Rail-fanning on The OGR Forum 🚂 Welcome: Pictures YOU have taken! • Hope to see you out rail-fanning.

Fantastic picture!!!!!

I visited Colorado years ago and took this short video at the station while waiting for our trip to Silverton.

Thank you for the great photograph at Elkins, Rich!

Not a spectacular video but I was wondering if anyone knew what the yellow over flashing green signal means? I know green means something is coming, and it did (CSO-1) a few minutes later, but I don't recall seeing the flashing during my daytime adventures. Still in novice mode relative to railfanning and signals. The oncoming train was Amtrak heading into Springfield, MA. Stopped videoing after Amtrak went by and just watched the CSO as without a light not much to see besides the flashing gates.

Some advice for others - if you are on the road late at night returning from something that has nothing to do with trains, don't turn on your scanner. You are bound to hear voices and the primordial pull to go and chase the action is too great!

My wife and I were on our way home from a 4-game high school basketball marathon featuring the top teams from around the country (Spalding Hoophall Classic). It was 11:00PM, cold and windy, and we had a 40-minute ride ahead of us. Just for kicks I turned on the scanner as we got on I-91 South. A garbled conversation said something about "permission" and "heading over" and "track 1" so we got off the next exit to scurry to the tracks going through the meadows south of Springfield.  The dirt road leading to the tracks was closed due to flooding earlier in the week, but we parked and walked to the crossing gate. Sure enough Amtrak blew past us and then a few minutes later a CSO freight was hauling down the line at a pretty good clip. We walked back to the car in the pitch black - awesome pit stop.

One final observation, trains go with anything. It's not like food where its either peanut butter and jelly or maybe peanut butter and fluff. I can go to Springfield to visit the Dr. Seuss Museum and combine it with trains, the Amherst Railroad Show and trains, AHL hockey and trains, Basketball Hall of Fame and trains, high school basketball tournament and trains, Red Rose Cafe for spaghetti and meatballs and trains...you get the picture.

Here are a few shots I took with my iPhone in Chester, Vermont on Sunday, January 7th, 2024 at the start of a snowstorm.  This beautifully-restored station sits along the Vermont Railway (formerly Rutland Railroad) mainline from Rutland to Bellows Falls.

The main track runs along one one side of the station while a looping side track (where the piece of MOW equipment is tied down) runs along the other side.  The siding rejoins the main just out of view behind the station.

Perfect background for a Christmas scene.

Joe, the station in Chester looks great!  Catching it with the snow falling really made for some nice photographs!

Thank you, CPC and Mark. Kind of looks like an old-time Christmas card.  The only thing missing is a steam-powered passenger train!

@Mooner posted:

Not a spectacular video but I was wondering if anyone knew what the yellow over flashing green signal means? I know green means something is coming, and it did (CSO-1) a few minutes later, but I don't recall seeing the flashing during my daytime adventures. Still in novice mode relative to railfanning and signals. The oncoming train was Amtrak heading into Springfield, MA. Stopped videoing after Amtrak went by and just watched the CSO as without a light not much to see besides the flashing gates.

Here you go...

https://railroad.net/signal-question-t169331.html

Led by Bombardier built “Comet V” cab car 6035, NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line train 7225 is seen rolling into Middletown this morning. From a photographic perspective, this particular location benefits from the presence of a picturesque covered bridge carrying a private road over the railroad. ALP-46 4605 was providing the power in push mode at the east end of the consist.

Bob

Let’s Go Rail-fanning in “Yooper Land”

November 8, 2023 - In this rail-fanning trip we will drive 316 miles north from my Train Room to Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. Myself and Train Room Pam stayed four night at the Bay Mill Resort & Casino in Brimley, Michigan. Let’s go rail-fanning in Michigan’s upper peninsula . Michiganders call the upper peninsula, “Yooper Land”. Most of the gas stations sell the famous “Yooper Bar”. This is a candy bar made by Sayklly’s Candies. Escanaba, Michigan.

International Railroad Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The bridge in the background is the International Vehicle Bridge.

Took these photos is a heavy snow fall. Look close you, can see a yard vehicle on the tracks.

Now we are going to walk around the Soo Yard. This yard used to be owned by The Wisconsin Central Lines and is now owned by CN, Canadian National Railroad.

We had dinner at a classic Northern Michigan Resturant, “Pickle’s on Lake Superior”.

