Washington, DC and Viscinity - 3

Hi, In this post we'll move out along the Northeast Corridor as far as the Bowie, MD area.  We'll start the journey where the freight bypass around Washington Union Station crosses the Anacostia River into Maryland.  First up is a Chessie System freight.

In the next photo a Conrail freight is headed by a pair of E-33s.  Originally purchased by the Virginian Railway they went to the N&W in its 1959 merger with the Virginian.  When the electrification on the Virginian came down the E-33s, which were only a few years old, were sold to the New Haven.  They became Conrail property when it absorbed the New Haven in 1969.

The Washington Union Station bypass joins the passenger line from the station at Landover.  The three photos below were taken during the spring and summer of 1971.

A temporary station existed at New Carrollton, MD a bit north of the current station.  Just after Amtrak was created a connection off the Broadway Limited ran from Harrisburg, PA to Washington, DC.  It is shown below at New Carrollton.

The German ICE train is eastbound just north of the Lanham, MD station.

Back in the day Bowie was a great place to go to watch and photograph trains.  There was a wye and and operational tower inside the wye.  In the photo below the DC connection for the westbound Broadway limited is passing the tower.

In addition to the tower there was a shelter for commuters heading to Washington, DC.  The original "Swedish Meatball" is shown westbound.  This stop has now been moved about a mile north to Bowie State University.

As seen from the tower, a trio of Alco RSD-12s leads a coal train headed for either the Morgantown or Chalk Point generating stations.

Jericho Park is the end of our Journey on the Northeast Corridor.  The grade crossing is gone, replaced by an overpass that now carries MD Rt 197.  The commuter shelter has been replaced by a modern commuter stop with high level platforms on both side of the track.  The train is eastbound.

The westbound Metroliner shown below was taken from the approach to the new bridge mentioned above.

Thanks for looking.

Jaipur to Agra

Hi,  This will be a short post covering the drive from Jaipur to Agra.

During this drive we used one of the few toll roads in India for awhile.  The vehicle at the toll barrier is a land rover type truck being used as a mini bus.  There are not enough seats inside hence the people on the roof and standing on the bumper.  The young man standing on the left takes the toll from the front seat passenger and passes it to the toll taker in the booth.  India needs jobs to keep its citizens working.

Many Indian women dress in very colorful garments.

We stopped along the way for some quick photos of this colorful temple.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to go in.

There are no traffic lights in this town.

The town has a ceramics industry that makes items such as gazebos and gates.

In rural areas cow and camel dung is collected, dried and used for a fuel.

Sometimes the dung is shaped into small containers and decorated with carving.

After lunch we visited Fatehpur Sikri, a series of Royal Palaces and a walled city that served briefly as the capital of the Mughal Emporer Akbar. 

This is the interior and exterior of the hall of private audiences.

As with most tourist attractions, Indians also are visitors.

All of the rooms at our hotel in Agara looked out to the Taj Mahal.  Ruthe took this view of the sun setting over a Mosque on the Taj Mahal grounds.

Thanks for looking.

Washington, DC and Viscinity - 2

Hi, In this post are a series of photos taken at Ivy City, the engine terminal for Washington Union Terminal, mostly, if not all, in the 1970s.  Back in the day you could park in a lot off New York Avenue across the Northeast Corridor from Ivy City and just walk over to look at and/or photograph the locomotives. 

The closest GG-1 in the photo below is the Amtrak unit with a "buy bonds" decal.

Old meets new in this photo as Southern Railway FP7s face an Amtrak SDP40F.

Amtrak painted 5 GG-1s in this scheme.  Not my favorite but I liked it better than black.

New SDP40Fs are in a classic publicity pose.

A WUT Alco RS-1 is taking cars off the Southern Crescent for a bath.

The original "Swedish meatball" is parked next to a soon to be replaced GG-1.  The Swedish locomotive was brought over for a 6 month trial.  EMD negotiated a license to build it over hear.  Similar locomotives were purchased by SEPTA, NJ DOT, and MARC, all commuter operators.

