16-07-04 PHOTOS: Local Color

Sometimes that which you see every day so blends into the background that it becomes easy to ignore. With the impending rebuid of the classic PATCO cars, I have been making more of an effort to take photos of my local transit scene. Here are some I took around the July 4th holiday period.

Here is a train of unrebuilt Vickers PATCO cars, with #261 and #261 leading and trailing, wrong railing at the Haddonfield station on a weekend day.

The wrong railing was going on overnight too as seen crews worked to rebuild the direct fixation system on the Westmont viaduct, as seen this video of a train featuring PAtCO Car #268. The operator had better be careful to not get pulled over due to a faulty tail light.



Lit signals at SOUTH RACE interlocking indicate that a train is approaching. The Approach Medium indication is for a diverging move at RACE interlocking.

At the side of the old Utica Ave station in Westmont, NJ, an NJT Atlantic City Line train passes by powered by PL42 #4021 with Comet V cab car #6059 on the rear. The train advanced on an Approach Medium to a Medium Clear signal at RACE interlocking where it would make its Cherry Hill, NJ stop.

Amtrak tends to schedule ACL trains to pass just west of SHORE interlocking on the NEC. This creates about a 20-30 minute gap between opposing trains. Today things were running to schedule so here is a southbound train with Comet V cab car #6047 and PL42 #4010.

Here we find SEPTA SL-IV #296 at Market East station.

PATCO car #271 at 9th-10th and Locust.

Original Budd PATCO car #239 at 8th and Market.

Another view of inbound PATCO car #269 at 8th and Market.

Lit Brothers department store in downtown Philadelphia, this time in purple. The low light capability of the latest generation of digital camera is simply phenomenal and I have consciously made the switch to my phone for a lot of "station platform" type shots where my regular cameras are conspicuous, bulky and take significant effort to deploy.

SEPTA SL-V #814 at 30th St station. This was taken just prior to the SL-V fleet being temporarily withdrawn due to cracked equalizer bars. 

Amtrak Budd Metroliner Cab Car #9649 on a Keystone train at 30th St station.

The night photos continue on another trip to Baltimore with ACS-86 #653 at the head of a typical Regional consist.

Next week we are back on the road as we head out to the People's Republic of Austin, TX.