Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Inside the Dever Road Shops

NB Southern Railway passenger car
I was in New Brunswick last week and I had the opportunity for a quick tour of NB Southern's Dever Road shops.

Outside the shops, HLCX 6315 was parked with NBSR 3703 parked on an adjacent track giving it a boost.
HLCX 6315 outside Saint John

The battery cables were a bit larger than what you would use for your car! I was in 6315's cab for a few minutes and I have never seen such a bare-bones cab. It had the control stand and two chairs and that was it. No desk, no hot plate, no fridge, and no electronics of any sort other than a speedometer. Amazingly, 6315 led the westbound freight the next evening after some frantic equipment installation!

There was only one engine inside the shops, Maine Northern 9801.
MNR 9801 in Saint John

This was the first time I've seen it in its Maine Northern lettering.
Maine Northern logo

The shop has two tracks for working on the engines, and the rest is devoted to repairing MOW equipment and car repair.

Once NBSR is finished leasing engines, they should have 28 engines. With only two tracks for servicing they are going to be tight for space! Maybe it's time to look at expanding the building?

Here's a view of the rest of the shops with a Kershaw brush cutter in the building.
The interior of the Dever Road shops

Here are some locomotive trucks being rebuilt.
Trucks in the Dever Road shops

Behind the shop there are a variety of old boxcars being used for storage. The CP Rail is starting to show through on this old car.
Faded CP Rail

NB Southern's sole Jordan spreader #402896 is parked back there, as well as caboose 79624.
CN 79624 in Saint John

Back at the shops, ex-UP engine HLCX 911 was beside the shop with NBSR 3702. NB Southern refuels its engines there, right beside the shop. This was my first view of 911.
HLCX 911 in Saint John

I appreciated the opportunity to go inside the shop and hopefully I'll get a chance to do so again.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What I found surprising of the shops is that they were very bright, clean and recently painted. More often than not, they can be like most a garage with a lot of grime. Highly indicative of a profitable railway with a sense of doing things right>