2013 B&O Main Line Update

Well I finally got my photos from my cross country trip processed and as always the B&O Main Line section was the last to get done.  While the info is a few months old now I still wanted to provide some updates on what has changes along the route since my last trip in 2012.

We begin at GREENE JCT in Connellsville, PA which represented the last island of B&O CPL signaling on the Keystone Sub.  Well it seems that CSX noticed as well as when I passed back in June the new signals were up an were cut over just a month or so later.

At the west end of the interlocking the CPL bracket is being replaced by a two track cantilever and the yard dwarfs are being replaced by a 6 track, 4 signal signal bridge.  Not why why CSX really thought such an extravagance was necessary, but oh well.  Two of the 2 signals allow for Medium Speed movements.

On the east end the single CPL past and remaining dwarfs are being replaced by a 3-signal, 4-track gantry.  All intermediate signals are being removed.  Guess with microprocessor controlled logic there's no need for such logic saving tricks.  The new signals were placed in service a month or two later around August 2013.  I found some evidence that the decaying CPL mast off the branch line was upgraded with a brand new CPL mast before being Darthed.  Heartbreaking. 

The BLUE STONE CPL bracket holdout signal is also being replaced by a new signaling location named CASPARIS visible in the background.  Looks like the last remaining stump of the original B&O pole line will be retained if the new transformer is any indication.

UPDATE: 2014 view of new CASPARIS interlocking.

Not sure what will happen to the old CASPARIS location which is a spring switch at the end of the third siding track.  There appears to be no work going on her so perhaps the siding is going to be shortened to avoid trains needing to sight signals around a curve.

2014 Update:  It Was.

A new interlocking, FORT HILL, has replaced the old SHOO FLY interlocking at the west end of the signal track segment through the Shoo Fly and Pinkerton tunnels.  This extends the length of the single track, but the daylighting project might convert it into a crossover once the second track is put back in. PINKERTON interlocking at the east end was left untouched.

The original B&O Main Line Darth Vader project between Viaduct Junction and Sand Patch is being re-resignaled.  Because the section of track was original CTC/TCS territory CSX didn't bother to replace the logic/relay cabinets.  Well that oversight has since been rectified as seen here at NA Tower.

 In some cases the signals themselves are being replaced as seen here at FO Tower with a pair of former CPL's located on a curve.

October News

Well due to some hosting issues with my mirror site all those semaphore photos I posted are now down so I might as well cover up the problem with a new post.  I'll start off with the ongoing re-signaling of the NS line in Kentucky and Tennessee which used Southern style signaling with a searchlight flare.  All going the way of Darth Vader masts of course.

 In a potentially HUGE loss NS is resignaling WORTHINGTON interlocking in Worthington, OH where the former N&W main crossed the PRR main at a very shallow angle.  This resulted in the continued use of A-5 pneumatic point machines for the movable point diamonds (something that requires 2 M3 machines).  Will NS keep the air plant even after dumping the N&O CPLs?  Remains to be seen.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3667433

CN is resignaling someone in Ontario, but unlike NS they are actually bothering to keep their early-modern cantilever mast.  This is a frequent practice for CN, having also kept classic signal bridges on the 4-track line west of Toronto.

Finally in a bit of Good news New Jersey Transit recently finished the Pennshawken Transportation Center project which included three new interlockings in the Delair Bridge area including a new interlocking at the old JORDAN block station which was always a non-interlocked junction.  Of course all of these come with the increasingly rare round target type signal.  Here is a picture showing the restored DIVIDE interlocking (formerly remote JERSEY) with 6-unit dwarf stacks awaiting replacement by a 3-track signal bridge. 

PHOTOS: The Last Semaphores

In the year 2000 active Semaphore signals in North America were rare, but everybody new where to find them.  There were a few on the Southern Tier Line in NY State and of course the old Monon main line in Indiana and the CNW Station and Brighton Bark in Chicago.  Out west there were some in Montana, Oregon and of course New Mexico on the former ATSF Raton Pass line.  There was even a website you could go to, www.semaphores.com, that kept track of all the surviving semaphore signals so you could go find the one nearest you.

