mudchicken http://www.stb.dot.gov/newsrels.nsf/WEBUNID/67B0EC7439DD13AF8525794C005BEC45?OpenDocument Move over Shelocta, PA ...Looks like R J Corman is looking at seriously going ahead with building 20 miles on new railroad, Wallaceton-Goreton, PA for a waste to energy plant, reviving a long dead railroad line and connecting to another line that they want to pull out of railbanked status. Might be fun to watch. ex-NYC Beech Creek line?
Move over Shelocta, PA ...Looks like R J Corman is looking at seriously going ahead with building 20 miles on new railroad, Wallaceton-Goreton, PA for a waste to energy plant, reviving a long dead railroad line and connecting to another line that they want to pull out of railbanked status. Might be fun to watch.
ex-NYC Beech Creek line?
Actually, the suspicion is that the prime use will be for rail-borne trash from New York City to a landfill - which was confirmed by the STB report (thanks much for that link, too !) - and a quarry, as well as perhaps some drilling supplies for 'fracking' the Marcellus Shale in the region to recover natural gas, etc.
The 'fun' will be in 2 parts: 1) watching the reconstruction of the rail line, and 2) watching the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the trail advocates who claim the sky will be falling from this restoration of service. As to a claim of loss of history for the Moshannon viaduct and the tunnel, I liked the STB's response, which was essentially: "Their history is being best preserved by returning back to their original use for an active rail line" (with a couple of conditions added to preserve the tunnel portal appearance, etc.).
WIll have to try and get up that way to see it in person after the holidays (and rifle season for deer up there, too !).
- Paul North.
CNW 6000 Jim - I did it again today. Driving in to work I caught M342, A446 and Q199 in about 30 minutes. Then, after work just caught M391 and A491. Total time "trackside" was about 45 minutes (total) for 5 trains. It sounded like about 4 went past in the four hours I was at work today.
Jim - I did it again today. Driving in to work I caught M342, A446 and Q199 in about 30 minutes. Then, after work just caught M391 and A491. Total time "trackside" was about 45 minutes (total) for 5 trains. It sounded like about 4 went past in the four hours I was at work today.
CNW6000 Thanks Carl. The Adams Sub (between Butler Yard and Adams, WI) is one that's baffled me for a while...finally got a chance to start to figure things out. Give me a few more weekends on there and I'll have times, etc down pretty well.
Thanks Carl. The Adams Sub (between Butler Yard and Adams, WI) is one that's baffled me for a while...finally got a chance to start to figure things out. Give me a few more weekends on there and I'll have times, etc down pretty well.
Flickr link
Nice shots, Jim, and nice scenery (breezy day!)! That isn't the Wisconsin River, is it? (I know the railroad crosses the river somewhere west of Adams, but the Adams Sub just goes from BJ to Adams.)
The pictures are, in a way, somewhat depressing--that truncated bridge looks sad. Regardless of how technology has changed, the fact remains that this line was reduced from two tracks to one...there was once more up there. And we know it was better at one time, with ABS, ATS, and at least 60-m.p.h. speed limits.
____________
I'm still trying to get a good cell-phone video of a UP train using the new crossovers in Lombard. Came close today, but was on the wrong side of the tracks to really show it. Today's attempt was with a loaded EDGX coal train that blew through. My video shows just how fast it was going--now I need one of my tech-savvy daughters (or sons-in-law...or grandchildren!) to show me how to upload it here.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Last night I pulled up Google Maps and followed the Adams sub from Butler all the way through Adams and across the Wisconsin River using the satellite view. I came across two or three bridges that were obvious reductions from two tracks to one similar to what's shown in the photos, including the Wisconsin River one, but none of them seemed to match up with this one's configuration. The Wisconsin River bridge has only the south track remaining, but the rail line curves to the north after crossing the bridge, and these pictures show tangent track running for a ways beyond the bridge.
