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2020 VISION: THE NEXT HUNTER HARRISON p. 62
CP salutes
www.TrainsMag.com • February 2020 the armed
forces p. 18
UP’s Bush
4141 unit
saved p. 68
THE magazine of railroading

Northeast Corridor
chokepoint
Baltimore’s overshadowed
tunnel p. 54

Tacoma’s
bridge to
the past
p. 48

Rail wear:
A dangerous
problem p. 24

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 FROM THE EDITOR
Learning about the
basics: track
Our affiliation with the annual Wheel-Rail Interaction
conference is an eye-opening experience
T
rains has always been a publication
aimed at a wide audience, but that
does not mean that we don’t delve
into the details of our subjects. A
now retired Class I railroad friend
reminded me of a class he took in the 1970s
where he received a copy of Trains with a story
about how signals work. “Why are you giving us
this fan publication?” asked one student.
Union Pacific tracks glow in the afternoon sun in
Iowa. Keeping track well maintained is the main
focus of Wheel-Rail Interaction. Steve Schmollinger
Editor Jim Wrinn
Design Director Thomas G. Danneman
Production Editor Angela Pusztai-Pasternak
Senior Editor David Lassen
Associate Editor Brian Schmidt
Digital Editor Steve Sweeney
Editorial Assistant Diane Laska-Swanke
Assistant Design Director Scott M. Krall
Graphic Designer Samantha Primuth
Lead Illustrator Rick Johnson
Production Specialist Sue Hollinger-Klahn
Librarian Thomas Hoffmann
Columnists
Brian Solomon, Bill Stephens
Correspondents
Roy Blanchard, Michael W. Blaszak, Al DiCenso,
Hayley Enoch, Justin Franz, Steve Glischinski,
Chase Gunnoe, Chris Guss, Scott A. Hartley,
Bob Johnston, Kevin P. Keefe, David Lustig,
Contributing Illustrator Bill Metzger
Jim Wrinn
jwrinn@kalmbach.com
@TrainsMagazine
@trains_magazine
“Because it conveys the information in a way you WHEEL-RAIL INTERACTION 2020
can understand,” the instructor came back. Join railroad professionals from
So it is with this issue, which goes deep into across the continent and around
some of the basic building blocks of railroading: the world in Vancouver, British
tunnels, bridges, and most important of all, track. Columbia, April 28-May 1, 2020,
Our affiliation with the Wheel-Rail Interaction for three days of extraordinary
conference, an annual seminar series begun in educational opportunities at WRI
1994, has widened our understanding of the 2020. The event kicks off with the
science of the most basic element of a railroad. rail transit seminar, followed the
We’ve come to know more about how tracks are next day by the principles course,
made, how they work, how they fail, and how an and ends with two days devoted
amazingly safe industry — one that moves thou- to heavy hauls. Topics for this
sands of tons of cargo at speed on a daily basis — year’s sessions are still in devel-
becomes even more safe. opment; past topics have ranged
The Wheel-Rail Interaction conference pro- from metallurgy, to testing meth-
vides a forum for participants to share and learn ods, to historical — the develop-
about railroading’s most important foundations. ment of crashworthiness stan-
What we learn also makes for great reading as dards, for example, to operational
you’ll see on pages 24-31 with Tyler Trahan’s considerations. The sessions will
story about rail defects that start small but have benefit new railroaders as well as
the potential to end with disastrous results. seasoned veterans. Registration is
We’re proud of our association, now in its open now. For more details, visit
ninth year, with the Wheel-Rail Interaction team, www.wheel-rail-seminars.com or
and we recommend it to our professional friends contact Brandon Koenig, director
in the industry and to our serious amateurs who of operations at 847-808-1818 or
want to learn about all things related to railroad- email at brandon@wheel-rail-
ing. We hope to see you there! seminars.com.
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TrainsMag.com 3
In this issue February 2020
Vol. 80, No. 2

Features
Fighting rail
wear p. 24
Railroads seek solutions
to rolling contact fatigue,
which triggers derailments,
shortens rail life
Tyler Trahan

Railroad supplier
family tree p. 32
Locomotive and signal
suppliers are intertwined
Brian Solomon

Big Boy: The

South by
Southwest
tour p. 38
Traveling where no Big
Boy has gone before,
4014 goes El Paso to
Cheyenne the long way
Jim Wrinn

Beyond Big Boy

p. 46
Railroading has changed
since the Big Boys roamed
the Union Pacific main line
in the 1940s and 1950s
Jim Wrinn

A bridge to the
past p. 48
A new, concrete, double-
track bridge replaces its
century-old predecessor to
serve Sound Transit and a
Tacoma, Wash., short line
Steve Carter
COVER STORY
The overshadowed
tunnel p. 54
B&P Tunnel is Amtrak’s
Baltimore bottleneck,
but replacement is stalled
in planning stage
Dan Zukowski
Railroad Vision
2020: After
Hunter p. 62
What’s the next railroad
management trend?
Bill Stephens
In My Own Words:
Golf Balls &
Western p. 64
A rail routing mystery in the
waning days of deregulation
resolved itself
Robert J. Wise

>> Pan Am Railways EDPO

(East Deerfield, Mass., to
Portland, Maine) freight is
led by GP40-2L No. 518 at
Westminster, Mass., on
May 21, 2016. Brian Solomon
In every issue
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News Departments Commentary 2020 VISION: THE NEXT HUNTER HARRISON p. 62

www.TrainsMag.com • February 2020

CP salutes
the armed
forces p. 18
UP’s Bush
News p. 6 From the Editor p. 3 Bill Stephens p. 15 4141 unit
saved p. 68
THE magazine of railroading
Interview with rail analyst Learning about the Is a shortline railroad bubble
Anthony B. Hatch; basics: track about to burst? Northeast Corridor
Congressman wants Amtrak to chokepoint
Baltimore’s overshadowed
tunnel p. 54
cede Chicago station control Preservation p. 67 Brian Solomon p. 16 Tacoma’s
A spin for Cumbres & Toltec Searching for gems in bridge to
the past
Locomotive p. 18 Scenic’s 50th anniversary a sea of freight cars p. 48

Rail wear:
Canadian Pacific honors those A dangerous
problem p. 24

who serve Train-Watching p. 69

Short line: Mission Mountain PLUS
Big Boy fall tour
Passenger p. 21
p. 38

Railroad Railroad supplier family tree p. 32

A slow advance for high

speed rail in California Ask TRAINS p. 71 ON THE COVER:
Usage of diesel with steam An Amtrak Acela Express
locomotives, container trains emerges from the Baltimore
and ports, rail profiles, dual- & Potomac Tunnel on the
power locomotives, and more Northeast Corridor in
Baltimore on Aug. 4, 2019.
Don Kalkman

On the web TrainsMag.com

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News
LOCOMOTIVE P. 18 • PASSENGER P. 21
THE TRAINS INTERVIEW
Anthony B. Hatch
Analyst who coined term ‘Railroad Renaissance’ looks at industry’s future
A Union Pacific intermodal
train climbs through La Fox, Ill.,
in November 2019. Amazon’s
purchase of intermodal contain-
ers shows the potential of
e-commerce as a source of rail-
road business. TRAINS: David Lassen
6 FEBRUARY 2020
ANALYST ANTHONY B. HATCH has
been covering railroads since
1985. After 14 years on Wall
Street, Hatch founded his New
York-based consulting firm in
1998. ABH Consulting provides
railroad and freight transporta-
tion research to hedge funds,
private equity, and institutional
investors. Hatch is a frequent
speaker at rail and shipper con-
ferences, and is co-founder of
the annual RailTrends confer-
ence. He was the North Ameri-
can Rail Shippers Association
“Person of the Year” in 2019.
Q You’ve coined phrases with
staying power, like Railroad
Renaissance and Cult of the
Operating Ratio. Given current
trends, what’s the next term
you’ll come up with?
A Hah — that’s a tough one.
And thank you. With all this Anthony B. Hatch
talk that Precision Scheduled
Railroading means only cost revolution that is “PSR 1.0.”
cutting, I like to talk about
“looking North” to Canada, to Q CSX Transportation CEO
“PSR 2.0,” or the “PHR” (Post- Jim Foote would disagree
Hunter Railroad) that “pivots to there’s a pivot to growth, and
growth” after the bloody says the railroad was seeking
READ THE LATEST RAIL NEWS. VISIT TRAINSMAG.COM
new business all along its
transition to PSR.
A I would put that in the
realm of semantics — CSX [was
in 2019] still shedding (demar-
keting) some intermodal busi-
ness. Canadian Pacific and the
PSR mother ship, Canadian Na-
tional, have discussed the pivot.
CN called its changes “kinder
and gentler;” CP used “re-en-
gaging” before coming up with
the best phrase. NS and UP may
have less dramatic pivots if their
collaborative strategies work.
Q Is the Railroad Renais-
sance over? Or is it moving into
a new phase?
A Remember that over the
intermediate term, rail volumes
are derived-demand; they can’t
SOO LINE
GENERATION
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“I THINK ... E-COMMERCE COMPANIES CAN BE
GOOD FOR RAIL.”
— RAIL ANALYST ANTHONY B. HATCH
help it if auto manufacturing
moves from the Rust Belt to the
South and into Mexico — but
they adjust. We are still in the
coal decline era — that is a huge,
generational change for rails. So,
up next? There are PSR-related
modal opportunities (plastics/
paper/steel/etc.). One has to
believe we will restore sanity to
trade policy, and restore the un-
derstanding that trade deficits
don’t matter (and stop lecturing
the United Nations about the
“end of globalism”). Trade is
important to rails. But the
growth captain remains in-
creased consumer volumes in a
rapidly changing technology-
New Books from Monte Vista Publishing
SF Steam Ca. Div. LA to Barstow
SF v17
Pacific Electric Volume Five
To the Valley via Cahuenga Pass
Hollywood to San Fernando and
fired landscape. I think Ama-
zon, which just bought 250 do-
mestic containers, and other
e-commerce companies can be
good for rail. I also believe that
if management acts quickly and
spends the required sums, the
changing technologies can be
beneficial to the industry. That’s
an “if ” but at least now they are
talking the talk. So, speaking of
2.0, “Railroad Renaissance 2.0”
is within their grasp. Sorry, Fred
W. Frailey: The rumors of the
death of the Railroad Renais-
sance are premature.
Q Precision Scheduled Rail-
roading promises railroads
Begin the journey
in Los Angeles
Eastward toward
Pasadena, Duarte,
San Bernardino, Cajon
Pass, Summit, Hesperia,
Frost, Victorville, to
Barstow
a wide variety of steam
No. 10073
increased profitability, but has
angered some shippers and
increased regulatory scrutiny.
Ultimately, what impact will
PSR have?
A Look to the North! After
the pain came growth, custom-
er focus, best-in-class railroad-
ing. The remaining PSR con-
verts must straddle the gap
between investor skepticism re-
garding the nature of their PSR
commitment and the Surface
Transportation Board, shippers,
and Congress waiting for a
repeat of the violence of the
CSX PSR conversion.
Q What do you make of Class
I capital spending trends?
A Well, 2019 will be the first
up year for the industry even as
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the only comparative measurement). Mean- ciation of American Railroads stat that rails
while, Norfolk Southern stands by the 21st- are four times more efficient than trucks.
century historic range of 16% to 18%. And Those are under attack by Silicon Valley,
(look to the North!) Canadian National and utilizing the Trojan Horse of “safety.” But the
Canadian Pacific are spending well above third advantage is their physical network,
20% of their revenues. Note they also have the only one to get a passing (B) grade in the
New Haven Power In Color 1: the best growth rates, and the best return on 2017 U.S. infrastructure report card by the
Diesel Cab Units capital (a far better measurement than oper- American Society of Civil Engineers (overall
by Stephen M. Timko Item # 1693
ating ratio!) in the freight rail industry! infrastructure: D+). That will keep rails in
The Monongahela Railway In Color Volume 2: the game; how they spend and adapt to the
West Brownsville, the West Division,
and Branches 1975-1993
Q Three of the four big U.S. systems are changing technology world will determine
by Stephen M. Timko Item # 1694 spending far more on share buybacks than how they perform in that game.
Order today at $69.95 apiece! investing in their networks. What does
Prepublication Price is $59.95 that say about their view of the underly- Q How did you wind up focusing on
Enter code PREPUB at checkout ing business of moving freight? transportation in general, and railroads
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en times more on buybacks as a percentage ers Training Program (read “Liar’s Poker”)
Softcover Books and eBooks of revenues. Under normal circumstances, I was offered analyst-assistant positions in
rails generate enough cash flow to fund a a variety of industries. As a history major, I
Softcovers balanced plan including capex, share repur- was intrigued by the rail industry’s rich
$39.95 each,
same ordering info chases, and dividends. It is the nature of past, and by the need to have an under-
as above business today, the shorter-term-oriented standing of the entire economy, here and
Expanded Edition
eBooks $19.99,
shareholders behind the restructuring and globally, because that’s what this group
see website proxy-fight stories at CSX. Interestingly, touches. Then, once in, while I didn’t drink
#7111 CSX’s compensation plan runs to year-end the foam, I was a committed convert.
2020. After that, will that plan (and thus ca- — Bill Stephens
MorningSunBooks.com
8 FEBRUARY 2020
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TrainsMag.com 9
NEWS
AS RAILROADS ADOPTING Precision Sched-
uled Railroading lay off employees, close
yards, and store locomotives and freight
cars, executives insist the changes are not a
way for the industry to merely cut its way
to prosperity.
“Precision Scheduled Railroading helps
you to fix your costs one time. But it does
not really address how you’re going to grow
after that,” Canadian National CEO JJ Ruest
told the RailTrends 2019 conference in
November. “And I think that’s the challenge
for the industry. Beyond fixing our costs,
beyond having a very efficient railroad,
how do we create a product that’s appealing
to those actually using the road today?”
CN was the first major railroad to
adopt the late E. Hunter Harrison’s lean
A single ES44DC leads a Canadian National auto-rack train through Scotch Block, Ontario, on operating model. It’s been the fastest grow-
Oct. 12, 2019. CN has brought a greater focus on customers to its operations. Brandon Muir ing of the big systems for the past decade as
it focused on becoming more of a supply-
chain partner with its customers. Now it’s
embarking on a strategy to tie itself more
Railroad executives insist closely to the consumer economy in East-
ern Canada as manufacturing and natural
PSR is a vehicle for growth resource traffic wane.
CSX Transportation and Union Pacific
say their shifts to Precision Scheduled Rail-
CN’s Ruest among those who say cost-cutting moves roading will enable them to regain traffic
that was lost to trucks years ago. Railroads
are a prelude to gaining customers with better service have bled volume to the highway due to

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poor service, CSX CEO James Foote told
an investor conference in November. “We
are to the point now where we’re beginning
to reverse that,” he says, pointing to CSX’s
improved service. “Our customers are
coming to us in many instances and saying,
‘How can we ship more by rail?’”
More reliable service, Foote says, will
enable CSX to grow faster than the econo-
my over the long term. First, though, mer-
chandise car trip-plan compliance will have
to hit the 90% range, up from 80% or so in
fall 2019, and headwinds hitting the indus-
trial economy will have to subside.
“The end game is not to save our way to
prosperity,” Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific’s
executive vice president for marketing and
sales, said at RailTrends 2019. Becoming
more efficient, he says, ultimately makes
UP service more reliable and consistent.
“The end game is growth,” Rocker says.
UP will be able to attract more traffic
thanks to a combination of lower costs,
better service, and a more robust merchan-
dise network, CEO Lance Fritz told ana-
lysts and investors in October. UP has long
focused on the profitability of its traffic
rather than volume growth. While that
hasn’t changed, UP’s lower cost structure
will enable it to better compete for inter-
modal traffic, Fritz says.
“THE END GAME IS NOT
TO SAVE OUR WAY
TO PROSPERITY. …
THE END GAME
IS GROWTH.”
— KENNY ROCKER,
UNION PACIFIC
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,
MARKETING AND SALES
UP’s merchandise network should be
able to grow, too, Fritz says, thanks to
changes made under Unified Plan 2020, the
railroad’s version of Precision Scheduled
Railroading. UP has de-emphasized what
Fritz calls its “boutique” network of unit
trains and has blended much of its traffic
into merchandise trains. The merchandise
network now carries between two-thirds
and three-quarters of UP’s traffic, up from
40% to 45%. “That’s enabling us to win
business that we used to pass on because it
wasn’t conducive to a unique boutique
train,” Fritz says. And that means “volume
can grow across different segments and we
can leverage it into train size, whereas that
opportunity to do that historically was
probably a little more limited,” Fritz says.
John Scheib, Norfolk Southern’s chief
strategy officer, says PSR has improved the
railroad’s service by making its yards and
main lines much more fluid. “All that yields
a capacity dividend, which means we can
move more freight on the same assets,” he
told RailTrends 2019. “We can sell that.
And we do want to sell that.”
Analyst Todd Tranausky, vice president
of rail and intermodal services at FTR
Transportation Intelligence, is skeptical
that a railroad’s lower cost structure by it-
self can translate to volume growth. “It has
been talked about, but I can’t think of any
railroad that was able to actually execute on
that and cause it to occur. I think that is
what the carriers would like to happen, in
terms of going after business that they can’t
go after today because of costs, but I’ll be-
lieve it when I see it,” he says. “I think it is
good theoretical exercise with PSR, but I’m
not sure it has worked.”
CN says it’s essential for railroads to be
both low cost and customer friendly. “It’s
about managing what’s good for us as a
business, but also managing what’s good
for the customer,” Janet Drysdale, vice
president of financial planning, told inves-
tors in November. “And when our custom-
ers win, we win.” — Bill Stephens

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TrainsMag.com 11
NEWS

CP buys Central Maine & Quebec

For $130 million, Canadian Pacific gains port access

CANADIAN PACIFIC will acquire the Central
Maine & Quebec Railway, with plans to
upgrade the route to handle premium
intermodal and automotive traffic.
CP announced Nov. 20, 2019, that it
would purchase the 481-mile short line
connecting Montreal with Atlantic ports
and northern New England — much of it
former CP trackage — for $130 million
from Fortress Transportation and Infra-
structure Investors. President and CEO
Keith Creel says the deal “gives CP a true
coast-to-coast network across Canada and
an increased presence in the eastern United
States. With additional port access, more
dots on the map, and our proven precision
scheduled railroading operating model, we
are confident this transaction will bring ben-
efits to all stakeholders moving forward.”
Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks
told the RailTrends 2019 conference that
Creel has asked the engineering depart-
ment to develop a plan to upgrade the
route.“To run a premium product, you’ve
got to have the infrastructure,” Brooks says.
“To run the right operating railroad, you
have to have the nuts and bolts in place.”
CP sold its trackage east of Montreal in
the mid-1990s, including its line to Saint
John, New Brunswick. The route ultimately
became the CM&Q from Montreal to
Brownville Junction, Maine. From Brown-
ville Junction to Saint John the line is oper-
ated by short lines New Brunswick South-
ern and Eastern Maine railways.
The purchase also brings CP the line
from Farnham to Newport, Vt., as well as
the former Bangor & Aroostook line to
Millinocket and Searsport, Maine. CM&Q
also operates the former Maine Central
from Brunswick to Rockland that is owned
by the state of Maine.
“The opportunity to link directly into
Searsport, that port terminal, and then also
into Saint John, that port terminal, is valu-
able,” Brooks says. “It’s a powerful tool that
we haven’t had in our toolbox. I think that
lends itself to new intermodal products. I
think that lends itself to potentially new
automotive products.”
On Oct. 16, 2018, Central Maine & Quebec Job 1
prepares to depart Brownville Junction, Maine.
CP is buying the short line. Scott A. Hartley
CM&Q has a strong base of forest prod-
ucts traffic, Brooks notes, including several
shippers that CP does not do business with
today. Acquiring the CM&Q also may per-
mit CP to better compete for potash traffic
that CN handles to the port of Saint John
for export to Brazil, one analyst says.
The CM&Q is the former Montreal,
Maine & Atlantic. Fortress bought the
bankrupt railroad for $14.5 million in
2014, a year after a runaway MM&A oil
train derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégan-
tic, Que., killing 47 people.
The sale was expected to close by the
end of 2019 but is subject to regulatory
approval. — Bill Stephens and Justin Franz

