Impression of American Railroad Signals May 21, 1995 By Hiroshi Naito 1. General I visited the Montana Rail Link (MRL), an American railroad in Motana, and thanks to the favorable treatment I received from Mr. Fred Simpson, the executive vice president of MRL, I had opportunities to study the dispatching and signal systems of MRL. Prior to visiting MRL, I traveled around America by Amtrak, from Los Angels to Chicago and then from Chicago to Montana (Whitefish/Missoula). The following is my inspection report on American railroad signals based on my out-the-window observation from Amtrak trains and on-site studies of MRL. The signal systems I saw at MRL may be only one example of that of a regional railroad in the U.S., however, since all signal facilities in MRL are those that were taken over from Burlington Northern Railroad (BN), they are considered to represent typical railroad signal apparatus used nationwide in the U.S. Besides, what I observed of the trackside of MRL was identical to what I saw along the track I traveled using Amtrak, so I believe that this is true. MRL is a regional railroad connecting Huntley (Montana) and Spokane (Washington), but is linked with BN at both the eastern and western-most ends. It was originated in 1987, inheriting this segment from BN (as a matter of course, they carry only freight). The history of the trackage of this segment is fairly old dating back when the Northern Pacific Railroad opened in 1880. There used to be passenger trains operated. The length of trackage consists of 600 miles along the main line, plus 300 miles of branch lines. They own 137 locomotives and have about 900 employees. Although MRL is a regional railroad, it also serves as a segment of a trans-continental trunk line, and handles 5 BN through trains for each direction daily. A number of local freight trains are also run. MRL headquarters is situated in Missoula, Montana, and its dispatching center is located in its main office. 2. Study of Signal System 2.1. Equipment Installation All signal apparatus appeared to be dispersed at each site in such a way as to indicate the signal equipment being contained in bungalows was at the locations where it is required. The bungalows are for ABS, crossing, hotbox detector, interlocking, switch heater, etc. At the general junction where trains meet (station), bungalows containing interlocking are installed at the east and west ends (or north and south). This interlocking controls only its regional switches and home/start signals. As a matter of course, the interlocking is associated with a CTC local station, which is tightly connected to the interlocking, and is apparently one part of the signal equipment. At the complex yard which exhibits the same feature above, interlocking is dispersedly placed at required locations having a dense array of switches. Powered switches are used only for strategic points, the remainder being manually operated. Accordingly, the area the interlocking covers is not widely spread, which means interconnect cables do not have to run very far. In Japan, generally at a station (depot), there is an equipment room provided, where all interlocking is concentrated, and a control panel, which is located at the tower or in the depot, is wired so that interlocking can be locally controlled just in case. There is definitely not this kind of concept in the U.S. (In Japan, a station implies all tracks between home signals as well as the controlling office). Considering their background regarding the construction of railroads, we can take their concept for granted (they had to build railroads across the vast, uninhabited regions such as desert and the CTC system grew into common use since early times). It is therefore a quite reasonable concept. 2.2. Communication Line Telephone poles standing along the track with a number of overhead wires are things of the past in Japan, but they still exist in the U.S. Coated overhead wires are generally used for CTC's transmission lines and other signal lines. They are strung from pole to pole and put along the track in intervals of constant distance. You can observe this feature all over railroads in the U.S. MRL generally uses 7 or 8 wires for the overhead wire lines, two of them being for AC power, two for CTC, and the remaining 4 for ABS signals. At a location where a control box such as a bungalow is located, branch wires are dropped and are led into the bungalow. I did not see these overhead wire lines along the track at the Mariass Pass in Graciar National Park, the continent divide, on the way from Chicago to Montana. Apparently, underground cables instead of overhead wires were employed. Later, I was informed by MRL people that, at passes, buried cables are likely to be used for protection from heavy snowfall. Since overhaead wires are used for CTC transmission lines, CTC codes are transmitted over hundreds kilometers without regenerating. For the local CTC stations located outside this distance, codes are sent via microwave, which is leased from the telephone company, and from the tributary terminal of the system, are fed to hard wires. They do not operate their own telephone networks, but lease from the telephone company. 