Well, the 19th century economics were electricity was more valuable than human labor could no longer be ignored and the old semaphores kept falling with the Oregon Southern dumping then in 2002, Brighton Park in 2007, the Monon semaphores finally in 2010. While I do believe there may be a few other active semaphores scattered around in parts of the west, and of course the plethora of fixed distants, the last stand of Semaphore signaling is taking place on the former ATSF Raton Pass Line.  Unfortunately the reason is not some strange 1980's Semaphore rehabilitation project, but the simple fact that BNSF is trying to abandon the route and are unlikely to spend any money to upgrade the signaling.  In fact BNSF had been replacing the semaphores at a fairly even clip when they just halted the project leaving a few new signal bases in want of a signal.  So like Z Tower in Keyser this is one of those situations that is only better before it gets catastrophically worse.

The photos I will present here are from the June 2013 trip on Amtrak's Train #4, the Southwest Chief.  They were taking in the eastbound direction facing west, but I will be slowing them off in ascending Milepost order which is in the westbound direction.  A second set of photos of the signaling on this route is available from RedOverYellow.com and shows the same signals taken from train #3 in the eastbound facing direction can be found here in the sections 1001-1079 La Junta and 1080-1169 Lamy.

You can find my complete sets of photos covering the Semaphore section of the Southwest Chief route here and here.  Also many of the photos are at higher than normal resolution so remember to click the small form factor photos to see the whole thing.

We begin at the MP 706 automatic signal on the plain west of Springer, NM.  The signals on this route don't just represent the last of their specific type of signal, but also are showcases of several old style technologies such as pole-line communications, battery power supplies and bi-directional single track ABS signaling with signaled passing sidings. Note the new base for a replacement color light signal that was never installed when all capitol upgrade work was halted sever years ago.

Closeup of the MP 706 automatic.  All the semaphores on this route are US&S Style T-2's with pole mounted motors and relays stored in the case at the base of the mast.  Another interesting feature is the use of roud battery wells that are built into the concrete signal footing.

Semaphores at the east end of the Colmor siding at MP 709.  The blade automatically clears to an Approach position for the signals at the west end of the siding that remain at stop. Despite being automatic, the signals do not always behave as one would expect from a system with no traffic control at all.  I suspect there is logic at these sidings that will only attempt to clear an exit signal for an approaching train.

Eastbound signals at the east end of the Colmor siding.  Note the replacement base that was installed before the upgrade was called off.

West end of the Colmor siding.  Without number plates these signals are absolute, although this is not CTC territory and the signals operate automatically.  Note the sun coming through the spectacles and the blades which are no longer painted and have been left to weather into a uniform gray color.

Eastbound signal at West Colmor.  Note the use of spring switches to facilitate trains waiting in the siding getting moving again.

MP 712 automatics in the middle of a flat grassland.

MP 717 automatics.  Note the riveted fabrication of both the T-2 semaphore unit and the relay cases. 

The often photographed semaphore signals at West levy.  These are for westbound movements off the siding.  The east end of the siding has new color lights installed on the onmipresent bases before the boom lowered.

Eastbound signal and spring switch at West Levy.  At sidings the signals protecting the siding entrance are automatic.

MP 721 automatics with a mesa in the background and Interstate 25 off to the right.

Springfield Subway: A US&S House

 In the heyday of North American railroad signaling railroads and transit systems alike were in either the US&S Camp or the GRS Camp, although a brave few sometimes split their orders.  Well it turns out that the abandoned Springfield Subway system was in the former as evidenced by this screen capture from the 14th episode of the 21st season of The Simpsons entitled Postcards from the Wedge.  In this episode Bart commandeers a train in the disused Springfield Subway and Homer manages to save him by running into the subway control room and pulling a large and conveniently labeled "Kill Switch." Well, what else appears in the background but an animated US&S Model 14 interlocking machine!!



I'm serious, check it out.



