View allAll Photos Tagged doubletracking
Friday, 13 March 2026
2613+2610 pass through Killacloyne between Glounthaune and Carrigtwohill working the 0815hrs Cork to Midleton commuter service.
As part of the ongoing Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme, the Youghal branch from Glounthaune to Midleton will be doubled. The existing single line will become the up line. The new down line between Carrigtwohill and Midleton was laid in 2025, but not yet connected at either end. The new down line between Glounthaune and Carrigtwohill is being laid this year, which can be seen here at Killacloyne.
© Finbarr O'Neill
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
ICR #48 (22 048) arrives at Little Island with the 1745hrs commuter service from Cork to Midleton. Click here for a set of photos of the train in Midleton by Fred Dean.
The ICR formed part of the 1200 Heuston - Cork earlier in the day. Click here for a photo of the service at Kildare by the Wanderer.
© Finbarr O'Neill
Back again. Another work session including camera and phone. By evening I could tell there would be more westbounds than my last visit. I walked over just on time to catch this manifest between tree shadows and cloud shadows. Fountain City, WI, July 23, 2017.
An empty auto repo train parallels traffic on busy US 90A southwest of Houston. The grading to the left was part of a just-started double-tracking project on the Glidden Sub that was finished in 2016.
ASPLDR 08 (Autos- Spring, TX to Laredo, TX, Reposition)
NS C40-9W #9035
UP SD70ACe #8558
Sugar Land, TX
August 8th, 2014
When this river town was my home I'd regularly make the short walk to this spot after work. Car tracing was a thing back then. I would log on and trace 100 intermodal spine cars. Among that 100, a few would be on that days ZCHCSTP, ZCHCSSE or ZCHCPTL and have hit the scanner for La Crosse. I'd keep tabs on those cars until they'd pass the Winona Jct. scanner. Once they did it was time to head out the door. There was a little more variety back then and you could see more of the train wrapping around this curve.
Now I'm back painting and installing carpet in my old house between renters. Every so often I'll pull out my phone and take a look at the ATCS display for the (now all CTC) St. Croix Sub. At a glance I see what's happening and where. After a busy day things are getting quieter on the BNSF with a lone westbound making it's way out of North La Crosse. I go back to work for another half hour, check again and the train is going through Winona Jct. Time for a break. Just like old times I grab the camera and head over to the boat landing. Another glorious evening as folks relax on a patio and along the shore while a manifest rolls upriver.
Fountain City, WI, July 8, 2017.
Stickered for their old Pleasant Prairie destination, the aluminum coal gons continue to rack up the miles. August 10, 2024.
A trio of General Electric ES44C4's run elephant style past Galesburg's Peck Park. Westbound BNSF 6856 is just clearing a work zone as they near the speed limit for town of 30m.p.h. This is the junction of the BNSF-Chillicothe subdivision (Ex-Santa Fe Transcon) double track mainline (lower) and the BNSF-Mendota subdivision, (BN mainline) which is also the start of the BNSF-Barstow subdivision atop the overpass. (Above) This would be the 1st of 3 trains in about 3 minutes.
* * * YouTube - youtu.be/OQ64BXTqeds * * *
Eastbound Southern Railway freight train climbing the grade on doubletrack main line from downtown Birmingham, Alabama, to Norris Yard in January 1964. Single track at left is Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line to downtown. Photograph by J. Parker Lamb, © 2016, Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Lamb-01-116-04
While watching the remote job a train from the east pulled into the other end of Global 3. After that a westbound BNSF train was cleared across the diamonds. Somewhat belatedly, I decided to roll the dice on perhaps that train having a meet at Chana (travelling without ATCS insights). The light was getting nice but there was nothing to be found at Chana so I dropped back down to Ashton. I was pleased to find an approaching westbound as soon as I got back to the UP. The lead unit however was underwhelming. Murphy's Law dictates that with CN in my backyard, I would go to northern Illinois and find a roached out CN GE running on the UP. It makes me appreciate the decent EMD offerings of the Minneapolis Sub but come on.
With towering thunderheads forming in the west I wanted to nab this land barge manifest in good light. Keeping ahead of it I sought a shot west of Frankin Grove. As has been known to happen, I set up and waited, waited, waited. I wasn't far ahead of the train and was left to wonder if the train lost it's air or some similar tragedy. I walked back to the truck before seeing the headlight come into view. There was no problem getting back into position again with the train making not much above walking speed. There was no mechanical difficulty and an NS GE buried way back in the train as a second motor. Instead they were killing time with an opposing Z train coming east on the close track that will need to clear the plant at Nachusa so this guy can crossover to main 1 and continue the trip west.
