MAP: Washington, DC, then and now www.TrainsMag.com • October 2015
p. 40
Can customers just get their cars? p. 14
Mallet on the mend p. 62
From our archives
Best steam images p. 42
PLUS
Photo contest winners
p. 30
Rock Island recollections p. 52 Brazil with an American twist p. 22
Pennsy 4-6-2 steams in 1957.
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A study in steam A new book, in honor of Trains’ 75th anniversary, features lavish images of North American steam scenes, exclusively from Trains’ files
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Brazilian behemoth This ore-heavy narrow gauge line is among Western Hemisphere’s busiest railroads Adam Auxier
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Map of the Month: Washington, D.C., then and now Comparing the Washington Terminal, as mapped in Trains in 1940, to current facilities Bill Metzger
52
Afternoon in Ottawa Shadows of many shades were lengthening along the Rock Island in 1965 William Benning Stewart
58
winning photo contest entries at the Train of Thought blog
In My Own Words: First encounters of a close kind A railroad and a train crew bring a badly needed diversion for a first-year teacher Geoffrey H. Doughty
Photo of the Day
<< ON THE COVER Pennsylvania Railroad 4-6-2
NEWS
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No. 830 prepares for a run on PRR’s New York & Long Branch
6 10 14 16 18 20
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Division at South Amboy, N.J., on Jan. 1, 1957. Photo by Don Wood
14 Can customers just get their cars? 22 Brazil railroad with an American twist 30 Photo contest winners 40 Map: Washington, D.C., then and now 42 From our archives: best steam images 52 Rock Island recollections 62 Mallet on the mend
News & Photos Don Phillips Fred W. Frailey Locomotive Technology Passenger
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FROM THE EDITOR EDITOR A RT DI RECTOR PRODUCTION EDITOR
JIM WRINN
Saving the third generation
Angela Pusztai-Pasternak
A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R
David Lassen
A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R
Steve Sweeney
A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R
Brian Schmidt
E D I T O R I A L A S S I S TA N T
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SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
When an Amtrak P32 showed up on the Empire Builder not once but twice earlier this year, it caused quite a stir. There weren’t many of them built, just 20 back in 1991, and they didn’t last long on the main line before P40s and P42s became the replacements for the enduring F40s. Today, the 18 remaining P32s are used in switching duty at major terminals, so catching No. 503 eastbound on the point coming into Milwaukee was a rare feat. Seeing the unit reminded me how time is passing fast and that railway preservation is facing a new dilemma: How to preserve and interpret the modern era? How will museums and tourist railroads save rolling stock from the third (or is it fourth now?) generation of diesels, the post-Staggers Act deregulation era? I predict it is going to be tough to make this happen. Despite the fact that railroading is prospering, railway preservation is still struggling. State-supported museums — including the North Carolina Transportation Museum, where I have volunteered since 1986 — have faced sharp budget cuts since the 2008 recession. Small nonprofits engaged in industrial preservation find themselves far down the line when it comes to donations. And most museums that I know still have a significant backlog of restorations to do. They’re already committed to what’s on the property.
Jim Wrinn
Thomas G. Danneman
In 100 years, when visitors to museums in Strasburg, Pa.; Duluth, Minn.; St. Louis; and Sacramento, Calif., look at the collections, will they marvel at everything we put away in the middle of the 20th century, and wonder what happened to railroading’s new golden era in the early 21st century? I’m not a big believer in saving everything — rolling stock is expensive to maintain and restore. But I do hope that the preservation community is thinking about and talking about how to interpret the modern era, including locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars. In 20 years, wouldn’t it be great to drop in, say, at the Illinois Railway Museum, find a seat in a Superliner sightseer lounge, and let a passenger diesel from the 1990s or early 2000s pull us through the cornfields? Maybe No. 503 or one of her P40 or P42 sisters would lead. I’d buy a ticket.
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With GE P32 No. 503 in the lead, Amtrak’s eastbound Empire Builder passes the MillerCoors brewery in Milwaukee. Will the third generation see preservation? TR A I NS :
4
Trains OCTOBER 2015
Jim Wrinn
RAILWAY POST OFFICE be no harm in requiring a second person in the cab of a locomotive, except for the profit margin of the railroad. Michael McDermott Port Orange, Fla.
CSX Transportation GP15-1 No. 1542 backs into Lafayette Yard at Lafayette, Ind., on Jan. 10, 2013. J us t i n S a n d l i n
ONE-PERSON CREWS? Editor Jim Wrinn has performed a valuable service with his editorial, “Not the Time for One-Man Crews” [page 4, August]. His common-sense approach to the question about train crew sizes is as refreshing as it is necessary. I made my first visit to an engine terminal in April 1954 and witnessed the transition from steam to diesel. Around 1960 I asked a railroader why a fireman is still necessary, now that locomotives no longer had fires to tend. He answered, “It’s all about safety; you still need another pair of eyes up there.” That made sense at the time and still does. As noted in the article, a second person in a cab might see and hear things that the engineer, concentrating on operating the locomotive(s) and handling the train, might not. Also, a second crew member can assist the engiONE neer by performing tasks, such MAN CREWS as coupling and uncoupling 611 roars cars, applying or releasing back hand brakes, and lining switches, which would be either impossible or require more time for one person. A third reason for requiring two people to be in a locomotive cab: the engineer has the benefit of an additional mind to help analyze problems and suggest ways to deal with them. This can be critical when the engineer has been on duty for most of the 12-hour limit and is anxious to go off duty and get some rest. Under the best of circumstances, a railroad is a dangerous place. In a mindless quest to spend as little money as possible on operating personnel, some railroads are endangering safety while claiming to enhance it. Clearly, there can
In response to Justin Franz’s feature, “Last Man Standing?” [pages 22-31, August], I am not a railroader and have no experience in the operation of trains. My only cab ride was a short one on the Leadville, Colorado & Southern. I do have experience in the operation and maintenance of complex equipment in a hostile environment. An operating principle in the Submarine Force that goes a long way toward its history of surfacings equaling submergings since World War II is what might be called the “shipmate principle.” The principle recognizes that even the most experienced and trained individual can have a mental lapse, and if not caught, could be the trigger to a series of events leading to disaster. An example of its application would be in preparing a boat for sea, it is “rigged for dive,” an operation in which all the systems needed for at-sea operation are placed in their required condition. In each compartment, an experienced and qualified petty officer, using an approved checklist, personally aligns the systems. He is followed by a second experienced and qualified petty officer who independently goes through the same checklist. Any discrepancies are resolved, then both petty officers report that the specific compartment is rigged for the dive to the Chief of the Watch. Another aspect of its application is the submarine culture that crew members, officers, and enlisted are expected to be aware of their surroundings and events. If they think something is amiss on their watch station or on another watch station, they have an obligation to bring it to the attention of their superiors immediately. On one patrol, my navigator laid out a course through shoal or shallow water — a mental lapse. My executive officer caught it. I vote for two-person crews. John D’Aloia Jr., captain (ret.), U.S. Navy St. Marys, Kan.
ANOTHER TOWER FALLS: WHAT’S STILL STANDING
THE magazine of railroading
Good idea or disaster? p. 22
p. 38
PLUS
Streetcar named high tech p. 32 To B unit or not to B unit p. 16
p. 48
www.TrainsMag.com • August 2015
Would PTC, video have prevented this? p. 6
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5
NEWS&PHOTOS
A Union Pacific freight passes former Chicago & North Western searchlight signals at Cortland, Ill., in July 2015.
Mat t Krause
Senate looks at PTC provisions Latest Senate Bill proposes extension to 2018; action expected after August recess The pressure for legislators and railroads to do something about the looming positive train control deadline increases almost daily [see “Federal PTC Deadline Looms,” “News & Photos,” September 2015]. By summer, all Class I railroads stated that they will not meet the Dec. 31 deadline, including BNSF Railway, which was considered to be ahead of the pack on PTC development and implementation. There is strong rhetoric in Congress around PTC. Commenting on a recent Senate transportation bill containing a provision that the PTC deadline be extended to Dec. 31, 2018, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said “[PTC] should be done immediately. There shouldn’t be an extension. Given the high number of accidents, and given the fact that PTC is really effective, they should stick with 2015.” However, according to the Association of American Railroads, the U.S. accident rate is down 45 percent since 2000. Union Pacific President and CEO Lance M. Fritz said during the railroad’s
FRA finalizes hazmat hand-brake rules The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a final rule to prevent unattended trains that carry crude, ethanol, poisonous by inhalation, toxic by inhalation, and other highly flammable contents
6
Trains OCTOBER 2015
second quarter earnings call, “We’ve been crystal clear with our regulators and elected officials that we need [the PTC deadline extension], that Union Pacific is not going to make the deadline.” Fritz went on to say that “... we’ve got to start making plans in case a PTC extension does not occur. And, we’ll then have to start communicating to our affected customers and commuter agencies what those plans are and what the timing is.” The Senate transportation bill containing the PTC deadline extension is known as the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act. It also includes money for the Highway Trust Fund, which would have been exhausted shortly if Congress did not act. On July 30, the Senate approved the transportation bill by a vote of 65-34, yet the House did not take up the bill, as it headed for the August recess. However, the House had already sent a stopgap bill to the Senate that would keep highway money flowing to states through Oct. 29, and the Senate from rolling away. Railroad employees responsible for securing a train will now be permanently required to communicate with another qualified individual to verify that trains and equipment are properly secured. The rule applies to trains left unattended on a main line, siding, or yard track, carrying any poison-
approved this bill with a 91-4 vote, and sent it to the White House for President Obama’s signature. There are, essentially, three possible scenarios around the PTC deadline: Congress will do nothing, and the deadline will be enforced by the Federal Railroad Administration, which will levy fines beginning Jan. 1, 2016; Congress will grant an extension from three to five years for all railroads; or Congress will allow the FRA to grant extensions on a case-by-case basis, but no extension will be greater than five years. The first scenario could spark legal battles if railroads make the point that they do not want to break the PTC law, but the only way to avoid doing so is to back away from their legal obligation as common carriers by refusing to haul toxic-by-inhalation materials and to host commuter and Amtrak intercity passenger trains. This leaves the PTC deadline extension debate on the table until Congress returns in September. — David C. Lester ous by inhalation and toxic by inhalation hazardous materials, and trains carrying 20 or more cars of other high-hazard flammable materials. The final rule will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Exterior locks on locomotives will also be required by March 1, 2017, and must be used when a
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Fritz named as chairman, Koraleski to retire
locomotive is left unattended. Since the July 2013 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, derailment and fire, the U.S. Department of Transportation has taken more than 30 actions, including regulations, emergency orders, and safety advisories, related to high-hazard flammable trains. — Brian Schmidt
SP v43
COMMUNICATIONS
UP makes moves in top leadership
Union Pacific’s Lance M. Fritz can soon add “chairman” to his resume. In late July the railroad’s board voted for Fritz, 52, to assume the chairmanship upon the retirement of John J. “Jack” Koraleski on Oct. 1. Fritz was elected president and CEO Feb. 5, 2015. He was named president and chief operating officer Feb. 6, 2014. He was executive vice president of operations from 2010-2014, and previously served as vice president of labor relations. Fritz began his career with UP in July 2000 in marketing and sales as vice president and general manager for energy. He succeeds Koraleski, 64, who plans to retire Sept. 30 after a 43-year career at the railroad in which he served in several positions including executive chairman; chairman, president, and chief executive officer; and executive vice president for marketing and sales. The board also elected Scott D. Moore as senior vice president for corporate relations, effective Sept. 1. He will have company-wide responsibility for internal and external communications, public affairs, media relations, brand management, and advertising. Moore will also serve as president of the Union Pacific Foundation. He has been vice president for public affairs for the railroad’s western region, based in Roseville, Calif., since August 2007. Moore joined Union Pacific in 2000 as director of government affairs. He is a former Nebraska Secretary of State and a state senator. He succeeds Robert W. Turner, who plans to retire Oct. 1. UP also selected Todd M. Rynaski as chief accounting officer, vice president, and controller effective Sept. 1. Rynaski has been assistant vice president of accounting since January 2014. Rynaski joined Union Pacific in 1995 and held positions in corporate audit, planning and analysis, revenue accounting, and information technology. Rynaski succeeds Jeffrey P. Totusek, who plans to retire in 2016. — Brian Schmidt
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7
NEWS&PHOTOS
‘Desert Line’ revival on the horizon? Pacific Imperial Railroad dreams big with intermodal in California’s Imperial Valley
PA C
To Los Angeles
OCE
AN
LI
BNSF
IFIC
CA
San Diego
RN
lease with Pacific Imperial in 2012. Initial plans indicated trains would be running by early 2014, but that has not happened. The lease with Pacific Imperial was criticized by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, who asked the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California to investigate the railroad. “Whenever a public asset is either being misused or mismanaged, or as allegations are presented, it is critical that the necessary steps are taken to ensure the public trust is upheld and the asset in question is neither a liability nor exists to perpetuate unlawful activity,” Rep. Hunter said in the November 2014 letter. To date, nothing has come of any investigation, and no findings have been made public. Officials with Pacific Imperial did not respond to questions from Trains in time for publication. Pacific Imperial has signed a memorandum of understanding with Baja Rail, operator of the Mexican portion of the route, for cooperation and connection. International rail service was seen as a key requirement
Pacific Imperial Railroad
El Cajon
Plaster City PIR Coyote Wells
CALIFORNIA
SD&IV
San Ysidro Tijuana
FO
Pacific Imperial Railroad equipment rests in the desert in February 2015, west of Plaster City, Calif., having not yet turned a wheel in revenue service. Charles Freericks
PIR
Tecate BR
Jacumba
MEXICO
IA
Map area
0
BR Baja Rail PIR Pacific Imperial SD&IV San Diego & Imperial Valley Other railroads BNSF BNSF Railway N UP Union Pacific
Scale
© 2015 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson Not all lines shown
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Trains OCTOBER 2015
To Sunset Route UP
UP
Intermodal traffic could be in the future of a beleaguered short line in Southern California’s Imperial Valley. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System will renegotiate terms of the 99-year lease for the so-called “Desert Line,” a former Southern Pacific line between San Diego and the Sunset Route, with lessee Pacific Imperial Railroad. The proposed changes push back a contract milestone that called for the entire line to be brought up to Class I track standards by August 2015; the new agreement would have that task completed by May 2017. The changes proposed by Pacific Imperial will emphasize reconstruction of the easternmost 9.5 miles of the line between Coyote Wells and the Union Pacific connection at Plaster City to serve a proposed intermodal facility. Such a facility would enable containers to be transferred to rail movement to the east. Railroad officials hope to assemble a 100-car train daily, providing an alternative means of shipment out of factories in northern Baja California, Mexico, most of which now ship by truck to intermodal facilities in the Los Angeles and San Bernardino areas. In early 2015, Pacific Imperial announced a major change in its ownership, with new persons or entities now holding 55 percent of the stock. The identity of those new holders has not been revealed. Pacific Imperial has made its two 2015 lease payments of $500,000 each, the first in January, and the second in early July. Beyond making a total of five such semiannual payments, little progress has been made. An engineering study to identify the repair and restoration work on the 70mile line was performed in 2014, but the details have not been announced. The San Diego transit agency, owner of the line since the late 1970s, signed the
50 miles
for serving Mexican manufacturing plants. The line to the east, officially the transit agency-owned San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway, has been largely out of service for three decades. When completed in 1919, some called it the final transcontinental link. About 40 miles of the line is in Mexico, now owned by the Mexican railway system, and some of that line is used for local service by Baja Rail, with a U.S. connection on the west end through San Diego. The transit agency acquired the line to use the right-of-way in the San Diego metropolitan area for its San Diego Trolley light rail. It uses nearly all of the old San Diego & Arizona Eastern lines in the metro area, and has constructed more lines in recent years. Southern Pacific included the eastern segment, now referred to as the Desert Line, in the sale. It runs from the border crossing east of Tecate to Plaster City and passes through some rugged and seldomseen territory in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The spectacular Carrizo Gorge, west of Coyote Wells, has many trestles and tunnels, with the wooden Goat Canyon Trestle as its signature structure. Pacific Imperial now expects to raise capital to refurbish the entire U.S. portion of the line. Estimates of the cost range from $20 million to as much as $150 million. Thirty years or more of little or no routine maintenance represents a substantial amount of deferred work on a mountain railroad. Of more immediate concern now is the restoration of the short portion between Plaster City and Coyote Wells and the construction of an intermodal facility there. — Don Jones
COMMENTARY
BY DON PHILLIPS
We are railfans first Without that passion, why else would we be interested in saving railroading? Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 was a beautiful sight as she crested the Blue Ridge grade May 30 for the first time in 20 years. I am a purist in that I’m not particularly interested in seeing the J run anywhere except on former N&W track, so there was no use trying to follow her up the old Southern Railway main line to Lynchburg, Va., from Spencer, N.C. It had been a couple of decades since I had seen No. 611 in excursion service. However, back in 1958, the big beautiful 4-8-4s were near the end of their regular service, and I got to Roanoke, Va., just in time to see them. The Js were, and No. 611 still is, one of the most powerful and beautiful pieces of machinery ever built. The low-tone steamboat whistles were, and are, enough to raise goose bumps. However, my memory of the J’s power and sound had faded. As I stood on an overhead bridge near the crest of the Blue Ridge, the first sound of that deepthroated whistle in the distance brought
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Trains OCTOBER 2015
ONE MAN DESERVES FULL CREDIT FOR BRINGING BACK NO. 611: WICK MOORMAN shops. Photo runbys are now forbidden on Norfolk Southern, for reasons that are unclear to me but probably include lawyers. It would be useless for me to ride any trip with such strange rules. But at Spencer we had a day of repeated runbys and shots at the roundhouse, into the night. The museum even arranged for old automobiles to
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back the goose bumps. That was the only photo I took of that trip, a plan that I continued for the first public excursions July 4 weekend. Four beautiful shots a day, going and coming from Roanoke, were enough. Actually, I told a small lie. Late in May, before I took the Blue Ridge photo, I signed up for the North Carolina Transportation Museum’s day of photos at its Spencer
appear in some scenes, which didn’t suit my taste but was fine for most of the group. One man deserves full credit for bringing back No. 611: Wick Moorman, immediate past president of Norfolk Southern, and now executive chairman of the board. Wick is a railfan. He admits it. Without him, No. 611 would be dead. Still preserved, but dead. The four largest U.S.-based railroads have different attitudes about steam. Union Pacific is at the top, and I’m looking forward to seeing 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 in steam some day. UP has a steam shop in Cheyenne, and clearly intends to keep steam up in at least one of its locomotives for the foreseeable future. UP’s only problem is that it will run only UP locomotives, not those from railroads that were merged into UP. That includes the beautiful ex-Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4, No. 4449, which now runs out of Portland, Ore., on other railroads. Norfolk Southern seems to be No. 2 on the list, at least for now. BNSF won’t run steam on its own, but occasionally allows
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others to do so. That includes No. 4449, and former Milwaukee Road No. 261. At the bottom of the list, way down, is CSX, which won’t run any steam. Don’t even bring it up. After the major railroads come hundreds of tourist railroads and short lines that will run steam. Some of those are so close to real that it isn’t possible to call them tourist with a straight face. The former Rio Grande narrow gauge lines in Colorado and New Mexico top that list. As I have written before, it will be possible to keep most of these lines running for generations to come. Hundreds of bright young people volunteer to work on these railroads every year, and the brightest will go on to learn a heck of a lot. Some will go into permanent jobs with a salary. As they grow older, they will teach newcomers, who will also learn from their own mistakes. If you were looking for a serious point to this column, I hope you aren’t disappointed. From time to time, all of us must remind ourselves that we’re railfans first, even if we often delve into serious subjects. Some railfans scoff at being serious, which is too bad. The past few decades have been filled with serious people who saved railroading. But they are first railfans. Why else would they even be involved in saving railroading? 2
Norfolk & Western No. 611 crests the Blue Ridge grade for the first time in more than two decades during a May 30 trip marking the locomotive’s return to service. Don Phillips
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[email protected]
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Duffields Station, located at Duffields, WV, built in 1839, is the oldest surviving purpose-built combined freight and passenger railroad station in the United States, and is on the National Register of Historic places. Duffields Station, Inc. is an IRS designated 501 (c)(3) non-profit, incorporated in West Virginia in 2003. Some work has been done to stabilize the building, with grant assistance from the Division of Culture and History of West Virginia. We have a completed restoration plan for the station, prepared by Mills Group of Morgantown, WV. The budget is $920,000. The restored station will become a museum and meeting place. We seek institutional donors to assist us in raising these funds. Individual donations are also welcome. Please send inquiries to Joseph Snyder, President, Duffields Station, 106 Ashley Drive, Shepherdstown, WV 25443, tel. 304-876-3208. Please send donations to David Lubic, Treasurer, 417 True Apple Way, Inwood, WV 25428. (no cash please; your check is your receipt).