2.3. Power Supply for Signal Circuit DC12V is mostly used, and occasionally DC24V is applied. The remarkable feature about the power supply system is that batteries are provided at every site that has a bungalow. In a large bungalow, such as where interlocking is contained, batteries are also installed, but for small bungalows without interlocking, batteries are put separately in a case buried in the ground. The batteries are of the lead acid type, with a useful life of 30 years. The size of the battery charger was surprisingly small, so the trickle charging system must be used. AC power is supplied from a commercial power source, and no backup power line is provided. Their concept is probably such that batteries are reliable enough in the event of AC power source becomes unreliable. I did not ask about battery capacity, but the cell size appeared fairly big. [I talked to an engineer who worked in the Power Supply Division of my company on this battery. According to him, this type of battery is known as a long life, shielded lead battery, and no battery manufacturer in Japan produces them. In such a vast land as the U.S., this type of battery is sure to be in demand.] 2.4. Track Circuit They use the DC track circuit with a voltage of about 1V to 2V. I was not able to see the transmitting circuit in the drawing. The DC coded track circuit is also partly used. 2.5. Bungalow There are a variety of bungalows used, varying from old models containing floor-type relays to advanced models that apply electronic devices. I surveyed each type. (1) Example 1 A bungalow controlling a switch with a locking device located on the track of intermediate block. This switch is used to divert a lead-in track to an industrial plant. This is the oldest example where floor-type relays are installed. Shock absorbing coils were seen beneath the relays on the relay stands. To move the switch, the locking device has to be released beforehand. Auxiliary contacts of the switch lock the automatic blocking circuits. An approach lock feature is provided, and if a train enters the approach section, the switch is maintained in the lock state for a certain time period. (2) Example 2 A bungalow containing interlocking equipment that uses plug-in type relays. This resembled Japanese interlocking equipment. An associated local CTC station is an old model using relays. (3) Example 3 A box containing full electronic ABS systems, Hermon's ELECTRO CODE. This equipment, sending pulse codes through rails, detects train occupancy and conveys control signals to adjacent block signals, where identical equipment is located. The advantage of this is that it eliminates the need for overhead wire lines. No bungalow is used for this system. Instead, only a small box is installed for a signal support. (4) Example 4 A bungalow containing electronic interlocking equipment, made by Hermon. The system is duplicated for redundancy, but for safety reasons. No backup system covering equipment failures is provided. This interlocking equipment consists of only one small rack-mounted unit and looked extremely simple. At the uppermost location in the rack, five or six relays are installed. These relays appeared to be for track relays and track shutdown relays. A CODE EMULATOR unit, made by Hermon, is used as a CTC local station. This unit is also very small. A control box located at the trackside is called a "bungalow" in the U.S. This bungalow is fitted with fans to eliminate heat problems. The fans are automatically started by a thermal sensor that detects a rise in temperature. I failed to investigate whether there are heaters provided to cover low temperatures in winter. Arresters are used in bungalows to prevent damage that caused by lightning. At the bungalow I surveyed, the grounding wires were earthed at four points around the bungalow, and the earth terminals, equipment racks and the bungalow itself, are all grounded in common. 2.6. Electric Switch Machine AC240V is used for the motor power. The machine I surveyed was made in the 1970s and fitted with a manual lever. In the event of CTC system or electronic interlocking failure, this manual lever is supposedly to be used by engineers to maintain train operations. 2.7. Signal Lights Three types of signal lights are used, that is, multi-color signal lights (three indications), search-lights and semaphores (a three-position upper quadrant type is used for ABS). In the U.S., search-light signals are more prevalent. As I traveled from LA to Chicago, I saw a lot of semaphores along the road of Santa Fe in New Mexico. Although semaphores still exist, their number is few. 2.8. Crossing Control Box I did not survey crossing bungalow, but I saw track circuit devices which looked like our AFO unit in an interlocking bungalow. For crossing control, a motion detector device is generally used. This device provides consistent warning times, regardless of train speeds. Also, if a train stops before reaching the crossing, the device releases the crossing gates, and closes them again when the train is restarted. 