The rail magazine for the computer age. =================================================== RAIL ONLINE VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 1993 =================================================== Editor-in-Chief: Peter Kirn, 73232,3534 CompuServe, 73232.3534@compuserve.com Internet Compilation Copyright (C) 1993 E/Press publishing A non-profit publication from E/Press. -> BEST OF `93 NOMINATIONS Nominate your favorite articles from the first 6 issues of RailOnline Magazine. Details immediately after the table of contents. -> CIS USERS: RailOnline's editor, Peter Kirn, was the guest speaker at TrainNet's weekly conference on Wednesday, December 22, 1993, the day this issue went to press. Watch for a transcript of the conference and be sure to have a look! And watch for details of a regular CIS conference. -> RO A LITTLE OVERWHELMING? Check out the RO Guide at @@1. It's your travel guide to the contents of this issue. ============== IN THIS ISSUE: ============== E-PAGES: Instead of using conventional searching, RailOnline takes advantage of the search-and-find features in your editor or word processor. For instance, to read the letter from the editor, have your editor search for the text "@@A". From the Editor..........................................@@A RO Conference `93: Q&A session with the editor Letters..................................................@@B RO Newswire Your rail news alternative. INSIGHT: Conrail reveals restructuring details...........@@C High Speed Rail Update...................................@@D US Headlines: Reforms helping rail industry..............@@E Santa Fe News............................................@@F Conrail News: Coal strike over...........................@@G Amtrak News: New Chairman / President, lower budget......@@H UK Rails: CHUNNEL UPDATE.................................@@I European headlines.......................................@@J CP News..................................................@@K t I d B i T s: Crew saves 11 year-old from drowning......@@! RAILONLINE FEATURES From modelers to engineers. Employee perspective: Never a dull moment................@@L Restoration: Saga of a steam crane.......................@@M Athearn box cars: Don't just shake the box!..............@@N Model railroading: Where do you get your ideas?..........@@O Model RRing Industry Connection..........................@@P RailOnline info: staff, contacting RO, submitting to RO, copying RO, and the next issue, @^ NOTE: RO Info has been updated and made more brief. Please take a moment to read it. Best of RO `93 =============================== NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES =============================== RailOnline has just completed its operations for 1993. Before we move on, we'd like to look back at the material that we've run since July 1993, V1, N1. Richard McGrath's misadventures in that first issue are already decidedly one of readers' favorite articles, so we've already nominated that. What are your favorite articles, aside from that one? The results will allow us to run such articles in the future, as well as give us a chance to give writers credit for their best work. Please name two news articles (which can include any Insight or Tidbits story), and two feature articles. CIS users, send your nominations to 73232,3534. Internet users, send mail to 73232.3534@compuserve.com. Articles can be from any issue, including this one. Mark the message with the header, "BEST OF `93". I look forward to the results. The response to the Internet Census was very impressive and helpful. Let's do it again! -PK _________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR: RO Conference `93: A Q&A session with the editor @@A _________________________________________________________________ Now, after 6 months of reading RailOnline, you're finally going to get to see me in person. Sort of. I'm going to be online and live for the first time on CompuServe, as the guest speaker at TrainNet's weekly conference on Wednesday, December 22. (By the time you read this, that conference is over, of course.) Don't worry if you've missed the conference, though. For one, a transcript of the conference will be available - even to Internet users. For CIS users, we're planning to make the RO conference a regular event on TrainNet. And, for a moment, I'm going to put myself in your shoes. Here are some of the questions I would imagine you have in your mind. I've selected some ones that are pretty difficult; others that I've heard asked by several people. So here they are, just in case you missed the conference or these questions got missed during it. With RailOnline having made it through 1993, it's time to look at 1994. While RO is more experienced now, the demands that will be put upon the publication next year are likely to be far higher than the ones in 93. 1993 stood witness to the birth of a publication. With 1994, that publication will hopefully come of age. Q. Is RO *ever* going to come out on a regular basis? A. Actually, RO is already on a schedule. RO will be released during the month that bears its cover date. The February issue will come out some time in February. Internet users will have received this issue late because the Internet distribution manager, Dan Dawdy, was away, but this is an unusual occurrence. Q. So RO might come out at any time during that month? A. No. RO has deadlines like any publication. You just don't see them, because just as there are advantages to electronic publishing, unpredictable elements and the fact that we have a diminutive staff make precise reader deadlines impossible. However, you can expect RO immediately after the middle of the month. That's our present target date for each issue. Q. Will Mac users ever get a Replica edition? A. We're looking into the possibility right now. I should have an answer within a month. Q. What about FidoNet distribution? A. I've managed to get full access to Internet and CIS. I need a FidoNet distribution manager who can, on a reasonable basis, distribute message post-sized, cut versions of RailOnline. Q. What's RO's circulation like? A. Unfortunately, we still have little idea of circulation outside of CIS. One of the appealing things about RO is that once it gets online, it can end up virtually anywhere. The disadvantage is that where it ends up and how many people are really reading it will remain a mystery. RO is currently located not only on CIS and Internet/UseNet, but also on the RailNet and Safe Harbor BBSs in Ohio and Wisconsin, respectively, among other BBSs. CIS circulation has dropped off slightly; however, RO is now available in brand new Windows and Travel formats which I believe will make a difference in that. I'll be posting CIS circulation figures from time to time to keep you in touch with what's going on. Q. What happened to the paper edition and Ami Pro editions of RO? A. After a great deal of delay in making the decision due to massive technical difficulties, the paper and AP editions of RO are no longer available to individuals. The Ami Pro edition is terminated indefinitely. These two editions have been replaced by the new Farallon Replica format, which allows anyone to view layout, graphics, and formatted text on a Windows system. I've finally worked the bugs out this week. I will be printing this version out for distribution to groups, but probably not until issue 7. If you're involved in a rail group, RO has a special offering for you, and I hope you'll contact me. The problem is, it's simply not practical to offer the paper edition to individuals. I apologize to anyone waiting for these particular publications. Q. An article in RO sounds familiar to me... is someone violating copyright laws? A. No. Because just about everyone - including newspapers - gets a great deal of information through press releases, articles will commonly be structured the same way. Q. I get the sense that a lot of articles in RO are based on press releases. Isn't that taking a gamble with accuracy? And isn't the railroad's position biased? A. Well, yes, it is biased. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing - the railroad's perspective is important. Generally, the articles taken from railroad sources are watched closely to make sure they are reasonably objective. Most of the time, they are accurate portrayals of the situation. Sometimes they are not, however, and one of the advantages of being online is that we catch wind of it if we missed something. For example, a fellow contacted us telling us that he doubted BritRail when they said they'd have trains through the Chunnel in May. Both sides have their own view of the situation. As a publication, it is our role to cover both. And I do my best to do that. Q. How do you afford working on RO without making it a commercial publication? A. Well, that's another of the high points of being online. Surprisingly, thanks to 9600 baud modems, lower rates, and automated access programs, services such as CIS and Internet are very inexpensive. As for the time aspect, I work on RailOnline because I enjoy it. And I'm not getting burned out on it, either, primarily thanks to you. I do most of the work as far as compiling information and balancing stories. However, I'll still often get messages in the mail with articles or articles ideas, completely unsolicited, for free. There's never a dull moment working on RO. There's always something new waiting around the next corner. People to see, places to go. And that's every week. Q. What should we expect in `94? A. Plenty. My primary goal will be building readers, but I'll be doing it by continual innovations as I have in the past, and having a larger circulation in itself will benefit readers. I'm also planning to try out some experimental services that are pretty unusual. I won't reveal them at the present time - you'll just have to wait. But, if I had to sum `94 up in a single word, it would be "readers". I'll be focusing on expanding services to readers and improving the ones already available. As I said before, `93 was a year of birth, and `94 will be a year of growth. This is the most exciting, the most challenging, and the most crucial stage in the publication's development. Simply put, that means there's plenty to look forward to. ===================== RAILONLINE GUIDE: @@1 ===================== Since neither the DVRP nor Bryce Lee had material for issue 6, the RO Newswire is somewhat different in issue 6. Fortunately, we've been able to fill the gaps, and with some very interesting coverage. British Rail, Amtrak, Conrail, and the French Railways are each at what appears to be crucial points in their evolution. There's been a great deal of talk about change at Conrail, and now we're seeing it in action. Conrail sent us the details of its new service structure, which is moving in the opposite direction from the course the railroad industry has traditionally taken. Rather than give our own report, I've let Conrail speak for themselves. Search @@C. Amtrak has a new president and chairman, and a trimmed-down budget. The stage is set for change. Search @@H. British Rail is predicting "a watershed year" for 1994. They're holding prices steady, and making Flexipasses more flexible. And the Chunnel appears to be set to go. However, all the hurdles in the Chunnel project have not yet been overcome. We have full details, including how the tunnel is shaping up from the European press, translated and edited by the latest addition to the RO News staff, Adri Noort. Search @@I. Mr. Noort also has details on the French Railways recent difficulties. The railroad is facing massive drops in ridership. Search @@J for our most comprehensive European news to date. The latest edition of the Tidbits section is, in my opinion, the best we've run yet. This month includes how Santa Fe is bringing Santa Claus to children via the railroad, how a Canadian crew saved an 11 year-old boy's life, and how CP is cleaning up the site of a locomotive facility in the new spirit of corporate environmentalism. Search, as always, `@@!'. Also in this issue, we run our first employee anecdotal piece since Richard McGrath's popular article in issue 1. Corbett Price is sharing some of his more comic experiences from his 16 year career, involving everything from stew to explosives. This is definitely an article you won't want to miss. Search @@L. Our "Saga of a steam crane" article is something of a departure for RailOnline Magazine. The story follows the restoration of an ex-CV crane. If you've never worked on the restoration of rolling stock, I think you'll find it very interesting, as I did. And if you have, I'm sure you'll appreciate what the author went through. Search @@M. Enjoy issue 6. I hope those of you who celebrate the holiday had a merry Christmas, and to everyone, my very best wishes for the new year. I look forward to sending RO out to you through all of it. Thanks for your continued readership! -Peter Kirn, Editor _________________________________________________________________ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: @@B _________________________________________________________________ I've received a great deal of positive comments with issues 4 and 5. Here is one of the most complimentary. While it is perhaps unnecessary to run something like this in RO; either you like it or you don't, I do think positive feedback is important. Just as we know we've done something wrong when we get complaints, it's equally critical to know what we're doing right. To all of you who have let us know, thank you. The answers can be very interesting in context of my own vision for the publication. A sample follows. -PK JOURNALIST SAYS RAILONLINE IS BEST IN ITS CLASS Not long ago, I downloaded and read Rail Online #4. Finding it interesting, I went after Rail Online #5. Its quality compels me to write and tell you how extremely impressed I am with this publication. On a number of levels, it appears to be improving with each edition. I work on the publications staff for the United Transportation Union (UTU), with a hand in writing the UTU News and full responsibility for the UTU Retiree News. Last April, I received a modem as a birthday gift and discovered the world out on the nets. I found a local BBS called RailNet, and through that I learned about CompuServe's TrainNet Forum. The more I saw, the more I realized the UTU should be posting its newspapers, especially in light of the fact that the carriers