Today's Train of Thought takes us to Indiana and an impressive engineering feat for a part of the country many people assume is as flat as a pancake.
Back in the 1980s, the Illinois Central Gulf embarked on a divestment spree, getting rid of hundreds of miles of track in the Midwest and deep south to focus on their key Chicago-New Orleans route. One of these railroads got its start in 1986 is the Indiana railroad, which recently celebrated its 27th year of operation. The INRD took over operations of the 155 mile former Illinois Central line between Newton, IL to Indianapolis in 1986- which includes a number of trestles and even a tunnel southwest of Indianapolis. While other IC spinoffs from that same timeframe have folded or been absorbed by other Class I carriers, the INRD has been steadily expanding in recent years- purchasing brand new EMD SD90MACs and expanding their reach to Chicago and Louisville, KY via acquisitions and trackage rights.
Here railpictures.net contributor Pat Lynch caught Indiana Railroad SD40-2 #4001 leading symbol freight SAHW [Senate Avenue in Indianapolis to HiaWatha Yard in Jasonville, IN- NANESB!] trundling across the 970 foot Shuffle Creek Trestle along Lake Lemon in Unionville, IN on January 25th, 2011. Trailing the #4001 is another INRD SD40-2 and a Helm Leasing SD60 while nearby is the only tunnel on the Indiana Railroad- the 500 foot Unionville Tunnel.
As impressive as the Shuffle Creek Trestle is, it's not even the longest trestle on the INRD- that honor is reserved for the 2300 ft Richland Creek Trestle- known to some as the Tulip Testle. Both structures were completed in 1906.
At about 5:45 p.m., Snyder announced publicly that he signed the historic right-to-work legislation in private - hours after the bills won final approval in the House and five days after he joined with GOP legislative leaders to announce their plan to enact the controversial law.
"This is a major day in Michigan's history," he said during a news conference in the Romney building not long after signing the legislation. "Again, I don't view this as anti-union at all. I believe this is pro-worker."
The signings came as thousands of protesters and union members descended on Lansing, obstensibly to urge a veto of the legislation once it reached Gov. Snyder's desk. Union protestors also tore down a tent belonging to pro right-to-work group Americans for Prosperity- with people inside- and at least one protestor in an IBEW jacket was videotaped shoving and punching FOX News contributor Steven Crowder outside the collapsed tent. Apologists for the various union thugs laughably attempted to explain away both videotaped events as being 'provoked' by Americans for Prosperity or a 'false flag' where they sabotaged their own tent [shorter Union: "They totally deserved to have their tent wrecked, even though they did it to themselves!"- NANESB!].
One commenter on Mlive.com succinctly charachterized Michigan's new right-to-work law as follows
Unions will now have to view their members as customers instead of just treating them as a revenue stream. That's about the only thing that changed today. Unions still exist. Employees can still organize. Employees can still engage in collective bargaining.
Many of the unions protesting in Madison, WI last year lost much of their credibility when despite AWOL lawmakers and activist judges, laws limiting collective bargaining in Wisconsin were passed by Gov. Scott Walker despite massive, continuous protests on the grounds of the state capitol building. However, despite dire predictions of public employee unions like AFSCME or SEIU, the sky didn't fall and Wisconsin didn't turn into Mogadishu overnight.
Moreover, even without Tuesday's violent tantraum in mind, I have zero sympathy for unions that do things like help themselves to money from families of disabled people. I'm not certain it this is limited to Michigan, but hopefully this practise is dismantled ASAP.
The law will likely face a number of challenges and I would be very surprised if an activist judge somewhere along the way didn't attempt to overturn it by judicial fiat. Still, wouldn't it be ironic if after the rough years the auto industry has had lately, the new right-to-work law started bringing the auto industry back to its 'home' in Michigan?
The Patriots' Stevan Ridley rushed for 125 yards and 1 TD in the Patriot's regular-season opener against the Tenessee Titans at Nashville, TN on Sunday. ESPN Boston photo
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- After a 1-3 preaseason, the 2012 regular season started up for the New England Patriots in Nashville in fine form on Sunday. The Titans led early in this one, getting out to an 3-0 lead before the Patriots came storming back to take a 21-3 halftime lead, capping off their first half with a Brady to Gronkowski TD pass right at the 2 minute warning.
Showing hardly any signs of slowing down, Tom Brady passed for more than 200 yards although he was sacked in the 2nd quarter by Titans DE Kamerion Wimbley, who may or may not have broken Brady's nose [the quarterback was seen with a bandage on his nose in the 2nd half and postgame but it was reportedly gone by Monday afternoon- NANESB!]. Brady completed TD passes to Rob Gronkowsi and Aaron Hernandez in the first half while LB Dont'a Hightower managed to recover a fumble after DE Chandler Jones sacked Titans QB Jake Locker deep in Tennesse's own end and run it back for paydirt.
While the Titans would score thanks to a 29 yard TD pass from Locker to Washington on their first possession of the second half to make it 21-10, that would be as close as they would get as the Patriots began to pull away in the second half after starting on the Titans side of the field and capping off the drive with a Ridley TD to make it 28-10. The Titans and Pats would trade field goals in the 4th and New England goes on to win their season opener by a 34-13 final.
Tom Brady went 23-31 with 236 yards and two TD passes while Ridley rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. This weekend, the Patriots will kick off the 2012 season at Gillette stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- The season is a little over a week old, with kickoff taking place on September 5th with the New York Giants losing to the Dallas Cowboys by a 24-17 final at E. Rutherford, NJ on September 5th.
Perhaps the most noteworthy was Robert Griffin III's regular-season NFL debut on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Griffin went 19-26 and more than 320 yards at the Superdome in the Big Easy, holding off the Saints by a 40-32 final.
Sunday night also marked Peyton Manning's debut as a Denver Bronco. The high mountain air in Denver apparently did little to slow down the elder Manning brother as he pretty much dismantled the Steelers D going 19-26 with 253 yards as the Broncos cruised to a 31-19 win over Pittsburgh.
Former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell passed away on September 6th at the age of 87. Modell had gained infamy in the late 1990s for moving the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore after a protracted battle with the city of Cleveland over the stadium. The Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999 as an expansion team and ended up in the same division as the Ravens. In 2004, Modell sold most of his share in the Ravens to Maryland businessman Steve Biscotti.
