On

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Years
PRINCE RUPERT: Secret weapon for Canadian National p. 34

www.TrainsMag.com • April 2020

Lonely but
beautiful
Scenery and engineering on
BNSF’s Arizona Peavine p. 22

Executive train
adds a dome p. 30

Father, son, and

the Alcos they
tend together p. 44
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 FROM THE EDITOR

Hot spots of our

life and times
Jim Wrinn
Over the years: Tidewater, Powder River Basin, [email protected]
@TrainsMagazine
Long Beach, and now Prince Rupert. What’s next? @trains_magazine

A
mong the many college courses that Va., the coal mines in Wyoming’s Powder River BEST OF 2019 DVD
I enjoyed as an undergraduate was Basin, and the container ship port at Long Beach, We have a new DVD
economic geography. It intrigued Calif. And as Bill Stephens reports on pages 34- out now that is dif-
me, and it was well suited for my 41, a new star is in the sky — that remote, myste- ferent from any-
early and ongoing railroad fascina- rious place called Prince Rupert in British thing else we’ve
tion. Today, 40 years later, it seems like I am think- Columbia, where the sea mist blesses the transfer produced before.
ing about that class every time I go into the field to of containers from oceangoing vessels to the The “Best of 2019”
examine a railroad location where business is Canadian National trains. We see the fruits of the is our take on 19
brisk and traffic is heavy. In short, a hot spot. port’s efforts not far from our offices in Wiscon- great events that
In my years as a train-watcher, the hot spot of sin, where one double-stack container train after took place dur-
the day has wandered across the map. At various another plies the main line of the former Soo ing the year that just
times, it’s been the export coal docks at Tidewater, Line, once a regional railroad and now a part of a was. Steam, diesel, heritage units,
continental network. photo specials, old favorites on
So as you read Bill’s story, the way out, locomotives on the
think about that hot spot of way to restoration, and even a
2020, and then picture yourself short-lived Amtrak wrap are all
in the boardroom of your favor- part of this fast-paced, 100-minute
ite Class I railroad. Try to imag- DVD by Contributing Videogra-
ine what the future holds for the pher Kevin Gilliam. The opening
long-distance, heavy haul, trans- sequence in which Grand Canyon
portation business. Where will Railway 2-8-0 No. 29 rolls under a
trains run constantly in 20 years BNSF freight on the Transcon is
when Trains celebrates its 100th worth seeing. But there’s much,
anniversary? What traffic source much more. This DVD and many
will we be writing about then? others from our growing catalog
The Powder River Basin has been a major hot spot for decades, and new Where is the next hot spot? Stay are available for purchase at
ones are on the way as traffic sources change rapidly. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn with us as we find out. KalmbachHobbyStore.com

Editor Jim Wrinn TRAINS.COM SELLING TRAINS MAGAZINE OR PRODUCTS IN YOUR STORE: Subscription rate: single copy: $6.99; U.S. 1 year,
Design Director Thomas G. Danneman Executive Producer A. David Popp phone: 800-558-1544 $42.95; 2 years, $79.95; 3 years, $114.95. Canadian:
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when credit is given. Title registered as trademark.
Production Specialist Sue Hollinger-Klahn Advertising Sales Representative Mike Yuhas Chief Executive Officer Dan Hickey
TRAINS assumes no responsibility for the safe return of
Librarian Thomas Hoffmann phone: (888) 558-1544, ext. 625 Senior Vice President, Finance Christine Metcalf
Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing Nicole McGuire unsolicited photos, artwork, or manuscripts. Acceptable
email: [email protected] photos are paid for upon publication. Photos to be
Columnists Vice President, Content Stephen C. George
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EDITORIAL are paid for upon acceptance. For information about
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Single-Copy Specialist Kim Redmond

TrainsMag.com 3
In this issue April 2020
Vol. 80, No. 4

Features COVER STORY

The [Arizona]
Prince Rupert
rises p. 34
Railroad Vision road less Canadian National
traveled p. 22 wants to duplicate the
2020: The next big-time success of
Far less busy than the
generation p. 20 Transcon, BNSF’s Phoenix
this small-town port
Fixing existing issues Bill Stephens
Subdivision features
is crucial to attracting astonishing scenery and
new railroaders impressive engineering An ‘Air Line’ at
Dan Cupper Ray Lewis ground level p. 42
The term for an 1875
Back to the railroad route that is
future p. 30 still used today
J.W. Swanberg
Dome car Selkirk joins
Canadian Pacific’s business
car fleet with classic lines Family matters
and modern amenities p. 44
Steve Glischinski
Father and son help
keep Buffalo Southern’s
Alcos running
Stephan M. Koenig

A chance
encounter, and
a moment of
clarity p. 48
Watching a routine
piece of railroading
is just plain fun
David Lustig

In My Own Words:
Close call at
Capreol p. 50
A ‘Bullet-Nosed Betty’ beats
down a row of boxcars
Gerald K. Holman

Gallery p. 62
CSX Transportation
Various photographers

<< Canadian National

SD70M-2 No. 8964 leads
train Q199 on the Albreda
Subdivision at Lucerne,
British Columbia, on
Feb. 24, 2011. Tim Stevens
In every issue
Online Content Code: TRN2004
Enter this code at: www.TrainsMag.com/code
to gain access to web-exclusive content

News Departments Commentary PRINCE RUPERT: Secret weapon for Canadian National p. 34

www.TrainsMag.com • April 2020

News p. 7 From the Editor p. 3 Bill Stephens p. 13

Interview with rail union’s Hot spots of our life and times Why not mothball
national legislative director; hump yards?
Lonely but
beautiful
Virginia’s passenger-rail deal Conversations p. 6
Comments from our readers Brian Solomon p. 14
Scenery and engineering on
Locomotive p. 16 When a train isn’t a train BNSF’s Arizona Peavine p. 22

Locomotive automation Preservation p. 52 and worse

Executive train
2020’s steam dreams adds a dome p. 30

Passenger p. 18 Father, son, and

the Alcos they
tend together p. 44
Is Amtrak the only state option? Train-Watching p. 54 PLUS
2020 vision: The next generation of railroaders p. 20
Short line: Bloomer ‘Air line’ time in New England p. 42

Shippers Line
ON THE COVER:
Ask TRAINS p. 56 BNSF train ZWSPPHX7-10
Class I railroad routes, rotary (Willow Springs, Ill.-Phoenix)
snowplow action, two-cycle rolls west near milepost 98
and four-cycle diesel engines between Hillside and Grand
View, Ariz., on Jan. 13, 2019.
Ray Lewis

On the web TrainsMag.com

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6 APRIL 2020
News
LOCOMOTIVE P. 16 • PASSENGER P. 18

THE TRAINS INTERVIEW

Gregory Hynes
Legislative director for rail union offers labor’s view of key industry issues

GREGORY HYNES IS NOT A legislative mon for railroad management In Vancouver, Wash., BNSF
STRANGER to railroading. representa- to be made up of people who Railway employees prepare to
The national legislative tive of Local had worked in the field. Nowa- make a crew change on a stack
director of the International 1081 at Glen- days, at least in most Class I train arriving via the Columbia
Association of Sheet Metal, Air, dale, Ariz. executives’ offices, that’s rare. River Gorge. TRAINS: David Lassen
Rail and Transportation Work- The follow- Is that bad for labor relations?
ers Transportation Division ing year, he
(SMART-TD) is a fifth-genera- became assis- Gregory Hynes A Absolutely. They used to
tion railroader who hired out tant legisla- promote from within the ranks
on the Atchison, Topeka & San- tive director for Arizona, then for all management positions.
ta Fe Railway in Los Angeles in director in 2009. Hynes was Now they’re hiring people with
1995. At the time, railroads elected national legislative direc- zero railroad experience who
were pushing for remote- tor in August 2019, replacing are managing people with 30
control locomotive operations long-time official John Risch. years’ experience, and it’s hard
in rail yards and Hynes thought Trains spoke with Hynes for those railroaders to work
that was unsafe. about Precision Scheduled under people who have never
“I wanted to get involved Railroading, crew size legisla- done the job.
and so I started attending tion, and other industry trends.
union meetings,” he says. “Then This conversation has been Q Unions have spoken out
I ran for union office and now edited for space and clarity. against the recent wave of
I’m here.” Precision Scheduled Railroad-
In 2003, Hynes was elected Q Decades ago, it was com- ing. Why is that?

READ THE LATEST RAIL NEWS. VISIT TRAINSMAG.COM TrainsMag.com 7

NEWS
A It’s a threat to jobs and the industry as a
whole. ... Accidents are up because they’re
doing fewer safety inspections, they’re
using fewer people so crews are continually
working on their rest, and they don’t let
people take time off when they’re fatigued
or sick because of non-negotiated availabil-
ity policies. ... And when they defer mainte-
nance or they do less maintenance, they’re
going to end up paying a cost somewhere
down the line.

Q SMART-TD has backed efforts in a

number of states to create minimum
crew-size laws, despite the Federal
Railroad Administration essentially
nullifying those laws when it withdrew
a notice of proposed rulemaking for a
crew-size law last year. Do you believe
legislation at the state and federal levels
will be effective?

A I really think it will, because I think the

more the general public hears about what The Washington Monument looms in the background as a Virginia Railway Express train passes
the railroads want to do, the more they will through Arlington, Va. Virginia will invest $3.7 million to improve rail infrastructure. Alex Mayes
be outraged. I don’t think the general pub-
lic will stand for [having one person on a
train carrying hazardous materials], just
like they wouldn’t stand for having one
pilot on a commercial airliner. It’s really
Virginia’s big deal
just a matter of educating the public. Plans for remaking rail service south of Washington
Q In 2019, Rio Tinto began operating begins to take shape after agreement with CSX
autonomous trains in Australia. Do you
think that technology could come to the THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA’S $3.7 “We’ve worked very well with CSX in
United States? billion agreement with CSX Transporta- the past on adding service incrementally,”
tion, unveiled in late 2019, will dramati- says Jennifer Mitchell, director of the Vir-
A Where they have the autonomous train cally expand rail capacity, setting the stage ginia Department of Rail and Public Trans-
out in Australia is on a route that doesn’t for more Amtrak and Virginia Railway portation. “Then this opportunity came up.”
have any grade crossings, there are no Express service. It could boost passenger- Virginia will pay CSX $525 million over
people nearby, and it’s basically out in the rail travel as far south as North Carolina, three years for property and track. The big-
middle of nowhere. But if you try to do that if not beyond. gest part of this deal: acquiring 100 miles of
in the United States, where you have thou- Projects in the agreement announced by CSX right-of-way between Washington and
sands and thousands of grade crossings, it Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will be com- Richmond. Essentially splitting the corridor
will be a really bad thing. The people on a pleted over a 10-year period. The deal in- down the middle, the Commonwealth will
train are the first responders in every cross- cludes acquisition of 225 miles of track and own all track within its right-of-way. CSX
ing incident. You won’t have that with an 350 miles of right-of-way from CSX. To will continue to own and operate its sepa-
autonomous train. help fund it, Northam in January proposed rate, but adjoining, right-of-way.
a 4-cent increase in the state’s gas tax. The Commonwealth also gets the CSX
Q In your view, how will the 2020 When completed in 2030, improve- line from Doswell to Clifton Forge currently
presidential election impact railroads ments will include a second two-track
and unions? bridge over the Potomac River, a fourth
mainline track between Crystal City and
A Whoever is in the White House deter- Alexandria, a third track from Franconia to
mines who’s at the head of the Federal Rail- Lorton, six new passing sidings, and a
road Administration, and if we see a con- Franconia-to-Springfield bypass for
tinuation of what we have right now, it will passenger trains.
not be good for rail safety or labor. This The first new service to result, likely in
current administration has not been 2021, would be an additional Amtrak
friendly to labor at all. Rail safety is not round trip to Norfolk and one new VRE
their primary function any more, as we saw round trip on the Fredericksburg Line.
in their decision to not implement a Later, four more Fredericksburg runs are
national crew-size rule. How is that in the planned, including new weekend and late-
best interest of safety? It’s all about protect- night service, along with additional round A VRE train arrives in Alexandria, Va., as the
ing the railroads’ bottom line, but that’s not trips on the Manassas Line. Those won’t sun sets in January 2014. VRE operations will
the FRA’s job. — Justin Franz begin until at least 2026. grow under the deal with CSX. George W. Hamlin

8 APRIL 2020
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“By 2030, once this is all built out, we
expect that we’ll be able to have more reli-
able service in addition to the additional
Switch Point Guard - Model FM
frequencies,” Mitchell says. The new bridge
alone will cost $1.9 billion.
The Virginia-CSX agreement is being
hailed as “transformational” and “a game-
changer,” but the deal isn’t quite done. The
Virginia transportation department and
CSX must conclude definitive agreements,
but Mitchell expects those to be done by
the end of this year.
One bottleneck likely to remain is in
Ashland, Va., north of Richmond, where
passenger and freight trains run on two
tracks down the middle of a street. “We’ve
committed to keeping that as a two-track • Innovative Design • Available for Most Rail
segment, so in Ashland, CSX will own one • More Service Life Sections and Gauge
track, and we’ll own the other track,” • Adjustable Plates
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challenge to dispatchers when the state WESTERN-CULLEN-HAYES, INC.
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Purchase of the CSX tracks west of
Doswell could allow the state to establish
an east-west corridor from the Tidewater
region through Richmond’s Main Street
Station to Charlottesville, where it would
San Francisco’s
join the route of the triweekly Cardinal to The story of how America’s
Clifton Forge. An increase in Cardinal most exciting and successful new
service is not part of the agreement, Vir- transportation experience was built!
ginia spokesman Chris Smith says. “Once By Peter Ehrlich
the transaction is final,” he says, “the state 324 pages with hundreds of photos, mostly in color,
will examine the Doswell-to-Charlottes- including detailed information on every heritage
ville segment where no passenger-rail streetcar operation in the U.S. Both historical and
services currently operate.” contemporary, this book recounts the renaissance of
traction in America.
Virginia initially entered the passenger Write or email for a free brochure about CERA and the
game by augmenting Amtrak north-south A New Book from benefits of membership.
service with a state-sponsored Washington-
Richmond round trip, but its investment Central Electric
increased with creation of a dedicated Rail Railfans’ Association
Enhancement Fund in 2005. The state’s in-
Bulletin 150
volvement grew again and gained a steady San Francisco’s F-Line
flow of sales-tax money in 2011 when that 324 pages, $65 postpaid
fund became the Virginia Intercity Passen- IL residents add $4.06 sales tax
ger Rail Operating and Capital Fund. That Central Electric Railfans’ Association
triggered route expansions to Lynchburg, P.O. Box 503
then Norfolk, and a subsequent extension Chicago, IL 60690, USA
of the Lynchburg round trip to Roanoke. E-mail: CERA-Chicago.org Visit CERA-Chicago.org for a free book catalog,
Dealer inquiries invited. membership, monthly meetings & events schedule.

TrainsMag.com 9
NEWS
From Amtrak’s inception, the state has
benefited from service on long-distance
trains — a list which currently includes the
Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Palmetto, Carolin-
ian, Crescent, and Cardinal — and trains
serving the Northeast Corridor, in addition
to its state-supported service. Having so
many options for passengers has helped
patronage on the state’s trains jump more
than 100%, from 446,609 in fiscal 2009 to
924,657 in 2019.
Inclusion of the S Line right-of-way in
Virginia’s deal has regional implications.
That routing between Richmond and
Raleigh, N.C., lost passenger service in
1986 when CSX decided to move freight
traffic to a parallel, ex-Atlantic Coast Line
route farther east; it was subsequently
abandoned north of Norlina, N.C., and While much of the route to Richmond, Va., will expand to three or four tracks, the section in
downgraded to the south. Ashland, Va., will remain two tracks and be a potential bottleneck. Bob Johnston
The S Line has been considered the best
option for a higher-speed Southeast corri- 161-mile S Line to service — including pay for four projects totaling $83 million
dor since it was so identified in a 1997 environmental work and other related costs, through an increasingly congested area
study. Restored to service, it could shave up as well as construction — is $3.8 billion, between Raleigh and Wake Forest, N.C.
to an hour off Richmond-Raleigh travel more than the entire Virginia program. While North Carolina continues to seek
times and pave the way for increased train Still, North Carolina is already benefit- grants, Virginia’s move gives the project an
frequencies. Travelers as far south as Atlan- ting from the S Line plans. The 2017 com- invaluable boost and energizes the possibil-
ta could benefit if the states of South Caro- pletion of a Federal Railroad Administra- ity that it will someday be completed.
lina and Georgia elected to support passen- tion Environmental Impact Statement for — Dan Zukowski and Bob Johnston. This
ger-rail investment. the route enabled the state to win a article was abridged from a three-part series
But the estimate for returning the $10-million federal grant that is helping that appeared on Trains “News Wire.”