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 NEWS BRIEFS

Talgo challenges NTSB a proposal which would have cost close to

finding on trainsets
Passenger equipment builder TALGO filed a
formal challenge to a NATIONAL TRANSPOR-
TATION SAFETY BOARD finding that the de-
sign of its Series VI trainsets contributed to
fatalities and injuries in the Dec. 18, 2017,
derailment of Amtrak Cascades train No. 501
in DuPont, Wash. That finding led to a rec-
ommendation that the trainsets be removed
from service [see “Cascades Investigation
Finds Widespread Blame, Dooms Talgos,”
“News,” August 2019]. Talgo’s “Petition for
Reconsideration” includes a report from an
independent engineering firm saying the
equipment meets federal standards “and
performed in the derailment as well or
better than conventional cars would have
under similar circumstances.”
Two investment groups sued AMTRAK, say-
ing they were due more than $92 million for
breach of contract resulting from Amtrak’s
“cannibalization” and failure to properly
maintain eight Bombardier-Alstom HHP-8
electric locomotives they leased to the pas-
senger operator. Philip Morris Capital Corp.
and HNB Investment Corp. filed the federal
suit in New York, accusing Amtrak of
“duplicity and delay.” Amtrak rostered 15 of
the dual-cab HHP-8s, delivered in 2001; all
were retired by 2015. Above, nine of the
decommissioned units leave the Bear, Del.,
shops in 2017. Michael S. Murray
The board that oversees the MASSACHU-
SETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
passed motions indicating its intent to elec-
trify at least three of its 12 commuter-rail
lines and offer rapid-transit-like frequencies
on those lines, with trains operating every
15 minutes. At the Nov. 4 meeting, the Fiscal
and Management Control Board stopped
short of endorsing an advisory group’s rec-
ommendation to electrify its entire system,
$30 billion. The board asked MBTA General
Manager Steve Poftak to prepare plans to
move forward by February.
Swiss equipment manufacturer STADLER,
which opened a factory in Salt Lake City in
2019, announced it will build the first hydro-
gen-powered passenger trainset for U.S. use
(below), on a 9-mile route between Red-
lands, Calif., and San Bernardino. The deal
with the SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSIT
AUTHORITY includes options for four more
trainsets. The company also signed a deal to
build at least 127 new heavy-rail trainsets,
with options for up to 50 more, for Atlanta’s
MARTA. The latter deal, valued at more than
$600 million, is the largest single order for
rail vehicles in the company’s history. Stadler

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TrainsMag.com 13
NEWS PHOTO

AMTRAK released a photo of a prototype of its next-generation Acela Express trainset, still under construction, being moved at Alstom’s
Hornell, N.Y., factory. The first of the new Acelas is expected to enter service in 2021. Amtrak

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COMMENTARY
Buyer beware
Is a shortline railroad bubble about to burst?
S
hort lines have become a hot commodity. There’s in-
tense competition among potential buyers as individ-
ual railroads, shortline holding companies, and
Class I routes are put up for sale. And that increased
demand has driven to record levels the amount inves-
tors are willing to pay to acquire short lines. “Dumb money,” “stu-
pid money,” and “foolish money” are some of the ways railroaders
are describing the buying frenzy over routes the Class I railroads
once cast off as losers.
If you don’t own a short line why should you care? Well, many
railroaders fear there’s a bubble building that will increase the risk of
failure at some short lines that are changing hands. Just a few years
ago investors wouldn’t pay more than nine or 10 times a short line’s
recent annual operating earnings. So if a railroad made $1 million a
year, as a rule of thumb it would fetch no more than $10 million in a
sale. Now the talk around the sandhouse is that short lines are selling
for up to an unheard of 15 times earnings, a 50% increase over the
previous high water mark. Talk about sticker shock.
The higher sale premiums will put pressure on new owners. If
growth doesn’t occur as anticipated, the railroad might be crushed
by debt. There’s also less margin for error if the unexpected hap-
pens, such as a major customer shutting down. Either way, trouble
is lurking. “People seem to think they have the Midas touch. And
they don’t,” says R.L. Banks & Associates President Charles Banks,
who has spent three-plus decades determining the value of short-
line railroads. Oddly enough, Banks says the amount of due dili-
gence spent on shortline acquisitions has gone down as the prices
have gone up. “It’s irrational,” he says.
Small railroads operate on shoestring budgets, so what can a
short line do when it’s in a financial jam? A Class I executive out-
lines three options, none of them good. First, it can try to pry
more money from its Class I connection. Good luck! Second, it
can try to get more money from its customers. That, combined
with Class I rate increases, can only send more loads to the roads.
And third, it can go to cash-strapped state and local governments
with hat in hand, seeking to defray track maintenance costs.
This is not good news when many short lines are already living
on borrowed time. Perhaps 200 of the 600 shortline railroads are
marginal outfits with the lousy combination of too much track and
not enough traffic, and whose success is largely dependent on a sin-
gle shipper and government handouts. A marginal line could putter
along for years before eventually sputtering out. Now the fear is fail-
ure could come sooner rather than later because of a sale. And many
marginal lines are among those included in recent transactions.
So what, you say? Individual short lines are, by definition, small
potatoes. True enough. But taken together short lines are vital feed-
ers for Class I railroads. In the Rust Belt, some short lines, like the
Bill Stephens
bybillstephens@gmail.com
@bybillstephens
Blog: TrainsMag.com
New York, Susquehanna & Western, are able to grow 6% or more
per year while the Class I railroads lose business. Two-thirds of
Canadian Pacific’s carload growth last year, excluding frac sand and
crude oil, came from short lines and regionals. The industry can ill
afford to lose carload growth, an increasingly rare commodity.
New shortline investors, including private equity firms and
global infrastructure funds, are attracted to this growth potential,
the preponderance of captive shippers, and the fact that shortline
earnings tend to be relatively stable. But these buyers have different
goals. The private equity types might hold a railroad for seven
years while seeking double-digit investment returns, independent
analyst Anthony B. Hatch points out. Infrastructure funds, on the
other hand, want to own their railroads anywhere from 20 years to
forever and aim for a modest 5% return. “They’re looking to
maintain stability. They’re not counting on a pot of gold or another
buyer coming down the pike to sell it to,” Hatch says.
Genesee & Wyoming, which is being taken private by a pair of
infrastructure companies from Canada and Singapore, falls into
this category. You could think of it as the shortline version of Berk-
shire Hathaway’s acquisition of BNSF Railway: It should have a
positive impact as ownership manages for the long term, not just
the next quarter.
Ironically, the influx of money from infrastructure funds is
what’s propelling shortline sale prices higher. And that ultimately
will put some new owners in a bind. How many is anyone’s guess,
but it’s a situation that bears watching. 2
At Winthrop Junction, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a Mineral Range
Railroad crew prepares to deliver tank cars of hot ammonium nitrate
solution to the Pepin-Ireco Inc. explosives plant in Ishpeming, Mich.,
on Aug. 21, 2018. Steve Smedley
TrainsMag.com 15
COMMENTARY
Searching for gems in
a sea of freight cars
Thoughts on the ever-changing railcar fleet
R
ailcars are the fundamental vehicles for the move-
ment of rail freight, while the composition of the
railcar fleet defines how freight trains look and oper-
ate. The North American fleet (including Mexico)
consists of a vast rolling tide of cars — dozens of
different types, owned by hundreds of railroads, freight car leasers,
shippers, and other third parties; by some estimates the fleet totals
more than 1.6 million individual cars. In theory, if you spent every
day trackside, with a thousand cars per day rolling by, and no car
passed you twice, it would take about four years and four months
to observe the entire fleet.
Complicating this sport is that many cars work in regular
shipping cycles, so unless you move around a lot, in all likelihood
you’ll tend to see many of the same cars every few weeks while
others would remain elusive. Also, the fleet is continually being
In a scene that encapsulates 1980s Northeast carload freight, Conrail SD40-2 No. 6504 leads westward symbol freight SEIN (Selkirk, N.Y., to Big
Four Yard, Avon, Ind.) near Bergen, N.Y., with an array of now obsolete 50-foot cars on April 10, 1988. Two photos, Brian Solomon
16 FEBRUARY 2020
Brian Solomon
briansolomon.author@gmail.com
@briansolomon.author
Blog: briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/
Podcast: TrainsMag.com
rejuvenated and thus is in a constant state of flux. Consider that
railcars in interchange service — representing the majority of the
fleet — have a defined lifespan. Cars built since 1974 have a 50-
year interchange limit, and with each passing day, older cars are
withdrawn from interchange (with most retired), while new cars
take their place. Take a look back at photos of freights from de-
cades past and see how the size, shape, and variety of cars have
evolved. So where is the industry direction going and how is this
affecting changes to the North American railcar fleet? Under-
standing these changes may help you spot cars in decline, and rare
freight cars that may otherwise pass by without you giving them a
second thought.
The keen observer should watch for older cars, representing
once-standard types that are rapidly disappearing from the scene.
My eyes were opened more than 35 years ago when a wise
In March 2006, a pair of freshly painted Pan Am Railways’ Maine Central 50-foot boxcars roll through Delanson, N.Y., on Canadian Pacific’s Delaware
& Hudson. Once a standard car type, these old 50-foot cars are being replaced by modern, high-capacity designs that better suit traffic demands.
observer advised me to watch for 40-foot boxcars that had once
been the staple of American freight transportation; by the mid-
1980s these were on the verge of disappearing from interchange.
Consider that in recent years, many car types have been gradually
culled as railroads and railcar suppliers homogenize fleets, replac-
ing a host of more specialized designs with fewer variants that
offer higher lading capacity. Today, the sea of cars is dominated by
high-capacity, plastic-pellet hopper cars; seemingly look-alike
intermodal well cars; common, high-volume coal gondolas and
hoppers; and large, general-purpose, 20,000-30,000-gallon tank
cars. Industry professionals have helped me identify
five fading types of cars, some of which are on the
verge of extinction.
DON’T DISMISS
1) Don’t dismiss classic 1970s-era, 50-foot, 70-ton CLASSIC 1970S-
boxcars that once numbered in the hundreds of thou- ERA, 50-FOOT,
sands. At the moment, while tens of thousands of 70-TON BOXCARS
these cars remain in service, they represent an old THAT ONCE
standard and are losing favor with railroads and ship-
pers because of their relatively low weight and cubic NUMBERED IN THE
capacity. Although still preferred among some paper HUNDREDS OF
shippers, many have been sold to third-party lease THOUSANDS.
fleets, and every year thousands are being withdrawn
and scrapped as they approach their age limits. Most will be gone
within a dozen years, if not sooner, as they are replaced with the
new standard high-capacity boxcars of 50-foot and 60-foot designs.
2) Mind those huge 86-foot, 10,000-cubic-foot, auto-parts box-
cars. These out-of-scale monsters are approaching mandatory re-
tirement age, and there are only a few thousand left. I expect that
most will be withdrawn in the next several years.
3) Also getting rarer among big cars are the 7,000-cubic-foot,
wood-chip hoppers. More to the point, the national fleet is
dwindling as a result of declines in the paper industry that once
employed them in large numbers.
4) Don’t yawn at old intermodal flatcars! For decades, the
staple of piggyback and container-on-flatcar shipping was the
89-foot intermodal flatcar. Once so common, these are now
among the rarest cars still on the move. I’ve heard that TTX has
withdrawn all but a handful of its 89-foot “hitch” cars from tradi-
tional intermodal service. However, Florida East Coast Railway
still has a few left.
5) Among the greatest rarities are the tank cars known in the
industry as “candy stripers,” used to move hydrogen
cyanide. These are white with red stripes to notify
operating personnel of the perilous cargo contained
within, and to warn that if these leaked or were in
any way compromised they were to be avoided.
These have been on the wane because of the ex-
treme risks associated transporting the materials
they were built for. Are there any left in service?
As, always, watch for cars from lost roads, those
household names of American railroading swept
away by merger. Illinois Central Railroad became
part of Canadian National Railway 22 years ago;
Southern Pacific into Union Pacific Railroad 24 years ago; and
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway melded with Burlington
Northern Railroad a quarter-century ago. But how about rolling
stock still lettered for Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, Rock
Island, Milwaukee Road, and numerous smaller roads swept away
by merger mania? Are there many Erie-Lackawanna Railway
lettered cars surviving in interchange?
There are many of the more obscure designs that I haven’t in-
vestigated here. Do you have any favorites that I missed? 2
TrainsMag.com 17
 LOCOMOTIVE

Honoring those who serve

Canadian Pacific pays tribute to the military, past and present

The moon rises behind REMEMBRANCE DAY 2019 was different, all feature CP’s Sup- Canadian Pacific’s mechanical
No. 6644 at Calgary, Alberta, on special for Canadian Pacific as port Our Troops logo on the and heritage groups worked
Nov. 11, 2019. The locomotive is the railroad unveiled five cus- sides and rear of each locomo- together with CP’s manager of
the only one of the five to receive tom-painted locomotives hon- tive. All SD70ACUs except veteran relations and media
a commemorative number, which oring Canadian and U.S. armed No. 6644 display the Canadian communications group to de-
honors the D-Day invasion date forces. Four of the locomotives (engineer’s side) and American vise paint schemes that would
of June 6, 1944. Ryan Gaynor are adorned in special paint (conductor’s side) flags to hon- accurately represent and honor
schemes represent- or the armed forces the military. Working with the
ing three segments in both countries Canadian Armed Forces, the
of the U.S. and Ca- the railroad serves. railroad was able to obtain per-
nadian militaries: Initial concepts mission to replicate fonts and
their armies, navies, for the locomotives colors used on modern and
and air forces. The began early in 2019. historic military equipment.
fifth wears colors
applied to Allied
aircraft during
World War II, ac-
knowledging the
75th anniversary of
the D-Day landings in 1944.
The five locomotives are
27,738 Big Six locomotives on 2 pages!

2019 part of two 30-unit orders for

LIVES
rebuilt SD70ACUs from Prog-
ress Rail, which repainted the
50 years after
Schenectady closed,
its legacy lives on

F59: When
GO wouldn’t
take no for
an answer
MISSION CONTROL
How Wabtec remotely
monitors locomotives
around the globe
Union Pacific 4141:
The first and final miles
locomotives at its Mayfield,
A-B-B-B-B-A revival:
BNSF-style
Ky., shops and wrapped them
ORDER YOUR OWN COPY OF prior to their movement to
LOCOMOTIVE 2019 AT Calgary for their Nov. 11, CP lined up all five locomotives at Ogden Yard in Calgary for the 2019
KALMBACHHOBBYSTORE.COM 2019, debut. While each are Remembrance Day ceremony. Matt Watson; inset, Trevor Sokolan

18 FEBRUARY 2020
 As of late 2019, the locomo-
tives are in service throughout
the CP network.
While many railroads have
painted or otherwise labeled
locomotives to honor military
forces in the past, CP holds the
honor of having the largest fleet
of specially painted military
locomotives in North America.
1 No. 7020 is painted in
NATO Green with black letter- 1
ing and numbers in a simplified
design used on modern Cana-
dian Army equipment such as
tanks. The road number is
applied in a modernized
“Army” stencil font.
2 No. 7021 is painted
Desert Sand with black mark-
ings used on military vehicles
deployed in modern conflicts,
such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Similar to No. 7020, this loco-
motive also uses the modern-
ized “Army” stencil font. 2
3 No. 7022 honors the Roy-
al Canadian Navy and U.S. Navy
by using Shipside Grey and
Oxide Red as the primary colors
with a different national flag on
each side. The black band along
the frame is similar to the “boot
top stripe” featured on modern
warships. Road numbers are
enlarged and placed on the long
hood to simulate hull numbers,
utilizing the font from Royal 3
Canadian Navy equipment.
4 No. 7023 uses coloring
and fonts from the Royal Cana-
dian Air Force. The two-tone
paint scheme uses Light Ghost
Grey and Medium Grey found
on hundreds of CF-18 Hornet
fighter jets.
5 No. 6644 is painted in
Royal Canadian Air Force
Dark Green and Ocean Grey
and features a camouflage de-
sign similar to Allied aircraft
during World War II. The ver-
tical stripes on the long hood 4
are “invasion stripes” applied
to Allied aircraft prior to
D-Day. The road numbers use
the Royal Canadian Air Force
font found on aircraft of this
era. CP chose to change its
road number to No. 6644 to
acknowledge the 75th anniver-
sary of the D-Day landings on
June 6, 1944. This is the only
unit renumbered outside of its
assigned slot in the locomotive
fleet. — Chris Guss 5

TrainsMag.com 19
NEWS PHOTOS

ROLLING BILLBOARD Amtrak ACS-64 No. 60 received a special Coca-Cola wrap for the 2019 holiday season. Coca-Cola will now
supply its products for sale on all Amtrak trains. The passenger carrier plans to retain the wrap through early 2020. Gary Pancavage

TERMINAL UPGRADE Metro East Industries has released the first
Terminal Railroad Association “comfort cab” locomotive from its paint
booth. No. 4001 is one of two SD60Is the railroad has acquired from
Metro East. They are the first comfort cab-equipped power for the
short line and will be used primarily on heavy transfers that cross the
Mississippi River into St. Louis, Mo. Mark Mautner
F UNIT FAREWELL Norfolk Southern has sold two of its four executive
F units in late 2019, Nos. 270 and 275 to Reading & Northern; the dis-
position of the other pair is unknown. The two A units, Nos. 270 and
271, began life as Baltimore & Ohio F7s, while the B units, Nos. 275
and 276, were built for the Chicago Great Western. NS renumbered
the units in recent months from the 4200 series. Chris Guss

UTAH UNIQUE Salt Lake Garfield & Western GP39-2 No. DS-13 shows off GOING GREEN Indiana Eastern GP38-2 No. 5255 has received a new
its new paint. A 1980 graduate of EMD’s La Grange, Ill., plant, DS-13 was coat of paint using Illinois Terminal-inspired colors. The short line
one of 30 extra height cab GP39-2s used by Kennecott Copper in its operates from Richmond, Ind., south to Fernald, Ohio. The locomotive
open pit copper mine southwest of Salt Lake City. James Belmont was built for the Southern Railway in 1979. David T. Rohdenburg

20 FEBRUARY 2020
PASSENGER
A slow advance for high speed rail
California project’s Central Valley work moves forward but service is years away
ON THE GRASSY FIELD NEAR
MADERA, CALIF., change was
represented primarily by what
was missing.
Trains had visited Walter
Fisher’s tree-shaded farmhouse
west of BNSF Railway’s single
track at Avenue 17 south of
Madera on Aug. 30, 2013.
Then, the land was marked
with blue stakes indicating the
planned right-of-way of Cali-
fornia’s high speed rail route
between San Francisco and Los
Angeles [see “Waiting on
Speed,” March 2014].
Now there was no evidence
there had ever been a home, or
even a front yard where Fisher’s
chickens and dogs once
roamed, and there certainly
wasn’t a new rail line. The only
hints of human civilization on
the property were the same
ragged fence and a broken re-
cliner someone had recently
dumped on land cleared to be-
come a 200-mph right-of-way.
California voters approved
authorizing $9.9 billion of
bond sales in 2008; the Obama
administration pledged $3.3
billion in federal high speed
rail stimulus grants two years
later to help get the 520-mile
project underway in the state’s
Central Valley. The midsection
was chosen as a starting point income, Gov. Gavin Newsom A southbound Amtrak San
because of its less challenging announced in early 2019 that Joaquin speeds past a vacant lot
topography. The funding, it for now, only a 171-mile right- and castoff lounge chair south of
was hoped, would serve as of-way would be built between Madera, Calif., where high speed
a down payment for the Bakersfield and Merced, Calif. right-of-way work has yet to
California High Speed Rail His “building block” approach begin, on Oct. 21, 2019. The
Authority to quickly create a called for federally funded en- Amtrak consist includes dead-
speedy, state-of-the-art electri- vironmental clearance analyses head diner and baggage cars to
fied showcase that would through mountainous terrain meet axle-count requirements.
attract additional investment and urban areas at the system’s Two photos, Bob Johnston
and a trainset manufacturing extremities to continue. That
partner to fund the remainder prompted President Donald
of the system. Trump to demand the state kill
That hasn’t happened. Envi- the entire project and refund
ronmental studies, political already-spent federal money. In
opposition to government May, the Federal Railway Ad-
passenger rail investment, and ministration followed through
lawsuits by almond growers
and dairy farmers along the
proposed route conspired to
delay a ceremonial ground-
breaking in Fresno until Jan. 6,
2015. The final price tag for the
full system gyrated between
$33 billion and more than $100
billion as the authority and its
consultants constantly revised
construction plans. The latest
estimate, based on a blended
approach to upgrade existing
Metrolink and Caltrain com-
muter-rail trackage into the
urban endpoints: $79 billion.
Because the state could
immediately identify only $20
billion in grants, bond sales, Concrete work on a bridge over the San Joaquin River was almost
and future cap-and-trade finished in October 2019. UP’s bridge is in the background.
TrainsMag.com 21
PASSENGER
To Sacramento
To San
Francisco
Central Valley Wye
San Joaquin River
Viaduct, 4,700 feet,
construction began 2016
Trench under state
Route 180 and canal
to Fresno station site
Cedar Viaduct,
3,700 feet, construction
began 2016
CA
by saying it would rescind $929
Merced million in funding, but Califor-
nia is challenging that action in
court as the state continues to
Chowchilla issue bonds.
Future funding uncertainty,
Madera
though, hasn’t deterred the
authority from working as hard
Fresno as possible to complete roadbed
construction on the four
segments of the initial 119-mile
route from Madera to Shafter,
Calif., by Dec. 31, 2022. That is
the revised expiration date for
expenditure of American Re-
are being graded and overpass-
es built south of American
Avenue, where Construction
Segment CP-1 ends. With the
exception of a bypass around
Hanford, Calif., on which the
Kings/Tulare (County) Region-
al Station will be located, the
high speed tracks follow BNSF
rails on segments CP-2/CP-3
and CP-4. Three design-build
contractors — Tutor-Perini/
Zachry/Parsons, Dragados-
Flatiron Joint Venture, and
California Rail Builders —
October status report that a
“Memorandum of Understand-
ing” exists between three
California agencies and Virgin
Trains USA. It “lays out a part-
nership agreement” that would
study extension of Virgin’s Las
Vegas high speed route from
Victorville to Palmdale, Calif.;
explore interoperability; and
“evaluate joint purchasing
opportunities for materials and
possibly rolling stock.” Kelly in-
cludes Virgin and Caltrain elec-
trification between San Francis-

