December 7, 2024 Pam & Gary had a very special dinner on “The Old Road Dinner Train” at Blissfield, Michigan. This train trip is called, “Murder Mystery Dinner Train”. Each passenger car has a group of actors that set the stage for the murder mystery and some of the passengers are given parts. Gary was known as Tom and right before the murder, Tom was a key witness and suspect to the murder. The murder victim hands Tom a glass with his finger prints on it. You will have to board this dinner train to find out what happens.
This train trip covers 17 miles in three hours in historic passenger cars. These cars travel on the main line of the Adrian-Blissfield Railroad. To learn more about this Dinner Train visit: theoldroaddinnertrain.com
Pam & Gary from Michigan: Hope to see you out rail-fanning. 🚂
CSX M436 from Selkirk NY to Framingham MA passing through Palmer MA with Pan Am Heritage engine #1981 and a Pan Am boxcar. Woke up at 6:30 on Friday, saw the same train on the YouTube Chester Railroad Museum railcam around 6:45 and drove the 35 miles to Palmer to catch it in plenty of time. Gotta love the railcams.
On Christmas Eve I caught the Royal Gorge Scenic dinner train departing Canon City Colorado.Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me so had to use my phone.
My family elected to vacation in Cape May in 2023, which meant I was only about 1.5 hours from the Winchester & Western's New Jersey division. I arrived at Bridgeton to find that J101, the day job to Millville and back, had already left, blundered around Millville and found them, lost them again, then finally found them working Durand Glass. I missed most of 954's opportunities leading the train, but still got a few shots (including the diamond in Millville), plus one or two locations where 576 had to work hard to lift the train up-grade.
As is now tradition, I went and did one big steam chase in 2023, which I'm uploading now. Buckingham Branch, a shortline which leases the former Chesapeake & Ohio main line from CSX, offered a one-off series of excursions powered by former Norfolk & Western Class J 611 from the Virginia Museum of Transportation. With them being only about 2.5 hours from me, I had to make at least one visit, and combined a chase of their Saturday train with a Friday chase of the Shenandoah Valley RR.
(0:00) Intro (0:16) Estalline Valley Rd., Augusta Springs, VA (2:00) Hewitt Road, near Swoope, VA (3:52) Montgomery Ave., Staunton, VA (5:13) Staunton, VA station (7:02) Adding another GP40-2 for the return trip (8:48) Departing for Goshen
My railfanning entry consists of watching local and express subway trains on the IRT Lexington Avenue line during my New York trip last October
First at Bleecker Street
Then later the same day at 33rd Street during rush hour
Did you get a chance to hit 14th Street/Union Square with the infamous moving platforms??? Always fun to watch people who aren’t familiar with the station jump when the platforms pop out to meet the subway cars!!!
Did you get a chance to hit 14th Street/Union Square with the infamous moving platforms??? Always fun to watch people who aren’t familiar with the station jump when the platforms pop out to meet the subway cars!!!
Paul, nope I didn't.
The Bleecker Street shots were with my wife as we headed back to our hotel in Midtown. The CEO then let me go watch trains for a bit before we went out for dinner.
That being said, spent many a time at 14th Street/Union Square during the 1980s. When I was a college undergrad, I had an part time office job that I would go each each weekday after classes. Always found the moving platforms interesting to look at in action. On the other side of the pond, during my trip to London in 2023, I noticed many of the older London Underground stations have that very same space issue on curves, but no moving platform. Hence the famous London transit term "Mind The Gap!" LOL
Usually when I go up to Palmer MA to the diamond it's to watch the mainline for CSX traffic. On this cold January morning New England Central RR came more in focus. Video clip shows a short 608 just south of Palmer Yard heading for CT, a DOD flat bed with a submarine part slated for delivery to New London CT, and a P&W heritage unit (Honoring Veterans and Service Members) crossing Three Rivers bridge on its way to Palmer Yard.
Videography note - my wife was taking the same video of the camo engine from the other side of the bridge to get the engine coming around the corner with the sun in the right position. She had the iPhone set on Cinematic and thought she was filming but never pressed the START button. I did the same thing with a NS heritage engine this summer in PA. Watching the iPhone monitor it followed all the action and was the best video framing ever (exaggeration) but when I went to do the review, no video. I didn't press the START button. Smartphones? Not when operated by two dummies. Oh well, just means we need to get out to see the trains again.
