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SD70MAC UPDATE

4132 and 4133 are heading east from Niagara Falls on train NFSE-5.  Train was spotted by MP 366 of the Chicago Line at 09:00 ET.  - Duncan Richards

MORE RAIL PROJECTS ON TAP

Conrail will be dispatching several rail trains this week:

• The River Line will see the CSX rail train dispatched from Monday to Thursday to drop the new welded rail.  Upon completion of unloading the train, it will be returned to CSX via Philadelphia.
• Rail will be unloaded between Monday and Wednesday on the Shippensburg Secondary.  This train will head south out of Enola tomorrow morning.  This train is restricted to operating with 4-axle units.
• Upon completion of dropping rail on the Shippensburg Secondary, rail will be dropped on the Enola Branch.  This project is to be completed Thursday and will see rail dropped between Enola and Shocks, PA.
-Kevin Burkholder

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

The Enola Yards lost its last Icon yesterday.  The Brick Office is now gone.

Here's a bit of history.

On October 14, 1903, the Pennsylvania Railroad awarded various contracts to Coder and Miller of Harrisburg for contracts to build an office and storage house.  In addition they were to erect a material house, machine
and smith shops, inspection and ash pits, coal wharves, warehouse, bunk house, lighting and power house, fan house and toilet rooms, lumber sheds, planing mill and transfer tables.   They awarded painting and glazing to J. W. Darr of Philadelphia and plumbing to Boon and Samble, also of Philadelphia.

We don't know which buildings Coder and Miller started, but in April 1904 they announced that the Enola Brick Plant would be started in three weeks and that they planed to have two kilns by the first of June.  The Carlisle Brick Company plant had been purchased and the machinery moved to Enola.

By the end of July 1904  H. S. Kerbaugh, the contractor for all the earth moving and much of the track laying, had completed much of their work in the yards.  On December 14, 1904,  an order went out for office furniture for the "brick office."  In the first two weeks of January 1905 the entire carpenter forces from Harrisburg were sent to Enola to help in getting the offices and round house in shape.   The yards officially opened on January 18, 1905.

After 1905,  but before the memories of our living railroaders, a section was added to the northern part of the Brick Office.

The building housed the Train Master, Chief Clerk, east and west hump Yard Masters, two Road Foremen, Crew Dispatchers, the manifest office Clerks and first aid office.  With the addition of Police, Jitney Drivers, Janitor, Bunk Room Clerk and Fruit Growers, about 98 people were employed here.  The top portion of the building was used for bunk rooms.

On March 25, 1998, J. M. G. Excavating Company from Pottstown started demolition of the building with a crew of five men.  By April 2, 1998, all that was left were several large trash containers. -history courtesy of Herb Kruger

CONRAIL GEOMETRY TRAIN SCHEDULE FOR APRIL

Conrail's Baby Office Car Special train, the track geometry train will continue to work through the month of April.  The train, normally powered by B23-7 1933, totes a trio of pullman green track testing and support cars.  The train usually operates as TES-101 (Philadelphia Division), -301 (Albany Division), -401 (Pittsburgh Division), -501 (Indianapolis Division), and -601 on the Dearborn Division.  Train may also get an SPL- symbol instead of the TES- symbol. -Kevin Burkholder
 

Date	Work Locations
Monday April 6	Syracuse to Selkirk and Return
Tuesday April 7	Syracuse to Olean, NY
Wednesday April 8	Olean to Harrisburg, PA
Thursday April 9	Harrisburg to Oak Island via Allentown
Friday April 10	Maintenance at Oak Island, NJ
Saturday April 11
Sunday April 12
Monday April 13
Tusday April 14	Oak Island to Harrisburg, PA
Wednesday April 15	Harrisburg to Altoona, PA
Thursday April 16	Altoona to Conway, PA via Pittsburgh Line
Friday April 17	Conway to Ashtabula to Cleveland-Collinwood
Saturday April 18	Maintenance at Cleveland-Collinwood
Sunday April 19
Monday April 20
Tuesday April 21	Cleveland-Collinwood to Elkhart, IN
Wednesday April 22	Elkhart to CP 502 and return
Thursday April 23	Elkhart to Ashtabula
Friday April 24	Ashtabula to Conway
Saturday April 25	Maintenance at Conway
Sunday April 26
Monday April 27
Tuesday April 28	Conway to Waynesburg, PA
Wednesday April 29	Waynesburg Southern to Brownsville, PA
Thursday April 30	West Brownsville to Loveridge, WV and return
Friday May 1	West Brownsville to Conway via Port Perry