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10 APRIL 2020
Humps idled, crews cut as UP remake continues
Railroad touts improved metrics under its version of PSR
CHANGES CONTINUE AT YARDS across Union and average train speed — improved dur-
Pacific as part of the railroad’s implementa- ing the fourth quarter. Cars traveled 5%
tion of its version of Precision Scheduled farther per day, spent 13% less time in
Railroading. The most recent move saw the yards, and train speed inched up 1%.
hump at Davidson Yard in Fort Worth, On-time performance, measured by car
Texas, shut down in January. It was the fifth trip-plan compliance, reached 76% for the
hump UP has idled since adopting E. quarter, up nine points from a year ago.
Hunter Harrison’s operating model. UP continued to move tonnage on fewer
The railroad also has shifted some but longer trains. Average train length for
switching from Settegast Yard in Houston the quarter was up 16%, or by 1,100 feet.
to nearby Englewood Yard, and concentrat- The average UP train is now 8,200 feet long.
ed Kansas City-area switching at 18th As a result, the number of crew starts
Street Yard after shutting down neighbor- dropped by 20% — well beyond the quar-
ing Armourdale Yard and previously idling terly 11% decline in traffic volume — and Days before it was shut down, cars are sent
the hump at Neff Yard. the railroad had about 3,100 locomotives over the hump at Union Pacific’s Davidson
“Going forward, we will continue to stored as of Dec. 31. Yard in Fort Worth, Texas, in January. UP
look for ways to reduce car touches, lead- UP has sold 200 stored units and operational changes continue. Lance Lassen
ing to additional terminal rationalization scrapped 100 others. It can quickly fire up
opportunities on our network,” Chief “hundreds” of locomotives if volume re- lengthen and add sidings this year, mostly
Operating Officer Jim Vena told investors turns, Vena said. in and around Texas, to accommodate
and analysts on UP’s fourth-quarter earn- Extending sidings is a focus of this year’s longer trains.
ings call. Classifying cars fewer times en smaller capital-spending plan, which does “These sidings will support our efficien-
route improves service by cutting transit not include money to complete Brazos Yard, cy initiatives by increasing the number of
times and boosting reliability. a hump yard UP was building at the junc- long trains we can operate in each direc-
UP’s key performance metrics — in- tion of seven routes near Hearne, Texas. tion, thus reducing demand for crew
cluding car-miles per day, terminal dwell, UP has earmarked $150 million to starts,” Vena said. — Bill Stephens

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TrainsMag.com 11
NEWS

NEWS BRIEFS
CEOs of CP, CN voice contrasting views of further rail mergers
Two railroad CEOs voiced support for autonomous track in- 195,800 people employed by railroads in
took contrasting posi- spection — a concept some rail unions are November 2019. Numbers have steadily
tions on further Class I opposing on safety grounds. “We’re going declined since the industry employed more
consolidation at indus- to find ourselves with a safer track structure than 1.5 million people in 1947.
try events in January. where those vehicles operate,” Batory said.
At the NATIONAL RAIL- CTRAIL’s Hartford Line, which debuted June
ROAD CONSTRUCTION Attorneys general from 15 states and the 2018, carried its millionth passenger in
AND MAINTENANCE AS- District of Columbia reported their opposi- November 2019 and is well ahead of original
SOCIATION Conference in Coronado, Calif., tion to a DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ridership projections, according to a release
Keith Creel of CANADIAN PACIFIC (above) proposal to allow the movement of liquefied from the office of Connecticut Gov. Ned
said mergers were inevitable “to create ca- natural gas by rail [“DOT Advances Plan to Lamont. Second-year ridership for the New
pacity by eliminating handoffs and inter- Permit LNG Moves by Tank Car,” “News,” Haven, Conn.-Springfield, Mass., service is
changes.” He said capacity gains created January 2020]. The opposition came in a now estimated at 750,000; original figures
by Precision Scheduled Railroading have letter filed with federal regulators. The rule projected 667,000 riders. Below, a CTrail
likely delayed when this will occur. The fol- follows an executive order by President train passes the former station at Walling-
lowing week, at the MIDWEST ASSOCIATION Donald Trump directing the Secretary of ford, Conn. TRAINS: David Lassen
OF RAIL SHIPPERS conference in Lombard, Transportation to allow LNG moves by rail.
Ill., CANADIAN NATIONAL CEO JJ Ruest said
cost savings associated with PSR de- A traffic downturn and changes brought by
creased the potential return from mergers. Precision Scheduled Railroading pushed
Ruest said railroads were more likely to the number of people employed by railroads
grow through acquisition of short lines. below 200,000 for the first time since the
government began tracking job figures in
Also at the NRC conference, FEDERAL RAIL- the 1940s. Preliminary numbers from the
ROAD ADMINISTRATION head Ron Batory U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS showed

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12 APRIL 2020
COMMENTARY

Why not mothball

hump yards? Bill Stephens
[email protected]
@bybillstephens
Operational changes make some humps redundant Blog: TrainsMag.com

H
unter Harrison famously closed hump yards while
bringing his Precision Scheduled Railroading operat-
ing model to Canadian National, Canadian Pacific,
and CSX Transportation. Conventional wisdom says
this signature move of PSR is part of cutting costs to
the bone. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. The idling of humps
is a byproduct of operational changes that render them superfluous.
It’s easy to see why the cost-cutting misperception persists.
After all, Hunter helped create it. He was a man in a hurry when he
arrived at CSX in March 2017. He put the cart before the horse, say-
ing CSX only needed three or four of its dozen hump yards even be-
fore figuring which humps would stay and which would be convert-
ed to flat-switching facilities or closed outright. A couple of humps
were hastily idled only to be reopened. And then new CEO Jim
Foote ordered the hump bulldozed at Tilford Yard in Atlanta, put-
ting an exclamation point on the fact that CSX had just four active
humps at the time of the railroad’s March 2018 investor day.
When Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern jumped on the PSR Union Pacific Railroad now puts more car volume over the twin
bandwagon, the first question everyone had was: How many humps humps at Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb. Chip Sherman
will they shut down? So far UP has idled the humps at five yards and
paused construction of its new hump yard near Hearne, Texas. NS, ine a Class I railroad being able to siphon as many as 10,000 cars per
meanwhile, has converted two hump yards to flat-switching. day out of its hump network. The math says that’s roughly the
Yes, idling humps saves money. But railroads don’t close humps volume that five hump yards might process daily. So the obvious
as some slash-and-burn exercise in rooting out costs. Rather, humps question becomes: Do we really have the volume to support humps
become unnecessary as operational changes shift their classification X, Y, and Z? If the answer is no, a hump gets mothballed.
work elsewhere or eliminate it altogether. PSR simply starves some Hump yards are great machines designed for classifying large
hump yards of the volume they need to survive. traffic volumes. But they aren’t flexible, which is one reason Class I
Unless you work in a hump yard, this is not a bad thing. Cars railroads are putting more emphasis on regional and local serving
spend 24 hours, on average, being processed through a hump. Then yards. These smaller flat-switching yards — which collectively might
consider that some cars were sent out of route to reach hump yards, comprise more than 80% of a railroad’s total switching capacity —
adding both cost and time. Every railroad wants to move freight are like a Swiss Army knife. They can classify traffic, block swap,
faster and more efficiently by reducing car-handling frequency. PSR hold safety stock of empty cars, and handle longer-term car storage.
reduces car handling by pre-blocking at origin — either at the cus- And since they serve local customers, you can’t do without them.
tomer’s facility or in a local serving yard — avoiding switching en These operational changes can snowball into a reduction in the
route, and emphasizing block swapping. Block swapping can save 18 number of cars online. When that happens, it creates added capacity
hours versus running a car over a hump. So the goal is to block swap in flat yards, allowing them to sort more and build more blocks. This
where you can, and switch only where you must. further eats into hump yards’ work. The upside is that the local yards
With this focus on doing more pre-blocking work, which in turn have more frequent departures due to their block swap options,
enables you to bypass intermediate switching, it’s not hard to imag- meaning cars can have new ways to reach their destinations.
As railroad operating plans evolve, the bottom line is this: Hump
WHICH HUMPS ARE IDLED? yards continue to play a vital role in moving rail traffic when they’re
Railroad Number of humps, locations idled under PSR at the right places and have enough volume. Otherwise, they’re toast.
CSX 7: Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Cumberland, Md.;
Transportation Louisville, Ky.; Hamlet, N.C.; Toledo, Ohio; Willard, Ohio And let’s face it. The long-term decline of carload traffic — and
Norfolk Southern 2: Allentown, Pa.; Sheffield, Ala. corresponding rise of intermodal and unit trains that don’t require
Union 5: Chicago; Fort Worth, Texas; Hinkle, Ore.; classification — means the North American hump network was ripe
Pacific Kansas City, Mo.; Pine Bluff, Ark. for rationalization. Perhaps the question shouldn’t be why railroads
Source: Railroad presentations as of Jan. 30, 2020 are doing this now in such a big way, but why it took so long. 2

TrainsMag.com 13
COMMENTARY

When a train isn’t

a train and worse Brian Solomon
[email protected]
@briansolomon.author
Blog: briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/
Confusion blooms from muddled, modern language Podcast: TrainsMag.com

Y
ears ago, I was visiting a transportation photo library
in Leicestershire, England. A potential client called
looking for a photo. I only heard the librarian’s end of
the conversation that ran like this.
“You require a photo of the Flying Scotsman? Do
you mean the locomotive or the train?,” followed by a long pause
to let a now confused caller digest his request for clarity. However,
as anticipated, the caller asked to know the difference between a
locomotive and train (as if these terms were interchangeable).
With a slight smile the librarian offered this perfectly British re-
sponse, “Well, sir, the first is the famous locomotive 4472; the other
is the train that connects London’s Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
Also, if you desire a photo of the train, are you looking for the
historic Flying Scotsman or today’s service of the same name?”
I felt like I was on the set of Monty Python’s “Flying Circus,” yet I
couldn’t help but side with the librarian in what had become a lin-
guistic standoff. His point being that we must distinguish between
the equipment and the service that the equipment provides. Further
confusing matters for our friends across the pond was that histori-
cally engine No. 4472 occasionally was assigned to lead the service
with which it shared its name. This incident inspired me to examine
the problems modern readers face in understanding railroad termi-
nology, beginning with “railroad” itself.
In the past, U.S. railroads operated trains that served stations. In
the early days, the mode was sometimes spelled Rail-road or Rail
Road, which reflected the nature of the word (a road made of rails).
Consider that the Long Island Rail Road still maintains this obso-
lete spelling. In many instances, the British term “railway” was used
almost interchangeably with “railroad.” For example, when a com-
pany was reorganized, in the company name “Railroad” might be
exchanged for “Railway,” while preserving the specifics associated
with the company; so, Santa Fe Railroad became Santa Fe Railway.
In those formative days the entire mode of transport was collective-
ly known as “the railroads.” Later, in North American parlance as
lighter forms of rail transport developed, “railway” was often used
to delineate street-car lines, “street railways,” as well as elevated rail-
ways, “subways,” and other specialized railroads from the more
heavily built, commercial, full-service railroads — sometimes called
“steam railroads” for added clarity.
Historically, a railroad station was where a railroad conducted
its business. The station may have included improvements such as
station buildings (originally known as station houses), platforms,
storage facilities, etc. Later, the public blurred the distinction be-
tween place and structure, leading to “railroad station,” implying
just the building. The difference between place and structure be-
came unclear in the 20th century as railroads scaled back services
and closed stations. This led to large numbers of former railroad

14 APRIL 2020
station buildings being adapted for other purposes. It has become service to focus entirely on freight; and passenger services, which
common to refer to repurposed railroad station structures as rail- have become the domain of public organizations, are often viewed
road stations (or depots) long after they lost their so-named func- differently. The result? Mass media use muddled terms such as
tion. This situation becomes especially confusing if the platforms “rail companies” and “train operators,” which on the surface appear
remain in use (or when these are re-established after a parallel with “bus companies,” etc., but lack the
long hiatus). Should the place where a railroad pauses universal clarity of “railroad.” So instead of railroad
its trains to do its business remain known as the rail-
INSTEAD OF stations, trains now pause for passengers at “train
road station even when the building has been sold for RAILROAD stations” or “rail stops.”
use as a pet shop, coffee house, or whatnot? STATIONS, TRAINS If language follows this logical progression, should
Since too often we have ceased describing where a NOW PAUSE FOR we call ports “boat stops” and airports “plane stops?”
railroad’s trains do their business as stations, the public Although we can recognize the degeneration of
has grown more confused as result of the blurred hard-
PASSENGERS AT the railroad in common usage, how can we expect to
ware/software distinction between rolling stock and “TRAIN STATIONS” correct the way the culture speaks and writes? This is
trains and the roles and function of the railroad station.OR “RAIL STOPS.” especially a problem, since most people don’t care
The results are common terms that evolved from this about distinctions that once defined the historical
lack of clarity, fueled by ignorance, and perpetuated by mass media. terms. Must we continue to suffer with trains that aren’t trains,
There’s an added complexity, stemming from the evolving role of stations that aren’t stations, and accept the fact that when we need to
the railroad. Most traditional railroads have shed their passenger travel by rail we’ll board “train cars” at a “rail stop?” 2

What should we call this modern structure at Sturtevant, Wis.? How about the
‘Sturtevant Amtrak Station?’ That works fine until some other organization
assumes operation of the trains that stop here. Brian Solomon
LOCOMOTIVE

Locomotive automation
The changing role of the engineer in the cab

A modern locomotive cab ENGINEERS HAVE ALWAYS HAD

includes Wabtec’s Trip Optimizer THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB when
in front of the engineer on the it comes to running freight
bottom half of the display and the trains. Every train is different,
PTC display on the left side of the from the number of locomo-
engineer above the control stand. tives, the distribution of cars
Stan Henderson and locomotives in the train, to
the environmental conditions
the train is traversing, but their
role is changing. With the ever-
increasing use of electronics,
computers, GPS, and wireless
technology in the industry, the
engineer’s job is slowly becom-
ing less relevant than any point A Norfolk Southern locomotive with New York Air Brake’s LEADER
in history. These advancements screen displayed on the right computer screen. New York Air Brake
allow a railroad to save money
that even the best engineer Air Brake’s LEADER software, a switch or crossover as to which
would have a hard time achiev- trip across a territory can now track the train will be using, so
ing. While the technology isn’t be more of a supervisory role it can slow down to the proper
perfect, the traditional role of when everything is running cor- speed if needed. With the right
an engineer in the cab has rectly. Energy-management sys- conditions, trains today can run
already begun to change. tems simply calculate the most hundreds of miles without
Today, for an engineer work- fuel-efficient run from end to intervention, with the engineer
ing for a railroad that employs end assuming clear signals all only taking control at the end of
an energy-management soft- the way. On multiple main their run to stop the train.
ware system such as Wabtec’s tracks, it will prompt the engi- For railroads running ener-
Trip Optimizer or New York neer at the approach signal to a gy management and PTC

16 APRIL 2020
NEWS PHOTOS

THE GREAT PUMPKIN, G&W Three Buffalo & Pittsburgh SD60I locomotives lead an empty coal train at Carbon Center, Pa., on Jan. 19, 2020. These
units, some of 13 comfort-cab SD60-series locomotives on the roster, are former CSX, originally Conrail, built in the mid-1990s. Brad Morocco

FRESH F Reading & Northern has repainted one of its new cab units, FOUND SPACE Union Pacific has taken advantage of its recently
former Norfolk Southern F9 No. 270. It is displayed at North Reading, closed hump yard at Neff Yard in Kansas City, Mo., by placing more
Pa., on Jan 12. Also new on the roster is F7B No. 275. Gary Pancavage than 100 locomotives not needed in the bowl tracks. Jeff Carlson

today, they are largely independent of each The next step some railroads are work- and refined, the engineer’s role will contin-
other for now. Energy-management sys- ing on is to integrate their energy-manage- ue to decrease. Like any new system or
tems today only know the territory and any ment and PTC systems. This allows a train integration of multiple systems, there are
temporary speed restrictions. PTC on the to be more fully automated such as slowing many bugs still being worked out which is
other hand handles the enforcement of for various signal aspects. Other systems where the engineer’s knowledge of their
speed restrictions, knows what each signal being developed will allow a manager at a territory acts as the fail-safe to ensure the
ahead displays, and how far it will take the rail yard to set an arrival time for a train, train is operated properly and safely. There
train to stop, constantly updating these with the request electronically delivered may eventually come a day when the engi-
parameters as the train continues down the and the train’s pace adjusted to allow arriv- neer’s presence and expertise are no longer
track. It will even blow the horn at grade al at the requested time. needed in the cab, but for now that day is
crossings if the engineer forgets. As more systems become operational still a long way off. — Chris Guss

TrainsMag.com 17
PASSENGER

Is Amtrak the only state option?

Costs, responsiveness invite consideration of other operators

A southbound San Joaquin LONG-SIMMERING UNHAPPINESS Powers Authority, the with the Passenger
calls at Fresno. California official of agencies running state-sup- agency overseeing Rail Investment and
Stacey Mortensen oversees the ported Amtrak trains is now the Amtrak opera- Improvement Act. Its
San Joaquins and Altamont public, thanks to a California tion, as well as the Section 209 provi-
Corridor Express commuter ser- transportation official. San Joaquin Regional sions permit the
vice. Three photos, Bob Johnston In a November hearing in Rail Commission, the national operator to
Washington, D.C., Stacey commuter authority. Stacey recover almost all of
Mortensen, who oversees both Testifying at a Mortensen its costs. “Nothing
Amtrak San Joaquin operations U.S. House of Repre- can be uniquely done
and the Altamont Corridor sentatives rail subcommittee for one property [because] it
Express commuter service, hearing on Amtrak operations, has to be done the same for
compared her frustrations with Mortensen said she found it all,” she says.
Amtrak to the partnership “absolutely astonishing” when In response to questioning
approach of ACE operator Amtrak officials told her in a by U.S. Rep Doug La Malfa
Herzog Transit Services Inc. meeting “that service cuts or (R-Calif.), Mortensen urged
Mortensen is executive di- reducing the number of railcars Congress to investigate
rector of the San Joaquin Joint used would not necessarily save Amtrak’s methodology for
us any money.” In contrast, dai- allocating maintenance costs.
ly collaboration with Herzog “It’s our equipment, and we
on the Stockton-San Jose ACE don’t even have a say in how it is
commuter service includes maintained,” Mortensen says.
adjusting bike-car deployment “The national program costs are
(more than 250 bicycles are assessed not by how much
often transported on four daily equipment we use or how much
trains each way), assessing labor is used to turn the
dwell-time issues, overhauling wrench.” Instead, they reflect a
schedules, and jointly evaluat- proportional share of Amtrak’s
ing capital expenditures. overall costs. “They just throw
Mortensen made it clear to [all expenses] in a barrel and re-
lawmakers — some of them spit them out to me. And now
tasked with revising Amtrak they have no relationship to
As seen from onboard the California car of one train, Amtrak San authorizing legislation this year how much work is being done.”
Joaquins meet north of Merced, Calif., on Oct. 22, 2019. — that much of the blame lies On a cost per passenger-

