This looks like fun. Hard to believe it's still on the rails.

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

Amtrak 665 is due into Chicago on Thursday.

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

Amtrak 665 is due into Chicago on Thursday.

And indeed it did arrive.



Just behind a rather now tatty looking #189 "The Big Game Train" The, I assume, vinyls were applied some years ago and now just look old.,

However it is one of the Amtrack P42's in "special livery that is what the "foamers" "anoraks" or just plain train fans look out for. Which got me thinking, how many of the Amtrak "Heritage Units" had I seen this month.

Well #156 (Phase 1) arrived on the CZ 6 on the 14th Jan



#66 (Phase II) was eaiser as it was running the 300 Lincoln service and turning on the wye each day. This is the sunny 17th with and empty coal on the airline.



#184 (phase V) was on the City of New Orleans on the 20th.



The 21st saw #42 (Salute to the Veterans) leading the CZ 6



The 22nd saw the only "Heritage" P40 #822 Phase (III) make an appearance on the CZ 5



Finally to complete the set #145 (Phase III) was on the SWC 4 on the 27th.



#145 has been on the 391 to Carbondale the last 2 days.

So a complete set in around two weeks. It really seems like Chicago is the centre of the Amtrak diesel universe.

To end, when I saw this coming down the wye I could not a first make out what it was, due to the "snowy" front



It was of course an old "cabbage" #90368.

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David said on another board:

I'm going to park this here because Seti it still down and I have to go out into the rain.

I believe this needed to be seen here

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Guess I need to start posting on this thread. I will be working on the rail road starting next week.

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David said on another board:

I'm going to park this here because Seti it still down and I have to go out into the rain.

I believe this needed to be seen here

Thank you I missed that.

I actually saw it arrive in Chicago, minus BNSF 8000



However the California Zephyr 6 yesterday was several hours late, and when it arrived, guess what was on point.



Yes a very snowy BNSF 8000, I know the number is not visible but it was 8000

With #157 and #14 in tow



Have to start calling 8000 Thunderbird one!!

Yes I realise that Virgin trains in the UK had "Thunderbird" rescue locos, here in fact is Class 57 307 "Lady Penelope" I saw at Long Marston a few years back.



Yes that is the "Thunderbird" logo.

BNSF have also been "measuring the track", BNSF 4459 appeared at Chicago



pulling these



The track measurement unit.

That was on 1st, it parked overnight at Galesburg and then on the 2nd



Finally I have mentioned that Iowa Pacific and the Hoosier State has been having problems with only one loco pulling the consists.

Well last week for several days.



Both 4137 and 4135 were to be seen, then on the first, when it is hauled in tow by the Cardinal.



Oh dear, just 4135 again, then yesterday, sorry no pic, it was down to three cars instead of four.

I wonder if they are having second thoughts!!

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David said on another board:

I'm going to park this here because Seti it still down and I have to go out into the rain.

I believe this needed to be seen here

Yes, I intended to post it here. Just haven't gotten to this thread in a couple of days. Thanks for posting it for me.

Thank you I missed that.

I actually saw it arrive in Chicago, minus BNSF 8000

Apparently, it was removed at Galesburg that day. It must have gone back to Denver (on 5?) and been put on 6 again. This time, as you point out below, it was not removed. Someone posted on Facebook that he heard the crew say on the radio that the snow would make its removal very difficult. You can see why here.

However the California Zephyr 6 yesterday was several hours late, and when it arrived, guess what was on point.



Yes a very snowy BNSF 8000, I know the number is not visible but it was 8000

With #157 and #14 in tow

Gee, they're almost clean!

Have to start calling 8000 Thunderbird one!!

Yes I realise that Virgin trains in the UK had "Thunderbird" rescue locos, here in fact is Class 57 307 "Lady Penelope" I saw at Long Marston a few years back.



Yes that is the "Thunderbird" logo.

Finally I have mentioned that Iowa Pacific and the Hoosier State has been having problems with only one loco pulling the consists.

Well last week for several days.



