Trackside Log for Monday, September 22, 2008

It was the last day of our little trip and we began with breakfast in Albany, New York. I didn't really have anything planned for the day so we just sort of made up the plan as we went along. I figured it would be nice to find a decent location along the CSX tracks and see what traffic showed up. We found a nice quiet location in Fonda, New York and spent a couple hours there.

• 1105 Fonda, NY - Amtrak westbound - AMTK 179
• 1114 Fonda, NY - CSX Q621 west - CSXT 7786-HLCX 6337 (photo)
• 1126 Fonda, NY - CSX westbound - CSXT 7681-CSXT 292 (photo)
• 1127 Fonda, NY - CSX eastbound - CSXT 8543-BNSF 4587-CEFX 3151-CSXT 5295-CSXT 5461-CSXT 5448 (photo)
• 1150 Fonda, NY - CSX Q620 east - CSXT 8637-CSXT 8458-CSXT 7893 (photo)
• 1209 Fonda, NY - Amtrak eastbound - AMTK 717 (photo)
• 1228 Fonda, NY - CSX Q184 east CSXT 269-CSXT 393-CSXT 8749 (photo)

After a while we decided it was time to move on. I wanted to stop at Utica to see what might be around the station. The Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern had two C-425s parked amidst some clutter that I was able to photograph.

• 1426 Utica, NY - MWHA power - MWHA 2454-MWHA 2456 (photo)

Nothing else was around so we continued westward. I like to try to stop off at Geneva whenever I'm in the neighbourhood. I photographed a somewhat dismantled Finger Lakes Railway B23-7 out behind the shops.

• 1754 Geneva, NY - FGLK power - FGLK 2304 (photo)

Then we completed our journey home. Overall it was a nice trip. I got to visit two more states on my list and we saw some great scenery. The trains seen certainly weren't plentiful but they were interesting. Like most trips I later discovered a couple other locations we probably should have visited, but Connecticut and Rhode Island aren't that far away. I can always return.

Trackside Log for Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sam and I awoke in Providence, Rhode Island to a beautiful day. We ate breakfast and headed out so take in the scenery and find a few trains along the way. Today the term "few trains" would be accurate. We checked out a couple places around Providence but didn't find anything readily photographable. So we pushed on to Central Falls where the Providence & Worcester greeted us with a GP38-2 parked right by the road.

• 1014 Central Falls, RI - P&W power - PW 2007 (photo)

After a couple photographs and a tour of the old mill site in Central Falls we continued on to Worcester, Massachusetts. Now this is a P&W town. I was initially struck by how many buildings had P&W logos on them. Quite interesting. There were a variety of locomotives parked outside the shops.

• 1207 Worcester, MA - P&W power - PW 3908-PW 4004 (photo 1, photo 2)
• 1207 Worcester, MA - P&W power - PW 3001-PW 3002 (photo)
• 1209 Worcester, MA - P&W power - PW 150 (photo)

We were at a service station across the street from the Providence & Worcester shops when a local train passed through.

• 1215 Worcester, MA - P&W yard job - PW 2006-PW 2008

After exploring town a little we headed west toward home. The first stop was Palmer where we discovered a New England Central yard job switching at the interchange with CSX. I was amused to see my old friend "Barney", GEXR 3843, performing the work.

• 1352 Palmer, MA - NECR yard job - GEXR 3843 (photo)

There were also a pair of leased engines parked in the yard, but I was unable to photograph them. Bummer. Next we continued on to Springfield where I had intended to visit the yard there to see what was going on. Bad timing. It was state fair time and the area around the yard was ridiculously busy. Sam and I quickly decided that we didn't need to be mixed up in that mess so we had lunch at the IHOP and moved on. Next on my hit list was Westfield, home of the Pioneer Valley. However, when we got there the yard was devoid of any motive power. Either it was all out on line somewhere or inside the sheds. Either way no photographs were to be had. Sam and I then drove to Albany, New York to spend the night.

Trackside Log for Saturday, September 20, 2008

Sam and I woke up refreshed. I woke up earlier to go photograph the first Metro North train leaving Danbury. Sam stayed behind to get ready to leave.

• 0739 Danbury, CT - Metro North 6813 south - MNCW 128

I returned to the hotel, had breakfast with Sam and we were off again. The first thing I wanted to do was photograph the Metro North return train so we found an interesting location on Shelter Rock Road.