As is now tradition, I went and did one big steam chase in 2023, which I'm uploading now. Buckingham Branch, a shortline which leases the former Chesapeake & Ohio main line from CSX, offered a one-off series of excursions powered by former Norfolk & Western Class J 611 from the Virginia Museum of Transportation. With them being only about 2.5 hours from me, I had to make at least one visit, and combined a chase of their Saturday train with a Friday chase of the Shenandoah Valley RR.
(0:00) Intro (0:16) Estalline Valley Rd., Augusta Springs, VA (2:00) Hewitt Road, near Swoope, VA (3:52) Montgomery Ave., Staunton, VA (5:13) Staunton, VA station (7:02) Adding another GP40-2 for the return trip (8:48) Departing for Goshen
Dan, I finally finished watching. That is quite an assortment of passenger cars. Great photo angle as the train comes into the Staunton station!
Dan, I finally finished watching. That is quite an assortment of passenger cars. Great photo angle as the train comes into the Staunton station!
Thanks Mark! It may or may not be possible to tell in the video, but I was sitting wedged between two concrete blocks used as parking lot boundary delineators for parking cars, basically as low as I could get, in hopes of minimizing my appearance in any shots folks were taking from the platform or the pedestrian bridge (both of which were packed).
One new video this week: Pittsburgh & Ohio Central GP10M 1711, working that road's Stowe job in the McKees Rocks area. This job handles much of the switching in the former PRR Scully Yard, services customers on the former Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghigheny trackage in Stowe, and occasionally customers down in Ingram's industrial parks off the PRR Panhandle/Chartiers Branch lines. Because the yard is nestled in an otherwise inaccessible valley, and because several of the customers are only accessible off private roads, it's a very hard job to follow, but in the summer of 2023 I found some spots to shoot the Stowe portion of the job, as well as the run to the Norfolk Southern interchange. 1711 is the usual power, a former Conrail GP10 rebuilt from a PRR GP-9, and rebuilt again by the Ohio Central. This unit was on the G&W/EPA agreed "rebuild or scrap" list; I heard a rumor that it was swapped for another unit, but its status is currently unclear. Regardless, I'm glad I took the time to get some decent shots of it at work.
In terms of recent Flickr uploads, here's a few:
Winchester & Western's Sandman pulls out from under the tipple at the end of track in Gore, VA, on December 14th, 2023. Myself and two local photographers got permission to step behind the tipple on this run, one of about 4 or so left before the mine was idled.
Appalachian and Ohio train SNT-1 heads railroad west (geographic south) past the B&O CPL signal that guarded the beginning of the west end of Knight siding. Around the corner is a short tunnel, then the actual siding and the signals for westbound traffic. This is the former B&O Cowan subdivision, operated by Paducah & Louisville's A&O, but CSX power stays on the trains that serve the currently active mines (Sentinel and Century), all of which are north of Buckhannon. Around the end of November/beginning of December, the remaining intermediate and absolute signals were retired (though some may still be standing) and replaced, in the latter's case, with remote-control switches and a 'broken rail detection system.'
Wheeling & Lake Erie 614 heads west into the setting sun for a brief bit as the train snakes its way south on the former Pittsburgh & West Virginia. The 614 is a local symbol based out of Rook Yard that can run anywhere on the east end of the line; on December 1st, instead of bringing tank cars to Clairton (its usual chore) the train brought a string of empty coke hoppers to the works at Monessen, presenting an infrequent opportunity to shoot a train in daylight south of Pierce, PA (the late afternoon road freight from Rook to Connellsville regularly runs out of time on its run back west and frequently stops in odd places, making it hard to find the next day).
Thanks Mark! It may or may not be possible to tell in the video, but I was sitting wedged between two concrete blocks used as parking lot boundary delineators for parking cars, basically as low as I could get, in hopes of minimizing my appearance in any shots folks were taking from the platform or the pedestrian bridge (both of which were packed).
One new video this week: Pittsburgh & Ohio Central GP10M 1711, working that road's Stowe job in the McKees Rocks area. This job
In terms of recent Flickr uploads, here's a few:
I suspected you positioned yourself down low in some way, Dan!
