TWO DAYS with NEW YORK's CROSS HARBOR RAILROAD Belt Lines: EJ&E
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TWO DAYS WITH NEW YORK'S CROSS HARBOR RAILROAD Belt Lines: EJ&E .. IHB .. B&OCT • Mainline action on the Elgin Joliet & Eastern, Indiana Harbor Belt, and the former Baltimore & Ohio Chica go Terminal (now CSX). • See over 70 trains from: EJ&E, IHB, CSX, Up, C&NW, CP Rail, Conrail, Wisconsin Central, BN, ATSF, CN, look at the mainline action on some of the GTW, Sp, Norfolk Southern, Chicago Chicago area and northwest Indiana belt lines. Short Line, Amtrak, and more. This program focuses on some of the mainline action on the Elgin Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E), Indiana Har • Locations include Rondout cross Abor Belt (IHB) and CSX's former Baltimore & Ohio Chi ing, Leithton, Hawthorne Hills, ca-go Terminal (B&OCT). The EJ&E is the outermost Belt West Chicago crossing, Eola cross line around the Chicago area and crosses every major railroad coming into Chicago! The IHB and former ing, Aurora, Walker Junction, B&OCT intersect with most of the major railroads closer Plainfield, Des Plaines River to and in Chicago. The EJ&E and IHB are heavy steel crossing, Joliet, Griffith crossing, haulers as well as providers of transfer service among Van Loon crossing, Gary, Whiting, the other railroads. Many of the major roads run road Hammond crossing, State Line trains and transfers on these belt lines and we capture the action. In addition we capture several crossing (lUIN), Blue Island Junction, EJ&E and IHB trains with their well-maintained classic EMD power and cabooses! There are seven ac tive tower junctions shown in this program! Video captured from 1995 through late 1997. Argo crossing, McCook, LaGrange, Franklin Park, and more. Belt Lines: EJ&E - IHB - B&OCT MVP# 571 ................ ....... ...90 minutes ..........04 29.00 $ BNSF Canadian National Southern Pacific Burlington Lines .. Volume 3 GrandThInk Western .. Volume& 1 East 1997 BN lines from Chicago through Burlington, Iowa. Look at CN including the former GTW at locations A look at post-merger SP trains in Illinois and Indiana. Locations include: Belt Railway of Chicago, Lisle, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana run See over 50 trains on the SP Chicago to st. Louis (SPC East Eola, EJ&E crossing, West Eola, Naperville Sta ning on BNSF, BRC, IHB, Conrail, and GTWtracks. SL) route and on BNSF,EJ&E , GTWand Belt Railway of tion, West Naperville, Montgomery, Galesburg, Video shot from 1994 through late 1997. Locations Chicago tracks. Locations include Wilmington, Saluda, Mississippi River crossing including the include: Minneapolis, St. Croix River crossing, Savan Dwight, Odell, Pontiac, Chenoa, Bloomington, lin turning bridge, West Burlington, and more. Lots of na, Rock River crossing, Shabonna, Sugar Grove, Eo coln, Spring-field, Aurora, Galesburg, Gal-va, Nepon new C44-9Ws in the Great Northern inspired paint la, Naperv-ille, Lisle, Downers Grove, laGrange, Belt set, Naperville, Eola, Bedford Park, Chicago, Griffith, scheme. No duplications with other BN, ATSF or Railway of Chicago, Blue Island Junction, Griffith and more. UP and C&NW power appears, but the Sp, BNSF tapes. All new for 1997. Lots of new trains crossing, Spriggsboro crossings, South Bend, and D&RGW, and SSW power still dominates. No duplica and new symbols. Over 70 trains, including locals more. Great motive power variety with CN, GT. tions with any other SP/uP tapes. See great merger and road trains running to the Pacific Northwest. DW&P, CV. Over 60 trains. consists and motive power variety! MVP#273 ........ ..90 minutes .......... $29.00 MVP#801 ............90 minutes .............$29.00 MVP#171 ............60 minutes .............$24.00 April 1998 413 FEATURES Issue 34 Operation Lifesaver Up Close Take a look at this highway-rail safety program from the cab of CP train No. 500. by James P. Ziegler 44 Cross Harbor Railroad This carrier runs the only remaining caL·f1oat operation in the Port of New York. by Joe Greenstein 54 DEPARTMENTS North Bonneville 4 Editorial Columbia River Gorge Amphitheater offers an unforgettable experience. 6 Letters by Gregory A. McCommic 8 Expediter 14 Market Watch 18 From the Cab 58 22 Amtrak In Hemingway Country 25 CSX Transportation Ninety-two miles of Pennsylvania's former G B&I Branch proves to be a true battler. 26 Canadian Pacific Railway by D.C. Jesse Burkhardt 28 Commuter/Transit 32 Modern Power 60 Burlington Northern & Santa Fe 64 Kansas City Southern 76 68 Conrail Railroad Focus 70 Union Pacific Travel to the West with short line Arizona & California. 