18 APRIL 2020
mile basis, and using the Federal Transit
Administration’s National Transit Database,
her team found that Amtrak’s San Joaquin
annual costs in 2018 “were three times
more expensive than those of our unionized
private contractor for our ACE service.”
North Carolina, which operates three
Raleigh-Charlotte Piedmont round trips in
addition to the New York-Charlotte Caro-
linian, outsourced maintenance of its own
locomotive and passenger-car fleet to an
independent contractor decades ago. But
virtually all other state operating authori-
ties rely on Amtrak to do the work, which
often includes periodic overhauls that get
more expensive as equipment ages.
Amtrak provides the states with a na-
tional reservation system. However, other Herzog Transit Services operates the Altamont Corridor Express trains. This ACE train is
contributions it historically offered region- crossing Altamont Pass Road on the eastern end of the pass in March 2015. Alex Mayes
ally — such as advertising, community out-
reach, marketing, and management dedi- in terms of access agreements and mutual- raised the damages cap to $294 million and
cated to specific corridors — have steadily ly beneficial network improvements.” extended it to all carriers following the fatal
atrophied since the late 1990s. That was Bennett Levin, a veteran private railcar 2015 Philadelphia derailment of Northeast
when then-President George Warrington owner and frequent critic of Amtrak’s cur- Regional train No. 188.
eliminated a business-unit structure that rent management and board of directors, Cutting the Amtrak cord could eliminate
included Oakland, Calif.,-based Amtrak in December proposed to the Pennsylvania synergies now achieved on heavily intercon-
West. Like other customer-facing aspects of legislature that the state acquire Amtrak’s nected operations such as the three Califor-
Amtrak’s business, cost-cutting to reduce Keystone Corridor. nia corridors, which have a robust Amtrak
“operating” losses has gained momentum “The Philadelphia-Harrisburg example Thruway bus network; Northeast Corridor
during the last two years under CEO Rich- is about as textbook as you can get; the partners like Virginia; and Chicago-based
ard Anderson, Board of Directors Chair- pieces are right there,” Levin tells Trains. Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin services.
man Anthony Coscia, and Senior Execu- “If it gains ownership, all the state needs Yet even in the Midwest, two round trips
tive Vice President, Chief Operating, and to do is contract with SEPTA [commuter from the Windy City to Rockford, Ill., now
Commercial Officer Stephen Gardner. operator Southeast Pennsylvania Trans- in the planning stages, would be possible if
The primary factor tethering most state portation Authority] rather than Amtrak Illinois utilized commuter operator Metra
operators to Amtrak is the national carrier’s to run all the trains, and negotiate sepa- for equipment and Union Station access and
statutory right of access to the rail network rately with Norfolk Southern to add more was able to work out track compensation
at incremental cost, and its established, if service on the Pennsylvanian’s route to with UP west of Elgin, Ill. A state spokes-
not always cozy, relationship with host rail- Pittsburgh.” His presentation argues that man tells Trains such an arrangement has
roads. Crew training and 24-hour central- Pennsylvania and SEPTA are together not been discussed and “is not being con-
ized support from Amtrak’s Consolidated paying Amtrak more than $1 million per sidered at this time.”
National Operations Center in Wilming- week to run both services. In any case, heightened scrutiny of Am-
ton, Del., are rightly valued by the rail- Amtrak historically had a liability trak’s costs and responsiveness will clearly
roads. Most have flatly refused to even con- advantage over other operators, but Levin be a contentious element of upcoming re-
sider other operators for intercity corridors, points out that evaporated once Congress authorization discussions. — Bob Johnston
which is why Amtrak was still the operator
when Indiana contracted with Iowa Pacific
to provide equipment and food service on
the Indianapolis-Chicago Hoosier State in
2015. That effort to lower costs and en-
hance onboard service didn’t end well:
Overall operation eventually reverted to
Amtrak, then ended last year when fund-
ing was cut from the state budget. Also, an
effort to outsource up to three Amtrak
long-distance routes, through 2017 Federal
Railroad Administration rulemaking di-
rected by Congress, had no takers because
of embedded Amtrak concessions and a
lack of railroad support.
On the other hand, commuter authori-
ties must strike separate access agreements
with host railroads anyway. Speaking of her
experience with Altamont Commuter Ex-
press, Mortensen told lawmakers, “We have Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian (left) and a Keystone Service train at Harrisburg, Pa. A proposal would
a very successful history with Union Pacific have the state acquire the Keystone route, with commuter railroad SEPTA as operator.

TrainsMag.com 19
 THE NEXT
RAILROAD Two Canadian National

VISION
crews chat during a crew
change at Neenah, Wis.,

2020
in April 2015. Will the next
generation of railroader

GENERATION
be as durable as this?
TRAINS: Brian Schmidt
Fixing existing issues is crucial to attracting new railroaders
by Dan Cupper

ITEM 1: U.S. unemployment is at a enter a probationary training period, with No sooner was the plan implemented
50-year low. classroom work and on-the-job experience systemwide than road foremen of engines
ITEM 2: U.S. railroad unemployment is paired up with a (hopefully, but not always) and trainmasters seized upon it as a new
shooting upward. experienced railroader. One railroad cut tool of discipline, with subjective and wildly
When major railroads are laying off this time from five months to 90 days to inconsistent levels of punishment.
mechanics and train-and-engine crews by save money. Railroading is a big, complex, When that vice president retired, NS
the hundreds, what incentives do they have dangerous workplace with its own safety dropped the program, as if it were just a
to attract new hires? culture, its own language, its own geogra- whim. But it had been one with serious
None, apparently, until Precision phy, its own rules, and its own procedures. consequences for people’s discipline
Scheduled Railroading goes away, with its Nobody can learn that in 90 days. records, and sometimes income.
emphasis on parking scores of locomotives A trainmaster in Pittsburgh once board- Many managers move on to other loca-
(so less need for mechanics) and running ed a local freight to ride along with a crew, tions, but the conductors, brakemen, and
3-mile-long trains with distributed power but neglected to bring hearing protection. engineers left behind have black marks,
(so no need for a second crew). With Wall The conductor offered her a pair of new valid or not, on their permanent record. This
Street pressure on managements for company-issued earplugs, which she ac- incentive program leads to raw, young
“enhanced shareholder value,” PSR could cepted. That left him without any earplugs, supervisors thinking that they understand
be around for a while. and she promptly wrote him up. the whole of railroading because they can
In the meantime, furloughs are becom- Many of these supervisors are hired off vigorously enforce “the one or two rules
ing common, and jobs are being abolished. the street or out of college, with little or no that they do know,” as one Amtrak engineer
With downsizing, engineers are sometimes practical experience. The fact that carriers told me. Reforming this culture would be
force-assigned as conductors, while con- allow this caliber of junior or middle man- like turning around an aircraft carrier in the
ductors are laid off. agement to oversee frontline T&E person- middle of the ocean.
The Trump administration reversed the nel doesn’t help retention, and only Also, some railroads routinely cheat
Federal Railroad Administration’s previous strengthens the case for union protection. employees out of pay they are due by union
support for two-person crews, and several One thing management can do is to contract, which depresses morale further.
Class I railroads make no secret of the fact eliminate a punishment-based By contract, employees are per-
that they’d like to run trains without any incentive system. Those who mitted to put in a claim docu-
crew members at all. write up lots of rule violations
NOBODY menting that they’ve performed
Candidates for train-and-engine work — valid or not — are rewarded CAN LEARN certain additional work that
already face high barriers in hiring: with bonuses, promotions, spe- RAILROADING earns them extra pay. But some
• Extensive background check, includ- cial privileges, and preferred IN 90 DAYS. accounting personnel and local
ing minor traffic violations. vacation schedules. supervisors reject claims rou-
• Willingness to forgo drugs (including A few bosses do buck the system, step- tinely, figuring that the employee won’t go
some prescription drugs) entirely, or alco- ping in to say, “here’s how to do it,” rather through the extra time and effort to resub-
hol any time they are subject to call. than immediately starting disciplinary mit it. This ends up saving a company
• Being available 24/7 — nights, week- action. But they pay a heavy price in lost millions of dollars.
ends, holidays, during family events. bonuses and promotions. “You guys make enough money,” one
• Willingness to minimize or cut ties A related hazard is the “weed weasel,” timekeeper told an engineer who called to
with family and friends because of being a supervisor who hides in the bushes to ask why his contractually valid claim was
constantly on call. watch an employee at work, popping out disallowed. Another admitted to a conduc-
On the last point, one young conductor with a “gotcha” when he spots an alleged tor that “I just reject all of them.” Carriers
hired on and after a while, his girlfriend violation — again, valid or not. An eager require crews to conform to their end of
gave him an ultimatum: “It’s either me or the assistant trainmaster, looking for more contract terms; it would improve morale if
railroad.” He chose the railroad. Recruiters notches in his holster, wrote up an engineer they were as rigorous in holding up their
aren’t kidding when they say, “Every rela- who was tying down his train for failure to end of the contract when it comes to pay.
tionship you have will either change or end.” completely close an engine’s window. If carriers want to attract or retain good
A change in the federal Hours of Service I have seen many young railroaders train-and-engine people, these are the
law gives employees guaranteed rest days go about their jobs diligently and taking sticking points:
after so many hours of work per week or pride in their work, only to be tripped up • Adequate training.
per calendar month. But that isn’t enough to by a minor-violation “gotcha” or a bogus • Zero tolerance for arbitrary or incon-
balance the fact that many younger people infraction. Nothing destroys morale more sistent discipline.
want nights and weekends free. quickly than this. • Honesty in paying what a union
Many hiring sessions begin with 100- A former Norfolk Southern vice presi- worker is due.
200 candidates. When recruiters outline the dent became enamored with the idea of Easily said, not so easily done. Aircraft
restrictions, the pool of interested people making conductors keep signal logs — carriers don’t turn on a dime. 2
drops to half, one-quarter, or even zero. If recording time, signal name, and indication,
anyone remains, testing begins — general after passing each signal. This was sup- DAN CUPPER is a retired locomotive engi-
aptitude, psychological — and that further posed to be a “silver bullet” that would neer for a Class I railroad who has written
narrows the field. keep conductors awake and put an end to more than 20 features for TRAINS magazine
Those who are offered positions then stop-signal violations. and 10 books on railroads and transportation.

TrainsMag.com 21
 THE

[ARIZONA] ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Far less busy than the Transcon, BNSF’s
Phoenix Subdivision features astonishing
scenery and impressive engineering

Story and photos by Ray Lewis

22 APRIL 2020
An unusually short train ZWSPPHX9-01
(Chicago-Phoenix) glides into Date
from Hillside as remnants of an over-
night storm linger on Oct. 3, 2018.
While Arizona gets plenty of sun, it’s
not uncommon for severe storms to
enhance the line’s beauty.
S
tanding on a section of abruptly interrupted the tranquility to de- across Northern Arizona, the busy former
right-of-way aban- clare the approach of a westbound train. Santa Fe transcontinental line boasts di-
doned long ago, a light The faint rumble of three General Electric verse scenery and plentiful trains, so it’s no
breeze cools the warm locomotives reverberates through Bells wonder why it garners so much attention.
sunrays and produces Canyon, and it isn’t long before the double What does come as a surprise is the lack of
the only sound in a lo- horseshoe curves are filled with 9,000 feet interest in the Phoenix Sub. Overshadowed
cation that seems thou- of merchandise destined for Phoenix. The by the main line that feeds it from the
sands of miles from view at Grand View truly is grand. north, the Phoenix Subdivision contains
civilization. The breeze The aptly named location of Grand View dramatic and changing scenery that is
and the sun evoke a re- is situated almost directly in the middle of a strikingly similar to, and in some cases
freshing feeling of soli- 206-mile BNSF route that serves the more impressive than, the Seligman Subdi-
tude. At an elevation of sprawling and fast-growing city of Phoenix vision. What the Phoenix Subdivision
4,230 feet, the vista is and its more than 4.5 million residents. lacks in train volume, it makes up for it
just as great with pan- Considered one of the most remote loca- with a spectacular environment. Whereas
oramic scenes of the Weaver and McCloud tions along the Phoenix Subdivision, Grand the Seligman Subdivision hosts an average
mountains in Central Arizona. Despite the View epitomizes the line’s grandeur, which of 80 trains per day, the BNSF operates a
solitary ambiance, civilization isn’t far. Just is filled with astonishing scenery and im- mere 4 to 10 trains a day through the
5 miles to the west is the tiny town of Hill- pressive engineering from end to end. Yet, Phoenix Subdivision.
side. And 6.5 miles to the east lies the town when most people think about BNSF in Long before BNSF, the line south to
of Kirkland, and the site of a BNSF Railway Arizona, the Seligman Subdivision is often Phoenix was completed on March 13,
trackside detector, that just seconds ago at the forefront of their minds. Stretched 1895, by the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix

24 APRIL 2020
 BNSF
ARIZONA Daze

N E V A D A
Ash Fork
Map area
Williams
Jct.

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BNSF
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BNSF
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SF

Ne
BN

Fla
Prescott
Hillside Skull Valley

C A L I F O R N I A
Cadiz Kirkland
Grand View
Date
ARZC Inset area Piedmont
Matthie Congress
ARZC
BN ARZC Matthie
SF
0 Scale 25 miles

nix
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Castle Hot Springs

Ph
A R I Z O N A UP
BN
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UP
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THE PHOENIX

ARIZONA PEAVINE

NEW MEXICO
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BNSF BNSF Railway

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UP Union Pacific

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AZCR Arizona Central

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ARZC Arizona & California

Be
0 Scale 100 miles

© 2020 Kalmbach Media Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson M E X I C O Nogales

of revisions, mitigating the most treacher- warrant control versus the more efficient
ous and grueling sections of the railroad. Centralized Traffic Control. For the next 26
Of note, three major improvements oc- miles, trains descend over portions of the
curred that forged the present-day railway. original Atlantic & Pacific/Santa Fe trans-
Let’s take a look at these. continental to Ash Fork. At Ash Fork, the
milepost immediately transitions from
MAJOR LINE RELOCATIONS 401.2 to 0, where the right-of-way makes a
The first major improvement was the hard turn south, picking up the former
Ash Fork-to-Abra line relocation of 1902, Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix line. From
which moved 26 miles out of the problemat- here, the rails guide trains in a general
ic Limestone Canyon to the more manage- southward direction for the next 145 miles.
On a beautiful October morning, westbound able Hell Canyon. The second was the 1960 However, it is far from a straight shot, as
train VCLOPHX1-02 (Clovis, N.M.-Phoenix) Santa Fe transcontinental Crookton line the right-of-way remarkably winds and
crosses Little Hell Canyon bridge just south change, where the largest impacts were the twists along some of Arizona’s most
of Ash Fork. The train is traveling through the transfer of 26 miles to the Phoenix route and
dense scrub spruce trees that engulf the the abandonment of the east-west main line
northern region of this line. In a few short
miles, the density of trees will diminish as
west of Williams through Johnson Canyon.
The final major improvement occurred in THESE EARLY PROJECTS
DRASTICALLY IMPROVED
the train makes its way through Chino and 1962 with the Abra-Skull Valley line change.
Williamson valleys. This realignment bypassed Prescott through
the steep and rocky Sierra Prieta Mountains,
Railway in order to meet the demands of creating a short-lived Prescott branch line OPERATIONS FOR A RAIL-
the booming Arizona mining industry and and slashing 14.4 miles off the timetable.
the rapidly expanding city of Phoenix. The
new railway quickly earned the nickname
Combined, these efforts eliminated the
route’s steepest grades, countless wooden
ROAD THAT CONTINUES TO
“the Peavine” for its twisting and winding
path through the southwestern terrain,
bridges, numerous 12-degree curves, and its
tunnel clearance limitation. These early
SERVE A VITAL ROLE IN
similar to how a pea vine would grow and
entwine itself on its host. Barely acceptable
projects drastically improved operations for
a railroad that continues to serve a vital role THE ARIZONA
for 19th-century railroad operations, the
route was archaic in nature and far from
in the Arizona transportation network.
BNSF trains bound for Phoenix diverge TRANSPORTATION
being able to offer efficient service. As from the transcontinental route at Williams
such, the line to Phoenix has seen its share Junction (MP 375.1), operating on track- NETWORK.
TrainsMag.com 25
On a stormy Oct. 3, 2018, dark skies
and a bright rainbow accentuate
the scene as train ZWINPHX9-03
(Winslow, Ariz.-Phoenix) is west-
bound near Drake. The daily
high-priority intermodal is assem-
bled at Winslow and consists of
cars from other transcontinental
train movements.
 THE
remote, scenic, and variable terrain before
it levels out near Castle Hot Springs (MP
150.3). The remaining 44 miles are pretty
much a straight shot that stretch across the
TRAIN-WATCHER’S GUIDE
FIRST, FULL DISCLOSURE regarding the photographs included in this article: All
desert floor and onto the western (track- but one were captured with a drone. As much as I love to hike in search of new views,
west/compass-south) termination point of there are so many photogenic locations along the Phoenix Subdivision where you just
Phoenix (MP 194). cannot get the elevation needed without a drone. Additionally, access to the Phoenix Sub
On average, trains on the Phoenix Sub can be tricky. Except for Tucker and Kayfour, you can generally follow the entire route from
weigh about 4,000 tons and are 5,000 feet Mobest yard in downtown Phoenix all the way to Williams Junction. However, it does take
long, however, this can vary. Eastbound some map familiarization and dirt-road travel to get closer to the tracks in most areas. Next,
trains cannot exceed 6,500 tons or 7,500 insight to operations are critical to having success on the Phoenix Subdivision. Learning
feet. For westbound traffic, freights operat- traffic patterns can help tremendously, and there are some great public resources available:
ing between West Williams Junction and Scanner Radio Pro, Phoenix Sub Group Facebook page, and the Robo-Foamer Williams
Phoenix that exceed 7,500 tons must have Junction alert (https://railfanaz.com/). The online scanner station (BNSF/UP Phoenix Area)
helper/distributed power and are limited to can be downloaded on smartphones. Coverage extends from Phoenix all the way to Con-
9,100 tons. Currently, the only trains that gress, sometimes as far as Hillside. I use that in conjunction with my handheld scanner no
use distributed power are inbound (west) matter where I am on the line. On Facebook, the BNSF Phoenix Sub Group is a great source
unit ethanol and manifests that exceed of “heads up”-type information from fans and employees. The last publicly available source
7,500 tons. In early 2019, BNSF experi- is the RoboFoamer track alert. The site sends notifications directly to email inboxes every
mented with Precision Scheduled Railroad- time a train enters and exits Williams Junction. — Ray Lewis
ing tactics when a Phoenix-to-Willow
Springs, Ill., Z-train left Glendale, Ariz.,
with an uncharacteristic three-by-two loco- (6,252 feet), Hillside (8,200 feet), Skull Val- 206 MILES EQUALS 7 HOURS ON THE ROAD
motive configuration, as well as running ley (double track; 6,256 feet), Tucker (6,262 For nonstop trains, the 206-mile trip
two train symbols as one train (see photo feet), Abra (6,188 feet), Ash Fork (5,650 feet) takes 6.5 to 7 hours (on average) to travel
below). Early speculation suggested that and Williams (5,600 feet). Meets are inter- in either direction. More specifically, it
PSR would result in longer train lengths esting as conductors hand throw all switch- takes roughly an hour (slightly over an
and a lower daily train count, however, for es. In fall 2019, the train holding the siding hour in some cases) to run between each
now it appears the Phoenix Subdivision is was required to realign the switch for main- of the following two points; Williams to
back to its normal operations. line movement and would be issued permis- Ash Fork, Ash Fork to Tucker, Tucker to
Nonetheless, today’s traffic levels are up sion for a reverse movement under General Kirkland, Kirkland to Piedmont,
from years past. Despite train counts being Code of Operating Rules, rule 6.6 “Picking Piedmont to Castle Hot Springs, Castle
far from overwhelming, meets are common Up Crew Member” once back onto the Hot Springs to the Phoenix area. Natural-
and add complexity to operations due to main. But a recent procedural shift allows ly, these times are tentative as several fac-
their limitations. There are 10 locations used crew members to leave switches open fol- tors can extend travel time. It’s not un-
to deconflict traffic: Beardsley (double track; lowing meets, which saves time but forces common for a train crew to run out of
6,784 feet), Castle Hot Springs (7,100 feet), the next oncoming train to stop and realign hours, resulting in trains getting tied
Matthie (Arizona & California main), Date the switch to continue on the main line. down. Additionally, track maintenance,

On Jan. 27, 2019, 9,088-foot BNSF train QCHIPHX6-23 (Chicago-Phoenix) had 38 auto racks tacked to the rear. Ordinarily solid container/trailer traffic,
the train with the additional auto racks, adding 1,500 feet to its normal length, hinted at Precision Scheduled Railroading at the time.