had already established their presence in the on-line universe. After lobbying the front office at the UTU, I eventually was granted permission to compile an on-line version of the UTU News for posting to CompuServe and Usenet's rec.railroad newsgroup. In trying to figure out a format and a "package" for the posting, I looked at as many existing, on-line publications as I could find. Quite honestly, Rail OnLine had the best text-only interface and all-around general organization. I learned a lot from what seemed to work well with your publication and applied it to producing my first two on-line editions. (I'm still learning about controlling font-spacing in a cross-platform situation, and I think I'll have better results in January.) Now I understand you're working on a version that will take advantage of Farallon's Replica. I've read a little about that package, and I'm excited about seeing how it works out for you. Unfortunately for me, I work at home and at the office on Macs, so I may not get to see the first edition (depending on how quickly you and Farallon come along with the Mac-compatible version), but as soon as I hear you've got a Mac version ready, I'll be sending you a diskette so I can see a copy. Besides being extremely interested in the mechanics and "tech" side of Rail OnLine (I'll probably be pumping you for details about your experience with Replica), I'm also impressed by the journalism. In my opinion, you've been able to strike a good balance of delivering something for modelers, as well as for employees and railfans, and that's a pretty fair trick in itself. The coverage you've been able to get from all around the continent puts the icing on the cake. To you and all those who contribute to Rail OnLine's production, I offer my congratulations and best wishes for many fine editions to come. John H. Horvath Via CompuServe e-mail [Editor's note - UTU News is available via Internet and on CompuServe. The latest edition on CompuServe is titled UT1293.TXT.] _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA US Headlines INSIGHT: Conrail reveals details of new service groups @@C _________________________________________________________________ Conrail is changing the way it does business by creating four service groups. The railroad has some lofty goals for fitting this plan into its commitment to "Continuous Quality Improvement": to get away from "militaristic" management typical in railroads and bring decision making closer to the customer by merging departments. I've chosen to let Conrail speak for themselves in this edition of Insight. Here's how Conrail describes the changes and how they fit into the railroad's strategy. -PK CONRAIL CREATES FOUR SERVICE GROUPS TO BUILD ON TRANSPORTATION SERVICE NETWORK SUCCESS; OFFICERS ELECTED TO LEAD EFFORT From a special edition of the Conrail Newswire, November 17, 1993 Building on the success of the transportation service networks introduced last year, Conrail will establish four service groups to better meet the unique demands of customers with differing freight transportation needs. The four service groups -- Intermodal, Automotive, Unit Train and General Service -- will begin managing their individual businesses January 1, 1994. "The new structure integrates formerly separate departments into groups based on customer and product characteristics and improves our information flow," said James A. Hagen, Conrail's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "It's a logical extension and formalization of the way we've been working with customers for the past year. It takes people in Marketing & Sales and Operations who already have begun working together cross- functionally on the networks, and puts them under the same group leader." > Service groups will report to LeVan The service groups will report to David M. LeVan, who has been elected Executive Vice President and reports to Hagen. Elected leaders of the groups are: Gordon H. Kuhn, Senior Vice President-General Service; Timothy P. Dwyer, Vice President-Unit Trains; Ronald J. Conway, Vice President- Intermodal; and George P. Turner, Vice President-Automotive. Most recently, Kuhn served as Senior Vice President- Marketing and Sales, Dwyer as General Manager of the Philadelphia Division, Conway as Asst. Vice President- Petrochemicals and Minerals and Turner as Asst. Vice President-Automotive. "The transportation service networks improved the reliability of our service and enabled us to meet and exceed the increasing needs of our customers, but we cannot rest on our laurels and expect our customers to remain satisfied," said Hagen. "The marketplace requires change and the recognition of the differences among our customers. Each service group will have the tools to respond to these distinct needs with the right service at the right price. "On January 1, our internal organizational structure will change, but the day-to-day contacts for our customers will not," said Hagen. "For example, the people who today take car orders for paper shipments will take those orders on January 1. What will change is that the internal organizations which design, price, sell, deliver, and bill Conrail's paper transportation product will no longer be separate. > New structure tries to bring decision-making closer to customer "These changes sharpen Conrail's customer orientation," said Hagen. "The service groups bring the decision-making points closer to the customer. These decisions will now be made on the basis of the service group's business, not by separate functional areas with a narrower point of view. The service group structure will simplify decision making and reduce cycle times, so that we can respond to customer needs faster and reduce cycle-related costs. By making each service group accountable for its total product, its asset use, and its profitability, Conrail will continue to meet the changing external environment of its customers and competition." While some companies have experimented with placing different functions into separate business units, Conrail is taking an opposite approach by integrating functions. Among the functions brought together within each service group are marketing and sales, product and customer development, equipment and terminal management, and billing. The transportation service networks, established last year to specialize in the movement of different types of freight, also will become part of the new service groups. In addition to the four service groups, the following departments will report to LeVan: Engineering, Mechanical, Materials & Purchasing, Customer Service, Transportation, and other operations functions not incorporated into the service groups. Continuing to report to Hagen as separate corporate level departments are Law, Development, Finance & Administration, Labor Relations, Continuous Quality Improvement, and Corporate Strategy. Information Systems, currently part of the Operations Department, will report to H. William Brown, Senior Vice President-Finance & Administration. The positions of Senior Vice President- Operations and Senior Vice President-Marketing & Sales are eliminated. > New service group structure is evolutionary At first glance, Conrail's network reorganization seems revolutionary. However, the changes and the philosophy that inspired them are just another step in the evolutionary process that began in the late 1980's when Conrail committed itself to Continuous Quality Improvement. In doing so, Conrail committed itself to putting the needs of the customer above all else, no matter what assumptions or time- honored practices -- paradigms -- had to be changed. "Breaking the paradigm" is one of the key phrases of the quality process. Breaking the paradigm of managing-by- internal function is only the latest example of how the quality process is working its way through the corporation. > An end to "militaristic" management Historically, railroads have been managed in a militaristic fashion, with decisions coming from the top and working their way down through the organization. In recent years, this has been seen as an impediment to meeting the needs of the customer. With this recognition, management began to flatten out. The Strategy Management Team was born, with the leaders of all the departments conferring together on the running of the company. Input was sought from those close to the actual operation of the railroad and to the customer. Cross-functional teams were formed to solve problems. Focus on the customer and meeting customer needs led to the concept of transportation networks, which began operation last fall. The idea was fairly simple. Auto manufacturers, for example, have transportation needs that are unique to them. For one thing, they understandably expect their vehicles to arrive at the distributors without a dent...and going over the typical classification yard hump has been known to put a few creases in the shiny bodies of new cars. So a cross-functional team at Conrail came up with a new way of transporting autos between assembly plants and dealers by managing the transportation process separately from other kinds of freight. By flat-switching rather than humping cars, by doing the switching at specified yards, and by establishing its own schedules, the cross-functional team reduced damage to new cars and improved service. Paradigms shattered, and the Intermodal/Multilevel Transportation Service Network was born. The Unit Train Transportation Service Network and the General Freight Transportation Service Network were created in similar fashion. The transportation networks have resulted in improved transit consistency, enhanced customer satisfaction, and reduced operating expenses. > The goal of the networks It's not such a leap to further enlarge the concept and incorporate not just transportation, but also sales and marketing, billing and car management into the networks, or service groups as they are now called. The idea, first and foremost, is to give customers what they want: the right price, the right service, damage-free delivery and accountability. To execute that idea, structure the organization so that employees no longer work vertically, but rather work horizontally, interweaving functions within a service group for the good of the customer. In many corporations, including Conrail, the goals of an individual department may conflict with the goals of the corporation as a whole. By integrating the departments themselves into new groups based on customer and product characteristics, uniformity of purpose is achieved. Conrail's corporate goals are clear: By 1996, the company wants to have achieved an 80% operating ratio, an increase in annual revenue of $600 million over 1992, and a return on funded assets equal to the cost of capital. How will Conrail achieve all this, particularly in the current sluggish economy? By keeping the customer satisfied. By combining all the people, services, cars and terminals needed to serve a particular kind of customer, the new service group structure is positioned to better utilize the company's assets and to be responsive to changing customer needs. When Conrail committed itself to Continuous Quality Improvement, it committed itself to evolutionary change, change driven by customers, by competition, by technology, by new partnerships. The service group structure is the latest step along this path Conrail has chosen. _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA US High Speed Rail Update @@D _________________________________________________________________ Europe is also looking into adding additional high speed lines, this time through the Alps. See European Headlines (@@J) OVER $1 BILLION IN HIGH-SPEED RAIL FUNDING UNDER CONSIDERATION Conrail Newswire, November 30 A senate committee recently forwarded legislation to encourage development of high-speed rail to the full senate for consideration. The bill includes $1 billion in federal assistance over the next five years to set up projects in high-speed corridors, and another $15 million annually for development of high-speed rail technology. Corridors include the Chicago-Detroit-Milwaukee-St. Louis region. NEW YORK'S HI-SPEED RAIL PLAN by Peter Kirn, RO News Staff Special thanks to Ken May, RO News Staff Lt. Governor Stan Ludine and State Transportation Commissioner John Egan briefer Syracuse area leaders on the Cuomo Adiminstration's new high speed rail and maglev proposals on November 10, pushing it as a source for jobs and substantially fast er train service in central New York. "Rail improvements that will increase speeds to 125 miles per hour throughout Amtrak's Buffalo-to-New York corridor will rekindle interest in rail travel, create about 12,000 construction jobs and offer tremendous opportunities for businesses state-wide," said the Lt. Governor at a press conference. The Lt. Governor said the "downtown to downtown" aspect of high-speed transportation would reinvigorate New York's inner cities. In Syracuse, a proposed transportation is being developed as part of the state-funded Inner Harbor project at the Syracuse Market area. In Utica, plans call for rehabilitating Union Station to provide a similar "multi-modal" transportation center. Lt. Governor Ludine is coordinator of an inter-agency state task force that developed the $992 million high-speed rail proposal announced November 9, which also includes Commissioner Egan. About 80 percent of the money in the program will go toward improvements between Buffalo and Schenectady, beginning in 1995 with $140 million in track, signal and grade crossing improvements between Syracuse and Utica, followed by $260 million in work between Rochester and Syracuse in 1997. The plan, scheduled for completion by the end of the decade, calls for a 25 percent share from the state and 75 percent from the federal government, consistent with federal support of other modes of transportation. The improvements would cut the travel time between Syracuse and New York City from five hours to less than four hours, and between Syracuse and Albany from 2.5 hours to less than two hours. Amtrak trains are currently limited to speeds of 75 mph west of Schenectady. Many New York companies have expressed interest in the state's high speed rail program, including General Railway Signal in Rochester, New York Air Brake in Watertown, Morrison-Knudsen in Hornell and ABB Traction in Elmira. > New York proposes first intercity maglev The Cuomo Administration's proposal to develop