Searching for that elusive heat exchanger...

(Train sightings on 2/24/07)

was what I was looking for on this cold Saturday along the Lehigh Line.

My travels took me to Pattenburg (NJ) where NS 214 came through around 8:40. Power was BNSF 4667 (C44-9W), primer painted NS 7566 (ES40DC) and NS 7107 (GP60). It was unusual to see stacked empty truck trailers used for carrying containers in 214's consist. I can't recall seeing that before.



At 9:30, NS 21M, lead by NS 9380 (C40-9W) and two other units would head west past MP 68.

Driving back east along I-78, NS 11J was heard calling signals at CP 64 around 9:50.

At 11:15, NS 213, power unknown, would take the passing siding at Flemington Jct to hold for four eastbounds.

The first eastbounder was NS 18G. Power would be NS 7602 (ES40DC) and NS 9952 (C40-9W). As 18G passed through Stanton Station, it would inform 213 that it would have to wait until the heat exchanger passed that they would continue their westward trip.

Twenty minutes later, NS's ethanol train 64J would pass by with NS 2567 (SD70, ex-CR 2567) and NS 9261 (C40-9W) in command.

At high noon, the third train, a intermodal whose symbol was unknown, passed. Motive power was two C40-8Ws, PRR 8324 (ex-CR 6068) and NS 8351 (ex-CR 6112).

Drove down to Three Bridges where I finally caught the heat exchanger, its width fourteen feet and five inches, heading east at 2:10. Two NS units provided the power. Didn't get the lead unit's number but the second unit was NS 9550 (C40-9W).


Had to feel some pity for 213's crew as they would wait for nearly four hours before the heat exchanger would finally pass.

NJ Transit Derailment on Wednesday, 2/21/07

The following information is summarized from an article in the Star-Ledger published on Thursday, 2/22/07. ("3 blamed for train that left the track" by Tom Feeney)

A NJ transit commuter train carrying 100 passengers derailed at Ridgewood Junction during the morning rush hour Wednesday, 2/21/07. Three of five cars left the tracks. No passengers or crew were injured. The train was going about 36 mph at the time. Ridgewood Junction is where the Main and Bergen County lines converge. As a result of the derailment there were significant delays throughout the day on the Main, Bergen County, and Port Jervis lines. Service was nearly back to normal by late in the evening.

Cause of the derailment? An improperly installed switch. The rails were too close together. "The rails are supposed to be 58 1/2 [sic] inches apart but were separated by only 54 1/2 inches." (Bloggers note: I thought rails were supposed to be 56 1/2 inches apart.) The switch had been replaced 10 days earlier, and hundreds of trains had passed through Ridgewood Junction since that time without incident. Three employees that were involved in the switch replacement and inspection were suspended - a track supervisor and two track foremen. They face administrative hearings.

Railroad quiet zone in Hillsborough, NJ

from Wednesday's (2/14/07) Courier-News (NJ)

Hillsborough (NJ) begins work on train line quiet zones
Project may cost less than anticipated, traffic engineer says

By PAMELA SROKA Staff Writer
HILLSBOROUGH -- The Township Committee has taken a step toward establishing railroad quiet zones along the Norfolk Southern rail line after approving a notice of intent to the Federal Railroad Administration. Quiet zones are a section of a rail line that contains 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.

The notice to the federal government states that safety improvements are necessary for quiet zones to be established at four crossings along the Norfolk Southern Railroad at Beekman Lane, Auten Road, Valley Road and Roycefield Road. The crossings are within a few miles of each other.

The township appropriated $300,000 for the project after receiving $250,000 from developer Beazer Homes and using $50,000 from last year's capital budget. However, Maurice Rached, an engineer for Maser Consulting and the township's traffic engineer, said construction costs for the improvements will be less than originally anticipated. Original cost estimates ranged $350,000 to $450,000 and now the full costs will be about $300,000, Rached said during Tuesday's Township Committee meeting.

The project calls for more security devices to be installed so the zones may be approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, Rached said. The purpose of the notice is to provide an opportunity for railroads and state agencies to offer comments and recommendations to the township zone, he said. Federal regulations require the notice must be filed with the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, D.C.; the state Department of Transportation Rail Safety Division; and with the Norfolk Southern Corporation in Roanoke, Va., said Clerk and Business Administrator Kevin Davis.

