Train of Thought

Locomotive 2013

Greg McDonnell — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:39:00 GMT

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/6712.LOC2013Prelim1.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20Reference/Locomotives/2013/06/Preview%20Locomotive%202013%20a%20special%20issue%20from%20Trains%20magazine.aspx"]Check out the new look of Locomotive 2013.[/caption]It’s been seven years since the first edition of Locomotive, the Trains magazine special issue dedicated to motive power, rolled off the press. The brainchild of Kalmbach Publishing Co. Vice President-Editorial (and former Trains Editor) Kevin Keefe, Locomotive has covered the contemporary motive power scene, from building Evolution and export-model GEs on the assembly lines in Erie, Pa., to the construction of dual-power NJ Transit ALP45DPs in Bombardier’s historic former-Henschel works in Kassel, Germany; from following ancient Baldwin-Westinghouse steeple-cab electrics shuffling along an Iowa interurban line, to riding the cab of an Amtrak Acela topping 135 mph on the Northeast Corridor. From sleek-styled F59s speeding Surfliners along the California coast, to aging SD40-2 helpers grinding up Allegheny Mountain grades; from bulldog-faced EMD cabs soldiering on in Australia, to SD90MACs in the mountains of Washington and GE 70-tonners in the streets of Modesto, Calif., Locomotive has showcased the work of some of the best writers and photographers in the business: Ted Benson, David Styffe, Michael Valentine, Steve Smedley, Blair Kooistra, Bruce Kelly, Elrond Lawrence, Scott Lothes, Scott A. Hartley, Steve Glischinski, Nick D’Amato, David Busse, Scott Snell, and A. Ross Harrison to name a few.

Building on that momentum, we’re improving Locomotive 2013: with expanded coverage; big stories; and more maps, rosters, and statistics than ever. Beyond the printed page, we’re introducing value-added content: video, locomotive specifications and news updates on the web, Facebook, and other social media. Be sure to check out the new Locomotive section of www.TrainsMag.com. We’ll be updating it regularly throughout the summer.

Set for release in September as both a print and digital product, the eighth issue of Locomotive will feature an unprecedented 20-page, big-picture study of the power that drives North America’s ‘Big 8’ railroads: Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern/Kansas City Southern de Mexico, and Amtrak; an exclusive inside look at Progress Rail’s new Muncie, Ind., locomotive assembly facility, the home of Electro-Motive diesels; a 12-page feature looking at Cajon Pass today, and through the lens of Richard Steinheimer in the early 1970s; features on Iowa Pacific’s fleet of vintage EMDs, a visit to the locomotive rebuild shop of Metro East Industries, an incredible ride up Pocono Mountain grades with a quartet of Alco RS3s, and much more.

The issue is currently in the capable hands of designers Tom Danneman, Drew Halverson, and Scott Krall, who will transform the text and images from concept to creatively presented content. We’ll update their progress right here.

Low light photography

Samuel Phillips — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:05 GMT

Low-light Photography:

One of my favorite situations while trackside is a high-contrast, low-light scene, which can produce incredibly striking results.

Low light is defined by the time around sunrise or sunset. However, some weather condition, like heavy rain, fog, or just a flat-out 'dark' scene, could also be defined as low light and likewise produce a striking result.

When I’m trackside, I seek out low light. It challenges me as a photographer, enabling me to capture something out of the ordinary. Working with difficulties like: extremely high ISOs, a slow shutter speed and, of course, the infamous ditch lights (which can cause glare, easily ruining an image) are several challenges I face.

With all these factors in play, capturing a low light image that really stands out is tough, but it can be done with persistence and patience.

Instead of leaving after the shadows overtake the track, I try and wait out the last remaining minutes of light to see what I can capture. The mood and concept of railroading is sometimes best captured in low light. A powerful motion blur, the train's ditch lights illuminating a structure, or just a simple low-light scene with a train frozen within it, are all good examples.

Photographers face challenges when shooting in low light, but when you get a striking image, the effort is always well worth it!

Now, let’s take a look at several examples I have taken this year. I’ve provided Exif data for those of you who are curious what my settings were.

With a bone-chilling winter wind howling, darkness descends along the ex-Norfolk & Western, as eastbound time freight No. 38Q knocks down the signal at Stones Mill in Wytheville, Va., with a quartet of GEs powering the train on Dec. 30, 2012. The engineer has the throttle in notch 8, making up lost time caused by multiple train meets.

ISO Speed: 125, F-stop: 7.1, Shutter Speed: 1/4th

It's just after sunrise, and the sound of an approaching train fills the quiet morning air with flanges squealing and the rumble of locomotives operating in dynamics. No. 233 trundles westbound through Pembroke, Va., with a couple of visitors from the BNSF Railway powering the train. Distant mountain snow showers loom behind the train on this bitter-cold February 2013 morning.

ISO Speed: 2500, F-Stop: 5, Shutter Speed: 1/250th

A mine backdrop clearly denotes we are in the coal fields, as a pair of newer 8100 series locomotives shove hard on the rear of No. 272, while passing through Keystone, W.Va., around sunset. The quiet town awakes to the passing train, as the sound of engines in notch 8 echo throughout the valley. Norfolk Southern's Pennsylvania heritage locomotive does the honors of bringing up the rear of the long auto-rack train on Feb. 16, 2013.

ISO Speed: 640, F-Stop: 8, Shutter Speed: 1/250th

The sun sets and a round of snow showers prepare to move through, as No. 80T shakes the ground in Raven, Va., as the engineer notches-out the two GEs after making a pick up at Alfredon Yard around the curve on March 21, 2013. Even with two ES44ACs on the rear, it will take the train nearly two hours to make Bluefield because of steep grades and multiple 10-15 mph curves along the 35-mile trek via the ex-N&W Clinch Valley District.

ISO Speed: 1000, F-Stop: 5, Shutter Speed: 1/250th

The sun has just set behind the surrounding hills, as the sound of an approaching hopper train breaks the stillness of a quiet spring evening. Soon, the clean Southern heritage locomotive leads No. 811 across a small creek in Hale's Gap, W.Va., with an extremely long train in tow en-route to Mullens, W.Va.

ISO Speed: 2500, F-Stop: 5, Shutter Speed: 1/400th

Darkness falls, as a monster eastbound coal train crawls into White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., while passing classic former C&O signals on the journey toward Clifton Forge via the Allegheny Subdivision on May 19, 2013. The pair of bright-future AC4400s are notched out and moving less than 15 mph, as the train marches toward the summit at Allegheny Tunnel, about 5 miles east.

ISO Speed: 1250, F-Stop: 6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/250th

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this blog. Feel free to leave your feedback in the comment section below.

A great ride for a great cause

Brian Schmidt — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:57:00 GMT

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/4885.UP1362HarvardIL6_2D00_7_2D00_13.jpg" position="left"]The UP CARES Operation Lifesaver special at Harvard, Ill., on June 7, 2013. Photo by J. David Ingles[/caption] This past Friday, June 7, Union Pacific hosted two Operation Lifesaver specials in conjunction with its UP CARES railroad safety awareness program. I got to ride both trips, and the deadhead moves, along with some friends. The first trip we rode from Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago out the Metra UP-NW commuter line to Barrington and return in the dome. Ogilvie is the new name for the old North Western station, or at least the office tower that replaced it. The morning commuter rush is as busy as its ever been there, and once it cleared, our outbound train was ready to roll. Along the way we made stops at Des Planes and Arlington Heights for passengers. After returning downtown, the train deadheaded out to Palatine for an afternoon trip to Harvard, the end of the commuter territory, with passenger stops at Barrington and Crystal Lake.

