Jersey Mike's Rail Adventures

I can't speak for everyone, but the novelty of riding the same historic subway cars over the same route year after year has its limits. This is why my new policy is to pair my quasi-annual nostalgia train excursion with something else in the NYC metro area. Two years ago I had some success visiting some LIRR signals in Queens and this year I settled on a little walking tour of Sunnyside Yard via the Honeywell Bridge.

The weather wasn't super cooperative, but that's December for you. You can see the entire set of photos here.

The early morning fog was making things a little Erie at the Trenton Transportation Center after connecting from a RiverLINE parking shuttle. The circling murder of crows only added to the unnerving atmosphere. At least the signals were putting on a show.

R1/9 #100 sitting at Second Ave. About 5 minutes prior a surly NYCTA employee, angry I would not tell him "what I was looking at" (answer, 5 FTE's sitting around getting paid to do nothing on a Sunday morning) told me that the holiday train had been canceled. Yeah, fuck you too buddy.

The success of the holiday Nostalgia Train program is undeniable, however the increasing popularity has pushed out the original fans in favor of yuppies and hipsters who wouldn't be able to tell an R1 from an R9 if one trapped them in the doors and dragged them along the platform. The only way to get a halfway descent ride is to show up for the first run and even then the train quickly went SRO.

To avoid the crush at the railfan window, this year I employed my GoPro to stand there for me. Videos to follow in an additional post.

#100 at Queens Plaza waiting on its Diverging Approach Restricting signal.

R1/9 #401 getting the flash treatment at 2nd Ave.

BMT Triplex #6112 was on hand as a popup Transit Museum annex.

Articulations allow subway performers and beggars to pass easily between cars. The experiment was not repeated in an effort to keep the population under control.

Workin the doors the old fashioned way at Queens Plaza.

Unoccupied interlocking tower at Queens Plaza with a 1930's vintage GRS Model 5 interlocking machine.

Train of R188s passing through 74th St on the (7).

Evidence of the re-signaling project now under way.

Here we see the old HAROLD tower and the Sunnyside Yard car washer. The washer is actually not a new innovation, its construction dating back to the PRR. Note the ancient tank car that stores some of the wash fluid.

Actually managed to catch the arriving Amtrak Silver Meteor trainset heading through the washer with Amtrak ACS-86 #637.

I got some video of the process as well.

LIRR M7 #7457 clunking through HAROLD interlocking, currently under reconstruction for the ESA Boondoggle.

Things were all quiet in Sundayside Yard, but the lack of traffic opened up some photo angles.

ACS-86 #621 was lined to depart at the head of Train 19, the Crescent.

Amtrak #621 departing through Q interlocking with Train 19. Note how it passes 5 Slow Approach signals in a row. This is due to the classic interlocking logic in the 1911 US&S electro-pneumatic interlocking machine still serving in Q tower.

NJT Comet V #6060 standing along side Amtrak AX power car #2016.

NJT ALP-45 #4525.

I remember those photos showing this track full of GG1's. Now it's just a trio of ACS-86's #631, 608 and 609.

R interlocking and the SSY HST maintenance facility.

Remember Amtrak #621 and the Train 19 set I caught departing Sunnyside Yard? Well I managed to beat it to Trenton using NJT :-)

Train 19 departing Trenton on a Limited Clear.

RiverLINE parking shuttle #3520B departing Bordentown.

Well that's all for the photos. Check in next week for the video segment.

In September 2015 I sent one of my operatives to Europe with instructions to take rail photos along his travels to London, Barcelona, Prague and Vienna. While I can't say I was necessarily impressed with the quantity of material that was returned (how do you miss seeing trams in Prague!) it was better than nothing. So anyway, let's dive right in. You can see the full set of pictures here.

We start with a train of Thameslink Class 337 Electrostar MU's waiting to depart the Blackfriars station in central London.

Here we see a National Express Class 357 MU commuter train passing alongside the Docklands Light Rail tracks in east London.

The DLR Canary Wharf station.

The commuter rail station at the Barcelona Airport only has a single track, but the airport is also served by the Metro.

The Aeri de Montserrat cable car is the most direct way for someone to reach the monestaries on that particular mountain.

After the cable car, those not needing a cardio workout can use two funiculars to reach the attractions. The lower one, Funicular de la Santa Cova features a curved track.

Power house and info board for the Funicular de la Santa Cova.

Above that is the more conventional Funicular de Sant Joan.

If the cable car isn't your thing, there is also a winding rack railway that runs to the base of the funiculars.

Switch showing the rack and peanut system.

Both the rack railway and the cable car connect with the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya metre gauge regional rail system's Llobregat–Anoia Line. Here an inbound train of MUs arrives at the Montserrat Aeri station. The regular Spanish rail network uses the 5'6" Iberian Gauge.

OBB train at Vienna's Westbanhof.

Clear signal indication at Vienna's Meidling Bahnhof.

Arriving commuter train at the Meidling Bahnhof.

Locomotive hauled train about to pass a signal displaying Medium Approach Medium.

Back to the UK we find an East Midlands Trains Class 43 locomotive passing through the Harpenden commuter rail station.

Here we see a Thameslink train pulling past a banner repeater signal at an unknown station in the London area. These signals are an LED version of a mechanical design that was intended to look distinct from non-repeating blade or disc semaphore signals.

Of course no rail photo tour of Europe would be complete without a picture of high speed trains and these Eurostar trainsets sitting at London's Saint Pancras station.

Next week we will resume our regular programming with a trip to Elkton, MD and a few other random places.

This was another SEPTA Mid-Winter milestone year with the event now in its XVth iteration. The focus this year was on the R3 West Chester/Trenton and the Rts 101/102 Suburban trolleys. Due to issues with using the day pass to West Trenton, the trip started with an R3 run out to Neshaminy where one could quickly catch the return train. Instead of proceeding back to Center City we next alighted at Fern Rock for the traditional Broad Street Line express run to 30th St (via the MFL) in order to catch another R3 out to Media. From there it was time for lunch followed by a cross county Rt 101/102 trip utilizing a transfer at Drexel Hill Jct. After a walking transfer, the planned photo shoot at the Sharon Hill R2 station was a bit underwhelming, but this was made up for by a few minutes at Temple University.

Attendance was about 15 persons of all ages and I want to thank everyone for coming. All of my photos for the event can be found right here.

The trip started off well enough with me not botching the inbound PATCO express run video. Last year my GoPro was a new purchase and I still didn't have the hang of its minimalist interface and various quirks. This year I've finally managed to get a handle on the little beastie.

We begin the official part of the trip on the Reading Viaduct with SEPTA AEM-7 #2303 returning as a deadhead through downtown, possibly en-route to Frazier for maintenance. I had previously seen this trainset at Market East discharging its revenue passengers in time for work. Note the mismatched numberboards.

Another returning deadhead set of SL-IV's with #388 in the lead near North Broad.

Not every trainset would need to be reshuffled. As usual there was a conga line of trains waiting to get into Roberts Yard at HUNT interlocking.

SEPTA SL-IV #164 processing over the double slip switches at HUNT.

SL-IV #102 at Wayne Jct.

Freight action on the Trenton Line representing three of the big four American railroads headed up by CSX ES44AC #3173 teamed with a BNSF GE and NS EMD towing a unit crude oil train. This train has just come off the New York Short Line and will descend the grade down to CP-NICE where it will then head to South Jersey via CP-PARK.

AEM-7 #2305 sitting on the third track at Fern Rock waiting its afternoon call to action. Behind it is the only operating ALP-44 #2308 attached to its trainset.

The spike of railfans alighting from SL-V #869 at Neshaminy.

SL-V #702 pulling away from the Neshaminy station. This was the site of the old NESH interlocking where the New York Short Line freight bypass that previously departed the passenger route at Newtown Jct, rejoins. Throughout the Reading era the line between here and Yardley consisted of 4 tracks to accomidate the combined passenger and freight traffic. Before 1994 the SEPTA and Conrail tracks were seperated to Woodbourne and just this past summer they were seperated all the way to West Trenton.

Group photo time! Those who attended from the start of the trip got the best sunlight.

Inbound R3 trainset with SL-V #814. The R3 trainsets pass typically pass between Woodbourne and Yardley.

#814 again at Fern Rock.

Shortly there after an outbound SL-V train with #804 passed through Tabor Jct.