Rached said the following improvements to the crossings would be needed to meet the requirements for quiet zone designation:

• Beekman Lane: Construction of 4-foot wide, 100-foot long, raised islands at both approaches to the crossing; additional signage and pavement striping. Installation of a "power-out" indicator.
• Auten Road: Construction of 4-foot wide, 100-foot long, raised islands at both approaches to the crossing; additional signage and pavement striping. Installation of a "power-out" indicator.
• Valley Road: Construction of two new gates, which will cross the entire roadway, curbing at the edges of the roadway to prohibit vehicles from traversing around the gate. A wayside horn will be installed for each vehicular approach. Installation of a "power-out" indicator.
• Roycefield Road: Construction of 4-foot wide, 100-foot long, raised islands at both approaches to the crossing; additional signage and pavement striping. Installation of a "power-out" indicator.

A C40-9W kind of day along the Lehigh Line...

(Train sightings on 2/10/07)

Saturday morning's sightings along the Lehigh Line started out at Flemington (NJ) Junction (CP 51) with NS 20K coming through around 8 AM. Power was two C40-9Ws, NS 9779 and NS 9129.

Once 20K was clear, NS 212 would come off the siding and head east. Motive power for 212 would be three GP60s, NS 7123, NS 7116, NS 7119, along with B32-8 NS 3559.



Next it was down to Manville where NS 21M was running a little later than usual. NS 9332 (C40-9W), NS 9130 (C40-9W) and NS 2775 (SD70M-2) would bring 21M through Manville around 9:10.

CSX's Q300 would then head east with HLCX 7172 (SD40-2, ex BN 7172) and CSX 8196 (SD40-2) for power.

At 10 o'clock, CSX S439-10 would bring its train of mixed freight down the Trenton Line. CSX 8773 (SD60M, ex-CR 5543) and CSX 8744 (SD60I, ex-CR 5631)was the power.

NS 24V would finally roll through with two C40-9Ws, NS 9233 and NS 9399, for power around 11 o'clock. It would have a rolling meet with a westbound NS train with three C40-9Ws, NS 8991, NS 9024 and NS 9754, for power. I will speculate this train's symbol might have been NS 213 with some autoracks and TOFCs.

Scheduled to roll down the Lehigh Line but not seen until later was NS 24V and NS 18G. They would come through Neshanic around 11:45. Power was not seen.

The final power tally would be nine C40-9Ws, two SD60s, two SD40-2s, three GP60s, one B32-8 and one SD70M-2. All in all, not a bad day to be trackside.

Freight train damages South Plainfield, NJ building

Home News Tribune Online 02/14/07

GANNETT NEW JERSEY

SOUTH PLAINFIELD - A freight train veered onto the wrong tracks Wednesday evening, striking a piece of equipment and coming to a stop inside the building of a paint manufacturer.

According to John Enright, a spokesman with Conrail, the train was traveling southeast on its way to Woodbridge at about 7:30 p.m. when an open rail switch sent it onto a side track.

The train, which was carrying more than 70 cars of ethanol, then struck a piece of rail equipment on the track and entered the building of Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc.

Enright said two locomotives, a buffer car and two of the tanker cars followed the rails into the building. At no time did the train derail, he said, and none of the tanker cars spilled open.

No injuries were reported and no evacuations were necessary, Enright said.

Enright said Conrail officials were still investigating why the switch was open. He said it was unclear if the error was human or if it was related to the weather or the movement of the train.

The area of the derailment sits right off Interstate 287, near Talmadge Road, in the southern part of the borough.

The Web site for Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. describes the company as a manufacturer of colors, minerals and pigments for paint.

Railroad Workers Hours of Service Rules

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2007 SB-07-09

NTSB CHAIRMAN ASKS CONGRESS TO GIVE FRA HOURS OF SERVICE AUTHORITY

Washington, D.C. - National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker today asked Congress to give the Federal Railroad Administration the statutory authority to revise hours of service rules for railroad workers, noting that current rules are not based on science related to fatigue.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Rosenker said that over the past 23 years the NTSB has investigated 16 major railroad accidents in which it established that the probable cause was crewmember fatigue.

Operator fatigue has been on the Board's Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements since 1990. In 1999, the Board evaluated the Department of Transportation's actions on fatigue and found that, although DOT supported research and educational programs, the problem continued to be widespread and presented an unnecessary risk to the traveling public.

