18-06-08 PHOTOS: SEPTA Toaster Hunt

Normally when I go on some rail outing I often end up with far more infrastructure photos than train photos. Trains run infrequently yet stuff often requires 360o documentation. However when camping out at SEPTA's North Broad St station during the morning rush it was all trains all the time and also represented the best opportunity to catch most of SEPTA's AEM-7 push-pull fleet before it was replaced by bland ACS-86's. With seven AEM-7's, one ALP-44 and a bunch of Comet coaches, SEPTA cobbles together about 6 scheduled push-pull round trips on a typical weekday. They run in express from an end terminal, hang out all day at Powlerton or Roberts yard, then make an outbound run. This means that one can potentially catch ALL the push-pull trains from both the Reading and PRR lines on the central trunk between 30th St and North Broad.

Of course location was no guarantee of success. Not only is some equipment held out as spare or for maintenance, others might be substituted with no warning in case of a mechanical issue. However on this morning I did pretty well for myself, catching 5 of the 7 AEM's. You can see the complete set of photos here and I urge you to check it out because if I were to post every train photo this blog post would have something like 150 photos! For the sake of brevity a lot of good content had to get cut.

I arrived at North Broad from the Broad Street Subway in time to catch the first push-pull set with Comet II cab car #2408 and AEM-7 #2303.

North Broad is just south of 16TH ST junction where the Norristown Line branches off. Previously all passenger traffic to Reading and coal country would also diverge at this point. Morning push-pull sets from the former PRR territory are deadheading to Roberts yard at this point for mid-day storage.

Although the signals at North Broad look as if they might be for the 16Th ST interlocking, they are actually the Milepost 2.9 automatics governing a short signal block in advance of the 16TH ST home signals. here we see SEPTA Silverliner IV #184 n the tail end of a northbound train.

What I assume to be an outbound Silverliner V equipped R6 train makes a stop at North Broad while a longer train of V's proceeds towards Center City on track #3.

SEPTA SL-IV #398 heads inbound under the MP 2.9 signal bridge. The presence of bi-directional peak flows between here and 30th St generally precludes the 3+1 style directional operation seen in the New York region.

This push-pull set led by AEM-7 #2305 is still full of passengers as is breaks out from under the Broad St overpass and heads towards Center City with Comet II cab car #2404 on the rear. Although popularly considered to have a rating of 7000hp, the figure is actually 7000 "diesel equivalent horsepower", which is a marketing way to describe having a 5700 continuous horsepower rating with a short duration overload to something around 7000.

No sooner had the inbound push-pull set passed than another outbound set appeared with cab car #2402 and AEM-7 #2304. The push-pull sets themselves consist of about 5 or 6 mixed Comet II and Comet III coaches. I think at one point SEPTA tried to keep the single set's worth of III's together, but have since stopped.

At some point signal problems developed in the form of a bobbing track circuit, backing up northbound trains approaching 16Th ST. To avoid the risk of unintended cab signal penalties, the trains just passed the MP 2.9 signal at Restricted speed and southbound traffic returned to normal. Here we see one train of SL-V's approaching 16TH-ST on track 2 while what might be an R6 waits at North Broad trying to figure out the signal situation. Traffic was still flowing southbound as attested by the train of SL-V's passing both V's on track 3.

The conductor on the outbound train observes the track 1 block signal as the train departs North Broad.

SEPTA SL-IV #160 on the rear of a northbound train waiting at 16TH ST while being passed by southbound SI-IV #309.

SEPTA northbound SL-V #711 passing trailing southbound SL-IV #811 at North Broad. 700-series cars are single units while 800-series units are married pairs.

Congestion was still evident as northbound trains approached 16TH ST JCT.

In this video you can see an outbound R6 waiting for an outbound Main Line train to clear up on track 2 before getting the signal for a diverging move onto the Norristown Line while an inbound R6 is routed into track 4 (efficiency!) as well as a plethora of SL-V trains passing North Broad.


Another PRR push-pull approached northbound on Track 1 with Cab Car #2405 and AEM-7 #2307. I was able to get a bunch of photos of this set due to the signal issue reducing speeds. At this point 4 of the 2 push-pull sets run to/form the PRR territory (1 Wilmington and 3 Thorndale) with the other two originating at West Trenton. Recently there was also a Trenton run and in the past sets have originated from Warminster, Norristown and Doylestown.

SEPTA SL-V #712 at the rear of a train creeping towards a Stop signal at 16TH ST JCT while SL-IV #400 and friends is signaled through towards Robert's Yard and Wayne Jct.

Now this is what I call a winning hand! SEPTA Silverliner IV's #298 and #299 leading on different trains on adjacent tracks!

SEPTA SL-IV #350 and SL-V #712 heading under Broad St at the same time to either wait at 16Th ST JCT or proceed through. For anyone looking to capture photos of every SEPTA railcar, North Broad is really the best place to do so.

Southbound SEPTA SL-IV #130 on track #3 passes northbound SL-IV #430 on track #1.

Here northbound SL-IV #423 on track 2 passes southbound SL-V #729 on track #4.

Yet another PRR trainset heads for Roberts Yard with Comet cab car #2410 and AEM-7 #3202. The SEPTA AEM-7's were ordered as part of a final batch in 1987-88 with 4 others going to MARC and 7 more to Amtrak. As The Budd Company had folded by this time, Simmering-Graz-Pauker constructed the stainless steel carbodies. Because of their recent construction and single run, 5-day a week usage pattern, the SEPTA AEM-7s were actually very low mileage and likely could have been rebuilt as has been done with even older Rc family locomotives in Swedish service. However when one is spending someone else's money the temptation is to always buy the newest and fanciest thing on the menu :-(

This is probably as good a time as any to discuss the old Reading North Broad station, which is the limestone building visible to the left behind #2302. Back before the neighborhood became a war zone, it was actually quite prosperous with both the PRR and Reading building their "125th St-Harlem" stations in the area which also hosted the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies baseball teams. The collapse of the local economy caused ridership to crater and now both North Broad and North Philadelphia see only a handful of riders as most residents have shifted to the more frequent and more affordable Broad Street Subway. Both old station buildings have been re-purposed and both have had tracks removed with North Broad now only consisting of a pair of bare bones side platforms.

