A cam that I don't think has made it here before.

---

Seems IPH are quite busy around Chicago.

These just left on the California Zephyr.

Did you catch them coming back on 6 this afternoon? 6 was here at least a couple of hours late, but not horrendously so.

I now hear they will do another Denver trip late in September, possible departing the 24th.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Did you catch them coming back on 6 this afternoon? 6 was here at least a couple of hours late, but not horrendously so.

I did indeed



All present and correct!!

Also caught Caritas arriving on the City of New Orleans.



Early morning shots are not as good there, sun is in the wrong place.

Also the SWC 4 brought this in yesterday.



Nice Baltimore and Ohio dome car.

I am slightly annoyed, the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus train went through Chesterton early this morning, about 5:10.
Heading for Moline IL. I get an "alert" but as it happens I was asleep!! Still October and November they will be at Toledo, Cleveland, Rosemount and Chicago, just have to hope I can see it then!!

---

Also caught Caritas arriving on the City of New Orleans.

I can't quite tell, but that should be my friend Mike in the Dutch door. I tried to download the picture and see if I could zoom in on it, but various programs tell me the file is corrupt (so how does it work properly in Firefox?).

Early morning shots are not as good there, sun is in the wrong place.

Also the SWC 4 brought this in yesterday.



Nice Baltimore and Ohio dome car.

Cool. I am not immediately familiar with that car.

I am slightly annoyed, the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus train went through Chesterton early this morning, about 5:10.
Heading for Moline IL. I get an "alert" but as it happens I was asleep!! Still October and November they will be at Toledo, Cleveland, Rosemount and Chicago, just have to hope I can see it then!!

I am not aware of any camera in Chicago that the circus train would pass. For the past few years, they have parked the train in Indiana Harbor Belt's Norpaul Yard and trucked everything to the Rosemont Horizon and the United Center. I really wish they were still parking it on a siding near the UC and parading over, but those days are gone.

Hmm. I just checked the tour schedule at http://ringling.com. The train in Moline this weekend is the Blue "Legends" tour train, while the one that will be in Chicago in November is the Red "Circus Xtreme" tour train. I may drive out to Moline on Monday, if intelligence suggests that it's parked someplace viewable (and if I feel good enough after two days at IRM). It always arrives and departs Chicago at bad times for photography and/or when I'm at work.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

On Sunday, I met an internet friend and had him install a discriminator tap in one of my scanners so I can use it to receive the nonstandard frequencies some railroads use for ATCS. Then I headed out toward Rochelle to test it. I spent a couple of hours being distracted by the Hinckley Fire Department burning down a house for practice (lots of pictures), but when I did eventually get out to Rochelle, the scanner worked very well. Didn't see a lot of trains, but I did see them show up on my display when they were approaching.

Spent most of last evening going through my pictures from Ohio in July (filled up the SD card with the fire). I really should post some of those for you.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Word is out that there are new electrics on 6 today and tomorrow. Today's is probably already past MH, given the reported time for NPV.

[edit]
And today's is also supposed to have had that mysterious car Cripple Creek on the rear.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

http://mynewsla.com/life/2015/09/01/metrolink-to-spend-200m-on-29-low-emission-engines/

To overcome a surge in locomotive breakdowns that delay passengers, the Metrolink commuter railroad plans to spend about $200 million for some of the most sophisticated low-emission engines available.

Rail officials want to buy 29 so-called Tier 4 locomotives — powerful, fuel-efficient vehicles designed to slash potentially harmful releases of nitrogen oxide and fine particles of diesel exhaust, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Metrolink is set to take delivery of its first locomotive in December and the rest next year. When it does, the railroad that serves about 41,200 daily riders from six Southern California counties will become the first passenger line in the nation to operate the state-of-the-art engines.

“We thought that rebuilding our old locomotives was a good deal, but we’ve learned that buying new engines is better,” Art Leahy, Metrolink’s chief executive officer, told The Times Tuesday. “It’s the right thing to do. The business case is there.”

Rail officials say the Tier 4 engines, built by Electro-Motive Diesel in Illinois, are necessary because breakdowns have grown steadily for several years, reaching 111 during the first seven months of 2015.

R.T. McCarthy, Metrolink’s deputy chief operating officer, told The Times that many of the railroad’s 54 engines were built in the early 1990s and have traveled upward of a million miles each. He added that the railroad also has deferred costly overhauls, opting instead for reactive maintenance when mechanical problems arise.

