04-08-20 CLASSIC PHOTOS: Staten Island Railroad

In mid-2024 the Staten Island Railroad re-signaling project was well under way and I figured it would be worthwhile taking a ride down to Totenville to see what photos I could get. The answer to that latter question was "not many" ( mirror ), but a good time was still had by all.

Starting things off on the Staten Island Ferry I managed to score the MV John F. Kennedy and its famed open air promenade. This vessel would remain in service until 2021 before being purchased by SNL cast members Pete Davidson and Colin Jost in 2022 for use as a floating entertainment facility.

Of course the Andrew J. Barberi was running because it always is.

Because the MTA had yet to crack down on the practice, my friend and I did the hack where we walked to the Tompkinsville station to avoid the faregates at Saint George. Of course the primary reason was to get pictures of the signaling changes along that segment of the line. In 2004 the AIR's R44 fleet was also just kinda old and not disastrously old. Here is an outbound train seen from above south of the St. George tunnel.

Built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the SIR used mostly B&O color position light dwarf signals with a single "high" mast heading into the St. George terminal. Most of the line used single direction automatic block system rules with interlockings only around the St. George and Tottenville terminals. The new signaling, seen below with the blue plastic covers, would convert the line to bi-directional operation with cab signals and wayside signals only at interlockings. However the B&O CPL "style" of signal would be retained, even if the MTA had to purchase PRR style hardware to implement it.

It seems that quite a few people were aware of the fare hack, which is why the MTA ultimately installed faregates at Tompkinsville.

Here is an example of an automatic block B&O CPL dwarf signal installed on the line during the last re-signaling in the 1950's. Because B&O CPL dwarfs use the same signal aspects as the "high" signals, there was little risk of confusion using dwarfs where a high signal might normally be employed. A replacement CPL dwarf on a stick mount can be seen in the foreground.

04-08-07 CLASSIC PHOTOS: Montpelier

While recently cataloguing my old photos in an attempt to locate some original resolution copies that had gone missing, stumbled upon a set of photos from 2004 I had completely forgotten about and had never posted online. The photos were taken on a summertime trip to the Barre Vermont area to attend a wedding. In addition to some Metro North and Amtrak pictures taken on the way up to Connecticut, I also took some around Montpelier, Barre and Springfield, MA. You can check out the whole set of classic photos for the first time right here (mirror).

For some strange reason my trip began at Stamford, CT where I was lucky enough to catch a Danbury or Waterbury branch trainset pull through on Track #2 with New York Central heritage painted FL9 #2012 in the lead. This trainset would go on to lay up east of the Stamford yard complex.

However I got to New Haven, I was on hand for the power change involving Amtrak's Vermonter. In 2004 the Vermonter was still using the NECR route via Palmer and Amherst requiring a control cab at each end. P42DC #103 was coupled to the rear of the trainset and a blue flag applied while mechanical workers when about connecting the HEP and MU jumper cables.

Seeing as how my girlfriend at the time insisted on driving up to the wedding, I got off the Vermonter at Meriden, CT with #103 pushing the train northward in a direction I would soon follow.

Green Mountain Railway GP9 #803 was parked in front of the downtown Barre station building, now serving as a bank. This unit would later be sold to the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway in New Jersey and renumbered to 1850, reflecting its original C&O designation. 

Barre and Chelsea #14 is a GE 70-ton switcher on static display behind the Vermont Granite Museum. The Barre and Chelsea was a local short line serving various quarries that went bust in the 1950's.

The Vermont statehouse seems out of place in the small mountain community that is the state capitol. Montpelier is the smallest state capitol in the United States with a full time population of only 8,000 residents.  

Most of the state offices are situated in well maintained Victorian houses. 

04-08-01 CLASSIC PHOTOS: Train 29 to Martinsburg

In the summer of 2004 I undertook a follow-up visit to a friend in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. I didn't have a car at the time so I arranged a pickup from the Martinsburg Amtrak Station after booking a ticket on Capitol Limited Train #30. I didn't take a lot of photos that day, but the ones I did are still interesting so here they are ( mirror ).

In 2004 MARC's AEM-7's were still in regular operation. I caught #4901 on the 'F' track at Baltimore Penn Station nost to tail with K-Kab Kar #7849. 

MARC's new HHP-8's were shouldering more of the peak period express trainset burden. I caught #4915 on track #5. The unit is still in service as of 2025.

The CSX Business Train was in Washington Union Station for some reason. Visible is former Atlantic Coast Line observation car "Florida" and a former Conrail (nee-New York Central) office car #994010 "John T. Collinson".

Pulling in we passed AEM-7 #953 and yard goats #562 (SW1001) and #541 (SW150).

At Brunswick, MD, some of the old MARC equipment was still in storage including RDC's and long distance passenger cars converted to commuter use. The ex-Metra Pullman gallery cars were actually still in service!

WB tower was also still in service. Today it had been preserved about 100 yards away. 

In Martinsburg, the former B&O shoppe complex and roundhouse was ramping up as a historic site, but the new station platform and overpass had yet to be built. Power for that day's Train #29 was P42DC's #85 and #70.

Like I said that's all I have from this trip. Make sure you check out my experience catching a train from Martinsburg to DC earlier in 2004.