With #2302 heading off into the shadows the morning parade was over and it was time to pack up and get out before I wore out my welcome xD

That's all for now. Next time some photos from the B&O's old Main Line.

17-06-24 PHOTOS: Denver RTD

Let's see now.  I've flown in and out of Denver, I've taken Amtrak through Denver...twice, I even know three different people who would put me up for the night in Denver, however until this past summer I never bothered to actually visit Denver for more than the time the California Zephyr was laying over in the station.  That makes this really strange is that Denver is a major metropolitan area with an extensive light rail network and a brand new electrified commuter rail system that uses Philly's own Silverliner V's.

Typically when I cross the country on Amtrak I, well, cross the country and also spend a night in Chicago.  This time I cut the train trip short and spent three days in the mile high (and then some) city riding transit and seeing the sights.  The full gallery includes RTD light rail, commuter rail, more Amtrak and a few BNSF freights.  Check out the link or keep reading below for the highlights.

So no sooner had I arrived in Denver when I saw a special passenger being attached to the rear of the eastbound Zephyr.  It was C&O #3, the Chapel Hill.  The well heeled passengers were eager for a photo and were nice enough to give me some schwag for the service.

Also at the station were one of the spiffy new RTD Silverliner V's (#4004).

Denver Union Station has been fully re-opened and the restoration job was magnificent.  Not only does it support both Amtrak and intercity bus services, but it also has a plethora of food and drink options and ample seating.

The new Amtrak ticket window was also open for business.

So the following day I set out for a round-the-city light rail trip on an affordable ~$5 day pass.  Unfortunately, this normally arid city had chosen to have a rare rainy day.  Here we see RTD LRV #316 at the Littleton - Mineral station. 

Riding all the way downtown to Union Station more RTD Silverliners were lined up on track #3, including #4029 which was wrapped for the Colorado Rapids, what I assume is an MLS team.

While there the westbound Amtrak Zephyr was sitting on Track #4 with  P42 #150 in the lead.

14-12-29 PHOTOS: SEPTA Mid-Winter Trip XIV

Always feels a bit funny when I am posting the MWT photo set in the middle of summer, although I did manage to beat the six month mark ;-) Anyway, for those who remember this year's MWT returned to Doylestown for the first time since the very first MWT all the way back in the year 2000. The time commitment to get all the way out to the end of the R5 always discouraged me from adding it to the itinerary, however by including a headway long photo stop at Lansdale and then using D-town as the lunch stop everything worked out. The rest of the trip included a stop at Wayne Jct, a trip on the Route 75 and finally a Route 10 trip out to Overbrook to return via the PRR leg of the R5.

This was the first year with my new GoPro camera which I was able to use to great effect both on the railfan window of our Silverliner V equipped trains and also the MFL and Route 10 vehicles. You can find all the still photos here, but stay tuned for the video in a separate post.

Starting out on a reverse peak train to Lansdale, our Silverliner V threaded its way past the Huntington conga line of trains waiting to cram their way into Roberts Yard to pay over until the evening rush. Here we see an inbound train with SL-V #864 passing the backup on track #1 including SL-IV #144.

The train with #144 was actually third in line to enter the yard...hence the term.

Back in that first MWT the small group of 4-6 people managed to get invited into the cab of the Silverliner IV on the trip up. This time our SL-V provided the railfan view for "free". Here we see SL-IV #184 at the Wayne Jct double slips.

Having arrived at Lansdale I grabbed this shot of SL-V #882 on the rear of our train as it leads off to Link Belt.

The inbound train with SL-IV #412 soon arrived from the same intermediate terminal.

In the Lansdale freight yard a variety of Penn Northern power was laying over. Penn Northeastern hauls local freight on the SEPTA-owned former Reading Bethlehem Branch. Here is former CN GP-9RM #7210.

Also hanging out was a properly painted PN SD40-2W #5342.

14-09-27 PHOTOS: SEPTA Rodeo 2014

An interesting side effect of the Silverliner II/III retirement of 2012 was that I basically lost interest in the SEPTA Rail Rodeo held each fall and open to railfans via a lottery system. I had managed to attend the Rodeo in 2010 and 2011, but not since. This year I was again cool on working to get a spot, but when a pair of tickets fell into my lap I figured it would be worth the trip and I invited Chuchubob to go with me.

Now if Chuchubob is known for anything it is managing to be everywhere something is happening in South Jersey. However I was surprised to learn that he had never before attended one of the SEPTA Rodeos so that made me feel good being able to pass it forward so to speak. The event itself was everything I had come to expect, but there were a few new surprises. You can view the entire photo set here

We begin with NJT GP40PH-2B #4206 pushing my ACL train in from an Amtrak connection at 30th St Station.

Kind of defeats the purpose to drive to a transit Rodeo so here is the tail end of the BSS train I used to get to the Fern Rock Shoppe complex.

No needs for the No Trespassing sign...you had me at 3-4-3 OX.

So what's new...this Silverliner V gearbox and axle assembly.

SL-IV gearbox components. Don't expect Timken to be the supplier of choice much longer since they were forced to sell their integrated steel business by activist shareholder douchebags.

Here we see SEPTA k-Car drive assemblies with the PCC-style resilient wheels.