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THE TRANSFER TABLE
The
Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition
VOLUME 30 NO. 8 |
OCTOBER 2007 |
Back
To Wilmington Chapter Web Site
SEPTEMBER 20,
2007 MEETING NOTES
The meeting was called to order by
President Phil Snyder at 7 PM, the minutes were read by Secretary Dan
Frederick and approved as read. The Treasurer's Report was approved as
read by Ralph Stevens. National Director Tom Posatko reported on a
number of items from National. We also heard from our guest about the
Friends of the Furness Railroad District (in Wilmington, DE) and about
upcoming lectures by Michael J. Lewis. Phil Snyder expressed the
Chapter's thanks to Tom Posatko for arranging out recent boat trip and
for his personal donation to cover its costs. Jared Downs volunteered to
chair this year's Election Committee with help from Dave Watterson.
The evening's program by David Warner
entitled "September in the 80s" could also have been titled "Labor Day
Weekends in the 80s." (see the map later in this issue) We did start out
in Springfield, MA in 1982 with views of NYC, and PCCs in Cleveland. For
1983 it was Naples, Italy and in 1984 it was Rome, Munich, and
Amsterdam. For 1985, we got to see Sorento, Italy, Glasgow, Scotland,
Chelmsford & Folkstone, England, and even the TGV and the Orient
Express. There were lots and lots of trolleys plus city views and scenic
landscapes. For 1986, the city was Boston. And finally, we saw a sugar
beet loader that's only a memory today. It was a great show enjoyed by
all.
NEWS BITS
- AMTRAK #202, a test engine
that spends a lot of time in the Wilmington Shops was damaged
recently in a collision with a tractor-trailer in Savannah, GA. The
engineer and passengers on the northbound train are OK, the trailer
destroyed, and the locomotive damaged. (from Dave Watterson)
- The Wilmington Chapter NRHS is
pleased to announce the TURKEY TROT TROLLEY TRIP. This four-hour
streetcar charter will depart SEPTA's Elmwood depot at 11:00 a.m. on
November 11, 2007. We will be using two PCC cars on this trip. First
will be a PCC-2, which will be making a somewhat rare appearance on
SEPTA's southwest subway-surface routes (but we can't take it into
the subway). We will also have an orange work PCC following us
around. Frequent stops will be made to photograph these cars.The
fare is $55 per person. Tickets are available on-line at http://www.daylightimages.com/streetcar
(all major credit cards accepted). If you wish to order via U.S.
mail, send a check to Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117
High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Confirmations will be sent via e-mail
(for on-line orders) immediately; mail orders will receive
confirmations about two weeks prior to the trip, although you can
include an e-mail address for immediate confirmation and updates. If
you have any questions contact Steve Barry at 973/383-3355 between
9am-5pm ET weekdays. For those concerned about an Eagles game
causing traffic trouble on November 11, please note that the Birds
are in Washington that day. Thanks for your continued support of
Wilmington Chapter NRHS trips. P.S. Super Saturday Streetcar Special
XV is a "go" for February 2, 2008. Mark your calendars. Tickets on
sale soon. (from Steve Barry)
- Mount Hood RR Steam Era ends
In what may be one of the shortest steam operations ever, the Mount
Hood Railroad in Hood River, Ore. ended their steam operations on
August 31. Former Grand Canyon Ry, 2-8-0 18 was placed in service
July 18 on the railroad's excursion train, but high fuel consumption
by the oil-fired Consolidation forced the railroad to end the
operation as too costly. The privately owned locomotive, along with
2-8-0 20 are reported to be for sale. It had been announced earlier
that the entire railroad was for sale at an asking price of $5.2
million. Meanwhile, rip rap is being accumulated and a work train
assembled at Odell in preparation for repairing the washout at MP
15.75 which knocked out the Parkdale excursions after flooding last
year. (from Tom Smith)
- France breaks world speed record
for rail trains Souped-up locomotive hits 357.2 mph but can't
top levitated train mark World's fastest train. April 3: A French
train broke the world speed record reaching 357.2 mph. The V150
train hit that speed in the Champagne region of France. A French
train with a 25,000-horsepower engine and special wheels broke the
world speed record Tuesday for conventional rail trains, reaching
574.8 km/hr or 357.2 mph as it zipped through the countryside to the
applause of spectators. It fell short, however, of beating the
ultimate record set by Japan's magnetically levitated train, which
hit 361 mph in 2003. The previous TGV record was 515km/h (320mph),
set in 1990. The French TGV, or "train a grande vitesse," as the
country's bullet train is called, had two engines on either side of
the three double-decker cars for the record run, some 125 miles east
of the capital on a new track linking Paris with Strasbourg. The
absolute train speed record was set by a Japanese magnetic
levitation train - Maglev - in 2003. It reached a top speed of
581km/h (361mph). The TGV set the new record at 1314 (1114GMT) on
Tuesday. It was a modified version called V150, with larger wheels
than usual. Power output: more than 25,000 horsepower. Cost: 30m
euros (£22m; $40m) The train traveled almost as fast as a World War
II Spitfire fighter at top speed. The electrical tension in the
overhead cable was boosted from 25,000 volts to 31,000 for the
record attempt. French TGV trains, in service since 1981, generally
travel at about 300km/h. But from 10 June they will be allowed to
reach 320km/h on the recently opened Paris-Strasbourg LGV Est line.