Both 4137 and 4135 were to be seen, then on the first, when it is hauled in tow by the Cardinal.



Oh dear, just 4135 again, then yesterday, sorry no pic, it was down to three cars instead of four.

I wonder if they are having second thoughts!!

Don't know what's up there. Mike was officially laid off, so he doesn't hear much anymore (not that he ever heard a lot about the HS).

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

Well just to prove I do occasionally take pictures of home grown trains.

Here is a pic taken less than an hour ago from the footbridge near my local station.




Yes 60163 Tornado at the head of the Belmond British Pullman lunch train.

Just in case anyone isn't aware 60163 is the completely new built Pepperorn A1 Pacific locomotive.

It is temporarily hauling the British Pullman whilst 35028 Clan Line has its 10 year boiler overhaul.

Also a quick pic of a UK freight train, just for completeness :-)



Just an old EMD 66 class 044 to be precise, taken from the bridge near East Croydon station this week.

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...no DB Schenker bought EWS a few years ago (2009?), a lot of their locos still carry the older livery of dark red with yellow instead of the more recent bright red. To my eye the latter looks more like the sort of red you see on a kiddies toy than on a heavy haul locomotive.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Back in Jan Amtrak P42 #69 had a disagreement with a road vehicle whilst on the 383 to Quincy and I have not seen it from the front until a couple of days ago.



I am trying to decide if it has in fact been repainted, of just washed!!

Now some of you will realise that "special units" i.e, anything which makes a unit stand out form the crowd are highly "spotable" sometimes railfans make up there own, so is the case for Norfolk and Southerns famous "Bar Code" unit,it is an SD70Ace and has the number 1111 which are supposed to look like a bar code.

So I have waited for this unit for a while and finally on the 6th I saw on the "Heritage Unit" website that it was heading for Chesterton, so I waited with baited breath and.....



Somewhat of an anti-climax, it looked just like , well a blob!! It was moving to fast to get a good clear picture. Oh well maybe next time.

Talking of Chesterton, as the Chicago camera was down for a good part of yesterday I was watching Chesterton longer than normal and saw a few interesting things.

First was this:



Nine NS units, 9876, 7588, 7603, 2628, 9343, 9880, 2533, 1149, and 6998, at the front of a full double stack container train, only the first 3/4 seemed to be running.

Next one that caught my attention was this GP60 "sandwich"



NS 3035 ex-conrail GP40-2 built 1978
NS7131 GP60 built 1991



NS 7150 GP60 built 1992
NS 3067 ex-Conrail GP40-2 built 1980

NS seems to like the older geeps and keeps them looking fresh.

Saying that another coil train came through earlier with NS 5337 on




A GP38-2 built 1977, an "Operation Lifesaver" unit.

To round off the Chesterton pictures, this was from the 7th.



The odd looking BCR 4609 a C40-8M.

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Back in Jan Amtrak P42 #69 had a disagreement with a road vehicle whilst on the 383 to Quincy and I have not seen it from the front until a couple of days ago.



I am trying to decide if it has in fact been repainted, of just washed!!

More than just repainted. It had some damage that has been repaired. I'm thinking it might just be all new fiberglas on the nose. I must remember to post the pics I took of it that night for you to see.

Now some of you will realise that "special units" i.e, anything which makes a unit stand out form the crowd are highly "spotable" sometimes railfans make up there own, so is the case for Norfolk and Southerns famous "Bar Code" unit,it is an SD70Ace and has the number 1111 which are supposed to look like a bar code.

So I have waited for this unit for a while and finally on the 6th I saw on the "Heritage Unit" website that it was heading for Chesterton, so I waited with baited breath and.....



Somewhat of an anti-climax, it looked just like , well a blob!! It was moving to fast to get a good clear picture. Oh well maybe next time.

I'm sure you have seen other pictures of it and know what the barcode looks like. A bit neat, but otherwise unremarkable.

Talking of Chesterton, as the Chicago camera was down for a good part of yesterday I was watching Chesterton longer than normal and saw a few interesting things.

