Eastern Railfan

Maryland & Delaware Railroad - 2/3/12

2012-02-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

I took a day of leave yesterday to enjoy the beautiful weather and chased the Maryland & Delaware (MDDE), based out of Federalsburg, MD (there are also two other separated branches in operation). My friend and I arrived around 0730, and after signing our release forms we were given a tour of the engine shed and discussed operations with the train crew before they departed to begin their day.

Running a little behind at 0830, the crew eased RS3M #1203 out of the shed track onto the main eastbound towards the industrial park in Federalsburg. 1203 started life as Lackawanna RS3 #914.

After picking up a feed hopper and two propane tanks in the industrial park, we caught the train heading westbound over Marshy Hope Creek towards Hurlock, MD.

In Hurlock, the train passes by a beautifully restored depot. The train left the propane cars on a siding while taking the feed hopper down to the Perdue feed mill.

The train heading back east for a gas transfer facility and ultimately Seaford, DE.

Spotting propane tankers at the transfer facility.

Running light passed a feed elevator just outside of Seaford, DE.

Once 1203 arrived in Seaford, it was time to sit and wait while Norfolk Southern took their sweet time in bringing a train down to interchange from their siding just to the north of town. While waiting for something to happen, I nabbed a quick shot of my friend snapping pictures of a neat looking Ashley, Drew & Northern boxcar.

We got a little bit of a humor show watching these two feed mill workers, manually move a hopper down the siding to the mill.

After talking with the MDDE crew, and finding out that it would still be a little while we decided to go grab lunch. After taking our time with that, we made our way back down to the yard to find NS local H57 bring a cut of cars to spot at the MDDE interchange.

After NS finished spotting, MDDE #1203 eased it's way into the small yard to pick up 7 boxcars bound for Federalsburg.

As the train readied to depart we left ahead of it to catch it along the way to Federalsburg. Here it is seen crossing Guard Rd. in Oak Grove, MD.

After arriving back in Federalsburg, 1203 ran around the train on an industrial siding in order to shove the boxcars into the Solo Cup plant.

The train pulling an empty from Solo Cup.

All in all it was a good day. I'll definitely be going back to the MDDE again. I'm also looking forward to checking out their other branches in the future.

Thanks for looking!

Keysville, VA - 1/23/12

2012-01-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

I'm currently on vacation visiting my parents in southern Virginia. I decided to head into town this evening to do a little foggy weather photography. Of course, no trip into town would be complete without a stop by the headquarters of Virginia Southern Division of the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Traffic appears to be extra slow lately and the locomotives were in the exact same spot that they were last weekend when I came down to pick up a piano from my grandmother.

GP10 #11 sits on the maintenance track (GP10 #10 sits behind it). #11 started out life as Illinois Central GP9 #8973. I'm not sure the cause, but there appears to be some charring on the right side of the nose.

GP16 #2 rests near the sanding tower. #2 started out life as Seaboard Air Line GP7 #1732. Prior to Buckingham Branch acquiring the former Virginia Southern Railroad line, #2 used to frequently pull excursion trains on the BB Buckingham Division out of Dillwyn.

Thanks for looking!

New Years Day - 1/1/12

2012-01-01T20:09:00.001-05:00

It was a beautiful (and unseasonably warm) January 1st today. I had not originally intended to photograph trains exclusively, but after arriving in Baltimore one thing led to another. I started out in the eastern part of the city in the section known as Canton. There wasn't much running out that way, but I did catch a pair of NS catfish crossing Boston Street.

The best part of my day came when I discovered the engineer of NS 9654 was blowing on a wooden train whistle as he passed by me.

Heading back west over to CSX's Bailey's Wye, I caught AC6600CW #5010 leading westbound Q439-31. I caught 5010 heading eastbound yesterday on New Years Eve.

Shortly after Q439 passed through a CSX track inspector was checking out one of two tracks that lead into MARC's Camden Yard station.

Next up is eastbound Q438-31 led by AC6000CW #634.

C40-8 #7559 leads westbound autorack train, Q217 through Bailey's Wye.

After Q217 passed through, I decided to head back south to a spot a little close to home. I arrived in Annapolis Junction to find...absolutely nothing. All the signals were red and there was no radio traffic at all. I ventured down to Vulcan Materiels and got a shot of this GE trio sitting on the siding there.

After snapping a shot of the idling power, I made my way down to MARC's Savage station to hang out. After about 20 minutes, I heard Q249 calling signals north of Jessup and announced CEFX 3122 in the lead. Always looking for a chance to catch something besides the everyday CSX blue and yellow, I decided to stick around. A short time later, Q249 pulls into Annapolis Junction before backing its mixed consist into the yard at Jessup before picking up autoracks. CIT Rail Resources (CEFX) SD40M-2 #3122 and Helms Financial (HLCX) SD40-2 #7190 were providing power.

About 30 min after dropping off its original consist, Q249 began to emerge from Jessup Yard with its autoracks.

Another shot of CEFX 3122. 3122 was formerly Southern Pacific SD45 #7511/8901.

A shot of HLCX SD40-2 #7190. This unit was formerly BNSF 7190 (nee-BN).

Thanks for looking!

Last Photos and Top 10 of 2011 - 12/31/11

2011-12-31T18:18:00.001-05:00

I took a drive up to Baltimore this afternoon to snap my last railroad photos of 2011. It's been a good year for my photo wise, both railroad related and otherwise. 2011 marked the first time since my daughter was born in 2008 that I really did a serious amount of railfanning (a trend I hope to continue). It was sunny most of the day, but the clouds decided to block it out by the time I got to Baltimore.

Q439-30 heads westbound through Bailey's Wye led by ES44AC #827.

A pair of ES44DCs lead an eastbound Q438-30 through Bailey's Wye.

A pair of Canadian American Railroad boxcars in the consist of Q438-30. This is the first time I can recall seeing boxcars from this railroad.

AC6000CW #5010 leads a train (symbol unknown) full of large pipes eastbound through Bailey's Wye.

That's all she wrote for this year! Now it's time to take a look back at what I consider my top ten railroad photos for 201l. These are in no particular order. They are simply the ten I thought were my best.

1. Lancaster & Chester SW900 #91 rests at the Circle S feed mill in Fort Mill, SC

2. MARC train P870 streaks eastbound from Point of Rocks in the early morning.

3. This former Baltimore & Ohio observation car harkens back to the days when passenger railroading in the US had a touch more class than it does now. This car is on display in the North Car Shop of the B&O Railroad Museum.

4. Former Norfolk & Western and Chessie GP9s lead a string of empty coal hoppers on the Hampton & Branchville Railroad through Miley, SC bound for interchange with CSX at Hampton.

5. Another shot from the H&B. HB GP9s 6249 (Chessie), 5943 (Chessie), 859 (NW) and 667 (NW) pull across SC Route 61 into the SCE&G Co-gen plant to pick up empty coal hoppers and bring them back to Hampton, SC for interchange with CSX.

6. MARC P871 drops off commuters on a Friday afternoon in Point of Rocks with GP39H-2 #73 on the head end.

7. A Delaware Coast Line train crossing back over the bridge heading back to Georgetown from Lewes, DE. Alco RS36 #2 is providing power.

8. CSX Q249 heads west off of the Curtis Bay Subdivision led by C40-8 #7587. With the painting of 7509, 7587 is the last C40-8 to wear this paint scheme.

9. Amtrak's Capitol Limited makes its way westbound through Point of Rocks, MD on CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision.

10. A Kansas City Southern local led by by a pair of GP38-2s crosses over the CSX diamond and past the derail signal on its way to the Port of Mississippi.

I thank everyone for looking and I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years. Here's to a lot of railfanning in 2012!

Merry Christmas!!! - 12/25/11

2011-12-25T10:24:00.000-05:00

I decided to go out early and snap a few pictures before my daughter woke up anxious to open presents. I knew nothing would be running this morning, but thought it would be a good chance to get some photos of the power sitting at the CSX yard offices in Jessup.

Sitting there quietly at the offices were B40-8 #5492 and SD40-2 #8226.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas today!

One Early, One Late - 12/23/11

2011-12-23T16:54:00.001-05:00

One Early, One Late, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

It has been a little while since I've posted. Things have been crazy gearing up for Christmas and this week my car decided to start leaking oil like crazy so I was without it for a couple of days getting it squared away.

The car was finally fixed around 1 today so after picking it up, I decided to head briefly to MARC's Savage Station to see if there was anything of interest. I got there to find that there wasn't. CSX's autorack train Q249 was quite still building it's train and must have got a late start since this train is usually cleared through the station by 1300 at the latest.

I was about to leave, when I heard a horn off in the distance. Much to my surprise, it was not a freight, but a very early MARC 846 led by MP36PH-3C #20.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Lunchtime Local - 12/13/11

2011-12-13T17:54:00.001-05:00

Lunchtime Local, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

Just one from lunch today. A small local freight out of Jessup Yard moves onto the the siding at MARC's Savage Station pulled by GP38-2 #2746. This train is headed for an industrial spur a short distance south of this spot. This photo is not framed exactly as I would like (would prefer not to have the station platform in view), but she snuck up on me so I got what I could.

Jessup, MD - 12/11/11

2011-12-11T20:02:00.001-05:00

Made a quick trip out to Jessup this afternoon with the intention of photographing Waste Management's trash gondolas at their trash collection point. These gons were built in 2008 by National Steel Car. They are used to transport refuse from the collection point in Jessup to the landfill in Sealston, VA. They are only used for this run and are not sent anywhere else.

After getting my trash gon photos, I decided to explore the rails around Jessup a little further. Nothing much to speak of, but I did catch this lone box car at Del Monte warehouse and thought it made for an interesting photo.

Family Portrait - 12/10/11

2011-12-10T17:01:00.001-05:00

The Warshaw Family, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

My ladies and I posing on a restored B&O caboose at Annapolis Junction, MD.

Friday's Grabs - 12/09/11

2011-12-10T12:40:00.001-05:00

Looking to get out of the office for a little while, I went down to Annapolis Junction, MD for the second day in a row. It wasn't particularly exciting, but even a less then stellar time railfanning still beats spending lunch at my desk. Plus I think the crews have gotten a kick out of seeing this nut in uniform taking pictures of their trains.

A southbound intermodal heads through the junction led by ES44AC #837.

