographs as always, Chris! That first one on the Hudson River raises a question. I’ve seen lots of train photographs along the Hudson. They all seem to have a rocky shore. Does the river ever flood to the level of the tracks? That sure can happen here in Western Pennsylvania.
Beautiful Christopher. You sure do travel a lot, thanks for sharing your journeys through rail fanning.
@Mark Boyce posted:Excellent photographs as always, Chris! That first one on the Hudson River raises a question. I’ve seen lots of train photographs along the Hudson. They all seem to have a rocky shore. Does the river ever flood to the level of the tracks? That sure can happen here in Western Pennsylvania.
Mark,
I did take notice of how close the river sits to the tracks. There are a couple of platforms on the NY bound side which sit right on the shore of the river. You can see here from a photo on Metro North's website that flooding is definitely a problem
@coach joe posted:Beautiful Christopher. You sure do travel a lot, thanks for sharing your journeys through rail fanning.
Thank you! I always try to find some railfan spots when I travel. It's nice to see trains in different parts of the country 
@Christopher2035 posted:Mark,
I did take notice of how close the river sits to the tracks. There are a couple of platforms on the NY bound side which sit right on the shore of the river. You can see here from a photo on Metro North's website that flooding is definitely a problem
Thank you!!
Took a bike ride on a recently finished 4-5 mile stretch of the SNETT (rail trail) between Bellingham and Franklin MA. This trail is on the New Haven's "Midland" route which was pulled up west of Franklin MA in the late 60s. Portions of it in Massachusetts have been converted to a nice rail trail with the remaining still being gravel. In Franklin it was nice to see homage being paid to railroading days with a telltale and info sign (that the vandals havent gotten to yet...)
Rochelle
Rochelle
Rochelle
IRM! 8-)
Train and Traction ON!
For this week's video, here's a somewhat-rare operation. Galvtech is a division of Steel Dynamics, with a rolling mill located in the Streets Run valley just west of Homestead, PA. They lease a switcher from LTEX (in late 2022, this SW-8, as of now, a SW1500) to switch cars brought in by CSX and the Allegheny Valley Railroad. The narrow valley creates some interesting track geometry, including this tail track that juts into the facility's parking lot. I stumbled upon this former Stelco of Canada, nee-Southern Pacific unit after watching AVR deliver some coil cars using the tracks at right (in an earlier, linked video).
Last week, I was in Fort Worth and Abilene on a work trip, and had a few hours before my flight home. I took advantage of the recent expansion of TexRail to the airport, and rode one of their Stadler FLIRT DMUs to Fort Worth Central Station, where I railfanned the Trinity Railway Express trains before catching a train back to the airport. I read online that this is a former Rock Island main line bought by the state a while back, and now used solely for Amtrak and the commuter trains.
Took this picture this morning on my way to work. Light wasn’t at a good angle, but it was starting up, so may be gone by this afternoon. It’s at the Richmond ACCA yard and they’re setting up event tents and carnival rides also. My guess is an employee appreciation event. 
@jstraw124, ah yes ACCA yard. I remember it from when I worked in Richmond and then Fredericksburg in 1976-78 and ‘85-93. I’m glad it’s still an important part of the system!
It was still parked when I left work and grabbed some better pics. It’s been idling all day, wonder if it’s for the AC in the car on a really hot day. Also saw the train simulator for the upcoming festivities.
This week, I have a grab-bag of some CSX coal trains around the Williamsburg, VA, area, and a flashback I probably posted before, but a little over a year ago, I took one of my favorite photos to-date, of a Maryland & Delaware freight northbound from Roberts to the junction at Massey.
Here are mine for the last 2 weeks -
Romney, WV -
Altoona, PA -
Queens, NY - Howard Beach/JFK -
Tyrone, PA - 
New York, NY - 14 Street/Union Square -
Strasburg, PA -
Gordonville, PA -
Gallitzin, PA -
Perth Amboy, NJ -
Strasburg, PA -
Brooklyn, NY - 50th Street -
Deshler, OH -
My family vacationed in the Finger Lakes region of New York this year, specifically the area around Seneca Lake. I used a few mornings to follow around trains operated by the Finger Lakes Railway, which operates a cluster of former Lehigh Valley, New York Central, and Pennsylvania Railroad lines centered on Geneva, NY.
