Ham Radio Swap & Shop Sunday August 28th

You are invited to the Skyview Amateur Radio Society's annual Sway & Shop. Held at the club grounds on Turkey Ridge Road in New Kensington the event officially opens at 08:00 but there will be member who are spending the night on the club grounds and you will be able to start checking out the flea market as soon as there is enough light to safely navigate your way around.

If you are looking for any radio gear for rail fanning you may find it here! In addition I know that several of the members of the Thursday evening Rail Fan Net will be there so if you are a scanner listener this is your chance to meet some of the “voices” face to face. Follow this link SKYVIEW RADIO SOCIETY for additional information and complete maps and directions to the site. Enjoy!

ConRail Boyz

Here is an interesting tid bit for you rail fans out there. Court TV has a weekly program called "Master Minds" where they discuss what they call the "The Heist Of A Lifetime" and this weeks episode deals with railroads.

Tuesdays at 10pm
Encore Fridays at 6:30pm

"The ConRail Boyz"

They were the most successful train robbery gang ever. The ConRail Boyz operated for almost a decade in New Jersey, stealing millions of dollars worth of merchandise. Led by Edward Mongon, the gang resembles a highly-organized corporation that even hires ‘freelance employees’ from notorious street gangs like the Bloods. The ConRail Boyz impersonated railroad workers, never carried weapons, and used hi-tech military equipment to monitor police activity. TV-PG V

I missed the Tuesday night airing but will have my TiVO set for Friday.

Norfolk Southern to implode bridge on Monday

Thanks to Glen Clark for this tip.


Word on the street is that on Monday, 8/15, Norfolk Southern is to 'drop' the former Pennsylvania Railroad Low Grade Branch's massive steel deck-truss bridge that crosses the Beaver River just south (NS timetable 'east') of Wampum Junction. The 'Wampum Bridge' (Norfolk Southern bridge YG-81.99) stands approximately 800 feet downstream from the PA Route 288 bridge at Wampum. A pair of the structure's seven spans pass above Main St. in Wampum and the CSX Transportation (former P&LE) main line along the west side of the river. The other end of the structure lands near Canal Street in Chewton, on the east bank. More generally, this is geographically about midway between the cities of New Castle and Beaver Falls.

Follow this LINK for a picture of the bridge and additional details.

I used to think that the television set was a real time eater. Let me tell you that television is a piker compared to the Internet. A friend sent me an email with a quick request and I answered. Then however a link in the email took me to a web page and I started surfing. Each page I would arrive at would have another link of interest and I would find myself off exploring something else.

The subject today happened to be trains but I find it happens with just about any topic I start looking at on the World Wide Web. One page caught my attention because it was authored by another ham radio operator David Marshall N8OAY. There is some really good information on Dave's page including a database of places to take photos of trains. Check it out for yourself. N8AOY's Rail Fan Help Desk

Last nights Rail Fan Net August 4th 2005

We had a good turnout on the Rail Fan Net yesterday evening despite the fact that Dennis, KB3HPC, our regular conductor was on away and no able to head up the gathering. His able replacement this week was Art, WA3BKD, who guided the net through an orderly and enjoyable hour of conversation on railroading.

Among other things we discussed the recent story in the Post Gazette about the accident involving a CXS maintenance truck that derailed sending truck and driver over a steep embankment being found to his good fortune by rafters near Ohiopyle. For the complete story see my entry further back in the blog.

There was also a discussion of some tracks that are being renovated by the Allegheny Valley Railroad and the possibility that one of the legendary K4 steam engines will be brought back into service.

Here is a INTERESTING LINK to a web site that rail fans will enjoy. When you get to it follow some of the links on that page for some really great black and white photography of train stations. Enjoy. That was only some of this weeks Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net on the 146.880 repeater. Join us or listen in next week for more interesting conversation.

Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net

Join us this evening on the North Hills Amateur Radio Club's W3EXW repeater on 146.880 mHz at 09:30 for the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net. If you are not a licensed amateur radio operator but have a scanner you can program the frequency in one of you channels and listen in. You can join the net by sending questions or comments to Dennis, KB3HPC, at the Rail Fan Net hot mail account. Tell you friends and fellow scanner listeners about us.

Locomotive becomes ambulance to save crash victim

According to a story in the Tuesday August 2nd Pittsburgh Post Gazette a CXS diesel locomotive became an ambulance for the victim of a truck crash along rail lines that run next to the Youghiogheny River.


Creative thinking helped rescue hurt man near Yough River
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
By Lillian Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A boat crossed dry land and piggybacked on a train Sunday afternoon, cradling a maintenance worker injured when his rail truck fell into a tree above the Youghiogheny River.

Follow this LINK for the complete story.