2.9. Cable Lying Interconnect cables between a bungalow and signal equipment are all laid underground. Since the control area of an interlocking is regional, this feature could be possible. Troughs commonly used here seem unused. As I was traveling from LA to Montana via Chicago, I continued to observe the area surrounding the tracks, but this feature seemed consistent. 2.10. Maintenance Road A certain area along the track is retained for maintenance. The road constructed allows maintenance people to access equipment located trackside. Actually, when I went to survey local equipment, I was taken to the site by a maintenance pickup van traversing this road. These roads are sometimes utilized for pipelines or fiber optic cables routes. 2.11. Backup for Equipment Failure I did not survey the method in which train operations are maintained when equipment failure occurs. Since they do not have the concept of local control or substitute blocking, they supposedly operate trains under the control of dispatchers using radio without signals. 2.12 Technical Terms As I was surveying equipment at the site with Mr. Steve Griffin, supervisor of the signal division, I noticed that some terminology is consistent with ours. For example, they address relay contacts to be "front/back." I also found some familiar nomenclature involving relays, such as ASR, WLR, and TR. To indicate modifications in the drawings, they also use red and yellow marks (Red-IN and Yellow-OUT), which are commonly used in Japanese railroad signaling fields. This consistency probably results from the fact that railroad signal technology was originally introduced by American signal companies, GRS and US&S. The technology has been developed independently afterwards here, but it is remarkable that the consistency still holds. 3. CTC and Dispatching System The dispatching center is located at MRL's main office in Missoula. All trackage of their 600 miles of main lines and 300 miles of branch lines are controlled from there. Mr. W.R. Rocky SCALISE showed me the center. (1) Hardware Structure The system was designed by GRS in 1987 for use with DEC micro PDP11 computers. The entire trackage is divided in two, and an independent computer system is applied to each, with each being duplicated for redundancy, which means that 4 micro PDP11 computers are used in total. Two dispatchers (called Train Movements in MRL) are on duty, each being responsible for his own territory. Six workstations with color CRT monitors are installed for each system, located in the dispatching room. One extra workstation is provided in the equipment room, as well. The computers and all workstations are interconnected through a LAN, so the system is supposedly easy to modify and expand. It is unknown that what kind of LAN system is applied. The CTC transmission uses the 1:N system, and both control and monitor codes are sent interruptedly. The transmission speed is unknown, but it is considered fairly slow (10 to 20 bps), hence old CTC local stations using relays still exist at some locations. The system covers fairly long distances, but traffic is fairly low, so there seems to be no problem with this slow speed. I heard that they are replacing, in turn, old systems with new polling method systems. The system's hardware structure looked very simple, all requiring equipment such as micro PDP11 installed for open racks. I was struck with its simplicity. The equipment room itself is also small. It is rather unbelievable that this system could control and supervise their entire 600 miles of trackage. Each part of the hardware, like the PC boards, was not state-of-art (probably because the system is fairly old, made in 1987). (2) Route Control Although route setting is not based on stored train schedules, signal control is processed through automatic functions, considered to be at about equal to or lower in degree than pre-JNR traffic control systems in use for single track lines. As for the operator interface, specifically designed keyboards are used, with only one keyboard provided for each system. However they closely resemble a general purpose keyboard. (3) Train Describer CRT screens display all required information, such as train occupancy, route clearance, train identification, etc., and are dynamically updated. This feature is similar to our train traffic control systems. The description itself is designed very simply. Signal aspects and switch conditions can be displayed on command. (4) Track Shutdown Since trains are operated 24 hours a day, maintenance has to be done during daytime through gaps in train operations. The system is capable of shutting down a designated segment prohibiting all route control for the related region. A dispatcher manually inputs desired segments to be shutdown and their corresponding closed tracks are displayed in blue on the CRT screen. (5) Track Warrant The system includes a computer assisted Track Warrant system that supports a dispatcher to operate trains going along dark territories (no signal sections). Track Warrant: A dispatcher instructs the train crew as to the next section to