MARK MAUTNER Two Classics From the ‘50s
TO COMMEMORATE HIS FAVORITE ILLINOIS TERMINAL, on November 1, 2011, short line entrepreneur and former ITS engineer Terry Respondek renamed his contract switching service in the Litch- field, Ill., industrial park as the Illini Terminal Railroad System.
Decked out in the Illinois Terminal “football” paint scheme by members of the Illinois Terminal Historical Society, ITRS GP10 No. 1604 (former Peabody Coal 604, neé Rock Island 1328) posed with Respondek’s1957 Chevy street rod after the dedication ceremony.
Amtrak
E-TICKET TRIED ON DOWNEASTERS: Amtrak has implemented electronic ticketing on its Downeaster route between Boston, Mass., and Portland, Maine. The eTicketing program allows passengers to print tickets at home or at work and to present the document aboard the train, eliminating the need to ob- tain paper tickets by mail or at the station prior to boarding. In lieu of printing tickets, passengers may also open their eTicket on a cell phone and allow the train crew to scan the barcode. The railroad expects to expand eTick- eting to the entire system in 2012.
STEVE GLISHCHINSKI Minnesota Commercial Originates Sand Train
MINNESOTA COMMERCIAL IS RUNNING A WEEKLY UNIT SAND TRAINfrom their yard in St. Paul, Minn., to BNSF’s Dayton’s Bluff Yard, also in St. Paul. The train runs over BNSF from the MNNR connection at St. Anthony interlocking to Dayton’s Bluff and often has over 100 cars. The sand is trucked to the MNNR yard, where it’s loaded for a trip to Texas. MNNR has reactivated SF30Cs 50 and 56, Caterpillar-powered M636 No. 71 (ex-CP 4711), and C30-7s 55 and 56.
28 JANUARY 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
GATEWAY FUNDING PROMISED: In early November the Senate approved a $15 million grant to begin engineering and design work for Amtrak’s Gateway Tunnel project, which will improve access to New York’s Penn Station from the south and west for regional, commuter, and long-distance passenger services. The project's major features include new tunnels under the Hudson River and the addition of seven tracks and four platforms south of Penn Station for NJ Transit, which will open up slots for moreAm- trak trains. However, what the Senate provides, the House could well take away.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68