First was this:



Nine NS units, 9876, 7588, 7603, 2628, 9343, 9880, 2533, 1149, and 6998, at the front of a full double stack container train, only the first 3/4 seemed to be running.

Quite likely. Someone will decide how much power is needed and if the crew uses more than that they will get in a bit of trouble.

To round off the Chesterton pictures, this was from the 7th.



The odd looking BCR 4609 a C40-8M.

British Columbia Railway ordered units with full cowl carbodies to increase crew comfort and safety in the winter, since they ran in bitter cold and heavy snow. CN bought the BCOL a while back and does not bother to keep the special units where they were intended (who cares about crew comfort and safety anyway?). Slightly surprising it hasn't been repainted, but as some railroad presidents like to point out, paint doesn't pull trains.

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

A bit of local excitement yesterday. BNSF Suburban 1206 (which makes its first passenger pickup at Fairview Ave. in Downers Grove) derailed its third car on a switch at West Naperville. The engineer saw sparks flying and stopped the train just before it could also damage a switch in the East Naperville plant. It did some damage to the switch where it derailed and ripped out the fence that keeps people from crossing the tracks in the station. It also did a bit of damage to the Loomis St. crossing.

I downloaded the recordings from my radio feed. The first call to the dispatcher was at about 0506. From that point on, only Main 3 was open for use (the derailed car was in the foul of Main 1). Eastbound trains passed the scene at Restricted Speed, and since the trains that normally express through Naperville on Main 2 had to use 3 as well, significant delays were incurred. All westbound trains terminated at Lisle and the train sets started their next eastbound runs from there.

By about 0945, the rest of the train had been pulled away and the car put back on the track by Hulcher (which required briefly blocking Main 3 as well). The train was recoupled and sent to Chicago a little past 1030, at 25 mph.

Track crews were out all day, working on the switch where the derailment originally happened and the track east of there to where the train stopped. I went out after work, at about 1630, and shot a few seconds of video of the tamper working, which I'll try to remember to post for you. When they quit for the day, Main 2 was open, but all switches at West and East Naperville were out of service, so the dispatcher could not cross any trains over anywhere between Eola and Lisle.

If you want to hear the recordings, I have uploaded the first two. #1 (you can skip ahead to about 29 minutes) and #2 (listen from the beginning). I haven't listened to any more than these (or even all of #2), so I don't know if anything else is worth posting.

---

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

A bit of local excitement yesterday. BNSF Suburban 1206 (which makes its first passenger pickup at Fairview Ave. in Downers Grove) derailed its third car on a switch at West Naperville.

I haven't uploaded my videos yet, but a fellow Napervillian with more free time (and more tolerance for cold) than I have went out and took some good pictures, then posted this link.

Allow me to caption them for you.

1. Looking east from Loomis St. In the distance, you can see the derailed car under the Columbia St. bridge. Main 1 is on the left, 3 on the right.

2. Looking west from Columbia. The derailed car is under you. In the distance is the rest of the train just west of Loomis. You can see considerably more damage than I thought there was to the switch.

3. The engine and 5 cars appear to be backing toward the east 3 cars after it was rerailed. Too bad he didn't get any shots of the car being lifted.

4. Looks like this is after they recoupled the train. The misalignment of the cars is probably from the track still being out of line.

5. No wonder they were working on it all day.

6. Looking northwest from the east end of the south platform at all the mangled fenceposts. They had been removed by the time I got there.

7. Looking north on Loomis. The building in the background was Kroehler, a furniture factory. My father worked there as a computer programmer when I was little. It's now shops on the ground floor with mixed offices and condos above.

8 and 9. Damage to the west edge of the crossing, where the derailed wheels hit it.

10. Looking east.

12. While they worked hard on this switch at East Naperville, another group was working on a switch at West Naperville. He didn't get any pictures of that because he would have had to trespass.

13. Amtrak 5 or 3 using the "wrong" platform. Looking west. Maybe Main 1 wasn't open yet, or maybe it was just easier for the dispatcher to put it on 3. 1 was open by the time I got there.

