This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/eastpenn to TrainWeb.US/eastpenn.

OCS SCHEDULES

Conrail's OCS will be taking an East Coast whirlwind tour over the next two weeks.  The trip departs Altoona, PA next Tuesday April 14 for Philadelphia.  Departure from Philadelphia on Thursday April 16 will see the train operated to interchange with CSXT at Baltimore, then CSXT to West Palm Beach, FL.  We are waiting on the CSXT version of the schedule before posting those operations.  The train returns to Conrail on April 19 and continues on a huge circle trip via Selkirk and Buffalo, NY.  Click HERE to see the Conrail side of the schedule.  - Kevin Burkholder

GEOMETRY TRAIN CHANGES

As soon as we put up the dates of work for Conrail's Geometry Train, they changed some of their testing.  Apparently some additional testing was necessary on the Chicago Line which has delayed the train almost a full day.  The B23-7 1933 has been temporarily swapped with the 1917.  The 1917 is currently the power for the Geometry train.  The train also does NOT operate on any actual time schedule.  This train usually performs extensive on-line testing that could take more or less time than they expect.  With that in mind, this guide is a guide only!  The listing we posted on April 5 has been changed to reflect this:
 

Date	Work Locations
Tuesday April 7	Syracuse to Selkirk and Return
Wednesday April 8	Syracuse to Olean, NY
Thursday April 9	Olean to Harrisburg, PA
Friday April 10	Harrisburg to Oak Island via Allentown
Saturday April 11	Maintenance at Oak Island, NJ
Sunday April 12
Monday April 13
Tuesday April 14
Wednesday April 15	Oak Island to Harrisburg, PA
Thursday April 16	Harrisburg to Altoona, PA
Friday April 17	Altoona to Conway, PA via Pittsburgh Line
Saturday April 18	Conway to Ashtabula to Cleveland-Collinwood
Sunday April 19	Maintenance at Cleveland-Collinwood
Monday April 20
Tuesday April 21
Wednesday April 22	Cleveland-Collinwood to Elkhart, IN
Thursday April 23	Elkhart to CP 502 and return
Friday April 24	Elkhart to Ashtabula
Saturday April 25	Ashtabula to Conway
Sunday April 26	Maintenance at Conway
Monday April 27
Tuesday April 28
Wednesday April 29	Conway to Waynesburg, PA
Thursday April 30	Waynesburg Southern to Brownsville, PA
Friday May 1	West Brownsville to Loveridge, WV and return
Saturday May 2	West Brownsville to Conway via Port Perry

-Kevin Burkholder

MOST TRAVELLED SD70M

NYSW SD70M 4050 has to be the most travelled SD70M on the NYSW.  This unit has been to the west coast and south into Florida over the last month.  Every time it gets near home rails, it is turned away to some other location.  The unit is showing on the computer systems as a Norfolk Southern unit, however it is actually paying back horsepower hours owed to the NS.  Yesterday the 4050 was spotted westbound at Elkhart, IN on train ELPR with UP 2986 and UP 6316!

Norfolk Southern Wins "Carrier Of The Year" Award

NORFOLK, VA ( Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) announced today that it has won the "Carrier of the Year" award for 1997 from Occidental Chemical Corporation (Oxychem). Norfolk Southern and Canadian National Railway tied for first place, and both were given the award.

Oxychem, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, assesses its transportation suppliers annually and selects the best as "Carrier of the Year." Safety, consistent service, accurate documentation and overall reliability are some of the key benchmarks for the award.

Norfolk Southern has received this distinction twice in three years from Oxychem.

Norfolk Southern moves chlorine, caustic soda and industrial chemicals for Oxychem.  "Occidental Chemical is pleased to have Norfolk Southern win this award, particularly in view of the NS safety record and its pending plan to operate a large portion of Conrail," said Bob Evans, Oxychem's manager of rail transportation.

"We are the largest shipper of hazardous materials on Conrail," he continued, "and we look forward to working with Norfolk Southern as expansion becomes a reality."

Norfolk Southern and CSX Corporation have filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board to operate the routes and assets of Conrail Inc. in the Northeast.

Norfolk Southern is a Virginia-based holding company with headquarters in Norfolk. It owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, which operates approximately 14,400 miles of railroad in 20 states, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest and the Province of Ontario. The corporation also owns Pocahontas Land
Corporation, a natural resources company. -Norfolk Southern

IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE

More Implementing Agreements Signed: On March 23, the general committees of the United Railway Supervisors Association representing Conrail engineering, communications, and signals supervisors signed an agreement providing for the selection and arrangement of forces following approval of the Conrail transaction. On March 25, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers also signed an implementing agreement. These organizations have also written to the Surface Transportation Board to express their support for the Conrail transaction.
 

The Next Step
Implementation Countdown...
  * 57 days until STB hears oral arguments, June 4, 1998
  * 61 days until STB votes on application, June 8, 1998
  * 106 days until STB publishes its written decision, July 23, 1998
  * 136 days until the effective date of the STB decision and the Control Date, Aug. 22, 1998
  * 146 days until "Day 1," the hypothetical Closing Date for NS planning purposes, Sept. 1, 1998.