NCAA FOOTBALL- After losing in a 41-32 track meet to the University of Miami Hurricanes at Chestnut Hill over Labor Day weekend, the Eagles played host to the Maine Black Bears.
Despite looking not particularly sharp with some fumbles in the early going and the Black Bears getting out to an early lead, the Eagles cruised to a 34-3 rout of Maine on Saturday. Eagles QB Chase Rettig went 16-32 with 219 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. The win beings BC's record to 1-1.
On Saturday, Boston College will travel to Chicago to take on the Northwest Wildcats who are currently undefeated. Kickoff is set for 3:30 ET.
ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- The UMASS Minutemen made their 'home' debut at Gilette stadium in Foxbourough, MA [on the opposite end of the state from their main Ahmerst, MA campus- NANESB!] against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.
Indiana quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the 1st with a rushing TD from QB Tre Robertson. Although UMass responded with a sustained drive and rushing TD from quarterback Mike Wegzyn, the point after attempt was no good making it a 7-6 game. That would be as close as the Minutemen got as the Hoosiers rolled to an easy 45-6 over the MAC's newest team- this comes despite Tre Robinson having to be carted off the field early in the second quarter with a broken leg.
The Minutemen have an even steeper challenge before them this Saturday as they travel to the Big House in Ann Arbor to take on Michicgan [If this were a hockey game, I'd give Massachusetts even odds against Michigan- NANESB]- this is the second straight week UMass will face a Big Ten opponent
UCONN HUSKIES- The Huskies now sport a 1-1 record after coming up short in a low-scoring game at East Hartford against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. RB Lyle McCombs scored the Huskies lone touchdown fairly late in the game in the Wolfpack's 10-7 road win. On Saturday the Huskies will head to College Park, MD for their first road game of the season- taking on the Maryland Terrapins at 12:30 PM ET.
Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Hoosier State and the Indiana Railroad, which had just turned 25 last year. The INRD started in 1986 when the Illinois Central Gulf was in the process of divesting themselves of several unwanted subdivisions- although some of them, such as the Chicago Central and Pacific were eventually brought back into the Illinois Central fold before the IC itself was acquired by Canadian National.
The Indiana Railroad started out with the original former Illinois Central line between Newton, IL and downtown Indianapolis before expanding considerably in the last decade- north via trackage rights to Chicago and south to Louisville, KY- at first by the former CSX line between New Bedford, IN and Lousville and then via haulage rights over the Louisville and Indiana. The INRD has also been working with Rail America's Indiana Southern to construct a 5-mile branchline from scratch to service Peabody Coal's Bear Run Mine in Sullivan County, IN.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Brian Wiggins catches a trio of freshly-painted GP38s trundling across the Richland Creek Viaduct, also known as the Tulip Viaduct in Tulip, IN on a sunny October 2007 day. With the corn in the foreground harvested, GP38-2 #3805 en route to Indianapolis after working the Indiana Southern interchange in Switz City.
Why is it that the progressives in this country seem to go out of their way to embrace murderers and terrorists like Bill Ayers or Mumia Abu-Jamal?
While not as high profile as the Weather Underground terrorist-turned-college-professor or the convicted Philly cop-killer, this deboinaire fellow above is convicted drug trafficker, unrepentant bomber and progressive attack dog Brett Kimberlin.
During September 1978, the Indianapolis suburb of Speedway, IN was rocked by a series of bomb blasts including one that gravely injured Vietnam veteran Carl DeLong outside of Speedway High School and another that destroyed a parked Speedway Police cruiser.
Investigators were able to piece together enough evidence that led them to the store that sold the device that was used as the timer- clerks who were able to identify Brett Kimberlin from a photo array. Kimberlin ran a vegetarian resturant called to Broad Ripple that local police believed was a front for drug trafficking.
In late July 1978, 65-year old Julia Scyphers was shot to death by a man who knocked on the door of her Speedway home. While looking for a motive, police learned that Scypher's daughter, Sandra Barton, worked at the Broad Ripple. A few weeks prior to the murder family dispute, Scyphers had expressed concern that one of Sandra's co-workers expressed an inordinate interest in her 10 year old granddaughter Julia. Police suspected that Kimberlin was involved in the shooting and had set off a series of bombs in Speedway as a distraction.
That September, a Speedway print shop notified the United States Army after a suspicious customer requested that a quantity of military ID cards be reproduced. On September 20, the customer returned wearing a security guard's uniform with a Department of Defense insignia. The customer turned out to be Brett Kimberlin and the DOD insignia was fake. An Army Criminal Investigative Divison investigator was in the shop waiting for Kimberlin and arrested him for wearing the bogus DoD badge. Local police investigating the Speedway bombings obtained a search warrant for the car that Kimberlin had driven to the print shop. In the trunk, they found traces of Tovex- the water gel based explosive used in the Speedway bombings- and four devices similar to the timers used. Although investigators felt that they had their man, they didn't immediately pursue charges because they needed to further bolster their case.
A few months later Kimberlin got himself arrested again. He was in Texas with another man, trying to rent a small airplane. Investigators down there soon found out that the men had also rented construction equipment with which they'd built a small landing strip in the desert. On the night of Feb. 16, 1979, federal agents watched as a plane loaded with Colombian marijuana approached the little airstrip. But there was a heavy fog that night and the pilot radioed that he could not land at the makeshift airport and would have to set down at real airport nearby -- but that meant he had to dump the cargo from the air. The men on the ground, and the agents observing them, converged in the desert. Nine men were arrested, including Brett Kimberlin.
Although investigators couldn't conclusively tie Kimberlin to the murder of Julia Scyphers, in 1980 prosecutors charged Kimberlin with the Speedway bombings. Although the first trial ended in a hung jury, Kimberlin recieved a 12 year sentence for impersonating a DOD security guard on top of his 4 year sentence for drug smuggling in Texas. After a second trial in Indiana, Kimberlin was convicted of illegal posession of explosives while a third trial resulted a conviction for the Speedway bombings and a 50 year prison sentence.
While in prison, Kimberlin kept busy studying up on the law before fabricating stories about selling pot to then vice-president Dan Quayle and suing the Federal Bureau of Prisons for depriving him of his right to play electric guitar while incarcerated. While Kimberlin was incarcerated, Carl DeLong committed suicide due to the injuries he recieved from the bomb Kimberlin left outside of the Speedway High School.
