Eastern Railroad Discussion > Unexpected snow for VRE/DC Metro Derailment

Todays action on VRE was Kinda neat. Rolled by the Van Dorn yard and saw todays NS 203 was an all Conrail blue lashup (getting rare). When I got to L\'Enfant it was unexpectedly snowing pretty hard!

Also, there was a DC Metro Derailment (first in 4 years, not serious) and VRE offered to take metro passengers past the site to the Alexendria Metro stop. In the email they made sure to mention that you are allowed to eat and drink on OUR trains. VRE will own the world one day. :-)

Kev157...do NOT look at these. ;-)

-Eric

ps...what does "DIB" mean? This is on the former RF&P.

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DIB

Delayed In Block

Has something to do with the crash of Amtrak and commuter train couple years ago in the eastern US.

Looks like Pennsy signals to me, that ain\'t RF&P, Eric. RF&P stopped at Long Bridge. That was Pennsy/Conrail/now CSX.

DIB stands for Delayed In Block. It reminds the crew of the passenger trains that when making a station stop or if for any reason they take a longer than normal time to cover the signal block they must assume the next signal could be restricting. This is a result of the MARC- Amtrak collision near Silver Spring, MD a few years ago where it is believed the Engineer of the Commuter train MAY have forgotten the signal aspect as a result of a long station stop after passing the previous signal. This applies to all trains not just passenger.

Got ya Dave. Those are definately NOT RF&P signals. MP 137 seemed right though?

-Eric

Long Bridge is only RF&P mp 110. Mp 137 is the Pennsy distance from Philly.

Nice pics, I told you I already saw them at VRFE, what\'s the problem, Eric? You shouldn\'t be so so over TAXED. Did I just do something wrong? Let me know if so. Night

The DIB sign does stand for "delay in block" (the above definition is more or less right) and was a Conrail/NORAC thing before the CSX Silver Spring accident. CSX devised their own version after the Capitol Limited/MARC incident which has a black circle with a white "D" on it. Same idea as the NORAC version but you are allowed up to 40 mph (if the track conditions allow) to the next signal. It is only for passenger trains. I don\'t work passenger so I am not 100% sure of the speed part...

The SD80MACKing...

That particular Delayed in Block sign is slightly ridiculous, isn\'t it? The "next" signal is staring you in the face. If that doesn\'t get the engineer\'s attention leaving L\'Enfant Plaza station, a little yellow sign sure isn\'t going to do it....

That particular Delayed in Block sign is slightly ridiculous, isn\'t it? The "next" signal is staring you in the face. If that doesn\'t get the engineer\'s attention leaving L\'Enfant Plaza station, a little yellow sign sure isn\'t going to do it....

and the answer is...............

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I recently got a book on passenger service on the RF&P (available through TLC Publishing, Lynchburg?). One of the schedules shows an RF&P stop for local trains at Seventh Street SW. That would put the station pretty close to where the current L\'Enfant VRE Station is. I don\'t know any more about it than that. The schedule dates to the mid 1930\'s. The "station" was probably nothing more than an open shed or shelter.

Also, in the halcyon days of the 19th century, wasn\'t this near the site of the PRR\'s main DC terminal?

Admittedly, the position light signals and catenary poles are pure PRR. This stretch of track would have seen a lot of variety in its heyday, including freights of the PRR + B&O plus passengers of RF&P, SRR and C&O.

The L\'Enfant station is one of my favorite places in the DC area to watch trains. The joint gets jumpin\' Monday through Friday peak periods (3 PM until 7 PM).