 

NORFOLK SOUTHERN TRACK PROJECT

Thay have put one of the new connection switchs trackside on the NS line in Bucyrus Ohio at Colson. This is for the connection from Conrail (CSX) to NS.  Nothing started at Crestline yet. - Dan Sprackler

MOTIVE POWER UPDATE

CN retirement dates in 1998 for MLW/BBD-built Alco-powered locomotives follow with numerical month and numerical date:

• BBD HR616s: 2103 02-26; 2106 02-27; 2107 02-05; 2108, 2112 02-13; 2118 02-27.
• MLW M420Ws: 3502 02-05; 3505 03-28; 3508 02-16; 3509 02-16; 3510 01-23; 3512 02-28; 3514 03-09; 3516, 3517, 3518 02-13; 3522 03-01; 3531 02-05; 3560 02-27; 3562 02-05; 3566 01-26; 3567 02-26; 3568 02-27; 3569 02-05; 3573 02-26; 3574 02-05; 3575 03-18; 3577 02-26; 3578 02-13; 3579, 3582, 3583, 3585, 3586, 3588 02-13.
The above locomotives have been stricken from the roster.

The following MLE\BBD locomotives are still on CN's roster, although they may not be found operating Canadian National; some may be leased to other railways. ->This list changes daily, or so it would seem<-! Gaps in numbers means the unit is retired. Codes: SUS-stored servicable; TUS-tied up servicable; NBEC-New Brusnwick East Railway; HBRT-Hudson Bay Railway; Mtl-Montreal; Tor-Toronto. BBD HR616s: 2100 SUS Tor; 2113, 2115 NBEC. M420Ws: 3530 HBRY; 3532 NBEC; 3533, 3538, 3539 TUS Mtl; 3540 NBEC; 3541 TUS Tor; 3542 TUS Mtl; 3543 HBRY; 3544 TUS Mtl; 3545 NBEC; 3546 SUS Tor; 3547 3548 NBEC; 3549 TUS Mtl; 3550 HBRY;
3553 NBEC; 3551 NBEC; 3552, 3553, 3554, TUS Mtl; 3555 NBEC; 3556 HBRY; 3557 TUS Tor; 3558 TUS Tor (was on Barrie-Collingwood Railway); 3559 TUS Tor.
*Some* of the above locomotives if they have not already been sold are available for sale through CANAC in Montreal for a "reported" price of C$120,000 each, subject to negoiation of course.

There now *no* Montreal Locomotive Works, BBD-built locomotives on Canadian National Railway in regular service. The end of an era.

Canadian National has leased to General Electric 12 SD40's which are in turn being sent to Union Pacific to compensate UP for problems with newly delivered motive power. The locomotives are 5022, 5023, 5032, 5038, 5040, 5046, 5080, 5139, 5162, 5210, 5223. This is an open ended lease.

Canadian National has leased to the Kansas City Southern the following GP40 locomotives to enable the KCS to pay back horsepower hours (HPHs) owed to Burlington Northern-Santa Fe: 9400, 9407, 9479, 9480, 9514, 9519, 9595, 9605, 9615, 9628, 9633, 9635, 9637, 9638, 9639, 9641, 9642, 9643, 9644, 9645, 9651, 9652, 9653, 9655, 9657, 9658, 9660, 9661, 9664, 9665, 9666, 9667, 9668, 9669, 9670, 9673, 9674, 9675, 9676, 9677. Some of the
above locomotives still may be seen on CN either coming back for repairs or returning to the leasee. This is an open ended lease.

Presently over 50 locomotives on CN are still stored servicable. The Conrail units and the LMS units still on lease are expected to return home sometime during May of 1998.- Bryce Lee

Please check this location daily, as new information will be posted, as it becomes available. If you have news to report or information regarding railroads in the Eastern United States, please send e-mail to Kevin Burkholder at KBurkholder@psghs.edu