Before I get into replying to the other posts and forget about it, train 6 on Friday should have new electric 647 on it. Also, three Iowa Pacific cars will leave town on Sunday on train 5. They will return in a couple of weeks on train 8, which comes into the north side of the station. If you're very lucky, you might catch the train being wyed some time after it arrives; keep in mind that contrary to what most trains do, it will pull forward into the wye and back out.

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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.

Different railroads equip their engines with different sets of electronic add-ons in the cab, but the basics are all pretty much the same. Any engineer should be able to run anything he climbs onto, and if he can't, he asks his supervisor or the help desk. Therefore, almost anything can run on any railroad. Very early in the diesel age, each builder had its own system of controlling multiple units, but the railroads more or less demanded that they standardize on one system, the EMD 27-pin cable. Even then, different roads wired them differently, but as run-through power became more common they standardized that too. Now, I'd be really surprised if any two engines you find out there are not MU compatible. (History is repeating itself, however, in the field of radio control for Distributed Power; there are two or three incompatible systems.)

The major exceptions to that are in the area of older cab signal and signal-compliance systems. Anything that runs on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor has to have its ACSES system. Anything on any of Union Pacific's ex-Chicago & North Western commuter lines out of Chicago (but not the freight-only "New Line" to Milwaukee) has to have their ATS or ATC (one line is different from the other two), and on the west line, this requirement extends well beyond commuter territory, all the way across Illinois and Iowa to Omaha and Fremont, Nebraska. Amtrak has to install the old Santa Fe ATS system on its engines that lead the Southwest Chief for it to be allowed to go 90 in Kansas and New Mexico. Anything that runs on Metra's Rock Island District has to have their cab signal system or it's restricted to 40 MPH.

When radio was first introduced, the sets installed on trains and the hand-helds issued used crystals and only had a few channels, so the lead engine almost always had to be the home road, but now the standard is synthesized radios capable of all 91 AAR channels at the push of a few buttons.

The CP trains going by Chesterton use trackage rights to connect Chicago to CP's own property via Detroit. Just as with Bill's example of NS crews on CP in Canada, they are (AFAIK) CP employees trained to run on NS and probably nowhere else. Crews that can run out and get back to their home base the same day are really lucky; mostly, crew districts are based on how far they should be able to go in a legal working day. The railroad puts them in a motel for the minimum rest period and they run back home the next day. I was surprised to learn that BNSF crews can run any route in northern Illinois: Chicago to Galesburg via either the Santa Fe or the Burlington; Chicago to La Crosse, WI; or Galesburg to La Crosse. Probably, crews based out of Galesburg can do not only those runs but also go to southern Illinois via the Beardstown sub; St. Louis via West Quincy, MO; Kansas City via either the Santa Fe or the Burlington; or across Iowa. However, before they can run any of these lines, they have to qualify on it -- make several trips with another qualified crew to tell them what to do and where: where the up and down grades are, where the speed restrictions are, etc., and what their landmarks are for all of these. (Trying to learn this stuff for the five mile museum railroad gives me new respect for the guys doing it for hundreds of miles on multiple routes.) CN crews based in Chicago (Markham, actually) do the same on any of their routes around the area, and they have twice as many predecessor companies as BNSF. I suppose it's the same for the other Class Ones. Oh, and on top of that, many are also qualified on specific bits of other railroads in the Chicago area, mostly for the purpose of delivering trains to each others' yards (or their own, if the other road is a major shortcut). Examples: BNSF trains coming from Minneapolis and going to Logistics Park Chicago, which is located in Joliet, enter Eola Yard in Aurora, then take CN (ex-EJ&E) to Joliet where they go back to BNSF rails for the last few miles to LPC. BNSF crews can also run on CSX (B&OCT) to one of their yards on the south side of Chicago. UP uses Indiana Harbor Belt to get from their former C&NW lines to their rights on CN to Joliet to reach their Global 4 yard adjacent to LPC. Almost everybody has rights on IHB and Belt Railway of Chicago to reach their yards or others'. Indiana Rail Road owns former Milwaukee Road track in southern Indiana; along with it, it got rights on CSX (including on the CSX/UP joint line) to Chicago to interchange with CP at BRC's Clearing Yard, but their rights go nowhere else on BRC; their power tends to run through on CP to Minneapolis (or farther, I'm not sure), but with CP crews and CP train symbols.