TrainsMag.com 27
On Sept. 22, 2018, train ZWSPPHX7-20 (Chicago-Phoenix) west winds through and fills up the enormous S-curve at Daze. At 1.8%, Daze
encompasses the steepest grade on the Phoenix Subdivision. This location was part of the original transcon alignment that was bypassed
as a result of the Crookton line change. While it has a siding, it is not used or maintained for meets.

TRAINS OF BNSF RAILWAY’S PEAVINE

WESTBOUND EASTBOUND
Scheduled Scheduled
HBELPHX – departs Belen, N.M., Wednesday-Monday around midnight (on BPHXLAC – every day/usually has empty containers. Runs on ARZC from Matthie
Phoenix Sub 2-3 days later) or up to Winslow, then back west to Los Angeles. (normally departs afternoon)
VCLOPHX – departs Clovis, N.M., every day except Wednesday and Saturday (on HPHXBEL – departs Phoenix every day except Saturday (arrives at Williams
Phoenix Sub 1-3 days later) around 6 a.m.)
QCHIPHX – departs Chicago Tues., Wed., and Sun. (on Phoenix Sub 2 days later) MPHXPHX – departs Phoenix every morning, interchanges with ARZC at Castle
ZWSPPHX – departs Willow Springs, Ill., every day except Sunday (on Phoenix Hot Springs
Sub 2 days later) QPHXCHI – departs Phoenix Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday 8 a.m.
ZWINPHX – departs Winslow, Ariz., daily except Sunday, short train 100 axles/ ZPHXWSP – departs Phoenix Tuesday through Saturday at 8 a.m.
avg. (on Phoenix Sub same day) Unscheduled
ZALTPHX – departs Alliance Yard near Fort Worth Sat. (on Phx. Sub Sun. afternoon) BPHXCHI – empty containers
MPHXPHX – departs Phoenix every morning, interchanges with ARZC at Castle VPHXELP – empty auto (although unscheduled, an empty auto runs almost daily
Hot Springs at the time of this publication)
Unscheduled, as needed VPHXWAT – empty auto
HBARPHX – runs on ARZC to Matthie as needed VPHXKCK – empty auto
URAVPHX VPHXGUP – empty auto
UHKNPHX UPHXHKN – empty unit ethanol
VKCKPHK UPHXRAV – empty unit ethanol
VVAUPHX

28 APRIL 2020
crew changes, and the aforementioned
meets can all extend these approximate
train times. Still, travel time is much more BACK THEN,
HOPPERS FILLED
efficient today than on the A&P.
Back then, hoppers filled with mining
loads ruled. Today, BNSF’s traffic mostly
consists of intermodal trains. But BNSF WITH MINING LOADS
also operates a fair share of auto as well as
a few mixed freight, baretable, and unit
ethanol trains (see the table at bottom left
RULED. TODAY,
for train symbols/schedules).
In 2007, the aggregate weight of all
BNSF’S TRAFFIC
product traversing the line was 9 million
gross tons (6 million inbound/3 million MOSTLY CONSISTS OF
outbound). To add context, it accounts for
just under 10% of the traffic on the Selig- INTERMODAL TRAINS.
man Sub. Included in the tonnage is regu-
lar traffic for a couple of BNSF Railway
partners, operating on former Santa Fe than makes up for it in scenery and track
branch lines. On weekday mornings, engineering. In typical Southwest fashion,
BNSF and Arizona & California Railroad visitors can witness a variety of Arizona
exchange trains. The Arizona & California scenery (and weather) as the right-of-way
actually enters BNSF territory at Matthie, transitions from the dense ponderosa
where it continues west to Castle Hot pines in the Kaibab Forest, across the high
Springs. Once the two railroads exchange plains and rocky desert of Yavapai County,
cars, the Arizona & California runs east down into the vast desert floor of the
back to Matthie. BNSF also interchanges greater Phoenix area. Embedded into the
traffic with the Clarkdale Arizona Central Arizona landscape for nearly 125 years,
Railroad at Drake every Wednesday and the line’s true charm resides in its topog-
Saturday. With this interchange, BNSF raphy, where the existing curvature
simply drops off the cars at Drake where engineered to negotiate the terrain is
the short line will transport the loads over simply exquisite.
its own tracks. If you’re interested in a less
Even with the shortline interchanges, frequented, yet scenic route, divert from
traffic on the Phoenix Subdivision pales in the main line, explore the back roads of
comparison to its northern partner. Arizona along the Phoenix Subdivision
Although it lacks traffic volume, it more and find your own “Grand View.” 2

Saguaros are synonymous with Arizona, and the Phoenix Sub has a fair share of them in the
lower desert regions. Empty auto rack train VPHXELP4-06 (Phoenix-El Paso) crosses the
Hassayampa River near milepost 147, entering the Hassayampa River Canyon on May 17, 2017.

TrainsMag.com 29
 BACK

Canadian Pacific reno-

vated and debuted dome
car Selkirk in June 2019.
The new car (center),
fabricated from a former
Southern Pacific tavern
car, is part of a business
train at Banff, Alberta.

30 APRIL 2020
TO THE FUTURE
Dome car Selkirk joins Canadian Pacific’s business/heritage car
fleet with classic lines and modern amenities
by Steve Glischinski
Photos by Canadian Pacific Railway

second-largest single order for the Budd

Co.’s famous short domes (the largest was
for the California Zephyr in the 1940s). The
cars were ordered to re-equip the Montre-
13, 2019, and for its first trip operated from al/Toronto-to-Vancouver Dominion and
CP headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, to create a totally new train in 1955 on the
Banff, Alta., and Golden, British Columbia, same route, the Canadian. CP ordered 36

A
and return, the route CP dome cars once of what it termed “Scenic Domes:” 18 Park
t the end of a pleasant trip aboard traversed when it operated passenger trains. series dome-sleeper-observation lounges
Canadian Pacific Railway’s busi- Canadian Pacific has a long history with and 18 dome-coach-buffet lounges. Most of
ness-car train in 2017, CP dome cars — arguably much longer than the cars are still in service today, but are
President and CEO Keith Creel you might think. In 1902 and 1906, CP’s owned by VIA Rail. Now CP has returned
stepped off and found Kevin shops built four wooden cars that had large to its dome-car heritage, albeit with a car
Hrysak, senior manager heritage opera- cupolas at each end. In between were a unlike any it had previously owned.
tions, and Justin Tracy, manager heritage clerestory center with large windows and
operations and mechanical. Creel com- revolving leather chairs. Passengers could FINDING THE DELOREAN
mented on how wonderful the train was sit in the windowed cupolas, which project- With Creel’s edict, Tracy began a search
and asked the two men what it was miss- ed 3 feet above the roof line, and look out for an appropriate car to add to the fleet.
ing. Before Hrysak or Tracy could respond, in all directions. The cars were used He already had one type in mind: a South-
Creel said, “A dome car.” between Donald and Revelstoke, B.C., ern Pacific three-quarter dome. Back in
Creel’s question (and answer) resulted in over the Selkirk Mountains. They were 2002, he had walked through privately
the acquisition and rebuilding of former scrapped in 1913. owned No. 3604 at the Golden Gate Rail-
Southern Pacific three-quarter dome No. In the modern era, CP only owned road Museum. “I had never seen a three-
3605, Selkirk. The car entered service June “short” domes. In 1954, CP placed the quarter dome and never been in one. After
 CP determined its twin-cupola, glass-roofed
wooden observation cars, like this one from
the early 1900s, became uncomfortably
warm. The Selkirk has three air conditioners.

1985, it was sold for a planned railroad mu-

seum in California and moved to Denver,
but the plans fell through, and in 1991, it
was sold again and placed in excursion ser-
vice in Mexico by Bananafish Tours. Even-
tually, it was used in Copper Canyon excur-
sion service. In 2000, the car was sold to the
Royal Gorge Route in Cañon City, Colo.,
where it ended up in storage when the rail-
road purchased three other full-length
domes. That’s where Tracy found the car.
Despite years of storage, most of the
With side panels removed, the Selkirk undergoes rehabilitation at CP’s Ogden facility in components were in good condition: “It had
Calgary. The thin original skin and bad side sills necessitated the total skin-off restoration. good bones,” Tracy says. The car was pur-
chased in May 2018 and shipped to Calgary.
that walk-through, I said to myself, ‘This is weren’t full-length domes — the dome only It was essentially a shell, with most windows
something special.’ There’s not another car runs three-quarter of the length of the car. missing and no interior furnishings. Tracy
that has that open ceiling to it.” They were built for service on the San Joa- says that actually was beneficial, since CP
Rather than having all seats under the quin Daylight, Shasta Daylight, and the San planned to tear the car down to a shell any-
dome as most cars have, SP domes had two Francisco Overland, and were later used on way before inspection and rebuilding could
levels. At “ground” level was a 20-seat the Coast Daylight and the City of San begin. “In very short order, we could get
lounge with the dome high overhead. Stairs Francisco. Budd built the upper dome por- down to the business of doing further tear
then went from the lounge to the dome. tions of the cars. At 15-feet, 2-inches tall, down for the side sills that it needed and
When in regular service, there was a disad- they had the shortest dome height of any
vantage in this design for passengers walk- dome car. Four of the cars survive, but only
ing through the train — they had to come one other is operable: No. 3603 is painted
through the lounge, up the stairs to the in Kansas City Southern’s “Southern Belle”
dome, then down another set of stairs back colors and used on Panama Canal Railway
to “ground” level to exit the car. In private passenger trains between Panama City and
train service, the design has become a plus. Colón, Panama.
“It’s all free flowing, unlike some of the other
dome cars,” Hrysak says. Acquiring an ex-SP BUILDING THE DELOREAN
dome was an easy sell to Creel, he says. The Canadian Pacific car was fabricated
Selkirk is one of seven dome cars de- from SP tavern car No. 10312, built by Pull-
signed by Frank H. Stengle Jr. and built by man Standard in 1937, and was outshopped
SP at its Sacramento Shops during 1954 in May 1955 for Shasta Daylight service. It
and 1955. The railroad claimed that most became Amtrak No. 9374 in 1972, and was
dome cars were too tall to fit through its retired in 1981. The car was sold to Mickey
tunnels and snow sheds, so it designed and Stanley of Colorado Springs and his Stanley
built its own domes out of older cars. They & Co. where it was used as an office. In

32 APRIL 2020
reinforcement in the structure of the car,” he GREAT SCOTT! market the car to attract more charter cus-
says. “Any way you look at it, it was a ground CP wanted the car to be maintenance tomers, Hrysak says. If CP runs public char-
up restoration. You start out with bare bones friendly, so renovators used “off the shelf ” ters, the car may be used, he says, but it will
and work back.” components and planned for easy access to not be used on CP’s annual Holiday Train
Work on the car began in August 2018 maintenance areas. A Calgary-based com- because of subfreezing temperatures.
with a mix of CP employees and contrac- pany built a custom electric slide to replace Creel bragged about Selkirk at the rail-
tors. It really kicked into full gear that Sep- the air slides for the entry doors. Three air- way’s annual shareholder meeting on May 7,
tember at the former CP locomotive shop at conditioning units, totaling 27 tons alternat- 2019. “This car is going to be ... the nicest
Ogden Yard in Calgary now used for work ing current, replace two units once powered heritage railcar in the world — not Canadi-
on the heritage fleet. One of the first inspec- by Waukesha ice engine generators and pro- an Pacific, not North America — in the
tions that took place was where the dome pane tanks, saving weight. A 176-kw self- world,” Creel said. “A hundred and fifty
met the carbody. All the “skin” of the car contained generator provides power for Sel- years from now, somebody’s going to be rid-
was pulled off so sandblasting and cleanup kirk and other cars, and serves as a backup. ing that car and say, ‘Gosh, those guys and
could begin. The car frame and sills were The car is used for comfort, so seating gals at CP back then really got this right.’
coated with anticorrosion material. There capacity was reduced, Hrysak says. “Where Because it’s special.” 2
was some water intrusion where the front the car used to seat around 60, it now has
and rear of the dome met the car; that was 11 seats in the lounge and 40 on the upper
cleaned and repaired. Tracy and his crew lounge level for a total of 51.” Tray-style ta-
replaced sheet metal with thicker steel on bles are located by the captain’s chairs. An
the outside of the car, and inspected and electrically driven, retractable flat-screen TV
repaired the side sills. The dome structure folds into the wood-paneled ceiling above
itself needed little work. Tracy got in touch the bar. Wi-Fi and a state-of-the-art sound
with Pete Messina, who had worked on the system are among the 21st-century ameni-
restoration of the Panama Canal Railway ties. The car was named Selkirk after the
dome, to bounce off ideas and to “make British Columbia mountains in CP territory.
sure we were in the realm of reality” for While CP wouldn’t share restoration
some of the things he wanted to do. costs, Hrysak says the cost was “far less than
One of the goals was to create a conver- buying one brand new or what is being
sation space for large group meetings. Parlor spent on cars currently being restored by
observation captain’s chairs and recliners others.” The car is only being used for inter-
were installed in the dome. Eight soft-leath- nal company functions, Hrysak says, but is
er chairs with four tables were added in the available for charter trains. CP intends to
lounge section, but can be changed, depend-
ing on the type of meeting or event. A new
bar was built and installed. The car original-
ly did not have a bathroom so one was add-
ed where the storage room used to be. Tracy
wanted to leave a “little SP in the car” so in a
salute to its Southern Pacific heritage, the
exterior doors retain their round porthole
windows, SP-style speaker grilles were
installed, and it was numbered CP 3605.

Three photos at right: Leather-covered

captain’s chairs, booths, and tables are
available for group meetings inside Selkirk.
Below: At the Royal Canadian Pacific pavilion
at Calgary, Selkirk gleams with one of the
railroad’s F units in the background.

TrainsMag.com 33
 Canadian National wants to
duplicate the big-time success
of this small-town port
by Bill Stephens

YOU COULD CALL CANADIAN NATIONAL a lopsided railroad. Doug MacDonald, who headed CN’s Eastern Region until Decem-
For 15 years it’s been the fastest growing of the big six railroads in ber, put it this way at CN’s 2019 investor day: “It’s a nice anemic
North America. But most of the growth has come in Western little arm going out to Halifax.”
Canada, where the railroad is bulging with intermodal, petro- CN has adopted what CEO JJ Ruest calls a “Feed the Beast”
chemical, and bulk traffic. CN’s challenge has been to lay down strategy to fill up the eastern half of the railroad. As manufacturing
new track fast enough to keep up with the surging demand west and related carload traffic wane in Eastern Canada, Ruest wants to
of Chicago and Toronto. more closely tie CN to the 125 million consumers living in Toronto,
It’s a different story east of those cities. Glance at a traffic density Montreal, and the U.S. Midwest. And that means finding a way to
map and the problem leaps off the page: Tonnage lines get thinner put more intermodal traffic on a railroad that Ruest says has
the farther east you go. By the time you reach Halifax, Nova Scotia, “capacity galore.”
CN’s main line hosts a grand total of four road freights per day. A key to Feed the Beast is duplicating the success of CN’s service

34 APRIL 2020
 The Fairview Container Terminal
at Prince Rupert can handle a
pair of the largest container
ships afloat today and is under-
going expansions that will boost
capacity 30% by 2022. Jan
Vozenilek, Prince Rupert Port Authority

to the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, by turning Halifax other points in the U.S. Midwest.
and Quebec City into Ruperts of the East. And why not? Prince Ru- Little of this volume is really new. Prince Rupert and CN have
pert has been the fastest growing port in North America for more simply picked the pockets of other West Coast ports. Boxes that
than a decade. Since the Fairview Container Terminal hosted its previously took BNSF Railway and Union Pacific trains from Los
first ship in October 2007, the port’s tonnage has more than dou- Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., to Chicago, for example, now ride
bled — and port officials expect it to double again within 10 years. behind CN power from Rupert to the Windy City, largely on
Prince Rupert now accounts for more than a quarter of CN’s in- account of superior overall transit times.
ternational intermodal volume. A third of the boxes that land there Now CN is intent on doing the same thing on the East Coast.
are bound for Toronto, Montreal, and other destinations in Canada. CN hopes an expanded and upgraded container terminal at the
The rest — loaded with everything from auto parts to consumer Port of Halifax, which should be completed this fall, can grab
goods like furniture and clothing — are destined for Chicago and some of the containers that land at the Port of New York and New

TrainsMag.com 35
 Canadian National C40-8 No. 2029, in service as the terminal switch-
er, trundles along the on-dock trackage at the Fairview Container
Terminal in Prince Rupert on Sept. 13, 2019. Two photos, Bill Stephens

Add it all up, says Lonny Kubas, CN’s assistant vice president for
supply chain, and it’s a recipe for service that’s faster and more con-
sistent. “Time to market is critical,” he says.

