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Newsletter of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter June 2008
Special Joint Outing & Swap Meet with Sacramento Saturday, June 14th, 10:30am 5:00pm

Western Railroad Museum

5848 State Highway 12 (between Fairfield and Rio Vista) Suisun City, CA 94585 (707) 374-2978
Refreshments: Please bring items listed if your LAST name starts with A-G: Desserts H-O: Finger Foods P-Z: Drinks BBQ pits will be available
Future Chapter Meetings in 08
July 12 August 9 September 13 October 11 November December 13 Museum of the Ramon Valley, Danville West Bay Railroad Club, Menlo Park DC running Annie and Andreas Hildebrandt, Woodside Octoberfest Camino Medical Group, Mountain View NO MEETING Railfair in Roseville Blackhawk Automotive Museum, Danville Christmas Party & Module running
B. Activities for the June Meeting at Rio Vista: Highlights. Western Railroad Museum opens at 10:30am SWAP Meet begins at Noon General ETE Meeting starts at 1pm ETE Meeting ends at 4pm Museum closes at 5pm
Upcoming Module SIG Events
July Museum of the Ramon Valley, Danville July EuroWest 2008 - Hiller Aviation Museum Oct. Alden Lane Nursery, Livermore Nov. 28 Jan. 11 Blackhawk Automotive Museum
Interurban trips typically depart at 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, and 3:30pm. Streetcar trips typically depart at 20 and 40 minutes past the hour, on weekends. All trips are subject to change, and weather permitting. The weather is typically warm. Bring sunscreen! C. EuroWest 2008 Planning for EuroWest is well underway, but help is still needed! We are still looking for speakers, and assistance in all area.
May 10th, 2008 Meeting Minutes
A. Call to Order: A regular chapter meeting was called to order at the Generations Church at San Carlos. Many thanks to Don and Mary Winslow for hosting this event.
Editors: Jim Recker & Jens Ullmann Publishing & Distribution: Jens Ullmann ETE Chapter Chairman: John Ruehle ETE Secretary: Lalo Ruehle ETE Treasurer: Ed Rikkelman ETE Events/Program Coordinator: Rolf Krumbiegel ETE Module SIG News: Steve Imialek

SF Bay Area Chapter News

June 2008

EuroWest 2008

Model Operations This years theme is the History of Trains. Operationally, participation is anticipated from the Bay Area Garden Railway Society (BAGRS), Southern CA ETE chapter, our HOm group, and the Bay Area SIG modules. Sacramento has been invited, of course. Operational Theme : historic trains on display Saturday : model trains Sunday: prototype trains Presentations Chris Vais is coordinating the presentation schedule and still has some open slots. We are looking for a presentation of 30 minutes in length. This will allow for a follow-up discussion prior to preparation for the next presentation. Please contact Chris if you have an interesting topic on the history of trains. Let Chris know if you need some help with the presentation. We can help. The earlier we know, the better it will be in the end. We are also open for suggestions and offers for a key note speaker during the dinner on Saturday evening. Sales Tables Vendor tables are available for $30 for first table, $20 for additional tables. If interested, or to help, contact Jens Ullmann, eurowest2008@dreileiter.de. Dinner The Saturday evening dinner will be $40 per person. The Buffet Menu: - Passed hors d'ouvres (Tarte Lyonnaise & Bouch aux Champignon) - Platters Assiette de Charcuterie, Assiette de Fromage, Salade Vert Left Bank. - Main course: Hot Platters & Chaffing Dishes Saucisse in Baguette with Mustard, Mini Quenelles, Beef Bourguignon - Dessert Assorted cookies Wine and beer will be available. Make reservations now for the dinner by sending your check to Ed Rikkleman (to the order of Bay Area ETE chapter), indicating number of seats desired. ETE, P.O. Box 21544, Concord, CA 94521 E. Next Meeting Announcements: The next chapter meeting will be held on July 12th at the Museum of the Ramon Valley in San Ramon.

