Members Hoot

Munich Hauptbahnhof

2008-05-25T23:53:00.003-05:00

The second week of May, I had the opportunity to attend an IEEE working group meeting in Munich for work. On my second night there, I took the time to ride the subway over to the main train station, known as the Hauptbahnhof.

The main streetside entrance is impressive, if modern.

Walking toward the concourse, DB (Das Bahn) has their version of 'Mr. Soo Line' offering information and greetings to travelers.
The Hauptbahnhof is a stub-end station, with tracks entering from the west. (A smaller station is on the east side of town, and is known as the Ostbahnhof.)
The northernmost tracks receive local and regional trains, including the one shown below.
Germany's version of bilevel commuter coaches was used on this regional train.
A couple of the high-speed InterCity Express (ICE) trains were also present. This one is of the highest-performing model, as shown by its more dramatic aerodynamic profile.

An older style of ICE train was also there, with more of a shovel-nose profile.

Typical of DB's trainsets, the ICE equipment is built by a consortium of German companies, as shown by the decal on the older one.
An interesting collection of equipment was there that evening, as seen in the similarities to that used in North America.

Timing is Everything

2008-05-23T21:26:00.009-05:00

Friday, May 16th found us taking a trip to La Crosse to visit friends. Coming into sight of the CP main at Bangor, WI, I noticed a train in the siding. As we got a little farther west, we found the head end, so I took the exit figuring he was waiting for a meet. Unfortunately, as I exited I-90 the eastbound UP train that the CP train was waiting for went through. To make matters worse, the back end was brought up by a Mopac "shack on a raft" caboose.

By the time we got through town, the meet was complete and the westbound began moving.

We arrived in La Crosse around sunset and I made a quick detour to Grand Crossing. A COLX coal train was headed east as we arrived. Once that cleared, a BNSF eastbound departed . . .

. . . with a KCS unit bringing up the rear.

As the BNSF stack train clears the plant, you can see another eastbound CP train approaching (to the right of the white sign)

The CP stack train was lead by a CEFX leased unit and a SOO SD60

Soo 6025 to be exact.

Once this train cleared, another BNSF train headed east. As we left and headed out over the tracks towards HWY 16, I noticed the original westbound CP train we saw was pulling up to the home signal at Grand Crossing.

All told, in the span of about an hour, we saw 6 different trains.

Saturday Morning didn't turn out to be quite as good. We found a freshly painted GP38-2 sitting in the La Crosse yard

The remote controlled switcher had things in hand.

While I was taking pictures of the GP's, a westbound BNSF MOW train pulled up and changed crews. I managed to get back to the west end of the yard before he did and got a couple of shots off.

For the rest of the morning, I saw only one other BNSF train and that was at a distance. Even the CP was quiet.

Just Like the Good Old Days . . . . Almost

2008-03-25T19:49:00.014-06:00

On Tuesday (March 25th, 2008) I swung by the Wisconsin Rapids CN yard on my way home. I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of ex-WC locomotives sitting out, still in Maroon and Gold. It looked like the same scene I'd seen a hundred times in the past.

From a distance, everything looked OK

Closer inspection revealed a 3014 in need of a face lift and a matching numberboard

The "Wisconsin Central" lettering was gone from the flank.

The 1562 looked even worse.

However, nearly 7 years after the CN takeover, I suppose something is better than nothing!

Goin' to Kansas City - Part 3

2008-01-02T13:35:00.001-06:00

(For part 1, click here)

September 21 - 23nd, 2007 found us back in KC for a wedding. Still looking for some of the new KCS "Heritage" units, on the 21st I took a "shortcut" through Knoche Yard on the way to the airport. While headed past the east end, I found several flatcars of windmill parts. Unfortunately, there was no good place to get any pictures.

On the West end, by the service area, I managed to find a TFM SD40-2 sunning itself.

Finally, on this day, there were about 8 of the new KCS "Heritage" units floating throughout the yard. I was glad I stopped and took pictures, because on subsequent trips over the next couple days, I never saw another.

