See, I'm making progress. Last year I was able to use the Mid-Winter Trip IX report as a promotion for Mid-Winter Trip X. This time around I haven't even gotten around to announcing the date, which just happens to be December 27th this year so mark your calenders. Anyway last year the originally planned MWT was postponed a day on account of blizzard conditions so with a change in date and piles of snow still disrupting travel turnout for the milestone 10th anniversary trip was a little lighter than I had been expecting, but still a good time was had by all.
After a very Regional Rail intensive trip in 2009, MWT X was going to fall back to the city trolley division with an R1-Rt 36-Rt 10-Rt 15 connection in the morning followed up by a novel Rt 66-R7-BSS connection after lunch. The weather was superb with bright sun in the sky and a thick coating of white snow on the ground. For those who choose to show up they were in for a real treat.
Now as I tend to get caught up in these trip with both running the trip and talking to people my photo output can actually end up pretty light and MWT X was an example of this. Part of the reason was due to the very productive Snow Day trip the day before and part was that I didn't have a lot of railroad signals and such to document on this more trolley heavy routing.
So, if you want to see the entire set of 90 some odd photos I did take please click here either before or after you continue on to see a more selective sample.
We begin with Silverliner IV #280 depositing us off at the Eastwick Regional Rail station before our half mile or so walk over to the Eastwick Rt 36 trolley loop.
Hanging out at the loop were K-Car trolleys #9009 and 9041.
9009 would be our ride
back into 30th St and after traveling up the Island Ave Right of Way
and turning onto Elmwood we saw #9016 fall in behind us before pulling
into the Elmwood Depot.
As we approached the 40th St portal I saw a bit of a trolley traffic jam behind us at 43rd St.
At 30th St we transferred to a Rt 10 trolley with K-Car 9079 here shown at Girard shortly after dropping us off.
While waiting for an eastbound Rt 15 we were presented with two
Callowhill Depot pull in moves using the Rt 15 tracks on Girard. The
first was K-Car #9103.
The second was K-Car #9043, although some random holeless guy kinda ruined my shot.
If two pull-in wasn't enough, behind them came an orange SEPTA work vehicle carrying a bed full of trolley axles. I wasn't sure if they were for K-cars or PCC IIs.
While the previously discussed festivities involving the post-blizzard SEPTA system was cut short by a particularly mean spirited pig in a poke, it had the small silver lining of leaving me in a mood to salvage something something from the day as well as get back at the man. So when I nabbed the front seat on a PATCO train at 15/16th and Locust I noticed that the operator had closed the curtain to prevent anyone from looking in....but also preventing him from looking out which meant I was free to take video from the front of the train without harassment.
While the window was its typical dirty self, I was able to get reasonable videos that culminated with a dual departure on the platform at Haddonfield. Anyway you can watch the entire trip from Broadway to Haddonfield, in 4 parts broken up at station stops, right here.
If you are interested in specific parts here we begin at the Broadway portal, through the short Mickle St overbuild and then up onto the old PRSL viaduct before proceeding to Ferry Ave.
Here we continue on one of the longer runs on PATCO between Ferry Ave and Collingswood where the train encounters the newly re-affixed track on the elevated PATCO viaduct.
Continuing on we leave Collingswood, pass over a crossover and then arrive at Westmont also on a viaduct.
Finally we trade the viaduct for a trench as we dive below street level to enter the Haddonfield station where I planed to exit the train with the camera rolling in order to capture any sparks from the third rail upon departure. However I was doubly lucky when I discovered a westbound train already at the platform and I was able to capture both taking off side by side.
Well I guess it should be expected that when one runs a railfan trip in the middle of Winter, weather disruptions might occasionally occur. After 9 years of reasonable December weather the 10th SEPTA Mid-Winter trip brought with it an intense northeast blizzard that hit the area on the day before the trip was to take place. With much of the city transit operating on special schedules and travel from places like New York disrupted I made the decision to postpone the trip by a day. However, with Fred G already in town and a scheduled run of the then new Silverliner V's still scheduled there was no point in letting the day just go to waste so I ventured out into the city with Chuchubob and to see what we could find.