RUPERT ON A ROLL
It’s a 2-hour flight from Vancouver to the Prince Rupert airport
on neighboring Digby Island. Your lift from the airport, a retired
school bus still wearing yellow paint, rumbles off the ferry, up a
ramp onto Kaien Island, and immediately clanks across the CN
tracks in Prince Rupert. As the crow flies, you’re 450 miles north of
Vancouver, 30 miles from the southern tip of Alaska, and 70 miles
from the nearest inland town. It feels like you’ve arrived in the mid-
dle of nowhere. But you’re really in the middle of a thriving global
Train Q199 from Chicago moves through Control Point 66.4, some 30 trade route that boasts the shortest sailing time linking China,
miles from Prince Rupert on Sept. 13, 2019. The Yellowhead Highway, Japan, and South Korea with North America. Look to the left and
the only road out of Prince Rupert, follows CN along the Skeena River. the end of CN’s BC North Line is just around the bend. Look to
your right and there it is: Fairview’s towering cranes unloading
Jersey and ride CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern trains containers from a pair of massive ships, one each from Maersk
to Chicago. CN also is a partner in a new container port that will and COSCO Shipping.
be built in Quebec City and could open as soon as 2024, giving The next evening international containers roll by you at Port
the railroad yet another way to bring goods from Southeast Asia Edward, B.C., where the CN main passes the North Pacific
and Europe to the Midwest. Cannery National Historic Site, a jumble of buildings along the
Rupert, Halifax, and Quebec City are an unlikely trio bound Hecate Strait that once processed the local salmon catch. The
together by CN rails. But what they have in common, CN says, is a headlight of eastbound train Q198 slices through the September
winning combination on any coast. First, CN is the only railroad to drizzle and illuminates grading work for an extended siding that
serve each port. Second, the port authorities, terminal operators, will lead to the port. Behind just two units, the 12,000-foot stack
and CN work closely together to attract shippers and steamship train is a dozen miles into its 2,600-mile journey to Chicago with
lines. Third, each port has on-dock rail service for efficient, low- boxes destined for Chicago, Detroit, and, via Norfolk Southern,
cost terminal operations. Finally, all of the ports have a speed ad- Columbus, Ohio.
vantage by virtue of reduced sailing times and a lack of congestion. Prince Rupert’s container volume has ramped up year after

36 APRIL 2020
 Dawson Creek

Kitwanga MacKenzie

N Smithers
BRITISH
Dorreen BRITISH
Prince COLUMBIA ALBER TA
Terrace COLUMBIA
Rupert Telkwa
Fort St. James
Map area
Heca

Houston
te S

Kitimat Canadian National Vanderhoof

trai

VIA on CN
t

Other CN lines (not all lines shown) Prince To Toronto

0 Scale 100 miles George and Chicago
© 2020 Kalmbach Media Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson

McBride
Dunster
Prince
Rupert Taverna Jasper
To Vancouver
Edmonton
Prince Saskatoon
George Jasper Quebec
Thunder Bay City
Moncton An eastbound CN stack train is seen from the
Winnipeg
dome observation car bringing up the rear of
Vancouver East Regina
Saint John Halifax VIA Rail train No. 5 west of Prince George,
British Columbia. Bob Johnston
Duluth Sault Montreal
Traffic density (GTM/route-mile) Ste. Marie
Over 100 million Toronto
50-100 million Chippewa Falls
go

Arcadia Buffalo
ic a

30-50 million
Ch

10-30 million
Joliet Detroit
up to 10 million
Omaha
Intermodal terminal
Port St. Louis Decatur

Memphis

Jackson
PRINCE RUPERT’S Mobile
EVOLVING ROLE New Orleans

FOR CN

year, filling stack trains like the Q198. During its first full year in Major expansions are under way to support the ongoing traffic
operation in 2008, Fairview handled 182,523 TEUs, or 20-foot boom. A pair of projects will boost Fairview’s capacity 30% by
equivalents, the standard measure of international containers. 2022, to 1.8 million TEUs. The terminal will be able to handle five
After a series of expansions, including a second berth and the or six daily departures, along with an equal number of inbound
addition of the largest cranes, the terminal hit the 1 million an- trains. That’s up from three or four in each direction today.
nual TEU milestone in December 2018. Container volume was The port in May announced it was eyeing development of a sec-
up 17% in 2019, to 1.2 million TEUs, even as volume fell at Los ond container terminal between the Fairview terminal and Ridley
Angeles and Long Beach. CN estimates it will see up to $350 mil- Island, which has been home to grain and coal terminals since the
lion of additional intermodal revenue through Prince Rupert by 1980s. The second terminal, dubbed SKIT, for South Kaien Island
the end of 2022. Terminal, would have an initial capacity of 2 million TEUs. Ulti-
Why has Prince Rupert grown so steadily? As the closest North mately, Prince Rupert’s terminals could be expanded to handle up
American port to Asia, sailing time is up to 60 hours shorter than to 6 million TEUs, which would make it Canada’s second-busiest
competing West Coast ports. It’s the first port of call on transpacific container port, trailing only Vancouver. “We’ve built up the first
shipping circuits. On-dock container dwell is low because there’s no million TEUs and now it’s about the next three. We’ve certainly got
local market. Everything goes from ship to dock to train, so inter- line-of-sight of the next one,” Friesen says.
national boxes move a day or so faster from the dock to destina- Several projects aim to make Prince Rupert a full-service inter-
tions in the Midwest. Prince Rupert also boasts the deepest ice-free modal gateway that will drive the next round of growth. “We see
port in North America. the development of export logistics and import logistics as critical,”
Another Prince Rupert advantage: It’s the only West Coast port Friesen says.
with room to grow and a community that’s hungry for develop- An import logistics center is being built on South Kaien Island,
ment. Prince Rupert was hit hard by the collapse of the commercial where cargo from international containers can be warehoused
fishing industry and the 2000 closure of a large pulp mill. The town and then transloaded into domestic boxes. Transloading is be-
of 12,800 — down from 18,000 when the mill was open — sees the coming increasingly popular. About a third of the cargo landing at
port as its future. “There’s a lot of support for growth and expan- the Port of Los Angeles, for example, is transloaded as retailers
sion. That’s not an environment that you’d find in large urban seek to match inventories to inland destinations. Adding domestic
areas,” says Brian Friesen, the port’s vice president of trade develop- transload capability at Prince Rupert can only help volumes
ment and communications. because it will provide CN’s customers with more options, Keith

TrainsMag.com 37
 CN SD60 No. 5431 leads train Q192 past a tied down train M302 at
Geikie, Alberta, on the Albreda Sub. Tim Stevens

would return to Asia empty. Ridley Island is home to new trans-

load sites for grain, forest products, and plastics. CN sends two
unit trains per week of grain, lentils, and beans to the Ray-Mont
Logistics container-stuffing facility that opened at Ridley in 2017.
CN hopes to push volume to a unit train per day. Ray-Mont
opened a plastic pellet export facility in August that in just two
weeks sold out its capacity for the rest of the year. The covered
hopper loads of plastic resin are produced in the Alberta Industri-
al Heartland north of Edmonton.

BULKING UP
During a break in the ever-present
rain, grain train G867 creeps past the
Porpoise Harbor Marina in Port Edward
Want to examine the line for yourself? VIA Rail right on the heels of coal train C765’s dis-
Canada’s now-unnamed service between Prince tributed power unit. Their destinations,
Rupert and Jasper runs with this unique observation towering terminals on Ridley Island, are
car. Two photos, Bob Johnston visible across the Hecate Strait. Not long
after they are tucked into the yard, along
Reardon, the railroad’s senior vice president of comes coal train C761, followed by inter-
consumer supply chain, tells Trains. modal train Q141 from Chicago, capping
The Ridley Island Export Logistics Platform a busy September evening. Like intermo-
project will ring the south end of the island with dal, bulk traffic at Prince Rupert is rising.
60,000 feet of loop tracks capable of handling unit trains. Trans- Today CN sends as many as four loaded coal and grain trains to
load centers, warehouses, and an off-dock container yard will be Prince Rupert each day, but they’re being joined by
built within the loop, and a new $125-million private road net- other bulk commodities too.
work currently under construction will tie the facilities together. AltaGas in May 2019 opened the first propane export terminal
“As we look to build out Ridley, we wanted to do it in a very prag- on Canada’s West Coast to handle rising production from Alberta.
matic, measured way where you don’t have spurs going all over The Ridley Island terminal, which shares the coal terminal berth,
the island,” Friesen explains. receives 60 tank cars per day. On neighboring Watson Island, a
Much of the new carload traffic headed Prince Rupert’s way — Pembina propane export facility is slated to open summer 2020
including grain and other agricultural commodities, forest prod- where the pulp mill once stood.
ucts, and plastics — is tied to intermodal. CN works with steam- More coal trains are heading to Prince Rupert as a pair of moth-
ship lines to find matchback loads for containers that otherwise balled metallurgical coal mines have reopened in British Columbia

38 APRIL 2020
 GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC

CN SD40-2W No. 5338 switches the Aquatrain

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRAND TRUNK meaning it spent $1.56 for every dollar it took barge slip, a fixture of marine traffic, at Prince
PACIFIC and its subsequent collapse in 1919, in. The GTP defaulted on its loans and was Rupert in April 2002. Today, intermodal service
just five years after opening as a through nationalized in 1919, then became part of dominates rail traffic on the line. Jeff Robertson
route to Prince Rupert, ranks among the Canadian National.
bigger busts in railroading. You know things For the next six decades, CN’s line to George and Taverna in 2006.
didn’t go as planned when Frank Leonard’s Prince Rupert remained North America’s best- The game changer, of course, was the
definitive history of the railroad is titled “A engineered branch line. There wasn’t even debut of the Fairview Container Terminal in
Thousand Blunders.” enough traffic to and from Rupert to justify a 2007. From that point on, Rupert became the
The biggest blunder? A financially fatal through train. Instead, CN relayed lumber, fastest-growing port in North America —
combination of excessive building costs and pulp, and some mineral products to Rupert via finally fulfilling the vision Hays outlined in
fanciful traffic projections. President Charles a series of way freights west of Smithers, B.C. 1902. And today CN enjoys a low-cost, water-
Melville Hays insisted that the railroad through “It was a fairly sleepy, forest product-type rail- level route that boasts the easiest crossing of
the rugged mountains of British Columbia fol- road,” says Paul Miller, who retired from CN in the Continental Divide via Yellowhead Pass.
low the same engineering standards of the 2011 as vice president and chief safety, sus- To scale the divide, CN must climb just 250
Grand Trunk’s main linking Montreal and To- tainability, and network transportation officer. feet to reach the summit. “From Prince
ronto over vastly different terrain. That meant a East of Prince George, the line saw one daily George west, the joke is you really don’t need
ruling grade of 0.4% in an era when rival manifest train in each direction. a locomotive,” Miller says.
Canadian Pacific was still contending with the Things began to change for CN’s BC North What this means is that at Rupert CN can
4% grade through Kicking Horse Pass. Line in the mid 1980s, when coal and grain put just two units on the point of 12,000-foot
Hays didn’t follow the standard construc- terminals opened at Rupert. To handle the stack trains. In contrast, BNSF Railway or
tion practice of the day, which was to lay rails one to three coal trains per day and two grain Union Pacific stack trains moving from the
first and build the railroad later as traffic devel- trains per day, plus corresponding empty ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to
oped. He was convinced that Prince Rupert, movements, sidings were added or extended Chicago require five locomotives.
as the closest port to what was then called the to the then-standard 6,400 feet and the route Leonard’s study of the Grand Trunk was
Orient, would immediately become the domi- received centralized traffic control west of published in 1996, long before Rupert’s for-
nant West Coast gateway. Hays wouldn’t live Prince George, Miller recalls. tunes changed for the better. Was Hays ulti-
to see the railroad completed. On his way Two decades later CN acquired BC Rail, mately right about the potential of Prince
back from a 1912 meeting with financiers in which boosted traffic east of Prince George. Rupert? “I still maintain that the Grand Trunk
London, he perished aboard the Titanic. Rather than send traffic over BC Rail’s moun- was extravagant because its construction
When the railroad opened two years tainous line to Vancouver, CN diverted trains largely led to its failure in 1919,” Leonard says.
later, traffic never materialized. Instead of the over Hays’ gentle grades east of Prince “Surely the primary duty of a railway presi-
projected 20 trains per week, the GTP han- George to its main line at Taverna and then on dent is to make decisions that would allow
dled just four. Red ink mounted and by 1918 to Vancouver, reducing transit time by nearly the firm to survive in the short term. This
the railroad’s operating ratio was 156%, a third. CTC was added between Prince Hays did not do.” — Bill Stephens

and a massive new Alberta thermal coal mine all began shipping view Wood Pellet Terminal, is less than a mile from the end of track
coal last year. Although steelmaking coal volumes were down slight- in Prince Rupert. Built in 2014, the facility receives two unit trains
ly last year, the port’s thermal coal tonnage was up nearly 50%. CN per week of wood pellets produced in Alberta and British Colum-
also snatched a Teck Resources coal contract from Canadian Pacific bia that are exported for use in power generation. Also along the
and next year will begin hauling more metallurgical coal to Prince Prince Rupert waterfront: The CN Aquatrain rail barge service to
Rupert from the CP interchange at Kamloops, B.C. Alaska. Tonnage growth on CN’s once sleepy BC North Line has
The westernmost customer on CN’s BC North Line, the West- mirrored Prince Rupert’s rise. In 2007, the single-track route han-

TrainsMag.com 39
 Train Q199 rolls west on the Edson Subdivision at Devona, Alberta, in
April 2013 leaving snow-capped peaks behind. Two photos, Tim Stevens

siding capacity on the line as traffic ramps up beyond the 16 or so

trains that ply the line today.

RUPERTS OF THE EAST

A continent away and 4,008 rail miles from Prince Rupert, CN
dips its toes in the Atlantic at Halifax. It’s a lonely railroad: Only
intermodal trains Q120/Q121, Moncton-Dartmouth manifests
M407/M408, and VIA Rail Canada’s triweekly Ocean keep the rails
from rusting.
Despite the presence of a local market and a city that’s home to
410,000 people, Halifax is more similar to Prince Rupert than you
might think. Overall transit time from Halifax’s two dockside con-
tainer terminals to Chicago is a day or two faster than other port
and railroad routes due to shorter sailing times and an uncongested
CN ET44AC No. 3084 leads Prince Rupert-Chicago train Q192 across port terminal.
the nearly frozen Fraser River at Redpass, British Columbia. But that advantage has not been exploited to its fullest poten-
tial, due largely to issues at the former Halterm container termi-
dled 23.2 million gross ton-miles. CN no longer breaks out precise nal. CN and an unnamed partner failed in a bid to buy Halterm
tonnage totals for various line segments. But if you do the math in 2018, but CN is working closely with the terminal’s new owner,
based on the historic ratio of port tonnage to gross ton-miles, the Singapore-based PSA. PSA declined to comment, but Ruest
line now handles more than 50 million gross ton-miles annually. sounds confident that the terminal, now called PSA Halifax, will
In 2018-19, as CN raced to catch up to volume growth that be world-class and operate as smoothly as Prince Rupert.
came in faster than expected, the line that links Prince Rupert A solution for the other limiting factor at PSA Halifax — it can
with the main at Taverna, B.C., gained six new or extended handle only one big ship at a time — also is under way. The Port
sidings and a section of double track. of Halifax is extending the dock so it can simultaneously handle
The next phase of capacity expansion involves trackage leading two ultra container ships, port spokesman Lane Farguson says.
into the port complex. CN is spending $120 million in the Rupert The terminal will be what CN calls “big ship, big train ready” in
area over the next few years. A federal grant, announced in Sep- the fall.
tember 2019, will help fund a new double-track bridge over the Meanwhile, CN, PSA, and port officials are working together to
Zanardi Rapids, where Hecate Strait tides rush in and out. CN’s lure more traffic to Halifax. Last year the Port of Halifax handled
existing single-track bridge will be rebuilt, and the causeway to 550,000 TEU through both of its container terminals, with volume
Ridley Island widened, creating a triple-track route in and out of split 60%/40% between CN and trucks, respectively. PSA Halifax
the port by 2022. A second track will be added between the Fair- has a 750,000 TEU capacity. “We’re going to get to 750,000 TEUs.
view Terminal and Ridley as well. Look for CN to continue to add It’s not if. It’s when,” CN Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle told

