Silverliner IV Pair to Perryville, MD

Does anybody know why there was a married pair of IVs going down to Perryville on the NEC? I saw of a video of it this morning. It can be seen in this video here around 6:00 and then again at the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJnzZDKhaWY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They're not at Perryville but there're south of Newark.

SEPTA has to qualify all the way to BACON Interlocking.

Delaware, PA & MD need to hammer out a deal to make that extension final. It's the only leg of the NEC without local service.

What about the lack of local service from New London to Wickford Junction?

Oops, off topic. How's this: Do you think it should be the responsibility of an agency primarily centered around Philadelphia and PA to operate commuter service well into Maryland? It makes some sense to operate Delaware, but it's always seemed to me that the lack of commuter service in this region is the natural result of the relative distance from major population centers.

What's the reason for having to qualify so far [timetable] west then? As the crow flies, it's 20 more miles further than the furthest outreaches of the system go. Is there really a need for the gap to be closed?

ns2110 wrote:What's the reason for having to qualify so far [timetable] west then? As the crow flies, it's 20 more miles further than the furthest outreaches of the system go. Is there really a need for the gap to be closed?

You must be qualified to the next interlocking past the end of the line in the case of a failure of the interlocking before the end point. In the case of the Newark line, RUTHBY interlocking is what trains normally use to crossover for the return trip but in the case of that interlocking failing, the crews would be qualified to travel down to BACON to turnback their train.

So does that mean that SEPTA crews have to be qualified out to Parkersburg? Also, wasn't the reason they stopped service to Coatseville and Parkesburg because the trains had to go out to Lancaster to reverse?

jackintosh11 wrote:So does that mean that SEPTA crews have to be qualified out to Parkersburg? Also, wasn't the reason they stopped service to Coatseville and Parkesburg because the trains had to go out to Lancaster to reverse?

Correct. Trains regularly turnback at CALN which is just west of Thorndale Station but they have to qualify out to PARK. As for Parkesburg service, yeah part of the reason they ended service out there was the lack of interlockings beyond Downingtown. Before CALN was built for Thorndale service, there was nothing between Downingtown and Parkesburg and then nothing after that til Strasburg with LEAMAN interlocking. I remember there being a few midday Parkesburg runs where trains couldn't use PARK interlocking due to scheduling issues and had to go all the way out to LEAMAN to turnback.

There's been talk on and off about extending service to Atglen (which would require building a station). That would split the difference between PARK and LEAMAN but who know's if there's enough ridership to justify doing so.

Today a pair of SLV's went to Newark as the training train. Don't know if it's a weekly thing now or not.

ekt8750 wrote:

ns2110 wrote:What's the reason for having to qualify so far [timetable] west then? As the crow flies, it's 20 more miles further than the furthest outreaches of the system go. Is there really a need for the gap to be closed?

You must be qualified to the next interlocking past the end of the line in the case of a failure of the interlocking before the end point. In the case of the Newark line, RUTHBY interlocking is what trains normally use to crossover for the return trip but in the case of that interlocking failing, the crews would be qualified to travel down to BACON to turnback their train.

My initial thought was "Kinda odd to turn at BACON, as going south/west it thins down to two tracks. Wouldn't it turn at PRINCE?" But then there's been a few instances where the Perryville-bound MARC had to go up to PRINCE to turn and make the stop as PERRY was stuck. So there's president.

Keystone trains seem to be doing great in terms of ridership. It would be great to see SEPTA trains run to Lancaster or Harrisburg as local service and eliminate some of the stops Amtrak has to make, such as Ardmore and Exton. Perhaps with some sort of combination we could get hourly service and later service.

Why does Amtrak stop at Ardmore, or Paoli for that matter? Those seem like very local stops.

Head-end View wrote:Why does Amtrak stop at Ardmore, or Paoli for that matter? Those seem like very local stops.

Mostly people travelling west to Harrisburg, particularly people who have to make the trip every day.

silverliner266 wrote:

Head-end View wrote:Why does Amtrak stop at Ardmore, or Paoli for that matter? Those seem like very local stops.

Mostly people travelling west to Harrisburg, particularly people who have to make the trip every day.

A big part of the political justification of the Keystone is for government workers who have families on the Main Line.

Also, a not insignificant amount of traffic goes from those stops to NYC, I expect.

There must me people who go to Paoli from New York. I was one of them in the past, although not a regular.