Weekend Morning in Lumby
Hey folks,
Sorry it's been awhile, I've been pretty swamped outside of Trainz, but as promised, the route is not dead. So here's a quickie with some nice sky shots showing off the usual equipment that hangs around Lumby on weekend layovers. As a refresher, Lumby serves as a major junction in Highland Valley. It's where Metro-North trains from Croton terminate, where Amtrak trains from Connecticut, Highland, New York, and points north converge, and is an interchange point for both freight and equipment moves. Within Lumby is a streetcar and light electric railway museum, as well as maintenance facilities operated jointly by Amtrak and a very young Metro-North (however the facilities are switched by Amtrak units). So please sit back and enjoy...
It's almost 6AM on a Sunday, and the small city of Lumby is just starting to wake up on this quiet morning. While the city is starting to awaken, the railroads that serve it are simply starting up again from a brief lapse of activity. At the station we find an MTA commuter train ready to be pushed by a McGinnis FL9 over the Fox Brook Branch and into Croton before bringing passengers into New York City for a lazy Sunday in the "Big Apple". Across the platform, on the shuttle track, a Conrail GE idles before performing chores around Lumby. The GE was dropped off by a freight from Cedar Hill the previous night, and the crew that has just signed on will use the unit on Conrail local "LUGR" (Pronounced "luger"), the LUmby to GReenwood freight that picks up empty fuel and supply cars from the Amtrak/MTA depot and loaded cars from the contractor's supply warehouse just outside the village.
At the shops, crews are just starting to sign on and prepare equipment for a quiet but steady Sunday. Outside we see a former New Haven EP5 "Jet" that is currently under the ownership of Amtrak and is not far from retirement. The EP5 is currently used on a high-speed service between New Haven and Lumby, however due to lack of ridership, the service may see the same fate as the EP5.
With the sharp and steady clang of it's bell accomponied by three sharp blasts of it's K5LA, an Amtrak F40 is backed out of the engine house and will eventually be brought to the fuel pad for filling up.
On the ready track, an elderly Amtrak GG1 stands ready to provide the power-change to the next diesel-powered train from points north via Greenwood. The GG1 will complete the train's journey into Connecticut.
Tucked in between the former Pennsy "power house" and a newer EMD cousin, an MTA FL9 rests with it's markers lit, on layover until one of it's brother ex-NH EMD's taps out from a busy day of runs in and out of Grand Central. In the meantime, the aging unit enjoys a brief period of rest as it "sleeps in" on this Sunday morning.
The usual power for the Stormont Connection Service, an Amtrak "Pepsi Can" fuels up before a steady day of bringing passengers up and down the Afton Branch.
Letting it's dual-mode stable mate handle services into the city for the day, an MTA ACMU set rests dormant within the EMU stable.
Behind the inspection building, the shop switchers idle away, awaiting their call to duty as needed.
An excavator frames the resting EMU-set, just outside the shop fence.
Continued...