Passenger Trains > Diner At The Diamonds

I caught Amtrak 8400, the Viewliner diner Indianapolis, rolling across the diamonds in Birmingham, Alabama, today on the Crescent.

---

What are the lines here...is this near the station?

This a mile or so north of the depot, by the Sloss Furnaces.

Posted from iPhone

That's a fantastic catch.

This is the former L&N crossing the former Southern at 35th Street - just east of downtown Birmingham.  Have an interesting story regarding this location.
The tracks the parallel the CRESCENT (which is operating on Southern's passengter main) are former Seaboard Air Line tracks from Atlanta.  In back of the photographer is a connection that links the former SAL with the former L&N.  North of where the CRESCENT is operating, the L&N track is imbedded in 35th Street for about 500 ft before diverging into the L&N Birmingham-New Orleans main line.
Back in the early 1970s when I lived in Bham, I was railfanning on a Saturday night at 35th St.  As I was awaiting a Seaboard Coast Line freight to make the move from the Atlanta-Bham main to the SAL-L&N connecting track, a city policeman questioned what I was doing near the tracks on a Sat. night.  While he was questioning me another patrol car came to "assist".  As they got ready to give a a breathilizer, I said to the second officer, "see that train to the south - he's getting ready to pull onto the track where your car is parked, so I think you better move it."  The officer panicked and peeled out, only to return to the scene and tell the first officer, "I think you better leave this guy along - he knows what he is talking about."  I never did get the breathalizer and the officer told me to be safe and went back to his other patrols.
Andy

This car has been alternating between 19-20 and 97-98.
A lot of people say this is a new Amtrak diner.It is not
this is a prototype at least five years old.The NEW
diners are still at the plant in New York.

Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

walstib Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This a mile or so north of the depot, by the Sloss
> Furnaces.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Nice.... I played at the Sloss Blast Festival back in Sept. 2000.   Nice being on stage and hearing the trains pass.....

retcsxcfm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This car has been alternating between 19-20 and
> 97-98.
> A lot of people say this is a new Amtrak diner.It
> is not
> this is a prototype at least five years old.The
> NEW
> diners are still at the plant in New York.
>
> Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.
8400 was built in 89 or 90. Somewhere about that time. Alone with two Viewliner Sleepers 2300 and 2301.
I think one of the Sleepers 2301 became 62091 and is now 10004 American View?
I do not know where 2300 is. I hope someone on here could answer that question

 

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival