Received the following via email.
November 10, 2009
Magazine names Norfolk Southern a top 'green' company
NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk Southern Corporation's sustainability initiatives have earned the company recognition as one of 25 green supply chain partners named by Inbound Logistics magazine.
The magazine said its inaugural G25 list was created "to celebrate companies that are on the cutting edge of green; and we want to provide shippers with examples of how service providers are making the sustainability leap, and justification for why they are a cut above."
Norfolk Southern was singled out for its "Green Machine," a carbon footprint analyzer that allows businesses to estimate the emissions savings of choosing rail transportation. The magazine also noted NS' investments to upgrade its locomotive fleet, making it the rail industry leader in achieving federal locomotive emissions standards.
"Inbound Logistics is pleased to recognize Norfolk Southern as a Green Supply Chain Partner (G25) for 2009," said Keith Biondo, the magazine's publisher. "The recognition is in part for Norfolk Southern's sustainable supply chain vision, but most importantly for providing practical real-world services and solutions helping leading logistics practitioners achieve their sustainability goals."
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. 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
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Before "participating" in a fall tradition...
(Train sightings on 11-7-09.)
...of raking leaves, I wanted to spend some of this sunny morning trackside and see what was running along the Lehigh Line. Prior to going, I checked the internet to see if anything special would be coming eastbound. One website had mentioned that CP 38T had passed through Phillipsburg at 6:54. Since it was 7:05 when I saw this post, there would be sufficent time for me to drive down and photograph it at the Roycefield Road grade crossing. Around 7:30, a train horn could be heard blowing faintly for a grade crossing. A few minutes later, there appeared a headlight off in the distance. This one proved to be a false alarm as the headlight belong to NS 8819, the leader on NS 212 and not the train I was waiting. Fifteen minutes after 212's passing, another headlight appeared off in the distance. Sure enough this headlight belonged to CP 9654, 38T's leader along with CP 8797.
After I snapped a photo or two of 38T, I thought briefly about how far railfanning has come over the years. Prior to the age of railroad oriented websites and cell phones, spending time trackside could be likened to playing cards. Sometimes a person would win and other times come up empty. Today, with and assist of the internet, I came up with a winning hand.
...of raking leaves, I wanted to spend some of this sunny morning trackside and see what was running along the Lehigh Line. Prior to going, I checked the internet to see if anything special would be coming eastbound. One website had mentioned that CP 38T had passed through Phillipsburg at 6:54. Since it was 7:05 when I saw this post, there would be sufficent time for me to drive down and photograph it at the Roycefield Road grade crossing. Around 7:30, a train horn could be heard blowing faintly for a grade crossing. A few minutes later, there appeared a headlight off in the distance. This one proved to be a false alarm as the headlight belong to NS 8819, the leader on NS 212 and not the train I was waiting. Fifteen minutes after 212's passing, another headlight appeared off in the distance. Sure enough this headlight belonged to CP 9654, 38T's leader along with CP 8797.
After I snapped a photo or two of 38T, I thought briefly about how far railfanning has come over the years. Prior to the age of railroad oriented websites and cell phones, spending time trackside could be likened to playing cards. Sometimes a person would win and other times come up empty. Today, with and assist of the internet, I came up with a winning hand.
NS Thanksgiving Holiday Operations
Received the following via email.
Thanksgiving Holiday Operations
In observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday, Norfolk Southern will curtail (non-intermodal) freight operations beginning 7:00 A.M. on Thursday, November 26, 2009 and resume full operations at 7:00 A.M. on Friday, November 27. Interline gateways will remain open for traffic delivered from connecting carriers and passenger trains will continue to operate through the Holiday.
Customers with critical shipments, particularly unit trains, where customer operations will continue through the holiday, should contact their Customer Service or Marketing Representative regarding service requirements.
Where local service (set/pull) will be required through the holiday period or for questions regarding specific shipments, customers are encouraged to contact their Central Yard Operations or Customer Service representative.
Customer Service - 800 635.5768
Central Yard Operations - 800 898.4296
Thanksgiving Holiday Operations
In observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday, Norfolk Southern will curtail (non-intermodal) freight operations beginning 7:00 A.M. on Thursday, November 26, 2009 and resume full operations at 7:00 A.M. on Friday, November 27. Interline gateways will remain open for traffic delivered from connecting carriers and passenger trains will continue to operate through the Holiday.
Customers with critical shipments, particularly unit trains, where customer operations will continue through the holiday, should contact their Customer Service or Marketing Representative regarding service requirements.
Where local service (set/pull) will be required through the holiday period or for questions regarding specific shipments, customers are encouraged to contact their Central Yard Operations or Customer Service representative.
Customer Service - 800 635.5768
Central Yard Operations - 800 898.4296
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Photos from the 2009 Transit Modelers Meet
The 2009 Transit Modelers Convention & Trolley Meet was held on the campus of Rutgers University on October 24, 2009. This meet was sponsored by the New York City Model Transit Association. Here is a link to photos from that meet.
www.nycmodeltransit.org/2009Meet.htm
www.nycmodeltransit.org/2009Meet.htm
Norfolk Southern announces $11 million investment in Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility
Received the following via email.
November 2, 2009
Norfolk Southern announces $11 million investment in
Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - Norfolk Southern and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are investing $11 million in the railroad's Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility to expand track and parking capacity. The expansion is part of Norfolk Southern's multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The proposed investment - $6 million from Norfolk Southern and $5 million from Pennsylvania - will create the capacity to handle more than 72,000 containers and trailers annually. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2010.
"Because of its strategic location to Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware, expansion of the Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility is critical to the success of our Crescent Corridor," said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief executive officer. "We commend Gov. Ed Rendell for his efforts to provide state funding for our intermodal terminal initiatives in the commonwealth. We want to thank Sens. Robert Casey and Arlen Specter for their support of a public-private partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Transportation so that Pennsylvania will benefit from the economic development opportunities and job growth potential of integrated logistics hubs. We also want to express our gratitude to the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who support the Crescent Corridor, including Reps. Bob Brady, Charlie Dent, Chakah Fattah, Jim Gerlach, Tim Holden, Patrick Murphy, Todd Platts, Allyson Schwartz, and Bill Shuster. Finally, we express our appreciation to Mayor Michael Nutter and the region's economic development agencies and authorities for their efforts to improve freight transportation infrastructure in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley."
"Rail freight is an important component of any transportation infrastructure discussion," Governor Edward G. Rendell said. "The Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility will serve Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, creating good jobs, generating revenue locally, and helping reduce highway congestion. Pennsylvania has invested heavily in rail freight because it is a smart, environmentally friendly, cost-effective infrastructure investment. I will continue to advocate for rail freight investments at the state and national level."
"Philadelphia has been a rail transportation hub for the Mid-Atlantic region for more than 100 years," said Mayor Michael Nutter. "With this $11 million investment, Norfolk Southern's intermodal terminal at the Navy Yard will benefit shippers and consumers in the city and lead to further economic development opportunities in the Philadelphia area."
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative is a multistate network of infrastructure improvements and facilities intended to enhance Norfolk Southern's 2,500-mile rail network that supports the supply chain from the Gulf Coast and Memphis to Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and the New York metropolitan area and enable it to handle more freight traffic faster and more reliably. The railroad is in the process of implementing corridor projects, including straightening curves, adding passing tracks, improving signal systems, and building new terminals.
Altogether, nearly $2.5 billion in Crescent Corridor projects have been identified, and based on the public benefits of relief from highway congestion, NS plans to implement the Crescent Corridor initiative through a series of public-private partnerships. At completion, the Crescent Corridor is projected to divert more than 1 million truckloads of freight from the highways to the rails annually, saving the U.S. more than 170 million gallons of fuel per year.
When the Crescent Corridor is fully operational, annual benefits to Pennsylvania are expected to include nearly 700,000 long-haul trucks diverted to rail, almost 10 million gallons of fuel saved, carbon dioxide reduction of 110,000 tons, more than $44 million in traffic congestion savings, and avoidance of an estimated $8.5 million in accident costs. Over the next 10 years 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania are expected to be created or enhanced by the Crescent Corridor. Norfolk Southern is constructing a new $95 million intermodal facility in Franklin County, Pa., and has $52 million in improvements planned for its existing Harrisburg intermodal terminal, along with $27 million in track and signal upgrades in Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton counties.
Rail intermodal traffic uses one-third of the fuel required by long-haul trucks and greatly reduces highway congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and highway maintenance costs. The Crescent Corridor will help the environment and reduce a large burden on state budgets.
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.
Any statements contained in this news release which are not related to historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties (noted in the corporation's filings with the SEC) which could cause actual results to differ materially.
Norfolk Southern contacts:
Media Rudy Husband 610-567-3377 rudy.husband@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com
November 2, 2009
Norfolk Southern announces $11 million investment in
Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - Norfolk Southern and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are investing $11 million in the railroad's Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility to expand track and parking capacity. The expansion is part of Norfolk Southern's multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The proposed investment - $6 million from Norfolk Southern and $5 million from Pennsylvania - will create the capacity to handle more than 72,000 containers and trailers annually. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2010.
"Because of its strategic location to Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware, expansion of the Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility is critical to the success of our Crescent Corridor," said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief executive officer. "We commend Gov. Ed Rendell for his efforts to provide state funding for our intermodal terminal initiatives in the commonwealth. We want to thank Sens. Robert Casey and Arlen Specter for their support of a public-private partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Transportation so that Pennsylvania will benefit from the economic development opportunities and job growth potential of integrated logistics hubs. We also want to express our gratitude to the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who support the Crescent Corridor, including Reps. Bob Brady, Charlie Dent, Chakah Fattah, Jim Gerlach, Tim Holden, Patrick Murphy, Todd Platts, Allyson Schwartz, and Bill Shuster. Finally, we express our appreciation to Mayor Michael Nutter and the region's economic development agencies and authorities for their efforts to improve freight transportation infrastructure in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley."
"Rail freight is an important component of any transportation infrastructure discussion," Governor Edward G. Rendell said. "The Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility will serve Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, creating good jobs, generating revenue locally, and helping reduce highway congestion. Pennsylvania has invested heavily in rail freight because it is a smart, environmentally friendly, cost-effective infrastructure investment. I will continue to advocate for rail freight investments at the state and national level."
"Philadelphia has been a rail transportation hub for the Mid-Atlantic region for more than 100 years," said Mayor Michael Nutter. "With this $11 million investment, Norfolk Southern's intermodal terminal at the Navy Yard will benefit shippers and consumers in the city and lead to further economic development opportunities in the Philadelphia area."
