No, this is not a rerun of a previous post. Due to having had two years off thanks to the Covid pandemic, I decided to double my number of visits to HARRIS tower with an early season visit added to my more typical final weekend visit. Will my initiative be rewarded? Read ahead and find out. Also included are some additional photos taken on my frequent Amtrak trips to and from Philly. You can find the full set of photos here ( mirror ).
Most times I get many photos of signals with few trains. At HARRIS the opposite is true as upwards of 50 NS and Amtrak train movements passing through this critical rail chokepoint by every day. This day would be no different with NS SD70ACe #1030 and ES44AC #8062 being first on the scene with a westbound intermodal train.
Although the days weather was rather crummy I was sheltered from the elements inside HARRIS tower with its restored and fully operational Union Switch and Signal Model 14 interlocking machine.
Some of the recent changes help visitors see how the mechanical interlocking works.
The next train to pass by was an eastbound intermodal with NS C44's-10W #7577 and #7532 sandwiching C44-9W #9973.
My luck did ultimately hold up as I was treated to N&W heritage ES44AC #8103 running ahead of sister ES44AC #8003.
The National Parks are America's Best Idea, however sometimes it can be challenging to incorporate sufficient rail content into a national parks trip. During my 2021 visit to Bryce and Zion National parks in southern Utah I was able to identify a rail related point of interest in the small Nevada town of Moapa, just a mile or so off Interstate 15. Due to various circumstances I was able to finagle a stop there on both the outbound and inbound legs of the journey from Las Vegas and despite long odds, I was ultimately rewarded for my perseverance. You can find the full set of photos here ( mirror ).
The Moapa station/siding is located on the Union pacific Caliente Sub on what used to be Amtrak's old Desert Wind route, until that service was cancelled in 1997. The siding is 384 miles from Las Angeles and I visited the northern end due to its proximity to a paved road and potential fire fuel. Although the Caliente Sub had been resignaled during the great PTC purge, the old pole line had been abandoned in place and provided some interesting visual content.
The railroad location of MOAPA is about a mile north of the town of Moapa and within spitting distance of Path 27, a 500kv HVDC power line running from Salt Lake City to the Los Angeles basin.
Because I was with non-train people I only had limited time to take some photos of the location and I was not expecting to catch a train movement. While my friend gathered wood I was treated to some A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft flying out of nearby Nellis AFB.
Just before I was about to head out a Clear indication on the approach lit westbound mast signaled the presence of an approaching Union Pacific freight train.
It was a doublestack intermodal train led by Union Pacific SD70ACe #9048 and SD70Ms #4832 and #4543.
It's getting harder and harder to track down genuine PRR position lights these days, but after a major bout of resignaling wiped out the PL's on the former Conrail Fort Wayne Line west of Pittsburgh, a quirk of NS's policy of disinvestment somehow managed to preserve a stretch of ABS Rule 251 signaled track on the Cleveland Line in the Ohio River valley west of Rochester, PA. These signals had the benefit of also being located near the PRR's premier classification facility, Conway Yard so while in town for another event I took the opportunity to hit two birds with one stone with visits to both EAST CONWAY and the Milepost 2.7 intermediate signal location in Beaver, PA. The full gallery can be found here ( mirror ).
First stop were the milepost 2 intermediate signals located at the west end of the municipality of Beaver, PA. It is located in the shadow of the Interstate 376 bridge over the Ohio and across from the new Shell Oil Ethelene cracking plant that uses local frack gas to produce plastics. The eastbound signal can display Approach Slow for the slow speed route at CP-ROCHESTER. The former Conrail Cleveland Line takes an alternate routing to Alliance Ohio via the Ohio Valley and Yellow Creek. With local industry in decline, most through traffic travels via the Fort Wayne Line before switching over to the Cleveland Line at CP-ALLIANCE.
The next stop was the confluence of the Beaver River and the Ohio River that features two beefy steel age bridges built to take the weight of late steam age mega-locomotives. The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie cantilever bridge over the Ohio River is now part of the CSX Pittsburgh Sub on that railroad's Washington to Chicago service lane. One level below, the smaller PRR truss bridge over the Beaver River is still very impressive. The local waterfront is now a park overlooked by a new apartment block.
Previously part of CP-ROCHESTER, the logical triple junction between the Conrail Era Fort Wayne, Cleveland and Youngstown Lines, the 2019 re-signaling project split off the Cleveland Line single to double track switch into CP-BRIDGEWATER located on the west end of the Beaver River truss bridge.