Now while the Blizzard was over the following day there were high winds and cold temperatures so in addition to a nice coating of white, the wind was whipping up great clouds of power that would swirl and drift. To make the conditions even more interesting the sky was partly clear so you had a combination of great light and snow bits in the air. The result was a superb day for taking photos, although SEPTA would have something to say about that later.
Anyway you can see the entire set of photos at the following link. You'll need to scroll down a little bit past some semi-related photos taken at OVERBROOK interlocking that I am saving for another time.
So our story begins with Fred G, Chuchubob and I all meeting at Market East to catch a scheduled R6 train to Norristown. The snow was playing hell with the schedules so upon heading down to the platform as discovered that not only was our train late, but it would not consist of the promised Silverliner V's :-( Fortunately what did arrive was a mixed set of II's and III's so we happily gave up on the new stuff to take a ride in the old, which in our case was reading car #9016.
Departing Market east our train made a strange crossover from Track 2 all the way over the track #4, which was normally used for inbound local trains and rarely saw outbound moves. Upon emerging from the Center City Tunnel the cause for all the delays became apparent with snow blowing everywhere and drifting against the tracks. Here we see the #22 automatic signal on the Reading Viaduct with the uncommon situation of Clear signals on tracks 1, 2 and 4 northbound.
Upon arriving at Temple University station the crew made the
announcement that this train was going out of service because it was not
actually the train we thought it was. This train was the previous R6
that had simply been so delayed (as an R2 into the city) that it was
just going to be terminated. Fortunately there would be another R6
pulling in behind us. Anyway I got out and took a picture of the #24
signal gantry with two Approach Mediums and a Clear and a pair of
Silverliner IIs hanging off the platform.
Bob and Fred were close at hand shown here getting out of LVANIA car #218.
Yes this train was compliant with SEPTA's no solid S-II trainset policy with S-III #227 sitting in the middle of the consist.
On the end of our train was S-II #263 with cute little mounts of snow piled on the roof access steps.
Just as we were bracing ourselves for some ugly set of Silverliner IV's
low an behold the scheduled Silverliner V run shows up on track #4 right
behind our previous train (thus the reason for pulling up so far).
Here we see the prototype single unit #701.
This photo is pretty special as it shows the front of #263 framed by the
Silverliner V's railfan window and the silhouette of the SEPTA quality
assurance tech who was assigned to make notes of the run from the front
seat. As a side note all of the following photos are taken from the
second railfan seat in the Silverliner V.
#263 then departed Temple U north on #4 track, kicking up snow as it proceeded to Robert's Yard.
Inbound trains were confined to #3 track such as Silverliner IV #186 seen here south of North Broad.
And S-IV #428 squeezing under Broad Street.
After waiting a moment to get our lineup at 16TH ST junction we proceeded north and I discovered that the reason for the strange routing was that the point heating system at the interlocking plant had failed and most of the switches had frozen up. I took some video as we proceeded through the interlocking to give a better sense of the wind blown snow condition going on outside. It seriously looked like the arctic out there!!
In another annual custom that has become a yearly tradition each year I meet up with Chuchubob on the Wednesday before thanksgiving to go driving around the Philadelphia area with an eventual stop on Amtrak Northeast corridor to catch the somewhat augmented schedule of Regional and Keystone train rushing people back to their families. SEPTA also gets in on the action with 6 car trains on the R7. In years past we had used the day to visit some of Bob's good friends at the SMS Lines Pennsylvania Division in Morrisville, PA or staking out the Bristol, SEPTA station, but this time around I was looking to be a bit more ambitious. With the impending retirement of the Silverliner II's and III's as well as ongoing re-signaling operations on the Doylestown Branch there was a lot that needed to be documented away from the NEC and therefore after summoning Bob and its eldermobile we were off to drive a circle around the Philadelphia metro area.