Trying to kill some time on the 22nd, I headed out one last time. Knoche Yard was cleared of all the Heritage units from the previous day, however I did find a pair Gateway Western locos awaiting their next assignment.

Heading down to Santa Fe Jct, I expected to find a lot of trains moving on a Saturday morning. After all the activity I'd seen on earlier trips, there was noticeably less traffic on this day.

One interesting find was a train containing several airplane fuselages on the head end. I assume they were on their way to the Seattle area for final assembly.

They rode a setup of flatcars and spacers. There were also a couple of container type boxes that I assume included other sub-assemblies.

My final surprise of the morning was an ex-GBW boxcar, now making the rounds for "AERC" - Albany and Eastern Railroad in Oregon.

Goin' to Kansas City - Part 2

2008-01-02T13:18:00.000-06:00

(For part 1, click here)

Part 2 finds us a couple of days later, August 6th, 2007 to be exact. Again, the search was for some of the new KCS units. Again, I came up empty but did find a few interesting things along the way.

I found this KCS (transfer?) waiting to get in the west end of Knoche Yard. Front Street follows the railroad most of the way from Knoche Yard to downtown KC.

As I got in the area of Old Union Station, I caught a UP train led by a pair of Ferromex Dash 9's.

Continuing south to Santa Fe Jct (which was a PITA due to bridge construction in the area), I found a BNSF freight making the turn to the North.

From the same spot, a UP Eastbound comes across the upper level of the Kansas River bridge and passes the KCS DPU of a westbound empty coal train. The bridge was double decked when the new Union Station was built up on the hill to prevent flooding.

Following up on some research, I got on the south end of Santa Fe Junction, behind the old roundhouse. It provided a little different view, and got me on the right side of the sun. The downside was that I missed a couple trains coming from Argentine and heading north. The road and bridge are public property until the gate at the far end of the bridge. This was a BNSF empty coal coming up from the South. Another mile or so south (behind the train) is the old Katy yard.

Here is a BNSF eastbound on the flyover with a UP coal train on the upper level.

Another shot from the south end, that gives a better view of the overall junction. It is easy to see why building the 3rd level was such a good idea. Before, the Santa Fe used to cross at grade on the bottom level. The uppermost level is primarily used by BNSF. The mid level is primarily used by UP. The lower level can see almost anything. On the lower level, the left (west) goes to Argentine. The right goes up and all 3 levels come together near Union Station. To the north is where all the coal trains head back to the Powder River as well as the connections to the various yards.

Click here to go to part 3.

Flying Low in the Snow

2007-12-29T18:07:00.000-06:00

On December 12, 2007, I made a trip to New England for work, with the intent of it being an "overnighter," with return on the following day after a meeting with customers. The flight out to Providence was uneventful, arriving in time to partake of some local fare. The National Weather Service forecast was ominous, so I made sure to check in to my flight back (from Boston) that evening, and stand by on an earlier flight to cover myself.
Thursday the 13th dawned overcast and humid, and the forecast had only become more dire, with a foot of snow expected for the area south of Boston, beginning after noon. We finished our meeting early, and arrived at Boston-Logan Airport at 10:30 that morning. Already, our original flight had been cancelled, and the standby flight (on an Airbus 319) was overbooked by 30 people. After spending an hour trying to find an alternate route back that day, we booked a hotel room at the nearest company-acceptable hotel (in Cambridge), and hunkered down.
An unexpected benefit, my room overlooked a commuter rail (MBTA) storage yard (just north and west of Boston Back Bay Station).

At the height of the storm (snowfall >2 inches per hour), the visibility deteriorated.

As night fell, the snow-diffused light created an interesting scene.

By the time I was back to the room after dinner, the snowfall had finished, totalling about 8 inches.