The FRA is the only DOT modal agency that has hours of service for the employees it regulates set by federal statute. The Federal Hours of Service Act was enacted 100 years ago. Chairman Rosenker called the rules archaic and "not adequate to address the problem." They allow railroad operating employees to work 11 hours and 59 minutes, and return to work after only 8 hours off duty. However, if the employee works one more minute - a full 12 hours - the worker is required to have 10 hours off duty before returning to work. Rosenker said "workers are permitted to repeat that arduous work-rest cycle an unlimited number of times."

Fatigue related railroad accidents continue to occur, the latest of which documented by the NTSB was in Macdona, Texas in 2004. "The FRA needs authority to regulate crewmember work scheduling practices and work limits," Chairman Rosenker said. "The Safety Board continues to support the need for change that would provide the FRA the authority."

NTSB Press Contact: Ted Lopatkiewicz (202) 314-6100
lopatt@ntsb.gov

Not that cold to be trackside...

(Train sightings on 2/03/07)

on this Saturday morning near Manville (NJ) to check out what was running along the Lehigh Line. By time sequence, the trains observed were:

NS 212 @ 8:40-with autoracks and COFCs in tow, motive power was NS 8999 (C40-9W), NS 6616 (SD60) and PRR 8325 (C40-8W, ex-CR 6069).

NS 24Z @ 8:50-Motive power was two SD70M-2s, NS 2753 and NS 2756.

NS 24V 10:20-Motive power was PRR 8323 (C40-8W, ex-CR 6065) and NS 9568 (C40-9W).


CSX K277 @ 10:54-after waiting for a track car to come north on the Trenton Line, K277 was cleared to continue its journey. Motive power had CSX 5834 (B36-7) on the point, CSX 672 (AC60CW) and CSX 8866 (SD40-2) taking the garbage south for disposal.

NS 18G @ 11:10-NS 8366 (C40-8W, ex-CR 6137) and NS 2702 (SD70M-2) bringing this general merchandise train east. Waiting on the passing siding was NS 213. This train's power was NS 7102 (GP60), NS 3539 (B32-8), NS 7146 (GP60) and NS 7110 (GP60).




With the thermos of hot coffee nearly empty, time for me to call it a morning.

Train Derailment in BC, Canada

This is old news (early January), but you may not have seen these pictures.

BC derailment at Mile 97.5 (near Lytton) on the Ashcroft Subdivision on January 04, 2007.

Crew was rescued the next morning as they were unable to climb the embankment. Only minor injuries reported. Certainly a case of simple dumb luck that there were no serious injuries, or worse.

UP MOW oops

Received the following by email concerning a UP MOW track crane and a bridge over the Columbia River. The kndu link is a TV news item with night time video that is hard to make out. The 2 links to tri-cityhearld are newspaper reports. The yahoo links are only good if you have a Yahoo account.


There was another bridge vs. vehicle incident this week up here in WA. This time it involved a UP MOW Track crane crossing over the Columbia River! The center draw-bridge span reportedly started to raise as the driver was crossing the river from Burbank to Finley, WA.

Monday Story and Video
http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6042865
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/8618940p-8511530c.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/87scalecars/spnew/view/a1af?i=328

Tuesday followup story
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/8621537p-8514153c.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/87scalecars/spnew/view/a1af?i=329

LIONEL’S GROSS SALES and PROFIT for 2006

Received the following by email. The profit seems high in relation to the sales, but read the whole posting.

LIONEL’S GROSS SALES IN 2006 TOP $62 MILLION
Company’s Operating Statement Shows $36.8 million dollar yearly profit

January 17, 2007-On January 16, 2007, Lionel filed its monthly operating report with the bankruptcy court. It is required to file a monthly operating report since it is in bankruptcy. The report was affirmed to by its Chief Financial Officer, Scott Turkington. December’s numbers were obtained directly from its profit and loss summary filed with court.

The interesting thing about December’s numbers is that it allows us to see how Lionel did as a company for the calendar year 2006, rather than just a monthly snapshot, which I have reported on in the past.

For the calendar year 2006, Lionel’s gross sales were $62,153,000, and its net sales were $59, 301,000. This is an increase when compared to calendar year 2005, when its yearly gross and net sales were $56,652,000 and $54,850,000 respectively. These figures represent increases in gross sales of $5.5 million, and $4.4 million in net sales between the two calendar years. December 2006's gross sales were over $6.8 million, and its net sales were over $6.1 million. Lionel’s best month in 2006 was November, where its gross and net sales were $11.4 million and over $11 million, respectively.

