2024 NEC Reference Video

 A side effect of Allan Fisher's recent "Festival Express" style journey from New York to Saint Louis in a private car full of transit Youtubers was a 3 hour and 22 minute long high definition rear facing railfan video of the entire Amtrak Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington. The video was filmed from the PV's position behind Amtrak's westbound Cardinal Train 51 with no observable delays and a top speed of 110mph.

This video is an important historical artifact as it captures certain NEC elements that are under imminent threat of replacement including the PORTAL bridge and Baltimore's B&P tunnel complex as well as all of the associated signaling that will likely be part of upcoming Rule 562 expansions. I was also able to confirm some recent changes such as the replacement of the pneumatic A-5 point machines at GRUNDY interlocking with electric M3's. If you have any questions about current NEC layout, this is the resource for you.

Suck It In! - PRR Compact Position Lights

 When the Pennsylvania Railroad needed a reduced clearance version of their brand new position light signal, they made a position light version of the semaphore dwarf signal. About a decade later when the PRR needed a compact signal that could also display the full range of signal indications they invented the pedestal. 

But what if you are worried that pedestals with their pairs of plain white lamps just weren't visible enough in fog or smoke at main line speeds? Well you might need a compact position light. 

If one looks at the back of a Union Switch and Signal position light setup, one will see the lamp modules are mounted on the ends of metal tubes extending out from a central tub. The backing plate, if present, is then affixed to the ends if the tubes. However you might realize that there is nothing in this setup that physically requires the lamp modules be mounted where they are mounted. They can be placed at any point along the tube. As long as there is a hole for the wire they could even be placed directly against eachother! Which is exactly what the PRR did when it needed a reduced clearance PL format.

Don't let the square targets fool you. These signals on the LIRR Main Line are completely ordinary US&S position lights, just shoved together. The compact format for the Milepost 7.6 automatics was chosen to be visible underneath an overbuild just south of the Kew Gardens station.

You can see the size difference in comparison with the full size signals on the opposite side of the signal gantry.

While these LIRR square backed compact PL's are now likely unique due to the HAROLD interlocking re-signaling project, compact PLs in general still exist in several others locations with the most accessible being DOCK interlocking in Newark, New Jersey, on Amtrak's NEC.

At the east end of the station on tracks 1 and A, the 90LA and 90LB signals were both in compact formats of varying degrees of compactness. The 90LA on track #1 even had different geometries for the upper and lower head given the unique clearance requirements.

A Second B&O CPL For Baltimore Penn

A year ago I reported on Amtrak replacing the NECIP era cantilever mast covering tracks 7 and 8 at CHARLES interlocking with a pedestal and ground mounted B&O style CPL dwarf. Well at some point over the winter of 2023, CHARLES' ad-hoc cantilever governing track #3 was also replaced by a CPL dwarf. Baltimore Penn Station has always been a land of close clearances, so is this part of a trend that will result in even more new B&O CPL dwarfs? Probably not, but its fun to take a look at the new one on track #3 since there's a bit more history than meets the eye.

Pulling up the 1992 track chart we can see that after the NEC Improvement Project (NECIP) and before the late 1990's expansion of MARC service that restored Track #5 as a stub terminal, tracks 3 and 4 converged past southbound PRR pedestal signals over the 34 switch before passing a second PRR pedestal, 3SA, guarding the convergence with track #1 and ultimate connection into through track #6.

With the MARC expansion, track #4 was extended to its own switch with through track #6 with the 34 switch and 3SA signal being removed.

Photo courtesy B&O Photo Tours

The improvements also left track #3 as the only remaining low level track at Baltimore Penn Station as track #1 was being used as a freight bypass stood off from the platform and protected by a low fence. At this time it was also decided to replace the 3S pedestal with a cantilever mast to raise the pedestal up off the trackbed for some reason. The low level platform would eventually fall into ever more disrepair before being completely taken out of passenger service in the 2010's Track #3 would be used for storage of MARC trains, but the 3S signal was still positioned in relation to the long removed 34 switch resulting in the waste of several carlengths of storage space and extended train movement transit times through the interlocking.

Above we can see the placement of the new temporary(?) 3S CPL dwarf in relation to the 1S pedestal and the insulated joints for the 64 switch. (The 4S pedestal is located under the bridge to the upper left.)