My United-rebooked itinerary to return home was a Boston-to-Washington Dulles-to-Chicago routing, with the first leg leaving Logan about 1:00 the afternoon of Friday the 14th. Given the number of cancelled flights, and amount of snow, I weighed the option of following through on that, and thought it not likely to succeed. Given the availability of Amtrak Acela Express service, I decided to book a business-class ticket on that to DC (with a 6 hour 30 minute schedule), and standby on an earlier connection from Dulles to Chicago from there.
With a 6:15 departure from Boston-South Station, I awoke at 4:30, and was to the station by 5:30. The train listing board shortly thereafter showed the expected departures and arrivals.
Originally opened in 1899, South Station was extensively renovated between 1979 and 1989, resulting in a modern public space.
The train boarded briskly, and departed on the advertised schedule. With 110-volt outlets at each seat, I was able to work on my laptop and recharge my phone while enjoying the view.
Reaching top speeds in excess of 100 mph through southern Massachusetts (and creating plumes of snow in our wake), we noticeably slowed through Rhode Island and Connecticut between Providence and New Haven, where curvature warrants it.
It had brightened enough by the time we arrived in Stamford, Connecticut (the north end of electrified service before Acela-era construction to Boston), to take some pictures of Metro-North (Connecticut Department of Transportation) shops and equipment there.

We met a regional service train there.
An elderly EMD awaited its next assignment assembling trainsets.
Rounding a curve departing New Haven, I was able to glimpse our head-end power.
As we passed through northern New York City, we crossed Hell's Gate Bridge, a marvel of engineering.

Our stop at Penn Station (on time) lasted 8 minutes, and we departed. The peak speeds for Acela Express are in New Jersey and south, and we reached 150 mph between Newark, NJ and Philadelphia, covering the distance between those two stations in 52 minutes. After a stop in Delaware, the next station was Baltimore, where I saw one of MARC's commuter coaches.
The tunnels in downtown Baltimore are a significant hit to the schedule, with extended distance covered at a maximum speed of 45 mph, owing to the low wire (Pennsylvania Railroad-era catenary at 16 feet above railhead) and curves. That said, we made good time again after leaving Baltimore, stopping at BWI Airport station (which has a shuttle bus to the terminal), before entering Washington and arriving on-time at 12:45. I took advantage of the opportunity to take a couple pictures of the head end before I caught a cab to Dulles.

After a $54 (plus tip) cab ride to Dulles, I boarded my standby flight to Chicago with time to spare, and was back to O'Hare shortly after 4:00 Central time, gaining three hours plus over the rebooked itinerary.

Playin' Tag with 1003

2007-11-22T21:52:00.000-06:00

Since the OWL group was not participating in Trainfest this year, Galen and I decided to spend the morning getting some shots of the SOO 1003 steam locomotive. The excursion de jour originated in Ripon, traversing the WSOR to its present home in Hartford. Our point of engagement was just north of Waupun.
After the relatively short consist passed, we headed into Waupun for a small attempt at artistic composition with a water reflection in the foreground. Unfortunately, a slight breeze foiled this endeavor.From here, we played tag with the extra all the way to Horicon. The performance handling characteristics of Galen's MR2 were demonstrated in several instances during hard corners that were commonplace on adjacent town roads. Thankfully, our subject matter was traversing at a fairly leisurely pace, making photo opportunities regularly available.

Galen wanted to try for a shot at Horicon. This proved to be rather difficult as the depot and nearby artifacts were obscured by cars and people. Galen setup for a less oblique angle than myself, but nonetheless it proved too challenging to get that "perfect" shot.

Rather than continuing to play tag with what would now be a significantly larger horde of chasers, we went ahead to selectively find a site for one last catch. For some reason, I had thought that wig-wags were still in place at Rubicon. This was not the case. We settled on the west side of Rubicon instead, as the elevated curve proved to be accommodating. It was quite obvious without the presence of the locomotive's smoke of its imminent arrival. Our location quickly became filled with others and we found ourselves standing shoulder-to-shoulder with nearly a dozen others aiming to get a similar composition.

With Hartford only being a few miles away (and the final destination for this excursion), we chose to terminate our pursuit and top off the first part of the day's activities with some caloric intake at the local blue roof.