Q249 makes its way through the junction as the train is built in Jessup Yard. AC4400CW #419 is providing power. Not quite as interesting as recent power on Q249 (see here and here), but that's what happens.

Thanks for looking!

A Savage Lunch - 12/08/11

2011-12-08T19:00:00.001-05:00

I spent my lunch today enjoying the beautiful, but chilly weather at MARC's Savage Station in Annapolis Junction, MD. It was the first time in a few months that I had sun while sitting out there. I saw a total of 5 trains for the 2 hours spent trackside. That's pretty good for this area. The two northbound trains were at bad angles in relation to the sun though so I didn't bother putting those on the intrawebs.

First, let us dispense with the obligatory CSX wide-nose GEs. ES44DC #5230 leads an southbound intermodal.

ES44DC #5483 leads yet another southbound intermodal.

Now on to the catch that made spending lunch there worthwile. CREX 9049 leading autorack train Q249 out from the yard in Jessup. This unit began life as Chicago & Northwestern 8527, then later Union Pacific 9049. This is how she looked in her CNW colors.

Thanks for looking!

A Day In Delaware - 12/06/11

2011-12-07T17:33:00.001-05:00

A Flickr friend and I took a drive out to the Eastern Shore of Maryland yesterday with the intent of chasing around the Maryland & Delaware Railroad (MDDE). When we arrived in Federalsburg and checked with the MDDE employees (they're a very railfan friendly line), we found out that nothing was running that day due to track work. While we were there though, it was worth getting a shot of the depot.

With nothing running on the MDDE, we figured we'd at least head down to Seaford, DE and check out the interchange with Norfolk Southern. We arrived to find a GP38-2 milling about setting out cars and switching a customer on the line.

First, a shot of the old depot used as NS office space.

Former Southern GP38-2 #5323 switching out cars.

Heading to move some more cars around after passing under the High St. bridge.

Moving covered hoppers around.

After we finished getting some photos of the local, my friend reminded me that the Delaware Coast Line Railroad (DCLR) was not all that far away in Georgetown, DE. We arrived in Georgetown just in time to find a train departing, bound for Lewes. Getting ahead of the train (not difficult with the train's slow speed) we first caught it just northeast of town. The train is led by RS36 #2. #2 started life with the Atlantic & Danville Railway, then later served the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway (after it took over the A&D). Before being acquired by the DCLR it belonged to the Norfolk Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

As if finding a working Alco wasn't awesome enough, the train also had a caboose in the consist. DCLR #1000 is a Pennsy N5 class cabby. It started life as PRR #477123 then became Penn Central #19334 and Conrail (same #) before being picked up by the DCLR.

I normally don't like to crop my subject too tightly, but I like how this one came out. Taken just outside of Lewes.

When we got into Lewes, we started scouting out spots to photograph the train. We ended up finding a good spot to catch the train crossing over the inlet from Delaware Bay. While waiting for the train to arrive at the bridge, I had been wondering where the controls for the bridge were located. Once the crew dismounted from the train, I soon discovered that they were the controls.

Backing over the bridge, caboose first bound for SPI Pharma (a developer of drug delivery systems) at the end of the line.

Arriving at SPI Pharma.

Switching out tank cars laden with sodium hydroxide solution.

Heading back over the inlet towards Georgetown.

After capturing the train crossing over the inlet, we stopped off in Lewes for lunch, then drove back down to Georgetown to check out the DCLR shops. We arrived back at the wye in Georgetown and I got a shot of this former Gettysburg Raiload caboose.

We were about to leave to check out the shops when we heard a horn in the distance that was quite different from the one on the RS36. We soon discovered that it was an NS freight, led by former Conrail SD40-2 #3363.

I'm normally not in the habit of shooting freight cars, but I occasionally make exceptions and I definitely had to for this one.

We then made a short chase southeast to get a wider shot of the NS train.

After our last shot of the NS train we finally made our way over to the shops. There wasn't much out to view, but the employee at the shops said we were free to wander around and take pictures. Out in front was DCLR #44, a former US Navy GE 44-tonner. It is in the process of being refurbished.

Last but not least is a shot of DCLR RS1 #23. This Alco looks like it has definitely seen better days. She started life as Soo #351.

Thanks for looking!

Baltimore Two-fer - 12/03/11

2011-12-03T20:58:00.001-05:00

I made a quick run up to Baltimore in between hanging Christmas lights and changing the oil in my wife's SUV. I had gone with the intention of catching a southbound train from the pedestrian bridge that parallels MD 295. I was a little late in getting there for the lighting I wanted, but I did get a couple of decent shots.

An eastbound manifest (symbol unknown) makes its way through Baileys Wye on the way to Riverside Yard.

A pair of SD40-2s, led by 8320 make their way south after rounding Baileys Wye.

Thanks for looking!

A Savage Lunch - 11/30/11

2011-12-01T16:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday's images from my lunchbreak spent at MARC's Savage Station near Laurel, MD. I didn't have my scanner with me so I don't know what any of the train symbols are.

A southbound intermodal led by ES44DC #5286 makes it's way through the station.

A CSX Burro crane

SD40-3 #4017 leads a southbound empty autorack train from the yard in Jessup.

A northbound intermodal led by ES44DC #5298 passes through MARC's Savage Station.

Thanks for looking!

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum - 11/26/11

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I took Kristin and Katrina up to Baltimore to visit the B&O Railroad Museum and the National Aquarium. We decided to forgo driving into Baltimore and instead decided to take the Maryland Transit Administration light rail up from Glen Burnie.

Katrina was enjoying the ride up to Baltimore.

The museum was amazing. If you've never been and you live in the region, I definitely recommend checking it out.

My ladies posing inside a horse-drawn rail car.

The museum had a Lego city on display in the roundhouse.

Central Railroad of New Jersey 592 Atlantic (4-4-2) Camelback.

The number boards and front headlight of B&O Railroad Museum (BOMX) SW7 #1200 before we boarded the train for a short excursion.

My ladies hamming it up on the short excursion.

BOMX SW7 #1200 prepares to shove another excursion train from the museum.

An SW1, formerly of the Pere Marquette Railway on display. This unit is still operational.

A couple of detail shots from from Pere Marquette #11.

B&O caboose C-2222.

A former Illinois Central reefer.

B&O GP7 #6405.

The nose of B&O GP40 #3684

The former North Car Shop had some of my favorite display pieces.

Originally built as a standard Pacific (4-6-2), Chesapeake & Ohio #490 was rebuilt post-WWII into a streamlined Hudson (4-6-4).

More shots of 490.

This former Baltimore & Ohio observation car harkens back to the days when passenger railroading in the US had a touch more class than it does now.

A study of the observation car's rear truck.

B&O 2-8-2 Mikado #4500.

The imposing front view of C&O 2-6-6-6 Allegheny #1604. Alleghenies have the distinction of being the heaviest steam locomotives ever built in the United States (778,000lbs). They also have the highest horsepower rating (7,500 @40MPH) of any steam locomotive (even higher than that of the Union Pacific Big Boys).

A former C&O Ten Wheeler (4-6-0).

For more information about the B&O Railroad Museum, click here.

After finishing up at the museum, we stopped for lunch along the way to the National Aquarium. The aquarium was nice, but on a Saturday afternoon there was way too many people for my liking so after only about 45 minutes there we headed back to the Convention Center light rail stop to wait for a southbound train back to Glen Burnie.

While waiting, I snapped a photo of this northbound LRV pulling into the stop.

After arriving back in Glen Burnie, I just had to snap a shot of this 44 tonner sitting outside the MTA maintenance facility.

Thanks for looking!

Garbage Plus Other Odds & Ends - 11/17/11

2011-11-17T15:56:00.001-05:00

I had originally planned on checking out the Maryland Midland Railroad today, but the threat of rainstorms kept me from going out there. I may very well have been able to do it, but I didn't want to drive an hour and a half only to be stuck in my car from the rain. That being said, I didn't want the weather to completely keep me from trains. With that in mind I decided to finally try and get some photos of the rail operations at the Waste Management facility in Jessup.

Just as I arrived there was already a car movement being completed in the facility, so I parked my car and waited for them to once again move out from the facility. While waiting I caught a shot of power moving through the CSX yard. AC4400CW #33 was in the lead followed by HLCX (former Burlington Northern) SD40-2 #7065 and a CSX MP15AC.

Not too much longer and the Waste Management train was on the move again. USWX SW8 #2 pulls out from the Waste Management facility to shuffle cars around the grounds. This Pup started life as Lehigh Valley #259 and was later Conrail #8673 before being sold to private industry. She previously did time with Technology Incorporated in NH before being purchased by Waste Management (now owned by USA Waste Services).

Here is a shot as she returns from the car yard after dropping off a crew member in preparation of a car move.

Here she is in her original Lehigh Valley colors.

-Photographer unknown. From the collection of Tommy Warshaw

I was about to head back to my car after this when I heard a horn coming from the north end of the CSX yard. I turn around just in time to catch this southbound intermodal led by ES44DC #5445.

Yet again, I was about to head back towards my car when I spied movement from the Waste Management facility. This movement was from USWX GP10 #7522 shoving a cut of loaded trash gondolas towards the car yard for CSX. 7522 started life as Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 #7079 and wore Penn Central colors before being rebuilt into a GP10 by Conrail. Here's a shot of the unit in Conrail paint. In the photo below 7522 pulls a cut of empty trash gondolas from the CSX yard towards the Waste Management facility.

Thanks for looking!

New Sharing Options

2011-11-16T12:22:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to let all of you out in internet-land that there are new ways to share this blog out to your friends, twitter followers, etc. Gone are the Tweetmeme and Share This buttons at the top. They've been replaced with an Add This toolbar down at the bottom of the post. Among the features of this new toolbar is the ability to now share via Google + for those that use that site. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Baltimore, MD - 11/15/11

2011-11-15T19:00:00.001-05:00

Since I have the entire week off, I decided that I needed to get out at least one or two of those days to photograph some rail action. Nasty weather was looming, but I decided that as long as it wasn't pouring I'd go to Baltimore anyway. I ended up parking myself off of Stockholm Street. I discovered this spot when we adopted our dog from the rescue shelter that sits across the street from the tracks. Despite the clouds, I'm fairly pleased with how things came out. On with the trainage...

A mixed freight makes its way past the Baltimore Ravens' stadium led by C40-8W #7651.

