In 2023 as opportunities to document vintage signaling closer to home dwindled, I made a pivot to the RF&P, which still had a good number of pre-CSX signals in operation south of Fredericksburg. Although I was able to check off a lot of boxes, a few locations proved to be tougher nuts to crack, over Memorial Day 2024 I arranged a second trip down to the Scott's Addition arts and entertainment district in Richmond with an intermediate stop at an intermediate stop at the RIXLEY signal location near Bowling Green, VA. The remainder of the photos ( mirror ) were taken at WEST AY interlocking on the Richmond Belt Line where many of Amtrak's Virginia and Florida service trains pass through.
The RIXLEY intermediate signals are located at Milepost 41 (from Richmond) adjacent to a Wildlife Management Area about a mile in from the parking lot. The hike out only netted one train, southbound Palmetto Train 89, with ALC-42 Charger #347 providing the power.
Next was a quick stop by MD tower in Millford where I happened to catch a northbound garbage train with ES44AC #925 and ET44AC #3288.
Down in Richmond I was just in time to miss the southbound "Juice Train" heading onto the Richmond Belt Line at WEST AY.
As the tail end passed, an Approach Medium displayed on the northbound track #2 signal heralded the arrival of Amtrak Regional Train #158 with P42DC #39 leading.
Amtrak's 30th St Station complex has two storage areas, the Race Street Engine House and the Penn Coach Yards, where equipment can congregate for photos. The Penn Coach Yard have seen a marked decline in the amount of stored equipment since its heyday in the 1940's and 50. It wasn't that long ago when the yards were almost completely empty save for a spare Metroliner cab car or string of MoW hoppers. Same with Race St, as power changes at Philly became a thing of the past, so did the need for the spare motive power to support them. However in May of 2024, an alignment of the stars seems to have rejuvenated both facilities with new equipment in ready view of the photographer friendly parking structure. This set ( mirror ) will cover both 30th St Station facilities along with a grab bag of other railroad photos.
On my way over I caught a meet between NJT and PATCO at the Haddonfield station. Southbound NJT Atlantic City Train led by Comet V cab car #6039 and pushed by GP40PH-2B #4209 met a westbound PATCO local with class leading married pair #1001 in front.
The star attraction of the Coach Yards that day were the 4 series production and one unnumbered prototype Acela II's that were were hanging out due to contract issues with the vendor, Alstom. Unlike Bombardier, Alstom really doesn't need Amtrak's business and was working to the letter of its contract, delivering the sets to Amtrak as they were made ready. Amtrak on the other hand was running its playbook of demanding free changes for an improperly specified design by claiming the equipment was built poorly. The result, delivered trainsets that couldn't be placed in service.
The Acela II equipment is far more "off the shelf" than the bespoke Acela I's, however this exposes the European spec equipment to the demanding conditions of North American spec track conditions and maintenance practices, thus the need for changes and modifications.
The Acela II's will consist of two power cars with coaches in between like the Acela I's, except the coaches will be of an articulated design with adjacent cars sharing a single truck. The power cars will be numbered in the 21xx series.
The sets will have 9 cars, up from the current 6, order to expand capacity, however the cars will be slightly shorter with only a single door and vestibule. Coaches will be numbered in ranges between 3200 and 3999 depending on car type.
Also in the yard that day was PRR business car #7503, the "Francis L.Suter" and HHP-8 cab car conversion #9751 that was undergoing testing.
When it comes to the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey, I am more likely to be riding on it than standing by it. In early May 2024 a friend staying in downtown New Brunswick suggested I pop by for some food and to hang out on the NJT platform during the Friday rush. As this would allow me to get some needed signal photos I agreed and headed up from Bordentown to avoid the parking fees at Hamilton Although I was only trackside for about an hour or two, I was treated to quite the show ( mirror ) with both NJT locals and non-stop Amtrak trains at 125mph appearing in quick succession.
Step one was to park (for free) at Bordentown and catch a RiverLINE DMU to Trenton. The schedule typically involves a pass south of the station so southbound DMU #3516 showed up before my northbound with #3520.
My train to New Brunswick had ALP-46 #4624 cab ML cab car #7012.
The next train to stop at the station was the Amtrak pull-push Regional Train #129 with ACS-86 #618 on the head end and class locomotive #600 on the rear.
This was followed by a northbound Regional with ACS-86 #603 on track #2 and an outbound single level NJT NEC express train on track #3 with Comet V #6005 on the rear, which you can see hitting the brakes in the video clip as it pass an Approach Medium signal indication on the Milepost 31 automatic.