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative is a multistate network of infrastructure improvements and facilities intended to enhance Norfolk Southern's 2,500-mile rail network that supports the supply chain from the Gulf Coast and Memphis to Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and the New York metropolitan area and enable it to handle more freight traffic faster and more reliably. The railroad is in the process of implementing corridor projects, including straightening curves, adding passing tracks, improving signal systems, and building new terminals.
Altogether, nearly $2.5 billion in Crescent Corridor projects have been identified, and based on the public benefits of relief from highway congestion, NS plans to implement the Crescent Corridor initiative through a series of public-private partnerships. At completion, the Crescent Corridor is projected to divert more than 1 million truckloads of freight from the highways to the rails annually, saving the U.S. more than 170 million gallons of fuel per year.
When the Crescent Corridor is fully operational, annual benefits to Pennsylvania are expected to include nearly 700,000 long-haul trucks diverted to rail, almost 10 million gallons of fuel saved, carbon dioxide reduction of 110,000 tons, more than $44 million in traffic congestion savings, and avoidance of an estimated $8.5 million in accident costs. Over the next 10 years 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania are expected to be created or enhanced by the Crescent Corridor. Norfolk Southern is constructing a new $95 million intermodal facility in Franklin County, Pa., and has $52 million in improvements planned for its existing Harrisburg intermodal terminal, along with $27 million in track and signal upgrades in Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton counties.
Rail intermodal traffic uses one-third of the fuel required by long-haul trucks and greatly reduces highway congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and highway maintenance costs. The Crescent Corridor will help the environment and reduce a large burden on state budgets.
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.
Any statements contained in this news release which are not related to historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties (noted in the corporation's filings with the SEC) which could cause actual results to differ materially.
Norfolk Southern contacts:
Media Rudy Husband 610-567-3377 rudy.husband@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Warren Buffet buying all of BNSF
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company announced this morning that it will buy all of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad. Following article is from CNNMoney.com and is dated Nov. 3, 2009.
Buffett's firm to buy Burlington Northern
Berkshire Hathaway will acquire unowned stake of railroad in a cash-and-stock deal worth $44 billion.
By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: November 3, 2009: 12:55 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway said Tuesday it will buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $44 billion.
Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500), which already has major stake in Burlington Northern, said it would acquire the remaining 77.4% of the company in a cash-and-stock offer worth $100 per share.
Widely regarded as both one of the world's richest men and the investment community's more brilliant minds, Buffett called his firm's investment an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."
"Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system," Buffett said in a statement.
Burlington Northern (BNI, Fortune 500) shares soared 28% in morning trading on the news.
Separately, Berkshire said it was announcing a 50-for-1 split of its Class B common stock. The majority of stock issued by the company in its purchase of Burlington Northern will be its pricier Class A shares, the company said.
The deal, which would rank as the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history, would also include $10 billion of Burlington Northern debt.
It would also expand the already massive portfolio of companies Berkshire already owns. Brand-name businesses such as auto insurer Geico, See's Candy and Fruit of the Loom are all subsidiaries of the Omaha, Neb.-based firm.
Matthew Rose, Burlington Northern's chairman and CEO, said the sale of the Fort Worth, Texas-based firm was a "strategic fit" for both the company's customers and employees, during a conference call with investors Tuesday.
No management changes are expected at Burlington Northern as a result of the deal, which is expected to close sometime in early 2010.
Berkshire's purchase, of course, will require the approval of shareholders and will have to undergo regulatory review by the Justice Department.
First Published: November 3, 2009: 8:01 AM ET
Buffett's firm to buy Burlington Northern
Berkshire Hathaway will acquire unowned stake of railroad in a cash-and-stock deal worth $44 billion.
By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: November 3, 2009: 12:55 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway said Tuesday it will buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $44 billion.
Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500), which already has major stake in Burlington Northern, said it would acquire the remaining 77.4% of the company in a cash-and-stock offer worth $100 per share.
Widely regarded as both one of the world's richest men and the investment community's more brilliant minds, Buffett called his firm's investment an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."
"Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system," Buffett said in a statement.
Burlington Northern (BNI, Fortune 500) shares soared 28% in morning trading on the news.
Separately, Berkshire said it was announcing a 50-for-1 split of its Class B common stock. The majority of stock issued by the company in its purchase of Burlington Northern will be its pricier Class A shares, the company said.
The deal, which would rank as the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history, would also include $10 billion of Burlington Northern debt.
It would also expand the already massive portfolio of companies Berkshire already owns. Brand-name businesses such as auto insurer Geico, See's Candy and Fruit of the Loom are all subsidiaries of the Omaha, Neb.-based firm.
Matthew Rose, Burlington Northern's chairman and CEO, said the sale of the Fort Worth, Texas-based firm was a "strategic fit" for both the company's customers and employees, during a conference call with investors Tuesday.
No management changes are expected at Burlington Northern as a result of the deal, which is expected to close sometime in early 2010.
Berkshire's purchase, of course, will require the approval of shareholders and will have to undergo regulatory review by the Justice Department.
First Published: November 3, 2009: 8:01 AM ET
Brushcutting at Lakehurst - more follow-up
Here is more follow-up to our post on Brushcutting at Lakehurst. See the post below from Saturday and the one from last Tuesday. The following article is from NJBIZ.com, dated 10-22-09.
Railroad line gets new Hammonton-based operator
By João-Pierre Ruth
10/22/2009
New Jersey Seashore Lines Inc. has executed an agreement with Clayton Cos. Inc. to operate an out-of-service private railroad line for 10 years, according to documents filed with the Surface Transportation Board of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“We started trimming some trees. It’s been more than 20 years since there’s been a train on [the rail line],” Anthony Macrie, president of New Jersey Seashore Shore Lines, said in an interview with NJBIZ. New Jersey Seashore Lines will maintain the 13-mile rail line, which extends from Lakehurst to Woodmansie.
He said rehabilitation of the line began in mid-October. After the tree trimming is complete, Macrie said his company will inspect the rail line for any necessary upgrades. One possible use will be to serve Clayton’s sand mine in Woodmansie, he said.
Lakewood-based Clayton acquired the line from Consolidated Rail Corp., which abandoned the stretch of short rail in 1985.
New Jersey Seashore Lines, in Hammonton, is an affiliate of Cape May Seashore Lines Inc., a short-line rail carrier for freight and excursion passenger service. Cape May Seashore Lines operates excursion passenger service between Richland and Tuckahoe, as well as a roundtrip line from Cape May Court House to Cape May City.
Clayton tapped New Jersey Seashore Lines to replace Ashland Railway Inc., in Mansfield, Ohio, the previous contract operator of the line.
Railroad line gets new Hammonton-based operator
By João-Pierre Ruth
10/22/2009
New Jersey Seashore Lines Inc. has executed an agreement with Clayton Cos. Inc. to operate an out-of-service private railroad line for 10 years, according to documents filed with the Surface Transportation Board of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“We started trimming some trees. It’s been more than 20 years since there’s been a train on [the rail line],” Anthony Macrie, president of New Jersey Seashore Shore Lines, said in an interview with NJBIZ. New Jersey Seashore Lines will maintain the 13-mile rail line, which extends from Lakehurst to Woodmansie.
He said rehabilitation of the line began in mid-October. After the tree trimming is complete, Macrie said his company will inspect the rail line for any necessary upgrades. One possible use will be to serve Clayton’s sand mine in Woodmansie, he said.
Lakewood-based Clayton acquired the line from Consolidated Rail Corp., which abandoned the stretch of short rail in 1985.
New Jersey Seashore Lines, in Hammonton, is an affiliate of Cape May Seashore Lines Inc., a short-line rail carrier for freight and excursion passenger service. Cape May Seashore Lines operates excursion passenger service between Richland and Tuckahoe, as well as a roundtrip line from Cape May Court House to Cape May City.
Clayton tapped New Jersey Seashore Lines to replace Ashland Railway Inc., in Mansfield, Ohio, the previous contract operator of the line.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Brushcutting at Lakehurst - follow-up
Last Tuesday, Oct. 27, we posted a question about the brushcutting along railroad tracks near Lakehurst, NJ. We now have an answer via another posting on CRRNJ in Yahoogroups.
This item was in a recent Trains magazine newsletter:
New Jersey branch gets new life
Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009
HAMMONTON, N.J. - A new affiliate of Cape May Seashore Lines has begun working to reopen an ex-Central Railroad of New Jersey branch to Woodmansie, N.J., New Jersey Business has reported. The New Jersey Seashore Lines will operate the line, which hasn't seen a train for more than 20 years.
Anthony Macrie, the railroad's president, said his company has begun work on removing trees from the right-of-way, which is owned by Clayton Cos., operator of a quarry near Woodmansie. The 13-mile route, once part of CNJ's Long Branch to Bay Side, N.J., line, will connect to the Conrail Shared Assets Area at Lakehurst, N.J. Macrie said the quarry will be a major customer.
Clayton bought the line in 1985, after Conrail abandoned it. Short line Ashland Railway operated the line for a time in the late 1980s.
Cape May Seasore Lines currently operates a rail line on New Jersey's southern tip between Cape May and Tuckahoe.
This item was in a recent Trains magazine newsletter:
New Jersey branch gets new life
Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009
HAMMONTON, N.J. - A new affiliate of Cape May Seashore Lines has begun working to reopen an ex-Central Railroad of New Jersey branch to Woodmansie, N.J., New Jersey Business has reported. The New Jersey Seashore Lines will operate the line, which hasn't seen a train for more than 20 years.
Anthony Macrie, the railroad's president, said his company has begun work on removing trees from the right-of-way, which is owned by Clayton Cos., operator of a quarry near Woodmansie. The 13-mile route, once part of CNJ's Long Branch to Bay Side, N.J., line, will connect to the Conrail Shared Assets Area at Lakehurst, N.J. Macrie said the quarry will be a major customer.
Clayton bought the line in 1985, after Conrail abandoned it. Short line Ashland Railway operated the line for a time in the late 1980s.
Cape May Seasore Lines currently operates a rail line on New Jersey's southern tip between Cape May and Tuckahoe.
CSX Corporation Chief Financial Officer to Address Goldman Sachs Global Industrials Conference
Received the following via email.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., (October 28, 2009) - Oscar Munoz, CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) executive vice president and chief financial officer, will address the Goldman Sachs Global Industrials Conference in New York City on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
Mr. Munoz's presentation will focus on the company's financial performance and core strategies to better position the company in the evolving transportation marketplace.
Investors may listen to the presentation via a live internet audio-webcast at http://cc.talkpoint.com/gold006/110409a_mg/?entity=25_BCDEQ0L,
or visit the CSX website at
http://investors.csx.com.
A replay and accompanying audio will be available within one hour after conclusion of this event.