MARC P849 heads past M&T Bank Stadium led by cab car 7745.

MARC P840 pulls through West Baltimore led by MP36PH-3C #16.

MARC P842 pulls past M&T Bank Stadium led by GP39H-2 #74.

MARC P849, the last southbound commuter of the morning pulls out of the Camden Yard station led by cab car #7753.

MARC MP36PH-3C #16 shoves P849 southbound.

A pair of ES44DCs lead a mixed freight towards West Baltimore after exiting the Howard Street tunnel.

A Maryland Transit Authority light-rail train makes its way south towards BWI Airport.

MARC P844, the last northbound commuter of the morning heads towards Camden Yard with MP36PH-3C #13 as power.

Autorack train Q217 heads towards West Baltimore led by SD70MAC #4553.

Empty coal train U878 heads towards West Baltimore led by ES44AC #713.

Q249 heads west off of the Curtis Bay Subdivision led by C40-8 #7587. This was my first lucky catch of the day.

Q249 and a northbound mixed freight meet.

Intermodal train Q025 heads southwest after exiting the Howard Street tunnel, led by AC4400CW #589.

A northbound intermodal pulls north towards the Howard Street tunnel led by ES44DC #5334.

A northbound coal train passes M&T Bank Stadium led by SD50 #8628.

Here's a shot that a Flickr friend took of me taking this photo.

MP15AC #1156 leads a local west.

Genset 3GS21B #1321 trails on a westbound local. This was my second lucky catch of the day.

Thanks for looking!

Point of Rocks, MD - 11/07/11

2011-11-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

I took yesterday off to catch some railroad action in Point of Rocks before the fall color was completely gone. It ended up being a gorgeous day weather wise and a really good day to watch trains.

I arrived just before 0800 as the last MARC commuter train for the morning was pulling in. With cab car 7753 in the lead, MARC train P880 sits idle while the engineer resets the HEP unit in GP39H-2 #73.

As the fog still clings to the area, Rock Runner K751 heads east led by ES44AC #736.

After being stuck in the hole for a half an hour, CSX Q415-06 heads east with ES44DC #5310.

AC4400CW #583 pulling CSX Q401-07 east.

GP40-2 #6483 and its mated slug (former GP30) lead local D786 east onto the Old Main Line

Empty coal train U727 heads west towards Brunswick Yard and ultimately the coal fields of West Virginia.

CSX Q398-07 led by GP38-2 (derated from a former Conrail GP40-2) #4418 with Wheeling & Lake Erie GP35 #102 (former Southern 2317), SD40T-2 #5391 (former DRGW and SD40-2 #6382 (former EMDX, nee MILW #176) as run through power heads east onto the Old Main Line bound for Baltimore. This was my catch of the day.

SD50-2 #2496 leads work train D023 depositing fresh ties to be installed on the #2 track of the Metropolitan Subdivision in Point of Rocks. 2496 is a former Conrail SD50 that was derated to 3000 hp. All of these former Conrail SD50s are now used in Maintenance of Way service.

AC4400CW #278, leading empty coal drag U821-07 sits idle at Point of Rocks waiting for loaded coal drag U823 and a set of helpers to clear the #1 track as they head east onto the Old Main Line.

A helper set consisting of SD70MAC #4816 and ex-Conrail SD60I #8755 pulls onto the Old Main Line with coal drag U823 pulling up behind it. Shortly after this was taken, U823 over took the helpers who would hit the crossover and couple in behind the coal drag to shove it northeast.

Coal drag U823 heading east onto the Old Main Line led by ES44AC #877.

A manifest (symbol unknown) makes its way east onto the Old Main Line, led by AC6000CW #647.

An empty K751 returns west with ES44AC #736 in the lead.

SD70MAC 4816 from the helper set heads west after turning on the wye.

Amtrak's eastbound Capitol Limited moves through Point of Rocks with P42DCs #s 19 & 64 for power.

CSX S415 heading eastbound out of Point of Rocks. This train would later stall going up a hill east of Dickerson.

The conductor of D023 mans the air whistle on a former C&O caboose as the work train backs its way west towards Brunswick Yard.

CSX SD50-2 #2496 shoves work train D023 west towards Brunswick. The train was dropping off new ties to replace old ones along the #2 track.

Forgotten Photos - 08/13/11

2011-10-31T20:24:00.000-04:00

I was finally getting around to organizing my photos. This consists of taking them out of the "New Pics Folder" that the camera dumps them in, renaming them and then sorting them into their destination folders. While doing so, I came across a couple of rail shots that I apparently forgot to post. These are both from the Maryland & Delaware Railroad's small yard at Massey, MD.

SW900 #801 is a former Conrail unit (nee-PC 8641, nee-NYC 9641).

RS3M #1202 is former Delaware Coast Line Railroad unit (nee-CR 9926, PC 9926).

Thanks for looking!

A Savage Lunch - 10/26/11

2011-10-29T11:51:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of quick shots from Wednesday. It was a very slow work day, so I decided to enjoy some cool, fresh air at MARC's Savage Station. When I got there, the usual lunchtime train of empty auto racks was being assembled, blocking the southbound mainline.

Shortly after arriving I caught a trash train (Q702 I think, but didn't have my scanner) led by ES44DC #5448 heads south on the northbound track at MARC's Savage Station.

Not long after the trash train cleared the northbound main, an intermodal train led by yet another ES44DC headed north through the station.

Thanks for looking!

A Few Birthday Shots - 10/25/11

2011-10-29T11:04:00.000-04:00

Even though I had gone out the day before to chase trains around, I still wanted to see at least a couple on my actual birthday. With that in mind, Kristin, Katrina and I went to the MARC station in Odenton to watch the late afternoon commute before we headed off to dinner. Here are the three shots I got while we were there.

Amtrak Northeast Regional 178 moving past the station led by HHP-8 #660.

Acela Express 2172 speeding through Odenton bound for Washington, DC. This train was actually going a fairly moderate speed as far as Acelas go. I've gotten fairly good at photographing these now. Not perfect, but much better than the first time.

MARC 428 prepares to head north out of Odenton, bound for Baltimore. Power is provided by MP36PH-3C #15 and GP39H-2 #72.

Thanks for looking!

Pre-Birthday Railfanning - 10/24/11

2011-10-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

I took leave on Monday and Tuesday for my birthday (a few photos from that day will be forthcoming) and to indulge in a little railfanning the day before. Being back in the mid-Atlantic again and wanting to explore new areas, I decided to head up to southeastern Pennsylvania to check out the action from CSX, NS and SEPTA.

I started out my trip in Norristown where the busy Norristown Line carries commuters from the western suburbs down to the center of Philadelphia. In addition to being a busy SEPTA line, this spot also sees a fair amount of freight traffic. I arrived in Norristown before the sun had even come up. It was chilly (I could see my breath for the first time in awhile), but I was dressed warmly and the fresh air felt great.

First good shot of the morning was taken while SEPTA train 2301, the Schuylkill Flyer was picking up passengers at the Norristown Transportation Center (NTC) before heading south to Philly.

A shot of the signals guarding the north main at the NTC.

Northbound SEPTA 216 passing under the proceed signal bound for the end of the line at the Elm Street station.

SEPTA 6219 rolling into the NTC. The elevated light rail in the background is the Norristown High-Speed Line.

MU #289 pushes a limping train 4222 northbound after the the lead unit had a small fire in one of its traction motors.

SEPTA 6223 brings a single MU car into the NTC.

After the initial commuter rush was over, SEPTA dispatch finally allowed NS to run through some of their intermodal traffic. The first to come through was northbound intermodal train 21J. Led unit was ES40DC #7534.

SEPTA 6225 makes its way south underneath the Norristown High Speed Line.

Finally, some more freight action! NS intermodal train 24K is seen being led southbound through the NTC by D40-9CW #9848 and "Oakway" SD60 #9033.

After catching 24K, I decided I'd check out Abrams Yard in nearby King of Prussia after receiving a tip from Twitter friend @techwonderland. Making my way over to the yard, I found a local milling about with former Southern GP38-2 #5210 and MP15DC #2353 for power.

Shortly after photographing the local, I could hear the crew over my scanner relaying information to the yard office about a "suspicious-looking" person wearing blue jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt (it was navy blue actually). While I was doing nothing illegal and had been shooting pictures from the shoulder of nearby Abrams Road, I had no desire to have the local PD interrupt my activities because of a few paranoid NS employees. So I hopped in my car and headed eastward towards West Trenton, NJ.

When I first arrived in West Trenton, the line was dead. This was due in part to one of the tracks being shut down while a tie removal truck moved up and down the line removing extracted railroad ties. I ran into a fellow railfan, Norman (Stormin' is his handle), sitting there and ended up passing most of the time at the station talking with him. He was a Vietnam veteran and as a Navy Corpsman there, he was shot down three times while working medical evacuation missions. After the war he worked for NJ Bell, then Verizon maintaining pay phones throughout the state of New Jersey. He was also a volunteer firefighter and still drives when he can for his local EMS company. To top things off, he was actually from the Jersey shore and lived not too far from the places that I grew up around. It was a pleasure to chat with him and we exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers. I look forward to meeting him again trackside in Jersey.

After awhile, we finally saw a light to the west and soon enough eastbound trash train, Q702 was soon upon us. I was at a bad angle for lighting, but I think the black and white turned out fairly well.

The next few shots are of some of the SEPTA trains that came and went.

After this last SEPTA train had passed, Stormin' Norman decided it was time for him to head back to the Jersey Shore. We said our farewells and I decided I would head back into PA. Following a tip from yet another Twitter friend, @pemax, I drove to Woodbourne a little way southwest down the Trenton Line. Shortly after arrivival, a CSX manifest (symbol unknown) came speeding through led by ES44DC #833.

Some cool landscaping at the entrance to CSX's Woodbourne Yard.

A CSX local led by GP40-2 #2795. I was actually flipped off by the engineer of this train, which I found quite amusing. A poignant reminder that I was back in the northeast. Much different than fanning CSX in South Carolina.

CSX grain train G532 heading west under the NS mainline led by AC6000CW #614.

CSX trash train Q707 heading west led by SD40-2 #8336.

After shooting Q707, it was passed 1600 and I decided it was probably wise to start heading back towards MD. The two hour drive back took a little longer owing to traffic around Philly and Wilmington, DE, but I'd say it was more than worth it for the awesome day of railfanning that I had.

