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It was on another summer Sunday evening, some 52 years ago, that Penn Central, at the time America's largest railroad, filed for receivership. The same scenario is playing out tonight for YRC, parent company of Yellow Freight System -- until recently, one of the nation's most successful, and admired...

Those of us who frequented this site at the time will likely recall the special move that carried President-Elect Obama from New York to his inauguration in 2009; the hoopla was accompanied by a Master Plan of expansion that would have vastly increased the amount of Amtrak service -- some of it on l...

Re: What was Altoona Rose yard under 8th Street Bridge?

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:52 pm ¦  Forum: Pennsylvania Railfan ¦  Topic: What was Altoona Rose yard under 8th Street Bridge? ¦  Replies: 2 ¦  Views: 868

At one time (c.1915) Altoona was home to no less than about fifteen continuously-manned interlocking plants. These included (on the main line, and in sequence) BELL, ANTIS, FURNACE, ALTO, and SLOPE. Even more were located on what were referenced in the Employees Timetables as the Antis-Alto Secondar...

Re: What was Altoona Rose yard under 8th Street Bridge?

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:34 pm ¦  Forum: Pennsylvania Railfan ¦  Topic: What was Altoona Rose yard under 8th Street Bridge? ¦  Replies: 2 ¦  Views: 868

At one time (c.1915) Altoona was home to no less than about fifteen continuously-manned interlocking plants. These included (on the main line, and in sequence) GRAY, BELL ANTIS, FURNACE, ALTO. and SLOPE. Even more were located on what were referenced in the Employees Timetables as the Antis-Alto Sec...

The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill was one of any number of proposals for "new" railroads* centered upon the as-yet-unbuilt Poughkeepsie Bridge in the last two decades of the Nineteenth Century. Everyone knew the potential for huge volumes of traffic, primarily anthracite coal from Penn...

A Necessary Task

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:27 pm ¦  Forum: Books, Magazines, Music, TV, and Movies, and other Media ¦  Topic: A Necessary Task ¦  Replies: 1 ¦  Views: 486

I've enjoyed the participation here at railroad.net for over twenty years, and while I'm not as active as was once the case, I've often cited, and posted links to the discussions here when a subject of more general interest turns up. But time keeps moving on, and recent hospitalization and surgery h...

Re: A Rail Equivalent of Interstate 80

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:27 am ¦  Forum: General Discussion: Fallen Flags, Trolleys, and Interurbans ¦  Topic: A Rail Equivalent of Interstate 80 ¦  Replies: 16 ¦  Views: 15497

I recently invested a few bucks in an online Trains subscription, which includes access to a complete archive going back to the magazine's founding in 1940. The June, 1943 issue features an article on a stillborn new trunk line christened the New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago. and apparently the brai...

It's Not Always Our Call

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Tue Dec 14, 2021 8:08 pm ¦  Forum: General Discussion - Passenger Rail: High Speed and Heavy and Light Rail Systems ¦  Topic: Would You Give Up Your Auto? ¦  Replies: 75 ¦  Views: 8273

This choice isn't always left up to us; poor co-ordination, aggravated by a worsening scoliosis (spinal curvature) issue forced me to stop driving three years ago. To get around, I now rely on what is termed "Senior Paratransit" -- a pool of vans and small buses operated by a non-profit in...

Re: Empire Builder on the Ground in MT

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Sun Sep 26, 2021 11:11 am ¦  Forum: Amtrak ¦  Topic: All Things Empire Builder ¦  Replies: 854 ¦  Views: 174541

If earlier reports are correct, the train hit a farm tractor, possibly with a weed sprayer or other machinery mounted drectly on the tractor, rather than towed; that sitation might have affected the operator's visibility (I grew up on a dariy farm, FWIW) Tractors are also designed with as low a cent...

Re: The Term "Fallen Flags" is Catching On

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Tue Dec 31, 2019 1:11 pm ¦  Forum: General Discussion: Fallen Flags, Trolleys, and Interurbans ¦  Topic: The Term "Fallen Flags" is Catching On ¦  Replies: 7 ¦  Views: 3903

Commercial Car Journal (published by Chilton -- the same people who produced automotive repair manuals) was one of the two dominant trucking industry journals during the time I was first starting out (the other was the weekly Transport Topics which featured terminal properties for sale or lease, an...

Re: Amazon Uses Rail

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:20 pm ¦  Forum: General Class I and II Discussion ¦  Topic: Amazon Uses Rail ¦  Replies: 6 ¦  Views: 2634

Likely Amazon has been a long time rail shipper, but now they have become visible. I worked in Amazon distribution centers at Hazleton and Breinigsville (Allentown), PA for nearly five years; Hazleton was an "inbound-only" center, where solid truck- and container loads were broken down in...

Re: Amazon Uses Rail

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Wed Nov 27, 2019 6:30 pm ¦  Forum: General Class I and II Discussion ¦  Topic: Amazon Uses Rail ¦  Replies: 6 ¦  Views: 2634

In the days before the mega-mergers, both eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania were blanketed with a pattern of trackage rights and paired-trackage agreements between the major trunk lines (PRR, NYC, B&O. Erie), the Pennsy/B&O joint operation between Newark and Columbus. OH probably the bes...

The Term "Fallen Flags" is Catching On

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:57 pm ¦  Forum: General Discussion: Fallen Flags, Trolleys, and Interurbans ¦  Topic: The Term "Fallen Flags" is Catching On ¦  Replies: 7 ¦  Views: 3903

Some of the senior members here might recall that in addition to my lifelong fascination with the iron horse, I also worked for about six years in trucking, primarily as a central dispatcher -- for Jones Motor, Branch, and Cooper-Jarrett, all of which fell victim to the changes brought on by the der...

The term "Fallen Flags" is slowly expanding to other modes of transportation; I can recall a letter to the Editor of Trains calling attention to the presence of trailers both parent company Arkansas Best (ABF) and recently-acquired (at that time) Carolina Freight in a single intermodal con...

Re: Back to the Fold

 by 2nd trick op ¦  Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:37 pm ¦  Forum: News, Announcements, FAQ and Help ¦  Topic: Back to the Fold ¦  Replies: 5 ¦  Views: 3458

Thank you, Mr. Benton; I chose to place that post in the Amtrak forum because "back in our day" :-D that forum was the starting point for what sometimes turned into some very-interesting and increasingly-civil (and -respectful) exchanges as the process went on. And I continue to encourage ...

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