More Bad for the Railroads

It had been assumed by some earlier this year that coal was a recession-proof railroad load. The October, 2009 issue of Trains Magazine reports coal traffic for the Big Six RR in 2nd Qtr 09 down up to 26% (NS) from 2nd Qtr 08 with the exception of BNSF. Lower coal loads are related to decreased industrial electric power demand. Two other demand slumps are: coal for metalurgical coke making, and export coal through East Coast ports.

It's Still A Mystery To Me

Reposted from 2007. I still have not found a definitive answer to the mystery. What seems most likely is the car being rented out for a movie. Sometime in the years since it was repainted to the PRR markings.
Look carefully at this photo of PRR 4418, taken at Travel Town in Los Angeles in 1968. See the name painted on the car? The Coach of Fame? What does that mean? As best I can find out PRR 4418 is a class D78 diner donated to the City of Los Angeles in 1958.
Maybe the PRR Technical and Historic Society members can help me with this mystery. I am going to post a question on their discussion site.
The photo was scanned from a print I made from 35mm Kodak Plus-X film shot with a Pentax SLR.

From the Front Porch

Reposted from 2007. Another in a series of good Summer places.

In Cresson, Pennsylvania doublestacks and TOFC climb towards the Galitzin tunnels and Horseshoe Curve on an August morning in 2007. The place is in front of The Station Inn, possibly the finest train watching spot in the northeast. Don Davis, your innkeeper, not only knows how to make your stay enjoyable but is also a great guy to talk to about area railroads.

Later, in the evening, Amtrak's Pennsylvanian passes our Inn vantage point on its way to Pittsburgh.

San Antonio Set Outs

reposted from 2007 - note: in 2009 Amtrak is discussing increased service in Texas.

One of my childhood memories involves travel in Pullman "set-out" sleepers. Set-outs were cars to or from a location that had late night connections with a long distance train. You would board a sleeping car "set out" at the depot at maybe 10 PM, retire and be coupled onto your through train at maybe 2 or 3 AM. Conversely your set-out might be decoupled from the through train at 3 AM and you would stay on board until 7 AM.

Fast forward to October, 2007 at Sunset Station San Antonio. The photo shows Amtrak Superliner sleeper and coach sitting in the station around noon Monday, connected to platform power. Amtrak's schedules for the Sunset Limited (Los Angeles - New Orleans) and the Texas Eagle (Chicago - San Antonio) do not mention set-out service but my guess is that it has something to do with the Sunset Limited's scheduled service on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in San Antonio while the Texas Eagle is a daily train. The schedules indicate that through service to or from Chicago connect with the Sunset at San Antonio. Anyone know the real situation?

I have been shooting train pictures with a Nikon D70 since the middle of 2005. Before that I used a Nikon E885 digital for 3 years and before that a series of 35mm SLR's. I try to shoot landscape type pictures using Aperture Priority of f18 for deep depth of field and action shots with Shutter Priority of 1/500th second to freeze the subject. I'll use the camera's Automatic capability when I have to act quickly. If it's an action shot I'll try to pan with the subject to try and freeze it. Sometimes it works, sometime not. A little bit of blurring on a speeding locomotive like the Acella actually improves the impression of speed. I usually shoot with the D70 Nikkor 18-70 mm f3.5-4.5 zoom lens. I use a Quantaray 70-300 mm f4-5.6 zoom for long shots and for shots where absolutely maximum clarity is needed I use the Nikkor 50 mm f1.8 lens.

Flatonia, Texas Photo Pavilion

Reposted from October 23, 2007. About 90 miles East of San Antonio on UP's Sunset Route the little town of Flatonia built a photo pavilion at the crossing of UP's Glidden (Sunset Route) and Cuero subdivisions. Southern Pacific's Tower #3 has been relocated to a small park in the town itself along with an SP caboose. Like a lot of the Sunset Route (Los Angeles - New Orleans), this area is single-tracked.; a good example of the huge capital investments facing railroads trying to cope with traffic increases. I watched an eastbound UP rock train holding at Flatonia (MP 120) for a southbound Kansas City Southern merchandise freight to clear the curve from Eastbound Sunset Route to the southbound Cuero subdivision bound for company tracks and the Mexican border.

Speeders Never Die

This little Fairmont M19 track car is displayed at the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio. Check out their website for more in-depth information on these small important rail cars. TTM is a prime example of the well-run railfan volunteer operated museum. Pay them a visit at 11731 Wetmore Road right next to San Antonio International Airport.

