Head on over to the Virtual Railfan Marketplace. CODE: SAVE10

Think you know all of the relevant CSX symbols?  Well,  think again as CSX has completely overhauled them.  They had already changed the symbol for intermodal trains from "Q" to "I" but now they have made more changes.  Unit grain trains are changing from "V" to "G"; empty unit coal trains move up the alphabet from "U" to "E"; bulk commodity trains switch from "K" to "B";  loaded unit coal trains are "C" now instead of the pervious "N" or "T";  merchandise (aka manifest) trains move from "Q" to "M".  In addition, locals will now carry one of six symbols (D-H-L-R-U-W).  Foreign trains will be denoted as "F" trains and passenger trains will keep their "P" assignment.  CSX plans to phase in these changes over the coming months.

Back in early February, Amtrak introduced the first of its new Siemens Venture series cars on the Midwest Lincoln Service.  Amtrak was looking forward to the arrival of these new cars as they offer modern interiors and much improved handicapped access. However, the cars have since been temporarily withdrawn from service for a reason most would never guess.  The coaches feature some four-seat work tables.  The magnets in these work tables, which are used to lock the extensions in place, were too strong.  As a result, there were reports of interference with electronic devices causing those devices to shut down. Out of an abundance of caution the cars have been withdrawn from service until the issue can be corrected. The Illinois Department of Transportation, Siemens and Amtrak are working on a fix.  This issue with the Venture cars is only the latest in a series of problems which have forestalled deliveries of the new Siemens equipment.  As a result, Amtrak continues to be plagued by equipment shortages as it juggles rolling stock around the system to meet needs. A broken relationship with Talgo resulted in the early retirement of four Talgo trainsets by Washington DOT (along with 3 never operated Talgo 8 trainsets).  This required Amtrak to send additional decades-old Horizon coaches and business class cars to the Pacific Northwest.to make up for the lost Talgo sets further stretching Amtrak's rolling stock inventory.
 

Norfolk-Southern Railroad and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation have put forward a plan to accommodate an additional daily round trip for Amtrak's Pennsylvanian between New York (Penn Station) and Pittsburgh, Pa.  The proposed plan is for chokepoint elimination improvements on the NS route between Harrisburg and Pittsburg.  The plan includes the relaying of a third track across the historic Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River, building a new main line track through Altoona, installing three new interlockings and expanding nine others along the 248 mile route. The cost of these upgrades is estimated to be between $147 million and $171 million.  The project would use funds from the recently passed Federal Infrastructure Improvement Act signed into law by President Biden in November of 2021.  The NS report that details the proposed improvements can be found here.

Metrolink, Southern California's commuter rail service, is adding 26 trains to its schedule beginning on April 4th.  Metrolink made a 30% reduction in its schedule in March, 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 90% drop in ridership.  Ridership is currently at about 30% of pre-pandemic levels and Metrolink sees that improving to about 44% by the middle of the summer.  Metrolink trains can be seen on our San Juan Capistrano camera as they make a station stop there.

Amtrak continues to shake down their new Siemens ALC-42 Charger locomotives.  The Chargers made their first revenue trip on the Empire Builder route departing Chicago for Seattle/Portland on March 19th and barely made it out of Chicago before running into PTC issues.   Further issues along the way slowed the trip, arriving in Seattle 3 hours and 44 minutes late, but their return to Chicago was somewhat more successful. Subsequent trips in March went much better.  So far, 7 of the new locomotives have been delivered to Amtrak which recently increased its order by 50, bringing the total number of ALC-42's either delivered or on order to 125.  Amtrak has not yet disclosed which route the ALC-42 might next travel.  You can watch the first pass of an ALC-42 at Skykomish, Washington in this Grab Bag.

Amtrak has extended its frequency reductions on six long distance routes.   The affected routes are the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, City of New Orleans, Crescent and the Lake Shore Limited. Amtrak has not provided a target date for the resumption of full service.  In addition the suspension of the Silver Meteor service has also been extended with no target date for resumption.  The Texas Eagle and the Capitol Limited resumed daily operations on March 28th.

