So here is a bit of an oddity.

Most US deisel locomotives have what is know as a "long hood" and a "short hood"

Normally the long hood (usually the back) is high and the short hood (normally the front) is low, however there are still quite a few of these out there.

"high short hood"


Demonstrated here by GP38-2 NS 5168

The most surprising thing about it is that as delivered to The Southern Railway between 1968 and 1972, they were originally used long hood forward.

One reason was to protect the crew in case of an accident, another was it apparently placed the engineer on the right side with a good view of the signals, not really sure about that.

They are apparently mostly used as switchers where the direction changes all the time so it is not so important.

Just so you can see the difference here is a low short hood GP38-2 you have seen before.



BNSF 2661

Of course now days all main line units have full width "safety cabs" as demonstrated by C44-9W BNSF 5479 in the picture. These provide better crew safety and better visibility.

NS 5168 as you can see in the first picture was being used as a second unit so visibility was not important.

As I explained just recently.

Early on, most diesels (of non-full width hood designs) had high short hoods and were set up to be operated long hood forward, by which I mean that the control stand was placed so that it was on the right side of the cab in the intended forward direction. Very soon, most railroads changed their orders so that the short hood was forward, and some even rebuilt the cabs of units they already had. Some were also set up with dual control stands (either completely duplicate control stands, or mechanically-linked ones). Then they started ordering them with low short hoods, and chopping their existing high hoods, for better visibility. Soon, Southern Railway and Norfolk & Western were the only ones left still ordering high short hoods and long hood forward. They kept this up through their merger into Norfolk Southern, until EMD and GE both told NS that it would be an extra-cost option, starting in the late 80s or early 90s.

---

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

Just heard from my friend Mike. As I mentioned previously, he returned from Seattle on Sunday, a day late, due to the fires in Washington and Montana.

He is not getting his usual couple of weeks off this time. Tomorrow, he leaves on a standard New Orleans trip, coming back to Chicago Monday. But he doesn't even get to go home. Monday night, he, IPH's head chef, and Ed Ellis and his wife are deadheading to Memphis with a dome and Pontchartrain Club. With Ed and his wife in the master bedroom in P-Club, there is only room for Mike and the chef in the other room, so two more guys are deadheading in an Amtrak roomette.

In Memphis, Ed is hosting a big celebration for his purchase of the Grenada Railway, formerly the passenger main of the Illinois Central through Mississippi and southern Tennessee. This is the line on which lies the town where Casey Jones died. They have to serve lunch to a whole lot of people and later dinner to a smaller number. Then he said something about flying home in time to leave on another Uncommon Journeys trip on Sunday of Labor Day weekend.

All of that means to me that he won't be around when I'm coach trainman this Saturday, L conductor on Labor Saturday and Sunday (and the Zephyr's running), coach conductor the following Sunday, and I don't know what I'm doing for Member Showcase weekend (Zephyr running again, last time this year).

---

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

From WGN-TV (Chicago): See how Metra renovates its cars (Video Run Time aprox 2 Minutes 19 Seconds)

CHICAGO — According to Progressive Railroading Magazine, one of Metra’s young employees is a “rising star” in the rail industry.

She helps take those old worn-looking rail cars and makes them new again. She’s just 30 years old, and is already helping run Metra’s train car rehab program.

Mechanical engineer Lexie Walker started working in the field for Metra straight out of college, worked her way up and now she helps run the rehab program...

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From WGN-TV (Chicago): See how Metra renovates its cars (Video Run Time aprox 2 Minutes 19 Seconds)

CHICAGO — According to Progressive Railroading Magazine, one of Metra’s young employees is a “rising star” in the rail industry.

She helps take those old worn-looking rail cars and makes them new again. She’s just 30 years old, and is already helping run Metra’s train car rehab program.

Mechanical engineer Lexie Walker started working in the field for Metra straight out of college, worked her way up and now she helps run the rehab program...

Thanks, I've been neglecting to post that.