the world's first intercity maglev between New York City, Albany and Boston over the next 10 to 15 years would create about 75,000 construction jobs. The $6.7 billion initiative could involve several New York companies and research institutions, including Carrier Corp. in Syracuse, SUNY Buffalo's Institute on Superconductivity, Intermagnetics General Corp. near Albany and Grumman Corp. of Long Island. Carrier Corp. has been working on cooling techniques for high and low temperature superconductors that would be used in maglev design "With maglev, we are at the threshold of a revolutionary, `made in New York' transportation system that can revitalize our struggling defense industries," the Lieutenant Governor said. "We need to redeploy some of our highly skilled workers - and keep jobs in New York." "If we seize the lead now, we can be the center of a new, emerging high-tech industry," he said. "Maglev can be as important to New York as Boeing's leadership in commercial aviation has been to the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest." ________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA General US Headlines @@E ________________________________________________________________ Perspective: US REFORMS HELP RAIL INDUSTRY CP Rail System News, October 1993 Larger and fewer major railroads emerged from the shakeup in the US rail industry that began in 1980. With much of their low-density track removed or sold to the many shortlines that sprang up, major carriers' traffic density went up. Better financial returns encouraged investment. Visible signs of rail rejuvenation in the United States: major spending programs over the last decade in plant, freight cars and new locomotives. In the case of Union Pacific, it can boast today of an average locomotive age of just under 12 years. [Editor's note: CP's average locomotive age is at an elderly 22.5 for 1992. See story from CP in RO News/International: Canada. -PK] But so are taxes -- not just lower U.S. taxes on railway cost items such as fuel and roadway property, but also better tax treatment of investment. UP RESTRUCTURES OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT Conrail Newswire, November 30 The Union Pacific Railroad is restructuring its operations department to increase emphasis on customer service. Transportation service units at UP will be matched up with corresponding groups in its Marketing Department. UTU & SP AGREEMENT Conrail Newswire, November 30 United Transportation Union members ratified a contract with Southern Pacific. The new contract reportedly includes a wage freeze through 1997, and allows SP to buy out more than 200 positions. IBM SUBSIDIARY GAINS 10-YEAR ROLE IN SP DATA CENTER AND DATA NETWORK Conrail Newswire, December 14 SP signed a 10-year, $415 million contract with an IBM subsidiary, which will assume management, financial and operational responsibility for SP's data center and data network. The contract with Integrated Systems Solutions Corp., includes application development, disaster recovery and IS consulting services formerly provided by SP's in- house systems function. About 350 former SP systems employees are transferring to the new company. _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA Santa Fe News @@F _________________________________________________________________ SANTA FE ORDERS 50 G.E. LOCOMOTIVES FOR 1994 Santa Fe News, November 17 Santa Fe will acquire 50 4,400-horsepower General Electric DASH 9- 44CW locomotives for February through April 1994 delivery. "We are aggressively replacing older locomotives with new, fuel-efficient, high-productivity units to meet the increasing demands placed on our motive power fleet," said Mike Franke, vice president-maintenance. General Electric will perform maintenance work on these locomotives, using Santa Fe personnel at the railroad's Kansas City, Kansas, facilities. In 1993, 85 high-horsepower, six-axle General Electric locomotives were added to Santa Fe's fleet. Including the latest order, Santa Fe has added 371 locomotives to its fleet since 1990, valued at more than $1 million each. UPS RANKS SANTA FE #1 IN PEAK SO FAR Santa Fe News, December 14 Santa Fe has been ranked #1 in service to UPS during their PEAK season so far. PEAK runs from December 1-24 and is UPS's busiest season each year. Santa Fe's performance so far in PEAK has been even better than last year's. The pressure is still on to maintain this high performance level because ten days remain in the PEAK season. According to Bob Babcock, manager-UPS, Santa Fe's performance during PEAK reflects very well on the Santa Fe people handling the shipments -- particularly considering the service challenges the railroad has faced in 1993, including the after-effects of the flood and significant volume increases. Babcock indicates that, though Santa Fe is currently ranked #1 in PEAK, overall Santa Fe was the #2 rail carrier for UPS in 1993. He hopes that in 1994 Santa Fe can achieve the #1 spot overall. "Our service during PEAK for 1993 should be a good start for an outstanding year of service throughout 1994...to UPS and all our customers," Babcock says. ========================= ON ATSF RAILS THIS MONTH: ========================= Car movements provided by Santa Fe News. AUTOMOTIVE TRAFFIC November 17 Automotive traffic remains extremely heavy. GM at Oklahoma City is working two nine-hour shifts, a pace that should continue until the December 23-January 2 vacation. The first two Saturdays in December, GM will also work double shifts. The volume of loadings remains very high at 60 tri-levels per day, seven days a week. Ford at Kansas City is stepping up production and shipping at near-record levels -- about 40 outbound loads daily. Honda at Richmond is shipping about 140 outbound loads this week. December 14 Automotive traffic remains extremely heavy, and fleet management is experiencing shortages of tri-levels. GM at Oklahoma City is working two nine-hour shifts, a pace that should continue until the December 23-January 2 vacation. The volume of loadings remains very high. Ford at Kansas City is shipping at near-record levels, with about 40 outbound loads a day, six days a week. Honda at Richmond is shipping about 100 outbound loads this week. Effective next week, all inbound loads that had been handled at La Mirada will be handled at Santa Fe's new auto facility at San Bernardino, Calif. El Mirage, Santa Fe's other new auto facility, near Phoenix, has been receiving extremely heavy inbound loads of GM, Ford, Nissan, Mazda and Honda vehicles. BOXCAR MOVEMENTS November 17 Loadings of wine and canned goods are expected to remain constant this week with no anticipated equipment problems. The next push should come from promotional moves, which are common this time of year. The volume of perishable loadings has been relatively low, with a few loads of carrots each day. Citrus moves are getting off to a slow start, but latest reports show heavy loadings to begin in the Exeter area after Thanksgiving. This week, Santa Fe should complete a sizeable move of butter oil from the USDA in the Kansas City area. This is new business for Santa Fe. Cotton loading in the Lubbock area is gaining momentum, with the first loads billed over our haulage route to Memphis. Equipment supply has been difficult to gauge but should smooth out as demand becomes more steady. Copper and forest product loadings are nearly constant. Santa Fe is working with paper producers in East Texas to develop a plan to minimize end-of-year service and equipment problems. December 14 Boxcar loadings for the past week remained at stable levels. Canned goods and wine loadings from California remain at levels of 100 cars/day, with similar volumes expected this week. Perishable loadings from California (carrots out of Bakersfield and oranges from the Fresno area) have increased to 15-20 cars/day. Cotton loading from the west Texas area has also increased to 20-25 cars/day. Flour loading from Arkansas City and Wellington, Kansas, has increased to 10-12 cars/day. Paper and building material loadings fluctuated this past week and are expected to remain somewhat volatile through the end of the year. MILITARY MOVEMENT December 14 Santa Fe is gearing up for a move of four unit trains of military equipment starting December 27 from Ft. Hood, Texas, to the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California. FLATCAR SHIPMENTS November 17 Santa Fe is shipping 24 bulkhead flatcars of pipe for California Steel routed Colton-ATSF-Denver-BN-Guernsey (Wyo.). In general, there has been a high demand for bulkhead flatcars. COVERED HOPPER MOVEMENTS November 17 Grain loadings are averaging 450 to 600 per day, based on availability of empties. Destinations include country and terminal elevators as well as the Gulf port for export. The covered hopper situation is tight due to the nature of the domestic destinations and congestion at the port of Houston. Potash loadings are heavy as well, with equipment orders being placed daily by most potash shippers at Carlsbad. Approximately 300 export loads are being held at Houston due to congestion at the port. Another 400 to 600 loads of export potash are expected for shipment by the end of December to the Gulf. Cement orders are tapering off with the normal end-of-year slowdown and cold weather. Orders for airslide cars for flour remain moderate and should continue at current levels through the end of the year. Sand, perlite, glass marbles, salt and various other bulk commodities continue to move at a steady pace, which also impacts the supply of covered hoppers. Fleet management asks for assistance from all involved employees in expediting movement of empties out of the Gulf, the West Coast and West Texas to handle the grain moving out of Oklahoma and Kansas. December 14 Grain loadings are averaging 450 to 550 per day. The supply of covered hoppers is extremely tight. Santa Fe has added 75 Conrail covered hoppers to the pool temporarily to help handle grain loadings. Fleet management continues to receive orders for 60-car unit trains to move to Gulf ports and smaller unit orders to move to flour mills. Currently, over 600 cars have been ordered for Gulf unit trains this week. Santa Fe is also receiving some orders for export shipments to Mexico. _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA Conrail News @@G _________________________________________________________________ MINE WORKERS, OPERATORS REACH AGREEMENT TO END COAL STRIKE Conrail Newswire, November 23 News reports this morning said that coal mine operators and the United Mine Workers union have settled the final issue standing in the way of a contract agreement between the two sides, ending a coal strike that began in early May. Several spokesmen for the UMW said that picket lines would begin coming down at mines involved in the strike late this afternoon. The six-month long strike has contributed to a decline in coal traffic on Conrail this year. DOREMUS AVENUE CHOCK HANDLING PIT WRAPS UP WORK Conrail Newswire, November 23 The Chock Handling Process Improvement Team at Conrail's Doremus Avenue Automotive Terminal completed its mission last week, finalizing a list of procedures that are expected to reduce vehicle damage by thousands of dollars annually at Doremus. The PIT focused on damage caused by chocks -- which hold vehicles in place on multilevel auto carriers -- when the chocks are installed or removed improperly, or when they are defective. The PIT involved people from Conrail, Toyota Motor Sales, Vascor, which inspects vehicles leaving the terminal, and Shimazaki, whose employees handle unloading of the vehicles. A similar group working earlier this year developed new uniforms and procedures for unloading personnel to reduce damage caused by clothing and jewelry. The PIT developed a list of procedures for handling chocks, both for unloading at the terminal and for employees loading autos at Toyota's assembly plants in North America. The team also developed a process for reporting defective chocks. The new procedures have reduced chock-related damage 70 percent, and are expected to save more than $20,000 annually at Doremus. The PIT held a luncheon to mark their accomplishments on November 17 at the terminal. CLEARANCE WORK ON PITTSBURGH LINE MOVING AHEAD RAPIDLY; NEW PORTAGE TUNNEL SHOULD BE OPEN DURING JANUARY Conrail Newswire, December 14 Clearance work to allow double-stack traffic to move across Pennsylvania is well underway. Of the total of about 140 structures where higher clearances were necessary, 25 have been cleared. Undercutting work is complete between Cleveland, Ohio, and Greensburg, Pa., and clearance work on the first of three major tunnel projects on the Pittsburgh Line, Portage Tunnel, west of Altoona, should be ready for traffic during January. Undercutting work is also complete on the Trenton Line in the Philadelphia area to clear a route between Hagerstown and Oak Island to accommodate double-stack traffic moving between North Jersey and the Southeast via NS. Work is also underway on two tunnels on the D&H route between Philadelphia and New York state, Rockport Tunnel and White Haven Tunnel. Undercutting work in western Pennsylvania will break for the winter when the route is cleared to Conpit Junction, just west of Johnstown. Tunnel work and undercutting in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey will continue. As soon as Portage Tunnel is complete, work is scheduled to begin on Spruce Creek Tunnel, east of Altoona. CONRAIL ACQUIRES P&LE PROPERTIES'S 50 PERCENT STAKE OF PITTSBURGH, CHARTIERS & YOUGHIOGHENY RAILWAY Conrail Newswire, December 14 The Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railway (PC&Y), a Class III railroad operating in the Pittsburgh area between Neville Island, McKees Rocks, and Carnegie, Pa., will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Conrail. Conrail is purchasing the 50 percent ownership interest in the PC&Y held by P&LE Properties, Inc., the successor to the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie. The purchase will give Conrail 100 percent ownership of the PC&Y, since Conrail held the other 50 percent of the carrier. Service to PC&Y customers will not be affected by the transaction. A majority of the PC&Y's traffic is interchanged with Conrail. The transaction is subject to Interstate Commerce Commission approval. FLEXI-FLO CAPTURES NEW TRAFFIC Conrail Newswire, November 16 Conrail's Flexi-Flo service has