Spring This and That!

Lisbon NH, Roger Robar photo

Just a bit of whatever crossed my computer screen the past couple of week or was on my workbench...George Dutka

 Lisbon Station

This came from Roger Robar this past week. The town of Lisbon, NH who owns the railroad station has just finished painting it with the original colors. They did a great job. There was lots of scraping of loose paint, sanding, priming then painting of entire structure.

Ethan Allen Express

Bruce Douglas sent along this note from the Canadian Press. The long-awaited return of passenger rail service to Vermont's largest city for the first time in nearly 70 years is set for July 29, 2022 state transportation officials announced Thursday.

That’s the date Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express will begin offering service to New York City from downtown Burlington. The train will make stops in Vergennes and Middlebury before it reaches Rutland, the current northern terminus of the Ethan Allen Express, which travels to New York via Albany, with stops along the way.

The last regularly scheduled passenger rail service to Vermont's largest city ended in 1953. 

D&H Switchers Montreal

Geoff Southwood pass along these comments regarding a weekend post. "The black D&H switchers were a common site in Montreal in the mid sixties.  I frequently saw them operating near Lasalle Station and Sortin Yard, both of which were south of St.Luc Yard.  I had a couple of slides of these and a few years ago I gave all my D&H material to Kip Grant, whom I believe you know."  

Geoff's next comments cc'd to Kip Grant.

I think I have found your answer.  See https://archives.exporail.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/canadian-rail-184-1967.pdf.  Scroll down to a column written by Murray W. Dean, an old school mate of mine.  On Page 15, he indicates that as of January 1967, the following D&H switchers were on lease to C.P.R. … #3015, 3023, 3026, 3035, 3045 and 3047.  Over that period I think a number of D&H switchers cycled through the C.P.R. leasing ranks in and around Montreal.  George’s picture is of #3024 and my vague memory says that one of the slides given to Kip was #3022.

Kip comments my favorite D&H locomotives, the S-units! Well, actually I waffle between them and the RS 2/3's but that's a happy predicament. Geoff, the two slides in your donation that are pertinent here are of S4's 3035 in June '66 at LaSalle Station and 3047 in May, '66 at St. Luc. By the way, reviewing the slides was like seeing them for the first time all over again, Geoff. Thanks again.

Roger Robar photo

Kind of a neat image with two logos that would make a nice model. I took this photo back in 2019.

My friend Andy passed this photo along this past weekend which was taken by Larry Broadbent. Larry is traveling through Maine at the moment. Lots of neat signs can be seen on this roadside barn. I like all the angles of the barns roof with a couple of attachments.

I took this photo of the layout last week looking in from the aisle-way to WRJ. I have not been running trains for awhile (about 4 months)  so the tracks will need some cleaning soon. 

I just finished another Keen's gas which is seen on the left side. I had two kits, both coming without stencils. I made my own stencil from heavy photocopy paper which worked just fine. But by the end of the second roof stencil job it is now toast.

Geoff Southwood sent me a thought regarding this weeks Wordless Wednesday. In the hot sun those ice blocks won’t last long.  I would recommend a rollout awning when staging the ice out for loading in to the truck. I might just do that!