Hello all. I volunteer my time with an organization called Lost Horrizons. We are a non-profit organization based in Tacoma, Wa. Our mission is to restore the historic ferry M/V Kalakala. Anyhow the site where she is moored is an old industrial complex with an abaondoned grain elevator. What I found this morning at the site is a very beautifully restored 4-8-4 with Ferroequus painted on the tender, coupled behind it is what I believe to be an F40PH with the reporting marks FLNX it’s road number is 418. And coupled behind it and on an adjacent track is about half a dozen Hi level passenger cars like what Amtrak uses. Two of them are have cabs for use in push pull service. Thier reporting marks are MTDX. The tracks are owned by Tacoma Rail. Can anyone shed some lite on all this wonderful equipment? I’m sorry the photo’s are so dark, but it was a typical overcast day. I’m going back out tomorrow and I hope to take some more/better photos. Here are the ones that I have.
That’s ex-Reading T1 #2100. It’s being restored by Doyle McCormick, I think. The F40PH is an ex Amtrak OLI unit. The Bi-level commuter coaches are ex-Metra, judging by the paint scheme.
Those cars to me look like the ones that they will be using down south of the San Diego boarder for the Mexican Commuter train in T.J. Other than that, I have no clue.
These are fairly old shots, as are other high-ranking Googlings. A company by that name tried to gain access to the CN trackage, as reported in some proceedings. It doesn’t seem that the CN bid was for a steam engine, though. A further Google with “ferroequus Tacoma” narrowed it down a bit.
The former Reading T-1 2100 and the other assorted locomotives and such are the property of Golden Pacific RR (GPRR) which is running tourist trips out of Tacoma.
Ditch lights are required by the Federal Railway Administration on all operational locomotives, regardless of their vintage. Another one of those illogical government mandates.
The first time I noticed these was on a Grand Canyon Railways steam engine c.1996. Their explanation for adding them was “FRA mandated item.”
No, they’re not. Engines of a historical nature are exempted from needing ditch lights in the United States (but not Canada). Engines used for tourist rail excursions that are not “historical” are not exempted. That’s why NKP 765 or Milwaukee 261 can run without ditch lights, but Grand Canyon engines do have to have them. Repaint “Ferro 2100” into it’s original Reading paint and the ditch lights can come off.
Oddly, Canada mandated ditch lights on ALL engines, regardless of vintage. That’s why the CP’s Hudson has ditch lights. Thankfully, they’re removeable; the engine crew gets rid of the horrible things as soon as they come south of the border.
No, they’re not. Engines of a historical nature are exempted from needing ditch lights in the United States (but not Canada). Engines used for tourist rail excursions that are not “historical” are not exempted. That’s why NKP 765 or Milwaukee 261 can run without ditch lights, but Grand Canyon engines do have to have them. Repaint “Ferro 2100” into it’s original Reading paint and the ditch lights can come off.
Oddly, Canada mandated ditch lights on ALL engines, regardless of vintage. That’s why the CP’s Hudson has ditch lights. Thankfully, they’re removeable; the engine crew gets rid of the horrible things as soon as they come south of the border.
Your informaiton about ditch light requirements picqued my curiosity, so I checked the FRA web site and found the following under the category of “Grade Crossing Safety and FRA Regulations”:
“Effective December 31, 1997, FRA also required locomotives operating in excess of 20 mph to be equipped with auxiliary alerting lights or “ditch lights.” Together with the headlight this arrangement creates a distinctive triangular signature and gives the motorist a much better chance to identify an approaching train at a passively signed grade crossing and to judge its closing speed. In excess of 20,000 locomotives are so equipped, and FRA believes that this requirement has contributed materially to the reduction of crossing collisions.”
The key terms here seem to be “in excess of 20 mph” and “passively signed grade crossing.” That probably explains why the Grand Canyon Railway had to put them on all of their steam engines - they travel at speeds up to 45 mph and there are numerous rural grade crossings that don’t have electric signals, and some don’t even have crossbucks. But the regulation, upon face value, makes no exceptions for historic engines. The plot thickens.
