22-06-05 PHOTOS: Iron Hill

Due to a variety of noral cognative biases, over time I have tended to neglect my local scene in favor of road and rail trips that focused on attractions farther from home. For example once or twice a month I drive between the Baltimore and Philadelphia metros on Interstate 95 and when dodging the toll on the Delaware border a slight detour from my usual route will take me directly past Amtrak's IRON interlocking located mere feet east of the Maryland-Delaware border. I had been traveling this route for the best part of two decades and never taken the opportunity to visit IRON. The same can be said for most of the signaling locations on NJT's Atlantic City Line. For decades Winslow Jct had been "the place to be" even though multiple interlockings were located just a mile or so from the main routes to get there. So while scourging for content oppurtunities in June of 2022 I decided to visit both IRON interlocking on the Northeast Corridor and NORTH FISH interlocking on the ACL. The full set of photos can be found here ( mirror ).

We begin at IRON with Amtrak ACS-86 #625 leading a southbound Regional under the southbound signal bridge. As IRON is only in service on tracks 1 and A, tracks 2 and 3 get the Milepost 41.5 automatic. The north-south Mason-Dixon Line runs diagonally across the NEC at this point from about where I am standing to just outside the far signal bridge support.

Amtrak's IRON interlocking, named for the locality of Iron Hill, Delaware, is where the old "A" track folds into track #1. The three track configuration extends a further 10 miles southward to BACON interlocking. "A" track ran to DAVIS interlocking in Newark and was used to support operations for the long since demolished Chrysler assembly plant there. DAVIS tower had remote control of IRON until it was closed around 1990. In the late 90's the 4-track configuration was extended to a new RUTHBY interlocking north of Newark to support expanded SEPTA service. Here a northbound Acela Express with power cars #2021 and #2024 passes under the southbound IRON signal bridge.

After the Acela set passed I noticed a train approaching on #1 track. It turned out to be an Amtrak MoW train with GP38-2 #724, MP15D #572 and 10 brand new automated ballast hoppers.

Of course I also take Amtrak for many of my Northeast intercity trips. Here we find ACS-86 #610 arriving at BWI.

In 2022 Baltimore Penn Station was seeing substantial work with its old low level platform covering tracks 2 and 3 getting a high level treatment and a brand new platform being added to Track F.

 

A trio of NS engines at Bayview Yard including C44-9W #9786 and AC44C6M's #4298 and #4272.

PATCO rebuild car #1035 at Haddonfield.

Due to some track work PATCO westbound trains were wrong railing over the Ben Franklin Bridge. Strangely the train does not cross back over at 8th and Market hinting that the track work might be located between there and the next full crossover at 12th St. Because the crossover at 8th and Market is only in the trailing direction there is no way to initiate wrong railing there and trains must instead cross over at Camden City Hall.

SEPTA Silverliner IV #153 at Market East.

Between my NEC trips I was pulled down to Washington, DC for one reason or another. Here we see 2k car #2041 both at Medical Center and Union Station.

Higher fuel prices combined with Amtrak had lowering NEC fares to increase ridership made it often cheaper than driving so here we go again with ACS-86 #623 at BWI.

NJT Comet V cab car #6073 on the lower level of 30th St station. Platform rehabilitation work was displacing the ACL trainsets from their usual berth on tracks 1 or 2.

PATCO car #1060 at the 15th-16th St terminal in Philadelphia.

I got a late state while heading to the NORTH FISH location in Watertown, NJ so I had to catch the next northbound ACL run at the Atco station with NJT GP40PH-2B #4205 and Comet V cab car #6078.

A clear signal at NORTH FISH indicated an approaching southbound ACL train which dutifully arrived with Comet V cab car #6033, GP40PH-2B #4203 pushing and a respectable 5 coaches between them.

Back at 30th St Station I'll wrap up with some SEPTA Silverliner IV photos including #361, #453 and #186.

Anyway thanks for reading. Next week I'll be headed to Las Vegas to try out not one, but two monorails.