Another locomotive brought over for a trial was this Romanian diesel hydraulic switcher, nicknamed the Romanian Quarter Horse.  It is shown below next to an Amtrak painted Alco S-2.  The Quarter Horse test was not successful.

Finally, the GE built E-60, which was marginally successful in that it operated for a number of years but did not achieve it performance objectives.

Thanks for looking.

Washington, DC and Viscinity

Hi, Continuing with the slides I had scanned for a program, I'll now switch to the Washington, DC area.  The first group was shot at Washington Union Terminal.

At one time Amtrak considered purchasing Canadian LRC equipment.  As a result they arranged for the loan of a trainset painted in Amtrak colors for a 6 month demonstration.  The train is shown below at the bumper post in Washington Union Station.  The equipment was quickly determined to be unsuitable and was returned early.

One of WUT's Alco RS-1s was painted for Amtrak.

Back in the early 90's Amtrak brought over a German Intercity Express, or ICE train, and

a Swedish X2000 for testing as they were deciding which technologies should be incorporated into the design for their coming Acela Express.  Each set operated for about 6 months.  The trains tended to run on the noon schedule out of DC and I worked within walking distance of the WUT.  Hence, I walked over to the station a few times to take some photos.  K Tower is shown in the 2 photos below.

A long distance train is ready to depart for New York City. 

An AEM7 is ending its run as it arrives at WUT.

Next time I'll post some photos from Ivy City engine terminal.  Thanks for looking.

Jaipur, India - 2

Hi, Our second day in Jaipur began with a trip out to the Amber Fort, about 7 miles from town.  The structure, shown below, actually was a palace for the local king.  It was constructed in the late 1500s although there have been a number of additions since the early construction.

Above and to the right of the Amber Fort shown above is the garrison fort built to house troops for the protection of the Amber Fort and also to provide a refuge for the royal family in case the Amber Fort was over run.

 

This is the ruin of a home outside of the Amber Fort.

Our trip up to the main gate of the Amber Fort was to be on an elephant.  While we waited Ruthe took this "mosaic" of umbrellas for sale.

We are about to get on our elephant for the journey up the hill.

Photos from the back of a moving elephant are challenging.  The elephants coming towards us have delivered tourists to the Fort and are returning to the bottom for another load.

This traditional Hindu temple in the town of Amer could be seen from the Fort.

A floating garden was constructed out in the lake.

Decoration of the walls and ceilings was ornate and elaborate.

Inside one of the Fort's courtyards was a formal English garden.

In this view the garrison fort can be seen above the Amber Fort.

Here are some of the wall decorations.

Indian families came to see the Fort along with tourists from other countries.  We found the Indian people to be very friendly and always willing to pose for photos.

Our next stop was a jewelry store.  This gentleman is polishing gems.  The stick has a rope attached to it at each end and wrapped around the hub of the wheel.  To turn the wheel the stick is moved forward and backward.

The gem, the red piece in this case, is attached to the small stick in the man's hand with wax.

On our way to lunch we passed an area where camels waited to give rides to tourists.  The camel vet comes to the camel.

This palace is called Jal Mahal, or palace in the lake.  It can be reached only by boat.

After lunch we went to see a textile factory where they did block printing, and

wove woolen rugs.

After the rugs were woven any excess threads were burned off.  The wool does not burn.

While people in our group shopped Ruthe took some photos of the rugs, and

textiles.

While this woman worked on a rug her daughter sat and played.  It took some effort on the part of mom to get the little one looking up at just the right time.

On our way back to the hotel Ruthe photographed these empty milk cans awaiting shipment back to farms for refilling.  Milk is brought fresh into the city and sold each day.  However, there is no refrigeration, and I suspect no pasteurization.

We also stopped at this Hindu Temple but did not go in.

One of the unique ways of traveling in India is the sleeper bus, shown below.  I spotted this as I returned from the railroad station to our hotel.  If you have not already seen the train photos I took that day and wish to just click on the post Sri Lanka and India in May.

This concludes our stay in Jaipur.  Thanks for looking.