D. NO EUROEAST in 2008 I am not sure what you have heard if anything in regard to EuroEast 2008. I am sorry to say that the show has been delayed until 2009 due to financial constraints and leadership reconfiguration within the Keystone Chapter. This has been a very difficult decision for us, but in the long run it will help us better position EuroEast and prepare for a better show next year. If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me, any of the chapter officers or John Gould who is in charge of the event and we will be happy to answer your questions. Thank you for your understanding in this matter and we look forward to seeing you at EuroEast next year. Sincerely, Chris Braun, President Keystone Chapter ETE

Reverse Corner

Next Module SIG event: The MUSEUM OF THE SAN RAMON VALLEY, DANVILLE July 1 July 13, 2008 Dont forget to mark your calendars for: EUROWEST at Hiller Aviation Museum, July 26 & 27 ALDEN LANE NURSERY in Livermore, Oct. BLACKHAWK AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM in Danville, Nov. 28 January 11, 2009 And again, Stanchions, stanchions; whos got the stanchions? Last seen sitting in the back parking lot of the Hiller after last years EuroWest, if anyone has any knowledge of there whereabouts, please contact Tom Melka (415-927-7477 or melka@pacbell.net).

EUROSNIPS By Jim Recker

ICE Derails Hitting Sheep
FULDA, April 27th Three people were injured when a high-speed German Intercity Express (ICE) train carrying 170 passengers derailed after hitting a flock of sheep in a tunnel near Fulda, in central Germany. Have news to share?
We will publish almost anything you can write as long as it has to do with European TRAINS! NOTE: PRESS DEADLINE IS THE 25 , every month Send contributions to: jcrecker@cs.com
SF Bay Area Chapter News The three people suffered broken bones and were taken to hospital while another 20 people with slight injuries were treated and released. The train was traveling at more than 200 km/h, en route from Hamburg to Munich, when it hit sheep which had wandered into a 11 km tunnel near Fulda.
The rail infrastructure and stations remains completely to 100% in possession of the Federation. This also means that the Federation will keep the majority of stock in all areas. The German government expects financial possibilities from the private sector. Revenues from the share sales will be divided in equal parts, to DB AG, to the German government and into investments into the rail traffic. Funding will be used to eliminate bottlenecks in the German railway system, reorganize worn out stations and improve the noise protection. Private investors will not receive enterprisedetermining influence on DB AG managerial policy.

Swiss Tidbits

The ICE train, which can travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h, derailed with the first four of 12 cars leaving the tracks. It came to a halt about one km after hitting and killing the 20 sheep. The engineer was uninjured. "It was a really large herd of sheep that had lost its way in the tunnel," said German federal police. Rail traffic on the important north-south rail was being diverted and caused considerable delays for several days.
Future in Investing in DB AG
BERLIN, May 12 The German Federal Government has decided upon a plan for the future of the German Railways DB AG, and this means that private investors will be able to invest in shares of up to 24,9% of the freight, long-distance and regional traffic areas.
RER terminus in Genve Cornavin
The SBB-CFF board of directors approved a credit of CHF135 million (US$130 million) to change the Genve - La Plaine electrification to 25kV 50Hz AC from 1500V DC. This unique, mostly commuter line is signaled to SNCF standards from the French border to both the Geneva's central passenger station (Cornavin) and the La Praille freight yard. The SBB-CFF operates a frequent local service known as the "RER" between Genve and Bellegarde, using specially-built 1500V rolling stock. Separate tracks, parallel with the 1500V DC tracks, are used by the SBB-CFF trains that terminate at Genve Aroport. This change will reduce the number of electrical systems in this area from 3 to 2 (15kV 16-2/3Hz in Switzerland, 25kV 50Hz in eastern France). 3
SF Bay Area Chapter News Also in the Geneva region, the Federal office of Transport awarded the SBB-CFF permission to begin construction on the proposed CEVA link between Geneva's Cornavin station and Annemasse in France. According to the SBB-CFF, Geneva locals have been waiting almost a century for this rail link. The CEVA project includes a 4.8km rail tunnel between the two existing stations of La Praille et Eaux-Vives and Annemasse. Two-thirds of the completed line will be underground. The first phase at Cornavin station was completed in 2006, and trains are expected to start running by 2012. There will be no BVB trains from Villars to the Col de Bretaye for two months in this autumn for track and maintenance. Only hiking will get you to the top!