72 Regionals/Short Lines by Chris Goepel 78 The Last Word 80 RaiiNews Classifieds 82 RaiiNews Advertising Index Under a warm glow cast by the recent harvest, aCOVER: hot Union Pacific train hustles west near Meredith, Illinois, on November Photo by Howard Ande Eastbound Conrail21, 1997. tra in TR1 wades through ABOVE:Newark, New York, on January Cross Harbor's Alco S4 No. 9, 1998.simm ers at the BayLEFT: Ridge interchange. 11 Joe Greenstein 1091·2436) RAILNEWS (ISS] is published monthly by PCl1trcx Media Group. 2652 E. \Valnul, Pasadenil, CA 91107. Periodicals postage paid f.lI Pasadena. CA 91109 and additional maiiing onlccs. POSTMASTER: Send P.O. 94911. 91 address changes to: RAtLNEIVS. Box Pasadena. CA 109. 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Clayton Operations Manager: Trish Miller Editor: Brent Haight Art Director: Jay Blazek Managing Editor: Katie orton Associate Editor: Chris GoepeJ Editorial Assistant: James Ziegler Advertising Manager: Patty Montbriand Sales Associate: Angela Klingler Submissions Articles, news items, and photographs are welcome and should be sent to our Wisconsin editorial office. Please include return envelope and postage if you wish your submission returned. RAILNEWS does not assume responsibility for the safe return of material. Payment is made upon publication. Joel D. Hinkhouse Submit all photos, articles, and editorial corre Canadian National announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Illinois Central for $39 per spondence to: share. As of press time, no other bidders have come forward. As it stands, an IC/CN merger would cre RAILNEWS ate the fifth largest railway in North America. Mega railroads are fast becoming the wave of the future. P.O. Box 379, Waukesha, WI 53187-0379 he February 10 announcement that and the Gulf of Mexico. In short, it would Submissions sent via UPS, Federal Express, or Canadian National had reached a become the fifth largest railroad in North similar courier must be addressed to: merger agreement with Illinois America and could help facilitate Canada 223 Wisconsin Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186 Central should not come as a surprise. Mexico trade under the North American T Phone: (414) 542-4900 For the last year, analysts have been pre Free Trade Act. Fax: (414) 542-7595 dicting that IC was the railroad most ripe Assuming all goes well for CN, final for the picking. The question was which regulatory approval of the deal could be Advertising Sales: (414) 542-4900 railroad was going to step up and harvest reached by early 1999. Advertising E-mail: [email protected] the "Main Line of Mid-America," as it Canadian National's offer to buy IC is E-mail: was once called. the fourth proposed major rail merger in [email protected] Rumors began to circulate about IC four years . Union Pacific, Burlington and CN last May when CN hosted a party Northern & Santa Fe, and the pending Magazine Subscription Service: at its new intermodal facility located in application before the Surface Trans Address all correspondence regarding subscrip Harvey, Illinois, on property owned by Ie. portation Board from CSX and orfolk tions (including new orders, renewals. and re Now that CN has made its $39 per Southern to merge with Conrail are sup placement copies) to: share bid, it will be interesting to see porting evidence of the latest trend of big RAILNEWS which companies, if any, come forward to railroading. Analysts agree, we can expect P.O. Box 17108 challenge CN's offer. As of press time, to see more and more rail mergers North Hollywood, CA 91615-7108 none have. shrinking the diversity found on North Kansas City Southern made an unsuc American railways. The only way for For all subscription problems and cessful attempt to merge with IC several smaller railroads to compete with the dis inquiries, call toll-free in the years ago. When asked if there were plans counted rates that giant railroads can af U.S., Canada, and Mexico: to try again, a KCS spokesperson re ford to offer is by teaming up. The ques sponded by saying no. "Our goal is to re tion now is, which is next? (800) 210-2211 main an independent railroad." The day CN announced it was in outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico According to the JOURNAL OF COM negotiations with IC (five days before the (626) 793-3400 MERCE, Canadian Pacific, long-time rival agreement was reached), experts immedi Please allow at least four weeks for address change.