All things Harrisburg (Keystone) Line

I always assumed the PRR had a New York-Harrisburg pool because I never saw a crew change at North Philadelphia on any of the east-west through trains that made North Philadelphia their only Philadelphia stop. Of course there has been a world of changes since those days, but labor agreements have a way of surviving many things.

THEY DID. Many of the crews were based in Harrisburg.
Andy

Mr. Twropr, those less informed on Labor matters than are you and I should note that there was "equity" between the NY and HBG Divisions.

In "my day" 86 mi NY-Phl and 103 Phl-HBG meant that 86/189 of the C&E jobs belonged to NY and 103/189 to HBG. That was known as "equity" when two different "boards".shared a particular run.

Of course, I can't begin to speculate what occurred with the "groundbreaking" agreements (anyone with exposure to both knows they were not "warmed over same old") Amtrak and the Employees negotiated after the '80's Assumptions were complete.

I took Keystone Service Train 640 this morning. It was approximately 2/3 full when we arrived at Philadelphia at 650. About 2/3 exited the train and a slightly smaller crowd was in line to board for New York.

I was on a Keystone tonight and the crew member said we were stopped leaving 30th Street heading west for being "penalized" going too fast leaving the yard. I have never heard that before. Is this a PTC concept?

Speaking of speeds, I was wondering if anyone had the speeds for the line from 30th Street to Harrisburg?

Emergency penalty stops for overspeed violations are part of the PTC spec, which Amtrak's ACES falls under.

As for the MAS on a map, I've been trying to find out myself. There's no public speed limit map anywhere. I'd love to find one that's a long-term listing -- I know track orders will change the speeds downward.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:19 am Emergency penalty stops for overspeed violations are part of the PTC spec, which Amtrak's ACES falls under.

As for the MAS on a map, I've been trying to find out myself. There's no public speed limit map anywhere. I'd love to find one that's a long-term listing -- I know track orders will change the speeds downward.

IIRC Overbrook to PAO is 79 MPH, and generally everything past that is 110.

mcgrath618 wrote: IIRC Overbrook to PAO is 79 MPH, and generally everything past that is 110.

Incorrect. Overbrook to Paoli is 80 on 2+3, 70 on 1+4, with numerous speed restrictions for curves. West of Paoli to effectively Parkesburg, it is 90 on 1+4

CNJGeep wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 8:26 am

mcgrath618 wrote: IIRC Overbrook to PAO is 79 MPH, and generally everything past that is 110.

Incorrect. Overbrook to Paoli is 80 on 2+3, 70 on 1+4, with numerous speed restrictions for curves. West of Paoli to effectively Parkesburg, it is 90 on 1+4

Thank you for correcting me. Like others I wish that there were publicly posted and known speeds, not unlike the NEC.

Past PAO is it 1+4? I thought that, at least around Gap and Lancaster, that the configuration used 2+4 (which is why Strasburg occupies Track 1 at Paradise).

Yesterday (Oct 3rd) I was heading to NY on Keystone Train 664, scheduled to depart 30th St @ 11:25 and arrive at NYP @ 12:49.
I got to 30th @ 11:10 and saw the train was delayed for an hour, YIKES! That hour turned into 2 hours.
To my understanding, the cab car was malfunctioning and it disturbed the wifi and / or HEP. So another ACS-64 was coupled on and we departed around 1:25PM.

When we arrived at Trenton I noticed ANOTHER Keystone with 2 ACS-64 locomotives, one on each end.
Have the cab cars been subject to more mechanical failures / issues as of late?
I never took Amtrak too frequently, but I've been on Keystones the most and I never had this happen.
Ironically enough my Keystone heading back was LEAD by a cab car. Fortunately everything went smooth.

Amtrak NEC Alert Tweet for reference: https://twitter.com/AmtrakNECAlerts/sta ... 99365?s=20

NortheastTrainMan wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:22 pm Yesterday (Oct 3rd) I was heading to NY on Keystone Train 664, scheduled to depart 30th St @ 11:25 and arrive at NYP @ 12:49.
I got to 30th @ 11:10 and saw the train was delayed for an hour, YIKES! That hour turned into 2 hours.
To my understanding, the cab car was malfunctioning and it disturbed the wifi and / or HEP. So another ACS-64 was coupled on and we departed around 1:25PM.

When we arrived at Trenton I noticed ANOTHER Keystone with 2 ACS-64 locomotives, one on each end.
Have the cab cars been subject to more mechanical failures / issues as of late?
I never took Amtrak too frequently, but I've been on Keystones the most and I never had this happen.
Ironically enough my Keystone heading back was LEAD by a cab car. Fortunately everything went smooth.

Amtrak NEC Alert Tweet for reference: https://twitter.com/AmtrakNECAlerts/sta ... 99365?s=20

I have seen several recently with two ACS-64s. One of two ACS-64 sets had an Amfleet cafe car to "provide Wifi" as stated by the conductor. The Wifi in a control car causing wider problems seems like a wild problem.

That's interesting. I'm not big on tech or privy to how Wifi actually works on Amtrak trains. I just browse the web or listen to music for the most part, especially if I'm not in the quiet car. All I really care about is charging my phone. That said, I realize the importance of Wifi to a good deal of Amtrak passengers as they may be working, studying for exams (college flashbacks ), etc.

I always liked the Metroliner Cab Cars. I may be in the minority in regards to most Amtrak riders, but I think a locomotive coupled to the front of a cab car is a travesty. Well, 664 as a whole was a travesty on 10/3, but that's another story.

The Ex-Metroliner Cab cars are very old. Its not a surprise about the issues that they have been having. It’s been a pleasure seeing and riding them on the Keystone Corridor. They look great running underneath the Ex-PRR Main Line wires. Let’s all enjoy them while they are around as they will be replaced in at least five years in the Northeast.

As for the 90 mph speeds between Paoli and Parkesburg, something tells me that if the speeds are upgraded to 100 plus, travel time would come down between Paoli and Parkesburg a little bit. It would be nice to see the Gap curve eliminated but that probably won’t happen as their is a lot of farmland. Building a whole new right of way through Gap could probably open up doors to bringing down travel time even more.

Running between Philadelphia and Harrisburg is their home turf. I am surprised how well they are still performing. I have been sitting in them somewhat frequently without any issues.

Wait.
A wired locomotive provides wireless internet service?
are you sure it didn't have the Internet box from the IT crowd?