- TEXT-MESSAGER HIT BY TRAIN: A
man walking across the Township Avenue railroad crossing was struck
and thrown 50 feet by a Norfolk Southern train this morning. A
witness, Mike Billups, of Deer Park said the man was text-messaging
on his cell phone at the crossing just before the accident, which
occurred about 10 a.m. Billups said the man waited for a southbound
CSX train to pass. After it cleared the crossing, the man walked
forward and was struck by a northbound train. The man may have been
distracted and unaware that a second train was coming in the other
direction. (Cincinnati Enquirer via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - AUGUST 22,
2007 via Ed Mayover)
- CSX ISSUES CITATIONS TO STUDENTS
ILLEGALLY CROSSING TRAIN TRACKS: Students and locals stumble up
and down Wooster Street about 30 minutes before last call as a train
horn cuts through the cool, damp air. As they reach the railroad
crossing, dozens of partiers and bar crawlers gather at either side
as the gates slowly descend. A few make a quick dash to beat the red
and white striped barrier, but most come to a halt. A group of four
CSX railroad security officers wait on the side of the crossing in
the dark Dairy Queen parking lot. They are in town as part of a
two-day enforcement blitz, warning and citing individuals for
failing to cross the tracks at designated crossings and crossing
after the gates have come down. On Friday and Saturday night,
between 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., four CSX special agents, along with
Bowling Green police officers, patrolled the rails from Poe Road to
Napoleon Road. By the end of the patrol on Sunday morning, the CSX
agents had formally warned 88 people for trespassing on tracks and
wrote three citations, two of which went to the Stanford brothers.
Agents issued countless verbal warnings to others who almost crossed
the tracks or who crossed the tracks in massive groups. Bowling
Green police also issued four citations, one Friday night and three
on Saturday. The enforcement blitz was meant to educate people about
the danger of being on the tracks, said Ken Gilsdorf, supervisor of
public affairs and safety for CSX. Crossing the tracks anywhere but
at a designated crossing is considered criminal trespassing in the
state of Ohio, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by citation
or jail time, said Lt. Tony Hetrick of the Bowling Green Police
Division. (Bowling Green News via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - AUGUST 22,
2007 via Ed Mayover)
- VERMONT TUNNEL PROJECTS NEARS
COMPLETION: The Vermont Agency of Transportation is close to
completing its $2.7 million project to lower the floors of the
275-foot stone arch tunnel in Bellows Falls. The New England Central
owns the tunnel, which is on the former "Connecticut River Main"
immediately south of the Amtrak station. Amtrak, Boston & Maine (Pan
Am Railways), and New England Central use the tunnel. The Green
Mountain Railroad (part of the Vermont Railway System) passes
through it occasionally during interchange. The tunnel was
constructed in 1851. It is partially cut through solid rock and
lined with rough-cut stone blocks. The portals at each end are
decorated with radiating (wedge-shaped blocks forming the curved
parts of the arch). Amtrak's Vermonter service will be suspended
Aug. 17-21 as crews complete the project which will drop the rails
about three feet to allow double stack cars through the bore (see
Trains News Wire, Aug. 16, 2007). Clearance will change from 17 feet
to just more than 20. After service resumes next week, the Agency of
Transportation will conduct a test run before opening the tunnel up
to double stack service. Zicconi said that if everything goes as
planned, the new tunnel should be opened in the next few weeks. The
project was paid for with $2 million in federal transportation funds
and about $700,000 in state money. (Trains News Wire via AMERICAN
RAIL LINK - AUGUST 22, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- AMTRAK RESPONDS TO WEEKEND'S
TICKETING MELTDOWN: Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero was nice
enough to give Cox Newspapers a post-mortem followup to this past
weekend's complete shutdown of Amtrak's reservations and ticketing
systems: Amtrak expects to identify lost revenue as a result of the
system shutdown, but will be looking for a spike in sales toward the
beginning of this week from people who are calling back in to book
reservations they intended to book over the weekend. The procedure
which was observed in New York Penn Station among other locations,
was to permit passengers with pre-paid reservation computer
printouts to board trains; Amtrak conductors collected those
printouts, using them as tickets. Other locations, however, like
Amtrak's Baltimore-Washington International Airport station, were
reportedly instructing customers with existing pre-paid reservation
printouts to purchase duplicate, hand-written tickets at full price
from onboard train conductors; station personnel reportedly promised
passengers that the older reservation would be refunded if the
passenger phoned in a request when ARROW came back online. The cause
of the system shutdown was unclear until today. Initial unconfirmed
reports from station personnel in Providence, Rhode Island indicated
that a lightning bolt had struck a mainframe facility in Manassas,
Virginia that houses many of Amtrak's servers. A later report from
AP indicated that the failure was due to a new piece of software
being installed on the ARROW servers. Romero confirmed today that
that initial diagnoses were incorrect, and the shutdown was actually
related to a power failure at Amtrak's Manassas mainframe facility:
"There are three circuit breakers and one failed. All three must be
active in order for them to work." As a result, all connectivity
with the Manassas data facility was severed. Amtrak has also
provided a company-wide memo that circulated today: At 7:11 a.m. EDT
on Saturday, Aug. 25, the Manassas Data Center building experienced
a failure on one of the three major power distribution panels
providing electrical power to the data center (each panel is capable
of supporting twice the current utilized capacity of the data
center). Key network components and many application servers were
lost as a result of the power outage, however, the mainframes and
other components remained available, but without network
connectivity. All Revenue and Business systems were brought down and
a replacement panel was located and shipped from Connecticut
overnight. An additional panel was located in Texas and airshipped
overnight to the data center to provide spare capacity. Revenue
systems were brought back online starting at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday.