Kings/ covery and Reinvestment Act have crews working on more co and San Jose when he claims
LI

Tulare
funds. As of July 31, the author- than 90 overpasses, viaducts, that in 2020 there will be “350
FO

N
R

IA ity claims 3,092 jobs had been
Map area Initial created and $285 million had
119-mile
construction flowed to small businesses.
N
segment A Trains visit in mid-Oc-
Shafter tober 2019 reveals the dormant
Bakersfield field outside Madera, at the
Under construction or planned northern end of Construction
Future routes Segment CP-1, is an exception.
0 Scale 25 miles To Palmdale Building a right-of-way here,
© 2019 Kalmbach Media Co. and next to BNSF’s ex-Santa Fe
TRAINS: Rick Johnson Los Angeles
tracks hosting Amtrak’s San
Joaquins, will be comparatively
easy, so grading of the railbed
can wait. It’s also possible all
contiguous land parcels have
yet to be acquired.
More complicated aspects of
the Central Valley project are
well underway or nearing com-
pletion. North of Fresno, state
Highway 99 has been relocated
to allow the 200-mph roadbed
to parallel Union Pacific’s
THE HIGH SPEED tracks and classification yard. It
AUTHORITY AND will then soar over the UP and
local roads on a massive
VIRGIN TRAINS USA concrete pergola, cross the
WILL “EVALUATE San Joaquin River on a
PURCHASING $132-million arched bridge and
OPPORTUNITIES viaduct, and angle northeast
FOR MATERIALS toward the BNSF. Heading
south from there into down-
AND POSSIBLY town Fresno, tracks will dive
ROLLING STOCK.” below ground level in a
— CALIFORNIA $125-million, mile-long trench
HIGH SPEED RAIL under a canal, limited-access
highway 180, and shortline San
AUTHORITY CEO BRIAN Joaquin Valley before rising
KELLY, IN AN OCTOBER near the planned station site.
STATUS REPORT Land has been cleared far-
ther south, along appropriately
named Railroad Avenue, to the
almost-complete Cedar Via-
duct. It sweeps up and over an
industrial area and Highway 99
to reposition the route on the
west side of BNSF tracks used
by Amtrak’s San Joaquins.
Numerous right-of-way swaths
and bridges as far south as
Shafter, Calif., about 18 miles
from Bakersfield.
All this work, however, is
taking place only on the four
original construction segments
between Madera and Shafter.
Environmental approval has
been secured for the route into
Bakersfield, and for a preferred
alignment selected near Chow-
chilla, Calif., at the Central
Valley Wye. The wye is where
future routes north to Merced
and west through Pacheco Pass
to San Jose and San Francisco
diverge. The authority estimates
that track and systems installa-
tion and testing won’t com-
mence on the entire Merced-
Bakersfield route until 2026.
That’s also the year it expects to
take delivery on the first train-
sets, with revenue service tar-
geted for 2028.
The authority still needs to
issue requests for proposals for
both a track and systems con-
tract and trainsets, though
CEO Brian Kelly notes in an
The high speed route’s Cedar Viaduct soars over state Highway 99
and rail lines south of Fresno. Four photos, Bob Johnston
miles of electrified high speed
rail under development.”
Virgin’s proposed involve-
ment may steer the authority
away from a temptation to
initially switch Amtrak trains
onto the high speed tracks.
This was suggested at a recent
Washington hearing by San
Joaquin Joint Powers Authority
Executive Director Stacey
Mortensen. But authority
spokeswoman Micah Flores
tells Trains that in a 2019 proj-
ect update, “Mortensen articu-
lates her support for early
interim high speed rail service.”
Flores also points out that DB
Engineering and Consulting
USA, the early train operator
selected by the authority in
2017, concluded an electrified
system will cut travel times
over the segment in half.
Funding challenges remain,
but as bridges and viaducts rise
in the Central Valley, a path
forward for California’s high
speed rail project is finally
emerging. — Bob Johnston

22 FEBRUARY 2020
First class on an Acela Express. Seats facing in opposing directions and varying window placement are challenges in assigning seats.

The pros and cons of assigned seating

Amtrak set to designate seat locations for ‘Northeast Regional’ Business Class

SOME SEATS ARE BETTER than others. Why else would crowds showing train 2155 as a “car.” Under the existing setup, a purchase
poised to board an Amtrak Northeast Regional at Washington must be made before a seat is assigned or changed. Most airlines
Union Station opt to spend a half-hour waiting in line for a gate to and Florida’s Brightline, which offered a seat map when service be-
open? Trouble is, by the time any pair of travelers boards the train gan in 2018, allow passengers to see what is available before buying.
at Wilmington, Del., or Alexandria, Va., they will be hard-pressed Though Brightline’s map shows direction of travel but not
to find a place where they can sit together, let alone have any window placement, its Siemens coaches have thinner window
choice of car or seat location. posts and good views from all seats. In contrast, visibility is highly
In early 2020, Amtrak plans to make an effort at rectifying the restricted in the “refreshed” Amfleet I cars from many rows of
situation by rolling out assigned seats in Northeast Regional Busi- seats, because the new seats have much taller seat backs than the
ness Class. It introduced the practice in First Class on some Acela ones they replaced.
Express departures in 2018 and all of them in 2019. Harris and predecessor Tim Griffin, who also came from an
“When you make your Business Class reservation on the airline marketing background, never had to give much consider-
Amtrak app or at Amtrak.com,” Chief Marketing and Revenue ation to views for airline passengers (although it’s possible to get a
Officer Roger Harris recently advised Amtrak Guest Rewards “window” seat without a window in some aircraft locations, as
members, “a seat will be automatically selected for you. If you well). And direction of travel certainly wasn’t an issue.
prefer a different seat, or to sit with friends and colleagues, you can But in designing an assigned seat booking system, management
change it at no cost on the interactive seat map. You can also needs to realize train travelers’ expectations are different — if it
choose your seat when buying a ticket from one of our friendly hasn’t already learned that. — Bob Johnston
Amtrak agents.”
The Acela First Class implementation has met with mixed re-
views. This is in part because of limitations of Amtrak’s venerable
ARROW reservation system. It also reflects limited information
provided in advance to passengers for whom securing a seat next
to a window or facing in the right direction is a reasonable expec-
tation. On a New York-Washington First Class trip by Trains in
August 2019, automatically assigned single seat 6F faced backward
(not a problem) but was positioned next to a post (big problem).
There was no way of seeing window placement in advance, even if
a passenger could view a seat diagram.
“We get people changing seats all the time. We’re not that busy
today, so grab any seat you want,” advised the attendant when
taking a beverage order and offering the lunch menu.
Assigned seating was planned when Acela trainsets debuted in
2000, but the idea met with immediate resistance from high-reve- New (left) and old (right) seats on a Northeast Regional train in
nue passengers. The concept was discarded and a seat-selection sys- November 2017 show how higher seat backs on newer, “refreshed”
tem was never devised. Ticketing was still a makeshift proposition seats offer passengers more privacy but detract from visibility,
on that 2019 journey, as evidenced by a boarding pass format particularly for those in seats next to wide posts between windows.

TrainsMag.com 23
The approaching sunset burnishes the rails
at Kedzie, near downtown Chicago on the
Union Pacific, as an inbound Metra train
appears in the distance. TRAINS: David Lassen

TrainsMag.com 25

The most notable fatigue-related derail-
ment occurred in 2000 in Hatfield, England,
when a rail shattered underneath a train at
115 mph, killing four and injuring more
than 70. Railroads spend millions of dollars
annually to slow the growth of these fatigue
cracks and remove them when they do oc-
cur. In North America, the Transportation
Technology Center Inc. estimated that the
total cost is close to $700 million per year.
HOW TRAINS STEER
Trains steer around curves by virtue of
the geometry of tapered wheels fixed to a
solid axle. Think of a curved track like a
banked NASCAR track: the inside “low
rail” of a curve is shorter than the outside
A Sperry Rail Service test car travels CSX’s
Trenton Line at Hillsborough, N.J., in 2013.
Sperry cars and hi-rail trucks handle rail-defect
detection for many railroads. Thom Horvath
Wheel
Contact patch
Flakes/Cracks
Rail
LONGITUDINAL CREEP
“high rail” (this is true, and the same
terminology is used, whether the curve is
superelevated or flat). The wheel on the low
rail must take a shorter path than the wheel
on the high rail, yet the two wheels are
fixed to the axle and rotate together. On
mild curves, the difference in rail length is
matched by the difference in rolling radius
on the conical tapered wheels.
On sharper curves, this match doesn’t
exist. The wheel flanges rub against the
sides of the rail and the wheels slip on one
or both rails as their speed on the rails fails
to match. This slip is called longitudinal
creepage and is also caused by traction or
braking effort. On sharp curves, the wheels
often take turns rolling and slipping (a
“slip-stick cycle,” in technical terms),
creating a high-pitched tonal sound dis-
tinct from the often-simultaneous squeal of
flanges rubbing against the rail. This creep-
age generates a steering force, which turns
the wheelset in the direction of the curve.
Direction of longitudinal
creep forces
Ratching strain
Based on diagram from a Kevin Oldknow presentation at Wheel-Rail Interaction Conference.
When a typical two-axle truck encoun-
ters a sharp curve, it tends to keep its rear
axle aligned with the track while the lead-
ing axle develops an angle of attack toward
the outside of the curve. This forces the
leading wheels to skid sideways toward the
inside of the curve. This is called lateral
creepage. To visualize this, Kevin Oldknow,
an associate dean at Simon Fraser Univer-
sity who leads the principles course at the
annual Wheel-Rail Interaction Conference,
asks his audience to imagine pushing a
lawn mower across a steep slope.
The third and final type of creepage is
spin creepage. Oldknow describes it like
spinning a coin on a tabletop. Mathemati-
cally, the intersection between a cylinder
and a plane line is a one-dimensional line,
but steel wheels and rails distort to create
an elliptical contact patch about the size of
a dime. Within this contact patch, the radi-
us of the wheel varies, and the differing
speeds create a spinning force.
 These forces, whether or not they result
in creepage, are the cause of rolling contact
fatigue cracks. Under high-stress contact
from hundreds of thousands of wheels,
each exerting force in the same direction,
the surface of the rail flows like a viscous
liquid. Tiny surface cracks, fractions of a Surface cracking
millimeter in length, form where the
flowed metal ratchets and separates from
the rest of the rail. They slant down into the
rail at an angle of 5 to 15 degrees from the
surface, growing slowly at first and increas-
ing in speed as they get longer.
In a dry environment, the cracks may
stop 1-4 millimeters deep, where shear
stress from the surface stops being felt. In a
wet environment, the wheels force water
into the cracks, increasing them to about
15 millimeters in length and 4-8 millime-
ters deep. This is when the crack becomes
large enough that the contact patch be- This rail shows tiny surface cracks created by longitudinal creep. While these cracks are
tween the wheel and rail no longer closes usually harmless, they can turn into significant faults if not controlled. Two photos, Tyler Trahan
the crack and hydraulic pressure drops off.
Some cracks stop here. Others continue
to grow, driven by the bending of the rail
under trains or thermal stress. Most turn
upward, reaching the surface and breaking
off the chunk of steel above the crack as a
rail defect called shelling. Some turn down-
ward and may develop into a transverse
defect, a common cause of broken rails.

FINDING CRACKS Shelling

The most common tool in searching for
these transverse defects is a mix of ultra-
sound and induction tests, often contracted
to the yellow railcars and hi-rail trucks of
Sperry Rail Service. Ultrasound tests send a
sound wave into the rail and detect the echo
of the wave bouncing off the bottom of the
rail. If a defect exists, the wave bounces off
it instead and returns sooner than expected.
Induction tests introduce an electric current
into the rail and measure the resulting mag-
netic field for anomalies. Other technolo-
gies are also used, but are less common.
Both tests require closer inspection of
a potential defect. Traditionally, the test
vehicle stops and backs up for its operator
to retest with a “walking stick” portable test
device. If it’s a real defect, the operator
marks it for replacement by a track crew
following behind. This limits the range of
the test vehicle to however many defects
the track gang can replace in a daily shift,
minus any time lost in sidings waiting on
revenue trains to pass. New nonstop testing
allows the test vehicle to digitally record
the location of a potential defect for verifi-
cation and replacement later, increasing the
daily range of the inspection vehicle [see
“Nonstop Rail Testing,” “Technology,” No-
vember 2017]. As of this writing, railroads
have to receive an FRA waiver for nonstop
testing in lieu of start/stop testing, but an
August 2019 FRA rulemaking report indi-
THIS STORY ORIGINATED AT THE WHEEL-RAIL INTERACTION CONFERENCE, WHICH WILL HEAD TO VANCOUVER,
BRITISH COLUMBIA, IN 2020. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO WWW.WHEEL-RAIL-SEMINARS.COM.
Shelling occurs when the small surface cracks shown in the top photo continue to grow and
turn upward, allowing a section of steel to break away.
cates a proposal to revise the Track Safety
Standards to allow the alternate method.
The mandated internal testing schedule
is also evolving. Until 2014, the Federal
Railroad Administration required a strict
testing schedule depending on the track
class, a maintenance standard, which sets
maximum speed limits. The regulation has
since moved from a calendar-based to per-
formance-based standard, which holds rail-
roads to a maximum failure rate per mile of
track. Track that is Class 2 or less — up to
25 mph for freight trains and 30 for passen-
ger trains — is not subject to these require-
ments. (Track classes have nothing to do
with Class I, II, or III railroads, which are
calculated by annual revenue by the Surface
Transportation Board, not the FRA.)
The failing of a calendar-based standard
was demonstrated in the 2006 derailmen-
tof a Norfolk Southern train on a bridge in
New Brighton, Pa. The final report of the
National Transportation Safety Board
stated that because the rail that broke was
extremely worn, a defect could grow from
undetectably small to critical size in be-
tween the every-three-month inspections.
The agency recommended that the FRA
changes its standards to consider “accumu-
lated tonnage, track geometry, rail surface
conditions, rail head wear, rail steel specifi-
cations, track support, residual stresses in
the rail, rail defect growth rates, and tem-
perature differentials.”
The derailment also revealed the dangers
of the otherwise-harmless surface defects
caused by rolling contact fatigue. Shelling
and other defects can block the ultrasound
waves from propagating into the rail, pre-
venting the inspection vehicle from finding
TrainsMag.com 27
A BNSF train passes a solar-powered flange greaser. Flange greasers address friction on the
gage face, one of two areas where wheel and rail meet. Tom Kline
defects or receiving the bottom reflection of
the wave bouncing off the base of the rail.
Operators typically retest these segments
with a handheld ultrasound unit, reducing
the distance the inspection vehicle can travel
in a day. If the segment still cannot be tested,
it is generally replaced with new rail.
FRICTION MANAGEMENT
Friction is a major contributor to rolling
contact fatigue. High friction speeds crack
development, while low friction hampers
tractive effort and braking and undermines
the natural steering forces of wheels on
curves, actually increasing creepage and
lateral forces.
An FRA report by Eric Magel, a princi-
pal engineer at the National Research
Council of Canada and a frequent present-
er at the Wheel-Rail Interaction Confer-
ence, notes that friction management is an
intentional process. Left alone, the friction
is not simply steel on steel: rain, rust,
chemicals, sand, leaves, and other sub-
stances can vary the coefficient of friction
wildly from 0.05 to 0.7 — nearly no fric-
tion to far too much.
To control the friction, railroads lubri-
cate two areas where wheels and rails meet.
The first is the rail’s gage face, which
28 FEBRUARY 2020
touches the flanges of wheels on curves.
Lubricant can be applied to the rail by a
trackside lubricator or hi-rail vehicle, or
directly to the wheel by a spring-loaded
stick of solid lubricant attached to the vehi-
cle. The ideal friction coefficient here is 0.1
to 0.2. Trackside lubricators for this were
introduced in the 1980s, originally intend-
ed to conserve fuel.
The other lubrication area is the top of
rail, where it touches the tread of each
wheel. Lubricant can be applied by a track-
side lubricator, a high-rail vehicle, a stick
on the wheel itself, or a nozzle on a loco-
motive which sprays the rail. The goal is to
achieve a friction coefficient of 0.3 to 0.35.
This is a newer technology, first introduced
on transit systems around 1990 and later
brought to freight railroads. BNSF tested a
trackside lubricator in two locations on
California’s Needles Subdivision in 2001
and found a reduction of leading-axle lat-
eral forces of up to 50%. Today, most sharp
curves on Class I high tonnage lines have
both top-of-rail and gage-face lubricators,
increasing fuel efficiency while reducing
rolling contact fatigue and rail wear.
Like friction management, controlling
the shapes of the wheels and rails greatly
affects the forces between the two. Rails
A broken rail compromised by fatigue cracks
caused this 2006 Norfolk Southern derail-
ment of ethanol tank cars in New Brighton,
Pa. Associated Press/Beaver County Times, Lucy Schaly
and wheels are manufactured and main-
tained to a profile based on the intended
speed, axle load, and truck design of the
vehicle and the curvature, metallurgy, and
most common traffic of the track. Rails and
wheel profiles work together to affect how
each wears down, and whether trains are
better suited for steering through curves or
rolling at high speeds on straight track.
Captive railroads like transit lines or some
ore-haulers can reap the benefits of a com-
plete match between rail and wheel pro-
files, while the rest choose profiles which
match the typical locomotives and cars us-
ing the line. Since the 1990s, railroads have
used worn-wheel profiles — akin to a pair
of comfortable, broken-in shoes — to allow
wheels to wear evenly without changing
shape, extending the mileage between
reprofiling or replacement.
RAIL GRINDING
As rails wear, they are ground back to
their ideal profile to increase fuel efficiency
and minimize wear. Grinding also removes
fatigue-cracked steel while the cracks are
still shallow, keeping them from turning
into a dangerous transverse defect or an
ultrasound-blocking crack or shelled area.
Deeper cracks grow more quickly than
shallow cracks, so more frequent grinding
actually lengthens the rail life by removing
less steel more often.
Rail grinding originated in the 1960s
when rail steels were softer and developed
corrugation (see page 30), which drastically
reduced rail life. The process started as an
annual corrective fix for damaged rails, but
the industry has discovered that frequent
preventative grinding, based on tonnage
instead of time, greatly increases rail life.
North American railroads spend $100 mil-
lion to $120 million per year on rail grind-
ing, of which 30% is attributed to fatigue
cracks. [See “Grind Smarter, Not Harder,”
October 2018.]
When rail can’t be ground further or is
compromised by cracks, it must be re-
placed. Magel’s FRA report estimates that
between 15% and 22% of rail replacement
is driven by surface defects and internal
cracks. He wrote that in 2007, U.S. and
Canadian railroads replaced some 140,000
tons of rail due to defects caused by rolling
contact fatigue, costing at least $220
million including installation costs. New The reddish color on this rail head is top-of-
136-pound rail costs about $800 per ton; rail lubrication. Such lubrication decreases
a mile of track weighs about 240 tons and friction, which in turn reduces rolling contact
costs $192,000. Labor, train delays, fatigue and rail wear. Tom Kline
TrainsMag.com 29
 Washboard effect increases forces damaging rails
EACH WHEELSET OF A SUBWAY TRAIN ROARING DOWN THE TRACK is only touching
the rail about 70% of the time. That’s what veteran transit consultant Bill Moorhead told
TRAINS at last year’s Wheel-Rail Interaction Conference. The remaining 30% of that
wheelset’s journey, it’s bouncing ever so slightly off the rail, thanks to a wear pattern
called corrugation. You may have experienced corrugation while driving down a wash-
boarded dirt road.
Corrugation is both a product and cause of vibration, which causes wheels and rails
to lose contact with each other, then return with an impact several times as forceful as
the static weight of the vehicle. With enough repetition, this creates a wavy pattern on
the rails: corrugation. As wheels hammer over this rough surface, they will create more
corrugation. According to a report by Stuart Grassie published by the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, a trough of less than a tenth of a millimeter will cause all but the
slowest trains to lose wheel-rail contact.
Vibration is generated by both wheels and rails, and a stick-slip cycle of wheels un-
der traction is another loss of contact that can create corrugation. Grassie identified six
types of corrugation, each with their own causes, symptoms, and solutions. These reme-
dies are similar to those for rolling contact fatigue: harder rails, reducing friction, regular
grinding to remove damage, and better steering of vehicles. — Tyler Trahan

Sparks fly as a Loram rail grinder works on CSX Transportation tracks near Atlanta. Grinding
can remove the small surface cracks resulting from rolling contact fatigue; frequent grinding
requires less steel to be removed. Tyler Trahan
equipment use, and other installation costs
can double that figure or more.
HARDER RAIL AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Between 1965 and 1995, freight-car
weights doubled and annual tonnage qua-
drupled, but rail life doubled on straight
track and tripled in curves. Why? Harder
rail played a major, if not exclusive, role,
according to Magel’s FRA report. The
metallurgy of the rail governs its resistance
to wear, plastic flow, and crack formation.
On the Brinell scale of hardness, rail has
come from 250 HB in the 1960s to around
400 HB for today’s premium rail. Magel
notes that increasing axle loads have kept
up with the better rail, allowing the longer
rail life but canceling out any possible
reductions in maintenance.
The contact stress at the wheel-rail
interface is governed by four factors: rail
profile, wheel profile, wheel diameter, and
wheel load. Since the early days of railroad-
ing, loaded freight cars have increased in
weight from perhaps 50,000 pounds to
today’s 286,000 pounds, yet they still ride
on the same eight wheels. This puts up to
70,000 pounds per square inch of pressure
on the dime-sized contact patch between
the wheel and rail. Larger wheels increase
the size of the contact patch, reducing this
pressure. A doubling of the wheel load
increases contact stress by about 27%.
Magel writes that the maximum weight
of freight cars is typically set by economic
reasons and weight limits on bridges, but
A Speno rail grinding train works its way
across a trestle at the Port of Los Angeles.
Grinding can remove small fatigue cracks
before they grow. TRAINS: David Lassen
dynamic loads give railroads an opportu-
nity to reduce forces. These are the impact
forces of flat spots, poorly aligned rail, ties
with insufficient support, bad rail welds,
poorly maintained turnouts, and rail and
wheel corrugation. Autonomous sensors
mounted on both vehicles and track can
detect these dynamic forces without hu-
man intervention. They can send alerts for
serious problems and build histories of
troubled railcars or heat maps of track
defect clusters to inform maintenance
budgets and plans. The vehicle-mounted,
track-measuring Vehicle/Track Interaction
Monitor (V/TI monitor) from ENSCO
Rail has been in use since the late 1990s.
An ENSCO presentation reports that in

30 FEBRUARY 2020
2015, Union Pacific had 58 V/TI monitors
mounted on locomotives and coal cars,
which covered 2.6 million miles per year.
Worldwide, 310 such devices were in use.
Wayside detectors track the perfor-
mance of railcars. These include Wheel
Impact Load Detectors from LB Foster,
which use strain gauges on rails to measure
vertical forces from flat spots or out-of-
round wheels. In 2018, there were about
185 such detectors in North America.
Other devices check the performance of
trucks, such as Wayside Inspection Devices’
TBOGI-HD wayside detector, which mea-
sures skewed or hunting trucks as they roll
through the detector.
All these efforts — detection, lubrica-
tion, rail grinding, and advances in rail
metallurgy — come at a cost. But the pay-
off, in avoiding a major accident, can be A TBOGI-HD detector measures the positions of wheelsets as they roll through the equipment
enormous. 2 to catch troublesome trucks. Wayside Inspection Devices

TrainsMag.com 31
RAILROAD SUPPLIER

Locomotive and
signal suppliers
are intertwined
Story and photos by Brian Solomon
R
ailroad mergers and the lin-
eage of modern American rail
corporations often captured
the attention of industry ob-
servers. Yet, the lineage of rail-
road equipment suppliers has gone rela-
tively unnoticed. In 2019, two large
mergers placed locomotive and signaling
suppliers at the forefront of railroad news
making this an opportune time to review
more than a century of corporate combi-
nations, culminating with the recent GE
Transportation-Wabtec Corp. and
Siemens-Alstom combinations.
Since the 19th century, railroad supply
companies have had international dimen-
sions. American companies once viewed
overseas railroads as ripe markets for
American technology and established sub-
sidiaries or partnerships to trade in foreign
countries. Today, some of the most promi-
nent locomotive and signal suppliers are
foreign-based, with American connections
or affiliates to market and assemble equip-
ment designed overseas for North Ameri-
can applications.