40 APRIL 2020
 Intermodal train Q199 heads north near Theresa, Wis., in May 2015 en
investors last year. route to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Ahead are a crew change at
Halifax has advantages over Montreal, the busiest container North Fond du Lac and a sprint across northern Wisconsin. Matt Krause
port in Eastern Canada. Halifax is an ice-free, deepwater port
that can handle today’s big container ships and is on direct global Jensen, CEO of Copenhagen-based SeaIntelligence Consulting.
trade routes. In fact, it’s often the first port of call for ships head- The trend toward bigger container ships means the ocean carriers
ing to North America from Europe and from Southeast Asia via want to call on fewer ports, not more. And competition between
the Suez Canal. ports is intense, with each hoping to secure its slice of the same
Manufacturing and trade trends also favor Halifax. Today about international container pie. If more big ships do call on Halifax
half of the boxes handled at the port come from Southeast Asia, up before heading down the East Coast, there’s a good chance CN’s
from a third 20 years ago, thanks to the rise of manufacturing in plan will work, he says.
places like Vietnam. “As that trade moves farther south, that gets To make a go of it, CN wouldn’t have to grab all that many of
right into the wheelhouse of the Halifax-Suez Canal connection, the 7 million TEUs handled annually in New York/New Jersey, in-
and we feel very, very comfortable that we would be able to play in termodal analyst Larry Gross says. The Big Apple is ripe for pick-
that market,” Reardon told investors last year. ing because Halifax is about 20 hours of sailing time closer to the
CN estimates that its Halifax intermodal revenue can grow be- Mediterranean than New York. “Plus, you will get through Halifax
tween $50 million and $100 million by 2022. But CN is not putting and onto the train much faster and cheaper than congested New
all of its eggs in one basket. “I’d like to see more than one Prince York,” Gross says.
Rupert of the East,” Ruest told the RailTrends 2019 conference. CN is at a significant mileage disadvantage, however, when
“Two is better than one.” measured against either CSX or NS. Chicago is 1,622 rail miles
So CN, Hutchison Ports, and the Port of Quebec plan to open a from Halifax versus 900 or so from New Jersey. Kubas says that’s
new 700,000 TEU-capacity container port at Quebec City in 2024. not an issue: “We can be 24, 36, 48 hours into our transit time of
The deepwater terminal would be able to handle ships up to 13,000 moving into the Midwest even prior to the vessel starting to
TEUs, which are too big to reach Montreal. CN is investing $250 discharge in New York/New Jersey.”
million in the $775 million project, betting that ships will run Independent rail analyst Anthony B. Hatch wouldn’t bet against
directly to Quebec City carrying containers originating in Europe, CN, although he doubts container volumes in the East could one
the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia. day rival those of Prince Rupert. But he’s confident that CN has
The railroad envisions operating 14,000-foot stack trains from done its homework, has the right alliances in Halifax and Quebec,
Quebec City to Toronto, Detroit, and Chicago. When you factor in and fully understands the market. “They’ve proven they can do
port-dwell and rail-transit time compared to New York/New Jersey, this,” Hatch says.
CN says Quebec will save 42 hours to Toronto, 27 to Detroit, and Also in CN’s favor: Shippers are increasingly taking a so-called
17 to Chicago. “four corners” approach to importing consumer goods to North
America. “Diversifying port options and providing an alternative
CAN CN’S PLAN WORK? to shippers increasingly using East Coast ports to move things
The success of CN’s Prince Rupert of the East plan ultimately into the country is a smart play,” says Todd Tranausky, an analyst
will hinge on total transportation costs and convincing steamship at FTR Transportation Intelligence. “It will likely take time to
lines to call at Halifax and Quebec City, says maritime expert Lars develop, just like Prince Rupert did.” 2

TrainsMag.com 41
AN ‘AIR LINE’
AT GROUND
LEVEL

Top: Two locomotives in Genesee & Wyoming

colors lead a Providence & Worcester
local at Middlefield, Conn., on Feb. 19, 2019.
Left: A vintage stock certificate shows the rail
line’s corporate heritage as the “Boston &
New York Air Line.” Two photos, J.W. Swanberg

42 APRIL 2020
 THIS PROVIDENCE & WORCESTER 1873 as the New Haven, Middletown & the most recent user of the term.
local is westbound at Middlefield, Willimantic, thence becoming the Boston & The route faded to local use as the New
Conn., on Feb. 19, 2019. Leading are Gene- New York Air Line Railroad in 1875. It was Haven preferred the Shore Line, but it sur-
see & Wyoming General Electric B39-8Es taken over by the New Haven in 1882. It was vived even when I was a locomotive fire-
Nos. 3906 and 3904 — former LMX lease part of the route of the famed New York & man and worked on it in 1961-62. The men
units — while the third unit, ex-Conrail GP38 New England Railroad’s Boston-to-New still called it the “Air Line,” 80 years after the
No. 2010, is still in P&W’s colors. This local York “White Train” in the 1890s. B&NYAL was taken over by the New Haven.
operates once a week, serving a steel sup- Why call it an “Air Line” in 1875, when The New Haven itself was taken over by
plier in Middletown. aviation was far in the future? In that era, an the Penn Central, and the Air Line became
The train is heading to New Haven, air line was the term for a straight railroad part of the Providence & Worcester, which it
Conn., on the old “Air Line” route, opened in route — the Seaboard Air Line Railroad was remains. — J.W. Swanberg

TrainsMag.com 43
 Pat Connors Sr. works on hinges for Buffalo
Southern C424 No. 4212. Connors has
overseen repair and restoration of most
of the railroad’s fleet of Alco and
MLW locomotives.

Story and photos by

Stephan M. Koenig
Father and son help keep Buffalo Southern’s Alcos running
 Buffalo BPRR NEW YORK

NS
Map area

BP
RR
X
CS Hamburg
Eden North Java
Pat Connors of the Buffalo Southern The elder Connors began work for the Center BSOR Buffalo Southern

ARA
Railroad displays a pin from a door latch he Buffalo Southern in the early 1990s. He ARA Arcade & Attica Curriers
BPRR Buffalo & Pittsburgh

BSOR
is working on, one of several for access came to the railroad as a laborer and soon North NYLE New York & Lake Erie
Collins

BPRR
doors on Montreal Locomotive Works C424 moved up the ranks. He has worn many CSX CSX
No. 4212. He and other members of the hats; in shortline life you have to do some- NS Norfolk Southern
Arcade N
Buffalo Southern have been working for a thing different all the time. Collins
0 Scale 15 miles
few years to restore this locomotive to His railroad is a small but healthy Gowanda © 2020 Kalmbach Media Co.

NYLE
service. It is not a historical restoration by all-Alco/MLW operation surrounded by TRAINS: Rick Johnson

any means, but when the locomotive enters much bigger operations, such as the Livo-
regular service, it will likely be the most nia, Avon & Lakeville group of railroads developed a strategy to help keep the fleet
modernized and improved C424 on the (most notably the Western New York & rolling that has been proven many times.
rails. The project is taking so long because Pennsylvania), and the short lines of Gene- “When you look for new or remanufac-
every locomotive receives attention to detail see Valley Transportation (which include tured parts, you never tell them you are
before entering service. the Delaware-Lackawanna). Buffalo South- looking for Alco parts,” he says. “Instead
Pat puts the old pin on the work bench ern’s main operation is the Erie County- you give them OEM [original equipment
and retrieves a metal rod that he soon owned former Buffalo & Southwestern manufacturer] part numbers, and they
forms into a new pin, restoring the holding Railroad line from Buffalo to Gowanda, usually have what you need. Otherwise
ability of the latch to as-new status. “If you N.Y. It also operates contract switching for they tell you they haven’t had parts for
don’t fix them,” he says, “they just rattle and the Sumitomo Tire plant in Tonawanda, Alcos in years!”
open up as you go down the line.” N.Y.; Gateway Metroport at Buffalo’s for- Pat’s formula for longevity also includes
mer Bethlehem Steel plant; and for grain not working locomotives too hard. Opera-
A RARE BREED mills at the former Pennsylvania Railroad tions rely on low speed and low-to-medi-
Pat Connors is a rare breed. At 46, the Burrows Lot Yard at the Buffalo waterfront. um horsepower. Pat favors the typical road
chief mechanical officer, who shares duties Small but agile, the railroad mostly units because they can m.u. and spread the
as vice president of operations with Bert operates Alcos, with a few small GEs and workload. Most of the time, the railroad
Feasley, is one of a small number of one Whitcomb 35-ton switcher as a back- uses a single RS unit for freight. Usually,
40-somethings maintaining locomotives up. Some people in positions like Pat — in this means RS11 No. 5010, one of the old-
that are, in some cases, almost twice his charge of day-to-day maintenance, upkeep, est members of the fleet, or RS18 No. 1847,
age. Now one of the most experienced rail and heavy overhauls — have experienced brought back to life under Pat’s watch.
mechanics in his field, he is one of the few increasing pressure to switch to more mod- He notes that on some of his locomo-
that specialize in Alco locomotives. ern power, but for Pat and his machines, tives, previous Class I owners found ways
“David Clark [former Genesee & Wyo- this will not be the case. He says it is likely to standardize with readily available parts,
ming chief mechanical officer] told me that the railroad will stay with Alcos. “People even with EMD and GE parts in a few
someday I will be the old man that people think you can’t get parts for them,” he says, cases. It’s a practice Pat continues to boost
call on,” Pat says. “but it’s not true. There are plenty of parts their longevity. “I really don’t see us retiring
He is now trying to pass his knowledge available for them.” any of these units,” he says. “If anything, we
onto the next generation — including son Aside from locating old parts from will bring more to life in the years ahead.”
Patrick Jr., who also works for the railroad. scrapped or retired Alcos, Pat has One that receives the most railfan atten-
tion is a unit in the railroad’s dead line for
more than 20 years, former Rock Island
C415 No. 523. Pat is optimistic that he can
get it to run, but shop time has been scarce
as the active fleet takes priority. Taking up
some of that time this winter will be one of
the oldest members of the fleet, S1 No. 701,
which will be returning to the Hamburg
shop for several life-extension repairs. The
701, built in 1942, bears the number of its
original owner, Tennessee Coal Co.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Patrick Jr. has been around the burble
of these 539 and 251 motors almost
since birth.
“He was 2 weeks old when Michelle
[Pat’s wife] brought him for a ride in an
S2,” Pat Sr. says. “They would come to meet
me for lunch at the shop. One time, his car
Pat Connors Sr. and Pat Jr. use the batteries of Buffalo Southern No. 4212 to test cab heaters. seat was set next to the engine we were
The men have put in many hours, often working together, to return the locomotive to service. working on. Bert, our general manager, was

46 APRIL 2020
RS11 No. 5010, a former Delaware & Hudson unit built in 1961, works north on the line to Hamburg, N.Y., with Pat Connors Jr. at the throttle. The
short line has been able to retain its rustic charm and family-like atmosphere for its workers.

often works beside his father. When the

railroad is operating, his face is usually one
you see in the cab of one of the Alcos, as
was the case with his father for many years.
“I love it here, because it is something
different every day,” he says. He had an
opportunity to work on a Class I, but
turned it down because the culture did not
agree with him; at the Buffalo Southern, he
says, “I get to be home every night.”
In the past few years, Pat Sr. has been
working to pass on his knowledge to his
son, as they work on the same locomotives.
Pat Jr. says he has learned a deep apprecia-
Pat Connors works on ex-Rock Island C415 tion for Alcos and their abilities and wants
No. 523. Restoring the unit to operating to be part of the reason you will still see
condition is an occasional project. them in daily operation for decades to
come. “I would rather work on these than
afraid we would run him over!” anyone else’s junk,” he says.
His sons, Patrick Jr. and Nicholas, Although railroads like the Buffalo
would visit the railroad often and would Southern are looking at replacing their
accompany their dad on the job at times, fleets with newer GEs, the consensus is that
often in the summer when they were off won’t happen here. “Simply, there will be
from school. When Patrick Jr. was old no need to replace them,” Pat Sr. says.
enough, he began following in his father’s Pat and Pat Jr. continue to be involved
footsteps — first as train crew on the with Viscose No. 6 and the Arcade &
Arcade & Attica, where Pat Sr. is secretary, Attica, and to learn and grow in expertise.
and later on Viscose Co. No. 6, a traveling Pat Jr.’s younger brother, Nicholas, is fol-
0-4-0 tank locomotive owned by Scott lowing a similar but not identical path. He
Symans. Often, both father and son would has different interests, including comput-
be part of the crew for the steam locomo- ers, but in summer 2018, he began working
tive, built by Baldwin in 1924. as a crew member on Arcade & Attica
When Patrick Jr. turned 18, he went to excursions. Last summer, he also began
Jamestown Business College and received a working part time at Buffalo Southern.
degree in marketing and business manage- “We may see him here someday, too,” Pat Connors Jr. sprays primer on one of the
ment, but the life of the shortline railroad Pat says. If so, it would keep the Buffalo completed hinges for No. 4212 while Pat Sr.
brought him back. Today Pat Jr. is a regular Southern mostly Alco and a family affair shows shop worker Jeff Wolski how the unit’s
employee of the Buffalo Southern and for years to come. 2 cab heaters are wired.

TrainsMag.com 47
A CHANCE
ENCOUNTER,
AND A MOMENT
OF CLARITY
 SOMETIMES WE NEED a short, self- Starlight, and a pair of Metrolink commuter John and waved to him, headed home
imposed break. Nothing extreme, trains. They were fun to watch, but I didn’t to Gemco Yard, some 20 miles south in
mind you, just a little downtime to take a photograph any of them. Van Nuys.
breath, relax, and clear the mind before And then, all by itself, a former SP GP60 For some reason, I found that simple
getting back to the day’s itinerary. I’m light engine rolled by heading north. snippet of railroading fascinating. It was a
no exception. “It’s the yard switcher from Gemco,” throwback to the train-watching I grew up
I was having trouble with a project that John explained. “It’s part of their job, and with, and through rose-colored glasses, en-
wasn’t coalescing in my mind, and I they only come this far north when a local joyed immensely. In my mind, it was clarity
couldn’t figure out why. Was there some- lumber yard needs switching. It’s the only at its simplest. It wasn’t the Big Boy, it
thing I was missing? Was I taking the wrong industry left in Simi Valley.” This was one of wasn’t a mile-long freight train struggling
approach? Maybe I was in over my head. those days. up Cajon Pass, and it probably wasn’t even
I needed to get away. Over the next few minutes, the unit all that profitable for the UP.
Watching a train go by sometimes sawed back and forth by us as it removed But for me, watching a routine piece
helped. So I sought out a spot on Union a trio of empty center-beam flats from the of railroading on a sunny day was just
Pacific’s Coast Line not too far from my just out-of-sight industry, before being able plain fun. I even took a photo during one
home. A good friend, John Wade, a former to spot loads already positioned there. of its passes. It was then I realized I totally
UP employee, joined me. We agreed to Finally, it backed up again to pick up the forgot about my up-to-now knotty problem
meet at the beautifully restored Southern empties before the crew, one of who saw waiting for me back home. I knew I’d have
Pacific station in Santa Susana Park that to take care of it, but for a few minutes I
overlooked the main line. could relax and enjoy the scene unfolding
The Coast Line between Northern and before me.
Southern California can normally be pret- Throughout my entire life, I have always
ty quiet. On this day, over the course of enjoyed watching trains. This, I realized,
a few hours, we were treated to an was one of the reasons why. — David Lustig
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, the Coast

TrainsMag.com 49
IN MY OWN WORDS

CLOSE CALL AT
CAPREOL

Canadian National 4-8-2 No. 6077 races toward the low sun. The locomotive, involved in the incident relayed
here, is preserved at the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre in Capreol. Philip R. Hastings

A ‘Bullet-Nosed Betty’ beats down a row of boxcars

by Gerald K. Holman

AS I LOOK BACK ON MY CAREER, posted for watchmen at loca- decided to wait at the door and hammer. I remember moving
I am sometimes surprised to tions sensitive to sabotage. watch the eastbound Super back to the mainline side door,
find that I made it to the end We had finished our work Continental, train No. 4, come only to see the boiler of a huge
safely and in good health. A on the line and had been in to the station for its sched- engine going by, just inches
close call at Capreol, Ontario, is picked up by an eastbound uled 20-minute stop. away, steam flying, air hissing,
case in point. freight and brought in to Cap- Right on time, the train bell clanging, and a blurred
In summer 1946, I was reol. Our car was sitting with came down the main line west white face going by. The only
working in the engineering de- the consist in Capreol Yard in of the station.
partment. My boss, Chester the early evening, waiting for Suddenly, I realized he was
Barr, and I had been surveying the yard engine to come and turning, coming toward me,
on the Ruel Subdivision west of put us away in the house track. the headlight pointed al-
Capreol, living in a boarding car, After a long day in the car, we most at me. I guess I
which was set up as an indepen- decided to stretch our legs with must have reacted to
dent, self-contained home for a walk up the main line. After this instantly by run- O N T A R I O
up to four people. I can still re- our walk, Chester headed ning to the far side door
member the number of the car, downtown, and I went back to to try to jump out to get
Canadian National No. 87995, a the boarding car. clear, but the door was Capreol
class of car that had been used I was just getting ready to bolted with a stubborn
during the war as “guard cars” shut down for the night when I bolt that required a

50 APRIL 2020
 Sister 4-8-2 No. 6076 rolls toward Hamilton, Ontario, with train No. 75
thing I heard then was a switch. By this time, there was near Bayview Junction in July 1958. CN had 20 such Montreal-built
tremendous crash and then confusion and yelling all over locomotives, numbered 6060 through 6079, in the U-1-f class. Don Wood
relative silence. I could have the place. The engine did not
reached out and touched the appear to be too badly dam- time of this story, and engine lamps were lit usually by kero-
side of the tender, which at this aged, although the big brass 6077 was the only one to be in sene of limited intensity. Train
point was no longer moving. bell off the front of the engine an accident or sustain any dam- No. 4 would have only seen the
After taking a hammer to was lying on the ground, and I age. Coincidentally, No. 6077 is switch lined against him at a
the bolt on the far-side door, I remember thinking that it preserved at the Northern On- short distance. If this would
got out and down to the would make a wonderful sou- tario Railroad Museum & Heri- have happened out on the main
ground and went to see the venir, but that was out of the tage Centre in Capreol. line at high speed, it would
damage or if anybody needed question and, anyway, it would In those days, a passenger have been a disaster.
help. Locomotive No. 6077, a have been way too heavy. train had the right to come If my boarding car had been
big, beautiful “Bullet-Nose Bet- For those people who love down the main line, through sitting two car lengths farther
ty” semi-streamlined 4-8-2, had engines, I followed up on the yard limits to the station, ex- east, it would have been game
grazed the next car east of me pedigree of these Mountain- pecting the line to be clear and over for me, I think. 2
and cut out another three cars type locomotives and found out all switches properly lined for
and set them rolling down to that we had ordered 20 of him. Its only speed restriction GERALD K. HOLMAN died in
the far end of the yard where them, numbered 6060 through was to be prepared to make an October 2015. This is his second
they derailed at an opposing 6079 just a few years before the orderly station stop. Switch Trains byline.

