Jon Searles's Collection
5/2/2024
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Viewing Album: Jon's U.S. Rail Photos
By:
Jon Searles
Dates:
1/1/1990 - 12/26/2010
Album Info:
First of all, this album is NOT intended to be an album about Lancaster, PA. I've only put that location down because the system won't allow me to omit location. Also, dates in this album are often wrong or estimated, as this is mostly older stuff that I don't have logs for. Any tips would be welcome. This album actually includes many of my U.S. rail photos, from all over the country, and the dates are included only because they're required. In reality, the album is very broad, and includes (or will include) material from many different states.
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Title:
SBRR 54
Description:
It's obvious from the Fall colors that I shot this in the Fall of 1995, this being part of a larger National Railway Historical Society bus trip to various heritage rail sites in Southern New York and Central Pennsylvania. It is indeed ironic that the NRHS has to travel by bus most of the time, but that's life in a country with a substandard rail system. In the case of the Stourbridge Line, though, that's part of the appeal, of course, as they have this old and super-rare EMD BL2 diesel on their roster, which was the centerpoint of the trip. We rode it all the way over the line from Stourbridge to Lackawaxen (if memory serves), and this was at, I think the Stourbridge stop, or some other place. I do remember that this is where we got on, I'm pretty sure. Any info on this would be welcome, including the exact date, as this trip was 12 years ago, and I don't have my notes nearby. I hope you like the photo, anyway. :-)
Photo Date:
10/1/1995
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 11:00:33 AM
Location:
Stourbridge, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SBRR 54(BL2)
Views:
778
Comments:
1
Title:
ex-NYC #8223 With ex-CN Cabooses (the copyright date is wrong and the main date is an estimate)
Description:
This was where I started chasing 8223 during a deadhead move of old cabooses to Thendara in the summer of 1996, if I'm remembering correctly (I'll fix this later if I find out I'm wrong. :-)). You can already see some of the restoration work in preparation for the Utica extension, but this was, like I said, in 1996, so that was still a year away. See my collection of photos from the 1998 NRHS Convention for more on that.
Photo Date:
6/1/1996
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:44:01 AM
Location:
Forestport, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
1785
Comments:
0
Title:
ex-NYC 8223 (date is estimated, copyright date is wrong)
Description:
I got this shot at McKeever, which was lucky since it was getting dark and I didn't have my Nikon yet.
Photo Date:
6/1/1996
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:44:55 AM
Location:
McKeever, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
887
Comments:
0
Title:
ex-NYC 8223 and NYC-liveried 79775 (date is estimated, copyright date is wrong)
Description:
When the train got to Otter Lake, there was, surprisingly, still a lot of light left, so I took this.
Photo Date:
6/1/1996
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:44:19 AM
Location:
Otter Lake, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
1256
Comments:
2
Title:
ex-NYC 8223 (date is estimated)
Description:
You know what? Although I took this at Thendara, this was on a different day from the chase shots. I does conclude the series well, though, I think. :-)
Photo Date:
6/1/1996
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:45:06 AM
Location:
Thendara, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
517
Comments:
0
Title:
ex-NYC 8223 and NYC-liveried 79775 with CN caboose (date is estimated, copyright date is wrong)
Description:
This was at Woodgate, as the sun was going down.
Photo Date:
6/1/1996
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:44:43 AM
Location:
Woodgate, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
781
Comments:
0
Title:
Berea Tower (date is a very rough estimate)
Description:
This was on a guided tour of Berea Tower, one of Conrail's last signal towers, during its last days of operation. We saw a tremendous density of traffic by American standards, but of course that was understandable given the rail hub that the Cleveland area is. That is, indeed, why Berea survived for so long. This Conrail freight approaching us is obviously being pulled by EMD SD50s or SD60s, but the scan is unfortunately too blurry to see the numbers and confirm exactly.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 7:19:36 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
278
Comments:
0
Title:
ex-BO #7402 and 92 At The B&O Railroad Museum (date is guessed)
Description:
I took this in the summer of 1997 at the B&O Railroad Museum, where I would do an internship the next summer. I was scouting the place out for just such an internship, and this was the day I decided to go ahead with it. In any case, the main locomotive in the picture is former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) #7402, an EMD SD-35, and behind it, in very bad condition, is former B&O #92, an EMD E8. Far in the background is the museum's famous roundhouse, which collapsed under snow in the winter of 2002-2003, but which is now restored and reopened.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 11:55:44 AM
Location:
Baltimore, MD
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
BO 7402(SD35)
BO 92(E8A)
Views:
2209
Comments:
1
Title:
CRTA 828 (date is a wild guess)
Description:
I took this one in 1997, while I was waiting for the tram in Cleveland's "Amshack" station that also is served by, of course, Amtrak. Nowadays, Cleveland's famed Union Terminal (probably the tallest railroad staton in the world, see here) is served only by trams, most of them originating here, if I'm not mistaken. When I rode this system for the first time, which was on this very trip, I found it to be a spotless, effective, new system, although I would have to assume it's acquired some wear and tear by now.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 7:19:52 AM
Location:
Cleveland, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
CRTA 828(Electric M.U.)