THE DIAGRAM
The diagram on pages 34-35 traces rail-
road supplier relationships, showing merg-
ers, acquisitions and reorganizations, and
highlighting transactions that resulted in
changes of ownership, control, or trade
names. The trading name of a supplier may
remain the same for years, despite company
ownership passing through a variety of cor-
porate conglomerates. For example, signal-
ing supplier Safetran, a familiar name in
North American signaling, has had various
owners over the years perhaps unfamiliar in
a railroad context.
It loosely follows a chronological format,
with 19th- and early-20th-century origins at
the top working down to the most recent
amalgamations at the bottom. The arrange-
ment from left to right presents family trees
in the most logical manner aimed at mini-
mizing crossing of lines for maximum clari-
ty, except where unavoidable. In order to
show trends without becoming mired in the
details of corporate demographics, dia-
gramming these corporate families requires
oversimplifying complex inter-company re-
lationships. The diagram demonstrates the
evolution of corporate families by tracing
merger, acquisitions, and name changes; it
is not intended to provide a list of every
company doing business in North America.
Modern corporations can consist of dozens
of affiliated companies, and subsidiaries
with varying degrees of ownership. Railroad

A GE-built ES44AH leads a westbound CSX

Transportation freight through Palmer, Mass.,
where new signal hardware has been
installed to replace Conrail-era signals.

TrainsMag.com 33
supply businesses are typically industrial
conglomerates involving a host of other
businesses including aerospace, automotive
manufacturing, commercial electrical
equipment, electronics, and telecommuni-
cations. To keep the diagram focused on
locomotive and signaling concerns, related
businesses are only shown where clarity is
required: for the most part the diagram
focuses on railroad supply companies
within their larger corporate environment.
THE HISTORY
The two traditional American signaling
companies, General Railway Signal and
Union Switch & Signal, whose corporate
imprint remains on signaling hardware
across the continent, were both bought by
Italian firms in the 1980s; they are now re- excluded are suppliers strictly of freight
spectively part of the Siemens-Alstom and cars, passenger cars, self-propelled trains
Hitachi Group transportation empires. And and transit equipment. Some suppliers
since signaling supply and locomotive man- which have been out of the market for de-
ufacturing are two of the principal compo- cades or have no corporate connections to
nents common to most of the world’s larg- current suppliers (such as one-time diesel-
est transport supply companies, it makes electric builder Fairbanks-Morse) have also
sense to trace their paths on the same chart. been omitted for space and clarity.
Since the diagram is focused on North It’s fascinating to see how various one-
America, the only foreign companies time GE overseas affiliates have amalgamat-
shown supply locomotives and signaling to ed into Alstom — one of the leaders in
North American railroads or have ties to European railway technology. Among
traditional American suppliers as a result Alstom’s achievements is the French TGV,
of either their history or modern mergers among the fastest and widely used high
and acquisitions. Some affiliates and sub- speed trains in the world.
sidiaries that have focused specifically on Bombardier, whose railroad supply busi-
overseas sales are left out, except where ness originated with erstwhile Alco affiliate
necessary for clarity or context. Also Montreal Locomotive Works, is now based

plu
s o S che
the n e
r c c ta
on d y
1880 s ti t L o
ue c o m Thomas Edison companies Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Co.
nt o
c om t i v
pa e C o
nie . (Historic affiliation)
s Edison General Thomas-
1890 1889
Electric Houston Co.
Locomotive and Machine American Locomotive Co.
Company of Montreal (founded 1901)
(founded 1902) General Electric
1900 (founded 1892)
Sociéte Compagnie
Montreal Locomotive Works General Alsacienne de Francaise
(MLW) General Electric
Electric Constructions Thomas-Houston
Company (France) Electric Co.
MLW name adopted Plc (UK) (France)
1910 General
Motors and becomes Alco
affiliate in 1908

1920
Electro-Motive Corp.
(founded 1922) Alco-GE-IR locomotive
Ingersoll-Rand joint venture 1925-1931
1930 1928
(affiliated without
1930 name change) Alsthom (France)
Electro-Motive
Division
Corporate lineage
1940
Parent company
Alco-GE diesel electric
Acquisitions joint venture 1940-1953
1950

Worthington Corp.
1960 En
1966 gli
Worthington-MLW Ltd.
1964 Co sh Ele
. Lt ct
d. ( ric
1969 Alco ceases UK 1968
1970 production; )
designs to MLW
Bro Pu
wn llm Bombardier-MLW Ltd. 1976 Sasib
, Bo Wa a (Italy)
gg n
A S veri & o A T Te 1978 Me
1980 EA C De nfabr NF-In rans chno Bombardier Inc. tro Sasib
(Sw ie ( ut ik d i t lo -C a
ed Swi sche Talb ustri Amer gy L in
ke - mm Railways
en) tz. o e
) W ag t Gm (Fra ica 1986 1987 GE
Ho el (
UK
Group
go fm
1988 nb H (G nce) 1989
b
Transportation Fia a n )
1990 ABB a u A erm Ha n-B GEC-Alsthom
G( mm System t Fe usc
Ge any) on (GETS) rro
via h
1996 rm Ind rra
Diamler-Benz an
y) 1995 ust 1996
Greenbriar (Ita
AdTranz 1998 rie ly) 1998
Equity Group, s Alstom name 1999-2000
2000 Berkshire Partners 2001
Caterpillar 2000 GETS Global adopted 1998
Electro-Motive 2005 Signalling
Progress Rail Alstom Signaling
Diesel
Services
2010
2012
Progress Rail
2018
Bombardier Siemens Alstom
2020 Transportation

34 FEBRUARY 2020
 in Germany. Its corporate headquarters was
relocated to Berlin in 2002 and many of its
principal factories are in Europe, where it
markets its locomotives and trains. Never-
theless, modern Bombardier electrics oper-
ate on NJ Transit and Montreal suburban
lines run by Exo. Amtrak’s high speed train-
sets designed for Acela Express service were
the product of a consortium between
Bombardier and Alstom. New Amtrak high
speed trains are on order from Alstom
based on the Avelia series operating in Italy.
Siemens enjoys a growing presence in
the American passenger locomotive market.
Built to German designs, its locomotives are
assembled in Sacramento, Calif. Amtrak’s The crew on a westbound Conrail freight sees a “clear” aspect from classic Pennsylvania
ACS-64 Cities Sprinters electrics are adapta- Railroad-era position light signals at Warrior Ridge, Pa., in 1997. The locomotives are a mix of
tions of Siemens’ standard Vectron electric Electro-Motive Division and General Electric products from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

o.
lC
C o. igna
George Westinghouse, founder al S
S ign tch &
ion w i
Siemens Ag Saxby & Farmer Un ing S 1880
k
Union Switch loc Westinghouse Electric & Baldwin
(Germany) (UK) & Signal Int o. Manufacturing Co. Locomotive
al C
o. Westinghouse (founded 1881) n (WEMCo) Works
al C & Sig
ign Airbrake Co. 1890
.o d S (founded 1886) itch
al C oar o. al S
w
iS gn Railr nal C ti o n
c Na1898
ati ard Sig Westinghouse WEMCo-BLW joint
eum tand aylor Brake Co. (UK) venture to build
Pn S T electric locomotives 1900
1904 begins in 1895
General Railway
Signal
1910

o.
al C o.
S ign lC
era
l na 1920
ed Westinghouse Sig
ll
1923 F Brake & Saxby Ha
1924
Signal Co. (UK)
founded 1920
1930
1936-37 Westinghouse Air Westinghouse Brake &
Brake Co. ends its affiliation Signal Ltd. (UK) name
with Westinghouse Brake adopted 1935
& Signal Ltd. 1940
n
WEMCo controls milto
a
BLW 1947-1951 a-H
Lim
1951 1950
WEMCo exits Baldwin Baldwin ceases
1968 US&S and locomotive production 1956
Westinghouse Air Brake Lima-Hamilton
business ca. 1954
(then known as WABCO)
WSFL sold to West become divisions of Finmeccanica (Italy) 1960
Bengal government American Standard 1966 Finmeccanica ly)
(India) reorganizes o (Ita
American d
Ansaldo sal
Westinghouse Saxby Standard An
Farmer Ltd. (India) 1969 1966
CCI Corp. Morrison-Knudsen 1970
1971
Safetran in) MK Rail Division
(USA) Hawker Siddeley (Spa (founded 1972) US
1979 na
ls &S ce)
ker Group (UK)
Sig Inc 1980 Ansaldo r t Fran 1980
-P au nic . Transporti spo any
,
raz 1984 tro ran omp ni
g-G)
e T u zio ly)
i
r a n tive Dim E
E l
CS igna
c r
ost (Ita
m me ustri o mo s s WABCO 1988 (s d a C iarie
i c 1989
S G (A lo ine (rail business) 1990 Bre rrov 1990
A a ffei bus BTR Group
1992 Fe
-M io n (UK) Siebe plc (UK) MK Rail
uss uct i ) 1993
Kra nstr Maffe any BTR Group WABCO Ansaldo Signal
co ss- erm acquires Motive Power Industries ron (non-rail business)
u (G Hawker (name adopted 1996) 1999 Q-T (formed in 1996)
2001 Ansaldo reorganizes
Kra roup Siddeley transport companies
2000
G Wabtec Corp.
1991
(name adopted 2000) ce)
Invensys (UK) BTR and Siebe Fran
merge 1998 rt (
Invensys Rail Group
nspo 2010
Tra
ey
Invensys Rail Group sold to Siemens and aivel
becomes Siemens Rail Automation 2016 F Hitachi Group Ansaldo
2019 2015 Breda
Wabtec + GE 2020
Transportation

TrainsMag.com 35
Amtrak’s ACS-64 are a variation of Siemens’ standard Vectron-series electric, commonly used in Europe. On the morning of Feb. 7, 2014, the
first ACS-64 passes Milford, Conn., on its debut leading Northeast Regional train No. 171 from Boston. Amtrak has 70 such locomotives.
locomotive, a type now operating in many
European countries. Siemens’ SC-44 Char-
ger diesels have been bought by Amtrak,
several commuter operators, and Florida’s
new Virgin Trains USA service.
Intensive investment in modern signal-
ing to fulfill the positive train control man-
date has resulted in importation of Europe-
an-designed signaling, as well as systems
designed for U.S. domestic applications.
Alstom Signal is among the chief suppliers
for Amtrak’s Advanced Civil Speed En-
forcement System used on the Northeast
Corridor. Class I railroads have largely in-
vested in Wabtec Interoperable Electronic
Train Management System. A consortium
of Bombardier and Siemens Rail Automa-
tion (a subsidiary consisting of signaling
companies acquired from Invensys in 2012)
were awarded a contract to install PTC-
compliant signaling on New York’s Long
Island Rail Road and Metro-North.
Electro-Motive Diesel, which began as a
small engineering firm focused on gas-elec-
36 FEBRUARY 2020
tric railcar production and for years was a
subsidiary of General Motors, is now a com-
ponent of Caterpillar’s Progress Rail. What
are not shown on the diagram are the com-
plex lineages of either Caterpillar or Prog-
ress Rail, nor Electro-Motive’s myriad sub-
sidiaries for North American production,
and EMD’s numerous overseas business
affiliations and partnerships. Among these
were licensees of its traditional diesel loco-
motive designs by Clyde Engineering in
Australia, Duro Dakovic in the former
Yugoslavia, and more recent arrangements
with manufacturers in Russia and China in-
corporating its technology in specific loco-
motive designs for those countries. EMD
worked with Sweden’s Allmänna Svenska
Elektriska Aktiebolag (better known by its
initials ASEA, that became a component of
ABB, among the companies that make up
the Bombardier family tree), as a licensee of
its Rc-type electric locomotive designs
adapted for Amtrak’s AEM-7; in the 1980s,
EMD used ASEA technology as the basis for
its Super Series wheel slip control system ap-
plied to its GP50 and SD50 diesels. In the
1990s, EMD adapted Siemens AG’s three-
phase A.C. traction to its diesels, notably for
use on its successful SD70MAC models.
Confusing arrangements occur on
the diagram when a merger or purchase
did not immediately result in a company
name change, or when a company
rebrands itself irrespective to a change
in ownership.
Electro-Motive Corp. was acquired by
General Motors in 1930, yet the company
didn’t become the Electro-Motive Division
until 1941. Through the years a perplex-
ingly large number of companies have in-
corporated “Westinghouse” corporate
identities, reflecting their historic lineage
to the great inventor and American indus-
trialist George Westinghouse. The financial
connections and control of these various
companies has varied greatly in the past
century, and while George Westinghouse’s
famed air brake company was the founda-

tion of his empire, only a few of the many
Westinghouse companies, subsidiaries,
and affiliates appear on the diagram.
Trace the paths of three branches of
Westinghouse Air Brake to see how these
ended up as components of three different
multinational railroad suppliers, all of whom
now offer signaling and locomotive technol-
ogies. This is an excellent example of how
modern railroad suppliers are more than
merely combinations of smaller antecedent
firms, and represents de-evolution and re-
combinations of companies as conglomer-
ates acquire and sell constituent entities.
There are also ironic legacies: Baldwin
Locomotive Works, once the world’s largest
supplier of new locomotives, failed to keep
abreast of the changes in demand for its
products; more than 60 years ago it exited
the business, leaving precious little of its
technology to the corporate families of
today. Yet, many of the traditional builders
overseas have been amalgamated into the
conglomerate transportation suppliers of
today. Among Siemens acquisitions in the
1990s was the Austrian manufacturer
Approaching Temple station in downtown Philadelphia is Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transportation Authority’s only ALP-44 electric, built by ABB in 1996. Similar, were SEPTA’s seven
earlier AEM-7s, assembled by EMD. Both were derived from the successful Swedish Rc design.
historically known as Simmering-Graz- Chinese business presence for 20 years and
Pauker AG, which became SGP Verkeh- has more than a half-dozen subsidiaries,
rstechnkik GmbH before being amalgamat- plus several joint ventures such as CRRC
ed as Siemens SGP Verkehrstechnkik Puzhen Bombardier Transportation
GmbH. Although this only had a minor System Co. Ltd., established in 2014, that
American presence as the builder of AEM-7 builds monorail and other advanced transit
electric locomotive bodies for Southeastern equipment. Until recently, CRRC’s range of
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and locomotives have been sold outside of
MARC Train commuter rail services, it North America and western Europe. How-
provides another example of a traditional ever, CRRC has cooperated with both GE
supplier melded into a larger company. and EMD in construction of locomotives
Some companies have long histories for overseas sales, and CRRC companies
spanning 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. are supplying transit equipment to Ameri-
General Electric is one of the world’s best- can cities, so it may be just a matter of time
known corporations, and one with a long before CRRC enters the North American
affiliation to locomotive manufacturing and locomotive market.
locomotive electrical components. In 2019, For more than 30 years, Japanese sup-
GE sold its Transportation Systems unit to pliers, including Kawasaki, Kinkisharyo,
Westinghouse Air Brake successor Wabtec. and Nippon Sharyo, have sold transit vehi-
Other firms were just a flash in the pan, cles, passenger cars, and multiple units to
existing for just a few years, having been North American transit agencies and pas-
created and swept away again by the endless senger-train operators, but as of yet they
march of merger, consolidation, and diver- have not seriously competed for North
sification. AdTranz, the name created in American heavy locomotive business. On
1996 for ABB’s inclusion in the Daimler- the signaling side, Ansaldo Signaling was
Benz industrial conglomerate, lasted just among the transport companies acquired
five years before being sold in in 2015 by the Hitachi Group
2001 to Bombardier. In the MODERN RAILROAD from Italian conglomerate
meantime, the parent compa- SUPPLIERS ARE MORE Finmeccanica.
ny had changed its name to THAN COMBINATIONS distinctive The period of nationally
DaimlerChrysler, reflecting its equipment varia-
merger with the American OF SMALLER tions is rapidly coming to a
automotive manufacturer. PREDECESSOR FIRMS; close. Based on the trends
THEY REPRESENT over recent decades, we can
THE FUTURE? RECOMBINATIONS OF expect further corporate con-
The Siemens-Alstom solidation with resulting in-
merger has combined two of COMPANIES AS ternational design standard-
the largest European railroad CONGLOMERATES. ization of trains, locomotive,
suppliers, apparently to enable and signaling systems. In
the European builders to more effectively America as positive train control systems
match competition from China’s CRRC, become standard, and railroads move to-
one of the world’s largest railroad rolling ward greater automation, the distinction
stock suppliers and a Bombardier affiliate. between locomotive and signaling tech-
CRRC has become a growing competitor nologies continues to narrow, giving uni-
in the international market for new loco- fied suppliers of transportation technology
motives and railcars. Bombardier has had a added market advantages.
TrainsMag.com 37
Crossing from New Mexico into Texas and
straddling the border with Mexico, UP 4014
sails over the Rio Grande River on the
approach to El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 21. In the
background, a second former Southern
Pacific bridge. Kevin Gilliam

38 FEBRUARY 2020
 Traveling where no Big Boy has gone before,
4014 goes El Paso to Cheyenne the long way
by Jim Wrinn
 1
By highway it is only 736 miles between El
Paso, Texas, and Cheyenne, Wyo., where
Union Pacific keeps its two operating steam
superstars, 4-8-4 No. 844 and newly rebuilt
4-8-8-4 No. 4014. But for Big Boy No. 4014,
on its inaugural tour of the system and out
to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first
transcontinental railroad, the long way
home via Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mis-
souri, Kansas, and Colorado was just fine.
That’s what the engine and its display train
did in October and November 2019 as part
of an epic 4,885-mile tour of the southwest-
ern and southern parts of the UP system.
Notable as part of No. 4014’s itinerary
was the addition of UP No. 4141, the
2 on Nov. 22 when a snowstorm covered
SD70ACe decorated like Air Force One and
commemorating the George Bush Presiden-
tial Library & Museum as the backup diesel
on the Houston-College Station-Palestine,
portion of the trip in Texas. UP did this to
announce the diesel’s donation to the Bush
library (see page 68), but it was more than
that: It was like putting together two
megastars on the same concert billing. The
crowds loved it.
As it has all year long, Big Boy turned out
spectators everywhere it went, teaching new
generations about railroading, history, and
burnishing the UP name in a nation that has
largely forgotten its railroad roots.
Some crowds were staggering. If you
were at the junction of former Southern
Pacific and Missouri Pacific rails in Hearne,
Texas, you saw a virtual sea of spectators line
the diamond and witness No. 4014 make
three passes to switch from one track to an-
other (forward on SP across MoPac, reverse
onto MoPac, forward on MoPac across SP).
UP’s Ed Dickens expected to run into
real railroading conditions on a tour that
began in early fall and ended just before
Thanksgiving, and the train did just that
parts of Kansas.
 3
4 Crew on the ground watched for wheels climb-
With its return to Cheyenne on Nov. 26,
No. 4014 and its crew capped off an incredi-
ble year with some 7,500 miles on three
tours behind the only Big Boy to run in 60
years. Call it an early 20th-century surprise
reprise of mainline steam’s finest hour.
In 2020, we hope that UP will again send
No. 4014 and its tireless steam team into
new areas of the UP system: There are al-
ready hints that on the list are California, the
Pacific Northwest, and St. Louis.
For now, the crew and their charge are at
1 The diamond at Hearne, Texas, has seen
many trains in its day, but nothing like Nov. 9
when No. 4014 came to town and ran a seesaw
maneuver to switch from one line to the other.
Tom Kline
2 Having run the diamond at Hearne twice,
No. 4014 accelerates northbound toward
Palestine, Texas, with UP No. 4141, the George
Bush Presidential Museum & Library unit, in
the consist (see page 68).
3 No. 4014 strikes an action portrait north of
Palestine, Texas, near Neches, Texas, in for-
mer MoPac territory. Three photos, TRAINS: Jim Wrinn
4 At North Little Rock, Ark., No. 4014 wyes its
train before bedding down on a display track
near the diesel shop. The crew walked the
engine around the tight west leg of the wye.
Foreman Austin Barker rode the pilot to make
sure flexible steam joints remained secure.
ing the rails. No trouble was encountered.
rest. But not for long. In the steam shop in
Cheyenne, there are valves to lap, packing to
adjust, and staybolts to inspect. A new year
awaits No. 4014’s return to the main line
where thousands wait to see the world’s
largest operating steam locomotive.
TrainsMag.com 41
 1

1 After leaving Russellville, Ark., No. 4014

and train cross the Illinois Bayou portion of
the Arkansas River. A wreck has caused a
traffic jam on the adjacent U.S. Highway 64
causeway. Two photos, Blair Kooistra
2 The world’s largest selfie machine?
No. 4014 at rest in Van Buren, Ark., on
Nov. 15 draws a crowd heavily armed with
cellphones.