TrainsMag.com 51
PRESERVATION

2020’s steam dreams

Big engines are back, new favorites fresh from the shop

Fort Wayne (Ind.) Railroad IF 2019 WAS THE YEAR of the Railroad Museum, this will be Interstate will run one of its
Historical Society’s Nickel Plate articulateds (two out of three a once-in-a-lifetime gathering. Chinese-built 2-10-2 QJ types
Road 2-8-4 No. 765 does the under restoration made it into Elsewhere, last year’s big in September to benefit emer-
honors on Ohio’s Cuyahoga steam: Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam success, UP’s Big Boy, will gency responders.
Valley Scenic Railroad in No. 4014 and privately owned return, this time with a trip to Other engines whose resto-
September 2018. The Berkshire 2-4-4-2 Skookum ran; Western the Pacific Northwest; in the rations are near completion:
will return again in 2020, as it Maryland’s 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 did southeast, Tennessee Valley • Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 in
has for many years. TRAINS: Jim not), then it was all about super- Railroad Museum’s day-long ex- Albuquerque, N.M.
Wrinn sized steam. cursions on its shortline part- • Black Hills Central’s 2-6-6-2T
Accordingly, we’ll dub 2020 ner in north Georgia will be No. 108 in South Dakota
the year of going small. The back; and in the upper Mid- • U.S. Sugar 4-6-2 No. 148 in
main place you ought to be is west, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 Clewiston, Fla.
Colorado, where two significant No. 765 will return to Ohio’s Going down this year is
projects are coming to a conclu- Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Rail- Nevada Northern 4-6-0 No. 40,
sion and one big party is on tap. road in September; and in the which needs a 15-year inspec-
The projects: Durango & heart of the Midwest, Iowa tion. — Jim Wrinn
Silverton’s oil-burning K-37 was
finished Jan. 24 and will run this
year, and Colorado Railroad
Museum is finishing the restora-
tion of legendary Rio Grande
Southern 4-6-0 No. 20.
The party: Cumbres &
Toltec’s 50th anniversary cele-
bration Aug. 22-30, when the
Victorian Iron Horse Roundup
features pre-1900 locomotives.
The gathering is the No. 1
steam event this year just like
Promontory was in 2019. With
Denver & Rio Grande 2-8-0
No. 315 backdated to No. 425,
newly rebuilt D&RG 4-6-0
No. 168 in a starring role,
visiting 4-4-0 Eureka from Las
Vegas, and 1875 2-6-0 Glen- Durango & Silverton K-37 No. 493 debuts Jan. 24 at the Durango round-
brook from the Nevada State house after an extensive restoration and conversion to oil firing. Jerry Day

52 APRIL 2020
 In Maine, a reunion of 2-footers

On the weekend of Jan. 18-19, the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum, in conjunction with the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad
Co. & Museum of Portland and the Maine Locomotive & Machine Works of Alna, sponsored a sensational steam locomotive gathering. This
represented the best opportunity to witness examples of the Forney type at work in years. Five of the surviving Maine 2-foot-gauge steam
locomotives were gathered at WW&F’s Sheepscot shops, with three under steam. Working engines were resident WW&F 0-4-4T No. 9, and
visitors from the Portland museum: former Monson Railroad 0-4-4T No. 3, and Bridgton & Saco River 2-4-4T No. 7. WW&F operated three trains
north from Sheepscot via Alna to Top of Mountain, where it staged a variety of photographic opportunities. Brian Solomon

New England Eight Scenic Lines in Autumn

• Conway Scenic (both Crawford Notch and Valley lines)
• Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington 2-foot gauge
Fall Colors • Mount Washington Cog, the world’s first cog railway
• Downeast Scenic with rare Alco and GE diesels
Rail Tour • Hobo Railroad dinner train along the Pemi River
• Winnipesaukee Scenic lunch train along the lake
• Geared steam at White Mountain Central
Two Truly Unique Collections
• Charming Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum
• Legendary Seashore Trolley Museum, oldest & largest
One Spectacular National Park
• Rugged and beautiful Acadia on the Atlantic coast!
Peak fall colors everywhere you look!
Sept. 27 - Oct. 5

Details: 727-330-7738 or
www.specialinteresttours.com
TrainsMag.com 53
TRAIN-WATCHING

Short line: Bloomer Shippers Line

A long-successful short line operates in Central Illinois

The Bloomer Line rolls toward ONE OF THE EARLIEST FORMED Cullom. The farthest west ship- changes traffic with Norfolk
Cullom, Ill., with an empty grain and most popular short lines per in Cooksville was sporadic, Southern and Canadian
train for loading at Alliance Grain operating in the Midwest, the and the line was cut back to National at Gibson City.
Co. in November 2013. Four photos, Bloomer Shippers Connecting Colfax in 1989. Limited interchange occurs in
Steve Smedley Railroad, known as the Bloom- Starting with one former Chatsworth, where the railroad
er Line, is a 21st-century Northern Pacific GP9, the rail- crosses the Toledo, Peoria &
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road has grown rapidly. Again Western on a diamond.
Roster Railroad look-alike. in 1990 the Bloomer Line
The Bloomer Line operates faced the possibility of losing WHY VISIT: Sharply
No. 7504 50 miles of trackage in East an outlet to its grain market dressed rebuilt early
Model: GP10 Central Illinois, in McLean, when Norfolk Southern an- Geeps are a consistent
Build date: 1956 Livingston, and Ford counties. nounced an abandonment of attraction for the Bloomer.
Lineage: ex-Illinois Central The railroad serves eight Alli- the former Wabash main line While “Chinese Red” was
No. 9222 ance Grain Co. elevators. It also that included trackage between
serves Farm Services elevators Risk and Gibson City.
No. 7549 in Anchor and Charlotte. Corn,
Bloomer Line
Map
Model: GP10 soybeans, and wheat are the LOCATION: Headquarters area ILLINOIS Kempton
Build date: 1955 main commodities hauled in Gibson City with a 116 Cullom
Lineage: ex-New York behind four-axle Geeps. two-stall enginehouse along the
0 Scale 10 miles
Central No. 7515 In addition, the company former Wabash main line north 47
serves the Colfax Potash Cen- of downtown. © 2020 Kalmbach Media Co.
TRAINS: Rick Johnson To Logansport, Ind.
No. 7561 ter and a farm tile manufactur- TPW Chatsworth
Model: GP10 er in Chatsworth that receives TYPICAL DAY: As on most 24
To Peoria
Build date: 1956
OL

plastic pellet loads. Rounding short lines, operations

BL

Lineage: ex-New York out the railroad’s business is vary daily, but the busiest time Risk
N Strawn
Central No. 7402 car storage. for this railroad is fall harvest.
The railroad was formed in One day an engineer could be To Chicago
165 Sibley
No. 7591 1985 when Illinois Central operating a train, the next
Anchor
BLOL

Model: GP9 Gulf announced a line aban- patrolling track or operating Colfax
54
Build date: 1958 donment, which saw local track equipment. Radio traffic
CN

9
Lineage: ex-Northern grain elevators band together can be monitored on AAR
To Bloomington Gibson City
Pacific No. 370 to assure continued rail service. channel 26, 160.500. NS 47
That line was known as the
54
CN

BEST VIEWING: The line is

NS

No. LTEX 3801-3802 “Bloomer,” an old Illinois To Springfield

To Decatur
Model: GP35M Central nickname for the line easily followed along Illi-
Lineage: ex-Texas & Pacific running between Bloomington nois Route 47 between Gibson BLOL Bloomer Line
No. 646 and ex-Missouri and Kankakee. The original City and Risk, where it con- CN Canadian National
Pacific No. 625 Bloomer Line operated nects with the original Bloom- NS Norfolk Southern
between Cooksville and er Line. The Bloomer inter- TPW Toledo, Peoria & Western

54 APRIL 2020
The temperature is 0 degrees as Bloomer Line moves 28 grain cars Bloomer Line GP10 No. 7549 blasts southbound past old code line
for loading at the Farm Services Anchor Elevator in January 2018. alongside the former Wabash main line at Strawn, Ill., in October 2019.

worn on the Burlington Route, the first downstate Illinois ethanol plants, is
Bloomer uses the original CB&Q Imron located on the west side of Gibson City,
paint number for its Geeps. A former ICG alongside Norfolk Southern’s Bloomington
Paducah Geep, along with two former District. The company is switched week-
Conrail GP10 rebuilds, make up the back- days by the Bloomer. The daily output
bone of the fleet, joining the first Bloomer Monday-Friday is 15 cars per day. The
Line unit, No. 7591. Two LTEX lease plant assures a consistent appetite for the
units, both de-turbocharged former Bloomer’s main commodity, corn.
GP35Ms, also help with traffic.
NEARBY: The former Illinois Central
DON’T MISS: A rolling track profile “Mainline of Mid America’’ is East of
between Strawn and Sibley make for Gibson City at Paxton. In addition, the
interesting angles. A few sections of old Monticello Railway Museum operates the The sun is just minutes from rising above the
pole line remain in Strawn. In addition to Illinois Central Historical Society’s building frozen farm fields along the former Wabash
the railroad, One Earth Energy, one of the in Paxton. — Steve Smedley main line near Sibley, Ill., in January 2018.

2 Great Big Boy DVDs!

Complete your collection and watch one of the world’s largest and most powerful steam
locomotives (1.2 million pounds, 7,000 horsepower). See Big Boy No. 4014 from history to
restoration, hitting high spots and original travel routes all around the U.S.
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TrainsMag.com 55
 ASK TRAINS

Q When a train is ready to depart,is the

route it takes predetermined? — Dale Dickerson, Rancho San Diego, Calif.

An eastbound BNSF stack A All Class I railroads schedule A The rotary snowplows at the disc on each side of the ma-
train, led by four locomotives, each of their trains, even if it’s a Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail- chine, concealed inside the car-
summits the Arizona Divide near special one-off train movement road are what are known as body behind the access hatches
Flagstaff, Ariz., in October 2019. not to be regularly repeated. Ev- Leslie style and are very much a seen low on the front third of
The route for such a train head- ery train is assigned a symbol, locomotive in a boxcar, albeit a the carbody. These crank discs
ing east is planned out well in or number, and an origin and large one. The frame of the ma- drive short shafts with bevel
advance before its departure destination. And each train has chine was built of channel or gears that engage a main large
from its city of origin. a schedule, whether or not it op- I beam and supports a boiler bevel gear mounted on the fan
Two photos, TRAINS: Jim Wrinn erates even close to plan. These with the firebox end facing the shaft. This main shaft is ap-
routings and schedules are what rear. The smokebox is located proximately 10 inches in diam-
railroads call their “transporta- behind the front compartment eter on Rotary OY, with the
tion plan.” So the idea of a BNSF of the machine, oftentimes re- main bevel gear being about
Railway train leaving Southern ferred to as the “wheelhouse.” 4 feet in diameter. This main
California for Chicago but with Under the smokebox is a cast shaft runs under the wheelhouse
no destination is simply not re- cylinder saddle in a manner floor to drive the main fan that
alistic. That’s not to say that similar to normal locomotives, is so visible on the front of the
trains won’t be rerouted due to but in this case the pistons, pis- machine. The rotary has a throt-
derailments or other events, or ton rods, and guides face for- tle, Johnson bar, valve gear, etc.,
that they won’t be terminated or ward. The standard main rod just like a normal locomotive.
combined with other trains en arrangement drives a crank The fireman’s area is also like a
route, as operating conditions
dictate. Don’t bother asking a
railroad for its transportation
plan. Rightly or wrongly, they
are closely guarded trade secrets.
— Fred W. Frailey

Q As built, rotary snowplows

are laid out like a “locomotive
in a boxcar” with the cylin-
ders/pistons parallel to the
boiler. How is the engine’s
reciprocating action changed
into the rotating of the rotary
action of the snow thrower? A Leslie rotary snowplow shows the boiler, pistons, and gears that
— Evan T. Luka turn reciprocating action into rotary action. TRAINS collection

56 APRIL 2020
 ☛
normal locomotive with injectors, water
glasses, try cocks, lubricators, etc. These
machines even have their own air compres- In the May issue
sor and brake system to control the consist
behind them, even though they are not self
powered. In operation, it is a complicated
balance between the rotary crew and the
pushing locomotives to balance the feed rate
into the snowbanks, as well as the rpm of These Mass Central units, a Geep and a rare
the rotary to keep operation at a steady and NW5, both contain 567 engines that are two-
safe speed. — Stathi Pappas, C&TS special stroke designs.
projects manager
sequence, intake and exhaust take place Narrow gauge nirvana
Q What is the difference between a two- during parts of the power and compression Our annual issue about tourist railroads
cycle and a four-cycle diesel engine? — Bill strokes. Every down stroke of the piston is a and museums takes us to Colorado’s
King, North Reading, Ma. power stroke. The compression stroke is an DURANGO & SILVERTON to climb on board
upstroke that compresses air in the cylinder newly rebuilt K-37 No. 493. We’ll also visit
A In a diesel engine each piston motion, up that raises its temperature to the combustion the Cumbres & Toltec on its 50th anni-
or down, is described as a “stroke,” while point. At the precise moment, diesel fuel is versary for a look at the challenges and
“cycle” refers to the entire sequence of mechanically injected into the cylinder and opportunities that lie ahead. Then, come
strokes. A four-stroke-cycle engine requires it ignites, causing an explosion that forces with us to New Hampshire, where fabled
two complete crankshaft rotations and thus the piston down in the second cycle — the CONWAY SCENIC continues passenger
two up-and-down piston sequences of the power stroke. In the third cycle (second up-
railroading traditions. John Hankey looks
pistons within the cylinders to complete a stroke) the piston forces exhaust gases from
at a troubling aspect of AMERICAN
full combustion sequence, while a two the cylinder, while in the fourth cycle the
stroke-cycle engine accomplishes the same piston draws fresh air into the cylinder to RAILWAY PRESERVATION, and we’ll also
with just one crankshaft rotation. A 1971 complete the cycle. Where General Electric visit the LITTLE HEISLER ON THE PRAIRIE.
Erie-Lackawanna guide describes the and Alco diesels used four-stroke-cycle de- All that and much more are on the way!
stroke-cycles events: A four-cycle engine signs, Electro-Motive’s classic engines (567,
stroke sequence is intake, compression, 645, and 710 designs) were two-stroke- On sale April 14, 2020
power, and exhaust, while in the two-cycle cycle engines. — Brian Solomon

GERMANY
Insider’s Rail Tour of

From TRAINS,
Railroad Development Corp.,
and Special Interest Tours
Sept. 20 - Oct. 3, 2020
Join us on this tour featuring special access to unique
rail experiences across Germany. This tour has it all —
history, culture, and of course, trains!

Highlights include:
• Private charters, including freight-only mileage
• InnoTrans — two miles of the newest
locomotives and cars. A peek at the future!
• Narrow gauge steam near Dresden
• Autozug “car train”
• OBB Night Jet overnight sleeper journey For details, pricing, and
• Miniatur Wunderland model railroad reservations: 727-330-7738 or
And More! www.specialinteresttours.com
TrainsMag.com 57
 Great American
Private Car Adventures
Experience Yesterday’s Fabulous
Passenger Trains Today!

4 Reasons
why you should take the increasingly rare opportunity
to ride a mainline passenger train in private car splendor!

1. Classic Routes
Î New Orleans – Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited, April 20-24
Î LA – Seattle on the Coast Starlight, April 25-28
Î Seattle – LA on the Coast Starlight, April 29-May 2
Î LA - Chicago on the Southwest Chief, May 3-5
Î Chicago – Saratoga Springs - Montreal - Albany
on the Lake Shore Limited and Adirondack, May 6-11

2. Historic Passenger Cars

Î Milwaukee Road Super Dome
Î Sleeper Cimarron River
Î Sleeper Pacific Union

3. Special Hosts
Î Fred Frailey, Twilight of the Great Trains author
Î Bob Johnston, TRAINS Magazine Passenger columnist
Î Kevin P. Keefe, author and lecturer
Î Rob McGonigal, CLASSIC TRAINS Editor

4. Participate in the Filming

of the new CLASSIC TRAINS documentary for PBS,
“Pullman, America’s Hotel on Wheels”

All that’s left to make this great trip even better is you!
Details, pricing, and reservations:
www.SpecialInterestTours.com or 727-330-7738
 TRAINS Magazine’s
80th anniversary
celebration is
coming this Fall!
Food, fun, friends,
celebrity speakers,
a peek at the future,
and of course, trains!

Milwaukee, Wis.
Save the date!
Nov. 14-15, 2020

The 1940s
A Decisive Decade for American Railroads
New from Classic Trains, this compilation of articles from Trains magazine tells how America’s
railroads helped win World War II, then looked ahead to a prosperous peacetime.

Featured Stories Include:

• A Soldier’s Wartime Memories • Midwestern Time Freight:
Minneapolis & St. Louis keeps
• Rapid Exhaust: Firing a 4-8-4 on shippers happy
P37067

Southern Pacific
• Heroes on the home front
• Vermont Short Line
• The ’40s in Photos
• ACF’s First Postwar Streamliners
• And more!

$1 OFF Rare Color Photos • 108-page Special Issue

+FREE Reserve Now at KalmbachHobbyStore.com/CS09

SHIPPING Offer expires 4/16/20 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Free standard shipping to U.S. addresses only.
Sales tax where applicable. More Trains of the 1940s will arrive in April 2020.