proceed using railroad radio. Responding to instructions, a crew member writes it down and then verbally replies repeating the instruction. If this replied information is proved correct, the dispatcher commands the crew to proceed. (6) Software The software is designed around a modular building-block feature, so the system is considered to be easily modified for expansion or upgrade. It is said that GRS installed the system in less than 6 months after receiving the order! (7) Train Brief Although the concept of pre-determined train schedules is not used, they apply the Train Brief feature, which is a kind of train schedule. This represents the plans of BN through trains, compiled and updated every 3 months by BN. MRL composes its entire train schedule based on this Train Brief, adding their own plans for through and local trains, and then determines engineer operations depending on the schedule. Dispatchers themselves are involved in this strategic work. (8) Dispatcher's Shift Work The dispatching center is operated 24 hours a day with dispatchers working in three shifts. Each dispatcher's shift is fixed throughout the year. A dispatcher in charge of work at midnight always works the midnight shift. An individual who wants to work another shift is supposed to ask some other dispatcher to exchange shifts or wait until someone leaves the center. 4. Business Control 4.1. Business Control System They use an IBM AS400 computer system to manage their entire railroad business. This system is linked with BN's car inventory systems and generates daily train schedules, including detailed train information such as tonnage, train length, the number of cars, etc. on a train by train basis. The system also generates a record of the day's operations. 4.2. Office Work Their office work appeared to be highly computerized. Each employee uses a PC or a workstation at his or her desk. All these computers are linked through an office network system. An e-mail system is also used, although it is a domestic system inside the main office. The system is not interlinked with Internet directly, but is connected to CompServe, a computer communication network. Upon arriving at his desk for the first thing in the morning, Mr. Simpson loged on to the system using his computer, read out e-mail, and went into CompuServe to obtain railroad-related information through the news clipping service. 4.3. Yard Office The yard office is located at the east end of the Missoula yard. The office controls train traffic within the yard, and manages duties of train crews. There is a yard tower located on the floor of the office. The tower is equipped with a terminal of the AS400 system to enable the information required to operate trains to be accessed. The information for each train is issued to a train crew in printout form from the computer. It is not known how this information is distributed to crews at the far end terminals. Track occupancy in the yard is displayed on the CRT of the yard tower's AS400 system terminal along with the train information. Since no track circuit is installed in the yard, the track occupancy is updated manually using a keyboard. 4.4. Quality Control Meeting A quality control meeting is held every morning from 7:30 attended by the president and top executive officers from each section in the company, close to 10 people in total. The top executives are those who are responsible for train operations, marketing, customer service, engineering, etc. Persons at Helena branch join this meeting via conference call. Surprisingly, I was invited to attend this meeting. After data sheets containing the previous day's record, output from the AS400 system, are distributed, attendees briefly discuss what the problems were and what should be done to resolve them. At Murran Pass, on the continental divide, 150 Km east of Missoula, they are supposed to pull a heavy train weighing over 8000 tons up a 2.2 percent grade, using 13 locomotives in total, including helpers. That day's most important topic was a train delay caused by a failed strategy of a helper unit operation. "Dog Catch" and "Deadhead" appeared to be the most important factors for them in their quality control. Note) Dog Catch: In the U.S., FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) restrictions prohibit a crew from working on a train for more than 12 hours. If this time has been reached, the crew has to leave the train immediately with a new crew dispatched to take over the train's operation. This is called "Dog Catch." Since this is costly, railroad managements hate such occasions. Deadhead: When a crew shortage occurs at one end of a railroad due to traffic imbalances, one or more crews has to be transported from other terminals by car, train or flight to maintain train operations. This is called "deadhead." 