Albion Day was a resounding success with a number of things accomplished. First, quite a bit of track work was done by Dana's crew. Projects included replacing ties (which added in-service rail to the south end of the track), adding a safety rail to the flanger siding switch and relocating ballast from areas with too much to other spots that needed it. Also, weed cutting was done along the R-O-W which made the station grounds look better. It also revealed the location of the former turntable and engine house.
The railcar's visit was a big hit with quite a few local people (many bringing children) taking a ride to the end of track and back. The car was unloaded around 9:30 and James and Start devised an operating plan that gave passengers two trips of the line with each ticket. First, passengers were loaded at the station platform and taken to the south end of operable track. They returned and the second run started at the north end of the manline. It was some cool running past the station going south! The railcar operated facing north in the morning and was turned to face south after lunch. Oh, and by the way, a nice lunch was provided by the Albion Historical Society, served in the depot waiting room which had a warm wood stove. The railcar also did some work, bringing the track crew in for lunch and delivering supplies to the south end. The rails had a nice shine with all the action.
Visitors were told that today was the first time a Model T railcar has been to Albion in over 80 years and many were happy to hear it. Some passengers were savvy enough to request a stop in Coopers Mills or Whitefield. By the end of the day the railcar had carried about 35 people. The trip got longer as the track crew got more of the mainline in service. It was nice running the railcar southward, almost to the culvert near the woods.
Thanks to Phil Dow and Carl Buita for being good hosts and thanks to our own Dave B. for setting up Albion Day 2013.
Start
p. s. It sure was great calling "Albion" when the railcar arrived at the station at the end of each run. That's a new one!