2
42 FEBRUARY 2020
 3 No. 4014 reflects the last rays of the day as
it nears its destination for today: Coffeyville,
Kan. Running as the PVBCB2-16, the engine
was swarmed by thousands on its two-month,
11-state tour dubbed “The Great Race Across
the Southwest.” The location is Lenapah, Okla.,
on Nov. 16. Two photos Zach Pumphery
4 Bucyrus, Kan., is a location that reminds
the photographer more of Wyoming than
Kansas. Here, on Nov. 17, No. 4014 swings
through a curve on former Missouri Pacific
rails en route to Kansas City (Mo.) Union
Station for public display the following day.

4
 1

1 No. 4014 arrives at Kansas City (Mo.) Union

Station on Nov. 17. Roy Inman
2 UP SD70M No. 5214 on eastbound local
LDD77 meets No. 4014 on the Sharon Springs
Subdivision at Collyer, Kan. Five inches of
snow fell quickly the morning of Nov. 22, and
No. 4014 is making its way across the former
Kansas Pacific main line. After dropping
most of its passenger consist at Topeka,
Kan., the steam train picked up 10 empty cov-
ered hoppers for additional braking power.
Chip Sherman
3 Brighton, Colo., just north of Denver, was
witness to No. 4014’s last lap on Nov. 26 when a
storm dumped up to 17 inches of snow on
some parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Sol Tucker
4 Back home again: No. 4014 and train ease
under the BNSF Railway’s former Colorado &
Southern bridge at the west entrance to the
UP’s Cheyenne, Wyo., yard. In a few hundred
2
yards, the engine will return to the steam
shop and the inaugural season for the first
Big Boy to steam in 60 years will come to a
close. James Hickey

44 FEBRUARY 2020
3

TrainsMag.com 45
BEYOND BIG BOY

46 FEBRUARY 2020
 BIG BOY No. 4014 has passed
here hours ago on its Sept. 28
journey from Rawlins, Wyo., to Rock
Springs, Wyo. Bridge work has
reduced the mighty Overland Route
main line from two tracks to one this
day. Between the steam train and the
bridge, the dispatcher back in Oma-
ha has a torrent of freight trains in
the area to turn loose. While most
fans awaiting Big Boy stayed on the
pavement at Point of Rocks, Wyo.,
I’ve decided to brave axle-deep mud
to see the railroad in this wilderness
miles from Interstate 80.
So this is Hallsville, Wyo., which,
as best as I can tell, exists only on
the railroad and has a population of
zero, save for maybe a jackrabbit and
a few coyotes. Markers nearby tell
me this was once part of the well-
known Overland Trail stagecoach
route and the lesser-known Chero-
kee Trail for gold miners, western
settlers, and opportunists of the mid-
1800s. As an eastbound stack train
and a westbound manifest meet, I’m
overwhelmed with the feeling that
I’ve made the right choice in taking
the mud road less traveled.
The steam train has brought me
here, and now it is time to appreciate
the railroad of today. These freight
trains are the great-grandkids of Big
Boy. I contemplate how railroading
has changed since the Big Boys
roamed here in the 1940s and 1950s.
I wonder what railroading will look
like here in another 60 years. I’m
grateful to have witnessed No. 4014
pass, and I’m equally pleased that
I’ve stayed here to see these rails
beyond Big Boy. — Jim Wrinn
A BRIDGE TO
THE PAST
A new, concrete, double-track bridge replaces its century-old
predecessor to serve Sound Transit and a Tacoma, Wash., short line
Story and photos by Steve Carter
One of Sound Transit’s new cab cars trails a
southbound train into the Tacoma Dome
Station on Main 1, while a northbound makes
its way across the new trestle, Jan. 3, 2018.
A southbound Sounder train
crosses the Milwaukee Road
Trestle on the Lakewood Sub
on Feb. 16, 2009.

M
 
ore than a century has passed to replace it. A new, concrete, double-track line and American Lake line, as well as a
since the Chicago, Milwaukee, bridge was just one important project in a half-mile, Sound Transit-constructed
St. Paul & Pacific Railroad plan, 20 years in the making, to create the connection between the Milwaukee and
reached the West Coast. Lakewood Sub district. The Lakewood Sub NP Prairie line. Sound Transit built this
When the railroad reached is comprised of pieces of the Milwaukee section not just to get Sounder trains to
Tacoma, Wash., there was one main line, the Northern Pacific’s Prairie Lakewood (south of Tacoma) but to carry
last hurdle to cross before the Pacific Exten-
sion could be completed: the crossing of a
bit of swamp land that formed a small valley
near the end of the line, located between the
modern-day East G and East L streets in
Tacoma. Land was purchased, buildings
razed, and a wooden trestle was built and
opened for traffic in 1909. Unfortunately,
there was seemingly no end to the settling of
the structure, and in the early 1930s, it was
clear a new trestle would be needed. In
1937, a new bridge was built with a distinc-
tive “S” curve (it’s unclear if the first trestle
also had an “S” curve). Officially designated
Bridge F-282, the reason for its “S” curve has
been lost to history. 
The second structure outlived its build-
er, and when the Milwaukee failed, the
trestle soldiered on for the Chehalis &
Western Railroad (a Weyerhaeuser affili-
ate), Tacoma Eastern, and Tacoma Rail. It
survived into the 21st century to carry
commuters on the Sounder trains. Sound
Transit even used the renovated Milwaukee
Freighthouse as a station.
But even before the first Sounder train The last of the four beams of the old bridge are about ready to be trucked away, and the new
crossed the rickety trestle, there were plans steel bridge has been moved about 7 feet into place on the Sound Transit Lakewood Sub.

50 FEBRUARY 2020
all passenger trains between Tacoma and
Nisqually, about 20 miles southwest. The
goal was to remove passenger traffic from
the Point Defiance line, a primarily coastal
route from Tacoma to Nisqually, and re-
lieve BNSF Railway of congestion through
the single-track Nelson Bennett tunnel on
that line. In exchange for the congestion
relief, BNSF agreed to the addition of two
Amtrak Cascades trains (four round trips)
on the remainder of the Seattle Sub. The
routing over the Lakewood Sub is shorter
and is predicted to save 10 minutes
between Portland, Ore., and Seattle.
The design of the bridge to replace the
wooden trestle called for two tracks with
crossovers at either end and a significant ex-
tension to the passenger platform to accom-
modate Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. G Street is
located at the west end of the trestle with a
steel girder bridge crossing as the most west-
erly component of the trestle. The new
bridge not only includes a double-track steel A BNSF Railway intermodal train crosses the Milwaukee trestle to take its cars up the gulch for
bridge but also carries the platform, which storage on July 9, 2016, just two months after construction of the new steel bridge began.
extends out on to the concrete bridge.
Work began on the new bridge in May The new bridge, officially designated has only a single curve, and where there
2016. Shortly thereafter, work began on the Bridge 1.5, was built in two phases in or- was room, the double-track width was
new passenger station with the demolition der to keep the line open to both Sounder also constructed (about eight bents) as
of a portion of the historic Milwaukee trains and Tacoma Rail traffic. The south part of phase 1.
Freighthouse, known now as Freighthouse half of the bridge (main 2) was construct- Feb. 18, 2017, was a milestone, when
Square, filled with shops and restaurants. ed alongside the trestle. The new bridge the transition from the trestle to the new
bridge began. This involved making con-
0 Scale 1 mile nections at both ends, and most important-
North Intermodal Yard
© 2019 Kalmbach Media Co. ly, the removal of the old steel girder bridge
TRAINS: Bill Metzger and Rick Johnson
over G Street, and moving the new steel
Commencement Site of MILW Tideflats Yard girder bridge over G Street into place. A
BN Bay
SF
(U eaS
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bridge. The early morning of Feb. 22 saw
W

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Fos
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TR
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Transfer Yard Intermodal Yard razed, construction of the north half of the
ay

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.

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New Sounder UP Fife Yard service. The move from the Point Defiance
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Amtrak Station
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d Su

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senger station held up opening the Lake-

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To Lakewood/ er expansion was the last step in the project,
le Su
( TR/

Nisqually To Frederickson
with construction and painting continuing
b

venue
until a few days before Dec. 18.
Puyallup A 0 Scale 1⁄8 mile ATK Amtrak On opening day of the Lakewood Sub to
East G Stre

sit BNSF BNSF Railway

eet Sound Tran MILW Milwaukee passenger trains, celebration turned to trag-
E. 25th Str
East L Stre

SDR SOUNDER edy when the first train, Cascades No. 501,
et

Bridge TR Tacoma Rail

eet
N derailed on a bridge over Interstate 5 near
E. 26th Str UP Union Pacific
et

Light rail DuPont, Wash. Three passengers died, and

Sound Transit’s new Abandoned most of the remaining 75 passengers were
Station injured. Later that day, passenger service re-
Lakewood Sub bridge 5
sumed on the old routing of Point Defiance.

TrainsMag.com 51
On Nov. 12, 2017, main 1 was complete, as was scheduled. Five days later, a pair of Sounder trains made
full use of the new double-track trestle, Nov. 17, 2017. The focus then shifted to finishing the platform.

52 FEBRUARY 2020
Ready for next day’s schedule, South Line
Sounder trains are parked on the main lines,
Feb. 17, 2017. The Lakewood Sub is now con-
nected to the east end of the new bridge.
Passenger trains were to remain on the
Point Defiance line until positive train con-
trol was fully functional on the Lakewood
Sub. Before PTC could be implemented, on
June 24, 2019, the National Transportation
Safety Board released its final report on the
DuPont derailment. Among the findings,
the Cascades Talgo Series 6 trainsets were
highlighted as contributing to the severity
of the derailment. In response, the Wash-
ington State Department of Transportation
has stated that the four Talgo Series 6 train-
sets will be replaced as soon as possible.
Passenger train service on the Lakewood
Sub will not resume until replacement
trainsets are obtained and the expanded
schedule of six Portland-Seattle round trips
can be supported, which is likely not until
mid-2020, according to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation.
The new bridge is 1,668 feet long,
A crane is lifting about half the weight of the beam on the 100-year-old bridge, while the
welder works to cut the beam loose to make room for the new double-track bridge.
Short line Tacoma Rail SD70ACe-P4 No. 7001
leads the Hill Job across the new 1,668-foot-
long concrete-and-steel bridge with its
distinctive curve on Jan. 5, 2018.
including the 127-foot-long steel bridge
over G Street. There are 35 concrete piers
to carry 34 spans. Four sets of signals
protect the two crossovers and the small,
two-track layover yard at the east end.
The bridge budget as approved in 2017
was $120.5 million.
In a nod to the historic nature of the
Milwaukee “S” curve trestle it replaced,
the new bridge will wear Milwaukee Road
heralds, located on the steel bridge over G
Street, and the new station features a mural
with an abstract Milwaukee Road Hiawatha
passenger train locomotive. Bridge 1.5 was
built to last, and should easily carry rail
traffic well into the next century. 2
CHECK OUT A DOCUMENTARY OF THE
TACOMA BRIDGE DESTRUCTION AND
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCED BY
STEVE CARTER AT TRAINSMAG.COM
TrainsMag.com 53
An Amtrak Acela Express passes
maintenance-of-way equipment as it
emerges from Baltimore's B&P Tunnel in
June 2012. Plans to replace the tunnel
await funding. Mitch Goldman
B&P Tunnel is Amtrak’s Baltimore bottleneck, but
replacement is stalled in planning stage
by Dan Zukowski
long the Northeast
A
Corridor, where the
dangerously decrepit
Hudson River tunnels
are media superstars,
Amtrak’s Baltimore &
Potomac Tunnel is the
B-list celebrity struggling
for attention.
It predates the Manhattan-entry tubes by
nearly four decades, and is also in serious
need of replacement. Water undermines the
B&P Tunnel floor, seeps through tunnel
walls and leaks from utility lines, while
cracks and chips mar its bricks and mortar.
As is the case with the Hudson tunnels,
a plan exists to replace the B&P Tunnel —
one which would have cost $4.5 billion
when selected by the Federal Railroad
Administration in 2017 — but so far, not a
shovel has been turned.
More than 140 trains squeeze through
the two-track tunnel, just south of Balti-
more Penn Station, each weekday. They
include 55 MARC commuter trains, 34
Acela trips, 54 regional and long-distance
Amtrak trains, and one daily Norfolk
Southern local round trip.
“As service has grown, the two-track
tunnel has constrained the scheduling of
trains passing through Baltimore Penn
Station and the B&P Tunnel,” Amtrak
spokeswoman Beth Toll tells Trains. “The
design of the tunnel and Charles Interlock-
ing connecting the tunnel to Baltimore
Penn Station also cause severe conflicts
supporting the turning of MARC commut-
er trains back to Washington in the face of
through Amtrak and MARC trains.”
The tunnel’s tight curves restrict passen-
ger trains to 30 mph and freights to 20 mph.
It takes an Amtrak regional train more than
6 minutes to traverse the 1.4-mile tunnel.

‘Functionally obsolete’
The FRA defines the B&P Tunnel as
“functionally obsolete.” But when built, it
was both an engineering masterpiece and a
savvy business move befitting what was
then the nation’s second-largest city.
Benefiting from its natural harbor, Bal-
timore became an early magnet for manu-
facturing and shipbuilding. The city was
the birthplace of U.S. railroading, where
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was char-
tered in 1827 and began operation in 1830.
By the 1870s, the city was home to near-
ly 270,000 people. In 1873, the year the
B&P Tunnel was completed, Baltimore’s
Pimlico race track held the first Preakness
Stakes, part of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
The B&O, with its early start, controlled
rail traffic to, through, and within Balti-
TOP: AEM-7 No. 900 leads train No. 175 through the gap between the Wilson and John Street
tunnels, two of the three parts of the B&P Tunnel, on Aug. 9, 1984. Three photos, Fred W. Frailey
ABOVE: Maintenance crews work outside the B&P’s north portal. The single tunnel with two
tracks in close proximity make maintenance work difficult; the planned replacement will have
four single-track tunnels. BELOW RIGHT: An Amtrak maintenance employee conducts a
visual inspection of tracks inside the B&P Tunnel on Aug. 9, 1984.
more. But the Pennsylvania Railroad’s first
chief engineer and third president, John
Edgar Thomson, having already forged the
line’s westward expansion and taken con-
trol of railroads in New Jersey, turned his
sights south.
Since before the Civil War, the PRR
had relied on the independent Philadel-
phia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad to
handle north-south traffic. For its connec-
tion to Harrisburg, Pa., Thomson had
wrested control of the Northern Central
Railway Co., but that still left the Pennsy
to rely on a connection with the Baltimore
& Ohio to get traffic through to Washing-
ton. The B&O was not about to help a
rival road.
William Bender Wilson, in his 1895
book, “History of the Pennsylvania Rail-
 Replacement tunnel
(proposed)
Replacing

Eu
Intermediate North

taw
Ventilation
the B&P Tunnel Ventilation

Pl.
Facility North Ave.
Facility 1
Nor th Ave.
1 John St.
Wilson St. Tunnel Tunnel
Baltimore

Pe
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nn
Amtrak

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IVF cavern Egress cavern

lva
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CSX

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e.
Tunnels
Pressman St. Air plenum “Duck under” track Howard St.

St. Paul St.

Calvert St.
0 Scale 1⁄2 mile tunnel passes under Tunnel (CSX)
other tracks
© 2019 Kalmbach Media Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson
IVF shaft Biddle St.
Current B&P Tunnel
0 Scale 1⁄8 mile Chase St.
Nor th Ave.
Gilmor St. Tunnel

South Ventilation Facility

Edmondson Ave.

Lafayette Ave.

North Ave.

Eutaw Pl.
Pressman St.

Metrorail
Lafayette Ave.

Park Ave.
Franklin St.

300

MTA

line

North Ave.
200
Top of tunnel
Ward Baking Co. 100
Edmondson Ave. Atlas Storage Co. South portal
Engine House No. 36 0 Top of rail
Franklin St. “Duck under” track North portal
40 American Ice Co. passes under other tracks
MARC West Baltimore Station

road Company,” described the situation: published by the PRR. required 15 million bricks and 1.25 million
“The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The author details how the tunnel feet of masonry.
Company adopted an arbitrary course rela- was built: solid masonry side walls of The first train through the tunnel, a
tive to the interchange of travel and traffic, Cockeysville marble, the same stone used northbound originating in Richmond, Va.,
and threw all kinds of obstacles in the way for the Washington Monument. Five arrived early on June 29, 1873. Through
of the Northern Central transacting busi- courses of brick line the roof arch. Beneath service from New Jersey to Washington be-
ness with Washington City. It refused to the tunnel floor, an inverted brick arch — gan with two daily round trips, with a third
sell through tickets, or check baggage essentially a roof turned upside down — added the following month. By the end of
through from there to points on or via was added to strengthen the structure and the year, trains would carry through sleep-
Northern Central, or to accept such going stabilize it in the wet earth. Construction ers to Chicago, St. Louis, and Buffalo.
there, and so arranged its schedules that
connections were rendered uncertain.”
Northern Central served passengers to
Washington only by handing them an
envelope of cash with which to purchase a
separate B&O ticket. And the B&O set
exorbitant freight rates to discourage
prospective customers.
Thomson saw that he had to have his
own line to the nation’s capital. In 1866, he
gained control of the Baltimore & Potomac
Railroad, chartered in 1853 but not com-
pleted. The Pennsylvania Railroad moved
quickly to construct the B&P to Washing-
ton, touting the line in PRR’s 1871 annual
report as it was being built. The report de-
clared “there will be an unbroken railroad”
from Baltimore to the nation’s South.
Tunnel construction cost $2.5 million, or
about $54 million in current dollars. “The
materials used in its construction are the
best that could be procured,” boasts “The
Pennsylvania Railroad: Its Origin, Con-
struction, Condition, and Connections,” an An on-board view of the gap between the Wilson Street and John Street tunnels. Inspections
1875 book written by William B. Sipes and found the Wilson Street tunnel is in the worst shape of the three tunnel segments. Amtrak

56 FEBRUARY 2020
A history of modifications
In the subsequent 147 years, the tunnel
has undergone numerous modifications. In
1916, the floor was lowered to create an
additional 2.5 feet of clearance. In the early
1930s, the tunnel floor was further lowered
by about a foot for the installation of over-
head catenary lines, ready for the Pennsy’s
coming GG1 locomotives to whoosh
passengers to Washington.
More work was done in 1953 and from
1981 to 1983, each time again lowering the
floor. This included replacing the floor and
repairing the tunnel lining, but was intend-
ed only as a temporary fix.
Ownership changed hands to Penn
Central in 1968 when the Pennsylvania
merged with the New York Central, and
then to Amtrak in 1976 as part of the fed-
eral reorganization of troubled northeast
railroads that created Conrail.
The tunnel’s 19th-century builders
encountered the wet earth, quicksand, and
underground springs that still plague the
tunnel. Decades of neglect have combined
with ever-increasing train traffic to create
mounting troubles.
In 2014, Amtrak was forced to perform
emergency repairs as the concrete floor con-
tinued to settle due to water infiltration. Toll
says that many problems cause delays, in-
cluding “defects with the track profile due to
drainage in the tunnel and the deterioration
of the concrete slab.”
The 7,545-foot B&P Tunnel is actually
three tunnels connected by two open cuts.
Southbound trains leaving Penn Station en-
ter the 1,152-foot John Street Tunnel on an
8-degree curve. They emerge to a 200-foot
cut and then enter the 3,653-foot Wilson
Street Tunnel. Another 350-foot cut, fol-
lowed by the 2,190-foot Gilmor Street
Tunnel, brings trains to West Baltimore.
Amtrak asked engineering firm Parsons
Corp. to conduct a thorough visual inspec-
tion including all three tunnels and the two
open sections. Inspectors found the Wilson
Street Tunnel to be in the worst condition:
actively leaking, seeping water from the
floor, showing breaks in the bench wall, and
with the cement mortar delaminating. They
found similar conditions in the John Street
Tunnel, although confined to a smaller area.
Both are missing long rows of brick.
With two tracks enclosed in one 27-foot-
wide bore, busy with trains day and night,
maintenance and repair work goes slowly
and often creates delays. The FRA projects
that the frequency and magnitude of repairs
will only continue to increase, impacting
operations and raising maintenance costs.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was
justifiably proud of its tunnel builders in
the early 1870s, but the bore was not engi-
neered for the demands of high speed
trains alongside frequent commuter runs.
Its useful life has passed. 2½ hours of cumulative delays for Amtrak
In 2017, the FRA looked at 16 alterna- and MARC are expected daily.
tives for replacing the tunnel, narrowed that The alignment selected by the FRA envi-
to four — including a no-build, do-nothing sions a 2-mile tunnel and a rebuilt West Bal-
option — then issued its Record of Decision. timore MARC station. Overall, 3.67 miles of
A plan to rebuild the existing tunnel was new four-track main line will carry trains at
discarded. It would require complete shut- higher speeds on more gentle curves.
down or single-track running during con- Southbound trains leaving Baltimore
struction, and leave in place the severe con- Penn Station will enter a reconstructed
straints of two-track operations. By 2050, Charles Interlocking, taking seven station
ES44DC No. 5445 leads an eastbound intermodal train toward the entrance to
Baltimore's Howard Street Tunnel in November 2011. Michael T. Burkhart
CSX also has a tunnel project in Baltimore,
after completing one in Washington, D.C.
THE B&P TUNNEL ISN’T THE ONLY significant tunnel needing replacement in Balti-
more. In fact, it’s one of just three major tunnel projects in a relatively small area, if you
include one in Washington, D.C. Here’s a look at the others:
• The Howard Street Tunnel is Baltimore’s other project. The 1.4-mile tunnel, built by the
Baltimore & Ohio in 1895, is a bottleneck for CSX Transportation and a problem for the
Port of Baltimore, because it has insufficient clearance to handle double-stack contain-
er trains. Once estimated with a price tag in the billions of dollars, the cost is currently
set at $466 million thanks to a CSX plan, which would allow trains to continue operating
while the clearance is increased by notching the ceiling and lowering the floor.
The port says the project would allow it to handle 100,000 more containers a year,
with the additional traffic adding more than 7,800 jobs to the state economy.
Much of the funding is now in place, but no start date has been announced. Funding
has been a challenge. At one point, CSX committed $135 million, but in November 2017,
under then-CEO E. Hunter Harrison, the railroad said it was no longer interested in the
project. It reversed that decision in December 2018 under current CEO James Foote,
but with a reduced commitment of $91 million. The state of Maryland has pledged $147
million and the federal government contributed a $125 million grant — but that still
leaves a $103 million shortfall. In July 2019, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he was
negotiating with all parties involved to find the additional funds.
• Also on CSX, the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C., is notable because it’s
complete. [See “National Gateway Realized,” February 2017.] It took a 3,788-foot, sin-
gle-track tunnel too small for double-stack and hi-cube cars and replaced it with two
tunnels with sufficient clearance. This was a two-step process. First, a new tunnel was
built adjacent to the existing bore, then the original tunnel was demolished and rebuilt.
The project began in May 2015, was completed in fall 2018, and cost $250 million.
— David Lassen
The area around the North Portal of the B&P tunnel, in an aerial survey photo from 1977: 1 B&P Tunnel (John St.
Tunnel) North Portal 2 Interstate 83 3 North Howard Street 4 West North Street 5 Chessie System (former
B&O, current CSX) bridge 6 Baltimore Streetcar Museum 7 Conrail (current Norfolk Southern) tracks 8 Former
Maryland & Pennsylvania station. Inset: The tunnel's west portal Two photos: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,
Historic American Engineering Record, HAER MD, 4-BALT ,147--18 (Inset: HAER MD, 4-BALT, 147--17.)

58 FEBRUARY 2020
 tracks to four mainline tracks using No. 10
and No. 15 switches. The new interlocking is
designed to reduce conflicting movements.
A massive stone pier supporting a CSX
bridge needs to be relocated to accommo-
date the new Northeast Corridor four-track
alignment. After passing under the rebuilt
span, trains will slip through the new tun-
nel’s North Portal just east of the North
Avenue light rail station. Light rail service
will not be disrupted by the construction.
Each track will reside in a separate bore.
And there will be a fifth tunnel: an 8-foot-
wide, 10.5-foot-high emergency exit pas-
sageway, parallel to the main tunnels. It
leads to ground level at both portals and a
midway location.
5 The tunnel arcs gradually to the south.
Three of the four tracks, designated A, 1,
and 2, begin a 1.75% descending grade.
Track 3 descends further and more steeply
on a 1.82% grade, curving inward to duck
under tracks 1 and 2 and become the outer
6 southbound track.
Amtrak’s Toll explains that many
MARC trains turn back at Baltimore, so
their northbound and southbound tracks
are adjacent at Penn Station. South of the
tunnel, however, MARC trains use the out-
side tracks to make their station stops.
Dominic Oliveti, a principal engineer at
Parsons, speaking at an industry confer-
ence, said, “To avoid at-grade conflicts
through the Charles Interlocking just south
of Penn Station, we devised this way to sort
the trains underground.”
After climbing a 1% grade from the
tunnel’s low point, the four tracks exit the
South Portal at Riggs Avenue.
The current route restricts trains to
55 mph through a compound curve in
West Baltimore, known as Curve 381,
which prohibits high-level platforms at the
MARC station. The curve will be eased and
the current track-center spacing of 13 feet
will be increased to 15 feet to enable Acela
trains to operate at up to 100 mph. The
station will be rebuilt with 800-foot, high-
level platforms, allowing faster boarding.
South of the station, just beyond the
Gwynns Falls Bridge, the new alignment
will rejoin the existing Northeast Corridor
right-of-way. There, a new universal inter-
locking to be called “Gwynns,” comprised
of four No. 20 crossovers and two No. 15
crossovers, will be installed.

Modern methods
The tools of tunnel building in 1873 —
explosives and steam drills — will give way
to tunnel boring machines, or TBMs.
Those machines will face hard rock, soft
soil, and a mix of the two in a city that’s be-
set by frequent sinkholes that have closed
streets, highways, and the light rail line. The
problems are compounded by storm water

TrainsMag.com 59
An artist’s conception of the new concourse planned as part of the redevelopment of Baltimore Penn Station. While the station project is not
tied to the tunnel plan, it does allow for infrastructure and the anticipated additional capacity resulting from the new tunnel. Penn Station Partners
and ground water that bleeds into tunnels
and under roadbeds.
One or more tunnel boring machines
will scoop out the major portion of the
four rail tunnels. As the machines progress,
their cutter heads bore out a perfect circle,
pulling back removed rock and soil as hy-
draulic cylinders force the bores forward.
Meanwhile, precision-made, precast
concrete lining segments are continuously
carried forward and assembled into a cir-
cular ring, which is pressed against the ex-
posed tunnel wall. Each ring is then bolted
to the previous ring, forming a continuous,
unbroken lining. The process repeats as the
tunnel boring machine advances.
For the long, constant-radius arc re-
quired by the new tunnel, the tunnel boring
machine operator steers using a computer
interface, by applying slightly more pressure
to one side of the cutting head.
Tunnel boring machines are quieter, cre-
ate less vibration, and protect the streets and
structures overhead better than other tun-
neling methods, an important consideration
for the mostly residential community above
the new tunnel. But near tunnel portals,
excavation by cut-and-cover is called for.
From the surface, wood timbers or steel
piles are placed to shore up the walls and
street, after which the concrete floor slab
can be laid and sidewalls completed. Cut-
and-cover will also be used for ventilation
facilities and vertical exit shafts.
Some utility structures and the cross-
60 FEBRUARY 2020
passages between tunnels will require
controlled blasting into the tunnel face.
$5 billion price tag
Amtrak now quotes a $5 billion price
tag for the replacement tunnel, up from the
FRA’s $4.5 billion estimate in 2017. The
cost will likely continue to climb with each
year that passes. Once started, the project
could take up to 12 years.
But the start of construction is far off.
Toll says Amtrak has allocated $12 mil-
lion of its fiscal year 2020 federal funding
to advance design work on the B&P proj-
ect. She notes the railroad has met with
CSX engineering regarding the proposed
modification to the freight railroad’s bridge
near the North Portal and have worked on
design development, project delivery
strategy, and construction staging issues.
“The exact amount that Amtrak
dedicates to the B&P Tunnel Replacement
Project is dependent on the amount of
federal funding that may be provided by
Congress to Amtrak through the annual
appropriations process,” Toll says. Amtrak
has also applied for grants under the
Federal-State Partnership for State of Good
Repair Program and the Consolidated
Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improve-
ments program.
Maryland commuters, as much as Am-
trak passengers, remain at the mercy of the
delays and slow crawl of trains through the
existing tunnel. MARC commuter trains,
operated by the Maryland Department of
Transportation, carry 9 million passengers
a year. But MDOT spokesman Jim Joyner
confirmed to Trains that the agency does
not currently have a role in the project.
Plans for the new tunnel have encoun-
tered some community opposition.
The FRA estimates 22 residential build-
ings need to be demolished, 15 of them
occupied. An additional 13 businesses and
four places of worship will have to relocate.
At a series of open houses and other
meetings in 2016, residents expressed con-
cerns about noise and about potential emis-
sions from the three ventilation facilities
planned for the new tunnel. Of particular
concern was the intermediate vent facility,
to be located in a residential neighborhood.
It has been relocated, at additional cost, to
the edge of the neighborhood.
Historic structures along Curve 381
posed challenges to crafting the final align-
ment, which threads between four such
buildings in West Baltimore, beyond the
South Portal.
“By keeping an open dialogue with his-
toric resource specialists and stakeholders,
we produced an alignment that both
respects the historic neighborhoods and
resources while meeting Amtrak’s needs
and requirements,” Oliveti says.
Community members also asked what
would happen to the current tunnel. Am-
trak tells Trains it will continue to own the
existing B&P Tunnel and rights-of-way,
which would be closed but “reserved for
potential future rail transportation use.”
And while the new tunnel is planned
primarily for passenger trains, some com-
munity members expressed fears of a po-
tential increase in diesel-powered freight
trains, potentially hauling hazardous mate-
rial. While possible, a substantial increase
in freight operations is not likely.
Unlike the 19th-century B&P Tunnel, its
replacement will be built to accommodate
AAR Plate H clearance, to handle double-
stack container cars and trilevel auto carrier
cars. However, clearance restrictions else-
where along the Northeast Corridor limit
access. Further, the FRA notes that the win-
dow to insert slower freights into this busy
corridor, in a future with even greater fre-
quency of Amtrak and MARC trains, will
be much tighter than it is today.
Baltimore’s population now exceeds
600,000, its port is the nation’s 11th busiest,
and Baltimore Penn Station is Amtrak’s
eighth busiest, handling more than a mil-
lion passengers a year. One-third of Am-
trak’s ticket revenue and one-fifth of all its
passenger trips pass through Baltimore.
The station dates to 1911 and has seen
some improvements and renovations in re-
cent years. It’s due for major redevelopment
and expansion in a public-private partner-
ship with Penn Station Partners.
Amtrak’s Toll says that while the station
redevelopment is separate from the tunnel
project, “The planning and design current-
ly underway does take into account the
future rail infrastructure and anticipated
additional capacity.”
Improving the corridor
Between Washington and Baltimore,
Amtrak is upgrading 31 miles of track and
replacing the Landover Interlocking with
An Amtrak Metroliner emerges from the B&P Tunnel on the morning of Feb. 7, 1981. The tunnel
underwent major work, including lowering of its floor, from 1981 to 1983. Tom Nelligan
A MARC train exits the tunnel shortly before its arrival at Baltimore Penn Station. While MARC
would be a major beneficiary of the new tunnel, it has no role in the project. Mitch Goldman
the Hanson Interlocking, which is under
construction. Track 1, which was not up-
graded during the 1970s-era Northeast
Corridor Improvement Project, is now be-
ing improved to prepare for the new Acela
fleet. Amtrak says these projects will allow
trains to operate at higher speeds with
better ride quality.
Those improvements, north and south
of the current tunnel, will reduce delays and
provide a better passenger experience, but
the bottleneck in between remains.
A 2011 joint FRA/MDOT report, re-
quested by Congress, projects an 18% in-
crease in MARC operations through the
B&P Tunnel from 2020 to 2050. Amtrak
also foresees greater train frequency.
The limiting factor is whether a new
tunnel gets built. The report is clear: “Con-
cerning the B&P Tunnel, there is no realis-
tic No-Build Scenario. The physical condi-
tion of the tunnel requires that it be rebuilt
or replaced within the next 10-20 years.”
Almost a decade has gone by since
those words were written. It’s now in the
hands of Amtrak and Congress. “With the
environmental work completed, Amtrak
is now leading this effort as owner of the
asset,” Toll says. “Amtrak views the B&P
Tunnel Replacement Project as critical to
its continuing efforts to modernize the
Northeast Corridor.”
With its annual budget request restrict-
ed by law to $1.8 billion, Amtrak could
only beg for a pittance of funds above its
authorization level to ever so slightly inch
the tunnel project forward by $20-50 mil-
lion, if Congress were to charitably increase
the railroad’s appropriation.
Dreaming about big-budget infrastruc-
ture legislation, Amtrak included the tun-
nel replacement in its fiscal 2020 request
among a list of supplemental projects, pen-
ciling in $3.1 billion in additional federal
funds needed. Gridlock in Washington
makes that improbable.
But it is undeniable that Amtrak has an
even more urgent priority: the Gateway
program to add a new tunnel under the
Hudson River, modernize and repair the
two existing tunnels, and replace the out-
dated, unreliable Portal North Bridge. A
not-unlikely failure of one of those tunnels
would cripple the Northeast Corridor and
quickly become an international symbol
for America’s crumbling infrastructure.
The B&P Tunnel holds no similar dan-
ger of failing. But left as is, it will continue
to hamper Amtrak and MARC service,
while hitting taxpayers with ever-rising
repair costs. 2
TrainsMag.com 61
RAILROAD
VISION
2020

AFTER HUNTER
What’s the next railroad management trend?
by Bill Stephens
RAILROAD TRENDS COME AND GO. In the
1980s, newly deregulated railroads shed
trackage, merged, and figured out how to
survive in a competitive marketplace. In the
1990s, railroad CEOs built ever-larger sys-
tems. In the early 2000s, the railroads con-
centrated on making their big new systems
work while gaining pricing power. And as
coal volumes have fallen by nearly half in
the past decade, railroads have renewed
their focus on cost control.
Today, Precision Scheduled Railroading
is all the rage. The late CEO E. Hunter Harri-
son’s operating model, first put into action
at Illinois Central, went with him to Canadi-
an National, Canadian Pacific, and CSX
Transportation. And then, less than a year
after Harrison’s death in 2017, Union Pacific,
Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City South-
ern all jumped on the PSR bandwagon.
Harrison disrupted the industry with differ-
ent ideas about how to run a railroad with
simplified operations and far lower costs.
But running an ultra-efficient railroad
can only get you so far. Having a low oper-
ating ratio doesn’t by itself win more traffic
or produce revenue growth. So what’s next
for an industry grappling with rapid techno-
logical change, tectonic shifts in shipping
trends, and the long-term decline of lucra-
tive coal traffic?
“Just look at CP and CN,” says indepen-
dent analyst Anthony B. Hatch. “What’s next
is a pivot to growth.” Railroads will retain
their operational discipline while becoming
more market- and tech-savvy, Hatch con-
tends. The industry will have to do so as
traffic is more service-sensitive and supply
chains are getting tighter, he says.
Todd Tranausky, a rail and intermodal
analyst with FTR Transportation Intelli-
gence, agrees. “The next phase of railroad
management is going to have to be one
that’s more customer-focused than it has
been in the past,” he says. Railroads have
zeroed in on lower operating ratios for the
better part of a decade, which has only ac-
celerated amid the hard-nosed shift to PSR.
Now, Tranausky says, railroads need to find
a balance between low-cost operations
and valuing their customers. “They are not
mutually exclusive,” he says.
In other words, the rest of the rail indus-
try may come to look more like CN. Former
CN CEO Claude Mongeau built on the ultra-
efficient railway foundation Harrison creat-
ed. CN’s move beyond PSR was called
Operational and Service Excellence, which
to this day focuses on efficient operations
while forming close partnerships with ship-
pers. CN views itself as a supply chain part-
ner, not just a railroad, and under current
CEO JJ Ruest is becoming vertically inte-
grated by buying trucking companies that
can drive volume to its rails.
Some say railroads are coming to a fork
in the road, with a choice between no-
growth and high-growth strategies. Under
the no-growth strategy, railroads backfill lost
coal volume with some intermodal and cer-
tain types of carload freight, like chemicals
and grain, that can’t move via highway. The
result: A low-cost, low-service railroad that’s
highly profitable but whose tonnage remains
flat. In a world that increasingly values speed
and service, this hook-and-haul mindset is a
formula for becoming less and less relevant.
The other path is a high-growth strate-
gy that requires ongoing investment to
handle more service-sensitive traffic. The
result: The railroad becomes more of a
transportation provider that understands
customer supply chains and
offers a range of door-to-
door services to match. And
RUNNING AN
it has to add track capacity ULTRA-EFFICIENT
to support traffic growth. RAILROAD CAN
“The future is not inex- ONLY GET YOU
pensive,” Hatch says, point-
ing to the necessary invest-
SO FAR.
ments in technology and track. But the
volume and revenue growth can justify big
capital investments, even if the service-
sensitive intermodal business railroads
attract comes with a higher operating ratio.
“Intermodal still has a good return on in-
vested capital,” Hatch says.
This is why you see BNSF Railway ex-
panding intermodal terminals across its
system and adding short sections of triple
and quadruple track on its Southern Trans-
con so that high-priority Z trains can zip
past slower freights.
Whatever growth
strategy railroads
follow, this much is
certain: They will in-
creasingly rely on
technology. They’ll
automate business
functions and some
elements of opera-
tions, as machines E. Hunter Harrison
do more and people
do less. Technology will improve mechani-
cal and engineering inspections, turning
today’s defect finders into defect fixers. And
railroads will deploy a range of applications
that make it easier for customers to order
service and track shipments. All of this
means the people leading the charge —
chief technology officers and chief transfor-
mation officers — will gain influence and
importance at the Class I railroads.
There’s no question that railroads need
to respond to technological advances in
trucking that threaten to erode the cost
advantage of steel wheels on steel rails.
“Railroads are talking the talk about
responding,” Hatch says. “Innovation and
execution will be critical.”
How critical? “If railroads don’t innovate,
and make it easier to do business with
them, shippers won’t see
railroads as an option for
moving their freight,”
Tranausky says.
Some of the innovation
may come from outside,
as railroads are hiring
more executives from other
industries. CP’s vice president of grain
was once a grain shipper. CSX’s new vice
president of energy comes to the railroad
with a background in energy markets
research. Norfolk Southern’s new chief
financial officer came from United Technol-
ogies Corp. And CN hired a chief informa-
tion and technology officer from FedEx,
who has since left the railroad. This can
help shake up the status quo by bringing
fresh perspectives to an industry bound by
tradition, analysts say. 2
TrainsMag.com 63
IN MY OWN WORDS

Transfer caboose No. 102 sits among the freight cars at Norwood Yard in Green Bay, Wis., in
the shadow of the railroad’s landmark grain elevator. Cars in the GB&W’s compact, urban yard
show a variety of traffic the road handled in the 1980s. Brian Schmidt collection

GOLF BALLS
& WESTERN
A rail routing mystery in the waning days
of deregulation resolved itself
by Robert J. Wise