In 1983, DeLong's widow won a $1.6 million judgement against Kimberlin in a civil suit. After serving only 13 years of his 50 year prison sentence, Kimberlin was paroled in 1994. However, his parole was revoked in 1997 after he made no effort to pay the DeLong judgement. By 2001, Kimberlin was once again released from prison.
After his release, Kimberlin involved himself with a number of progressive organizations while maintaining that he was exonerated of his crimes in a some secret and undisclosed deal with the government. Kimberlin co-founded a left leaning organization called Velvet Revolution with liberal blogger Brad Freidman, as well as another group called the Justice Through Music Project. Both organizations recieved substantial donations from singer Barbara Streisand and the George Soros-funded Tides Foundation. Some of the victims of Kimberlin's lawfare theorize that the lawsuits are attempts by the domestic terrorist to secure the names and home addresses of additional bloggers to harrass and stalk.
Since at least 2010, Kimberlin reportedly put his jailhouse lawyer expertise to not only threaten conservative bloggers with nuisance lawsuits and baseless criminal complaints, but also calling employers and families of bloggers and making thinly-veiled threats. The basis for these lawsuits? The bloggers pointed out Kimberlin's extensive criminal background, which is a matter of public record.
More disturbingly, those who have run afoul of Brett Kimberlin or Brad Freidman have found themselves on the recieving end of a malicious prank known as 'Swatting' where an anonymous individual dials 911 claiming to have murdered somebody before giving the dispatcher the victim's home address, prompting an armed response from a SWAT team. The caller generally uses Skype and remains anonymous after hiding behind anonymous IP proxies while making the call.
Earlier this month, Kimberlin apparently contacted the wife of blogger Robert Stacy McCain's employer. As a precaution, McCain and his family vacated their home before a convicted bomber could come a-knockin' or send a SWAT team to his house under false pretenses. The Other McCain continues blogging from an undisclosed location after alerting the authorities of Kimberlin's attempts to communicate with him.
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said that Kimberlin's lawfare and harassment of conservative bloggers comes as no surprise. The senior senator from the Beehive state said that he and a staffer were on the recieving end of a civil suit from Kimberlin in 1999 claiming that Hatch's office involved itself in his 1997 parole hearing.
In response to Kimberlin's escalating lawfare, harassment and attempts to stifle the first amendment rights of right-leaning bloggers and social netorking users such as The Other McCain, Liberty Chick, Patterico and Ace of Spades a number of conservatives on twitter and the blogosphere have declared May 25th as 'Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day'. Not only is this an attempt to bring the disenfectant of sunlight onto Kimberlin and his Democrat supporters in hacker group Anonymous and the Occupy Wall Street movement, but it should also raise the very valid question of why exactly Speedway bomber Brett Kimberlin is a free man.
"I believe when folks try and take collective bargaining rights away by passing so-called 'right to work' laws that might also be called 'right to work for less,' laws, that’s not about economics, that’s about politics," Obama told the AFL-CIO today. "That’s about politics." He then credited the AFL-CIO for creating American prosperity, saying "unions like yours made sure that everybody had a fair shake, everybody had a fair shot."
While it might play well for an audience that includes Trumka or Jimmy Hoffa Jr, it seems to ignore the harsh reality for unions and the Obama Administration that the new industrial and manufactuing jobs that have been cropping up recently have done so in right-to-work states.
And locomotives aren't the only thing General Electric will be manufacturing in a right-to-work state. In late October 2011, GE Aviation broke ground on an Auburn, AL plant that will make jet aircraft components. Production scheduled to begin in 2013 and the Auburn plant is expected to employ anywhere from 300 to 400 people. Meanwhile, Volkswagen continued a recently-established tradition of foreign automakers setting up shop in the deep south with the 2011 opening of their Chattanooga, TN plant which will primarily make Passats for the North American market. Right up the I-24 and outside of Nashville is Nissan's Smyrna, TN plant which was among the first foreign automaker to set up shop in the USA nearly 30 years ago.
Some enterprising individuals in right to work states like Georiga have even begun marketing chopsticks to overseas markets in Asia, where there is a shortage of wood to manufacture them locally in any significant numbers.
And these are some of the most recent examples I can cite- since the late 1990s, foreign automakers like BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Honda have set up shop throughout Dixie- all right to work states. I just figured I would point out some of the jobs created by manufacturers setting up facilities in right-to-work states since President Obama has been in office, since he made it clear in his speech to big labor this week that he washes his hands of anything having to do with right-to-work. However, I have absolutely no doubt that Obama would try to take credit for every last job created in a right to work state over the last 3 years while he's campaigning.
However, perhaps the biggest headache for Democrats in right-to-work states doesn't come from the industrial or manufacturing sector, but rather the upcoming 2012 Democrat Party Convention in Charoltte, NC. Apparently to be awarded the convention, Obama ally and Charlotte's Democrat mayor reportedly had to agree to terms that union workers would be brought in from out of state, leaving local businesses in the lurch after Foxx promised his constituents the convention would be an economic boom. Although Foxx denied steering contracts to out-of-state union businesses, a number of local companies were told by the DNC to look elsewhere for business if they were non-union while as many as 3000 union workers from a Maryland company called Hargove were expected to show up in Charlotte this summer in prepeartion for the convention.
Friday's outbreak of tornadoes was the deadliest in nearly 40 years and came less than 48 hours after the 'official' start of tornado season in the Midwest.
Robert Szappanos, a meteorologist with the weather service in Louisville, said the “super outbreak” resembled the historic 1974 tornadoes, when 63 people died in an area stretching from Southern Indiana to Southern Kentucky.
The weather service will send out teams today to determine exactly how many tornadoes struck the region and their intensity, he said.
But the destruction they left in their wake will take much longer to gauge.
In the town of Chelsea in Jefferson County, Ind., first responders found a 4-year-old boy and his great-grandparents lying on the ground 50 feet from where the elderly couple’s home was blown off its foundation and thrown more than 100 feet.
The child’s young father could be seen crying as he bent over next to a firefighter. All three died of multiple blunt-force injuries, according to David Bell, the county’s Emergency Management director.
