No. 13413

IN THE MATTER OF AUTOMATIC TRAIN-CONTROL DEVICES

PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD

Submitted December 6, 1932. Decided December 12, 1932

1. Petition of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company that orders of June 13, 1922, and January 14, 1924, as amended, be modified, in so far as those orders affect petitioner, to permit operation by petitioner of locomotives equipped with automatic cab signals, in lieu of automatic train-control devices, granted. Former reports, 155 I. C. C. 62, and 147 I. C. C. 42, and 172 I. C. C. 44.

2. Specifications and requirements for continuously controlled automatic cabsignal system to be installed and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in lieu of automatic train-control devices, prescribed. W. M. Clement for petitioner.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON FURTHER CONSIDERATION McMANAMY, Commissioner:

This proceeding was reopened for further consideration upon the petition of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; in view of the facts set forth in this petition, the testimony submitted at hearing held December 23, 1930, decided February 6, 1931, in Automatic Train Control Devices, 172 I. C. C. 44, and of our records with respect to the matters involved, the matter was considered without further hearing.

Petitioner prays for permission to substitute and operate upon and over those portions of its system, and between Woodbridge Junction and Bay Head Junction, N. J., on the Central Railroad of New Jersey and New York & Long Branch Railroad equipped with the continuous coder system, locomotives equipped with 4-indication cab signals (one for the engineman and one for the fireman) with a loud whistle which sounds whenever the cab signal changes to a more restrictive indication, and continues to sound until acknowledged by the engineman or fireman, in lieu of locomotives. equipped with automatic train control with stop and forestaller devices, and that the petitioner be relieved from the requirements of the orders of June 13, 1922, and January 14, 1924, and as amended February 6, 1931, in so far as those orders apply to lines comprising the Pennsylvania system.

shall thereupon, by order, direct all connecting common carriers and their connections to join with such water carrier in through routes and joint rates with reasonable rules, regulations, and practices, as provided in paragraph (3) of section 15 of the interstate commerce act, as amended, and the commission shall, in such order, fix reasonable minimum differentials between all-rail rates and joint rates in connection with said water service to apply until changed by order of the Commission. Such joint routes, rates, rules, regulations, and practices may be changed by order of the Commission or by agreement of the water carriers and the other participating carriers.

We complied fully with this direction at the time the certificate issued. I do not understand the provision to require that orders be issued without hearing or record on subsequent applications not involving a certificate.

We need a record here in order to decide intelligently. The persons who claim they will be greatly hurt if the petitions are granted ought to have a chance to put the facts before us. I would set the applications, when properly verified as required by our rules of practice, for hearing.

190 I. C. C.

n

Since the year 1880 the Pennsylvania has from time to time experimented with various types of automatic train-control devices, installations for test purposes having been made on various parts of its line.

Prior to the issuance of our order of June 13, 1922, work had been started on an installation of 3-speed continuous inductive automatic train-control devices, with 3-indication cab signals, developed by the Union Switch & Signal Company. The territory selected for this experimental installation comprised 43.5 miles of single track and 3.4 miles of double track, between Lewistown and Sunbury, Pa., four passenger locomotives and nine freight locomotives being equipped with the automatic train-control apparatus.

This installation was completed and placed in service on July 11, 1923, and was continuously operated until January 17, 1926. As a result of the performance of this automatic train-control system in service, the carrier proceeded to make a similar installation of continuous automatic train-stop devices between Baltimore, Md., and Harrisburg, Pa., this being that portion of line which the carrier equipped in compliance with our order of June 13, 1922. This installation was placed in service on July 17, 1926. The locomotive apparatus included 3-indication cab signals; while this equipment was not required by our order of June 13, 1922, it had proved so valuable in addition to the automatic train-control equipment in service on the experimental Lewistown-to-Sunbury installation that all subsequent train-control installations on the Pennsylvania included the cab-signal equipment.

Further development work resulted in the introduction of interrupted rail currents so applied to the automatic train-control system as to produce what has been termed the coder system of automatic train control. This type of roadway equipment is used both with the stop and forestaller, and with 4-indication cab signals as described in Automatic Train Control Devices, 148 I. C. C. 188, 190.

The adoption of the coder system as standard for all installations on the Pennsylvania followed, and upon petition filed by the carrier permission was granted to modify the installation between Baltimore and Harrisburg so as to operate under the coder system.

After further study and experimentation there was developed a system of 4-indication cab signals, with whistle and acknowledger only, and without automatic train-stop or train-control equipment. The wayside coder equipment was identical for the operation of locomotives equipped with either stop and forestaller or with cab signal with whistle and acknowledger. The carrier installed the coder system on portions of its tracks beyond the requirements of

our orders of June 13, 1922, and January 14, 1924, operation of these locomotives over the equipped tracks was attended with satisfactory results, and the carrier petitioned the commission, under date of October 14, 1930, for permission to operate these cab-signal equipped locomotives in interdivisional runs over those portions of its lines where our orders required the use of locomotives equipped with automatic train-stop or train-control devices, which petition we granted on February 6, 1931.

Pursuant to our orders installations of the coder system of automatic train-stop devices have been made by the following roads which are now a part of the Pennsylvania system:

Order of June 13, 1922:

Pennsylvania Railroad, on parts of the Baltimore and Philadelphia divisions between Baltimore, Md., and Harrisburg, Pa., 81.5 miles of road and 163.0 miles of track.

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, on the Columbus and Indianapolis divisions, between Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind., 186.73 miles of road and 353.34 miles of track.

West Jersey & Seashore Railroad, on Atlantic division between Camden and Atlantic City, N. J., 56.4 miles of road and 112.8 miles of track. Order of January 14, 1924:

Pennsylvania Railroad, on Middle and part of the Philadelphia division between Altoona and Harrisburg, Pa., 130.4 miles of road and 490.2 miles of track.

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, on Panhandle division between Pittsburgh, Pa., and Newark, Ohio, 157.41 miles of road and 384.98 miles of track.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company equipped 32.3 miles of road and 83.8 miles of track on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between Newark and Columbus, Ohio, with the coder system in order to complete the installation of these devices on the line between Pittsburgh and Columbus, over which Pennsylvania locomotives equipped with the automatic train-stop devices are operated.

The Pennsylvania Railroad also operates its equipped locomotives over the tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey equipped with the coder system between Woodbridge Junction and Long Branch, N. J., and also over tracks of the New York and Long Branch Railroad, equipped for operation with the coder system between Long Branch and Bay Head Junction, N. J.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has also equipped its tracks with the coder system primarily for the operation of cab-signal devices, between Altoona and Pittsburgh, Pa., and between Harold Avenue, Long Island, and Washington, D. C., with the exception of short sections which are not equipped near New York and in its Philadelphia terminal district. Also between Shore and Vernon,