Of all the nit picky technical things I would have picked for The Simpsons to get RIGHT in an episode this probably would have been near the bottom of my list. The mechanics of how this happens is not completely hard to guess at however, The subway system in New York, a well known source of comedic writing and animation talent, has a number of "fishbowl towers" on the IND division where old interlocking machines such as the Model 14 shown are visible to anyone standing around on the platform. The most access able of the Model 14 towers are in Queens, like this example at Union Turnpike, although I have been told one can see into Jay St in Brooklyn as well.

CSX: Where TWC and DTC Collide

Like most North American Class 1 railroads CSX is an amalgamation of various predecessors. Not only are there the Seaboard and Chessie System components (themselves the result of mergers), but the former Conrail and Louisville and Nashville territories and several smaller lines such as the Rechmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac and Monon. Each were incorporated with their own rulebooks and signaling practices and until recently CSX continued to maintain multiple rulebooks across its network. In 2007 CSX switched to a brand new unified rulebook, but in order to avoid any drastic change in operating practices many of the previous flavours of rules were simply combined into a single document. Apart from the signal rules (which have sections for Chessie, Conrail and Seaboard aspect systems) the section which most heavily reflects this sort of conglomeration is the one concerning Track Warrant Control (section 5, page 9, if you want to follow along.)

Before the Conrail merger in 1999 CSX used Direct traffic control on all of its unsignaled lines. DTC makes use of fixed blocks with movement authority provided from the dispatcher to the train directly via radio communications (hence the D in DTC). This was in contrast to previous systems where trains would follow a predetermined timetable and any changes would have to be given to crews via block operators or lineside telephones (aka Indirect Traffic Control). When Conrail trritory was incorporated those lines used the Form D Control System or DCS. This was similar to DTC it referenced stations and interlockings as valid block limits (with a block limit sign being a form of station), but don't let the D in DCS fool you as DCS is a Track Warrant system, not a DTC system.  Track Warrant Control not only allows for movement authorities to be given between traditional block limits, but also to any whole milepost or switch.  Moreover Track Warrants can be used for other things besides train movement authority and usually end up combining several forms, like speed restriction updates, into one. While in theory this could have just meant a change in paperwork, mucking about with safety critical systems takes care so CSX decided to make the new TWC system backwards compatible with the old and therefore split it's new TWC rules int two sub-sections TWC-DTC and TWC-DCS to accommodate the differences between the original DTC and DCS systems.

While TWC is more versatile, DTC is simpler and more efficient at doing the things it does.  Instead of trains needing to write out new or amended track warrants, DTC blocks cab be released as they are cleared and then immediately given to other trains. Still, it is clear that CSX's preference lays with the TWC-DCS rules as they immediately went about ripping out all of the old DTC block signs wherever it was most practical like on signaled main lines where DTC used to substitute during signal outages.  DTC references were also largely removed from the employee timetables indicating that the sign removal wasn't just a cosmetic change.  Still, there remain a few locations where DTC remains in effect, mostly on unsignaled secondary lines where use of DTC is more efficient than having crews fill out full Form D's.

Say Goodbye to old CSX DTC Block Signs Like These

Where DTC will be most difficult to dislodge is in the circumstance of bi-directional ABS without traffic control, known under NS as Rule 271 or out west as TWC-ABS.  One might see bi-directional automatic block signals as an indication that a line as been equipped with CTC. However as spelled out in its name, CTC is a system for Traffic Control, not block separation. Traffic control means that when a train is given a route into CTC territory a flow of traffic is established such that opposing movements are not permitted to enter that line. Failure to establish a flow of traffic can result in Mexican standoffs away from passing points or certain race conditions that can cause a head on colision. Because CTC requires logic beyond simple automatic block occupancy to establish a traffic flow back in the day it was more than some lines wanted to deal with. However the advantages of ABS with its broken rail, hand switch point detection and flexibility for following movements could not be ignored. While not common on CSX it does appear occasionally, with the former Monon Railroad main line being perhaps the best known example with the line retaining the same system of operation even after the semaphores were removed.  The new system, known as TWC-DTC (ABS) (!) is at least slightly more clear than the old Rule "120-132 (243-246)" label. 