I started my week chasing local train HW-2, which runs from the hamlet of Himrod (a PRR/NYC junction) to Watkins Glen on the former PRR Elmira Secondary. At Glenora, the train crawls over a large waterfall located on private property. This is, admittedly, not my best work, largely because I relied on autofocus when I probably should have used manual for a composition this cluttered.
Leading the train was B23-7 2304, a former Southern Railway 4016 which had its high hood chopped sometime before or during its stint on the Great Miami Railroad in Ohio. Here, the locomotive is shoving back as it works US Salt (obscured by the tree at right). I'm standing on a set of stairs that descend from Salt Point Rd. to the Tiki Bar on Seneca Lake.
Later in the week, I had planned to chase train HG-2 from Himrod to Geneva and return, but wasn't adequately prepared. Once I got to Geneva, I found that the last unit wearing its Conrail blue (and original number) was leading the GC-2 from Geneva to Canandaigua. I chased the train northwest for a bit, until I had other obligations. Here, the unit is on a portion of the former NYC Corning Secondary, picking up its train for the run north. The device on the front is a controller for a belt pack allowing the single crew member to operate the locomotive remotely while uncoupling cars.
I’d call this one heavily weathered.
On this rail-fanning trip we are going to Northville, Michigan. To check out an old C&O Girder Bridge.
I will be parking at 1930’s rest station in Hines Park.
Looks like an old coal Shute for the furnace.
Let’s go inside, classic tile work.
C & O Girder Bridge over 6 Mile Rd. I waited about two hours for a locomotive, but no action today. Something like fishing.
Under the bridge with a loco police car,
Thanks for sharing Gary. I always like taking trips with you.
Here are mine from this week!
Altoona, PA -
Queens, NY - Forest Hills -
Summerhill, PA -
Brooklyn, NY - 50th Street -
Tipton, PA -
Our Scotland trip got blown up five years ago by Covid, but we finally made it last month. Not wanting to drive those tiny roads on the left we booked a rail tour instead starting with the West Highland Route. Good idea though not as easy to photograph and of course with an imperative to travel and pack light I regretfully left the Sony AX at home.
The West Highland Line links Glasgow Queen St. with a junction 60 miles northwest at Crianlarich, where the line splits into the 43 mile branch west to Oban while the main continues 65 miles to Fort William then another 41 miles to Mallaig. The route is considered by many as one of the most scenic in the world, the above view just 40 minutes out of Glasgow Queen St. looking northwest to Ardgartan across Loch Long.
ScotRail services this route with these BRR Class 156 “Super Sprinters,” sturdy DMU’s built between 1987-89 by Metro-Camell. The unit above snapped at Mallaig upon arrival with that morning’s “up” train from Glasgow.
Interestingly, despite being recently modernized with seating reduced to four abreast and DA compliant, they’re without mechanical a/c having fold-in windows along their upper sash for fresh air, which Scotland has plenty of. The group was 45% Aussie, 45% Brit and 10% Americans
The Class 156's have a top end of 75 mph and powered by a Cummins/Voith diesel-hydraulic set producing 570 hp per car and have a mostly steel car body. When built they were considered a step back design-wise from the more powerful/lightweight designs of the eighties, they are nevertheless still well suited to curving grade-heavy routes like the West Highland.
The trains typically run in multiple paired sets(at least during the tourist season) and the two daily round trips over the line leave Glasgow Queen St. as six car consists.
The consist is split at Crianlarich with the forward two units proceeding to west to Oban with the remaining four continuing northwest to Fort William and Mallaig.
Northwest toward Fort Willam the main route transits a true 180 degree horseshoe curve roughly two miles in diameter, crossing two spectacular viaducts. The above view from the first viaduct shows the second in distance known as the” Allt Kinglass Viaduct” across the valley. As you'd expect the region is sparsely populated with sheep out-numbering people.