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/4762.Dome-view.jpg" position="right"]The forward view from dome car 'Columbine' included the tail end of the Chicago & North Western heritage unit! Photo by Brian Schmidt[/caption] The train consisted of three UP passenger cars, dome coach Columbine, coach City of Salina, and business car observation Feather River. It was powered by two SD70ACe heritage units, Missouri Pacific-painted No. 1982 and Chicago & North Western-painted No. 1995. UP added two GP40-2s, Nos. 1361 and 1362, to activate the automatic train stop on the commuter line. (Other recent trips in the area near Peoria and Belvidere did not use these units.) While Amtrak's Superliner lounge cars are probably the best equipment for the railroad's needs, nothing compares to having the front seat in a true dome car!

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/4846.Presenter.jpg" position="left"]Union Pacific conductor Larry Markow talks about grade crossing safety in the dome car. Photo by Brian Schmidt[/caption] Each trip included a 10 minute talk on railroad safety and statistics presented by a UP employee, each of which is also an Operation Lifesaver volunteer presenter. Presenters regularly talk to school children, community groups, drivers education classes, or CDL applicants about the dangers of being around railroads. On this day, however, they were speaking to a group of emergency first responders, firefighters, medics, and police officers. A few police officers were allowed to ride in the cab and see what train crews face on a daily basis with near-misses. There have even been instances in the past of Operation Lifesaver trains being involved in grade crossing incidents, with police officers in the cab, so always expect a train!

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/8228.Billboard.jpg" position="right"]An Operation Lifesaver billboard along the Edens Expressway, and the route of the train! Photo by Brian Schmidt[/caption] On the way back downtown on the final trip of the day, the train paused along the Edens Expressway for a photo shoot with an Operation Lifesaver billboard. Each day, tens of thousands of commuters pass the billboard, but more education is still needed. According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics, 1,960 highway-rail grade crossing collisions occurred in 2012. About 63 percent of all highway-rail grade crossing collisions that year occurred in just fifteen states, with Texas, California, Illinois, Indiana, and Alabama being the top five. During the same year, 271 fatalities occurred on railroad tracks with California, Texas, and Illinois again in the top three worst states.

Riding in a dome is an experience you will not soon forget, and, coupled with the educational aspect of the trip, made this a great ride for a great cause.

Rochelle Railroad Days 2013

Brian Schmidt — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:07:00 GMT

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/3583.UP3788RochelleIL6_2D00_2_2D00_13_5F00_edited_2D00_1.jpg" position="right"]The Rochelle Railroad park is transformed into a small fairgrounds for the annual Rochelle Railroad Days, now in its eighth year. Here a Union Pacific westbound passes the park on Sunday morning. Photo by Brian Schmidt.[/caption]

Although I'm a frequent visitor to Rochelle, I had never attended the city's annual Rochelle Railroad Days, now in its eighth year. That record speaks volumes for the city of Rochelle and Union Pacific who support the event. The Rochelle Tourism & Visitor's Association organizes the event, which draws people from throughout the U.S. and Canada, with the help of the city and UP. The railroad provides display equipment, this year Southern Pacific-painted heritage unit No. 1996 and a new EMD SD70ACe. In the past, the railroad has even offered tours of its nearby Global III intermodal yard, too.

[caption image="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/1157.NS1072RochelleIL6_2D00_2_2D00_13.jpg" position="right"]One surprise visitor for Sunday was Norfolk Southern's Illinois Terminal-painted heritage unit, SD70ACe No. 1072, on an eastbound crude oil train. Photo by Brian Schmidt.[/caption]

One surprise on Sunday made the day much more exciting. Norfolk Southern's Illinois Terminal-painted heritage unit, No. 1072, rolled east through town on a loaded crude oil train. Even though the locomotive wasn't leading, it still elicited quite a response from the audience. And No. 1996 made an appearance at the park about 6 p.m. on Sunday as it was moved from the display track near Main Street out to Global III for return to regular service.

Throughout the day, BNSF and UP provided near constant entertainment for the fans. Coal trains, intermodal trains, and crude oil trains just kept rolling through town. Even as a seasoned train watcher I still find the number of crude oil trains on BNSF surprising. It seemed that every other train was an oil train!

In spite of the naysayers, railroading is alive and well in 2013, and Rochelle railroad days proved that. The trains were long and plentiful, the locomotives new and exciting, and the railfans came out to see the grand spectacle of modern railroading. But, in the end, Rochelle Railroad Days is about the people, the railfans, and we always enjoy meeting our subscribers, readers, and contributors when we're out trackside!

2012 Trains photo contest

Angela Pusztai-Pasternak — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:39:00 GMT

Thanks again for sending us more than 400 photos for our 2012 contest. The theme was the blue hour, or the one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset. Check out the winners below, and please let us know what you think by commenting.

Grand prize: Robert Jordan's aerial image of a Canadian Pacific freight at Bellevue, Iowa.

First prize: Eric Williams shot of a Metro-North train crossing Moodna Viaduct at Salisbury Mills, N.Y.

Second prize: Stewart Buck's stark photo of a switchman at Union Pacific's Short Line Yard in Des Moines, Iowa.

Runner-up: Dennis Livesey's Amtrak Empire Service train at Cortlandt, N.Y.

Runner-up: Bruce Stahl's Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train.

Runner-up: Greg Durling's photo of Amtrak's Blue Water at Durand, Mich., en route to Port Huron.

Runner-up: Renaud Chodkowski's photo of a Paris commuter train as it arrives at Persan-Beaumont station.

Runner-up: Ken Fitzgerald's image of a tower operator at Union Pacific's Davidson Yard in Fort Worth, Texas.

Thanks for checking them out! And thank you to those that entered and those that won! When you leave your comments, please remember to be courteous.

Want to enter our 2013 contest? Get all the details now!

Watching Norfolk Southern trains at Shawsville, Va.

Samuel Phillips — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:51:31 GMT

I want to take you to a place that has become a favorite of mine to visit again and again. Shawsville, Va., situated along the westbound assault of Christiansburg Mountain on Norfolk Southern’s Christiansburg District, is a spot on the former Norfolk & Western main line between Norfolk, Va., and Cincinnati.

For those that regularly see my photography, you know that I love shooting at one particular location in Shawsville, just east of the downtown area. I stumbled upon the location several years ago, but never began shooting and taking advantage of its photographic possibilities until last year.

The compelling attributes include the sweeping S-curve, the white picket fence, the distant mountains, and the sound of a train traversing the grade. I am drawn to this spot.
Situated on the steepest part of the 1.5-percent-westbound climb, train flanges squeal and engines in notch 8 fill the air. The grade is lengthy, holding at a steady 1.5 percent from Elliston, Va., to Christiansburg, Va., a distance of 12 miles.

You can work with any type of lighting in this area, however, late afternoon light does compliment the location nicely, but early morning and afternoon will do from multiple angles.
I made a couple favorite shots in less than ideal conditions, such as fog or blue-hour lighting.

Not only do westbounds look nice at this location, but an ancient cemetery and an oak tree provide a unique composition for eastbounds descending the hill toward Roanoke.

One of my most memorable photographs was made on July 17, 2012. Early that day, I received word that Norfolk Southern's Virginian heritage locomotive was leading a train of westbound empty hoppers out of Norfolk en route to Norton, Va.

Watching its progress, I anxiously waited for the train to pass Lynchburg so I could head east and intercept it. At approximately 6 p.m., train No. 821 departed the yard at Roanoke and began the westbound trek to Bluefield. Roughly 45 minutes later, the train entered Shawsville with late-afternoon light glistening off the side of the freshly painted locomotive. I couldn't have asked for a better scene! The Virginian is my favorite of the 20 heritage locomotives, and I was elated to capture it.