I was curious if I'd ever caught the 2230 on the Minneapolis Sub. A quick search showed that I did see this once almost 10 years ago. Interestingly, the day I saw it was the day I took delivery of my truck, now all these years later I see it a second time, this time during my inaugural outing with the new camera. I'm not sure what that means (likely nothing) but I found it interesting. August 10, 2023.
Tank engine 1501 on shunting duties at Bewdley South Signal Box as 43106 Flying Pig passes with the 3.40 p.m. train from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) on Sunday April 13th 2014. 1501 has just returned light engine from Kidderminster after returning there with the Severn Valley Limited dining train. The Flying Pig is carrying a wreath in memory of the mother of one of the footplate crew.
The tunnel boring machine at the end of the Caighei tunnel (2,618 meters), on the new not-so-coastal railway.
The single shield TBM is a Herrenknecht S-193 with a diameter of 11,840 mm. To discover the wonderful world of the TBM visit www.herrenknecht.com
The old Savona Ventimiglia railway was a "temporary" single track line since 1872, and its dualling was in the electoral promises of every politician since then (now they must find something else).
Anyway the project of this part of the new line, from Andora to San Lorenzo al Mare, leaves me very perplexed. On a total of 18,825 meters there are 16,224 meters of tunnel and 1,438 meters of bridges. This leaves 1,163 meters of tracks running at ground level.
To find these 1,163 meters the line had to be displaced near the hills, looking for places without too much buildings: now, who will reach Diano Marina (and Cervo, and San Bartolomeo al Mare, since their stations are suppressed) will be welcome by... the sewer depurator. Not a great business card indeed!
So, why the politicians (I'm sure engineers would have a better view of the problem) don't make a full underground line?
The old railway was a sort of Berlin Wall cutting in half all the towns on the coast, but the new one is not much better. The road system of some valleys is totally overturned (and this don't means "improved"), "temporary" roads are becoming almost permanent (I hope they wouldn't be "temporary" like the previous railway) and the heavy traffic of trucks is almost unbearable, specially on our narrow roads. Of course who decided the location of the new railway don't live here...
I hope to show you a photo of the new railway before digital photography becomes obsolete.
The photo was made with the prime lens Jupiter 21M, 200/4 @ f:8 on vibrating tripod (there was another steamroller like that in the photo working just under me).
La fresa alla fine della galleria Caighei (2618 metri) sulla nuova ferrovia non molto litoranea.
La fresa a scudo aperto è una Herrenknecht S-193 con un diametro di 11.840 mm. Per scoprire il meraviglioso mondo delle macchine TBM (Tunnel Boring Machines) visitate www.herrenknecht.com
La vecchia ferrovia Savona Ventimiglia era un tratto "temporaneo" a binario unico fino dal 1872, e il suo raddoppio è stato nelle promesse elettorali dei politici sin da allora (ora dovranno trovare qualcos'altro).
In ogni caso il progetto di questa tratta della nuova linea, tra Andora e San Lorenzo al Mare, mi lascia molto perplesso. Su un totale di 18.825 metri ci sono 16.224 metri di galleria e 1.438 metri di viadotti. Questo lascia 1.163 metri di binario a livello del suolo.
Per trovare questi 1.163 metri la linea ha dovuto essere spostata tra le colline, cercando siti non troppo urbanizzati: ora, chi vorrà raggiungere Diano Marina (e Cervo, e San Bartolomeo al Mare, visto che queste stazioni sono state soppresse) riceverà il benvenuto da parte... del depuratore fognario. Non un bel biglietto da visita!
Quindi, perché i politici (sono certo che gli ingegneri avrebbero avuto una visione migliore del problema) non hanno optato per una linea totalmente sotterranea?
La vecchia ferrovia era una specie di Muro di Berlino che tagliava in due le città sulla costa, ma quella nuova non è molto migliore. La viabilità di alcune valli è stata sconvolta (e questo non significa "migliorata"), le strade "temporanee" stanno diventando permanenti (spero non siano "temporanee" come la ferrovia precedente) ed il traffico di veicoli pesanti è quasi intollerabile, specie sulle nostre stradine. Naturalmente chi ha deciso la dislocazione della nuova ferrovia non vive qui...
Spero di potervi mostrare una foto della nuova ferrovia prima che la fotografia digitale diventi obsoleta.
La foto è stata fatta con la focale fissa Jupiter 21M, 200/4 a f:8 su cavalletto vibrante (c'era un altro rullo compressore come quello nella foto che lavorava proprio sotto di me).