Views:
303
Comments:
0
Title:
Conrail Manifest
Description:
Unfortunately, the scan is too old and the photo too blurry to get the numbers of these units, but this was on the tour I took of Berea signal tower in Berea, OH in 1997. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact date on me, either.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 5:21:42 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
112
Comments:
0
Title:
Conrail Dash 8 passing Berea signal tower
Description:
This is another case of just barely missing the number of a locomotive, in this case solely by bad luck. The date is also a guess, as I've already explained, because I don't have good records right now.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 5:21:55 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
151
Comments:
1
Title:
Conrail Reefer Express (Manifest??)
Description:
This was another case of a blurry photo and a bad scan, so while we can verify the first three digits in the lead unit's number (677-), the fourth is a toss-up. The date, again, is a guess.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 5:22:05 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
135
Comments:
0
Title:
UP Coal Train
Description:
This is another case of a blurry photo obscuring the number of a unit, in this case because of too much mist in the air (it was quite gloomy and rainy that day). This was, however, almost certainly NOT officially a UP coal train, as at that time Conrail was leasing foreign (non-CR) motive power, in a foreshadowing of future practice. The date on this photo, as on my other Berea photos, is a wild guess.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 5:22:58 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
363
Comments:
0
Title:
UP Coal Train, Picture 2
Description:
I took this seconds after the other UP Coal Train photo, out the opposite end of Berea tower, where I was on a tour.
Photo Date:
7/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 5:23:11 AM
Location:
Berea, OH
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
154
Comments:
0
Title:
CP 7311 with D&H caboose
Description:
In spite of the summerish weather, I have no reason to believe that this was taken at any time early Fall, 1997, right after I returned to SUNY Plattsburgh for another year there. The scan is too blurred to see the number on the caboose, so any input would be welcome.
Photo Date:
10/1/1997
Upload Date:
5/13/2007 4:45:44 PM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
CP 7311(GP38-2)
Views:
943
Comments:
1
Title:
AMTK 263 (date is guessed)
Description:
This is one of many, many black and whites that I took while living in Plattsburgh. Notice the wreck damage on the nose of this F40PH. Supposedly, in their last years on Amtrak, little was done to repair minor damage since they were expected to be scrapped to converted to cabbages anyway, as most of them were.
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/15/2007 3:28:35 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 263(F40PHR)
Views:
517
Comments:
0
Title:
AMTK 301 (date is almost certainly wrong other than the year)
Description:
I've always liked this photo, even if many serious photographers haven't. They say it's "boring," but most of them aren't railfans! From the technical point of view, the contrast is a bit low, but since it was a gloomy Plattsburgh winter day, if I were to up the contrast on this, the detail and the grit of the scene would be lost. For the railfans, though, it's a nice shot of an F40PH in the last years of F40 haulage on Train #68, the "Adirondack."
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 7:18:57 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 301(F40PH)
Views:
487
Comments:
1
Title:
AMTK 301 (date is guessed)
Description:
This is one of my only, and perhaps my only, good shot of an F40PH taken from above. This was a southbound, which could only be train 68, the "Adirondack" for New York Penn. It's slowing for Plattsburgh station, which is in the distance, around the curve and on the right side of the tracks.
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/15/2007 3:28:56 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 301(F40PH)
Views:
623
Comments:
2
Title:
AMTK 241 (date is guessed)
Description:
Here's...another F40PH!! :-) This one is departing Plattsburgh, southbound with Train 68.