---

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

Speaking of IRM, it has been revealed this week that we will be getting something from rather out of our geographic area (hardly the only such item in our collection). It's an electric locomotive originally built for the Virginian Railway, which merged with the Norfolk and Western. I believe they sold it to the New Haven, which became Penn Central and then Conrail. It's been just sitting for many years (CR quit using electrics in about 1980) and now it's on its way to the museum in Altoona, PA, where it will get a cosmetic restoration before it comes to us. There is talk that we may try to make it operate, which would surprise me somewhat.

More info on this:

8/2015 - Coming to the Juniata Shops for restoration!
Conrail 4601 is one of two E33 electrics remaining of the 12 built. All were built
for the Virginian as GE class EL-C. They found their way onto the New Haven then
Conrail. 4601 has been in storage at Old Saybrook, CT since at least 2003. It's
going to the Illinois Railway Museum.
The other EL-C/E33 is on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in
Virginian colors.


AltoonaWorks - Juniata Insourcing | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/altoonaworks/photos/a.10150327322115637.570694.222359370636/10156041257315637/?type=1&theater

Video of it in transit.

For those curious about the diesels on the train, MEC (Maine Central, the official operating name of Pan Am Railways) 614 appears to me (without doing any research) to be an SD50. LTEX 6528 is, I think (again without research), a GP40(-2?) belonging to Larry's Truck Electric, a company in Ohio that buys, rebuilds, and leases or sells used locomotives. (They also scrap a lot.) MEC 612 is an SD45, with 20 cylinders, each with a displacement of 645 cubic inches, producing 3,600 horsepower (unless it's been downgraded or something; some railroads have replaced the 20 cylinder engines with the more common 16 at 3,000 hp, but usually retaining the distinctive SD45 flared radiators).

I asked what 4601 is going to be painted as for us, but I didn't get an answer other than "not New Haven."

[edit]
Okay, so I should have read the video description before I posted!!!

So now I did some research. 614 is downgraded from an SD45-2; -2s did not have the flared radiators that made the non-2s so popular with fans, which is why I didn't recognize it. Other than that, I was about right.

---

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

Thanks Mr.Wiki for your assistance:

Specifications (many are common to 567 and 710 engines)

All 645 engines are two-stroke 45-degree V-engines. Each cylinder is of 645 cubic inches (10.57 L) displacement, hence the name; with a bore of 9 1⁄16 inches (230 mm), a stroke of 10 inches (254 mm) and a compression ratio of 14.5:1. The engine is a uniflow design with four poppet-type exhaust valves in the cylinder head and charge air scavenging ports within the sides of the cylinders. All engines use a single overhead camshaft per bank, with exhaust valves operated by two cam lobes (each of which operates two exhaust valves through a "bridge") and one cam lobe to operate the Unit injector[3] which is in the center of the four exhaust valves. Rocker arms are roller-equipped to eliminate friction while hydraulic valve actuators are used to eliminate val ve lash. Post-1995 710 engines employ Electronic Unit injectors, however these injectors still utilize a camshaft-actuated piston pump, as on non-EFI injectors.

That extract doesn't say it, but they are two-stroke diesels.

---

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

Seems IPH are quite busy around Chicago.

These just left on the California Zephyr.



Is it me or is the dome car green?



Well whatever colour, I would still like to ride in one!

---

Thanks Mr.Wiki for your assistance:

Specifications (many are common to 567 and 710 engines)

All 645 engines are two-stroke 45-degree V-engines. Each cylinder is of 645 cubic inches (10.57 L) displacement, hence the name; with a bore of 9 1⁄16 inches (230 mm), a stroke of 10 inches (254 mm) and a compression ratio of 14.5:1. The engine is a uniflow design with four poppet-type exhaust valves in the cylinder head and charge air scavenging ports within the sides of the cylinders. All engines use a single overhead camshaft per bank, with exhaust valves operated by two cam lobes (each of which operates two exhaust valves through a "bridge") and one cam lobe to operate the Unit injector[3] which is in the center of the four exhaust valves. Rocker arms are roller-equipped to eliminate friction while hydraulic valve actuators are used to eliminate val ve lash. Post-1995 710 engines employ Electronic Unit injectors, however these injectors still utilize a camshaft-actuated piston pump, as on non-EFI injectors.