Above crossing Allt Kinglass Viaduct looking southwest
Now looking north-east, to the viaduct some two minutes later. The scale difference between the surrounding mountains to the right-of-way is mind boggling and it is difficult to capture a view of the top of the adjoining mountains out the DMU’s window for most of the entire route.
Upon arrival in Fort William I was pleasantly surprised to encounter two significantly different passenger trains then our DMU's. While ScotRail is currently the government “operator of last resort” of Scotland’s regional rail services and specifically here the West Highlands Line after the previous Dutch owned franchise “Abelio” quit in 2022, various portions of the West Highland Line also host operations by other franchises including a heritage steam operation know as “The Jacobite Train” and an overnight sleeper service to London operated by “Caledonian Sleeper” and lastly a final surviving remnant of the lines freight traffic. I’ll post more on these next. Hope you enjoyed.
@Mooner posted:It doesn't get much better than an early morning rise with a fresh cup of coffee and the sunrise on the French's Hollow trestle in Guilderland, NY not far from the popular Voorheesville train watching platform. When standing on the walking bridge the swallows darting around the falls will keep you busy while waiting for the next CSX freight to venture through.
@Christopher2035 posted:I'll be traveling tomorrow, so here are mine for this week -
Dobbs Ferry, NY -
La Fox, IL -
Ashland, VA -
Blue Island, IL -
Nice to see a single engine on point occasionally. While running two together back to back may be more common, and looks good, it's nice to see that just running one is being done by railroads. For model train operators, it's certainly cheaper than buying two engines! Hard to believe how many stacks that top single CSX engine is pulling!
Remsen, NY Station Built in 1855 for the Black River & Utica Railroad. It now serves the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Along with some rolling stock and a old turntable not in use.
Rebuilt station 1999
NYC woodside caboose #19505 Built date 1902-23
Build date on wheels 1953 out of Albany, NY
U.S. Army Flat car #35524 Built 9-1929
Santa Fe Dining car #1479 Built by Budd Co. 1937 sold to Amtrak in 1971
RSC-2 #25 one of three surviving year Built September of 1949 rough shape
Turntable pit built by NYC 1901 can't find photos when in use, Rensen station was closed.
Need that lock on my shed
@Mark Boyce posted:
Thanks Mark, wish the station was open for pictures and to get in the caboose, The Pennsy caboose was gone the talk was to restore, see what happens.
Thanks Mark
@Sitka posted:Thanks Mark, wish the station was open for pictures and to get in the caboose, The Pennsy caboose was gone the talk was to restore, see what happens.
Thanks Mark
Mark, Yes, that would be nice to see inside the station. This is a place I read about when we took a trip to Lake George back in 2012. Both daughters were still in college then were with us. It was a bit out of the way for the slightly less than 500-mile trip back, which we wanted to do in one day. At that time, my wife and I wanted to go back some day, but I don't know if that will ever happen now.
@Mark Boyce posted:Mark, Yes, that would be nice to see inside the station. This is a place I read about when we took a trip to Lake George back in 2012. Both daughters were still in college then were with us. It was a bit out of the way for the slightly less than 500-mile trip back, which we wanted to do in one day. At that time, my wife and I wanted to go back some day, but I don't know if that will ever happen now.
I'll see what the hours are and get some photos soon, I did put the caboose on the Pennsy R.R. Lets see them thread I had started. HAGN Mark
Thanks Mark, I like this forum category a lot; many great posts and photos here and I like contributing and enjoy captioning my photos as it "squeezes" the the travel experience beyond the power point or slide show cliche many don't want to hear or read. The collegial atmosphere is most appreciated too. 
“The Jacobite” train (named after Scotland’s “Jacobite Rebellion” against the ruling monarchy of Britain in 1715) is an extremely popular steam powered train running between Ft. William and Mallaig, popular both in terms of ridership and for its service as a huge tourist draw to the region in general.