The sun was setting behind the Virginia hills as train No. 811 ground upgrade with 160 empties en route to Mullens, W.Va. The engineer had the two General Electric wide bodies notched out, as they lugged the heavy train. The white picket fence framed the shot and made it stand out from the rest.

About 20 minutes after sunset, the sound of locomotives in notch 8 filled the air, as train 821 struggled upgrade with a Dash-9 leading a former Conrail SD60M, which had engine trouble. The train had 170 cars and was bound for Weller Yard in Grundy, Va., along NS's Buchanan Branch.

On a glorious fall morning, Norfolk Southern’s beautifully restored F units lead an office car special toward Bluefield, W.Va., as they pass through the autumn scene of fallen leaves and a tree that still gleams with color.

Just after sunrise, No. 23G rolls downgrade with two GEVOs holding the lengthy intermodal train back on the descent to Roanoke, as they pass through Shawsville, disrupting the stillness of a quiet Monday morning.

Led by an ex-Conrail SD60I, train No. M35 storms upgrade with a heavily laden manifest train that has been re-routed off the former Southern Railway to the ex-N&W for unknown reasons. Late afternoon light glistens and illuminates the scene, as the train slowly climbs the hill en route to Bristol.

Thanks for joining me on this visit to my favorite photo location, and be sure to leave your feedback and comments in the section below!

Their era ended long ago, but the last 40-foot boxcars endure

Jim Wrinn — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:20:03 GMT

A BN 40-foot boxcar in work train service in Missoula, Mont., in September 2006. Tom Danneman photo.

Just for the record, I like watching an entire train go by, from the power to the EOT. We all enjoy seeing locomotives pass, but I also like to see the rest of the train. The consist is 95 percent of a train, after all. Not watching the whole train, to me, is like buying tickets for a major movie and failing to stick around for the credits. You’re bound to miss something noteworthy if you don’t keep your eyes open to the end.

In the spirit of the American freight train, here’s an interesting fact, courtesy of friends at the Association of American Railroads: Of the 1.55 million freight cars in service in North America, we’re down to 18 or fewer 40-foot boxcars that are still listed in UMLER, the service that tracks freight cars in revenue service in North America.

Of the 18, eight carry Burlington Northern reporting marks, seven carry Canadian Pacific, two carry Ferromex, and one is listed at New England preservation railroad Naugatuck. Dozens of others are also preserved at museums or tourist railroads, but just not listed in UMLER.

That’s pretty amazing, considering that most 40-foot boxcars left the railroading scene about 30 years ago and that the peak for these boxcars goes all the way back to 1942.

The AAR shared details with us about the cars, which are all too old now for interchange service.

All of the BN cars, save for one condemned to scrap, are listed as active. The last one moved in June 2012 when No. 200147 was switched in Everett, Wash. Before that, the only movement of any of these cars was in 2009 when two were active, and one went to a steel mill in Pueblo, Colo., most likely for scrap. Prior to that, two cars moved in 2008, one in 1996, one in 1997, and one in, O.K., get ready for this, 1981. The other seven are BN 200112, 200161, 200184, 200194, 200223, 200294, and 281467.

All seven CP cars are shown as inactive, and the last move was in 1985. All are or were (if they still exist) in Quebec, save for one in Detroit. Again, they may be ghosts, but if you’ve seen them, they are Nos. 50020, 52525, 53496, 53547, 54849, 55587, and 55709.

Only one of the two Ferromex cars is active, and if you can believe it, No. 850007 moved earlier this month on May 2 to Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, and actually appears to have been under load. So this one appears to be the last active 40-foot boxcar in North America. Reporting marks are FXE and the other car is No. 850034.

Naugatuck’s car, No. 445, last moved in 2002 from Montpelier

Junction, Vt., to the tourist line and museum in Connecticut.

Boxcars have been around since the 1830s, and the height of 40-foot boxcars was in 1942, when the fleet peaked at 754,322.

“After 1949, you were beginning to have a very significant number of 50-foot cars joining the fleet,” says AAR’s John Gray. “Before 1940, the Great Depression kept the number of cars depressed and before the Depression you were in the 1920s when there were a very large number of 36-foot and smaller cars still in the fleet.”

Of the freight cars running today in North America, covered hoppers rule the day with almost 400,000. Tank cars make up about 300,000 (and are growing fast due to the crude oil boom). Gons come in third at about 200,000. Of the 90,000 or so boxcars, fewer than 18 40-foot boxcars are still around, and only one has turned a wheel lately, far out of sight, and out of mind, the last of its kind.

How WRI friendships grease squeaky wheels

Steve Sweeney — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:35:00 GMT

CHICAGO - You could describe the 2013 Wheel/Rail Interaction conference here in Chicago by highlighting the bright minds gathered in one room at one time or by the scope of knowledge each presenter offers to the audience.

Yet the connections forged during the four-day conference might be the most important of all.

Gordon Bachinsky, the electrical engineer at the heart of WRI seminars says as much almost as a mantra throughout the daily sessions.

"We want to develop those relationships and tear down some barriers," Bachinsky says, noting that other than in the seminars at WRI, the first time most track supervisors meet with car maintainers or wheel designers is when something goes wrong, as in a derailment.

"What our goal is, is to build these relationships so that people are willing to talk to each other in a more user-friendly manner."

There's evidence that his efforts are having an effect. Roadmasters from Norfolk Southern or CSX Transportation can, and do, talk with experts in rail fatigue, who happen to also be Federal Railroad Administration and National Research Council of Canada researchers. At other times, questions such as, "How often is rolling contact fatigue the cause of a rail break?" and "How long can you extend the life of a wheel by truing? Better to grind or use a lathe?" are topics addressed as much with a beer in hand as with a laser pointer on a projector screen.

And nearly all participants vied to meet one of BNSF Railway's new friction managers, whose job it is to, well, manage friction between BNSF train wheels and BNSF track. Nothing more, nothing less.

Other relationships are being built too, the kind made by suppliers and railroad purchasers and the ones made between a slick railroad recruiter and budding mechanical and civil engineers who are at WRI because they are top talent in the first place.

But this is also the conference where attendees commiserate while they learn.

Take, for instance, the stories told by an engineer who worked for a California light rail system in the late 1990s. Laced between coefficient of friction terms and premature gauge-face wear, were other equally hard facts: residents along the rail agency's northern line harassed track workers, threw rocks at them and called by the hour to complain about noisy transit cars. The transit system did not respond to requests for comment, so its name and the engineer's name are withheld here. Suffice it to say, the noise problems were bad. According to the engineer, the agency first tried wetting the tracks, then started greasing the inside of rails with paintbrushes to reduce the noise.

"It was inconsistent. The cost of labor to do it made it ineffective. It was dangerous," the engineer said of transit workers that lingered near live tracks during revenue hours.

What it took was system-wide track lubricators spreading a special blend of Teflon-like grease on the inside of rails to make squealing residents and wheels, go away.

Audience members' smiles and nodding heads signaled their understanding following the presentation. They followed this pause with still more questions: "Were you able to gauge the spread of the grease over the entire distance?"

Yes.

"Did you have problems with lubricant on the rail surface?"

No, it didn't migrate, but we also use this as a friction modifier in top-of-rail applications. So it would be unlikely to make a difference.

And so on... for three receptions and four days of sessions: seven for transit, 16 for heavy haul, and nine for foundational principles.

It's heavy material, made light by participants' shared desire to learn how to improve their railroads.

Tom Hoback on Wheel/Rail Interaction 2013: "brilliant"

Steve Sweeney — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:04:00 GMT

When something is important to Tom Hoback, he lets you know.

