23-07-14 PHOTOS: Fredericksburg

In July 2023, Virginia Railway Express offered a week of free fares in an attempt to boost ridership. I had participated in a similar promotion in 2022, but instead of a quick out and back to Franconia-Springfield, I took advantage of Amtrak's lower fares to book a return Regional from the near terminus of the VRE Fredericksburg Line. My DC railfan buddy also decided to join me as Fredericksburg offered a quality food and beverage options in addition to a high pace of activity on the CSX RF&P Sub. You can see the full set of photos here.

Planning on catching the first VRE Fredericksburg Line train southbound, My mid-day MARC berthed at the far end of of the track 7/8 platform at the western edge of Union Station. The walk to the station terminal involved passing MARC cab car #8047, MP36PH3C #19, MARC Mp36PH-3C #30 and MARC single level cab car #7761 and #7760.

Down on the Union Station lower lever I saw that Amtrak Capitol Limited Train #29 had arrived on Track #23 instead of the more customary Track 15/16.

The early southbound Fredericksburg Line train would be powered by VRE MP36PH-3C #V53. Luckily the entire train was open and I could seize the railfan window at the rear as we pulled out of track #24 and into the 1st St Tunnel under Capitol Hill.

VIRGINIA tower has been partly restored, but the ivy covering the rear might be bad for the brick work.

Space in the Ivy City Yard is at such a premium that VRE stores one of its trainsets in a purpose built pocket track in CP-VIRGINIA, seen here with VRE MP36PH-3C #V66.

Departing Franconia-Springfield, which until this point had been the farthest south I had traveled on a VRE train on the Fredericksburg Line.

Most VRE stations, like Lorton here, employ a single platform on track #2 since the peak direction operation precludes the need for opposing VRE trains to pass each other. Savings in station construction is a less discussed factor behind the decision to employ peak direction operation.

At Lorton, Amtrak P40DC's #814 and #821 were gearing up for that day's departure. The older P40 locomotives from 1993 are typically assigned to Auto Train service as they feature freight style braking which makes handling the long train of mostly auto-racks easier.

Encountering a northbound CSX manifest freight crossing the Occoquan Creek bridge. This and several other significant viaducts between Quantico and DC will make installing a full third track challenging.

Speaking of third tracks, construction is progressing well on the second phase of the project with a second third track in service between Possum Point, north of Quantico and Arkendale. The new Quantico station is being set up to handle trains on all three tracks.

The next point of interest was encountering northbound Carolinian Train 80 at the VRE Brooke station.

23-07-03 VIDEOS: Main Line 562

In addition to still photographs, the rear window on the Pennsylvanian also allows for video. I had been able to capture quite a lot of westbound footage on previous journeys, but this would be the first time heading eastbound that I did not have my view blocked by a private car. Because the line has been re-signaled I didn't have a ton of pressure to max out my video capacity so I focused on the east and west slopes of the Allegheny Summit as well as the last mile heading across the Susquehanna River and into Harrisburg.

Starting off at Pittsburgh Penn Station. my eastbound Train 42 was ready to depart with a Slow Approach displayed on CP-PITT's 2E-2 dwarf signal as the dispatcher had elected not to display at CP-EAST PITT until the train actually got moving.



Next up is the money reel covering the complete trip over the PRR Allegheny Summit from CP-SO in South Fork to the Amtrak station in Altoona over the world famous Horseshoe Curve. The trip also includes CP-W, CP-MO, CP-UN, CP-MG and CP-ALTOONA as well as the PRR Main Line Summit at Galitzin (17:30) and the subsequent Allegheny Tunnel.



As the 3-track raceway from Altoona to Tyrone is mostly 80mph and covers the famed Altoona Works, and also because I had botched a previous video on this segment, I kept the camera running. This covers CP-WORKS, CP-HOMER, CP-ANTIS and CP-GRAY. Unfortunately the iconic signal bridges at Fostoria and Tipton are no longer present.



Due to rain, for the next couple hours I relaxed at my seat, but got this quick video racing traffic on the adjacent US Highway 322 at PRR Main Line milepost 200.



Finally I wanted some video of the last few miles headed into Harrisburg . Starting at the old PRR Duncannon, PA station, the video includes CP-CANNON, CP-BANKS, CP-MARY, the Rockville Bridge, CP-ROCKVILLE, the Harrisburg fuel pad and finally CP-HARRIS.



Well I hope you enjoyed both the photos and videos. I'll be back shortly with a VRE trip to Fredericksburg, VA.

23-07-03 PHOTOS: Main Line 562

In 2018, as the former PRR Main Line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh was in the midst of a major re-signaling project, I was blocked in my efforts to get westbound facing photos from the rear of eastbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian Train 42 by a private car. In 2023, 5 years after the re-signaling project was completed, I was in the position to try again even if the route was now devoid of interesting signaling. Although cloudy weather and wildfire haze impacted the photos, I accomplished my mission of documenting the now diminished PRR Main Line between Pittsburgh and Tyrone, where the rain made additional coverage impractical. You can view the full gallery here.

Amtrak lets passengers board pretty early for the 8am departure of Train 42 from Pittsburgh Penn Station stub track #3. Power for the day was P42DC #94.

Departing the station, Train 42 passed by the old Conrail era helper base at he Pittsburgh station. Trains needing helpers over the entire west slope would have them attached here. In the mid-2000's the base was closed with the crews moved to either Cresson or Johnstown and helpers cutting off at various points along the Pittsburgh Line depending on operational expediency.

After moving to the rear of the train the first point of interest was a KCS AC4400 in the number 2 position leading a westbound train of empty oil tank cars near Manor, PA.

NS C44-9W #9700 along with a C40-10W leading a westbound intermodal near Radebaugh.

