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ww.RonRailPictures.com PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES


VOLUME TWO SUBWAY AND SURFACE LINES


1 Hour 7 Minutes


Philadelphia SEPTA City Transit: Juniper St to 40th St subway lines through Woodland and Chester Ave surface lines and more. 1970’s PCC Cars through 1980’s Kawasaki. Experimental color schemes and one of a kinds. Includes Routes 10 - 11 - 13 - 34 - 36. ONLY $29.95


PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES Two Discs Set 2 Hrs 23 Min


The Colorfull Years - 1970’s and 1980’s


PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES


VOLUME 1 SURFACE LINES


VOLUME ONE SURFACE LINES


Two Discs Set 2 Hours 23 Minutes


Includes Routes 6 - 15 - 23 53 - 56 - 60


From the lens of Gary Grahl. See Philadelphia PCC’s during the color- ful 1970’ and 1980’s on Routes 6, 15, 23, 53, 56, and 60. ONLY $29.95


NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours


Explore the history of light rail in New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More! ONLY $29.95


NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES


Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours


Explore the history of light rail in New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More!


Add $4.00 S&H per order (PA add 6% tax) See us on the web at www.ronrailpictures.com or mail check or M/O to RonRail Pictures, DeptT


5552 Republic Way, Bethlehem, PA 18017 C


Connecticut Company’s Streetcars


Relive the days of Connecticut Company's big yellow cars... Profusely illustrated, this book covers every division of the Connecticut Company, the trolley empire controlled by the New Haven Railroad. This book features nearly every type of trolley car operated across the Nutmeg State until shutdown in 1948.


CONNECTICUT


STREETCARS SOFTCOVER


$21.95 PLUS S&H - ITEM #C00082 Carstens PUBLICATIONS, INC.


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48 APRIL 2014 • RAILFAN.COM


RonRail w Pictures


Transit Improvements For Tampa Bay?


WHEN I THOUGHT OF BIG CITIES in Florida in the past, I rarely considered the Tampa Bay area until the Tampa Bay Rays began play- ing great baseball. Now my good friend Harry Ross sends news about what may happen in that area within the next few years. Animat- ed by the concern that the east coast cities on the Florida peninsula will gain advantage in new economic development, Tampa Bay lead- ers are beginning to consider transportation improvements for both freight and passenger service. For the passenger side, improve- ments include greatly upgraded bus service and a startup of rail transit. Mention of rail transit triggers an instant reaction from Tea Party Republicans to kill any and all rail projects. Recent referenda have been defeated; another opportunity will come in a November 2014 vote. Im- proved bus service will be part of the pack- age, including Bus Rapid Transit. On the rail side is a proposal for a line in downtown Tampa to operate north and west to Clear- water. The vote in November is for or against increasing the sales tax by one per cent to pay for these improvements. There is almost always controversy about


costly projects of any sort, which is not helped by the tendency to look only at the cost side and not fully recognizing the bene- fits. We shall see what happens in Novem- ber. Maybe the Rays will have won the World Series by then. Again, Thanks to Harry Ross for the information.


The Locust Summit Electric Locomotive My Aunt Helen worked in the office of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Compa- ny for many years. In the mid 1940s the company held an outing for employees to visit the company’s new Locust Summit breaker. She took many pictures on the trip and I was pleased to see evidence of electric railroading in the photos. Now rescued for presentation is a Bald-


win-Westinghouse steeple cab electric loco- motive that was used to switch the coal yards and the breaker at Locust Summit. The locomotive was one of three built in 1929. The locomotive to be preserved is a very rare three-axle trolley-battery-electric. Discovered after 40 years in the woods, the locomotive will be stored in Frackville, Penn., for preservation. Thanks to Ed Ittel for the news.


Salt Lake City’s Sugar House Streetcar In early December 2012, the Utah Transit Authority opened its new Sugar House Streetcar for revenue service. The new line is designed to fit nicely into a quiet neigh- borhood, and the streetcars travel slowly in order to be good neighbors. The Sugar House line connects with the higher speed TRAX service at the Central Pointe Station. The line extends two miles east with seven stops. The project cost was $37 million. The cars used are single units and they


will not be coupled into multi-car trains on the Sugar House Line. The new service uti- lizes an old railroad right-of-way that has


been part of the community for many years. The setting is like a linear park with walk- ing and biking trails parallel to the tracks. The line may be extended in the future. Many thanks to Nate Goodman for the good news.


Ottawa’s Confederation Line Ottawa, Ontario, is the capital city of Canada; it has enjoyed excellent bus service for many years and is about to enjoy light rail service in the downtown area. The eight-mile Con- federation Line will feature a mile and a half long tunnel through the heart of the city. Ottawa has been served for many years


by an excellent busway system, in which the flow of the buses use surface streets through downtown, which does not help relieve traf- fic congestion. A visit to Ottawa is a very pleasant occasion; I recommend a visit in May when millions of tulips are in bloom. Af- ter the Nazis invaded the Netherlands dur- ing the Second World War, Queen Wilhelmi- na went into exile in Ottawa. As a thank you to Ottawa, the Netherlands has sent a gift of tulip bulbs each year. This new light rail line will offer service between Tunny’s Pasture and Blair Station. There will be 13 stations along the line. The Riders Transit Group consortium has been selected to design, build, finance, and main- tain the line. Alstom has contracted to deliv- er 34 light rail vehicles of a new high-capac- ity design. The cars are to be especially designed to operate in the bitter cold of Ot- tawa winters. Many thanks to Wilson MacE- wan and Nat Baer for the news.


NICTD South Shore Line Improvements The Northern Indiana Commuter Trans- portation District has been involved in re- building the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad ever since NICTD was creat- ed in 1977. There is still much to do to bring the railroad to a state of good repair and to modernize the operation to help make the railroad operate more safely and quickly. In the near future there will be a focus on completing the work on modernizing the catenary on the east part of the railroad and completing insulation of high-level plat- forms at Dune Park. Other station rehabili- tation will be carried out as needed. A major improvement that now appears


to have local support in Michigan City is a boulevard-like path for the railroad along 10th and 11th Streets. The railroad will be double tracked through town in an effort to speed up travel and avoid delays on a single track railroad. The improvement will be tied


PLEASE SEND light rail, tran- sit and commuter rail news items and correspondence di- rectly to Prof. George M. Smerk, P.O. Box 486, Bloomington, IN 47402.


NEW!


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