The Indiana Rail Road, of which he is founder, president, and CEO, is one. Railroading, in general, is another and lately, so is the Wheel/Rail Interaction Conference.

So important is the conference coming next week, that Hoback paused during a recent overseas trip to talk about it, fighting through spotty cell phone reception to get his message across.

“Here you have less than an inch square with all these contact forces that are so critical to us,” Hoback said of WRI’s focus on topics concerning what happens when flanged wheel meets steel rail. “This is really devoted to help us extend the life of the rail, life of the wheels.”

Hoback said Indiana Rail Road personnel attended the 2012 WRI conference. What he learned from them impressed him enough to become an advocate and agree to give the keynote address this year. The veteran railroader said he intends to share with the WRI audience how Indiana Rail Road transformed itself from a light-density spin-off into a heavy-haul railroad – with an emphasis on the little things.

“Had we only had to re-built our railroad to the needs of the day, where our traffic was – and substantially less than we’re moving today,” there would have been little ability to grow traffic, he said. “We’ve had to harden the infrastructure.”

As he tells it, re-building the Indiana Rail Road to thrive involved more than replacing track, but paying attention to neutral rail temperatures, investing in ballast, ties, rails and doing anything that would make sure the railroad was “adequate for today’s heavy axle loadings.

“In some cases, we’ve had to re-lay rail twice because our tonnage has grown so significantly,” he said.

Hoback’s words are an admission of how much forethought went into considering the business of the Indiana Rail Road and how much preparation it required. In recognition of this, Railway Age recognized Indiana Rail Road as its 2012 Regional Railroad of the Year. Proud of past accomplishments, but moving ever forward, Hoback said that the “bread-and-butter” issues WRI covers will affect how the company sustains its property improvements over the long-term.

Some topics, like the use of ‘friction modifiers’ that grease rails to reduce wheel strain, but without losing traction, would not have been considered even a decade ago, but are cutting edge this year. And then there’s research on how grinding certain rails more often leads to less wear and longer life.

“The one thing I would say is that the whole concept of putting this conference together, I think, is brilliant,” Hoback said. “On one hand, railway engineering has been with us 200 years. … What you’re doing is using that basic technology and making it efficient into the future.”

Hoback is scheduled to speak at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 8, during the first day of the Heavy Haul portion of the conference.

More details are available by visiting the Wheel/Rail Interaction website.

A new face with a new assignment: Wheel/Rail Interaction Conference 2013

Steve Sweeney — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:30:00 GMT

Hi Everyone!

Most readers are aware that TRAINS magazine just hired a new associate editor. That's me, Steve Sweeney. But since most of you still don't know much about me yet, fellow editors here thought it would be a good idea to blog an introduction.

But first, a little plug.

For the two weeks that I’ve been learning the ropes at TRAINS, memorizing names and editing copy, I’ve also been planning for my first big event: WRI 2013. For those of you who don’t know, the Wheel/Rail Interaction conference is an event co-presented by TRAINS with conference organizer Wheel Rail Seminars and LB Foster, an international supplier of infrastructure materials and services. The goal of the four-day conference is to give railroaders a practical bend on all of the railroad research and best practices available today – focusing on what happens when the flanged wheel meets the steel rail.

That WRI 2013 is going to be a nuts-and-bolts kind of conference featuring some of the best and brightest railroaders in the industry today is nothing short of incredible, from my point of view. It’s incredible because it dovetails with my own background.

Suffice it to say, my interest with railroads dates back to Christmas 1981, when a 6-month-old me sat watching his uncle's 3-rail O-scale Blue Comet zipping around the tree at Grandma's house. With the Blue Comet’s headlight on; puffing smoke fluid and that oh-so-fake, but satisfying pre-digital steam chug; I was hooked for life.

My first experience with a 1:1 scale railroad came a few years later at the newspaper.

You see, my father and mother both worked for the same newspaper in Jamestown, N.Y., so it was natural for me to grow up there as they grew older. The newspaper is where I learned to paste-up pages “working” for Dad, play hide-and-seek in the darkroom and even visit the railroad tracks behind the building. The tracks back then belonged to Conrail and represented the last dying remnants of the old Erie and Erie-Lackawanna main line between New York and Chicago. My Dad would take me along the tracks on sunny afternoons to pick-up discarded spikes and look for date nails (that went back to the 1940s, easy). He even let me run around inside a disused, rusted dinosaur of a boxcar, until Mom found out and put an end to it.

From then on, family trips included zoo trains and the few excursion trains that were available in the places we could afford to travel. With model trains, O-scale dreamlands gave way with time to attempts at HO-scale re-creations of an imagined reality. Childhood faded all too quickly into college, a new job at that Jamestown newspaper and the blessings of a new wife and family. The good news was that as a newspaper reporter, editors would let me report on railroads and old-time railroaders whenever I could justify the story. TRAINS magazine articles supported my thirst for more information on the industry, and what I liked best about it, the nuts-and-bolts.

Fast-forward 10 years to the present, and I found myself fortunate enough to have many rewarding years news writing, including two years as a contributing “Technology” column writer for TRAINS. It was enough to earn a spot on the TRAINS staff.

Beyond that there’s little left to write, for now.

And about the conference, there’s plenty of detail about WRI 2013 at the conference website and I’ll be blogging interviews with conference participants and interesting factoids in the days ahead. The important thing to know is that WRI 2013 is happening May 6 to 9 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Hope to see you there!

Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 visits Asheville

Jim Wrinn — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:20:00 GMT

Few mountain crossings in the eastern United States are as fascinating as Norfolk Southern’s twisting, climbing route between Old Fort and Ridgecrest in the western North Carolina mountains. Its amazing engineering to gain 1,000 feet of elevation via 13 miles of track using loops, seven tunnels, and numerous bridges; the incredible operations that get trains safely up and down the mountain’s 2.2 percent grade; and its magnificent southern Appalachian forest backdrop make it irresistible to anyone interested in railroading. And it’s about to get a lot more interesting for a few days.

This weekend, Norfolk Southern’s 21st Century Steam visits Asheville for two sold-out trips daily (carded for 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.) behind Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 (and diesel helpers) between Asheville and Old Fort. With the steam locomotive visit, the loops will be amazingly busy with steam trains, regular freights, and with spectators eager to witness the first steam power on this line in 19 years.

This is also a homecoming for the 1904 product of Alco’s Richmond Works. No. 630, which was based at Asheville during the last part of its career in regular freight service (including service on the famous Murphy Branch), is back there for the first time since Southern dieselized and sold the locomotive to the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina short line in 1952. After Southern re-acquired the engine for excursions in 1968, the Consolidation roamed the main line and many portions of the SR system, but the engine never visited Asheville during its 1968-1977 stint as a Southern Railway public relations ambassador.

Now that is going to change, thanks to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, which owns and operates the locomotive that was restored in 2011. It’s completing a 2-month tour that took it as far east as Norfolk, and now it’s heading home to Chattanooga.

For first-time visitors to the area, you need to know that between Asheville and Ridgecrest, U.S. 70 and Interstate 40 parallel the tracks that follow the Swannanoa River to the eastern Continental Divide, elevation 2,535 feet. You can catch the train leaving Asheville, climbing the hill out of Biltmore, but then your best bet is to head for the Loops and avoid the small town traffic of the communities of Swannanoa and Black Mountain. You should also know that Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States at 6,684 feet, overlooks the region.

At Ridgecrest, the train will disappear into 1,832-foot-long Swannanoa Tunnel to begin its descent to Old Fort, 3 air miles away, but 13 miles via rail. The train will be going slow on the descent, but the roads that provide access are even slower, and a bevy of chasers will further complicate things.