Closed out this rail-fanning day by playing a few video games at the Bay Mills Resort & Casino.

Thanks for taking a look. Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary from Michigan 🚂

Nice trip, Gary!

Let’s Go Rail-fanning in “Yooper Land” Part 2

November 8, 2023

Part 2 - We will be about 15 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie at The Wheels of History Museum at Bay Mills • Brimley Michigan.

This Google Map shows where we are at. The best part of the drive is going over The Mackinac Bridge. When I was a kid there was no bridge. Had to go by ferry boat. Could be a six hour wait.

Your rail-fanning host at the Mackinac Bridge. Mackinac City looking north. If you ever come to Michigan you must see and drive over the Mackinac Bridge. Also visit Mackinac Island.

The road sign to: Wheels of History Museum.

The old fashion woodside caboose.

Algoma Central Passenger Car.

The Brimley Depot

Thanks for taking a look. Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary from Michigan 🚂

Thank you, Gary!  The caboose and station look great!  Thank you for the scoop on the Mackinac bridge and surrounding area

A few recent ones I've posted -

As y'all well know, I'm obsessed with the Carload Express GP11s, having grown up with them and their RS5Ts on the AVR-3 run to Washington. The roster of 8 units is currently reduced to four, with three units sold to industrial/switching concerns and one unit to a shortline. I spent a year figuring out how to see the closest unit to me, former AVR 2008, in operation at the H&K Materials transload on the Delmarva Central. This unit replaced a U23B which was damaged in a wreck about 8 years ago. Thanks to a network of railfans reporting stone train moves, some context, and after two false starts, I finally caught the unit at work after chasing Maryland & Delaware's Selbyville job.

Dan, your hard work has paid dividends!

January 27, 2024 • Just got home after visiting the Michigan Central Station • Go Lions 🏈

Train Room Gary - Hope to see you out rail-fanning 🚂

WOW GARY !!!!!

@trainroomgary posted:

January 27, 2024 • Just got home after visiting the Michigan Central Station • Go Lions 🏈

Train Room Gary - Hope to see you out rail-fanning 🚂

Hi Gary, great picture! In rebuttal here's a couple of photos I took not to long ago at the Great America train station in Santa Clara. I live just 1 mile from Levi's Stadium.

Your Lions will be here tomorrow! Good luck to all!

I took the photos above from the Great America Caltrain/Amtrak passenger station. A Capitol Corridor Caltrain rolled in while I was there heading towards Oakland and Sacramento. This station and the VTA light rail just above on the overpass will be a busy place tomorrow for the game.

@Christopher2035 posted:

A few recent ones I've posted -

Christopher, it is evident you put a lot of thought into your photos. From leading lines to rule of thirds and depth of field, some of these are exceptional.

@Mooner posted:

Thank you so much!! Photography is my other passion and you are correct,  a lot of thought goes into the way each shot is constructed. A lot of people don’t see that, so I really appreciate your kind words.  

My other major hobby is kayaking - our PaddleKC group toured the Rock Island RR bridge over the Kansas River yesterday.  It is being repurposed into an entertainment venue - should open this summer ahead of the LOTS convention in Lawrence KS.

www.rockislandkc.com

BNSF and UP are operating autonomous engines in their yard nearby.  Multiple reasons to visit KC!

A few pictures I took when I worked at the Georgetown Loop, 1996-1999.

Great photographs, RI Rocket.  My one and only trip to the Rockies was a company training trip in the eastern Denver suburbs in 2000.  My traveling buddy and I had one day with no classes to drive into the mountains; a Saturday in June or July.  We picked Mt Evans since it was close.  On the way back, we drove into Georgetown to take a look.  We didn’t see a train, but it was fun.  Now I look back and am glad I saw your photographs, having never been able to return.

The ranks of operating end cab diesel locomotives have thinned in recent years, particularly with the major carriers. Examples can still be found in service on smaller roads such as Edison, NJ based Raritan Central Railway which operates two former Southern Pacific SW1500 units. The 1074 was built as the SP 2468 in 1967 and the 1100, numbered 2507, was delivered to the railroad in 1968.

The locomotives are equipped with optional Flexicoil trucks as built per Southern Pacific specifications. In addition, the off center headlights serve as a reminder of SP’s famed light cluster package. The 1074 and 1100 are operated in rotation with Raritan Central’s other power, often in multiple coupled front to front. Posted below are recent images of the units in service plus a 2016 portrait of the 1100 still in LTE Rail livery shortly after its arrival on the property.