Step back from the edge and for a few hundred feet before the trail turns back to doubletrack and loose rock, there's sand. An easy transition band between the "canyon zone" and the "mountain zone", wish the whole trail could have been like this.
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Spring Break 2015: "and finally, the tortoise"
April 4, 2015: An overview of Snow Canyon from Red Mountain; moving camp to Las Vegas.
It was back to the Wisconsin side and despite some promising indications on ATCS the first place I was able to set up was Maiden Rock. This can be a tough place to shoot with some very large trees between the tracks and the river casting long shadows. The sun angles were pretty good this day and I was trying to line up a shot of an imminent eastbound. Somehow the towering mountain of plowed snow just behind me nearly escaped my attention. Just in the nick of time I scrambled up the pile and lined up a shot of this well-worn Dash 9 as it passes through "downtown" Maiden Rock. After this the line was pretty quiet within striking distance so I closed out a fun day of shooting and headed for home. February 18, 2017,
Amtrak GE P30CH (Pooch) # 710, with a 9 car northbound train is seen departing the Staples Mill Road station at Richmond, Virginia, during July 1976. The train is heading to Washington D.C., on the double tracked RF&P mainline. These GE locomotives were first ordered by Amtrak because they could provide HEP service for the new Amfleet cars.
A rather tired looking BR Blue 45041 "Royal Tank Regiment" is pictured at Quorn and Woodhouse railway station on the Great Central railway. The Peak was hauling the 11:15 service from Loughborough-Leicester north during the railways autumn diesel gala.
A pair of GEVO's lead a B-DENSBD south out of the trench in Littleton as it departs the Denver area for the Joint Line.
This scene is now the end of doubletrack, the Rail-America-esque Fortress scheme SD70M-2s are elsewhere, but the downtown of Stuart, FL looks the same. September 2012.
With all the money that has been spent over the last 23 years it's nice that this vestige of C&NW signalling is still hanging on at the Nachusa crossovers. Since my last visit the searchlights on the neighboring C&I have been replaced. August 11, 2018.
Spanish transit is marked by a high degree of integration between its long distance railway system and inner-city metro systems, although the historic use of broad gauge has limited integration with its neighbors. Spain is currently working to increase and improve linkage with the rail systems of France and Portugal, including high-speed rail between Madrid and Lisbon.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Spain#Railway_links_wi...)
Friday, 17 May 2013
In the pouring rain, CAF DVT 4006 leads the 1620hrs InterCity service from Cork to Dublin Heuston through Mourneabbey, propelled buy GM 217.
© Finbarr O'Neill
We've taken to calling it "CRPA weather" (Center for Railroad Photography & Art) after the conference we try to attend each spring. Around January-February we'll RSVP and book a motel room, that starts the daydreaming about traveling and nice weather since the conference is nearly in May. Sadly, almost without fail the weather turns out to be a taste of winter in the middle of spring, winds, rain, snow and plenty of clouds. The good news is that the indoor conference becomes a welcome respite. This year was marked by biblical rains. We made a point of seeing a little Metra this year. As we reached the fringe of Chicagoland the tail end of the evening rush on the Union Pacific North West line was our target, clouds be damned. April 28, 2017.
Like some others, I too regard baretable trains as roster shots with clutter behind them but with power like this it was still worth shooting. Looking back at my shots from my old lunch spot this mid-day baretable seemed to be a semi-regular occurrence. Winona Jct., WI, October 10, 2002.
Asda Intermodal Freight Train running along the north bank of the River Tay. This service leaves Grangemouth at 1230 hauled by a DRS class 66 locomotive heading for Aberdeen every day.
31105 + D8098 head through Woodthorpe on the Great Central railway. The unusual pairing were hauling a Loughborough-Leicester north service.
153334 and 153364 depart from Malvern Link and pass the common on 20-5-19
This is the first day of the new timetable and having got rid of the 150's to Northern there is increased use of Class153's to cover the period that class170 and 172's are receiving attention.
The working is the 1V30 1550 Birmingham New Street to Hereford West Midlands Trains service
An empty BNSF rock train and an eastbound TRE meet on the doubletracking through Irving. The rock train will soon split off and head north on the Madill Sub
Class 33 D6535 heads through Woodthorpe on the Great central railway, hauling a Leicester north-Loughborough. This was my second attempt at a pan shot. My first attempt was pretty woeful. But feel there is an improvement with this one.