Mill Creek Road is the narrow, twisting road that starts as the paved section of old U.S. 70 and continues as a dirt road down the mountain to Andrews Geyser. Be warned: If it’s dry, this road will become dusty and following a string of chasing railfans will be all about riding blind into a cloud of red clay dust; if it’s wet, the road will be muddy, possibly to the point of miring you axle deep and requiring a tow truck. Think if you decide to chase.

For your own safety and for the best photos, I suggest you find a spot early to watch the steam train; stay there and let the train come to you; and let the road warriors suck up the dust or mud. The signature locations for the S-line are in the Round Knob area close to the landmark Andrews Geyser that the Western North Carolina Railroad built in 1881 to honor Col. A.B. Andrews, its chief engineer and the man responsible for this railroad engineering feat. The traditional images to seek show the train with the geyser, crossing Mill Creek, and soaring across High Fill, 205 feet directly above Dendron, where the tracks are two miles rail distance apart. Other excellent locations that are easy to reach from public property are the east portal of Swannanoa Tunnel, coming into Old Fort next to the restored 1890 station, and by hiking along old U.S. 70 (now Point Lookout Trail) to vantages for the short tunnels near the top of the grade (such as Bergin and High Ridge).

During the day, the 141-mile S-line between Asheville and Salisbury can also see manifest trains, unit chip wood trains (for the paper mill on the Murphy Branch at Canton), unit rock trains (also from Enka on the Murphy Branch), and unit coal trains heading for Duke Power Co. steam plants.

Norfolk Southern’s operations on the Loops are a daily miracle of the spectacular genius of the men who designed and built this railroad more than 135 years ago and those today who understand this difficult piece of railroad and run it well. I hope to see you in the Loops next weekend as we enjoy this rare treat of a genuine Southern Railway steam locomotive on this remarkable piece of Southern Railway track in the Land of the Sky.

The climb to Clark's Gap via the former Virginian Railroad

Samuel Phillips — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:48:43 GMT

Some of you may already know that I have an affinity for the Virginian Railway. Something about the railroad has always intrigued me since my love for railroads materialized young in life. The former Virginian was one of the places I first visited as a railfan. When I first began taking pictures, my dad took me to the community of Whitethorne, Va., at the base of the climb to Merrimac. I remember watching loaded coal trains stopping for helpers, then taking off a few minutes later shaking the ground as the engines worked hard to get the heavy train rolling again. This is definitely one of my favorite experiences!

Since then, I expanded my knowledge of the Virginian by reading books and exploring new territory. This past summer, I embarked upon my first trip to explore the Princeton-Deepwater District, witnessing some of the most impressive trestles and stunning scenery I had ever laid my eyes on. I marveled at what I saw that day, and when I returned home all I could think was, "When can I go back?"

In this brief tour, I will examine my all-time favorite section of the Virginian, Clark's Gap Grade, spanning from Elmore Yard to Weyanoke (near Matoaka). I will explain why this location has become my favorite and what makes it so special.

History

Opened in 1909, the Virginian instantaneously became a prosperous railroad from Norfolk, Va., westward to Charleston, W.Va. The railroad was able to tap into rich coal country and transport immense quantities of coal to the coast quickly and efficiently. Henry Huddleston Rogers funded the railroad construction, using the best materials available at the time. His close friend, Col. William Page, oversaw and implemented construction plans, while Huddleston stayed behind the scenes.

Upon its opening, the grade from Elmore to Clark's Gap posed a huge challenge for the Virginian. The 2.07 percent Clark's Gap Grade immediately persuaded the Virginian to acquire some of the world's most powerful steam locomotives. The railroad implemented a plan called "Hill runs," denoting a move that would take 4,000 to 6,000 tons of coal up the grade to the small yard at Clark's Gap several times daily. Later in the day, a train would fill out at the gap with 8,000-10,000 tons before proceeding to Princeton and eventually Roanoke.

Trains usually operated with a 2-8-8-2 on the head end, assisted by a pair of 2-10-10-2s on the rear. Even with three powerful locomotives, the process was slow, moving at a steady 7-mph pace while climbing the mountain in good conditions. When rain slickened the rails, the process was slower. The operation worked, but was slow and posed hazards for the crews. Another major problem was lack of ventilation in tunnels Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, which meant crews almost suffocated.

In 1923, the employees went on strike until the railroad improved what strikers dubbed “hellish conditions.” In response and hoping it would solve the issue, Virginian management decided to electrify 133.6 miles of the main line between Mullens and Roanoke.
The Virginian’s competition, the Norfolk & Western, had already electrified part of its Pocahontas main line (between Iaeger and Bluefield, W.Va.) to move coal over Elkhorn Grade more quickly and efficiently.

In 1925, the Virginian completed electrification and a fleet of EL-3As (dubbed Squareheads) arrived from Alco-Westinghouse to start work in the electrified territory. Operating in sets of three, each unit produced 2,375 hp along with 92,500 pounds of tractive effort. The Squareheads were a success and exactly the solution the railroad sought. A 6,000-ton coal train powered by electric locomotives could climb the grade at 14 mph, double what steam-powered trains previously did!

Historians say the Virginian operated one of the most successful electrified railroads ever. I must agree. The Virginian used the electrification to overcome a plethora of problems posed by the mountainous territory and operated with the best equipment available.

The Virginian acquired a noteworthy electric locomotive in 1948, the General Electric-built EL-2B (the railroad dubbed them Streamliners). Operating in pairs, they were 6,800 hp and produced a tractive effort standing at 275,000 pounds. They became known later as the world's most powerful electric locomotives.

After the Norfolk & Western acquired the Virginian on Dec. 1, 1959, the electrified portion managed to survive only 2 1/2 years. In July 1962, the last electric-powered train arrived in Roanoke, and the power was turned off. Shortly after, everything from electric locomotives to catenary poles were either sold or scrapped, thus ending the Virginian’s era of electric railroading.

Today, few signs of the electrification remain within the 133.6 mile stretch from Mullens to Roanoke. A few catenary poles have managed to survive on viaducts east of Elmore, but other than that, most all signs have been eradicated. Several Virginian searchlight signals still remain along the P-D district, but they are falling fast to the new Safetran Systems signals, which are quickly replacing old signals across the U.S.

While signs of the past disappear, the Virginian will live on in the hearts of many forever. Old viaducts that denote the Virginian's well-designed railroad remain intact along the route, along with an old depot and multiple tunnels, making this a unique railroad even today. And lets not forget the infamous Clark's Gap Grade that still poses a major challenge for Norfolk Southern operations!

Present day operations on the assault to Clark's Gap

Situated at the bottom of the grade lies Elmore Yard in Mullens at former Virginian milepost 374. Elmore Yard is a crew change point and helper base, along with the beginning of the Guyandotte River Branch, which spans 42 miles south to Gilbert, W.Va. When eastbound loads come off the Guyandotte River Branch or Winding Gulf Branch (at the west end of the yard), they will pause here to acquire a set of three helpers for the climb to Clark's Gap. Eastbound loads coming from Deepwater already have helpers attached because of severe grades that lie timetable west of town.

Norfolk Southern still uses the hill-run method of operation, except that most trains are much longer and heavier than the ones the Virginian ran. Using four to six units, NS usually runs anywhere from 50-100 loads at a time up the hill, where the cars are set off for a later train to use to fill out to at least a 150-160 loads before journeying east to Roanoke. However, not all fill out at Clark's Gap. Some trains are run throughs that will keep just 100 loads for the journey east.

On a snowy afternoon, two NS 4,400-hp GE ES44ACs lug a string of 50 loads off the Guyandotte River Branch and into the yard at Elmore to be used for a hill run set to depart within the hour. This day, the train will only take 50 loads up the hill with five motors due to the fleeting conditions that will cause wet-rail and hazardous conditions on the hill. Even with 5 high-horsepower motors, it will take the train more than an hour to climb the hill to Clark's Gap.