Recovery of business systems continues with identification of
non-essential batch, resolution of minor outstanding issues and
prioritization of remaining batch applications to recover all
production business applications. Romero stressed that despite the
failure, no trains were delayed and Amtrak is currently in the
process of evaluating what went wrong and how to prevent it from
reoccurring in the future. Johnson adds, "One point to consider: at
least when Amtrak's reservation system goes down, the trains still
run! When an airline system quits, so do the flights. It may not be
perfect, but you do get to where you're going." (Austin American
Statesman via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - AUGUST 29, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- NORFOLK SOUTHERN PLACES FOURTH F
UNIT IN SERVICE: Since last March when Norfolk Southern unveiled
its newly overhauled F units, only three of the four the railroad
acquired have been in operation. Typically the locomotives have run
in A-B-B formation along with an NS GP38-2. Now the fourth F unit,
No. 4271, has been put into service. On Aug 14, NS ran all four of
the Fs together for the first time, leading a deadhead officers
special move to Norfolk, Va. Later in the month, the quartet ran to
Birmingham, Ala., on the former Southern Railway main line. The F
units are painted in a scheme that resembles the former Southern
Railway's classic "tuxedo" freight scheme of black and white with
gold striping and lettering, while NS's business-car fleet wears the
Tuscan red with gold striping of Norfolk & Western passenger trains.
N&W and Southern merged in 1982 to form NS. The four-unit locomotive
consist is comprised of: NS F9A 4271(built as B&O F7A 947), NS F7Bs
4276 and 4275 (originally Chicago Great Western 114B and 113D,
respectively) and NS F9A 4270 (built as B&O F7A 937). (Trains News
Wire via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - AUGUST 29, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- KNOX & KANE MAY RESUME TOURIST
TRAIN OPERATION: Knox & Kane may resume tourist operations next
year, the Kane Republican reported. Excursion trains began operating
in 1987, running from Kane to the Kinzua Bridge State Park near Mt.
Jewett. The highlight of the 96-mile round trip was the crossing of
the 2,053-foot Kinzua Viaduct, which stood 301 feet above the Kinzua
Creek Valley. When the structure was built by the Erie Railroad in
1882, it was the highest railroad bridge in the world. The bridge
was destroyed on July 21, 2003, when tornadoes toppled the
midsection of the structure. Of the 20 steel support structures, 11
now lie in the ruins of the bridge at the bottom of the gorge. The
railroad operated excursions to the park in 2004, but without the
bridge crossing as a feature, the number of passengers diminished.
This is the third summer the railroad has not operated excursions.
Referring to a possible start-up of operations next year, John Hafer,
grandson of Sloan Cornell, who has owned the railroad since 1981,
told the Republican: "It's a hope. Nothing is written in stone. It's
not definite." Hafer said it would take "the better part of the
winter" months to complete maintenance work on one of the railroad's
two steam locomotives, now housed in Kane. "It takes time and
money," he said in discussing mandatory work to bring a steam
locomotive back into operation. The railroad has used a diesel in
the past, but Hafer believes it will take a steam locomotive "to
bring the people back" to ride the excursion train. The Knox & Kane
owns former Huntington & Broad Top Mountain 2-8-0 No. 38, built by
Baldwin in 1927, and No. 1658, a Chinese class SY 2-8-2 built in
1989. The railroad has sold one of its diesels and an "extra
caboose," Hafer said, but it has no plans at this time to abandon
any tracks. "Everything is staying the way it is," Hafer told the
Republican. (Trains News Wire via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - AUGUST 29,
2007 via Ed Mayover)
- FRA PROPOSES A NEW RULE
CONCERNING ADVANCED TRAIN BRAKING TECHNOLOGY: Advanced brake
technology will enable locomotive engineers to significantly improve
train control and allow trains to safely travel longer distances
between required brake tests under new proposed federal rules,
announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. "Trains with
better brakes mean safer railroad operations and improved rail
freight service," said Secretary Peters, explaining that
Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes provide improved
train control through simultaneous and graduated application and
release of the brakes on all rail cars, a significant safety
improvement over conventional air brake systems. In addition,
Secretary Peters noted that the proposed rule would permit a train
to travel up to 3,500 miles-more than double the current maximum
distance-between routine brake tests. With ECP brakes, many
long-haul trains can travel directly to their destinations without
stopping because the technology performs continual self-diagnostic `healthchecks,'
she said. "The safety benefits of ECP brakes are obvious and they
make good business sense as well," said Federal Railroad
Administrator Joseph H. Boardman. Boardman said that, under the
proposal, an intermodal container train equipped with ECP brakes
originating from West Coast ports could operate all the way to
Chicago without stopping for a routine brake test, as it must do
now. Similarly, many ECP brake-equipped coal trains could make
quicker deliveries from western coal fields to eastern and southern
power plants because stopping for the routine brake test would be
unnecessary. He added that ECP brakes can help avert some train
derailments caused by sudden emergency brake applications, prevent
runaway trains caused by loss of brake air pressure, shorten train
stopping distances up to 60 percent under certain circumstances, and
improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions through better train
handling. He further noted that the first ECP brake-equipped train
operating under an approved waiver is expected to make its initial
revenue service run in September. (US DOT via AMERICAN RAIL LINK -
SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- TRAIN TRACK AREA OFF LIMITS:
Crimes against railroad property including trespassing can land a
person in jail on a felony charge. Trespassing is a problem at the
railroad tracks in Purcell. It is such a problem, the McClain County
Sheriff's Office and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) are
cracking down. On Saturday, a train came to a screeching halt due to
a pickup illegally crossing the tracks near the trestle. Deputy
James Harryman was called and asked to arrest the man by railroad
officials. Earl Lee Lancaster, 73, of Norman, was jailed on
complaints of public intoxication and felony damage to a railroad.
"Anyone caught trespassing on railroad property are subject to
arrest," Sheriff Don Hewett said. "Railroad officials are very
attentive to any trespassing on private property along the
railroad." The sheriff said that according to the conductor
Saturday, the man drove across the tracks right in front of the
train, causing the train to shutdown. "The railroad can sue the
person civilly starting at $10,000 per hour for every hour the train
is stopped," the sheriff said. "Another several thousand can be
added for inspection purposes." On Saturday, the train was shutdown
for about one hour, Harryman said. State law says that any person
entering or remaining on railroad property without consent and
causes a demonstrable monetary loss, damage or destruction of
property of more than $1,500 shall be guilty of a felony. Another
example, if someone disturbs the gravel along the railroad
right-of-way, that person can go to jail, Harryman said. The Purcell
Depot and its parking area is city property. Points north and south
of that area are private property belonging to the railroad. Hewett
said the deputies have been monitoring the area upon BNSF request.
They want trespassers to remain off railroad property. On Saturday,
two vehicles on railroad property were impounded, the sheriff said.
About a week ago, one vehicle was impounded at the request of
railroad officials. Railroad officials have to request the impound
due to the vehicles being on private property. The sheriff said his
office is watching the area closely, and warn trespassers to stay
away. A lot of people go down to the river to ride four-wheelers by
way of the west side of the river. These people are trespassing,
they have to cross the railroad tracks to get where they can ride.
Their vehicles can be impounded, plus violators can and will be
arrested. It can be costly, let alone dangerous. (Purcell, OK
Register via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- ALBANY-NY RAIL SYSTEM GETS A
BOOST FROM THE STATE: A floundering plan to construct a
high-speed rail across New York took a step forward Wednesday as the
state Senate pledged $22 million for rail- line improvements between
Albany to New York City.The announcement is part of a
multi-billion-dollar plan championed by Senate Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno to link upstate to a high-speed rail system that would
continue to New York City. But even with the money, the high-speed
rail from Albany to New York City remains years away. Bruno
estimated it would take about $1.5 billion for its completion, and
he acknowledged no source of that money has been identified.
Nonetheless, Bruno and advocacy groups said the money signifies that
the project is alive, especially because Amtrak and the state
Department of Transportation are now collaborating on the
initiative. (from AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 12, 2007 via Ed
Mayover)
- CP RAIL CHALLENGES RAIL GIANTS:
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. pitted itself against two of the
largest U.S. railways yesterday by announcing plans to buy Dakota,
Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp., and laying the groundwork for a
multi-billion-dollar investment in the coveted coal deposits of
Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Until now, Burlington Northern Santa
Fe Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. have enjoyed exclusive access to
the lucrative basin, which is North America's largest and
fastest-growing region for low-cost, low-sulfur coal. CP aims to
bust up that duopoly within the next five years by expanding into
the area. Canada's second-largest railway said yesterday it plans to
purchase the privately held DM&E for at least US$1.48-billion, with
an additional US$1.05-billion payment contingent on whether it goes
ahead with its planned construction in the Powder River Basin by
2025. Earlier this year, DM&E was granted federal approval to lay
roughly 450 kilometres of new rail line in Wyoming to serve the
basin and upgrade an additional 965 kilometres of existing track in
Minnesota and South Dakota. But its plans fell through when it was
unable to secure financing for the project in February. Roughly 500
million tons of coal used domestically for thermal-energy generation
are shipped out of the Powder River Basin annually, with incremental
volume increases of up to 7% a year. BNSF, UP MAY CHALLENGE RAILROAD
MERGER: Union Pacific Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.,
the two largest U.S. railroads, probably will challenge Canadian
Pacific Railway Ltd.'s purchase of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern
Railroad Corp., an analyst said. "They would probably lose the
regulatory fight, but they would just be playing for time and could
delay approval for up to one year," Rick Paterson, a UBS Securities
analyst based in New York, said Wednesday in a note to investors.
