NS/Conrail Pittsburgh Line Changes

Well the great PRR Main Line re-signaling project has commenced with CP-HARRIS to CP-CANNON having already been changed and more segments scheduled in the next few weeks.  I was making one last trip to document signals on the eastern end of the Middle Division and given what has already taken place I was able to learn a number of very interesting things about the full scope of what NS is doing.  First, here are some videos of a westbound NS freight taking a color light Limited Clear signal off the controlled siding at CP-CANNON.  This is the new reality of the Pittsburgh Line.







 At CP-CANNON the old PRR signal bridge has been removed and scrapped, however the one at CP-BANKS was still in place, for now.

 The old intermediate signals have either been turned or removed. 

However they have been replaced with Conrail blue "Signal Indication Point" signs, complete with a milepost number.

The removal of wayside signals has allowed NS to double the number of blocks by reducing block length from 2 miles to 1 mile.  The track sections between both CP-BANKS and CP-CANNON and CP-HARRIS and CP-ROCKVILLE previously had two auto blocks each.  Now, as you can see from this ATCS display, they have 4 auto blocks each and each block boundary is marked as an SIP.

While out between CP-CANNON and CP-PORT, I noticed some signal men at the MP 124 signal location and whatever they were doing was showing at the MP 126 signal location.  As a reminder these signals are approach lit so not only was the track circuit to the east getting intermittently shunted, the block state east of MP 126 was also changing randomly.



Finally I made one more important observation.  None of the new intermediate SIPs were equipped with those distinctive PTC antenna masts as is seen at pretty much every other intermediate signaling location across the country these days.  Well this confirms my suspicion that the PTC box will be able to take the cab signal indication as an input, eliminating the need for a full time data radio link away from interlockings. At least that's one good design feature.

Buffalo Line: Gone But Not Forgotten

As of a year ago, the former PRR Buffalo Line, running between Harrisburg and Buffalo, was a real oasis of vintage PRR signaling with position lights and 1950's vintage CTC infrastructure.  Even the portions of the line where the signaling had been suspended, still retained a lot of the old hardware in situ.  Unfortunately, over the last year the line has been completely re-signaled or de-signaled as the case may be.  The good news is that over the years I went on several signaling expeditions to document what infrastructure I could.  Because these photos are split between a number of galleries shot between 2006 and 2018 it might be a bit of a challenge to find them so I decided to make a little guide in honor of the Buffalo Line.  Note, I plan to have my old web hosting restored later this year, but I will provide links to my Google hosted albums as those will hopefully be more reliable over the long run.

Beginning at CP-WYE, I first took some photos there on my 2006 PRR E8 excursion chase.

Then again in 2014 chasing an Amtrak Fall Foliage excursion. 

And finally in 2015 where I was looking to capture the signals I missed in my 2014 trip. 

I caught the intermediate at MP 304 as part of a 2007 trip to Harrisburg.

The MP 299 Automatic was also captured in the 2014 excursion chase.

I only got a few shots of CP-SOUTH FERRY in 2006 before the position lights were replaced rather early.

CP-NORTH FERRY was documented in the usual manner during my 2015 trip.

The next location I documented was CP-SOUTH MILLER, which was split between my 2014 trip and my 2017 trip.

While I got a few photos of CP-NORTH MILLER in 2006, I performed the full documentation in 2014.

From here northward the photos are from my big 2017 Southern Buffalo Line survey.  First up was the MP 278 automatic, which was replaced in the early 2000's.

The MP 273 automatic was a rare surviving split position light.  Possibly the only one on this part of the line. 

The Sounds of Non-PRR Signaling

So I was about to post a second volume of PRR Signaling Sounds to highlight the importance of preserving both audio and visual history, but then I realized that I had a couple of non-PRR clips sitting on the back burner that deserved to see the light of day.



The first two were captured at some former Boston and Maine intermediate signal locations (BM mileposts 162 and 150) on the current Guilford Rail System Freight Main Line.  To the untrained ear they might sound a lot like the PRR signaling sound samples of cab signal code generators, and you would be right.  However why would cab signal code generators be used on non-cab signaled territory?  Well while the trains might not have been equipped with cab signal apparatus, the signaling department would use the 75, 120 and 180ppm codes sent through the rails as way to replace signal state wires on wayside poles.

When a signal location "heard" an Approach from the location ahead, it would know to display an Approach and transmit Clear.  When it "heard an approach medium it would display approach medium and transmit Clear and when it "heard" a clear it would display Clear and transmit Clear.  Hearing nothing would of course mean to display Stop and Proceed and transmit Approach. Later this technique would be updated with audio frequency signals instead of pulses of power frequency current, but at the time it was a clever way to use catalogue parts to eliminate costly pole lines.



Next we have a flashing Approach Limited signal at the 1950's vintage CP-LAUREL on the former Reading railroad Belt Line extension. A visit to the relay cabinet reveals a sound pulsing in rhythm to the flash of the signal, which of course indicates of an electro-mechanical flashing relay.  nothing super fancy, but it is a lot more reliable than what one might have to blink their Christmas lights on and off.  

Well, that's the extent of the non-PRR signaling sounds I have collected.  Don't worry all your PRR fans.  I'll be back soon with a second volume ;-)

Former Conrail Territory News

Over the last couple of weeks I have taken two trips to the PRR Main Line in Central and Western PA and have also gotten some other NS signaling updates on the Philly to Chicago rail corridor. At this point the Pittsburgh Line re-signaling project has stripped all pneumatic point machines between Harrisburg and Johnstown, with CP-MO and CP-AR/CP-UN having been converted since July.

Going, going, gone.

 However from Johnstown westward, interlockings including CP-C, CP-CONPIT, CP-RADE, CP-TRAFF, CP-WING and CP-HOME, are still pneumatic. No word on cut-over timelines, but the west slope is going to lose a lot of iconic signaling locations including those at Lilly, Portage, Cassandra and Summerhill so get your photos ASAP.

CP-CONPIT, still holding on.

On the Connemaugh Line, the Rule 562 expansion has taken place with all ABS signals between CP-KISKI and CP-ETNA being removed. One note is that the Penn Central signal bridge in Tarentum is still intact even if the pair of PL signals have been taken off. No word on the PRR signaled interlockings on the classic portion of the Conemaugh line.

Alas, I was too late :-(

 The new signaling has been cut over on the eastern end of the Harrisburg Line. This removed the Rule 251 operation between CP-ROCK and also saw a number of re-configurations. This includes the removal of classic Reading interlocking CP-TITUS, which was replaced by a more traditional crossover called CP-LORAINE about 2 miles to the east. Also CP-PHOENIX was cut back to the east end of the tunnel with a new CP-CROMBY appearing about 2 miles from the west end of the old limits of CP-PHOENIX. CP-CROMBY takes the form of a double crossover to accomidate a "new" siding that takes the place of the second main track . This lengthens the single track bottleneck by about two miles. I am not aware of any other new crossovers, except for one or two at CP-BIRD.
 

Finally, new signals are going up on the western portion of the Fort Wayne Line past alliance at least as far as CP-MANCE.