To accommodate both its traditional and signaled flavors, there are several types of DTC block authorities that can be given. The first is Absolute Block, which has the standard definition, but allows trains with such authority free use of the block in both directions. The next is Clear Block. This grants authority in a single direction guaranteeing the block free of obstructions, but allows say a train in a siding to proceed in the opposite direction on its own DTC authority once passed by the conflicting movement. The third is Occupied Block, which like the name implies allows a train into a block with an obstruction. This is not intended to be used for permissive operation, only the case where one train needs to assist another or pickup equipment left unattended on the tracks. Finally there is a fourth type of DTC permission, Proceed Block. This grants trains the authority to proceed governed by fixed signal indication. This is the only type of authority given in TWC-DTC (ABS) blocks and this rule unlocked the mystery of why such a system exists in the first place back when I first encountered it several years ago.  While all other railroads use full length Track Warrants on bi-directional ABS territory CSX has allowed this situation to remain the province of DTC even as DTC is abandoned elsewhere. 

NS and CSX Tear It Up in the South

Time for another bit of the News.  This time I have a number of reports from NS and CSX operations in the south and east.  Starting in the North we begin with the former Conrail River Line which in the interest of a capacity improvement is seeing all of its remaining small target searchlit equipped restricted speed sidings replaced with new signaled sidings and the Darth Vaders that come with them.  Here we see the damage at CP-33.

 The re-signaling project on the Philly Sub had moved on from Van Bibber reaching up as far as the Aikin siding.

 

Moving south I have the sad duty to report that despite a recent round of repainting and signals that are only about 20 years old CSX has set its sights on the signals in the Bailey's Wye area of Baltimore, immediately adjacent to the sports complex there. While expected, it is highly unfortunate that the home of the B&O will no longer have any B&O CPL signals.  Just like heritage painted locomotives, heritage signals are just as significant and draw just as many fans with camera to promote the brand.

Farther south the resignaling efforts on the A-Line are largely complete from Petersburg south to Selma although the section south of Rocky Mount has a dew surviving heritage signals and others that have had replacements up for over a year.  Most important loss has been Contintina interlocking and the Wilson crossing complex.

 NS on the other hand is going after its collection of searchlight signals in Tennessee.

 Which include these very early GRS examples shown mounted on a low cost Southern Style beam type signal gantry.

 NS is also doing some work on the Chicago Line near Toledo which involves the replacement of the classic NYC signal bridge at MP 282 in order to provide an additional intermediate signal on the 4-mile long controlled siding between CP-285 "Vickers" and CP-281..  NS previously completed work west of the City to install additional interlockings and siding track at NASBY and may be working right now to also re-signal CP's 288 and/or 289.

While riding Amtrak train #20 I saw that NS is gearing up for a massive re-signaling effort starting from just North of Gainesville to at least as far as Greenville, SC.   This runs completely counter to the normal piece by piece type of resignaling that NS is more known fore and almost resembles the western efforts that drop new signals along hundreds of miles of track and then work to convert it over several years.  This is especially disappointing as NS had previously shown itself willing to preserve some of the old Southern RR type structures due to their simple color light style.  The main loss here apart from the beam gantries and GRS modular traffic lights will be the offset automatics which are getting increasingly rare outside of Canada.

Finally we have one additional report from the CSX Abbeville Sub from friend of the Blog, Flagstop. 

Elephant ears are falling on the CSX Abbeville Subdivision so far from points north of Carlton to the north end of HULL siding (M.P. SG497.3); cutover was accomplished 12 August 2013 as part of a replacement by “Darth Vader” signals. The replacement included at the very least the intermediate, automatic, dual-sided, single-mast signal at Carlton, Georgia (M.P. SG483.1/483.0), southbound to the north end of HULL siding (M.P. SG497.3). This includes north end and south end of HOWIE siding (M.P. SG497.3 to M.P. SG499.4), and automatic dual-sided single-mast intermediates between Comer and Colbert (M.P. SG489.9/490.0, M.P. SG492.5/492.4, and M.P. SG494.9/495.0). Points north of Carlton, including NORMAN siding, CALHOUN FALLS siding, and the various intermediates may have been cut over at the same time or earlier; since I did not travel north of Carlton, I cannot verify anything north of that point.

