RF&P Cab Signals Out of Serice Mid-June

When CSX first announced in plan to discontinue cab signal rules on the RF&P in 2021 I went into some detail about the possible motivations. A year later when the FRA petition was approved (despite a national spotlight on rail safety issues) I again explored some possible timelines for the process. Well it seems that we have our answer and the cab signal system will be taken out of service on June 15th, 2024. 

As a result of the process, I had to assume the worst and I embarked on a program to document the remaining RF&P intermediate signals that somehow survived the great 2010's re-signaling effort. Between 2023 and 2024 I didn't notice any changes on the physical plant so it appears that so far the discontinuation of the CSS has consisted of adding the PTC integration to all of the intermediate signal locations and hand throw switches. Because CSX does not use large visible antennas at every signal location, the process was largely invisible to outside observers. 

 

What this means on a technical level is that for the near term the cab signal codes will still be present in the rails to transmit block state. CSX in its filings indicated that moving to ETMS PTC for ABS speed enforcement will allow it to remove the mid-block code change points where Approach drops to Restricting. Since these are all less than 10 years old and theoretically reliable, it will be interesting to see if this is given any sort of priority. It will also be interesting to see if VRE has to retain the cab signals on its locomotives for the Washington Terminal area, which I heard is planning to actually install cab signaling in the 1st Street tunnels between CP-VIRGINIA and A interlocking. With VRE looking to purchase the Manassas Line, who knows, CSS might make a return. 

PS: Also keep an eye on the patches of former Conrail/PRR cab signaling around Philly. CSX does not have to run equipped locomotives on this territory so they might keep it active for the benefit of NS.

NJT's Speed Enforcement System: A Thing That Existed

You might have heard me reference the Northeast's preferred transponder based PTC system ACSES, or the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System. In most cases when something called itself "Advanced" its usually a bit of marketing speak, but in this case the basic Speed Enforcement System was a thing that actually existed for a brief period of time on New Jersey Transit's Pascack Valley Line. However because of the rapid pivot to more "Advanced" systems and the 2008 PTC mandate, information on the SES pilot is remarkably hard to come by, however I have been able to piece together a few bits of information that can hopefully shed some light on the technology.

In 1996 NJT suffered its worst accident as of the time of this writing when two trains collated at WEST END interlocking where the diesel Bergen County and Main Lines diverge from the electrified Morris and Essex lines. The cause was a veteran engineer who had been hiding a medical condition that had severely impacted his visual acuity mistaking a Stop signal for a R/R/Y Restricting. In the aftermath NJT began an effort to implement what they called "Positive Train Stop" functionality across its system, which came on the heels of a near system-wide adoption of cab signals and automatic train control (ATC). At the same time Amtrak was completing implementation of its ACSES speed control and PTC system on parts of the NEC in conjunction with the new 150mph Acela rollout. This is where things get a bit murky, but going into the 2000's, both Amtrak and NJT had two different yet compatible transponder systems for "civil" (aka track) speed control, however Amtrak "Advanced" system was integrated with cab signals where as NJT left SES as an intermittent system.

The location for NJT's SES pilot was the Pascack Valley Line, a stepchild service that ran some 30 miles north from the old Erie Main Line to dip its toe into New York State. The single track line offered only weekday single direction peak service and, like the similar old Boonton Line, the PVL was essentially unre-signaled since the Erie days. This signaling came in the form of an Automatic Permissive Block-like bi-directional ABS with occasional non-number plated (ie absolute) automatic signals that would have once appeared at the ends of hand operated passing sidings. Without any actual interlockings and only a single block of cab signaling on approach to Pascack Jct, the limited service PVL was an ideal test bed. 

 

Reading through the SES special instructions in a 2004 NJT Employee Timetable (posted below) we can gain some insight into how the system worked. The evidence points towards SES was an intermittent transponder based system that would convey track speed information in a manner compatible with Amtrak's ACSES, but also fixed signal indications. A positive stop was enforced for Stop, Stop and Proceed and Restricting indications, with the positive stop zone extending 500 feet in advance of the signal. Stop and Proceed, and Restricting could then be passed after an acknowledgement, while Stop needed the dispatcher to provide a numerical override code in addition to the verbal Rule 241 instructions. This would have come into play at the non-plated automatics and the home signal at Pascack Jct. Special instructions about cab signal upgrades and other rules not applying in SES territory further strengthen the intermittent use case. 

 

This of course begs the question about how the system would account for signal upgrades after passing an Approach signal if the associated transponder flags a positive stop point like it does in ACSES. As easy solution would be to place additional active transponder at the start of the stop zone 500 feet from each signal, but I have nothing to confirm this theory. An additional feature of the PVL that made it attractive for the SES pilot and that was the presence of signal overlaps. From what I can tell from 2007 era photos, each set of ABS signals had several car lengths between them which would provide sufficient distance for a train running at reduced speed to get stopped before it might encounter an obstruction. This would explain why the SES stop zone is 500 feet vs 1500 for the ACES zone.

