This odd-looking signal serves to warn motorists. Sherman Cahal Q What can you tell me about this signal? – Carl Lehman, San Antonio A The photo was taken along the Baltimore & Ohio’s line in Greenfield, Ohio, and faces Baltimore Avenue, which runs parallel to the tracks through the city. The single top light will […]
No. 261 crosses the Kettle River at Sandstone, Minn., on a June 2016 excursion. Steve Glischinski MINNEAPOLIS – The Friends of the 261 will operate a steam excursion from Minneapolis to Duluth over BNSF Railway June 9-10, 2018, to raise funds for the installation of the positive train control system on Milwaukee Road steam locomotive […]
Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson Amtrak WASHINGTON — If railroads that host Amtrak passenger trains fail to meet Congress’ statutory requirement to have positive train control installed Dec. 31, 2018, Amtrak’s president says the company will drop service on lines that don’t comply. The move would significantly disrupt passenger service on virtually every Amtrak route in […]
A southbound ‘Acela’ races across a stretch of positive train control trackage on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at Perryville, Md., on June 5, 2011. Michael T. Burkhart This story first appeared in the October 2011 issue of Trains Magazine. The Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System highlighted here was not active at the time of the of […]
Positive Train Control Tick, tock. U.S. railroads have collectively spent decades and billions of dollars on positive train control research. Tick. Public outcry after a 2008 commuter crash that killed 25 people — a crash that a Federal safety panel says PTC could have prevented — pushed Congress to act. Tock. With a Congressional deadline […]
Intelligent Grade Crossings will warn motorists and trains that approach is imminent. Federal Railroad Administration Train crews and motorists may have the ability to “see” one another earlier than ever thanks to “Intelligent Grade Crossings” currently under development through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Research and Development Office. Since the dawn of railroading, one of the […]
Marc Horovitz Large scale signal-box kit Thorley Miniatures Penllain, Rhydcymerau Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire SA19 7RP United Kingdom Price: £39.99 + s&h Website: www.thorleyminiatures.com Thorleys End Signal Box; suitable for 16mm, 1:20.3, 1:22.5, and 1:24 scales; all-resin kit; instructions and window glazing included; extra details and color guide included. Dimensions of finished model (not including steps): 8 […]
An ore train passes old and new signals on Canadian National’s Missabe Sub in September 2016. Steve Glischinski DULUTH, Minn. – Canadian National has activated centralized traffic control signaling on the last portion of its former Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway Missabe Subdivision main line. CTC has now been activated over the 6-mile stretch between […]
A Griswold mechanical stop signal in Minneapolis. Nick Benson MINNEAPOLIS — The last mechanically operable stop signs on a Griswold crossing signal were removed in late October, having protected a BNSF Railway grade crossing in northeast Minneapolis, just 2.5 miles from where they were manufactured by the Griswold Signal Company. While the stop signs are […]
MERIDEN, Conn. — On Monday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced that Connecticut would become the first state in New England to install automated horn systems, commonly known as wayside horns, at various rail at-grade crossings. Installed as part of the department’s noise mitigation efforts along the CTrail Hartford Line, the first horn became operational […]
The former Baltimore & Ohio tower at Keyser, W.Va., seen here in 2004 under CSX ownership, was a classic “armstrong” mechanical interlocking plant. The pipes travel along the tracks, where levers and cranks transfer the motion to switches, locks, and derails. Concrete pedestals support the pipe lines and other hardware. Historic American Engineering Record photo […]
An eastbound Napoleon, Defiance & Western train passes the new crossing gates at Scott Street in Napoleon, Ohio, on Oct. 19, 2014. The new grade crossing protection is arguably the newest equipment of any kind on this short line. Photo by Brian Schmidt […]
