Page 17 - July August 2014

photograph. The only decent picture we managed to get was of the builder’s plate (Photo 5).
The modern M&ET fleet consists entirely of Railpower Gensets: 11 in total. These were purchased over a period of about three years from 2008 to 2011. We do believe that we saw and photographed all eleven! The company had earlier tried alternative Gensets from another manufacturer, but had found the performance of these disappointing, so had returned them and replaced them with the Railpower locomotives. The performance and reliability of these had been excellent.
Pictures:
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr Jared Martin the facility supervisor, and ‘Mr Smith’ (not his real name) for our guided tour of the M&ET ‘roundhouse’. This was one of the high points of our 2014 trip and it will take a lot to top this personal tour.
Automobiles
As an aside, very near to the railroad crossing at Empire, where the BNSF mainline runs north–south, we noticed quite a lot of secondhand vintage cars for sale on a car lot forecourt (‘Classic Dreams’). We ventured across the road and took some photos and were then approached by the owner and given a guided tour of the owner’s restoration facility behind the showroom. For those interested in old US cars, this place is a gold mine, but be advised, this business may not be here much longer. The owner informed us that the IRS (HMRC in the UK) are after quite a lot of back tax and may indeed close the business and dispose of some very rare, valuable and antique vehicles. Be quick!
If you are in the area this makes for a nice diversion from railfanning.
Finally
Should you need any more info on the M&ET or this area, please feel to contact either of us. Our details are in the Roundhouse Directory.
Photo 3 Railpower GenSet units 2006, 2000 and 2002 plus stored EMD SW-1500 switchers 1500 and 1501 outside the M&ET shops at Empire.
Tom Watson
Photo 4 Rear end view of M&ET GenSets 2007 and 2008 “blue flagged” outside the company shop at Empire. Lindsay Beare
Scenes
from the late Nigel Kitchener’s HO Rio Grande layout. The Kent & East Sussex group were invited by Nigel's widow to operate the layout in his memory.
Photos by Ron Gager
4
Photo 1 M&ET GenSet #2001 switching cars at the Beard Industrial Park in Downtown Modesto. Tom Watson
Photo 2 M&ET #2001 entering the BNSF south interchange yard at
Empire
Lindsay Beare