Chasin' the Vapor

2007-09-19T20:46:00.000-05:00

Canadian Pacific, in partnership with North Star Rail of Minnesota, chartered a number of excursions with the CP 2816 Empress-class Hudson steam engine in August and September. Among those trips, on September 1-3 the train ran from Bensenville, IL to Sturtevant, WI and return, by way of Tower A-5 in Chicago, IL. In the midst of other occasions that weekend and the next, I decided to follow the trip on Labor Day, 9/3.

Given its routing, and thoughts of catching it at least twice, I decided to use the restored Milwaukee Road depot at Deerfield, IL as my first photo backdrop. At about 10:50, I heard the distinctive whistle sound for the nearby crossing to the south, and the excursion appear running wrong-main.

The 2816 was accompanied by a CP GP38-2 for the week, as protection should mechanical difficulties arise.

The Skytop Lounge 'Cedar Rapids,' used for first-class accomodations, added a classy touch, as always.

I then set out to get ahead again. Originally, I had thoughts of stopping next in Bain, but construction on the TriState and good pacing by the excursion meant I didn't get ahead again until they'd stopped in Sturtevant to detrain passengers for lunch and turning the train. When the passengers were all off, CP C&M Dispatcher let train 198 through, with instructions to whistle freely.

After 198 was by, Steve Sandberg and the rest of the crew prepared for the photo run-by. The train was backed to the next crossing south (Braun Road), to provide a good distance to gain speed.

While they were reversing direction, I captured a part of the day's scene, the GP38-2 from the local patrol, laying over for the weekend.

After using the diesel to help start the trainset, the Empress took over the task, and roared by near track speed.

After a fine display of prowess, the task of truning the train on the Sturtevant wye was at hand, with the diesel providing the tractive effort.

Recently, the cab-side herald had been restored to original appearance, as it was before 1930.

A bicycle railfan was in the crowd; a very strange apellation used for their logo, for sure.

After the reverse move, they gingerly proceeded through the southwest-quadrant connection.

After a stop at Somers to investigate its possibilities as a next capture location, I decided to press further south for better angles. Meanwhile, one of the passengers had been so taken by the locale and lunch that they missed the boarding at Sturtevant, and the CP policeman had to bring them to the then-stopped train a mile south, delaying the excursion (and Amtrak Hiawatha service that was no very far behind).
I set up just south of Bain, at the CTH H crossing, after considering the STH 165 overpass (good s-curve just north, but it's marked no parking, and I didn't know how long the wait would be, with law enforcement-attractive license plates). At 13:40, the southbound steam train approached.

Traffic and construction conspired to slow my return south, meaning I was within a half-mile at Lake-Cook Road in Northbrook, before getting back onto 294 and heading for the Des Plaines River bridge. Setting up there, while the excursion was headed for Tower A5, the Metra dispatcher ran a scoot through to keep its schedule.

Then, the scoot's block at 15:03, the excursion rounded the curve, crossing the river and approaching B12 interlocking.

I gambled for one more session, trying first at a grade-crossing in Franklin Park (which I realized would be blocked by 198), then parking at the north end of the Mannheim road overpass, and briskly walking out along the sidewalk to the sunlit side of the yard bypass tracks.

The engineer put on a show for us, sanding the flues of the diesel-burner as it approached the end of its days run, (and what I found out later was a date with a water pumper along York Road).

As the 'Cedar Rapids' went under the bridge, it was time to go homeward, and contemplate the balance of what would end up being 4000 miles' drive in September.

Goin' to Kansas City - Part 1

2007-08-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

August 3rd - 6th found me sweltering in the Kansas City area. Although Railroading wasn't the primary focus of the trip, I managed to sneak out a couple hours on two days and get some in anyway.

On August 4th, my initial target was KCS/ICE Knoche Yard looking for some of the new KCS "Heritage" Locomotives, but I came up empty.

While I didn't find any new KCS locomotives, I did happen upon an ex-CNW Dash 9 on the back end of a loaded coal train sitting in Knoche Yard.

