Howdy all,
In this post I'm going to cover the trains run by the DuBois Rail Lines (DRX) in the Highland Valley area. Now, those of you have been keeping up know that there are three lines in the area. The mainline which runs around the mountain and has connecting trackage in the tunnels so other roads can access the area. The interurban is also an essential line, which runs three pairs of former Chicago-interurbans, and runs shuttle services between Greenwood and Lumby, a major rail hub for DRX commuters and Amtrak services as well as a material hub, with a mainline access point in Greenwood. The Afton branch is the third part of the route, which runs off the mainline at Greenwood and up the mountain, calling at the two small villages, Robbins and Stormont, and terminates at the small town of Highland. DRX has a diesel maintenence shop in Robbins. Amtrak owns the mainline and has trackage rights for the branch. Because of this, they have high-level platforms across from the pre-existing DRX low-level platforms as well as owning the low-level platforms at Greenwood Union. Catenary can be found on the mainline for electric power that used to be run on the mainline. Recently, all Amtrak power has been withdrawn from the line in accordance with a lawsuit from the EPA regarding the unused catenary and questioning diesel emissions. Amtrak will not be returning to the line until the lawsuit is dealt with. In response to this, DRX has purchased power to keep rail operations running smoothly. Using both pre-existing equipment as well as some recently purchased equipment, DRX is becoming a rising railroad star amongst the ranks of the area's other roads. So please join me as we cover the equipment the DRX uses to move Highland's citizens...
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The Interurbans
DuBois Rail Lines uses three former Chicago interurbans on it's shuttle service between Greenwood and Lumby.
A pair of Greenliners and a pair of Silverliners were purchased from a company in Detroit who was getting ready to scrap them. DRX has affectionately dubbed them, "the cousins".
Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend was preparing to lay this pair of EMUs to rest following a derailment. DRX purchased them before they could suffer the scrapper's torch.
The Support Equipment
A railroad is only good as the crews that support it.
They may be small, but the two former New Haven Railroad 44-tonners that DRX uses on maintenence, rescue, and extra duties form the back-bone of DuBois Rail Lines.
#818 is the mainline's switcher which spends most of it's time at the roundhouse in Greenwood.
#813 is the Afton Branch's resident switcher which spends most of it's time either at the Robbins shops or the Highland storage area and turntable.
The State of Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDoT, ConnDot, or CTDoT) donated one of it's New Haven Heritage P32AC-DM to DuBois Rail Lines in support of DRX's mission to preserve as much New Haven equipment as possible. #228 serves as a mascot as well as a rescue vehicle. The 228 can usually be found hanging around Greenwood.
The Deceased
While the DRX strives to restore and upkeep as much original equipment as possible, money deters from upkeeping it all. A pair of former New Haven RDCs as well as a diesel ex-third rail EMU (DexTREMU) that ran with an ex-New York Central GP7 and three ex-Long Island Rail Road MP54 arch-roof EMUs had failed not too long ago and nearly crippled DuBois Rail Lines. They have been placed in the DRX's dead equipment storage area, also known as "the morgue", which was an abandoned mineral and ore kiln.
Continued in next post...