Contact:
David Baggs, Investor Relations
904-359-4812
Lauren Rueger, Corporate Communications
877-835-5279
About CSX
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., (October 28, 2009) - Oscar Munoz, CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) executive vice president and chief financial officer, will address the Goldman Sachs Global Industrials Conference in New York City on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
Mr. Munoz's presentation will focus on the company's financial performance and core strategies to better position the company in the evolving transportation marketplace.
Investors may listen to the presentation via a live internet audio-webcast at http://cc.talkpoint.com/gold006/110409a_mg/?entity=25_BCDEQ0L,
or visit the CSX website at
http://investors.csx.com.
A replay and accompanying audio will be available within one hour after conclusion of this event.
Contact:
David Baggs, Investor Relations
904-359-4812
Lauren Rueger, Corporate Communications
877-835-5279
About CSX
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.
Norfolk Southern CFO Squires to address Citi Industrial Manufacturing & Transportation Conference
Received the following via email.
October 29, 2009
Norfolk Southern CFO Squires to address Citi Industrial Manufacturing & Transportation Conference
NORFOLK, VA. - James A. Squires, executive vice president finance and chief financial officer for Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC), will address the 2009 Citi Industrial Manufacturing & Transportation Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in New York City. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m. EST.
Interested investors can listen via a simultaneous webcast at http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/citigroup/imt09/86105111.cfm. After the webcast, the presentation will be posted at www.nscorp.com.
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
October 29, 2009
Norfolk Southern CFO Squires to address Citi Industrial Manufacturing & Transportation Conference
NORFOLK, VA. - James A. Squires, executive vice president finance and chief financial officer for Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC), will address the 2009 Citi Industrial Manufacturing & Transportation Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in New York City. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m. EST.
Interested investors can listen via a simultaneous webcast at http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/citigroup/imt09/86105111.cfm. After the webcast, the presentation will be posted at www.nscorp.com.
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
Friday, October 30, 2009
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 42, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 42 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
CSXT Employee Wins Rail Industry's Professional Environmental Award
Received the following via email.
Paul J. Kurzanski Honored for Excellence in Leading Environmental Initiatives
Jacksonville, FL - October 27, 2009 - The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today presented its top award for environmental professionals, the 2009 North American Environmental Employee Excellence Award, to Paul J. Kurzanski, manager of environmental remediation at CSX Transportation.
Kurzanski was one of six railroad industry individuals nominated. This is the fifth time in the last seven years that a CSXT employee has been honored with the AAR's Environmental Employee Excellence Award.
Kurzanski received the award during an annual railroad environmental conference. A 30-year railroad veteran, Kurzanski's accomplishments include the successful management of approximately 125 environmental remediation projects in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, and Ohio); the development and implementation of CSXT's Environmental Leased Property Review and Lab Management programs. Kurzanski is also the author of 19 key Environmental Management System documents covering programs, processes, and instructions. These written standards are essential to CSXT's management of environmental programs.
"CSXT is committed to being a responsible steward of the environment. Paul's many contributions and his significant and consistent leadership role in CSXT's environmental activities make him a role model in our company, as well as the industry," said Skip Elliott, CSX Transportation's vice president, public safety and environment. "We are fortunate to benefit from employees like Paul, who continuously work to improve the environmental future of CSXT through their dedication and innovativeness."
Within CSXT, Kurzanski is a well-respected subject matter expert and mentor providing environmental guidance and support to field operations. His efforts have inspired field operation employees to become more environmentally astute, resulting in improved employee environmental performance. As a Compliance Assistance Team (CAT) captain, Kurzanski and his team have provided outstanding support to field operations, helping a large terminal to achieve a platinum-level environmental certification score of 95% or greater.
CSX Transportation Inc. is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.
Paul J. Kurzanski Honored for Excellence in Leading Environmental Initiatives
Jacksonville, FL - October 27, 2009 - The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today presented its top award for environmental professionals, the 2009 North American Environmental Employee Excellence Award, to Paul J. Kurzanski, manager of environmental remediation at CSX Transportation.
Kurzanski was one of six railroad industry individuals nominated. This is the fifth time in the last seven years that a CSXT employee has been honored with the AAR's Environmental Employee Excellence Award.
Kurzanski received the award during an annual railroad environmental conference. A 30-year railroad veteran, Kurzanski's accomplishments include the successful management of approximately 125 environmental remediation projects in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, and Ohio); the development and implementation of CSXT's Environmental Leased Property Review and Lab Management programs. Kurzanski is also the author of 19 key Environmental Management System documents covering programs, processes, and instructions. These written standards are essential to CSXT's management of environmental programs.
"CSXT is committed to being a responsible steward of the environment. Paul's many contributions and his significant and consistent leadership role in CSXT's environmental activities make him a role model in our company, as well as the industry," said Skip Elliott, CSX Transportation's vice president, public safety and environment. "We are fortunate to benefit from employees like Paul, who continuously work to improve the environmental future of CSXT through their dedication and innovativeness."
Within CSXT, Kurzanski is a well-respected subject matter expert and mentor providing environmental guidance and support to field operations. His efforts have inspired field operation employees to become more environmentally astute, resulting in improved employee environmental performance. As a Compliance Assistance Team (CAT) captain, Kurzanski and his team have provided outstanding support to field operations, helping a large terminal to achieve a platinum-level environmental certification score of 95% or greater.
CSX Transportation Inc. is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.
Norfolk Southern reports third-quarter 2009 results
Received the following via email.
October 27, 2009
Norfolk Southern reports third-quarter 2009 results
For third-quarter 2009:
· Railway operating revenues were $2.1 billion.
· Income from railway operations was $562 million.
· Net income was $303 million.
· Diluted earnings per share were $0.81.
· The railway operating ratio was 72.8 percent.
Financial Statements
Quarterly Financial Review Third Quarter 2009
Earnings Presentation Slides Third Quarter 2009
NORFOLK, VA. - For the third quarter of 2009, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) reported net income of $303 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, compared with $520 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2008.
"While our third-quarter results reflect the continuing weak economy, they also show Norfolk Southern's resilience and the strength of our franchise," said Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman. "By controlling costs and maintaining service levels, we are managing through this economic downturn and will emerge an even stronger company."
Third-quarter railway operating revenues were $2.1 billion, down 29 percent, compared with the third quarter of 2008, primarily the result of a 20 percent reduction in traffic volume and lower fuel-related revenues.
General merchandise revenues were $1.1 billion, 24 percent lower compared with the same period last year. Coal revenues declined 35 percent to $571 million compared with third-quarter 2008 results. Intermodal revenues decreased 31 percent to $389 million compared with the third quarter of last year.
Railway operating expenses for the quarter were $1.5 billion, a decrease of 25 percent over the same period of 2008.
The railway operating ratio was 72.8 percent, compared with 69.1 percent during third-quarter 2008.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is a leading North American transportation provider. 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
October 27, 2009
Norfolk Southern reports third-quarter 2009 results
For third-quarter 2009:
· Railway operating revenues were $2.1 billion.
· Income from railway operations was $562 million.
· Net income was $303 million.
· Diluted earnings per share were $0.81.
· The railway operating ratio was 72.8 percent.
Financial Statements
Quarterly Financial Review Third Quarter 2009
Earnings Presentation Slides Third Quarter 2009
NORFOLK, VA. - For the third quarter of 2009, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) reported net income of $303 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, compared with $520 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2008.
"While our third-quarter results reflect the continuing weak economy, they also show Norfolk Southern's resilience and the strength of our franchise," said Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman. "By controlling costs and maintaining service levels, we are managing through this economic downturn and will emerge an even stronger company."
Third-quarter railway operating revenues were $2.1 billion, down 29 percent, compared with the third quarter of 2008, primarily the result of a 20 percent reduction in traffic volume and lower fuel-related revenues.
General merchandise revenues were $1.1 billion, 24 percent lower compared with the same period last year. Coal revenues declined 35 percent to $571 million compared with third-quarter 2008 results. Intermodal revenues decreased 31 percent to $389 million compared with the third quarter of last year.
Railway operating expenses for the quarter were $1.5 billion, a decrease of 25 percent over the same period of 2008.
The railway operating ratio was 72.8 percent, compared with 69.1 percent during third-quarter 2008.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is a leading North American transportation provider. 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
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
8-year-old wants to restore Point of Rocks train station
Following article is from the Frederick (MD) News-Post.
8-year-old wants to restore Point of Rocks train station
Originally published October 26, 2009
By Megan Eckstein
An 8-year-old train enthusiast came to Point of Rocks a few weeks ago to see one of the country's most famous historic train stations.
He left wondering why his new favorite station had fallen into disrepair, and he decided he wanted to help fix it.
"It needed to be painted and get the windows fixed," said Connor Fischer, a third-grader who lives in Darnestown in Montgomery County.
"We were driving home and he said 'I want to start a renovation project,'" said Lisa Fischer, his mother. "To hear the words 'renovation project' come out of an 8-year-old's mouth was so funny."
"He was ready, literally that day, to take a giant Reese's peanut butter jar to school and collect money," said Jack Diamond, Connor's father and a popular radio show host in Washington, D.C.
Connor said he had visited train stations in Frostburg, Gettysburg, and other parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania. He liked the one in Point of Rocks the most because it is so close to home and looks old-fashioned.
The Point of Rocks train station was built in the 1870s. Though it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, train station owner CSX is under no additional obligation to maintain the facility. Connor said there was only one entrance to the building for workers, unlike other train stations with rooms inside and benches for passengers to wait.
"I wanted people to be able to go in and take pictures," he said.
Connor said he knows it will take a lot of work to get the station fixed up. He said he believes one of the tracks might need to be closed so workers can safely get to and from the train station, but he has an idea of how the trains could be rerouted to not interrupt the flow of traffic.
"It would be nice for him to talk to CSX directly," Lisa said. "Sometimes it's easy for an adult to blow off another adult, but it's another thing to have to explain it to a kid."
She said she is curious to see how they would deal with her son and whether they would be receptive to his ideas.
"He believes just about anything is possible, and if enough good people come together then it will get done for all the right reasons," Diamond said.
Though his parents have spoken to some railway workers and are still looking for the right official to talk to about the donation, Connor already has a game plan for raising money. He said he wanted to cover his wagon with a sheet with a slit cut in it, so neighbors can drop in their donations. Some of his friends are on board, too.
"They thought it was cool, and two of them wanted to help," he said. He also plans to write a report for school about the train station, so he can teach others about its history.
The interesting thing about Connor's efforts is that he doesn't see them as anything out of the ordinary. He said many children at his school write reports about animals or other things they like, though he said he's the first to organize a restoration effort.
"He's very humble and very sweet," Diamond said. "He's just one of those spirits who wants to bring people together."