This panorama gives an individual an idea of the track-layout at Elmore. The track in the near foreground is the east leg of the wye, which connects to the Guyandotte River Branch. The track in the backgroud is the main line, and the brick building is the yard office, which sits near the west leg of the wye and helper-storage track. The yard was empty this balmy fall day, as maintenance of way was working on the single-track portions of the railroad, tying up most of the operations.

Covel, W.Va.; Virginian milepost 366:

The first impressive trestle outside Elmore lies within the town of Covel, situated 8 miles east of Mullens. Covel was constructed when the Virginian was built and new mines opened, becoming a town for the miners and railroad workers to reside. Although the community used to be a booming place, nothing more remains other than a post office and several houses beneath the viaduct. An old mine used to occupy the hillside behind the structure, but has since been abandoned and vegetation has taken its toll.

A snowy trackside view perched above the town of Covel yields to the passing of westbound empties returning from the coal fields behind a set of AC motors on the descent to Elmore. The train battles fleeting conditions as snow piles up and gets deeper and deeper while descending the hill from Clark's Gap. The train will soon arrive at Elmore and the crew on board will tie it down just east of the yard office.

On a stunningly beautiful Autumn afternoon, train U86 grinds uphill across the town of Covel, permeating the air with engines in notch 8 struggling to keep the train of 100 loads rolling uphill. EMDX 2012 makes a surprise visit to the former Virginian, as it proudly leads the train eastbound toward Princeton. Scenes like this show why I love the area so much. The impressive viaducts and the sound of trains on their knees climbing the grade just makes me want to go back again and again!

Garwood, W.Va.; Virginian milepost 365:

The next impressive viaduct and first tunnel east of Elmore lie within the little community of Garwood, which is situated roughly 9 miles east of town. Garwood is smaller than Covel, just a couple of houses and a sign denoting the small area is all that would make one aware of it. The viaduct itself is 720 feet long and is one of the few that still has catenary poles intact, making it a place that still screams "Virginian."

With gorgeous autumn colors popping, thus making the hillside behind the trestle appear "on fire," train U86 roars eastbound across the curved viaduct while assaulting the hill with roughly 100 loads in tow. Three C40-9Ws working on the head end permeate the surrounding valley with a sound that is heard several times daily, engines in notch 8 climbing the hill and flanges squealing when the train enters the tight curve in the middle of the structure. Tunnel No. 9 is beneath me, and I remember the ground shook violently as the train penetrated the hill below my feet.

Several minutes later as they slowly approach my location, the helper locomotives begin permeating the surrounding valley with their sound. Soon, a trio of GEVOs (operating as J92) in notch 8 emerge from the woods and start across the massive structure. Norfolk Southern's Interstate heritage locomotive makes a surprise visit making the already colorful scene even more so; also note the fallen leaves in the coal hoppers.

Micajah, W.Va.; Virginian milepost 362.8:

The old town of Micajah is situated about 1 1/2 miles west of the top of Clark's Gap Grade at CP Algonquin. Once an actual community and prosperous town, the hamlet seemingly disappeared and was lost in time back in the ’40s or ’50s. Nothing remains today at the site other than a lengthy viaduct and Tunnel No. 12 situated on the west side. The location is only accessed by a long walk and/or an ATV. There is a plethora of ATV trails and roads throughout the hills surrounding this location, but it is challenging to find the one that actually leads from the highway to this spot!

On a chilly January afternoon, train U86 emerges eastbound from Tunnel No. 12 and crosses over what used to be downtown Micajah with a trio of horses commanding the train. Three ES44ACs are shoving hard on the rear of the move, but even with all the horsepower, the train is currently moving at just a "fast walk." After the train tops the hill just ahead, it will stop at CP Clark's Gap to fill out to around 160 loads (equivalent to 21,000-23,000 tns), before proceeding toward Princeton. I could hear the two EMDs on the head end for a solid 20-30 minutes before they reached my location; this is definitely mountain railroading at its best!

Weyanoke, W.Va.; Virginian milepost 358.1:

Weyanoke is small community situated just west of Matoaka, W.Va., that hosts nothing more than several old buildings along with a small neighborhood of houses. Weyanoke also marks the top of the westbound assault from Rock, W.Va. Eastbounds have officially topped Clark's Gap grade at this point and are on a complete downhill run into Matoaka. Weyanoke is also the beginning of a 4-mile stretch of double-track that runs westward to CP Algonquin along with the small Clark's Gap yard where "hill runs" often leave their loads.

A duo of old standard cab EMDs puff out some exhaust while climbing the final leg of their westbound assault from Rock, as they come past the Virginian searchlight signals at Weyanoke with hopper train U89 in tow. Since this photo was taken on Sept. 1, 2012, the searchlights have fallen to new Safetran signals. The changing of the guard took place Dec. 3, the sad day another Virginian relic fell.

Conclusion

The magnificent trestles and scenery along with intriguing history make the Virginian my all-time favorite place to railfan. Even though traffic can be sporadic, just witnessing one train climbing the hill to Clark's Gap and passing through some of these pictured locations make the trip and time totally worth it.

After exploring this railroad last year, I know I will have an affinity for this area the rest of my life. The urge to return to the P-D is constant, and I am always itching to get back. Thanks for joining me on this tour of what once was the amazing Virginian Railway.

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed the read and photos. Please leave your feedback in the comment section below.

Inside the Barriger Library: When the government took over the TP&W

Nicholas Fry — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:42:00 GMT

[caption image="http://cs.trains.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-07-48/3618.TPW-photo.jpg" position="right"]John Barriger’s World War II diary, his draft report on his management of the TP&W for the Office of Defense Transportation, and two files on the railroad from his papers. Photo by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library/St. Louis Mercantile Library[/caption]

For the past few years I’ve been researching railroads of Pittsburgh, Pa. When I moved to my new job at the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library in St. Louis, I found myself with direct access to a collection of materials directly related to my research. John W. Barriger III was the former President of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad and his papers contain a wealth of information about that company and its operations. However, I wanted to know more about certain decisions made while he was president, so I decided to pull his diaries in from our off-site storage facility. After reviewing the items for the time period when he was running the P&LE, I idly started poking through other items in the box and discovered that Mr. Barriger had had his World War II-era diary transcribed. On a whim, I opened it up and learned about an event in railroad history that I had never heard of: the federal takeover of the Toledo, Peoria & Western.

Barriger was appointed federal manager of the Toledo, Peoria and Western for 6 months in 1942. He had been working at the Office of Defense Transportation for just a few months when he was sent to the TP&W. The railroad was a small bridge line that linked Western and Eastern trunk lines using its bypass around Chicago. Cars routed this way could save 24 hours of travel time by avoiding Chicago’s yards and interchanges. The government had taken over the TP&W because of the prolonged labor strife between workers and the railroad’s owner, George P. McNear. The crux of the dispute involved work rules for road crews. McNear wanted them to work for 8 hours, regardless of whether or not they had covered their 100 miles. The labor unions wanted the same deal they had with other railroads: 100 miles OR 8 hours of work, whichever came first.

The conflict continued despite the outbreak of World War II, and thus what normally would have been a nuisance labor issue became a threat to the war effort, at least as far as the Roosevelt Administration was concerned. The government took over the railroad to keep traffic flowing. Barriger ended a strike and returned operations to normal. Although Barriger left in 1943, the government kept the TP&W until October 1945, when McNear (who consistently and vocally criticized the takeover throughout the war) successfully won a lawsuit against the government contesting its seizure of his railroad. (Two years later, amid more labor strife on the railroad, McNear was shot and killed. His shooter was never found.) I had no idea any of this had happened until I came across Barriger’s diary from World War II. That led me to his files on the TP&W and a wealth of information on the event, Mr. Barriger’s role in it, and the aftermath.