So, there are two main reasons why one road's power runs on another: either the "foreign" road has trackage rights, or the two (or more) roads have a run-through agreement, which is usually for unit trains. The reason you see so much NS and BNSF power going by the Chicago camera is oil trains between North Dakota and east coast refineries. Some trains have NS power, some have BNSF. Either way, it's easier to leave it on from origin to destination and back again than to change it when the train crosses a property line.

How then does it get all jumbled? As Bill said, sometimes one is bad ordered and switched out for another, or a whole set will get reassigned to a different pool; several of NS's heritage units have spent months roaming the northwest and southwest US on BNSF because of this, not returning to NS until they were due for their 180 day inspections. Last year, a BNSF engine terminal manager who was a railfan had trains come into his terminal (I want to say in Nebraska or Kansas, but I don't remember) with UP and NS heritage units on them. Each train had a defect with one of the other engines in its set. So what did he do? Naturally, he put the UP and NS heritage units together on the same train and sent it on out further west. Then, as soon as his shift ended, he went home and got his camera so he could take pictures of the train in a few places. So, in the case of the CP train with the NS unit trailing, it probably ran onto CP on an oil or ethanol train, then was pulled off for some reason and reassigned to another CP train, and just got mixed into their pool. They will pay NS for its use on a horsepower-hour basis. Also last year, an empty oil train with an NS heritage unit was reassigned (the whole train) so that when it was loaded it was sent to CSX for delivery to a refinery they serve. While on CSX, it had a minor collision, just enough to bad order it. The rules are that even though CSX could have delivered it straight to NS just a few short miles away, it had to send it several hundred miles back to BNSF at Chicago, which then returned it to NS.

All these little complexities are what make watching North American railroads so much fun.

---

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

Oh, forgot to mention, IC&E...

Soo Line, then a distinct subsidiary of CP, bought the Milwaukee Road out of bankruptcy in 1986, I believe. They sold everything that remained in Iowa (the line to Omaha was already abandoned) and from Iowa to Chicago, Kansas City, and La Crescent, MN (with trackage rights to Minneapolis) to I&M Rail Link; this company had the same corporate parent as Montana Rail Link and used the same paint scheme, just adding an I to the front of the reporting mark. They let both the service and the property decline considerably, and after five years sold it to Dakota Minnesota & Eastern, which ran it as their new sister company Iowa Chicago & Eastern. They improved it a little. Meanwhile, DM&E was hatching a plan to build into the Wyoming coal fields, but they couldn't afford it. Eventually, they sold both railroads to CP, which combined them under the DM&E name, which is held as a separate US subsidiary from Soo. BUT, last year, CP sold most of the original DM&E to shortline conglomerate Genessee & Wyoming, which runs it as the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern. What's left of the DM&E paper railroad is almost entirely former IC&E lines. Meanwhile, Soo had been more fully integrated into CP. Both Soo and DM&E now operate as part of the whole CP system, although they remain separate railroads on paper.

So yes, CP sold off some of its older engines, only to get them back again when it acquired the IC&E. And yes, it's not unheard of for RCPE engines to go east to Canada on CP trains, either still in DM&E blue and yellow or G&W's orange.


(Just to confuse you even more, DM&E was originally Chicago & North Western's "Cowboy Line" across southern Minnesota and South Dakota.)


Separately from all of this, CP also bought the Delaware & Hudson out of bankruptcy. Just this year, it sold part of it in New York and Pennsylvania to NS, with which it will fit nicely.

---

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

Thanks for the details David. I hadn't realized US engines got shared on through trains, just like the rolling stock. And we still see Delaware & Hudson engines, rolling stock, and MRO equipment on the CP lines around here. I'm told they legally have to keep the name in use to maintain some track rights, on old tracks originally funded by the Canadian government.

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Yes thanks David.

Seems it is every bit as complex as I thought, and yes it does make for interesting watching :-).

I was out this evening and got in just in time to see what I assumed was a 9 minute late 3 leaving with DOTX 216 on the rear.

It was only when I looked at the "track a train" I realised it was the 5 leaving an hour and 9 minutes late!

train 6 on Friday should have new electric 647 on it.

Which is fine except due to the diversion 6 has been getting later and later, today it is currently 11 hours and 12 mins late, which is optimistically predicted to be 10 hrs and 2 mins at Chicago, that puts it at nearly 1am CT and 7 am BST, so I might see it tomorrow morning.