14. Notice all the boarded up windows in the shelters. Probably broken by ballast kicked up by the derailed car. Go back to picture 6 again; no boards in place at that time.

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

Good pics, I always like to see the "inside" of railways and their workings.

According to my camera log the train in pic 13 is the 3 (89-134)

Time for a little story:

Back in 2011 there was a great fuss cause when it was announced that Siemens had won the contract for the new "Thameslink" trains, over Bombardier. The row was due to the fact that Siemens units would be manufactured in Germany while Bombardier had a factory in the UK. The whole process dragged on and the "in service" date for the Siemens units moved fro 2012 to 2016. One problem was the new 700 class unit incorporated several new design features which needed to be tested and approved.

However in the meantime to cover this short fall, Bombardier provided brand new class 387 units to Thameslink.These were just an upgraded version of their successful "Electrostar" class 377.

Here is a shot of one of the original group 377 158



And for comparison one of the 377's currently working on Thameslink



So what happened to the 700's well yesterday for the first time I saw one while crossing the bridge near East Croydon. Sorry it a bit blurred but I wasn't expecting it!!



I did get a better shot from the other side of the bridge



700 107, the 100 sub class means it is a 12 coach set, of which there will be 55. They are still being tested and are due to enter service in April.

Thameslink service runs across London North to South from Bedford to Brighton. It is a "dual voltage" route OHL north of London and third rail to the south.

The 387's will be used elsewhere to replace older stock, oh yes and The Gatwick Express franchise is to use 387's to replace the ageing 442's but that's another story.

The moral, whilst the fuss over Bombardier made the headlines, the subsequent orders they have received and are continuing to receive have not. I guess good news is not as interesting as bad news.

While looking for some pics of the 387 I came across this which I may or may not have posted here.



Far right on the "up fast" is a Southern 377 heading for London, the red unit on the "down fast" is a 442 "Gatwick Express" heading south to Gatwick" and on left GBRF 66758.

The 377 and 66 were waiting at the signals and the 442 just happened to pass between allowing for the shot.

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Excellent! Just proves that UK trains is a lot more eye candy than USA grey stuff! It is the train thread, not the USA train thread.

Ahem! Metra is blue and red and stainless steel (with the occasional advertising wrap). IPH is orange and brown. NS is black (plus heritage schemes). CSX is various combinations of blue, yellow, and gray. UP is yellow and gray (plus heritage schemes). CP is red (with a few blues from the DM&E, although they just put a bunch of those up for sale). CN is red and black, plus numerous other combinations from predecessors that haven't been repainted yet (including Wisconsin Central maroon and yellow, which was also applied to EW&S). BNSF is orange and green (plus green and black, and red and silver that haven't been repainted yet).

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

A bit of local excitement yesterday. BNSF Suburban 1206 (which makes its first passenger pickup at Fairview Ave. in Downers Grove) derailed its third car on a switch at West Naperville.

I haven't uploaded my videos yet, but a fellow Napervillian with more free time (and more tolerance for cold) than I have went out and took some good pictures, then posted this link.

Photographer's name is Jason Hilsenbeck.

---

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

I posted over at Einstein during the outrage yesterday about Felix the station cat. There were several informative responses to my post there, so I'm going to post a link here to my first post there, from which you can follow the responses.

(I will post just the Felix link here in the Cats thread for those who read that but not this thread.)

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

Be on the lookout for some California stuff headed for repairs.

http://patch.com/california/northridge/packed-amtrak-train-crashes-empty-car-chatsworth

Packed Amtrak Train Crashes into Empty Car in Chatsworth
An Amtrak train collided with an unoccupied car on the tracks near the Amtrak/Metrolink station in Chatsworth this afternoon, but no injuries were reported.

Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said 116 passengers were aboard the northbound train 777, which was traveling from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo at the time of the 3:48 p.m. collision in the 9200 block of De Soto Avenue.

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You know Chris, if somebody asked me for typical colours of North American rail, I would have picked red and orange, not grey.

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LIGO announces a conference on next Thursday on the results of Advanced LIGO

Eh!

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