Notable
NS' Intermodal department is using customer feedback to assist with implementation planning. The Intermodal department is conducting extensive marketing testing for use in planning NS' new intermodal service design. Surveys requesting feedback on the intermodal service plan were distributed to more than 300 customers systemwide. One-on-one interviews and follow-up questionnaires were later used to help identify customer requirements, process and service schedule preferences. For intermodal customers, the new NS single-line routings will significantly improve service reliability on lines linking current NS markets in the Southeast and Midwest with Conrail markets in the Northeast.

Quotable
"We're bringing together two very distinct, very strong cultures with rich histories. The common bond is that we're all railroaders. Both organizations enjoy fine reputations. Those things will overshadow any minor differences in operating style or managerial style. The rich heritage that both will bring, and certainly the reputation for professionalism and pride, will carry into the new organization. I think it holds tremendous promise." - Don O'Brian, assistant vice president, Norfolk Southern, in a videotaped interview for distribution to Conrail employees.

Conrail Heritage
L. Stanley Crane came out of retirement in 1981 to serve as Conrail's chairman and chief executive officer despite government interest in selling the railroad. Crane, when asked why he would take on Conrail after successfully serving as Southern Railway's chairman, president and chief executive officer, replied that he recognized that Conrail, which then served 35 percent of the nation's industry, had a good chance to succeed. And succeed it did. With the cooperation and support of Conrail's employees, Crane led Conrail from a company losing a million dollars a day to one that earned a million a day. In 1983, he was selected Modern Railroads magazine's "Man of the Year." He retired from Conrail in 1988. -Norfolk Southern

DERAILMENT BLOCKS YARD

Several tankers derailed, blocking a portion of the east entrance of Belt railway's Clearing Yard. A first-hand account revealed about four cars left the rails, including two on their sides. All are loads, with hazardous materials, all combustibles. The actual location of the derailed cars is on the BRC-GTW south wye at Hayford Crossing. It appears that a westbound GTW train was involved.  The first reports were vague as to what time the derailment occurred, but the long and short of it is that with Hulcher, the Belt's crews and the Chicago Fire Department working carefully to clear up this situation, it'll take until at least early to mid-day today (April 9)
for the Belt to resume normal operation.  No evacuations were ordered. For now, no traffic can move on the main line south of 67th Street or west of Hayford, which means that trains would have to enter the west end of Clearing Yard, detouring via the IHB.

As of 10:00 CT this morning, Belt Railway and GTW crews were busily making track repairs at the scene of yesterday's derailment at Hayford Crossing. When I passed near there late last night en route to work, I noticed that trains were getting by on the Belt northbound (the northernmost track), albeit at restricted speed. For now, this is the only active track through the plant, and this will impact movements into/out of the east end of Clearing Yard, until sometime this afternoon. Some GTW trains that originate/terminate out of the BRC Yard will operate via the IHB out of the west end, as will GTW trains destined to the BNSF at Cicero, which can pass through Clearing Yard via the "North Thorofare" to 67th Street to regain their normal routing. The derailed tankers on the south BRC-GTW wye were rerailed and removed overnight, without any incident.-Mike Abalos

CSX APPOINTS SHARON DISQUE

CSX Transportation Inc. (CSXT) announced the appointment of Sharon Disque as manager-industrial development for Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

CSXT's  team works closely with shippers and state and local governments to locate new facilities and expand existing properties along its rail system, bringing new jobs and capital investment to the communities served.

"Fueling job creation and investment in the states in which we operate is a top priority," said David Hemphill, CSXT's assistant vice president for industrial and economic development.  "Sharon Disque brings years of hands-on experience in regional economic development and will be a tireless advocate of creating new opportunities for growth for both CSXT and communities in Maryland and beyond."

Currently, Disque is the economic development coordinator for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission where she has served since 1986. Disque will be based in Baltimore, Md.

Disque assumed her new responsibilities on April 1.  CSXT also announced the promotion of Ed Tucker to the newly-created position of Northeast regional director of industrial development.  In that capacity, Tucker will
plan and integrate the industrial development in the Northeast, focusing primarily on those states where CSXT has not operated in the past.

Through its industrial development program, CSXT has played a key role in helping nearly 400 companies locate and expand along its rail lines.  Since 1994, CSXT-supported industrial development has helped to create 1,865 new jobs and generate $287 million in investment in Maryland.  Over the last four years, CSXT has supported a total of $6.6 billion in industrial development projects, helping to create over 21,000 jobs.  While generating
new jobs and investment dollars in the states, these projects provide CSXT with new customers and revenue. -CSX Corporation

NJ TRANSIT MONTCLAIR CONNECTION

The Star Ledger reports that NJ Transit and Montclair have reached an agreement concerning property acquisition for the Montclair Connection.  Once this agreement, which includes compensation packages for the owners of the 29 homes and businesses to be displaced by the project, has been formally ratified by both parties, construction can begin.

The Montclair Connection will reroute Boonton Line trains onto the Montclair Branch, allowing abandoment of the east end of the Boonton Line.  The project includes electrification of the Boonton Line as far as Great Notch.  Mid-town Direct trains will operate between Great Notch and New York, with approximately 30 trips planned each weekday. -Michael Finfer and the Star Ledger

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