That extract doesn't say it, but they are two-stroke diesels.

Read the first six words again. :)

---

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

Seems IPH are quite busy around Chicago.

These just left on the California Zephyr.



Is it me or is the dome car green?



Well whatever colour, I would still like to ride in one!

Yes, that dome is green. It's the only Great Northern dome IPH owns (all the others are Santa Fe), so Ed painted it back in its original colors instead of his preferred IC orange and brown.

I am really surprised to see those cars leaving today, though.

---

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

I am really surprised to see those cars leaving today, though.

Turns out they are finally doing a Pullman trip to Denver. The previous two or three trips were canceled for lack of passengers. This time they have a tour group. They will return on Monday.

I also hear that tonight's regular Pullman trip to New Orleans has Caritas, which is usually used for charters. Mike didn't mention it, either. He named a different car. Or maybe he was talking about the special trip for Ed on Monday.

---

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

Well, these are what I call proper Pullman carriages.

Wiki is your friend again. First paragraph of Pullman train (UK):

The first Pullman Railway Coach to enter service in the UK was in 1874, after an assembly of imports from the US, in an operation pioneered by the Midland Railway, working with George Pullman's Chicago company. The coach "Midland" was of Clerestory Roofed design with balconies at both ends. The concept of luxury coaches spread to the other UK railway companies thereafter.

In addition to what Richard said, it is necessary to distinguish between cars built by Pullman and service provided by Pullman.

At first (at least in the US), the Pullman Company owned all the sleeping (and other type) cars in which it provided service, and it refused to provide service in cars built by any other company or owned outright by the railroads. Its cars all said Pullman in the letterboard, although they could be painted to match the cars of the railroad they were assigned to. The railroads finally convinced them to provide service in other cars in the late 1930s, with the cars still saying Pullman but also having the RR's reporting mark somewhere. The Pullman Company was split into separate manufacturing and service companies in the 40s (I think due to an anti-trust lawsuit by the government).

I believe the service company went out of business in the late 60s. The last cars built at Pullman's Chicago plant were Amtrak's first order of Superliners in the early 80s.

---

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

With all due respect, Superliners to the Brits, whoever built by, are not considered as real Pullman cars.

Ducks behind the sofa!

Your (perfectly legitimate) definition of a Pullman car would be "a car (from any builder) in which Pullman service was performed." All of the builders, including Pullman, stopped producing such cars by the early 1960s. After that, Pullman the builder only built commuter, transit, and freight cars, then bowed out with the Superliners.

The second batch of Superliners, ca. 1990, were built by Bombardier in Vermont (possible due to Amtrak buying the necessary patents from Pullman). So, I believe, were the California cars, which use the same basic body shell with a different door arrangement. The new Midwest/California II cars will be pretty similar to the Cals, but built by Nippon Sharyo here in Illinois (if they get their act together and make them pass the crush test).

Nippon Sharyo means "Japan Railcar."

---

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

Finally today have added this one to my "seen" list

Just went past Chesterton heading west.

SD60E NS 9-1-1 "Honoring First Responders"



Now I just need NS 6920 "Honoring our Veterans"

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Finally today have added this one to my "seen" list

Just went past Chesterton heading west.

SD60E NS 9-1-1 "Honoring First Responders"



Now I just need NS 6920 "Honoring our Veterans"

I haven't seen that one in person yet. I think this may the first time it's come to Chicago. I think there are a couple of other special ones I haven't seen, but not as special as 911.

---

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

I don't know trains are like buses, none for ages then two come along at once!!

Well to be fair, exactly the same one :-)

9-1-1 returned yesterday, this time leading and heading east, I prefer this pic.



Apparently only going to Elkhart so perhaps it will be back again later!!

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http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/in_focus/high_speed_rail/hsr-trial-date-set-for-kings-county-plaintiffs/article_3009c35b-3ffa-5491-a52f-6a28a0c4eddc.html

A key lawsuit filed in 2011 by three Kings County plaintiffs against the California High Speed Rail Authority is set to go to trial on Feb. 11, 2016.