PVL automatic signal location with overlap in 2007 with what might be SES transponders (or grade crossing impedance bonds).

SES was always intended to be a temporary pilot and by 2002 NJT had let a contract for its own Advanced SES that integrated cab signals similar to Amtrak, but without the finicky data radio capability for temporary speed restrictions and stop release. Interestingly the $2 million contract with Union Switch and Signal would have outfitted the entire NJT system with PTS and track speed control by 2008! The wireless data free ASES vs off the shelf ACSES debate would extend into the post-2008 PTC era with the ASES plans eventually morphing into ACSES, but perhaps the original SES hints at what NJT's solution would have looked like. Version 1 ACSES also lacked data radios and needed temporary physical transponders for TSR's and use of the stop release procedure to pass certain signals with a proceed indication. Active SES-style transponder could have solved some of those issues without wireless data.

Unfortunately I have been unable to determine the exact timeline of the ABS SES system on the PVL. I know it was in service in 2004 with the CNJ vintage GP40PH locomotives operating in a dedicated pool. I know that SES was still in service as of Jan 1, 2006, however by the fall of 2007, the line had been re-signaled with Rule 562 cab signaling and upgraded with passing sidings to allow for all-day bi-directional service. Unfortunately, starting in August 2006, all PVL physical characteristics and rule changes were put into a separate supplementary bulletin order that I do not have any examples of. Interestingly, the 300 section of NJT special instructions covering SES were left in place with slight modifications likely to cover the upcoming ASES or ACSES installations due to the 2008 PTC mandate probably resulting in some savings in crew re-training. 

If anyone has any additional information on NJT's SES please let me know so I can update this post or make a new one. I've heard a bunch of other stories regarding issues with hair trigger penalty brake applications, but not much more than anecdotes and speculation.

Livonia, Avon and Lakeville's Captive Signals

There's a concept in preservation that's analogous to the world of wildlife conservation. In the ideal scenario animals are present in and fully engaged with their natural ecosystem. Far less ideal is when they are in simulated ecosystems in zoos or similar managed preserves. The least desirable state is where the creature is stuffed and mounted in an exhibit, fixed in place and time. For vintage railroad signaling technology the ideal is when equipment is in active everyday service. Next best is when it is still functioning, but used mainly for display instead of operations. The least desirable is of course when the equipment is on display but otherwise dead. Unfortunately in the world of heritage railroading, the most common way to treat signaling equipment is the latter, often in the form of a line of vintage signals around the entrance or parking area. Sometimes lit, sometimes not, they're better than the alternative, but still just stuffed specimens. 

Every so often a heritage railroad will make the effort to get vintage signals or interlocking equipment into some kind of working order. Often times it is officially non-functional due to regulatory costs, while still effectively working as intended. I recently discovered that the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad, via the on-prem Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum has been installing and activating a number of vintage signals. The specific ones that caught my eye were a pair of PC or Conrail era Michigan Central style small target searchlights that appear to have been salvaged from one of the CSX re-signaling efforts in former New York Central territory. One is a two offset head mast that can at least display a R/Y Restricting indication, while the other is a three offset head mast (used to display Y/R/G Approach Slow)  with an unknown indication repertoire. 

Around the museum station area is an active PRR position light on a cut down mast that was likely salvaged from the Buffalo Line during its recently de-signaling as well as some sort of home brew searchlit dwarf stack. 

While not on the level of the Reading and Northern that went as far to install fully functional main line CTC, the effort to install working signals in an approximation of their natural habitat is certainly appreciated. 

Toronto Terminal Railway Update

The long running project by multiple parties to re-signal the Toronto Terminal Railway, aka Union Station Rail Corridor in Canada is showing progress in the form of new signal bridges going up between SCOTT ST and CHERRY ST interlocking towers. Those, along with JOHN ST comprised the signaling control infrastructure that went in with Toronto Union Station in 1927. The large GRS supplied plant made use of Model 5B pistol grip type interlocking machines in the style of Buffalo Central Station. 

SCOTT ST Tower

JOHN ST Tower

 While the 1927 dwarf searchlights are still in place it is unclear what exactly will replace them. The new signal gantries are equipped with LED searchlights so my assumption is that there will be some manner of LED dwarfs in the station, but there are still a number of possible configurations and vendors.

You can see in the photos below the new signal bridges. You can also see that the GRA Model 5A point machines have been replaced by a US&S M3 derivative.

