Finally found a good use for all this snow!

(Train sightings on 1-29-11.)

after shoveling nineteen inches of snow off our driveway, my truck, the house's roof and anything else that needed to be cleared of snow, I thought the only thing this snow was good for was giving me sore muscles from all that shoveling. On Saturday, I discovered a new use for one mound of piled snow. It provided me with a good elevated photo location to shoot NS 212 as it came through Three Bridges around 11 AM.

NS increases dividend

Received the following via email.

Jan. 25, 2011

Norfolk Southern increases dividend

NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that its Board of Directors today voted to increase the regular quarterly dividend on the company's common stock by 11 percent, or 4 cents per share, from 36 to 40 cents per share. The increased dividend is payable on March 10 to stockholders of record on Feb. 4.

Since its inception in 1982, Norfolk Southern has paid dividends on its common stock for 114 consecutive quarters.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

###

Norfolk Southern contacts:
(Media) Frank Brown, 757-629-2710 (fsbrown@nscorp.com)
(Investors) Leanne Marilley, 757-629-2861 (leanne.marilley@nscorp.com)

NS reports 2010 fourth-quarter and full-year results

Received the following via email.

Jan. 25, 2011

Norfolk Southern reports 2010 fourth-quarter and full-year results

For fourth-quarter 2010 vs. fourth-quarter 2009:

· Railway operating revenues increased 14 percent to $2.4 billion.
· Income from railway operations improved 17 percent to $642 million.
· Net income increased 31 percent to $402 million.
· Diluted earnings per share rose 33 percent to $1.09.
· The railway operating ratio improved by 1 percent to 73.2 percent.

For 2010 vs. 2009:

· Railway operating revenues increased 19 percent to $9.5 billion.
· Income from railway operations improved 36 percent to $2.7 billion.
· Net income increased 45 percent to $1.5 billion.
· Diluted earnings per share rose 45 percent to $4.00.
· The railway operating ratio improved by 5 percent to 71.9 percent.

NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern Corporation today reported fourth-quarter 2010 net income of $402 million, or $1.09 per diluted share, 31 percent higher compared with $307 million, or $0.82 per diluted share, for the same quarter of 2009.

Fourth-quarter 2010 results benefited from a $34 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, change in estimate affecting deferred income taxes.

Net income for 2010 was $1.5 billion, or $4.00 per diluted share, an increase of 45 percent, compared with $1.0 billion, or $2.76 per diluted share, in 2009.

"During 2010 we profitably grew the business, invested in the franchise, generated significant levels of cash, and produced attractive returns for our shareholders," said CEO Wick Moorman. "We have every reason to believe that 2011 will be an even stronger year for us."

Fourth-quarter railway operating revenues were $2.4 billion, 14 percent higher compared with the same period a year earlier. For 2010, railway operating revenues increased 19 percent to $9.5 billion compared with 2009.

General merchandise revenues were $1.2 billion, up 10 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2009. For 2010, general merchandise revenues were $5.0 billion, 20 percent higher compared with 2009. General merchandise traffic volume increased 3 percent in the quarter and 14 percent for the year compared with the same periods of 2009.

Coal revenues in the fourth quarter were $685 million, up 18 percent compared with the same period last year. For 2010, coal revenues were $2.7 billion, 20 percent higher compared with 2009. Coal traffic volume increased 12 percent in the quarter and 10 percent for the year compared with the same periods of 2009.

Intermodal revenues were $471 million, up 16 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2009. For the year, intermodal revenues were $1.8 billion, up 17 percent compared with 2009. Intermodal traffic volume increased by 13 percent in the fourth quarter and 16 percent for 2010 compared with the same periods of 2009.

Railway operating expenses were $1.8 billion for the fourth quarter, 12 percent higher compared with the same period a year earlier. For 2010, railway operating expenses were $6.8 billion, up 14 percent compared with 2009, primarily due to fuel expenses and higher costs associated with compensation and benefits.

Income from railway operations was $642 million for the fourth quarter, up 17 percent, and $2.7 billion for the year, up 36 percent, compared with the same periods of 2009.

The fourth-quarter railway operating ratio improved by 1 percent to
73.2 percent compared with the same period last year. For 2010, the railway operating ratio improved by 5 percent to 71.9 percent compared with 2009.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

###

Norfolk Southern contacts:
(Media) Frank Brown, 757-629-2710 (fsbrown@nscorp.com)
(Investors) Leanne Marilley, 757-629-2861 (leanne.marilley@nscorp.com)

Greenville, PA, 1899: PB&LE train struck, killed former Congressman Gillespie

Received the following via email.

It is not every day that trains lead to the untimely demise of former U.S. Congressmen on foot near their homes...

