The Northeast kingdom railroad
My layout will feature a portion of the Central Vermont's 27 mile Richford Branch, which ran northeast from St. Albans to the town of Richford, VT. The branch crossed the Lamoille Valley at Sheldon Jct. and met the Canadian Pacific in Richford.
Prototype Central Vermont Richford Branch 1980
The CV operated daily locals between St. Albans and Richford. Trains 537/538 worked out and back each day, usually utilizing a pair of SW1200s. At other times, the roads GP9s and RS11s would also handle this train. In addition to the CV trains, the LVRC started operating directly into St. Albans via Sheldon Jct. in lieu of interchanging with the CV at Swanton.
The CV boxcars showed their family appearance to the parent company Canadian National with the logo as well as the car designs. With lots of paper to move, 50' plug door boxcars were very common. Most were painted brown like the CN, but a couple were painted in green as evidenced here by this Alan Irwin picture from 1982.
Last Update: July 20, 2010
Central Vermont Railway
A pair of CV SW1200s, in the green and yellow paint, switch cars in Swanton, Vermont on train 539 north out of St. Albans, 1981. These ex-GTW units were previously in Canadian National red and black paint before repainting into the CVs Larson Green scheme. Paul Charland photo.
Central Vermont on my layout
I plan to have staged CV trains interchange with the LVRC at Sheldon Jct. This is a slight departure from the actual operations, but I think it will be more interesting on the layout.
A 2 track staging yard below and behind St. J on the peninsula will represent the line west to St. Albans. The CV track will enter view at Sheldon Jct. Here an interchange with the LVRC will be conducted as well as some local switching. The CV will cross the diamond and then exit to another 2 track staging yard below the LVRC representing the line north to Richford.
During an operating session, train 538 from Richford will pass through Sheldon Jct. picking up any cars dropped off by the Lamoille Valley. Later, train 537 will leave St. Albans staging to drop cars off for the LVRC and perform some local switching before continuing on to Richford staging.
Locomotives will include Alco RS11s and the SW1200s. I also plan to model the CVs Bicentennial GP9, 1776, now that Microscale has produced decal set MC-4378 for this locomotive. The torpedo tube GP9s are also cool. I may need to come up with another CV scene to make use of all these locomotives!
In this early construction photo, my 2 track St. Albans staging yard is in place while CV RS11 3611 conducts a test run. Behind this is the St. Johnsbury yard and backdrop. Above the staging will be the MEC line east into New Hampshire.
The only planned CV scene at this time is Sheldon Junction which will provide live interchange with the Lamoille Valley. The CV track is in front and the LVRC track crosses on a diamond and exits closer to the wall.
There is a grain elevator at Sheldon Jct. served off of the LVRC. Not all of the siding track is installed yet. Behind the trees above is the LVRC trackage out of St. Johnsbury, hidden by scenery.
More info on the Central Vermont
•"The Trunk", B & M, CV and CP Pt. 1 - January 1982 Trains, p. 35-43
•"Northeast Kingdom", B & M, CV and CP Pt. 2 - February 1982 Trains, p. 22-32
•The Central vermont - March 1979 Railfan, p. 45-56
•CV's Rocket - February 1983 Trains
•CV's White River Junction Switcher - November 1985 Prototype Modeler, p. 19
•Central vermont, A Survivor - February 1991 Trains, p. 30-42
•Dazzling Uncertainty - October 1993 Trains, p. 38-39
•CV in the 1950s - February 2000 Model Railroader, p. 108
•CV's ex-GTW GP38AC locomotives in HO scale - May 1993 Model Railroader, p. 148
•Book: Green Mountain Rails, Robert W. Jones, 1994
•Book: New England Rails 1948-1968, Morning Sun Books, 1989
•Book: New England's Colorful Railroads Vol. 1, Four Ways West, 2000
•Book: Northern new England Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, Morning Sun Books, 1994
•Book: Central Vermont In Colorful, Morning Sun Books
•Book: Central Vermont Vol. VI 1960-1981, Robert C. Jones
•Book: Central Vermont Vol. VII 1981-1995, Robert C. Jones, 1995
•Modeling CV SW1200 1509 in HO, The Ambassador, Vol. 13 Number 4 (2004)
CV/GT bicentennial unit 1776. The blue locomotive is not too difficult a project. Only a few decals need to be applied, but special painting is needed for the red couplers, headlights, brake cylinders, journals, lift bar, handrails and horns as well as the white air hoses and side sill and silver spark arrestors. Also note the ACI tag on a plate along the sill. Click here for more prototype CV photos.
Some of the CV GP9s featured roof mounted air tanks (instead of on the sides above the fuel tanks) and these were referred to as "torpedo tube Geeps". This is a later shot in the Larson green and yellow.
The CV also showed some independence with their 50' exterior post boxcars. Again, most were the familiar brown, but one series was painted dark blue and 5 were painted white with green lettering. Here is my model of one of the white cars. More info is available on my Projects page (scroll down to find car).
(Click on photo for larger image)
An excellent resource for CV modeling is the CV Railway Historical Society. They produce a quarterly magazine, The Ambassador, with good prototype pictures and information as well as modeling articles. More info is available from their web site.
Web page written and maintained by Mike McNamara
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