The plaintiffs are homeowner Aaron Fukuda, farmer John Tos and the County of Kings. The non-jury trial, which will probably include a day of oral arguments followed by a ruling from Judge Michael Kenny a few weeks later, will take place in Sacramento County Superior Court.

"We've been waiting for this for so many years," Fukuda said. "We're eager to get it heard."

Kenny ruled last week that some of the documents the plaintiffs wanted to submit won’t be allowed as evidence.

The excluded material includes the expert statement of former judge Quentin Kopp. Kopp was a prominent early supporter of high-speed rail who now believes the current plan substantially deviates from what voters voted on in 2008 when they approved nearly $10 billion in Prop. 1A high-speed rail funding.

Kenny said that only the documents plaintiffs submitted to the authority as part of public comment on the authority’s business plans will be allowed as evidence.

---

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

Well these made a pleasant change from the parade of mostly black and white NS locos



Iowa, Chicago and Eastern (ICE) 6215 an SD 40-2

Followed by ICE 6211 also an SD 40-2



ICE has a strange history the precis of which is it was part of CP, then sold, off then brought back again,
in fact the lead loco ICE 6215, was at one time CP 5744. So ICE is currently part of CP, whose shining ambassador was the third in line.




Obviously CP are from the school "paint don't move freight" :-)

From what I can see from other pics, it was last painted around 1991!!

However to be fair to CP it seem they occasionaly splash out on a can or two of paint.




Ex SOO Line SD60 6042, transformed in 2013 to CP 6247

Just ignore the one in front as it seems they don't wash them often either!!

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Now this post will have a lot of pics even for me :-)

While waiting for the daily Amtraks to pass Chesterton, the gates went down and this appeared



CN 8948 an SD70-M2 (DC traction motors) not that unusual

Then this followed



CN 5763 and SD75I, followed by yet another



CN 5624 also an SD75I. Well that's 3 CN locos, any more?



Now this is a bit more unusual, 4618 a cowl bodied C40-8M notice the BCOL under the number, stands for BC Rail, (British Columbia).

And more?



2601 a C44-9W shows the difference between the body types.

And we are not finished yet!!



Well another cowl in the shape of 5529 a SD60F

And finally bringing up the rear



BCRail 4643 a C44-9WL

BC Rail is currently being operated by Canadian National on a 99 year lease.

There is a bit of Canadian intrigue around that.

BC Rail

---

I arrived at IRM Saturday in a bit of light rain (having driven through quite a bit of it on the way). After taking care of some necessities behind the "employees only" door, I came out to find several people waiting for me, including the crew caller. He asked me to take the streetcar instead of coach trainman. After a dramatic pause, I agreed.

It was a slow day, except for the arrival of a fairly large group that about filled up the car for one trip. I managed to park it for a couple of breaks, and also the North Shore conductor took it for a few trips.

The biggest hassle I had was with the signals on the car line. All but two of them were red (permissive, stop and proceed). Also, some of the crossing warning signals weren't working. This was most likely due to water on the tracks. The Signal Department was present and eventually got things working. At one spot, the water was within about 1/4" of the top of the rail and obviously had been over the rail earlier (it left crud on top), but as long as it's not over the top we just go by slowly. By late afternoon, it had gone down about an inch at that spot.

The engineer of the coach train came along for a ride with me (young guy I mostly know on Facebook, only about 22 and works as an engineer for BNSF). I returned his visit for his last trip of the day on CB&Q 504... which I was barely able to climb onto. Diesel locomotives are definitely made for skinny people. His train handling was interesting to watch. After the brake test departing the station, he handled the entire eastbound trip with the dynamic brake, only using a bit of independent for the final stop VERY close to the semaphore at the end of track. The conductor did the stop as normal at the west end, and the engineer used air and even applied power against the brakes to get to his exact spot pulling back into the station.

At one point, my only passengers were a pair of lovely young lasses with lovely English accents (I'm writing the word accents the way Cary Elwes pronounced it in Men in Tights) and their young men, who I think did not have English accents. They seemed to be interested in the car and our operation, asking some good (if basic) questions. I even let them ring the gong, a privilege usually only afforded to small children.

---

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