The full photo log of this trip can be found here or just stay tuned and read on for a sampling of the best and brightest. I know this post is going to be long, but please at least skim through to the end because a lot of the Silverliner II and Amtrak action will be down there.
We begin with this photo taken of the PRR Arsenal Branch as it passes over the Sure-Kill Distressway just south of Center City. This was the freight line that linked the PW&B and West Philadelphia Elevated at ARSENAL tower with the Greenwitch Yard serving the import/export facilities on the Delaware River and South Philadelphia industry. This beefy overpass was built back in the 1970's when GG1s were still using the line along with the yearly Army-Navy passenger specials that brought thousands of fans directly to JFK Stadium.
Anyway we drove directly to Lansdale where the old signals were still standing at LAND interlocking.
Soon after a northbound R5 Doylestown train of Silverliner IV's showed up with #412 bringing up the rear.
Waiting on the station track with S-IV #344 on point was a Landdale
terminating trainset getting ready for the next southbound departure.
Which is soon did, crossing the non-automated grade crossing directly south of the station.
CSX was still in charge of local freight operations and a pair of Geeps with GP38-2S #6159 was hanging out with its partner north of the station. This unit had been a GP40-2 and was downrated to 2000hp to save maintenance costs. This unit started life as Chessie System/Western Maryland unit #4260.
Hanging out with #6159 was GP40-2 #6224.
The departed SL-IV train was soon replaced on the station track by another train of SL-IVs including #454 shown here.
The Lansdale Substation retains its original 1930's equipment including
two 22kv to 12kv autotransformers that emit a pleasing 25Hz hum.
Leaving Lansdale and its empty storage yard behind we made a stop a few miles up the road at the Link Belt station, which was named for the a tracked construction machinery factory owned by the company of the same name. The station is co-located with a Controlled Point appropriately named CP-LINK which was displaying clear in the northbound direction for the next train to Doylestown. This Controlled Point served as a holdout signal to allow trains to pull north of LAND interlocking without needing to have traffic thrown all the way to CP-FORREST. This Controlled Point was taken out of service in August 2011 when the new controlled siding a half mile to the north was placed into service.
Even though the Rule 261 ABS signals were still in service along the
line, at some point SEPTA decided to replace the old electro-mechanical
searchlight signals with the solid state Unilens variety.
For decades opposing trains on the branch had passed each other interurban style at the CP-FORREST passing siding.
CP-FORREST, like CP-BELT, was a controlled point, not an interlocking
and features spring switches on either end of the passing loop with
automatically operated absolute signals governing the trains. Located
just south of the highly acute Rt 202 crossing
here we see the northern spring switch which is set in the normal
position. With the opening of the new Link belt siding the north end of
this siding was removed.
Northbound trains would be routed into the siding where if the track to
Doylestown was free of opposing movements this stacked dwarf signal
would display a Medium Clear. With the opening of the new Link belt
siding this signal was removed along with the northern spring switch.
So what does one do after getting piss drunk and taking over 400 photos of the New Orleans streetcar system? Well you stumble down to the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal at 5am and make your way aboard Amtrak's Crescent for the 30 hour trip back to the Northeast. As anyone who actually pay attention to my photos will know, the Crescent has become my most commonly encountered Amtrak conveyance as of late due to a friend in Georgia that I see twice a year. However I had never had an opportunity to ride it over its entire distance. The Crescent is Amtrak's longest single level Long Distance train route at about 1400 miles from NY to NOLA, which is longer than even the Cardinal. As almost the entire route is over Norfolk Southern the Crescent is pretty reliable and where not limited by topology or kudzu attack the train runs reliably at 80mph.
By this time the sleepers on the Crescent had been moved to the head end and thus removing the First Class reverse railfan window. While there was a view out the back in coach, the generally lackluster signaling on the former Southern Railway combined with the realities of cloudy weather and shooting through two panes of tinted glass while in a non-air filtered Amfleet II caused me to stay in my Roomette with my friend for most of the trip. Ample snacks and a full case of beer also contributed to this decision. Anyway this somewhat limited the number of photos I could take (which was probably for the best) so this report should be a bit more concise from the rest.