Greensburg, PA is the only station on the route with active platforms serving all main line tracks. With only a single round trip to worry about, current practice is to run both Pennsylvanians on the nominally "westbound" #2 track. Stations like Latrobe that has the capacity for a second platform, has allowed it to decay as it removes the need to correctly pre-position passengers on the correct track.

Overtaking NS ES44AC #8012 at CP-PACK.

The sun briefly peeking out as Train 42 crosses the old stone bridge at Johnstown. This structure survived the great Johnstown Flood in 1889 and continues in service to this day.

Johnstown Station's island platform only serves Track 2 and 3, although Track 3 is rarely utilized by The Pennsylvanian due to it running on a different alignment between Johnstown and CP-CONPIT that adds about 15 minutes to the trip.

Clear westbound signal on track #3 at CP-C(onemaugh). This location has far less going on than it did just 20 years ago with an complete absence of local freight/coal and helper pairs. Coal trains were some of the most in need of temporary assistance and the collapse of coal power combined with increased use of distributed power has virtually eliminated much of the hustle and bustle around helper districts.

23-06-29 PHOTOS: South Hills Jct

During some recent trips through Pittsburgh I have had the opportunity to revisit the Port Authority Transit light rail that runs southward from the downtown triangle. In 2022 I made my first trip out to South Hills Village, with intermediate stops at Washington and Overbrook Junctions. For this year, while the 47L out to Library seemed tempting, the hour long trip time in each direction would exceed my time budget so I looked for something a bit closer to downtown. The obvious answer was to spend some time at South Hills Junction, located on the other side of the Mt Washington Transit Tunnel. So while I didn't go very far in distance I was able to explore one of the most interesting and iconic parts of the system. You can find the full gallery here ( mirror ).

As my visit involved an overnight stay I got this night photo of Pittsburgh Penn Station shrouded in the haze of wildfire spoke that had blown down from Canada. This haze would continue to impact my photos on the following morning's trip.

Heading out to South Hills Jct I pass Siemens SD-400 #4247 at the First Ave station. First Ave was built as an infill station to serve the south side of downtown which had seen increased development since the downtown light rail tunnel was opened in the mid 1980's. Part of this development was on the former site of the B&O Railroad station. First Ave also marks the boundary of the fare free downtown transit zone.

CAF LRV #4313 pulls out of South Hills Jct on a 42S Beechview Line run to South Hills Village. It is at this point where trains bound for the Overbrook line take the right hand diverging route onto the flyover.

PAT operates two batches of equipment, 55 SD-400 LRV's that entered service in 1985 and another 38 CAF SD-400 copies that came on board in 2003 for the restoration of the Overbrook Line. Apart from the numbers, the easiest way to tell the two classes apart is the design and placement of the center mounted headlamp. Below we see CAF LRV #4309 and SD-400 LRV's #4204 and #4230 departing South Hills Junction station towards Pittsburgh.

A week before my visit, Pittsburgh had hosted the American Public Transport Association (APTA) conference and had wrapped SD-400 #4202 for the occasion.

The Junction in "South Hills Junction" comes in the form of a double scissors crossover that connects on one side the Overbrook and Beechview Lines with the Allentown Line and Mt. Washington Tunnel on the other.

When built the service patterns made full use of the junction, but today it is essentially straight railed between the Mt Washington tunnel and the high level Beechview Line platforms as seen here with CAF LRV #4326.

Although a tower-like building is present, it is not clear if it is, or ever was, staffed for the purpose of routing trains through the junction. This is because the light rail system is equipped with automatic route setting transponders as seen under #4207. After LRV's berth at the platform, the route is lined and a Restricting signal displayed on the attendant dwarf signal.

The seemingly abandoned low level platforms at South Hills Jct are a remnant of the original Route 47 Overbrook line that bypassed the extensive street running on the 42 Beechview Line with a dedicated right of way that ran direct to Overbrook Junction. Modernization of the Overbrook line was deferred due to the cost of replacing large segments of single track and several rickety wooden trestles that could only support the weight of PCC cars. Routes 47 service was abruptly suspended in 1993 when the condition of the trestles became a safety hazard with rebuilt efforts beginning in 1999 and finishing in 2004. The "modern" LRV quality line would split/join with the Beechview via a brand new flying junction south of rebuilt high level platforms. The low level platforms would continue to see use as the terminal of the 52 Allentown, until that service was indefinitely suspended in 2011 due to recession era austerity cuts.

23-06-22 PHOTOS: Southern Solstice

Although my visits to Georgia have decreased from twice a year to once a year, the timing of the visits have changes from spring and fall to summer, allowing for more light into the evenings. This matters as my travel itinerary involving Train 79, 19 and 20 will benefit from the increased daylight hours. Although a rear facing window has been unavailable on any part of my route since 2015, I was still able to put together enough content ( mirror ) to create a worthwhile post.

Because Train 79 does not stop at the BWI Airport Rail Station, I now need to first grab a MARC train to DC. So here are a bunch of photos of MARC cab cars at both ends of the journey.

I arrived in plenty of time to catch the southbound Carolinian Train 79 and its associated power change where ACS-86 electric #664 was exchanged for the last P42DC delivered to Amtrak, #207.

The new track 22 platform at Washington Union Station was coming along with new concrete ties and rail being laid.

Amtrak P42DC #207 at the Richmond, Virginia RF&P station while a train of empty 1 TEU municipal waste cubes return empty to New York City.

Passing through Rocky Mount I spotted C40-10W #5355, ES44AH #3203 and SRS Doodlebug #144.

Train 79's baggage car #61068 at Raleigh.

Upon arrival at Greensboro I was able to get off the train, pass through the station and run the better part of half a mile to the Elm St crossing before #207 and Train 79 departed for Charlotte.