landed new traffic at several bulk transfer terminals across the system. New business captured recently includes 120 carloads of soda ash for FMC at the Buffalo, N.Y., terminal; 50 carloads of carbon dioxide for Thermice at Croxton, and 20 carloads of plastics for Georgia Gulf at Hammond, Ind. New revenue for those three moves totals nearly $400,000. PROJECT ADDING TRACK AT ALLIANCE TO CURB TRAIN DELAYS Conrail Newswire, November 23 A Pittsburgh Division project gang is continuing work on a $1.7 million project to add an additional track connecting the Fort Wayne Line and the Cleveland Line at Alliance, Ohio. The additional connection is expected to ease delays to trains moving between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, since the lines are connected by just a single track now, requiring trains meeting at the connection to wait. Work on the project began in July and the new connection should be ready to open in January of next year. CONRAIL TO BEGIN MOVING HONDA'S NEW SPORT-UTILITY VEHICLE Conrail Newswire, November 30 Conrail is set to begin handling carloads of Honda's new entry in the sport-utility vehicle market, the Honda Passport. Beginning about December 20, shipments of the vehicle will start moving from the Subaru-Isuzu of America manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Ind., to Conrail auto terminals at Westboro, Mass., Ridgefield Heights, N.J., Selkirk, N.Y. and Port Wilmington, Del., for distribution in the Northeast. Isuzu of America is manufacturing the vehicle for Honda at Lafayette. Annual volume for Conrail is expected to be about 450 carloads, worth more than $800,000 in revenue. KRAFT GENERAL FOODS ENLISTS CONRAIL FOR COAL MOVE Conrail Newswire, November 30 Kraft General Foods has reached an agreement with Conrail to ship coal from various mine locations to its plant in Dover, Del. The contract extends through June 1995 and calls for annual volume of 65,000 tons. Conrail's Transportation and Marketing departments worked out provisions for storing some cars near the plant site during winter months to discourage truck shipments during poor weather. _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS USA Amtrak News @@H _________________________________________________________________ AMTRAK NAMES NEW CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT Courtesy National Railroad Passenger Corporation, November 30 The Board of Directors of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) announced the retirement of its Chairman and President, W. Graham Claytor, Jr., effective December 6, 1993. Mr Claytor 81, has served as President and Chairman since July, 1982. The Board also announced the appointment of Thomas M. Downs as President and Chairman, effective December 7, 1993. Mr. Downs will leave his positions as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and Chairman of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, which he has held since March, 1990. His previous positions included President, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority in New York City, 1988-1990; City Administrator, Washington, D.C., 1983-1988; Director of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, 1981-1983;, Executive Director of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1980-1981; and White House Fellow to the Secretary of Transportation, 1977-1978. Mr. Downs also served as the District of Columbia's representative on the Board of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation which planned and guided the restoration and development of the historic landmark train station. Mr. Downs is a graduate of the University of Kansas, with an M.P.A. in Public Administration, and the University of Missouri, with an M.A. in Political Science. he completed undergraduate studies at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Mo. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1943, Mr. Downs and his wife, Lorrene, have one child, Luke. AMTRAK FY 1994 OPERATING BUDGET TRIMMED DOWN The Timetable, Washington, D.C., Chapter, NRHS (David Warner, Editor) Reprinted with permission Amtrak's fiscal year 1994 federal operating grant is only $351.7 million. Amtrak had previously been authorized to receive a $381 million operating grant. As a result of the smaller $351.7 million amount, Amtrak has reduced the Pioneer to tri-weekly operation west of Denver, as well as the Texas Eagle between San Antonio/Houston and St. Louis. The River Cities between St. Louis, and Carbondale, IL, has been replaced by a non-stop bus connection between St. Louis, and Centralia, IL. Three Harrisburg-Philadelphia Keystone Service trains that are considered commuter runs under section 403(d) of the Amtrak Act may also be discontinued if the state of Pennsylvania does not choose to pick up funding under section 403(b). If these trains are eliminated, the entire Keystone Service schedule will be significantly restructured. A final decision was still pending at press time. Amtrak hopes to achieve additional cost savings by eliminating staffing at 15 stations around the country and cutting approximately 116 maintenance personnel positions. ________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS INTERNATIONAL British Rail News SPECIAL REPORT: CHUNNEL UPDATE @@I ________________________________________________________________ Thanks to Bob Halcums and BritRail Travel International for providing British Rail travel news. To obtain your free copy of the "1994 Go BritRail" brochure, or for any other information involving BritRail products and services, call BritRail Travel Int'l in New York at (212)575-2667. BritRail Travel Int'l is the North American marketing wing of British Rail. CHANNEL TUNNEL UPDATE: Complete details on the Chunnel, and disaster striker Adri Noort, Holland, RO/International News Staff On 7 March 1994 the first freight-train will pass the Channel- tunnel. The train tunnel connects England and France under the Strait of Dover (the English Channel), the waterway between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The first passenger train will pass the tunnel on 6 May 1994, after the tunnel is officially opened by the French president Mitterrand and the English Queen Elisabeth. The length of the tunnel is about 50 kilometers, of which 38 km is underseas, 8 km is under English soil and 3 km is under French soil. The tunnel is bored in a solid limestone layer, about 25 to 45 meter below the sea bottom. The lowest point of the tunnel is 128 meter below sea level.The maximum slope of the tunnel is eleven promille at both sides near the coastline. The tunnel actually consist of three tunnels: two train tunnels with a section of 7.6 meters at a distance of 30 meter of each other. In between is a service tunnel with a section of 4.8 meters. The tunnels are located every 375 meters, connected with each other by corridors with a section of 3.3 meters for emergencies. The train tunnels are also connected with funnels with a section of 2 meters every 250 meters. These funnels are necessary to divert the air pressure caused by the train in the tunnel. At both entrances of the tunnel and at two places underseas are cross-overs so the trains can switch to the other track in case of maintenance or accidents. In the cross-overs, firedoors made of steel are build with a length of 32 meters. The doors are 7 meters high and have a weight of 75.000 kilograms each. The building of the tunnel started on 1 December 1987 on both sides of the Channel. On 1 December 1990 there was the first underseas break-through in the service-tunnel. On 22 May 1991 and 28 June 1991 the break-through of the northern and southern traintunnel was established. Every week the tunnel grew with a speed of 200 to 400 meters. After the break-through a fence with a small door was placed on the border between the two countries, because the English authorities didn't want the workers to pass the border without passport. The fence was removed when the tracks in the tunnel were build. > Safety The tunnel is made of metal reinforced concrete rings of 1.5 meter thickness. A special coating is used to keep the tunnel in good condition for 120 years. The tunnel is able to withstand earthquakes, even though there hasn't been an earthquake in the area since 1531. The condition of the track is checked with a system in which the train and control center are connected with an electrical circuit. When an interruption in this circuit occurs the trains are automatically stopped. Every car has fire-shield to prevent fires from spreading to nearby cars. Cars can be uncoupled from the train in case of emergencies. On both ends of the train is an electric locomotive with a crew. After dividing the train in two pieces, the cars can leave the tunnel in both directions. At both ends of the tunnel are power stations. The overhead-line is fed by a double network with a power of 360 megawatts for the trains and 60 megawatts for pumps, ventilators and lights. An automatic train control makes sure the drivers don't drive too fast or passes a red light. For maintenance of the tunnel and trains, 2500 employees are needed. They have to speak English as well as French. > Trains There will be an integrated transport system in the tunnel with five types of trains: - shuttle-trains ('le Shuttle') for transport of cars - shuttle-trains for transport of trucks - Eurostar-trains (High Speed Trains like the French TGV) - trains with sleeping cars for longer distances - freight-trains The shuttle-trains drive between the special car terminals in Calais (F) and Folkstone (GB). The have a length of 728 meters (14 cars). The speed in the tunnel for these trains will be 160 km/hour. The Eurostar-trains connect London (GB) and Paris (F) or Brussels (Belgium). The have a length of 394 meters or 320 meters (20 or 16 cars, including the locomotive-cars on both ends). Their speed will be 300 km/hour in the tunnel. These trains have a fixed composition (train-unit), like the French TGV and the German ICE. The time to travel from London to Paris or Brussels will be about 3 hours. In England the Eurostar will use the existing tracks. In France a new track is build for the TGV to Brussels and Amsterdam; this track will also be used by the Eurostars. The track between France and Brussels will be finished in 1996. > Disaster strikes On 13 November 1993 a serious short-circuit occurred in the tunnel. An employee should have left a metal bar at the overhead-line. The electricity 'shoot' as a fire-ball through the tunnel and over a distance of 750 meters everything has melted. Even an aluminium-track in the service-tunnel has melted because of the heat. If a train had been in the tunnel it would have fallen to pieces. The train would have been electrified with 25,000 Volts and no-one would have survived, an eye-witness said in the English Mail on Sunday. Some information translated from: Op de Rails 1993, 8 Op de Rails 1993, 9 Polytechnisch Weekblad, 26 November 1993 Intermediair 26 November 1993 Used with permission. MAILBAG: CHUNNEL THREATENED "IF I WERE A BETTING MAN, I WOULD VOTE AGAINST THE UK SIDE" From CompuServe's TrainNet "The most serious problem I have heard about is the problem of arcing at 3rd rail gaps. It seems that on BR, these arcs are misread by the computer and translated into signal failure in the eyes of the on-board computer. This causes the engine to shut down. As soon as the arc goes away, the computer signals are restored to normal operation and the engine receives a permissive signal. As these events cycle, it is alleged to be like driving a stick-shift car at 100mph and switching on and off the engine. "Proposed solutions have taken two paths. One is to physically rearrange the third rail so this problem won't occur. The other is to rewrite the software so that it allows in "fuzzy logic" to assume that in BR operation, signal aspects displayed in the cab will be some seconds behind those that the computer senses. That will allow for the gap. "I'm no hardware or software engineer, so I don't know which approach might work. The fact is, however, that it is the middle of December, and they have encountered a problem for which a solution has to be found and tested before next May. If I were a betting man, I would vote against the UK side. "Besides, they still haven't decided what to do at Kings Cross/St. Pancrass for through north country services. I personally am not convinced." - Ken Harrison (SPH&TS), in response to coverage of the Chunnel in RailOnline issue 4 BRITRAIL PASS AND FLEXIPASS PRICES HOLDING FOR `94; FLEXIPLASS MORE FLEXIBLE; 94 TO BE "A WATERSHED YEAR" December 16 Peter Kirn, RO News Staff BritRail Travel is holding prices in 1994 for the BritRail Pass and Flexipass, its most popular products for American travelers. BritRail is also offering greater flexibility in 94 by extending the validity period for all Flexipasses to one month. Previously, only the 15-day Flexipass could be used over a one-month period; four- and eight-day Flexipasses had to be used up in eight and 15 days, respectively. According to BritRail Travel, "[We are] expecting 1994 to be a watershed year distinguished by the opening of the Channel Tunnel. In a related development, the company is establishing a new direction by positioning Britain as the gateway to Europe, broadening its reach with new programs linking BritRail with other travel choices and countries." "BRITGERMAN RAILPASS" INTRODUCED FOR 1994 November 1 Peter Kirn, RO News Staff North Americans who wish to combine Berlin, Bonn, Bath and Birmingham in one European vacation "now have a pass that will allow them to accomplish their goal economically and conveniently," said Tim Roebuck, president of BritRail Travel International Inc., which today announced the introduction of the BritGerman Railpass. Brand new for 1994, the BritGerman Railpass combines unlimited first class rail travel on the BritRail and German Rail networks for five days or 10 days within a one-month period. A one-month BritGerman Railpass allowing five days first class rail travel in England, Scotland, Wales and all of Germany costs $369. 