RF&P Caboose, Ronks, Pennsylvania

CHRIS DAVE drum solo

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Free NYC Adventures for People Who Can’t Stop Eating [April 21-23]

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Philadelphia Trolley 2266 “North Carolina” postcard

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) “North Carolina”.

SEPTA’s Star-Spangled Bicentennial motif trolley was purchased for Philadelphia’s system from Kansas City in 1955, then patriotically refurbished for about $25,000. It is viewed on Fifth Street at Girard Avenue.

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

DEXTER AND NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY

The railroad of the Dexter and Northern Railroad Company, was a single-track standard-gauge steam railroad, located in New York. The main line extends easterly from Dexter to Dexter Junction, a distance of 0.462 mile. The carrier also owns 0.419 mile of yard tracks and sidings. Its road thus embraces 0.881 mile of all tracks owned and used. In addition, the carrier has trackage rights over the railroad of the New York Central Railroad Company between Dexter and a point about 2 miles west of Brownville, N. Y.

CORPORATE HISTORY

The carrier was incorporated July 23, 1908, under the general laws of the State of New York. The date of its organization has not been ascertainable from the records reviewed.

DEVELOPMENT OF FIXED PHYSICAL PROPERTY

The owned mileage of the carrier, extending from Dexter to Dexter Junction, N. Y., a distance of 0.462 mile, was acquired by construction. The returns of the carrier to valuation order No. 20 show that its property was constructed during the period from 1908 to 1910 by or under the supervision of the Dexter Sulphite Pulp and Paper Company.

1956:

the Dexter & Northern Railroad line was purchased by the New York Central Railroad and reopened for service.

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Short Line Railroads

The Lehigh New England was solvent; but declines in the traffic caused it to be abandoned in 1960.

The Lehigh New England carried both anthracite and cement; but declines in the traffic caused the parent Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company to abandon the still-solvent road in 1960.

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was formed in 1822. It’s well-known logo was a red target surrounded by a white circular band and saying “Old Company’s Lehigh”. In the 1930’s it owned over 8,000 acres of coal land and four colleries. It also owned several water companies and mountain resorts. In addition to the Lehigh and New England Railroad, they owned the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad and it’s extension the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton Railroad. The L&S went from Easton, PA to Wilkes-Barre and was leased to Central RR of New Jersey for $2 million/year.

The Lehigh & New England had a Reading Company heritage but was owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company after 1904. Reading tried to lease it in 1926 but the ICC denied; instead the ICC wanted the L&NE merged into the New Haven (they met at Maybrook). The L&NE carried both anthracite and cement; but declines in the traffic caused the parent Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company to abandon the still-solvent road in 1960. Central Railroad of New Jersey bought portions (about 40 miles) of the once 217-mile line. These pieces went over to Conrail.

The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was completed between Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1866. It was leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (Jersey Central Lines) in 1871. The L&S was extended to Scranton in 1888 by means of the subsidiary Wilkes-Barre & Scranton. Jersey Central’s Pennsylvania lines were consolidated in 1972 with the Lehigh Valley and thus the CRR of NJ was out of Pennsylvania.

The Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad was among several railroads attracted by the anthracite coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania, It was an extension of the NYS&W chartered in 1892 and gone by 1940 (except a couple of small sections). It went from Stroudsburg over the Pocono Mountain grades to Kingston, PA (across the Susquehanna River from Wilkes-Barre)

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The Warwick Valley and Other Railroads West of the Hudson

What is a GREEN Railroad?

The Railpower GG20B Green Goat is a low-emissions diesel hybrid switcherlocomotive built by Railpower Technologies Corp. It is powered by a single Caterpillar C9 six cylinder inline engine developing 300 horsepower (224 kW), which is also connected to a large battery bank where both sources combine for a total power output of 2,000 horsepower (1,490 kW).

Union Pacific Saves Fuel While Increasing Efficiency

Fuel reduction initiatives save nearly $7 million during first quarter

Omaha, Neb., April 28, 2006 – As fuel prices continue to rise, the pain at the pump is leading consumers to look for ways to improve fuel economy. The same is true for the nation’s largest railroad. Imagine the cost of fueling a 4,000 horsepower vehicle with a 4,900-gallon tank. Union Pacific fuels nearly 8,000 of these vehicles every day. They are the diesel locomotives that move the consumer goods, food, energy and construction materials fueling the nation’s economy.