A man who lived nearby on Jackson Road also was killed when the storm slammed into his home, Jefferson County Sheriff John Wallace said.
To the east of Louisville, KY, the Fire Department for the small town of Milton, KY took a direct hit from a category EF2 tornado, demolishing the building and wrecking the fire engine inside.
In New Pekin, IN a 15 month old girl was found alive in a field along with the bodies of her parents and two siblings. However, Angel Babcock passed away from complications stemming from her injuries on Monday after being rushed to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, KY.
Two EMD SD80ace's are seen on flatcars outside of Canadian Rail Collision and Refubish's Toronto, ON facility. The locomotives- destined for Brazil- have just been repainted and are part of the last order constructed at EMD's London, ON facility before Progress Rail announced they were closing down the facility. Photo- Oscar Majcher
Electro-Motive Canada announced it was shutting down its plant, wiping out the jobs of 475 locked out workers as well as 200 non-union staff.
Sixty-two years after it started making locomotives in the city and two years after it was purchased by a subsidiary of heavy equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. the plant was history.
It’s the biggest plant closure the city since 1994 when the Northern Telecom plant employing 2,200 shut down.
It will likely cause another spike in the London-St. Thomas unemployment rate which dropped to 9% last month, but is still the second highest of any major city in Canada.
The lockout of the London workers had been a lightning rod for protests with the company asking employees to take as much as a 50% wage cut. A rally on Jan. 21 drew more than 5,000 people.
According to Caterpillar, a key sticking point with the CAW was wages and temporary hiring of outside non-union contract employees to deal with large orders. While the decision to shut down the London plant has understandably sparked outrage throughout Canada [including calls for the seizure of Caterpillar's assets in Canada- NANESB], it's also worth pointing out that whether it was General Motors, Greenbriar Equity or Caterpillar, EMD remained an American company that happened to have a major plant in Canada the whole time the London facility was open.
Prior to Caterpillar's announcement, members of the CAW Local 27 had blockaded flatcars carrying some of the locomotives from the final order from London's plant before leaving of their own accord. The locomotives are destined for Brazilian mining and logistics firm Companhia Vale do Rio Doce [NYSE- VALE] which operates more than 8700 km of track through three subsidiaries in eastern Brazil.
According to Canadian Railway Observations, EMD also received orders for new power from Norfolk Southern, Brazil's VALE and Union Pacific as well as freight and mining railroads in the UK, Australia, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific announced that they selected Progress Rail to undertake an extensive rebuild of their aging fleet of four-axle GP9s and six-axle SD40-2s.
A Russian-built locomotive brings in freight from across the border with Uzbekistan to the frontier town of Hairatan. Photo- Railways of Afghanistan/Asian Development Bank
AFGHANISTAN- Operations began on a new 45 mile rail line in Afghanistan linking the city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the Uzbekistan border at Hairatan earlier this month.
The inaugural load comprised nine wagons of flour from Kazakhstan and three of timber from Siberia. Unloading began shortly after the train arrived at Naibabad, which lies just east of Mazar-i-Sharif airport.
Nominally operational since mid-2011, the line saw its first test trains reach Mazar-i-Sharif in late December, following further work to reinforce the trackbed and improve security. The line is being operated by Uzbekistan’s state railway under a three year concession signed on August 4, but UTY had been waiting for formal safety approval before starting commercial operation.
In addition to supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan and domestic customers, an expanded rail line could also play a role in transporting much of Afghanistan's untapped mineral wealth to markets in Asia and elsewhere for export.
FARMRAIL/GRAINBELT- According to a press release, Farmail subsidiary Grainbelt Corporation has taken delivery of five additional GP38 diesels.
The press release didn't mention where the GP38s came from, but the prior batch of GP38s were purchased by the western Oklahoma railroad secondhand from the Iowa Interstate Railroad. This brings the total number of units in service on the Farmrail/Grainbelt system to 31, including some of the former
Although agricultural traffic on the 300+ mile Farmrail/Grainbelt system has taken a hit due to drought conditions throughout Texas and Oklahoma late last year, this has been offset by increased drilling activity and shipments of crude oil throughout the Anadarko Basin.
Former Grand Trunk Western GP40-2s seen with a Fort Worth & Western genset at Hodge yard in Ft Worth, TX on Dec 31st, 2011. Photo, JT Leal
FORT WORTH & WESTERN- The Fort Worth & Western acquired a pair of former Grand Trunk Western GP40-2s (nee Detroit, Toledo & Ironton) from Rail Management leasing.
The 1972-built roadswitchers join a fleet of about a dozen second-generation roadswitchers and two gensets on the 275-mile Texas carrier. In addition to being repainted in the FW&W's yellow and blue paint scheme, the locomotives will also receive the name of a historical figure or locale along the route as is custom for the Fort Worth & Western.
NEW BRUNSWICK SOUTHERN- JD Irving's New Brunswick Southern has taken delivery of their first-ever 6-axle locomotives. The Canadian National delivered Helm Leasing SD40-3s #6200 and #6318 to the NBSR in January.
Although one of them has already reportedly been repainted in NBSR colors, both locomotives are currently on short-term lease from Helm and being evaluated for service on the mainline between St John, NB and Brownsville, ME.
The trains crashed about 11 miles northeast of Valparaiso, on the CSX line, according to David James, assistant highway supervisor with the Porter County Highway Department.
James said one train rear-ended another one, causing it to jack-knife, and a third passing train the "got caught in that jack-knife." All the trains derailed
James said there had been a fire concern since one of the trains was carrying ethanol, an alcohol, but the tanks turned out to be empty. Diesel fuel from the engine was burning, but as of 4:50 p.m. local time, "things are starting to quiet down somewhat," James said.
About 100 to 200 residents evacuated from the area north and east of the crash, James said.
The two hospitalized crewmen were released within days of the collision. Immediately after the wreck, the NTSB was conducting interviews, combing through the wreckage and checking the line's signalling- but the agency warned that it could take months before reaching a finding on the cause of the collision.
Workers seen installing a frame with grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling from a chain in West Java, Indonesia. The balls are high enough for the train to pass through untouched but would knock down anybody riding on the rooftops. This is the latest measure to prevent 'train surfing' in Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo
Authorities hope the balls — which could deliver serious blows to the head — will be enough to deter defiant roof riders.
