Photo from
Patrick E. Purcell
Plow X-104 was
photographed in Rutland, Vt. yard in May 1951. It was normally
assigned to Alburgh to combat the heavy northern New York
snowstorms on the old O&LC.
Snowplows on the Rutland
The Rutland line from Ogdensburg, N.Y. to Chatham, N.Y. and
Bellows Falls, Vt. ran through the hills and valleys of New
York State and Vermont. This meant long and harsh winters
in which the Rutland had to battle the snow with men and machines.
The machines were the snow plows and flangers. In the 1920s,
the Rutland had five snow plows and four flangers to do the
job. By 1950 they were down to four plows and three flangers.
In 1961, at the close of business, three plows and three flangers
plus a new Jordan spreader/snow plow were on the roster. Jordan
spreaders had been used prior to the X180 but mainly to clear
yards, push back high banks of snow along the right of way
and to clear the ice off the long fills at Alburgh and the
Islands. Jordan X467 was always assigned to Alburgh for this
purpose.
Plows X101 and X103 went to the Vermont Railway after their
Rutland days and served this road for several years before
being retired to Steamtown, their present home. Plow X104
went to the Green Mountain Railroad, working there until just
a couple of years ago when it was replaced with an ex-Maine
Central steel Russell plow. The Rutland plows were of the
Russell design, all wood construction built to NYC specifications.
The plows had wings for pushing the snow back and a flanger
blade under the rear part of the car for clearing between
the rails. Over the years they were well maintained and were
painted box car red with black trim.
FEBRUARY 1958 STORM
The morning of the 16th brought a lot of snow so the section
men were out early. Due to the heavy rate of snow fall a couple
of the section men just rode on the switchers and cleaned
switch points as needed. I remember spending the day at the
station listening to the dispatcher trying to move the trains.
My dad was working on the switcher with switch broom in hand.
AR-2 managed to get out to Rutland, and XJ-1 arrived from
Rutland as usual. The Central Vermont way freight had to double
their train into town, and then after making interchange with
the Rutland, they stalled on the bridge. The Canadian National
switcher (Grand Trunk No. 8205) had to help them into Rouses
Point. Reports of snow on the O&LC were so bad all trains
were cancelled on both the mainline and the Northern Division.
Feed dealers along the line between Rouses Point and Malone
had called in saying that they needed supplies at the mill
in Champlain so an emergency run was needed. A special train
was made up with feed cars and coal, powered with two RS1
400 class units (unusual to be MU’d) and plow X104.
They left about 3:00 p.m. with the crew from XJ-1 and were
to run to Malone and back if possible. Well, the next morning
I saw one of the crew members at the post office, and asked
him how the trip was. Not to bad, seeing that they only got
as far as Champlain before they stalled out in a snow drift,
and after digging out they backed to Alburgh. The next day
crews opened the O&LC with the Jordan spreader X180 and
trains started to move again.
Hot pot pies on the Rutland
My dad, remembered one night in particular. The yard crew
had just finished switching JX-2, made up for Alburgh and
Rutland, and as usual they would get the perishable cars and
go over to the ice dock and ice them up for the trip. These
cars were usually for the Boston & Maine connection at
Bellows Falls, for the Boston market. Tonight they had a car
of pot pies for Boston; these were meat pot pies, of chicken,
beef and turkey. They spotted the car at the dock; then George
and Bob Dragon, and other brakeman, got the surprise of their
lives as they opened the ice hatch on top of the car. Flames
shot up out of the top, like a blast furnace. They quickly
closed the door and called the Malone fire department. Because
the car was a heavily insulated type of construction, the
firemen had time to get the fire under control and out; as
a result, the pies were a little well done!
Investigation by railroad officials showed that the fire was
caused by a welding torch, at the New York Central’s
Syracuse yard. The car had been in for repair of a loose grab
iron; the heat of the torch had set the insulation on fire,
and it smoldered until the crew at Malone fed it by opening
the ice hatch doors.
ALBURGH YARD
Alburgh yard was the terminal point for the Rutland’s
mainline and Ogdensburg subdivisions, so the Rutland wayfreights
originated and terminated there. I remember the yard the best
in the 1955-61 timeframe. At that time XJ-1 JX-2 were the
through jobs between Bellow Falls and Norwood, N.Y. The way
freights were MA-2 and AM-1, Malone to Alburgh and return,
RA-1 and AR-2, Rutland to Alburgh and return. It was a classification
yard with six tracks plus the mainline, which ran on the west
side of the yard. The Central Vermont did not use this yard
except for delivering interchange cars once a day. The CV
had its own yard west of the station, which was really only
an interchange track that the Rutland would make delivery
to in the morning and again after the arrival of XJ-1 from
Bellows Falls. The CV ran a way freight from St. Albanas to
Rouses Point seven days a week which made the interchange
drop off and pick up. Train No. 535 arrived about noon with
the Rutland drop off, and on the return trip from Rouses Point
(train No. 736) would make the Rutland pickup, switch the
St. J&LC cars out from the St. Albans cars, and then on
to Swanton and St. Albans. Train No. 535 would switch the
Swanton yard in the morning and pick up the St. J&LC cars
for the Rutland.