Pair of SL-V's headed to Powlerton Yard pass through the 30th St Station upper level.

Replacement of the Crumb Creek viaduct on the R3 Media, will truncate the line at Swarthmore for a number of months.

SL-IV #365 departing Media.

Right after lunch we were lucky enough to catch the "heritage" painted SEPTA Suburban K-car #101 (aka 38). #101 is painted in honor of the West Chester Traction Companies 100th anniversary.

The trip actually waited a headway to catch K-car #128 to Drexel Hill Jct.

K-car #121 at School Lane.

#128 departing Drexel Hill Jct over the emergency hand crossovers.

Drexel Hill Jct had recently been rebuilt with more power switches and eliminating switches from the level crossing.

If it had a flat surface, SEPTA will sell ads on it. Wrapped K-car #105 at Drexel Hill Jct.

K-car #127 would make the third inbound Rt 101 car in a row at Drexel Hull Jct.

#121 would have made it 4 Rt 101 cars in a row, but it was out for operator training and thus didn't count.

Wrapped K-car #122 passes training K-car #121 at Drexel Hill Jct.

SEPTA #601 is the last of the NJT Arrow II cars, now used as a cab car on the SEPTA wire train spotted here at the Clifton-Alden R3 station from a Rt 102 car.

Wrapped K-car #122 at Sharon Hill waiting for its inbound passengers to board.

SEPTA SL-IV #409 on an outbound R2 Wilmington at Sharon Hill.

The only Amtrak we encountered at the Sharon Hill NEC photo-shoot was this Regional train with ACS-86 #640.

SEPTA SL-V #815 picking up the group at Sharon Hill. The morning's wonderful sunlight did not last the day.

Video from the front of #815 as it travels between PHIL and ARSENAL interlockings just south of 30th St station. Are the restrictive signals due to traffic ahead or SEPTA's dysfunctional automated dispatching system?

Passing through the Center City tunnel, our R2 trainset got into a little race on the Reading Viaduct with SL-IV #316 amoung others.

SL-V #702 departing Temple University northbound.

5-car SL-IV trainset with #428 also northbound through Temple University.

How many of the Bomber trainsets can I catch in a single day? This would be the 4th of 8 with AEM-7 #2307.

Due to the chilly weather and low light levels, the trip began to evaporate as we hung out at Temple University since participants would simply catch their desired Regional Rail train as they passed through. I'll wrap up the photos with SEPTA SL-V #875 on one of the southbound tracks.

An ode to the classic PATCO car, eastbound departing Haddonfield, NJ.

Again, thanks to everyone who came out. Hopefully we can make MWT XVI even better!

Electrified by the PRR in 1930, the West Chester Branch was a part of the Philadelphia Commuter Rail network up until the 1980's when service past Elwyn was "temporarily" suspended by SEPTA due to low ridership and budget cuts. This fiction was made a little less fictional about a decade later when SEPTA pulled the wire down to prevent theft (and also to claim the scrap value for itself). While there is some truth in the fact that the line was in driving distance to better served R5 stations, it is hard to fathom a transit agency shuttering a good portion of an electrified rail line just because.

Today the outer portion of the WCB is operated by the West Chester Railroad tourist operation, and while there continue to be rumors of service being restored, the decade plus wait for a new station at Wawa indicates that full restoration might easily exceed our lifetimes.

Last August a friend of mine took a little trip along the WCB, documenting the disused stations and the general character of the route. I have since processed the photos and made them available on my web hosting for you all to enjoy.

We begin at Media with the SEPTA Silverliner V action as #722 pulls into the inbound platform.

This is followed by an outbound train of SL-IV's, #360 in the lead.

The same trainset returning to Center City as it crosses the Ridley Creek viaduct west of Media. This is the third vintage PRR viaduct on the branch.

The Elwyn station was chosen as the "temporary" terminal as it marks the end of double track operation.

Previously featuring a spring switch, ELYWN interlocking has recently been upgraded.

One might expect the old Williamson Station to factor into the Wawa expansion plans, but probably not.

The branch is still wired and signaled out past CP-SOUTH ELYWN. Equipment is stored in the Media yard and makes the short deadhead trip to Elwyn.

The Glen Riddle station as seen from above.

The Leni Substation supplies 12kv power to the outer end of the line and marks the end of both the overhead catenary and two 138kv transmission circuits. One travels the length of the WCB from Arsenal substation while the other heads cross country roughly parallel to the old PRR Chester Valley Branch to the Lamokin rotary converter plant on the NEC. With the Morton substation under renovation, the Leni substation is probably the last on the PRR network to retain all of its original equipment.

The signs are still up for the Leni station.

SEPTA's Leni training facility was built at the former junction of the PRR's Chester Creek and Octoraro Branches with the West Chester Branch. Not sure if it is still used or exactly what sort of training went on inside.

The aforementioned junction was controlled by WAWA tower, which used to sit at this location. The extra wide catenary supports and some rusty Octoraro Branch rails heading off into the woods are the only indication it ever existed.

The old Wawa station sat the point of the junction with its platform serving both West Chester and Octoraro trains.

The presence of a \ on the upper head is a pretty good indication of Manual Block territory. Here two deactivated distant signals sit opposed to each other, a hint to the line previously being equipped with single track ABS.

The Glen Mills quarry is the source of most ballast stone both on SEPTA and the NEC. This is the source of all non-tourist traffic past Elwyn.

The Glen Mills station was designed by famed Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and marks the east end of West Chester Railroad operations. The WCRR used to operate some excursion trains onto SEPTA, but SEPTA reduced maintenance below the level sufficient for passenger operations on the short section of the line past Elywn to prevent any additional excursions.

The 1890's vintage passenger shelter at Locksley is still holding on under the care of the WCRR.

Like several of the WCB stations, Cheyney was the site of a short passing siding until that was later removed at some point after electrification.

Given the state of the Westtown station, I wouldn't bet on service being restored. Even without service the WCB is still a window into the interurban style operations in days of old.

The West Chester University station at Nields St.

West Chester Railroad Alco S-2 #3 stored in its Adam's Street yard.

The WCRR fleet as seen from Union St. The WCRR operates a couple of larger Alcos along with some vintage EMD Geeps and a number of former Reading MU coaches.

End of the line at Market Street in West Chester. Although a large and important town, the proximity of the Exton park and ride station on the former PRR Main Line always served to dempen potential ridership, especially after regular SEPTA R5 service was extended to Thorndale/Downingtown.

WCRR Plymouth critter at Market St.

Well that's the end of the set and the last of my guest photo posts from 2015. Next time we will continue on into the new year.

In the no-mans-land between SEPTA and MARC territory sits a little forlorn station called Elkton. The last train service to Elkton, Amtrak's Chesapeake commuter service ended in 1983 and since then a lot of talk about bridging the gap between SEPTA and MARC has generally been for naught. However, the little station and its platforms still await the return to service.

You can see the set of Elkton photos along with some others covering the NJT ACL and PATCO right here.

Built in 1934 the Elkton Station shares make architectural features with other PRR builtings of the era, notably interlocking towers at WINSLOW, YORK, JERSRY, BROWN OVERBROOK and a number of other locations. These include the brickwork, slate roof, copper flashing and eves.

A light was on inside and it appeared that the building was used as a base for Amtrak MoW and CnS crews.

The station was equipped with track tunnel for passengers to reach the southbound platform. However knowing the wasteful nature of today's public works projects I am sure that any new station would probably have to involve an elevator based ADA bridge. You know, because ramps are too reliable.

Vintage light fixtures were still in place under the platform shelter. Alert Kevin Walsh!

The southbound platform shelter complete with sealed tunnel access and bench.

449 intermediate signals just south of Elkton.

Amtrak ACS-86 #651 passing through Elkton with a southbound Regional.

What will probably be my last Amtrak ride behind an AEM-7 took place before MLK Day with #919 doing the honors.

Southbound Atlantic City Line being pushed away from the Cherry Hill station by PL42 #4013.

This was soon followed by a northbound train hauled by PL42 #4001.

#4001 departing Cherry Hill and taking the Medium Clear signal at SOUTH RACE.

My first ride in one of the rebuilt PATCO cars. Here is the interior, operator's console and cab signal display.

Video showing the downgraded railfan view and cab signal operation.

PATCO rebuilt #1048 at 8th and Market.

Well that's it for this week. Happy New Year and all that. Next time we encounter snow on the NEC.

In January 2016, the Northeast was hit by a massive snow storm dumping some 20-30 inches of snow in some places. As luck would have it I had previously scheduled a trip to Boston that allowed me to avoid the worst of the storm (one of the few times traveling to Boston actually decreased the chance of snow). While returning back down south I was able to capture some of the still ongoing efforts to dig out of the storm from the side of my AX train.

You can view the entire set of photos here.

A few days before the storm there is no sign of trouble in Boston as Amtrak ACS-86 #615 delivers me to South Station.

MTBA Green Line Type 8 #3884 and Type 7 #3617 seen here at the Boston University station on the 'B' Line.

The Boston University Bridge was assembled from steel components provided by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, PA in 1927.

This bridge actually spans both the Charles River and the Grand Junction Railroad bridge. The Grand Junction Railway is the only link connecting the "North" (Boston and Maine) and "South" (B&A/New Haven) rail networks. Today it is mostly used by the MTBA and Amtrak to shift trainsets.

The north end of the bridge was home to a very vocal flock of geese (and a homeless encampment).

Additional geese and ducks lived in the nearby Charles River.

The Saturday-Sunday storm dropped about 7 inches in Boston, but the larger totals south of the city snarled Amtrak traffic and the system was only just starting to reboot by Monday morning. This is in contrast to the Winter of 2014/15 where Boston was pretty much alone in suffering from repeated snowfall. Here a Type 7 departs Boston University Station with its platforms shoveled and salted.

Evidence of the big drop started appearing in Penn Station as seen with NJT Comet V cab car #6044.

NJT ALP-45 #4509 in the Hudson layover yard.

PATH workers clearing snow from switches the old fashioned way.

Amtrak ACS-86 #610 with a face foll of snow at DOCK.

CSX SD40-2 #8830 and NS SD40-2 #3376 teamed up in Conrail Shared Assets service to clear snow from the Meturchen Yard.

A pair of NS GP38-2's #5285 and #5283 waiting to get onto the NEC at MORRIS.

Amtrak's Wilmington Shop forebay populated by new ACS-86's, old AEM-7's and MARC HHP-8's.

All sorts of NS power stacked up at Bayview yard including SD70M-2 #2733, C40-9W #9166, standard cab SD70 #2532 and C40-10W #7678.

Bi-level MARC K-cab car #7854 at Baltimore Penn Station.

Snowbound CHARLES interlocking with departing Amtrak AC power car #2033.

Well that's it. Tune in next time as we travel to upstate NY where I found a distinct lack of snow (as compared with a year earlier.)

Some perks of Amtrak Business Class on Empire Service trains include plush 2+1 seating in former first class cars, adjacency to the Cafe where one can enjoy complimentary beverages and a rear facing railfan window. Moreover, because BC passangers are assumed to have money and clout, the crews are often more accommodating when it comes to taking pictures out of the rear vestibule ;-)

Now last year I had made a similar attempt to video this route, but snow on the track resulted in a completely obstructed view and I had to abort the mission. This year was the exact opposite with so little snow upstate I actually had to cancel a planned ski trip. As I had previously taken video from the front of Metro North express trains I saw little use in re-shooting that part of the Hudson Line. Instead of captured the Empire Line from Penn Station to DV and then the entirety of Amtrak's Hudson line from CP-75 through CP-142.

Here we see the empire Service Train #235 departing Penn Station about 20 minutes late due to a single track condition on the Empire Line due to work in the area of INWOOD interlocking. Thanks to rising property values, most of the RoW in the Midtown area has now been overbuilt for new residential towers.

Jumping ahead to the end of Metro-North territory at Poughkeepsie we look at the back as the train runs from there to the town of Rhinecliff at speeds up to 95mph. Note the former NY Central signal bridges.

From Rhinecliff we pass through CP-90 and then on towards the town of Hudson. We pass the southbound Train 48 Lake Shore Limited about 6 minutes in.

Here the train runs from Hudson to the Albany-Rensselaer metroplex. Max speed on this portion of the line is 95mph below CP-125 and 110mph from CP-125 to CP-142. This was due to CSX, who owned and maintained the line between CP-75 and CP-125, not wanting to keep the tracks at the 110mph standard in the face of daily freight train service.

CSX freights exit the Hudson line via the Schodak Branch which diverges at CP-125, crosses over the Hudson Line and then reaches the Boston Line/Selkirk Branch at the Alfred E Smith Bridge that passes above the Hudson Line at a high level.

Also note the new CP-138, CP-141 and CP-142 that are part of the Albany Terminal reconstruction effort that will add a 4th station track and new engine change tracks. The signals at CP-138 are approach lit and flash on once Train 235 has occupied the block.

Well that's it. Next week tune in as I once again toodle about the Capitol Region.

The month of February has been an opportunity to travel to the NY Capitol Region for an extended weekend of skiing, college hockey and railfan activities. This year, due to atypically low snow levels in the Adirondacks, I was only able to peruse two of those three, but I didn't mind since that meant more time to railfan ;-)

Most of the pics involve Amtrak's Hudson Line used by the Empire Service trains. There is a general reconstruction project taking place at the Albany-Renssalaer terminal complex to increase both speeds and the number of tracks. I also captured some of the work on the double track project between Albany and CP-169 west of Schenectady. You can view the full set here.

We begin with my last ride behind an AEM-7 in Amtrak service as #915 shows up with my early morning Regional train in Baltimore.

My Empire train suffered an initial terminal delay of about 20 minutes because of work at the INWOOD movable bridge that rendered the switch there non-functional and the Empire Line effectivly a single track railroad.

At Poughkeepie I caught heritage painted P32AC-DM #704 hauling Empire train #242.

Classic New York Central signal bridge at MP 79.

CP-114 at Hudson, NY with a CSX geep in the yard.

Attention Amtrak, I found where all your missing platform stools had wound up.

The Alfred H. ~~Newman~~ Smith Bridge spanning the high speed section of Amtrak's Hudson Line. North of CP-125, where CSX freight traffic departs via the Schodak Branch, speeds increase to 110mph from 95. Prior to Amtrak's lease of the entire Hudson Line from CSX, this section had also been maintained by Amtrak.

The rebuilt CP-142 at Albany-Rensselaer. LED searchlights have replaced the GRS SA electro-mechanical models.

Amtrak P32AC-DM #706 headed into the yard at Albany-Rensselaer. Note the new platform extension work as well as the rebuilding of CP-143.

Amtrak P32AC-DM #717 on the main track at Albany Renssalaer relaying with a single car in tow via the new CP-141.

Amtrak P42DC #22 about to be swapped off the head end of some longer through train.

The next day, Amtrak P32AC-DM's #717 and #706 again north of the station next to the new platform with a single car in tow.

Work on CP-143 north of the station to support the new 4th track (note the double slip switch).

Amtrak P32AC-DM #707 departing southbound through the new CP-141 with an Empire Service train.

Grading work for the second track west of Albany is evident at the MP 145 automatic signal on West Albany Hill. This grade was the steepest on the NY Central's "Water Level Route" between New York and Chicago was a famous test for the NY Central's premier passenger power like J-class Hudsons and S-Class Niagaras. Of course the 1.6% slope would have been sneezed at by PRR locomotives, which could climb that without breaking a sweat.

The rails have been dropped for the second track at the MP 153 intermediate signal as Amtrak P42DC #77 passes by with long distance Empire Train #281.

Clear signals at the rebuilt CP-142 and CP-141 for Amtrak P32AC-DM #702, about to depart early on a Sunday morning.

Some bonus photos taking during my layover at Penn Station of the West Side Yard from the High Line park. First, LIRR M3's in the WSY.

And lastly, the new (7) Hudson Yards station headhouse.

Well that's all for this adventure. See you next time.

Normally when friends want me to go on road trips with them I add railfan stops as a requirement for my participation. So when my friend asked if I would accompany him to the Harrisburg Horse Expo I figured it would be a good opportunity to snag some PRR Middle Division action at the town of Newport, PA about 10 miles up the Juniata River from the confluence with the Susquehanna at Duncannon. This was followed up with a short visit to the Harrisburg fast fuel pad which sits adjacent to the Harrisburg intermodal yard about 2 miles east of the Rockville Bridge. You can view the full set of photos here.