10 days costs $539. The BritGerman Railpass does not include transportation between Germany and Britain, but BritRail Travel says this affords travelers "added flexibility in designing their own two-country vacation." _________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS INTERNATIONAL European Headlines @@J _________________________________________________________________ FRANCE: SNCF FALLS UPON HARD TIMES Adri Noort, Holland, RO/Int'l News Staff The French Railways (SNCF) have hard times. In the first six months of 1993 they lost 8.4% of their passengers, even on the TGV. Freight traffic went down a whopping 13%. The situation was bad enough for the weekly magazine "La vie du Rail" (life of the tracks) to issue a contest. The best idea to help the railway-company to get over the problems wins the first prize: a car! From: Polytechnisch Weekblad, October 1993 Op de Rails 1993, 11 Used with permission. NORWAY: DIESEL CRASHES INTO PASSENGER TRAIN Adri Noort, Holland, RO/Int'l News Staff On 3 October 1993 a diesel locomotive crashed into a holding passenger train at the station of Oslo-Nordstrand. Five people were killed and fourteen serious injured. The locomotive was hired from the Dutch Railways (NS). The locomotive was stopped by the Norwegian driver on a ten promille slope because he noticed a smell of burning. The driver couldn't hold the locomotive when it started to slid down the slope. He also couldn't reach the traffic-control by mobilophone. After five kilometers the locomotive crashed into the passenger train, which was destroyed for 1/3 and was pushed back for 45 meters. The cause of the sliddown is not yet known. From: Op de Rails 1993, 11 Used with permission. ALPS: HIGH SPEED THROUGH THE ALPS? Adri Noort, Holland, RO/Int'l News Staff The French and Italian governments have started an investigation to find if it's possible to build a high speed track through the Alps. Building the tracks between Torino and Lyon would take ten years. Several tunnels have to be made in the mountain area. The time to travel between the two towns over the 290 kilometer-track will be halved to one and a half hours. From: Leidsch Dagblad, 27 November 1993. Used with permission. ________________________________________________________________ RAILNEWS INTERNATIONAL Canadian Rails: CP News @@K ________________________________________________________________ VITAL STATISTIC: ---------------- AVERAGE AGE OF LOCOMOTIVE FLEETS: CP lags behind 1992 1991 1990 CP Rail* 22.5 21.9 20.9 Conrail 16.9 15.7 16.6 Norfolk Sou. 14.0 13.7 14.3 Burlington No. 13.5 12.9 13.4 Union Pacific 11.8 11.3 10.8 *In Canadian operation CPRS HEADS UNIQUE `SENIORITY LIST' CP Rail System News, October (Excerpt) It's not in size; CP Rail System is third in track mileage. And it's not history; a number of U.S. railroads pre-date the formation of Canadian Pacific. Where CPRS's seniority shows up is in the age of the locomotive fleet in Canadian operations. Locomotive age has crept up steadily in recent years because older power was staying in service longer, instead of being replaced with new, more efficient units. And CP Rail System has improved its maintenance to keep the good operating condition. "Conditions for railway investment haven't been favorable in recent years," said John Linn, CP Rail System's senior vice-president, operations. "The age of our locomotives is one of the more visible effects. "We take pride in the condition of our fleet. But there have been some major recent advances in locomotive technology and right now we are not able to take advantage of that. The new power available today requires less maintenance and offers greater track-adhesion, reliability, and fuel efficiency." NEW EQUIPMENT UNVEILED AT TRANSFREIGHT `93 EXHIBITION Ian la Couvie CP Rail System News, October (excerpt) CP Rail System unveiled two new pieces of railway equipment at an industry exhibition held in Toronto recently. Alongside more than 100 other exhibitors at Transfreight `93, an annual freight transportation show, the railway displayed a new-technology, lightweight refrigerated container (or reefer), and an environmentally-friendly piece of equipment designed to wash railway containers and trailers. The new, fuel-efficient reefer -- a composite, pultruded fiberglass construction -- is one of five the railway is leasing on a trial basis from Stoughton Inc., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of trailers and containers. CPRS WINS FORD WINSTAR CONTRACT Len Cocolicchio CP Rail System News, October The new 1994 Windstar will be produced at Ford's plant in Oakville, near Toronto, supplying the entire North American market. CP Rail System will be a principal carrier for parts coming into the plant from the Midwestern United States as well as for finished vehicles moving out of the plant from the Midwestern United States as well as for finished vehicles moving out of the plant to destinations across Canada and in the western southern regions of the U.S. The first vehicles are expected off the production line in early February. "Windstar is a big lift for us," said Paul Scherer, manager for Ford products in CP Rail System's Automotive marketing and sales group. "It boosts our volume in a key sector of our business. CP Rail System currently moves Tempo and Topaz cars out of Ford's Oakville plant to destinations in Canada. With the plant r-tooled for the Windstar, the railway's existing Canadian transportation agreement with Ford for the Tempo and Topaz will be transferred to the minivan. In addition CPRS has a new agreement for US traffic, which includes the inbound parts and outbound finished Windstars. "With the U.S. traffic, there will be substantially more business for us than what we have handled up to now to and from the Oakville plant," Mr. Scherer said. "We won't be the only rail carrier serving the plant but we will handle a large portion of the traffic." Mr. Scherer said Ford chose CPRS's transportation proposal "largely on the strength of competitive rates, and our impressive service proposal, as well as our continuous improvement under the Ford Transportation Excellence Program." Ford sets performance criteria under its Transportation Excellence Program and grades carriers against it every six months. Carriers are expected to show continuous improvement in four key areas of the business: quality, engineering (equipment and infrastructure), delivery, and commercial (marketing and sales support). "We've been doing better steadily under TEP and Ford has been impressed with the improvement in our performance level," Mr. Scherer said. Another factor was CPRS's decision to expand the Detroit River rail tunnel, linking Windsor, Ont., and Detroit. Once enlarged, the tunnel will handle tri-level auto carriers, high-cube boxcars and trailers on flatcars. The railway will work with join-line carriers beyond the Detroit and Chicago gateways to move the Windstar to destination ramps. CPRS also serves Ford's Ontario Truck Plan, sister plant to Oakville, where the F-series pickup trucks are made. In the United States, the railway serves Ford's St. Paul, Minn., plant, which produces the Ranger pickup. _________________________________________________________________ RailNews t I d B i T s ! @@! _________________________________________________________________ RailNews with flavor! SANTA FE BRINGS SANTA CLAUS TO AREA CHILDREN VIA RAIL Santa Fe News, December 14 Santa Fe is sponsoring several Christmas trains this season. Last weekend, Santa Fe provided needy children from the Kansas City area a ride on the Santa Claus Express between Kansas City and Topeka. Later this week, hundreds of children from the Inland Empire and Los Angeles county areas will also ride the Santa Claus Express. Also later this week, Carlsbad employees will run a Christmas Special to benefit Christmas Anonymous. "The success of this program underscores the concern of Santa Fe employees to bring joy to children who deserve some special attention during the holiday season," stated Russ Hagberg, vice president-transportation. "Volunteer employees wrap gifts, organize the trips and staff the trains as a way to contribute to the communities which have supported Santa Fe Railway during its 125- year history." TRAIN CREW'S QUICK ACTION SAVES 11-YEAR-OLD FROM DROWNING John Timmins CP Rail System News, October Thanks to the keen eyes and quick wits of a CP Rail System train crew, an 11-year old Vancouver boy is safe and sound after being rescued from a rock in Burrard Inlet near the Second Narrows Bridge, an area known for its strong currents. Locomotive Engineer Lex Fenske, Conductor Bob Steffens, and Trainman Lee Humphries were traveling light in the two locomotives to Vancouver from the marshalling yard in Port Coquitlam when they noticed a young boy desperately waving at the train from a rock 40 meters from the shore. The crew halted the train and climbed down to the shore just below the right of way, after notifying Vancouver Rail Traffic Control. On the beach, Mr. Fenske, 37, a father of three, found six-year-old Kyle Anderson of Burnaby, B.C. He was crying because he didn't know how to help his older brother, Steven, 11, who had been stranded for two hours after wading out to the rock where he was caught by the incoming tide. "I yelled to the boy and asked if he could swim," Mr. Fenske said. "He said he was afraid of getting tangled in the seaweed. I told him we would be here if he ran into trouble. He gave it a good try, but quickly scrambled back to the rock." So Mr. Fenske made the swim. He asked the boy to swim back beside him in an effort to teach him a lesson about wading in dangerous areas, but the boy was too scared. "He asked if he could climb on my back. I could see how distressed he was, so I said `climb on.' He stayed high on my shoulders, and I took in a few gulps of the salty stuff," Mr. Fenske said. Thirty minutes later, after awlking the boys back to their bicycles and climbing back up to the locomotive units, the crew and their train were under way again. "As we rounded the corner, on our way to Vancouver," Mr. Fenske said, "we looked back and could see the rock disappearing under the rising tide." CONTAMINATED SOIL CLEANUP UNDER WAY IN MASON CITY Tim Hedin CP Rail System News, October (Excerpt) A two-part project is under way in Mason City, Iowa to clean up contaminated soil and build a new locomotive fueling and maintenance facility in the yard. A high-tech cleanup process is being used to decontaminate soil in the yard that has been tainted over the years by petroleum products. A new state-of-the-art locomotive fueling facility will be built to assure that contamination does not occur in the future. The entire project carries a price tag of US$3.4 million, although this figure may rise, depending upon the actual amount of contaminates soil that will have to be cleaned. COMPUTER MACRO AIDS CONTAINER HANDLING; SAVES TWO HOURS A DAY John Timmins CP Rail System News, October (Excerpt) Unloading and sorting containers after accurately forecasting their arrival at two major container terminals in Vancouver has become more of a precise science thanks to the use of a new CPRS computer macro. The macro is a set of computer instructions stored in the railway's Merlin computer system. The instructions automatically execute a series of commands which produce the desired information pulled from existing computer programs. In this case, the Vantern/Centerm macro produces a daily car order sheet, which is automatically faxed every morning to the Vanterm and Centerm terminals. The sheet is essential to maintaining uninterrupted terminal operations. It lists all incoming rail traffic within a 24-hour period identifying container cars, container numbers, the receiving steamship lines and whether the containers are loaded or empty. > Macro appreciated "We rely heavily on this information and we appreciate every effort CPRS is making to get it to us complete, accurate, and on time," said Chris Reyburn, assistant rail clerk, Vanterm Terminal. The car order sheet is also used to determine the terminal's manpower requirements in advance and to cross reference information on order sheets submitted by steamship lines which do not include empty containers. The Vanterm/Centerm macro was introduced in April, 1993, after Cindy Schmitz, service representative, IF-International, talked to the business development and strategic planning (BDSP) department about the need to balance her current workload and find a way to keeep the terminals informed of incoming container traffic on a 24-hour basis. The macro saves an average of two hours of computer work every day. The task of writing the macro was given to Dean Dolph, system development specialist. "This is a very effective macro because it provides a business solution to an internal customer's problem. It's a macro that has the logic to actually select container trains and filter out unwanted data, which goes beyond just performing a series of computer functions," Mr. Dolph said. _________________________________________________________________ RAILONLINE FEATURES Employee Perspective NEVER A DULL MOMENT @@L _________________________________________________________________ In 16 years, Corbett Price has come from rookie to vet, battling his share of snakes, wildcats, stew, and yes, even the Creature from the Black Lagoon. by Corbett Price, Sr. for RailOnline Before 1977, I couldn't even tell you what railroads ran through this city. Now, after over 16 years, my passion for railroading is surpassed only by my love for eating! > "It'll come to you someday." My first job was as a brakeman in 1977 with SCL. One of my first memories on the job was working Bellwood Yard, South of Richmond. Fortunately for me, the conductor was a wise, patient man who had been around a long time. He would say something like "Reach in #4 track and pull 10 cars, put 3 in #2 then go back to #4 and get the rest. Then put 5 to 1, 3 to 3, and put the rest back and come back and see me." Believe me, after I "reached in 4 & pulled 10", I went back to see him THEN! After several times of going back to him, I apologized profusely for being so thick-headed. He simply said "Don't worry about it, Bubba, it will come to you someday." (Everyone here in the South is "Bubba".) So much for my first taste of being a Yard Bird! By the way, it DID finally come to me. I got good enough to do that many moves at once and then some. > Battling air hoses and running from snakes With a preference for travel and a varied schedule, I stayed on the road extraboard more than the yard extraboard. I would be called for just about any train at anytime of the day or night. Either end of the train was okay by me, but I really liked working as the brakeman so I could ride those powerful engines and listen