4.5. Timetable In the U.S., railroads formulate their own rules for train operations. These rules are all contained in a book called the "timetable." The timetable includes detailed restrictions and instructions regarding train operations, as well as definitions of signal aspects and various track information, such as mile post location, distance, siding, signal system, etc. Operations people are supposed to keep abreast of this information, and are required to take periodic timetable examinations. Those who have failed a timetable examination are not allowed to resume their duties until they next pass the examination. 5. Maintenance 5.1. Signal Maintenance Section MRL's signal division comprises just 27 employees. Surprisingly, these few people maintain signal apparatus located over all 900 miles of MRL's trackage. 5.2. Tie-gang A group of people who perform maintenance work on the track is called a "gang." A tie-gang is a group of workers who are in charge of replacing cross-ties. A surface gang is in charge of surfacing rails. A tie gang proceeds continually processing a string of works, pulling out dog spikes, taking away old cross-ties, inserting new cross-ties, tamping ballast, hitting new dog spikes, and so on. The gang consists of a number of groups who are each responsible for their own process using their only unique working cars. A tie-gang I saw working in the Missoula yard looked magnificent. In the U.S., it seems that concrete cross-ties are not very common. As for rails, welded jointless rails are widely used all over the country. I happened to see a welding gang when I was on a cab the next day. 5.3. Freight Cars Repair Shop A repair shop for freight cars is located in the Missoula yard. When I visited there, three cars had been jacked up and were undergoing repairs. I noticed that each car was fitted with an ID tag for AMTEC's Automatic Equipment Monitoring (AEM) system, which uses microwave and is well known in Japan. According to the observations I made on the way to Portland by Amtrak train, almost all cars appeared to be equipped with this tag. I am wondering if a nationwide car inventory system exists, with all freight cars throughout the country supposed to be associated with an AMSTEC's AEM tag. To transfer cars out/into the shop, a rubber tired car, which resembles a tractor, is used. Being fitted with steel wheels, this car can run on the rail. 5.4. Maintenance Car Big pickup vans are employed for maintenance works. These cars are fitted with steel wheels so that they can ride on the tracks whenever necessary. While I was on the locomotive cab later, I actually ran into this type of a car on the siding track at a station. 5.5. Tractor A number of small Kubota tractors, which appeared to be diverted from use as agricultural vehicles, are used to support track maintenance works. 6. Locomotive Cab Riding Report On May 3th, I followed Mr. Simpson to the crew-managements desk, located adjacent to the dispatching center. A woman in charge took me to a CRT in the dispatching room. She pointed out a train on the screen, saying "this is your train." On the screen, I noticed a train, which had just come into MRL's territory displayed with its train ID of 02-122. The dispatcher in charge, joking "I had better notify the crew that two passengers are going to board," began trying to get in touch with the crew of the 02-122. The segment we will be traveling is from Paradise, located about 75 miles northwest of Missoula, to Missoula, a distance of approximately 100 miles. We headed for Paradise in a car driven by Mr. Simpson, accompanied by the woman mentioned previously. She joined us to take the car back to the office after we arrived at Paradise. She told me her husband was an MRL engineer. We drove east along one of Montana's scenic roads. The weather was a little bit strange, sometimes showering and sometimes clearing. We arrived at Paradise. In contrast to its name, Paradise looked desolate. We entered the depot. Inside the house were a telephone and a fax machine. The room appeared to be occasionally used by train crews and maintenance people. Following a wait of about one hour, train 02-122 pulled in. This is an eastbound BN through manifest train, which comes from BN, goes through all MRL's main road, and then goes back out to BN. The train length is 5,020 feet or about 1,500 m. The train probably had close to 100 cars totaling about 7,000 tons (I did not confirm the exact figure). On the way here, the crew had to work on setting out two failed cars causing a delay. The motive power is four 4-axle units, consisting of BN GP39, GT's same type, and two GATX's (model is unknown). The crew, engineer Mr. Mike Eide and assistant engineer Mr. Owen Wood, deboarded. After introducing ourselves, we climbed aboard the cab. The inside of the cab was smaller than I had expected. There was a driving gear on the right-hand side on the cab, consisting of only a braking lever, a throttle lever, a speed meter and pressure gauges. Being a diesel-electric locomotive, I supposed that the cab might be equipped with some electric meters, but there were no such devices. A sign reading "CAUTION 600V HIGH VOLTAGE" on the cabinet panel proved that this was, in fact, a diesel-electric engine. Above the driving gear were a radio unit and a Pulse Electric's Trainlink unit, placed on the left-hand side and on the right-hand side, respectively. The Trainlink unit receives