Amtrak has issued their report card for host railroad performance in 2021.  Canadian Pacific rated best with Canadian National also getting an A rating.  Last place went to Norfolk Southern which earned a D- rating.  The full report can be found here.
 

He wanted to be the editor of Trains Magazine as a youth.  Jim Wrinn went on to serve in that role for the last 17 years.  He died at home on March 30, 2022 after a valiant fight with pancreatic cancer.  Jim was 61 years old.  
 

He was passionate about trains and Trains Magazine reflected that passion.  Jim wrestled Trains Magazine into the digital era, bridging the gap from printed magazine to today's digital audience.  

We extend our sincere condolences to his friends and coworkers at Trains Magazine/Kalmbach Publishing.  He will be sorely missed by railfans everywhere.

Virtual Railfan is well represented on social media platforms. On Facebook please like/follow our main page: https://www.facebook.com/virtualrailfan.
You can keep up with happenings, events, watch videos and see MIKE go LIVE with Porch Trains! From there you can check out our Facebook groups and join one or all of those groups.

This month we would like to focus on the Virtual Railfan Lounge. It is a great group where you can post your own railroad photos, videos, ask questions, post news articles and other railroad related content. Even if you do not want to post to the group there is a lot to see there so come on in and relax with us for awhile! https://www.facebook.com/groups/vrflounge
 

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Skykomish, Washington (SKY) is nestled here in the Cascade Mountains at Milepost 1732 of the BNSF's Scenic Subdivision. SKY sits at the bottom of a 2.2% grade Eastbound up to Stevens Pass. This sub was formerly part of the Great Northern's Mainline between St. Paul, Minnesota and Seattle. Washington. 

Skykomish owes its very existence to the railroad.  It was settled in 1889 by John Maloney who was a guide for the Great Northern Railway survey team. Maloney identified the area as the first "flat spot" on the West side of Stevens Pass. SKY was officially incorporated on June 5, 1909. Located in the Pacific Northwest's Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, it sits at an altitude of 929 feet and reached its peak population of just over 3,000 during the 1920's.  As of 2019 the population was 121.

From the 1890's until 1974 Skykomish was a maintenance and fueling station for the Great Northern Railway. It also served as the Western terminus for electric operations on the Cascade Tunnel route East to Wenatchee, Washington from 1928 until 1956.  Poor waste disposal practices during that era resulted in the contamination of its soil, groundwater and the nearby Skykomish River.  In 2006, BNSF (formed by the merger of several railroads including the Great Northern) and the State of Washington agreed to a cleanup plan. This resulted in a massive cleanup which included the temporary relocation of a number of houses and buildings.  All relocated structures were ultimately returned to their original locations with new foundations and utilities.  The town also added conveniences like sidewalks and streetlights as well as a modern wastewater treatment system.  Despite these changes SKY still maintains it's original character.  Some great old photos (including trains) and a more detailed history of SKY can be found on this Cascadia Inn web page.

The Cascade Tunnel is located about 20 miles East of SKY.  This 7.8 mile long, single track tunnel features an extensive ventilation system (described here).  You can read more about the tunnel and its history here.

Frequency of rail operations through SKY are limited due to the restrictive nature of operations through the Cascade Tunnel.  BNSF trains include manifest freight, intermodal as well as empty unit coal, grain and tank trains.  New Boeing 737 fuselages pass regularly as they are transported from Wichita Kansas to the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington.  The Amtrak Empire Builder passes once daily in each direction (normal schedule) as it travels between Chicago and Seattle.  Winter weather rail operations are especially interesting to watch here as a couple of heavy snowstorms are the norm each winter.

During the summer months we can also watch operations at the 7.5 inch gauge Great Northern & Cascade Railway just across the tracks.

Thanks to our hosts, the Cascadia Inn, we are able to have a window into this unique and beautiful community.  What it lacks in train frequency it makes up for in beauty.  

All things considered, we think Skykomish is a great location railfans can love!