Railyard Landscaping

Reposted from 2007
Here is Pennsylvania Railroad flatcar number 469742 at rest in Norfolk Southern's Dillerville yard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Are we looking at the decay of a working rail car or are we seeing a new piece of landscaping in the process of growing?

I shot this picture in 2005 from one of my favorite spots: the pedestrian bridge that spans the Dillerville yard. There is talk in 2007 of closing this yard whose history dates back to the middle of the 19th century. Norfolk Southern has been offered replacement real estate west of the current yard limits. This has not been popular with the proposed yard's residential neighbors, but it looks inevitable to me. Closing the east end of Dillerville will take a good photo spot away from me while at the same time it will allow the joining of some Lancaster streets for the first time in the automobile era. Rails can divide towns as well as joining them together.

Summer Fun Continued

I enjoy shooting video of this Southbound Amtrak Regional headed towards Baltimore and Washington DC. The fuzzy shot was taken from the far end of the platform at Perryville, Maryland. This is about as far as one should enlarge a photo for web use. I cropped it severely from a 3000 x 2000 pixel at 240 dots per inch to this image which is 800 pixels wide (when you click on it) at 96 dots per inch. I reduce resolution for web use because of the limited capability of all computer screens other than some very expensive ones used in professional graphics.

New Rail Terminal for Cumberland Valley

WGAL-TV8, the NBC television station for Lancaster and Harrisburg, PA is reporting a new intermodal rail terminal plan jointly announced by PA Governor Ed Rendell and the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Read the company's press release for details.

The new terminal, occupying some 200 acres, is to be located in Greencastle, Franklin County, PA. When completed in 2015 the new terminal will employ about 600 people.

This is part of the Crescent Corridor project which intends to enhance Norfolk Southern’s 2,500-mile rail network that supports the supply chain from the Gulf Coast and Memphis to Harrisburg, Philadelphia and the New York metropolitan area. When this long range project is complete it is expected to absorb about a million truckloads of freight from the region's highways.

The site chosen is in the region of the former PRR/Norfolk & Western Harrisburg to Roanoke connection.

Spending The Stimulus Money

Following up on yesterday's post about spending a little federal economic stimulus money. Here's another picture of the Amtrak station at Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Cracked pavement on the platform, nice woodwork under attack by the elements, sagging electrical wiring and more. The federal money to restore the station has been approved but can't be spent because it has to flow through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation which is without a budget during a standoff fight between the governor and the state legislature. Good intentions by all parties involved resulting in nothing being done. Meanwhile what happens when the contractors who submitted the winning bids tire of waiting around and start work elsewhere?

Station Renovation and State Budget Mess

This is what you see outside the window of your Amtrak Keystone Line coach during the stop at Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. A once-fine stone building showing signs of years of neglect. For years local officials have tried to get the long-closed station renovated. Earlier this year more than $9 million in federal economic stimulus funds was awarded to the project. The funds would be used to fix up the station building and platforms, add parking and make the station handicapped accessible. Construction bids came in more than a million dollars below the budget so one would think this project could get going. Well, one would be wrong.

The money coming from Washington, D.C. has to come by way of Harrisburg and the state Transportation Department. That department's budget is stalled in a fight between the governor and legislators to pass a state budget. Pennsylvania has been without a budget since June 30, 2009 and few signs of the impasse being solved are evident. Local officials are worried about delays that could further postpone this project as winter with its concrete pouring restrictions comes into the picture. Another concern is workers scheduled for this project being diverted to other projects. You would think all of this would be enough, but no; Lancaster County officials now have their eyes on this project's funds to help with another Amtrak station renovation project underway at Lancaster's historic Pennsylvania station.

Good Summer Day

What more could you ask for on a Summer morning? I'm shooting video of the passing Northbound Amtrak Acela Express from the platform at Perryville, Maryland. The train is just coming off the Susquehanna River bridge and running at a restricted speed of 90 MPH.

Rocky Mountain Commuter

Early morning in Alamosa, Colorado reveals this double-deck commuter car that used to run on the Long Island Railroad and came to the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad after service on the West Texas and Lubbock Railway. Coupled to the right of coach 3009 is one of the RGSR dome cars originally built for the Santa Fe in 1954 and which have seen service on Amtrak's Auto Train and also Holland-America Line's rail tours in Alaska.