He said Connor's interest in helping the community started at a young age, since he and his four older siblings always participated in radio station fundraisers and toy drives.
Connor, who also enjoys karate, soccer and equestrian vaulting, developed an interest in trains at a young age that doesn't seem to have waned.
"I started when I was 2 years old, I got my first wooden Thomas (the Tank Engine) trains, and I got a train table for them," he said.
Part of the allure of Thomas the Tank Engine was that Connor "had the opportunity to not only watch the DVDs but also play with the toys and make up his own story lines," said Diamond, adding that Connor has always had a good imagination.
Because Diamond used Amtrak and other train lines for work so often, "the whole mythical part of Thomas the Tank Engine became very real to him," Diamond said.
Connor now has model trains of all sizes and brands, and he's working to build a train track for them. And, of course, he visits local train stations to watch freight and passenger trains go by for hours on end.
"I just like seeing trains, it makes me feel good," said Connor, who hopes to run a model train store and maybe even drive a train when he grows up.
"Whatever attracts people to a life on the tracks, he seems to have it," Diamond said.
8-year-old wants to restore Point of Rocks train station
Originally published October 26, 2009
By Megan Eckstein
An 8-year-old train enthusiast came to Point of Rocks a few weeks ago to see one of the country's most famous historic train stations.
He left wondering why his new favorite station had fallen into disrepair, and he decided he wanted to help fix it.
"It needed to be painted and get the windows fixed," said Connor Fischer, a third-grader who lives in Darnestown in Montgomery County.
"We were driving home and he said 'I want to start a renovation project,'" said Lisa Fischer, his mother. "To hear the words 'renovation project' come out of an 8-year-old's mouth was so funny."
"He was ready, literally that day, to take a giant Reese's peanut butter jar to school and collect money," said Jack Diamond, Connor's father and a popular radio show host in Washington, D.C.
Connor said he had visited train stations in Frostburg, Gettysburg, and other parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania. He liked the one in Point of Rocks the most because it is so close to home and looks old-fashioned.
The Point of Rocks train station was built in the 1870s. Though it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, train station owner CSX is under no additional obligation to maintain the facility. Connor said there was only one entrance to the building for workers, unlike other train stations with rooms inside and benches for passengers to wait.
"I wanted people to be able to go in and take pictures," he said.
Connor said he knows it will take a lot of work to get the station fixed up. He said he believes one of the tracks might need to be closed so workers can safely get to and from the train station, but he has an idea of how the trains could be rerouted to not interrupt the flow of traffic.
"It would be nice for him to talk to CSX directly," Lisa said. "Sometimes it's easy for an adult to blow off another adult, but it's another thing to have to explain it to a kid."
She said she is curious to see how they would deal with her son and whether they would be receptive to his ideas.
"He believes just about anything is possible, and if enough good people come together then it will get done for all the right reasons," Diamond said.
Though his parents have spoken to some railway workers and are still looking for the right official to talk to about the donation, Connor already has a game plan for raising money. He said he wanted to cover his wagon with a sheet with a slit cut in it, so neighbors can drop in their donations. Some of his friends are on board, too.
"They thought it was cool, and two of them wanted to help," he said. He also plans to write a report for school about the train station, so he can teach others about its history.
The interesting thing about Connor's efforts is that he doesn't see them as anything out of the ordinary. He said many children at his school write reports about animals or other things they like, though he said he's the first to organize a restoration effort.
"He's very humble and very sweet," Diamond said. "He's just one of those spirits who wants to bring people together."
He said Connor's interest in helping the community started at a young age, since he and his four older siblings always participated in radio station fundraisers and toy drives.
Connor, who also enjoys karate, soccer and equestrian vaulting, developed an interest in trains at a young age that doesn't seem to have waned.
"I started when I was 2 years old, I got my first wooden Thomas (the Tank Engine) trains, and I got a train table for them," he said.
Part of the allure of Thomas the Tank Engine was that Connor "had the opportunity to not only watch the DVDs but also play with the toys and make up his own story lines," said Diamond, adding that Connor has always had a good imagination.
Because Diamond used Amtrak and other train lines for work so often, "the whole mythical part of Thomas the Tank Engine became very real to him," Diamond said.
Connor now has model trains of all sizes and brands, and he's working to build a train track for them. And, of course, he visits local train stations to watch freight and passenger trains go by for hours on end.
"I just like seeing trains, it makes me feel good," said Connor, who hopes to run a model train store and maybe even drive a train when he grows up.
"Whatever attracts people to a life on the tracks, he seems to have it," Diamond said.
A "911" day in Rochester, NY
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text, photos, and captions are his.
Greetings! Found a rare sunny weekend day in Rochester, NY and was able to get out with a good friend in the area! Hi Dan.M.!! The SLRG units left headed west in the rain in the morning, but the afternoon was nice! This was also the day for unusual numbers with 911 showing up twice! The other number was the 888, on the same train as the 911!
TANX 911 at Rochester, NY
Greetings! Found a rare sunny weekend day in Rochester, NY and was able to get out with a good friend in the area! Hi Dan.M.!! The SLRG units left headed west in the rain in the morning, but the afternoon was nice! This was also the day for unusual numbers with 911 showing up twice! The other number was the 888, on the same train as the 911!
TANX 911 at Rochester, NY 
CSXT 52 & MVCX train at Rochester, NY
CSXT 911 & train at Caswell Rd, Byron, NY
Norfolk Southern declares quarterly dividend
Received the following via email.
October 27, 2009
Norfolk Southern declares quarterly dividend
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today announced the regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share on its common stock, payable on Dec. 10, to stockholders of record on Nov. 6.
Since its inception in 1982, Norfolk Southern has paid dividends on its common stock for 109 consecutive quarters.
Norfolk Southern Corporation 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
October 27, 2009
Norfolk Southern declares quarterly dividend
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today announced the regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share on its common stock, payable on Dec. 10, to stockholders of record on Nov. 6.
Since its inception in 1982, Norfolk Southern has paid dividends on its common stock for 109 consecutive quarters.
Norfolk Southern Corporation 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
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Brushcutting in Lakehurst - anybody know what's going on?
Received the following via email. It is a posting on CRRNJ in Yahoogroups.
If anyone has any info, please email me: Jan@Biglittle.com.
Hi All:
My In-laws live just east of the CNJ tracks in between Ridgeway and Lakehurst. I took a ride to Lakehurst on Sunday am and was surprised to see a rail-mounted brushcutter had cleared the line headed south for as far as I could see.
This is new news - it was all overgrown as recently as this summer. Anybody know if they're perhaps reopening it to the sandpit in Chatsworth (I think it is) or more likely - scrapping the rails finally?
Photo posted in "Lakehurst Oct 2009" folder.
Thanks,
Frank
If anyone has any info, please email me: Jan@Biglittle.com.
Hi All:
My In-laws live just east of the CNJ tracks in between Ridgeway and Lakehurst. I took a ride to Lakehurst on Sunday am and was surprised to see a rail-mounted brushcutter had cleared the line headed south for as far as I could see.
This is new news - it was all overgrown as recently as this summer. Anybody know if they're perhaps reopening it to the sandpit in Chatsworth (I think it is) or more likely - scrapping the rails finally?
Photo posted in "Lakehurst Oct 2009" folder.
Thanks,
Frank
There was still some LEHL autumn colors to be seen...
(Train sightings on 10-25-09.)
...albeit rather sparse in nature to be seen along the Lehigh Line. I suppose that Friday night and Saturday's four inches worth of rain contributed to the lack of leaves on the trees. With what remained on the trees and with a sunny morning, there was still some nice fall images to be seen but I will let you be the judge and jury on that. The first two trains were seen passing through the Lansdown Road grade crossing (MP 58) while 214 was seen as it passed by the Hamden Road grade crossing. In time sequence, the three trains seen were as follows:
NS 22V @ 9:04 would have as its leader NS 8705 followed by NS 9011.
NS 212 @ 9:27 had NS 9707, NS 8788 and NS 8887 for motive power.
NS 214 @ 10:22 had NS 8747, NS 9108 and NS 2635 bring this intermodal east.
...albeit rather sparse in nature to be seen along the Lehigh Line. I suppose that Friday night and Saturday's four inches worth of rain contributed to the lack of leaves on the trees. With what remained on the trees and with a sunny morning, there was still some nice fall images to be seen but I will let you be the judge and jury on that. The first two trains were seen passing through the Lansdown Road grade crossing (MP 58) while 214 was seen as it passed by the Hamden Road grade crossing. In time sequence, the three trains seen were as follows:
NS 22V @ 9:04 would have as its leader NS 8705 followed by NS 9011.
NS 212 @ 9:27 had NS 9707, NS 8788 and NS 8887 for motive power.
NS 214 @ 10:22 had NS 8747, NS 9108 and NS 2635 bring this intermodal east.
Friday, October 23, 2009
MTH sues Broadway Limited Imports
Following article is from The Daily Record, a Maryland newspaper, for Oct. 19, 2009.
Model train maker Mike's Train House sues longtime rival
BRENDAN KEARNEY
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
October 19, 2009
A Columbia (,MD) model train manufacturer has filed the latest in a series of patent infringement lawsuits aimed at a longtime competitor, alleging he and his company made unauthorized use of technology that syncs a locomotive’s sound and smoke to its speed on the tracks.
Mike’s Train House Inc. claims Robert Grubba has a history of stealing such prized intellectual property in their niche industry. In its most recent suit filed Oct. 8, MTH alleges that the company where Grubba is now president, Broadway Limited Imports, stole the patented microprocessing technology that synchronizes puffing smoke with the “chuffing” of the engine in a particular model of train, the HO-gauge. MTH claims it first developed the technology in 2000, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
“That’s the problem,” said Mike Wolf, a model train enthusiast since childhood who founded the company that bears his name in 1980.
Wolf discovered the infringement when he recently purchased one of the locomotives in Florida-based BLI’s new line, whose five models range from $350 to $500, to have an engineer look at its syncing system.
“I think it’s going to be pretty clean cut,” said Wolf, 49, in an interview Monday. “I think [Grubba] knows he’s doing it and he can try to cover it up, but it is what it is. He can’t be using my intellectual property with no regard.”
Wolf’s suit asks for declaratory and injunctive relief relating to its two patents, issued in 2002 and 2003, as well as compensatory damages and attorney’s fees.
Wolf’s lawyer William E. Erskine, who also tinkered with trains as a kid, said the disputed technology lends authenticity to the models and thus augments their value in the marketplace.
Grubba did not return calls for comment Monday, but in an August interview with the Daytona Beach News Journal about BLI’s new facility in Ormond Beach, Fl., he said, “We do all the product design, research and development, electronics design, sound recordings — all the trains have recorded sounds of the real train.”