Even though fuel prices are at record highs, and the railroad is hauling more materials than ever before (four percent more than last year at this time), Union Pacific was able to shave two percent off its diesel fuel consumption during the first quarter of 2006 – resulting in nearly $7 million in savings. The railroad was able to achieve the savings through a number of energy conservation initiatives, including:
* Creation and deployment of the Fuel Masters program to reward locomotive engineers for efficiently operating trains
* Acquisition of newer, more fuel-efficient locomotives
* Implementation of changes in traffic flow and operations to move freight more efficiently.

“We all have a role to play in helping conserve fuel for our nation, and Union Pacific employees are doing it every day,” said Jim Young, president and CEO, Union Pacific. “In a relatively short period of time, our employees have made great strides in implementing and creating world-class energy conservation techniques that are helping us to move more freight while saving fuel. With their help we will continue to improve our efficiency while delivering the goods America needs.”

Railroad versus Road

In terms of fuel efficiency, railroads are three times more fuel-efficient than trucks. If just 10 percent of the freight moved by highway were diverted to rail, the nation could save as much as 200 million gallons of fuel each year. And, railroad fuel efficiency has increased by 72 percent since 1980. Prior to 1980, a gallon of diesel fuel moved one ton of freight an average of 235 miles. In 2001, the same amount of fuel moved one ton of freight an average of 406 miles. Overall, railroads and rail suppliers have reduced the weight and increased the capacity of rail cars to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Studies also indicate the diversion of freight traffic from truck to rail can reduce highway congestion. For example:
* One intermodal train can take 280 trucks (equal to 1,100 cars) off our already congested highways
* Trains carrying other types of freight can take up to 500 trucks off the highway.

A study of 50 major U.S. metro areas by transportation consultant Wendell Cox found that the diversion of 25 percent of truck freight to rail would lead, by 2025, to:
* 2.8 billion fewer traveler-hours wasted in congested traffic
* A savings of 16 billion gallons of fuel
* Nearly 800,000 fewer tons of air pollution.

“Union Pacific is committed to the development and use of new technologies to preserve the environment for future generations,” said Young. “Environmental protection is a primary management responsibility as well as the responsibility of every Union Pacific employee.”

A Green Railroad Did you know that railroads are one of the most environmentally friendly modes of freight transportation? It’s true. Freight trains are three times more fuel-efficient than over-the-road trucks and have less of an impact on air emissions than trucks.

With nearly 55 percent of its locomotives certified under existing EPA Tier 0, Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards, UP owns the cleanest fleet in the nation, using technology to further reduce fuel consumption and diesel engine exhaust-related emissions.

Union Pacific has been working with two manufacturers to field-test new, high-horsepower locomotives that surpass the EPA’s most stringent emission standards. UP was able to test the locomotives under severe operating conditions before the locomotives went into production. Since 2000, more than 2,600 new fuel-efficient, long-haul, high-horsepower locomotives have been added to Union Pacific’s fleet. More than 1,700 older locomotives were retired, and more than 1,700 locomotive diesel engines were overhauled or rebuilt.

To reduce emissions in the train yard, Union Pacific tested the world’s first diesel-battery hybrid switch locomotive in early 2002. The “Green Goat” is similar in concept to the Toyota Prius automobile, which relies on both a gasoline engine and on a battery-powered electric motor.

The Green Goat, however, depends entirely on its large, onboard storage batteries, which are charged by a small diesel engine, to provide all propulsion power. The Green Goat hybrid locomotive is estimated to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter by up to 80, and reduce fuel consumption by at least 16 percent, compared to a conventional switch locomotive.

Union Pacific also is pioneering another low-emissions switch locomotive, the “Genset Switcher.” This prototype uses modified, low-emissions EPA-certified “off-road” diesel engines (derived from low-emissions, truck-style diesel engines) and was delivered to the railroad in late 2005.

Like the Green Goat hybrid, the Genset is expected to reduce emission of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter by up to 80 percent and achieve a similar 16 percent reduction in fuel consumption. In 2007, some 150 Gensets are scheduled to begin service.

AL GORE, take note, these people are trying!

A lot of us think more mass transit when we think “Green Railroad”. Both freight and passenger are important.

Take a look at an “OP-ED” viewpoint on green railroads. Thought provoking!

 

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Union Pacific — the railroad established by Abraham Lincoln to span the continent