Taking the long way between Knoche Yard and UP's (ex-MP) Neff Yard (the bridge over the middle of the yard was closed) I caught a Kansas City Terminal Railway (KCT) transfer run heading into the west end of Knoche Yard.

Heading around to Neff Yard, I found an ex-DRGW Tunnel motor apparently on it's way to the razor blade factory.

With no other easy shots at Neff, I proceeded the back way to Sheffield Crossing & Flyover. As I was driving around trying to find a good spot to watch stuff, a UP Train lead by a Ferromex locomotive snuck up on me. While I didn't get any good shots off near Sheffield, he had a red signal trying to get onto the KCT which allowed me to get in front of him on the west end of the Sheffield Flyover.

At the west end of Sheffield, the two tracks from the flyover and the two tracks that come up from below shrink to three tracks for the run to Union Station.

As the Ferromex train clears, another UP Westbound comes up on other track and stops to wait.

While the UP Westbound waits, a BNSF stack train heads East over the flyover.

As the UP waits on, the BSNF eastbound stack train also grinds to a halt.

Finally, we learn why the UP train is waiting -- an Amtrak Eastbound appears. Once Amtrak clears, the UP Westbound is back on his way. Since this train went down the UP, I believe it to be one of the KC - St. Louis - Chicago trains.

As things clear out, the KCT locomotives spotted earlier headed into Knoche Yard return light, heading west

Another BNSF Eastbound Stack Train

Just as it's almost time to go, a westbound NS Stack train comes off the flyover and stops for a signal

Click here to go to part 2.

Summer Grillin'

2007-07-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for that Wisconsin tradition of grilling brats and burgers (or whatever) on the BBQ grill. On the Tomahawk Southern Railroad, sidings are few and far between, so here we see a crew taking advantage of their time "in the hole" to grill a few hamburgers on the back porch of their SD40-2. Hopefully, their meet will arrive by the time dinner is done !

Colorado Springs/Monument/Palmer Lake, CO July 11-12, 2007

2007-07-18T22:22:00.000-05:00

A standards organization whose meetings I attend for work has held their July meeting in Colorado Springs, CO for the past three years. For some images from last year's trip, see the following link.

2006 Album link

This year, the weather was more tolerable than last (high 80s instead of high 90s), and I decided to look around some more.
First, the view looking across the central square, past my hotel to the west, at Pike's Peak.

The statue in the foreground is Col. Palmer, who founded the city, and oversaw the development of much of the area.

There were a number of historic photo prints in my hotel, the Antlers. The caption on this one detailed the events of one fateful day, when the hotel and much of downtown were leveled by a boxcarload of dynamite which exploded by the passenger depot.

Down the hill from the hotel, the former DRGW depot is now a fine Italian restaurant, brewpub, and some shops.

The DRGW and ATSF (which had the Colorado & Southern operating over trackage rights) consolidated their traffic onto what had been the DRGW in 1971. Today, by my observation, much of the traffic over the line is BNSF-hauled coal bound from Wyoming for generating plants in Texas and elsewhere in the south, with UP contributing a few more coal trains, and the balance provided by 6-8 manifests split between the railroads.

Across the street from the DRGW depot is a token of the railroads' history in town.

On my morning of free time, I decided to make a point of railfanning Palmer Lake, where the Joint Line has its northern end. The grade profile for the railroad from Denver to Pueblo is simple, with the two ends at roughly 5200 and 5500 feet above sea level, respectively, and a 1.5% grade going from each to the summit at Palmer Lake, above 7200 feet. Needless to say, trains approach on their figurative hands and knees, especially the southbound loads about to crest the top and begin their descent.

On the way, I passed a bridge in Monument showing the history of the line.

On the south side of Palmer Lake, I passed what likely had been the ATSF depot, before extensive remodeling and relocation.

The city sign on the north side of town was impressive.

Taking up my post about 11:00, I surveyed the area. Here, we look north, with the separate UP (left) and BNSF (right) rights-of-way extending away.