Grubba, like Wolf, has had a lifelong interest in model trains, according to that newspaper interview. But their shared interest has led to repeat legal battles and bad blood.
“He’s not a good guy, in my opinion,” said Wolf of Grubba.
Grubba was previously chief engineer at Lionel Trains, perhaps the most famous name in the industry. MTH sued Lionel in a Detroit federal court in 2000, won at trial and later settled. MTH alleges in its most recent complaint that Grubba, while at Lionel, “organized and participated in a scheme to steal over 3,000 of MTH’s secret blueprints for designing more than 20 separate model trains.”
After Grubba left Lionel to become chief engineer for K-Line Electric Trains Inc., Lionel sued in federal court in Manhattan in 2005, claiming Grubba had conspired to steal Lionel’s trade secrets, one of which involved realistic sound effects for model trains. That case settled on terms favorable to Lionel, according to MTH’s suit this month.
Grubba started BLI in 2002, and the company “continues to lead the model railroading world with cutting-edge electronics, synchronous smoke and the most realistic and powerful sound available,” according to the company’s Web site.
But Mike’s Train House has a markedly different view of its competitor’s business.
“A recent brochure of defendants states that its products are ‘so affordable because we have been able to reduce our costs significantly by producing our own proprietary sound system, thereby eliminating product licensing fees,’” according to MTH’s suit. “While it is untrue that defendants have ‘produced their own sound system,’ they have indeed sought to ‘eliminate product licensing fees’ by infringing MTH’s patents.”
Model train maker Mike's Train House sues longtime rival
BRENDAN KEARNEY
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
October 19, 2009
A Columbia (,MD) model train manufacturer has filed the latest in a series of patent infringement lawsuits aimed at a longtime competitor, alleging he and his company made unauthorized use of technology that syncs a locomotive’s sound and smoke to its speed on the tracks.
Mike’s Train House Inc. claims Robert Grubba has a history of stealing such prized intellectual property in their niche industry. In its most recent suit filed Oct. 8, MTH alleges that the company where Grubba is now president, Broadway Limited Imports, stole the patented microprocessing technology that synchronizes puffing smoke with the “chuffing” of the engine in a particular model of train, the HO-gauge. MTH claims it first developed the technology in 2000, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
“That’s the problem,” said Mike Wolf, a model train enthusiast since childhood who founded the company that bears his name in 1980.
Wolf discovered the infringement when he recently purchased one of the locomotives in Florida-based BLI’s new line, whose five models range from $350 to $500, to have an engineer look at its syncing system.
“I think it’s going to be pretty clean cut,” said Wolf, 49, in an interview Monday. “I think [Grubba] knows he’s doing it and he can try to cover it up, but it is what it is. He can’t be using my intellectual property with no regard.”
Wolf’s suit asks for declaratory and injunctive relief relating to its two patents, issued in 2002 and 2003, as well as compensatory damages and attorney’s fees.
Wolf’s lawyer William E. Erskine, who also tinkered with trains as a kid, said the disputed technology lends authenticity to the models and thus augments their value in the marketplace.
Grubba did not return calls for comment Monday, but in an August interview with the Daytona Beach News Journal about BLI’s new facility in Ormond Beach, Fl., he said, “We do all the product design, research and development, electronics design, sound recordings — all the trains have recorded sounds of the real train.”
Grubba, like Wolf, has had a lifelong interest in model trains, according to that newspaper interview. But their shared interest has led to repeat legal battles and bad blood.
“He’s not a good guy, in my opinion,” said Wolf of Grubba.
Grubba was previously chief engineer at Lionel Trains, perhaps the most famous name in the industry. MTH sued Lionel in a Detroit federal court in 2000, won at trial and later settled. MTH alleges in its most recent complaint that Grubba, while at Lionel, “organized and participated in a scheme to steal over 3,000 of MTH’s secret blueprints for designing more than 20 separate model trains.”
After Grubba left Lionel to become chief engineer for K-Line Electric Trains Inc., Lionel sued in federal court in Manhattan in 2005, claiming Grubba had conspired to steal Lionel’s trade secrets, one of which involved realistic sound effects for model trains. That case settled on terms favorable to Lionel, according to MTH’s suit this month.
Grubba started BLI in 2002, and the company “continues to lead the model railroading world with cutting-edge electronics, synchronous smoke and the most realistic and powerful sound available,” according to the company’s Web site.
But Mike’s Train House has a markedly different view of its competitor’s business.
“A recent brochure of defendants states that its products are ‘so affordable because we have been able to reduce our costs significantly by producing our own proprietary sound system, thereby eliminating product licensing fees,’” according to MTH’s suit. “While it is untrue that defendants have ‘produced their own sound system,’ they have indeed sought to ‘eliminate product licensing fees’ by infringing MTH’s patents.”
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 41, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 41 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Local railroad videos on youtube
Received the following list via email. These are youtube videos of local rail fan excursions by Adam Christman. Enjoy.
R&N 425 on October 18th excursion - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8An8jwo7q8
RDG FP7s on the Perk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w79-uPDh2E
The WM S6 Charter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W9qo-AmFXE
The CRHS Trip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM9qz-x3UHI
R&N 425 on October 18th excursion - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8An8jwo7q8
RDG FP7s on the Perk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w79-uPDh2E
The WM S6 Charter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W9qo-AmFXE
The CRHS Trip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM9qz-x3UHI
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
MTH Authorized Service Center
Not only do we sell MTH (Mike's Train House) products, we are also an MTH Authorized Service Center.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
New power for the San Luis & Rio Grande
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text, photos, and captions are his.
Had the opportunity to get inside American Motive Power (AMP) at Danville, NY to see the new power for the San Luis & Rio Grande. Sitting outside were two slugs and a mother unit. Also a derelict F40 from Canadian American # 453, the stripped SD-45 from the NYSW # 3614, a frame from a GP-9? F#5519-34. Shop switcher AMP2008 was seen, but unable to get close to it.
SLRG 227 slug F# 757099-x2 
SLRG 245 slug
SLRG 459 mother
Monday, October 19, 2009
Update on Hillsborough, NJ Quiet Zones
The following article is from The Courier News for 10-15-09.
(Previous postings on this topic were on 11-9-08, 4-2-08, and 2-20-07.)
Hillsborough, Norfolk Southern agree on safety improvements to train crossing
By PAMELA SROKA-HOLZMANN
STAFF WRITER
Courier News
October 15, 2009
Municipal officials have approved an agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway Company that would allow train quiet zone electronic safety improvements at the Valley Road crossing.
Quiet zones are a section of a rail line that have one or more public crossings, where locomotive horns will not be routinely sounded. Under federal law, locomotives are required to sound their horns when approaching crossings.
Quiet zones previously were constructed at the Beekman Lane and Auten Road grade crossings, and safety improvements at the Roycefield Road crossing have been completed. But because Roycefield Road is less than one half mile from the Valley Road crossing, federal regulations require that both crossings be set as quiet zones together, Mayor Frank DelCore said.
Norfolk Southern must construct an electronic "power-out" indicator at the Valley Road grade crossing, which would tell the train engineer if the AC power is off. That way, the engineer can sound a train horn as a safety precaution, DelCore said.
The township wants to install a wayside horn at the Valley Road crossing, but Norfolk Southern continues testing the horn at other sites nationally and is not prepared to proceed, DelCore said. A wayside horn is one placed at a train crossing intersection and directed at vehicles.
Committeeman Carl Suraci said the quiet zone issue can be resolved by a new order from the state Transportation Department commissioner allowing for an interim quiet zone at Valley Road -- based upon meeting safety index criteria required in the federal regulations.
Suraci said a link will be added on the township's Web site for residents wanting to comment on the issue. DelCore added that once the new order is adopted, the township will continue working with Norfolk Southern to complete improvements at Valley Road and establish quiet zones at that crossing and the Roycefield Road crossing.
(Previous postings on this topic were on 11-9-08, 4-2-08, and 2-20-07.)
Hillsborough, Norfolk Southern agree on safety improvements to train crossing
By PAMELA SROKA-HOLZMANN
STAFF WRITER
Courier News
October 15, 2009
Municipal officials have approved an agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway Company that would allow train quiet zone electronic safety improvements at the Valley Road crossing.
Quiet zones are a section of a rail line that have one or more public crossings, where locomotive horns will not be routinely sounded. Under federal law, locomotives are required to sound their horns when approaching crossings.
Quiet zones previously were constructed at the Beekman Lane and Auten Road grade crossings, and safety improvements at the Roycefield Road crossing have been completed. But because Roycefield Road is less than one half mile from the Valley Road crossing, federal regulations require that both crossings be set as quiet zones together, Mayor Frank DelCore said.
Norfolk Southern must construct an electronic "power-out" indicator at the Valley Road grade crossing, which would tell the train engineer if the AC power is off. That way, the engineer can sound a train horn as a safety precaution, DelCore said.
The township wants to install a wayside horn at the Valley Road crossing, but Norfolk Southern continues testing the horn at other sites nationally and is not prepared to proceed, DelCore said. A wayside horn is one placed at a train crossing intersection and directed at vehicles.
Committeeman Carl Suraci said the quiet zone issue can be resolved by a new order from the state Transportation Department commissioner allowing for an interim quiet zone at Valley Road -- based upon meeting safety index criteria required in the federal regulations.
Suraci said a link will be added on the township's Web site for residents wanting to comment on the issue. DelCore added that once the new order is adopted, the township will continue working with Norfolk Southern to complete improvements at Valley Road and establish quiet zones at that crossing and the Roycefield Road crossing.
Friday, October 16, 2009
October delights #3
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text and photos his.
Also see October delights #1 and #2 below.
Finally the best....saving it for last!! Spent Saturday on the Foster Brook & State Line RR riding and chasing (on foot) the neatest 2-foot gauge railroad in PA!! Power is the smallest SHAY ever built by LIMA. Privately owned and operated, this operation as a gem to behold! The ride consists of a single switch-back and about a 1/2 mile of trackage...work is underway to extend the line through a second switch-back to the top of the local mountain! This will add about another mile to the line. Enjoy the virtual ride!!
Also see October delights #1 and #2 below.
Finally the best....saving it for last!! Spent Saturday on the Foster Brook & State Line RR riding and chasing (on foot) the neatest 2-foot gauge railroad in PA!! Power is the smallest SHAY ever built by LIMA. Privately owned and operated, this operation as a gem to behold! The ride consists of a single switch-back and about a 1/2 mile of trackage...work is underway to extend the line through a second switch-back to the top of the local mountain! This will add about another mile to the line. Enjoy the virtual ride!!