telemetry data transmitted from the box located on the rear end of the train and indicates the status at the rear end, including brake pipe pressure, the red marker light, etc.. This unit also includes the odometer function. I wondered what an enclosure next to the driving gear in the center of the cab was for, but it turned out to be a refrigerator. Positioned opposite to the driver's seat were two additional seats. Since 4 people were on-board, someone had to stand. The assistant engineer showed me a room inside the locomotive front hood, opening the door leading to the room. Surprisingly, inside was a restroom, that is a toilet. Papers that appeared to be computer output was casually placed down the front window shield. The papers were indeed printouts of required train information, including train schedules, train length, number of cars, tonnage, etc. A westbound train came into view and passed by. The start signal then turned out green and, with the engine groaning, our train started rolling. The start of the train was as massive as I had expected. The train slowly proceeded along the Clark Forth River, facing a continuous gentle grade. The crew did not perform verbal recognition for the signal aspects ahead except under specific conditions. Intermittently, an alarm from the deadman system loudly sounded with a large indicator above the front window shield glowing red. If the engineer does not respond to this alarm by operating the brake lever or throttle lever within a certain number of seconds, an emergency brake is applied. Both engineers used ear plugs. When I asked why, the assistant engineer cited the excessive noise in the cab. I was offered some, but I declined, feeling that the noise was not that bad. The assistant engineer mentioned that he used to drive locomotives for Santa Fe before joining MRL, and moving from Dodge City, KA. He said he generally goes on duty between Missoula and Spokane. An upper quadrant semaphore emerged ahead, indicating CLEAR with its arm directed upward. The assistant engineer opened the front door so that I could take better photographs, with the engineer taking the trouble to slow down for my picture taking. I saw the same type of semaphores on the Santa Fe railroad when I was traveling toward Chicago, and I discovered that an automatic semaphore's arm moves fairly slow. The engineer's train operation is quite good. I hardly felt shocks from the cars behind when the train slowed down. When we approached to non-controlled crossings, he frequently activated the whistles, a fact that suggests the likelihood of crossing accidents. Mr. Simpson regrets that people do not realize that a train cannot stop instantly. Whenever we pass over a Hot Box and Dragging Detector, a synthesized voice provides the result of the train inspection via the train radio. If the detector has sensed something a problem, e.g. overheated wheel bearing, sticking brakes, dragging equipment, etc., it informs the crew of the car and wheel number in which the failure condition was found. Railroads are required to install such equipment at 30 miles intervals. I had been curious about how the results of the inspection were reported, and I was struck with the simplicity utilizing the train radio. The train then went along a gentle curve. I tried to take a photograph out of the window of the string of cars following us, but the train was so long that the tail end of the string was invisible. At one station, we met a long intermodal train. A Hot Box and Dragging Detector alerted us to errors in two of our cars. Mr. Simpson said that since all axles in the two cars were identified as failed, the hand brakes were apparently screwed down. The train quietly came to a halt between intermediate automatic signals. The assistant engineer, wearing a special vest with a radio on it, got off, and the engineer advanced the train to position the failed cars in front of him. After a while, the assistant engineer notified us of the completion of his work using his radio. Then the engineer began moving the train back to pick up the assistant engineer. The failure turned out to be as expected. After receiving authority from the dispatcher, we restarted. Although we passed through some short tunnels, we had been going along the valley with the river visible on our left almost the whole way. We met a surface gang parked on the siding at one station. As we approached Missoula, a big paper complex, that is one of MRL's most important customers, came into view on the right. A lead-in track diverged toward the factory, despite being in the middle of an automatic block section. The bungalow located here was one that I surveyed yesterday. I saw this kind of feature very often during my Amtrak trip; e.g. a track suddenly diverges in the middle of the desert. I had been curious about how safety is maintained at such points, but thanks to yesterday's survey, my doubts were resolved. We then approached the home signal of Missoula. The uppermost signal glowed yellow, indicating that one of three routes was available. Our train halted just after the lead-engine had passed the