Jersey Mike's Rail Adventures: 07-07-01 PHOTOS: Capitol Limited Chicago Return

Sunday, July 1, 2007

07-07-01 PHOTOS: Capitol Limited Chicago Return

Finally, the last set of photos from my trip out to see the BRIGHTON PARK crossing in Chicago around the 1st of July in 2007. Yes I know I am 6 months late, but I am so very behind in my photo processing and this will give you all a nice taste of summer.

My train left Chicago in the late evening so there wasn't much to photograph except a railfan at Waterloo and the platform at Toledo. I was traveling with Pigs in a first class sleeper, which was his first time. Right before leaving Chicago I went to some considerable trouble to locate a 6-pack for the trip home and that came in handy while we were waiting for the Diner to open up.

I woke up a bit after the station stop in Pittsburgh and finally managed to get back to the rear window at the small town of West Newton. Last time I rode this line the CSX Keystone Sub still had B&O CPL's all the way from McKeysport to Rockdale. Unfortunately I discovered that the CPL's (as well as the pole line) between Connelsville and Rockdale have all been ripped out and replaced by darth vaders with solar panels. Fucking CSX didn't even put in CTC...they just ripped down the CPL's for no good reason. I am also very angry with myself because I was too lazy to go back to the rear of the train in a timely manner and I missed about half of the remaining CPL's on the Keystone.

After breakfast and the station stop in (Q)Cumberland, MD I went back again and took photos of all of the CPL's on the Cumberland Sub between Mexico and Hancock and then the CPL's around Brunswick Yard and finally those om the Metropolitan Sub west of Rockville, MD.

Anyway I will cut to the chase and just get to the photos.

The huge lot of them can be found here:

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/07-07-01_CAPITOL_SLEEPER_CHICAGO_RETURN/-Thumbnails.html

And now a fairly generous helping of teaser pics.

Here are the Fritz Henry CPL's. Typical for a pole-line CPL installation in automatic block territory in the middle of "no-bars" country.

Here is an interesting replacement...CPL replaced by a C&O elephant ear at Laurel Run.

Pennsylvania town of Dawson. Had I had to guess the location I would have sworn West Virginia.

Rear of the track 1 BROADFORD CPL mast.

Famous CPL bracket mast at SODEM...right next to the Connelsville Station at the east end of Connelsville Yard. The whole area is under the supervision of VI tower.

The abandoned hump tower at Connelsville Yard, this also houses the VI tower office.

GREEN JCT at the east end of Connelsville Yard with CPL's and a closed tower.

Cumberland Yard hump tower.

MEXICO tower, which is between Wall St and 86th St towers :-)

Video taken as my train takes a diverging route through MEXICO interlocking. While shooting the video I sort of derped and forgot I wasn't shooting still and lined the camera for a bracket shot. What do you expect for my first attempt at shooting video. :-\