The acquisition must be reviewed by the U.S. Surface Transportation
Board. DM&E has been trying to expand into Wyoming's Powder River
Basin coal fields, where Union Pacific and Burlington Northern are
the only railroads with access. U.S. regulators in February rejected
closely held DM&E's application for a $2.33 billion loan to build a
rail line into the region. (from AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 12,
2007 via Ed Mayover)
- Oct. 20, 2007. METRO-NORTH TO
HOST OPEN HOUSE AT HARMON SHOP 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. MTA Metro-North
Railroad will host its annual open house at the Harmon Shop on Oct.
20. The event allows the public to see the many things involved in
operating one of the largest commuter railroads in the nation. The
event boasts equipment displays, a fall-foliage train ride,
giveaways, and demonstrations by many of the railroad's departments.
The open house is held at the railroad's Harmon Shop, the largest
maintenance shop on Metro-North. The Shop will be open from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m. and the event is free. Passengers can reach the shop by
train by taking Metro-North's Hudson Line to Croton-Harmon Station
where a shuttle bus will transport them. The shop once belonged to
the New York Central Railroad. It is also the northern limit of
electrification from Grand Central Terminal. During the days of the
New York Central, the station and shops were known as Harmon. Trains
continuing north of Harmon, including the flagship 20th Century
Limited, would exchange their electric locomotive for steam or
diesel locomotives to continue the journey to points north and west.
(Trains News Wire via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 via Ed
Mayover)
- COUNTY WANTS TO BUY LAND TO
REOPEN ST. PAUL UNION DEPOT: The Ramsey County Regional Railroad
Authority is offering to pay $3.6 million for land surrounding the
St. Paul Union Depot, which has not seen a passenger train since the
start of Amtrak in 1971. Acquiring the site would be another step
toward the county's vision of restoring the Union Depot to its
former purpose and creating a mass transit center in the east metro
area of the Twin Cities. The Regional Railroad Authority is already
negotiating with the U.S. Postal Service to buy its downtown
property, which includes the concourse behind the Union Depot's
headhouse, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The concourse is
the county's preferred choice for the terminus of the Central
Corridor light-rail line, which will run from Minneapolis to St.
Paul and is to open in 2014. The depot would also serve Amtrak
trains, a proposed high-speed rail line from Chicago, and commuter
rail and bus lines. The Railroad Authority has approved a letter to
the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority offering $3.6
million to buy the nine acres. The Railroad Authority needs about 37
acres of land east of the Union Depot to make room for tracks, a
yard, and platforms. (Trains News Wire via AMERICAN RAIL LINK -
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- SIMPLIFIED DINING SERVICE DEBUTS
ON LAKE SHORE LIMITED: On Sept. 17, the conventional dining car
on train #49 was replaced by an Amfleet II Dinette, offering the new
simplified menu. The change took place on #48, departing Chicago on
the 18th. An additional Amfleet II or Horizon lounge car operates in
the consist to provide light food service. The Heritage dining cars
are some of the oldest and most maintenance intensive in Amtrak's
fleet. These cars remain in service on the Crescent and Florida
trains; however, their days are numbered. (Railpace Hot News via
AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- CN TO BUY EJ&E FOR $300 MILLION:
Canadian National Railway Company said on Wednesday it planned
to buy a major portion of United States Steel Corp's Elgin, Joliet
and Eastern Railway Co for $300 million. The company said the new
lines will significantly improve its rail operations in the Chicago
area. CN said the deal, to be financed with debt and cash-on-hand,
should boost diluted earnings per share slightly in the first year
after U.S. regulatory approval. It expects the deal to close in
mid-2008, provided the U.S. Surface Transportation Board approves
the application. CN plans to invest around $100 million for
integration, new connections, and infrastructure improvements to add
capacity on the line and allow network synergies. Under the
agreement, U. S. Steel's Transtar subsidiary will retain railroad
assets, equipment, and employees that support the Gary Works site in
Northwest Indiana and the steelmaking operations of U. S. Steel.
Transtar's remaining operations will become the Gary Railway. CN
operates approximately 20,300 route miles in eight Canadian
provinces and 16 U.S. states. EJ&E is a Class II railroad that
operates over 198 main line miles of track encircling the Chicago.
(Reuters via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- CENTRAL OREGON & PACIFIC RAILROAD
SHUT DOWNS OPERATIONS: They are closing operations between
Eugene and Coquille Friday because of unsafe tunnels, a step that
may hurt several Oregon businesses that rely on it. "The rail line
segment has nine tunnels, each more than 115 years old, several of
which are no longer safe to transit," the railroad's parent company,
RailAmerica said in a statement. The company estimated repairs to
the tunnels could cost up to $7 million over the next five years.