Bob

A few of the ones I posted to my page this week -

Chris, great photos!

Dan Weinhold

Union RR, Munhall, PA, Monongahela River in background. Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail overpass trestle to left.

@CNJ 3676 posted:

Led by Bombardier built “Comet V” cab car 6035, NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line train 7225 is seen rolling into Middletown this morning. From a photographic perspective, this particular location benefits from the presence of a picturesque covered bridge carrying a private road over the railroad. ALP-46 4605 was providing the power in push mode at the east end of the consist.

Bob

We called Middletown home for many years after we moved out of Brooklyn. I spent many a day down at those tracks.

Before the present station was built, the platforms were staggered so, for our pictures, we’re standing on the site of the former eastbound platform adjacent to the old station building. Here was also a siding in which cars were spotted and unloaded for local delivery by road transport.

Bob

Christopher it seems like you get back to NYC (Brooklyn) quite often or are all those subway photos in your portfolio from days gone by?

@coach joe posted:

Christopher it seems like you get back to NYC (Brooklyn) quite often or are all those subway photos in your portfolio from days gone by?

I’m up there a few times a year. The majority of my family still lives in the NYC/NJ area.   The subway pics I’ve posted were taken in the last few months.

Chris, great photographs. The mass transit trains are something we certainly don’t see in rural northwestern Pennsylvania.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Chris, great photographs. The mass transit trains are something we certainly don’t see in rural northwestern Pennsylvania.

Thank you Mark.  I actually think I enjoy photographing the urban stuff more than the rural freights.  So much to see and a lot of leading lines and points of visual interest besides the train

On Sunday, Norfolk Southern train 14Z ran from Roanoke, VA, to Enola, PA and points north with a former Central Maine & Quebec AC4400CW shoving on the rear of the train. I was able to follow the train from Elkton, VA, until Bentonville, when the sun set. For those who may not know, the Central Maine & Quebec was the shortline that emerged from the bankruptcy of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic following the fiery 2013 crude oil train derailment in Lac Megantic. The CM&Q bought or leased some newer locomotives, including several ex-Canadian Pacific SD40-2Fs and a few AC4400CWs. In 2019, Canadian Pacific purchased the CM&Q, and the AC4400CWs returned to their owner, CIT Financial.

After selling off at least a quarter of their roster from 2019 - 2022, Norfolk Southern found itself power-short earlier in 2023 when several of their DC traction Dash 9s went to Wabtec for rebuilding to AC traction. To meet the crunch, NS bought 36 AC44CWs from CIT, including two of the Central Maine & Quebec units. The leasers have roamed all over the system, almost always trailing since they lack Positive Train Control or the cab signals required on some ex-PRR lines. However, the units can run as distributed power units (remote control helpers). On the Hagerstown Line (Roanoke District) where most trains run with a rear-end DPU instead of a mid-train unit, that can create the illusion that the unit is leading. Fortunately as well, most of the sunny shots on the H-line favor power facing south.

You can click on the photos to see them full-screen on Flickr.

This last photo was taken while the train was tied down waiting to enter Shenandoah Yard.

Since we're on the subject of DPUs, here's a conversation I overheard on the scanner a few years ago that explains why some engineers have mixed feelings about the software.

@Christopher2035 posted:

Thank you Mark.  I actually think I enjoy photographing the urban stuff more than the rural freights.  So much to see and a lot of leading lines and points of visual interest besides the train

You know, Chris.  I think I can understand that.  I enjoyed watching freight trains on the B&O Pittsburgh & Western mainline growing up in the ‘60s and later.  So much variety in the rolling stock.  Now I see so many unit trains, all rapid discharge hoppers on the CN and all tank cars on the B&P.  I see videos of trains just north of both CSX and NS, and they are all container trains.  I get bored.  You are right there are more points of visual interest along the lines near the cities, where unless near a river or mountain, the rural scenes get repetitive like the trains.  😃

I took these photos on Monday, January 29th.  Vermont Rail System #206 is idling in the yard just north of Bellows Falls, VT.  This is a GP38-3 rebuild that started life as a GP38 on the Southern Railroad.

The “front office” of Reading & Northern 2102 and 425.

Those are impressive images of the Reading Northern engines,  J611.