We kick off with a bit of an aside. In Mach, 2016, CSX replaced a landmark 1885 Whipple through truss bridge that spanned the NEC just south of Bayview yard carrying the CSX track to the Port of Baltimore coal export terminal. Aware of this I made sure to get a photo of the bridge from the back of an Amtrak Regional train before the replacement. Fortunately a similar truss bridge still stands about a mile or so further down on the same line.

That Regional trip was also my first opportunity to be hauled by Veterans ACS-86 #642.

Moving on to the non-electrified portion of the PRR, Newport, PA is home to PORT interlocking which consists of a complete two track crossover and a single switch to an industrial track. A classic PRR signal bridge still stands for westbound movements.

Here we see NS C40-9Ws #9714 and #8939 hauling a cut of gondolas down the easy grade towards Harrisburg.

This was soon followed by a westbound manifest train led by SD70M-2 #2683 and standard cab C40-9 #8767.

Included in the consist was Reading and Northern coal hopper #7948.

A short while later aging NS C40-8W #8369 was single haulin' a train of autoracks westbound towards Altoona.

At the Harrisburg Fuel pad a westbound train had just cleared the MP 107 intermediate signals, not bothering to stop for fuel.

An eastbound loaded coal train with NS C40-9W #9375 and friends had decided to stop and top off while sister C40-9W #9083 looked on from the yard.

So called "Fast" fuel pads located on main line tracks in terminal areas were a feature of the North American Class 1 railroad efficiency revolution allowing road power to be run from origin to destination without needing to be swapped out for servicing en route.

That's all for today. Next week we visit Amtrak at Perryville, MD.

Perryville, MD is a fairly popular railfanning location on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. It is the northern terminus of MARC's Penn Line service which provides a platform that offers views of Amtrak trains crossing the Susquehanna River bridge. It is also the junction between the formerly electrified Port Road Branch that continues to provide freight access to the Southern NEC markets of Baltimore and Wilmington. Finally it is a key node on Amtrak's 25hz traction power distribution system where 4 138kv circuits from the Safe Harbor running on a private right of way tie into the lines serving the NEC.

Since I am often driving up and down the I-95 corridor I decided one afternoon in March to take a couple of hours and see what might show up. You can see the full set of photos here.

One never has to wait for PERRY tower to show up because it's always there. The brick structure was constructed as part of the PRR's wartime improvements along the NEC. A US&S all electric interlocking machine controlled the local plant while a CTC console controlled switches at GRACE and OAK interlockings on the far side of the river and QUARRY and MINICK interlockings on the Port Road Branch.

A northbound Acela Express trainset was first to arrive bracketed by power cars #2017 and #2036.

Due to the lighting I opted for video with some of the trains. Here a pair of Amtrak Regional trains hauled by ACS-86 locomotives #622 and #640 cross the Susquehanna River bridge. Speed across the bridge is 90mph.

Another northbound Regional with ACS-86 #645 passing PERRY tower.

Class leader ACS-86 #600 runs past with a southbound Regional train.

MARC Perryville station platform with the old PW&B station building.

Video of Northbound Amtrak Acela Express train crosses the Susquehanna River at Perryville with power cars #2029 and #2026.

Southbound AX with power cars #2021 and #2024.

The Perryville substation is one of the largest (by area) on the former PRR system and can switch current between 4 circuits 138kv west to Safe Harbor, 2 138kv circuits north to Philadelphia and 2 138kv circuits south to Washington. You can see a diagram from the old Philadelphia power dispatch office here with an explanation of the symbols here.

Here you can see the 4 Safe Harbor circuits terminating on the upper beam while the lower beam serves the 12kv bus on the other side of the 1SL transformer. Amtrak replaced almost all of its legacy transformers in the 2005 time frame.

Two sets of extra switches allows for additional power routing options. Usually at least one switch will remain open to avoid tying every line to every other line. These switches are not circuit breakers and cannot be opened under load.

Some of the insulators are original to the 1930's, while a few have been replaced over the years with modern equivalents. The switchgear was remotely operated from the beginning and with some exceptions the local towers controlled the section breakers while the power dispatcher could manipulate the HT network.

To save on costs, the PRR only installed circuit breakers on the 12kv side of its power network. The three exceptions were at Thorndale, ZOO and here at Perryville where dead tank 138kv oil filled transformers allowed parts of the 138kv network to be isolated under load. Each of these parts were anchored by a major power supply point (Port Richmoond, Lamokin and Safe Harbor). Because the hydro turbines at Safe Harbor could become out of phase with the rest of the PJM grid, phase break signals were installed at Perryville and Thorndale and are still used on occasion.

While having only three sets of 138kv breakers did save on capitol costs, it did leave the HT network exposed to outages and is why wide scale power disruptions occur with some regularity on Amtrak. When one of the HT sections goes down, everything connected to it must be completely unloaded in order to then operate the switches and isolate the fault.

Amtrak substations also supply 6.6kv, 100hz signal power. This hat rack was located outside the fence line, distributing signal power circuits to the catenary poles.

Power is delivered from Safe Harbor via commercial style pylons. One can identify the Amtrak 25hz power lines because each single split-phase circuit consists of two wires as opposed to 3 in commercial 3-phase transmission grids. Split phase means that each wire carries only 69kv with respect to ground, but double that with respect to each other. This allows for the size of the insulators to be reduced.

A public dock on the north side of the Susquehanna River bridge allows for additional photo angles. Here Amtrak Train 92 heads north behind ACS-86 #639.

Because of Amtrak's scheduling meets are not uncommon at Perryville. I was getting in my car when I was caught out of position for a Regional meet involving ACS-86 #617 and another I couldn't identify.

Well that's it for today! Next week we'll see what's new at Brunswick.

In late 2011, WB tower in Brunswick, MD was closed and the interlocking there was rebuilt. A recent hiking trip to Harper's Ferry was the first opportunity I had to return to Brunswick, MD and check out the changes. During the week Brunswick is a busy stop and terminal on the MARC Brunswick line. During the weekend it is popular with outdoors types looking to to cycling on the C&O Canal trail or boating on the Potomac River. Railroad wise it is the defacto CSX freight terminal for the Washington, DC area and also hosts a major MARC serving and storage facility.

You can see the full set of photos here.

Harpers Ferry, WV sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and was an early industrial hub, hosting a government small arms production facility up until the Civil War. There are three railroad crossings of the Potomac in evidence today. The easternmost was the original alignment and today exists only as piers. In 1868, after a total of 9 wooden bridges were destroyed during the war, an iron Bollman Truss bridge was built and served until 1894. At that point the middle steel truss bridge replaced it. Later in 1930 that in turn was supplanted by the girder bridge which also eliminated a sharp curve through the station area. The 1894 bridge continues to support the CSX Shenandoah Sub as well as the Appalachian trail.

While hanging out on the Maryland Heights, an eastbound manifest train with CSX ES44AC's #704 and 820 passed underneath. While the heights offers an excellent view, parking is extremely limited and it helps to get there as early as possible before the tourists arrive.

Located about 6 miles to the east, the town of Brunswick still hosts a classic B&O train station that still functions in its intended capacity on weekdays for the commuter service to Washington, DC.

The old interlocking plant utilized pneumatic switch machines which were somewhat resistant to the occasional Potomac River flood. The new plant also made sure to elevate the critical interlocking hardware. Also, in an effort to simplify the logic for trains existing the yard an automatic exit signal was provided on main track #1. It is currently displaying Approach Medium for a stop at WEVERTON interlocking.

Since the B&O main line tracks sandwich the yard and the MARC parking lot, a second platform is provided for inbound tracks. Outbound trains stop in front of the station building.

CSX ET44AH #3355 and AC4400 #349 lay over in Brunswick Yard.

Also in the yard was CSX AC4400 #69, fittingly seen from the rear, and GP38-2 #2803.

Because of the MARC operations, WB tower was the last tower on the old B&O main line east of Pittsburgh to close. Not only could CSX defray the cost of the tower by billing it to MARC, they also correctly assumed that the state would eventually kick in the money to replace it. Until the end it contained a US&S Model 14 interlocking machine.

A local railroad museum is hoping to eventually preserve the tower.

Although the MARC Brunswick service is weekday, peak direction only, it is still a significant operation. Trainsets that originate at Brunswick are shown here laying over for the weekend. Among them is one of the remaining MARC passenger Geeps,#74, a GP39-2H.