“The engines,” McCarthy said, “are worn out and tired.”

The new locomotives are part of a broader program to improve customer service and rebuild ridership that has been lost since 2008. It includes replacing faulty ticket machines, adding trains to the schedule, and experimenting with lower fares and amenities such as Wi-Fi.

---

http://mynewsla.com/life/2015/09/01/metrolink-to-spend-200m-on-29-low-emission-engines/

To overcome a surge in locomotive breakdowns that delay passengers, the Metrolink commuter railroad plans to spend about $200 million for some of the most sophisticated low-emission engines available.

Rail officials want to buy 29 so-called Tier 4 locomotives — powerful, fuel-efficient vehicles designed to slash potentially harmful releases of nitrogen oxide and fine particles of diesel exhaust, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Metrolink is set to take delivery of its first locomotive in December and the rest next year. When it does, the railroad that serves about 41,200 daily riders from six Southern California counties will become the first passenger line in the nation to operate the state-of-the-art engines.

“We thought that rebuilding our old locomotives was a good deal, but we’ve learned that buying new engines is better,” Art Leahy, Metrolink’s chief executive officer, told The Times Tuesday. “It’s the right thing to do. The business case is there.”

Rail officials say the Tier 4 engines, built by Electro-Motive Diesel in Illinois, are necessary because breakdowns have grown steadily for several years, reaching 111 during the first seven months of 2015.

R.T. McCarthy, Metrolink’s deputy chief operating officer, told The Times that many of the railroad’s 54 engines were built in the early 1990s and have traveled upward of a million miles each. He added that the railroad also has deferred costly overhauls, opting instead for reactive maintenance when mechanical problems arise.

“The engines,” McCarthy said, “are worn out and tired.”

The new locomotives are part of a broader program to improve customer service and rebuild ridership that has been lost since 2008. It includes replacing faulty ticket machines, adding trains to the schedule, and experimenting with lower fares and amenities such as Wi-Fi.

Interesting. I wasn't aware that EMD was ready to build Tier 4s, let alone in Illinois. I wonder if the reporter just looked up EMD's corporate office address and didn't research where the actual manufacturing plant is.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Had an odd day today and nearly didn't get round to watching the cams.

However I did in the end and caught 656.



Not only that but on the end was



The return of the Cripple Creek Sheriffs Railcar.

---

Introducing the NS GP33ECO

Designed and constructed at the railroad’s Juniata backshops, the GP33ECO will yard service as the mother unit in a mother-slug set. So far, 10 have been built. They will be deployed in Atlanta; 65% of their cost has been subsidized by a CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) Improvement Program grant administered through various federal and state agencies, among them the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia DOT, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Had an odd day today and nearly didn't get round to watching the cams.

However I did in the end and caught 656.



Not only that but on the end was



The return of the Cripple Creek Sheriffs Railcar.

Oh good, you got them.

I asked Mike if that was him in your picture of Caritas and he says no, he was on the back platform for the reverse move.

I also asked him about Cripple Creek. He doesn't know anything, but when I mentioned it's an IC car he said he'd ask his boss, who is sure to know something.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Introducing the NS GP33ECO

Designed and constructed at the railroad’s Juniata backshops, the GP33ECO will yard service as the mother unit in a mother-slug set. So far, 10 have been built. They will be deployed in Atlanta; 65% of their cost has been subsidized by a CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) Improvement Program grant administered through various federal and state agencies, among them the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia DOT, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

I think I heard there will also be at least one in Chicago.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

http://mynewsla.com/life/2015/09/01/metrolink-to-spend-200m-on-29-low-emission-engines/

To overcome a surge in locomotive breakdowns that delay passengers, the Metrolink commuter railroad plans to spend about $200 million for some of the most sophisticated low-emission engines available.

Rail officials want to buy 29 so-called Tier 4 locomotives — powerful, fuel-efficient vehicles designed to slash potentially harmful releases of nitrogen oxide and fine particles of diesel exhaust, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Metrolink is set to take delivery of its first locomotive in December and the rest next year. When it does, the railroad that serves about 41,200 daily riders from six Southern California counties will become the first passenger line in the nation to operate the state-of-the-art engines.

“We thought that rebuilding our old locomotives was a good deal, but we’ve learned that buying new engines is better,” Art Leahy, Metrolink’s chief executive officer, told The Times Tuesday. “It’s the right thing to do. The business case is there.”