Part of Lionel CEO Jerry Calabrese’s business plan, is to sell a diversified line of Lionel products in more mainstream stores such as Macy’s and Target, in addition to the hobby store market (the funnel theory). This plan is having a positive effect on the company’s sales, based on the increases from 2005 to 2006.Perhaps the most interesting thing about Lionel’s December 2006 report is the monthly profit stated in it. For the month of December, Lionel posted a profit, or net income of $36,111,000. That figure is correct, over $36 million dollars. By contrast, Lionel posted a profit of $2.8 million in November, $1.1 million dollar profit in October, $1.6 million in September and $460,000 in August. Between January and July 2006, Lionel posted monthly losses, but that is to be expected, at least in part, since its business is seasonal.

For the year, Lionel posted a profit of $36,871,000.

Some may be thinking that the yearly profit (net income) seems very high in relation to the gross and net sales figures. Also unusual is that through the end of November, only one month earlier, Lionel’s year to date profit was $760,000 (the difference between the $36,871,000 yearly profit figure and December figure of $36,111,000).

The answer lies in the appeals court decision of December 14, 2006, where it vacated MTH’s $38.6 million dollar jury verdict in its trade secrets lawsuit against Lionel (the total judgment was $40.7 million, but the remaining $2.1 million was against the other two defendants, including Korea Brass). Up to and including November 2006’s monthly report, Lionel’s balance sheet carried a “litigation reserve” amount of $38.6 million on it. In December’s statement, that amount was reduced to zero, due to the court’s decision.

Add to your Christmas Trains

Did you get trains for Christmas? How about adding more stuff? We have all sorts of things to make your Christmas trains even better, like more track and switches, more freight or passenger cars, another locomotive, cars and trucks, people, buildings, etc. We also have a great variety of scenery materials.

Do you have Lionel? We have some "add-on sets" from Lionel that contain 3 RR cars and some additional track. We also have individual RR cars and some operating accessories from Lionel.

Come in and browse around. I'm sure we have something to add to your enjoyment of The World's Greatest Hobby.

New Offerings from The N Scale Architect

We received the following announcement from The N Scale Architect, whose products we carry.

To kick off the new year, The N Scale Architect is releasing the N-Scale version of two very popular HO kits from our Railway Heritage Models product line, the Reading Company Standard Tower and Central of New Jersey Standard 2-Story Station !

Both of these kits were developed using actual prototype plans and are of structures that were replicated at numerous locations along the tracks of these two popular Northeastern railroads. Further information on these exact locations and detailed painting instructions are included with each kit along with our usual high quality laser-cut micro-plywood pieces, castings, roofing material and step-by-step instructions. Both of these kits are now available for immediate shipment.

A meet at Flemington Jct's CP 51...

(Train sightings on 1/13/07)

found NS 24V holding the Lehigh Line's main here for NS 213. Power for 24V would be PRR 8434 (C40-8W, ex CR-6256), NS 6641 (SD60) and NS 7129 (GP60).


At 10:35, 213 [Elizabethport, NJ-Atlanta, Ga] would start to take the siding. Power on 213 would be NS 8950 (C40-9W) and NS 2504 (SD70, ex-CR 2504).



After 24V went west, another eastbound headlight appeared off it the distance. This headlight would belong to NS 9496 (C40-9W). That would be on the point for NS 214 [Atlanta, Ga-Croxton, NJ]. BNSF 7721 (ES44DC) and BNSF 1049 (C44-9W) were the additional units spotted on 214.



Not a bad way to spend an hour on this dreary Saturday morning at Flemington Jct (NJ).

MTH - Lionel Legal Matters

The following was posted on the O Gauge Railroading Forum (OGR Forum) by Erol Gurcan, a laywer who follows these things.

MTH and Lionel Appear in Bankruptcy Court Today
Judge Directs the Parties to Mediate and Attempt Settlement of Their Legal Matters

January 9, 2006 - For the first time since December 14, 2006, when an appeals court vacated MTH’s $40.7 million dollar trade secrets verdict against Lionel, and remanded the case for another trial, attorneys for the two rival model train makers appeared in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today.

My summary of today’s legal proceedings will be a little different this time, compared with the past. I was present in court today to observe the proceedings, (as was Stuart Rankin aka OGR forumite Lionel LLC). In the past, my information was based on conversations with the party’s principals or their attorneys, or by reviewing the legal documents filed with the court.