The details of the story are fascinating and it was just waiting for me to find at the Barriger Library. We’ve got more stories to tell and hopefully you’ll enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoy discovering them.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: One reporter’s journey to Milwaukee and back

Steven M. Sweeney — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:55:00 GMT

Chicago Union Station. Steve Sweeney

For a recent business trip to Milwaukee I had to fly to make connections, meet the bosses and get a good night’s sleep before the scheduled all-day meetings. On the way home, however, I consciously chose Amtrak as a return route. It’s the first time in years that America’s passenger railroad and its once-daily eastbound Lakeshore Limited fit into my scheduled return trip to Erie, Pa.

Erie, Pa., 5:30 p.m. February 27:
At the airport. My wife left me here around 2:30 p.m. because I refused to tag-along on an extended bargain-grabbing tour at Target. We exchanged affections and I promised her, that, “No, I don’t need anything,” and, “Yes, I will be happy with my Kindle reader.” By 5 p.m., I was through security screening and waiting to board a Detroit-bound regional jet. “Attention passengers on (airline withheld) Connections 5:45 flight to Detroit. There is a ground-delay in Detroit and we will be boarding in half an hour.” Whatever, more time with the Kindle (A Game of Thrones 3% complete).

6:20 p.m., runway at Erie airport:
We’re loaded, de-iced and ready to rock and roll.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” called a warm friendly flight attendant. “We missed our take-off window for Detroit and we’ll be waiting for the next opportunity. In the meantime, we will be offering a service and the captain has agreed to comp all drinks.” Open bar! I took a ginger ale and peanuts. The back of the plane took enough alcohol to change grumbling whispers into overloud talk about vacations and Las Vegas.

7:30 p.m. Detroit Airport, Gate C-39:
We took-off from Erie about 6:45 and made a quick trip over Lake Erie to the Motor City where we found snow squalls galore upon landing. Thank heavens I carried only my overnight bag and a camera for I had 20 minutes to find the connecting flight to Milwaukee, which was mysteriously “On-Time.”

A quick glance at an arrival board told me that the plane would depart from Gate B21 – a half-running, panting, sweating and red-faced journey to the other side of the terminal.

8:00 p.m. runway at Detroit Airport:
Phew! Made it. With a seat next to an emergency escape exit. A curt flight attendant approaches.

“Sir, I need verbal confirmation that you are willing to accept responsibility for assisting us in an emergency if you sit in this aisle.” YES! I have legroom! So, in another regional jet scooting around the Detroit airport, we park underneath giant frost-covered cherry-picker trucks with fire hoses. De-icing commences. Five minutes go by, and nothing. Ten minutes more, and still nothing. Finally, we are de-iced. More nothing. Movement, then nothing. “This is just a reminder that the fasten seat belt sign is still on and we ask that you keep all portable electronic devices turned completely off.” No more Kindle.

8:30 p.m. Detroit runway:
“This is just a reminder that the fasten seat belt sign is still on and we ask that you keep all portable electronic devices turned completely off.” I think I heard this tune already.

9:00 p.m. Detroit runway:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain ‘Smith.’ There is a significant backup here for take-offs and landings. We are de-iced and finally in line for take-off. We’ll get you to Milwaukee as soon as possible.” Ugh. Still can’t read the darned Kindle. No wonder airport bookstores can sell so many paperbacks.

9:25 p.m. Detroit runway:
Snow is falling more quickly now. I think we’re just not going to make it tonight. And then ... the plane moves almost imperceptibly, then quickly. We swing around and stop. Sounds of full jet engine thrust fill the cabin and within 10 seconds we are airborne. Somewhere over Lake Michigan the time changed, so this should be 8:25 Central time.

9:30 p.m. CENTRAL Time, Milwaukee Airport:
I was supposed to arrive at 8 p.m. (Central) and go out to dinner. Now, even potato chips sound OK.

But there’s the rental car to get. Would you believe there is a line of four people at the same car service I chose and no line anywhere else? A boisterous, maybe overly friendly counter attendant took time to explain to every customer every option imaginable: “Extra insurance? Auto-fill up? You know, I see that you are a frequent guest with us, would you like me to see if I can find you an SUV? Yes? Great, let me go out back and double-check for you!” Miraculously, a self-check-in screen appeared in the corner of my eye. Woo-Hoo! Credit card ... um, hmmm. Yes. One day. No insurance. No extra stuff. PROCESSING.

Now, where is this hotel?

February 28, Milwaukee:
Breakfast, lunch, a day full with meetings, serious work and good natured ribbing. Mission accomplished. I returned the rental car and proceeded to the Amtrak shuttle near the Milwaukee airport.

5:22 p.m. Milwaukee Airport Amtrak depot:
The shuttle dropped me off at the intriguing almost mission-style depot with minutes to spare for a 5:45 p.m. departure on Amtrak’s Hiawatha to Chicago. A young professional gives me side-long stares. In five minutes, I quick-changed from a sport coat and slacks to jeans and a cotton twill shirt. I’m snapping pictures with my Nikon D40X, and looking every bit the railfan that I am.

5:40 p.m. Milwaukee Airport Amtrak depot:
There are about 30 of us out here on the platform and in the cold waiting for the train – all except the young professional who has a nose buried in her electronic device inside the warm depot. One-by-one, we wander back to the warmth and wait for a train horn sounding our rides’ arrival. I wander back too, seeing that it’s now too dark to get good free-hand shots. The train was delayed 30 minutes, but came after then, as expected. I saw the smartly dressed professional still sitting, moving only occasionally to find paperwork or a pen. “You’re the only smart one of us here,” I told her. Her self-satisfied grin told me I had done my good deed for the day.

6:15 p.m. On the Hiawatha:
Most everyone on this train is headed to Chicago. The beverage-and-snack cart goes by twice while I recline, yes recline, in my coach seat and read a recent TRAINS magazine. (I lost the Kindle at the hotel.) Most everyone else is contentedly thumbing a reading device, smartphone or clicking away at a laptop.

There’s some talking, some snacking but mostly quiet. A disk jockey gave his business card to a couple of Milwaukee college girls, offering them free passes to anywhere he’s playing the next time they are in his part of Chicago. Networking, the old-fashioned way.

7:01 p.m. On the Hiawatha near Chicago:
Signal towers here resemble horse-track starting gates in the nighttime glow of sparse yard lights. As Hiawatha slows, most of downtown Chicago comes into view: old neighborhoods, old storefronts, the Sears Tower and the Chicago River.
Cool.

7:45 p.m. Chicago Union Station:
I wandered the belly of Union Station, forgetting exactly where I was. Rush hour has long been over so half of the restaurants and fast-food counters down below were closing. I grabbed a quick chicken salad sandwich and bowl of soup, then searched for the gate where the Lakeshore Limited is schedule to leave at 9:30, returning me to Erie.

8:30 p.m. Great Hall at Union Station:
With my gate found, I wandered more, exploring the nooks and crannies looking for good places to take more photos. Of course, the station was quickly emptying for the evening and nothing shouted “train station” where I could also get people in my shots. The best photo ops would have made the great train depot resemble an escalator in a Macy’s department store, little more. So I wandered upstairs, turned and found the back entrance to a mostly empty restaurant and bar and turned again. “Oh. There it is.”