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/15/2007 3:29:18 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 241(F40PHR)
Views:
327
Comments:
1
Title:
AMTK 394 (date is almost certainly wrong other than the year)
Description:
This photo is a little bit grainy, which is a result of a high-contrast print being fed into a primitive scanner. I apologize in advance for that, but I posted it anyway because I love the composition. Maybe in the future I'll post a rescanned one, but for now this will have to do.
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 7:19:11 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 394(F40PHR)
Views:
365
Comments:
0
Title:
Amtrak Train #70 Arriving (date is almost certainly wrong other than the year)
Description:
When I took this, Amtrak ran a seperate Sunday schedule for trains #68 and 69, the "Adirondack" service from NYP-Montreal, with the Sunday Adirondack getting numbers 70 and 71. I've always liked this shot, even if many "serious" photographers haven't. It is a bit abstract, as you can't see the features of the train, so it's more an emotional than a "tech" shot. I hope you like it. :-)
Photo Date:
3/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 7:19:22 AM
Location:
Plattsburgh, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
98
Comments:
1
Title:
SRC 90 (date is a guess)
Description:
Some days you just get lucky. The weather is perfect, the light is perfect, your camera performs flawlessly, you're in all the right places at the right times, and you have a phenomenal subject. Actually, Strasburg #90, while beautiful, isn't the most spectacular steam locomotive you could ever find. It's just a Baldwin Standard Decapod 2-10-0 from the 1920s that was designed for hauling freight on branchlines, but it's big and bulky enough to give the impression of massive, overwhelming force. On this particular day, I wasn't in Strasburg to take photographs, but to do documentary research, but I got very lucky coming out of the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum in that #90 was there exactly when I was, and it was a blazing hot summer day. You can see the brightness of the sun in the pictures, and although the originals are fine, the scans look more bleached. It's the only shame in displaying them here, as my old Omniscan came nowhere close to doing the photos justice.
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 3:44:08 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
930
Comments:
0
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 2 (the date is a vague recollection)
Description:
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:10:10 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
807
Comments:
1
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 3 (the date is a vague recollection)
Description:
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:10:43 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
665
Comments:
0
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 5 (date is a guess)
Description:
Railroad photographers often like photographing the valve gear, in this case Walschaerts, if I'm not mistaken.
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 3:44:47 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
604
Comments:
0
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 6 (date is a guess)
Description:
This is the turbogenerator, as #90 is new enough to have an electrical system, at least for lighting, anyway.
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/3/2007 3:45:07 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
596
Comments:
0
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 7 (the date is a vague recollection)
Description:
There's the Baldwin builder plate, although in general the photo is interesting, I think.
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:11:00 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
589
Comments:
0
Title:
SRC 90, Picture 8 (the dates is a vague recollection)
Description:
#90 is also new enough to have Westinghouse automatic airbrakes, with the compressor (in the center of the picture) running on steam. Airbrakes became standard on freight trains in the early 1900s, although there had been pressure, no pun intended, to introduce them far sooner. By the 1920s they were old hat in the United States, even if they weren't universally accepted elsewhere.
Photo Date:
7/4/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:11:18 PM
Location:
Strasburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
SRC 90(2-10-0)
Views:
608
Comments:
0
Title:
MAN 2453 and ex-NYC 8223 With An NRHS Convention Special
Description:
The 1998 NRHS Convention was based in Syracuse, New York, and hosted by the Central New York Chapter. Nevertheless, because of Syracuse's close proximity to Utica, the Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter also played a key role, along with the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society (ARPS). Central New York, regrettably, doesn't have the same range of attractions that Pennsylvania has, but the local tourist railroads, as well as some freight railroads, gave their all to ensure the best convention experience possible. The biggest event was, in my opinion, the re-opening of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Utica-Thendara, which had only been run once before since restoration, in 1997, when it was run for volunteers and dignitaries (the railroad is run completely by volunteers from the ARPS and NRHS). I worked the excursion, in my dual role as an NRHS and ARPS member, as a trainman, and I shot these photos for the railroad's use. When they had no use for them, I stored them, and here they are published for the first time. These runs went off without any major problems, even if subsequent months saw delayed trains due to late trackwork, and obviously everyone was quite excited at this vast expansion of the Adirondack's role as a tourist railroad. I took all of these pictures on the way back to Utica, so this one was taken at Thendara. The lead locomotive, an ALCO C425, was lent to us by the Mohawk, Adirondack, & Northern Railroad(MA&N), who run the freight services between Utica and Remsen, on the same route that we took.