Mimi Filer, one of my email correspondents who lived here in Greenville for most of her life, notes that her fraternal grandfather, former Congressman Eugene Pierce 'E.P.' Gillespie, was struck and killed by a Pittsburg*, Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad train in Greenville while walking from his law office to his home on Mercer Street in December, 1899. Gillespie was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Fall of 1890 and served 1891-'93 in the Fifty-second Congress.

A local newspaper article remarked that the 47-year-old attorney was struck by the Bessemer's "5:30 up passenger train" ('up' referring to the 'northbound' train to Albion and Erie) at the Clinton Street crossing. He was walking down the tracks toward Clinton that evening when he said, shortly before he died, that he had noticed the approaching train. Though he thought he'd stepped in the clear, he was either not far enough to the side or he tripped or slipped (being mid-December, it would have already been dark and quite possibly icy). He was struck by the engine's front pilot and thrown thirty feet. He suffered multiple major bone fractures, lacerations, bruises and other injuries. He was removed from the scene to his nearby home, where he regained consciousness, but died a bit more than eight hours after being hit, leaving his widow with four children to raise. The newspaper editor remarked, "No event in our editorial experience of thirty years has brought such grievous sorrow to our sanctum as the announcement of the death of our friend and respected fellow citizen, Hon. E.P. Gillespie."

A very large funeral was held the following Tuesday, just five days before Christmas and a mere dozen days before the calendar changed to '1900'. Many dignitaries attended, including judges and attorneys from several counties surrounding Mercer County. A delegation of 25 members of the Crawford County Bar came down from Meadville by Bessemer passenger train (ironically) aboard the private railcar, CONNEAUT, belonging to Civil War Colonel and fellow ex-Congressman Samuel B. Dick, who was also Chairman of the Board of the PB&LE at the time.

The accounts of this accident all say that Mr. Gillespie was struck on Saturday, which would have been December 16, but that is not the date on which he would have died, since he passed after midnight. One newspaper specifically stated that, "...death came to his relief about 2 a .m. Sunday". That would put his actual date of death on the 17th, exactly two weeks from New Years Eve, 1899, even though the date of his passing that seems to have been 'set in history' is that of the evening of his tragic locomotive encounter.

*Note that in 1899, there was no 'h' at the end of the name of the City of Pittsburgh (it was officially dropped in 1891 and restored in 1911), as illustrated in several locations on this January, 1899 PB&LE RR public timetable / passenger schedule, the cover of which, interestingly, states that it is governed by Central Time: http://www.railsandtrails.com/PTT/B&LE/index.htm


BIOGRAPHIES OF NOTABLE AMERICANS, 1904:

Eugene Pierce GILLESPIE, b. Greenville, Pa., Sep 24 1852, son of Alexander DUMARS and Nancy R. LINN GILLESPIE., grandson of David GILLESPIE, and great-grandson of Thomas GILLESPIE, who in 1818 m. Hannah, daughter of Alexander DUNCAN, who came from county Tyrone, Ireland in 1800. Eugene m. Ella DAVIDSON of Sharon, Pa., Nov. 25 1880. Hit by a train at a crossing in Greenville, Pa., and d. Dec 16 1899.

http://www.gorichky.com/RESIDENTS13.htm

GILLESPIE, Eugene Pierce, (1852 - 1899) the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

GILLESPIE, Eugene Pierce, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Greenville, Mercer County, Pa., September 24, 1852; attended the public schools, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., and St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada; studied law; was admitted to the bar in August 1874 and commenced practice in Greenville, Pa.; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1893); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress; returned to Greenville, Pa., and continued the practice of law until his death December 16, 1899; interment in Shenango Valley Cemetery.

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000195

As far as I was concerned...

(Train sightings on 1-16-11.)

...Sunday's good sunlight was wasted when it came to doing some railroad photography along the Lehigh and Trenton Lines. I feel that my image of NS 20R approaching the Roycefield Road grade crossing (near MP40) wasn't all that bad.

Later in the day, I headed down to Belle Mead to check on the progress of the new Route 206 bridge being built over CSX's Trenton Line. The forms for bridge's northern abutment is being built. As a "sidewalk supervisor", I would speculate that the construction is pretty close to being on schedule. If it is, then the spans should be moved in to place sometime in February. As for that northbound CSX train seen here, it is Q418.

As my luck would have it no southbound trains came by while I was there since the sun was good! Oh well, there is always next weekend to try and photograph a southbound CSX train at that location. Hopefully both the sun and CSX will cooperate with my plan. On that note, have a good week!

Bessemer & Lake Erie snow pictures

Received the following via email.

"When is snow, too much snow?" Neat squall pics along CN's Bessemer Zone from Dave Trenn

Even a bright orange locomotive's colors can be muted as it bores through swirling snow. Here are four frosty pics Dave Trenn took along the north end of the Canadian National's Bessemer Zone in Ohio and PA, last Saturday:

http://members3.boardhost.com/Bessemer/msg/1294759935.html

[NSAlert] Winter Storm Impacting Southeastern Operations

Received the following via email from Norfolk Southern.