It's seeking a public-private partnership to pay for it. State and
federal officials say there's no money set aside for emergency
railroad repairs. The company declined to say how long the line may
be closed. At least four companies locally rely on the railroad.
Southport Forest Products sawmill on Coos Bay's North Spit ships
about 70 percent of their product out on that line. Without rail,
lumber goes out on semi-trucks to Eugene for reload on rail there.
American Bridge has used the rail line to bring in raw materials and
ship out bridge segments. The Georgia-Pacific sawmill loads lumber
aboard railcars. And Roseburg Forest Products' Coquille plywood mill
does, too.(Associated Press via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 26,
2007 via Ed Mayover)
- GRANDLUXE CUTS AMTRAK TRIPS:
After announcing three months' worth of GrandLuxe Limited upscale
excursions, operating between November and early January on the rear
of Amtrak's Chicago-Emeryville, Calif., California Zephyr, the
Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief, and the Washington-Miami
segment of the Silver Meteor, GrandLuxe Rail Journeys last week
canceled about two-thirds of the planned departures and began
offering alternative dates to passengers already booked on the
canceled trips. (from AMERICAN RAIL LINK - SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 via Ed
Mayover)
- Union Pacific And Norfolk
Southern Offer On-Time or Free Service Guarantee on New
Coast-to-Coast Westbound Intermodal Service through Shreveport
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced new westbound
intermodal train service that will shorten by a day the trip for
standard intermodal freight from the Southeast to Los Angeles,
California. The eastbound service was launched in May 2007. The new
coast-to-coast service is part of the railroads' commitment to
improve capacity, service quality and speed by shifting domestic
traffic to a new, shorter route over the Shreveport, La., gateway.
This shift began with the completion of the first phase of
improvements on the Meridian Speedway - NS' and Kansas City
Southern's joint venture corridor between Meridian, Miss., and
Shreveport, an important direct-rail connection between the
Southeast and Southwest. UP and NS ran successful test trains in
this corridor last December. In establishing this new route, the
railroads eliminated almost 130 route miles by moving this freight
service from the Memphis gateway. "The investments made in this
transcontinental route, including the Meridian Speedway, have
created a high-speed, highly dependable intermodal gateway linking
the Southwest to the Southeast, providing the capacity to meet the
needs of intermodal customers today and accommodate future growth,"
said Don Seale, Norfolk Southern's executive vice president and
chief marketing officer. The new westbound service will provide
fourth-morning availability for BlueStreak intermodal shipments from
Atlanta to Los Angeles, fifth morning from Charlotte and
Jacksonville, and sixth morning from Miami. Union Pacific and
Norfolk Southern are backing their new service offering with an "on
time or free" guarantee on the BlueStreak SuperFlyer service between
the Southeast and Los Angeles for a limited time. These trains also
provide the only ride for trailers in the Southeast - Los Angeles
lane as they handle both containers and trailers. BlueStreak offers
expedited intermodal service with two products -- SuperFlyer and
Expedited. Blue Streak's reliability, combined with the economies of
rail, make this service highly competitive to over-the-road tractor
trailers. [Press Release]
- AMTRAK WILL PUT SWIFTER TRAINS
BACK ON CASCADES ROUTE: Passengers riding Amtrak's Cascades
trains between Eugene and Vancouver, B.C., may soon have quicker,
sleeker journeys. That's because Amtrak plans Saturday to begin
returning the region's Spanish-built Talgo trains to service,
swapping out substitutes loaned from stations around the country. In
August, inspectors found cracks in the suspension of the linked "trainsets,"
resulting in service disruptions and use of loaner railcars that
operate at slower speeds, said Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman
in Oakland, Calif. The repaired trainsets will be rotated back into
service one at a time starting this weekend. The repairs are
expected to be complete by early November, Graham said. (The
Oregonian via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - OCTOBER 3, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- CN TO AVOID CHICAGO BOTTLENECKS
WITH EJ&E DEAL: Canadian goods destined for the key U.S. market
should save one day of transportation by avoiding bottlenecks in
Chicago after CN Rail struck a US$300-million deal to acquire most
of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. from U.S. Steel.
"Everything we haul from the east and west of Canada -- which is a
good bit -- into the U.S., will all be substantially helped from a
transit timing and consistency standpoint," Canadian National chief
executive Hunter Harrison said yesterday. Forest products from
Western Canada, for example, will be able to bypass Chicago before
heading to the Midwest, southeast or mid-Atlantic regions. Auto
traffic from the east that travels along the Grand Trunk line would
also be able avoid delays. The transcontinental railway has long
sought a way to relieve the congestion in the key midwestern
gateway. The deal with U.S. Steel was reached following several
months of negotiations. By purchasing EJ&E's 320 kilometres of track
encircling Chicago, CN will be able divert traffic from the rail
lines of other companies it uses within the windy city that
frequently become bottlenecked. "Today, sometimes with congestion in
Chicago we get from Winnipeg to Chicago faster than we get from
north Chicago to south Chicago," Harrison said. "So this can have a
substantial impact to transit times and certainly to the
consistency." CN plans to sell some of its urban rail lands,
including portions that pass near Soldier Field, home of NFL's
Chicago Bears. The land could be redeveloped and would fit with the
city's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. (Canadian Press
via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - OCTOBER 3, 2007 via Ed Mayover)
- Milwaukee lost another vestige of
industrial history when the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co.