Thanks for looking!

My Little Railfan Buddy

2011-10-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

I got off from work fairly early today, so I decided that it was time for a much needed visit trackside with my daughter, Katrina. She loves trains and I've been wanting to take her for awhile, but life has been crazy for the past month or so. I'm glad we made it out today though. We both had a blast hanging out at the Odenton MARC station and snuggling to mitigate the effects of the wind. She was thrilled every time a train would pass and I loved watching her face as they did. She was particularly fascinated by the Acela train sets that would zip through the station at over 100 mph. When we weren't watching trains go by, we would pass the time singing silly songs and imagining where all the other people at the station might be coming from and going to. It did my soul good to spend that time with her and I'm looking forward to the next time we get a chance to.

Ringing In October - 10/01/11

2011-10-02T13:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the start of my favorite month of the year. It was a drizzly day, but the temperature was nice and cool so I decided to go out and watch trains for a little while anyway. While I try not to overshoot any one particular location, I've really been liking Annapolis Junction lately. It is fairly close to my house and there is a decent amount of traffic heading north and south. Then there is my favorite little blue U-Boat working at Vulcan Materials. Once again, I forgot to bring my scanner leaving me clueless as to what the train symbols were.

Just stepping out of my car, I could hear the growling of a big EMD close by. I was able to bring my camera to bear just in time to catch this big SD70MAC leading an empty coal train south.

Vulcan Materials U23B #2779 puts together an aggregates train. This former Lehigh Valley (and more recently Conrail) U-boat and the B&O CPL signal make for a little railroad history museum.

A trio of CSX power waits to pick up an aggregates train from Vulcan Materials. From front to back: SD40-2 #8432, SD50 #8550 and C44-9W #9005.

Making my way down to the MARC Savage Station, I finally snapped a photo of the old B&O caboose across street on Brock Branch Rd.

A trio of GE power led by ES44DC #5484 moves an intermodal train through the station.

C40-8W #7731 and a pair of SD40-3s lead a mix freight north.

Thanks for looking!

A Savage Lunch - 09/27/11

2011-09-27T20:30:00.000-04:00

Even though it was drizzling out today, I took a much needed lunch break from work and drove over to MARC's Savage Station near Annapolis Junction, MD. As usual around that time of day, traffic was slow and I only caught two trains. It was nice to be out in the fresh air though and away from my desk. I decided that I need to start bringing my scanner so I can get an idea of which trains are which.

AC4400CW #235 and an ES44DC lead an empty autorack train out of the yard in Jessup.

GP40-2 6280 leads a local south towards the yard in Jessup.

Thanks for looking!

A Savage Lunch - 09/21/11

2011-09-22T18:30:00.000-04:00

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I decided to take a break from eating in my office yesterday and enjoy some fresh air at MARC's savage station near Annapolis Junction, MD. It is just down the road from Fort Meade so it makes a convenient lunchtime trainwatching spot. I didn't have my camera with me, but I did grab a couple of videos with my iPhone.

A northbound manifest (symbol unknown) making its way through the station.

A northbound intermodal heading north through the station.
Thanks for looking!

A Few Hours On Friday - 09/16/11

2011-09-16T15:44:00.000-04:00

Since I was off today, I decided to enjoy the cooler temperature (it was 45 degrees when I left my house at 0715) and watch some trains go by. I ended up spending most of the time around Savage/Annapolis Junction, but I did make a brief stop in Jessup as well.

MARC P847 shoving southward from the Savage station with MP36PH-3C #27 for power.

A northbound MARC P842 is pulled into Savage by MP36PH-3C #19.

An empty CSX coal train (symbol unknown) makes its way south.

Southbound MARC P851 comes into the the station at Savage led by cab car #7856.

Power for P851 was MP36PH-3C #14.

After P851 I drove a little north to Vulcan Materials in Annapolis Junction to check out the ex-Lehigh Valley U23B running there. I wish I had gotten video. She sounded awesome.

The trio of CSX power waiting to pick up the gravel from Vulcan Materials.

From Annapolis Junction, I decided to head north up the line to Jessup to get a slightly different backdrop. I didn't have to wait too long for this mixed freight (symbol unknown) led by AC6000CW #5016.

The train preparing to pass the doomed B&O CPL signals.

Thanks for looking!

This And That - 09/10/11

2011-09-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

I decided to take a couple of hours this afternoon and do some exploring around the rails not far from my house. I started off in Jessup, MD. There was nothing running at the time, but there was a few nice items to see there besides the trains.

A former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad CPL dwarf signal.

The dwarf and the standard CPL signals are on borrowed time as evidenced by the shiny new signal bridge in place.

An automatic switch controller box.

After photographing what I could in Jessup, I made my way south to Annapolis Junction. There I found Vulcan Materials (VULX) U23B 2779 resting at the aggregates plant. This U-Boat is former Conrail 2779 and was Lehigh Valley Railroad 503 before that.

After snapping a shot of the U-Boat, I moved a short distance south to the MARC Savage Station where I caught an empty coal train heading towards DC. I should have been on the other side of the tracks, but I think the shot came out decent anyway.

Thanks for looking!

South Central Pennsylvania - 09/02/11

2011-09-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

In trying to check out new places to railfan, I took a trip on Friday up to south central PA. Specifically I hit the towns of York, Columbia and then made a brief stop in Strasburg.

At the Windsor St. Yard in York, I caught a pair of GP38-2s preparing to take a local down to the interchange with the York Railway.

Here the local is pulling into the interchange off York St. by the former Pennsylvania Railroad YORK tower.

A short while later, the York Railway came in to pick up the cars. Power is a pair of former Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad CF7s (predecessor on this line).

After the York Railway local, I decided to head east to check out the town of Columbia on the other side of the Susquehanna River. There was nothing running when I got there so I poked around a bit. The town is full of former Pennsylvania Railroad relics. In the photo below we have a PRR CPL signal guarding the Columbia Branch, the former COLA tower and the old catenary posts.

The former Reading & Columbia Railroad freight depot sitting just north of the Columbia Branch.

A sign for the 1.25 mile switching shortline, Columbia & Reading Railway (CORY).

Sitting on a siding I found a trio of former Virginia Rail Express RP39-2Cs now belonging to Motivepower Industries Incorporated (MPEX).These units are former CSX (nee C&O) GP40s that were rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen.

Shortly after photographing the MPEX units, I heard a horn off in the distance and the scanner starting to crackle. Making my way back down to the NS mainline I caught this empty coal train (symbol unknown) making it's way north.

After the train passed, I continued my exploring and found this old PRR dwarf signal. There is a new signal mast in place to replace it, but it has not been put in service yet.

Here's a shot of COLA tower with an NS track maintenance pickup cruising by.

Since things appeared to have slowed down, I decided I would check out what was going on with the Strasburg Railroad. It has been a little over 2 decades since I had been to Strasburg. The last time was for my 8th birthday when we stayed in the Red Caboose Motel and spent the weekend checking out all the rail attractions in the area.

I didn't really do any chasing, but I did manage to get this shot of 2-10-0 # 90 pulling an afternoon excursion back into Strasburg.

All in all, it was a good day. I'll definitely be heading back to the area again.

Thanks for looking!

10 Hours In Point Of Rocks, MD - 08/26/11

2011-08-27T20:56:00.001-04:00

Since I was off on Friday, I decided to spend an entire day at Point of Rocks enjoying the fresh air and watching trains go by. In order to ensure that I was able to catch the morning MARC commuter trains, I left my house around 0345 and arrived in Point of Rocks a little after 0500. I didn't have to wait long as MARC P870 was soon pulling into the station. Here is a shot of the train streaking eastbound into the darkness.

A little later on, I got a shot of MARC P872 doing the same.

Shortly after P872 left, freight traffic started to pick up slightly. Here's a shot of CSX Q273 ghosting westbound from off of the Old Main Line Subdivision.

CSX local D767 heading west towards Brunswick after a brief stop in Point of Rocks.

As the sun began to rise, the fog from off the Potomac River crept in. Here is a MARC P874 rolling through the fog into the station led by cab car 7761.

MP36PH-3C #29 shoving P874 eastbound into the fog.

MARC P871 rolls in as the fog begins to thicken.

MP36PH-3C #10 shoving MARC P876 eastbound.

MARC P880 rolls into the station with the last commuter train of the morning.

GP39H-2 #73 shoving MARC P880 out of Point of Rocks.

C44-9W #9046 and GP40-2 #4424 shove a coal train (symbol unknown) east. The shots of the head end were not in focus.

As the fog began to lift, AC4400CW #479 leads K751 (rock train) east.

After K751, traffic slowed for a bit with most trains held up in Brunswick Yard. This provided ample time for the fog to burn off as the sun rose higher. Shortly after the fog disappeared, coal train U836 headed east onto the Old Mainline Subdivision led by AC4400CW #532.

C40-8W #7699 leads an eastbound manifest (symbol unknown) on the Metropolitan Subdivison.

D786 (Brunswick-Frederick local) heads east onto the Old Main Line Subdivision.

ES44DC #5331 and an SD70MAC lead a manifest (symbol unknown) train onto the Old Main Line Subdivision.

The helpers that were shoving the earlier pictured coal train head west back towards Brunswick.

A set of helpers head west off the Old Main Line after shoving U836 towards Baltimore earlier. The would be posted on the #2 track of the Metropolitan Subdivision to wait the passing of coal train U883, which would require assistance going up the Old Main Line.

U883 heads east onto the Old Main Line led by AC4400CW #431.

AC4400CW #533 leads the waiting helper set onto the Old Main Line Subdivision for the second time to help shove U883 towards Baltimore.

As the morning went on, I planned on waiting for Amtrak's Capitol Limited before taking a lunch break. While waiting there was yet another coal train, U871 heading east on the Old Main Line. AC4400CW #394 was on the head end.

I waited a little while longer after U871, but with no sound of the Capitol Limited on the scanner, my stomach signaled it was time for lunch. I drove out to Brunswick to visit my favorite little eatery there, Coach's Deli.

After arriving back in Point of Rocks, I wolfed down my Italian sub and order of fried pickles just in time to catch an empty K751 heading west back to Brunswick.