Winter Storm Impacting Southeastern Operations

Customers with shipments normally routed through Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, should expect delays of up to 48 hours due to a winter storm impacting much of the Southeast. Updated ETA information is always available through Pacesetter (Norfolk Southern's web based pipeline management tool), and accessNS.

Customers with questions regarding specific shipments should contact the National Customer Service Center.
Customer Service - - 800 635.5768

Customers with questions regarding local service should contact their Central Yard Operations Representative.
Central Yard Operations - - 800 898.4296

NS quarterly earnings conference call

Received the following via email.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN QUARTERLY EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

We cordially invite you to join us on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. ET to review our fourth-quarter 2010 results. We will issue earnings results shortly after market close on Jan. 25.

For those interested in participating, we will broadcast via teleconference that will be available by dialing 877-869-3847 several minutes prior to the start of the call. At the conclusion, you can listen to an audio replay, which will be available until Feb. 1, 2011. The replay number is 877-660-6853, using PIN 2861 and access code 360842.

In conjunction with the call, a live webcast will be accessible, and presentation materials will be posted on the company's website at http://www.nscorp.com/ under the Investors section. Following the earnings call, an Internet replay of the presentation will be archived on the company's website. In addition, the replay will be available for download to a portable audio player or computer as an MP3 - or podcast - file. Both the replay and MP3 file can be found at http://www.nscorp.com/ in the Investors section.

Sincerely,

Leanne D. Marilley
Director Investor Relations
Norfolk Southern Corporation

Jersey Central Chapter's "Santa Train" on December 11th, 2010

Train sightings on 12-11-10.

Over the Raritan River and through the woods along NJT’s Raritan Valley Line from Westfield to High Bridge was the route taken by the NRHS Jersey Central Chapter’s “Santa Train” took on December 11. Decent weather, at least for this Saturday, made chasing this train made lots of fun. Here are a few images from that chase…

Image 1- The Santa Train is seen passing beneath I-287 near Bound Brook on Saturday’s first run. Passengers are already on board from Raritan’s pickup at 8:30 and the next stop will be Westfield.

Image 2- Seen here passing through Whitehouse Station (MP44.2), NJT’s 4000 and 4013 (PL42-ACs) provided the motive power on these two trips. With NJT’s GP40s not used this year, one question some people were asking was “Where will the wreaths be hung?” This image answers that question
that the wreath were hung on the nose with care in hopes that Santa would soon be here…

Image 3-Crossing the North Branch Viaduct, the Santa train heads returns east on its first run of the day. It will stop at Raritan to let those passengers off before proceeding on to Westfield.

Image 4- It is a little after 2PM as the Santa Train makes its way west towards High Bridge. This image was taken from the Round Valley Access Road bridge (County Route 629) and concludes a rather enjoyable day for this photographer.

Hope you enjoyed these images…..

Alco plant demolition

Received the following via email.

Lima? Gone. Baldwin/Eddystone? Gone. Electro-Motive/La Grange? Gone. ALCo/Schenectedy? Going, going...

Some final pictures of the derelict American Locomotive Company plant in Schenectedy, NY - now being demolished: 

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=1&threadid=85818

Passing of Jim Boyd, Railroad Model Craftsman Magazine

Received the following via email.

It is with deep sadness that Carstens Publications relates the news that Jim Boyd has passed away. Jim started with Carstens Publications working on Flying Models and later Railroad Model Craftsman. Jim served as editor of Railfan & Railroad from the magazine's inception in 1974 until 1998, and continued as editor emeritus until his passing and author of the popular Camera Bag column until his passing. Jim grew up in Rockford, IL and worked for EMD in the 1960's. He's has written hundreds of articles and more than a dozen books on the subject of railroads.

A memorial service for Jim Boyd will be held at 4:00 p.m. Saturday January 8 at the Iliff-Ruggerio Funeral Home, 156 Main Street, Newton, NJ 07860.

NJ Transit train fatally strikes man in Montclair

Following article is from the web site www.nj.com. 

NJ Transit train fatally strikes man in Montclair

Published: Wednesday, January 05, 2011, 4:25 PM Updated: Wednesday, January 05, 2011, 4:29 PM

A person identified so far only as an adult male was struck and killed this afternoon by an NJ Transit train traveling through Montclair, an agency spokesman said.

Police are on the scene investigating the accident, which took place shortly before 3 p.m. on the tracks near Jerome place, between the Mountain Avenue and Upper Montclair stations, said Dan Stessel, NJ Transit spokesman.