Photo Date:
7/9/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:45:30 AM
Location:
Thendara, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
MHWA 2453(C425)
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
1467
Comments:
2
Title:
NYC 8223 And MA&N 2453
Description:
The 1998 NRHS Convention was based in Syracuse, New York, and hosted by the Central New York Chapter. Nevertheless, because of Syracuse's close proximity to Utica, the Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter also played a key role, along with the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society (ARPS). The biggest event was, in my opinion, the re-opening of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Utica-Thendara, which had only been run once before since restoration, in 1997, when it was run for volunteers and dignitaries (the railroad is run completely by volunteers from the ARPS and NRHS). This was on the way back at Nelson Lake, a station that's privately owned, and while on the employee timetable, no longer an active station.
Photo Date:
7/9/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:45:40 AM
Location:
Nelson Lake, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
MHWA 2453(C425)
Views:
797
Comments:
0
Title:
Woodgate Station
Description:
This is Woodgate station, which at the time was still under reconstruction after many years of semi-abandonment.
Photo Date:
7/9/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:45:54 AM
Location:
Woodgate, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
116
Comments:
0
Title:
NRHS Convention Special Arriving Back
Description:
This was when we finally got back to Utica, as the sun was setting. ADCX trains no longer come into Utica Union Station this way, as these are the MA&N freight tracks. There is now a dedicated track into the station platforms accessible by a new pedestrian bridge.
Photo Date:
7/9/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 10:46:04 AM
Location:
Utica, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
RollingStock
Locomotives:
Views:
310
Comments:
1
Title:
MAN 2453 (date could be wrong)
Description:
This was taken at the 1998 National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) National Convention, although not in Syracuse, where the convention was based. Rather, I took this in Thendara, NY, at that time the northern end of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, after having worked (as a Trainman) on the first public passenger train (at least to NRHS members from around the country) to run from Utica to Thendara since 1981. The locomotive (this one, as well as ex-NYC #8223) had been run around, and I took this picture of the cab before reboarding for the trip back to Utica.
Photo Date:
7/9/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:07:53 PM
Location:
Thendara, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
MHWA 2453(C425)
Views:
453
Comments:
0
Title:
NYSW 142 & NYSW 2400 Doing A Photo Runby (location is guessed)
Description:
I took this during a photo runby while riding an NRHS Convention Special from Syracuse to Chanango Forks, New York in 1998. We never made it all the way to Binghamton, as the excursion ran so late that we lost our path, but a good time was had by all. Regrettably, I can't remember exactly where this runby was (it was probably the one from Tully which is also depicted in a photo on my website www.jonsearlesphoto.co.nr), so any info from other attendees would be welcome.
Photo Date:
7/11/1998
Upload Date:
5/15/2007 5:04:23 AM
Location:
Tully, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYSW 142(2-8-2)
NYSW 2400(E9AM)
Views:
597
Comments:
0
Title:
NYSW 142 Performs A Photo Runby
Description:
This was on another NRHS Convention special behind NYS&W #142 on the NYS&W's Northern Division, at Tully on the western fork to Syracuse, during a photo runby.
Photo Date:
7/11/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:09:15 PM
Location:
Tully, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYSW 142(2-8-2)
Views:
263
Comments:
0
Title:
ex-DL&W 807 With An NRHS Convention Special
Description:
There were plenty of other excursions for the Convention, of course, including this one on the Finger Lakes Railway from Syracuse to Auburn, NY, pictured here. Power was provided by the Finger Lakes Railway, NYS&W, and the Central New York Chapter, who provided this EMD E8. #807 is one of two that they have, the other one being #808, which was restored earlier.
Photo Date:
7/12/1998
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:07:06 PM
Location:
Auburn, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
DLW 807(E8A)
Views:
530
Comments:
3
Title:
Thendara Station (the date is a wild guess)
Description:
I found time in my busy schedule to revisit the Adirondack Scenic Railroad yet again during the summer of 1998, yet I have little recollection of the actual date that I took this. It was probably late in the summer, though, after the NRHS Convention ended.