The yard was built in 1900 when the Island Route was built.
Alburgh was the storage point for all the Rutland’s
in-coming coal. They stored it in piles on the east side of
the yard and had a special coal loader assigned to the job,
crane X453. The engine house had a machine shop on the back
side, and light engine repairs and monthly inspections were
handled there. Also the Rutland harvested and stored all their
ice at Alburgh, just west of town. Light car repairs were
also handled here, and each train was fully inspected by a
"Car-knocker." A 24-hour a day switcher was on until
about 1953, when they went to a 7am-4pm job. Engines serviced
here were off XJ-1, JX-2, MA-2, AM-1; the yard engine and
the engine off RA-2 would stay overnight.
GREEN MOUNTAIN FLYER
Train No. 64 was the southbound Montreal to New York Flyer
leaving Central Station in Montreal at 9:00 a.m. daily and
running over Canadian National Railway to Rouses Point, N.Y.
Stops on the CN were made at St. Lambert, St. Johns (for customs)
and Cantic, Quebec. The U.S. Customs agent would board the
train at St. Johns, P.Q., working the train to Rouses Point,
N.Y. No. 64 departed Alburgh, Vt. at 10:40 a.m., arriving
in Burlington, one hour later. After a 10 minute stop it was
on to Rutland arriving at 1:45 p.m. Stops were made at stations
along the way such as Grand Isle, Shelburne, Vergennes, New
Haven, Middlebury, Brandon and Proctor, Vt. At Rutland the
Flyer split into two sections. No. 64 to New York and No.
164 to Boston, Mass. via Bellows Falls, Vt. Most of the train
went through to New York; an RPOP, baggage, Combine, Coach
and Pullman parlor. One coach from Montreal went on No. 164
to Boston. Arriving in Troy, N.Y. at 4:05 p.m., Rutland crews
would change over to New York Central crews. At the same time,
a NYC dining car was added for the New York run and in turn
the Rutland combine and RPO car were removed. These cars would
return on the Mount Royal, No. 51 to Montreal.
The northbound Flyer was just a reverse operation leaving
Troy, N.Y. at 11:50 a.m., dropping the NYC dining car and
adding the Rutland RPO and combine that came in on No. 52.
Train No. 165 from Boston met No. 65 at Rutland; No. 65 left
Rutland at 2:15 p.m. and arrived in Burlington at 4:00 p.m.
and later Alburgh at 5:15 p.m.
The train and engine crews worked as follows: One crew Rutland
to Montreal on No. 65 and return on No. 64. Another crew Rutland
to Troy on No. 64 and return on No. 65. A Troy swing man (brakeman)
would work north on No. 65 and return the next day on No.
64. This was due to New York State regulations. The train
crew out of Bellow Falls worked to Rutland on the Flyer No.
165 and would return on the milk train No. 156. The southbound
crew worked the reverse: Train No. 159 to Rutland and return
on No. 164, the Flyer.
On January 1, 1901, the Green Mountain Flyer made its initial
run from Boston to Montreal. Prior to that date the Flyer
went directly through to Ogdensburg. Anyone wishing to go
to Montreal had to get off at Rouses Point and wait for a
northbound passenger train on the Delaware & Hudson or
Canadian National.
Soon after the Rutland had completed its Montreal connection
an arrangement was then made with the New York Central for
a New York to Montreal train. Hence they split the Green Mountain
Flyer at Rutland:
No. 64 southbound to New York City from Montreal
No. 164 southbound to Boston from Montreal
No. 65 northbound to Montreal from New York City
No. 165 northbound to Montreal from Boston
A dining car (Rutland No. 900) and Pullman parlor cars were
added on September 8, 1924. During the summer months extra
parlor cars were added often allowing the Flyer to run up
to twelve cars in length. In 1932 a Pullman broiler buffet
car went into service combining the separate diner and parlor
cars which it replaced. Rutland diner No. 900 was quickly
returned and later scrapped in 1944. In 1937 the parlor car
were dropped from the Boston section in 1942. The Flyer became
a coach only train when the New York parlor cars were dropped.
Soon after the various amenities were dropped the name Flyer
also was dropped and the train became simply the Green Mountain.
In 1951 the Flyer made its last run to Montreal; thereafter
it ran only to Burlington. In June 1953 a labor strike on
the Rutland brought about elimination of all passenger service.
The Flyer, at the time known only as the Green Mountain, finally
ceased operating.
The days from the first Montreal trains until the beginning
of World War II were the Flyer’s best; especially during
the zenith years of the 1920s when she was considered truly
a class train.
Photo from
Patrick E. Purcell
A westbound
freight holds the siding for No. 8 in upstate New York in
the late summer of 1952. No. 404 was an Alco-GE DRS-1, built
in 1951.