You can find the entire set of photos in Chronibetical Order at this link here.
We begin in the pitch blackness of 5am New Orleans outside the 1954 vintage station, making it one of the newest old time style rail terminals ever built. Some Amtrak peon actually bitched me out for going outside to take pictures (I believe they selected terrorism for their reason), but since I had finished up I decided not to get belligerent.
The inside of the station retains all the charm of a 1950's school or office building. I am not sure if the murals
painted on the upper walls were original, but they do add to the
ambiance. Unfortunately Amtrak has been forced to share this station
with arch enemy Greyhound. >-:O There was also a bunch of filming equipment by the front door, which may or may not have been related to the shoot I caught in progress on Carrollton Ave.
NOUPT is the terminus for the Crescent, City of New Orleans and Sunset
Limited and as such is equipped with a first class lounge. However
compared to the ones in Chicago, DC, NYC and Boston it is pretty
rudimentary and I was relieved when we were taken out to our
accommodations a good 20 minutes before departure. On the head end that
day was Amtrak P42 #198 here as the dawn's early light begins to make
an appearance.
Here is a 360 degree video taken from the end of the NOUPT platforms. You can see that our train already has its lineup through CLARA ST interlocking with a Restricted Proceed signal (*R*) on the dwarf before the terminal interlocking and then a Clear indication out onto the Main Line. Also visible to the right is the New Orleans Arena, home of the Charlotte New Orleans Hornets.
The entire NOPUT complex used to be controlled from Clara St Tower, which is visible in this photo just above the second red dwarf signal from the right. Built as an area interlocking scheme for the new station in 1954 it featured a GRS CTC machine and served to control the Amtrak owned terminal trackage until it was closed in 2003 with control being first remoted to 21st St tower in Chicago before finally being taken over by the new Chicago Train Director's office in Chicago Union Station.
Standing by for switching duties at NOPUT that day was
Amtrak P32-8WH #511 still in its Phase IV paint and shown here posing in
front of the Superdome, where the Saints of football play.
After escaping New Orleans via the 6 mile long Lake Pontchartrain causeway it was time for breakfast. The first leg of our trip from New Orleans to Meridian, MS runs over a line called the New Orleans and Northeastern,
or NO&NE for short. The Southern Railway was really oriented for
traffic between Washington and Atlanta and Birmingham and past there
getting to New Orleans just sort of happened via mergers. The final (or
first in my case) leg over the NO&NE is barely eve a main line,
still running a single track with Rule 271 operation. This means there
is bi-directional ABS, but no CTC so trains need track warrants for
movement authority and passing sidings are operated by hand.
The
only bit of excitement on this route was a CN freight train waiting for
clearance through the diamond crossing at Hattiesburg, MS. The train
had SD75i #5684 in the lead and the conductor was out of the cab working
the punch box to get a route after we cleared up. Like I said this
line didn't have CTC so even the diamond crossings were worked
automatically.
Shortly after lunch we reached the station at Meridian, MS, which was
really nice for a station that only saw two trains a day. It also
featured a collection of historic Southern Railway equipment.
The point of the long stop at Meridian was not just to allow smokers to get their fix, but also to enable a crew change.
Heading east into Alabama we passed an aggregate quarry with an old GP8 belonging to the Dunn Roadbuilders Railroad.
Off the NO&NE we transfered to the Alabama Great Southern Railroad which runs all the way to Birmingham. At the town of Boligee, AL we encountered a diamond crossing with the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway,
a Rail America shortline. I took this opportunity for some out the
side window shots of the diamond itself showing the main track and
siding track signals...
...as well as a westbound freight train headed by Union Pacific ES44AC
#5548 crawling along at Restricted speed on the non-signaled siding
track allowing our train full use of the railroad.
A few more miles down the road in Woodstock, AL we passed
the first of two westbound Train 19 Crescents. This one had left New
York the previous afternoon and was headed towards an evening arrival in
NOLA.
