The Bull Sheet
July 1991
Current News
Russell Shreve Mellinger Sr., retired passenger conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, Conrail and Amtrak, died on June 9. He was 70. He was especially noted for his work on the famed Parkton Local commuter train, which ended service in 1959. When he retired in 1980 he was conductor on Amtrak's Broadway Limited's section between Philadelphia and Washington. Following retirement, he volunteered as a conductor on the Stewartstown Railroad in Pennsylvania.
CSXT dedicated its new customer service center in Jacksonville June 24. Some 475 employees currently work at the center, and another 570 service representatives are expected to be transfered there by the time consolidation is completed in 1994.
There was a grade crossing accident involving the American European Express and an empty flatbed tractor trailer on June 21 at Monon, Indiana, resulting in a derailment. Two passengers were slightly injured.
Amtrak, by June 1, had succeeded in reducing its management work force by 10 percent. Over 250 positions were eliminated.
Amtrak now intends to start using Cincinnati's Union Terminal in late July.
Amtrak and the Florida East Coast have reportedly had discussions over the prospect of using the FEC as a route for one of Amtrak's trains. Such a routing would restore service to Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral, and other places along Florida's Atlantic coastline.
Philadelphia's 30th Street Station was rededicated on June 14 following three years of renovations.
Virginia Railway Express locomotive V01 was dedicated at Washington Union Station June 26. It is painted in a blue and silver scheme with red, white and blue stripes.
Chicago's Union Station's new Metropolitan Lounge was dedicated on June 19.
Club car service is slated to be added to Amtrak's Pennsylvanian on August 1.
At a June 14 shareholders' meeting of the Maryland Midland Railway, it was announced that the company's largest customer, Lehigh Portland Cement, has purchased a 13.5 percent ownership interest in the railroad. In other news, the EnterTRAINment Line, which runs a tourist operation on the railroad, has enjoyed a 400 percent increase in passenger loading, and Maryland Midland recently hired a new crew solely to operate that service. Substantial work is being done to bring the railroad's track up to Class II standards. Acquisition of the CSX line to Hagerstown remains its number one priority. The company considers its fleet of five locomotives adequate for the present time, and there are no plans to purchase any more units.
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