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OCS SCHEDULES (UPDATED 4/15/98 at 02:00 ET)

Conrail's OCS will be taking an East Coast whirlwind tour over the next two weeks.  The trip departed Altoona, PA last night for Philadelphia.  Departure from Philadelphia on Thursday April 16 will see the train operated to interchange with CSXT at Baltimore, then operate via CSXT to Miami, FL.  The train departs Miami, FL on April 18 and heads north to a Baltimore, MD interchange with Conrail. The train returns to Conrail on April 19 and is now returning to Altoona without making the previously scheduled trip to Selkirk, Buffalo, and Conway.  Click HERE to see the ENTIRE schedule.  - Kevin Burkholder

OFFICE CAR WOES

Due to a derailment at Reams, Va on the CSXT A-Line, the Conrail Office Car Special detoured via the NS between Alexandria and Greensboro, NC yesterday.  The train, symbol O43 on NS was by Charlottesville at 13:35 ET on April 16. Conrail E8's were still on the point.   Not only was the Conrail Office Car train detoured VIA Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Greensboro on the NS... but Amtrak train #52, the Auto Train will too!!!  #52 from yesterday got stuck north of Rocky Mount, NC and behind the derailment of 15 CSX cars. Amtrak 52 will go back to Selma, NC this afternoon and run to Greensboro, then north to Charlottesville.   The detoured, northbound Amtrak Auto Train (#52) went through Danville, Va at 6:30am this morning (4/17/98).  Expect it at
Lynchburg around 7:30am and Charlottesville at 8:30am.  It is STILL not 100% known what the train will do at Charlottesville.  It is assumed #52 will change crews and continue north to Alexandria and be backed down to Lorton, Va.  The other Florida/Carolina trains are being bused between Richmond and Rocky Mount.  All of these trains will lose 4 to 5 hours or more.

 Also... NS 043, the detoured Conrail Office Car Train, is reported to have gotten held up in High Point, NC a tree on the tracks after a storm went through the area.  Can anything go right
today????-Galen A. Wright, Paul Wilson

PICO ON THE GROUND

At 02:32 ET this morning, train PICO-6 derailed eight cars at West Conway, PA. The derailment location is half a mile west of the site of Monday's Amtrak side-swipe. The derailment is on Fort Wayne Line track two and is fouling track #102, Fort Wayne Line track one and track #101 are unaffected. Early estimate is to have the derailment cleared by 11:00 ET. Train PICO-6 consisted of Conrail C40-8W 6235, GP40-2 3324, and Union Pacific SD40-2 3215 with 65 loads and 35 empties that totaled 8,723 tons. -CRTS Update John Krattinger

WHICH WAY TO GO

Bad luck has been with CSX for a little over a week now.  The derailment of Q-414 last Sunday at RO was apparently the beginning of what would become a long week for CSXT.  That derailment tied up the main for just under 24 hours with delays continuing into the beginning of the week.  On top of that derailment, CSX experienced a second in Georgia, also on Sunday.  As the week progressed, things did not get any better.  Early yesterday morning, two more incidents impaired CSXT operations.  The first incident was a derailment at Reams, VA, which forced detours (see above Office Car Woes story) of Amtrak's Auto Train and the Conrail OCS.  This derailment was still hampering operations early this morning.  The second incident was a little more severe.  Seventy five cars of a seventy nine car Q-685 were derailed and destroyed by a tornado near Flora, IL.  The Q-685 had two locomotives and seventy nine cars with the tornado starting at
the second car and derailing all but four cars!  The crew escaped unharmed.  This train had left Louisville, KY bound for East St. Louis, IL and was operating on the Hoosier Subdivision.  In Nashville, TN several freight cars were toppled on the approach to Kayne Ave. yard by tornados.  Damage was also reported to the norther/western approach bridges to the yard.  CSX had several other routes severed yesterday as tornados and severe weather rolled eastward through Tennessee and Ohio.  More problems in the form of flooding are expected today.  Stay tuned for more details.....   from various reports

SERVICE EXTENDED

FEC has decided to add another crew to the new Ft. Pierce-Jacksonville through freight created last week. This crew is based in Jacksonville and runs Monday and Wednesday Jacksonville to Ft. Pierce (119) departing at 18:00 ET. The Tuesday and Thursday Ft. Pierce to Jacksonville (220) departs Ft. Pierce at 15:00 ET. A Friday yard job is on duty in Jacksonville and off Saturday and Sunday. This makes 119/220 a 5 day a week train. -J.L. Hollahan

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