Thankfully our morning departure would be as promised; behind this “Black Five,” #45407 “The Lancashire Fusilier,” a 1930’s era mixed-traffic ten-wheeler designed by the famous William Stanier for the London, Midland & Scotland during his tenure as their Chief Mechanical Officer. Powerful, compact and as I learned that day able to effectively operate at speed in either direction. Also, here impressively clean in appearance and immaculate in its black 1950’s era BR scheme with the early herald on the tender.
The West Coast Railway’s website has a disclaimer that their “train suppliers” will substitute diesel traction if unforeseen circumstances dictate (high fire risk, emergency operational incident, locomotive mechanical failures, local pubs run out of Bira Moretti etc.) without a refund to the rider. Hence both days I was at the Ft William station the afternoon Jacobite had one of the venerable Class 37 double ended Diesel Electrics. A very British looking model series built 1961-65, nicknamed “Tractors” for the sound of their 1750hp English Electric prime mover. (Opinion) so ugly it’s cool looking. I would have preferred one with a more historically accurate BR scheme like the natty original BR green with grey roof though.
The Class 37 has a relatively low axle loading for its horsepower and tractive effort making it especially suited for lines with weight restrictions like the West Highland and was in fact the power for passenger trains on the line before the DMU’s took over. The coach stock here is more modern than the Mark I’s normally associated with the operation as the government ordered those either be withdrawn from service or retrofitted with auto locking doors. While the operator managed to scrounge up enough newer stock with automatic door locks to prevent cancellation of the summer schedules, previous rider capacity was not fully restored and the whole issue is now in the courts as the operator seeks a variance for the Mark I’s.
Above the westbound “Jacobite” climbing up to the grade to Banavie. After departing Ft. William, the train swings off the main through a junction equipped with an old fashioned working interlocking w/semaphores controlled from a staffed signal box (tower.) Passing the depot/yard I spotted the second Black Five #45212 and two additional Class 37’s, then the train tackled the slight grade up to “Neptune’s Ladder” which is a series of seven locks that brings the cross country Caledonian Canal back down to sea-level. Just past the Banavie station the line crosses the canal on a swing bridge controlled by another manned signal box that also manages all of the radio communication on the line.
While Mark II coaches lack some of the charm of those older teak-paneled Mark I’s, they’re comfortable and ours fortunately still had working sash windows which afforded us some conveniently clearer shots then trying to shoot through their cloudy windows.
Case in point, allowing this shot of our train crossing the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct, a scene featured notably in four Harry Potter films where the train is portrayed as the “Hogwarts Express”, albeit the current version we’re riding has neither the specific engine or coach stock portrayed in the films. This beautiful curved viaduct was constructed in the 1890’s using non-reinforced “mass concrete” poured into forms. It’s popularity in film and status as a national icon makes the location difficult to visit during the tourist season due to the crowds and resulting parking restrictions. If you look carefully at the opposite side of the bridge, you’ll see literally hundreds of camera-phone toting tourists waiting for their shot.
After the viaduct we stop at the town of Glenfinnan’s station which also serves as a museum, café etc. with a B&B operating in two adjoining old Pullmans. North of Glasgow’s suburban network the entire West Highland operates under an electronic “Token” block system between significant stations. The “Stop” sign to the right of signal box will flash red until the train is “assigned” the electronic “token,” the signal light turns blue after which it can proceed to the next block station.
True to form, at Glenfinnan we meet and clear that morning’s “down” DMU set to Glasgow. The Token system allows only one train over a block at a time, likewise the block division stations always have passing tracks and a typically unoccupied vestigial signal box since the token system is computerized. Prior to automating the system, the drivers literally had to receive the large metal token/disc handed up by the block station agents or signal box operators to proceed.
Cool railway aside, the line’s scenery is often other-worldly, 95% of the trip breathtaking; one of the better traveled Aussie couples in our group commented that Scotland’s West Highlands remind them of New Zealand on the Mallaig portion and Patagonia south of Ft. William which I can believe especially after riding over Rannoch Moor.