After K751, traffic again slowed down for a bit. I sat back and kicked my feet up on a bench. I was feeling like I was going to doze off when suddenly I heard a noise getting closer. It was a Loram rail inspection truck. I missed getting a shot of it as it passed heading west, but I got a shot as it backed up east a few minutes later.

A few minutes after the track inspection was completed, local D786 made it's way back into Point of Rocks from Frederick.

A short while later the helpers returned west from shoving U883 over the Old Main Line.

I had to leave around 1500, but I wanted to catch a photo of MARC's Friday only westbound, P871 before I did. It was running 10 minutes behind, but I decided to wait. It was worth it I think.

I did manage to get video of a few of the trains I saw that day. The video is definite reminder that I need to invest in a new video camera.

I hope you enjoyed and I thank you for looking!

Lunchtime In Odenton, MD - 08/24/11

2011-08-24T12:12:00.003-04:00

I figured I would try out my BlogPress app for my iPhone today. I'm currently sitting at the train station in Odenton enjoying my lunch. Not much action this time of day, but I did manage to get a shot of southbound MARC 429.

Thanks for looking!

Location:Odenton Rd,Odenton,United States

Late Afternoon In Odenton, MD - 08/22/11

2011-08-22T20:52:00.000-04:00

With my wife and daughter at ballet class and it being such a beautiful day out, I decided to spend a little time at the MARC station right next door in Odenton. I only stayed about a half hour, but was able to catch some decent action.

Northbound train 634 pulls out of the station at as southbound train 443 finishes picking up passengers.

AEM7 #916 speeds the northbound 196 train through Odenton as a late-running Acela Express 2122 nips at its heels.

The northbound Acela Express 2122 zips through on its way to Baltimore.

Thanks for looking!

St. Denis and Point of Rocks, MD - 08/20/11

2011-08-21T10:41:00.004-04:00

I had the pleasure of showing Steve Heulskamp and his sister Emily some of the railfan spots around Central Maryland yesterdat. While there are many places to view trains, we decided to stick to the sites that tend to have a high volume of rail traffic. We started of in St. Dennis, MD on the Capital Subdivision, just north of where the Old Main Line Subdivision breaks off to head west.

Autorack train Q217 makes its way south led by a former Conrail C40-8W.

The second unit on Q217. 6302 is a former Missouri Pacific SD40-2.

A power only Q249, led by AC4400CW #249 heads south under the signal bridge.

C40-8W #7893 as the trailing unit on Q249.

An empty coal train (symbol unknown) heads south under the signal bridge.

After the empty coal train, traffic slowed up a little so we decided to head west to Point of Rocks. Point of Rocks is a junction point where the Old Main Line Subdivision meets up with the Metropolitan Subdivision. Point of Rocks also boasts a beautiful railroad depot.

Shortly after arriving we had a light power move head east through the junction. It was a mother/slug combo consisting of GP40-2 #6438 and a former GP30 turned slug, #2264.

AC6000CW #5007 leads empty rock train, K751 westbound past the station.

AC4400CW #249 leads autorack train Q398 westbound.

A manifest train (symbol unknown) heads onto the Old Main Line subdivision from the Metropolitan Subdivision.

We were getting ready to leave around 1700, but heard on the scanner that Amtrak's Capitol Limited was close by. It was worth sticking around a little longer to catch it.

We thought that was it, but as we were getting ready to head out we heard another horn to the west. Since I had already put my camera away, I decided to get a quick video grab of this coal drag heading east onto the Old Main Line Subdivision.

Norfolk Southern's Virginia Division - 07/03/11

2011-07-05T09:00:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday, while visiting my folks in Keysville VA, I decided to do a little train watching along the rails that I spent my teen years around. Specifically the Norfolk and Blue Ridge Districts of the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

I started off the damp and cloudy morning at the yard in Crewe where I caught this eastbound coal train led by ES44AC #8072 entering the Norfolk District. Note the empty coal train sitting on the westbound main.

Chasing the train eastbound I caught it moving through the corn fields just east of Blackstone.

Crossing under US 460 just west of Ford.

After chasing the loaded coal train through Ford, I caught sight of an empty coal train headed west.

After arriving back in Crewe I caught another loaded coal train making its way east. This train was led by C40-8 #8736.

Getting into Burkeville, just west of Crewe, I noticed that the signal for the westbound main was green. A short time later the empty coal train that had been sitting on the main made it's way west. Power for the train consisted of SD70M-2 #2650, UP C40-8 #9101 (on lease to NS), former Conrail C40-8W #8348 and a standard Catfish. I guess this was a "no-headlight" day for the crew.

To finish up my little trip, I caught the train as it passed through Abilene Junction.

New Hope & Ivyland Railroad - 06/29/11

2011-07-04T19:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I took my wife and daughter up to New Hope, PA to ride the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad. It was a beautiful day out, which made for a pleasant excursion. They were running diesel, but I believe they run their steamer on the weekends. Certainly not the last time we'll make a trip up there. The town of New Hope, PA is also a gorgeous little town. I think next time we're going to make a weekend out of it.

GP30 #2198 prepares to lead an excursion out of New Hope. This locomotive started life with the Pennsylvania Railroad and did time with Penn Central and Conrail before coming to NHIR.

We were the only ones who had sprung for first class tickets on the 1400 excursion (we were told that we were the first of the day). It was nice to have our own "private" car to ourselves.

Thanks for looking!

One Hour In Odenton - 06/15/11

2011-06-16T10:00:00.014-04:00

In an effort to make it trackside more often, I took a little time after work to drive over to the MARC station in Odenton to watch as commuters headed home for the day.

Shortly after I arrived, a southbound 641 made its way into the station led by cab car #7849.

A closeup of the power used to shove 641.

Double-headed power shoving 641 southbound towards D.C.

As 641 shoves south, northbound 428 prepares depart.

428 making its way north out of Odenton led by MP36PH-3C #19.

The northbound 532 pulls away from the platform led by HHP-8 #4910.

Just as 532 was rounding the curve heading towards BWI Airport, Amtrak Northeast Regional 93 came screaming through Odenton led by HHP-8 #650.

Thanks for looking!

DC Union Station - 06/10/11

2011-06-10T20:52:00.000-04:00

I took a trip down to DC this morning to buy myself a pair of Alden 403s. Of course I brought my camera along with me. After de-boarding the train, I snapped a few pictures from the platform.

First up we have the train I rode in on, MARC 419. She was powered by HHP-8 #4913, named in honor of MARC's former Chief Operating Officer Kathryn D. Waters.

As we pull back a little further we get a shot of quite a few locomotives milling about the station.

The private Pullman "Dover Harbor" rests in the car yard.

I finished up my time on the platform with a shot of MP36PH-3C #15 waiting for its next run.

Thanks for looking!

Saturday At St. Denis - 06/04/11

2011-06-05T16:21:00.002-04:00

I'm finally shaking the dust off of this blog after a month or so of inactivity attributed to getting settled here in MD.

This post is just a quick one. I drove up to St. Denis, MD yesterday just to check it out. There's not much there, but a platform for MARC trains. I had wanted to check out the Thomas Viaduct just a short distance to the southwest, but access area to the north end of the bridge, via Patapsco Park was closed.

I didn't stay long, but I did manage to catch this autorack train led by C40-8 #7555.

Lunchtime At Laurel - 04/21/11

2011-04-21T17:41:00.005-04:00

Lunchtime At Laurel, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

I took a slightly longer lunch break to enjoy some fresh air on this beautiful day and check out the railroad action at Laurel, MD. There wasn't much, but I did manage to catch this southbound freight passing the MARC station. Here is some information about the historic station.

Thanks for looking!

One Hour In Odenton, MD - 04/11/11

2011-04-12T10:59:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day weather wise in Central Maryland. Itching to use my camera, I made my way over to the MARC station in Odenton after running some errands that morning. These photos are nothing spectacular, but they mark my first (of many) railroad photos after moving to Maryland. It was good to be out with my camera after not using it for a couple of weeks and I definitely cannot wait to do it again. You'll also notice that the Amtrak shots are a little out of focus. I'm not used to shooting trains moving at the speeds that the Northeast Corridor allows so I've got a bit of a learning curve to overcome.

Shortly after I arrived at the station, southbound MARC 429 pulled into the station led by cab car #7751.

Power for 429 consisted of MP36PH-3C #19 and GP39H-2 #72.

A short time later, I was surprised by an Amtrak Acela train set speeding through. All the Amtrak trains moved pretty quick along the NEC though and they kept me on my toes.

Another Amtrak through train led by HHP-8 #664.

Northbound MARC 520 led by GP40WH-2 #57 prepares to depart Odenton station.

Cab car 7761 trails MARC 520.

Wise words to heed as southbound MARC 431 pulls into Odenton.

The Pennsylvania Railroad heritage of MARC's Penn-Line (Northeast Corridor) is made quite clear by the signs adorning the Odenton train station.

Thanks for looking!

Leaving South Carolina

2011-03-25T10:28:00.000-04:00

As I type this my family and I are only 8 days away from leaving South Carolina for a new assignment at Fort Meade, MD. I'm looking forward to being back in the region I hail from (New Jersey and Virginia) and am definitely looking forward to watching and documenting the rail action through the region and beyond. I certainly will miss the many shortline railroads in South Carolina, but know that the area I'm headed to is chock full of them as well. I've also got some big plans for this site (taking it beyond just the blog) after I get settled into Maryland so be sure to stay tuned for more!

Lancaster & Chester Railway - 03/07/11

2011-03-09T17:37:00.000-05:00

On Monday I drove up to Chester County, SC to check out the action on the Lancaster & Chester Railway. This was probably my last major railway adventure in South Carolina before we move to Maryland next month.

Arriving at the Circle S feed mill near Fort Lawn, I found that nothing much was moving. There was a powered down train on the main with a few covered hoppers. What really caught my interest though was SW900 #91 resting on one of the feed mill tracks. From viewing various photos of this locomotive on the net, it appears that it has become a permanent fixture at the feed mill.

After snapping some photos of #91 I decided to head west a little more in search of some moving trains. After driving out to Chester, and up to Rock Hill to find absolutely nothing moving, I decided to head back towards Fort Lawn to see if the train waiting on the main line might be moving. As I make my way back towards Richburg, I finally catch some movement on the rails. Here's the "Chester Job" making its way through Richburg. The train is lead by leased GMTX GP38-2 #2661. The unit is a former Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines unit.

