Friday afternoon, (6/17) brought the first looks of the colors of the new owner of the Northern Main. The CSX Geometry Train which has been making the rounds across the former Pan Am system, made a full inspection of the Northern Main from CPN-1 to MPN-38. the mainline track. They did not inspect further past River Road in Bow, but they did leave the train at Ferry Road over this past weekend. This was by Edgewater Drive in Hooksett NH.

One coach was for comfort, the other had some serious hardware on it, and under it, everything a Class I railroad could have to give these tracks a full thorough examination.

While the patched C40-8 with the Ukraine Mane did little for aesthetics, the second engine seemed rather noteworthy. It's a custom built GP40-WH2 that was designed for the Maryland Commuter Rail system, though originally built in 1967 as a GP40 for New York Central. The MBTA leased a few of the Maryland WH2's several years ago, and here is the only one that CSX owns, that rolled through Hooksett NH. This was a first time for genuine CSX Power on the Northern Main, under new ownership, a harbinger of things to come.

The Geometry Train departed south from Bow today, the tattered looking C40-8 was put on the south end of the train, allowing for a good look at CSXT 9969 still on the north end. The reason for the C40-8 is that it has PTC/ACSES for use in MBTA territory.

It will be interesting to see, over time, how the Northern Main and Hillsboro Branch factors into the big picture of CSXT.

Photographed by Jay Gadon, June 17, 2022.
Added to the photo archive by Jay Gadon, June 20, 2022.
Railroad: Pan Am Railways.

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