New Foliage added

The landscape artist is so captivated by the beauty of the Nackawic Stream that he hardly breaks his concentration as a train load of potato reefers rumbles across the route 585 crossing near Nortondale, York County. I have finally done some landscaping along the Nackawic stream, adding lots of foliage along the banks, some fir trees on each side of the valley, and even some beekeepers next to the woods. Since it is one of the first scenes people see as they descend the stairs into the basement, it makes quite a difference in one's initial imprssion of the railway.

New Steam Generator Unit

Railway Upgrades Local Passenger Service

With scores of university students heading home to Carleton County this weekend, the railway has added a new steam generator unit (a refurbished F7B) for use on the daily Fiddlehead local passenger train. The photo below shows the unit stopped at the Nortondale station during a recent test run. Although the weather is getting warmer, the nights are still chilly and the steam unit will assure a cosy ride for students heading home. I picked up the inexpensive Athearn dummy at the train show in Sanford, Maine last week. A steam generator unit will provide more flexibility as I assign locomotives for the passenger trains.

Increasing Competition

Carleton Railway management has been increasingly concerned about competition from other New Brunswick (model) railways. The railway recently decided to begin competing more aggressively with the ICR, but this week management noticed that a Fundy Northern Railway boxcar had been delivered to the Green Cross dealer in Wakefield.

Meanwhile, management just returned from a railway meeting in Sanford, Maine with prospects that the new Monticello yard will result in considerable interchange traffic for the Carleton Railway.


(Translation: On the way home from Boston this week, I stopped at the Model Train show in Sanford, Maine and bought a number of BAR freight cars for use on the Monticello modules. I also found a used FNR boxcar on the bargains table!)

The Arrival of Spring

From the cool waters rushing under the bridge in Nortondale to the carloads of beef cattle arriving at the BQM packing plant after the "spring show and sale," it is obvious that the long winter has finally come to a close. Not only is one of York County's most famous artists in his shirtsleeves while being inspired to put brush to canvass by the scenic valley of the Nackawic Stream, but the heated swimming pool at Nortondale's luxurious resort is attracting the rich and famous from near and far. Spring really is here (click on photos to enlarge): All the artist needs to make the day even more inspiring is to feel the vibration of a train approaching along the Carleton Railway's mainline.

A parking lot filled with Cadillacs, Porsches, Shelbys, and Jaguars suggests something about the class status of the guests at the posh resort. Of course, the guests from the Boston area who seek the ultimate in luxury arrive at the resort not by car but via the Carleton Railway's daily Nor'easter limited.

Some of these healthy-looking beef cattle may think they have found their own resort vacation as they feast on last summer's hay while awaiting their turn to enter the BQM packing plant. Alas, the catttle seem not to exit the building in the same condition as when they entered. The BQM plant is the single busiest generator of railway traffic on the layout. Every day, numerous stock cars and reefers are spotted at the plant (along with boxcars of supplies and occasional tank cars of fuel or chemicals). In the above photo, several stock cars (left) have just unloaded, while a long string of meat reefers (right) is being loaded for shipment. Barbeque season will soon be here!

Geeps on the Carleton Railway??

As plans continue for the Carleton Railway's new yard in Monticello, management is considering ways to provide the necessary motive power to meet the needs of the growing railway while also meeting the DC electrical requirements for interfacing the Monticello modules with the Saint John club's other modules. Management has recently taken three long-idle GP-7's (#1752, #1756, #1759) out of retirment as consideration is given to putting them back in service on the Aroostook subdivision. It looks like they will need some clean-up work after sitting on the shelf for 11 years. Actually, the now 25+ year-old GP7 units may simply serve as background scenery on the new modules. They have a long and distinguished history on the Carleton Railway, having been the railway's main motive power on the 9' x 16' layout located in our basement in Waterville (1980-1988). During our nine years in Woodstock (1988-1997), two of the GP7's served as yard switchers (the layout was contemporary, so GP7's were no longer used on the mainline) and the third unit was donated to the Rosedale railway museum for static display (next to the Rosedale Station which had become the museum). The Woodstock layout was predominently powered by SD40-2's and GP38-2's. How things changed when I backdated the layout to 1965 and the EMD units all disappeared from the railway in favour of Alco and F-M units.

Locomotive Facility Upgrade

With more "big Alcos" recently joining the Carleton Railway's fleet of high-horsepower locomotives, management has acted to increase fuel storage capacity at the Avondale locomotive servicing facility (click on photos to enlarge): The railway`s 200-ton crane had just lowered the new fuel tank (a retired railway tank car) into its permanent position on blocks in the Avondale yard. Meanwhile, maintenance crew members inspect a broken hose on a nearby water line.

The new fuel tank will soon be filled and ready to assure an ample and uninterrupted fuel supply for Carleton Railway locomotives.

The ICR on the CRL

The Long History of the ICR on the Carleton Railway

At least as far back as 1965, as these photos prove, the Island Central has been shipping products to and from Carleton County on CRL rails. After more than 40 years of the ICR diverting revenue from the Carleton Railway, it is high time that the Carleton Railway begins to compete for ICR traffic (click on photos to enlarge). An ICR mechanical reefer has just been unloaded at the White Road Produce warehouse in Avondale and wil soon be routed back to Saint John as an empty.

Two ICR pulpwood flatcars have just been loaded in East Newbridge and will head for the Irving mill on the next eastbound train.