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 40, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 40 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Now that we are in the 4th quarter, you can see how rapidly carloadings dropped last year and how they have been slowly increasing in the 3rd quarter of this year. Let's hope they continue that trend.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Now that we are in the 4th quarter, you can see how rapidly carloadings dropped last year and how they have been slowly increasing in the 3rd quarter of this year. Let's hope they continue that trend.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October delights #2
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text, photos and captions are his.
WNYP is the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad.
Also see October delights #1 below.
Chased the Hornell turn from Elm Valley, NY to Hornell NY on Sunday, after a fabulous day on the Foster Brook & State Line Railroad on Saturday...more next email!
The beautiful day combined with fantastic foliage...and two six-axle MLW's...made for a good day of photography. It was an easy chase, no need to challenge the smokey bears on the chase!!
Alstrom even obliged by letting the #1 posed by the shop!
WNYP 630 & train passing through CASS interlocking with NS in Hornell, NY
WNYP is the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad.
Also see October delights #1 below.
Chased the Hornell turn from Elm Valley, NY to Hornell NY on Sunday, after a fabulous day on the Foster Brook & State Line Railroad on Saturday...more next email!
The beautiful day combined with fantastic foliage...and two six-axle MLW's...made for a good day of photography. It was an easy chase, no need to challenge the smokey bears on the chase!!
Alstrom even obliged by letting the #1 posed by the shop!
WNYP 630 & train passing through CASS interlocking with NS in Hornell, NY 
WNYP 630 switching interchange at Hornell, NY 10-11-2009
WNYP 637 passing Erie RR deopt and offices at Hornell, NY 10-11-2009
WNYP 637 ready to depart Hornell, NY for Olean, NY 10-11-2009
Alstrom 1 at Hornell, NY 10-11-2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October delights #1
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text, photos, and captions are his.
WNYP is the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad.
Chased the Hornell turn from Elm Valley, NY to Hornell NY on Sunday, after a fabulous day on the Foster Brook & State Line Railroad on Saturday...more next email!
The beautiful day combined with fantastic foliage...and two six-axle MLW's...made for a good day of photography. It was an easy chase, no need to challenge the smokey bears on the chase!!
WNYP 630 & train passing Canacadea State Forest, Almond, NY 10-11-2009
WNYP is the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad.
Chased the Hornell turn from Elm Valley, NY to Hornell NY on Sunday, after a fabulous day on the Foster Brook & State Line Railroad on Saturday...more next email!
The beautiful day combined with fantastic foliage...and two six-axle MLW's...made for a good day of photography. It was an easy chase, no need to challenge the smokey bears on the chase!!
WNYP 630 & train passing Canacadea State Forest, Almond, NY 10-11-2009 
WNYP 630 approaching Tip Top, NY 10-11-2009
WNYP 630 leads Hornell Turn at Elm Valley, NY 10-11-2009
+at+rest+in+Olean,+NY_10-11-09.jpg)
WNYP 430 (with yellow ribbon to Support our Troops) at rest in Olean, NY 10-11-2009
NS adds new features to its e-commerce web site
Received the following via email.
October 12, 2009
Norfolk Southern e-commerce offers 'Railcar Event - Text Message Alerts' and live chat support
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk Southern customers now can receive text messages notifying them of the status of shipments with Railcar Event Alerts. Using a simple application on the company's e-commerce site, accessNS, customers can set up alerts to advise them of a variety of events for as many as three railcars, containers, trailers, or chassis at a time.
Once an alert is set up, Railcar Event Alerts checks the status of the equipment every hour and sends a text message to the customer's cell phone if the status has changed. Information available through Railcar Event Alerts includes:
· Changes in ETA or ETI
· Bad order notification
· When a shipment is received from another rail carrier
· When a shipment is placed for a shipper's customer
· When a car in the shop has been repaired and is moving again
For customers needing assistance with e-commerce applications, Norfolk Southern has added live online chat support. This is in addition to the toll-free help line and email support the accessNS team has provided all along. By clicking the "Live Support" link, available in the top left corner of the accessNS title bar or as a button on the accessNS sign-on screen, customers can open a chat session with support personnel in real time. This new feature allows the accessNS support team to help more customers in less time.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. 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 Robin C. Chapman 757-629-2713 robin.chapman@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com
October 12, 2009
Norfolk Southern e-commerce offers 'Railcar Event - Text Message Alerts' and live chat support
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk Southern customers now can receive text messages notifying them of the status of shipments with Railcar Event Alerts. Using a simple application on the company's e-commerce site, accessNS, customers can set up alerts to advise them of a variety of events for as many as three railcars, containers, trailers, or chassis at a time.
Once an alert is set up, Railcar Event Alerts checks the status of the equipment every hour and sends a text message to the customer's cell phone if the status has changed. Information available through Railcar Event Alerts includes:
· Changes in ETA or ETI
· Bad order notification
· When a shipment is received from another rail carrier
· When a shipment is placed for a shipper's customer
· When a car in the shop has been repaired and is moving again
For customers needing assistance with e-commerce applications, Norfolk Southern has added live online chat support. This is in addition to the toll-free help line and email support the accessNS team has provided all along. By clicking the "Live Support" link, available in the top left corner of the accessNS title bar or as a button on the accessNS sign-on screen, customers can open a chat session with support personnel in real time. This new feature allows the accessNS support team to help more customers in less time.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. 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 Robin C. Chapman 757-629-2713 robin.chapman@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com
Friday, October 09, 2009
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 39, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 39 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Book signing
Please join us in the store on Saturday, 10/10/09, from 12 to 3 for a book signing by Ralph A. Heiss of his book: The Lehigh Valley Railroad Across New Jersey.
From the publishers (Arcadia Publishing) web site:
“From Phillipsburg to Jersey City and all points in between, the Lehigh Valley Railroad hauled freight and passengers, while at the same time contributing to the social fabric of the area. The Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey paints a picture of a railroad that provided over 100 years of quality service to the Garden State.”
"Author Bio: A resident of South Plainfield, Ralph A. Heiss has had an interest in railroads since childhood. He has lectured and authored numerous articles on various railroad topics."
From the publishers (Arcadia Publishing) web site:
“From Phillipsburg to Jersey City and all points in between, the Lehigh Valley Railroad hauled freight and passengers, while at the same time contributing to the social fabric of the area. The Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey paints a picture of a railroad that provided over 100 years of quality service to the Garden State.”
"Author Bio: A resident of South Plainfield, Ralph A. Heiss has had an interest in railroads since childhood. He has lectured and authored numerous articles on various railroad topics."
Overland U.S. Army Hospital Cars
We have two Overland (OMI) brass, HO scale, factory painted U.S. Army Hospital Cars for sale.
OMI # AF-1035-5 Road # 89471
OMI # AF-1035-6 Road # 89480
Picture on the Overland web site: http://www.overlandmodels.com/showroom.php?model_name_id=97
List Price $618 each.
If you are interested, please email me: Jan@BigLittle.com
If you are really, really interested call me during store hours: 908-685-8892.
OMI # AF-1035-5 Road # 89471
OMI # AF-1035-6 Road # 89480
Picture on the Overland web site: http://www.overlandmodels.com/showroom.php?model_name_id=97
List Price $618 each.
If you are interested, please email me: Jan@BigLittle.com
If you are really, really interested call me during store hours: 908-685-8892.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Better late than never...
(Train sightings on 10-4-09.)
...Is a listing of the trains spotted at Lansdown Junction along with a fall foliage report on if there is any color along the Lehigh Line at this early stage of autumn. First, a listing of the trains spotted Sunday morning...
NS 11J @ 8:56- had NS 2734 and NS 2628 bringing fifty-five autoracks west.
NS 18G @ 9:27- would have a trio of diesels, NS 9788, PRR 8437 (ex-CR 6261) and NS 2747, bringing 113 cars of mixed freight east. As you can see in this image, there is very little color to be seen at this location. About the only color to be found was from the poison ivy that had turned into a burnt orange.
On the drive home, most of the trees along this stretch of the Lehigh Line were still wearing their green leaves. Might be a while before the reds and yellows of fall will be seen.
...Is a listing of the trains spotted at Lansdown Junction along with a fall foliage report on if there is any color along the Lehigh Line at this early stage of autumn. First, a listing of the trains spotted Sunday morning...
NS 11J @ 8:56- had NS 2734 and NS 2628 bringing fifty-five autoracks west.
NS 18G @ 9:27- would have a trio of diesels, NS 9788, PRR 8437 (ex-CR 6261) and NS 2747, bringing 113 cars of mixed freight east. As you can see in this image, there is very little color to be seen at this location. About the only color to be found was from the poison ivy that had turned into a burnt orange.
NS 971 @ 9:50 was a short intermodal of mostly EMP COFCs. Motive power consisted of NS 9504, NS 8887 and NS 2546.
On the drive home, most of the trees along this stretch of the Lehigh Line were still wearing their green leaves. Might be a while before the reds and yellows of fall will be seen.
Monday, October 05, 2009
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, October 27, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. ET to review our third-quarter results. We will issue earnings results shortly after market close on Oct. 27.
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 may listen to an audio replay, which will be available until November 3, 2009. The replay number is 877-660-6853, using PIN 2861, and access code 330016.
In conjunction with the call, a live webcast will be accessible and presentation materials will be posted on the company's web site at www.nscorp.com under the Investors section. Following the earnings call, an Internet replay of the presentation will be archived on the company's web site. In addition, the replay will be available for download to a portable audio player or computer as a MP3 - or podcast - file. Both the replay and MP3 file can be found at www.nscorp.com in the Investors section.
For electronic notification of future earnings events, we invite you to subscribe to NSInvest, Norfolk Southern's e-mail distribution list for news releases on earnings and issues pertaining to the financial performance of Norfolk Southern. To subscribe, please follow directions on our website under the Investors section.
Sincerely,
Leanne D. Marilley
Director Investor Relations
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Norfolk Southern Quarterly Earnings Conference Call
We cordially invite you to join us on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. ET to review our third-quarter results. We will issue earnings results shortly after market close on Oct. 27.
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 may listen to an audio replay, which will be available until November 3, 2009. The replay number is 877-660-6853, using PIN 2861, and access code 330016.
In conjunction with the call, a live webcast will be accessible and presentation materials will be posted on the company's web site at www.nscorp.com under the Investors section. Following the earnings call, an Internet replay of the presentation will be archived on the company's web site. In addition, the replay will be available for download to a portable audio player or computer as a MP3 - or podcast - file. Both the replay and MP3 file can be found at www.nscorp.com in the Investors section.
For electronic notification of future earnings events, we invite you to subscribe to NSInvest, Norfolk Southern's e-mail distribution list for news releases on earnings and issues pertaining to the financial performance of Norfolk Southern. To subscribe, please follow directions on our website under the Investors section.