Conway Yard in its current form was a post-war PRR project to increase efficiency on its primary east-west freight market. After its rebuild Conway had the distinction of being the world's largest from 1956 to 1980 with separate classification humps for both eastbound and westbound trains. Although one hunp was removed in the early 2000's (and sent to Enola Yard), Conway is still a major component of Norfolk Southern's New York to Chicago market. Conway Yard is largely paralleled by PA Route 65 from which I was able to get photos of a road slug set with NS GP40-2 #3091 and RP-E4C slug #745 along with AC44C6M rebuild #4233 in the DPU position at the rear of a coal train.
Beginning with the 1956 rebuild, rail traffic around Conway Yard was controlled by a Union Switch and Signal N-X type interlocking machine within EAST CONWAY tower. The tower survived both the coming and going of Conrail, ultimately being closed in the 2010's by NS.
The vehicle bridge over EAST CONWAY interlocking is a popular railfan spot, unfortunately the pneumatic switch machines were replaced in the 2019 resignaling project.
Trains can be frequently found waiting at either end of EAST CONWAY and on my trip NS AC44C6M #4340 was shifting cars in the westbound receiving yard and C44-9W #9856 waited at the 4-track westbound cantilever for a lineup into the yard.
When visiting Ketchikan and Mt. Rainer in the fall of 2021 I knew that I wasn't going to see much rail content in Alaska, but I figured I'd be able to find something near where I was staying in Olympia, WA. Well it turns out I was wrong on the second question and having my new camera phone die due to the damp weather in Ketchikan further limited my ability to take photos. Nevertheless, I did have access to one form of historic transport in the form of a DeHavilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver float plane that a pilot friend used to fly my group out to the Misty Fjords National Monument. Seeing as I had a bevy of videos from the flight I figured I might as well throw it up for this week's rail adventure post in addition to some still that you can find here ( mirror ).
Best known for its stillborn Bridge to Nowhere, Ketchikan is the southernmost city in Alaska and a general hub for local transport, fishing and recreation. As road transport is limited to Gravina and Revillagigedo Islands, all other areas must be accessed by boat or floatplane. The Ketchikan waterfront is home to a large number of providers, mostly servicing the summer season tourists on package cruises.
My friend flies a 1950's vintage DHC-2 Beaver floatplane for Island Wings. It is powered by 450hp R-985 Wasp Jr. 9 cylinder radial engine fueled by 100 octane low lead avgas. The low lead part is actually relative and is about the same that would have been found in 1970's leaded automotive gasoline.
Although it features some modern flying aids, the cockpit of the DHC-2 is largely stock.
A typical tourist run involves a round trip to the Misty Fjords National Monument, punctuated by a lake landing and photo op. The Misty Fjords are described as Yosemite only replicated a hundred times over with more spectacular scenery.
Well what goes up, must come down. After heading up to New Hampshire on Amtrak's Vermonter and then trolling around for signal photos, it was time to return via the same route. Because I was lucky enough to snag a business class upgrade I was able to conduct a second line survey in the southbound direction with the lack of rain and clouds improving the quality. Also included in this set are photos around New Haven and a westbound survey of the Amtrak Hellgate Line. The full set of photos can be found here ( mirror ).
My southbound Train 57 was scheduled to depart White River Jct around 11am, however my ride needed to drop me off closer to 6am. To help mitigate the 5+ hour wait, I changed the drop off point to a diner in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, and after a filling meal and a couple cups of coffee, I set out to walk across to the Amtrak station on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River . Along the way I passed by Claremont & Concord Railroad GP9 #1907 that switches and industrial park in West Labanon.
The CCRR works on the remains of a Boston and Maine line located about 142 miles from Boston. I used the rail bridge over the Connecticut River to reach White River Jct.
New England Central GP38-2 #437 was still on site, waiting for that day's crew to show up to the G&W side of the stately brick station building..
My Train 57 showed up close to on schedule with Amtrak P42DC #101 in the lead.
There were quite a few people seeing loved ones off at Claremont Jct, NH.
The passing through the connection with the Guilford Rail System's Freight Main Line just south of the Greenfield, MA station.
Arriving at the new Springfield, MA high level platform as a 3-car Amtrak Springfield shuttle sits on the low level track #8 with P42DC #104 in front and a second engine on the rear.
If you recall my recent posts on my trip to White River Junction on Amtrak's Vermonter, I was able to get a good slate of rear photos on both the Amtrak Springfield Line and Boston and Maine Connecticut Valley Line. Well I was also able to collect a substantial amount of rear facing video footage on both my northbound and southbound runs which I will now present below.
I'll start off with a brief slip of the northbound Vermonter as it traverses MILL RIVER interlocking at the junction of the Springfield and Shore Lines. This train takes the northern route to Springfield and continues on past Cedar Hill Yard where Amtrak's Rail Welding Facility for making CWR is located. Unfortunately a camera malfunction cut the video short.