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12
Trains OCTOBER 2015
This steel bridge crosses the Yalobusha River just north of Grenada.
Five photos, Ed Ellis
Iowa Pacific moves to operate historic Mississippi rail line For Iowa Pacific President Ed Ellis, a homecoming of sorts “My mother is from Grenada, I spent summers in Grenada, and I learned how to run a locomotive in Grenada,” Iowa Pacific Holdings President Ed Ellis says. Growing up around the Illinois Central in Mississippi led to a lifelong love of the IC, so it should come as no surprise that Ellis’ Chicago-based company is taking over operation of the 186-mile Grenada Railway, which includes the former IC passenger main in Mississippi. The railroad consists of two segments: the Grenada Branch between milepost 403.0 near Southaven, Miss., and milepost 703.8 near Canton, Miss., a distance of about 175.4 route-miles that once hosted IC passenger trains. There is also an 11.42mile branch line from Water Valley Junction, the connection with the Grenada Branch, and Bruce Junction, Miss. The new Grenada Railroad uses the existing Grenada Railway operating and interchange rights with Canadian National giving it access to CN’s yards in Memphis,
Tenn., and Canton. It also used locomotives already on the property when it assumed operations July 29. Iowa Pacific’s involvement began when Grenada Railway filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon the line south of Grenada to Canton, out of service since 2011. Iowa Pacific filed to participate in the abandonment with the idea that the railroad might be saved, even though the majority of the business was on the northern half of the line. The abandonment petition was withdrawn, but Iowa Pacific caught the attention of government leaders who were interested in preserving rail service. The state of Mississippi sent bonds and loans to the North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority to buy the railroad, which later named Iowa Pacific as operator. The authority is chaired by Water Valley Mayor Larry Hart, a former IC engineer who worked the Grenada line. Ellis sees the future for Grenada in forest products, which went into decline in
This rail burn is the result of a stall on Hardy Hill. The line has tougher grades than the parallel line IC opted to keep.
A concrete bridge south of Winona where the center pier has sagged caused the previous operator to embargo the line.
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the 1990s and early 2000s, but which he says is undergoing a rebirth in Mississippi. There is a relatively new paper mill in Grenada, but the logs are moved by truck. Ellis says there are probably 200 cars of logs a week that could move by rail, with hauls anywhere from 30 miles to 120 miles. Several lumber companies have expressed interest in resuming service. For those companies that no longer have rail service, the railroad will set up transload points. “Basically what we will be doing is setting up rail loading points. Most of the sidings are still in place; there are a few that are gone but the switch ties are still there,” Ellis says. “So if all we have to do to crank this up is to put in a couple of switches and some short side tracks so that we can move more logs, we will. “Iowa Pacific’s goal is to turn the Grenada Railroad into a 30,000 car a year railroad,” Ellis adds. “We think there is a tremendous opportunity over the next 10 or 15 years in forest products.” Parts of the railroad will also provide car storage. Amtrak’s City of New Orleans was rerouted west to the parallel IC Yazoo District between Memphis and Jackson in 1995, and there are no plans for it to return. But Iowa Pacific operates a variety of passenger services on its short lines, and Ellis says it is likely Iowa Pacific will operate a Holiday Train on the Grenada Railroad this season. Iowa Pacific owns several passenger units painted in the old Illinois Central colors, so its likely that IC-painted E units and matching cars will highball down the old “Main Line of Mid-America” later this year. — Steve Glischinski
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This fallen tree illustrates the difficulty faced in clearing the line and returning the full route to service.
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13
COMMENTARY
BY FRED W. FRAILEY
Whatever happened to service? The big railroads continue to fail to do what they say they will do of similarly stranded loads on CSX Transportation was more than The quarterly earnings call with analysts in July was an embarrassment for David Starling, chief executive of Kansas City Southern 13,000). The only Class I railroads that consistently move cars and trains along without undue delay appear to be Canadian National Railway. I mean, what excuse matters when carloadings fall 6 perand Canadian Pacific, at least in their U.S. operations. cent versus a year earlier and you still have huge delays for lack of So what is customer service? My definition is simple: Doing crews to move less traffic? The problem centered on KCS lines in Mexico, where hiring and qualification of new train-service employ- what you say you will do when you say you will do it. Shortline and regional railroads are good at this, and the big railroads ought ees fell far behind the attrition rate. Customers of high-value cargos to be good because they have the money and the tools. Every time fled the railroad for other means of moving their goods. What did a Class I railroad takes on a carload of KCS do about this crisis? Why, it instituted freight, a trip plan is generated that says its first-ever share-buyback program, a $500 DO YOU KNOW OF ANY CLASS I RAILwhat connections the car will make at million rescue mission from its treasury to prop up the share price of the company and ROAD WHOSE TRANSPORTATION PEOPLE which locations and the day it will be delivered at its destination. But as you can see, thereby ensure that Starling, who owns ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR GETTING that’s not happening. The cycle time of 172,706 shares, won’t suffer economically from this catastrophe on his own watch. I CARS TO CUSTOMERS WHEN PROMISED? boxcars is so slow — a month between loadings — that building new boxcars is just wish I knew what this buyback will do not economically justified. “It still takes to improve service for KCS customers. weeks for a single car to traverse the network, and transit times are Kansas City Southern isn’t in the customer service doghouse by highly irregular,” says Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail itself. I drove alongside the Chicago-Los Angeles Transcon of BNSF Railway in June and was struck that high-priority Z-class trains were World, which owns railroads in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. He says service may be significantly worse than in the age of steam. 5, 7, 9 hours behind their schedules — this before floods that sevHere’s what I think is happening. First of all, on any large railered the railroad in Missouri. During a recent week, 745 BNSF trains were held short of their destinations for 6 hours or longer, and road, you’re always going to have issues: derailments, floods, blizzards, crew imbalances, bloated terminals. So perfection in doing 12,047 loaded cars had not moved in two to five days (the number
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Trains OCTOBER 2015
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what you say you will do is unachievable. Yet why can’t it at least improve? Any yard with an average freight-car-dwell time of more than 30 hours is missing trip-plan connections. New business causes crew and locomotive shortages, meaning trains are held and get off schedule. Local freight crews routinely run by setoff and pickup points in order to get to their destinations before their service time expires. The proliferation of unit trains is killing the schedules of general freight trains, which in theory have priority. However, terminals have few places to stash a long unit train so the crew that should run the scheduled general freight is put on the unit train to get rid of it. And do you know any Class I railroad whose transportation people are held accountable for getting cars to customers when promised? I sure don’t. You have to wonder what would happen if the bonuses of operating officers, down to the level of division and terminal superintendent and maybe even trainmasters, were determined by the percentage of original trip plans successfully executed. I suspect you would find a lot of empty yards and happy customers. I asked the president of one regional railroad how he would approach the problem of customer service if he were offered the job of running, say, CSX. His first answer was that he wouldn’t take the job. Then he smiled and continued: “I’d call in the chief financial officer, the chief transportation officer, and the chief marketing officer. I’d tell them that the four of us in coming weeks are going to go visit each of our 100 largest customers. We will ask them what we need to do to deserve more business. And whatever that is, all four of us will have to agree among ourselves to accomplish it. Unless we all buy in, very little will happen. But if we can do that, we’ll probably be satisfying the rest of our customers in the process.” So much goes in to doing what you say you will do. You need adequate capacity in the right places, and that takes capital investment, which is often lacking in this era of share buybacks and dividend in-
Milwaukee Road diesel switcher 1827 works the Beer Line at Chestnut Street in Milwaukee in the 1950s. Wallace W. Abbey
creases. You need to quickly flush out yards and get cars on their way. You need a scheduling plan that minimizes the handling of cars en route, which means more point-to-point freights that run right through terminals untouched. You need commitment to do these things up and down the chain of command. All this is so hard to accomplish that some railroads would probably prefer to be rid of much of their business that isn’t intermodal, automotive, or unit train. I have a better idea: If regional railroads can accomplish all these things, the big boys in this industry need to try harder. 2
Fred W. Frailey is author of “Twilight of the Great Trains.” Reach him at
[email protected]. This column was adapted from a TrainsMag.com blog.
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15
LOCOMOTIVE
BY CHRIS GUSS
Here comes Tier 4 GE begins filling orders while EMD readies demonstrators
New Tier 4-compliant ET44C4 locomotives for BNSF Railway test at Ponder, Texas, in July.
The transition to the next generation of North American freight locomotives has begun. With construction of Credit User locomotives winding down, General Electric has assembled its first Tier 4-certified ET44AC, ET44AH, and ET44C4 models for delivery in the second half of 2015. Credit User engines are Tier 3 locomotives that use emission credits that have been already banked or generated in the current year to meet the current emission standards. As shown in the photos, the radiator section is the most notable exterior change from the Tier 3 models. The first Tier 4 ET44C4s emerged from GE’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant in May and were dispatched to Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, for testing. The first Tier 4 units constructed in Erie, Pa., followed several months later. GE is scheduled to build Tier 4 locomotives for BNSF Railway, Canadian National, CSX Transportation, and Union Pacific in 2015. BNSF received its first Tier 4 units for revenue service on July 29. EMD is working hard on its Tier 4 freight locomotive as well, with the builder scheduled to release five demonstrators for testing on a western Class I railroad later this year. Engine testing on its new 12cylinder, four-stroke diesel continues at its La Grange, Ill., facility, while the first locomotives are under construction at Progress Rail’s Muncie, Ind., plant. 2015 is shaping up to be a big year of change for both builders. 16
Trains OCTOBER 2015
Jason Burke
CSX’s first-production ET44AH underwent testing at the plant in Erie, Pa., during July. Note the large, flared radiator section at the rear of the unit. Stephan M. Koenig
EMD prepared this Tier 4 test bed at its plant in La Grange, Ill. As many as five demonstrators will be released for use on a western road later this year. Larr y Granger
>> LOCOMOTIVE BRIEFS
Former UP 90MACs go to work on NS
Norfolk Southern SD90MAC No. 7328 ducks under a signal bridge in Rochester, Ohio, with train 73X. The former Union Pacific SD9043MAC is one of 100, Nos. 7230-7329, NS acquired from Electro-Motive Diesel. Some of the units are stored in Roanoke, Va., while others, like this one, have been put to work. Derek Day
A nearly complete order for General Electric-built Indonesian CM20-EMPs awaits pick up at the interchange track at Erie, Pa., along with a single ES44AC for Kansas City Southern’s Mexican affiliate. The units are part of a 50-unit order placed in 2014. The balance will be completed by September 2016, with 10 units heading to Sumatra. GE has already supplied 100 of these unique units to PT KAI, the national railroad, which classifies them as CC206 locomotives. This bring the total built to 150 locomotives. Stephan M. Koenig
DESTINATION:
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17
TECHNOLOGY
BY TYLER TRAHAN
Little engines that do Refinements make ‘mobile railcar movers’ more versatile than industrial switchers alone
>> Titan specs
This Trackmobile Titan routinely can move the equivalent of one-fourth of a unit train.
Weighing in at 50,000 pounds, Trackmobile’s stout yellow Titan is among the heaviest railcar movers made today in a line that stretches back to the first prototype made in 1948 in suburban Chicago. As the largest in Trackmobile’s product line, the Titan has tractive effort to rival industrial switchers it often replaces. How does such a relatively tiny vehicle do this? By hydraulically lifting the railroad car it is attached to through the coupler, it can “borrow” up to 46,000 pounds of weight from that car to aid its tractive effort. If a car is coupled on each end, it can borrow as much as 92,000 pounds. The hydraulics are automatically regulated by the machine’s computer system to lift a car only about an inch, even on rough track. The Titan has disc brakes for moving by itself but operators almost always use the train air brakes when moving freight cars. Once the brake pipe has been connected, a rotary compressor quickly charges the train. The operator controls angle cocks and coupler knuckles from the cab. Trackmobiles use Cummins diesel engines and share a drive train between the 18
Trains OCTOBER 2015
A worker drives a Trackmobile Titan between switch jobs. The vehicles are fully customizable. Two photos, Tyler Trahan
flanged wheels and the rubber road tires, with the road tires driven directly off a gear-like extension of the rail wheels. Some customers find value in being able to move their Trackmobile around off the rails while switching, while others primarily use it on the track. It takes less than 30 seconds to switch modes, and the operator stays in the cab. Options include cameras, remotecontrol operation in rail mode, and a Tier 4-compliant engine system.
Top speed on rail: 13.6 mph Top speed on road: 8.7 mph Rail wheels: 27-inch AAR standard Road wheels: Goodyear 12 x 20-inch Engine: Cummins QSB6.7 turbocharged six-cylinder diesel Max. No. of freight cars hauled: 60 Typical No. of cars hauled: 25 Couplers: Proprietary, fully compatible Not street legal Commonly requested options include: • Fire extinguishers • Air conditioning • Air intake pre-cleaner • Extended cab window • Camera mounts • Foam-filled tires • Hydraulic tank heater • Wheel slip control • Automatic weight transfer system • Radio control • Turn signals • V-shaped snow plow Additional options include: • Pink breast cancer awareness paint • Pneumatic tool attachments • Laptop mounts • Custom interiors Source: Trackmobile
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PASSENGER
BY BOB JOHNSTON
Taming accessibility’s challenges Debut of unique Ann Arbor, Mich., platform is a start, but Amtrak still has heavy lifting to do
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A Attendees at the July 23, 2015, Ann Arbor event test the carbon fiber bridge plates with guardrails (A). The retracted shuttle cassette allows high-level platform train clearance (B); when extended, it provides level boarding (C). Six photos, Bob Johnston
The ability to use ramps instead of lugging suitcases or baby strollers up and down stairs is something travelers now take for granted. But the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed 25 years ago and wound up benefiting everyone, has only recently begun to gain ground for the intercity rail passengers the law was also intended to help. For decades, Amtrak’s attempts to eliminate barriers have largely been limited to upgrades to its aging passenger-car fleet: retrofitting handicap-accessible bathroom modules, providing a small area for either a wheelchair or a service dog in single-level coaches, and including an accessible bedroom in every sleeping car. Superliners do have more lower-level space, and newer, state-owned California Cars and Oregon’s latest Talgos attack the issue with built-in lifts that allow mobility-challenged patrons faster boarding than cumbersome handcrank lifts and unwieldy ramps. Except at major stations, progress implementing Federal Railroad Administration rules to ensure level boarding systemwide has lagged, in part because the Congressional attitude that cuts to Amtrak 20
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funding would somehow make it more “profitable” has pushed the company to invest limited resources elsewhere. Yet the current appropriation directs Amtrak to spend at least $50 million on making stations and platforms “ADA compliant,” a directive providing a separate pot of money for a number of initiatives: curb cuts and accessible washrooms at outposts like Rugby, N.D. (but nothing for fixing the station’s deteriorating roof soffits); passenger information displays capable of serving blind
Like this Capitol Corridor California Car, new bilevel equipment on order will offer lowlevel boarding with built-in lifts that can be quickly deployed, but require an operator.