"We've tried just about everything, even putting rolls of barbed wire on the roof, but nothing seems to work," said Mateta Rizahulhaq, a spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api. "Maybe this will do it."
Trains that crisscross Indonesia on poorly maintained tracks left behind by Dutch colonizers six decades ago usually are packed with passengers, especially during the rush hour.
Hundreds seeking to escape the overcrowded carriages clamber to the top. Some ride high to avoid paying for a ticket. Others do so because — despite the dangers, with dozens killed or injured every year — "rail surfing" is fun.
The first dozen or so balls were installed Tuesday hundreds of yards (meters) from the entrance of a train station just outside the capital, Jakarta. Painted silver, the balls hung by chains from what looked like the frame of a giant soccer goal.
But there was a glitch: the chains were too short, leaving a gap of about 16 inches (40 cm) between the balls and the roofs of the passing train carriages. Rizahulhaq said adjustments would be made.
If successful, the project will be expanded, with balls also set up near railway crossings.
Asked about worries that the balls could hurt or even kill those who defy the roof-riding ban, he insisted that wasn't really his problem.
"They don't have to sit on top," he said. "And we've already told them, if the train is full, go to the office. We will be happy to reimburse their tickets."
The commuters, known as "Atappers" or "Roofers," meanwhile are hardcore in their determination to stay on top.
"I was really scared when I first heard about these balls," said Mulyanto, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, who rides between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous."
"But I don't think it'll last long," he said. "They've tried everything to keep us from riding ... in the end we always win."
"We like it up there, it's windy, really nice."
Many of the roof riders — and regular passengers — say the main problem lies with Indonesia's dilapidated railway system. There are not enough trains to meet demand, they say. And there are constant delays in service.
"People have jobs! They can't be late," said Parto, a trader at the Jakarta stock exchange, who can usually be found sitting inside. "If the train is late, they'll do whatever they have to."
Several years ago, paint guns were set up to spray those riding on the top of carriages so authorities could identify and round up the guilty travelers. But roof riders destroyed the equipment soon after. The exhortations of clerics didn't work. Neither did the dogs.
Overcrowding has been an issue with commuter and passenger trains on Java- Indonesia's most populous island. In 2010, Indonesian passenger carrier PT Kereta Api introduced "Women's Only" train carriages in an effort to thwart other passengers who took advantage of the overcrowding to grope and fondle female commuters [similar trains operate in Mumbai and Tokyo- NANESB!].
Secured to a flatcar, Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 #557 passes by the Cook Inlet en route to Anchorage from the lower 48 in December. Photo- David Blazejewski/Columbia Basin Herald
The Baldwin 2-8-0 was built for the US Army in 1944 and went into service for the Alaska Railroad after WWII. The locomotive was in regular service for the Alaska until 1957 and was sold for scrap to a dealer in Washington State in 1962. However, instead of getting cut up, a Moses Lake, WA scrap dealer named Monte Holm took a shine to the old steamer and put it on display and would occasionally operate it on a short stretch of track.
Holm passed away in 2006, and a personal friend purchased the #557 from his estate before donating it to the Alaska Railway. Interestingly, the tender for the #557 never left Alaska and served in Maintainence of Way service along with a former US Army Corps of Engineers steam crane until 1974, at which point the railroad donated the tender to the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry.
The AKRR plans to fully restore #557 to operating condition and use the steam locomotive for excursions out of Anchorage.
The railroad has eight years to put it in service but Aadnesen is aiming for as early as 2013.
“We have a business case to put it back in a restricted kind of passenger service as a tourist attraction during the summers,” he said.
The project will depend on volunteer and foundation donations — money from the railroad can’t pay for it. It will cost more than $500,000 to refurbish the locomotive and get it back into service, then it will need to pay for itself. All that remains is to finish the regulations of establishing a foundation to receive such funds.
“We have no doubt that it can be done,” Aadnesen said.
Engine No. 557’s needs concern cosmetic issues like cleaning and painting. It will be completely disassembled and put back together to satisfy survey and inspection requirements for federal agencies.
After that, 557 will require annual maintenance plus periodic Federal Railroad Administration recertification, which will also have to be covered in the business case.
Last month, the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, AK donated the 1700 gallon tender for the oil burning #557 back to the Alaska Railroad.
Sister Baldwin 2-8-0 #556, also a former US Army unit, remains on static display at a public park in Anchorage.
A pair of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic B39-8s are seen hauling freight westbound between St Leonard, New Brunswick and Madawaska, ME near Keegan, ME in March 2009. Photo- Kevin Burkholder
The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic announced a tenative deal to sell off 25 miles of track between Madawaska, ME and St Leonard, NB. The northernmost portion of the MM&A was left isolated from the rest of the system after the railroad sold the 230 miles of track between Madawaska south to Millinocket, ME that were slated for abandonment to the State of Maine last year.
If the Federal Rail Administration and Maine Department of Transportation approve, J.D. Irving subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway will purchase the Madawaska-Van Buren-St. Leonard railroad line for an undisclosed amount. The governmental agencies have liens on the property. The sale could be completed next month, said Robert C. Grindrod, MM&A’s president and CEO.
“We have an isolated piece of railroad there that doesn’t seem to be generating a lot of traffic,” Grindrod said Tuesday of his reasons for the sale, “and there seemed to be little or no prospect of regaining traffic from Twin Rivers.”
Twin Rivers Paper Co. executives claimed a year ago that the Madawaska mill’s future was threatened by MM&A’s failure to maintain its railroad tracks and by its missed delivery and pickup deadlines — often forcing the coated and uncoated papermaker to hire trucks on the fly to make shipments — because of miscommunication or an insufficient number of railroad runs.
MM&A officials countered that they were trying to meet demand but that the use of trucks and declines in production by Twin Rivers and its predecessor, Fraser Paper, made running more trains uneconomical and helped create the conditions that led to the company’s loss of $4 million to $5 million annually.
Shortly after the sale, the state of Maine subcontracted operations of the line to New Brunswick Southern- a Canadian company owned by J.D. Irving. New Brunsiwck Southern's subsidiary, Eastern Maine Railway, operated the section of the former Canadian Pacific line between the US/Canadian border at Vanceboro, ME to the current MM&A interchange at Brownville Jct, ME. New Brunswick Southern/Eastern Maine also interchanges with Pan-Am Rail at Mattawamkeag, ME.