Old masts, signal heads, and some relay cabinets were removed and hauled away that very day with others following later in the week. Replacement signals generally DO include the capability of displaying more aspects, including lunar white for RESTRICTING (new to most of that portion of the line). Some signals that require flashing aspects may also be possible, but as a rule CSX does not use them on this line. Other signals saw replacement of the lower, offset head GREEN (only) signals (both small targets and large elephant ear targets) on 2-head intermediates replaced by an inline/non-offset signal that always displays red or green on the second head whenever the upper signal head is activated (Note: Most, but not ALL of these intermediates are approach lit, and even some that one would think would be, are continuously illuminated; curiously enough the signaled passing sidings at some locations were ALSO approach lit until 15 or 20 years ago).

The new relay cabinets at the Howie siding and elsewhere have nice Verizon dish antennas and other components that are part of the move to Automatic Train Control. New relay cabinets, some preliminary signal pedestal, underground electrical, and new switch integration work is in process for points south of this newest work (from M.P. SG499.4 on down the line) as the work continues for conversion of more portions of the line. As mentioned above, the railway has quickly moved to remove evidence of the old signal hardware, unlike in some previous signal projects where old hardware, e.g., signal masts and signal heads were cast to the edge of the property beyond the ballast; even today some of the interim signals replaced or removed in the past four years or so are STILL on the ground near the tracks.

 Of course CSX work to modify parts of the Abbeville Sub are nothing new, but if the previously patched portions will be replaced again remains to be seen. 

PHOTOS: Port Road Trips - STELL

 This will be the first of a series of posts on the former PRR Port Road and Enola Branch.  Through my own efforts and the efforts of a friendly Amtrak employee I have compiled a full record of the line before the recent resignaling efforts by NS.

In April 2009  I got a chance to document a rather interesting interlocking on the currently Norfolk Southern Enola Branch. The line was originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad before being controlled by both the Penn Central and Conrail. What today is called STELL interlocking is located directly south of the once famous Enola Yard which was up through the 1950's, the world's largest railroad yard with 145 miles of track and two classification humps.

Through the PRR eta Enola was the hub of their freight operations in eastern Pennsylvania. The yard sat at the junction of the east-west Main Line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh as well as the Northern Central route from Baltimore to Buffalo. Also important were the low-grade freight which, as the name implied, provided a low grade alternative to the main line between Harrisburg and Philadelphia as well as the Port Road branch, which ran down the Susquehanna River to the main line between Philadelphia and Washington DC. The Port Road was the preferred freight route to the south as it had lower grades than the curvy Northern Central.

In the late 1930's the low-grade lines and Port Road were electrified and for 50 years saw an endless parade of powerful Motors hauling the PRR's freight toward Pittsburgh with a stop in Enola to change the power and re-crew. Through the 70's and 80's the PRR became the PC which was nationalized into Conrail after the PC's record bankruptcy. Amtrak gained control of the Northeast Corridor and that line, once integral to the PRR's east coast freight service, because increasingly off limits to freight, with traffic moved to parallel, and non-electrified lines. Eventually, the Port Road and Enola Branch became host to those few trains destined to the ports of Wilmington, Baltimore and the Delmarva peninsula, operating at night over Amtrak's corridor to avoid interfering with high speed passenger trains.