Sincerely,
Leanne D. Marilley
Director Investor Relations
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Friday, October 02, 2009
The first Ohio Central unit in G&W paint?
Received the following via email from Kermit Geary, Jr. Text, photo, and captions are his.
Notes:
Released from Brookville, PA is the Ohio Central 4099. This is an ex Monongahela Super Seven. Seen in transit today (9-28-2009) in Dubois, PA.
_9-28-09.jpg)
Ohio Central 4099 at DuBois, PA (8)
Notes:
- The Ohio Central was bought by the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (G&W) in 2008. Their locomotives are orange with two black stripes, as shown in these photos. Logos are different though.
- To see a picture enlarged, click on it. Then use your browser's BACK button to return to the Blog.
Released from Brookville, PA is the Ohio Central 4099. This is an ex Monongahela Super Seven. Seen in transit today (9-28-2009) in Dubois, PA.
_9-28-09.jpg)
Ohio Central 4099 at DuBois, PA (8) _9-28-09.jpg)
Ohio Central 4099 at DuBois, PA (2)
Ohio Central 4099 frame number
(Number is stamped in the metal frame which is painted yellow. It is difficult to see. Enlarge the picture and look for shadows. I think it is 2525-4, but I'm not sure.)
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 38, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 38 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
NS launches new web site: TheFutureNeedsUs.com
Received the following via email.
September 29, 2009
Norfolk Southern's TheFutureNeedsUs.com focuses on the benefits of partnerships and rail corridors
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern has launched a new Web site focusing on the benefits of its corridor and public-private partnership projects.
The Web site, TheFutureNeedsUs.com, describes projects to increase rail freight transportation capacity and improve mobility and the environment. Information is provided for projects in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, where governors Riley, Barbour, Rendell, Bredesen, Kaine, and Manchin are leaders in supporting transportation solutions.
The site outlines how upgrading the Crescent Corridor - the existing 2,500-mile rail route from the Southeast to the Northeast - will support a stronger economy, less highway congestion, cleaner air, and fuel savings.
The Crescent Corridor will be among the largest additions of new freight transportation capacity since the Interstate Highway System. That means creating or benefiting some 47,000 green jobs and producing these estimated annual benefits:
· $326 million in tax revenues to states and communities
· 1.3 million long-haul trucks diverted from interstates
· $146 million in accident avoidance savings
· 1.9 million tons in CO2 reduction
· $575 million in congestion savings
· $92 million in highway maintenance savings
· 169 million gallons in fuel savings
Crescent Corridor components include new intermodal facilities at Memphis, Birmingham, and Franklin County, Pa., and the expansion of terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Other projects include straightening curves; adding passing tracks, double tracks, and signals; and running more efficient trains.
TheFutureNeedsUs.com provides detailed information about other Norfolk Southern corridor projects, as well. This includes the Heartland Corridor to open a new gateway for double-stacked container traffic from the East Coast to the Midwest; the MidAmerica Corridor to create shorter and faster routes for merchandise moving between the Midwest and Southeast; and the Pan Am Southern Corridor to create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston area.
The site includes photos, videos, maps, fact sheets, links, contacts, and a convenient form for contacting Norfolk Southern.
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
September 29, 2009
Norfolk Southern's TheFutureNeedsUs.com focuses on the benefits of partnerships and rail corridors
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern has launched a new Web site focusing on the benefits of its corridor and public-private partnership projects.
The Web site, TheFutureNeedsUs.com, describes projects to increase rail freight transportation capacity and improve mobility and the environment. Information is provided for projects in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, where governors Riley, Barbour, Rendell, Bredesen, Kaine, and Manchin are leaders in supporting transportation solutions.
The site outlines how upgrading the Crescent Corridor - the existing 2,500-mile rail route from the Southeast to the Northeast - will support a stronger economy, less highway congestion, cleaner air, and fuel savings.
The Crescent Corridor will be among the largest additions of new freight transportation capacity since the Interstate Highway System. That means creating or benefiting some 47,000 green jobs and producing these estimated annual benefits:
· $326 million in tax revenues to states and communities
· 1.3 million long-haul trucks diverted from interstates
· $146 million in accident avoidance savings
· 1.9 million tons in CO2 reduction
· $575 million in congestion savings
· $92 million in highway maintenance savings
· 169 million gallons in fuel savings
Crescent Corridor components include new intermodal facilities at Memphis, Birmingham, and Franklin County, Pa., and the expansion of terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Other projects include straightening curves; adding passing tracks, double tracks, and signals; and running more efficient trains.
TheFutureNeedsUs.com provides detailed information about other Norfolk Southern corridor projects, as well. This includes the Heartland Corridor to open a new gateway for double-stacked container traffic from the East Coast to the Midwest; the MidAmerica Corridor to create shorter and faster routes for merchandise moving between the Midwest and Southeast; and the Pan Am Southern Corridor to create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston area.
The site includes photos, videos, maps, fact sheets, links, contacts, and a convenient form for contacting Norfolk Southern.
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 unveils experimental electric locomotive
Received the following via email.
September 28, 2009
Batteries ARE included:
Norfolk Southern unveils experimental electric locomotive
ALTOONA, PA. - With U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Bill Shuster in attendance, Norfolk Southern today unveiled the latest in alternative energy locomotive technology at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa. NS 999 is a prototype 1,500-horsepower switching locomotive that relies solely on rechargeable batteries for power.
"At Norfolk Southern we strongly subscribe to the view that sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are solid business objectives that also provide enormous benefits to the communities we serve," said CEO Wick Moorman. "By utilizing regenerated kinetic energy of the train and with no diesel exhaust emissions, NS 999 achieves those goals. This prototype locomotive was developed by Norfolk Southern, with the help of an incredibly creative partnership, including the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the Federal Railroad Administration, and The Pennsylvania State University, for which we are grateful. We must also recognize Congressman Bill Shuster, as without his active interest and participation in this project NS 999 would still be merely a concept."
"Today, the transportation sector currently accounts for just under a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of nitrogen oxide emissions, and almost three-quarters of our petroleum consumption. We need to change that," said Secretary LaHood. "By working together to develop alternative energy sources and innovative technologies like this electric locomotive, we will make transportation more sustainable and energy-efficient."
"Historically, Pennsylvania has had a tremendous history in railroading, and it remains my belief that our state can still have a bright future in rail if we take advantage of dynamic partnerships between the private and public sectors like the one that produced this locomotive," said Congressman Bill Shuster, the Ranking Republican on the Railroads Subcommittee. "What Norfolk Southern and Penn State are doing with Congress and Secretary LaHood's support is truly significant and will help usher in a new generation of green locomotives fueled by American ingenuity. Let's not forget about the great work done by the Juniata Locomotive Shop employees who did a superior job producing this engine. I am proud to have worked to secure funding for this project, and I look forward to seeing it working the rail lines soon."
Congressman Shuster secured $1.3 million in federal funding for the NS 999 project.
NS 999 is an entirely electric locomotive that uses a lead-acid energy storage system comprised of 1,080 12-volt batteries to operate in railroad switching applications without the use of a diesel engine and with zero exhaust emissions. The plug-in locomotive also can regenerate dynamic braking energy through a system provided by Brookville Equipment Company. The recovered dynamic braking energy continually replenishes the energy storage system, and uses this recovered energy for tractive effort in rail operations. The batteries are carefully monitored and controlled through an elaborate battery management system to assure safety and maximum battery life, and when fully charged NS 999 is able to operate three shifts before recharging is required.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. 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
September 28, 2009
Batteries ARE included:
Norfolk Southern unveils experimental electric locomotive
ALTOONA, PA. - With U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Bill Shuster in attendance, Norfolk Southern today unveiled the latest in alternative energy locomotive technology at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa. NS 999 is a prototype 1,500-horsepower switching locomotive that relies solely on rechargeable batteries for power.
"At Norfolk Southern we strongly subscribe to the view that sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are solid business objectives that also provide enormous benefits to the communities we serve," said CEO Wick Moorman. "By utilizing regenerated kinetic energy of the train and with no diesel exhaust emissions, NS 999 achieves those goals. This prototype locomotive was developed by Norfolk Southern, with the help of an incredibly creative partnership, including the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the Federal Railroad Administration, and The Pennsylvania State University, for which we are grateful. We must also recognize Congressman Bill Shuster, as without his active interest and participation in this project NS 999 would still be merely a concept."
"Today, the transportation sector currently accounts for just under a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of nitrogen oxide emissions, and almost three-quarters of our petroleum consumption. We need to change that," said Secretary LaHood. "By working together to develop alternative energy sources and innovative technologies like this electric locomotive, we will make transportation more sustainable and energy-efficient."
"Historically, Pennsylvania has had a tremendous history in railroading, and it remains my belief that our state can still have a bright future in rail if we take advantage of dynamic partnerships between the private and public sectors like the one that produced this locomotive," said Congressman Bill Shuster, the Ranking Republican on the Railroads Subcommittee. "What Norfolk Southern and Penn State are doing with Congress and Secretary LaHood's support is truly significant and will help usher in a new generation of green locomotives fueled by American ingenuity. Let's not forget about the great work done by the Juniata Locomotive Shop employees who did a superior job producing this engine. I am proud to have worked to secure funding for this project, and I look forward to seeing it working the rail lines soon."
Congressman Shuster secured $1.3 million in federal funding for the NS 999 project.
NS 999 is an entirely electric locomotive that uses a lead-acid energy storage system comprised of 1,080 12-volt batteries to operate in railroad switching applications without the use of a diesel engine and with zero exhaust emissions. The plug-in locomotive also can regenerate dynamic braking energy through a system provided by Brookville Equipment Company. The recovered dynamic braking energy continually replenishes the energy storage system, and uses this recovered energy for tractive effort in rail operations. The batteries are carefully monitored and controlled through an elaborate battery management system to assure safety and maximum battery life, and when fully charged NS 999 is able to operate three shifts before recharging is required.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. 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
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Russia's High-Speed Train
The following article is from The New York Times for Friday, 9-25-09.
The New York Times
September 25, 2009
Siemens Fills Russia’s Need for High-Speed Train
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
September 25, 2009
Siemens Fills Russia’s Need for High-Speed Train
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
The Sapsan train arriving in St. Petersburg, Russia, after a test. ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — In the last years of the cold war, the ultrasecret research institute that had designed the Soviet Union’s nuclear submarines received an unusual request: could it build a high-speed train?
The Soviet Union, despite its dependence on railroads, had fallen far behind Japan and Western Europe on high-speed transport. That the order came to the Rubin design bureau suggests that Moscow viewed catching up as a matter of national security.