Birmingham Southern GP38-2 #704 leads a southbound taconite train at Ensley, AL on Dec 30th 2011- Just days before WATCO assumes operation of the Alabama steel hauler. Photo- David Stewart
Birmingham Terminal Railway has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Birmingham Southern Railway, which operates more than 75 miles of track in the region.
The railroad has access to the area's steel-making and manufacturing operations and connects to several major railroads, including Norfolk Southern [NYSE- NSC], CSX [NYSE- CSX] and Berkshire-Hathaway's [NYSE: BRK-A] BNSF.
Transtar is a holding company for some of the former United States Steel railways such as Pittsburgh's Union Railroad or Detroit's Delray Connecting. Transtar will still handle in-plant switching at US Steel's [NYSE: X] Fairfield, AL works and retains ownership of the Warrior & Gulf Navigation company
A pair of Iowa Northern gensets bracket a GP38 while hauling the IANR's first train on the former Union Pacific Garner sub in Garner, IA in November 2011. Photo- Craig Williams
FOREST CITY — The 28 miles of former Union Pacific railroad track from Forest City to Belmond has seen more traffic in the last three weeks than in the past five years, according to new operator Iowa Northern Railway Co. President Dan Sabin.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. Terry Branstad and other local and county officials was held Monday afternoon in Forest City.
Union Pacific intended to abandon the line because it was reluctant to operate trains with fewer than 100 cars, making access to businesses along the 28 miles of track difficult.
The North Central Iowa Rail Corridor LLC purchased the track for $1.5 million and signed a 10-year lease-to-own agreement with Iowa Northern Railway to operate the line.
“Most of us know in this day and age when you lose a railroad you never get it back,” said Dave Kingland, manager of the North Central Iowa Rail Corridor and president of Forest City Economic Development Group.
The 30-mile line is isolated from the rest of the IANR, but Canadian Pacific has granted the regional trackage rights between Nora Springs, west through Mason City and on into Garner.
The first IANR train on the line ran on November 4th with a pair of new gensets bracketing an Iowa Northern GP38-2, with 35 empty grain cars and a single auto-rack for the Winnebago [NYSE: WGO] plant in Forest City. Besides the grain elevators in the communities located along the ex UP line, Iowa Northern is hoping the RV manufacturer will be a regular shipper.
Using the last steam locomotive it ordered- ALCo 4-8-4 #844- Union Pacific operated a special train through New Mexico and Arizona to commemorate those states respective centennials in November before taking a roundabout route home to Cheyenne, WY. Here #844 is paired with specially painted SD70ACe #1996 heading west along the Salton Sea at Bombay Beach, CA having left Yuma, AZ a few hours earlier on November 17th, 2011. Photo- Craig Walker
UNION PACIFIC: Although a few weeks ahead of the official anniversary dates of statehood for both Arizona and New Mexico, Union Pacific operated a steam special through both states over the former Southern Pacific 'Sunset Route' line.
At the end of October the #844 departed its Cheyenne home base. The 1944 built 4-8-4 headed south through Colorado and made stops in Dalhart and El Paso, TX; Tucumcari, Alamogordo and Lordsburg, NM as well as Tuscon and Yuma, AZ where it was on public display.
From Yuma, the 844 took a roundabout trip back to Cheyenne, continuing west to the former Southern Pacific yard in Colton, CA before heading over Cajon Pass for the first time since 1989 and returning via Las Vegas and Salt Lake City at the end of November.
CHINA: The investigation into a collision on China's high speed rail network over the summer has led to no official disclosures from China's rail ministry regarding the cause or any remedies taken to prevent a similar accident.
The secrecy surrounding the probe, which ended in September, is typical of the sensitivities shown toward wider troubles plaguing the showcase high-speed rail program.
The accident inflamed criticism that the powerful Railway Ministry may be sacrificing safety in its costly quest to quickly roll out the bullet train network.
Based on regulations on major transport accidents, a report on the accident was due by Nov. 20. Railway Ministry officials refused comment Tuesday.
The few slivers of information about the probe have been quickly recanted.
A railway expert and deputy director of the investigation team, Wang Mengshu, backtracked from comments in the state-run Beijing Times newspaper quoting him as saying the crash near the eastern city of Wenzhou largely resulted from mismanagement.
State media on Tuesday carried reports of Wang claiming he was misquoted, that his comments were only his personal opinion, and that he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The lack of transparency has left some in China skeptical that problems with the high speed rail network are being resolved, said Li Hongchang, an economics professor at Beijing Jiaotong University.
“People want not just the report but to understand how it was compiled. Openness and credibility are actually more important than the report itself,” Li said.
Shortly after the accident, authorities blamed problems with the high-tech signaling systems used to run and route the trains for the crash. The collision occurred after railway staff failed to notice anything amiss when a lightening strike stalled a train and the signaling system failed to turn red.
But they have since backed away from that analysis. The Beijing Times report quoted Wang as saying the lack of problems with the same signaling systems on other lines suggests human error was to blame.
32 people were killed in July when the two high speed train sets collided outside the city of Wenzhou.
Grenada Railway B30-7A #242 heading north with what's likely the last through train between Grenada and Canton, MS for the foreseeable future is seen passing through Vaiden, MS on July 27, 2011. Photo-Fred Goff
Canadian National sold off more than 180 miles of former Illinois Central track between Southaven and Canton, MS in May of 2009 to A&K Railroad Materials, a salvage and scrap company with the stipulation that they operate the line for at least two years.
While the northernmost portion of the Grenada line between Grenada and Southaven, MS is still in operation, a Grenada Railway official said that a 112-foot bridge south of Vaiden, MS needs an estimated $750,000 in repairs to get the line back in service. The same official also said that considerable upgrades would be needed since much of the line south of Grenada is restricted to speeds of 10 MPH. The Grenada to Canton portion of the old Illinois Central mainline has been under embargo since July.
If that portion of the line was abandoned, it would leave the 21 mile Kosciusko & Southwestern Railway at Aberdeen Jct. without a rail connection to the rest of the country.
