Midweek Photos 3 April 2019

Kent, thank you for getting those photos! Most creative on your part. Be something to see those same settings after the flood has gone down.

Dan Weinhold

If you feel like telling the other story, I'll read it! 

Some oldies this week; I decided to focus on the theme of SD60 variants, since these engines are now endangered at NS. 

A pair of SD60Is lead a stone train through Harrisburg in July 2017. The SD60I roster is set to be halved by NS. 

An ex-BNSF, nee-BN SD60M Triclops trails on an autorack in January 2018. 

An SD60E leads an SD60M on a stormy day in Spring 2017 (screen capture from my Youtube, HD video). It is my SUSPICION that the SD60Es, having been upgraded to 4,000 horsepower SD70M-esque units, will be rebuilt in the next few years with AC traction. 

An ES44AC leads an SD60I on a unit coal train in the summer of 2017. 

Another Youtube screen grab; the PRR Heritage Unit leads an SD60 standard cab on an eastbound oil train in May 2017. This is the most recent standard cab SD60 I have seen, and will likely be my last, given that the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne lines use cab signals, and in any case the remaining SD60s (48) are stored pending sale. 

Another ex-BN Cyclops, CBFX 6032, trails on a westbound intermodal in December 2018, at the tail-end of NS's "Season of Leasing" as I call it, from mid-May 2018 to early February 2019. 

An ex-CSX SD60I trails on a manifest on the same day. 

An SD60I trails on a short manifest/local led by an SD40-2 in March 2019. 

Enjoy Guys.

Engineer-Joe posted:

If you feel like telling the other story, I'll read it! 

It's not RR related, but everyone but my wife thinks it's funny.   Wife & I would sometimes hire a helicopter when staying on the Big Island (Hawaii) to see the lava or on Iceland.  About a dozen years ago I found a guy flying "custom photo tours" on Kauai. He was formerly an Apache pilot for the army.  He had a small four seat helicopter that he took all the doors off so there wasn't any glass in the way to photo through.  It was basically a flying platform!  I talked my wife into going on a flight to the old volcanic cone.  It sticks up into the clouds and catches over 500 inches of rain a year.  It's black rock and bright green vegetation with dozens of silvery waterfalls running down the interior.  I had an idea of turning the helicopter sideways so I could shoot straight down into the cone.  He said, "No problem."  Wife & I had the copter to ourselves.  Pilot strapped us in very securely with a 3-point harness, not just a seat belt.  He spent some time making sure the buckles and straps were tight.  He also told us we couldn't have anything "loose" with us.  Got to the cone and circled around once, and then he flipped the copter on its side.  Man, that was something!  Looking straight down 3,000 feet and feeling the weight of my body straining against the harness.  My wife didn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much--I could hear her screaming even above the roar of the engine!  Got back to the airport and touched down.  Wife got out and walked briskly back to the car without waiting for me.  Uh oh.  I'm no genius but I was pretty sure she was unhappy about something.  The pilot said, "I guess you didn't tell your wife about the special maneuver?"  I replied, "I forgot."

It was a quiet ride back to the hotel.  When we got there she calmly said, "I'm never going on another helicopter ride with you as long as I live." ................. Two weeks ago I hired the little helicopter here and told my wife about my upcoming trip to the falls.  She was fine with it.  I told her there were two empty seats and asked if she wanted to go?  She didn't say anything, just gave me "The Look."  She has kept her word.

Kent in SD