This next video shows the Amtrak Springfield Line between Meriden and Hartford, CT. This section was recently double tracked and upgraded to allow for 110mph operation, however this train only managed to hit 100mph. The high speed section is between the Berlin, CT station and the I-91 overbuild south of the Hartford Station. The new track is the one that is now equipped with concrete ties.
This video covers the Amtrak Springfield Line between Hartford and Windsor Locks, CT. Only the first half of this segment has been rebuilt to double track and Rule 562 cab signaling to support New Haven to Springfield Commuter Rail, however the second section is in its original Amtrak configuration with a single track and bi-directional wayside signals. Maximum speed throughout is 80mph.
In the last video of the northbound run we travel the Amtrak Springfield Line between Windsor Locks, CT and Springfield, Mass. This part of the line is in its original Amtrak configuration with a single track and bi-directional wayside signals. Maximum speed is 80mph. Also note the Windsor Locks platform which the crew described as the shortest in the Northeast. I am unsure why Amtrak's Vermonter stops at Windsor Locks instead of Windsor. Probably access to major roads and parking.
In the first video from my southbound run I get an early start on the former Boston and Maine CT River Line just before the junction between the old B&M and Central Vermont routes at EAST NORTHFIELD. Today the Vermonter takes the diverging route to follow the CT Valley, but until 2014 it would take the old Central Vermont route to Palmer, MA then head west on the former Conrail Boston Line. Note the wayside distant signal to EAST NORTHFIELD interlocking a few seconds in. Despite the complete rebuild and new signaling, speeds on the line remain slow with many 30 and 40mph zones. The video finishes at the Greenfield, MA station, terminus of the daily Valley Flier service.
We continue on the Guilford (former Boston and Maine) Connecticut Valley Line between Greenfield and Northampton, Mass. This section was rebuilt in 2014 after the Vermonter had been moved to the New England Central line via Palmer since 1994 due to poor track conditions. Note the connection with the east-west Boston and Maine line to Mechanicville, NY in the first few minutes of the video. The Norfolk Southern train waiting for a signal is part of their joint venture with Guilford.
This video covers the Connecticut Valley Line segment between between Northampton to Holyoke. Unfortunately the north of Springfield crews were not as accommodating as the south of Springfield crews so I was unable to get the last segment between Holeoke and Springfield.
Back on the Amtrak Springfield Line I was was looking to capture southbound travel on the 110mph section as the northbound train had only managed 100mph in the wet conditions. This video captures Amtrak Springfield Line between Hartford to Meriden, CT with the 110mph being achieved between Hartford and Berlin with speeds from Berlin to Meriden ranging from 80mph to 95mph.
In the last video of the set I record the line between Meriden, CT and New Haven, CT including MILL RIVER junction and the approach to the New Haven station on Metro North territory. The maximum speed in this section is 95mph between the Wallingford, CT Station and CEDAR interlocking. Both Meriden and Wallingford retain downtown speed restrictions due to grade crossings, however the rebuild raised speeds from 25mph to 30 and 40mph respectively. Unfortunately the historic Wallingford station is no longer used in the new scheme.
Well I hope you enjoyed this video trip. Look for the final set of still photos in a few days.
During the Fall 2021 New England Trip I scheduled a day of general sightseeing and railfan activity, starting off at the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, NH, then dropping by the Conway Scenic in North Conway, NH, before finally getting some photos of endangered signaling at Ayer and Lowell, MA on the former Guilford Rail System Freight Main Line. The weather that day was indicative of why New England is such a popular fall travel destination with cool temperatures and outstanding light. The full set of photos from this day can be found here ( mirror ).
The Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad, known as the Hobo Railroad in the tourist trade it runs the typical mix of classic railcars behind a modern diesel backed up by a bunch of more interesting equipment in the yard. Chief amoung these is about half of the New Haven vintage 6-car Roger Williams trainset built by the Budd Company in 1956 using RDC technology. Similar in appearance and performance to New Haven't other post-war lightweight trainset, the Speed Merchant, the concept ultimately proved to be unsuccessful and the trainset was split up with the cars used in normal RDC services into the 70's and 80's. The Hobo Railroad owns the two cab cars and one intermediate car.
Hobo also hosts the more traditional NH RDC, #41.
A pair of ex-Santa Fe Highliners round out the Budd built equipment in storage.
GP9 #1921 is painted in Boston and Maine colors, but was actually a former Great Northern unit, obtained after a stint at the MBTA.
SW1000 #105 was purchased from the New Orleans Public Belt in 2020 and used to replace the former excursion mainstay, Alco S1 #958.
The standard Hobo RR tourist trainset includes an ex-Reading RR RDC in MBTSA paint, but retaining its original number of 9154.