I returned from lunch at the Potomac Street Grill to find a westbound train of empty coal cars rolling out of the yard on what is typically used by MARC trainsets.

Remains from the old interlocking plant can still be found in the parking lot.

Although a signal was displayed east on track 2, I had to get to another engagement and couldn't sick around to see what would show up.

Next week I head back out to California and pop by the Santa Clara station area.

Normally when I head to the Bay Area I usually wind up at the San Jose Diridon station with its mix of Amtrak, ACE and Caltrain services. It's one of the largest stations in the west with probably more service of anything apart from LA's Union Station. Well this time I was looking for something a little different and therefore I figured that I would instead get dropped off at the Santa Clara station, one and a half stops up the line. Santa Clara is no slouch having been recently rebuilt to have a new third track island platform with a third track serving Amtrak and ACE trains that expanded capacity. It also sees some express movements, unlike San Jose where everything stops.

Another fun feature of this trip was my ability to ride Caltrain down to the town of Gilroy, about 30 miles south of San Jose. Normally this is impractical because Gilroy only get a peak direction service with three trains in the morning and afternoon. However this time I was visiting someone living in that area and I was able to spare them a long ride in to the airport.

You can see the full set of photos here.

We begin with Caltrain MP36PH-3C #927 appearing next to Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company heavyweight coach #87, on statis display at the former Southern Pacific depot.

Sitting just north of the Station were a pair of Union Pacific SD70M's, #4862 and #5131. There is still a new for road freight engines to serve local industry in the area despite the lack of any major yards of freight trunks.

The former Southern Pacific CLARA tower has been preserved and I assume will eventually function as a museum that one can visit. The tower was previously operated by Amtrak before being closed.

The Altamont Commuter Express runs 86 miles between San Jose and Stockton in California's Central Valley. It is a peak direction service with only about 4 trainets in service. Here one of their 6 Bomber bi-level cab cars, #3305, pulls into the Santa Clara station for what is likely the first return trip of the afternoon.

Power is provided by MPI built F40PH-2C, #3101, seen here on the third track served by the new island platform.

The Caltrain line to San Francisco diverges from the UP Coast Sub, used by ACE and Amtrak trains, just north of the station.

Unlike the East Coast, there is no pathological fear of underpasses so the new platform does not require one to walk up and down three stories and also maintain ADA elevators.

Here a northbound Caltrain makes a stop at Santa Clara with gallery cab car #4004 in the lead.

Here is a video of Caltrain cab car #4004 and MP36PH-3C #925 departing the Santa Clara Station.

Shortly thereafter a southbound Baby Bullet trainset with MP36PH-3C #924 running a local service pulled into the station.

Bomber cab car #113 was bringing up the rear.

As the afternoon peak began to pick up intensity, a northbound limited stop train passed through on the opposite track led by gallery cab car #4020 and powered by MPI F40PH-2C #921.

The old Southern Pacific depot is still in use as both some sort of museum and retail space.

Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains also stop at Santa Clara as evidenced by Superliner cab car #6963.

The northbound train was propelled by F59PHI #2006. Note the leased Amtrak Superliner coach.

Here is a video of the same Capitol Corridor train being overtaken by a Caltrain express with gallery cab car #4017 and F40PH-2 #909 after the Amtrak completed its station stop.

I'm on the move southward now, passing by the Caltrain maintenance facility. Note the former FRA Budd SPV inspection car T-10 hiding behind Caltrain #905. I'm not positive, but I think T-10 is still seldom powered.

Shortly thereafter ACE F40PH-2C, #3104 makes an appearance with the day's second outbound departure to Stockton.

Both flavours of Caltrain trainsets waiting to head north out of San Jose.

Amtrak P42DC #144 lease power pushing behind a Capitol Corridor trainset on layover at San Jose Diridon.

The ACE layover yard is located south of the Tamien Caltrain stop, which also serves as a secondary terminal with direct connection with the VTA light rail Blue Line. Pictured is MPI F40PH-2C #3105.

If you are interested in the southern end of the Caltrain line that runs on the UP Coast Sub to Gilroy, CA, here is a rear-view GoPro video of the route starting at San Jose. If you are interested in the ambient conversation, the cab cars on Caltrain are also used as a bike cars. Most of the cyclists present in said bike car were of the militant variety that would never reconsider their chosen form of transportation even in the face of serious injury. Their obsession makes railfans look like completely well adjusted adults. I just kept my mouth shut and tried to be invisible since my luggage had already earned their ire by taking up valuable bicycle space.

Caltrain gallery cab car #4013 at Gilroy. Fun fact, Gilroy is the garlic capitol of the United States.

The Gilroy layup yard is located next to the station track so trainsets have to make a relay move.

South of Gilroy traffic shrinks considerably with the only regular through train between the Bay Area and Los Angeles via the mountainous coast route being Amtrak's Coast Starlight. Watsonville, at the head of the agricultural Salinas valley also sends a bit of traffic north, but mostly the line is a quite home for a few remaining Southern Pacific searchlight signals.

Next week tune in as we head over the Donner Pass the old fashioned way and pop by the yard at Sparks, NV.

Last two times I have traveled through Reno, NV I used Amtrak's California Zephyr. This time I was going via I-80's, which provided a slightly different perspective on the whole journey including the opportunity to stop off at the pass itself for a little sightseeing. Later I was able to spend a few minutes at the west end of the Sparks, NV yard catching some UP action. I should also mention that before leaving the safe confines of sea level, I made a quick stop off in Sacramento to check out their light rail system.

You can review the entire set of photos here.

My swing by the Royal Oaks RT Station was actually motivated by the desire to get lunch from an authentic street-side taco stand on Arden Way. While they stood in line I crossed the street to snag a headway's worth of RT photos. First to arrive was a westbound two unit Blue Line train of CAF SRV-1's #208 and #238.

Next to arrive was an eastbound Blue Line train led by Siemens U2A #134. The U2A vehicles resemble the later SD100 LRVs, but are mechanically the same as the earlier U2's.

Driving up I-80 certainly provides a different perspective of the Southern Pacific's overland route.

The Donner Pass is where the Southern Pacific's "Overland Route" crosses the Sierra-Nevada mountains at an elevation of 7135 feet. Here we see the western portal of Tunnel #6 on the original Donner Pass alignment that was abandoned by Union Pacific in 1996 after their SP merger in favor of the Track 2 alignment through the mile long Tunnel 41 located to the south. Note the remaining snowpack from the somewhat average winter snows. The previous winter of 2014-15 actually left the Sierra-Nevada mountains with zero snowpack.

This alignment was actually part of the original Central Pacific transcontinental line starting from San Francisco and eventually meeting the Union Pacific in Promontory, UT. Unlike the generally flat UP route across the plains, this impressive feet of mountain railroad had to be cut and blasted by the hands of Chinese immigrants.

Because this is California the walls of a highway abutment had been covered in street art.

Beware falling rocks!

In this video I walk across the Sierra-Nevada drainage divide. Water to the east is flowing into the Great Basin via Tunnel 6, while water to the west is flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

East of Tunnel 6 are Tunnels 7 and 8. Each were protected by snow sheds due to the extreme snowfall the pass typically sees (or typically saw, thanks to climate change). About once a decade snow on the pass can reach such an extreme that Union Pacific's fleet of rotary snow plows have to be called out to deal with it.

Before I-80, US 40 traversed the summit on a somewhat more austere alignment including this concrete arch bridge.

East of Tunnel 8 the snowshed continues on until the alignment disappears from sight. It is not surprising that UP would want to rid themselves of the maintenance headache, but since the Donner Pass route was single tracked congestion had remained a problem.

View of the historic Donner Lake from the Donner Pass viewing area off Old US 40.

Before Donald Trump the Chinese were the go to people for building walls. The upper and lower retaining walls pictured here were assembled by hand and continue to stand strong nearly 150 years later.

Heading down the east slope I caught a train descending the grade past Truckee. In the middle were a pair of DPU helpers, AC4400 #5277 and ES44AC #8144.

At Sparks interlocking I caught UP road SD70M #4657 flat switching the yard.

Shortly thereafter an eastbound manifest BNSF train with ES44C4 #6611 leading rolled through.