The CPL dwarf has a R-Y-G face and orbitals in the 12 and 6 o'clock position. This is slightly confusing as the 3S lacks any straight routes for Clear or Approach that would utilize the 12 o'clock orbital, but it might be used for a Stop and Proceed marker light in a way that made the wiring easier.

The 3S now joins the 7S as the second B&O CPL in the Baltimore Penn Station terminal area. A fitting turn of events as Baltimore has very few of its namesake CPL signals in service on home rails.

Amtrak's B&P Tunnel Related Signaling Work

Amtrak recently filed with the FRA to replace its Rule 261 signaling between BRIDGE interlocking in south Baltimore and GROVE interlocking near Odenton with Rule 562 cab signals without fixed wayside signals. A recent article from Trains Magazine provides some insight on why Amtrak has chosen this particular stretch to convert. Part of the prep work for the B&P Tunnel replacement involves a new high speed turnout at WINANS interlocking south of the Halethorpe MARC station. When Halethorpe gained high level platforms in 2013 it forced all northbound stopping trains to switch over to Track A at WINANS, resulting in a 2 mile long 45mph cab signal restriction for the standard speed turnout. The 80mph high speed turnout will mitigate this source of delay.

WINANS Interlocking Medium Speed turnout.

Converting to the 80mph turnout, as well as any signaling work to support the new tunnel at BRIDGE will require signal changes and Amtrak has decided to perform a general signaling conversion from Rule 261 to Rule 562. I suspect these these changes will be lumped in with the tunnel project and thus paid for with B&P tunnel money.  Artful use of adjacent state funded capitol projects to pay for state of good repair items is a common trick among the cash starved rail public transit sector. 

4x2 Signal Bridge at GWYNN

The 562 project will eliminate the 2 4-track automatic signal locations between BRIDGE and WINANS and 3 3-track automatic signal locations between BRIDGE and GROVE. Of course just because Amtrak has filed to carry out these changes doesn't mean they will happen tomorrow. In 2018 I reported on a similar NEC Rule 562 application to convert the segment between OAK and BUSH. I recently found out this application was related to a similar externally funded capitol improvement projects to install high level platforms and Metropark style crossovers for the Aberdeen, MD station. As of 2023 this project has yet to break ground.

K TOWER "Relocated" w/ N-X Panel Retired

It has been confirmed that Amtrak has relocated the train director(s) working K TOWER at Washington Union Terminal from the historic 1908 structure and into a small office in the Railway Express building adjacent to Track 29 on Union Station's lower level.

 

Unlike R Tower in Sunnyside yard, where a similar relocation immediately preceded demolition to make way for an Acela maintenance facility, the historical significance of Washington's K TOWER is well understood.  In 2017 I reported on plans to cover over the entire union station approach with some mixed use development with K Tower specifically singled out for conversion into some sort of high end bar. The culprit here is some combination of Amtrak's desire to simplify "management" and also cut costs along with some technical upgrades that were evidently completed behind the scenes.

As constructed in 1908, Washington Terminal was controlled by at least three US&S Electro-Pneumatic equipped towers, A Cabin, C Tower and K Tower. In the 1970's, K Tower had its long Electro-Pneumatic machine replaced with a then cutting edge N-X type interface and model board that drastically cut the need for staffing (and floor space) and centralized control of the entire terminal into a single location. This change likely took place around 1975 as the construction of the DC Metro's Red Line required the demolition of C Tower. Although cutting edge for the 1970's, by the 2010's the N-X machine was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain as parts were long out of production and failures could become rather nail biting in terms of getting the machine working again.

Although decorated with some LCD screens, the big old N-X panel's days were numbered and as soon as the control was converted into a video display interface, the human train director was no longer limited to being in the tower itself, especially if CCTV feeds could be provided. Although I suspect the historic K TOWER will be maintained and serve a railroad function, while active as a work site the HVAC, restrooms, etc would all need to be maintained to a higher standard. Plus there is the added benefit of management being able to "pop in" to "supervise". It is quite possible that the N-X panel was actually replaced years ago and COVID simply delayed the inevitable. K Tower would therefore be a rather extreme example of a "return to the office" policy. Still, given that computers can be installed anywhere, there is always the chance that the K TOWER staff could find themselves back in the old tower in the future, baring some redevelopment effort.