Upon arrival in Mallaig I got promptly bombed on the station platform by an Albatross with a large disgusting load of seagull poop, forcibly postponing my photo opportunity to post-clean-up and lunch. Upon returning to the station though my best view of the Jacobite (Black Five facing forward) was gone as the morning “up” train from Glasgow has arrived and the Black Five’s crew has already run around their consist for the return to Ft. Willam. *sigh*
Fortunately our tour bus was parked across the road from the station tracks. I suspect the harbor trackage and engine facilities of the last century included a wye or even a turntable but clearly now are all gone forever, hence our Black Five makes its return trip to Ft. William tender first every day. There are some 18(!) preserved “Black Fives” in the UK which is amazing as well as a testament to how many railfans per capita reside there. Both “Black Fives” currently based in Ft. William were built by Armstrong Whitworth in the late 1930’s.
Our tour itinerary to Inverness included a stop at the Glenfinnan Viaduct to shoot our eastbound “Jacobite” on it’s way back to Ft. William, however as described earlier the area around the Viaduct was already packed with like-minded tourists so we settled for this shot of the viaduct at Loch Nan Uamh from the bus window on our way to Inverness. Not very inspiring through a dirty coach window either and maybe the moment when I realized on our next trip to Scotland I would skip the tour and hire a car and driver as needed instead.
As a consolation prize, we debarked from our tour bus at Corpach, stretched our legs and caught the eastbound Jacobite approaching a nearby grade crossing tender first. The cream and brown car immediately behind the engine serves as the train's first-class parlor accommodation.
Despite it's recent notoriety the steam powered “Jacobite” train has in fact been operating under various names like “West Highlander” and “The Lochaber” by multiple operators since 1984 and has significantly contributed financially to both sustaining operations on the Ft. William to Mallaig portion of the West Highland Line as well as the tourist industry of the region in general. Despite all the tribulations of its operating franchise, various contractors and omnipresent regulating agencies “The Jacobite” remains one of the most popular trains in the UK if not just the local population of the West Highlands.
@atlpete thank you again for the great photographs and information from your trip to Scotland! While all didn’t go as you would have liked, you really did get in a lot of train action and scenery. Those folks who commented about areas looking like New Zealand and Patagonia certainly do get around!!
@atlpete posted:Thanks for such a great post on your Jacobite steam train excursion. Your knowledge and understanding of the operations of this 1:1 railroad is humbling.My wife and I did the same trip in June of this year, after walking the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William, 154 km in 7 days. Our knees are still talking to us! The train trip was a welcome rest. And yes, the fish and chips in Mallaig are the best in Scotland.I will add a couple of pictures from our trip. One shows 2 special passengers that day, one of whom was about to turn me into a toad.
Thanks Mark! those Aussie's save up their money for roughly three years between vacations in order to afford the airfare, and they typically travel for two months at a time. One couple from Brisbane doing Tokyo, Scotland and a Danube river cruise. Another doing Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Holland . Each of them doing the rail tour and Isle of Skye and Orkneys separately.
Thanks Bob! Great photos too, I'm highly impressed with your treks over the West Highland Way, if we'd attempted that they'd have found our desiccated carcasses somewhere around Glencoe during the spring thaw. Likewise relieved you were spared getting turned into a toad. On that note while riding the Kyle we passed the island out on Loch Carron where Dumbledore was buried, true to form the island is now legally known in Scotland as "Dumbledore's Island"
8^)
Towards the end of the week, our tour group moved from the Fort William/Argyle area northeast to Inverness.
As a regional center for the far north of Scotland, Inverness likewise serves as a regional rail-hub with services to Thurso/Wick on the northernmost coast and to the west coast at Kyle of Lochalsh, east to Aberdeen and south to Glasgow and Edinburgh via the via the Highland Main.
I had a hard time wrapping my head around the 78 each arrivals/departures per weekday from this comparatively compact stub-end terminal serving a local population of roughly 50K, though in fairness 16 schedules serve as rush-hour or suburban service to nearby towns on all three major routes, and some schedules end or are combined in the fall with the end of the tourist season.