Partway through the consist were four Amtrak Material Handling Cars! These had been previously banned from head end service after a couple of derailments, but as you can see that was likely a pretext to stop Amtra from competing in the express freight market.

A little while later, a pair of SD70M's,#5116 and #5099 showed up to do more flat switching.

Here's a little video montage of the Sparks Yard action.

Well that's it for today. Next time we'll get nautical with a visit to the NS Savannah.

The NS Savannah is the United States' first (and so far only) nuclear powered merchant ship. It was built around 1960, back in a time before Medicare and other social spending sapped our collective ability to do big/cool things. Part of the "Atoms for Peace" program, the NS Savannah was mostly a propaganda vehicle to convince the rest of the world that nuclear technology was about more than blowing up the Soviets (Hint: it wasn't). The Savannah had the additional distinction of being a passenger liner built just before such travel was rendered obsolete by jumbo jets and a loose cargo vessel built just before that was rendered obsolete by containerized freight. The ship was mothballed in 1972 due to the cost of operating the nuclear plant compared with oil fired ships...just before the 1973-74 oil crisis. Talk about not being able to catch a break! After being decommissioned the ship spent decades in the James River Ghost Fleet before being moved to the Port of Baltimore for preservation. There it is open occasionally for tours, including every year on National Maritime Day in late May. This year I was able to coordinate with nuclear enthusiast Phil Nasadowski to take full advantage of the open house and some additional rail related sights in the vicinity. You can view the entire set of photos here. The Savannah is best described as a Silver Age comic book come to life or, in perhaps somewhat broader terms, imagine what Tony Stark's yacht would be like. It's half luxury liner, half cargo ship and all nuclear powered.

The 60's styling doesn't hurt the impression much either. People forget that the Metroliners used to be this cool/advanced as well.

Not that some parts of the ship don't come across like your grandmother's house.

Here we see the most important part of anything in the Mad Men era...the bar. Note that the tables, which were also electro-luminescent, all come with integrated ash trays because back then smoking was good for you.

You won't find any computers in this control room. Here we see the main reactor control panel. Other parts of the big board controlled the steam plant and electrical system so it looks more complicated than it is. Also remember that compared to older steam ships this was miles ahead of their brass gauges and valves.

The manual control rod control panel was the other nuclear specific part of the control console.

Once the steam is generated it was dealt with in the standard way. Here we see the engine room with a typical high pressure/low pressure compound turbine setup.

Of course the big question is, "Is it all safe?" The answer? Sure...

Of course given what else people had to worry about at the time I don't really think it mattered.

Honestly, I'd be more worried about the radiation from this prehistoric microwave oven.

Unlike naval ships that often have to be cut apart to have their reactor's refueled, the NS Savannah took the innovative step of fitting a hatch.

View of the bridge.

View from the bridge showing the cargo portion of the ship. Rated cargo capacity was a measly 7000 tones, however container anchors were fitted so raise this somewhat.

A short distance away from where the Savannah is berthed lays the Canton Railroad, which provides switching and yard services to this sector of the Port of Baltimore. SD1200RS #1204 and GP7U #1364 were parked next to the road.

North of the Canton Railroad yard was the Penn-Mary diamond crossing between the former B&O and former PRR running tracks to the Port. Both of these come from the respective Bayview yards on the respective main lines. The crossing is signaled, but employs some sort of automatic operation. It is also features some of the few remaining B&O CPL signal left in the B&O's home city.

I mentioned previously how CSX was replacing an 1885 vintage Whipple through truss bridge that carried its trains over the NEC at Bayview. Well not to worry, the B&O was forced to built a nearly identical bridge over the PRR's tracks to the port just a mile or so away in the Greektown neighborhood.

Well that's all for today. Next time join me as I hit the PRR Main Line for a walk between Narberth and Ardmore.

Sometimes the best way to go railfanning is on your own two feet. After last year's successful LIRR walk from Floral Park to Queens Village I looked to repeat the experience a bit closer to home and a quick look at the map showed a pleasant walk along the old PRR Main Line between Narberth and Ardmore. This let me walk between two classic PRR signal bridges while the half hourly SEPTA service passed by.

Later I was treated to a Silverliner V railfan window ride on the return trip to Center City that I followed up with a session on the 30th St parking garage. As usual you can find the full set of photos here.

To start things off I was treated to a bit of wrong railing on PATCO to get around some MoW work between Ferry Ave and Broadway.

While walking towards Suburban Station I came upon the rebuilt Dillworth Plaza and its SEPTA City Hall/15Th St Station entrance. The difference was quite striking with grass replacing bare concrete and homeless replaced by suburban families. Way to go!

Progress was also apparent on the new Cynwyd Connection that will allow retirement of the increasingly derelict Valley Flyover. The connection is an oddly simple affair, utilizing the former Schuylkill Valley branch freight alignment. Why it took 22 years to implement I don't know.

SEPTA SL-IV #412 waiting to complete its station work at Narberth while staring at a Clear signal on the #69 Track 4 automatic signal that it would soon take.

Sometimes its hard to remember how wealthy the PRR was back in the day. This underpass was built back in the 19th century over some dikly local road, but due to the state of material science at the time, the only option was the granite arch bridge. Just look at the craftsmanship that was involved and think how many centuries it will probably last.

Between Narberth and Ardmore is Wynwood. The station is now mostly used by a cafe.

At the Church Rd overpass I caught an outbound R5 local with SL-IV #405 on the rear.

An original PRR milestone was on display in front of the Ardmore City Hall.

The Ardmore station was re-built in the 1950's along with Paoli. Whatever came before, I'm sure this isn't as nice.

SL-V #873 eventually arrived to pick me up for the ride back to Center City.

On the way we passed SL-IV #450 stopped at Narberth.

The Comet I's stored in Overbrook Yard were picking up their fair share of graffiti.

Moving on to 30th St station, a variety of diesel power was hanging out at the Race Street engine facility. This included P42DC #94, GP38-2 #722, MP15D #575 and #579 and GP38H-3 #527.

GP38H-3 #527 is a former Toronto GP40TC, downrated to 2000hp, but retaining the HEP capability. It can be used as a work engine or to rescue broken down passenger trains.

Over in the coach yard there were a couple of Metroliner cab cars including #9645.

The only electrics on hand were ACS-86's #605 and #615.

Over on the High Line I was treated to some rare BC Rail power (C44-9W #4653) on a Canadian oil train along with CN C44-9W #2612.

Also caught an AX Trainset with #2009 and #2020.

SEPTA SL-IV #300 at the platform at 30th St station.

While searching for a lunch option that never panned out I wound up using the PATCO 9th/10th and Locust station.

I'll leave you with PATCO Vickers car #271 leading an eastbound train out of Haddonfield towards Lindenwold. While the Budd cars were built in 1968, the Vickers cars are relatively young, having been delivered in 1980.

In my early years as a railfan I had a somewhat different focus than I do now because I could still find excitement just getting out and riding new lines as opposed to getting out to document something before it is thrown onto the scrap pile. Combined with the limited amount of storage available for camera I wound up riding more and taking fewer photos. Oh, that's the other thing. Without a 9 to 5 job and free time during breaks in school, riding more was something that was still something I could do.

In July, 2003 I decided to take a trip to New York City from Philly in order to catch a (2) train to the end of the line at Wakefield – 241st Street. Since there was no RiverLINE I had to go via SEPTA, which saved a little time, but cost quite a bit more money. To fill the remainder of the day I popped over to Hoboken for a quick ride on the HBLR's surface route through Jersey City before returning via the PATH.

You can find the full set of remastered photos right here.

Starting at 30th St Station an HLCX powered train trundled by on the High Line as Circa Center construction was getting under way. If you are doing the "things that aren't here any more drinking game" take a drink for HHP-8's, Amtrak express cars and SD40-2 led road freights.

SEPTA had closed its interlocking towers a few months before and the communications bugs were still being worked out. This time nobody bothered to call ZOO to tell him that the R7 was running on track 4 instead of track 3 and we wound up being mis-routed down the Harrisburg Line. Fortunately we got stopped at the 64R signal and were treated to a trip over the K-ladder and Berry track after the Train Director at ZOO ran time.

This train was likely the last revenue movement over the #2 Berry track that was taken out of service shortly thereafter and eventually ripped out about 10 years later. The Berry tracks were used by freight trains running over the High Line in the PRR era.