and deaf patrons; and accessible boarding technology research and testing. Fortunately, Amtrak has a hands-on and knowledgeable program manager for these initiatives in Gary Talbot, an emphatic wheelchair-bound advocate for making company facilities seamlessly available to more than just able-bodied travelers. For years he has focused on a significant obstacle: level boarding with a federally mandated 5-inch gap between platform and passenger car can’t be costeffectively achieved where tracks are also used by wider freight cars if the platform is higher than 8 inches. So Talbot enlisted Michigan-based RLE International to help suggest a solution. “Less than two years ago there were just drawings, but now we have a prototype here at Ann Arbor,” Talbot tells Trains. At a July ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the ADA legislation, he and RLE president Rob Kokx explain the concept: a pre-stressed, pre-cast concrete ramp-equipped structure set back 9 feet from track center employs a 20-foot sliding platform, or cassette, that can be deployed in 11 seconds by station personnel, or re-
DURBIN & CASS
Mountain Rail Adventures Lansing, Mich., in motely by a con2016, “and from what ductor using a cell we’ve learned building phone app, to a this one, we can save 5-foot, 7-inch perhaps $300,000 by track center. If substituting pre-cast passengers use elements in site prepwheeled devices, aration work.” the conductor can As the U.S. popuplace a bridge lation ages, rail serplate with guardvice providers will rails made of need to increase the lightweight carbon amount and quality fiber over the Amtrak ADA Program Director Gary Talbot of the travel experi5-inch gap. The occupies the sole wheelchair-accessible ence available to pascassette can be ex- space in one of the Horizon coaches at sengers with a wide tended as long as the Ann Arbor platform unveiling. range of impaironly passenger ments. That was evident on the day of the trains use the track, and slides back under Ann Arbor event when more than 250 a walkway when not needed. passengers on a packed Wolverine Service “We’ve included enough technology in train were delayed at Kalamazoo, Mich., the design so that it won’t actuate if it defor almost 5 minutes because a slow-walktects metal above the (48-inch) height of a ing elderly woman forgot which car’s lugsingle-level car doorway,” adds Talbot, who gage rack held her suitcase. The two consays Amtrak holds the patents on the conductors had been busy detraining and cept. “We can potentially deploy the strucloading people at different car stairways ture to any top-of-rail door height, includand the café attendant couldn’t leave her ing the 15 inches used by Superliners and post, but a passenger eventually located Midwest bilevels on order.” With all of the original engineering involved, the prototype the suitcase, much to everyone’s relief. So the Ann Arbor shuttle platform cost about $1.9 million to build. It is set to installation is an encouraging step in the be in service for two years of evaluation in right direction, but mobility equality for all all kinds of weather and passenger demand travelers will need more attention, commitat this busy college-town station. Talbot ment, and investment in the years to come. hopes another structure can be built at East
Iowa Pacific takes over ‘Hoosier State’ New state service features food, a dome car, and hospitality
Steam Shutterbug Weekend November 7-8 Last chance this season to ride and photograph the Cass Scenic Railroad Shays, Heisler & Durbin Climax #3
Following his outstanding first book, Shortlines of the Pacific Northwest, noted shortline author, Jim Shaw presents his second title, Shortlines of the Desert Southwest—Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Hundreds of never before publlsihed photos are presented in vivid color and crisp black & white. Each photograph is comprehensively captioned. The photographic timeline stretches from the historic 1950s to the present. — Available October 2015 —
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DESERT SOUTHWEST
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SHORTLINES OF THE DESERT SOUTHWEST 5995 If ordered direct we offer FREE SHIPPING (U.S. only) OVERLAND ROUTE PASSENGER TRAINS 1947-1971
The Hoosier State stops at Dyer, Ind., on its first southbound run with Iowa Pacific equipment (left). Meal service includes cooked-to-order eggs and sausage for $6. Lef t photo, R.B. Olson
With little fanfare, on Aug. 2, the Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State began operating with Iowa Pacific locomotives, Heritage coaches, and an ex-Santa Fe dome car, where passengers can purchase beverages and full meals upstairs and café offerings on the lower level. The debut wasn’t assured until the night before, when last-minute track and switch construction connecting Iowa Pacific’s maintenance facility to CSX Transportation tracks was certified by Amtrak and Feder-
al Railroad Administration inspectors. Meals are similar to the first-class service featured on Iowa Pacific’s Chicago-New Orleans Pullman Rail Journeys excursions. They will eventually be included in newly defined Hoosier State Business Class pricing, but are being handled on a cash basis during the first month, when any passenger can sit in the dome. Initially, as a promotion, two fares on each train will cost only $1 for any destination. The November issue of Trains will have more on Iowa Pacific’s amenities.
John F. Strauss, Jr.
Overland Route 6995, CIR-2 5995 —If ordered direct we offer FREE SHIPPING (U.S. only). Foreign—Actual Cost; Canada 12.00; California residents add 5.25 sales tax. Don’t miss all the Action — Order Today!
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[email protected] Visit Our Website: www.fourwayswest.com DEALER INQUIRES ALWAYS WELCOME www.TrainsMag.com
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An empty EFVM ore train led by GE BB40-9WM No. 1247 glides along the Rio Doce near Barbados, Brazil, meeting loaded pulpwood train C638. Nicolas Fagundes
BRAZILIAN
BEHEMOTH Ore-heavy narrow gauge line is among Western Hemisphere’s busiest railroads by Adam Auxier
Two of EFVM’s fleet of almost 200 BB40-9WMs lead a loaded 330-car ore train through Nova Era in Minas Gerais. Eucalyptus plantations ring the city, providing wood for charcoal and pulpwood for forest-products firm CENIBRA. Rodrigo Matheus
Deep in the heart of Brazil lies one of the most fascinating railroads in the Americas. It has the properties of a modern U.S. Class I railroad, with a decidedly Brazilian twist. Brand-new GE and EMD diesels on four-axle trucks mix with EMD SD45 derivatives, pulling everything from 300-car iron ore trains to passenger trains. A variety of secondhand U.S. diesels add to the interesting mix of power. And it’s all narrow gauge. The Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas, or EFVM, extends 562 serpentine miles from mountainous Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais to Vitória in Espirito Santo and the adjacent port facilities at Tubarão. This meter-gauge (3-foot, 3-inch) line is operated by Vale, the world’s second-largest mining company. EFVM hauls a variety of commodities including copper, pulpwood, soybeans, granite, and passengers. However, the majority of the traffic is iron ore and steel products. Even to a knowledgeable rail observer, the railroad’s statistics are staggering. It is one of the most heavily used double-track railroads in the Western Hemisphere, handling more than 110 million gross tons per year and fully 37 percent of all rail freight traffic in Brazil. For perspective, Union Pacific’s triple-track main line across Nebraska at its busiest moves about 160 million gross tons. At the end of the line, the port 24
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of Tubarão (Portuguese for “shark”) is the world’s largest iron ore export terminal. Vale holds the concession to operate the railroad until 2027. The company has poured money into the line, which mostly sits on concrete ties, with CTC, positive train control, and modern bridges.
A BIT OF HISTORY The railroad was built to access Brazil’s major cash export of the time, coffee, which was transforming this ungainly empire into the industrial power it is today. Construction began in 1904 from Vitória westward toward Peçanha and on to the boomtown of Diamantina in Minas Gerais. Then as now, Minas Gerais (“General Mines”) state behaves like a different country from the rest of Brazil: The accent is markedly different, the cuisine is completely different, and the population includes more natives and people of Portuguese origin than elsewhere. One of the first gold rushes in the Western Hemisphere occurred in 1693 in the area’s sparsely populated hills, followed by discoveries of diamonds and other gems. The small town of Ouro Preto, a tourist magnet, became the capital of the region and features some of the most incredible gold-covered Christian churches in the Americas. The discoveries, followed by increased
industrial output and railroad building, ultimately shifted the power in Brazil from the Northeast and its sugarcane-based economy toward the Southeast, where the center of Brazilian industrial might remains. The EFVM’s original goal was to build towards Diamantina and the recently constructed Brazil Central Railway, which connected Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo. In 1910, its path shifted after it caught the eye of two British businessmen who wanted to reach recently discovered iron ore deposits at Itabira. The investors had acquired vast tracts of land around Itabira and founded the Brazilian Hematite (iron ore) Syndicate the previous year. They used the syndicate to acquire most of the railroad’s shares in 1910, then created the Itabira Iron Ore Co. to acquire the railroad. Another major change occurred in 1919, as American businessman Percival Farquhar purchased the Itabira Iron Ore Co.’s railroad line. Less well known than some American industrialists of the era because most of his interests were in Latin America, Farquhar held vice presidencies of both the Staten Island Electric Railway and Guatemala Railway. His goal was to build and own all the railways in Latin America and operate them as one massive system. In purchasing the EFVM, Farquhar intended to export the iron ore at Itabira at
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the rate of 4 million tons per year. He also planned to build a small steel mill along the railway, with a capacity of 150,000 tons per year, to manufacture basic items for the railroad like rails and bridge components. At the time, the major impediment to Brazilian industrial growth was a lack of coal. This is one reason much of the country was deforested in the late 19th century, as wood was a major fuel for industrial production. Farquhar and others concluded his company could ship iron ore to the U.S. with ships returning to Brazil loaded with American coal. As Farquhar tried to build his empire, he came up against a considerable force in Artur Bernardes, the governor of Minas Gerais from 1918-1922 and president of Brazil from 1922-1926. While Farquhar had a dream of exporting Brazilian iron ore for use elsewhere and to support his maritime operation, Bernardes saw the ore as the basis for constructing an industrial empire in Minas Gerais, where the ore would be used to make steel. Once Bernardes became president he slapped a hefty export tax on raw iron ore, but not finished steel, so as to force the industry to develop. As demand for steel increased during the U.S. buildup in World War II, the U.S. government negotiated, through what are known as the Washington Agreements, the rights to build a modern steel mill in what was becoming the “steel valley” of Brazil. The steel could be exported to support the allies, and the mill would add customers for U.S. coal companies and help develop Brazilian industry. The U.S. government bought out Farquhar’s interest in the Itabira steel company and created the National Steel Co. In 1942, the Brazilian government created the joint stock Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, or Vale SA, to acquire Farquhar’s rail assets and control the EFVM as well as the mines. This relation-
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© 2015 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson
BB40-9WM No. 1221, at rest in Ipatinga Yard, shows the four-axle B-B trucks needed to modify the GE locomotives for meter-gauge operation. Two photos, Adam Auxier
ship continues today. From 1942 to 1969, the railroad’s cargo consisted almost entirely of iron- and steel-related commodities, from raw ore to finished steel products. It operated much like the “conveyor belt” steel railroads of the U.S., such as the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range or Northshore Mining, and became a key cog in the movement of iron. This began to change in 1969 with the construction of the 104mile Desembargador (“Judge”) Drumond branch, which extended from the main line at Desembargador Drumond junction to the city of Belo Horizonte and the rest of the Brazilian rail system. Building this branch fulfilled the original mission of the railroad, to connect with the rest of the Brazilian rail system. Soon after its completion, new commodities such as soybeans began flowing over the EFVM.
THE ROUTE The EFVM begins in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s third largest metropolitan area, which sits on a mountainous ridge. The city was built to replace the cramped former capital and boomtown of Ouro Preto,
an hour or so away. Here the railroad interchanges traffic with the rest of the Brazilian system through the MRS Logistica, which controls the 5-foot-3-inch broad gauge network connecting São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte with the massive port at Santos. MRS’s initials stand for the states it serves: M for Minas Gerais, R for Rio de Janeiro, and S for São Paulo. The EFVM is dual gauge for the first few miles out of Belo Horizonte, following the Belo Horizonte Metro line as it travels east, winding through the city’s suburbs. The line begins its long descent eastward over spectacular concrete bridges and through modern terraced cuttings. This is the most beautiful and famous section of the line. At Desembargador Drumond, the line from the Itabira mines joins the main line. The route follows the Rio Doce (“Sweet River”) for most of its length, with few parallel roads. Westbound trains face up to a 1.5-percent grade reaching this area above the Rio Doce valley. The main crew change point is at Governor Valadares. Everything east of Desembargador Drumond junction is now double-tracked with many signaled crossovers. www.TrainsMag.com
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BB36-7 No. 745, a former Southern Pacific engine, and DDM45 No. 835 lead an ore train into Governador Valadares. With new BB40-9WMs on hand, the former U.S. GEs are being transferred to VLI. Nicolas Fagundes
had centralized traffic control installed between 1971 and 1977. Since then about 120 more miles have been double-tracked. On the east end at João Neiva, the line splits, with the daily passenger train and some freight trains continuing to Vitória, and the ore and soybean trains going to Tubarão.
IRON, STEEL, AND OTHER COMMODITIES
This is Vale’s Gongo Soco mine, near Barão de Cocais. The rail line follows the mine pit’s edge then curves on a bridge across the chasm, allowing spectacular photos. Adam Auxier
The railroad then passes through what is aptly called “Steel Valley.” The railroad fights a constant battle with the Rio Doce, which it follows for most of its eastern portion. In 1979, a horrific flood of the Rio Doce closed the railroad for 35 days, 26
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causing billions of dollars in damage to the region. The western end of the line is scenic and mountainous and is mostly single track with long passing sidings, though more and more sections are being double-tracked. The eastern 341 miles were double-tracked and
While the EFVM has diversified over the years, its primary traffic is still hematite, a higher-grade iron ore than the taconite common in the U.S. Currently the majority of ore is shipped out a half-dozen mines near Itabira. Brucutu mine, the largest of that group, is the largest iron ore mine in the world. Ore is shipped to the Port of Tubarão, created in 1966. It replaced the port of Vitória, infamous as the most dangerous port in Brazil for ships to navigate. Tubarão, the largest iron ore port on earth, can export up to 110 million tons of ore per year. (By comparison, the DM&IR’s ports of Duluth and Two Harbors combine to export a little over 20 million tons annually). Tubarão was dredged deeper to accom-
modate ships with up to 75 feet of draft that can haul cargo up to 440,000 tons. Adjacent to the iron ore loading facilities are a diverse products terminal as well as grain silos and fuel storage facilities. Brazil is second only to Australia in iron ore exports, but benefits from being closer to markets in Europe than Australia. The country is losing market share because it must overcome more regulatory hurdles than countries like Australia, as Brazil’s mines are in more environmentally sensitive areas. Ore is exported to more than 30 countries, with the largest share going to China. Major customers include forest-products firm CENIBRA and steel-and-mining company ArcelorMittal. Ore growth has increased recently despite falling Chinese demand, as Brazil’s currency, the real, has lost quite a bit of its value in 2014 and 2015. Iron ore trains can reach up to 330 cars and are rotary dumped two at a time in Tubarão. To aid the local environment, Vale sprays a thin coat of polymer over the opentop hoppers to minimize dust. Aperam South America (formerly known as Arcelor Mittal INOX Brazil) operates a giant stainless steel plant in Timóteo. Here all of the raw stainless steel in Latin America is poured. In 2011, Aperam began manufacturing stainless steel for railcars and subways. Vale has recently partnered with several other companies to create a subsidiary, VLI, to handle the non-iron ore and steel business, such as soybeans and containers. Besides moving 110 million tons of iron ore, Vale moves 27 million tons of everything else: automobiles, pulpwood, grains, and granite blocks for countertops, as well as soybeans and containers. VLI handles the logistics of this business, connecting ports and terminals by rail. VLI has begun ordering its own power that is being painted in a striking gray scheme.
MOTIVE POWER Locomotives reflect the complex limitations imposed by narrow gauge as well as the massive consists Vale operates. The EFVM has had to be creative when buying and rebuilding motive power. Prior to the opening of the Desembargador Drumond branch and the associated increased traffic, the EFVM mostly operated EMD export models such as the G12 and G16. The G16s have recently been upgraded with modern cab amenities: toilets, air conditioning, refrigerators, and larger cab windows. After the branch opened and iron ore export volume increased, the EFVM found itself desperately short of power. It went to EMD and purchased 83 DDM45s. EMD assisted the EFVM in designing the locomotives, which used SD45 long hoods and
Vale’s daily passenger train — which has no name — loads at Barão de Cocais. New Romanian-built coaches are replacing 30-year-old cars. Rodrigo Matheus
VALE’S PASSENGER TRAIN: AN IMPRESSIVE OPERATION Boarding the Vale train for Vitória at Belo Horizonte is not for the faint of heart. Vale gets 1,300 people on its train in roughly 45 minutes with a combination of efficiency and chaos only Brazil can manifest. As our group walked to our seats at the front, I briefly turned to see the rear of the train, coaches stretched for what seemed like miles. This day’s train had 18 cars behind one GE BB40-9WM locomotive, with a head-end power car. Our assigned seats were easily located, and we settled in for the 14-hour trip. After departure, our group gathered in the vestibules, which Vale let us open, to take photos of our departure. As railfans, we assumed we would have this area to ourselves. Not true. Brazilians of all ages love hanging out in vestibules. Men took photos of their girlfriends, children waved, teenagers texted, and everyone smiled. The vestibules featured something Amtrak lacks: multi-compartment recycling bins for trash, glass, paper, and aluminum. Vale staff came through the train every hour or so, sweeping floors, collecting trash, wiping down seats, and chatting. The staff seems to take pride in the service. Many Vale mining employees use the train on their days off to go to the city. While the railroad’s endpoints are large, intermediate towns are quite small, and the further it travels the poorer they become. There is a café car, but the food isn’t great. This is odd, as bad food in Brazil is basically non-existent. Drink carts make frequent rounds down the aisles offering coffee, soda, and snacks. Alcohol is forbidden, much to a fellow passenger’s dismay. Our train featured older coaches built for Vale in Romania. New cars were just beginning to be delivered. They are modern and sleek, but sadly lack opening vestibules. I can’t imagine doing the trip without that sense of expanse an open vestibule provides. Trains leave Vitória at 7 a.m. and Belo Horizonte at 7:30 a.m. Executive class costs roughly $70 and Economy costs about $46. Book tickets online in advance, A test run for new Romanian-built as even with nearly 1,500 seats, trains sell equipment passes through Governador out. — Adam Auxier Valadares in May 2014. Nicolas Fagundes
prime movers and SDP45 frames over modified DD35 span-bolster four-axle Flexicoil trucks. The DD35 truck frame allowed increased adhesion on the EFVM’s narrow gauge track. At the time, the smaller traction motors necessary to fit within the tighter narrow gauge space were limited to 500 horsepower each. Increasing the
axle count to eight allowed the locomotives to take full advantage of the 3,600-hp the SD45 prime mover produces. These 83 locomotives, weighing 357,000 pounds out of the factory, became the mainstay of the EFVM locomotive fleet. From the beginning, the locomotives operated in pairs with 160 ore cars, or three locomotives www.TrainsMag.com
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EMD SD70ACe-BB demonstrators, with a GT46ACe demonstrator, make their first run on dual-gauge track at Vespasiano on May 15, 2015. To their right is a train led by a DDM45, which the railroad is beginning to replace, and two BB40-9WMs. Pedro Rezende
with 240 ore cars. The DDM45s could handle ore trains up to 18,000 tons. The Brazilians soon encountered the same problems as their U.S. counterparts in operating the 20-cylinder locomotives: the units guzzled fuel and suffered crankshaft failures. In 1988, the railroad’s shops in Tubarão received a repower kit from Caterpillar to test replacing the DDM45’s thirsty EMD 20-cylinder engine with a 12-cylinder, four-stroke power plant. Units 815 and 851 were rebuilt and used the Caterpillar prime movers until 1995. The test was successful, but the cost to buy and install the
Caterpillar power plants was deemed too high for the fuel savings achieved. In 1991, the company went back to the locomotive builders for more power. It bought its first GE locomotives: four Dash 8-series units designated as BB40-8Ms. These units were nearly identical to units being built by GE for CSX, but were modified for narrow gauge with the addition of two extra axles. The EFVM’s traffic demanded eight axles for maximum adhesion and tractive effort. This required engineers at GE to use technology learned through building Union Pacific’s gas turbines and
EFVM LOCOMOTIVE ROSTER Nos. 531-565 601-641 701-750 801-883 885-888 1001-1006 1101-1112 1113-1311
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Quantity Builder 35 EMD 41
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50 83 4 6 12 199
GE EMD EMD GE GE GE
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Model G12 G16
Notes All upgraded with 645 prime movers All upgraded with 645 prime movers; 37 still on roster Ex-CR/CSX/SSW B36-7s; being transferred to VLI Built 1970-76; 7 rebuilt as DDM45-MPs Ex-ATSF SD45-2s; used only in passenger service
BB36-7 DDM45 BB45-2 BB40-8M BB40-9M BB40-9WM Locotrol equipped
U50s to modify the Dash-8 frame to accommodate BB trucks on each end. The railroad was pleased and increased the order to six units, all manufactured by GE in Brazil. The BB40-8Ms were an immediate success, used in pairs on ore trains or singly on the daily passenger train. The EFVM went back to GE for an order of 12 Dash 9-series standard-cab locomotives dubbed BB40-9Ms. Most of these units were built in Brazil at Contagem in Minas Gerais. Satisfied with its new GE power, the EFVM decided to place a large order for modern power with the goals of eventually replacing the DDM45 units and increasing ore train lengths. Vale chose to purchase 141 BB40-9WMs, eight-axle versions of the popular Dash 9-40CWs being built by GE for Norfolk Southern. (There was no need to go for the more powerful Dash 9-44CW, given the 4,000-hp limitations of the narrow gauge traction motors.) Subsequent orders have boosted the number of BB40-9WMs on the roster to 199. These units feature GE’s Locotrol system to operate distributed power, as well as
VLI BB40-9WM No. 8667 is unloaded at Vila Velha marine terminal in Vitória on Jan. 20, 2014. VLI was created to handle the non-ore business of the EFVM system. Nicolas Fagundes
BB36-7 No. 747, an ex-Southern Pacific unit bought from NRE in Mount Vernon, Ill., idles in Ipatinga Yard. Adam Auxier
Alstom’s communications-based train control, a version of positive train control. By using Locotrol, EFVM was able to operate trains up to 330 cars long. Interestingly, the BB40-9WMs do not have desktop controls, but rather standard control stands with screens added on top. Generally only the BB40-9WMs are used in distributed power service given their higher tractive effort and modern systems. Since 2006, Vale has invested more than $1.3 billion in new locomotives. The company also has a modern locomotive engineer certification center with a BB40-9WM simulator.
By early 2000, the Chinese commodity boom had begun to affect EFVM. With the railroad’s volume increasing significantly, EFVM and GE began discussing the purchase of used American diesels for export to Brazil. At that time, 60 GE B36-7s (Nos. 5000-5059) had come off lease through the split-up of Conrail. The EFVM bought 44 of the units and shipped them to Tubarão, where these American veterans were modified to operate on the narrow gauge. To accommodate the eight-axle trucks, the frame was extended and the fuel tank shortened. Electrical systems were completely rebuilt to upgrade the units and allow the control of eight axles versus four. Cruzaço — which makes trucks, bolsters, and other parts for Brazil and export — manufactured the units’ narrow gauge trucks. These units entered service in July 2003 in the 700 series. In the early years, many of the rebuilt units still operated in their CSX and Conrail schemes! The EFVM was happy enough with the conversion to purchase an additional seven units, former Southern Pacific/St. Louis Southwestern locomotives, from the former National Railway Equipment Co. in Mount Vernon, Ill. EFVM also bought a few ex-Santa Fe SD45-2s from NRE that have been modified to BB45-2s. These locomotives are used frequently on the Belo Horizonte-Vitória passenger train. Previously, EFVM bought several ex-ATSF U36Cs, though most have since been scrapped or retired. In 2015, Vale’s non-ore subsidiary, VLI, placed an order for SD70ACe-BB locomotives to replace many of the DDM45s, which were transferred to its division. The DDM45s were traded into EMD’s Brazil
division and are now being scrapped one by one at Sete Lagoas. Oddly, many parts from these locomotives are being exported back to the U.S. for sale. The SD70ACe-BB order is a godsend to EMD, which now musters just 30 percent of the U.S. locomotive market. Because EMD doesn’t yet have a Tier 4-compliant locomotive to sell in the U.S., a foreign order like this will help keep the factory doors open. The SD70ACe-BB demonstrators have been somewhat successful during testing and feature some design changes. These include paired trucks like their GE counterparts instead of the span bolster trucks of the DDM45.
THE FUTURE Vale has made tremendous progress in adding capacity to the physical plant as well as adding locomotives. For now its focus will be shifting to a new $19-billion mine being built on a separate property in remote northeastern Brazil, in Pará state, which will become the biggest iron ore mine in the world. Vale operates the Carajas Railway there, a broad gauge operation. The Carajas line uses mostly GE Dash-8 units as well as SD70Ms. It recently ordered SD80Ms that were some of the last units built at EMD’s London, Ontario, plant as well as modified AC6000CWs called ES58CTIs. Though Chinese demand for iron ore has slowed as of late, there is ample evidence that demand for Brazilian ore will exist for as long as one can imagine. 2 ADAM AUXIER owns Altiplano Railtours and operates private railcar tours and other large events, the largest being Station to Station, a coast-to-coast art and music project. He and his wife Allycia live in Eden Prairie, Minn. This is his first Trains byline. www.TrainsMag.com
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It’s all in the The TRAINS judges enjoyed sifting through the detail photographs you submitted for the 2015 Trains Photo Contest. We received more than 700 images. Here are our top choices. Congratulations to the eight winners! For the 2016 Trains Photo Contest, get out your galoshes. The theme is “water.” As always, you can interpret our theme in any way you like. If your image is selected, you’ll have to explain how it
Runners-up These photographers each have won a three-year subscription to TRAINS.
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fits the theme. Please submit no more than five images. Do not alter your images beyond minor color corrections, burning, dodging, and levels adjustments. Upload your submissions to www.contribute.kalmbach.com no later than May 1, 2016. Be sure to indicate in the “comments” that your photos are for the photo contest. We will no longer be accepting submissions by mail. Good luck! — Angela Pusztai-Pasternak
details
2015 Trains Photo Contest Winners
ANDY INSERRA Track is a critical element to the railroad. The details in track work are key to making the railroad function. Here you are looking at lap switches, a space-saving design that allows for turnouts to be closer together to increase capacity in tight spaces. On Oct. 6, 2014, the morning sun glistens on the lap switches at Canadian Pacific’s Rice’s Point Yard in Duluth, Minn.
BARRY GASTON After photographing a coal train at my favorite spot near Pacific, Mo., and thinking about the photo contest, I used my long telephoto lens to shoot a “macro” shot of the flashing crossing-gate signal light at Dozier Crossing. Note the Union Pacific lettering that puts the LEDs in a railroad context.
Canon EOS 70D Canon 100-400mm L IS at 400mm f/5.6 at1/640 sec.,ISO 400
Canon PowerShot SX280 HS f/5.6 at 1/640 sec., ISO 80
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Runners-up
ALEC FRASIER As an avid photographer of graffitied railcars, which often have detailed drawings on them, I’m always looking for details. This photo features the side of a former Pennsylvania Railroad, now Conrail, caboose. The famous Conrail blue paint and lettering is cracking and fading while the rust holes look like Pennsy’s famous Tuscan Red paint bleeding back over the blue. The caboose sits rusting away next to the Norfolk Southern Buffalo Line in Millersburg, Pa.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon 18-55mm EF-S lens f/20.0 at 1/125 sec.,ISO 1600
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CHRISTOPHE GROELL EDWARD MELLO This photo shows the “teeth” of Northern Pacific rotary snowplow No. 10. The teeth are the details that enable rotary snowplows to chew their way through massive 12-foot snowdrifts. The blades spin at about 60 rpm and work like a giant auger cutting through and capturing snow, and then discharging it by centrifugal force through an output chute.
Nikon Coolpix 5700 f/3.5 at 1/95 sec., ISO 200
I took this 2013 view of brake gauges while waiting at night in a siding. I wanted to photograph something technical in a different way. Brakes are an indispensable component of railroading; no brakes mean no safety. To handle and monitor the braking system, the engineer needs the information the air gauges provide. Inside a French BB 26000 locomotive, my picture focuses on these gauges, by vanishing the control stand and making the marks and reflections on them sharper.
Nikon D200 Nikon 18-70mm lens at 46mm f/4.5 at 4 sec., ISO 200
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Second Prize THOMAS NANOS Won $250 for his photo of a fireman tossing coal into the firebox The details of railroading can include the wheel tread meeting railhead, a close-up of a historic herald, or the nuts and bolts that hold things together. But here I wanted to focus on something not physically small, but a small piece of the whole railroad picture: fueling the locomotive. Fireman Mike Ozaruk launches a shovelful of coal into the firebox of Valley Railroad 2-8-2 No. 3025. Ozaruk keeps the Mikado’s fire burning as it pulls a North Pole Express train on Dec. 17, 2014.
Custom Canon EOS 30D (modified to only record 830nm infrared radiation and black and white) Sigma 15mm EX fish-eye lens f/5.6 at 1/640 sec., ISO 1600
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>> What do you think? Share your thoughts about this year’s winning photos at www.TrainsMag.com or www.facebook.com/TrainsMagazine
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First Prize BRANDON TOWNLEY Won $500 for his shot of an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio drawbridge in Ohio This abstract view of the abandoned Baltimore & Ohio drawbridge in Cleveland highlights its geometry and rivet detail. The bridge once connected to New York Central’s yard at Whiskey Island and now stands in a permanent upright position as no trains have crossed this span for decades.
Canon EOS 50D Tokina 11-16mm lens f/5.6 at 1/125 sec., ISO 200
Grand Prize (See pages 38-39)
CHARLES DISCHINGER Won $750 for his photo of a railroader checking his list in a snowstorm Having a list and checking it twice is just one of the details of a railroader’s job to ensure each car goes where it is supposed to go. BNSF Railway Engineer Donnie Arnold checks his list on Jan. 27, 2009, during a heavy snowstorm in Springfield, Mo. Day or night and in all kinds of weather, a railroader needs to pay attention to details. Safety glasses, warm clothing, highvisibility gloves, and fresh batteries in the lantern are just a few of the details it takes to complete the job safely.
Canon EOS 1D Mark II 28-70mm lens at 65mm f/5.6 at 1/125 sec., ISO 1250 Canon 580EX II flash with PocketWizard FlexTT5 transceivers
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B&O “B” Yard
B&O “D” Yard
Pullman buildings
B&O “A” Yard WT
Eckington power house B&O
Practically all B&O trains arriving at Union Station from either direction turned on the wye and backed in.
1940
B&O Metropolitan Branch
To Brunswick, Md. Overflow yard
WT Washington Terminal coach yards
B&O
“QN” Tower
Coal storage Coal dock Ash pits
Store house
DC Metro Brentwood Shop Coach yard building
CSX Metropolitan Sub (Amtrak, MARC)
Metro Red Line to Glenmont, Md. CSX Metropolitan Sub to Brunswick, Md.
Amtrak Ivy City shop
Eckington power house (abandoned)
2015
Washington Union Station in 2015 • Owned by Amtrak • Tenants: MARC, VRE • Dispatches 227 weekday trains
East roundhouse (25 stalls)
B&O Washington Branch
PRR Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Branch
“F” Tower (removed 1953)
West roundhouse (25 stalls) Car shop Machine shop
PRR
Washington Terminal Co. in 1940 • Jointly owned by B&O and PRR • Tenants: C&O, RF&P, SOU • ACL and SAL use RF&P Richmond-Washington • Dispatches 108 daily trains on average
Ivy City Engine Terminal
The December 1940 issue of Trains included a feature on Washington, D.C., Union Station, and the related facilities of the Washington Terminal Co., jointly owned by the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railroads. Almost 75 years later, those facilities have changed dramatically — the original railroads are long gone, and Washington’s Metro system has taken over some of the space once occupied by a B&O yard — yet clear echoes remain of their shape in the ’40s. — David Lassen
Amtrak Northeast Corridor
“CP Avenue” Controlled by “K” Tower
Mail-handling facility Controlled by Section 1 dispatcher in Wilmington, Del.
Coach yard Acela car wash
Amtrak to Baltimore
CSX/MARC to Baltimore
Annex building
CSX Capital Sub (MARC)
Amtrak Ivy City Yard
Substation Commissary building
Ivy City
Wedge Yard
CS X
Comparing the Washington Terminal, as mapped in Trains in 1940, to current facilities
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Washington, DC, then and now
Amt
MAP OF THE MONTH
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rse cou Con on ngt ion shi tat Wa ion S Un First St. Tunnel to Alexandria, Va.
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Former express building (now private offices)
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16 MARC uses tracks 7-16; 15 14 1 VRE uses through tracks 23-28; 13 1 Tracks 1-4 are West yard tracks; 12 11 there are no tracks 5, 6 and 21. 10 1 91 There are inspection pits on 8 tracks 16 and 17. 7 Metro Union Station Parking garage
First St. Tunnel to Alexandria, Va.
“A” Tower
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Metro New York Ave.
Generally, the western tracks were assigned to the B&O and eastern tracks to PRR. Tracks 22-29 were for through trains.
U.S. Capitol
UNION STATION
Express building
Smithsonian Institution
Constitution Ave.
nia A ve.
MaMs saascs hauchs eutstes tAtsv eA.ve .
tro Me
© 2015 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Bill Metzger
Washington Monument
White House
Penn sylv a
H St. NW
Washington, 2015
From 1835 to 1865, the Baltimore & Ohio enjoyed a monopoly between Washington, Baltimore, and points west, even through the explosive growth in traffic during and after the Civil War. After the war, the PRR decided it wanted a share of the wealth and began looking for a route south from Baltimore. Hearing this, the B&O retaliated by refusing to sell or accept tickets from any other railroad and making freight interchange extremely difficult. Oden Bowie, a prominent Maryland citizen who later became the state’s governor, approached the B&O to finance a railroad he was promoting, the Baltimore & Potomac, projected to run from Baltimore to Popes Creek, Md. The B&O, happy with things as they were, rebuffed him. Bowie turned to the PRR, which was thrilled to deal with him — especially when it realized that even though Popes Creek was insignificant, the B&P charter allowed for branches not to exceed 20 miles. Coincidentally, 20 miles was just enough for a branch to Washington. The deal was closed in 1867. Realizing it had been snookered, the B&O howled in protest to all who would listen, but it was too late. The PRR’s “branch” to Washington opened in 1872 and was double-tracked in 1883.
PRR pulls a fast one to reach Washington
trak
1940 Map B&O Baltimore & Ohio PRR Pennsylvania Railroad WT Washington Terminal Co. 2015 Map Amtrak electrified Amtrak non-electrified CSX CSX Transportation Metro DC Metro Red Line MARC Maryland Transit Administration VRE Virginia Railway Express Double slip switch Interlocking tower Turntable Metro station
B&O coal yard
B&O freight house
The 1940 map is based on a map by Robert Wagner. It was the second map to appear in TRAINS Magazine.