One would look at this Saturday morning lineup of awaiting departures and conclude that the DMU, here all Class 158 “Express Sprinters,” reigns supreme over the northern lines, however the Aberdeen line and Highland Main to Glasgow and Edinburgh are also served by older HST Intercity 125’s, as well as other various DMU’s classes which we’ll review after our ride to Kyle of Lochalsh.
Above a 3-quarter shot of one of the “Express Sprinter” 2-car sets that are assigned to the Kyle Line and the far North Line, likewise off-peak locals on the Aberdeen and Highland Main lines. These units, built by British Rail Engineering Ltd., are only five years newer than the Class 156’s we rode to Ft. William but seem decades newer in comparison with a top end of 90 mph, air conditioning, sealed passenger compartment etc. and a comparatively smoother suspension and quieter ride.
Departing Inverness we travel over the Far North line as far as Dingwall through well-tended fields alternating with views of the Beauly Firth, in contrast to the rest of our trip the route here is flat, with smooth roadbed and the Sprinters run fast between stations. Looking at Dingwall station above the steel and glass canopies belies the sandstone brick structure’s age, having been completed by the Highland Railway in 1862.
Departing Dingwall we diverge left onto the Kyle line, leaving the tidelands and the Far North Line above left. Immediately our train starts west on a long climb up some 456 ft into the highlands on a west-southwest route running parallel to Loch Garve above right and eventually the River Bran below left over lengthy tangents.
The landscape empties out as we climb above the tree line to the route’s 646 ft summit. Human habitation is quite sparse, there’s more deer than sheep too. West of the summit the watershed drains into the Atlantic, the fresh water lochs we pass eventually give away to the salt water Loch Carron.
The route hugs the south shore of Loch Carron until a brief climb over the bluff that drops us into Kyle and its waterfront station, right on the pier but otherwise only used by ScotRail and connecting buses, as the ferry to the Isle of Skye was replaced by a highway bridge in 1995. Like the West Highland line to Mallaig, the Kyle Line is one of the most spectacular rail lines in the world yet having no tunnels or great viaducts.
As mentioned earlier some of the other ScotRail equipment seen at Inverness include the following classes.
Above right, a Class 170 “Turbostar” in a four-car DMU set running to Aberdeen. First manufactured by a consortium Adtranz (ABB/Daimler-Benz) 1997-2001 and then Bombardier until 2011, with lightweight aluminum car bodies each powered by a single 422hp diesel. Typically operated in 2 or 3 car sets, they can also MU with Class 156 and 158 Sprinter DMU’s. Ironically, they’ve been supplanted on ScotRail Express services from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness by HST 125 sets that date back to the late 1970’s, like the above example on the left.
Ironically, I first traveled to Scotland from London on one of these sets back in 1982, I never imagined still seeing them in service 40 plus years later but voila’. These are identified in ScotRail ’s system timetables as “Inter7city” equipment, usually running in secondary express service opposite the “LNER” and “Caledonian Sleeper” franchise operated trains. The above equipment actually the first of two sets mu’d together awaiting their 10:53 departure for Edinburgh, the Mk3 coach count between the power units (aka "Driving Motors") is down to four cars here, roughly half of what they pulled when they were the flag ship of the East Coast Mainline forty years ago. They also run with five coaches hence the "Inter7City" moniker given the two "Driving Motors" on the ends.
ScotRail has mandated a uniform and consistent paint scheme across all of its rolling stock since Abelio quit the franchise in 2022. Me-thinks while a prospective franchise operator might want to negotiate that for their own brand recognition the odds are no one is willing to take on this far-flung seasonal network in terms of a return on their investment or the massive increase in operating subsidies that likely requires to begin with.
"Express Sprinter" exhaust, would look good on my old C-20 as in shades of "Thrush Pipes."
Pending posts; a trip down the Highland Main, a visit to Edinburg Waverly and a review of the rest of the franchise operation's equipment seen. Cheers!
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