Here is a close up of the extended cab on 2661. The extension was there to accomodate dual control stands.

Heading towards the small "yard" in Richburg to switch some of the local industries.

I usually don't get much enjoyment out of photographing freight cars, but every once in awhile an interesting one like this catches my eye.

Getting ready to drop off the covered hopper at an industry before shoving the coil car towards the Circle S feed mill to pick up the train waiting on the main line.

As the train shoved on towards the feed mill, I made my way there to get ahead of it. While waiting for it to arrive, I found the "Kershaw Job" sitting on the main. It had a train full of feed from the ADM plant in Kershaw to be delivered to Circle S. The train was lead by GP38-2 #3820 and a leased unit. Also in tow was the private car "Georgia". The railroad was bringing the car to be weighed at the feed mill's scale before taking it back to Lancaster.

The "Chester Job" waiting to hook up to the empty covered hopper train. At this point I had lost what little blue sky was left.

A pair of former Conrail GP38-2s get ready to shove the empties back so GMTX 2661 can move into one of the mill tracks.

Here's a small vid as the train moves about the mill tracks.

Moving ahead we now catch the train heading over a hill just past the feed mill heading west towards Chester.

Heading back through Richburg, I finally get some sun and blue sky again.

I finished my journey by catching the train rolling through the countryside just west of Richburg.

Thanks for looking!

Georgiana, AL - 02/15/11

2011-02-17T08:30:00.001-05:00

While heading up I-65 on my way back to SC I decided to make a quick detour to the town of Georgiana to check out what CSX was up to. From looking at Googlemaps it appeared that there were quite a few rails passing through town. Unfortunately there weren't any trains running since the CSX main was having rails replaced. Much to my surprise though, I discovered that there is in fact a shortline based in Georgiana, the Three Notch Railroad (a Gulf & Ohio shortline).

There was nothing running when I drove by their small yard, but they did have all their power there including GP40 #9702.

I think this town is definitely on my list of places to visit again the next time I'm TDY to Alabama.

Gulfport, MS - 02/14/11

2011-02-16T10:00:00.001-05:00

On my last day in Mississippi, I made my way over to Gulfport while my friend was at work. I was hoping to catch the Kansas City Southern in action since it's not a railroad I've had the pleasure of watching before. Much to my delight there was a local running between the yard in Gulfport and the Port of Mississippi a few miles to the south.

GP38-2 #2011 leads the local over the CSX diamond and past the derail signal on its way to the port.

A conductor hangs on as the train makes its way through downtown Gulfport.

Before the KCS local can head back north it has to wait for a CSX mixed freight to clear the diamond. This shot was at a bad angle sun wise, but since I was waiting for the KCS train to cross after this, I wasn't going to attempt to get on the other side of the tracks.

After the CSX train cleared the diamond, a crew member releases the derail and the train pulls forward across the diamond with GP38-2 #2034 in the lead. Note the two letter Fs by the step. I guess they wanted to be sure you knew which end was the front.

Thanks for looking!

Hattiesburg, MS - 02/13/11

2011-02-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

I've been in Biloxi, MS for the past few days visiting a good friend of mine. Yesterday we decided to go up to Hattiesburg to poke around town and photograph anything and everything. While we were there I did catch a little Norfolk Southern action. I would have loved to have seen a Canadian National train or two as well, but it just wasn't meant to be.

A mixed frieght, led by former Conrail C40-8W #8396 makes its way past the restored train station.

Heading west over the Canadian National diamond.

The yard job, consisting of GP59 #4617 and SD40-2 #3294 sits idle in the yard.

A dwarf signal protects the CN mainline where it crosses the NS main.

A remnant of the past. A sign marked for the Illinois Central Railroad adorns the back of a railroad crossing sign post.

Chasing Autoracks - 01/28/11

2011-01-29T08:30:00.024-05:00

I took a day of leave today and decided to head west to Columbia, SC to check out the CSX and Norfolk Southern action there. Since I see plenty of CSX action in Sumter, I was hoping for more of the latter.

The weather started off mostly cloudy when I first arrived in Columbia. I arrived to find Norfolk Southern local 77N (out of Andrews Yard) stopped just before the Lincoln Street crossing. Power for 77N almost always consisted of high-nose Geeps in the past. Today's power was a pair of chop-nose, rebuilt GP38-2s.

I couldn't quite gather from my scanner what was holding 77N up, but it was possibly due to them waiting for CSX to give clearance for the short section of shared trackage at Devine Junction. Either way, about 20 minutes later the train received the clearance to proceed. GP38-2 5578 is seen moving through the Gadsden Street crossing on it's way west towards Hardeeville, SC.

After 77N cleared the mainline track to Andrews Yard, 2018 (BMW autoracks; Spartanburg, SC to Charleston, SC) made it's way through the junction towards the yard.

After waiting a little while longer in Columbia, I decided that I wasn't interested in CSX today so rather than wait, I decided to chase 2018 southeast to Orangeburg. The sun had finally broken through the clouds when I caught the train heading through the cut that divides the small town of Saint Matthews, SC in half.

I took my final shot of 2018 making it's way through Orangeburg at a rather brisk pace. I'm still getting used to changing my settings on the fly with my new camera so this last shot came out a little blury.

Thanks for looking!

Sumter, SC - 01/27/11

2011-01-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

Breakin' It Down For You, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

I decided to make a lunchtime trip from base to downtown Sumter to see what was happening in the CSX yard there. Besides the fact that I was itching to use my new Canon 5D Mark II trackside, I just wanted to get out of my office for a little while. There wasn't too much going on, but I did catch 5402 and 130 breaking down a train in the yard. This photo was shot from the South Guingard Drive bridge.

Thanks for looking!

Full Frame Of Mind

2011-01-26T21:31:00.003-05:00

Full Frame Of Mind, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

I received a new tool to use trackside today. I've upgraded from my Canon Rebel XT to the 5D Mark II. I'll be putting it through the ringer trackside this Friday in Columbia, SC.

Pickens Railway - 01/17/11

2011-01-19T10:30:00.037-05:00

After planning to go for more than a month, I finally made my way to the South Carolina upstate to chase the Pickens Railway. The weather was kind of crappy, but the orange U-Boats of the PICK more than made up for it.

Here we find the Belton/Honea Path job parked just west of the Anderson St crossing in Belton, SC. The crew had stopped to grab coffee at a gas station across the street to the left. As with all of the PICK's locomotives, U18B #9507 was built in 1973 for Seaboard Coast Line and was later pressed into Maintenance of Way service by CSX.

Preparing to cross Anderson Street.

Crossing the Rocky River on the way into Anderson, SC.

Getting ready to cross North Fant St in Anderson.

9507 from the Belton Job meets up with 9500 from the Gluck Job at the Norfolk Southern interchange near West Orr St.

9507 couples up to a covered hopper while waiting for the Norfolk Southern local to arrive.

9507 moves cars about at the interchange while 9500 waits on the line heading down to Gluck, SC.

A closer look at 9500.

The Norfolk Southern local with four high-hood Geeps for power. Two GP50s in front and two GP38-2s trailing. It has just picked up cars from the PICK and is preparing to depart. The train is seen along Kates St on the Northwest end of the city.

A short video from the day. The quality isn't the greatest quality and the last clip was shot with my iPhone 4 so there is quite a bit of shaking going on. The sound is awesome though from both the locomotive and it's Leslie horns.

New York Central System In Miniature - 12/27/10

2011-01-03T20:59:00.002-05:00

New York Central System, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

A macro shot of my Hallmark Lionel F-unit ornament painted for the New York Central System.

Abilene, VA - 12/23/10

2011-01-01T16:20:00.001-05:00

Norfolk Southern 147 heads west through Abilene Junction with a colorful assortment of power. Apologies for the shaking hands. Shot with my iPhone 4.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-24T14:06:00.002-05:00

I hope all my fellow railfans enjoy a wonderful Christmas with their friends and family. Can't wait to see everyone's holiday rail photos.

Keysville Railroading - 12/19/10

2010-12-22T15:21:00.004-05:00

Keysville Railroading, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

My how things have changed since my family first moved us to Keysville, VA in 1994. As a teenager then, I spent many an afternoon watching the green and yellow Geeps of the Virginia Southern Railroad hauling freights through town. A few years, and many leased engines (in a variety of color schemes) later, red and gray (and some yellow) are now the colors of railroading in Keysville. No longer does the Virginia Southern exist as a railroad. Instead we have the Virginia Southern Division of the Buckingham Branch Railroad. In the picture above, we see GP10 #10 sitting on the maintenance track in Keysville on a chilly Sunday morning.

More photos of this and other BBRR locomotives can be seen here.

Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge District - 12/20/10

2010-12-21T14:08:00.001-05:00

While up in Virginia visiting my parents leading up to Christmas, I decided to make a quick trip out to check out the action on Norfolk Southern's nearby Blue Ridge District. I grew up by this district and spent many a day during my teen years watching the many trains that passed over it.

My first stop was Abilene, VA. Much to my disappointment, the former Norfolk & Western signals were no longer there. Apparently during the year I was in the desert they were replaced with modern signals. I knew it was only a matter of time, but it was still sad to see them go none the less. Here is a shot of how this spot used to look.

How Abilene Junction looks now.

NS 820, led by former Conrail Dash-8 #8465 splits the signals at Abilene heading east towards the yard at Crewe and ultimately the coal docks at Norfolk.

820 catches some shade as it heads through Green Bay, VA.

Shortly after following 820 to Burkeville, I caught NS V08 (Crewe-Richmond local) coming off the Richmond Air Line led by former Conrail SD40-2 #3423.

A more "roster" type shot of 3423.

V08's caboose as the train backs up towards the yard at Crewe. The conductor was operating a very neat sounding whistle as the train would approach the grade crossings.

Thanks for looking!

Short Railfan Outing With Katrina - 12/04/10

2010-12-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

Since it had been a couple of weeks since I'd seen a train, I decided it was time to go out in search of some railroad action. I figured this would also be a good time to take my almost 3 year old daughter out as she has developed a fondness for trains and loves spending time with Daddy. We first drove to the yard here in Sumter to see if anything was going on. No surprise that there wasn't. Since there was nothing there and I promised Katrina we would see at least one train, we headed off to Florence to check out the yard there. Since the purpose of this trip was simply for Katrina and I to watch trains I left my camera at home. All the pictures in this post were taken with my iPhone 4.

