Passenger Trains > Just another Amtrak

Amtrak 643 crosses what was Irishtown Rd in Ronks, Pa yesterday, bound for Harrisburg.
I was a little surprised to see the lead pan up.  Usually, the trailing pan is the one that's raised.
In any event, it's just another Amtrak.

rfprr

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So, what else were you expecting there?  

I have to respectfully disagree; I still think those 600s are pretty darn cool.  And anything under catenary is cool.  And those signals are pretty darn cool too!

Andy

rfprr Wrote:
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> Amtrak 643 crosses what was Irishtown Rd in Ronks,
> Pa yesterday, bound for Harrisburg.
> I was a little surprised to see the lead pan up. 
> Usually, the trailing pan is the one that's
> raised.
> In any event, it's just another Amtrak.
>
> rfprr

The trailing pan was up NYP to PHL.  They don't switch pans when the train changes direction at 30th Street.

The Keystone corridor has become quite a nice grade separated high speed railroad!

Is that cab car a former original Metroliner car? Also what is going on with the signal on the right? The red light on the right looks like it is on.

Jim 

Yes, it is converted from a Metroliner car. These are Pennsy-style position light signals. The one on the right
is displaying a clear indication.

AndyBrown Wrote:
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> I have to respectfully disagree; I still
> think those 600s are pretty darn cool.  And
> anything under catenary is cool.  And those
> signals are pretty darn cool too!
>
> Andy

Yes, when "just another Amtrak" to me means P40/42s on Superliners, this is extremely interesting.  Thanks for posting.  BSB

So apparently the Keystone service operates push-pull, and also reverses direction at Philadelphia.

Could not push-pull also be used between New York and Washington, thus eliminating the turning of trains at Washington?

tq-07fan Wrote:
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> Is that cab car a former original Metroliner car?
> Also what is going on with the signal on the
> right? The red light on the right looks like it is
> on.
>
> Jim 

I think I caught the signal transitioning from stop to clear.
It displayed stop when I arrived and at some point was set to clear for an eastbound.

rfprr

The_Chief_Way Wrote:
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> Yes, it is converted from a Metroliner car. These
> are Pennsy-style position light signals. The one
> on the right
> is displaying a clear indication.

I though the Pennsy-styles had 3 amber lights on their signal heads.  I'd call these Amtrak-style position light signals.

JGFuller Wrote:
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> So apparently the Keystone service operates
> push-pull, and also reverses direction at
> Philadelphia.
>
> Could not push-pull also be used between New York
> and Washington, thus eliminating the turning of
> trains at Washington? 

​with a loop in Sunnyside and a wye right in WashTerm it's real easy to facilitate running motor leading ... and secondly there aren't enough cab cars 

​i started this thread a while back on cab cars ...

here's where the cab cars are maintained in Philly ... also some photos from inside the cab of a cab car i took back in the 80s when i had to pilot the AC Line test trains ...

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3900708,page=1

sums007 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The_Chief_Way Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yes, it is converted from a Metroliner car.
> These
> > are Pennsy-style position light signals. The
> one
> > on the right
> > is displaying a clear indication.
>
> I though the Pennsy-styles had 3 amber lights on
> their signal heads.  I'd call these Amtrak-style
> position light signals.

​the former PRR signals color position light green (Clear) and Red (Stop) aspects are really really tough to discern in bright daylight ... the amber approach can be easily identified ... also the color lights indications are ONLY displayed on the top signal head ... on a 2 head former PRR signal, the bottom head displaying secondary aspects are all displayed with amber lights ...



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/16 11:20 by Out_Of_Service.

Conrail Engineer Ricky Gates claimed that the amber position lights made it difficult for him to see the correct aspect of the Approach and Stop Signals at Gunpow Interlocking at Chase, MD, contributing to why his lite engines violated the Stop Signal and got out onto Track 2 in front of The Colonial, a collision which killed 16 people and led to FDA-mandated drug-and-alcohol testing, Engineer certifications and several other programs.

   Shortly afterward, Amtrak began converting its all-amber position-light signals to display red and green, and removed the center light as a result.  

   The story I've always heard was that PRR sought the perfect mix of the best illumination, best visibility and lowest electrical usage.  It ran tests and settled on the 3-position amber lights.  B&O went with the 2-light position-lights but provides a much larger lens and brighter lamp, which also requires more electricity to power.  Amtrak's compromise was to use PRR's power system with red and green lenses.  I've heard Engineers say the same thing about daytime visibility, especially if the aim on the lens is just a little bit off, but they also say that the nighttime visibility is improved.

   Yellow lenses worked for a long, long time, but all it took was for one huge mistake and the reaction was to change them all.