B&O “E” Yard team tracks
DC Metro Red Line (Third rail electrification)
Am
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A study in steam
A new book, in honor of Trains’ 75th anniversary, features lavish images of North American steam scenes, exclusively from Trains’ files
Union Pacific, Smith’s Ferry, Idaho Smoke and steam linger in the frigid air as Union Pacific train 386, a mixed train with five freight and two passenger cars, rolls at 30 mph through the Payette River valley near Smiths Ferry, Idaho, on Dec. 31, 1947. The oil-burning locomotive, 2-8-0 No. 284, will haul the train southward the entire 133 miles of UP’s Idaho Northern branch from Cascade to Nampa, near Boise. R.H. Kindig
Pennsylvania, Broad Street Station The denuded steel frame of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s trainshed at Philadelphia’s Broad Street Station looms over workmen building new wooden platforms in the aftermath of the huge June 11, 1923, fire that destroyed much of the station. MP54 M.U. electric commuter trains are parked at left, and steam locomotives dominate on the right. The station would close permanently in April 1952. Pennsylvania Railroad
Photo prints by the thousands occupy more than 87 ordinary steel file drawers in Kalmbach Publishing Co.’s David P. Morgan Memorial Library. The prints document railroading as TRAINS editors and contributors have seen it for more than 75 years. Tucked between roster shots and vacation photos are remarkable images — some famous — that Jeff Brouws and Wendy Burton have rediscovered for a new clothbound book, “Railroad Vision: Steam Era Images from the
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TRAINS Magazine Archive.” Kevin P. Keefe, a former TRAINS editor and current Kalmbach executive, wrote a 5,000-word essay as well as captions for each of the 156 photos reproduced on 200 pages. He also wrote the captions for this printed excerpt. “Railroad Vision” is published by The Quantuck Lane Press and distributed by W.W. Norton & Co. The price is set at $59.95 and is expected at booksellers in October 2015. — Steve Sweeney
Norfolk & Western, Hagerstown, Md. On a snowy March night in 1956, a Norfolk & Western 4-8-2 clatters over the intersecting Western Maryland tracks at Hager interlocking in Hagerstown, Md. The engine is backing up from the roundhouse to the Hagerstown station to pick up cars Pennsylvania Railroad delivered to be added to a southbound train headed down N&W’s Shenandoah Division to Roanoke. O. Winston Link
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D&RGW, Durango, Colo. Armed with a pry bar, a brakeman walks the rooftops of narrow gauge boxcars at the east end of Denver & Rio Grande Western’s yard in Durango, Colo., on the frosty morning of Jan. 30, 1961. Soon, despite the protestations of balky pipes and frozen brake rigging, 2-8-2 No. 478 will head out with an eastbound freight train. Richard Steinheimer
Union Pacific, Eastern Wyoming Union Pacific Challenger No. 3832 races across eastern Wyoming, headed from Cheyenne to North Platte, Neb., during its last months of operation in 1956. Union Pacific developed the 4-6-6-4 Challenger in 1936 and ultimately fielded 252 of the fast, powerful dual-service engines. Alco built No. 3832 in 1937 as part of an order of 25 engines. Rober t Hale
Pennsylvania, 30th Street Station An air of urgency permeates the atmosphere on the upper suburban level of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station on May 22, 1937, as Pennsylvania Railroad E6 Atlantic No. 759 prepares to lead a Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines train out to Atlantic City, N.J. Steam escapes from the 4-4-2’s turbogenerator and snifter valves as the engineer impatiently awaits the highball. E. Stanley Har t Jr.
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Baltimore & Ohio, Lumberton, W.Va. Baltimore & Ohio 2-8-2 No. 4443 pulls an eastbound coal train across Ten Mile Creek and past the yard at Lumberton, W.Va., where the local switcher is working. The train in this 1955 photo originated in New Martinsville, on the Ohio River, and is headed for Fairmont along B&O’s Monongah Division in the north-central part of the Mountain State. James P. Gallagher
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Illinois Central, Mississippi River A pair of Illinois Central locomotives, led by an 0-6-0 switcher, eases a passenger train through high water along the Mississippi River at Memphis during the historic flood of April 1912. Fast snowmelt in the upper Midwest helped contribute to flooding throughout the Mississippi River basin. In Memphis, the water rose to 45 feet, far above the normal flood stage of 35 feet. Illinois Central
Oneida & Western, Eastern Tennessee At dusk on an evening in summer 1954, an Oneida & Western train crew head back to their engine for the saddest assignment of all: scrapping the 38-mile short line in rural northeast Tennessee, ripping up the rails behind their 2-8-0, 39-foot section by 39-foot section. Soon the track between Oneida and Jamestown will be gone forever. Philip R. Hastings
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Santa Fe, Tehachapi Mountains On Dec. 14, 1952, Santa Fe freight train Extra 225 West slowly squeals around a 15-degree curve on a shoofly track constructed around a collapsed tunnel. This was five months after a July 21, 1952, earthquake severely damaged Southern Pacific’s main line, shared with Santa Fe, through the Tehachapi Mountains of Southern California between Mojave and Bakersfield. Losses from the quake were estimated at $60 million. It took SP 25 days to reopen the railroad. Stan Kistler
Canadian Pacific, Southern Ontario Canadian Pacific 2-8-2 No. 5214 blasts upgrade under the York Boulevard bridge at Bayview Junction, Ontario, with an eastbound freight train from Hamilton, Ont., on Jan. 28, 1959. Overlooking Hamilton Harbor on Lake Ontario, the complex and busy wyeshaped junction is where CP trains joined the Canadian National main line into Toronto. Frank Barr y
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Afternoon in Ottawa Shadows of many shades were lengthening along the Rock Island in 1965 by William Benning Stewart P H O T O S B Y A N D R E W KO V A L , N O R B E R T S H A C K L E T T E C O L L E C T I O N
W
hen photographer Andrew Koval peered through the viewfinder of his camera at Ottawa, Ill., on a summer afternoon five decades ago, appearances suggested business as usual for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Typifying the daily parade on the Rock Island’s main line through north-central Illinois, an eastbound freight drummed through town behind an attractive Alco-EMD-Alco cab-unit lashup, Chicago-bound with a lengthy consist. Then another train rumbled past with three equally well-kept Alco RS3s, its fireman snagging train orders from a precarious perch. Moments later, a rear-end trainman completed the orders-on-the-fly process from the steps of a contemporary extended-vision cupola caboose. But the Ottawa station agent had other tasks beyond handing up orders and recording passing freights. No fewer than 12 passenger trains still rolled through the city each day, and there were tickets to be sold for the seven that made scheduled stops: Nos. 11 and 13, the morning and evening westbound Peoria Rockets; No. 5, the westbound Des Moines Rocket; No. 9, the overnight Chicago-Omaha local; No. 10, the eastbound Corn Belt Rocket, and Nos. 12 and 14, the morning and afternoon eastbound Peoria Rockets. At mid-day Koval had admired the passage of westbound No. 3, the flagship Golden State, with an exotic EMD E3 from 1939 leading two other Es and a satisfyingly long consist of California-bound head-end cars, coaches, and
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Pullmans, all accompanied by a clublounge and a full dining car. Five hours later, as the sun dropped lower in the western sky, he recorded the arrival of No. 5, a substantial train itself. A well-filled parking lot and sizeable groups strolling along the paving-brick platform suggested that many Ottawans still appreciated the Rock Island’s convenient conveyances to Chicago, Peoria, and points west. These were tenured rituals for Ottawa, a community that owed its existence and expansion to succeeding modes of transportation. From the days of earliest civilization the glacier-made Illinois River had carried humans and their personal cargo, and after Illinois gained statehood in 1818 the river’s valley became one of the state’s earliest corridors of commerce. The opening of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 established through freight transportation service from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. Then came the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad and its grandly named successor, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, its expanded title confirming ambitions to link the emerging Illinois metropolis with the far western boundary of the expanding republic. Communities such as Ottawa rose between the sandstone bluffs of the valley and the increasingly busy Rock Island tracks as successive periods of economic expansion generated jobs and prosperity for local citizens, their employers, and their railroad. Later the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy also found interest in this territory, establishing a secondary corridor south
from Aurora to the five-railroad town of Streator and creating a need for a second brick depot in Ottawa. And there would be a third railroad in the valley, known for most of its existence as the Chicago, Ottawa & Peoria Railway; by 1912 its electric interurban cars were linking Ottawa with Princeton, LaSalle, Peru, Streator, Joliet, and, by connection, Chicago — and racing Rock Island steam trains from a parallel right-of-way. Until the Great Depression, these three carriers provided Ottawans with a remarkable level of railroad service. A 1921 copy of the Official Guide shows 27 weekday passenger trains on the Rock Island, 21 of them making scheduled stops, plus 30 more on the interurban line and two each way on the Burlington’s AuroraOttawa-Streator branch. In addition, the steady parade of freights on the Rock
Emblematic of daily events along the Rock Island main line during the mid-1960s, Alco FA1 No. 128 hammered past the handsome Ottawa depot with a lengthy eastbound freight.
Island main line, supplemented by those of the Burlington and the traction line, further assured that the citizens of the LaSalle County seat were serenaded by whistles and air horns around the clock. But then, as they always do, things changed on the railroad.
Hard times ahead The Rock Island had already experienced one painful journey through receivership. In 1915, it collapsed from the effects of ownership by a speculation syndicate, which had increased capital by 20 percent to fund questionable expansion and manipulated securities to generate cash for its
Dual-service Alco RS3s were frequently seen in freight service through Ottawa. The first two units show the difference in Rock Island paint schemes as the road’s fortunes waned. www.TrainsMag.com
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Rock Island in Illinois
Rock Island
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a chig e Mi Lak
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© 2015 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson Not all lines shown
Blue-collar Rocket: rear-end crew rode in style on wide-cupola caboose No. 17051, now preserved at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad in Iowa. Newly reloaded mail crane was of professional interest to photographer Koval, an RPO clerk by trade, but this source of passenger train revenue would soon be lost.
owners, all at the expense of rational improvements to the railroad. During this period, much of the rail industry struggled with higher operating costs and lower freight rates, compounding financial problems for the Rock Island that would linger into the late 1920s, right up until the beginning of the Great Depression. As traffic declined during the hard times of the 1930s, fewer souls appeared at Ottawa’s ticket windows, and as a result, fewer passenger trains arrived each day. 54 Trains OCTOBER 2015
There were fewer freight trains, too, as carloadings declined for both long- and shorthaul tonnage. On the Burlington’s Ottawa line, through service to Chicago disappeared as gas-electric cars assumed the remaining passenger-carrying chores. New equipment and through service to the South Side of Chicago weren’t enough to save the interurban, by then known as the Chicago & Illinois Valley Railway. It was abandoned in 1934. Foreshadowing events that would
shape its demise five decades later, the Rock Island again fell into bankruptcy in 1933. However, in common with other major carriers like the Rio Grande and the Wabash, Depression-era receivership proved a panacea for the Rock Island. Under the progressive administration of President John Dow Farrington, massive debt was discharged, the diesel locomotive was embraced, track and signaling were upgraded, and flashy new silver-and-maroon streamliners — their Rocket names saluting the road’s first locomotive of 1852 — began receiving enthusiastic passengers
across much of the 14-state system. On Jan. 1, 1948, the Rock Island emerged from receivership, presumably ready to prosper again in the busy postwar years. By 1950, a revived Rock Island could report total annual revenues of $180 million, net income of $18 million, and a respectable operating ratio of 72.8. But the physical plant enhancements of the Farrington era could not erase the carrier’s fundamental weaknesses. Modernized or not, it remained one of six railroads competing for eastbound traffic off the Union Pacific at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Its main routes emulated those of other, more prosperous railroads, typically requiring more miles and more time to get to the same destinations. And
then there were the essentials that shaped bottom-line results: the steady decline in passenger revenues, the paralleling cost burdens of a Chicago commuter operation; the changing nature of traditional, boxcar-oriented freight solicitation and traffic patterns; many miles of trackage rights-operations on other railroads with no opportunity for on-line revenue generation; and the absence of profitability in miles of crop-gathering branch lines across the prairie that saw little use beyond the annual harvest. By the early 1960s, the bloom had faded from the Rock Island’s postwar renaissance. But succor appeared in the offing from a welcome source when, in May 1963, the prosperous UP announced that
it would seek to acquire the Rock Island, then sell most of its lines south and west of Kansas City to the Southern Pacific. The proposal appeared to be a logical division of routes that would provide the UP with its own entrance to Chicago and give the SP full control of the joint Rock Island-SP Kansas City-El Paso “Golden State” corridor. Such implied logic was quickly discredited in contentious charges and countercharges from just about every railroad operating in the Rock Island’s territory, most notably the Chicago & North Western, but also the Burlington, the Milwaukee Road, the Santa Fe, the Rio Grande, the Missouri Pacific, the Frisco, the Kansas City Southern, and the Katy. The ensuing 13-year war www.TrainsMag.com
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of words and entangled legal proceedings would see the Rock Island reduced to nearstarvation status before UP gave up the battle as hopeless in 1975. Significantly, the minor profit posted by the Rock Island in 1964 would be the last ever recorded in the company’s history. To prop up the balance sheet afterward — and on the assumption that the UP would soon be in charge, using its ample resources to rebuild the railroad to its specifications — Rock Island’s management stopped investing in the property. As the merger proceedings dragged on, the once-proud Rock Island began assuming the role of Midwestern railroading’s poor cousin, its performance succumbing to slow orders, its equipment in increasingly poor repair, and its general appearance ever more shabby. Track-miles under slow orders rose from 500 in 1967 to 2,300 in 1970. Every new speed restriction expanded the time required to get trains across divisions, lowered the company’s ability to meet the expectations of shippers and connecting railroads, and resulted in fewer of the carloadings essential to keeping the company in business. This was increasingly reflected at the critical interchange point of Council Bluffs, where, in 1968, the Rock Island’s share of eastbound carloadings off the Union Pacific had fallen to half that of the Illinois Central and only 25 percent of the UP-originated tonnage forwarded by the Burlington.
Rock bottom With salvation seemingly just beyond its grasp, the Rock Island fell into an inescapable spiral of decline and defeat. In 1971, most of the nation’s intercity passenger-carrying railroads eagerly processed large checks to permit Amtrak to assume their money-losing services. But the Rock Island could not afford the $4.7 million price of admission to the new national passenger system, which meant that the aging equipment of its remaining Quad Cities Rocket and Peoria Rocket trains continued to pound along increasingly rough track at lower speeds, further reducing the viability of the service. As on-time performance deteriorated to 41 percent, patronage, not surprisingly, fell from 51,500 in 1972 to 22,200 in 1975. Subsidies from the state of Illinois covered two-thirds of the trains’ operating costs, but were no long-term solution for the depths of the Rock Island’s passenger-train predicament. Meanwhile, labor unrest and other problems increased as a desperate search continued to find remedies for the Rock Island’s intractable ills. An imaginative campaign to rebrand the moribund carrier as “The Rock,” with bold new corporate colors of blue and white vainly seeking distance from the implications of the Rocketera maroon, came to a perhaps predictable close in 1980. The 7,849-mile-long property was then summarily liquidated, the largest such ending in U.S. railroading.
With a consist visibly lengthened and revenues somewhat strengthened by the addition of piggyback trailers near the head end, the Des Moines Rocket paused at Ottawa on its journey toward inevitable night.
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Still a striking icon of the streamliner era despite a quarter-century of service and several rebuildings, E3 No. 626 headed the pride of the fleet, the Golden State, on its westbound passage this summer day in Ottawa.
And so, on this bright 1965 afternoon at Ottawa, photographer Koval was not necessarily recording current events but vestiges of previous times, trains, people, and processes, all still lingering in the early hours of a major American railroad’s spectacular fall from grace. There was, for example, the contradiction of the stately Ottawa station, by then a symbol of an enterprise in decline but still busily astir with visitors at train time. Reaching above the roof were its lifelines, the sturdy communications lines, dating to the telegraph era, still carrying the messages of an active and apparently well-maintained mainline railroad. Notable, too, were the attractive features of the passenger trains, from the slope-nosed E3 to the uniformity of the stainless steel cars, not to mention the surprising cleanliness (and good paint) of the Alco cab and hood units on the two freights. Students of railroad history could admire an arched-window coach and an outside-braced boxcar from earlier eras, rebuilt for work-train service and camped on an adjoining siding. But students of rail-
road management could also find irony in the fact that the newest piece of equipment in these scenes was the extended-vision cupola caboose, soon to be as much an anachronism as the passenger trains and the first-generation diesels.
Powering through change There was another solid connection to the past, one little recognized at the time. Those first-generation diesels, described as “modern, clean, and fuel-efficient” not long before, were in some ways as polluting as the steam locomotives they had replaced. While trackside train-watchers reveled in the thick clouds of black exhaust emitted by the diesels depicted here, their heavy fuel consumption and period technology — in common with some of the behemoth, gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting automobiles parked by the Ottawa depot — were contributing much more to air pollution and human health problems than anyone knew. More to the point at the time, those engines were also nearing the end of their service life, and the increasingly impoverished Rock Island faced a difficult choice
between paying for the ever-increasing maintenance costs of outmoded locomotives and trying to find even scarcer funds to replace them. Today, the Rock Island main through Ottawa survived under the auspices of CSX Transportation and Iowa Interstate, and its salvation is made possible, in part, by even cleaner modern diesel-electric technology. Such considerations were far in the future, however, when the shutter snapped to record these images, and economic reality was about to change the course of history for a once-prosperous enterprise. On that seemingly tranquil afternoon in Ottawa in 1965, the longest night was already fast approaching for the woebegone Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. 2 WILLIAM BENNING STEWART observed the decline of the Rock Island firsthand during Air Force postings in Colorado and Illinois and made several “farewell to The Rock” journeys aboard the Quad Cities Rocket during its final years. The author would like to thank John Fuller for his assistance with the photographs in this story. www.TrainsMag.com
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IN MY OWN WORDS
FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF A CLOSE KIND A railroad and a train crew bring a badly needed diversion for a first-year teacher Story and photos by Geoffrey H. Doughty Nobody should be surprised that my first acquaintance with Maine Central Railroad came with a Trains article in an alldiesel issue in the late 1960s: a builder’s photograph showing one of the road’s brand-new EMD GP38s. Maine Central was far away from my childhood home in Illinois and yet the memory of that photo came back to me with my first encounter at a railroad grade crossing in Pittsfield, Maine, in summer 1972. Little did I realize that this railroad was about to play a significant role in my life.