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
blhanel Last night I pulled up Google Maps and followed the Adams sub from Butler all the way through Adams and across the Wisconsin River using the satellite view. I came across two or three bridges that were obvious reductions from two tracks to one similar to what's shown in the photos, including the Wisconsin River one, but none of them seemed to match up with this one's configuration. The Wisconsin River bridge has only the south track remaining, but the rail line curves to the north after crossing the bridge, and these pictures show tangent track running for a ways beyond the bridge.
And yes, Carl, those photos sure do show how the railroad's presence has diminished over the years. Indeed, if one looks at a map of Wisconsin railroads from the 1920's or so, and then compares it with present lines, it is quite amazing to see all the state has lost. It looked as though in the old days, one could get just about anywhere by rail, as long as one wasn't in a hurry.
zardoz And yes, Carl, those photos sure do show how the railroad's presence has diminished over the years. Indeed, if one looks at a map of Wisconsin railroads from the 1920's or so, and then compares it with present lines, it is quite amazing to see all the state has lost. It looked as though in the old days, one could get just about anywhere by rail, as long as one wasn't in a hurry.
Don't I know it, Jim! You got me to thinking about the classifications we used to make at Proviso for points north (and northwest) when I hired out:
--Harvard, Janesville, Madison
--Waukegan, Kenosha, Cudahy, National Avenue,
--Bain, Mitchell Yard, Butler
--Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Green Bay
--Fond du Lac, Fox River Valley
--Adams, Altoona
In addition, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Crawford, SD, were handled by Yard 1.
(Each of those names was a separate classification; I just grouped them according to the lines they were on.)
So, what northbound classifications did we have when I left?
Janesville, Waukegan, Butler, Adams, and South St. Paul.
So I bought myself a 2 gallon air compressor. Didn't really need one, but it was on clearance at the local big box hardware store. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but maybe I'll buy myself an airbursh for Christmas.
*** impulse buys..
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmann So I bought myself a 2 gallon air compressor. Didn't really need one, but it was on clearance at the local big box hardware store. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but maybe I'll buy myself an airbursh for Christmas. *** impulse buys..
Spray-paint over graffiti on railcars . . .
Recharge air lines on spotted railcars at random . . .
Help a crew with pumping up their train to perform an Initial Terminal Air Test in the winter . . .
Drive around and pump up any flat tires you find on the cars of little old ladies and cute young girls . . .
Blow snow out of flangeways and switches . . .
Hook it up to a diesel loco horn and put in all in the bed of your pickup - or leave it in the garage until the urge strikes to get revenge on noisy neighbors, or to celebrate New Years . . .
Paul_D_North_Jr Spray-paint over graffiti on railcars . . . Recharge air lines on spotted railcars at random . . . Help a crew with pumping up their train to perform an Initial Terminal Air Test in the winter . . . Drive around and pump up any flat tires you find on the cars of little old ladies and cute young girls . . . Blow snow out of flangeways and switches . . . Hook it up to a diesel loco horn and put in all in the bed of your pickup - or leave it in the garage until the urge strikes to get revenge on noisy neighbors, or to celebrate New Years . . . - Paul North.
Hmm... I don't think this is the best one for any of those (except the tire one...)
CShaveRR You got me to thinking about the classifications we used to make at Proviso for points north (and northwest) when I hired out: --Harvard, Janesville, Madison --Waukegan, Kenosha, Cudahy, National Avenue, --Bain, Mitchell Yard, Butler --Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Green Bay --Fond du Lac, Fox River Valley --Adams, Altoona In addition, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Crawford, SD, were handled by Yard 1. (Each of those names was a separate classification; I just grouped them according to the lines they were on.) So, what northbound classifications did we have when I left? Janesville, Waukegan, Butler, Adams, and South St. Paul.