An old Soo veteran in the dual flags scheme flies through Reeseville, WI with a couple rent-a-wrecks helping out. Who would have guessed these old Soo units would be gone in 2013 while old MILW SD40-2s can be found out here again (in DME/ICE colors). June 22, 1997.
EMU-2 804 (Mat 64) as train 3940 and EMU-2 405 (Mat 64) as train 3638 cross each other at Overvecht by that time with only two tracks, these days a few more. A station too enjoyed more than an average traveller. For years in row (1983 - 2006) this railway venue act as my commuter station, almost uncountable the times I depart or arrived at Overvecht and it must told: a perfect unimaginative place though it became a bit better after track redoubling.
Very old Kodak Enlarging Ektar f4.5 100mm lens on Novoflex doubletrack bellows.
The lens has M40 thread mount. Had to wrap it with teflon plumbing tape to get it to fit the M42 bellows mount.
The lens is apparently single-coated, producing nicely subdued colors, yet very sharp with very well corrected chromatic aberrations. Bokeh is nicely soft and even. Its hard to say how many blades are in diaphragm - the opening appears to be perfectly circular. A masterpiece.
Picture taken with Super-Multi-Coated Macro-Takumar 1.4/50.
Turbo 166207 approaches Malvern Link having just passed Newland East level crossing on 30-3-21.
The working is the 2V66 1440 Bristol Temple Meads to Great Malvern service
Still retaining the FGW blue livery. All units have been repainted into GWR livery for some time now and you will not see a daytime Turbo in Malvern with all services from Bristol now terminating at Worcester.
Ref: IMG_9221 30-3-21
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
2803/04 departs Gounthaune with the 1600hrs spl from Cobh to Cork. A half-hourly service operated on this date between Cork/Cobh due to the Vision of the Seas cruise liner docked at Cobh.
2601/02 arrives at the station with the 1600hrs commuter service from Cork to Cobh to pick up cruise liner passengers, who arrived off the 1545hrs commuter service from Midleton.
Click here for a photo of 2803/04 operating in the Dublin area taken by the Wanderer.
© Finbarr O'Neill
Sunday, 02 February 2014
Recent vegetation clearances on the Cork Mainline have allowed some new photo opportunities, like here at Mourneabbey: GM 232 propels the train through the townland with the 1520hrs InterCity service from Cork to Dublin Heuston.
© Finbarr O'Neill
60065 working the 6Z89 Mountsorrel - Harlow Mill loaded stone at Littlebury. 17th March 2009.
On my YouTube Channel, Class 60 diesel locomotive compilation youtu.be/_ZvY2xNouXc
These short hoppers have been a barometer of success for railroads in the recent years, from scarcity, to scores of new deliveries, to long strings of stored cars. They are often in service carrying frac sand from Wisconsin and Minnesota to oil fields in the west. This one is growing no moss as it hustles along the St. Croix Sub. October 22, 2016.
Life moves pretty fast with young kids and even faster in the summer. Combining any sort of railfanning with a family trip is nearly a lost cause. This weekend we ran down to Iowa for a wedding and had commitments back home Sunday evening. Despite following the CP down the Stockton Valley and up the River Sub to Wabasha it was it's usual dead self. However upon crossing into Wisconsin the gates came down and we were first in line at the highway crossing at Nelson. No time to grab the SLR, no time to even open the window, just aim the phone and shoot. Turned out surprisingly OK for a grab shot and constitutes the sole railroad picture from a 2-day, 3-state trip. July 12, 2015.
Northshore Mining's caboose was equipped with lights and a horn to lead the empty tailings train down the hill back to the Silver Bay plant. On a fine fall morning, not far from the junction at milepost 7, the tailings train rolls caboose first towards Silver Bay. In the year 2000 this caboose and SD28 1233 would collide at Babbitt, totalling both. October 9, 1998.
In the heart of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, the doubletrack Santa Fe transcon briefly splits as the westbound line veers off in a loop as it attempts to gain height while maintaining a constant grade on the climb of Ash Hill. Here at Siberia, the westbound line is already much higher on a large embankment as ATSF 666 west tackles the grade with a 69 car Maersk stack train.
The lead Dash 9-44CW has since been renumbered as 599 to remove any satanic connotations at the request of crews. In less troubled times it partners SD40-2s 5019 and 5142 on the evening of 28 March 1996.
A Dash 9 rolls west through Stockholm. The trailing GE is newer and pressed into service in primer with crude markings. You can see generous space between the mainlines. The CB&Q had center sidings along this line and this was one of the locations. This has since become a set of CTC crossovers and it seems one or both mainlines may have been shifted since space for the center siding is no longer evident. May 25, 2006.