passenger transport), Prima II can attain power levels of between 4 and 6.4 MW, and reach speeds of 120 to 200 km/h. In addition the new Prima II design incorporates locomotive safety and maintenance requirements. The large glazed surfaces of the driver's cab offer unparalleled visibility. Special attention has been paid to comfort soundproofing for the driver's cab, air-conditioning, a living area for two people, etc. The locomotive's buffers can absorb the energy produced by impacts of up to 65 km/h. Prima II was designed and will be assembled at the Belfort Locomotive Centre of Excellence.

Benelux News

Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel has awarded a consortium Dutch and Belgian companies a 210 million (US$325 million) contract to build a 1.5km tunnel under Brussels. The double-track link from Brussels-Schuman to Josaphat is a key element of the 1.8 billion RER project, and will connect the Brussels Namur and Hal Vilvoorde lines from 2015. Passengers traveling on the 300 km/h Thalys services between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Kln have been able to use on-board WiFi since May 14. A quarter of the Thalys fleet had been fitted by that date, and all sets will be equipped by the autumn. Two drunks attempted to steal a passenger train locomotive in Aarschot. A new locomotive can cost 3 million; 400 million for second hand models. As starting up a locomotive requires specialized training, and there is no known black market for locomotives, SNCB officials report not being too worried about a reoccurrence.

Alstom unveils Prima II

BELFORT, France, May 20 Alstom unveiled its new locomotive platform in the Prima line at the Centre of Excellence in Belfort. The next-generation locomotive, which was presented in its electric version, is based on a modular platform of standardized, tried and tested components that offer reliability, ease of maintenance and upgradeability.

Transrapid Sentencing

The Prima II is completely interoperable, capable of cross-border operation in Europe, and adaptable to railway systems worldwide. The Prima II has been fitted with the latest developments in the field of power electronics, and is compatible with four different European voltages (25 kV, 15 kV, 1,500 V and 3,000 V). At these voltages, and depending on the configuration chosen by the customer (freight or FRANKFURT, May 20 Two senior managers overseeing the Transrapid test track in Germany were found guilty of negligence. While they could have been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison, they were fined 20,000 and 24,000. No appeal is expected. On September 22, 2006, 23 passengers aboard a Transrapid magnetic levitating train were killed when it collided at 170 km/h (105 mph) with a stopped inspection car. 4

Driverless Trains on DB Rails
NRNBERG, May 06 The local U-Bahn operator VAG quietly slipped its first driverless trains into passenger service on Line U3. Authority to run Germany's first automated U-Bahn services with farepaying passengers had been granted on April 30, and VAG lost no time in taking advantage of the ruling. The 6.1 km line linking Maxfeld station and GustavAdolf-Strae shares tracks with Line U2 over the central section between Rathenauplatz and Rothenburger Strae. It is here that VAG is pioneering the simultaneous operation of driverless U3 trains with manually-driven U2 services on the same track.
This high speed link was launch by the DB and SNCF in June 2007.
One special passenger received flowers, a pair of first class tickets, and a hotel room in Paris to celebrate the landmark. DB AG now reports a daily passenger load of more than 3,300!

Poland with TGV in 2020

WARSAW, May 7th Poland has announced plans to launch high-speed rail service between the Polish capital to Poznan and Wroclaw by 2020. The project is to undergo an initial study this summer. This project as a high priority, linking Poland and the European rail networks to the West. In the initial phase of driverless services on U3 VAG is ensuring that at least one member of staff is on board each train to deal with queries from passengers and to intervene should problems occur. Work is now in progress to convert Line U2 from manual to driverless operation, and automated U2 services are expected to begin carrying passengers in 2009.