Rail officials say the Tier 4 engines, built by Electro-Motive Diesel in Illinois, are necessary because breakdowns have grown steadily for several years, reaching 111 during the first seven months of 2015.

R.T. McCarthy, Metrolink’s deputy chief operating officer, told The Times that many of the railroad’s 54 engines were built in the early 1990s and have traveled upward of a million miles each. He added that the railroad also has deferred costly overhauls, opting instead for reactive maintenance when mechanical problems arise.

“The engines,” McCarthy said, “are worn out and tired.”

The new locomotives are part of a broader program to improve customer service and rebuild ridership that has been lost since 2008. It includes replacing faulty ticket machines, adding trains to the schedule, and experimenting with lower fares and amenities such as Wi-Fi.

Interesting. I wasn't aware that EMD was ready to build Tier 4s, let alone in Illinois. I wonder if the reporter just looked up EMD's corporate office address and didn't research where the actual manufacturing plant is.

Knowing this source, I suspect they just reprinted the Metrolink press release verbatim. In any case they are being built in Muncie Indiana, per another source.

---

http://mynewsla.com/life/2015/09/01/metrolink-to-spend-200m-on-29-low-emission-engines/

To overcome a surge in locomotive breakdowns that delay passengers, the Metrolink commuter railroad plans to spend about $200 million for some of the most sophisticated low-emission engines available.

Rail officials say the Tier 4 engines, built by Electro-Motive Diesel in Illinois, are necessary because breakdowns have grown steadily for several years, reaching 111 during the first seven months of 2015.

The new locomotives are part of a broader program to improve customer service and rebuild ridership that has been lost since 2008. It includes replacing faulty ticket machines, adding trains to the schedule, and experimenting with lower fares and amenities such as Wi-Fi.

Interesting. I wasn't aware that EMD was ready to build Tier 4s, let alone in Illinois. I wonder if the reporter just looked up EMD's corporate office address and didn't research where the actual manufacturing plant is.

Knowing this source, I suspect they just reprinted the Metrolink press release verbatim. In any case they are being built in Muncie Indiana, per another source.

Yes, I'd agree with that. I have another source that suggest they will be EMD F125 Spirits, 4700HP, powered by a Caterpillar C175-20, top speed 125 MPH, assembled in Muncie with parts from all over including EMD's remaining small plant in McCook, IL.

Ironically, these units for California will be built in the midwest, while the new ones for the Midwest High Speed Coalition will be built by Siemens in Sacramento, CA.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Well " Siemens in Sacramento, CA." will need something to do when these run out.

Today on the 6 #655



Wonder why they don't arrive in order, the last one was 656.

Also today another high hood through Chesterton, this time leading!!



Another GP38-2 5106, only a short consist, I often see several a day like this, mostly coil cars, not seen a high hood leading before though.

---

Is there an Amtrak Loco #666? Just curious.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Is there an Amtrak Loco #666? Just curious.

Well not yet, but watch this space.

As there are 70 ACS64's ordered #666 may be here in a few weeks. However I cannot find any definite info on whether they will use 666 or not.

Maybe David knows

PS. Of course Amtrak already run a service #666



The Keystone, Harrisburgh to NY on a Saturday and Sunday, which apparently the ACS64's are now used on, so if #666 is used then it might well be on service #666 that would be something!!

---

Is there an Amtrak Loco #666? Just curious.

Well not yet, but watch this space.

As there are 70 ACS64's ordered #666 may be here in a few weeks. However I cannot find any definite info on whether they will use 666 or not.

Maybe David knows

Nope, I'm waiting to see too.

PS. Of course Amtrak already run a service #666



The Keystone, Harrisburgh to NY on a Saturday and Sunday, which apparently the ACS64's are now used on, so if #666 is used then it might well be on service #666 that would be something!!

It would indeed.

Many years ago, 347 was regularly assigned to train 347, which was the former number of what is now train 383.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Interesting set of pictures of CNW 8646 running on the BNSF Aurora Sub back in April, including crossing the former CNW Troy Grove branch east of Shabbona and the main at Rochelle.

Photographer is the young BNSF engineer who ran the IRM coach train last weekend, with whom I took a cab ride.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Interesting set of pictures of CNW 8646 running on the BNSF Aurora Sub back in April, including crossing the former CNW Troy Grove branch east of Shabbona and the main at Rochelle.

Photographer is the young BNSF engineer who ran the IRM coach train last weekend, with whom I took a cab ride.

Several good pics there, he has a good eye for the rest of the scene as well.

---