K TOWER joins the fate of many other pre-video "panel" type interlocking setups that I discussed previously in the content of Hoboken's rather short lived TERMINAL TOWER. Given the ease at which an N-X panel can be converted to a video interface, it is entirely possible that, rapid transit systems not withstanding, we  might see electro-mechanical machines outlast hard wired N-X panels in staffed towers.

Baltimore Power Director's Office to be "Preserved"

 More details are emerging about the fate of the Power Director's Office in Baltimore Penn Station. The entire 1911 station building is undergoing a major restoration with the upper floors slated to be turned into office space.  Unfortunately the Power Director's Office, located in room 222, is included in the redevelopment plan and will be cleared of all the PRR era 25hz railroad electrification control equipment that has remained in place since the office was closed in the mid-1980's when CTEC took over.

The less bad news is that some portion of the equipment including at least the large display board, will be relocated to a more public part of the station. A local TV newscast got a tour of the office and according to their report this new location appears to be in the 1911 building where the current ticket and baggage rooms are now. (Those facilities will be moving to a new station building across the tracks). It is unclear if all of the equipment, including 1940's based telecom gear for the SCADA functionality, will be moved or just the visually interesting conversation pieces. Also being lost is the physical character/ergonomics of the current Room 222 space and any support infrastructure like cable ducts and light fixtures.

As I previously reported, Amtrak recently leased the former Harrisburg power office to the Harrisburg Chapter NRHS for preservation and it currently shares the second floor of Harrisburg's Penn Station with a number of third party offices. Other shuttered offices still exist at 30th St station and the New York Penn Station support building.

Vanishing NEC Pneumatics (and other News)

The NEC continues to see a wide scale reduction in the number of pneumatic point machines. Within the last year BIDDLE and OAK interlockings on the southern end have been replaced by electric, BAY interlocking has been half replaced, LANDOVER interlocking is en-route to be decommissioned entirely and just recently FAIR interlocking in Trenton has started seen selective replacement of its still impressive pneumatic plant.

BIDDLE interlocking with new M3 point machines.

The HAROLD re-signaling project in support of East Side Access is not largely complete, however some track and switch work is ongoing for the physical connections to the new lines.

On the Shore Line a new interlocking, LIBERTY, has been commissioned west of the Kingston, RI station to support the new third track and island platform.

Around Boston, the ACSES PTC system is being installed on North Side MBTA lines, although it is not clear if this is in conjunction with cab signals or not. Normally ACSES is designed to work in conjunction with cab signals and ATC, but modifications to allow operation without cab signals is within the real of possibility.  Also notable is thatACSES transponders have not appeared in the Guilford Rail System territory, which is generally exempt from the PTC requirement and has demonstrated hostility towards installing it for the Amtrak service if not required to.

For some updates regarding recently reported stories, the Rule 562 'C' boards are up in both directions at OAK interlocking, although not in service and all of the PRR pedestal signals on the SEPTA trunk line between Suburban Station and 30th St station have been replaced by the new ersatz variety.

Amtrak Signal Diagrams Courtesy the Feds

So when Amtrak made regulatory filings to alter the signal system both on the Southern NEC and Springfield Line, it appears that they also submitted pdf diagrams, which now turn up when one searches through the FRA website. 

Rule 562 BACON to PERRY
Rule 562 BUSH TO OAK
Springfield Line Double Track Project Signal Changes

In addition to just being plain interesting there are a few key takeaways.  First, the 562 project that is currently going in between BACON (North East, MD) and OAK (Aberdeen, MD) will extend to BUSH, at the Bush River drawbridge.  This will eliminate three additional automatic block signal locations, each covering 3 tracks with back to back colorized position lights :-(

NEC ABS Signal 652 north of Aberdeen Station.

Second, the Springfield Line 562 scheme will include an island of 261 around Hartford with a single remaining wayside automatic block signal and the first two phases of the project will not include additional work between a point north of Hartford and Springfield, MA, leaving it pretty much un-touched from a signaling perspective.  Although the Springfield line has already lost all of it's interesting H-5 searchlights, the remaining wayside block signals were at least something extra.