1 million on TGV Est

BERLIN, May 12th One million passengers have crossed the German-French border on high speed trains (TGV and ICE) since the service was launched less than one year ago, according to Deutsche Bahn. 5
Europe rail cuts CO2 emissions by 30%
BRUSSELS, May 8 CEOs of all European railway and rail infrastructure companies committed themselves to a cut in the specific CO2 emissions of trains of 30% over the period 1990 to 2020. The target will help to contribute towards the reduction in emissions from the transport sector in order to meet the European Unions target of a 20% cut in absolute greenhouse gas emissions over the same period. At the May meeting of the General Assembly of CER and UIC in Brussels, the companies decided to take this step to underline the rail sectors position as the most sustainable major mode of transport. According to Executive Director Johannes Ludewig, In spite of the improvements of the other transport sectors, rail transport is already the least polluting major mode of transport. The ambitious cut of 30% by 2020 will be brought about by a range of methods, including technological innovation such as optimizing the regeneration of braking energy, fleet modernization, and operational procedures such as energy efficient driving (ecodriving). There will be important investments from the rail companies required in order to achieve this goal, Mr. Ludewig said. But when the possibility of internalizing external costs which is foreseen in the upcoming Eurovignette Directive revision will become a political reality, this investment will pay off. In any case, the railways are convinced that creating a sustainable transport system is crucial not only for the future of the sector, but a question of responsibility to society. The decision came just one day after John Schellnhuber, one of the most distinguished climate researchers in Europe, addressed the May CER conference in which he outlined recent research that underlines the urgency in tackling climate change. At the same time, survey reveal that Europeans have recently become more concerned about environmental impact when planning a journey of miles. A third (33%) say that environmental concerns about a short-haul journey are more or much more

important to them than a year ago. More importantly, the survey also indicated that people are starting to act, with one in twenty (5%) saying they are planning to switch from plane to train for journeys within the UK or to closer European destinations. Over the last 12 months, Eurostar has become the first train operator in the world to make all journeys carbon neutral. Meanwhile, the US Federal government has no national rail plan to reduce CO2 emissions
New European Passenger Records
LONDON, April 14 The number of passengers using Britains railways is now at the highest level ever recorded in peacetime, according to the latest figures from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). ATOC says 1.2 billion passengers used the railway in 2007, an increase of 7.8% over the previous year and beat the previous record set in 1946, when the network was one third larger than it is today. Meanwhile 2007 was the most successful year in the history of the Swedish passenger operator SJ AB. The SJ Group reported that revenues increased to SEK 8.257 million (884 million), which is up 19% from 2006. Overall, earnings for the year was SEK 507 million (54.3 million), up SEK 139 million (14.9 million) or 38%. All in all, SJ AB carried 25.9 million passengers in 2007. Punctuality for all SJ ABs trains was 90%. Finally, the Finnish railways VR Groups reported 2007 profits of 66.4 million, up 3.3 million from 2006. These figures are the best the Group has achieved in the last decade. Growth in passenger services was the main factor in this improvement, seeing revenue of 1.334 million. Total number of passenger journeys was 66.7 million, which is an alltime record. The other VR groups had a good year as well with VR Cargo seeing revenues of 340 million. VRTrack Ltds revenues totaled 244.5 million. The largest customer was the Finnish Rail Administration RHK, which manages the national track network. VR-Track carried out just over half of the track work ordered by the Finnish Rail Administration. 6
Pictures of the Month: Spring 2008 (Part 2)
BR-64 in Aulendorf Steam Festival, April 27th 2008
Birmingham Airport (UK): (Left) London Midland local service (Right) Virgin Trains from London Euston. (April 23, 2008)
Bellinzona, Switzerland 7
Next Chapter Meeting June 14: Western Railroad Museum
Directions: From San Francisco area, take Interstate 80 east towards Sacramento. From East Bay, take I-680 north to I-80. - Just before Fairfield, exit I-80 to CA-12 East. Travel 13 miles to reach Museum. It will be on your right, just over the railroad bridge.

Note: The distance from the foot of the Bay Bridge to the museum is 49 miles. Come early and have a picnic.