You got me to thinking about the classifications we used to make at Proviso for points north (and northwest) when I hired out:
Trains 297/298 to Fond du Lac295/296 to Fond du Lac291/292 to Green Bay405/480 to Adams415/490 to Itaska477/488 to Minneapolis"A" Train to Janesville"B" Train to Janesville595/596 to Madison597/598 to MadisonDaily extra 289 to Butler, making all the stops.
I know there were lots more, but right now I can't remember them.
zugmann So I bought myself a 2 gallon air compressor. Didn't really need one, but it was on clearance at the local big box hardware store. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but maybe I'll buy myself an airbrush for Christmas.
So I bought myself a 2 gallon air compressor. Didn't really need one, but it was on clearance at the local big box hardware store. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but maybe I'll buy myself an airbrush for Christmas.
I got a similar compressor because I wanted one. It came with a brad/staple gun. Well, OK, since it came with it, but I really wasn't looking for it, and figured I'd rarely use it.
I've gone through several packages of both brads and staples....
Who knew?
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Jim, 291 and 292 were the "Cudahy Turn".
293 and 294 were the "Bain Turn".
You got the Green Bay-via-Fond du Lac numbers right 295, 296, 297, and 298. I used to like 298, because it carried run-through blocks--ore from Black River Falls, autos from Bain, and manifest cars--all for the PC.
The Green Bay trains (via the Lakeshore) were 187 (later 181)/180 and 183/182.
It was 495, not 405, and it went beyond Adams all the way to Rapid City...482 was the return trip.
The Madison trains also served Janesville...at varying times there were two or three runs; perhaps only one went as far as Madison. Westbounds were 591 and 597, with the addition of 595. I think the eastbounds were 594, 596, and 598.
The Twin Cities were served by 477/488 and 483/490.
Itasca/"Head-o-Lakes" was served by 417/406, later supplemented by 415/408.
So Butler had seven runs in each direction (not counting the Fond du Lac trains, which ran through). I never got to Fond du Lac, or Janesville, but Butler used to be very familiar to me. They didn't start running through to Adams until after I got off the extra board and quit getting calls for road runs.
Aphorism/ folk saying about human nature from many years ago:
"To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." . . .
You can see the parallel, I'm sure.
zardoz CNW 6000: Jim - I did it again today. Driving in to work I caught M342, A446 and Q199 in about 30 minutes. Then, after work just caught M391 and A491. Total time "trackside" was about 45 minutes (total) for 5 trains. It sounded like about 4 went past in the four hours I was at work today. Amazing; just amazing. CNW6000: Thanks Carl. The Adams Sub (between Butler Yard and Adams, WI) is one that's baffled me for a while...finally got a chance to start to figure things out. Give me a few more weekends on there and I'll have times, etc down pretty well. Dan, maybe you will someday be able to tell me where on the Adams sub these were shot:
CNW 6000: Jim - I did it again today. Driving in to work I caught M342, A446 and Q199 in about 30 minutes. Then, after work just caught M391 and A491. Total time "trackside" was about 45 minutes (total) for 5 trains. It sounded like about 4 went past in the four hours I was at work today.
CNW6000: Thanks Carl. The Adams Sub (between Butler Yard and Adams, WI) is one that's baffled me for a while...finally got a chance to start to figure things out. Give me a few more weekends on there and I'll have times, etc down pretty well.
Thanks Jim. I'm going to say eastbound over Buffalo Lake.
Dan
CNW 6000 I'm going to say eastbound over Buffalo Lake.
Carl, obviously your memory has survived much better than mine; thanks for the refresher course.
Saw on a Canadian forum that CP has been hauling old Geeps through Calgary out to Vancouver for scrapping. The units started out as GP7's or 9's, and were rebuilt to become GP9u's in the 70's and 80's. They have been taking them a couple at a time D-I-T in the consists of grain trains. Each unit separated from other units by a couple of loaded grain hoppers.
Seems like you can't get more than 55-60 years out of a good engine anymore.