The Springfield Line actually stands to gain a number of interesting features as interlockings in North Haven, Hartford and Berlin are all being expanded with gantries, cantilevers, 'C' boards and industrial track dwarfs.  There are still some puzzling instances of Rule 562 being in place between back-to-back interlockings with no obvious intermediate signaling points.  The diagrams are not very clear on that point.

PRR LAMOKIN Tower Demolished

I am sad to report that one of the least visible (and least structurally sound) towers on the NEC was just swept into the landfill of history.  LAMOKIN was located at the junction of the old PRR Chester Creek Branch between the presend day BALDWIN and HOOK interlockings.  LAMOKIN was closed in 1972 when the lightly used Chester Creek Branch was done in by Hurricane Agnes.  Since then it has sat, decaying, along side the NEC,hidden from the north by the equally historic Lloyd St Bridge.

The tower, built as near as I can tell around 1900, is similar to PAOLI, BRYN MAWR and CLY with a brick base and a wooden operating floor.  The slate roof had completely deteriorated and it was only a matter of time until the tower burned down or collapsed.  When it was open the tower controlled a trailing point ladder that allowed access to the Chester Creek branch to and from the north.  The machine was an electro-pneumatic type and you can see the remains of the air plant in the above photo.

As I rarely had a reason to be in the area I never got a good set of photos of the tower and although I passed by on Amtrak many times a year, it was always out of sight and out of mind.  Just poignant reminder to always get photos of interesting things while you can.

LAMOKIN in 2002, still showing its PC Green and a bit more roof.

Ultimately it appears that the demise of the tower was prompted by the demolition of the adjacent Lloyd St bridge as it was simply prudent to demolish both at the same time.  All that remains is a patch of crushed grey stone.  Oddly enough, the tower has its own Wikipedia page.  Looks like I'll have to update it :-\

Amtrak PERRY Area Changes

There are some changes afoot in the Perryville area on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.  To start, about a month ago I received this rare bit of good news about changes to GRACE interlocking, which featured Amtrak's brief operational test of Conrail style tri-light signals.

Well turns out the experiment is over and Amtrak is replacing them with colorized position lights.  So thumbs up emoji!

Unfortunately, Amtrak isn't stopping there.  It turns out they are also replacing the main line dwarf and pedestal signals at PERRY interlocking with CzPL masts.  I have to assume this is motivated by the 562 project that was reported to be going in between PRINCE and RAGAN as the new mast have 'C' boards, however unless Amtrak is looking to expand track capacity with extra ABS blocks, the "Clear to Next Interlocking" indications are completely unnecessary as the  NEC between OAK and PRINCE is comprised entirely of back-to-back interlockings!  Did someone retire because you folks used to do this the right way with Rule 261 or Interlocking Rules replacing 562 in instances of back-to-back interlockings.

Maybe someone thought that a 'C' lamp couldn't be attached to a pedestal or dwarf signal, but Conrail had no problem fitting 'C' lamps to PL dwarfs at CP-MA on the Morrisville Line.

Since the new signals are being spliced in, not going up in parallel, the typical "testing in parallel to save money" does not apply.  No position lights are always nice, but IMHO these full sized masts just look ungainly.  In electrified territory the signals should be up on gantries or it just looks half assed.  WWPRRD!

Letting the Air Out

Well I just completed a round trip on the NEC, paying a bit more attention to some of the signaling changes than I normally do and I have the sad duty to report that both DOCK and MIDWAY interlockings have been completely stripped of their pneumatic point machines.  This isn't any surprise as both were in the midst of years long re-signaling efforts, but at least in the case of DOCK it is a severe disappointment as it was a very high density interlocking where Amtrak has been known to preserve pneumatics. 

MIDWAY will be missed because it was a fine example of a pneumatic 4-track complete crossover, with many of the turnouts having two A-5 machines.  This leaves only HOLMES and OVERBROOK as "proper' PRR 4-track air plants. 

DOCK on the other hand needs no introduction as it is a sprawling interlocking covering the Newark Penn Station complex.  As recent as 10 years ago Amtrak had still been installing brand new A-5 point machines during a turnout renewal project.  As with the Jamaica terminal, Penn Station and 30th St, I was hoping that DOCK would win a similar exemption.

At least we had them for longer than other interlockings like MORRIS and LANDLITH, which were seemingly converted overnight.