On the way out of Sumter we caught this ballast train sitting on the storage track (former CSX/SCL line between Sumter and Florence).

While observing the trains in Florence Katrina posed for me on the platform at the Amtrak station parallel to the yard.

The next two photos are Katrina's very first train pictures that she took with my old Palm Treo 680

A short video of the yard job at work with a remote control car on the head end.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2010-11-25T08:00:00.004-05:00

Hopefully nobody reads this till Friday (cause you should be spending time with friends and family), but I want to wish all of the railfans out there a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I know I have plenty to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is finally being home after my year in the desert. I hope all of you can find something to be thankful for today as well!

Laurinburg & Southern Railroad Shops - 11/22/10

2010-11-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

During yesterday's outing I made a quick stop in Laurinburg, NC after initially coming up with nothing in SC. I didn't catch anything running on CSX or otherwise, but I did happen upon the Laurinburg & Southern shops located just northeast of the historic downtown area. It was a treasure trove of broken down, early EMD switchers.

LRS SW1 #136 and an unidentified sister. LRS 136 started life as Republic Steel (RSCX) #371 built in January 1942.

Johnson Railway Services SW1 #142. This locomotive was built in March 1951 as Republic Steel #304.

The remnants of what appears to be an old Davenport switcher.

Gulf & Ohio (L&S parent company) SW1 #119 built in August 1949 as Union Railroad #464.

An old Norfolk & Western boxcar.

Truck from an Alco S-2. One of many trucks, both EMD and Alco that littered the grounds around the shop.

Thanks for looking!

Pee Dee River Railroad - 11/22/10

2010-11-23T10:00:00.058-05:00

The day of railfanning that almost didn't happen. That was what yesterday was. I left out of my home in Sumter around 0700 amidst a very dense fog. My plan was to hit Darlington first to check out the action on the South Carolina Central Railroad. Arriving around 0800, I could not find any action going on and the still dense fog made shooting anything a near impossibility anyway. Figuring that the SC Central was a bust, I made my way up U.S. 401 to the town of Bennettsville, a stop along the Pee Dee River Railroad. Nothing. Driving further north I made my way to McColl where the PDRR interchanges with CSX. It was now after 9 and fog was still pretty thick. After poking around the town for a few minutes, I decided to head further still up 401 to the City of Lauringburg, NC. While I didn't find anything running, I did stumble upon the shops of the Laurinburg & Southern Railroad. After snapping a few photos (to be shown in a future posting here) I started making my way back down 401 into SC and home.

Deciding to give the PDRR one last chance, I stopped off in McColl. Much to my joy I found a freight getting ready to head south. To improve my situation even more, the fog was starting to burn off. When I met the train off of Briar Patch Rd the fog was gone and the sun was bright as could be. Here we see the train being pulled by former CSX GP16s 1797 and 1764. Both geeps started off life as GP7s for the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line respectively.

Next up I caught the train heading south over the U.S. 401 crossing at the tiny village of Tatum.

Moving through fields just north of Bennettsville.

Heading southbound out of Bennettsville.

For the first time during a railfan outing I also brought along my video camera. It's an older mini DV cam so the quality isn't the most superb, but it sure did a good job of capturing the sound of these old beasts.

Eastern Railfan Yahoo Group

2010-11-17T18:46:00.001-05:00

My plans for this URL include an eventual larger website with this blog as just one page. Other features will include a discussion forum and photo gallery. In the meantime, I've created a group over on Yahoo to start setting up a place to discuss railroad happenings in the Eastern United States. Many of the forums out there tend to be dominated by discussions of Mid-Western and Western railroads. My hope is to make the Yahoo group (and eventually the discussion forum) a place where those who share my passion for railroading in the East can interact with like-minded people.

For those interested the group can be visited here.

Tickets To Another Era

2010-11-17T10:00:00.002-05:00

Back in 1999, I was in tech school in San Antonio, TX. One weekend when my father came to visit we made a stop at an antique store that specialized in historic maps and documents. Intending only to peruse I ended up stumbling upon a Boston & Maine ticket book from 1917 inside an old travel agent's envelope. For $22.50 it was mine. The book contains 500 "miles" (or so it did when originally purchased) that are detached from the book for each mile traveled. While cleaning up my office after a year of my wife using it for storage, I happened upon the envelope again and decided it was time take some pictures.

The front side of the travel agent's envelope.

Back side of the evenlope.

Front side of the ticket book.

Rear of the ticket book.

The "miles" detached for every mile ridden.

Stamped at Union Station in Springfield, Massachusetts on June 16, 1917

Pinewood Depot - 11/13/10

2010-11-14T12:02:00.005-05:00

Pinewood Depot, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

The former Atlantic Coast Line depot at Pinewood, SC basks in the light of the gas station across the street.

Hampton & Branchville Railroad - 11/12/10

2010-11-13T10:00:00.003-05:00

To get back in the saddle after my deployment, I took a trip south from Sumter to the South Carolina low-country to chase the Hampton & Branchville Railroad on it's 40 mile route between the CSX interchange at Hampton to the South Carolina Electric & Gas power plant at Canadys. The route is predominantly located in rural parts of Hampton and Colleton Counties. All locomotives for the HB are vintage EMD.

I got to Hampton just after sunrise, but didn't find any power there so I made my way just a short distance to the north where the railroad's crew had just powered up a quartet of GP9s for the day's run shuffling empty coal hoppers from Canadys back to Hampton. The locomotive lineup consisted of GP9s 6249 (ex-C&O, blt 1957), 5943 (ex-B&O, blt 1955), 859 (ex-NW, blt 1959) and 667 (ex-NW, blt 1959). After warm-up the crew backed the train out from the siding, then started off northbound towards Canadys. Here is a shot just east of Miley in the early morning light.

A shot of the quartet passing the siding near Lodge.

An "in your face" shot just east of Ruffin.

The HB has a roving flagman who drives ahead of the train and flags all of the railroad's crossings (only one crossing on the entire line is signaled). At the SCE&G power plant the flagman acts as an extra ground crew member for switching work.

The quartet crossing SC Route 61 into the SCE&G plant at Canadys.

Former Norfolk & Western Units take lead for the return trip south to Hampton.

A burned out headlight lamp caused a small delay. Luckily the crew had a spare on hand.

Moseying through Miley heading south for the CSX interchange at Hampton with a string of empty coal hoppers.

I hope you enjoy. Stay tuned for future updates!

Going Home Soon

2010-10-14T23:57:00.003-04:00

Three weeks. That is it. Just three, short weeks and I will be done in the desert for good. My year here is coming to a close and I could not be happier. First and foremost I'm ecstatic to see my family again. After that though, I'm also looking forward to being out trackside again with my camera. I've missed railfanning while I've been deployed and look forward to indulging quite a bit once I get back. That means more updates for all of you!

Remember, this blog is not dead. It just smells funny. ;)

Sumter, SC - 06/14/10

2010-06-14T20:49:00.003-04:00

Yard Job, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

On the way back from my chiropractor appointment (yes...I'm broken) I decided to stop by the yard in town to see if there was anything going on. Much to my surprise there was actually some movement with former Conrail SD40-2 #8857 sorting cars about the former Seaboard Coast Line yard.

South Carolina Railroad Museum - 06/12/10

2010-06-13T08:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday my wife and I took our daughter up to the South Carolina Railroad Museum in Winnsboro (15 minutes north of the capitol city of Columbia). It was a beautiful day, but quite hot. By the time we reached the museum at 0930 it was already around 90 degrees with the humidity. Below is a shot of of Kristin and Katrina waiting in the shade before boarding. It was a little cooler there, but not by much.

Snapped a photo of a pair of bay-window cabbies while waiting to board the train.

Power for our excursion. A former U.S. Air Force RS-4-TC1A. This unit (#1275) was actually still on Shaw AFB before I left for my deployment and has since been officially retired and purchased by the museum. It now gives the SC RR Museum a total of 3 former USAF RS-4-TC1As.

"Victory by Valor". So reads the motto on the shield of the 20th Fighter Wing emblazoned on the side of #1275's cab. The 20th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Shaw AFB just outside of Sumter, SC.

I didn't take any photos while we were on the train because I was too busy enjoying watching my daughter experience her first train ride. So we're skipping forward a bit. After the hot and humid train ride where we all consumed mass quantities of water, we decided it was time to leave the museum grounds for a bit to snag some McDonald's for lunch with some ice cream for desert (I shared a hot fudge sundae with my Katrina).

After lunch we made our way back to the museum grounds for the purpose of chasing/photographing the 1300 excursion. We arrived back with some time to spare and decided to wander the grounds of the museum for a little while. Mainly consisted of me walking around taking a few pictures while my ladies enjoyed the A/C in the car. A few interesting items from the museum grounds.

An office car titled "NORFOLK"
\

A former Southern Railway RPO car.

A former Southern Railway baggage car.

An old livestock car.

An old flatcar that once belonged the Guignard Brick Works just across the river from Columbia in Cayce, SC.

4-6-0 #44 formerly of the Hampton & Branchville Railroad.

After waiting a little while longer at about 1315, the excursion train pulled the train out of the museum's depot for the trip southwest to the former granite quarry at Rion. Seen here is the train making it's way through the grade crossing at US 321. The coaches behind #1275 are former Canadian National M.U. cars that were used in commuter service in and around the Montreal area.

Running parallel to SC 269 about halfway between Winnsboro and Rion.

Passing the only siding along the 5.1 mile trip, which sits across from the Fairfield County Airport.

Bringing up the rear is a former Seaboard Coast Lines caboose.

The end of the line and the end of this post: The former blue granite quarry at Rion, SC.

Thanks for looking! Until the next adventure...

Back In South Carolina

2010-06-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

First, I must say that it is SO good to be back in the U.S. for a little while and even better to see my wife and daughter again.

While driving around this afternoon we decided to make a quick stop by the yard here in Sumter to see if there was anything around. As was to be expected, nothing was moving but we did find a former Conrail SD40-2 sleeping in the yard. Had my point and shoot with me so we decided to make a quick stop for pictures.

My wife Kristin and my daughter Katrina

Me and my new railfan buddy.