From time to time we want to highlight the privately owned rail cars that pass by our cameras.  Most of these "Private Varnish" cars started life decades ago in revenue service on the passenger railroads of their day.  Today they serve mostly as private charter vehicles although a few are still used exclusively for private travel by their owners.

This month we want to highlight the Patrick Henry cars, one of which (Evelyn Henry) recently passed through Flagstaff on the Southwest Chief and can be see in this Grab Bag.  The Berlin sleeper car also seen in that Grab Bag bears the same basic livery as the Patrick Henry cars but it has a different owner.

Patrick Henry Creative Promotions owns the "Evelyn Henry," a sleeper car and the "Warren R. Henry," a dome diner lounge.  Both were originally built for the Union Pacific Railroad by American Car & Foundry in 1954 and 1955 respectively. The "Evelyn Henry" was originally the UP sleeper "Alpine Peak" with 14 traditional open sections.  As demand for the old-fashioned sections declined, it and the other Alpine series cars were rebuilt in 1965 to chairs (coaches with reclining seats) with 44 total seats - the "Alpine Peak" as #5551.  It went to Amtrak in 1973 as #4591 and was then sold in 1984 to a private party.  It was resold again in 1990 to Northern Rail Car (NCRX) who rebuilt it back to a sleeper as the "Northern Nights" with six double bedrooms and a master suite.  The car was resold again in 2001 to John Kirkwood's Rail Ventures as the "Gallatin River", and repainted to its current paint scheme for lease service to American Orient Express.  Kirkwood resold the car to Patrick Henry in 2004.

The "Warren R. Henry" was originally UP dome lounge #9007 with 19 seats and a writing desk in the rear lounge, 9 seats in the bar under the dome, 24 seats in the dome and a 5-seat cardroom at the front of the car.  It and four of its sister cars were assigned to the "City of Portland".  It was sold in 1972 to the fledging new Auto Train Corporation as #906 (later #542), which ran the first version of the well-known Virginia-Florida train until 1981 (Amtrak began their version in 1983).  The car was sold along with other ATC cars and assets at the bankruptcy sale in December 1981 at which time it was acquired by Al Nippert's Gator Rail.  It was acquired by Northern Rail Car in 1987 as the "Northern View."  Northern Rail  rebuilt it with a rear open platform and a 12-seat dining room under the dome (with full kitchen).  Like the sleeper, it was resold again in 2001 to John Kirkwood as the "Glacier Park" and repainted for lease to American Orient Express.  Again like the Evelyn Henry, Kirkwood resold the car to Patrick Henry in 2004.

Both cars can be seen on our cameras from time to time as they travel on various excursions.
 

Wednesday, April 13 at 6:00pm EDT -  Amherst Railway Society's Virtual Spring Sale Show will feature the Canadian and overseas participants who couldn't attend the January live show.  This will be streamed on our YouTube channel.
 

Saturday, April 30th - Ashland Train Day.  Join the VRF team and the Ashland locals in downtown Ashland, Virginia for a day of celebrating the railroad heritage of Ashland.  There will be a downtown street festival with vendors, food and TRAINS!  We will be hosting a get together Friday evening and a buffet dinner on Saturday evening.  Pre-registration is required.  Let us know if you are planning to attend! Take the quick survey here.
 

May 21-22 - Rochelle Train Days - Two days with friends and fellow railfans as we explore and enjoy the Rochelle Railroad Park located where the BNSF Aurora Sub meets the UP Geneva Sub.  Friends, food, fun and TRAINS!
 

June 24-26 - La Plata Railroad Days sponsored by the APRHF in La Plata, Missouri.  A weekend of friends, fun, music and PLENTY OF TRAINS with the Virtual Railfan and APRHF crews.  More info can be found here.
 

September 1-7 - Whistle Stop Tour.  Ride with us as we make a roundtrip journey between Chicago, IL and San Francisco (Emeryville) CA aboard what is arguably Amtrak's most scenic route, the California Zephyr.

Details on all of these events can be found on the EVENTS page of our website.