to them as the engineer skillfully put them to the test. On one such trip, we were going through some rugged territory surrounded by a swamp. Suddenly, we had an emergency application of the brakes. Well, the rules said you had to walk the length of the entire train to be sure all the wheels were still on the track, and locate the problem, if possible. I was experienced enough to take some tools with me along with a spare air hose and gaskets. As I walked back, the flagman walked toward me from the caboose (do you remember them?). He obviously had a lot more experience than I did. I walked 3/4 of the train before he even got on the ground! It was in the middle of an extremely hot summer afternoon; the temperature was hovering around 100 degrees. The culprit was an old air hose that couldn't take the pressure anymore. I quickly changed it and started for the engine. The dispatcher had been calling and was anxious for us to get moving; we were holding up two more freights and a passenger train! Being the energetic type, I began jogging on the other track back toward the engines. After awhile I was getting pretty winded, so I decided to walk awhile as soon as I got on the other side of a small trestle ahead of me. That's when I saw the snake! I was too close to stop; my momentum would have put me right on top of him. With all the effort I could muster, I cleared him by 10 feet on either side. I have no idea what kind of snake he was or how big. I only knew that huge mass was now behind me. Strange how I got my second wind about that time. > "But at least he didn't hit me!" Several weeks later during a cold winter night, I was working a flagging job on the dreaded train #111. The "Trip-Aces" was usually called on duty shortly after midnight. You could be assured you would see the sun come up and cover half the sky before you made the 129 miles to Rocky Mount. My conductor was an old mountain man by the name of "Buck". I never got to know him very well before he went away from here, but I suspect beneath his gruff exterior was a gentle man. A lot of guys who knew him would question why I said that. Well, it's because he didn't kill me for what I did! Buck and I were both riding in the cupola (Q' pa low) along about three in the morning. I had put a can of stew on the stove earlier and decided it should be hot enough by now. While Buck stayed in his seat, I climbed down to retrieve my lunch. I guess I should have suspected something was wrong when I saw it rolling back & forth on the stove top with both ends bowed out! The churchkey had barely poked a hole in the end when a stream of stew came shooting out. I sat it down and headed for the other end of the caboose. When I returned, I almost fell when my foot hit the slippery, soup floor. The stew had covered the walls, seats and floor on that end. Too bad that was where Buck had put his bag..... his OPEN bag. All his clothes, paperwork and personal items were coated with stew! now, do you still wonder why I think he had a compassionate side? Sure, he had lots to say about it, but at least he didn't hit me! > Running from a valv - er, wildcat? Train 111 has given me another memory I won't soon forget. It was a mild spring night when our brakes went into emergency in the same general area that I saw the snake. I was on the head end during this run. With my tools in one hand and lantern in the other, I began my trip back the length of the train. When the flagman and I met, we turned around and headed back to our seats. We had not found any problem and attributed it to a faulty brake valve in one of the cars. The conductor reported the air pressure was being restored on the rear, so we knew there was a complete trainline. When I was about a quarter mile from the engines and next to a string of empty tank cars, the brakes began to release. The air blowing through the valves caused a vibration and that was magnified by the empty tanks. There was a loud moaning sound unlike anything I had ever heard! With the hair standing at attention on my neck, I made haste to the engines where I would be safe from the wildcats and bears that were after me. At least 111 was a break from the rut I'd been in. The crew caller had sent me on train 107 for the last 6 trips in a row! You need to understand 107 was the daytime equivalent of 111. However, there were a lot more trains in the daytime and we were always held in a siding out of everyone's way. On top of that, we had to stop almost everywhere there was a switch to either pick up or set off cars. If you want to learn railroading, work THAT train. You can get experience as brakeman, flagman, fireman and anything in between. > It was a dark and foggy night. Suddenly, a torpedo rang out. One more tale needs to be told before I end this short saga. First, I need to explain one of my working tools. A torpedo is a small explosive charge that is put on the track to warn an oncoming train of possible danger ahead. When the engine runs over the torpedo, it explodes with a deafening roar. The use of two torpedos placed about 100 feet apart is required. When two of them explode, you would swear there was a war going on. On a dark, very foggy night, I was the fireman on an all- night local freight headed for Hopewell, Va. We took siding in the middle of nowhere for lunch. As the brakeman, engineer and I talked, the conversation turned toward the mystical, unexplained happenings we each had experienced. The darkness and fog were a perfect setting for such conversation! With the expectation of the Creature from the Black Lagoon coming out of the woods any minute, the brakeman and I climbed to the ground on the pretense of taking care of personal matters. The engineer, who is the jittery type to start with, was glad to see us on our return. He was completely unaware we had lined the rails with about 7 or 8 torpedoes on each side! Soon, the conductor called on the radio and said it was time to head for Hopewell. We had moved only a short distance when we hit the torpedoes. The engineer left his post to hide in the tall nose of the GP-7 quicker than I had ever seen him move. The brakie and I had one heck of a good laugh! These tales are only a few of many. A lot has happened between that first yard job and now. I've gone from freight trainman to Amtrak Engineer and a couple other positions in between. One day maybe I'll be able to relate more stories. MEET CORBETT PRICE From the TrainNet staff roster. Used with permission. Corbett Price 73177,2565 Assistant Sysop - Railfans, CompuServe TrainNet Forum Corbett began his railroad career in 1977, as a brakeman for Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. He transferred to engine service in 1980, as a fireman, working mostly freight service. After attaining his engineer's certificate in 1982, he worked as engineer/fireman between Richmond, VA, and Florence, SC. Corbett began working as a fireman for Amtrak in 1986, and now holds an engineer's position in Richmond, VA, working to various points. His modeling interest in HO, is based on the former Durham & Southern Railroad. _________________________________________________________________ RAILONLINE FEATURES Rail restoration SAGA OF A STEAM CRANE: Ex-Central Vermont Steam Crane No. 4251 @@M _________________________________________________________________ by Duncan Du Fresne Branchline (Canada's rail newsmagazine), July-August 1993 Used with permission. I can't think of any other title for this month's article. It's all about the Society's steam crane, a little bit of historical background and something about the restoration work done on this venerable machine over the last five or sixth months. Our crane is a product of the Industrial Brownhoist Corporation of Bay City Michigan. She is classed as a "Locomotive Crane", being self-propelled, and is equipped with the "bent" or wrecking boom. She was built in 1919 and, although weighing in at 186,000 pounds, has a maximum lifting capacity of 100,000 pounds. She remained a coal-fired machine during her lifetime and still is. Her vertical tube boiler was designed to operate at 150 PSI. I never saw a smaller auxiliary (railway nomenclature for this type of machine) than the 4251, 75-ton capacity being the lightest I was familiar with. When we, as a group, in 1965-66 were attempting to put together a collection of railway service equipment we decided we needed a crane. Feelers went out which resulted in two cranes being offered, the 4251 from CN (Central Vermont being their wholly owned US subsidiary) and a 160-ton capacity unit from CP. The 4251 was chosen because of her small size and the fact that her machinery was not enclosed in a car body - an ideal set up for a museum display. At the time we were not all that concerned about obtaining the proper type and grade of coal for fuel. We are now! In any event, the wheels were set in motion to get the 4251 from New London, Connecticut (her last location on CV), to Ottawa, along with her boom car and tender. The boom car and tender are, by the way, of interest in their own right, especially the tender, but that's another story. So we waited for our prized possessions to arrive on the spur track of the newly opened National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa where they would join the Museum's own burgeoning railway rolling stock collection. As luck would have it I was scratching filth and paint off some "piece of junk" (artifact) or other one dull, gloomy day in 1967 when I heard a yard engine clattering down the "Old Alex" (CN's Alexandria Subdivision prior to massive track relocation in the mid-1960s) toward the Museum. I stopped what I was doing to see what was going on, and there at the switch was the 4251, boom car 4313 and tender 4264. The yard engine slowly moved the three pieces onto the spur and I instantly gave up on the scratching to give our first "real" pieces of rolling stock the once over". (Our first rolling stock acquisition was a 1958 Pontiac station wagon Hi-Rail automobile, also obtained through C.N.). To my great surprise, the crane looked very complete, even the grate shaker bar and poker were still beside the boiler. The steam gauge and water glass were not only in place, but undamaged. Various other tools, hoses, and so on, were in the boom car and the door was wide open! I doubt very much that this could happen today as without a doubt the vandals and hoodlums would make short work of anything not securely fastened down or protected. A lesson in our declining social structure. A load of very old and very dusty coal was in the tender, in addition to a derelict Worthington two cylinder steam-driven water pump, which was laying half-buried in the coal.. Sizing up the situation, I took everything that was moveable or breakable out of the crane's cab and put them in the boom car. Next I headed for a hardware store to buy two padlocks and hasps to keep the "light-fingered" out of the boom car. Although the CV was no longer using the 4251 when we made our request for it, the CV still had numerous spare parts on hand as well as casting patterns and other assorted bits and pieces. In their wildest dreams they never thought anyone would ever run the machine again, so they disposed of everything! Run it we did. On June 23, 1968, ex-CV steam crane 4251 was operating at the Museum, and as I recall, quite a large crowd was on hand to witness the event. More than a few faults in the machine were uncovered. The badly warped pair of moveable grates permitted too much fine-burning coal to fall into the very shallow ash pan. No wonder the grates were warped. The late Ernie Turner, a member at the time, solved this problem by producing a splendid wooden pattern for the casting of new grates. We still have that pattern and have used it a second time since 1968. Other faults were discovered and taken care of as we went along. The fact was, the crane was operable as a locomotive crane. The air compressor worked, as did the turbo generator (dynamo) and the flood lamps and the cables were all in good shape. Although you wouldn't want to run her on a day-to-day basis, she's a fine operating museum piece. > Some 20 years later in 4251's life... Let's jump ahead to the fall of 1991. The Museum, having been closed for a second time for renovations, decided to have a grand re0opening for the second time. We were asked if we would participate in the festivities by operating our steam crane which, by the way, had now laid idle for a number of years as we had been preoccupied with the operation of ex-CP 4-6-2 1201. We agreed that we would be delighted to, provided that the Museum would provide us with a load of suitable coal, and that we could get a satisfactory hydrostatic test on the boiler. Locating a supply of suitable "steam" or "lump" coal proved to be a fairly complicated task; however, many phone calls later, coal was found on the Seaway Terminal dock in Hamilton, Ontario. A large 10-wheel dump truck was dispatched from Ottawa to Hamilton and returned to Ottawa with 7 tons in an amazing 140-hour round trip. If we had thought that getting the coal was a job, it was nothing compared to getting a satisfactory hydrostatic test on the boiler. This just about proved to be our undoing. The entire month of September was spent trying to "put a squeeze" on that pressure vessel (boiler). Each time we'd put the water pressure up to 50 or more PSI, yet another tube in that boiler would split. The splitting always occurred just above the lower tube sheet as the result of "muck" inside the boiler gathering over the years at the base of the 196 vertical 2-inch tubes. We replaced one tube after another, with high pressure water flying around inside the firebox as one tube after another burst as one tube after another was replaced. Finally, after replacing eight tubes she held and took a 175 PSI hydro. The proper inspector was summoned, the test was once again successfully completed, and a certificate issued. We knew all the bottoms of the other 188 tubes in that boiler weren't "the best", but if they'd hold for just one weekend, we'd be in business. Well, they didn't! We got three hours out of it under steam when tube #9 let go and doused half of our fire. Well, we tried. It was very disappointing, especially for Joe Toscas, Willard Clarke, Neil Coulman, David Stremes, myself, and the Museum's David Elliott, as we'd worked so hard in our attempt to do this thing, but that's life. We knew several things as a result of this