Fresh out of college, I was eager to become a history and English teacher, but was having a tough time of it. Both public and private schools weren’t looking for history and English teachers; they were looking for sports coaches who could also teach those subjects. For a young inexperienced teacher my prospects seemed poor. Yet, that September, the headmaster at Maine Central Institute (no relation to the railroad) called to offer me a job in Pittsfield. “How soon can you get here?” the headmaster asked. But I wasn’t a teacher
yet. It would be a year of learning how to be one. Of course, for me, having a railroad pass through town within earshot and with bird’s eye views of the main line from my classrooms and dorm living quarters was perfect, and it offered a form of relief. My two classrooms looked out to the north and west, views that encompassed the main line for about 2 miles. While eating breakfast in the cafeteria, I could watch Maine Central’s BR2 that originated in Bangor in the early hours roar through town for
Waterville and Rigby Yard in South Portland. BR2’s eastbound counterpart was RB3 that would pass through Pittsfield in midmorning. While teaching my English class, I could see RB3 descend from 2 miles out, coming downgrade with its long train, often 100 cars or more. With that amount of advance warning, I could pace my lecture or presentation so I could pause to watch the train as it went by the school, close enough so you could feel the rumble of the locomotives, often four or five of them. It wasn’t long before my students got the idea, and they would even count the cars of each day’s train. Maine Central’s roster was almost allEMD (there were some Alcos, too), with GP7s predominating. Thus, the trains that barreled through Pittsfield contained a mix of older generation power, and as the railroad had an early affiliation with Boston & Maine, many units were still painted in the familiar maroon-and-gold scheme of the Minute Man Route. But they also included units in post-1955 schemes. Those encounters made me aware that there was a history of this railroad that was worth exploring. In late afternoon, there was the second eastbound train (RB1) that left South Portland’s Rigby Yard around 7 a.m. By late afternoon it had made it as far as Pittsfield and with classes over for the day, it was an easy drive to the tracks to watch the train thunder past. On an early excursion in fall 1972, I decided to check out the local agent at the freight house; otherwise it would be a long, lonely winter. The operator was Tommy MacDonald, an affable character who would handle the waybills and orders, and “OS” each train as it passed. As there wasn’t much to do for entertainment in town, I soon became a frequent visitor when classes were finished. On weekends, he would tell me when he expected RB1 and when the local DoverFoxcroft job would be stopping and heading up the Hartland Branch that originated in Pittsfield. This forewarning made it possible for me to set up regular photo shoots. The local, WX1/XW2 (the “Foxcroft Job”), tied up overnight in Dover-Foxcroft, and twice a week it would run up the Hartland Branch to the tannery to pick up loads and drop off empties. The power was always one of the railroad’s GP7s. Since I was living on campus and a dorm master, I had to be present every other weekend. With no place to go in particular, I thought I’d be bold and ask if I could get a ride up the branch with the local’s crew on my “off ” weekends. “Well,” Tommy said, “You’ll have to clear it with them.” Of course, the railroad forbid riders in engines or cabooses, but with Tommy’s introduction to the crew, I
The Maine Central crew the author befriended poses for a photo, from left: Conductor Allan Edwards, Engineer Charlie Kimball, and Brakeman Russell Bickford. By the time the author worked in the safety department, these gentlemen had retired. On page 58, Maine Central GP38 No. 261 leads train RB1 en route to Bangor, Maine, on a Saturday in December 1972.
told them who I was and that I wanted to take pictures. The crew, Engineer Charlie Kimball, Conductor Allan Edwards, and brakemen Russell Bickford and Alan Hunt, feigned their doubts momentarily, but Allan passed the buck to Charlie. I discovered much later that Charlie had a checkered career at Maine Central. He had been at the controls of a train that got away and derailed in nearby Clinton with an empty boxcar that landed literally on top of the depot. Charlie had no problem with my riding, figuring there wouldn’t be a trainmaster poking around on a Saturday. Leaving the caboose with the train on the passing track, Allan explained the routine to me as we picked up our five cars that had already been setout the day before, and headed up the branch, long hood first. The Hartland Branch dated back to 1886, built by the Sebasticook & Moosehead Railroad. In 1910, during a period of expansion, Maine Central leased it, bought it, and extended it north to Harmony in 1912. It then became the Harmony Branch, but it had been cut back from Harmony to Hartland in the 1960s as business evaporated. Laid with 85-pound rail, it was in decent condition. As we entered the Hartland yard, we
dropped our cars, did some switching, picked up the loads, and within the halfhour, were ready to head back to Pittsfield. I quickly learned that this crew were more like friends than not. Russ Bickford was the joker; Alan Hunt the curmudgeon; Allan Edwards a decent soul; and Charlie — well, Charlie had had his ups and downs in life and nothing seemed to bother him. They welcomed me into their world, something I needed. As Charlie monitored the air pressure build and pulled back the throttle, he turned to me on the other side of the cab: “Want to run the engine?” he asked. I thought: “You’re crazy if you pass this up!” There was hardly a hesitation. “Sure!” I responded, trying not to sound too eager. Charlie gave me a quick primer about the controls as the short train began to rumble down the track. He shoved the throttle to idle, stood up, and gave me his seat, having cut out the “dead man’s” pedal. I sat down and put my hand on the trainbrake handle ... just in case. “The speed limit is 25, but keep it at 10 while we’re in the yard. There’s a crossing up ahead and you’ll have to blow for that,” he said. I knew the whistle code for the crossing, but he told me that I would have www.TrainsMag.com
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IN MY OWN WORDS
The Pittsfield operator told the author when Maine Central’s business train was coming for this spring 1973 shot. When the author took this photo of Pullman car No. 333, he didn’t imagine he’d be employed by the railroad the following year and taking his first ride.
to time it so the last blast would be kept to the other side of the crossing. With one hand on the brake and the other tugging at the whistle cord, I felt like so many before me must have felt on their first run. “They’re stopped on this side,” Allan called.
Fortunately, the cars on my side stopped also. That’s one down, I thought. After the crossing, I pulled the throttle back and kept an eye on the speedometer. After a few moments, I eased the throttle forward and returned my hand to the
brake. Russell quipped: “He’ll never make a good engineer ... he’s paying too much attention to what he’s doing.” They all laughed, except me. I wasn’t about to have a derailment or a collision at a crossing. I knew what was at stake.
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A5AT
I glanced back at the five cars behind us and noticed a woodchuck pacing one boxcar, his body undulating as it traveled over the cinders and ties. With a wheel set coming up alongside him, I saw him turn to take issue with it. He was no match for the wheel. Such is life. I turned and kept eyeing the speedometer and the track ahead. A half-hour later as we entered the yard limits, Charlie said he’d better take over. I had had my great moment, the first of several as it turned out. What followed were other trips up the branch with the crew whom I got to know better, and as fall turned to winter, and winter to spring, Saturday sojourns with them became almost routine weekend activities, and on a couple of occasions, I rode the main line to Waterville. It was a badly needed diversion from my first-year experiences in the classroom. During this period I was fortunate to get some great photos of Maine Central mainline action, including the railroad president’s business train with the company’s crown jewel, No. 333, formerly Nituna, built by Pullman-Standard in 1924 and purchased by Maine Central in 1939. Tommy alerted me of its presence so I could capture it as it paused in town on two days. At the end of the school year, I was told that cuts had to be made, and I was again
“Want to run the engine?” Charlie asked. If I hesitated, I would lose the chance of a lifetime. Author’s collection
searching for a teaching position. For the summer, I managed to hire out on Walter Rich’s Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad in central New York state. Allan gave me a quick safety lesson about being a
trainman before we parted. Careers can take peculiar twists and turns, and often fate has a different plan for us than what we might hope for. In another year, after another teaching position, Maine Central hired me, and within a decade, I was promoted to its safety department, and later became the safety director for Maine Central, Boston & Maine, and the Delaware & Hudson when the companies were combined under Timothy Mellon’s Guilford. Who knew? As business dried up, the Hartland Branch was abandoned and ripped out in the mid-1980s. Only a dirt path remains. Sadly, Charlie Kimball, Allan Edwards, and Alan Hunt have since passed on, while Russell is thought to be retired, living in Florida. I doubt if they ever realized how much their friendship meant to me. They made the lonely life of a novice teacher much more rewarding than he ever thought possible, and opened a door to a future he never could have expected. 2 GEOFFREY H. DOUGHTY is a former safety director for Maine Central/Boston & Maine/Delaware & Hudson. He is safety director for the New Hampshire Motor Transport Association and the author of numerous passenger-train books.
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Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, 4-9 p.m.
This once-in-a-lifetime event includes a cocktail reception, dinner, dessert, and keepsake souvenir. Harley-Davidson Museum admission is included. Enjoy special presentations from longtime friends of the magazine, Norfolk Southern Chairman Wick Moorman, legendary photographer David Plowden, and others. Make your reservations today. Admission is $75 per person plus applicable taxes. Seating is limited, so make your plans soon. Special hotel rates are available. Please see confirmation email for complete information.
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PRESERVATION
BY JIM WRINN
C&O Mallet underway
Inside the former Western Maryland carshop in Ridgeley, W.Va., Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309’s smokebox, above right, peers at the rear of the tender tank on July 8. At right, the rarely seen high pressure cylinders of the articulated. Two photos, TRAINS: Jim Wrinn
If all goes well, by spring 2016 you should be able to ride behind a notable Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 not far from where it once operated in the Appalachian Mountains. Restoration of the 1949 Mallet is progressing at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad shop in Ridgeley, W.Va., adjacent to the 16-mile-long railroad’s operating headquarters in Cumberland, Md. An early July visit showed crews busily working on the disassembled locomotive in the single-track carshop. One crew was replacing the tender floor and preparing the tank for general repairs that could be completed as early as August. Another crew was needle-scaling the boiler prior to ultrasonic testing of the shell. The front engine has been removed, and the cab is sitting on a stand. Much more work is ahead, and General Superintendant Mike Gresham says he will announce the timetable for completion in November. The locomotive was acquired from the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore in July 2014. The engine will take over from the railroad’s 1916 2-8-0 No. 734, which goes down for its 1,472-day inspection in 2016. Additionally, the railroad says the big articulated will handle more cars and eliminate doubleheading No. 734 with diesels. 62
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Using plans from the 1920s, the Baldwin Locomotive Works built No. 1309 late in the steam era as its last Class I mainline domestic steam locomotive and the last to be commercially built by Baldwin. No. 1309 was the last of 10 H6 engines made for heavy hauling, low-speed coal service in West Virginia. After it was retired in 1956, the locomotive was stored and in 1977 moved to the B&O Museum. The tourist railroad runs on the former WM main line, including the famous Helmstetter’s Curve, where giant 4-6-6-4s
once pulled time freights across the railroad built to compete with the B&O. The tourist railroad anticipates operating the locomotive on a regular basis, which means No. 1309 will be seen and heard by thousands each year. For details see Western Maryland Scenic at www.movingfullsteamahead.com.
>> Going home — from Virginia to Canada Operated or stored in Virginia for 40 years (with a short stint in the later 1980s at Cumberland, Md., above), Canadian Pacific G5d 4-6-2s Nos. 1238 and No. 1286 were placed on flatcars in July to return home to Winnipeg. The locomotives were the stars of Jack Showalter’s Alleghany Central tourist railroad in Covington, Va., and in 1993 ran on the CSX main line out of Charlottesville, Va. The pair will go to the Vintage Locomotive Society Inc., operator of the Prairie Dog Central Railway, for storage until operating plans are firmed up. Five passenger cars will go to the North Carolina Transportation Museum. Wayland Moore
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HOT SPOTS
BY GEORGE W. HAMLIN
1 Two Amtrak Acela Express trains meet on the massive bridge at Perryville, Md., in January 2015.
Four photos, George W. Hamlin
George Hamlin’s top 10 hot spots Variety rules in the US and Canada for this longtime Trains contributor I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively during my almost 60 years of rail photography, and to have been able to see and photograph railroads throughout the continent. In addition, I’ve lived in the Midwest, the Northeast, Texas, Georgia, and in Virginia for the past 25 years. Here are 10 of my favorite locations to watch trains in North America.
PERRYVILLE, MD. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor crosses the Susquehanna River on a century-old bridge between Perryville and Havre de Grace. At least partly in deference to its age, the bridge has a speed restriction — 90 mph. State-supported MARC commuter trains connect Perryville with Baltimore during rush hours. Norfolk Southern freights using the “Port Road” to and from Harrisburg, Pa., join the Northeast Corridor at Perryville. They can turn north to Wilmington, Del., and south to Baltimore. During the week, most operate on the Corridor overnight, however. Havre de Grace
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features a number of stores and a bird decoy museum highlighting regional waterfowl.
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HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, N.Y.
Concentrate here on the “Highlands” area, roughly from Peekskill to Cold Spring. Mainline tracks run on both sides of the river, with those on the west side handling only freight for CSX Transportation and those on the east being essentially passenger-only for Amtrak and Metro-North (and as far as Poughkeepsie for MN.) There are a number of places, including Manitou, Bear Mountain, and Storm King Mountain, where trains can be seen and photographed from the opposite bank.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. Freight, Amtrak, or commuter train, if you’re heading south directly out of Washington, D.C., you’ll be passing through Alexandria’s Union Station. Since the station is located on King Street in the heart of “Old Town,” there are plenty of places to stay and eat nearby. What can be viewed from the station platforms are all of CSX’s north-south freight operations from the northeast to the south, and numerous Amtrak trains heading for both Richmond on CSX rails and toward Manassas on NS rails. Weekday rush hours also offer Virginia Railway Express commuter trains on both lines.
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CINCINNATI Unfortunately no longer a hot spot for passenger trains, Cincinnati Union Terminal is an urban train-watching oasis. Virtually all CSX and NS freight traffic in the
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4 Southbound CSX and Norfolk Southern freights gather outside Tower A at Cincinnati Union Terminal in August 2008. region funnels down to a pair of bridges across the Ohio River. An outstanding and comfortable place to view the action is in the Cincinnati Railroad Club’s Tower A atop the former Terminal, now the city’s Museum Center. Open mostly on weekends, it is accessed via the terminal’s grand Art Deco half-domed headhouse.
TEHACHAPI, CALIF. One could certainly do worse than to simply visit the town of Tehachapi, just west of the famous railroad grade’s summit. However, I’d submit that covering a broader swath of territory, from Sand Cut on the west slope to Mojave on the east would be a lot more fun. The area has characteristics of a model railroad, including numerous tunnels, mountains, curves, single
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>> Want to enter our online photo contest? www.TrainsMag.com/Trackside
In the latest issue Fall 2015 Edition
7 An eastbound VIA Rail train stops at Dorval, Quebec, on the CN line in March 2009. To the right is the CP main line and, beyond that, Montreal’s international airport. track (for operating challenges!) and, of course, a loop. The trains move relatively slowly — it is, after all, a mountain railroad — so multiple shots are often possible. It can be difficult to time, but consider visiting after the winter rains, when portions of the area are green; the rest of the year dry weather gives California another reason to be known as the “Golden State.”
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SANDPOINT, IDAHO A walkway
just east of U.S. Route 95 at Lake Pend Oreille south of town is a great place to view traffic on the BNSF Railway’s “Funnel” between Sandpoint and Spokane, Wash. All traffic coming west off the former Great Northern “Hi Line” and Montana Rail Link’s former Northern Pacific main line combines in the town to continue west to Washington state. Since the walkway is west of the railroad, photography is easiest in the afternoon, but it is a great place to watch the substantial volume of rail traffic at any time.
DORVAL, QUEBEC Located adjacent to Montreal’s international airport, the town of Dorval has separate stations used by VIA Rail and Montreal’s commuter agency, Agence métropolitaine de transport, on the adjacent CN and CP lines. Commuter activity is concentrated on weekdays, but VIA, which operates to both Ottawa and Toronto, and freight activity are plentiful seven days a week.
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POWDER RIVER BASIN, WYO.
This railfan favorite provides one of the “greatest shows on earth.” Heavy unit coal trains, and their returning empties, operate on a daily frequency that eclipses that of many transit agencies. Throw in the open grassland scenery, with a cluster of surface coal-mining operations in the middle of the line (bounded roughly by Douglas in the south and Gillette to the north), there is plenty to see, and photograph. For a single location, consider the state Route 59 bridge just north of Bill. (Hint: Don’t spend much time looking for a town there.)
BNSF’S CHICAGO
SP’s Dynamic Leader D. J. Russell steered the Golden Empire toward a diversified future in the 1950s and ’60s
Last Encounters with Steam Visiting the Grand Trunk Western and Illinois Central in February 1960, just weeks before the end of steam
10 ‘RACETRACK’ Featuring triple track
C&O’s Backwoods Budds
and lots of trains, the BNSF Aurora Sub is home to a number of popular locations in the western Chicago suburbs, including LaGrange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, and Downers Grove, among others. The route features freight traffic operating between Chicago and Minneapolis, as well as Chicago and Galesburg, including intermodal, manifests, coal, and crude oil. Passenger trains, primarily Metra commuters, make up a large portion of the traffic, and Amtrak makes regular appearances as well with both long-distance and corridor trains.
Ride a pair of rare RDC4s on a local train in eastern Kentucky
GEORGE W. HAMLIN is a transportation consultant based in Fairfax, Va. His first photo credit appeared in the April 1963 issue of TRAINS.
TORONTO Canada’s largest city is a
significant rail center, with considerable freight activity on both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. Downtown, however, in this walkable (and transit-intensive) city, passenger rail comes to the fore. That includes the commuter rail operations of GO Transit and, to a lesser extent, intercity trains of VIA Rail. A great place to watch the weekday action is the area between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street; both feature pedestrian access over the multiple tracks in the area.
A Century of Catenary Energized in September 1915, the wires on the Main Line west of Philadelphia formed the nucleus of the Pennsylvania’s electrified empire
Bridgeboro Boogie A tiny Georgia crossroads got busy when two Pidcock short lines established an interchange there
Ingles Color Classics An Amtrak detour and a preserved BL2 on a fantrip produce some “Monon moments” in 1975
Fallen Flags Remembered Erie Railroad
PLUS: The Way It Was, Bumping Post, True Color, Car Stop, and more!
10 A westbound BNSF freight at LaGrange on the famed “Racetrack” west of Chicago.
On sale August 25, 2015 www.TrainsMag.com
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ASK TRAINS
>> This Month: • Kentucky diesel paint schemes • Why smoke changes color
Q
Why is it that one locomotive, on the same day, may have black exhaust, white/light gray, or at times almost invisible exhaust coming from the smoke stack?
— Russ Gray, Kernersville, N.C.