I’ve been to London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral and Vienna’s St. Stephen’s. Union Station’s Great Hall seems bigger. And to the left staircase, or the one on the right, was where filmmakers shot the final scenes for the Kevin Costner movie, The Untouchables. And there, the perfect shot for my trip home: A man sleeping on a bench in the Great Hall, but lined-up just so with the staircase. Sorry Detroit, this was a much better stop-over point.

9:30 p.m. On board the Lakeshore Limited:
This train is scheduled to leave at 9:30 p.m. With seconds to spare before 9:31, we are moving. No de-icing required. In 15 minutes, a young train crewman walks through my car offering disposable pillows to anyone who wants one. In one hour I’ve read half of the Trains magazine I took with me and decided to take a few more notes. Time for a Heineken in the cafe car.

Somewhere between Cleveland and Erie. 6:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) March 1.:
My watch alarm woke me up. Darn. At least the cafe car is open with hot coffee. Daylight is breaking over the fields in these lakeside towns: Ashtabula, Ohio, Conneaut, State Line. Soon enough there are grape vineyards and familiar fields where local farmers grow strawberries in June. “The dining car is open, behind all the coaches and just ahead of sleepers. The dining car is open and ready for business.”

Too late for me today. It’s time for my personal countdown: Girard, Pa.; Fairview; Erie Airport; city limits; and finally downtown Erie.

7:28 a.m. Erie Union Station:
Erie’s station with its shared New York Central, Pennsylvania and Nickel Plate railroads heritage is not half as nice or big, or busy as Chicago’s depot, but is quaint in its own way. A minute on the platform, two minutes to walk through the station corridor and I’m out. Loading my duffle into a relative’s car. Now, time to dodge potholes all the way home.

Chasing NS' Norfolk & Western heritage unit across home rails

Samuel Phillips — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:53:00 GMT

Overview:

With Norfolk Southern’s announcement of Norfolk its 20 “heritage fleet” of new diesels in March 2012, I immediately thought, "I have to catch the N&W engine (NS 8103) on former N&W rails and the VGN unit (NS 1069) on former Virginian rails." Since I reside near some of the most well-known and famous sections of the former Norfolk & Western, I have an affinity for that railroad and anything related to it. Thus, catching the N&W heritage unit on home rails was high on my list.

After a few months of tracking the unit and having little success at capturing it, my day finally arrived on July 28, 2012, as No. 8103 led an eastbound coal train across home rails. It was a surprise encounter — I was not expecting its presence in the area, nor was I out hunting it, but after I saw it leading, the chase was on!

The chase: Willowtown, W.Va., to Salem, Va.

The day started out with blistering heat and abundant sunshine, along with the usual hazy conditions associated with summertime in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. Heavy NS traffic pounded the old Norfolk & Western Roanoke–Bluefield main line during the morning and early afternoon hours, as a mixture of time freights, intermodals, and coal trains constantly permeated the hollows of West Virginia.

Mid-afternoon gave way to an approaching line of severe thunderstorms and a major dip in traffic. As I began thinking about moving west, I heard the Princeton Deepwater District dispatcher — the old Virginian — give a train of eastbound loads permission to depart Princeton, W.Va., and be governed toward Roanoke on former Virginian rails. Hearing that, my gut told me to hang around and at least see what the power was before moving west, so I did.

As the train approached Oakvale, W.Va., a thunderstorm slammed the area with heavy rain. I decided to pass up shooting the train and settle for watching it go by, just to see the power. Soon, I heard the sound of full dynamic braking permeating the air as the loads, train No. 768, descended the 1.5% grade from Princeton, and then a headlight began shining through the thick fog. The train got closer, and I began to make out what appeared to be a deep blue color on the lead motor. "This can't be the N&W engine, can it?" I mumbled to myself. Sure enough, Norfolk & Western heritage 8103 paraded by my car in a heavy rain.

From this point on, all I could say was, "The chase is on!"

My first stop was the hamlet of Willowtown, W.Va., just east of the Christiansburg/Princeton Deepwater District junction. With light rain falling, 768 rounded a sharp turn and glided past a set of classic Norfolk & Western color position light signals. The milepost on the signal denoted 342 miles west of Norfolk, Va., via the old N&W main line. At this point, the whole train was off the Pocahontas Division and on the Virginia Division, with crew on board an inter-divisional one allowed to operate on both divisions. Sometimes, trains will stop at P-D Junction for a crew change when non inter-divisional crews are involved.

At Glen Lyn, Va., under a 10-mph speed restriction, 768 passed the massive trackside coal-burning power plant. A string of empty coal cars lined the main after being unloaded by the plant’s own switch engines.

Before the Norfolk & Western–Virginian merger of December 1, 1959, both roads served this power plant, though VGN did so from the hillside situated behind 768 and the plant itself. Directly behind me and timetable east, the Virginian crossed above the N&W and the New River on a massive steel bridge. When built in 1909, under the supervision of Colonel William Page, the viaduct was the world's largest bridge with concrete piers.

The segment of the former Virginian between Narrows and Kellysville was abandoned in the early 1970s, when the Virginia Department of Transportation acquired permission to construct route U.S. 460 on the railroad right-of-way. In return, the state provided N&W with money to build a connection from the Christiansburg District to the former Virginian at Narrows, and a connection between the P-D and Christiansburg Districts at Kellysville. Even 40 years after the abandonment, the old concrete piers still are visible at Glen Lyn as one looks across the New River.

Clearing the 10-mph slow order, the engineer on 8103 began notching out the throttle to get the heavy coal drag up to track speed, and soon the train was clipping along at 35 mph. Within 15 minutes, it would bear down on the quaint community of Narrows, Va., where I set up again to capture it.

Heavy rain had just cleared and a layer of fog hung on the top of the mountain as 768 roared into Narrows, where the beautiful mountains surrounding the scene all but “shout” this is “Norfolk & Western country.”

Eastbound coal, grain, ethanol, and heavy manifest trains usually hit the former Virginian at the Narrows connection because of the more gentle grades on the Whitethorne District, 0.6%. apposed to 1.6% on the old N&W. However, owing to trackwork, 768 kept to the former N&W all the way to Roanoke. This meant it would stop to attach a set of helpers at Walton, Va., at the bottom of Charleston Grade, near Christiansburg.

After completing a meet with westbound empty coal train No. 821, our coal loads proceeded east, popping out of the Pembroke, Va., tunnel, where picturesque cliffs loomed above the engine. The sun was finally beginning to come out as the line of thunderstorms exited the area.

In the 1960s and 70s, Norfolk & Western downgraded its infrastructure, one result being that the portion of the Christiansburg District between Walton and Pearisburg was single-tracked. Two exceptions are passing sidings at Pembroke and Belspring, Va., roughly 10 miles east. The rest of the district is double track.

At Milepost 295, just after stopping to acquire helper locomotives on the rear of the train, 768’s two big GE's on front throttle up to get moving up the 1.6% toward Christiansburg,. The old N&W coal dock made for an interesting backdrop as the train moves through the hamlet of Vicker, Va., in late-afternoon backlighting.

Beautiful late afternoon light illuminated the picturesque valley of Shawsville, Va., as 768 dropped down the eastern slope of Christiansburg Mountain, the engines whining in full dynamic braking mode. A curve just behind me marks the steepest part of the westbound assault from Elliston to Christiansburg. If a westbound is going to stall out, it will do so here.

My last stop was in the beautiful community of Wabun, just west of Roanoke. The sun was beginning to set behind the hills and the towering mountain behind the train caught the last rays of light as 768 eased through another slow order just outside Salem. Another 20 minutes later, the train will be in Roanoke, where this crew will be relieved by another. This crew had been on duty for 10 hours now, and will have put in a full day of work before stepping off the lead motor.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my second blog. Be sure to check back next month for another installment, and leave your feedback about this one in the comment section below. – Samuel Phillips