hamton before being placed into the road pool that will eventually see them “working as intended” system wide between Syracuse and New Jersey. This should have a lot of people trackside this summer when the fleet is finally delivered and placed in service. As for other power on the railroad these days, the 2 SD45’s, 3618 and 3634 are stored serviceable in Binghamton, a victim of the escalating costs of diesel fuel. They may return to service in the future but at press time, they are stored serviceable, meaning they can be returned to service in relatively short notice. The three SD70’s are also stored ion Binghamton, along with the three GP-20’s with no immediate plans to return them to service at this time. Tunnel motor 3010 is out of service with a mechanical failure and is currently stored. The remaining SD40T-2 tunnel motors are working with the normal rotation of power between northern and southern divisions. At press time the 3012 was in local service on the southern division. Remainder of operations are being handled by 5 blue CEFX SD40-3’s (in SD45 carbodies). As well as GP-382s from both NS and CSX. There is a sixth CEFX unit, 3018, a grey unit, but this is currently OOS at press time. These units may or may not be returned to CEFX once deliveries of the SD60’s is complete, but traffic levels may have them staying around for a bit. For the time being however, the SU-99’s and SU-100’s are pretty much being handled by the CEFX “Bluebirds”. CAPITAL INVESTMENTS I decided to list news of this activity in its own heading, owing to the ongoing activity in this area. With spring comes the time for the NYS&W (and most other railroads) to renew its track, ballast and overall physical plant, and this year is no exception. The emphasis this year is on the Southern Division. There have been close to 50 gondolas of new ties stored wherever the railroad could park them, for a major tie replacement program between Sparta Jct and Warwick NY. Its believed some 19 THOUSAND ties will be replaced in one of the more ambitious projects of its kind on the NYS&W. Gondolas of new ties have been arriving in NJ on the SU-100’s on a regular basis, with the majority of them stored at Newfoundland and Sparta. Installation is ongoing at press time. Another significant development here is the arrival of the first welded rail train. This was received in interchange with the NS via Marion/Croxton at the east end of the southern division. The train was then moved, with southern division power in mid may to Sparta where it will be used to lay new rail, primarily on the NYS&W between Sparta and Warwick. The plan, apparently is to upgrade the former Lehigh & Hudson River portion of the railroad to 40 MPH speed virtually the entire 22 miles. Two additional rail trains are planned for later this summer, with rail replacement east of Butler planned. Aside from the welded rail laid near Franklin Lakes, NJ (MP 30-32) when I-287 was constructed, this is the first welded rail train west of Butler since 1989, when the rail was laid west of Butler over Sparta mountain. The railroad is committed to providing significant service on the Southern Div west of Butler, and this major capital investment reflects that. 17 I am planning on making this column a regular feature of the REFLECTOR. While the internet may provide faster means of obtaining news from a variety of sources, this is still the NYS&W T&HS, and as such, there is an obligation to communicate news and events surrounding our “home” railroad. And as such, while I do have a variety of sources at my finger tips, my professional schedule doesn’t always mean I can retain that information. Therefore, (and here it comes, folks…LOL) I can not do this alone. I need the assistance of anyone who reads this to forward me information as they come across it so as it can be included in the next REFLECTOR. The magazine is only as good as the parts that make it complete, and this column is just as important as the rest of the REFLECTOR. So I ask you, if you have any I nformation (particularly from the northern division), please forward it to my email address as “NYSW THS News“ (or something similar) and every effort will be made to include it in the subsequent issue. That email address is: blet601@gmail.com. Your contributions are greatly appreciated by all who help put this together, as well as the membership who read and enjoy the REFLECTOR. That’s it for this time... Stay safe, and remember: Take only images, leave only footprints. Finally, the railroad also conducted some track geometry testing on the northern division earlier this spring. Testing was done on the Syracuse, Utica, and CNY (Southern Tier) mains. The FRA will also be sending track geometry testing vehicle/railcar in June to test the entire railroad. Stay tuned. Sperry was also on the rails mid May checking the line from Croxton to Syracuse. Editor's Note - Two items of interest: 1) it has been reported that the Rt 17 crossing in Lodi is scheduled for a rebuild this June. Rt 17 will be closed for 3 days in each direction during repairs. There have been several problems with rail splitting/ potholes and cars being damaged in the past few weeks. One has nothing to do with the other, just bad timing. 2) Welded rail trains are working the line between Warwick and Sparta as of press time to replace stick rail and bring the former L&HR part of the line up to 40 MPH. This is the first major rail undertaking on the Southern Division since the reopening of Sparta Mountain. IN CONCLUSION
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