abandoned all but a stub of the Beer Line, once the busiest freight
line serving the city and the backbone of its heavy industry. In its
heyday, the six-mile stretch hauled more freight than many
cross-country railroads. It linked foundries, machine-tool shops,
lumberyards, tanneries and makers of engines, castings, shoes,
cardboard, cans, batteries, furniture and sausages. The north side
line also connected three of the nation's biggest breweries; during
summer peaks in the 1950s, the Beer Line carried up to 270 boxcars
each day with nothing but kegs and bottles. The Beer Line was the
busiest part of the former Milwaukee Road, which was the
fifth-biggest railway in North America in the middle of the last
century, spanning 16 states with 10,000 miles of track. (Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel via AMERICAN RAIL LINK - OCTOBER 10, 2007 via Ed
Mayover)
- First Train in U.S. with New
Braking System Norfolk Southern made railroad history October
11, 2007 when it operated the nation's first revenue service train
equipped exclusively with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP)
brakes. The train, consisting of three new locomotives and 115 new
hybrid coal gondolas, will be used in regular service between coal
mines in southwestern Pennsylvania and the Keystone Generating
Station in Shelocta, Pa. ECP brakes have the potential to reduce
train stopping distances by as much as 60 percent over conventional
air brake systems. ECP brakes utilize electronic signals to
simultaneously apply and release throughout the length of a freight
train. This differs from conventional brake systems in which each
car brakes individually as air pressure moves in a series from car
to car. The Federal Railroad Administration has authorized Norfolk
Southern and BNSF Railway Company to equip and test certain
locomotives and freight cars with ECP brakes for their potential to
shorten stopping distances and improve railroad and public safety,
network capacity and efficiency, asset utilization, fuel savings and
equipment maintenance. Over the next several months, Norfolk
Southern will equip 30 locomotives, 210 quick-drop coal hoppers and
230 hybrid gondolas with ECP brakes for use in dedicated coal train
service. Working with NS are the locomotive supplier General
Electric, the ECP brake system provider New York Air Brake and the
rail car provider Freight Car America. (Press Release)
SCHEDULE NOTES
Notices, announcements, schedules, etc.
are provided here as a service to the members. The Chapter has no
affiliation with any commercial operation, museum, or tourist line.
Second Sunday of each month from April
to November Chesapeake & Allegheny Steam Preservation Society
Located in West Baltimore, Gwynns Falls and Leakin Parks together
comprise more than 1,000 acres - one of the larger urban wilderness
preserves in the United States. Public run days are the from 11:00am to
3:30pm. Rides are free and there are picnic tables nearby for those who
wish to make a day of it.
http://calslivesteam.org/Default.htm
May 24 thru Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007 A
Journey from Road to Rails at Ellicott City Station Wednesdays
through Sundays, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Roads to Rails exhibit opens on
Thursday, May 24 at Ellicott City Station. All visitors on Thursday, May
24 will receive free admission. Explore the impact of industrialization
and transportation on Ellicott Mills as you learn about two significant
avenues of travel: the Baltimore & Frederick Turnpike (Main Street) and
the B&O Railroad. The exhibit runs through November. [http://www.ecborail.org/exhibitions-public-programs.shtml]
Saturday and Sunday October 6th and
7th 2007 Fall Open House Reading Society of Model Engineers Noon
until 5:00pm Ride on the Laurel Run amidst the beautiful color of the
autumn trees. Admission by donation. Free parking; refreshments &
souvenirs are available. Berks County, PA, Reading, PA 19612 Clubhouse
phone (leave message) 610-929-5444
http://www.rsme.org/
Wednesday September 26, 2007 Rails in
Delaware - A Signature Series Presentation by Mike Dixon 7:00 p.m at
the Historical Society of Delaware. This program is free and open to the
public and will be held in the Copeland at the Delaware History Museum
at 504 N. Market Street. RSVP appreciated to 655-7161 or
hsd@hsd.org. For more information,
please contact Gregory Coin at 302-295-2393,
gcoin@hsd.org or visit
www.hsd.org
October 20. 2007 2007 AUTUMN LEAF
DIESEL TRAIN EXCURSION Reading & Northern Railroad PORT CLINTON to
JIM THORPE TRIPS details are available at:
www.RBMNRR.com
Sat. & Sun, October 27 & 28 Friends of
Auburn Heights (house open, too) Yorklyn, DE
http://www.auburnheights.org/calendar/calendar.asp
November 2 - 4, 2007 Lackawanna
Railfest 2007 National Park Service at Steamtown National Historic
Site, will host Lackawanna Railfest 2007
http://www.nps.gov/stea
Saturday, November 3, 2007 - TAKING
THE SWING TRAIN '40S DANCE Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania , 7 PM to
10 PM Jump, jive and swing to the popular Sound of Roses live band among
the trains in the Railroad Museum's awe inspiring Rolling Stock Hall.