Today’s legal proceedings were significant enough that both MTH’s Mike Wolf and Jerry Calabrese were present in court today. The two men shook hands upon seeing each other.

After making several applications for interim compensation on behalf of the attorneys and other professionals representing Lionel, which were quickly approved by Judge Lifland, their attorney Adam Harris, represented to the court that although the appeals court decision was very favorable to Lionel, they were still interested in settling the outstanding trade secrets case, and separate patent infringement lawsuit brought by MTH in June. Mr. Harris proposed to the court that a neutral third party mediator be agreed to by the parties so they could discuss settlement. Not surprisingly, he stated he expects the appeals court to deny the petition for reconsideration of its December 14 decision, filed by MTH with the appeals court on December 28. He also stressed it was in Lionel’s best interest to exit from bankruptcy as soon as possible as there are companies that will not do business with them until that occurs.

Mr. Alec Ostrow, representing MTH, then addressed the court. His proposal was that Lionel be directed to pay their other creditors in full, so they would not be prejudiced, and that the parties continue to litigate the legal matters between them. As Mr. Ostrow was discussing continuing the litigation between the parties, Judge Lifland, politely but firmly interrupted, and inquired why there was no response to Lionel’s proposed offer of settlement talks between the companies, or agreement to mediate their differences with a neutral third party. Mr. Ostrow requested a short adjournment so that he could confer with MTH’s Mike Wolf. Judge Lifland granted the request. Both Jerry Calabrese and Mike Wolf exited the courtroom to discuss matters with their attorneys.

After re-entering the courtroom, Mr. Ostrow informed Judge Lifland that MTH would agree to mediate the remaining legal issues between the parties.

Judge Lifland informed both sides they have 7 days to agree to a mediator. Mr. Harris proposed that one of the other bankruptcy judges be appointed, rather than selecting one through a private mediation company. Mr. Ostrow agreed this would be acceptable. Judge Lifland stated he would make an inquiry to some of his judicial colleagues, and would notify the parties if one of them would agree to do it. Judge Lifland noted that a “retrial of the trade secrets case would not be palatable to either side, and the lawyers should get out of the way.” In other words, he told the attorneys that they are not to be present when Mr. Wolf and Calabrese discuss settlement of the case between themselves or with a mediator.

Judge Lifland also informed the parties that if the legal issues are not resolved through settlement within one month, he would conduct a Bankruptcy Code section 502c estimation hearing on damages. This procedure allows the court to make a determination of any potential damages MTH would be entitled to for both the trade secrets lawsuit and separate patent infringement lawsuit (the patent infringement lawsuit was filed in the bankruptcy court since Lionel’s bankruptcy was already pending there). Mr. Ostrow stated an estimation hearing would be inappropriate if the case is not resolved through mediation. I suspect his rational for this is he would prefer to allow a jury to decide damages in the trade secrets case, as it did once before (prior to it later being vacated by the appeals court). Judge Lifland responded by stating he would not allow the bankruptcy to continue indefinitely. Lionel has been in bankruptcy since November 15, 2004 a period of over two years.

Both parties were also directed to work out scheduling orders for each litigation matter, even if it looks like the legal matters will settle.

Hopefully, the apparent willingness of both sides to discuss resolution of the various legal matter s between them, coupled with the judge’s directives, will result in a settlement of their legal disputes. Stay tuned

Please, let’s keep all follow-up posts civil, and avoid rude comments and speculation. Thanks.

Erol Gurcan

Trains and Snow - Part 2

(Also see Part 1 below posted on 1/17/07.)

Here is a set of pictures of a UP rotary snowplow working in western Kansas, near Wallace, around New Year's day. It seems to be working east, and probably came out of the Denver area.

UP Rotary 900082 coming almost straight at the camera.

Just west of overpass

Standing on overpass. Note top of guard rail in foreground.

Note depth of drift the plow just went through. This is the back of the work train.

Coming up to Wallace, KS

Trains and Snow - Part 1

Here in central New Jersey we have been having a mild winter, although we just entered a cold spell today. But still no snow to speak of. Not normal for us. But other parts of North America have gotten snow, and the following sets of pictures we received via email show 2 railroads dealing with a lot of snow.

The first set of pics are of a CN coal train on the ex BC RAIL/PGE that was hit by a snowslide. Don't know exactly when this happened, but the email was dated 1/11/07. The email also included the following text: "CP also had a major avalanche on the Mountain Sub at the west end of the Mount McDonald Tunnel yesterday blocking the railroad and the trans-Canada highway."