Enemy R142 at the Simpson St curve on the (2)(5).

(7) Signed Redbirds sitting in the E. 180th St yard for some reason.

The 6R signal at E. 180TH ST interlocking.

R142 test train at Mosholu Parkway on the (4)

The set included car #1211.

West 4th St tower.

NJT Comet III cab car #5010 with Arrow III #1516 sitting behind at Hoboken Terminal.

Pair of Comet I cab cars #5108 and #5128 at Hoboken Terminal.

The new HLBR Hoboken Light Rail station.

Former CNJ GP40PH-2 #4107.

PATH train in the Waldo cut.

The PATH Hudson Ramp with NJT ALP-46 #4621 on the M&E. Hard to believe those were already running around so quickly after the ALP-44M's had been delivered.

HUDSON tower, which may have still been open.

Entering the doghouse perched atop Newark Penn Station.

Well that's it for this jaunt down memory lane. Next time I need to do some classic photos watch me hunt down a set of Redbirds shortly before their final retirement.

In the middle of June I had an opportunity to go down to Baltimore and since I would be forced to miss the big AEM-7 fantrip due to my 2016 Amtrak Sunset Limited trip I decided to take the train in order to catch the last active Amtrak AEM-7's laying over in the Baltimore Penn Station area (in the company of HHP-8's I might add). I was also armed with a class upgrade coupon which would allow me to avail myself of the railfan window on the rear of the Amtrak train. The full set of photos from the trek are included, starting with PATCO, then moving to the 30th St parking garage before I eventually arrived at Baltimore. You can view they all here.

We start off at the Haddonfield PATCO station. There was a whole bunch of single-tracking going on with Vickers car #271 departing eastbound on the westbound track.

A short while later Budd married pair car #239 arrived in the proper direction.

My own then hit its own patch of wrong railing between Ferry Ave and Broadway.

SEPTA Silverliner V #723 at 30th St station.

The evolving Philadelphia Skyline.

Power in Amtrak's Race St engine terminal consisted of MoW GP38-2's #722 and #721, Phase III Heritage unit #145 and ACS-86 #657.

ACS-86 #615 was hanging out in the Penn Coach Yard along with Metroliner Cab Car #9641 and NEC camera car #10005.

Amtrak's TLM was hanging out on station track 10 while P42DC #97 and GP38-3H #521 sit on the engine serving tracks.

GP15D #577 pushes 2 Amfleets onto one of the Penn Coach Yard tracks.

Here is a GoPro clip out the rear of the Amtrak train as it travels from Arsenal to Baldwin.

Because of my Sunset Limited trip I was unable to attend the big AEM-7 farewell fantrip. However, in Baltimore on June 11th, 2016 I was able to do something that will likely never be possible again. I caught an AEM-7, an HHP-8 and an ACS-86 all from the same platform at about the same time. Actually, there were two HHP-8's, MARC #4911 and #4913.

Three if you count the one waaaaaay at the opposite end of this peak-period trainset with bi-level Kab Car #7853.

AEM-7AC #946 was clicking away at the end of its trainset on track #4.

If you need some soothing railfan white noise feel free to loop this video.

Finally ACS-86 #608 arrives with Train 97, the southbound Silver Meteor.

Well thanks for watching! See you next week.

The topography of Baltimore is oddly hilly as the Chesapeake Bay runs right up to the interior highlands instead of rippling around the coastal plain as is the case elsewhere along the NEC. Moreover, the position of the harbor forces the nominally north-south railroads to cut east-west across the local drainage profile, resulting in the various trenches and tunnels that the city has become famous for. Here are some photos taken along the former B&O Baltimore Belt Line, around Penn Station and on the northern half of the light rail line.

Because of the stiff grade and frequent tunnels, the Baltimore Belt Line was the site of the world's first main line electrification back in 1896, with electric locomotives assisting steam engines between Camden Yards to Clifton Park to reduce the amount of smoke in the confined spaces. Back in 2014, a retaining wall along 26th Street in Baltimore collapsed onto the tracks and while the railroad was operational within 48 hours, the street took nearly a year to fix as the city had to dig down to track level and pour new concrete foundations to fix a chronic sinkhole problem that was the root cause of the collapse. Here is the reuilt street and retaining wall adjacent to the single track main line.

Here we see brand new CSX ET44AC #3269 emerging from the Charles Street tunnel. This is basically a Tier IV emissions compliant ES44AC, which may assist with some tactical smoke and soot issues, but will only make carbon friendly rail transportation less compeditive with road vehicles.

Here you can compare #3269 with C40-8W #7331. The ET44's have several times the cooling capacity to service the intercoolers needed to reduce the tempature of the charge air to reduce NOx and a particiulate filter fitted to the exhaust stack. It is no wonder that NS has chosen to rebuild older units than put up with the EPA's bullshit.

Speaking of rebuilt units, here is CSX SD40-3 #6507 being towed behind the two road units to some new yard assignment. Note the remote control lights.

Later on a pair of eastbound CSX C40-10W's, #5265 and #5307 emerged from the Charles Tunnel

Another C40-10W, #5434, passed by in the trailing position of a westbound train.

In this video we can see and hear CSX C40-8W #7920 and C40-10W #5363 rumble up the steep grade up from the Baltimore waterfront.

As you can see, CSX sometimes likes to pool certain classes of locomotive on certain routes and it looks like the ET44's are being assigned to the east coast along with the C40-10W's. Here #3320 leads a slightly older EH44AC #902. The new engines appear to be paired up with older ones in case of reliability issues. From the specs the new emissions controls are a real rat's nest requiring extra turbos, EGR piping and synthetic oil. Here is a better view of the roof on #3320.

Another westbound passed with AC4400 #559 and EH44AC #3067.

After exiting the famous Howard Street Tunnel and before reaching the tunnels under Charles and St. Paul Streets, the Baltimore Belt Line must cross the Jones Falls valley on this curved bridge. Note the Baltimore Streetcar Museum at the upper left.

Here we see a rather grimy MTA Light Rail LRV #5041 at the North Ave station.

And here is LRV # 5026 at Hunt Valley.

Down on the platforms at Baltimore Penn Station, Amtrak ACS-86 #640 was pausing with a southbound Regional train.

While MARC bi-level Kab Kar #7851 waited the return to duty on one of the storage tracks.

Well that's it for the Spring cleanup. Next week I begin my 2016 Amtrak cross country trip on the Sunset Limited.

So when I fly out to Southern California I make it a point to avoid the LA Basin as even if I found something remotely redeemable in that metroplex, it's airports are not transit accessible and far from anywhere I would want to be. Therefore I utilize San Diego as my SoCal port of entry as it not only has a rich transit scene and a pleasant climate, but one can easily connect with one's choice of Amtrak long distance route out of LA via a short Surfliner ride.

This year I was conducting a do-over of my 2015 Sunset Limited trip that, due to an unfortunate placement of a private car, turned out to be a complete waste. After scheduling time to stuff fish tacos in my face and visit the beach, I still had more than enough left over to take another tour of the San Diego Trolley network and wander around downtown. I am actually no stranger to San Diego, as this would be my 4th visit since 2009, however I had still not ridden the full length of the Orange Line nor had I ridden either the Orange or Green lines since my first trip back in 2009.

You can find the full set of photos, which also include Amtrak and Coaster content, here.

Transfering from the airport bus to the Green Line trolley I spent a few minutes taking pictures at the former Santa Fe station, southern terminus of the Surfliner corridor. Amtrak handles most of its maintenance at LA, but they do keep a protect F59PHI at San Diego, just in case. This time #460 was filling the role.

Coaster cab car #2303 was at the southern end of the trainset that was currently laying over at the station providing mid-day service on the line to Oceanside. Despite Metrolink's freakout over the safety of this type of cab car, and their beefier replacements, in various types of accident, Coaster, Metrolink and ACE have no compunction against operating the type.

Milwaukee Road private car "Montana" was also hanging out on a station track. The car lives in LA and the owners had decided on a short trip to San Diego to entertain a client.

Passengers shuffle out of Green Line LRV #4017 at Santa Fe Depot. The westward track serves both the Green Line as a station and the Orange Line as a terminal. A separate berthing area is provided for each service as Green Line trains will often pull up behind Orange Line trains to allow passengers to transfer.

