America’s Greatest
Circus Train
By Bruce C. Nelson
A total of 335 colorful photos and 14 chapters tracing the development, operation and history of the Great Circus Train between Baraboo, Wis.
and Chicago and Milwaukee. Hardbound, 208 pages, 10 x 10", includes Circus World Museum railway car and loco roster. $54.95, $6.50 shipping in USA.
Ill. res. add 8.75% sales tax.
Heimburger House Publishing Company
weight HSR trains in our part of the world more at risk than the fast trains overseas. Add to that reports that mandated heavy equipment was deemed to have saved lives on a recent accident on a recent Metro- North line in Connecticut. We’ll continue to monitor the seemingly endless debate in the days ahead.
Automation
Brass & Non-Brass
Models
New,Estate and Consignment Brass Models and high quality non-brass models on line with photos and and easy to use search feature!
Railroad Prints
Over 600 RR prints,all eras, styles,sizes and prices... largest selection in the
nation...from 50 year old collectors items to recent releases! Over 100 vintage RR ad
reproductions.New easy to use search feature!
PO Box 934 • Montgomery, TX• 77356-0934 281-814-0425
The Railroad that Came Out at Night
Author and photographer Frank Kyper recounts stories of railroading around the Boston area between 1957 and 1977. From Union Freight, to Boston & Maine, to South Station, the great Chelsea fire, as well as various short lines and other historic tidbits. You’ll relive railroading in The Hub!
RAILROADING SOFTCOVER
$12.95 PLUS S&H - ITEM #00065 Carstens PUBLICATIONS, INC.
CARSTENSBOOKSTORE.COM (888) 526-5365
18 SEPTEMBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM BOSTON
www.tracksideprints.com e-mail:
jhink844@gmail.com
Trackside PRINTS & HOBBIES
An academic in the Department of Mechan- ical Engineering raises the question as to whether automation could have prevented the Canadian and Spanish derailments, plus a recent French rail disaster. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Professor E.E.Lewis of Northwestern University writes, “The de- signers of planes, trains and even automo- biles automate some functions once per- formed by those who operate those conveyances, and from a safety standpoint, there is much to gained by it... this raises the question of why controls were not designed to override the driver’s inexplicable conduct [of the Spanish train] and automatically slow the train before approaching curves.” “However,” the professor acknowledges, “automation also has its drawbacks” such as becoming “too accustomed” to operating on autopilot so as to risk losing one’s expertise for operating manually when it is required.
Adequate Regs Pre-Lac-Megantic? Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) has introduced a bill mandating that the crash-preventing positive train control (PTC) be moved back by five years to December 31, 2020. The South Dakotan has picked up some biparti- san support for his legislation, including co-
sponsors Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Claire Mc- Caskill (D-Mo.), and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). The original deadline of December 2015
was an outgrowth of the California crash in the fall of 2008 involving a commuter opera- tion and a freight train; 25 lives were lost and many more were injured in that acci- dent. There has been some heated argument over whether to extend the original 2015 deadline (see last month’s column). It has al- so been noted that PTC, important though it may be, would have made no difference in the Lac-Megantic case. And just as we go to press comes word that regulators and legis- lators are asking for more specifics in the PTC process. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is now requiring “all carriers” to submit sep- arately their expenses for PTC implementa- tion so the board and the public can be ap- prised as to he expenses each railroad is contributing to the project. Meanwhile, up on the Hill, several con- gressional and senate committees are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an update on its role in the PTC ef- fort. The committee chieftains are concerned that federal “environmental and historic re- view processes” for installing “as many as 22,000 rail-side antennas [the FCC’s over- sight responsibility]” are moving along. “We urge the FCC to move expeditiously to put a process in place to facilitate the timely deployment of PTC,” the lawmakers stated. They added a concern that pending a speed- up of the process, the installation by the rail- roads “have been essentially put on hold.” Wes Vernon is a Washington-Based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.
Go
ahead...Give us your BEST SHOT! ERIC WILLIAMS
Take a shot at getting your photo on the center spread of the December 2013 issue of RAILFAN & RAILROAD by entering our 2013 “Center Spread Contest.” Send us up to ten of your best color transparencies or digital images which will capture the power and thrill of trains in action. To be considered, images must fit a horizontal of our center spread. See the September 2013 MARKERS column for details. Closing deadline is October 15, 2013. The First Place winner will appear in the December center spread and the Second Place photo and several Runners-Up will be featured on following pages. Also, The first Place winner will receive a cash prize of $200; Cash Prizes of $100 for Second Place and $50 each for the Runners-Up.
All slides will be returned after winners are published; CD’s will be returned only upon request. Send your entries to: CENTER SPREAD CONTEST
RAILFAN & RAILROAD 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860
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