Come in uniform or '40s clothing! Special savings combination ticket,
per person, for the dance and both days of Trains & Troops: $30.00;
Dance ticket only, per person: $20.00; Veterans and active duty service
personnel, per person: $15.00. Dance tickets should be purchased in
advance by phone at 717/687-8628, ext 3008, in person at the Whistle
Stop Shop museum store or on line, using a printable ticket request
form. Dance tickets may be ordered online. Details and tickets.
Saturday, November 3 & Sunday,
November 4, 2007 TRAINS & TROOPS Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania ,
Regular Museum hours. Greet our guys and gals in uniform, experience
many splendid railroad and military archival displays, enjoy the
patriotic spirit. Ride the troop trains on the Strasburg Rail Road with
living history re-enactors on both days of the Railroad Museum's Trains
& Troops program. Troop train tickets are sold separately by the
Strasburg Rail Road on line at
www.strasburgrailroad.com.
November 4, 2007 Annual Winter Train
Meet, 8 AM - 1 PM Nur Temple, Rts 13 & 40, Wilmington, DE admission
$4
November 11, 2007, The Wilmington
Chapter NRHS is pleased to announce the TURKEY TROT TROLLEY TRIP.
This four-hour streetcar charter will depart SEPTA's Elmwood depot at
11:00 a.m. on November 11, 2007. We will be using two PCC cars on this
trip. First will be a PCC-2, which will be making a somewhat rare
appearance on SEPTA's southwest subway-surface routes (but we can't take
it into the subway). We will also have an orange work PCC following us
around. Frequent stops will be made to photograph these cars. The fare
is $55 per person (all major credit cards accepted). Tickets are
available on-line at
http://www.daylightimages.com/streetcar. If you wish to order via
U.S. mail, send a check to Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117
High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Confirmations will be sent via e-mail
(for on-line orders) immediately; mail orders will receive confirmations
about two weeks prior to the trip, although you can include an e-mail
address for immediate confirmation and updates. If you have any
questions contact Steve Barry at 973/383-3355 between 9am-5pm ET
weekdays. For those concerned about an Eagles game causing traffic
trouble on November 11, please note that the Birds are in Washington
that day. Thanks for your continued support of Wilmington Chapter NRHS
trips. AND ! The Super Saturday Streetcar Special XV is a "go" for
Feb. 2, 2008. Tickets on sale soon.
November 23, 2007 through January 6,
2008 A BRANDYWINE CHRISTMAS At Brandywine River Museum. For info
http://www.brandywinemuseum.org/calendar.html
November 23 & 24 Friends of Auburn
Heights Yorklyn, DE
http://www.auburnheights.org/calendar/calendar.asp
Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2, 2007 Day Out With
Thomas Beware of heavy traffic and crowds in the Stasburg area [http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/day-out-with-thomas.php
]
Saturday, December 8 & Saturday,
December 15, 2007 HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Railroad Museum of
Pennsylvania , Regular Museum hours. Take a nostalgic glimpse at holiday
rail travel. Meet costumed engineers, conductors, ticket agents and
passengers representing the past century and enjoy seasonal music,
festive decorations, Jack Frost Station and a Polar Express party for
young children among our world-class collection of trains. Included in
the regular Museum admission. Details on Home for the Holidays
CHAPTER EVENTS
Thursday Oct. 18, 2007 7 PM Chapter
Meeting program by Phil Snyder entitled "see line above"
Sunday Nov. 11, 2007 11 AM Chapter
Trolley Trip Turkey Trot Trolley Trip
Thursday Nov. 15, 2007 7 PM Chapter
Meeting program by Frank Ferguson "The Plan Came Together" so it is
entitled "White Pass & Yukon + Alaska Railroad "
Sunday Dec. 9, 2007 5 PM Holiday Dinner
in lieu of normal monthly meeting Program by Steve Barry
Thursday Jan. 17, 2008 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by ?
Saturday Feb. ?, 2008 ? Chapter Trolley Trip Super Saturday Streetcar
Special XV
Thursday Feb. 21, 2008 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Dave Warner
entitled "Before I lived here, the Worlds of Green PCCs."
The Transfer Table is published six to ten times per year as the
newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical
Society. Items in this publication do not represent the official position
of either Officers or Members of the Wilmington Chapter or the Editor of this
publication.
http://www.WilmingtonNRHS.com
Permission to reprint articles
and news items appearing herein is granted to NRHS Chapters and other
newsletters provided appropriate credit is given. Contributions are
always welcome and should be sent to the editor at
SD40GMA@aol.com
or send to: P.O. Box 1136, Hockessin, DE 19707-5136. Deadline for entries is the
25th of the month.
Chapter Officers:
President: Phil Snyder
Vice President & Historian: Ron Cleaves
Treasurer: Ralph Stevens, Jr.
Secretary: Dan Frederick
National Director: Tom Posatko
Editor: Greg Ajamian
Education Fund: Ed Thornton
Public Relations: Frank Ferguson, Jr.
Trip Director: Ralph Stevens, Jr.
Event Photographer: Ron Cleaves
Web Master: Russ Fox
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