MTS LRV #3005 is seen here on the head of a train stopping at Washington St. The 11 3000 series S70 LRV's were purchased in 2004 for the construction of the Green Line. They are about 10 feet longer than the rest of the fleet and may not be able to operate on the downtown loop, restricting them to the Green Line service.

MTS LRV #4052 arrives at the Olde Towne Transportation Center, which also provides a connection with Coaster and Surfliner trains. The 65 4000 series LRV's were purchased to supplant the original U2 trams purchased from Germany in 1981.

The Green Line loops west through a valley north of the city, eventually joining with the opposite end of the Orange Line before terminating at a "towne centre" in Santee. The Green Line is the only part of the San Diego Trolley system no built on an existing right of way as is evidenced by numerous elevated sections like this one at Grantville. The route was partly motivated to serve the San Diego Chargers'stadium.

The San Diego Trolley was the country's first modern Light Rail system and line several successors, it operates under an FRA waiver to allow freight service on the original rail lines the Light Rail took over. While the freight traffic on the orange line is greatly reduced, a customer in an El Cajon industrial park still gets shipments.

Here we see MTS LRV #4039 at the Santee terminal. Since the 4000-series delivery was completed, the MTS has moved to sandwitch the older 2000-series SD100 cars in the interior of 3-car trainsets for ADA reasons.

Due to a single track segment, Orange Line trains must terminate at the intermediate El Cajon station, requiring a transfer for anyone headed directly downtown. Here is a video of Green Line LRV #4039 departing El Cajon before I switched to Orange Line LRV #4034.

Southern Pacific heritage is on display along the Orange Line. Unlike the Santa Fe, which reached San Diego along the easier coastal route, the Southern Pacific was forced to use the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway line that ran overland from El Centro, CA, entering Mexico and then reaching San Diego from the south.

MTS LRV #4034 at the 12th and Imperial transfer station.

Coaster Cab Car #2310 makes a mid-day run back to the yard before the evening rush. The single track between the Station and the yard is not signaled and the switches must be lined by hand.

Another Green Line train at the Santa Fe depot with MTS LRV #4015.

Coaster cab car #2303 again as it passes the southbound signal for CP-ASH, adjacent to the Little Italy trolley stop.

MTS LRV #3007 at Little Italy.

The large San Diego rail yard south of the convention centre hosts Light Rail, Coaster, BNSF and short line traffic.

Sitting in the yard was the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad's entire fleet consisting of two 3GS21B gensets, #702 and #703.

Although the U2 LRV's were technically retired in January 2015, a large number were still hanging out in the yard, including a wrapped example.

MTS 2000-series #2014 appeared ready for Comic Con duty.

Shortly before my departure on a late afternoon Surfliner train I caught a refueling operation underway at the Santa Fe depot. Amtrak Surfliner F59PHI #461 was getting topped off while #460 continued to stand watch.

Tune in next time as I continue my 2016 cross country Amtrak trip with a short layover at Amtrak's Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Previously on Amtrak Cross Country Trips I had tended to arrive at Los Angeles' Union Passenger Terminal in the mid afternoon and then depart in the twilight period. The first time was in conjunction with my Southwest Chief with a 6pm departure and the second was with last year's Sunset Limited attempt where the schedule moved ahead 2 hours to 8pm to accomidate Union Pacific trackwork. This year the Sunset was running to its usual schedule with a 10pm departure which would provide me with an opportunity for some night action at LAUPT. I will admit to not being overly enthusiastic about my railfanning duties during this year's layover. While LA certainly isn;t hostile to photography, the layout makes its rather inconvenient to take pictures and then get back to the Amtrak lounge for sleeper boarding. Moreover I needed to walk some distance from the station to find an acceptable dinner option and after that I was content to just grab whatever shots I could during the boarding process. You can find the full set of these and other photos here.

While still on the Surfliner train, I was treated to a bit of action while passing by a regularly scheduled grass fire when a helicopter showed up to drop some water on it.

As usual, BNSF/ATSF GP60M's were hanging out around Hobart yard. ATSF was the only customer for the GP60M, intending them to be used on fast intermodal trains, but the industry moved past the need for special purpose B-B truck fast freight units. Here we see warbonnet painted #106 and BNSF painted #108.

The famous REDONDO tower is still standing at the site of the former junction between the ATSF and Southern Pacific lines south of Downtown LA. Previously the ATSF would cross the SP in order to run up the LA River and then turn into LAUPT. Later a flyover was constructed and the tower was closed. Today it stands at the head of the grade separated Alameda Corridor trench that provides direct access to the Port of Long Beach.

LA's Amtrak facility is located along the west side of the LA River near Redondo Jct and must be reached by rather lengthy non-revenue moves. Here we see Surfliner F59PHI #462 sitting next to an unidentified P42. The Amtrak facilities support both the Surfliner corridor service as well as three long distance trains.

Here we see NRE 3GS21B hanging out with two siblings on the other side of the LA river. These genset locomotives, generally shunned for their weak performance and unreliability, are used in the LA basin for air quality reasons.

Power on my Surfliner had been provided by Amtrak F59PHI #461.

Re-signaled in the 1990's, the Union Terminal complex had embraced the solid state "Unilens" searchlight replacement. However as time passed these signals proved expensive to maintain and used plastic fibre optics that degraded over time. At some point over the last year the Terminal interlocking had most of its Unilens signals replaced by LED searchlights with those that remain being gutted and reduced to a single Red LED lamp to display Stop/Restricting indications.

Metrolink's fleet used to be composed almost entirely of Bombardier "GO" style bi-level cars, which are aluminum bodied and lack continuous end to end frame elements. As you might expect these have found to perform poorly in accidents so Metrolink purchased new stainless steel cars from Rotem, included dedicated Driving Van Trailer type cab cars that provide an extreme amount of protection at the cost of trainset flexibility.

Nevertheless, after a level crossing accident earlier this year in which a Rotem cab car derailed, Metrolink declared that the new cars were unsafe and went about leasing BNSF freight power for Pull-Pull operation. I guess that someone neglected to tell Metrolink management that "crash resistant" is not the same as "crash proof". Meanwhile Coaster, ACE and Caltrain continue to operate the original Bombardier cars without a second thought. Anyway, here BNSF AC4400 #5638 is pulled along on the rear of a Metrolink train as it departs LA Union Station.

Amtrak Surfliner F59PHI #459 was also assigned to protect duty on one of the engine escape tracks at LAUPT.

I have covered the LA Union Station building in previous posts, however I was able to capture a particularly nice shot of the disused ticket hall.

Golden Hour LAUPT with sundial.

While my Sunset Limited trainset was loading on Track 11, a Surfliner set was on Track 12 with Amtrak Surfliner F59PHI #463.

F59PHI #459 had not moved from its previous position.

Amtrak P42DC #77 would be the lead locomotive on my train.

On Track 10 the southbound Coast Starlight had just arrived with California Zephyr private dome car "Silver Lariat" on the rear.

As is to be expected, a my train was equipped with a new Viewliner II baggage car. They certainly look a lot nicer inside than the old stock.

The closed LA Terminal Tower and associated signals awaiting out on time 10pm departure.

Well that's it for LA and California. A 10pm departure doesn't leave much light for photos so we'll pick up next time as I tour the Gasden Purchase via the Sunset Route.

15-12-27 PHOTOS: Keep on the Sunnyside

15-09-20 PHOTOS: Euro Sampler

15-12-28 PHOTOS: SEPTA Mid-Winter Trip XV

15-08-14 GUEST PHOTOS: West Chester Branch

16-01-01 PHOTOS: Elkton

16-01-25 PHOTOS: NE See Snow

16-02-04 VIDEOS: Amtrak Hudson Line

16-02-06 PHOTOS: Empire State of Mind

16-02-19 PHOTOS: PORT

16-03-25 PHOTOS: PERRY

16-04-16 PHOTOS: New Brunswick

16-05-11 PHOTOS: Santa Clara

16-05-12 PHOTOS: Donner Summit

16-05-22 PHOTOS: NS Savannah

16-05-27 PHOTOS: Ardmore

03-07-11 CLASSIC PHOTOS: NYC Subway Bronx Trip

16-06-04 PHOTOS: AEM-7 Faux Farewell Fantrip

16-04-30 PHOTOS: Baltimore Trenches

16-06-14 PHOTOS: San Diego Trolley

16-06-15 PHOTOSL LAUPT Night