This portion of the former Illinois Central is perhaps best known for the infamous wreck in Vaughan that claimed the life of folk hero engineer Casey Jones in April 1900. Until 1995, this portion of the Illinois Central also hosted the City of New Orleans passenger service.
Wisconsin Southern SD40-2 #4025 is seen leading a Madison to Janesville, WI freight through the snow in January 2009. The #4025 is wearing a special 25th anniversary paint scheme while the trailing MP15AC is still painted in Milwaukee Road colors. Photo- Thomas Williams
WISCONSIN: The Wisconsin Southern and Kansas-based Watco Transportation announced that they have reached an agreement in which Watco would acquire a controlling interest in the 600-mile Milwaukee-based regional railroad.
The WSOR operates a cluster of former Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western lines throughout southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois, connecting with Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, BNSF, Union Pacific and Belt Railway of Chicago. Traffic is primarily grain, lumber, agricultural products, coal and aggregates. The WSOR also operates a locomotive painting facility and car repair shop in Janesville where it carries out contract work for other railroads.
Earlier this year, WSOR CEO William Gardner was sentenced to probation and 100 hours community service after he pleaded guilty to circumventing Wisconsin state campaign finance laws by awarding bonuses to WSOR employees, and then arranging for the employees to donate their bonuses to different politician's campaign funds, including now governor Scott Walker's campaign.
The sale is expected to go through on Jan 1st, 2012 pending STB approval. Watco has said they anticipate minimal changes in WSOR's day-to-day operations once they acquire controlling interest. I wholeheartedly encourage the progressives in Madison and elsewhere to spend every waking hour between now and January attempting to stop Watco from acquiring WSOR- petitioning the STB instead of supporting the 'Occupy' movement, gathering signatures for Walker's recall or working on Obama's 2012 campaign.
Newly Restored Valley Railroad 'Mikado' 2-8-2 #3025 awaits its second its second run in Essex, CT on November 26, 2011 Photo- Paolo Roffo
CONNECTICUT: The Valley Railroad has debuted its 'New Haven' 2-8-2 Mikado, which is actually a Chinese-made 'SY' class steam locomotive that was acquired during a 2008 liquidation auction of Pennsylvania's Knox and Kane Railway's assets.
The locomotive started out life as Knox & Kane 'SY' #58 and was made in 1989 by the Tangshan Locomotive Works and imported from the People's Republic of China. The K&K shut down operations in 2006, a few years after the Kinzua Viaduct was heavily damaged by a tornado. In 2008, a devastating arson attack on the railroad's shops dashed any hopes of the line reopening. While the exterior of #58 was heavily damaged in the blaze, the boiler, frame and running gear were salvageable. The Valley Railroad also successfully bid on a number of spare parts that survived the blaze.
Most of the major work in rebuilding K&K #58 to 'New Haven #3025' was undertaken at the Valley Railroad's shops in Essex, CT. The extensive external damage to #58 meant that the Valley Railroad could rebuild the Chinese SY steamer into a reasonable facsimile of a New York, New Haven & Hartford Mikado. Sadly, no steam locomotive rostered by the New Haven survived the scrapper's torch, but there were plenty of drawings, blueprints and detailed period photos for the Valley Railway to use in their restoration project.
On November 15, 2011, the Valley Railroad fired up New Haven #3025 for the first time. The restored steamer was put to use switching the yard and facilities over the next few days before she went to work hauling passengers on the Valley Railroad's 'North Pole Express' Holiday excursions on November 25th.
UNIONS: Major US freight haulers have reportedly reached a collective bargaining agreement with three unions after a board appointed by President Obama was ordered to review an impasse between companies and labor groups over contract talks for the last two years.
The agreement is seen as helpful in preventing a walkout that could cost the economy as much as $2 billion a day. The tentative deal announced in mid-November covers wages, benefits and other employment conditions, according to the American Association of Railroads.
Although a deal wasn't reached with one holdout union- the Teamster's Brotherhood of Maintainence of Way Employees- the BMWE agreed to extend negotiations to early Feburary.
Although Progress Rail Services projected that as many as 650 jobs could be added by 2012, the plant currently employs somewhere between 160 and 180 people full time. Both Progress Rail and local officials hope that the number will continue to go up as worldwide demand for new motive power increases.
Both Progress Rail Services and EMD are wholly owned subsidiaries of Caterpillar, Inc [NYSE: CAT]. Since the late 1980s, most of the production of EMD locomotives has taken place in London, Ontario, Canada. Caterpillar acquired EMD last year and is reportedly hoping to shift some of the locomotive production back the the USA from Ontario.
Grand Canyon 2-8-2 #4960 seen heading north out of Williams, AZ at sunrise with a mixed freight in May 2011. Photo- John West
ARIZONA: In addition to Union Pacific #844's visit to the Grand Canyon state, a number of steam excursions are planned to mark the centennial of Arizona's statehood in 2012.
The #4960 may have company later on in the year, as well. The Santa Clara, CA based Central Coast chapter of the NRHS announced a 9-day rail trip featuring vintage passenger cars and Santa Fe 4-8-4 steam locomotive #3751 that will depart Los Angeles on May 13th and travel to the Grand Canyon via Rail America's Arizona & California and BNSF's former Santa Fe 'Peavine Line' between Phoenix and Williams, AZ. There is even talk of a May 16th doubleheader over the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams to the South Rim featuring both the #4960 and #3751 before the restored Santa Fe Northern heads back to California (returning via the Peavine line and the Arizona & California).
Even after the #3751 returns to Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon announced plans to run three more trips to the South Rim using #4960, as well as a pair of shorter excursions out of Williams in May and June.
Nickel Plate Berkshire 2-8-4 #765 seen outside of Ithica, MI with a Steam Railroading Institute of Michigan excursion on October 15, 2011 on the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway. The excursions were to help raise funds for boiler work on sister Berkshire Pere Marquette #1225. Photo- Steven McKay
MICHIGAN: The Owosso, MI-based Steam Railroading institute announced that an anonymous donor has offered a $100,000 matching grant towards the restoration of the Institute's Pere Marquette 2-8-4 Berkshire #1225. That means as soon as the SRI tallies $100,000, their unknown benefactor will deposit an additional $100,000 in the organization's coffers.