RAIL SHIPPERS CAN BE FICKLE.
In 1988, I served as chief
clerk in Southern Pacific’s Phil-
adelphia district sales office. The
representatives responsible for
shipments originating in east-
ern Pennsylvania going to any
location on the West Coast
encouraged shippers to route
via East St. Louis, Ill. This sent
loads over Conrail to SP subsid-
iary Cotton Belt and then the
SP proper. The preferred route
would maximize SP’s revenue,
because the freight charges
would only have to be divided
between its lines and Conrail.
One morning in mid-
March, the reports for carload
shipments originated in our
district during the previous
week arrived in the mail from
headquarters in San Francisco.
Norman, the sales representa-
tive who called on a large steel
company in Coatesville, Pa.,
and who had an excellent rela-
tionship with the steel compa-
ny’s transportation coordinator,
hurried out of his office with
reports in hand and into the
district sales manager’s office. A
few minutes later, the district
sales manager called the other
sales representatives into his
office and closed the door.
Eventually, they called me
in. The manager held out
Norm’s traffic report to me and
almost demanded, “do you
know what kind of route this
is?” No one could figure out
what they were looking at, and
I was the last hope.
On Norm’s report, I saw not
one, but eight gondolas of high-
revenue steel plates that had
originated in Coatesville des-
tined for Portland, Ore. The
routing was Conrail to Toledo,
Ohio; Ann Arbor to Kewaunee,
Wis.; Green Bay & Western to
Winona, Minn.; and Burlington
Northern to Portland. There, it
would be interchanged to the
Southern Pacific. No one in the
group had been able to figure
out what “AA” and “GBW”
were, or the locations of Frank-
fort, Mich., and Winona.
It was all too clear that
Burlington Northern simply
switched the cars over to
Southern Pacific, limiting SP
participation to placing the
cars at a shipyard in Portland.
Instead of collecting the major-
ity of the revenue that would

64 FEBRUARY 2020

have come from a routing via
East St. Louis, SP’s portion
would be reduced to 3% of the
freight charges.
My wife is from Michigan,
so I knew exactly what they
were looking at. Trying not to
appear smug, I explained that
the cars were routed via the
Ann Arbor and Green Bay &
Western railroads. At Frank-
fort, the cars had been placed
on a carferry for transfer across
Lake Michigan to Kewaunee.
Winona was the interchange
between GB&W and Burling-
ton Northern.
Perhaps “Golf Balls Route” would be more suitable? Two Alco C424s
“So, you’re telling me,” the rest between assignments at Norwood Yard in April 1981. Even the grain
manager asked, “that these cars elevator sports the company logo. William S. Kuba, Brian Schmidt collection
moved over two tiny railroads
connected by a tugboat?” Burlington Northern
I ignored the reference to to Portland, Ore.
the tugboat, but explained the Frankfort
Green Bay
carferry connection existed as GBW y
Car ferr
an alternative to routing
AA
Winona W I S C O N S I N
through the congestion of Chi-
cago. It was unlikely that traffic AA Ann Arbor MICHIGAN
GBW Green Bay & Western
from shippers in our territory N Other lines (not all lines shown)
could route to a Southern Pa-
cific destination using a Lake Ann Arbor
Michigan carferry. Our manag- Toledo
© 2019 Kalmbach Media Co.,
er was incredulous that a route TRAINS: Rick Johnson ILLINOIS Conrail to
with a carferry could exist in Not to scale INDIANA Coatesville, Pa.
1982, and he began referring to OHIO
TrainsMag.com 65
 IN MY OWN WORDS
NEW FROM TRAINS MAGAZINE
PLANNING A
FAMILY
VACATION?
de
Free pullout gui
Ride train!
202 0 edit ion
this
ad Fun Gui de
A Fam ily Rai lro
Green Bay & Western freight equipment proudly wore the road’s red logo and bright yellow
paint. H.E. Brouse, Brian Schmidt collection
the entire subject as the “Golf Balls & West-
ern.” We all knew a lengthy report would
have to be filed regarding these shipments,
and the anticipated phone call came from a
high-level official in San Francisco in less
magazine
than an hour. The eight-car shipment of
Supplement to 618072
high-value freight moving averse to our
preferred routing was conspicuous in man-
agement’s reports. An explanation of why
MAKE TRAINS PART OF YOUR the shipments had moved the way they did,
and what we were doing to secure any
NEXT VACATION! potential traffic via SP’s preferred long haul,
was required as quickly as possible.
Be sure to bring this along! Norm had not waited for the call from
San Francisco and had already contacted
his friend at the steel company. The traffic
RIDE THIS TRAIN! A FAMILY manager at the steel company had been ex-
RAILROAD FUN GUIDE is the place pecting a call from SP. He had already been
to find hundreds of listings of called by his Conrail representative asking
North American rail museums, why Conrail was not given its maximum
tourist rail lines, dinner trains, and haul to Chicago or East St. Louis. His BN
other family-friendly railroad representative had called and asked why he
attractions. didn’t route the cars via Chicago. He told
Norm the same thing he told the Conrail
You’ll love the convenience of and BN representatives: the freight receiver
having all the contact information in Portland had insisted on providing the
and addresses in one place for route of movement, and we had to call the
quick reference. receiver to get our answers. We thought we
were off the hook and could simply turn
the problem over to the Portland sales
Your copy is FREE with office, but it was not to be.
Norm called our coworkers in Port-
the May 2020 issue of land, but they knew about the shipments
Trains magazine! as well and had already contacted the re-
ceiving customer. The traffic manager at
the shipyard told the Portland sales repre-
sentative the shipment of steel plates was
actually a portion of a large U. S. govern-
ment contract and that “someone in the
Pentagon” had mandated the routing.
Now we had to turn the matter over to the
Southern Pacific representatives in the
TO ADVERTISE IN THIS GUIDE, Washington, D.C., sales office whose
CONTACT: MIKE YUHAS responsibilities included dealing with
PHONE: 262-798-6625 government agencies. We were advised
EMAIL: MYUHAS@TRAINSMAG.COM that without a specific name, it could take
P37063 a while to find “someone in the Pentagon.”
66 FEBRUARY 2020
Our office moved on to other matters, but
we were reminded in daily telephone calls
and wires from San Francisco that the
steel routing issue still needed resolution.
Philadelphia would then pester Wash-
ington for an answer. There had been no
additional shipments, but the “Golf Balls &
Western” file was getting thicker and thick-
er with no resolution in sight.
March had turned into April, when our
Washington representatives called us and
conceded defeat. They were unable to locate
the mystery party who was alleged to have
instructed the carferry routing. Knowing
management would never accept “we don’t
know” for an answer, our district sales man-
ager drafted a flowing report in the middle
of April to bring the matter to a close. The
responsibility for the routing was placed on
an unnamed “dreamy thinking government
official/railroad enthusiast” who was
“known to experiment with bizarre rail
routings.” The report concluded that the
eight carloads of steel plate comprised the
entire order. There would be no more ship-
ments using the Ann Arbor-Green Bay &
Western routing, or any other route. The
report was mailed to headquarters, and our
office copy was placed in a new file folder
entitled “Golf Balls & Western short haul.”
As it turned out, the predictions in the
manager’s report were entirely correct.
There were no more shipments of steel
plate from Coatesville to the receiver in
Portland moving via Ann Arbor and Green
Bay & Western. On April 26, 1982, less
than two weeks after the concluding report
was filed and mailed, the Ann Arbor Rail-
road embargoed the northern portion of its
line across Michigan. The embargo shut
down the Lake Michigan car float service.
In spite of all our work, the Golf Balls &
Western route simply ceased to exist. 2
ROBERT J. WISE lives beside a CSX Trans-
portation main line near Pittsburgh. This is
his 10th Trains byline.
PRESERVATION
A spin for C&TS’s 50th anniversary
Rotary will start the next half century for the former Rio Grande on Cumbres Pass
IT’S BEEN 23 YEARS since Den-
ver & Rio Grande Western
rotary snowplow OY saw action
on the fabled Cumbres & Toltec
Scenic Railroad, but the Friends
of the C&TS, a grant from the
Narrow Gauge Preservation
Foundation, and the C&TS
Special Projects Department
have made it operational once
more. The work took place in
the shops at Antonito, Colo.
2020 marks the 50-year an-
niversary of the C&TS when the
states of New Mexico and Colo-
rado bought the 64-mile line
from Antonito, Colo., to Chama,
N.M. Rotary will kick off the
celebration on Feb. 28-March 1,
2020, when it will be used to
clear snow, providing ticket
holders with an amazing show.
OY was built in 1923 by the
American Locomotive Co. and
is one of four rotary snow-
plows on the D&RGW. A rota-
ry plow is basically a locomo-
tive in a boxcar that runs a
large rotary blade on the front.
One or more locomotives are
required to push the rotary
through snowdrifts. Four crew
members are needed; a pilot
stationed at the controls of the
whole rotary train communi-
cates with a whistle to the
pushing locomotives; behind
him on the side of the boiler is
an engineer who controls the
spin of the snow-cutting wheel;
and two firemen.
“If this thing has 90 days of
service on it since it was built
in 1923, I’d be very surprised,”
says Stathi Pappas, director of
Special Projects for the C&TS.
“We were very fortunate,
because there wasn’t a whole lot
of work that needed to be done
to make it operable.”
Besides cosmetic work, a
new soldered tin roof has been
installed thanks to a grant from
the Narrow Gauge Preservation
Foundation. On Nov. 5, 2019,
shop air was used to operate the
pistons and turn the rotary
blade, and the next day the boil-
er was fired up for inspection.
The rotary was moved to
Chama in mid-November to be
in position for its winter runs.
The railroad’s season offi- Following a brief restoration,
cially opens on May 23, 2020, Rio Grande rotary snowplow OY
with special trains featuring makes the trip from Antonito,
newly restored D&RG No. 168 Colo., to Chama, N.M., to be in
(Class T-12 4-6-0 built by Bald- position for snow clearing trips
win Locomotive Works in in late February and early March.
1883), which will depart An- Two photos, Jerry Day
tonito, Colo., with the historic
consist of passenger cars 292,
256, and RPO 65. D&RGW No.
315 (Class C-18 2-8-0 type,
built by Baldwin in 1895) will
doublehead with either D&RG
No. 168 out of Antonito or with
D&RGW No. 463 (K-27 type
2-8-2 built by Baldwin in 1903)
out of Chama, N.M.
The big event is the Victorian
Iron Horse Round Up, Aug. 22-
30, featuring the Nevada State
Railroad Museum’s Glenbrook (a
2-6-0 built by Baldwin in 1875)
and privately owned Eureka
(4-4-0 built by Baldwin in
1875), and Nos. 315 and 168.
There will also be a Gallop-
ing Geese reunion. Further In a preview of coming attrac-
information is available at tions, C&TS 2-8-2 No. 463 shoves
https://cumbrestoltec.com/50th- rotary snowplow OY out of
anniversary/ Antonito, Colo., in mid-November
— Thomas Scalf to be in position at Chama, N.M.
TrainsMag.com 67
PRESERVATION
With an enlargement of President Bush in the cab in 2006 placed at the donation ceremony,
No. 4141 idles in the consist of Big Boy No. 4014’s train at College Station, Texas. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn
UP 4141 will call Texas home
Union Pacific SD70ACe will join the Bush library
LATE IN 2020, Union Pacific’s George H.W.
Bush Presidential Library diesel locomo-
tive No. 4141 will have a permanent place
of honor in the late president’s adopted
home state.
The SD70ACe, added to Big Boy No.
4014’s tour train at Houston in early No-
vember, arrived at College Station, Texas,
home of Texas A&M University and the
Bush Presidential Library & Museum. At a
C&NW 1385’s road back is clear
New boiler graces iconic Midwestern favorite
RESTORATION of one of the Midwest’s most
iconic steam locomotives, Chicago & North
Western No. 1385, is in the homestretch.
Last fall, a new boiler arrived from the fabri-
cation shop in St. Louis. Weighing more
than 41,000 pounds and new from mud ring
to steam dome, it was united with the
112-year-old running gear to bring life again
to this R-1 class Ten-Wheeler.
Built in 1907 at the American Locomo-
tive Co. shops in Schenectady, N.Y., it was a
member of the C&NW’s most numerous
class of locomotives. Used in fast freight and
local passenger service, it worked for the
C&NW for all of its 49-year life in revenue
service. Retired in 1956, the railroad sold it
in 1961 to the fledgling Mid-Continent Rail-
way Museum for the scrap value of $2,600.
The museum had it running by 1963. In the
early 1980s, No. 1385 pulled specials on the
Chicago & North Western main line.
68 FEBRUARY 2020
brief ceremony on Nov. 8 that included Neil
Bush, son of the late president, UP Vice
President Scott Moore, and retired UP CEO
Dick Davidson, UP announced the dona-
tion of the unit to the Bush library. Enlarge-
ments of the day when Bush visited his loco-
motive and actually ran it for a short time
were part of the graphics on display.
In a scene reminiscent of the Bush fu-
neral train that operated in December 2018
By 1998, No. 1385 needed major repairs,
and it languished as a static exhibit. The mu-
seum started repairs in the early 2000s, and
it sputtered along until the Wagner Founda-
tion pledged a $250,000 challenge grant.
Since then, the Wagner Foundation has con-
tinued to make matching grants to support
the project, and it remains the biggest single
contributor to the $1.7 million project. Spec
Machine, of Middleton, Wis., is in charge of
the restoration.
Work on the running gear is all but com-
plete, and the pace of work is increasing.
Spec Machine’s Steve Roudebush estimates a
year to a year-and-a-half before the fitting
up is completed. The end of this restoration,
now in its ninth year, may be in sight, but
there is one factor in the timeline that no
human can predict or control. The finished
locomotive, even without its tender, will
weigh more than 180,000 pounds, and it
with No. 4141 leading from Houston to
College station, No. 4014 and train pulled
into this college town to a hero’s welcome.
No. 4141 remained in the Big Boy train con-
sist the following day, and was set aside at
the overnight stop of Palestine, Texas. That
same evening, a northbound freight picked
up the special unit and whisked it away
(powered up and pulling as part of a four-
unit, 12,000-foot consist) to the diesel shop
in North Little Rock, Ark. There, the unit
will be lightened with the removal of its en-
gine, main generator, traction motors, and
other components that can be reused. The
Bush library will prepare a display location
for the unit this year, and late in 2020, No.
4141 will return to College Station for per-
manent placement on the library grounds.
No. 4141 was built as UP No. 8423 in
2005 and repainted in its now famous
scheme replicating Air Force One later that
same year. It operated a short time in the
special scheme and was placed in storage
during the recession of 2007-2010. It oper-
ated briefly before its Dec. 6, 2018, use on
the point of the presidential funeral train. In
2019, the unit was moved around the UP
system for employees to see before being
returned to storage.
It is believed that this is the first of this
model to be preserved, and it also may go
down in history as one of the lowest mileage
freight diesels to be committed to display.
A story about No. 4141 and about Presi-
dent Bush’s visit to his own locomotive is in
the 2019 edition of Locomotive, the
special issue from Trains. — Jim Wrinn
C&NW No. 1385’s new welded boiler, fresh
from Continental Fabricators Inc. in St. Louis,
rejoins the frame. MCRM: Jeff Lentz
can roll out of the shop on a special low-bed
trailer only when the ground is frozen. Its
departure in the dead of winter might make
a wonderful Christmas card image, and its
return to service at the Mid-Continent Rail-
way Museum will be a wonderful gift. No.
1385 may be well over 100 in age, but it will
be, as Roudebush says, “A zero miles loco-
motive, as good as new, and maybe even
better than that.” — Thomas H. Garver
 TRAIN-WATCHING

Short line: Mission Mountain Railroad

This Watco short line offers some variety in Big Sky Country

Mission Mountain GP39-2
No. 3942 leads a freight north of
Evergreen, Mont., in June 2019.
The railroad painted two loco-
motives for local high schools in
2018. Justin Franz
Roster
No. 1214
Model: SW1200
Lineage: ex-Northern
Pacific
No. 1598
Model: MP15AC
Lineage: ex-Wisconsin
& Southern, originally
Milwaukee Road
FOR MANY RAIL ENTHUSIASTS,
Montana means two things: big
scenery and big main line
action. But Watco’s Mission
Mountain Railroad, located in
the lush Flathead Valley in the
northwest part of the state,
offers a dash of shortline
variety for the visiting railfan.
The Mission Mountain
operates on two segments of
the former Great Northern
Railway: 16 miles between
Columbia Falls and Kalispell
and 23 miles between Stryker
and Eureka. Both line segments
were once part of the GN main
line but became branch lines
after various upgrades and re-
construction through the years.
Watco took over operations
LOCATION: The Mission
Mountain’s home base is
in Columbia Falls, 125 miles
north of Missoula.
TYPICAL DAY: Like any
short line, the Mission
Mountain’s operations can be
sporadic and based entirely on
the needs of its customers.
However, trains usually operate
on the Columbia Falls-to-
Kalispell line five days a week.
The local will usually start its
day in Columbia Falls switching
the nearby Weyerhaeuser mill
before heading south to Ever-
green, where there is another
mill, a grain elevator, scrap
Mission Mountain Railroad
dealer, and drywall warehouse.
Operations on the route
between Eureka and Stryker are
sporadic, but the train usually
runs twice a week out of the
northern terminus. To listen to
the action on either line, tune
into 160.785.
BEST VIEWING: The rail-
road’s power is usually
found near its office on Veteran
Drive in Columbia Falls. If a
train is already out on the line,
your best chance of seeing it
will be along U.S. Highway 2
between LaSalle, right across
from Glacier Park International
Airport, and Evergreen.
BNSF

in 2005 and created the To Marias Pass

No. 3922 Mission Mountain, named for Map area
B.C.
Model: GP39M the mountain chain that looms MONTANA 2
h
fis

Lineage: ex-Eastern Idaho, over nearby Flathead Lake.

a

ite
k

93 Columbia Falls
ke
re

Wh

originally Great Northern The railroad primarily moves

Eu

ry

40
St

finished wood products, dry- LaSalle

MM
MM

Nos. 3942, 3946 wall, grain, scrap metal, and Evergreen

Model: GP39-2
Lineage: ex-Union Pacific,
originally Delaware &
Hudson
MONTANA
magnetite, a mineral consumed N BN
Glacier Rail Park
Kalispell
SF
at coal mines just over the bor- To Spokane, Wash. 2 93
der in British Columbia. The
0 Scale 25 miles
railroad interchanges with BNSF BNSF BNSF Railway
MM Mission Mountain Railroad © 2019 Kalmbach Media Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson
at Columbia Falls and Stryker.

TrainsMag.com 69
TRAIN-WATCHING
Mission Mountain No. 3942, painted for the
Columbia Falls Wildcats, crosses a wood tres-
tle over South Hilltop Road in Columbia Falls,
Mont., on April 5, 2019. Two photos, Justin Franz
WHY VISIT: In a state dominated by
BNSF orange, the Mission Moun-
tain roster offers variety. Two of the road’s
locomotives are painted for local high
schools. GP39-2 No. 3942 is painted blue
and white for the Columbia Falls Wildcats
and No. 3946 is painted orange and black
for the Eureka Lions. The railroad also has
a Milwaukee Road-painted MP15AC.
DON’T MISS: If you visit in early 2020,
you may get a chance to photograph
a train in downtown Kalispell before the
tracks are replaced with a trail. In an effort
to spur development in the downtown
area, the grain elevator and drywall
distributor moved to the new rail-served
Glacier Rail Park industrial area in Ever-
green, just north of Kalispell. The 2 miles
of track from the industrial park into
downtown Kalispell could be ripped up
later this year.
NEARBY: Northwest Montana has
plenty to see and do for visitors.
Nearby Flathead Lake and Glacier National
Park are both popular destinations for
family vacations. For railfans, the big draw
is BNSF’s busy main line over Marias Pass.
— Justin Franz
Two Mission Mountain locomotives rest at
the railroad’s Columbia Falls, Mont., office.
MP15AC No. 1598 still wears Milwaukee Road
orange from the 1980s.
70 FEBRUARY 2020
GETTING THE SHOT
The heart of the ‘Funnel’
A scenic spot on BNSF’s Kootenai River Subdivision is
also one of the easiest to photograph
On Oct. 5, 2015, a BNSF grain train rolls through the curves after crossing Lake Pend Oreille in
East Algoma, Idaho. Sandpoint is just across the bridge from this location. Tom Danneman
IF YOU ARE TRAVELING through the Idaho Panhandle, you are likely to pass near Sandpoint,
a tourist destination and the largest town on what is referred to as the “Funnel.” So called
because of the merging of BNSF Railway’s Kootenai River Subdivision and Montana Rail
Link’s 4th Subdivision. Union Pacific and shortline Pend Oreille Valley also operate nearby.
One of the cool things about train-watching and photographing in the Sandpoint area
is the variety of traffic. Pretty much anything BNSF runs in the northern region will pass
through Sandpoint. That includes intermodal, manifest, grain, coal, and crude oil trains.
Amtrak’s Empire Builder also makes a nightly appearance in each direction.
Another benefit to photographing in the Sandpoint area is easy access. One of the easi-
est overlooks the eastern portion of BNSF’s Algoma siding. To get there, simply take U.S.
Highway 95 south out of Sandpoint to Bottle Bay Road. Once on Bottle Bay, continue east
toward the BNSF’s Kootenai River Sub. Once you’ve crossed the main lines, the road will
veer north. You will continue for about a mile where you’ll see a gravel pull-off. Make sure
not to park or wander off too far to the north or south as that is BNSF property. The best
recognized shot is of westbound trains rolling off of Lake Pend Oreille bridge and through
the curves. Late morning through early afternoon in the shorter days of the year are good
for this particular location, but early mornings are best once the sun is high enough in the
sky to clear the tall pine trees nearby. — Tom Danneman
Sandpoint, Idaho To Eastport,
Missoula, Mont. Fast facts
Sandpoint Lake
Pend
BNSF
» Morning and midday light is best for
Oreille
photos from north-facing overlook
2 IDAHO
BN
» BNSF Railway is the primary interest,
SF
95
but Amtrak comes through overnight
Bottle Bay Road
To Newport, Wash.
» Radio frequencies: BNSF, 161.250
BNSF BNSF Railway N and 160.920
Park
Not all lines shown here
Not all streets shown To
Spokane, » Located 56 miles northeast of
0 Scale 2 miles
Wash. Spokane, Wash.
© 2019 Kalmbach Media Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson
ASK TRAINS