The result of the little-known program was a slate-gray, round-nosed locomotive called the Sokol, Russian for falcon, that petered out soon after the Soviet Union did. The prototype achieved a top speed of only 143 miles an hour — hardly breaking a sweat by high-speed standards.
But the fall of the Falcon created an opening for Siemens.
This December, high-speed trains designed by the German conglomerate and adapted for Russian winters will ply the rails between St. Petersburg and Moscow. But Siemens hopes their final destination will be the last laggard of the high-speed age: the United States.
For years, businesspeople and politicians have dreamed about America entering the high-speed era, but Amtrak has been plagued by budget and service problems and the closest Americans have come to high speed is the Acela, which rarely runs at what Europeans call high speed.
Now Siemens and its competitors are hoping all that has changed. The economic stimulus passed by Congress in April includes a five-year, $13 billion high-speed rail program. Siemens is one of four makers of high-speed trains, none of them based in the United States, that hopes to take advantage of it.
Siemens executives said the tilt toward political acceptance of high-speed rail in the United States presented a remarkable business opportunity — assuming the systems get built.
The United States “is a developing country in terms of rail,” Ansgar Brockmeyer, head of public transit business for Siemens, said in an interview aboard the Russian test train, as wooden country homes and birch forests flickered by outside the window. “We are seeing it as a huge opportunity.”
To position itself to compete in the United States, Siemens has placed employees from its high-speed train division at its Sacramento factory, which produces city trams.
Siemens’s new train — the Sapsan, Russian for peregrine falcon — is a candidate for the high-speed link planned between San Francisco and Los Angeles that may open in 2020. Alstom, the maker of the French TGV trains, and Bombardier are also contenders. Japanese bullet train designs by Hitachi, which are lighter but less secure in a low-speed crash, the only type of collisions survivable, are another option.
The technological breakthrough of the Sapsan is that the train has no locomotive. Instead, electric motors are attached to wheels all along the train cars, as on some subway trains. (Passengers sit in the first car too.) Its top operating speed is 217 miles an hour, though in tests this model has reached 255 miles an hour, or about half the cruising speed of some jet airplanes.
In Russia, it took a decade of on-again, off-again talks before Siemens signed a deal with the state railways in 2006 amid a general thaw in relations between Germany and Russia.
Here as elsewhere, high-speed trains will compete with airlines. The 401-mile trip from downtown Moscow to downtown St. Petersburg will be 3 hours and 45 minutes. The average flying travel time is five hours, including the trips to and from the airport, check-in and security clearance.
The four-times-a-day service will trim 45 minutes from the fastest train service now. To achieve this, the Russian state railway spent $485 million upgrading the track and $926 million for eight Sapsan trains and a 30-year service agreement, at today’s exchange rates.
In other countries, high-speed trains have roundly beaten planes on price, overall travel time and convenience at ranges up to 600 miles between major cities. After high-speed trains between Paris and Lyons became well established, for example, commercial flights all but disappeared. And in the first year of operation, a Madrid-to-Barcelona high-speed link cut the air travel market about 50 percent.
In the United States — where the Department of Transportation has identified 11 high-speed corridors, including Los Angeles to San Francisco — high-speed rail would also compete with intercity car travel.
In Russia, it has a more peculiar competitor. With its vast distances and dismal roads, Russia has a long tradition of train travel, but Russians prefer to travel on overnight sleeper trains. (The highway between St. Petersburg and Moscow is at places a potholed, two-lane track.) Tea cups rattle on their saucers in the coal-heated compartments and beds are made with fresh linen.
The German trains, in contrast, are sleek strings of self-propelled, aluminum-skinned cars. But they will travel far below their 217 m.p.h. operating speed.
Pulling out of the St. Petersburg station on the test run, the Russian conductor kept the Sapsan throttled back at a modest 90 miles an hour as it rattled over older track in the city, making the typical clickety-clack noise of a train. High-speed rails are welded together and silent. It was like driving a new Porsche over a rutted road.
Out on refurbished track, the train accelerated to 150 miles an hour, the threshold until additional track improvements are made. As yet, not all the ties are as rigid as they should be, and the overhead electrical wires wobble as the train speeds by underneath. Sometimes electricity arcs in fire bolts.
Still, Russia has arrived in the high-speed club that includes Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Spain, Taiwan, Korea and China, which joined in 2007.
On the test run, over a stretch of the St. Petersburg-Moscow track, a birch forest blurred outside the window as the train revved. In one village, an old woman in a kerchief stopped in her tracks and pointed in surprise as the silver, rocket-shaped train sailed past at 150 miles an hour.
The Soviet Union, despite its dependence on railroads, had fallen far behind Japan and Western Europe on high-speed transport. That the order came to the Rubin design bureau suggests that Moscow viewed catching up as a matter of national security.
The result of the little-known program was a slate-gray, round-nosed locomotive called the Sokol, Russian for falcon, that petered out soon after the Soviet Union did. The prototype achieved a top speed of only 143 miles an hour — hardly breaking a sweat by high-speed standards.
But the fall of the Falcon created an opening for Siemens.
This December, high-speed trains designed by the German conglomerate and adapted for Russian winters will ply the rails between St. Petersburg and Moscow. But Siemens hopes their final destination will be the last laggard of the high-speed age: the United States.
For years, businesspeople and politicians have dreamed about America entering the high-speed era, but Amtrak has been plagued by budget and service problems and the closest Americans have come to high speed is the Acela, which rarely runs at what Europeans call high speed.
Now Siemens and its competitors are hoping all that has changed. The economic stimulus passed by Congress in April includes a five-year, $13 billion high-speed rail program. Siemens is one of four makers of high-speed trains, none of them based in the United States, that hopes to take advantage of it.
Siemens executives said the tilt toward political acceptance of high-speed rail in the United States presented a remarkable business opportunity — assuming the systems get built.
The United States “is a developing country in terms of rail,” Ansgar Brockmeyer, head of public transit business for Siemens, said in an interview aboard the Russian test train, as wooden country homes and birch forests flickered by outside the window. “We are seeing it as a huge opportunity.”
To position itself to compete in the United States, Siemens has placed employees from its high-speed train division at its Sacramento factory, which produces city trams.
Siemens’s new train — the Sapsan, Russian for peregrine falcon — is a candidate for the high-speed link planned between San Francisco and Los Angeles that may open in 2020. Alstom, the maker of the French TGV trains, and Bombardier are also contenders. Japanese bullet train designs by Hitachi, which are lighter but less secure in a low-speed crash, the only type of collisions survivable, are another option.
The technological breakthrough of the Sapsan is that the train has no locomotive. Instead, electric motors are attached to wheels all along the train cars, as on some subway trains. (Passengers sit in the first car too.) Its top operating speed is 217 miles an hour, though in tests this model has reached 255 miles an hour, or about half the cruising speed of some jet airplanes.
In Russia, it took a decade of on-again, off-again talks before Siemens signed a deal with the state railways in 2006 amid a general thaw in relations between Germany and Russia.
Here as elsewhere, high-speed trains will compete with airlines. The 401-mile trip from downtown Moscow to downtown St. Petersburg will be 3 hours and 45 minutes. The average flying travel time is five hours, including the trips to and from the airport, check-in and security clearance.
The four-times-a-day service will trim 45 minutes from the fastest train service now. To achieve this, the Russian state railway spent $485 million upgrading the track and $926 million for eight Sapsan trains and a 30-year service agreement, at today’s exchange rates.
In other countries, high-speed trains have roundly beaten planes on price, overall travel time and convenience at ranges up to 600 miles between major cities. After high-speed trains between Paris and Lyons became well established, for example, commercial flights all but disappeared. And in the first year of operation, a Madrid-to-Barcelona high-speed link cut the air travel market about 50 percent.
In the United States — where the Department of Transportation has identified 11 high-speed corridors, including Los Angeles to San Francisco — high-speed rail would also compete with intercity car travel.
In Russia, it has a more peculiar competitor. With its vast distances and dismal roads, Russia has a long tradition of train travel, but Russians prefer to travel on overnight sleeper trains. (The highway between St. Petersburg and Moscow is at places a potholed, two-lane track.) Tea cups rattle on their saucers in the coal-heated compartments and beds are made with fresh linen.
The German trains, in contrast, are sleek strings of self-propelled, aluminum-skinned cars. But they will travel far below their 217 m.p.h. operating speed.
Pulling out of the St. Petersburg station on the test run, the Russian conductor kept the Sapsan throttled back at a modest 90 miles an hour as it rattled over older track in the city, making the typical clickety-clack noise of a train. High-speed rails are welded together and silent. It was like driving a new Porsche over a rutted road.
Out on refurbished track, the train accelerated to 150 miles an hour, the threshold until additional track improvements are made. As yet, not all the ties are as rigid as they should be, and the overhead electrical wires wobble as the train speeds by underneath. Sometimes electricity arcs in fire bolts.
Still, Russia has arrived in the high-speed club that includes Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Spain, Taiwan, Korea and China, which joined in 2007.
On the test run, over a stretch of the St. Petersburg-Moscow track, a birch forest blurred outside the window as the train revved. In one village, an old woman in a kerchief stopped in her tracks and pointed in surprise as the silver, rocket-shaped train sailed past at 150 miles an hour.
A worker cleaning a Siemens-made Sapsan train.Its top operating speed is 217 miles per hour.
Friday, September 25, 2009
WHITE Ribbons on Conrail SD50 #6707 at Juniata Shops - 1991
Received the following via email.
An extremely rare February, 1991 'in-process' view by Jack Smith of CR EMD SD50 #6707 sitting outside the shop in Altoona showing just the outline on the Fireman's-side flank of the future ribbon location, prior to the application of the yellow and black ribbon details. The second and third photos, taken by John Osciak and Dave Trenn, show the intended result, out on the main line and in Ashtabula (Ohio) Yard.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1092117
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=91805&nseq=0
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=197394
An extremely rare February, 1991 'in-process' view by Jack Smith of CR EMD SD50 #6707 sitting outside the shop in Altoona showing just the outline on the Fireman's-side flank of the future ribbon location, prior to the application of the yellow and black ribbon details. The second and third photos, taken by John Osciak and Dave Trenn, show the intended result, out on the main line and in Ashtabula (Ohio) Yard.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1092117
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=91805&nseq=0
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=197394
Weekly Rail Carloading Report - Week 37, 2009
There is an interesting report available on the web that is "A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic by Major Railroad and Commodity." It is currently showing data for week 37 of 2009.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
http://railfax.transmatch.com/
Here is an example of the information available on this web site. This graph shows Total Traffic for 2008-2009 vs. 2007-2008. There are more graphs and tables on the web site showing data by railroad and by commodity.
Note: This web site has new tables and graphs every Thursday. So, if I am late or miss a week with this blog posting, you can check for new data on Thursdays.
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