Greetings, one and all! We are already at the halfway mark of July. It seems like the summer is just getting started.
As mentioned last week, I was in Delaware with the NRHS RailCamp East class. 23 young men and one young lady took to the rails capturing all aspects of preservation, historic operation, and current rail opportunities. Here they are at the Wilmington DE Amtrak Training Center.
On Monday of RailCamp, the group was to have lunch in the Amtrak historic train set, which includes a lounge. But nature threw us a curve ball. An NS local was sidelined just off the Northeast Corridor by a fallen tree on their tracks. We did get to view the short freight, though.
In the training center, the teens had the chance to learn train operations with simulations of the cab controls and displays of a train trip from Washington DC to Baltimore, MD.
They also learned dispatching, and ran imaginary trains on their portions of the route.
In the afternoon, they were taken to a side yard, where the historic train was sitting. No, they are not trespassing. Everyone was clearly told where they could and could not stand.
Operations VP Chris instructs the campers on couplers, draft gear, electronic components and the like
A SEPTA commuter train passes by ...
These are the units they all seemed to love. ACS 64s, brand new to the line.
Now it's time to see what's inside one of the old F40PHs. This is now a "Cabbage" car, used as a cab control on one end, and baggage where the prime mover once sat.
More photos coming. While I am selecting, take your chance to add photos of trains, rail activities and other events that caught your camera lens lately. You know we love to see what you got!