Better Know a Signaling System: Amtrak "CPLs"

I know what some of you are thinking.  Isn't Amtrak part of NORAC and aren't those colorized position lights part of their signaling system and not Amtrak's?  Technically that is true, but the colorized position light was always Amtrak's baby and aside from a single Conrail trial automatic block location near Columbus Ohio, colorized PRR position lights haven't been adopted by any other railroad.  Another misconception is the entire Color Position Light or CPL label for Amtrak's system.  CPLs are what the B&O came up with as each signal relied on both color and position (of the orbital) to derive its meaning.  Amtrak was aware of this distinction and after slapping a bunch of color filters on amber PRR signals and eliminating the center lamp they christened their invention "Position Color Lights" or PCLs.  I call them Colorized Position Lights (CzPL?) because I find the term Position Color Light to be rather pretentious.

More info here.

Found on Amtrak's electrified system from New Rochelle to Washington, DC and all the way out to Harrisburg, the CzPL is either a long overdue update of the former PRR system or a short sighted overreaction to a problem that never existed.  Position Light colorization began as a response to the Chase, MD wreck based on a finding that the all-amber position lights were not salient enough.  Considering the crew of the Conrail train that missed the signal were all high on pot, I'm not sure color would have done much to rectify the situation. In fact many charged the colorization made the signals far less visible, especially in the poor light conditions the amber PLs were designed to excel in.

Can you see me now?

However use of LED light sources have completely eliminated the visibility problems and now the CzPLs are as good as anything that existed in the amber era.  If you are wondering why Amtrak never just cast its lot with color light signals I have heard it is a combination of wanting to re-use old hardware, to avoid needing crews to get used to a new normal and finally, PLs work better in electrified territory with overhead lines and support structures that can momentarily block out single lamp signals.  From my personal observations this is indeed an issue on the Shore Line with color lights winking in and out of visibility.

LED CzPLs certainly pass the snow test.

The last amber PLs were installed by Amtrak in the mid-1980's on the Hellgate line, at the new PHIL interlocking and at FRAZER interlocking on the Harrisburg Line ~1994.  Apart from those locations amber PLs only survived on the Harrisburg Line and un-resignaled portions of the corridor.

Two masts separated by 50 feet and 50 years

In terms of interesting features the only two anomalies are the use of a central lunar white lamp on the lower head for Stop and Proceed indications, which under NORAC are still distinct from Restricting indications.  This allows the lower head to avoid the gaping blank spot the upper head has to contend with.  Also the flashing green | for Cab Speed was not replicated on amber PLs since I guess the NORAC committee no new interlockings would ever revert back to the amber system, especially not ones with high speed turnouts.

New signals, new RGY colors.

So that's the history of Amtrak's colorized position lights.  At some point I'll  do a "gotta chatm 'em all" post, but I believe I am missing videos of both the flashing green | Cab Speed and the flashing / Advance Approach.  Advance Approach is likely the hardest signal to find seeing as how the PRR preferred using Approach Medium for short signal distances.  However they do show up on the 6-track raceway between UNION and ELMORE on the outside local tracks.

New Haven Railroad Miniature Suspended Semaphores

Perhaps the oddest semaphore signals ever see in North America were those in the New Haven Railroads electrified district. 3-position electrically driven semaphores were mounted on the overhead electrification cross supports. Due to the complexity of the catenary obstructing the view of any signal mounted above the gantries, they were suspended down between the tracks with a stub semaphore blade as to not obstruct the loading gauge. The motors for the blades were mounted on top of the gantries and drove the blades via long connecting rods

All of these signals which had not been converted to US&S H-5 searchlights were removed in the early 1990's and replaced with nothing as Metro North went to an all cab signaling based system. I bring this up because some wonderful person posted a mess of photos of these signals, something I have never seen before, so I have decided to give them some exposure here.

Our first batch of  suspended semaphores have the rounded end, normally used for Train Order signals, but in this case I am not sure of of its significance, although from context I can assume it is a type of absolute signal.  These signals were installed in a 2+2 ABS 251 configuration and we can see come bagged H-5 units for the coming 261 operation on all 4 tracks.  Also note the H-5 on the read of the closest semaphore.

Here is a closeup of that nearest signal this time displaying an Approach Medium (Y/G) indication.  The New Haven RR used Y/Y for Advance Approach instead of either Y/G or *Y*.