Train service has so far been minimally affected, Stessel said. The 12 passengers on the train, which originated at New York’s Penn Station, was three stations from its terminus at Montclair State University. The passengers were taken to their destination stations by bus, he said.

Atlantic City Express train to stop weekend runs - temporarily

Following article is from the Courier News for Jan. 4, 2011.

Atlantic City Express train to stop weekend runs - temporarily

By LUCAS K. MURRAY • STAFF WRITER • January 4, 2011

ATLANTIC CITY — A fast rail service that transports gamblers between New York City and Atlantic City will suspend operations for the season this weekend.

The Atlantic City Express Service -- operated under a contract by NJ Transit and funded by a consortium of casinos -- makes its last three-hour run from Penn Station Sunday morning.

Amtrak, which facilitates ticket sales for the line, is not taking reservations past Jan. 9.

The line is expected to be in service again by Memorial Day weekend.

ACES service currently runs only on weekends, with two trains Friday and Saturday and one on Sunday to Atlantic City. The reverse trip consists of one train Friday, three Saturday and two Sunday.

That's 11 trips per weekend -- down from 18 when the line was first implemented in February of 2009.

In the first year alone, officials said the line operated at a loss of $6 million.

The first departure from New York City on an ACES train on a Friday puts a rider on the beach by happy hour at a minimum cost of $29. First-class seats on the two-level trains cost an additional $20.

Prices were slashed early in the line's existence to attract more customers.

The ride lasts about 2 hours, 40 minutes and makes a single stop at Newark Penn Station.

The train skips making a stop in Philadelphia despite having to snake across the state line through Trenton to access the former line to the shore operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

NJ Transit runs a revenue service of its own between Philadelphia and Atlantic City, with 14 round trips per day out of 30th Street Station. Tickets for that line are $10 each way and the train makes six South Jersey stops on the 90-minute trip, including Cherry Hill.

Matthew Mitchell, president of the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, called ACES "a chic way for people to get down to Atlantic City."

"The success of that service very much mirrors the success of the casino industry, whereas the regular NJ Transit trains are much more diverse," Mitchell said.

"There's little here that threatens the service now from Philadelphia and Cherry Hill to Atlantic City."

Atlantic City casinos had nearly $4 billion in revenue in 2009, welcoming more than 30 million visitors. ACES is marketed heavily to young Manhattanites, featuring hip cocktails and gourmet snacks on each train.

NJ Transit, which is contracted to run the line through February 2012, operates eight train cars owned in a joint venture by the Borgata, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah's Atlantic City.

Jim Kehoe, chairman of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, said initially the CRDA invested $4.5 million over three years to aid in the purchase of the cars as well. An additional $2 million went to the ACES line from the CRDA for operations in 2009.

At the time, officials said ridership during peak hours was usually at 80 percent capacity.

Kehoe said the mission for the city goes beyond trains right now.

Pending legislation in Trenton, some of which would allow for smaller, boutique casinos along with the completion of the Revel casino project, would help make a train more relevant and useful to visitors, he said.

"Once that happens, the train could take off with a renewed interest to come back to Atlantic City.

"We need to make this town welcoming and clean and safe."

Interstate 280 Construction in NJ...with Trains

Received the following via email. 

New Jersey Interstate 280 contractor S.J. Groves & Sons Construction Co. built the new highway around Eagle Mountain in Essex and Morris counties using a temporary, standard-gauge construction railroad for moving tremendous volumes of earth and rock. In preparation for the earthmoving phase of the project, Minnesota-based Groves utilized the same Cleveland, OH-based firm, McDowell-Wellman Engineering Company, that had earlier designed the temporary construction railroad used by Oro Dam Constructors to build the major dam at Oroville in northern California.

Just as it had with the Oro Dam project, McDowell-Wellman arranged for a pair of conventional, high-horsepower locomotives to be built by General Electric in October, 1969 for use on the I-280 highway project. The two 3,300-horsepower engines were manufactured at GE's locomotive plant in Erie, PA. These two new diesel-electrics engines were supplemented at times with a smaller, second-hand, 1,600-horsepower engine, also acquired to help build the Interstate.

Into 1971, the locomotives pulled and pushed strings of side-dump gondola cars that carried excavated material from the massive rock cutting operation to where fill was required to build embankment. A highway bridge on westbound NJ I-280 is said to still have the extra beams in it that were used to reinforce the structure to handle heavy rock trains. After the engines completed their assignment for S. J. Groves in the Summer of 1971, they were sold to the Burlington Northern Railroad for use in system main line service.

Here are four representative photos of this interesting highway earthwork operation:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=309957&nseq=2

http://www.godfatherrails.com/photos/pv.asp?pid=210

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=309912&nseq=3

http://www.godfatherrails.com/photos/pv.asp?pid=802


Here is an example of what you can find at the links above. More pictures at those web sites. Following picture by John Dziobko.