Looking south across Palmer Lake, along which the right-of-way passes on its west side.

The historic ATSF right-of-way is now a trail from Palmer Lake Jct south.

Some remnants of the original owner's presence remain, though masked by the present.

As I remembered it from 'Trains,' the junction.

I documented the city limit sign, as much for the indicated altitude as anything.
The BNSF policeman for the area rolled through, patrolling his beat.

After waiting about an hour, the first train approached. Empties, headed back.
As all the coal trains, and some manifests, had, this had DPU engines.

After giving the railroads another 90 minutes, I headed back to Colorado Springs for my afternoon meeting. After another three hours in a hotel conference room, I headed back to Palmer Lake for dinner and some more photography, having been reminded of the work windows which the maintenance-of-way were taking advantage of in midday.
Around 18:30, the first of the evening parade came through.

While scouting out a dinner location, I found this peculiar establishment.
Before returning to my post, another northbound came through. Owing to the spacing of sidings, it was 15-20 minutes between trains.

As dusk fell, I broke off for the day, about 19:45 local time.

I found an excellent Italian restaurant in Palmer Lake, about 150 feet from the tracks, separated from direct view by a grove of trees. However, while I dined I could hear well the two trains that passed in each direction. Part 2 to follow....

BNSF/UP Joint Line Palmer Lake, CO July 12, 2007

2007-07-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

After my final day of meetings in Colorado Springs, and with an early next-day departure for home, I headed back to Palmer Lake for some evening observations. On the way north, I passed the Air Force Academy, which is just west of I-25.
Another patch-painted DRGW sign awaited me, as I set up in the midst of the curve just south of the junction.
Another look at the eclectic 'depot,' which was doing good business that night.
As the rains approached, the first loads of the evening did, as well. Loads slowed to walking speed as they passed, allowing gravity to handle the acceleration, with dynamic brake fans screaming.

They stopped just past me, and cut off one of the DPU helpers. A crew in a 4x4 was waiting to pilot it into the BNSF house track.
That having been accomplished, the loads went on their way south.

About 20 minutes later, another loaded train was next.

A bit of oxymoronic freight car art was in the manifest.

As the DPU engines rolled past at walking speed, the train came to a stop, and the trailing unit which they'd cut off approached.

After what must have been an interesting radio conversation, the loose unit backed north, coupling onto the engine the previous load had dropped, and both proceeded north, with the loads going south.

With dinner plans at another brewpub in the 'Springs, I left with the freshening rain about 20 minutes later. As I got to the south side of town, a northbound manifest surprised me.
I doubled back to the Junction one last time.

A good experience railfanning both days, and some good progress in the meetings that week, as well.

New OWL hoppers available soon

2007-07-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

Now under construction in the OWL car shop are these three bay hoppers painted in the "Route of the Nightowl" scheme. The 2007 limited edition club car will again be produced by Accurail. The anticipated release will be in October at a price of $19.00 USD each. You can reserve or pre-order yours now by contacting our car sales manager Darin Umlauft.

Broken Loco...

2007-06-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

I was called for train 330-990 on May 29th at 1430. This train had been on the lineup for about 12 hours earlier the night before, but it is not unusual for trains to be staged at Portage, so I didn't think anything of it.

When my conductor and I got out to the train, we saw the damage, and asked the Road Manager if it was okay to take it like this; he said that it was, and that it was being forwarded to Bensenville for preliminary repairs. I wasn't really thrilled about it, but as long as it had been blessed, I took it. Initially, neither of the ditch lights worked, meaning we had to cross every grade crossing at a reduced speed. About 10 miles out of Portage, however, the one unbroken ditch light lit up, allowing us to go track speed all the way to Bensenville. You might also notice that one of the headlights was burnt out, as well.

The train had hit a truckload of appliances in Mauston at about 0600 that morning. Apparently there were no serious injuries, at least not that I'm aware of.

Photos are courtesy of Bob Gallegos, taken near KK Bridge in Milwaukee.