We have seen examples of these new LED searchlights elsewhere on Canadian railroads.



Google Street View is also fairly useful here with the new giant signal bridges being equipped with 3-head high signals, which is on par with Canadian practice. If they will display anything better than slow speed indications is another question.

 Another interesting tidbit is that the CHERRY ST tower got a full rehab in 2021.

Anyway if you are Canadian it might be a good idea to get down to Union Station and get as many photos of the old interlocking plant as possible. 

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.

Vermonter Route Signal Update

About 3 years ago I wrote a fairly positive report on the state of signaling on Amtrak's Vermonter route between New Haven and White River Junction. Unfortunately the recent spike in infrastructure spending has had major negative impacts on the New England Central portion of the route within just the past six months. The only good news is that some of the vintage searchlit signaling might hang on for a little while longer, but much of it is already on the way out.

First a quick overview of the old NECR signaling. Originally part of the Canadian National family under the Central Vermont brand, the rail line up the Connecticut River Valley would have likely passed into unsignaled TWC territory if not for the presence of Amtrak's Montrealer/Vermonter on the route that made abandoning the signaling system impossible from a regulatory point of view. The solution to make the signaling more cost effective was what I termed "Centralized Manual Block", with typical single track CTC sidings, but only a single ABS block between them (although technically the distant signal in advance of the next CTC interlocking did a second ABS block in that direction). This resulted in block lengths as long as 14 miles. South of Brattleboro, there was a additional 10 mile segment of non-signaled TWC before a (formerly) isolated interlocked junction between the old CV and Boston & Maine lines. In the 90's the NECR got some money to install a section of new CTC north of Windsor, VT, however this only included block signaling without interlockings with a more sensible 3 mile block spacing.

The first major change was the elimination of the TWC island south of Brattleboro. A new signaled siding was installed in Brattleboro itself, eliminating the old WEST RIVER CTC entrance interlocking and the related northbound searchlight distant signal just north of the Brattleboro station platform. It is not clear if the project included south of the NECR's Brattleboro yard, but if not evidence also pointed to sensibly spaced automatic block signals. Unfortunately the project also included the re-signaling of the EAST NORTHFIELD junction where the former Boston and Maine CT River Main Line splits off with the typical Safetrain Vaders. It is unclear if an additional new interlocking was installed at the south end of the NECR Brattleboro yard.

New block signaling between EAST NORTHFIELD and SOUTH BRATTLEBORO

New NORTH BRATTLEBORO interlocking south of the Brattleboro, VT station.

At the Putney CTC siding, the south end was re-signaled some years back with the notable poor man's bracket mast, however the north end is still searchlit with no evidence of impending changes. The same goes for the diamond crossing at Bellows Falls with cabling that implies a more recent logic update which might fend off searchlight replacement. I did not visit the Walpole siding just north of Bellows Falls, but as of June 2023 there were no signs of reconstruction. the news CTC siding at Claremont is a different story with new signals on the ground at the south end and in place, but no new relay hut yet installed at the north end. Both of these locations will use Vader masts from Progress rail (aka EMD, aka Caterpillar). This siding is also being upgraded from restricted speed to signaled which will allow Amtrak to better use the station-side platform at Claremont at the cost of siding exit dwarf signals.

New signals up at NORTH CLAREMONT.

Between Claremont and Windsor it also appears that new ABS signals have been installed at more regular intervals. The controlled point at Windsor has work going on, but the replacement signal masts are not yet present. A station sign also indicates that the "CTC" between Windsor and White River Jct was at one time operated under Canadian style Occupation Conrail System (OCS) rules. As I understand it this is somewhat analogous to APB system.

Northern extent of the Central VT era CTC.

From a documentation perspective, while I just missed getting photos of EAST NORTHFIELD and WEST RIVER at Brattleboro, I was able to fully document interlockings near Putney, Bellows Falls, Claremont and Windsor. I hope to return shortly and get the remaining signal locations around Wapole.

THE Source for LIRR Tower Information

The rather secretive nature of the LIRR has always made it somewhat difficult to find information about its signaling infrastructure and interlocking towers. However over the past past 26 years Steven Lynch's decidedly web 1.0 LIRR Archive on trainsarefun.com has ballooned into an absolute juggernaut of quality information. In particular the page devoted to interlocking towers covers not only the current stuff, not only the recently closed stuff, but the towers that were displaced by the modernizations of the 1950's, 60's and 70's as well as the old block stations that were displaced by automatic signaling. While the layout is a bit haphazard, you will not find all sorts of reference material that is still relevant today like photos of now out of service interlocking machines in towers such as VAN and BABYLON.

If you are unaware of this archive check it out, especially if you are doing any sort of LIRR tower writeups, like several I have planned for the future.