Tomorrows 6 is currently 1 hr and 46 mins late, hopefully it won't get worse.

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Which is fine except due to the diversion 6 has been getting later and later, today it is currently 11 hours and 12 mins late, which is optimistically predicted to be 10 hrs and 2 mins at Chicago, that puts it at nearly 1am CT and 7 am BST, so I might see it tomorrow morning.

And we moan at SouthWest trains :-)))

Imagine the wailing if your trains ran for 2438 miles like the CZ does.

---

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

Thanks for the details David. I hadn't realized US engines got shared on through trains, just like the rolling stock. And we still see Delaware & Hudson engines, rolling stock, and MRO equipment on the CP lines around here. I'm told they legally have to keep the name in use to maintain some track rights, on old tracks originally funded by the Canadian government.

NS didn't buy the whole D&H, just a couple hundred miles in the US.

---

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

... three Iowa Pacific cars will leave town on Sunday on train 5. They will return in a couple of weeks on train 8, which comes into the north side of the station. If you're very lucky, you might catch the train being wyed some time after it arrives; keep in mind that contrary to what most trains do, it will pull forward into the wye and back out.

More details: the three cars on Sunday will be Colorado Pine with its vestibule trailing, Sky View with vestibule leading, and Baton Rouge with vestibule trailing. The three of them will remain in that configuration through the whole trip to Emeryville (Oakland), Seattle, and back to Chicago. Furthermore, out of Seattle they will be joined by Puget Sound and Sierra Hotel, which will be on the rear. My friend predicts that the total of five PVs will cause a delay at Minot, where potable water is added to all cars' holding tanks. Arrival into Chicago is scheduled for Saturday, June 27.

---

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

Well it is wet and grey in Chicago today.

The camera has rain on the lens but I thought this was quite a nice shot



90368 "leading" what I believe is the Pere Marquette onto the wye.

I know a few still have a soft spot for the old F40PH's even if they are just cabbages now.

I will try for a few pics of the 5 on Sunday, and I bet the 6 on the 27th will be very late!!

As to the CZ 6 today, currently expected 2 hours 54 mins late which will be 11:45 pm here!!

And I wont even mention the CZ 5 that left Chicago on the 10th, well maybe just a little mention

19 hours late

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Well it is wet and grey in Chicago today.

Yes it is. Cool enough that I turned off the AC though.

The camera has rain on the lens but I thought this was quite a nice shot



90368 "leading" what I believe is the Pere Marquette onto the wye.

I know a few still have a soft spot for the old F40PH's even if they are just cabbages now.

Hmm. Didn't know they were using those on that train. Makes sense, though, since it's the only Michigan train that doesn't run at 110 MPH. And why are they bothering to wye it?

I will try for a few pics of the 5 on Sunday, and I bet the 6 on the 27th will be very late!!

Not 6, 8. I'll remind you when the time comes.

As to the CZ 6 today, currently expected 2 hours 54 mins late which will be 11:45 pm here!!

And I wont even mention the CZ 5 that left Chicago on the 10th, well maybe just a little mention

19 hours late

Today's 6, just over 4 hours late here, about 3:45 late into CHI.

5 of the 10th, SERVICE DISRUPTION, no statuses between Omaha and Denver, last report 21:20 late at Helper. BNSF must have derailed something and Amtrak detoured over UP. I'll see what I can find out. Also affected 6 into CHI yesterday, but it was only 12:24 late.

---

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

Here's an oldie, an old Goat(a GN covered hopper car), photo by Steve Yates..

Actually, BNSF has painted a large number of cars to represent some of its predecessors. Kind of a "heritage cheap" program.

---

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

Vic, why are you posting pics on someone elses behalf? Sorry if you find it boring here.

As this is Davids thread and he has not complained I cannot see a problem.

Remember all the pictures I post are from a website that has streaming cameras. I just hit " record" when I see something interesting.

Like last night well actually early this morning when the CZ6 finally showed up at 00:32



So 647 probably on the way to Washington soon

Only 23 to go.

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They do seem to be shunting a lot of locos around over there!

The Siemens ACS64 are the new locos to replace the aging electric locos on Amtrak's North East Corridor service from Washington Via New York to Boston.

Amtrak ordered 70 and they are being built at Siemens plant in Florin California. The finished locos are added to the next passing California Zephyr train 6 to Chicago, where they are then transferred to The Capitol train 30 to Washington where they can at last be "under the wire"

As you can see from the pic 647 arrived at Chicago yesterday so that was why I said "23 to go"

PS here is one of the electrics the ACS64 will replace, it is an AEM7 I shot at New London CT in September 2013 on my last visit.