C-Span to feature rail author

January 10, 2007

BALTIMORE - Rush Loving, Jr., author of the best selling book, "The Men Who Loved Trains," will appear on cable television network C-Span next week discussing his book. The interview was taped at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. It is scheduled to air on C-Span Sunday, Jan.14 at 7 p.m., Eastern time and be repeated at 1:30 a.m. Eastern time Monday, Jan 15. Loving's book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the boardroom battles to save America's northeastern railroads beginning with the lead-up to the Penn Central merger through the Conrail break-up in 1999. Loving is a journalist and former associate editor of Fortune magazine who covered the demise of Penn Central and the creation of Conrail.

The bridges of Hunterdon County...

(Train sightings on 1/6/07)

along the Lehigh Line in Hunterdon County (NJ) provided Saturday morning's vantage points and photo landmarks. With temperatures in the mid-sixties, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and this was actually January and not early spring. The line up of NS trains was as follows:

NS 19G rolled by Flemington Jct (CP51) @ 8:32-Motive power was two C40-9Ws, NS 9159 and NS 9509, along with PRR 3026 (GP40-2, ex-CR 3324). Behind these three there was 151 cars of freight. Car 146's appearance provided a nice sight. It was a Rio Grande boxcar. I haven't seen many of those during my time trackside. 19G would be instructed to take "...the long siding at Pattenburg..." as it passed by CP51 so that 21M could pass by.



NS 21M-Bloomsbury @ 9:30-Motive power would be NS 8931 (C40-9W) and NS 7535 (ES40DC).

NS 24V-Bloomsbury @ 10:24 was the time when 24V would pass beneath the Milford Road Bridge.



NS 18G-Jutland @ 11:30-Motive power would be NS 9809 (C40-9W), PRR 8329 (C40-8W, ex-CR 6074) and HLCX 5980 (SD60) would take the siding at Flemington Jct.



Warm temperatures and a nice array of trains made for an enjoyable morning. No complaints from me on this day!

de luxe Innovations has been sold

de luxe Innovations, manufacture of N-scale models, has been sold to Squeak N Products of Whippany, NJ. de luxe Innovations makes N-scale models of intermodal containers, double stack well cars, Road Railers, wood chip cars, some hopper cars, etc. We carry de luxe Innovation products here at The Big Little Railroad Shop.

Following is from Model Retailer 01/07.

"DeLuxe Innovations changes hands, coasts.

N-scale model-railroad manufacturer deLuxe Innovations has changed ownership and locations.
Founded in 1993 by George Johnsen, the company will now be headed by Dave Ferrari, a veteran of the model railroad industry. Ferrari is the founder of Squeak N Products and held a position at Atlas Model Railroad.

As for the name, deLuxe is now DeLuxe with a capital D and purple triangle logo. It is moving its headquarters from Burbank CA to Whippany NJ, appropriately in a 53 ft. CSX intermodal container on a double stack train.

Veteran deLuxe managers Steve Rodgers and Craig Ross will stay with the company. Rodgers and his dealer sales office will remain in IL. Atlas veteran Wayne Shortman has joined the team."

Check out the web sites.

• http://www.deluxeinnovations.com/
• http://www.squeaknproducts.com/

Before 2006 ends...

(Train sightings on 12/30/06)

I decided one more trip trackside was on my agenda. Despite overcast skies I headed out along the Lehigh Line at various locations on this Saturday morning. The trains and their locations are as follows:

NS 21M (North Bergen, NJ to Chicago, IL-BNSF) -Bloomsbury, NJ (MP 69) @ 9:10-had two SD70M-2s, NS 2771 and NS 2745, along with NS 9962 (C40-9W) for power.

NS 19G (Oak Island, NJ to Pittsburgh, PA)-Jutland, NJ (MP 60.8) @ 9:36- was laboring with 104 cars of freight as it approached "NJ's Continental Divide" at Pattenburg Tunnel. Motive power was NS 9711 (C40-9W) and PRR 8443 (C40-8W, ex-CR 6271).



NS 24V (Harrisburg, PA to Dockside, NJ)-Flemington Jct. NJ (MP 51) @ 10:30- had NS 9343 (C40-9W) and CEFX 3166 (SD40-2, ex-UP 3360) bringing the containers east on this overcast Saturday.

In closing, I hope that 2006 was a good year for you and that 2007 will be even better...