experience, however: - The boiler needed a complete retubing - We were going to hire a contractor to do the job - We were going to spend a lot of money. > Commitment made, the plot thickens Now let's jump ahead to January 1993. We made contact with two boiler-making firms in Ottawa to get a quote for the work to be done. One was an international company and the other was a small local firm. The small local firm came well recommended, even by his competitor, and he came in on his quote at just a little more than half the cost of "the big guy". Needless to say, Eric Thompson of Thompson Heating got the job. Our role in all this was to get the snow away from the work site and to turn the crane, using compressed air to run the crane's steam engines through a clever little hookup we devised, to an angle of 60 degrees from the bed to provide access to the bottom of the boiler. We also had to remove the six rusty nuts that held the ash pan in place and remove the grates and grate carriers. The ash pan required some rebuilding which we carried out. Removal of the winter canvasses and steel plates over the top of the boiler, as well as the exhaust pipes, concluded our basic work. By mid-April the weather was good enough for the Thompsons (father and son) and their staff to begin the job by removing all the old tubes, which had been welded in place, and grinding the top and bottom tube sheets smooth so that the new tubes could be installed. After the old tubes had all been removed and piled neatly on the ground it became obvious that the hole diameter in the lower tube was such that copper ferrules would be required around the bottom of all 196 tubes. Eric went on a hunt, found the ferrules in Montreal, and began to install. By mid-May the last of the tube installation job was completed and we were now ready to perform a hydrostatic test. The boiler was filled with water, all air was evacuated, and a small oil burner was placed inside the firebox in order to do the test "hot". With the exception of a few tubes which developed very minor leaks at both the top and bottom tube sheets, the work done looked excellent, however - and this is a big however - there was now leakage where none had been before. The join between the lower tube sheet flange and the firebox, in several places, was leaking. This was, in all probability, caused by the pounding of the pneumatic tool used to "bead" over the tube ends after they had been expanded. It simply shook the sealing scale and rust out of place. Time for discussion! It was decided that Eric would make a tool for his pneumatic "gun" that would allow him to caulk this join. Now, caulking in this sense doesn't mean the forcing of some kind of material between the two steel plates, but rather the expanding or the forcing of the tube sheet into the firebox sheet. Again, 50 PSI of water pressure was applied, and again she leaked but at a much slower rate. We were winning! Eric went over the joint again, this time all around the diameter of the tube sheet, again we put 50 PSI on her. No leaks! We brought her up to 175 PSI. No leaks! We all looked happily at each other and shook hands all `round. Eric and son Jason packed up their tools and left. Joe Toscas and I, one more time, rolled up the fire hoses and put away our hydrostatic pump. We also re-installed the rebuilt ash pans and turned the crane back to a position in line with the bed so that Museum staff could bring excursion train passenger cars up parallel to the crane for much-needed roofing maintenance. The actual work had taken two months to complete. A lot of time was lost due to inclement weather, staff sickness and other contingencies, but we are more than pleased with the efforts of Thompson Heating on our behalf. We now look forward to a successful hydro test for the inspector and the issuance of our official operating certificate and finally a steam test well in advance of the Museum's second annual "Techno Days", scheduled this year for August 13, 14 and 15, when our 74 year-old steamer will do her thing. In addition to the work described we also had a major bearing lubrication problem to deal with. When last operated in 1991, we discovered that we were unable to force any grease into the lower bearing supporting the worm on the jib boom shaft (boom hoist mechanism). Consulting the few drawings we have did not help as the level of detail required to understand the design just isn't there. We removed the gear cases, which are very heavy and made of cast iron, and prepared ourselves for the removal of the shaft, complete with its worm gear and the bearing blocks. This necessitated the blocking up of the whole boom with a crib of ties on the deck of the boom car so as to relieve the tension on the boom hoist cables. Before entering the world of the unknown and the Herculean task of removing large seized-up bolts, a suggestion was made either by Joe Toscas as former Museum curator and long time friend, Ian Jackson which said we should remove the old-fashioned grease cup from the bearing and put a more modern pressure gunfitting in its place and see what happens. We tried and it worked! Apparently some old dried-out grease in the bearing block passage was preventing new grease from entering the bearing as the pressure generated by hand turning the old grease was insufficient to clear the blockage. Wow, talk about getting let off the hook! We sure dreaded the thought of taking that monster apart. The only real maintenance item left now is to get the brakes working on both trucks rather than on just one truck - not a major concern or problem. Want to blow 4251's steam locomotive whistle? Come one down to the Museum and lend a hand. _________________________________________________________________ RAILONLINE FEATURES Model Railroading: DON'T JUST "SHAKE THE BOX"! @@N _________________________________________________________________ There's more to building Athearn 40' steam-era box cars. by Steve Kay for RailOnline A few months ago, I was assembling some H-O box car kits to add to my roster of rolling stock to run on the modular layout I am now building. At that time the idea hit me... why not write a kit review on these fine models that will take the modeler a little further along the line and help him/her to improve on the model as furnished? No, I won't even think about "super-detailing" the cars with lost wax brass castings and separately applied wire hand grabs and ladders; that's way out of my league! But there are many ways that these kits can be enhanced with a little paint and a bit of extra care during assembly, and the cost is surprisingly low. With this in mind, the following information is provided. The late, great Irv Athearn really knew what he was doing when he started producing plastic H-O rolling stock kits in the 50's. In 1958 and 1959 I had purchased and assembled a number of plastic box car kits by Athearn, and they really aren't much different today. There used to be two big, bulky door guides to attach on each side, but now the doors are held in place by two slender (more realistic looking) tracks. One of these is molded into the boxcar body shell, and the other is applied separately. And each Bettendorf freight truck used to be supplied in nine pieces, to be assembled by the user. These pieces included the bolster, two side frames, two wheelsets, and four tiny truck springs. Although I really miss SPRUNG TRUCKS, it's a real convenience to have each truck supplied as a single entity. There were countless instances during truck assembly when truck springs would fly into orbit when compressed and not centered onto the tiny projecting lugs in the side frame and bolster. Those were the days when a lot of new words were added to my cuss vocabulary! Back in the 50's there used to be two metal weights to insert between the floor and the underframe; now there's a single weight. This is a big improvement since there is less chance of "floor bending" with the one piece weight in there. Many's the time I had to straighten up the floors in my early Athearn cars because of severe bending encountered during hot summer weather. (Remember, there was no air conditioning in most homes back then)! Another factor causing "the bends" was my use of the tube-type plastic cement to hold the weight to the floor. But we didn't have cyanoacrylate adhesives then. Enough of my reminiscing for now; let's get to work. The four elements that go a long way toward improving any "shake the box" car kit are: - Paint the weight and underframe. - Install Kadee couplers. - Apply some "weathering" to the completed car. - Install loads showing through open doors in some of your boxcars. PAINT THE WEIGHT AND UNDERFRAME. It really bothers me to look at an Athearn H-O box car and see that big bright silvery steel weight peering out from the underframe! This is not at all prototypical, and it detracts from the overall appearance of the model. When assembling Athearn steam-era boxcar kits, take the time to attach the weight to the car floor with a cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) such as "Zap-a-Gap". Then attach the underframe assembly to the weight and floor with CA as well. Be sure to clamp the three pieces together with several spring clothespins and set the assembly aside to dry overnight. When dry, paint the underside of this assemblage flat black. If you will be leaving the doors open to display a load inside the car, be sure to paint the topside of the floor a dark brown color to simulate wood plank flooring. These steps will make your model more sturdy and much more realistic. INSTALL KADEE COUPLERS. One of the most frequently cited operational problems in H-O scale is the unintentional uncoupling that occurs with horn-hook couplers. This problem reaches epidemic proportions when you mix cars from many different manufacturers in your freight or passenger trains. It's sad that the manufacturers have not gotten together on spring tension and other factors that affect horn-hook coupler operation. Although, in my humble opinion, Athearn makes the best operating horn-hook coupler on the market, there is a more realistic and dependable coupler that can be applied to any H-O locomotive or car you own. It's the Kadee coupler, and it features smooth coupling action, magnetically operated uncoupling, a delayed uncoupling capability, and it looks more like a real railroad coupler as well. Installation in Athearn steam-era box cars is a snap; the Kadee #5 couplers just drop in. Here's a hint for continuing operations while your locomotives and many of your cars have not yet been converted to Kadees: build two coupler interchange cars! Each of these cars would have a horn-hook coupler on one end and a Kadee coupler on the other. In this way you can run your entire fleet even if only a small percentage of it is equipped with Kadee couplers. APPLY SOME WEATHERING. You don't need to make every car in the fleet look like it's ready for the rip track, and you might want to keep some of your cars looking like they just emerged from the paint shop. But some weathering is definitely in order to increase the "believability factor" of any freight car. Many volumes have been written on this topic, and I won't go into a lot of detail here except to suggest that touches of rust, dust and grime be added. - Testors #1185 "flat rust" paint should be dry-brushed onto the couplers, trucks and underframe. This can also be dry-brushed to the rivet areas and other areas of the boxcar that are likely to rust out due to exposure to the elements. - Testors #1167 "flat tan" can be mixed with a little bit of #1185 "flat rust" to create a great "mud" color which should be applied sparingly (preferably by dry-brushing) to truck sideframes, underframe struts, and the lower portions of the boxcar body. - The only product, in my humble opinion, that successfully creates the illusion of years of dust on a car is Polly-S "dust" paint. You can also experiment with some highly thinned Testors #1168 "flat white" paint. - If you haven't tried it before, "dry brushing" is done just the way it sounds. Dip the brush in the paint, get most of the paint off of the bristles, and then run the brush through a paper towel to get the bristles ALMOST DRY. Do this with a brush that's seen a lot of wear, because dry-brushing is tough on a paintbrush. I use a #1 or #2 brush to get decent coverage with a minimum of brush strokes. No one can tell you how to dry brush in a written article; you've just got to try it for yourself and develop your own technique. - After all of the painting is done, the most important step occurs. Take some Testors #1148 thinner and paint the surface of the car, only doing a small patch at a time. Then streak the brush downward, in long graceful strokes, to simulate the effect of rainwater flowing down the car. Now some of the lettering will be more visible than other portions, and the dry-brushed weathering colors will flow a bit rather than looking raggedy. This is the effect you are striving for! Allow the completed thinner wash to dry at least overnight, and then spray on a coat or two of Testors dullcote. Now step back and admire your "weathered" box car! INSTALL LOADS SHOWING THROUGH OPEN BOXCAR DOORS. Here's another way to add interest to a fleet of boxcars. Select a few of your cars on which you would like to apply some additional detailing. There are interesting car loads available right at your local hobby shop. The first one that comes to mind is the simulated lumber sold by Atlas. Stacks of lumber make an especially convincing load to display through an open boxcar door, and these could even be modeled using balsa wood strips cut to scale lengths and stacked realistically. Other possibilities are wooden crates, bales of hay, heavy electrical equipment such as generators and transformers, farm implements, and the list goes on! Some items can be bought at the hobby store; other loads will challenge your ingenuity as you devise ways of building them from scratch. And the finished product will add a lot of interest to your freight train. When you have completed your first boxcar by following the preceding steps, you'll want to enhance your entire freight car fleet using these methods! At the beginning of this article I promised you that there would be no reference to superdetailing with lost wax brass castings or separately applied wire hand-grabs and ladders. And I also promised that the cost of materials would be low. Well, I've