I keep thinking B&P when I see the orange engines because that is what I see. How long has the Pittsburgh & Ohio Central been operating?
That's a great station at Bird-in-Hand, Christopher!
I suspected you positioned yourself down low in some way, Dan!
I keep thinking B&P when I see the orange engines because that is what I see. How long has the Pittsburgh & Ohio Central been operating?
Thanks Mark. I've been eyeing a shot there since we moved here. Just haven't had a chance to do it until last week. The snow definitely adds to the scene.
My photos are New York Centric. Here are some photos that I took on my trip last October with my wife that include 3 photos with no tracks or trains - the interior of the halls at Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, along with the view of Grand Central from our hotel room - finishing with our Amtrak trip back home.
Grand Central Terminal + Grand Central Madison
Lexington Avenue Subway - 33rd Street Station
Long Island Railroad (photo of me by my wife)
My wife's photo of me on the A Train while I was filming videos crossing the Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay.
Lexington Avenue Subway - Fulton Street Station
Penn Station & Amtrak
PATH Train by Newark Penn Station
Arrival back home in Fort Lauderdale
Last but not least, my YouTube video of our Amtrak trip back to Florida from New York
Old B&O signals, fallen flags still runnin, GCT and Penn Station with the A train and an Atlas locomotive just to name a few! Love it all! These are great! Thanks guys for posting these!
Thanks for the tour… quite a few memories there. One of these days, I hope to make it down to the city one of these days and see Moynihan Hall in person. You were lucky to take the A train (bet you sung those words ) across Jamaica Bay. The line is being shut down for repairs beginning this Friday through May.
Outstanding production Kevin. The subways look very pristine along with the cars. Hard to believe all the bad stories we here on the news about subway crime. What was your overall assessment of current conditions in NYC?
Outstanding production Kevin. The subways look very pristine along with the cars. Hard to believe all the bad stories we here on the news about subway crime. What was your overall assessment of current conditions in NYC?
Ted, I thought the same thing, everything looks so pristine, not like in the movies.
Ted, I thought the same thing, everything looks so pristine, not like in the movies.
As someone who has been to pretty much every stop on every line in the past year at all hours w/ 1000s of dollars worth of camera gear on me for an upcoming book I'm doing on the subway ( comes out in the spring!). I can tell you that there were only a handful of times that I felt unsafe or was concerned. There were certain areas I went to where I was more alert than others, but overall I never felt in danger. As someone who grew up in NYC, maybe I was more aware of what to look for and how to avoid it. Is there crime, yes. That's the reality of any big city. For the most part, the trains are clean, as are the stations and people will generally leave you alone. Like I said, having grown up there, the system is a lot safer than when I was a kid in the 80s. I think it just gets a bad rap in the media and unfortunately, incidents will always make the news, which give people not familiar with it a doom & gloom view of the subway & city as a whole. I travel with my kids on the subway every time we head into the city and never have problems. Just my observations
Christopher, thank you for your first hand experience!! Our younger daughter and son-in-law have been to NYC several times and have liked the experience!
@Amfleet25124- Great shots Kevin. It looks like you had a great trip "up north". Bet you're glad to be in sunny Florida these days. I'll add a few of my recent and not so recent shots of New Yawk......
Birdseye view of Moynihan under construction, taken from the 23rd floor of 1 Penn Plaza
As a native Lawn-Guylander.....and long time Penn Station victim....GCT is a breath of fresh air.
And the escalator ride is worth the ticket price.....the LIRR tracks are about 250' below the street.
@Amfleet25124- Great shots Kevin. It looks like you had a great trip "up north". Bet you're glad to be in sunny Florida these days. I'll add a few of my recent and not so recent shots of New Yawk......
Birdseye view of Moynihan under construction, taken from the 23rd floor of 1 Penn Plaza
As a native Lawn-Guylander.....and long time Penn Station victim....GCT is a breath of fresh air.
And the escalator ride is worth the ticket price.....the LIRR tracks are about 250' below the street.
Bob
I think they did a great job on the LIRR Grand Central Madison part of the station. It feels like it was always there.
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then let me go watch trains for a bit before we went out for dinner.