interlocking. Although only three routes are provided for the entrance, there are 7 home tracks available in the Missoula yard, and a certain number of manual switches are placed in-between. Using these manual switches, each route for the home tracks can be cleared. As a matter of course, there is no signal system installed for these switches. I noticed that our home track addressed by the directions of the switches ahead was occupied. As I was wondering what would happen, the assistant engineer got off the cab and threw two switches using their associated turnouts to the reverse position, thus clearing up our route. With the assistant engineer back on board, the train slowly rolled into our home track and halted. Although the Missoula yard is fairly complex, as I described above, only regional interlockings are installed at both the west and east ends to control local switches and signals. For non-signal areas, crews advance into (out of) their home track by creating a route themselves. I was struck with boldness and simplicity of this concept. Our home track was supposedly designated by the dispatcher through the radio just prior to our arrival at the Missoula home signal. As we were approaching Missoula, the assistant engineer was taking down the dispatcher's instructions on a Track Warrant sheet and verbally repeating the instructions to the dispatcher. This might be the procedure to be given our hometrack. With most railroads, the cab crew comprises an engineer, a switch man and a conductor (this is probably why the cab has two seats at the assistant engineer position). MRL's way is to have two engineers on duty, with an assistant engineer serving as both switch man and conductor. With two engineers on-board, they can reverse their roles whenever they like. This is useful in improving engineers' labor conditions. We arrived at 3:30, after a trip of three and half hours. 7. Remarkable Technology Among remarkable technologies I saw at MRL but that we do not have were the following: (1) Full electronic pulse code track circuit (no control lines are required between signals: HERMON's ELECTRO CODE). (2) Simplified electronic (processor-based) interlocking. (3) Electronic device used for crossing control that detects train speed by sensing track circuit current. (Motion Detector). (4) Telemetry system that transmits the status of the rear end of a train. (Pulse Electronics's Trainlink system). (5) Hot Box and Dragging Detector that detects overheated wheel bearings, sticking brakes, and dragging equipment. 8. Summary The following is my general impression of American railroad signals after having traveled by Amtrak over 4,000 miles by Amtrak and surveyed the signal apparatus in use at MRL. I was impressed with old technologies still generally used in the U.S. I saw searchlight signals and overhead wires over almost all the tracks I traveled along. When I passed by interlocking towers in LA and Chicago, I even caught a glimpse of old electrical interlocking machines through the window. On the other hand, MRL uses highly simplified electronic signal apparatus at certain locations. Also, as is well known in Japan, advanced computerized dispatching systems using video projectors are used at UP's Omaha and CSX's Jacksonville train traffic control centers. I have heard that the interlockings at New York's Grand Central station were recently replaced with state-of-the-art computer-based models. I was very impressed with this unbalanced combination of up-to-date and old fashioned equipment. In other words, new and old features are coexisting well in American railroads. I cannot say that the old features that still exist in American railroads are outdated. Instead, the existence of old features appears to be an outgrowth of one of American culture, in which old things are valued. MRL, too, still uses old signal equipment as well as new apparatus. Mr. Steve Griffin, chief signal engineer, commented on this point as follows: replacing old signal equipment is important, but to do so entails a large investment and the stocking of many more spare parts. Since the old equipment is still usable, it is more cost-effective to gradually renew their signal apparatus. I also think there is much to be learned from the highly simplified concept as I saw at MRL. This concept probably results from the fact that early American railroaders had to construct long railroads across vast stretches of land; we cannot simply introduce this concept into our systems as is due to differences in historical backgrounds between both countries. However, there seems to be somethings in their flexible concept that we can use in designing systems. In particular, since American signal manufacturers design systems based on their own background, it is obvious that we would be easily defeated in competition with them in the international market as long as we move forward with our own systems as they are. At the very least, it is important for us to study technologies used in overseas countries for our future business. 