Clinchfield On The Hudson. Metropolitan Transportation Authority/MTA Metro-North Railroad Test Train 6699 arrived in Poughkeepsie, New York near the Hudson River at a little before 11:00 PM with a short consist and an unusual leader as a train heads to the yard in the background. CT Rail GP40-3H 6699 (ex-CSX 2189, exx-SBD 6280, née-CRR 2009, GP38, EMD, 4/1967) will be leased to Metro-North to help cover branchlines/shuttles while the railroad's fleet of BL20GH Brookville engines are bring rebuilt. After arriving at the Croton Harmon Shops almost a month ago, the locomotive has seen mechanical work and is perhaps now ready to join the active fleet. While painted similar to the Connecticut DOT BL20GHs, those engines do not have the "CTRail" name on their paint scheme. This GP40 variant is one of six freight units rebuilt for passenger service by AMF Technotransport (managed by Alstom) as GP40-2Hs that were later rebuilt again by NRE (National Railway Equipment) as GP40-3Hs. The balance of this fleet serves on the Hartford Line in CTRail commuter service, though this may not be the only locomotive to be leased under this program.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