Photo Date:
8/1/1998
Upload Date:
5/13/2007 4:45:32 PM
Location:
Thendara, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Station
Locomotives:
Views:
226
Comments:
0
Title:
CN 5640 & KCS 6619 (the date is a wild guess)
Description:
Back in 2000, mixed power was still rare enough so that you could get other railfans' attention by photographing it. It is, after all, a bit odd to see a CSX freight in Utica, NY being pulled by locomotives from the Canadian National and the Kansas City Southern. The trailing locomotive is a bit old already by modern standards as the lead locomotive, an SD75I, is trailed by an SD40-3.
Photo Date:
3/1/2000
Upload Date:
5/2/2007 6:06:04 PM
Location:
Utica, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
CN 5640(SD75I)
KCS 6619(SD40-3)
Views:
697
Comments:
2
Title:
AMTK 714
Description:
The date on this is just a wild guess that probably is just as wildly inaccurate. In any case, here's one of my favorite all-time shots on the Water Level Route, with Amtrak leading an Empire Service train out of the notorious Gulf Curve!! I've always though this was quite dramatic, even if some serious photographers consider it boring.
Photo Date:
5/1/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 11:31:09 AM
Location:
Little Falls, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
AMTK 714(P32AC-DM)
Views:
629
Comments:
0
Title:
CSX 5924
Description:
I'm taking the same wild guess with this one as with my other Little Falls shot, as they were both shot on the same day, and now they'll at least be equally wrong. :-) I at least know that I took it during the Spring Semester of 2000, and mixed power was still a bit rare on the Water Level Route then, but getting more common all the time with the Conrail sale and the subsequent explosion in traffic. This consist, though, was still something special, as it had a G.E. Dash 7 still in Family Lines colors!! I caught this in Little Falls, NY while out train chasing.
Photo Date:
5/1/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 11:32:18 AM
Location:
Little Falls, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
CSX 5924(B36-7)
CSX 3115(B23-7)
CSX 6454(GP40-2)
Views:
711
Comments:
0
Title:
30th Street Station
Description:
I took this on Boxing Day, 2000, hence the Christmas decorations. I had never been inside the concourse of 30th Street Station before, and it immediately made an impression on me. I was very surprised that it was built as recently as the 1930s!!
Photo Date:
12/26/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 8:48:50 AM
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
152
Comments:
0
Title:
30th Street Station, Picture 4
Description:
Here's a larger view of the room where they have the sculpture. 30th Street Station is indeed massive.
Photo Date:
12/26/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 8:49:22 AM
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
112
Comments:
0
Title:
Grand Central Terminal
Description:
My Boxing Day adventures also involved a side trip to Grand Central Terminal, as although my next train wouldn't be from there, I had a couple of hours connection time, such is rail travel in America.
Photo Date:
12/26/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 8:49:52 AM
Location:
New York, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
143
Comments:
1
Title:
Grand Central Terminal, Picture 2
Description:
This is probably one of the most famous railroad scenes in America, yet it doesn't contain any trains!! I don't think I need to elaborate on the fame and grandeur of Grand Central any more than this, as I think all railfans understand.
Photo Date:
12/26/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 8:50:15 AM
Location:
New York, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
1285
Comments:
0
Title:
Grand Central Terminal, Picture 3
Description:
Probably one of the most famous station clocks in the world, this one sits atop the main entrance to Grand Central. One of the other most famous station clocks, of course, is the one on top of the kiosk in the main concourse, seen in Picture 2.
Photo Date:
12/26/2000
Upload Date:
5/14/2007 8:50:26 AM
Location:
New York, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
99
Comments:
0
Title:
METROTRANS 110A
Description:
When I visited, Minneapolis was just putting the finishing touches on a controversial light rail project, called the "Hiawatha Line" after the famous steam-era express trains, and I was lucky enough to see them testing one of the new trams. These aren't particularly unconventional as modern trams go, except for that they have train horns and bells instead of traditional tram bells, making them extremely noisy. This may have had something to do with Metro Transit classifying them as "trains" rather than trams or trollies, even though they operate in the street and perform in every concievable way like most other modern trams. I haven't found out whether this has elicited complaints, improved safety, or both, but I do know that most of the controversy was unrelated to noise. Rather, the main argument against the project was that it didn't go anywhere locals wanted to go, instead providing a link only from Nicollet Mall (seen here) to the Mall of America. The line has since been extended further north to the Warehouse District, however, which would be to the rear of this photo (if I'm wrong on either of these points please correct me). In spite of the initial arguments against the project, however, this year Metro Transit reported their highest ridership on all modes in 22 years, with 73.8 million riders for 2006, blowing past their target of 71 million. The Hiawatha line only accounted for 9.4 million of these, but if you consider that initially it was predicted no one would ride, this could actually be called quite a success.
