Last Call At Tipton and Fostoria

Some railfan locations need no more description than a single word.  For decades the 3-track PRR signal bridges at Tipton, PA and Fostoria, PA had provided such an exciting backdrop that one is pretty much guarenteed to find a railfan at one of those locations "on duty" from sun up until about midnight because hey, night photos :-)  Anyway the creeping re-signaling effort is getting closer to these iconic locations, so close that the new blue SIP signs have been placed on the relay huts with a bit of the black plastic on top.  Therefore it is probably your last chance to get out and get some photos at these locations before they are rendered completely worthless.  Remember, there won't just be some new modern type of signal, there won't be any at all.

Signs! Signs! Everywhere a Sign! - Eastern Passenger Roads

In Part 1 of my look at railroad station signs I covered the East Of Mississippi Class 1 freight railroads, NS, CSX, CP, etc.  Here in Part 2 I am going to be covering the passenger roads in the northeast, Amtrak, SEPTA, NJT, LIRR, Metro North, etc.  Surprisingly, as time has gone on the passenger roads have become significantly less labeled than their freight counterparts.  This could be due to cost cutting, a compact territory that makes getting lost less likely or simply a desire to hide operating practices from the general public. 

Amtrak operates its own trackage as part of the Northeast Corridor, Springfield Line, Harrisburg Line and, for a time, the Atlantic City Line.  Inheriting the infrastructure from bankrupt roads that would be later folded into Conrail, Amtrak would often just leave the old, typically Penn Central, sign in place.

The first thing Amtrak decided to properly brand were its manned interlocking towers where they

adopted a white on blue motif that would last through the present day. 

For remote interlockings constructed during the early NEC Improvement Project era, the Government dollars didn't really cover signs so Amtrak had to settle for stenciling on the relay hut.

The next standard that appeared around 1990 was a totally-not-Conrail white letters on blue background sign which also appeared on the Atlantic City and Springfield lines that were re-signaled at that time.

In the late 1990's Amtrak decided to add a touch of flare with a colorful sign that really showed off the old pointless arrow logo.  These appeared in just a few locations.

Meanwhile, further north Amtrak experimented with a white on black sign.  These are mostly seen on the Boston to New Haven segment and in northern New Jersey.

Which leads us to the present standard which I would call "low observable".  Not sure why Amtrak doesn't want to advertise it's interlocking names, but at least they kept the white on blue.

Railroad Dispatcher Web Game

I wanted to call attention to a new web-based North American style CTC simulation game.  It's still in beta and pretty much limited to a single layout, but it is a long overdue addition to the dispatching simulator market that pretty much consists of the increasingly long in the tooth Train Dispatcher 3 and the UK focused SimSig. You can find and play the game at http://randallhook.com/games/railroad-dispatcher/

As someone who has operated a real US&S style CTC machine, the simulation isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than nothing.  Currently the largest deficiency is the lack of delay between toggling a unit lever and coding the action to the field.  On a direct wire machine the switches will take a second or two to throw and of course over a code line the machine will click and clunk for quite some time before confirmation of the state change is received. 

It will be interesting to see if things like blocking devices are added or if additional styles of panel are supported as various railroads could use their own conventions for indication lamp colors and such.  Anyway, I'd advice everybody to give the game a play through and give the developer, randy Hook, some constructive feedback.

2019 Empire Corridor Trip Report

I have once again completed my annual trek to the heart of New York Central territory via Amtrak's Empire service.  The good news is that between the division post at CP-75 and the start of Rule 562 at the new CP-138 south of Albany, no additional re-signaling has taken place.  The double track project is complete to Schenectady and the new station there ha been completed along with the re-signaling of CP-159 and CP-160 which I reported in 2018.

While non-Darth Vader target signals with 'C' boards are a positive, the whole setup still feels a bit off with blinding LED signals and OSHA approved aluminum masts.  One addition is the brand new CP-149 that provides a mid-point crossover between CP-157 and CP-145.  ACSES transponders are also in place.

I also noticed that the CPO-1 on the old D&H Colonie Sub had been removed which is about time seeing as according to Google Street View that happened sometime around 2016.  For those of you who don't know this was the interlocking in the middle of I-787 in downtown Albany.  It was replaced by a new CPO-2 about a mile to the north.

Even the gantry was cut down.

I visited CP-SK at the east end of Selkirk yard and was able to confirm that it was still in it's late Conrail configuration with no signs of any impending re-signaling.  Some Conrail target masts have been replaced by CSX Darth Vader signals, but a slim majority are still of the classic touch.  A new CP-12 had been constructed immediately to the west of CP-SK since my last visit a good 10 years ago, but in an interesting twist Conrail signal rules appeared to still be in effect throughout with Seaboard rules starting at the west end of the yard complex.

R/R/Y is still Restricting at CP-SK

I might have issues getting back to the Capitol Region in the future, but I'm pretty satisfied with the coverage I was able to get over the last 14 or so years with the multiple re-signaling efforts.

Signal Videos from the 70's, 80's and Beyond

I don't tend to seek out railroad compilation videos, even historic.  They typically consist of about 10-20 cuts of some freight train passing with various "heritage" units on grainy VHS.  Any signal or interlocking content is fleeting and involves sorting through a lot of cruft.  Well after a recent content drop in the later two months of 2018, the Railroad Media Archive has become a major exception to the rule. I first noticed it earlier in the year when it posted 17 minutes of color 8 or 16mm film from a PRR cab ride between Columbus and Cincinnati on a route that is now mostly a rail train.  Signals and interlockings are definitely the focus and one can really see how properly focused PRR Amber Position Lights really pop.  At Cincinatti the person even got some footage in the still active Tower A.