9. Appendix 9.1. Impression of MRL Being a new company, MRL seems to be operated on the basis of a flexible concept free from convention. As indicated by MRL's "open-door policy," I could sense that the company was truly a happy family as I made my rounds with Mr. Simpson. This familiarity helps MRL by encouraging employees to work efficiently, thus resulting in their business being successful. 9.2. American Railroad People here probably think of American railroads as a dying industry. While this may be true for long distance passenger service, the freight railroad business is now enjoying prosperity. Thanks to efficient mass transportation of intermodal freight (double stacked containers and piggy-back trucks), the railroad freight business is steadily expanding. Meanwhile, the trucking business, in addition to facing a shortage of drivers, is said to have completely lost its competitiveness. Goods generally transported by railroad are include coal, grains, paper and paper materials like chips, lumbers, wood, oil, cement, ore, etc.. Long distance passenger service is likely to decline in the U.S. Amtrak announced a restructuring program at the end of last year, and cutback service beginning in January (the Empire Builder that I rode used to be operated daily, but service west of St. Paul was degrated to quadweekly). Amtrak is going to implement further cutbacks this June and September that will result in service being reduced 25% compared with the corresponding period last year. In terms of urban transit lines, the passenger train business is on an upswing. Taking LA for example, the subway (Redline) is now being extended, and Greenline, a light rail, is scheduled to be opened this July. An extension is also planed for the Blueline. Despite being light rail, Greenline is going to be operated with ATC/ATO, thus allowing driverless system. For the time being after the line's opening in July, however, trains will be operated manned. Also Metrolink commuter trains, operated by MTA between LA and its satellite cities, are successful, with the number of passengers increasing by 2 percent every year. On the other hand, a plan to replace diesel powered buses with electric buses (trolley bus) has failed. A proposal to build a high-speed railway connecting LA with Las Vegas is said to be nothing more than a pipe dream. 9.3. Portland I stopped in Portland on the way to Japan. Portland is the state capital of Oregon, with a population of 1.4 million. As the terminal of three major railroads, BN, Union Pacific Rairoad (UP) and Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), Portland is a railroad-oriented city. Each railroad maintains large yards in the city. There is Amtrak's Union station, where the Empire Builder and Pioneer (trans-continental Superliners) as well as the Coast Starlight (LA to Seattle) enter and depart. Amtrak's Talgo is also temporarily operated between Portland and Seattle. Near Union station, there is V.C. tower controlling the interlocking of the station. This is the only independent signal tower left in Oregon. I tried to get close to the tower, and observed that it apparently uses an electric interlocking. Both Union station and V.C. tower were fairly old, and the combination of their architecture looked very solemn. I heard that there is no longer any independent tower in Washington state. 9.4. MAX System In Portland, MAX system, a light rail, is operated between downtown Portland and Gresham, located east of the city, connecting the two in about 30 minutes. Trains are made up of two three-succesion cars and looked very modern. Outside downtown Portland, trains run along a dedicated track, and thus make good time. The ride is quite comfortable. Each station is equipped with a wheelchair lift. Park & Ride parking lots are provided at certain stations. The fair is $1 for 1 or 2 zones, $1.30 for all zones and $3.25 for a one-day pass. Rides within the downtown district are free. A ticket vending machine is installed at each station. When I inserted a $5 bill to purchase a one-day pass, I was unexpectedly given back change (something rather unusual in the West). I got a $1 coin for the first time. Greshman station was installed with conventional signal apparatus, comprising 3-indication color light signals, impedance bonds and switch machines. The switch machines looked smaller than those used for regular railroads, and had a different shape. A device that looked like transponder ground equipment was placed on the track where a train parks (though, it was covered). It is not known what it is for. The vendor plate on the bungalows read WABCO, while the plates on the impedance bonds and switch machines read US & S. There are many crossings along the dedicated track, and some of them are associated with gates. As a matter of course, they are controlled in conjunction with road traffic signals. No automatic blocking signals were seen along the track. It is not known what kind of system is used for the blocking. The MAX system is now being extended north from downtown Portland, with the opening of the new section probably a couple of years off. Low floor cars will be introduced in the near future, making their U.S. debut. /SEND