brate the 75th anniversary of A4 Mallard’s world steam speed record of 126 m.p.h. set on July 3, 1938. The A4 Pacifics were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley. The two North American locomotives are
slated to return this spring, but earlier this year an anonymous buyer sent the National Railroad Museum a $1 million check with an offer to purchase the Eisenhower and keep it in England for operation. The museum did not accept, saying that the locomotive, which has been appraised at $5 million, is not for sale. No. 60008 arrived in Green Bay in 1964 after its retirement from British Rail.
SEPTA
BILEVELS AND NEW MOTORS: Now that Philadelphia’s SEPTA transit system has a reliable source of funding (see January 2014 RAILNEWS), it is planning to overcome years of deferred investment and maintenance. In ad- dition to repairing and replacing infrastruc- ture such as bridges, stations, catenary, and electrical substations, the agency plans to re- place its fleet of eight AEM-7 and ALP-44 electric locomotives with a dozen new motors and wants to acquire a fleet of Silverliner VI emu’s to replace the 232 Silverliner IV’s. SEPTA is also exploring the possibility of ac- quiring about three dozen bilevel coaches so it can increase capacity without lengthening trains and platforms. NJ Transit’s Bom- bardier multilevel cars accommodate about 130 passengers with 2-2 seating and MBTA’s Kawasaki bilevels seat between 175-180 with 3-2 seating; SEPTA’s new single-level Sil- verliner V emu’s seat 110. The agency is con- ducting a survey to see where overhead clearances would need to be increased to ac- commodate bilevel equipment.
SunRail BNSF is Plagued by Avalanches and Landslides
AVALANCHES HAVE CLOSED BNSF RAILWAY’S HI LINE SUB twice so far this year. On the night of March 2 an avalanche between Java East and Marias near Essex, Mont., blocked both tracks for more than 12 hours. Less than a week later another snow slide closed the line. Amtrak bused Empire Builder passengers between Whitefish and Shelby, turning the consists at those points until conditions improved. This avalanche (above) did not affect the railroad but came close to Goat Lick Trestle. Meanwhile along Puget Sound in Washington, mudslides continued to disrupt BNSF, Amtrak, and Sound Transit operations north of Seattle. Thirteen mudslides have struck the area so far this winter.
Louis, Ill. MMID GP38-3 No. 300 will be renum- bered into the G&W system as No. 2060, but it will be repainted into MMID blue and orange and remain on home rails. While it had origi- nally been reported that the former CITX SD40-3s would arrive painted in G&W colors, the four units for the MMID will be painted at the former MMID facility. Another two SD40- 3s are slated to go to G&W’s Meridian & Big- bee and another has been shipped to the Bay Line. The BL unit was painted by Metro East.
26 APRIL 2014 •
RAILFAN.COM National Railroad Museum
TURNS DOWN A4 PURCHASE OFFER: Last year the National Railroad Museum of Green Bay, Wis., and Exporail in Montréal, Québec, sent their British A4 Pacifics No. 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower and No. 4489 Do- minion of Canada to England for the Great Gathering of the six remaining A4s at the Na- tional Railway Museum of York, England. The locomotives were exhibited together to cele-
INTRODUCTORY FREE RIDES: The ini- tial phase of the Orlando, Fla., area SunRail commuter system will debut on May 1, 2014, and passengers will be able to ride at no charge until May 16. Fares will be collected beginning on Monday, May 19. Trains will serve 17 stations along 31 miles of former Seaboard Coast Line from DeBary to Sand Lake Road in Orlando. Phase 2 of the project will extend the system 30 miles, from Sand Lake Road to Poinciana and north to DeLand. Service will be offered on weekdays only with half-hourly departures southbound from De- Land between 5:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and be- tween 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Northbounds run from Sand Lake Road half hourly be- tween 6:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. Limited mid- day service is also offered. Visit
www.sun-
rail.com for schedules and fare information.
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
SOUTHERN 4501 STEAMS: On March 6, 2014 the Tennessee Valley Railroad Muse- um’s Southern Railway Mikado No. 4501 was steamed up and passed its Federal Railroad Administration inspection. Now, final assem- bly of the 1911 Baldwin awaits. This will in- volve reassembling the pistons and valves, driving and connecting rods, valve gear, boil-
JUSTIN FRANZ
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