Q When a steam locomotive has a diesel in

the consist, what’s the purpose? — Stuart Kaufman, New York City

Union Pacific’s Veterans’ unit,
No. 1943, assists 4-8-4 No. 844 on
a long Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier
Days excursion at Platteville,
Colo., in July 2018. In this case, the
diesel adds a boost for the long
train. In most cases, the diesel is
there for backup and to provide
braking power. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn
A When a diesel goes along A That East/West balance is the ports awaiting their next
in the consist of a train pow- one source of empty moves, but assignment and need to be
ered by a steam locomotive, it’s there are other potential causes. moved to free up track space or
typically there to provide brak- Shippers tend to favor certain for use elsewhere. There are also
ing power using either air ports for export shipments differences between interna-
brakes and/or dynamic brak- based on ship rotations. They tional (40-foot) and domestic
ing — or to provide backup prefer to use the last port of call (53-foot) container traffic pat-
motive power to an ailing for exports to minimize time terns. Domestic loads tend to
steamer. In certain cases, the consumed on the water. For move eastbound from the Mid-
diesel may also provide electri- instance, a ship may call at New west to the East, while more
cal or head-end power to pas- York first then head for Norfolk, loaded international containers
senger cars in the consist. A Va., before heading overseas. move West because imports
diesel is also an asset in an There are also issues where vol- over the East Coast exceed
area where there are many umes fluctuate with ship sched- exports. — Larry Gross, inter-
tunnels or where a long tunnel ules so railcars can pile up near modal shipping consultant
presents a challenge for crews
when dealing with oil or coal
smoke exhaust. It can provide
traction. When not braking or
powering, the diesel locomo-
tive’s engine is operating, but
the traction motors are disen-
gaged. This mode makes the
diesel much like a freight car
and doesn’t significantly drag
on the train. — Trains staff

Q Regarding empty container

trains heading away from the
East Coast, could it be that the
West Coast receives more loads
and container trains need to be
repositioned? — a T RAINS reader
Empty containers on the East Coast moving away from ports do so for
many reasons. This stack train (with two auto racks on the head end) is
on a Norfolk Southern main line at Linwood, N.C. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn

TrainsMag.com 71
ASK TRAINS 1802
1808 1816
1776-1793 1789 1797

1767 1808-1811

Cast iron plate Cast iron roll Cast iron edge rail Cast iron edge rail Cast iron rail Cast iron rail Malleable iron rail Cast iron rail

1837 1844
1830 1831 1831 1845 1865
1835 1844
1820

Birkensaw rolled Clarence rolled Tee-rail PRR Amboy U or bridge rail Lock rail Evans U-rail Bullhead rail First U.S. T-rail Bessemer rail
iron rail iron rail Div. rail

The evolution of rail, from the earliest to

the most current designs. In general, rail
has held its overall design for almost 150
years since the first U.S. T-rail in the 60 pounds 90 pounds 115 pounds 132 pounds 155 pounds
1840s. Illustration by Rick Johnson Bessemer rail size comparison (pounds per yard)

Q Why and when did rails get their
profile? — Rozier Smith
A The basic shape, or profile, of rails that
we see today with its chunky head, thin web,
and wide base, has its roots in railroading as
early as 1789, according to an illustration
Trains printed in the May 2013 issue.
Rails are the basic requirement for a
railroad and have appeared in many differ-
ent shapes based on how railroads, track
designers, and rail manufacturers fastened
rail to the ground, kept it in gauge, or the
weight of trains passing over railheads.
There’s no right or wrong way to devel-
op a rail, but the most modern research
into metallurgy looks to maximize rail life,
prevent derailments, reduce wear to
wheels, and move trains as efficiently as
possible — and adjusts sizes and shapes
accordingly. To that end, most modern rail
in North America resembles the Bessemer
rail from the 2013 illustration.
In the past 30 years, more railroads and
contractors are shaping railheads with spe-
cial grinding equipment after laying new
rail to literally shape the rail to boost life
and efficiency on a location-by-location ba-
sis taking into account degrees of curvature
and superelevation in the track, speed, use
(freight, passenger, or mixed), among other
variables. Though common in illustrations,
including in Trains, modern rail is rarely
flat-topped and typically looks more like
the round top of a loaf of bread. — Steve
Sweeney, Trains digital editor
rail at Croton-Harmon. Why is this?
— Stuart Kaufman, New York City
A Maximum authorized speeds in Metro-
North’s Hudson and Harlem lines third-rail
territory is 75 mph. The railroad operates
the 31 P32s in electric mode inside Grand
Central Terminal and the Park Avenue tun-
nels, where most train speeds do not ex-
ceed 45 mph. A Metropolitan Transporta-
tion Authority spokesman says that
Metro-North’s dual-mode GE P32AC-DM
locomotives do not have full-time, third-
rail capability and have reduced accelera-
tion capabilities above 50 mph due to the
limit of third-rail voltage.
“The thermal rating of third-rail com-
ponents are duty-cycle limited,” the repre-
sentative tells Trains. Outside of the tun-
nels, the dual-mode units use diesel power
to maintain the 75 mph speeds (and 80
mph beyond the electrified zone) and
frequent station stops that the railroad’s
schedules require. — Scott A. Hartley
Q What sort of freight is included in the
“other” category that we see on the weekly
Association of American Railroads carload
and intermodal traffic report? — Rich Boyer,
Glenshaw, Pa.
A Most of the cars counted in the “other”
category are freight cars headed for repairs,
moving between lessors and their custom-
ers, or into or out of storage.
“Railcars on their own wheels are usual-
ly the largest component of this group, fol-
lowed by farm and construction machinery
and military equipment. Beyond that, it is
just odds and ends that rarely add up to
very many cars,” says AAR Senior Vice
President John T. Gray.
Some of those odds and ends: tobacco
products, printed matter such as greeting
cards and books, leather products, aircraft
and parts, space vehicle parts, and miscel-
laneous manufactured products from toys
and musical instruments to jewelry and
sporting goods. — Bill Stephens

Q Metro-North commuter trains from

Grand Central Terminal to stations along
the Hudson River beyond the electrified
zone are hauled by dual-power diesel loco-
motives that can run off the third rail. As
soon as these northbound trains clear the
Park Avenue tunnel portal at 97th Street, Metro-North GE P32AC-DM No. 208 is operating in diesel mode in third-rail territory as it leads a
the diesel engines are turned on, instead Grand Central Terminal-Poughkeepsie, N.Y., train through the station at Scarborough, N.Y., in June
of waiting to do that at the end of the third 2010. Acceleration and third-rail capabilities determine where electric power is used. Scott A. Hartley

72 FEBRUARY 2020
 Great American
Private Car Adventures
Experience Yesterday’s Fabulous
Passenger Trains Today!

4 Reasons
why you should take the increasingly rare opportunity
to ride a mainline passenger train in private car splendor!

1. Classic Routes
Î New Orleans – Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited, April 20-24
Î LA – Seattle on the Coast Starlight, April 25-28
Î Seattle – LA on the Coast Starlight, April 29-May 2
Î LA - Chicago on the Southwest Chief, May 3-5
Î Chicago – Saratoga Springs - Montreal - Albany
on the Lake Shore Limited and Adirondack, May 6-11

2. Historic Passenger Cars

Î Milwaukee Road Super Dome
Î Sleeper Cimarron River
Î Sleeper Pacific Union

3. Special Hosts
Î Fred Frailey, Twilight of the Great Trains author
Î Bob Johnston, TRAINS Magazine Passenger columnist
Î Kevin P. Keefe, author and lecturer
Î Rob McGonigal, CLASSIC TRAINS Editor

4. Participate in the Filming

of the new CLASSIC TRAINS documentary for PBS,
“Pullman, America’s Hotel on Wheels”

All that’s left to make this great trip even better is you!
Details, pricing, and reservations:
www.SpecialInterestTours.com or 727-330-7738
 RAILROAD ATTRACTION
WISCONSIN Trego
WISCONSIN GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD
N6639 Dilly Lake Road

DIRECTORY
STEP BACK IN TIME to experience the golden age of railroading.
North America’s railroad museums and tourist lines provide afford-
able fun for the whole family! Plan your complete vacation with visits America’s Only Moving
BED & BREAKFAST DINNER TRAIN
to these leading attractions. For information on advertising in this The train departs Tuesday through Saturday evening
at 5:30 pm year round. The train features a choice of
section, call Mike Yuhas toll-free at 888-558-1544, Ext 625. traditional Pullman double bedrooms or deluxe suites
in our 1914 Pullman Private Car. Enjoy complimentary
COLORADO Leadville INDIANA Connersville hors d’oeuvres in the lounge and then move to the
LEADVILLE COLORADO & SOUTHERN diner for a scrumptious 4-course chef prepared meal
WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD
326 East 7th 5th and Grand
from our onboard kitchen. When the train returns to the
May 26 – June 15 1:00pm. June 16 – August 17 10:00am station view the starlit sky while trading railroad tales
& 2:00pm. August 18 – October 7 weekdays 1:00pm,
weekends 10:00am & 2:00pm. Spectacular trip travels into with other passengers around our gas fire on the patio.
the high Rocky Mountains, the railroad follows old C&S Wake up to a hot breakfast buffet in the diner. Also,
roadbed & 1893 restored depot. Family friendly, pets allowed.
For more info visit our web site. Family Pizza Train & Sightseeing Excursion.
www.leadvillerailroad.com 1-866-386-3936 www.spoonertrainride.com 715-635-3200
FLORIDA Fort Myers WEST INDIES St. Kitts
SEMINOLE GULF RAILWAY ST. KITTS SCENIC RAILWAY
1-75 exit 136 at Colonial Blvd.
Travel through time on Indiana’s most scenic railroad.
Murder Mystery Dinner Train 33-mile round trip to Metamora, May through Oct.
Special events Feb through Dec. Vintage diesels:
1951 Lima-Ham 750HP SW, 1954 EMD/Milw. SD10,
1948 Alco S1. Gift Shop.

www.whitewatervalleyrr.org 765-825-2054
PENNSYLVANIA Marysville
BRIDGEVIEW BED & BREAKFAST
Enjoy a comical murder mystery show while our chef 810 S. Main St. Include St. Kitts in your Eastern Caribbean cruise
prepares your five course dinner with a choice of 3 entrees. Lately, train watching itinerary. Narrow gauge St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour circles
The Murder Mystery Dinner Train operates 5 nights a week all around The Bridgeview this unspoiled island paradise, 18 miles by train, 12
year from the Colonial Station (2805 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, B&B has been extremely miles by bus. Twin- level observation cars, fully narrated,
FL 33966). Get-Away packages with hotel stay available with exciting with motive complimentary drinks, a cappella Choir. One of the Great
special pricing available only through Seminole Gulf Railway. power from BNSF, UP, Little Railways of the World.
KCS, CP, CN, CSX and
www.semgulf.com 800-SEM-GULF (736-4853) Ferromex often leading, plus add NS heritage units into the
www.stkittsscenicrailway.com (869) 465-7263
mix and you have some amazing lashup possibilities!  Trains
FLORIDA Plant City entering or exiting Enola Yard pass right by our front porch. 
ROBERT W. WILLAFORD RAILROAD MUSEUM From the spacious decks and sitting room, you can watch
102 N. Palmer St. the Susquehanna River, Blue Mountains and train action on
Rockville Bridge!  Plus, visit Hershey, Gettysburg, and PA Dutch
Country!  Comfortable rooms all with private baths, A/C, Wifi,
and a tasty breakfast are included with your stay.  Take a virtual
tour on our website and check us out on Facebook for daily
updates, pictures and guest comments.
www.bridgeviewbnb.com 717-957-2438
RAILROAD ATTRACTION DIRECTORY

PENNSYLVANIA Strasburg
RAILROAD MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA
300 Gap Road

Located at the “diamond” of the

“A” line and “S” line for CSX Railroad
In the Historic 1909 Union Station Depot. Visit our fully
restored 1963 Seaboard Caboose and 1942 Whitcomb
switch engine. Museum is open Mon thru Wed from 12:00
to 4:00 and Thurs thru Sat from 10:00 to 4:00. Platform
is open 24 hours a day, every day for great train viewing.
CSX freight, Tropicana Juice Train, Ethanol, TECO Coal,
Amtrak are daily arrivals
www.willafordrailroadmuseum.com 813-719-6989
ILLINOIS Union
ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM
7000 Olson Road
Home of Nebraska Zephyr. Steam, diesel trains, electric
cars. Send $5.00 for 32 page Guide Book; or #10 SASE
for color brochure with schedule & discount coupon.
Trains operate Sat: May-Oct, Sun: Apr-Oct, Daily:
Memorial Day-Labor Day. Museum open Apr-Oct. Lodging:
847-695-7540 and 815-363-6177.
www.irm.org 815-923-4000
Real Trains. Real History. Real Excitement. Experience an
amazing, world-class collection of 100 historic American
locomotives and railroad cars in our 100,000 square-foot,
climate-controlled exhibit hall. Climb aboard a caboose, take
the throttle in an authentic locomotive cab, inspect a 62-ton
engine from underneath and go hands-on in the delightful
railway education center. Family friendly, open year-round.
Special events, restoration shop, exhibits, tours and virtual tours,
orientation video, library and archives and museum store.
www.rrmuseumpa.org 717-687-8628
TEXAS Galveston
GALVESTON RAILROAD MUSEUM
Home of the Santa Fe Warbonnets
Shop for books, DVDs,
2602 Santa Fe Place Galveston, TX 77550
Former Headquarters Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe Depot
One of the Largest Railroad Museums in Southwest.
downloads, gear and
Approx. 5 acres of 50 vintage rail cars, locomotives,
freight, passenger. Indoor & Outdoor displays. One of the largest China
& Silverware collection. O & H/O model Layouts. Free Parking with
other products related
Admission. Open seven days a week.
www.galvestonrrmuseum.com 409-765-5700 to your favorite hobby.
TEXAS Rosenberg
ROSENBERG RAILROAD MUSEUM
1921 Avenue F, Rosenberg, TX  77471
The Rosenberg Railroad Museum is dedicated to the pres-
Visit
ervation and education of railroading history in Fort Bend
County.  Exhibits include 1970’s MOPAC caboose, 1903
KalmbachHobbyStore.com
Tower 17, 1879 passenger car, Garden railroad, HO layouts
and more! RRM is open Wed - Sat, 10 - 5 and Sundays 1 - 5.
www.rosenbergRRmuseum.org 281-633-2846 P27901

74 FEBRUARY 2020
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only set in bold face. If possible, ads should be sent
typewritten and categorized to ensure accuracy.
CLOSING DATES: Jan 2020 closes Oct. 23, Feb closes
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LODGING
GO BEYOND MODEL TRAINS Our B&B has antique
Pullman train cars as your guest suite. All cars with
modern amenities. Central Minnesota, 800-328-6315,
www.whistlestopbedandbreakfast.com
INN ON THE RIVER: Book your stay for a relaxing get-
away overlooking the beautiful Mississippi! Guests
are minutes from quaint restaurants, stores and many
outdoor opportunities. Each room has a private balco-
ny for stunning views of the Mississippi River and the
Burlington Northern-Santa fe Rail Line. Reservations:
608-534-7784 www.innontheriverwi.com or email:
innontheriverwi@gmail.com
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
CAN DAN AND HIS CLUB SAVE Their favorite engine from
the scrap yard? Read the Deltic Disaster and Other Tales,
available at Amazon.
☛
In the March issue
Mid-America’s
busy crossroads
KANSAS CITY has long been an important
railroad junction for eastern and western
roads, and that’s still true today. Join Roy
Inman for a look at this busy crossroads
in the middle of the nation. We’ll also
review BURLINGTON NORTHERN’S many
motive-power innovations on its 50th an-
niversary. Join us in the depths of BNSF’S
Cascade Tunnel, which requires unique
operating practices. We’ll also look into
AMTRAK’S growth opportunities. All that
and much more are coming your way!
On sale Feb. 11, 2020
COLLECTIBLES
TOP DOLLAR PAID for steam/diesel or electric builder
plates. mr_slides@hotmail.com Telephone: 216-321-8446
PHOTOS, PRINTS AND
SLIDES
TOP DOLLAR PAID: for 35mm slide collections especially
pre-1980. Mr. Slides, mr_slides@hotmail.com Telephone:
216-321-8446
MISCELLANEOUS
1971 MORRISON INTERNATIONAL ALL STEEL CABOOSE:
Restored 2008. Located in Texas, $35k. Formerly Burlington
Northern (BN10593) Repainted in Santa Fe livery.
936-851-0147
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE BUILDERS PLATES, Railroadianna,
Pennsy calendars, books, misc. Call 440-449-5624 for
email list.
WANTED
ARE YOU GETTING THE BEST PRICE FOR YOUR TRAIN
COLLECTION? Our list of discriminating buyers grows each
day. They want bigger and better train collections to choose
from! We specialize in O Gauge trains- Lionel, MTH, K-Line,
Williams, Weaver, 3rd Rail, etc. as well as better trains in all
scales. We also purchase store inventories. Plus, we can
auction your trains with rates starting as low as 15%. We
travel extensively all over the US. Give us a call today! Send
us your list or contact us for more information at www.trainz.
com/sell Trainz, 2740 Faith Industrial Dr., Buford, GA 30518,
866-285-5840, Scott@trainz.com Fax: 866-935-9504
PRR LW PULLMAN CAR Cast-iron door nameplates, 1938-
1950. J.H. STEVENSON, Rocky River, OH 440-333-1092
jhstevenson8445@gmail.com
RAIL SHOWS AND EVENTS
JANUARY 18-19, 2020: Dallas Area Train Show. Plano
Center, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX. Saturday
10:00am-5:00pm; Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm. Adults $10.00,
12 and under free w/adult. All scales. Information: Chris
Atkins, chris@railroadmodeler.com 469-438-0741. Visit
www.dfwtrainsshow.com
ADVERTISERS
The Advertiser Index is provided as a service to TRAINS magazine readers. The magazine is not
responsible for omissions or for typographical errors in names or page numbers.
Big Boy DVD from Trains ...................... 13
Bridgeview Bed & Breakfast ................. 74
Colorado Tour ..................................... 14
Dougherty, Peter ...................................9
Four Ways West .....................................7
Galveston Railroad Museum ................. 74
George Swimmer ...................................9
Illinois Railway Museum ........................ 74
Leadville Colorado & Southern
Railroad Company ............................ 74
Monte Vista Publishing ...........................7
Morning Sun Books, Inc. ........................8
Nevada Northern Photo Charter ........... 12
Photodecor.net ......................................9
Plasser American Corporation ................2
Pullman Experiences Tour .................... 73
FEBRUARY 8, 2020: 42nd Jacksonville Rail Fair. Prime
Osborn Convention Center, 1000 Water Street, Jacksonville,
FL 32204. 9am-5pm. Early admission available Friday PM
(7th). Over 350 tables of model trains and railroad arti-
facts for sale. Large operating layouts. Miller, 3106 N.
Rochester St., Arlington, VA 22213. 703-536-2954. Email:
rrshows@aol.com or www.gserr.com
FEBRUARY 28-29, 2020: Asheville Train Show. Western
North Carolina Agricultural Center. Friday 12:00pm-7:00pm
and Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm. Admission $6.00, under 10
free. All scales, all gauges, collectibles, artifacts. Operating
layouts, Thomas The Tank Engine, hundreds of vendor
tables. More: www.Asheville-Trainshow.com
MARCH 7-8, 2020: Rocky Mountain Train Show. Denver
Merchandise Mart, 451 East 58th Avenue, Denver, 80216.
Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm. 2-1/2
acres of model trains-all scales, 30 layouts, 700 sales tables,
clinics and more. Admission $10.00 under 12 Free, Free-
Parking. 303-364-0274 www.RockyMountainTrainShow.com
information@RockyMountainTrainShow.com
AUCTIONS
AMERICA’S PREMIER RAILROAD AUCTIONS: Consign
your quality items. One piece to an entire collection. Large
8-1/2 X 11” auction catalogs contain full descriptions and
hundreds of photographs. Auctions are jointly sponsored
by the Depot Attic and Golden Spike Enterprises. The
combined knowledge and experience of America’s largest
railroadiana firms will earn you “top dollar”. Mail and fax bids
are accepted. Information: Railroad Auction, PO Box 985,
Land O Lakes, FL 34639. Phone: 813-949-7197.
REAL ESTATE
ARIZONA MOUNTAIN ACREAGE: Adjacent BNSF
Transcon. Remote, 4 seasons, spectacular vistas railway/
mountains, small cabin. Dabneytavern478@gmail.com
For display advertising
information, please call
262-798-6625
Railcom .................................................9
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania ......... 74
railroadbooks.biz ...................................9
Ride This Train! ....................................66
Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum ... 74
Ron’s Books ..........................................8
Rosenberg Railroad Museum ................ 74
Seminole Gulf Railway .......................... 74
Society of International Railway
Travelers ......................................... 76
St. Kitt’s Scenic Railway Ltd ................. 74
Texas State Railroad Photo Charter ...... 10
Western-Cullen-Hayes Inc. ......................9
Wheel Rail Seminars ............................ 11
Whitewater Valley Railroad ............... 9, 74
Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad ....... 74
TrainsMag.com 75