The reason I have launched into all this backstory is because it is important to understand how the signaling has evolved. When the line was electrified in the late 1930's the signaling was thoroughly rebuilt with cab signals and power supplied from the electrification. The Port Road and parts of the Enola branch made extensive use of CTC. In the 70's and 80's traffic on this route was declining, but the route wasn't burned with lots of interlocking towers. Moreover while traffic was declining, Amtrak's white periods forced a lot of trains into a small window of time, so there was no way to downgrade the route or signaling. The result was that the Enola Branch and Port Road were frozen in time, even keeping their all amber PRR position lights instead of getting the red upper head - - lenses installed by the Penn Central and Conrail.

For a quick reference one can find the 1998 Conrail employee timetable of the line here and the part with STELL interlocking here. Unlike most Conrail interlockings STELL was not prefixed with a "CP-" which puts the interlocking in the category of a train order block limit. I don't know why this was done, but its something I have seen on some single direction ABS lines elsewhere.

Going back to the days of the PRR, STELL interlocking didn't even exist. It was part of a larger interlocking called DAY.

Built in 1930 DAY controlled the south end of Enola Yard with a mechanical lever frame. Where STELL currently sits was where the Enola Branch split in two with two trains proceeding directly along the river and two tracks splitting off to rise up to LEMO tower and its junction with the bridge over the Susquehanna River and Shippensburg Branch. This split was technically part of DAY interlocking, but was controlled by a small 5-unit "table interlocker", which was a US&S product that used single lever modules that could be hooked together and placed on a table top to control simple junctions.

As the line proceeded south (railroad east) from LEMO it followed the British practice of having the pair of freight tracks next to the pair of passenger tracks. This was because the two passenger tracks would eventually curve inland at Wago Jct, which was slightly past CLY interlocking, to travel the Northern Central route through York to Baltimore.

In 1942 DAY was drastically rebuilt. The old mechanical section was kept, but 2 more running tracks were installed south of the old interlocking. These tracks and the junction between the LEMO connection were then wired into a brand new US&S Model 14 power frame sitting next to the mechanical frame. The table interlocker was recycled to control a few switches in Enola yard. If you look at the DAY interlocking diagram you can see which parts of the interlocking are controlled by which machine. Now, sometime in the 70's DAY was reconfigured again with the two track flat split junction being reconfigured into a basic crossover with a single track connection to the Shippensburg Branch. This reconfigured segment of DAY is actually what would become STELL and, somewhat ironically, would outlast the main part of DAY, which was completely removed once freight shifted away from Enola yard after the end of Conrail electrified operations in 1981.

I managed to dig up some photos of DAY tower before it was closed and demolished. First we see the tower wedged in between the 4 tracks coming out of Enola yard. As built the tower only had two tracks running in front of it and the road overpass had yet to be built to squeeze them in. The mechanically worked points have also been converted to pneumatic operation. The overhead wires have also been removed.

Here we look inside the tower. The inside has been painted a Penn Central green. In the foreground we have US&S Model 14 power frame, then the mechanical frame in the center of the tower and finally the table interlocker. The model board is common to all three interlocking machines.

Looking the other direction with the mechanical frame in the foreground. The PRR used a slightly different lever color scheme. Most signal levers were yellow and check levers were red (with black and blue being the standard color for switches and facing point locks).

So after DAY tower closed, the crossover and junction with the Shippenburg Branch were spun off into the new STELL interlocking. DAY on the other hand became a block limit station on the westbound track and a single controlled signals on the eastbound track, there to admit trains into the single block section between the yard and STELL. Here are pictures of that which replaced DAY.

In 2004 Norfolk Southern finally removed the DAY signal and the ABS between there and STELL in order to allow yard moved to back past the signal without needing dispatcher intervention.

Ok, finally we get to STELL interlocking. I have labeled my photos with my best guess of the lever number they received after the 1970's rebuild, so don't take them as gospel, not like it matters. Here we see the eastbound signals on a gantry using the old electrification supports. Note the "Begin Block" signs. The gantry replaced mast signals in the 70's rebuild.

Closeups of the individual signals. Because the line is single direction Rule 251 the signal on 2 track has no full speed routes and the track 1 signal has no signaled diverging routes. Looking back towards DAY with the high card detector and End Block signs.