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North County Transit District
SPRINTER SHUTS DOWN, BUSES RULE: The North County Transit District suspended its Sprinter light rail service between Ocean- side and Escondido, Calif., on March 9, replac- ing the trains with express buses until further notice. The system’s Siemens Desiro diesel multiple unit cars were taken out of service due to excessively worn brake rotors, which were discovered during a routine inspection. During testing before service began in 2009, the brake pads were found to emit a high- pitched squeal, prompting their replacement with smaller pads that did not cover the entire rotor. After five years of service it was found that the pads were causing the rotors to wear unevenly and faster than expected, and so the cars were taken out of service. While no issues have been discovered with the brakes’ per- formance, the wear problem must be rectified before the cars can return to service. In March NCTD ordered a supply of split-disc rotors from Faiveley Transport , the original equip- ment manufacturer of the brakes. The new parts were expected to arrive in April.
Norfolk Southern
STARTS NEW INTERMODAL YARD: In March, construction started on the new South Carolina Inland Port, an intermodal yard at Greer, S.C., on Norfolk Southern’s Piedmont Division south of Greenville and Spartanburg. The facility will be jointly operated by NS and the South Carolina State Ports Authority to handle containers moved inland by rail from the Port of Charleston, in addition to other traffic, in an effort to reduce truck traffic on
First ECO’s Are Built For South America
PROGRESS RAIL SERVICES recently completed GP31ECO locomotives Nos. 70 and 71 for Southern Peru Copper at its Tacoma, Wash., facility. The former GP40s swapped their 3000- h.p. 16-645 engines for equally powerful 12-710 engines and enlarged, flared radiators.
Interstate 26. The 30-acre yard will have four tracks for unloading with a capacity of 522 containers, and is expected to open next Sep- tember. While construction has started, a problem arose when Nordic Cold Storage, which operates a facility on three acres of the property, said it will not vacate. SCSPA may use eminent domain to acquire the property. Upon completion, NS plans to provide overnight doublestack service between Charleston and Greer, about 220 miles.
Pan Am Railway
SIX-AXLES BUMPED OFF ’KEAG LINE: Pan Am Railway’s use of six-motor power on the Freight Main between Waterville and
Mattawamkeag, Maine, (February 2013 RAIL- NEWS) didn’t last long. After returning to the line in late 2012, the big units were banned once again after a 96-car loaded unit oil train derailed 15 cars near Mattawamkeag on March 8. Until major track upgrades are com- pleted on the Northern Maine Junction-Mat- tawamkeag section this season, the line east of Waterville will be four-motor territory and unit trains will be limited to 70 cars.
Steam Into History
TRACKWORK IS UNDER WAY: At press time, Steam Into History expected to begin tie replacement and ballast work on ten miles of track between New Freedom and Hanover Junction, Penn., which will be traversed by its Civil War-era steam excursions beginning this summer. While that is going on, Kloke Loco- motive Works continues to make progress on replica Northern Central Railroad 4-4-0 No. 17 York at its shop in Elgin, Ill. At press time the boiler and cab were mounted on the run- ning gear and fancy paintwork on the tender, domes, and headlight were about complete.
Virginia Railway Express The Changing of the Guard on Canadian Pacific
THE FIRST OF CANADIAN PACIFIC’S NEW GP20C-ECO road switchers have been as- signed to St. Paul, Minn., where they’re being used on any assignment that previously might have drawn a GP38-2. While the ex-Soo Line SD60s and SD60M’s are being rebuilt and repainted at Canadian Allied Diesel in Montréal and renumbered into the CPR 6200 series, in the Midwest it’s still possible to catch solid consists of Soo power. On February 20, 2013, CPR’s St. Paul, Minn., to LaCrosse Wis., locals met at Lakeview siding south of Lake City, Minn. In the hole is southbound train H-20 with new GP20C-ECO’s 2202 and 2208 bracketing ex-Soo GP38-2 No. 4450, as north- bound H-19 passes on the main behind a trio of Soo GP38-2s, Nos. 4438, 4417, and 4425.
SPOTSYLVANIA STATION TO BE BUILT: VRE says that by the end of the year it expects to open a new station south of Fredericksburg, located at the Crossroads Business Park off the U.S. Route 17 bypass in Spotsylvania, just north of the VRE Crossroads layover yard. The project will include about 2.5 miles of third main track, which will run northward on the east side of the CSX right of way to Hamil- ton Crossing, along with a longer Crossroads yard lead. Construction is expected to begin in June and, while the third track may not be finished until next January, VRE intends to open the station in December. VRE also plans to extend of the Manassas Line 11 miles west of Manassas to Gainesville and Haymarket on the NS “B Line”. This proj- ect is in the preliminary design stage and the environmental impact study will soon be under way. This project will involve the addi- tion of passing tracks or double-tracking the NS route and the construction of up to three park and ride stations.
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ROBERT JORDAN
DAN SIMMERING
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