TrainsMag.com 59
 RAILROAD ATTRACTION
WISCONSIN Trego
WISCONSIN GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD
N6639 Dilly Lake Road

DIRECTORY
STEP BACK IN TIME to experience the golden age of railroading.
North America’s railroad museums and tourist lines provide afford-
able fun for the whole family! Plan your complete vacation with visits America’s Only Moving
BED & BREAKFAST DINNER TRAIN
to these leading attractions. For information on advertising in this The train departs Tuesday through Saturday evening
at 5:30 pm year round. The train features a choice of
section, call Mike Yuhas toll-free at 888-558-1544, Ext 625. traditional Pullman double bedrooms or deluxe suites
in our 1914 Pullman Private Car. Enjoy complimentary
COLORADO Leadville INDIANA Connersville hors d’oeuvres in the lounge and then move to the
LEADVILLE COLORADO & SOUTHERN diner for a scrumptious 4-course chef prepared meal
WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD
326 East 7th 5th and Grand from our onboard kitchen. When the train returns to the
May 26 – June 15 1:00pm. June 16 – August 17 10:00am station view the starlit sky while trading railroad tales
& 2:00pm. August 18 – October 7 weekdays 1:00pm,
weekends 10:00am & 2:00pm. Spectacular trip travels into with other passengers around our gas fire on the patio.
the high Rocky Mountains, the railroad follows old C&S Wake up to a hot breakfast buffet in the diner. Also,
roadbed & 1893 restored depot. Family friendly, pets allowed.
For more info visit our web site. Family Pizza Train & Sightseeing Excursion.
www.leadvillerailroad.com 1-866-386-3936 www.spoonertrainride.com 715-635-3200
FLORIDA Fort Myers
WEST INDIES St. Kitts
SEMINOLE GULF RAILWAY
1-75 exit 136 at Colonial Blvd. ST. KITTS SCENIC RAILWAY
Travel through time on Indiana’s most scenic railroad.
Murder Mystery Dinner Train 33-mile round trip to Metamora, May through Oct.
Special events Feb through Dec. Vintage diesels:
1951 Lima-Ham 750HP SW, 1954 EMD/Milw. SD10,
1948 Alco S1. Gift Shop.

www.whitewatervalleyrr.org 765-825-2054
PENNSYLVANIA Marysville
BRIDGEVIEW BED & BREAKFAST
810 S. Main St.
Enjoy a comical murder mystery show while our chef
Lately, train watching Include St. Kitts in your Eastern Caribbean cruise
prepares your five course dinner with a choice of 3 entrees.
around The Bridgeview itinerary. Narrow gauge St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour circles
The Murder Mystery Dinner Train operates 5 nights a week all
B&B has been extremely this unspoiled island paradise, 18 miles by train, 12
year from the Colonial Station (2805 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers,
exciting with motive miles by bus. Twin- level observation cars, fully narrated,
FL 33966). Get-Away packages with hotel stay available with
power from BNSF, UP, complimentary drinks, a cappella Choir. One of the Great
special pricing available only through Seminole Gulf Railway.
KCS, CP, CN, CSX and Little Railways of the World.
www.semgulf.com 800-SEM-GULF (736-4853) Ferromex often leading, plus add NS heritage units into the
mix and you have some amazing lashup possibilities!  Trains
www.stkittsscenicrailway.com (869) 465-7263
FLORIDA Plant City entering or exiting Enola Yard pass right by our front porch. 
From the spacious decks and sitting room, you can watch
ROBERT W. WILLAFORD RAILROAD MUSEUM the Susquehanna River, Blue Mountains and train action on
102 N. Palmer St. Rockville Bridge!  Plus, visit Hershey, Gettysburg, and PA Dutch
Country!  Comfortable rooms all with private baths, A/C, Wifi,
and a tasty breakfast are included with your stay.  Take a virtual
Don’t Miss
tour on our website and check us out on Facebook for daily
updates, pictures and guest comments. a Single Issue!
www.bridgeviewbnb.com 717-957-2438
RAILROAD ATTRACTION DIRECTORY

PENNSYLVANIA Strasburg FOLDOUT MAP: TRAIN RIDER

S’ GUIDE TO TORONTO p. 20

RAILROAD MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA

www.TrainsMag.com
• March 2018

300 Gap Road ‘Cascades’

501 crash
SPECIAL REPORT details p. 6

SPEED
• US plays
catch-up p. 23
• California’s
big risk p. 34
• Tilt train
technology p. 42

Located at the “diamond” of the PLUS

Preventing
“A” line and “S” line for CSX Railroad Real Trains. Real History. Real Excitement. Experience an death by
train p. 48

In the Historic 1909 Union Station Depot. Visit our fully amazing, world-class collection of 100 historic American Hunter Harrison’s legacy
Where you can run a locomo
p. 10

restored 1963 Seaboard Caboose and 1942 Whitcomb locomotives and railroad cars in our 100,000 square-foot, tive p. 60

switch engine. Museum is open Mon thru Wed from 12:00 climate-controlled exhibit hall. Climb aboard a caboose, take
to 4:00 and Thurs thru Sat from 10:00 to 4:00. Platform the throttle in an authentic locomotive cab, inspect a 62-ton
is open 24 hours a day, every day for great train viewing. engine from underneath and go hands-on in the delightful
railway education center. Family friendly, open year-round. Every issue is packed with:
CSX freight, Tropicana Juice Train, Ethanol, TECO Coal, Special events, restoration shop, exhibits, tours and virtual tours,
Amtrak are daily arrivals orientation video, library and archives and museum store.
• In-depth feature • Ideas and insights
www.willafordrailroadmuseum.com 813-719-6989 www.rrmuseumpa.org 717-687-8628
articles • News and analysis
ILLINOIS Union TEXAS Galveston • Preservation and of industry trends
ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM GALVESTON RAILROAD MUSEUM railroad worker and developments
Home of the Santa Fe Warbonnets
7000 Olson Road 2602 Santa Fe Place Galveston, TX 77550 stories • and more!
Former Headquarters Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe Depot
One of the Largest Railroad Museums in Southwest.
Approx. 5 acres of 50 vintage rail cars, locomotives,
freight, passenger. Indoor & Outdoor displays. One of the largest China
& Silverware collection. O & H/O model Layouts. Free Parking with
Admission. Open seven days a week.
www.galvestonrrmuseum.com

TEXAS Rosenberg
409-765-5700 Subscribe
Home of Nebraska Zephyr. Steam, diesel trains, electric
cars. Send $5.00 for 32 page Guide Book; or #10 SASE
ROSENBERG RAILROAD MUSEUM
1921 Avenue F, Rosenberg, TX  77471
The Rosenberg Railroad Museum is dedicated to the pres-
Today!
for color brochure with schedule & discount coupon. ervation and education of railroading history in Fort Bend
Trains operate Sat: May-Oct, Sun: Apr-Oct, Daily:
Memorial Day-Labor Day. Museum open Apr-Oct. Lodging:
County.  Exhibits include 1970’s MOPAC caboose, 1903
Tower 17, 1879 passenger car, Garden railroad, HO layouts
Call 877-246-4843
847-695-7540 and 815-363-6177. and more! RRM is open Wed - Sat, 10 - 5 and Sundays 1 - 5. www.TrainsMag.com
www.irm.org 815-923-4000 www.rosenbergRRmuseum.org 281-633-2846

60 APRIL 2020
CLASSIFIEDS PHOTOS, PRINTS AND
SLIDES
MARCH 14-15, 2020: Chicago O Scale Meet (2-Rail),
Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, 70 Yorktown Center,
Lombard, IL. Friday dealer set-up, show open to public
Word Rate: per issue: 1 insertion — $1.57 per word, 6 Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 9:00am-2:00pm. Buy,
insertions — $1.47 per word, 12 insertions — $1.37 per word. DIESEL NEGATIVES. For sale: AT&SF, B&O, Erie, EL, LV, sell, trade, clinics, discussion groups, layout tours, model
$35.00 MINIMUM per ad. Payment must accompany ad. To N&W, PC, P&LE, SCL and many other roads from 1960’s contest. Largest dedicated O Scale show (2-Rail) out there.
receive the discount you must order and prepay for all ads at and 1970’s. The Garys, 505-982-6178. $20.00 for entire weekend. Info: Melissa 630-745-7600 or
one time. Count all initials, single numbers, groups of
TOP DOLLAR PAID: for 35mm slide collections especially www.marchmeet.net
numbers, names, address number, street number or name,
city, state, zip, phone numbers each as one word. Example: pre-1980. Mr. Slides, [email protected] Telephone: APRIL 4, 2020: Central Indiana Division/NMRA announces
Paul P. Potter, 2102 Pacific St., Waukesha, WI 53202 would 216-321-8446 the Franklin Spring Train Show. New permanent location
count as 9 words. at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 250 Fairground St.,
All Copy: Set in standard 6 point type. First several words
MISCELLANEOUS
Franklin, IN 46131. Saturday, 10am-3pm. Admission $3,
only set in bold face. If possible, ads should be sent Family $5. Clinic and CID Annual Meeting, Door Prizes,
typewritten and categorized to ensure accuracy. Displays, Operating Layouts, Free Parking, Food avail-
CLOSING DATES: Jan 2020 closes Oct. 23, Feb closes 1971 MORRISON INTERNATIONAL ALL STEEL CABOOSE:
Restored 2008. Located in Texas, $25k. Formerly Burlington able. Info/table rental: Michael Roderick 317-833-3556,
Nov. 18, Mar closes Dec. 19, Apr closes Jan. 22, May closes [email protected] or www.cidnmra.org
Feb. 26, June closes Mar. 25, July closes Apr. 22, Aug closes Northern (BN10593) Repainted in Santa Fe livery.
May 27, Sept closes June 23, Oct closes July 16, Nov closes 936-851-0147 APRIL 4, 2020: Greater Tulsa Area Train Show, Bixby
Aug. 25, Dec closes Sept. 23. RAILROAD PATCHES: Engineer caps with insignia. 1,000 Community Center, 211 N. Cabaniss Avenue, Bixby, OK.
For TRAINS’ private records, please furnish: a telephone designs. Catalog $5.00. Patch King, Box 145, York Harbor, Saturday 9:00am-3:00pm. Admission: $5.00 adults, under
number and when using a P.O. Box in your ad, a street ME 03911. 12 Free. For info: TTOS-Sooner.org
address. APRIL 27-MAY 4, 2020: “The Louisiana” StL-CHI-
Send your ads to: magazine – Classified Advertising New Orleans-CHI-StL 4/27 thru 5/4 aboard private car
21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612 Waukesha, WI
53187-1612 Toll-free (888) 558-1544 Ext. 551 Fax:
WANTED “Hollywood Beach” with three nights in the Crescent City
ARE YOU GETTING THE BEST PRICE FOR YOUR TRAIN with the car as your hotel rear-most on Trains 304,59,58,
(262) 796-0126 E-mail: [email protected]
COLLECTION? Our list of discriminating buyers grows each & 303. Venues on your own in NOL might include casino
LODGING day. They want bigger and better train collections to choose gambling, cruise aboard paddle-wheeler “Natchez”, trolley
rides, WWII Museum, the garden district, Jazz Fest, fine
from! We specialize in O Gauge trains- Lionel, MTH, K-Line,
GO BEYOND MODEL TRAINS Our B&B has antique Williams, Weaver, 3rd Rail, etc. as well as better trains in dining, Bourbon Street venues, shopping, and more! Meal
Pullman train cars as your guest suite. All cars with all scales. We also purchase store inventories. Plus, we service commensurate to time of day with beverages and
modern amenities. Central Minnesota, 800-328-6315, can auction your trains with rates starting as low as 15%. snacks continuous. Apply to: [email protected] ALL
www.whistlestopbedandbreakfast.com We travel extensively all over the US. Give us a call today! major credit cards accepted. Expected sell out.
INN ON THE RIVER: Book your stay for a relaxing get- Send us your list or contact us for more information at MAY 2, 2020: Second Annual Columbia PA Railroad Day.
away overlooking the beautiful Mississippi! Guests www.trainz.com/sell Trainz, 2740 Faith Industrial Dr., 9am-4pm. All-day Railroads In the Civil War presenta-
are minutes from quaint restaurants, stores and many Buford, GA 30518, 866-285-5840, [email protected] Fax: tions by noted historians, extensive model railroad dis-
outdoor opportunities. Each room has a private balco- 866-935-9504
plays, Railroad Mechanical Services, Inc open house.
ny for stunning views of the Mississippi River and the Unlimited Hop-On Hop-Off trolley between sites. Bill Lesjak,
Burlington Northern-Santa fe Rail Line. Reservations: LOOKING FOR A COPY: Limiteds Along the Lakefront: The
Illinois Central in Chicago. Published by Transport History [email protected] or 717-751-2391.
608-534-7784 www.innontheriverwi.com or email:
[email protected] Press. 814-467-7344

‘OVERNIGHT IN HISTORY’ EXPERIENCES: Book a night ORIGINAL SLIDE COLLECTIONS Black & white nega-
tive collections, and Hi-Res Scans. Any railroad or railroad
AUCTIONS
in an authentically-furnished 1981 Burlington Northern
caboose. Learn about Montana railroading including an subjects. Call 732-774-2042 AMERICA’S PREMIER RAILROAD AUCTIONS: Consign
interlocking plant, relax overnight in Caboose 12424, your quality items. One piece to an entire collection. Large
and enjoy a hearty breakfast! Discover our other experi- PRR LW PULLMAN CAR Cast-iron door nameplates, 1938- 8-1/2 X 11” auction catalogs contain full descriptions and
ences at www.glaciermuseum.org - just 50 miles from 1950. J.H. STEVENSON, Rocky River, OH 440-333-1092 hundreds of photographs. Auctions are jointly sponsored
Glacier National Park. Reservations: 406-450-0999 or [email protected] by the Depot Attic and Golden Spike Enterprises. The
[email protected] combined knowledge and experience of America’s largest
RAIL SHOWS AND EVENTS railroadiana firms will earn you “top dollar”. Mail and fax bids
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES MARCH 7-8, 2020: Rocky Mountain Train Show. Denver
are accepted. Information: Railroad Auction, PO Box 985,
Land O Lakes, FL 34639. Phone: 813-949-7197.
Merchandise Mart, 451 East 58th Avenue, Denver, 80216.
CAN DAN AND HIS CLUB SAVE Their favorite engine from
Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm. 2-1/2
the scrap yard? Read the Deltic Disaster and Other Tales,
available at Amazon.
acres of model trains-all scales, 30 layouts, 700 sales tables, REAL ESTATE
clinics and more. Admission $10.00 under 12 Free, Free-
Parking. 303-364-0274 www.RockyMountainTrainShow.com ARIZONA MOUNTAIN ACREAGE: Adjacent BNSF
COLLECTIBLES [email protected] Transcon. Remote, 4 seasons, spectacular vistas railway/
mountains, small cabin. [email protected]
DIESEL ERA MAGAZINE BOUND VOLUMES #’S 1-21: MARCH 8, 2020: Southern Connecticut Model Train Show.
Excellent condition. Sold only as a set. $1500 or best Greenwich Civic Center, 9:00am-3:00pm. Adults $7.00, TRAIN ENTHUSIAST’S DREAM INVESTMENT!!
offer plus buyer pays actual UPS Ground shipping. under 12 free. Valley HO Trak Layout & more. Clinics, 150+ Approximately 3.1 acres. Office Complex. Truck Scales.
[email protected] 916-782-6587 tables including trains, books, artwork, DVDs, gifts and Several Warehouses and Shop Buildings. Railroad Spur.
collectibles! Door prizes, free parking, refreshments. Ron’s Adjacent to the La Plata Missouri Amtrak Station. Prime
TOP DOLLAR PAID for steam/diesel or electric builder Books, PO Box 714, Harrison, NY 10528, 914-967-7541. location! Incredible opportunity! Call 660-341-9081 and ask
plates. [email protected] Telephone: 216-321-8446 [email protected], www.southerncttrainshow.com for Birney.

ADVERTISERS
The Advertiser Index is provided as a service to TRAINS magazine readers. The magazine is not
responsible for omissions or for typographical errors in names or page numbers.

80th Anniversary ................................. 59 Greg Scholl Video Productions ...............9 railroadbooks.biz ...................................9

Big Boy DVDs ...................................... 55 Monte Vista Publishing ......................... 10 Ron’s Books ........................................ 10

Canadian National ................................68

More Trains of the 1940s ..................... 59 Turbine Power .......................................2
Central Electric Railfans Association.......9
Morning Sun Books, Inc. ...................... 10 Union Pacific Historical Society ..............6
Colorado Tour ..................................... 12
New England Tour ................................53 Western-Cullen-Hayes, Inc. .....................9
Dirk Soulis Auctions ...............................6

George Swimmer ...................................9 Pullman Experiences Tour ....................58 Wheel Rail Seminars ............................ 11

Germany Tour...................................... 57 Railcom .................................................6 Whitewater Valley Railroad .....................6

TrainsMag.com 61
GALLERY: CSX

62 APRIL 2020
Mountain
majesty
GE ES44AH No. 866 leads
train H750 across the New
River at Sewell, W.Va., in the
soft evening light in
September 2019. The train is
on the former Chesapeake
& Ohio main line between
Hinton, W.Va., and Russell,
Ky. Samuel Phillips
GALLERY: CSX

64 APRIL 2020
River city
railroading
A southbound CSX inter-
modal train flies high over
downtown Covington, Ky.,
in August 2018. Across the
Ohio River lies Cincinnati
and famed Queensgate
Yard. Marshall W. Beecher
GALLERY: CSX

Monon Route
memories
Under stormy skies, north-
bound CSX local J772 trun-
dles past the upper quad-
rant semaphore signals
near Smedley, Ind., in April
2009. This was one of the
last weeks of CSX opera-
tion on the former Monon
between Bedford, Ind., and
Louisville, Ky. Aaron J. Border

B&O CPL
stronghold
Train K596 passes the color
position light signals at the
south end of the siding at
Ottawa, Ohio, in January
2017. The Toledo Sub,
between its namesake city
and Cincinnati, is home to
the last installations of

CSX
SYSTEM MAPS: 1979 AND TODAY

such signals. John Curtright

AT 40
SPEC
COLLECTIAL
OR
EDITION ’S

Powering
through history
toward a bright
blue tomorrow
Motive
power
review
ORDER YOUR COPY OF CSX AT 40
Looking back:
• Chessie
• Seaboard
• Conrail
AND THE COMPANION DVD AT
With family tree!
KALMBACHHOBBYSTORE.COM

66 APRIL 2020
Southbound
snow squall
CSX train Q241 has 95 auto
racks in tow as it passes
the “88” crossovers in
Fostoria, Ohio, on the
former Chesapeake & Ohio
route to Toledo in January
2012. The train will turn and
head west to Deshler then
south again to Cincinnati.
Dale A. DeVene Jr.