As you can see not exactly in it's prime.

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Love your pictures Vic. As a closet train spotter, I appreciate the rare markings and old engines and rolling stock you find. It is a big continent, and I can't get everywhere I would like to. That is what the Interweb is for.

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They do seem to be shunting a lot of locos around over there!

The Siemens ACS64 are the new locos to replace the aging electric locos on Amtrak's North East Corridor service from Washington Via New York to Boston.

Amtrak ordered 70 and they are being built at Siemens plant in Florin California. The finished locos are added to the next passing California Zephyr train 6 to Chicago, where they are then transferred to The Capitol train 30 to Washington where they can at last be "under the wire"

Actually, they are moved west to Oakland, where the yard crew adds them to the consist before the train departs. But close enough. Also, train 30 is the Capitol Limited. The Capitols are state-supported trains running from Sacramento, the capitol of California.

As you can see from the pic 647 arrived at Chicago yesterday so that was why I said "23 to go"

PS here is one of the electrics the ACS64 will replace, it is an AEM7 I shot at New London CT in September 2013 on my last visit.



As you can see not exactly in it's prime.

I hear 646 is on today's 6. At last report, it was 5.5 hours late out of Burlington, but it appears to have been further delayed. It should have been out of Galesburg by now, but it's not even half way there.

It may interest you to know that AEM-7 415 has been donated and delivered to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. (Also on their home page, you will see a picture of NS 911 and a note that it will not be making its scheduled appearance there this weekend. I heard that it was dead in tow back to Altoona, the shop where it was rebuilt into its current model and received the fancy paint job.)

---

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

NS 8103, N&W heritage unit (CJ Vandergriff's fav, permission to post pics granted) outside of Barstow CA.

Is that a recent picture? I just saw and shot it for the first time last week, at Hammond, IN. I believe that was only the third time it visited the Chicago area.

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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.

Also, train 30 is the Capitol Limited. The Capitols are state-supported trains running from Sacramento, the capitol of California.

Now I know that and thought I had put "Limited" but must have had a senior moment.

As for the 6 today it is now apparently due at CHI around 8:00pm which is 2 am here so I may have to miss that one!!

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...today's 6. At last report, it was 5.5 hours late out of Burlington, but it appears to have been further delayed. It should have been out of Galesburg by now, but it's not even half way there.

I seem to have miscalculated that. It did not lose significant time there.

However, I am now looking at the Amtrak train tracker and wondering how 3 got ahead of 5. I watched 5 arrive at NPV about 20 minutes late after departing CHI on time. Now it's running behind 3 near Kewanee.

---

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

NS 8103, N&W heritage unit (CJ Vandergriff's fav, permission to post pics granted) outside of Barstow CA.

Is that a recent picture? I just saw and shot it for the first time last week, at Hammond, IN. I believe that was only the third time it visited the Chicago area.

Yep, taken today, I think both CJ Vandergriff and Steve Yates both would like to join Seti@Home, so I gave them some links, then they can both post here if they want to.

I had no idea it went out there. Well, that will give the west coast guys something to foam over.

---

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

NS 8103, N&W heritage unit (CJ Vandergriff's fav, permission to post pics granted) outside of Barstow CA.

Is that a recent picture? I just saw and shot it for the first time last week, at Hammond, IN. I believe that was only the third time it visited the Chicago area.

Yep, taken today, I think both CJ Vandergriff and Steve Yates both would like to join Seti@Home, so I gave them some links, then they can both post here if they want to.

I had no idea it went out there. Well, that will give the west coast guys something to foam over.

I have received some info from CJ Vandergriff on this train, it's going on a Grand Tour..

The railroad played games and held it in AZ for over 25 hours. When it finally came in it got held in Barstow yard and we were on the west end of the yard. Well reports came in that it was to leave out midnight on the 12th. Well it left late the same night it came in. And we got word yesterday that it was on a QSTOCHI Stockton to Chicago stacker and well here it is...err was

The pic is at Hwy 58 and Lenwood Rd and construction on the 58 is going to resume, the grade crossing will be an underpass, the 58 will be an expressway, closing one or two gaps in the 58.

Okay, so if it stays on that train it should come up the Santa Fe to Corwith on Monday.

---

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