Louisville & Nashville adopted Alcos by the 1950s on lines in eastern Kentucky. The railroad first painted RS3s, FA2s, and FB2s in black, cream, and orange, but later opted for simpler schemes. R.D. Sharpless, Louisville & Nashville Historical Societ y collection
Q
My family moved from Texas to southeastern Kentucky in the mid-1950s, and I remember seeing trains pulled by red-and-yellow locomotives that looked like what I now see in pictures of Santa Fe locomotives. Can you offer me a few details on what locomotives I saw when I was a boy? — Roy Crawford, Whitesburg, Ky. The diesel locomotives that replaced steam on the Louisville & Nashville’s lines in eastern Kentucky were predominantly Alco units. The L&N owned a large fleet of RS3s, FA2s, and a few FB2s, so it’s a certainty that you saw the RS3s as they rolled by in southeastern Kentucky. As built, they were painted in an attractive black-and-cream livery, with orange trim, yellow-gold lettering, and safety stripes, and a variation of the company’s traditional herald on both noses in red, yellow-gold, and black. This scheme was designed by EMD’s styling section and first appeared on an order of 16 E6s in 1942 — the company’s first diesel-electric road units. Except for a quintet of all-black F3s acquired primarily for pusher service on the Eastern Kentucky Division in 1948,
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all subsequent road units were painted in this scheme until 1958 (although dark blue was the primary color for E units and black for everything else). Switchers were just black with yellow-gold lettering. In that year the L&N adopted an “austerity” scheme of all-black for freight, and all-blue for passenger. It was an era when many railroads began using simpler locomotive paint liveries to save money, shorten out-of-service time in the paint shop, and take advantage of more durable enamel paint versus the faster-drying, but fade-prone, lacquers for the complicated multi-color schemes. Around 1962 or 1963, the company adopted the first of several variations of the more familiar gray and yellow that lasted until the Family Lines scheme of 1977. — Ron Flanary, L&N historian, author
Cass Scenic Railroad’s Heisler No. 6 climbs a grade puffing smoke and steam into a gray cloud. TR A I NS : Steve Sweeney
The color of exhaust you see coming out of a steam locomotive’s smoke A stack indicates how efficiently it is burning fuel. Darker or blacker smoke is an indication that small fuel particles (coal, wood, fuel oil, etc.) have made it through the firebox unburned and are therefore wasted. Light or nearly invisible exhaust means that the locomotive fuel is mostly burned and transformed into heat, carbon dioxide, water, and trace elements. Factors affecting how efficient a locomotive burns fuel include the skill of the fireman on the engine, the quality of the fuel used, the design of the locomotive itself, and the amount of work the engine is doing. Similar concerns affect the efficiency of internal combustionengine locomotives as well. Gray clouds trailing a steam locomotive are often a mix of exhaust smoke and steam that appear gray at a distance. On special occasions, train crews on tourist railroads may purposefully create dark smoke plumes so that railfans and observers can take dramatic pictures. — Steve Sweeney
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The Dine Across America by Rail Sweepstakes Official Rules NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR CLAIM PRIZE. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. 1. Eligibility. The Dine Across America by Rail Sweepstakes (the “sweepstakes”) is open to residents of the United States and Canada (except Quebec) only, who are age 18 years or older and have reached the age of majority in their state/province of residency at the time of entry. Employees (and their dependents and immediate household members) of Sponsor, and of Iowa Pacific, their advertising and promotional agencies and sponsoring companies are not eligible to participate. Void in Quebec and where prohibited by law. Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. 2. Sweepstakes Period. Sweepstakes begins on September 8, 2015, at 10:00:00 a.m. Central Time and all entries must be transmitted online no later than November 10, 2015, at 11:59:59 p.m. Central Time. 3. How to Enter. To enter, complete the Sweepstakes Official Entry Form online at www.TrainsMag.com/Sweeps with your name, address, city, state or province, and ZIP or postal code, and then click on the SUBMIT MY ENTRY button. You may submit only one entry through the Sweepstakes Online Entry Form during the Sweepstakes Period. However, when you submit your entry online, you will receive a link that you can share on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or by email; you will automatically receive three additional entries for each person who enters the Sweepstakes using that link. The online entry form must be filled out completely to be eligible. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. Entries from any person submitting more than the stated number will be disqualified. 4. Prizes/Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) in U.S. Dollars. Prizes/Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) in U.S. Dollars. One (1) Grand Prize of a Pullman Rail Journeys consisting of round trip bedroom accommodations for two between Chicago and New Orleans. Prize is based upon a contiguous round trip journey departing from and returning to the departing destination and may not be split. ARV of Grand Prize is $2,309. Five (5) First Prize winners choose one of the following: Two Diamond Class Tickets for the Saratoga Dinner Train, Saratoga & North Creek Railway, Saratoga Springs, NY, (ARV of $178); Two Tickets for the Colonial Lunch Train, Cape Cod Central Railroad, Hyannis, MA (ARV of $102); Two Tickets for the Streamliner Diner, Texas State Railroad, Palestine, TX (ARV of $180); Two Tickets for the Valley Sunset Dinner Train and First Class Sunday Concert Train, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, Alamosa, CO (ARV of $284); or Two Diamond Class Tickets for the Timber Baron Dinner Train, Columbia Gorge Scenic Railroad, Hood River, OR (ARV of $278). Total ARV of First Prizes is up to $1,420. Two (2) Second Prize winners choose from Family four pack of tickets in Diamond Class for any Premier Rail Collection location that operates THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride (ARV of $460) or Family four pack of Diamond Class tickets for any Premier Rail Collection location that operates the Train to Christmas Town (ARV of $220). Total ARV of Second Prizes is up to $920. TOTAL ARV of all prizes is up to $4,649.00. 5. Drawing/Odds/Notification. A random drawing for the Dine Across America by Rail Sweepstakes Prizes will be held on or around November 11, 2015. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Limit one prize per person. Winners will be notified by email on or around November 12, 2015. 6. Prize Restrictions. No cash equivalent or prize substitution permitted. All prizes subject to the guarantees/warranties of the manufacturer. Tickets subject to availability at time of reservation. Ground and/or air transportation
to and from each railroad is not included. Any applicable federal, state, and/or local taxes are the responsibility of the winner. For prizes of $600 or more in value, winner’s Taxpayer I.D. will be required to issue a Form 1099-MISC showing prize ARV as income. 7. Validation and Acceptance. Winners in the Dine Across America by Rail Sweepstakes will be selected in a random drawing. The potential winners may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, publicity release and Release of Liability within fourteen (14) days of notification. In the event a winner does not respond to this requirement, an alternate winner will be randomly drawn. Canadian prize winners subject to skill test requirement. 8. Winners List. For a list of winners, see the Trains website (www.TrainsMag.com) after November 30, 2015, or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Dine Across America by Rail Sweepstakes Winners List, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 531871612. (Residents of FL, VT, and WA may send a selfaddressed envelope without the stamp.) Requests for Winners List must be received by December 30, 2015. 9. Limitations of Liability. Sponsor, Iowa Pacific, are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind; (ii) failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed computer transmissions; (iii) any condition caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor that may cause the Sweepstakes to be disrupted or corrupted; (iv) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use/misuse of the prize, or from participation in the Sweepstakes; or (v) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel the Sweepstakes at any time if a computer virus, bug tampering, unauthorized intervention, or other technical problem of any sort corrupts the administration, security, or proper play of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor also reserves the right to disqualify, in its sole discretion, any person tampering with the entry process, the operation of the website, or who is otherwise in violation of the rules. By participating in the Sweepstakes, each participant agrees to release and hold Sponsor, Iowa Pacific, their employees, officers, and directors, their advertising and promotional agencies, and sponsoring companies harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the Sweepstakes or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use/misuse of any prize, including without limitation, personal injury, death, and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. 10. Additional terms. By entering the Sweepstakes, participants agree to be bound by these official rules and all decisions of Sponsor. Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Sweepstakes shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal courts situated in Wisconsin, (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys’ fees, (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including, without limitation, lost profits, may be awarded (collectively, “special damages”), and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim special damages and all rights to such damages multiplied or increased. Wisconsin law, without reference to choice of law rules, governs the Sweepstakes and all aspects related thereto. 11. Sponsor. Sponsored by Kalmbach Publishing Co., P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612.
P26063
DIRECTORY OF TOURIST LINES AND RAIL MUSEUMS Step back in time to experience the golden age of railroading. North America’s railroad museums and tourist lines provide affordable fun for the whole family! Plan your complete vacation with visits to these leading attractions. For information on advertising in this section, call Todd Schwartz toll-free at 888-558-1544, Ext 537. CALIFORNIA NAPA VALLEY WINE TRAIN, INC.
The Napa Valley Wine Train is a fully restored, antique train which runs through the heart of the Napa Valley. Enjoy a freshly prepared meal on board Napa’s most distinctive restaurant. Wine tours, wine tasting, great dining – a fabulous trip into America’s luxurious past. winetrain.com 800-WINETRAIN CALIFORNIA Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ & MONTEREY BAY RAILWAY
The Pacific Coast has long used rails for mining and logging but now passengers can enjoy the serenity of coastal beaches and sunset rides in vintage cars. r%JOJOHDBSTXJUIGSFTISFHJPOBMNFOVT r8JOF5SBJOT r4QFDJBMFWFOUTBOEUIFNFEUSBJOT www.santacruzrailway.com
Trains OCTOBER 2015
888-978-5562
COLORADO Alamosa RIO GRANDE SCENIC RAILROAD 610 State Street
Make your Colorado memories on the rails this year! Enjoy standard-gauge comfort and new, scenic dome cars as you roll through dramatic mountain passes, colorful canyons and charming Colorado towns. Lots of wildlife, bring your camera! Close to Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. Connection with Cumbres & Toltec available. Season runs May-Oct, special events year-round.
www.coloradotrain.com
877-726-RAIL
COLORADO Golden COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM 17155 W. 44th Avenue
There’s something amazing about trains. The familiar whistle has always promised adventure. Experience it again with a visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum featuring a 15-acre railyard, renowned library, Roundhouse restoration facility and working Turntable. Train Rides Every Saturday. Group rates and programs available. ColoradoRailroadMuseum.org
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Napa
1275 McKinstry Street
800-365-6263
COLORADO Leadville LEADVILLE COLORADO & SOUTHERN
INDIANA Connersville WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD
326 East 7th
5th and Grand
2015 Schedule: May 23 – June 12 1:00pm. June 13 – August 16 10:00am & 2:00pm. August 17 – October 4 weekdays 1:00pm, weekends 10:00am & 2:00pm. Spectacular trip travels into the high Rocky Mountains, the railroad follows old C&S roadbed & 1893 restored depot. Family friendly, pets allowed. For more info visit our web site. www.leadville-train.com 1-866-386-3936 FLORIDA Florida City FLORIDA PIONEER MUSEUM 826 North Krome Ave Housed in the only remaining FEC Station Agents’ house, built in 1904. Exhibits of farm implements, FEC & SAL memorabilia, telegraphs, early South Florida photos, Indian artifacts, toys, gift shop. Replica of the 1904 Homestead, FL, FEC Depot on grounds. Open November thru April. Wed. & Sat. 1:00 PM-5:00 PM. Stop by on your way to the Florida Keys. Antique Quilt Show, February 20 & 21, 2016
www.floridapioneermuseum.org
305-246-9531
FLORIDA
Fort Myers SEMINOLE GULF RAILWAY 1-75 exit 136 at Colonial Blvd.
Travel through time on Indiana’s most scenic railroad. 33-mile round trip to Metamora, May through Oct. Special events Feb through Dec. Vintage diesels: 1951 Lima-Ham 750HP SW, 1954 EMD/Milw. SD10, 1948 Alco S1. Gift Shop. www.whitewatervalleyrr.org
765-825-2054
INDIANA North Judson HOOSIER VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM
www.hoosiervalley.org
574-896-3950
KANSAS Abilene ABILENE & SMOKY VALLEY RAILROAD
Enjoy a comical murder mystery show while our chef prepares your five course dinner with a choice of 3 entrees. The Murder Mystery Dinner Train operates 5 nights a week all year from the Colonial Station (2805 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33966). Get-Away packages with hotel stay available with special pricing available only through Seminole Gulf Railway. www.semgulf.com 800-SEM-GULF (736-4853)
Ride the Rails of History. 11 mile round trip through the Smoky Hill River Valley. Also offering dinner trains, steam engine runs on the newly restored #3415 & private charters. Call for schedules & reservations. www.asvrr.org 888-426-6687
GEORGIA THE INN AT FOLKSTON B&B
KENTUCKY New Haven KENTUCKY RAILWAY MUSEUM
3576 Main Street (Formerly 509 West Main Street)
136 S. Main St.
Folkston
252 Bowery Lane
[email protected]
912-496-2220
ILLINOIS Monticello MONTICELLO RAILWAY MUSEUM 991 Iron Horse Place — Monticello Illinois 61856
Small town America at its best... Journey on a 22 mile train excursion through the Rolling Fork River Valley. Slow down and discover the joy of traveling by train. Stroll through the museum and outdoor displays. The gift store has everything for the train enthusiast. Special events include: Day Out With Thomas, Train Robberies, Mystery Trains, Dining Trains, Santa Trains and much more! www.kyrail.org
Ride beautifully-restored diesel and steam trains every Saturday and Sunday May thru October. Steam using Southern 2-8-0 No. 401 one weekend every month. Complete schedules and information at MRYM.org. Charter our dining or business cars for your private group. Call us for rates and dates. I-72 at Exit 166. Bus Parking Space - Picnic Grove. Like us on Facebook!
www.izaakwaltoninn.com
406-888-5700
NEBRASKA North Platte GOLDEN SPIKE TOWER & VISITOR CENTER 1249 N Homestead Rd
Eight story tower offering a panoramic view of the Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, the world’s largest classification yard. Thousands of railcars every day! Located minutes off of I-80 and Hwy 83 Hours: Open 9am-7pm daily Twilight Tours (open past sunset) the 3rd Saturday of each month www.goldenspiketower.com 308-532-9920 NEW YORK Catskill Mountains Delaware & Ulster Railroad 43510 State Hwy 28, Arkville, NY 12406
800-272-0152
MASSACHUSETTS Hyannis CAPE COD CENTRAL RAILROAD 252 Main Street
Scenic excursions through New York’s legendary Catskill Mountains. Train Robberies - Twilight Excursions - First class meal service aboard The Rip Van Winkle Flyer for groups and individuals. www.durr.org
www.MRYM.org / 877-762-9011 ILLINOIS
~ Celebrating 75 Years ~ Trackside Glacier Park vacations in cozy cabooses or nostalgic rooms in our historic GN-built hotel on BNSF’s main line. Trestles, snowsheds, tunnels, Essex helper station. Dining Car Restaurant. Flagstop Bar. Amtrak stop. Open year round. New GN441 Luxury Locomotive Lodging.
200 SE Fifth Street
Bed & Breakfast at The Folkston Funnel. A five minute walk to covered train-viewing platform on CSXT’s double-track main line 40 miles N of Jacksonville, FL. Hearty breakfasts, comfortable feather beds. Train watchers weekday specials! New Webcam with CSX Scanner Audio at TrainWatch.com. www.InnAtFolkston.com Toll Free 888-509-6246 GEORGIA Homeland OKEFENOKEE RV PARK Located in the heart of train country in the Folkston Funnel. Watch the trains go by from your campsite. Beautiful sunsets. The perfect spot for camping rail fans. Open year round. Full hookup sites. $20 a night. Special weekly and monthly rates. Find us on facebook @ Okefenokee RV Park.
Essex (Glacier Nat. Pk) IZAAK WALTON INN 290 Izaak Walton Inn Rd.
507 Mulberry Street From the junction of four former railroads, travel through rural farm country and across the Kankakee River in vintage cabooses or open-air cars. 10- & 20- mile round-trip themed train rides, May –Oct & special events. Family and group rates. Guest Engineer Program. Free admission to the museum. Static displays, operating signals and railroadiana. Open Saturdays year-round, 9-4 central time.
Murder Mystery Dinner Train
MONTANA
Union ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM 7000 Olson Road
Travel to the hidden beauty of the Cape through marshes and dunes alive with sea birds where just around the bend the views offer glimpses of the open sea bay and picturesque island villages. r#SVODIBOE%JOOFS5SBJOT r.VSEFS.ZTUFSJFT r)PMJEBZUIFNFUSBJOT www.capetrain.com 888-797-RAIL YOUR STATE
Home of Nebraska Zephyr. Steam, diesel trains, electric cars. Send $5.00 for 32 page Guide Book; or #10 SASE for color brochure with schedule & discount coupon. Trains operate Sat: May-Oct, Sun: Apr-Oct, Daily: Memorial Day-Labor Day. Museum open Apr-Oct. Lodging: 847-695-7540 and 815-363-6177. www.irm.org 815-923-4000
845-586-3877
NEW YORK Saratoga Springs SARATOGA & NORTH CREEK RAILWAY 26 Station Lane
Your City
Advertise your tourist railroad here!
