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BREAKING NEWS: CONWAY, Pa. (AP) - An Amtrak passenger train crashed today into cars from a freight train that derailed on an adjacent track, injuring at least 11 people.

None of the injuries appeared to be serious, said a spokeswoman for UPMC-Beaver hospital.

The passenger train was Amtrak's Number 40 Three Rivers, with service from Chicago to New York, according to a Conrail spokesman.

The collision occurred at about 7:45 a.m. in Conrail's Conway yard, a major shipping point about 20 miles west of Pittsburgh.

A Conrail locomotive was moving a 113-car freight train when three cars derailed and were struck by the passing Amtrak train, Conrail spokesman Robert Lipkind said. The cause of the derailment was unknown.

After the Amtrak train hit the derailed Conrail cars, six Amtrak cars derailed - a dining car, three coaches and three baggage cars, Lipkind said.

An Amtrak spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

OCS SCHEDULES (UPDATED 4/13/98 at 13:00 ET)

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 Miami, FL.  The CSXT portion of the trip is now up!  The train departs Miami, FL on April 18 and heads north to a Philadelphia interchange with Conrail. The train returns to Conrail on April 19 and continues on a huge circle trip via Selkirk and Buffalo, NY on April 20.  Click HERE to see the ENTIRE schedule.  - Kevin Burkholder

TOWER CLOSURE

IU Tower in Indianapolis, IN was recently closed.  BO Tower in Kalamazoo, MI is reportedly next on the hit list with Milwaukee Junction Tower slated for closure after the merger.  In this day of high tech diesels and "to kill for" lash-ups, the tower operations are often overlooked.  Make an effort to record the final days of active towers on all railroads, as computers take over more and more functions of the operators.

END OF AN ERA

While only a matter of time, the FL9 era is definitely on the final pages of a long chapter.  This weekend at Amtrak's Honeywell Street engine terminal in Sunnyside Yard, Queens the "protect" engine was Amtrak P32AC-DM 713. This job has always belonged to an FL9 which was warmed up, ready to go. This definitely signals "the end of an era". -Bernie Ente

SENATE UNANIMOUSLY BACKS FULL FUNDING FOR AMTRAK IN ITS BUDGET RESOLUTION

WASHINGTON -- Last week the Senate reaffirmed unanimously its commitment to Amtrak, America's intercity passenger railroad. As part of its consideration of the Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Resolution, the Senate passed a Sense of the Senate resolution that stated Congress and the Administration should provide Amtrak with sufficient capital investment funds in accordance with the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997. The Act reauthorized Amtrak operations through 2002 and called for $1.023 billion in federal support for FY99.

A bipartisan group of 18 Senators sponsored the amendment led by Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), William Roth (R-DE), and Joseph Biden (D-DE). It is now part of the Senate's version of the Budget Resolution.

The Budget Resolution is Congress' blueprint for spending in FY99. Because it is non-binding, however, the final amount of spending for the next fiscal year will be decided ultimately by the appropriations committees in Congress.

"Each of the 18 Senators has worked tirelessly on behalf of the more than  68 million Americans who depend on Amtrak annually," said George D. Warrington, Amtrak's acting president. "The Senate has spoken loudly and clearly. In order for Amtrak to meet Congress' mandate to free itself from federal operating support, Congress must fully fund Amtrak's capital needs to further drive down operating expenses. In an era of belt-tightening, Amtrak has done its part, initiating its own reforms."

During the past three years these internal reforms have improved Amtrak's bottom line by more than $300 million.

The Sense of the Senate resolution states that Congress should appropriate sufficient funding to implement Amtrak's Strategic Business Plan through Fiscal Year 2003. In addition, the resolution calls for preserving the $2.2 billion in capital funding Amtrak received as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 for high rate-of-return capital investments.

Amtrak's federal capital needs will total more than $4 billion for the next five years. The inclusion of $2.2 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Act was meant to supplement annual federal capital appropriations not supplant it. The levels of funding authorized by the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act would be sufficient to close the gap and meet the $4 billion target.