Less Than A Week To Go

2010-05-30T17:17:00.001-04:00

I'm now within a week of heading back stateside for my 15 days of leave before I finish out the rest of my time here in the desert. The most important part of that is being able to see my wife and daughter after almost 7 months of being away. Along with that though, I'd be a liar if I didn't say I was also looking forward to a little trackside action as well. Would be nice to bring some new content to you for once.

Speaking of new content. Once I get home and get settled, I want to start setting up a process to host content for other railfans/photogs as another avenue for them to share their works with the world. More to come on it, but about 3 times a week I'd like to feature photos/videos/trip reports/stories from other people who share a passion for railroading East of the Mississippi. My intention for this blog is not simply to be about MY photos and trips, but for others as well.

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday back in the states and look for more from me after I'm in South Carolina.

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Norfolk Southern Heritage Day - 07/15/06

2010-05-14T09:00:00.083-04:00

Only a few weeks left until I can update this blog with some NEW content. Until then, I'm continuing with the theme of looking back at past railfan experiences. This post takes us back to memorable event in July of 2006. A special Norfolk Southern Heritage Day at the North Carolina Museum of Transportation in Spencer, NC.

There were many sights to see that day, but none compared to the beauty of a classy Southern lady...

Southern FP7A #6133, along with E8A #6900 await another run around the grounds of the museum.

Making her way in between the former shops that now make up part of the museum.

Pulling a train through the museum grounds.

A view from the office.

Some other goodies from that day...

Norfolk & Western GP9 #620 pulls an excursion through the grounds of the museum.

Southern GP30 #2601 pulls a caboose train around the grounds of the museum.

On display is Norfolk Southern Railway AS-416 #1616 manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1955.

Enjoy!

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Brunswick & Weverton, MD - 12/28/05

2010-05-05T09:00:00.082-04:00

I know, I know...I'm behind on my weekly postings. I'm trying to keep at least something going on this blog till I can get back to the states and update it more regularly with new (although not necessarily improved) content.

In the meantime, here's a continuation to theme of past railfanning adventures. This weeks post takes us back to 28 December 2005. This was my first major railfan outing after switching to a digital SLR (and my first attempt at seriously improving my photography). I met up with a railfan associate of mine who took me up to Weverton Jct and Brunswick, MD. It's a place that certainly has no shortage of rail traffic. Without further adieu, here are the photos...forgive my lack of descriptions, but this is before I began really documenting my vignettes.

Weverton Junction:

A Union Pacific C44-9W leads an eastbound auto train towards Brunswick.

Eastbound Capital Limited making an appearance.

ES44DC 5220 leading a mixed freight East.

Road slug 2246 (former GP30)

GP40-2 #6406 leads a westbound mixed-freight towards Harpers Ferry, WV

Brunswick:

CSX 8138 (SD40-2) and UP 9106 (C40-8) take an auto train west past the Brunswick station.

More UP power leading an empty coal drag west past WB tower.

A GP40-2 leads a local through Brunswick.

An SD70MAC leading a train of covered hoppers continues it's journey after receiving a fresh crew next to WB tower.

A remote control platform brings up the rear.

All Norfolk Southern power on the head end of a CSX coal drag.

New Railroad Movie - "Unstoppable"

2010-04-25T09:00:00.008-04:00

Anyone else in the railfan community heard about this yet? IMDB states that it's due for release the end of this year and stars Denzel Washington.

Basic plot as listed from IMDB:
"A rail company frantically works to prevent an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train carrying combustible liquids and poisonous gas from wiping out a city."

Here's a few photos I found of the trains used as "extras" in the films.

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4

Sounds like it could be interesting and I've always been a fan of Denzel Washington. It also has Rosario Dawson in the film who is quite easy on the eyes, to say the least.

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Shaw AFB, SC - 01/17/05

2010-04-20T09:00:00.077-04:00

Today's post is a brief one as I'm beginning work on this later than I usually do. Sticking with the theme of past railfanning trips though, I've got a little something out of the ordinary to share this week. This moves us ahead in time quite a bit from last week's post, but it's been half a decade since these photos were taken so I figured it would fit into the theme.

This trip back in time takes us to Shaw AFB where I've been stationed since 2004. Shaw is one of only a few (may just be two, but I can't remember at this time) Air Force bases left that have rail operations. In Shaw's case, the base railroad is used to pick up tankers full of jet fuel from CSX a few miles away and bring it back to base. The train runs once a day, Monday through Friday. If offloading is slower due to lower fuel consumption they may run a little less.

The rail office has always offered rides, and back in January of 2005 I decided it was time to set one up.

In the photo below, we were waiting for the gate to be opened so we could get underway towards the interchange with CSX at Cane Savannah. Power for the the train is two GE 80-tonners. Behind the locomotives is a spacer flat and three empty tankers.

Finishing up this brief post, is a photo taken during a picture stop just north of Cane Savannah after picking up a few loaded tankers.

I apologize for this short post, but it's about 10:21 (Middle Eastern time) in the morning and I'm spent. Thanks for looking.

6 more weeks till R&R back in the states and the chance to do some railfanning again.

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Norfolk Southern High-Hoods

2010-04-13T09:00:00.094-04:00

In continuing with a look at railfanning in my teen years, I thought I'd share some photos of my favorite locomotives from those days. Unless otherwise noted, all of the photos in this post were taken with a Kodak point and shoot 35mm camera and professionally scanned from the negatives.

We start this post off back in the Spring of 1997 at Abilene, VA (it's just a spot in the road) where Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge and Altavista districts converged. This was my first Spring with a driver's license and I was eager to put it to use chasing trains throughout the Virginia countryside. On my very first visit to this spot (just east of Abilene) I found NS 1624 (former Norfolk & Western SD40) idling on the siding with a string of Maintenance of Way gondolas carrying railroad ties.

Also of interest that day was a tie crane that rode the tops of the gondolas like rails (bad scan from the printed photo)

Fast forwarding a bit to February 1998, I found myself poking about in Burkeville, VA. Burkeville is the interchange for three separate lines: NS's Blue Ridge district mainline, Richmond Air Line and what was formerly the Virginia Southern Railroad (now the Buckingham Branch Railroad). On a cold and cloudy morning I spotted NS local train V08 led by former N&W SD40-2 #1625. She was setting out empty wood chip hoppers returned from West Point, VA and destined for Chesapeake Lumber's wood chip plant just south of Keysville along the Virginia Southern RR mainline.

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Keysville, VA - 10/05/97

2010-04-06T09:00:00.078-04:00

Continuing the weekly "flashback" series until I'm on leave back in the states, we have a look back at when the rails From Burkeville to Clarksville, VA were ruled by the Virginia Southern Railroad. This railroad was owned first by Railtex and later by RailAmerica. The trackage was leased from Norfolk Southern in 1988 through their Thoroughbred Shortline program.

Back in '97 the VSRR still had locomotives that were actually painted for the railroad. It is on a warm October morning that we find a pair of former Missouri, Kansas & Texas GP40s asleep on the maintenance track.

First we have GP40 #512. This unit started life as MKT #206, then served as Union Pacific #512 before being picked up by the VSRR. This unit is still going strong as Goderich & Exeter #4046.

Sitting behind 512 is GP40 #200 showing damage to the right front after it had left the rails and hit the dirt about a week prior. This unit started out as MKT #200, then went to Union Pacific where it was retired with it's MKT number before being picked up by Railtex. This unit now serves as Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway #4005.

New Eastern Railfan Domain Name!

2010-04-03T08:00:00.006-04:00

easternrailfan.blogspot.com is now www.easternrailfan.com

Bookmark it for future updates!

A Trip Down Amnesia Lane - Hazleton, PA - 04/12/99

2010-03-30T23:09:00.006-04:00

Since I am currently deployed to the oceanless beaches of the Middle East, it will be sometime before I have a chance to update this blog with any new pictures (hopefully I can take some while home for my 2 week R&R in June). Because of this, a few times throughout the next couple of months I will post some older photos from when I was much younger (and knew even less about photography than I do now). It is with that intent that I bring you today's post.

In mid April, a mere couple of weeks before shipping off to Texas for Air Force basic training, I made my way from my home in Keysville, VA to to Hazleton, PA to visit a good friend of mine. Among other things, I was able to check out the yard in town, which was a buzz of activity...

A little more than 10 months after the takeover of Conrail by Norfolk Southern and CSX, we find a Norfolk Southern GP38 with it's original Conrail number still on display. It's seen here with a patched sister pulling a train out of the yard. The unit is a former Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines unit and last time I checked is now owned by Helms Leasing doing duty in Texas. A more recent photo of this unit.

Reading & Northern U23B (former Conrail) leads two CF7s pulling a loaded anthracite coal. It is sadly now just a heap of spare parts. You can see it's current state here.

Both photos were snapped with my Canon EOS Rebel G film camera and were professionally scanned from the original negatives.

Ontario, VA - 10/31/09

2009-10-31T20:10:00.003-04:00

While up in the Keysville area visiting my folks, I decide to look for some railroad action in the area. I had heard (but not seen) that the Virginia Southern Railroad was no more and that operations on the line between Burkeville and Clarksville had come under the control of the Buckingham Branch Railroad as their Virginia Southern Division.

Sure enough, when heading out of Keysville on the way to Ontario I found a loaded coal drag parked for the weekend on the mainline with BB power out in front.

GP10 #11 leads the pack.

GP10 #10

GP16 #2

Lake City, SC - 10/11/09

2009-10-11T22:26:00.002-04:00

Trackside Soaker, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

I was hanging out at the Lake City Fire Department, photographing their apparatus, when I heard a locomotive horn in the distance. I made my way across the street to catch this train and right about the time it hit the crossing the sky opened up. I got my quick snaps then retreated to the bays of the FD to dry off.

GP38-2 #2633 runs long hood forward with the help of an SD40-2 on a train heading south through Lake City.

Sumter, SC - 09/19/09

2009-09-20T01:00:00.001-04:00

CSX 7805, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

A C40-8W enjoys sleeping in on a Saturday morning in the yard.

Pemberton, VA - 09/05/09

2009-09-06T00:30:00.001-04:00

CSX 2485, originally uploaded by VirginiaSouthern.

SD50-2 #2485 (Ex-CR SD50 derated to 3000 h.p.) rests on a siding with a ballast train having been assigned to MofW duties.

You can see more photos of this locomotive here.