The Atlantic Great Eastern was a bridge line jointly owned by the Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and Lehigh Valley railroads.   It stretched from connections with the Canadian Pacific and Bangor & Aroostook at Guerette in northern Maine to the Lehigh Valley and New York Central at Auburn in western New York State, passing through New Hampshire and Vermont along the way.  The railroad also had an Atlantic seaport at New Landsport, Maine.

Other connections included Allagash Railway; Boston & Maine; Central Vermont; Grand Trunk; Delaware & Hudson; Delaware Lackawanna & Western; Maine Central; Portland, Gray & Northern and Rutland. The railroad was single-track and served a mostly rural area, and its physical plant was significantly influenced by its parent companies.

ABOUT JACK OZANICH

Jack was born in June 1943 in Paw Paw, Michigan, located at the end of a Chesapeake & Ohio branch

line (and the mighty New York Central was just a few miles away at Lawton).  As a young boy, he spent countless hours watching train crews work the small towns in Lower Michigan. They would invite him on rides and give him discarded switch lists as souvenirs. He witnessed the last days of steam and was fascinated by both the equipment and the jobs people performed. 

He joined the army in 1962 and spent two years as a radio operator in Germany, where he often chased steam trains on his days off.  After his time in the service, he hired out on Grand Trunk Western, first as an operator at Schoolcraft, Michigan, joining the men he watched as a young lad. He moved into train service as a fireman and then locomotive engineer. Jack was a professional railroader, through and through.

ABOUT THE MODEL RAILROAD

The HO version of the Atlantic Great Eastern was Jack’s time machine. He created and operated it as a real railroad. It was his vocation and avocation all in one.  There were several earlier versions of the railroad before construction commenced on the final layout in 1982 in his basement in Battle Creek.

What made the Atlantic Great Eastern unique and special were the regular operating sessions. Jack’s vision was to recreate the past, and model the physical plant. But more importantly, the AGE preserved a

way of life, the work the men and women performed back in the day. In short, he recreated a bygone

era.

Operating sessions would begin in the morning around the kitchen table with a pot of strong coffee brewing. Just like real train crews of old reporting for duty, much conversation would be had before going to work. Seniority was dictated by your “hire-out” date (the date of your first op session), and you

would wait your turn as the crew call sign-up sheet was passed around. Sometimes Jack would

have the new hires mark-up first to give them an opportunity at the prized jobs.

Once the dispatcher, operator, yardmasters, and train crews were assigned, the clock was started. Sessions would typically last eight hours. Prior to starting your shift, you needed to read the bulletins and sign your name and have your timetable and rule book in your pocket. The Atlantic Great Eastern was a working railroad and followed all the of the prototype procedures: daily inspection of power, air test, safety stops and brakeman protection, to name a few. It was a great place to learn railroading.

Sadly, the last operating session was held in March 2020 and Jack passed away that May; but for more than forty years the Atlantic Great Eastern was indeed a “real” railroad, and the layout still exists.

(This material was extracted from a cover story on the AGE in the September 2025 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.)

A: Train No 3 led by RS-36 AGE 637 approaches the East Berlinton yard limit in March 1965.  Newer

power wore a different paint scheme that featured black/white chevrons on the nose.

B: Hooping up orders to Train No 71 at Danhill, New Hampshire.  Cabooses (called "buggies" on the AGE)

were patterned after those of parent road Canadian Pacific.

C: Extra 2316 West heads into the siding at Ellen, Maine for a meet with Extra 6080 East.  Eastward

trains were superior to westward trains.

D: SW-1 AGE 195 is working the "Mill Job" at East Berlinton, New Hampshire.  The Berlinton Paper

Company was switched by the Boston & Maine in the afternoon while AGE crews handled the switching

duties on the Second Trick.

E: Train No 3 has AGE 651 passing the depot at Rangeley River Junction in late winter 1965.  The AGE's

fleet of FA-1's were traded in on these Alco C424's.  SW1200RS AGE 331 works the Rangeley River

Junction yard job.

F: The Grand Trunk Ry transfer job is seen passing the GT depot at East Berlinton.  The GT ran two

transfers per day which came out of Berlinton (the fiddle yard) and exchanged cars with the AGE at East

Berlinton.

G: RDC AGE 150 departs South Dover with eastward Train No 5.  By the early 1960's the RDC ran east as

Train No 6 to a connection with Canadian Pacific at Brownville Junction then turned west as Train No 5.

H: Train No 3 departs Rangeley River Junction in late November 1964. Rangeley River Junction was the

end of CTC which controlled movement of trains from there to East Berlinton.

I: Alco S-2 AGE 227 rides the turntable at South Dover Yard prior to going to work on the SDY yard lead

job.  Before 1960 the yard jobs were held down by USRA 0-8-0's.

J: Extra Allagash 101 West climbs the Mahoosic Notch grade toward Danhill.  The "Woodpicker" was a

joint Allagash/AGE train originating on the Clayton Lake Subdivision which delivered pulpwood loads to

the paper mills at Berlinton and East Berlinton twice a week.

K: At South Dover Yard AGE 3824 is getting an air test prior to departing with an Extra/East.  AGE 223

gathers cars for the SD Tramp Job which will switch industries in the City Yard.

L: New Landsport is an Atlantic seaport at the end of a branch line originating at Rangeley River

Junction.  Prairie Great Midland RS-1 302 eases on the turntable.  The PGM was a grainger road which

provided motive power to the AGE during the winter "potato rush";