Yep, delivered from EMD in white and done up in Bi-Centennial colors by the Joliet Shop. I sure wish I'd have been shooting Kodachrome then, but color film was too expensive for my teenage budget. My Dad built a darkroom in the basement for my brother and I and it was still great fun doing our own developing and printing of black and white film like this shot.
Being the last unit in the DPU set ain't all it's cracked up to be! Just west of Huntley, MT, waiting for room at Laurel yard, The river is still frozen over, as the NP main waits for a train....
From December 1977 at Barrington IL, an EJ&E searchlight signal stands guard. The diamond-shaped plate obscured by snow shows an "A", identifying it as an Absolute signal, i.e. a "Stop and Stay" signal. No stop and proceed at restricted speed here. Its status as an Absolute signal is further affirmed by lack of an MP plate on the mast. This is done so that if an MP plate were to fall off a non-absolute signal, it would then become a signal of the highest restriction, assuring safety. Signal Trivia: Signal designers decided from the start to provide bulb access from the rear only, lest a signal maintainer not fully lock a front access, which could expose an uncolored, dimmed, backlit or unfocused lamp to interpretation and lead to trouble.
Long hood forward at 50 MPH. I donno if he has sufficient HPT for this train... CPKC Portal Sub, MP 473.
Sorry to bump a really old post, but do passenger trains like Amtrak also run on those tracks or they are purely reserved for freight? Also, what would you say is the mps[maximum speed limit] on those tracks?
Yes, in the USA, passenger rail generally uses freight rail tracks. There's always exceptions, but largely yes, the tracks primarily are owned by freight rail companies. As for the speed limits, other than in curves or mountain territory where max speeds are restricted, Amtrak typically can go up to 79mph, or just about 130kph. In the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak Acela trains can go up to 150mph or about 240kph.
