15-09-20 GUEST PHOTOS: Euro Sampler

In September 2015 I sent one of my operatives to Europe with instructions to take rail photos along his travels to London, Barcelona, Prague and Vienna. While I can't say I was necessarily impressed with the quantity of material that was returned (how do you miss seeing trams in Prague!) it was better than nothing. So anyway, let's dive right in. You can see the full set of pictures here.

We start with a train of Thameslink Class 337 Electrostar MU's waiting to depart the Blackfriars station in central London.

Here we see a National Express Class 357 MU commuter train passing alongside the Docklands Light Rail tracks in east London.

The DLR Canary Wharf station.

The commuter rail station at the Barcelona Airport only has a single track, but the airport is also served by the Metro.

The Aeri de Montserrat cable car is the most direct way for someone to reach the monestaries on that particular mountain. 

After the cable car, those not needing a cardio workout can use two funiculars to reach the attractions. The lower one, Funicular de la Santa Cova features a curved track.

Power house and info board for the Funicular de la Santa Cova.

Above that is the more conventional Funicular de Sant Joan.

If the cable car isn't your thing, there is also a winding rack railway that runs to the base of the funiculars.

15-08-14 GUEST PHOTOS: West Chester Branch

Electrified by the PRR in 1930, the West Chester Branch was a part of the Philadelphia Commuter Rail network up until the 1980's when service past Elwyn was "temporarily" suspended by SEPTA due to low ridership and budget cuts. This fiction was made a little less fictional about a decade later when SEPTA pulled the wire down to prevent theft (and also to claim the scrap value for itself). While there is some truth in the fact that the line was in driving distance to better served R5 stations, it is hard to fathom a transit agency shuttering a good portion of an electrified rail line just because.

Today the outer portion of the WCB is operated by the West Chester Railroad tourist operation, and while there continue to be rumors of service being restored, the decade plus wait for a new station at Wawa indicates that full restoration might easily exceed our lifetimes.

Last August a friend of mine took a little trip along the WCB, documenting the disused stations and the general character of the route. I have since processed the photos and made them available on my web hosting for you all to enjoy.

We begin at Media with the SEPTA Silverliner V action as #722 pulls into the inbound platform.

This is followed by an outbound train of SL-IV's, #360 in the lead.

The same trainset returning to Center City as it crosses the Ridley Creek viaduct west of Media. This is the third vintage PRR viaduct on the branch.

The Elwyn station was chosen as the "temporary" terminal as it marks the end of double track operation. 

Previously featuring a spring switch, ELYWN interlocking has recently been upgraded. 

One might expect the old Williamson Station to factor into the Wawa expansion plans, but probably not.

The branch is still wired and signaled out past CP-SOUTH ELYWN. Equipment is stored in the Media yard and makes the short deadhead trip to Elwyn.

The Glen Riddle station as seen from above.

The Leni Substation supplies 12kv power to the outer end of the line and marks the end of both the overhead catenary and two 138kv transmission circuits. One travels the length of the WCB from Arsenal substation while the other heads cross country roughly parallel to the old PRR Chester Valley Branch to the Lamokin rotary converter plant on the NEC. With the Morton substation under renovation, the Leni substation is probably the last on the PRR network to retain all of its original equipment. 

13-03-22 GUEST PHOTOS: Train 170

About 2 years ago a friend of mine was able to take advantage of a rear vestibule ride on early morning Amtrak Regional Train 170 and provided me with a set of photos to process and upload. Well it took me a while, but I finally got them. The set covers the NEC from Philly to Boston and dates from March of 2013 so it's a bit of a step back in time. Unfortunately, the early morning time slot resulted in a lot of the pictures being dark or blurry.

Still, with an 6 hour running time the morning darkness had lifted as the train pulled out of New York so the second half of the run has better coverage. You can find the whole set right here

We begin with a rather dark and grainy photo of an inbound SEPTA R7 train as it approaches the North Philadelphia station on an early weekday morning.

Passing an outbound train if SL-V at Cornwells Heights.

SEPTA AEM-7 #2304 departing Trenton.

Two NJT Arrow III trainsets passing at New Brunswick.

More NJT action just east of Metropark with an eastbound Arrow III local passing a westbound push-pull express.

Outbound Arrow III trainset about to take the diverging signal at ELMORA.

Passing outbound NJT ALP-46 #4647 at SWIFT while an inbound Mid-town direct waits on the ramp.

Rounding the curve into the North River tunnels T170 passed outbound AX power car #2037.

Passing through HAROLD interlocking we see an inbound DM30 train and a Restricting indication on one of the PRR PLs.

Eastbound Amtrak AX power car #2019 on the curve at GATE.

Early morning Hell Gate Bridge.