Fundraising for the #1225's restoration has been ongoing prior to that announcement. In October, the Ft. Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 travelled from Indiana to Michigan (via a brief stint on Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway) to help raise funds for the #1225's restoration by powering a series of excursions out of Owosso before returning to the Hoosier state.
A duo of former Kansas City Southern, nee Canadian National SD40-3s lettered for MobilGrain seen on the Big Sky Railway's former CN tracks in Eston, SK. Photo- Mark David Zuikoskey/Canadian Railway Observations
Big Sky Rail is jointly operated by MobilGrain and West Central Road & Rail and recieved an interest-free provincial loan to the tune of C$5.6 million towards the acquisition of the line from Canadian National, with formal purchase agreements and title transfers to be finalized in 2012.
Power for both the Big Sky and affiliated Last Mountain Railways is a small fleet of rebuilt former Kansas City Southern and Wisconsin Central (nee Canadian National) SD40-3s.
In a rather interesting move, Canadian Railway Observations reports that Last Mountain and Big Sky's affiliate Mobil Grain purchased 7 General electric 70-ton switchers from California's Modesto & Empire Traction railway as dedicated switchers for the various grain elevators along the Big Sky and Last Mountain lines. The newest of these ex M&ET locomotives date back to 1955.
Big Sky is thought to be Sasketchewan's 12th shortline- and at least the 4th to begin operations in the last two years.
Granted New England seems to be more renowned for its fall foliage, but with just the right composition, the Midwest autumn can be just as colorful.
Take for instance this local freight on the Indiana & Ohio's Brookville line in Southern Indiana. Here, railpictures.net contributor Michael Beihn caught GP38-2 #3889 from sister Rail America road Chicago, Ft Wayne & Eastern trundling long hood forward past some late fall foliage in Cedar Grove, IN in November 2009. In most of New England, most of the foliage is typically already on the ground by this point.
The freight shown here is traversing the I&O's Brookville branch which connects the southern Indiana town with the Cincinnati, OH area.
Today's appetizing train of thought takes us to the Hoosier state and the Anacostia Pacific-run Louisville & Indiana shortline.
The LIRC began operation of the former Pennsylvania Railroad line between Louisville and Indianapolis in 1994 and has served as a regional bridge line between the Midwest and the Bluegrass state. Online traffic includes potash, cement, scrap metal and plastic products, but in recent years it's role as a bridge line has become increasingly prominent with the CSX and Indiana Railroad shifting traffic off the former Monon Hoosier subdivision between Chicago and Louisville in late 2009- each of them opting instead to use trackage or haulage rights over the LIRC between Indianapolis and Louisville.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Micheal Biehn caught Louisville & Indiana GP39-2 #2376 heading south with northbound the Columbus, IN- Jefferson, IN symbol freight CJ as it passes by the front steps of Lucille's Home Cookin' in Crothersville, IN on April 22, 2009.
I get the feeling that Respondek Rail Corp is what we would wind up with if a railfan decided to own and operate a series of shortlines and a contract switching service. With a small fleet of 1st generation EMDs painted in colors reminiscent of fallen flag Illinois Terminal, owner Terry Respondek expanded operations in 2005 by leasing from CSX the 42 mile former Chesapeake & Ohio line between Richmond, IN and Fernald, OH.
In 2007, Norfolk Southern acquired the remaining 50% stake of the nearby shortline Algers, Winslow & Western. In a way, the AW&W's fleet of unmodified SD9s went full circle- with the southern Indiana shortline acquiring the six axle roadswitchers from Norfolk Southern predecessor Southern Railroad (nee Central of Georgia- old enough that they likely replaced steam locomotives on the C of G) before the coal-hauling shortline was acquired by the Norfolk Southern.
Since the NS has a much larger fleet of higher horsepower and much newer diesels at their disposal, the red white and black SD9s of the AW&W became surplus. Instead, Respondek purchased all 4 the former AW&W diesels for operation on their new Indiana Eastern (IERR), where two of them continue to work in the red white and black of the fallen flag (likely by design on Respondek's Part). Two of the other former AW&W SD9s are painted in the green with yellow trim paint scheme of sister railroad Squaw Creek Southern.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Michael Biehn caught IERR SD9s #205 and #206 trundling westbound across the former C&O trestle on September 17, 2008 in Okeana, OH- just east of the Indiana State Line and northwest of Cincinnati. The train has stalled while climbing the grade between Fernald, OH and Cottage Grove, IN and the two vintage SD9s are doubling the hill after splitting their train in half.
In keeping with the snow theme while there's still some on the ground in various parts of the country, today's Train of Thought brings us to the Hoosier state and the all-EMD shortline Indiana Northeastern.
The Indiana Northeastern- not surprisingly operates in the northeastern corner of Indiana as well as the far northwestern corner of Ohio where it connects with the Norfolk Southern at Montpelier, OH and the former Hillsdale County Railroad (nee New York Central) trackage between Jonesville and Sturgis, MI where it connects with Pioneer Rail corp's Michigan Southern (and onto another connection with the NS line between Elkhart, IN and Kalamazoo, MI currently being leased to WATCO's Grand Elk Railroad at White Pigeon, MI). Besides agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, wheat and flour, the IN also hauls coal, lumber, glass and chemicals among other commodities.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Aaron C Schlegel caught a Northbound Indiana Northeastern freight ducking under the Fox Lake Rd bridge in Angola, IN with a lashup of power that prominently features first generation power- the two lead units are largely unmodified GP9s. According to the Diesel Shop, the lead unit- Indiana Northeastern #1601 started out life as Reading #606 in August 1952 while Indiana Northeastern #1602 was built in April 1957 as Great Northern #693 and bringing up the rear is the only slightly newer 1963-built GP30 #2230, which was built as Pennsylvania railroad #2230.
Both the 1601 and 1602 retain their classic as-built high hoods- and it's entirely likely that each unit was ordered to replace the last of the serviceable steam locomotives on their respective railways (Reading & Great Northern).
Like the 2 lead units, another worthwhile product of the 1950s would include actress and World Series of Poker participant Jennifer Tilly. I know I've mentioned this before, but even though I don't regularly follow Poker tournaments or the latter day entries in the Child's Play series of movies, I still continue to be impressed at how Tilly continues to be easy on the eyes just past the half-century mark [I know I can't be the only one- NANESB!].