Wishing everyone in the Lounge a Happy (US) Thanksgiving.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
zardoz CNW 6000: I'm going to say eastbound over Buffalo Lake. From what I can determine from Google Maps, I do believe you are correct. Very Good!! Carl, obviously your memory has survived much better than mine; thanks for the refresher course.
CNW 6000: I'm going to say eastbound over Buffalo Lake.
AgentKid Wishing everyone in the Lounge a Happy (US) Thanksgiving. Bruce
Thanks for the good wishes Bruce, and I echo them back out to everyone myself!
I have a question, prompted by my recent trek through the BNSF 2012 calendar, actually the March photo of, "An intermodal train passing a carload train as it rounds an outcropping on the new main line at Abo Canyon, NM." photo by David Miller
Question is: How sharp of a curve can a train successfully navigate? These look much sharper than I would have guessed was safe, SO I'm thinking something very different than my thought process goes into this.
Does it depend at all on terrain, or just which Class(es) RR operate over it, or what types of trains pass (weight, speed, etc), or...? Thanks, as always.
Nance-CCABW/LEI
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” --Will Rogers
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right! --unknown
Nance, I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable, too!
I don't have this BNSF calendar, but the only thing I can think of is that the curve was probably "compressed" by a telephoto lens. I'm sure the new line doesn't have much in it to severely restrict train speeds.
I'm sure that somewhere we've had a thread about the sharpest mainline curves to be found; I know that the C&O has a wickedly-sharp one on its main line at Hawk's Nest, West Virginia, that is regularly negotiated by everything from passenger trains to monster coal drags.
As you can imagine, the curves have to be able to handle six-axle locomotives without a problem. Many industrial spurs still are restricted to four-axle locomotives. The sharpness of the curve will dictate the maximum speed that trains can operate over it. Superelevation (banking) of these curves increases the maximum speed, but the superelevation often has been reduced in recent years because trains going slower than the permissible speed can damage the lower (inside) rails. That curve on the old C&O probably has a 25-mph or lower speed limit. UP has some 50-mph reverse curves on the main line between Glen Ellyn and Wheaton; it was a failure to maintain trackage properly on these curves that led to the infamous Glen Ellyn wreck in 1976.
I'm sure Sir Mudchicken could say something about the relationship between the sharpness of the curve, the amount of superelevation, and the authorized speed limits that are considered acceptable.
"Jobs go unfilled" (RR-related)
Unfortunately you can't see the whole story without having a WSJ subscription, but fox news has a good chunk of it on their site (otherwise I'd give it its own topic):
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/26/help-wanted-in-unexpected-twist-some-skilled-jobs-go-unfilled/
Thoughts?
....No question....Future and current employment requires education / skills to fill available jobs now and more so, in the future.
It certainly looks like our education system in our country has fallen behind many others in the free world. Somehow, we must overcome that.
Hopefully, that will be corrected soon....
Quentin
I think the "problem", if it's perceived as such, is in that "winnowing" process. I'm not faulting the company for attempting to weed out employees with drug use, criminal backgrounds, citizenship problems, and a basic grasp of the stuff they should have learned by graduation. I think the poor lady's expectations were too high, especially if those prospects got wind of something about the job that wasn't so great to a normal human being. We railroaders are a breed apart, for sure!
The reader comments on the fox news site are just generic political tripe. Plus 50,000 "kids today!" posts from old geezers that forget that they once were new and had no experience.
On the other hand, the comments on the Wall St. Journal site are much more interesting and thought-provoking (well, most of them):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577010080035955166.html
PS. I hope mudchicken chimes in on this...
This came from Railway Track and Structures magazine. It's good news for the old Michigan Central main line east of Kalamazoo, which Norfolk Southern has downgraded in spite of the fact that Amtrak uses it.
It's great to hear that the work will start this coming spring, but I honestly don't know when we'll see the line they're envisioning, with 110 mph from Porter to Dearborn, nice, new cars and locomotives, and good, safe track to ride on. I want to be around for it...
Along these lines, has anyone heard more about whether the ATCS was placed in service from Kalamazoo all the way to Porter, Indiana, as planned this fall? It was supposed to happen around the beginning of this month, but I've heard nothing. Until this summer, it had been 95 mph from Kalamazoo to Niles only, but it was supposed to be extended to Porter and the speed increased (perhaps incrementally) to 110.
Michigan receives $150 million to expand HSR in Midwest Wednesday, November 23, 2011The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $150 million to the Michigan Department of Transportation for a high-speed rail project that will increase the safety and reliability of Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago and put more than 800 Americans back to work this spring.The grant will enable MDOT to acquire ownership over much of the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac High Speed Rail Corridor within the state of Michigan and pave the way for them to begin a track and signal improvement project between Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich., in the spring of 2012. These improvements will allow for speeds up to 110 mph on 77 percent of Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago, resulting in a 30 minute reduction in travel times between those destinations.Previously announced FRA investments in the line include new continuously welded rail and ties, fiber optic lines and infrastructure to support a positive train control system, rebuilding 180 highway-rail grade crossings and gates and flashers at 65 private highway-rail grade crossings. The corridor will also benefit from next-generation American-made trains, funded as part of a previously announced $782 million grant that will pump new life into domestic manufacturing. States will purchase 33 quick-acceleration locomotives and 120 bi-level passenger cars to operate in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, California, Washington and Oregon.
Carl again...another thing I'd like to see here would be a connection between the Amtrak line and CSX at New Buffalo. It might not be worth it for just one round trip, but such a connection would give the Pere Marquettes access to the current Amtrak station at New Buffalo, and just a bit of high-speed running between there and Porter. That's already Amtrak's railroad, so traffic density shouldn't be a problem. The two lines cross at a grade separation just north of New Buffalo now.
CShaveRR I'm not faulting the company for attempting to weed out employees with drug use, criminal backgrounds, citizenship problems, and a basic grasp of the stuff they should have learned by graduation.
I'm not faulting the company for attempting to weed out employees with drug use, criminal backgrounds, citizenship problems, and a basic grasp of the stuff they should have learned by graduation.
Hey Carl, on that derailmaent post for NS near Horseshoe Curve you wrote:
"Rumor says stringlining was the culprit; no pushers."
Will you pls explain that term, as it is new to me. Thanks!
(I'm asking here, as I hope I'm not the only Lounge reader-not necessarily poster--who does not know!!)
Nance, draw a line somewhere...not a straight line, something with even gentle curves. Now take a piece of string, and, while holding one end of the string, try and trace the line and see whether the entire string follows the line. It will probably straighten out and attempt to cut off some of the curves. That would happen to a train, too, save for the flanges holding it to the course of the track. And sometimes the forces can overcome that little bit of flange, particularly when the cars on the curve are lighter than on the ends, or something is holding back one end when the other's trying to move.
First, check out this crossing video from the Netherlands. You only have to watch the first 10 seconds or so:
http://youtu.be/LRmV9V1EKt0
Is it just me, or does it sound awfully familiar?
http://youtu.be/gqg3l3r_DRI
I think it's kind of cool....
You know, when I was watching the first one, I kinda thought the crossing bell and alternating flashing lights were a little fast-paced by US standards . . . but I couldn't figure out what you wanted us to notice, other than maybe no horn from the train (Dutch version of a "Quiet Zone" crossing ?) . . .
But then about 10 seconds into the second one I could hear the similar pattern right away !
Don't know that I'd of made the connection without the hint - but you've either got a good ear for sound patterns, you listen to certain music too much, or "You need to get a life" . . .
You do that often ? Ever with US railroad sounds ? What similarities might you hear in a GE loco's burbling ? The clatter of wheels over rail joints ? Did you ever play the drums or study percussion instruments in school ?
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