The Rebel Yell is a section of the Baltimore Light Rail line where it transitions from street running along Howard Street to the Northern Central right of way. The term, used by local fans and employees, is a reference to a wooden racing roller coaster in Kings Dominion park in Virginia, due to the undulating profile of the light rail line as it ( Read more... )

So with the last few B&O CPL signals vanishing quickly from the B&O Main Line, there isn't a lot for me to document from the back of Train 30, Amtrak's Capitol Limited. Still, I did have a few sections of the grade between Connelsville and Cumberland to catch up on as well as the segment between Hancock and Harpers Ferry, WV so this is what will ( Read more... )

Time for Part 5 of my 2014 cross-country Amtrak trip. As you should all know by now I was reprising my 2012 trip on the California Zephyr and we have now left the state of Utah and reached the city of Grand Junction in the square state of Colorado. This segment will cover the line from Grand Junction to the Moffat Tunnel with a few gaps on parts ( Read more... )

So last week I posted the still photos I took when I came out to NYC in July to ride the summer special R32s on the JZ. This week I have a special video post that will shot off the longer video pieces I shot during the trip. Despite the extended and deathly boring local service I stuck it out and shot two full trips of the line, one in each ( Read more... )

Well its time for the 11th and final part of my third annual cross country Amtrak Trip featuring the Southwest Chief. As in the other trips I will be once again traveling back to Washington, DC via Amtrak Capitol Limited. This year thanks to the resignaling efforts of CSX there are only a handful of B&O CPLs left for me to enjoy so as the title of ( Read more... )

During my 2011 trip on Amtrak's Empire Builder, crossing the Continental Divide in Montana on the BNSF Northern Transcontinental route was an epic experience. The line was double tracked and there were snow sheds, a smattering of tunnels and probably the best part was at the point of the summit you got this wonderful sign that let you know that it ( Read more... )

Now of course I wasn't just going to fly out to Seattle just to fly back. I'd have to check my pound of Copper Creek smoked salmon...or worse have to dump it at the TSA checkpoint. Besides, since I was already hanging around the King Street Station and the Light Rail line back to the airport was such a pill the most logical course of action was ( Read more... )

High up in the Berkshire Mountains along the old Boston and Albany main line, is the famous Stateline Tunnel. Well, its famous for fans of the New York Central because no book on the NYC or Boston and Albany would be complete without a picture of a J-2 Hudson blasting out of one of the tunnel portals.

The tunnel is actually two, roughly bored ( Read more... )

About a month ago I took a trip with a friend up to Reading Country in central-eastern PA. This has been one of my earliest railfan haunts back in the late 1990's, but I had not been back there since and I was eager to visit a few of the places and see how they had changed.

The old Reading system used to be quite impressive with a uge network ( Read more... )