The Adirondacks offer four seasons of beauty best seen along breathtaking waterway vistas in heritage cars with exceptional service and classic rail dining. r'BMM'PMJBHFSJEFT r4OPX5SBJOUPXJOUFSSFTPSUT r)PMJEBZUIFNFUSBJOT
Contact Todd Schwartz at 888-558-1544 Ext. 537
www.SNCRR.com
877-726-7245 www.TrainsMag.com
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OREGON Garibaldi OREGON COAST SCENIC RAILROAD
TEXAS
Flatonia
FLATONIA RAIL PARK
WYOMING 121 Brownfield Road Douglas
402 S. American Way
Excursions with a Heisler or an Alco 2-6-2 steam locomotive along Tillamook Bay. Regular excursions from May 16th through September 27th. Daily service June 20th through September 7th. Dinner Trains, Firework Spectacular, Fall Splendor, Salmonberry Excursions, and Candy Cane Express as well.
www.oregoncoastscenic.org OREGON
Douglas
DOUGLAS RAILROAD INTERPRETATIVE MUSEUM & VISITOR CENTER
503-842-7972
MOUNT HOOD RAILROAD
Hood River
Two locations Downtown & at the Interlocker West of Town. Visit historic downtown Flatonia and see SP Tower#3, SP Caboose #4743 and the Rail History Center… filled with artifacts of the SP, T&NO and GH&SA. Photo Pavilion at the Interlocker open 24/7, handicapped accessible. Located on IH-10 between Houston and San Antonio. Flatonia welcomes railfans! www.railcrossroadstx.com
[email protected] TEXAS Galveston GALVESTON RAILROAD MUSEUM
110 Railroad Avenue
Douglas Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center, in the historic FE & MV Railroad passenger Depot, is home to the Railroad Interpretative Museum. Seven historic railcars, including the #5633 Steam Locomotive are on display. Modern day trains can be seen hauling coal from the Powder River Basin to the East. Open year round, 7 days a week, the museum and visitor center are available for viewing. Seasonal hours apply.
www.jackalope.org
1-877-937-4996
WEST INDIES
ST. KITTS SCENIC RAILWAY
St. Kitts
Home of the Santa Fe Warbonnets 2602 Santa Fe Place Galveston, TX 77550
Former Headquarters Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe Depot One of the Largest Railroad Museums in Southwest. Approx. 5 acres of 50 vintage rail cars, locomotives, freight, passenger. Indoor & Outdoor displays. One of the largest China & Silverware collection. O & H/O model Layouts. Free Parking with Admission. Open seven days a week. www.galvestonrrmuseum.com
TEXAS Journey through the lush green forests of Columbia River Gorge to the valley’s fertile vineyards and orchards overlooked by the striking snow capped peak of Mt. Hood. r4QSJOH#MPTTPNTBOE'BMM'PMJBHFFYDVSTJPOT r4VOEBZ#SVODIBOE8FTUFSO5SBJO3PCCFSJFT r.VSEFS.ZTUFSJFTBOE.VTJDBM5SJCVUF"SUJTUT www.mthoodrr.com
810 S. Main St.
Lately, train watching around The Bridgeview B&B has been extremely exciting with motive power from BNSF, UP, KCS, CP, CN, CSX and Ferromex often leading, plus add NS heritage units into the mix and you have some amazing lashup possibilities! Trains entering or exiting Enola Yard pass right by our front porch. From the spacious decks and sitting room, you can watch the Susquehanna River, Blue Mountains and train action on Rockville Bridge! Plus, visit Hershey, Gettysburg, and PA Dutch Country! Comfortable rooms all with private baths, A/C, Wifi, and a tasty breakfast are included with your stay. Take a virtual tour on our website and check us out on Facebook for daily updates, pictures and guest comments. www.bridgeviewbnb.com 717-957-2438 Robertsdale
FRIENDS OF THE EAST BROAD TOP 550 Main Street
Visit the East Broad Top Railroad’s original southern operating terminus. Museum open first and third weekends, May through September, 10-5 Saturdays and 1-4 Sundays. Special hours in October. www.febt.org SOUTH CAROLINA
PO Box 166
Include St. Kitts in your Eastern Caribbean cruise itinerary. Narrow gauge St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour circles this unspoiled island paradise, 18 miles by train, 12 miles by bus. Twin- level observation cars, fully narrated, complimentary drinks, a cappella Choir. One of the Great Little Railways of the World. www.stkittsscenicrailway.com (869) 465-7263
800-872-4661
PENNSYLVANIA Marysville Bridgeview Bed & Breakfast
PENNSYLVANIA
409-765-5700
Rusk & Palestine TEXAS STATE RAILROAD
814-635-2388 Abbeville - Greenwood
TAKE THE RIGHT TRACK AND SEE OUR TRAIN TREASURES!
Dubbed a “Texas Treasure”, these historic rails travel through rolling hills and piney woods with wildlife sightings while sampling the service of true southern hospitality. r-VODIBOE%JOOFS5SBJOT r)PMJEBZUIFNFUSBJOT r'VMMDBNQHSPVOEGBDJMJUJFT
www.texasstaterr.com
877-726-7245
WEST VIRGINIA Landgraff ELKHORN INN & THEATER Route 52 (Between Eckman & Kimball)
As seen on HGTV “Building Character” and “reZONED”! Newly restored “Coal Heritage Trail” Inn on NS Pocahontas railway line in scenic, southern, WV. Railview guest rooms, balcony and patio cafe. Call about our Railfan weekends. 14 guest rooms, claw-foot tubs, fireplace, vintage quilts, art, antiques & gift shop/museum room. Meals available. Sat TV, VCR, slide-viewer, studio & Wi-Fi internet. On Route 52, 30 minutes from Bluefield WV/VA. See our “railfan” pages on our web site. Local phone: 304-862-2031 www.elkhorninnwv.com
800-708-2040
WISCONSIN Green Bay NATIONAL RAILROAD MUSEUM 2285 S. Broadway
All Aboard! Explore the UP Big Boy, Eisenhower’s WWII command train, the exhibit Pullman Porters: From Service to Civil Rights, and our new exhibit entitled “From Generation to Generation: The Love of Toy Trains”. View the Bauer Drumhead collection – 40 illuminated passenger train tail signs. Open year round. www.nationalrrmuseum.org 920-437-7623 WISCONSIN
Trempealeau INN ON THE RIVER 11321 Main Street
If trains are your passion, our Inn offers a spectacular view of the BNSF, CP, Amtrak, & ICE railroad lines that run on both sides of the Mississippi River. Sit back and enjoy the show from your balcony. Two Amtrak stations within 20miles.
[email protected] www.InnontheRiverWisconsin.com
• The Railroad Museum, 908 S. Main St., Greenwood, SC — an exhibit of railroad history, a gift shop and seven historic railroad cars • Seaboard Caboose No. 5759, McGowan-BarksdaleBundy House, 305 N. Main St., Abbeville, SC — a restored Seaboard Railroad caboose highlighting the railroad era at the headquarters of the Abbeville County Historical Society discoversc.net
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Trains OCTOBER 2015
1-800-849-9633
608-534-7784
WYOMING Cheyenne CHEYENNE DEPOT MUSEUM 121 W. 15th St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
Cheyenne Wyoming is home to the Cheyenne Depot Museum, operating in the historic Union Pacific Cheyenne Depot built in 1887. Cheyenne is home to the Union Pacific Steam program and filled with railroad heritage unlike any other city in the world. Open year round. Mention this ad and receive $1.00 off. CheyenneDepotMuseum.org 307-638-6338
ADVERTISERS 611 In Steam DVD ......................................63 A & R Productions ...................................... 13 Amsted Rail ..................................................2 Amtrak ....................................................... 15 Big E. Productions ...................................... 10 Borden Perlman.......................................... 13 C R Scholes ............................................... 13 CIT Rail ...................................................... 11 Classic Trains magazine..............................65 Deskmap Systems ...................................... 12 Duffields Station, Inc. ................................. 12 Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad ............. 21 Four Ways West .......................................... 21 Greg Scholl Video Productions .................... 13 Herron Rail Video ........................................ 10 Journeys by Jerry Van Dyke ........................ 14 Knoxville Locomotive Works..........................9 Modoc Railroad Academy .............................7 Monte Vista Publishing ..................................7 More Trains of the 1950s ............................63 Morning Sun Books, Inc. ............................. 13 MTU .............................................................9 National Energy Equipment, Inc.....................7 New York Air Brake ..................................... 17 Only The Best Books LLC............................ 13 Pixel Federation S.R.O................................. 76 Railcom ........................................................7 railroadbooks.biz ........................................ 13 Ron’s Books .................................................5 Signature Press .......................................... 12 Society of International Railway Travelers ......5 Tom E. Dailey Foundation, Inc. .................... 13 Train Travel Consulting................................ 10 Trains - Dine Across America................. 19, 68 Trains 75th Anniversary Gala....................... 61 Trains Books .............................................. 67 Trains magazine .........................................60 Trains magazine Tour .................................. 67
CLASSIFIEDS Word Rate: per issue: 1 insertion — $1.57 per word, 6 insertions — $1.47 per word, 12 insertions — $1.37 per word. $25.00 MINIMUM per ad. Payment must accompany ad. To receive the discount you must order and prepay for all ads at one time. Count all initials, single numbers, groups of numbers, names, address number, street number or name, city, state, zip, phone numbers each as one word. Example: Paul P. Potter, 2102 Pacific St., Waukesha, WI 53202 would count as 9 words. All Copy: Set in standard 6 point type. First several words only set in bold face. If possible, ads should be sent typewritten and categorized to ensure accuracy. CLOSING DATES: Nov. closes Aug. 25, Dec. closes Sept. 23. For TRAINS’ private records, please furnish: a telephone number and when using a P.O. Box in your ad, a street address. magazine – Classified Advertising Send your ads to: 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612 Waukesha, WI 53187-1612 Toll-free (888) 558-1544 Ext. 815 Fax: (262) 796-0126 E-mail:
[email protected]
EXCURSIONS 68 MILE TRAIN RIDE in the beautiful white mountains of New Hampshire, October 17, 2015. From Conway, NH to Crowford Notch & on to Fabyans and back to North Conway. For trip info www.470rrclub.org
LODGING CABIN BY THE TRACKS, COLORADO ROCKIES, U.P. (D&RGW) MAINLINE. In foothills west of Denver. Railroad fan heaven. 303-233-9655.
[email protected], www.coloradorailroadvacation.com WISCONSIN, FERRYVILLE - Custom built two-bedroom luxury vacation home along scenic Mississippi River and BNSF Railroad. www.153main.com 608-317-1530. WWW.MANASSASJUNCTION.COM Trackside lodging in luxurious Victorian B&B. View Amtrak Crescent, Norfolk & Southern and VRE Commuter from dining room or along tracks. 10 minute walk to board train at Historic Manassas, Virginia Depot. 703-216-7803.
MISCELLANEOUS RAILROAD PATCHES, 1,000 designs. Catalog $5.00. Patch King, Box 145, York Harbor, ME 03911.
WANTED ARE YOU GETTING THE BEST PRICE FOR YOUR TRAIN COLLECTION? Our list of discriminating buyers grows each day. They want bigger and better train collections to choose from! We specialize in O Gauge trains- Lionel, MTH, K-Line, Williams, Weaver, 3rd Rail, etc. as well as better trains in all scales. We also purchase store inventories. Plus, we can auction your trains with rates starting as low as 15%. We travel extensively all over the US. Give us a call today! Send us your list or contact us for more information at www.trainz.com/sell Trainz, 2740 Faith Industrial Dr., Buford, GA 30518, 866-285-5840,
[email protected] Fax: 866-935-9504 CASH FOR NEGATIVES; Steam, electrics, trolleys. domestic or foreign. RFM, Box 41396, Jacksonville, FL 322031396.
[email protected] 904-641-3761 OLD RAILROAD ITEMS WANTED: lanterns, locks, badges, keys, tags, sealers, builder plates, china, signs, RR paper, etc. 916-663-2463. ORIGINAL SLIDE COLLECTIONS and black & white negative collections. Any railroad or railroad subjects. Call 908-755-5454.
RAIL SHOWS AND EVENTS SEPTEMBER 12-13, 2015: Colfax Railroad Days. 150th Anniversary of the Central Pacific RR arriving in Colfax, California. Saturday & Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm. www.colfaxrailroaddays.org SEPTEMBER 27, 2015: Southern Connecticut Model Train Show, Greenwich Civic Center, Greenwich, CT. 9:00am3:00pm. Adults $7.00, under 12 free. Valley HO Trak Layout & NH Society of Model Engineers. Modeling clinics, 150 tables of trains, books, artwork, DVDs. Door prizes, free parking, refreshments. Ron’s Books, PO Box 714, Harrison, NY 10528, 914-967-7541,
[email protected]
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
OCTOBER 3, 2015: 53rd Florida Railfair (Model Train and Railroad Artifact Show). The Volusia County Fairgrounds (Tommy Lawrence Arena), Deland, Florida (SR 44 and I-4). Saturday, 9:00am-4:00pm. Early admisison available Friday PM (2nd). Over 300 tables of model trains and railroad artifacts for sale. Miller, 3106 N. Rochester St., Arlington, VA 22213, 703-536-2954. Local: 386-736-8185. E-mail:
[email protected] or www.gserr.com
BACK ISSUES- Over 300 rail magazine titles and 1000’s of used/out of print rail books. Large, stamped SAE for list: Railpub, 161 Gilmore Rd., Wrentham, MA 02093. Or on-line at: www.railpub.com.
OCTOBER 17, 2015: Greenfield, N.H. Historical Society Train Show. 9:00am-3:00pm. Real trains, raffles, slide shows. Railroad flea market. Displays and photos. Food and Drinks.
[email protected] 603-547-2179
GET A FREE COPY OF POWERSHIPS the ultimate source for stories about powered ships and their history. This prestigious magazine is published by Steamship Historical Society of America, the nation’s oldest ship history organization. Get a FREE copy and learn how you can subscribe. Email:
[email protected], Visit: www.powerships.org or Call 401-463-3570.
OCTOBER 17, 2015: 13th Michigan Railroad History Conference in Lansing, Michigan. Day of historical presentations on Michigan Railroads covering wide range of topics; keynote speaker Larry Baggerly. Registration $50. For information contact us at
[email protected]
WWW.STATIONINNPA.COM FREE live guide to NS East and West slope on our homepage. FREE webcam and scanner highlight rail traffic passing The Inn. The Station Inn, A Better Way to Railfan. 814-886-4757
COLLECTIBLES CHOO-CHOO-WAYNE.COM has new, improved website. New listings, new prices, all types railroadiana from 50+ year collection. RAILROADIANA FOR SALE: Rare and diverse offering of railroad china, silver, lanterns, globes, brass locks, keys and miscellaneous for sale. Continuously offering service plates. George Washington china and unknown top-marked patterns. Send $2 and LSSAE for unique listing to Golden Spike Enterprises, PO Box 985, Land O Lakes, FL 34639.
PHOTOS, PRINTS AND SLIDES TOP DOLLAR PAID for slide collections and locomotive builder plates.
[email protected] or 216-321-8446
RAILROAD EQUIPMENT EARLY HAND CARS and motor cars. 1900-1930. List SASE. John, Bismarck, ND, 701-223-5873 FOR SALE: 1924 C&O caboose, some restoration done. $13,000 OBO over $10,000. Call 330-636-1550.
DVDS AND VIDEOS 210+ RAILROAD DVDS Vintage-Modern Free Catalog: PO Box 355, Clyde, OH 43410 Visit: www.1WESTPRODUCTIONS.com For discount use code TMA1
OCTOBER 18, 2015: 24th Annual Chicago Railroadiana and Model Train Show. Kane County Fairgrounds 525 South Randall Road, St. Charles, IL. Sunday, 10:00am-3:00pm Admission: $6.00 (includes tax). Tables $60.00. Information: 847-358-1185,
[email protected] or www.RRShows.com NOVEMBER 1 2015: 38th Annual Gaithersburg Railroad and Transportation Artifacts Show and Sale. Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Over 600 tables of railroad and other transportation (steamshiptrolley- bus and airline) artifacts for sale. 9:00am-4;00pm. Over 275 dealers from the U.S., Canada and Europe. Largest selection of railroad and transportation memorabilia found anywhere. Located 15 miles NW of Washingtion, D.C. Three day early admission pass available on Friday at 12:00pm. Information: LSSAE Miller, 3106 N Rochester St., Arlington, VA 22213. 703-536-2954, E-mail:
[email protected]. Web: www.gserr.com.
AUCTIONS AMERICA’S PREMIER RAILROAD AUCTIONS: Consign your quality items. One piece to an entire collection. Large 8-1/2 X 11” auction catalogs contain full descriptions and hundreds of photographs. Auctions are jointly sponsored by the Depot Attic and Golden Spike Enterprises. The combined knowledge and experience of America’s largest railroadiana firms will earn you “top dollar”. Mail and fax bids are accepted. Information: Railroad Auction, PO Box 985, Land O Lakes, FL 34639. Phone: 813-949-7197.
REAL ESTATE 20.6 ACRE RANCH/3,000+ SQ. FT. HOME FOR SALE Property borders UP/BNSF Railroad 1 mile from the Tehachapi Loop. Build your model railroad in the 800+ sq. ft. basement/recreation area. Ranch/Horse Property including metal hay storage, tack room, grain room, arenas and corrals. Check out our website www.MarcelStationRanch.com
NOVEMBER ’15 SPECIAL ISSUE:
TRAINS 75th anniversary Railroading in 1940 and 2015: How it changed, how it remains the same The trains that make your magazine: We follow the paper from pulp to printer 75 people you should know 75 must-see places Unique David P. Morgan, in a series Foldout map: Chicago-Milwaukee, then and now In My Own Words: 75 years of riding trains 1940 Alco that needs a home For better or for worse at Cajon
Plus much more!
On sale Oct. 13, 2015 www.TrainsMag.com
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Gallery October sunrise 0h dark thirty becomes morning aboard Amtrak’s eastbound Texas Eagle near San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 17, 2009. From the vantage point of private car Warren R. Henry, passengers can see sun and signals on their way to Fort Worth, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; and Chicago. — Photo by Russell Straw
Fall into Wisconsin don’chya know! Wisconsin Northern GP15-1 No. 1500 sits ready for action near Chippewa Falls, Wis., on Oct. 4, 2008. — Photo by Travis Dewitz
Electric express A just-in-time photograph captures a worker loading express packages into Jamestown, Westfield & Northwestern No. 302 at Westfield, N.Y., in 1939. The electric interurban line connected rural New York communities and the Erie and New York Central main lines. — Photo by Al Kalmbach
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Trains OCTOBER 2015
Autumn in the Adirondacks Amtrak P42 No. 16 leads the southbound Adirondack past the rocky coastline of Lake Champlain near Willsboro Bay, N.Y., on Oct. 23, 2009. — Photo by Frank Jolin
They’re alive! Decades after the Pennsylvania Railroad’s demise, Pennsy-era Union Switch & Signal signal relays were alive on Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line at Wegley, Pa., on Oct. 23, 2002. — Photo by J. Alex Lang
>> Want more photos? Check out the “Photo of the Day.” Go to www.TrainsMag.com
www.TrainsMag.com
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