In addition to the Senators named above, the other co-sponsors were: JimJeffords (R-VT), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Carol Mosely-Braun (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), John Chafee (R-RI), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Max Baucus (D-MT), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). -Amtrak

CSX WRECK FORCES DETOURS

There has apparently been a more than minor accident on the CSX in Florida, and traffic for West Palm Beach and points south to Hialeah (Miami) detoured over the FEC from Jacksonville to Miami. On Easter morning FEC 510 led CSX 7710 and CSX 5631 and approximately 85 cars passed Ft. Lauderdale southbound at 09:10 ET. (FEC unit leading for ATC signals.)

This was one of two wrecks on CSX effecting traffic flow.  Amtrak patrons were being bussed around the wreck site.-J.L. Hollahan

  CSX DERAILMENT AT RO "TAKE TWO"

CSX freight train Q-414 derailed over 20 cars yesterday at RO, the site of last July's CSX/Amtrak sideswipe/ derailment that severely affected the rail route south out of Washington, DC, for several weeks. Today's event was a CSX-only one. Hulchers arrived around 15:30 ET to start picking up the pieces. As of 20:30 ET both main tracks remain blocked.

Amtrak is turning trains at Washington and Richmond, and busing passengers between those cities. One train, north of Richmond when the derailment occurred, was terminated in Alexandria.

Train 51 departed Washington over three hours late, and detoured to Shenandoah Junction where it  turned south onto the NS Hagerstown District and B-Line to Front Royal and then back to Manassas to regain it's normal route. Reportedly, yesterday's Crescent (train 19) will also operate on this circuitous routing.  Amtrak 50, the eastbound Cardinal was terminated at Manassas with passengers bussed to Washington, D.C.

This is not Amtrak's only CSX-inflicted problem on the Washington-south routes. A derailment near Okeechobee forced Amtrak to bus passengers south of Orlando, FL. -D.C. Warner, Paul Wilson

STEAM EXCURSIONS

PLANNED 614 TRIPS

Here is the proposed schedule for C&O 614 for 1998.  It should be noted that these trips are NOT final at this point, but things are looking good enough for people to reserve the dates. When the trips are completely approved, an announcement will be posted at a later date. Please do not send requests for tickets to Iron Horse Enterprises until a confirming announcement is posted.
 

• 1. Port Jervis - Binghamton.  These trips will run August 15-16 (round trip each day).  Conrail has given approval, but we still need to get approvals from New Jersey Transit (to get the 614 and private cars to Pt Jervis) and Metro-North (to get permission to use their coaches at Port Jervis).  These approvals are expected to be in hand by the end of this week.
 
• 2. Philadelphia - Harrisburg.  Proposed dates are Sept 12-13 and 19-20 (round trip each day). We propose to run one way via Amtrak and return via Conrail through Reading.  These trips are the most tentative, as neither Amtrak or Conrail has formally approved these trips, but discussions are ongoing.
 
• 3. Hoboken - Port Jervis. These trips will run Oct 10-11 and 17-18, with two additional trips to run Oct 31 and Nov 1 only if the first four sell out.

-John Harmon

MUSEUM HAPPENINGS

SOUTH CAROLINA RAILROAD MUSEUM HOLDS RAILFAN WEEKEND

On April 18-19, 1998, The South Carolina Railroad Museum, Inc. will offer its anual Railfan Weekend. Photo freights will be operated on Saturday with five different locomotives (possibly six). All passenger accomodations will be vintage cabooses. Tickets are $20.

On Sunday, the Museum will offer its anual "jungle run" on the unrestored western portion of its railroad, the former Rockton-Rion Ry.  This motor car adventure will cost $7.00 and will terminate at Milepost 7.

For more information, please visit the Museum's website http://www.scrm.org  or email John Parker at jprker742@aol.com or Matt Conrad at jmconrad@InfoAve.Net. -Matt Conrad

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