There is also posted two explicit interlocking tower videos that have all sorts of interior video demonstrations of interlocking machines including one off-brand pistol grip machine from the B&O/EL Sterling tower that I had even never seen before.  The operation of the machine even comes with sync sound!  A real feat in the age of film. There are a whole bunch of other towers covered with demonstrations of CTC machines, table interlockers, mechanical lever plants and even the GRS N-X machine at F Tower in Fostoria.





There is another video that exclusively deals with the old NS tower in Lima Ohio, including a demo of the US&S Style S machine there.



Finally this guy seemed to be in the right place at the right time, even up into the 1990's with video of SO interlocking in South Fork PA just before the tower was closed and a ride in a Capitol Limited dome car as is traversed the Conrail raceway into Chicago between HICK tower and ENGLEWOOD with all of the old school PRR and NYC signaling still in place.





Like I said, you won't be disappointed. Check out all this guy's stuff. Be warned, it might make you a little sad to see how much amazing retro technology has been lost since just the 1990's :-(

Great Resource on Chicago Area Rail Junctions

From the title you might think I am here to plug the Chicago Rail Junctions website, but surprisingly I am not! The prolific Industrial Scenery blog has a "minor" section devoted to Chicago area rail junctions with all sorts of historic background and photos with maps, diagrams, Google Earth views and tower interiors. All you have to do is hit up the "towerJunction" label to get pretty much an unending supply of junction histories. 

Some of the photos are old, some of the photos are new, but a lot of them seem to be from Facebook groups that the Googable web has very little insight into.  I highly recommend this site and although Junctions are only a small part I still haven't reached the end of the archive xD

Winter 2018 Reading and Northern Update

So once again Bill Tarantino has sent me another year end Reading and Northern signaling update.  After signaling much of the line north of their operating base at Port Clinton, the R&N is making a real push to open up tourist passenger service to Reading and therefore is looking to extend the CTC along the Reading Division Main Line between North Reading MP 62 and Port Clinton MP 78.

Bill has made several exploratory and documentary trips to the area over the course of the last 3 months in conjunction with their fall and winter steam excursions.  New signal infrastructure and track work has popped up rapidly like mushrooms overnight.  It appears from the accumulated on-site evidence that more work still remains to be done per the final overall design.

1. MP 62.0 (NORTH READING) 

• Evidence indicates probable site of a new interlocking here.
• New yard track and switch re-alignments completed.
• Two new sidings under construction on the opposite station platform side for engine holding and run around.
• Switch circuit controllers on all switches are in place.
• Old Green & Yellow MBS Station Sign (“N. READING”) has been taken up and moved across the main to the opposite track side across from where it was originally placed.  And, now just leans up against a new double door relay box.  Probably in advance of new Cabin prep work.
• No new cabin or signal equipment or up powered switches yet, probably waiting on finalization of new track work here.

MP 62 NORTH READING – Looking south towards CP BELT

 

2. MP 63.8 (RICK)

• New single switch Interlocking here.
• Will control movements into and out of the north side NORTH READING yard.
• No name plate on the new cabin.  Likely called RICK because the old MBS YL Sign at MP 64 says RICK.  And, this new interlocking just 0.2 miles to the south will supplant it.
• Triple head tri-light 3-3-3 absolute  home signal for southbound main. 
• Dual head tri-light 3-2 absolute  home signal for northbound main. 
• Yard lead siding northbound has conventional 3 light dwarf.

MP 63.8  RICK - Ground Level.  Looking north towards Port Clinton.

MP 63.8 RICK – Overhead shot.  Looking north towards Leesport and Port Clinton. 

3. MP 65.6 (DUAL MAST ABS)

• Southbound dual head tri-light 3-3 serves as distant approach signal for RICK.
• Northbound dual head tri-light 3-3 serves as distant approach signal to MOHRSVILLE for now, perhaps DAUBERVILLE later.
• This emplacement is equi distant between RICK and DAUBERVILLE.  And, could be a telling key indicator of what ultimately happens at DAUBERVILLE.  But, presently, there is no new signal equipment at DAUBERVILLE while there is at MOHRSVILLE which is 1.2 miles further to the north.  But, MOHRSVILLE is a strange animal now.

MP 65.6 DUAL MAST ABS - Looking North, Leesport Grade Crossing is visible in the far distance.

4. MP 67.4 (DAUBERVILLE)

• Presently, no new signal equipment in place.  However, recent white paint lines with arrows and numbers now run across the grade crossing blacktop foretelling  future cabling activity.
• Logical site for a new interlocking connecting the other end of the MOHRSVILLE sidings.
• Track work on the 1.1 mile new siding from MOHRSVILLE was stopped cold here quite some time ago right before the creek bridge about 100 yards north of the grade crossing.   Suspect creek bridge fixes or replacement is the impediment issue here which may take some time to resolve.
• Additional new track work would be needed here including a 75 yard long track siding extension over the bridge to or beyond the grade crossing, integration of a powered interfacing switch to the main and  grade crossing equipment clearance modifications.
• It’s wait and see for now.  

MP 67.4 DAUBERVILLE – Probable passing siding Integration from MOHRSVILLE 1.2 miles to the north is pending.  Likely MOW bridge issue then new track work needed before switch and signaling work.