NMRA HUB Division - New England Model Train EXPO
New England Model Train EXPO
December 6th and 7th, 2014
at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center, Marlborough, MA
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
First Rebuilt MBTA Light Rail Vehicle Arrives in Boston MA
(SOURCE: Trains.com NewsWire)
BOSTON – The first rebuilt Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Type 7 trolley used on the agency’s Green Line is set to arrive in Boston this week. The car will arrive from Alstom Transportation in Hornell, N. Y. that won a $104 million contract with the MBTA in 2012 to conduct a “complete systems overhaul” of 86 of the transit agency’s Type 7 trolleys.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo tells Boston Magazine that the car will be subjected to two months of performance testing. Then, it will go into passenger service sometime between late January and early February of 2015.
Pesaturo says that, besides the updates to the trains’ systems and “full modernization” of the light-rail vehicles, the cars are also being outfitted with new interior surfaces and new propulsion and climate control systems.
The other 85 light-rail vehicles, most of which are still in service, will be sent to Alstom, refurbished, and return to Boston by January 2017, according to the MBTA, but Alstom says it expects to have the project completed by October 2016.
The cars were originally built in 1986, 1987, and 1997 by Kinki-Sharyo of Osaka, Japan, and assembled at the former Westinghouse Plant in Readville.
In May, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors, the state entity that oversees MBTA’s operations, awarded a $118 million contract to CAF USA Inc. to construct 24 new “Type 9” Light Rail vehicles for use on the Green Line. They will arrive between 2017 and 2019.
BOSTON – The first rebuilt Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Type 7 trolley used on the agency’s Green Line is set to arrive in Boston this week. The car will arrive from Alstom Transportation in Hornell, N. Y. that won a $104 million contract with the MBTA in 2012 to conduct a “complete systems overhaul” of 86 of the transit agency’s Type 7 trolleys.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo tells Boston Magazine that the car will be subjected to two months of performance testing. Then, it will go into passenger service sometime between late January and early February of 2015.
Pesaturo says that, besides the updates to the trains’ systems and “full modernization” of the light-rail vehicles, the cars are also being outfitted with new interior surfaces and new propulsion and climate control systems.
The other 85 light-rail vehicles, most of which are still in service, will be sent to Alstom, refurbished, and return to Boston by January 2017, according to the MBTA, but Alstom says it expects to have the project completed by October 2016.
The cars were originally built in 1986, 1987, and 1997 by Kinki-Sharyo of Osaka, Japan, and assembled at the former Westinghouse Plant in Readville.
In May, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors, the state entity that oversees MBTA’s operations, awarded a $118 million contract to CAF USA Inc. to construct 24 new “Type 9” Light Rail vehicles for use on the Green Line. They will arrive between 2017 and 2019.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Walther's HO Scale Russell Snow Plow in Pan Am Scheme
Walther's has released a Pan Am version of their HO scale Russell snow plow, road number MWS 76.
* Limited Edition - One Time Run of These Roadnumbers!
* Completely New Tool from Rails to Roof
* Prototypes in Service 1920s to Present
* Fully-Assembled, Railroad Ready - Undecorated Kit also Available
* Factory-Installed Grab Irons
* Complete Underbody w/Brake Gear & Piping
* Custom Front Truck for Tighter Curves
* Detailed Flanger
* Thin Profile Stirrups
* Window "Glass"
* Ultra-Smooth Rolling Metal Axles & 33" Wheelsets
* Proto MAX(TM) Metal Knuckle Couplers
* Railroad-Specific Details:
* See-Through "Steel" or Original "Wood" Running Boards
* Sturdy Hinged & Positionable Side Wings in Two Styles w/Wire Cross Braces
* Fitted w/Original or One of Three Styles of Late Headlights as Appropriate
* Bettendorf or Roller Bearing Rear Truck
Part # 920-110012, MSRP $69.98
* Limited Edition - One Time Run of These Roadnumbers!
* Completely New Tool from Rails to Roof
* Prototypes in Service 1920s to Present
* Fully-Assembled, Railroad Ready - Undecorated Kit also Available
* Factory-Installed Grab Irons
* Complete Underbody w/Brake Gear & Piping
* Custom Front Truck for Tighter Curves
* Detailed Flanger
* Thin Profile Stirrups
* Window "Glass"
* Ultra-Smooth Rolling Metal Axles & 33" Wheelsets
* Proto MAX(TM) Metal Knuckle Couplers
* Railroad-Specific Details:
* See-Through "Steel" or Original "Wood" Running Boards
* Sturdy Hinged & Positionable Side Wings in Two Styles w/Wire Cross Braces
* Fitted w/Original or One of Three Styles of Late Headlights as Appropriate
* Bettendorf or Roller Bearing Rear Truck
Part # 920-110012, MSRP $69.98
Monday, November 3, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Name That Photo Location: Unknown Boston & Maine Wreck
I acquired this photo recently and am curious what the date & location is. It was part of a scrapbook that appears to be in the 1900-1910 date range. In it were all sorts of newspaper clippings pertaining to the local railroads, mostly the Boston & Maine.
If anyone has any idea at all when & where this photo was taken, let me know!
Pan Am Train Derails in Greenfield MA
(SOURCE: The Recorder - By TOM RELIHAN)
GREENFIELD — Last week, emergency responders gathered to plan how they’d handle a fiery train derailment.
Wednesday morning (9/24), responders found themselves
faced with something less dangerous but real — when a freight train
derailed on a stretch of tracks just near Hope Street.
But this time, in real life, there was no fire, no hazard and no injuries.
According to Cynthia Scarano, the executive vice
president of Pan Am Railways, the derailment occurred around 7:45 a.m.
By 9 a.m., railroad workers were on the scene assessing the situation.
Scarano said nine of the train’s 56 cars derailed and two of the locomotives had “wheels off the tracks.” None fell over.
Greenfield Fire Lieutenant Peter McIver said two
of the cars involved had ended up sitting sideways across the tracks and
the rest had only gone off the rails. All of the cars remained upright,
he said.
Scarano said the cars were carrying paper manufacturing products and lumber.
According to McIver and Scarano, none of the cargo spilled, and none of the cars contained any hazardous materials.
“There were no liquids, no hazardous materials.
It was all paper and cardboard products,” said McIver. “There were small
fires reported off the tracks, but none were found.”
As of noon, Scarano said Pan Am employees were
still analyzing the situation and would be devising a plan to re-rail
the cars as soon as possible. She estimated it would take about a day to
complete the task.
Scarano said Pan Am has not determined the cause
of the accident, but would be downloading the “black box” data recorders
and looking at the cars and tracks.
According to Scarano, the tracks that the
derailment occurred on are only used for freight, and will not be part
of a series of upgrades that are being carried out on other area tracks
to accommodate Amtrak’s new high-speed passenger trains.
Though no hazardous materials were released in
this particular incident, trains regularly transport all types of
products along area railways, from regular household products to heating
oil, ethanol, propane.
“It’s one of the largest methods of shipping in
the United States,” said Turners Falls Fire Chief and Montague Emergency
Management Director Robert J. Escott, who participated in the training
exercise last week and noted the coincidence.
Escott said local emergency service organizations
are constantly training and preparing to deal with any situation where a
derailment could release toxic materials.
To alert the public to a dangerous incident
or order an evacuation, Montague and Greenfield, as well as other county
towns, use an auto-dialing phone system to send recorded messages to
people living in a targeted geographic area. The systems send the
messages primarily to house phones, but residents can sign up for deeper
alerts in the form of text messages and emails.
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