The westbound had been given the railroad fording us onto a controlled,
but non-signaled siding at Restricted speed. At least compared to the
NO&NE we had actual interlockings
on this line instead of hand throw switches and track warrants. Here
we see the eastbound siding dwarf signal displaying a diverging clear,
returning us to the main. Here we see the southern employing a poor
man's dwarf stack that substitutes an upper semaphore unit for a simple
marker light.
While most of the Southern main line had been untouched by large
re-signaling projects there was a reasonable amount of singleton
replacements like the westbound main signal at Woodstock. Here we see a
3-headed Darth Vader unit taking the place of a previous 2.5 headed
searchlight signal (the .5 is a missing middle head that changes R/Y ro
R/-/Y for Restricting moves). This new signal not only has an explicit
3rd head for R/R/Y Restricting, but a yellow on the middle head for
Y/Y/R advance approach.
In the second two parter in as many weeks we wrap up my trip to New Orelans and its growing Streetcar system. Unlike the Silverliner Farewell two parter, which warranted a "Previously On", this week I will forgo such formalities because the the way the photos turned out actlly did a nice job breaking things up into two distinct narratives. While last week I presented a comprehensive survey of the streetcar renaissance in New Orleans, today we tackle the elder of the two New Orleans streetcar lines, the one that was never discontinued and never lost its original equipment.
The St Charles Line runs from Canal Street at Bourbon through the iconic Garden and University districts before turning north on Carrollton Ave where it passes the Carrollton Carbarn before terminating at Claiborne Ave. The line literally follows the Crescent of the Crescent City which have proved resistant to the sort of poverty that pervaded the rest of the city and therefore it had the clout to keep its streetcar service when the other lines were retired in the 1960's. Despite the higher ground, this line was just as susceptible to Hurricane Katrina and didn't fully return to service until 2008 although the Carrollton Carbarn did not experience the flooding that the Canal St one did.
Like with the Red Car lines I have compiled a very complete survey documenting the line from end to end and you can see the entire set of photos here and also get a feeling of why I needed to split the whole set up int two parts.
We begin our journey at the downtown terminus of the St. Charles line where it spend a block making a loop on Canal between Bourbon and St. Charles and waiting there to greet us is #920, is one of the 35 olive green Perley A. Thomas Car Works cars that were built in 1923-24 out of an original order of 75.
At the corner of St Charles and Canal there are some section breakers
that can tie the DC feeders between the two lines. Normally open one
wonders if the circuit is ever closed due to beads...
Unlike the new replica cars which are built by a mining equipment concern and have T controllers, AC traction and electric brakes, the original cars have such amenities as an On-Off switch, pneumatic brakes, wooden bench seating, rubber flooring, bulb lighting and windows that go up and down.
After leaving downtown the tracks make a nearly 360o circuit around Lee
Circle which has a famous monument to General Lee which depicts him not
turning his back in retreat to the North. Hmmm, Germany banned statues
of its Nazi war leaders yet somehow this is acceptable.
The can-do, party hearty attitude of New Orleans was evident all along
the line including this example of a Bead Tree. In face I believe you
can find beads in most of the photos I took. Sort of like a Wares Waldo
of drunken hedonism.
As the line continued past Loyola and Tulane Universities it began to encounter more and more of what can best be described as "tree tunnels" made from native live oaks like at this one near the super ritzy and gated Audubon St.
Here is another view with car #948.
As we continued on the passenger traffic began to lighten and my railfan sense prompted me to switch to video mode and I was rewarded with a superb express run from Burdette St to Maple, which included the 90 degree turn onto Carrollton at the point where St Charles runs into the Mississippi River levee. Also included is inbound car #951 waiting at the great bend to turn onto St Charles.
Continuing up Carrollton I passed a film shoot that probably had something to do with the HBO series Treme.
Reaching the end of the line I found that the light was perfect to shoot the "changing of the poles".
Like the Red Car lines there was no shortage of tourists milling about and taking photos.