Photo Date:
4/18/2004
Upload Date:
5/15/2007 5:03:54 AM
Location:
Minneapolis, MN
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
METROTRANS 110A(Flexity Swift LRT)
Views:
292
Comments:
0
Title:
AMTK 2031 (edit)
Description:
While I was going through the CD of horrible Ritz scans, I also found this one to be really bad, yet previously uploaded in unedited form, so I decided to limit my humiliation and upload an edit of it too. Getting to the original shot, I still don't remember how I got it. I probably wedged the camera against something and hoped for the best. The film was only Kodachrome 200, so it would have been a difficult shot to get. The reason that it was my first-ever shot of an Acela Express had to do, in fact, with the inadequate light in Philadelphia 30th Street, as this is New York Penn at the end of my journey (before changing to the Empire Service).
Photo Date:
12/26/2005
Upload Date:
10/18/2008 2:02:22 PM
Location:
New York, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Station,Passenger
Locomotives:
AMTK 2031(Acela Power Car)
Views:
330
Comments:
1
Title:
ex-NYC 8223 appears in a Czech ad!!! (date is a guess)
Description:
This isn't my photo, but a photo in ad that I found on a Class 451 (or possibly 452) Class EMU sitting in Praha Hlavni Nadrazi!!! It was a bit of a surprise to find in Prague...a poster of a locomotive I used to work on in the U.S.A.!!!! You can actually see this locomotive in some of my own photos on Flickr, taken back in the good ol' days when I worked on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. I have no idea why they chose this locomotive to put on a poster promoting rail travel in the Czech Republic, but what particularly amazes me is that they were even aware of 8223's existence. In any case, when I found this poster it made my day. :-)
Photo Date:
10/26/2007
Upload Date:
10/18/2008 2:06:09 PM
Location:
Prague, CZ
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
NYC 8223(RS3)
Views:
573
Comments:
1
Title:
What's Left Of Ontrack
Description:
Warning: You may not like what I have to say... :-) Ontrack, when it was first inaugerated, was part of the revival of rail transport, particularly within cities, which was going on during the 1990s, and continues to this day, in the U.S.A. This long predated the current spike in fuel costs, as pollution, traffic congestion, and simple public demand for more effective transportation all played more of a role in the beginning. Back in the 1990s, gas prices were sometimes as low as a dollar a gallon, so it's hard to make an argument that they played much of a role in the public transport revival. So.......what's going on with Ontrack now, in the days when it's needed more than ever? It's shut down, of course. It suffered a long decline, and as I understand it, this was partly due to simple failure to run at all. I'll always remember the time back in the early 2000s (I don't remember the date) when I was train watching on this platform for several hours, watching the scheduled arrival and departure times advertised on the platform come and go without seeing a single train. The platform was full of passengers, and when me and my railfan friends finally left after standing for several hours without seeing a single train, the passengers followed us. In any case, the station now seems to be in use for storage of the equipment, and in the middle of the Christmas season, when I took this photo, the parking lot of Carousel Mall was so congested that it took 20 minutes for us to find a parking space. Such is the predicament of public transport in Central New York.
Photo Date:
12/23/2007
Upload Date:
10/18/2008 2:07:19 PM
Location:
Syracuse, NY
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
Locomotives:
Views:
126
Comments:
1
Title:
Amtrak Material Handling Cars
Description:
I didn't do too much train watching on my most recent trip to the U.S., but I did manage to snap some pictures in Harrisburg on my way through. These material handling cars are used by Amtrak for mail and parcels, and are coupled to Amtrak's regular trains. Basically converted boxcars his makes them the fastest boxcars, and the fastest non-passenger cars, in the U.S., as some operate (in mail service) as fast as 110 m.p.h.
Photo Date:
12/25/2007
Upload Date:
10/18/2008 2:07:10 PM
Location:
Harrisburg, PA
Author:
Jon Searles
Categories:
RollingStock
Locomotives:
Views:
302
Comments:
0
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