ekt8750 wrote:ExCon90 wrote:Wilmington has no yard in use by SEPTA, no doubt because one can easily imagine the uproar at any proposal for Pennsylvania to pay for a yard in Delaware -- all trains deadhead back to Phila. at night and from Phila. in the morning. I think that at one time there was a similar issue between NJ and PA about providing a yard for NJT in Morrisville, but it was resolved somehow.
Delaware pays SEPTA to operate train service down there and also funds any infrastructure that is used to provide that service (which is why they paid for a few of the SLVs). If they saw fit to build a layup yard somewhere in Delaware or rent some space in Amtrak's Wilmington Shop or Norfolk Southern's Newark Yard, they'd be ones footing the bill.
EC90, EKT and Everyone - Getting back to topic:
Back in the early 1980s when Conrail was still running SEPTA commuter trains under contract
they used West Yard which is SW of Wilmington to store equipment. When SEPTA took direct
control beginning in 1983 Delaware service had ended and all trains terminated at Marcus Hook.
SEPTA never used itself or had a yard facility on the Wilmington-Newark Line in Delaware.
If Amtrak was receptive along with a DTC subsidy - they could have used West Yard to store
some trains as a Delaware-based facility. Amtrak uses West Yard today for MOW equipment.
The advantage here is that West Yard is constructed and has catenary for MU cars in place.
MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS