I came across a shot I took in Harrisburg, PA (04/03/1989) that better illustrates exactly what you mention. Yeah, a peculiar look alright.
Prior to the Great 1900 Storm that destroyed Galveston, three different wood trestle railroad bridges connected the island to the mainland. Each was built by and maintained by a different railroad company. The Galveston, Houston & Henderson (GH&H) owned by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad with track rights for the Missouri Pacific predecessor, the International & Great Northern was one. The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe which was under control of the ATSF and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway controlled by the Southern Pacific were the other two. After the storm, a more permanent structure was planned to replace all the flimsy replacement bridge hurriedly erected to reestablish service. In 1912, a 2-mile reinforced concrete causeway opened between the island and Virginia Point providing access for the railroads, highway vehicles and an electrified interurban, the Galveston - Houston Electric (GHE) Railway. This original causeway has remained in use for rail traffic, but portions of it were substantially rebuilt after the hurricane of 1915, with the work mostly complete by 1922. Since the causeway tracks were shared by all the railroad companies, interlocking towers had to be located at each end of the causeway to manage access to the bridge. And because the causeway was not significantly elevated above the surface of the waterway, a drawbridge section was incorporated into the causeway to enable maritime traffic to pass. This required an additional interlocker on the bridge to manage the controls and approach signals, and to communicate with maritime traffic requesting the bridge be raised. The causeway is still in use by the UP and BNSF today, however with a modern lift bridge installed over the Inter-coastal Waterway. This postcard shows the view from atop the drawbridge control tower looking north toward the mainland. The "Two Miles" refers to the concrete structure. The "Four Miles" includes the earthen fill portion of the causeway, the southern part seen at the far right in the second image. And this is looking south showing the drawbridge. The two post cars don't seem to agree on the cost. The new railroad lift bridge being installed. Sections of the old causeway are being removed to widen the channel.
From a rainy 04/03/1989, two former NYC high hood GP-9s are working the north end of Enola Yard at Harrisburg, PA. I'm guessing The Water Level Route had little need for dynamic brakes on most of its fleet? Love those torpedo tubes.
It's already better than a rented mule. A locomotive that means business. Not just a pretty face. As the GN put it, Hustle Muscle. And a 20-piece orchestra under the hood. Any more rain there and they would be literally in the water level there.
On Saturday morning, 03/02/24, an eastbound NS freight collided with a stopped eastbounder on the Lehigh Line near Bethlehem. A westbound train collided with the wreck. No crew were hurt. Traffic delays linger. On Sunday, 03/03, at dusk, a parked train without crew blocks Main 2 just west of Sinking Spring on the NS Harrisburg Line.
There is a runaway train with no crew in the cab. I will hold out my hand and stop it with the Starwars FORCE.
Heard about that one on the news Saturday. That's one big honking mess. I can't think of anything that could have caused that except faulty signaling and/or a massive breakdown in communications. A good thing no one was hurt.
