Eastern Railroad Discussion > Into the Snowbelt on the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern

On Feb 7th, I chased the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern from Utica to Port Leyden, NY. The MA&N's Utica-Boonville-Port Leyden-Lyons Falls branch is 45 miles long and was once part of NY Central's St Lawrence Division which, unhappily, was severed at Lyons Falls in the early 1960's.

Boonville, 35 miles north of Utica, has the line's only two customers: 3B Timber & Bailey's Mill. The area from Boonville-Lyons Falls usually experiences some of the heaviest snowfall in NY state.

On Feb 7th, the MA&N took a covered hopper to Bailey's Mill. A MOW crew followed the train all the way north from Utica. They made sure that all crossings were free of ice & snow. Runs from Utica-Boonville do not occur on a daily basis, perhaps once a week.

Presently, there are no customers north of Boonville, making moves Boonville-Lyons Falls rare.

After the hopper was spotted, however, the crew proceeded north towards Lyons Falls. The MA&N was opening that part of the line to prepare for the placement of covered hoppers on the unused track. The next day, Feb 8th, the railroad would bring a Jordan spreader up from Utica and, once in Lyons Falls, plow the line the 10 miles south to Boonville to further prepare the tracks for the storage of the hoppers.

Here are some pictures:

1. "The Morning-Fire-Up" Exhaust plumes create a surreal scene at the MA&N's Utica Yard, 6:58 am, Feb 7th. Shown here are MA&N 805, the Jordan spreader & 2453, a 1964 ALCO C425 which will be taking the covered hopper to Boonville.

2. 2453 crosses the Mohawk River, Utica, 7:33 am.

3. 15 miles north of Utica, approaching Mapledale Rd, Trenton, 8:06 am.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/17 09:49 by ut-1.

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4) Nearing Remsen, 2453 shows its ALCO heritage, 8:29 am.

5) Deep in the snowbelt, approaching Potato Hill Rd, Boonville, 9:08 am.

6) 2453 crosses Potato Hill Rd, Boonville, under the watchful gazes of an MOW worker & the engineer.
 

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7) At ex-Conrail block sign for Boonville, 9:24 am.

8) The crew cut the covered hopper off on the main just south of Potato Hill road & proceeded the 2 miles to the switch to Bailey's Mill. Here, crew & MOW workers together cleared the switch.

9) 2453 passes Boonville's ex-NY Central passenger station. The crew needed to clear the siding before running around the hopper & shoving it to Bailey's Mill.

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10) 2453 crosses Boonville's Schuyler St to break through the snowbank, 9:39 am.

11)  Crew returns with covered hopper, 10:21 am.

12)  MOW workers continue to clear siding.

 

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13) Heading down the steep grade to Bailey's Mill, 10:23 am.

14) Another view.

15) Hopper spotted, 10:26 am.

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16) Job done, heading out of Bailey's Mills, 10:27 am.

17) Approximately 6 miles north of Bailey's, at "U41", progress has been slow but steady as the 2453 procceds on the seldom-used tracks north of Boonville.

18) MOW crew clears a farm crossing as 2453 waits, just south of Port Leyden, 12:01 pm.

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19) The farm crossing cleared, the conductor monitors progress as 2453 continues its journey towards Lyons Falls, 12:07 pm.

Thanks for looking!

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Awesome stuff! Got to love winter railroading ........ unless you're working in it, I suppose ............. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/17 11:58 by reel_smooth.

Thanks for the post.
Go

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the post.
> Go

Yes, agreed.  These posts of obscure, lightly used branch lines that hang by a thread year-to-year are in some ways far more valuable than the endless posts of main-line Class One action since so few people document these operations.  It can take lots of planning to ascertain days of operation and sometimes a minimal number of shots are possible.  At any rate, a good job in the adverse weather conditions. 

Glad to see somebody's getting this.  Haven't been up there in several years.

You do know about the station named "Hell", right?  It's on Hell Canyon Road, and there's still a blue Conrail sign announcing the location.  This time of year, it makes a great "cold day in Hell" photo.

Really nice series. Not gonna lie though, that 'Potato' sign really caught me off guard.

Matt

Thanks for those ut-1, reminds me of my childhoold back there many years ago.

Killer chase, especially on the lightly used portion, railfanning always has been the "there at the
right time" hobby.

Out

Nice snow shots!!

Thank you very much for the effort to document this. A very interesting post.
John

Terrific set of images. I'll add my appreciation for the effort and commitment it took to plan for and catch this operation in such detail. I promise you that you will remember and savor the memory of that day for a long time to come. Days like that are the personal classics that are long remembered and cherished, and really are the jewels in this hobby of ours.

The fourth image passing the depot is an absolutely classic scene worthy of prominence in any book, calendar or magazine centerspread.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/17 08:02 by ironmtn.

Thanks guys for your comments, they're greatly appreciated!