kept both of those promises! If you don't even own a paintbrush, the initial start-up cost for supplies (excluding Kadee couplers) is about $15 to $20, and you will have enough material to do about 8 cars. Kadee couplers cost less than $2 per car, and are a worthwhile investment in smooth and realistic operation. While superdetailing definitely has its place in the model railroad community (as thousands of model railroaders will tell you), I think that this "budget-conscious" approach also yields great results, and guarantees that your freight car fleet will look distinctively different as a result of your efforts. I hope that you will try these techniques. Until next time, keep on trackin'! --- Steve Kay is a freelance model railroad author who writes for RO on a regular basis. _________________________________________________________________ RAILONLINE FEATURES Model railroading: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS? Where to find inspiration and answers to your questions @@O _________________________________________________________________ by Roger P. Hensley, RO Staff This is the time of year that many new modelers come into model railroading. Perhaps it is the 'train around the tree' idea or perhaps a memory of days past or even the thrill of watching today's new 4,000 hp products of EMD and GE cutting through the day and night hauling TrailVans, containers and/or regular freight consists. Perhaps you just saw a set in a store and bought it. Ok, where do you get ideas? Well, you can get them right here on the electronic 'Internet' through rec.models.railroad and rec.railroad, CompuServe, RailOnline, the Railroad List and others. These are all excellent sources for prototype information as well as for some modeling information and tips and the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) of rec.models.railroad are decent. But this isn't all by a long shot! Having owned a model railroading hobby shop for several years, I can say that there is a whole world of resources out there for your use. There are books and videos on your favorite line, old or new. There are the 'How To' books from Carstens, Kalmbach and others. There are books on trackwork and layout plans. There are books on electronics and wiring. There are books on operations and detailing. There are books on and about finished layouts. There are the commercial magazines like 'Model Railroader', Railroad Model Craftsman', 'Model Railroading' and numerous specialty magazines for Narrow Gauge, S Gauge, etc., and there is the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) Bulletin. If you are fortunate enough to have a good train hobby shop near you, it is an excellent place to get advice and meet others with similar interests. Buy there and help to keep them in business! Don't get caught up in the 'They're too expensive, so I'll buy Mail Order' idea. They have an investment in merchandise, knowledge, time and location that most Mail Order houses know nothing about. Mail Order has a definite place in our hobby, but so does the guy in the mall or in the converted house or gas station. Most Mail Order houses are not much less expensive than your neighborhood train shop when you figure S&H (Shipping and Handling). I know of people that have spent hours looking over particular merchandise in hobby shops. They took time to ask the clerk or owner about construction and/or other details. Then they left the store and ordered the item Mail Order to 'save' $4.00 on a $49.95 item. (S&H about $5.00) It happens! You CAN save money Mail Order but saving money is not the only consideration. Did I just hear you say, "But I'm not made of money!" I didn't say that you were, but... INVEST IN OUR HOBBY'S FUTURE - KEEP THE DEALERS ALIVE. Ok, what about the NMRA as a resource? The NMRA has been around a long time and has been instrumental in setting many of the Standards and Recommended Practices that lets one manufacturer's cars work on another manufacture's track with still another's locomotive and all couple together to make a train. They are not the final answer, but there is much to be said for membership. There are Division and Regional Meets with photo contests, model contests, modeling clinics and layouts on display. There are Dealers tables with both new and used merchandise. Layout Tours are sponsored where modelers open their homes and layouts to visitors and there is a National convention with all of the above including trips to prototype sites when possible. The NMRA is International in scope and, obviously, they are stronger in some locales than in others. The membership fee is $24.00 US and includes the monthly NMRA Bulletin with modeling articles and tips as well as NMRA information. For several years after the economy forced the closing of my shop, I was not in the best of financial condition. I dropped two of the commercial magazines that I subscribed to, but I kept my membership in the NMRA. The Bulletin alone is worth the price of admission. (I have since picked up my subscription to one of the commercial magazines again.) The ideas and tips and layouts found in the modeling magazines are nothing short of fantastic! Even a poor month with have SOMETHING of interest in it for you. The bottom line is simply that there are many, many sources for ideas and good solid information. Do not sell yourself short. Look into some or all of them. It is my personal belief that Model Railroading is not an expensive hobby as such. What I have, I have acquired over several years. Yes, it COULD have been expensive if I bought it all at once today, but I didn't. And neither will you! Enjoy and welcome to the most fascinating hobby in the world, the creation of your own world, the world of your Model Railroad. --- Roger Hensley writes for RailOnline on a monthly basis. _________________________________________________________________ RAILONLINE FEATURES Model Railroading INDUSTRY CONNECTION @@P _________________________________________________________________ with Peter Kirn Special thanks to Atlas, Life-Like, and Walthers for their continued support of RailOnline's unique online, detailed model coverage. Prices are SRP. As usual, info is subject to sudden change. All products should be shipping at press time. > Industry Connection Graphics Watch for upcoming gray-scale images of new products on CompuServe and our Internet FTP site. We'll include details on the images here and via message posts. ======== WALTHERS ======== WALTHERS INTRODUCES ALL PHASES OF AMFLEET CARS IN HO SCALE November 15 Walthers is introducing Amfleet phase I, II, and III cars for HO modelers modeling Amtrak passenger service in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Based on the Amfleet cars used throughout the US, the cars are fully assembled. Decals are included to model full consists of different car types and numbers. Trucks feature all-metal wheels and electrical pick=up wipers so modelers can add interior lighting, available separately. Add-on grab irons are included, as well, for optional superdetailing. Phase I (white red & blue stripes, white pinstripes, "headless arrow" logos) 932-6002 Coach 932-6012 Food Service Phase II (wide red & blue stripes, white pinstripes) 932-6001 Coach 932-6011 Food Service Phase III (equal width red, white, and blue stripes, larger "Amtrak" lettering white w/ black outline) 932-6003 Coach 932-6013 Food Service All models, $15.98 each. NEW HO MODELS IN MAIN STREET USA COLLECTION Three new structures have been added to the Mainstreet USA Collection in the Cornerstone Series from Walthers. Merchant's Row I is designed for easy modeling of a city block, with five different stores in one structure. The complex measures 11". The White Tower Restaurant model is a faithful model of the extremely common White Tower Restaurants that first appeared in the late 20s and spread across the US. The restaurants offered 5 cent burgers "by the bagful". Walthers' model includes building and window signs and window awnings. Interstate Fuel & Oil, the bulk oil distributor released early in the Cornerstone Series, now has a gas station in the series bearing the same name. The model includes a service island with pumps, highway sign, service bays and air pump. All Cornerstone Series models feature plastic kits with window "glass", and decal signs for various business names. (If modelers don't want to model the non-prototypical `Interstate Fuel & Oil', Walthers includes prototypically named fuel company decals.) As usual, Walthers is selling a new car from Magnuson to compliment the models. The 1956 Hardtop is the latest such automobile. Merchant's Row I 933-3028 $24.98 White Tower Restaurant 933-3030 $14.98 IF&O Gas Station 933-3035 $9.98 1956 Hardtop 439-946 $7.98 for set of 2 3-PACK OF IC/ICG BOX CARS November 15 The latest release in Walthers' limited-run freight car series is a 3-pack of HO Illinois Central/Illinois Central Gulf waffle-side box cars. The set includes an IC car in orange with the "Main Line of Mid-America: slogan and split rail herald, and ICG car in orange with solid rail herald and"Cushion Underframe" lettering, and the most modern gray scheme with white IC reporting marks and data. 932-9114 IC/ICG Box car 3-pack $29.98 "HEARTLAND OF AMERICA" COLLECTION INTRODUCED November 15 Beginning in early December, Walthers is introducing its "Heartland of America" collection, an all new Cornerstone Series set for modeling an HO grain terminal. In the next six months, Walthers will be releasing 20 different products. The ADM grain elevator is a massive model patterned after the concrete elevators common throughout the US. Such a structure could be found in small towns, or as the central facility in a larger complex. The package includes an elevator, eight storage silos, dust bins, a headhouse and loading and unloading sheds for rail cars and trucks. Full-color decal signs, ADM logos and a billboard sign decal are included. An add-on kit is also available to add more silos to the model, along with additional sections for the corrugated metal headhouse. Walthers is also introducing the first-ever plastic model of the high-capacity PS-2 center-discharge covered hopper. The prototype was introduced in the 1960s for the grain industry. The car is equipped with trough-style loading hatches and center discharges for faster unloading. ADM Grain Elevator 933-3022 $29.98 Add-on silos 933-3023 $19.98 Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4427 Covered Hoppers ADM 932-9106 $29.98/3-pack limited run Individual Hoppers UP 932-5701 $9.98 each BN 932-5702 " " C&NW 932-5703 " " Pillsbury 932-5704 " " Cargill 932-5705 " " Continental Grain 932-5706 " " Undecorated 932-5700 " " ___ Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. PO Box 18676 Milwaukee, WI 53218 Phone: (414)527-0070 ===== ATLAS ===== ATLAS' NEW AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM IN SERVICE November 19 You can now call Atlas to locate a retailer near you or place a credit card order, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, using a touch-tone phone. The AT&T-designed system offers greater ease of use and the abililty to process orders coming in after hours. The system will automatically answer calls placed after regular business hours (8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST) and on the weekends. Calls placed during regular business hours will continue to be answered by an Atlas representative, when one is available. Customer service will still be available to answer any questions. Consumers can use the system to order the two free Atlas publications: the 94 product catalog and "Fantasic Layout" booklet. The service is available by calling (908)687-0880. --- Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 Phone: (908)687-0880 _________________________________________________________________ RAILCALENDAR _________________________________________________________________ Your event here! If you have a rail-related event, just send it to us. We'll publish it for no charge! We recommend that you notify us two months in advance of the event. _________________________________________________________________ RAIL ONLINE @^ _________________________________________________________________ ===== STAFF ===== Peter Kirn Editor-in-Chief CompuServe Distribution Manager Daniel Dawdy Assistant Editor Internet Distribution Manager SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS: Matthew Mitchell Rail passenger news (from the Delaware Valley Rail Passenger) ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTORS: Bryce Lee Canadian news coverage Ken May Northeast news coverage Roger Hensley Model railroading Adri Noort European news coverage Thanks, as always, to all our freelance authors and to the staff of the Travel SIG and TrainNet Forums on CompuServe. Special thanks to Dorr Alitzer and Corbett Price on TrainNet, and Dennis Larson on TrainNet. RailOnline is a non-profit organization. Compilation copyright (C)1993 E/Press publications. Copying RO in a manner contrary to the way defined by the section "copying RO" is a federal offense. Violators may be prosecuted. All trademarks are registered with their respective owners. ============= CONTACTING RO ============= Via US Mail: Peter Kirn 25777 Tara Drive Barrington, IL 60010 Via E-Mail: On CompuServe: Peter Kirn, 73232,3534 On the Internet or on any service that has an Internet gateway: Daniel Dawdy, dawdy@tellabs.com Send all address changes to the US mail address above. Call 1-800-848-8990 for information on joining CompuServe. ================ SUBMITTING TO RO ================ Articles may be edited for space and clarity. As a free publication, RO can offer no kind of compensation for submitters. Contact the editor if you're interested, or for more information. ========== COPYING RO ========== RO may be copied or uploaded in its entirety, unmodified. Any other use of the material is a violation of our compilation copyright and is illegal. RO NEWSWIRE: We have a special arrangement for editors wishing to submit to or subscribe to the RO Newswire rail news service. EDITORS: Contact us for more information. ================== COMING NEXT MONTH: ================== Articles subject to change without notice. SANTA FE'S 125th ANNIVERSARY RailOnline celebrates with an issue full of Santa Fe features! And much more... ________________________________________________________________ Happy New Year from everyone at RailOnline. See you in 1994!