• 0955 Shelter Rock Road, Danbury, CT - Metro North 6810 north - MNCW 128

Then we were off to the Danbury Railway Museum to see what they had to offer. Because the museum is right by the Metro North station I'd already scoped it out a bit. There is definitely some interesting equipment to be seen. The first thing we did was take a short ride on the New York, New Haven & Hartford RDC #32.

• 1038 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - NYNH&HRR 32 (photo)

Parked in front of the beautifully restored station was a Metro North train. There were several others parked as well, but they were inaccessible.

• 1101 Danbury,CT - Metro North power - MNCW 204 (photo)
• 1105 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - NYNH&HRR 141 (photo)
• 1107 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - NYNH&HRR 162
• 1108 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - NYNH&HRR 140
• 1109 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - DRMX 1513 (photo)
• 1109 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - PRR 6563 railway post office (photo)
• 1111 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - NYC 4096 (photo)
• 1113 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - SRS 135 (photo)
• 1113 Danbury, CT - Danbury Railway Museum - MNCW 605 (photo)

After an hour long enjoyable tour of the museum Sam and I drove to the commuter corridor between New York and Boston. We hunted around briefly for a decent location and found an excellent one in East Norwalk just east of the Metro North station. My primary goal here was to photograph the two mid-day Acela Express trains.

• 1252 East Norwalk, CT - Amtrak 161 south - AMTK 920
• 1257 East Norwalk, CT - Amtrak 2250 north - AMTK 2033/AMTK 2027 (photo)
• 1309 East Norwalk, CT - Metro North 6526 north - MNCW 8830 (photo)
• 1336 East Norwalk, CT - Metro North 6533 south - MNCW 8935 (photo)
• 1401 East Norwalk, CT - Amtrak 164 north - AMTK 658 (photo)
• 1412 East Norwalk, CT - Metro North 6530 north - MNCW 8930 (photo)
• 1420 East Norwalk, CT - Amtrak 2253 south - AMTK 2014/AMTK 2019

Sam and I also checked out a few other locations on our way to Providence, Rhode Island where we would spend the night. Unfortunately I didn't find anything to photograph in places like New London or Willimantic. But Sam and I enjoyed the scenery nevertheless. If nothing else it was a relaxing drive.

Trackside Log for Friday, September 19, 2008

One of my goals is to visit every Canadian provice, territory and U.S. state. Two states I hadn't visited yet were Connecticut and Rhode Island. So I scheduled a couple vacation days and set out to see them. Sam decided to come along as well for some relaxation time and to see the scenery. Well, to get to Connecticute you have to drive through New York from where I live. So the drive began with a couple stops along the way. First up was Cohocton to see what was at the Bath and Hammondsport. Five of the former Quebec Cartier Mining big Alcos were lined up beside the shops and one of the S-1s was behind.

• 1308 Cohocton, NY - B&H power - SIXX 77-NYSW 3660-NYSW 3674-NYSW 3664-NYSW 3670 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5)
• 1312 Cohocton, NY - B&H power - BH 4 (photo)

We then more or less followed the Southern Tier through New York. The only stop I intended to make along the way was Binghamton.

• 1609 Binghamton, NY - NYSW power - NYSW 3010 (photo)
• 1610 Binghamton, NY - NYSW power - NYSW 3020-NYSW 3636 (photo)
• 1626 Binghamton, NY - NYSW westbound - NYSW 1802 (photo)

We checked out Canadian Pacific as well, but there wasn't much to see that day. So we continued on to our night's destination of Danbury, Connecticut.

Trackside Log for Friday, September 12, 2008

After work this evening I heard train 427 north get a clearance out of Welland yard. Mostly because the lead engine was an SD40-2 I drove out to photograph it.

• 1725 Fenwick - CP 427 north - CP 5970-CP 6048-CP 8893-CP 8892-CP 8895-CP 8896

The four ES44ACs were a bit of a surprise on the back. Apparently they were all returning from Erie, Pennsylvania after some warranty work.

Trackside Log for Sunday, September 7, 2008

Most of the day was nice and sunny but in the afternoon some clouds started rolling in.  There was still quite a bit of blue sky so when I heard the only Canadian Pacific train of the day I drove out to photograph it hoping for the best.

• 1741 Fenwick - CP 427 north - CEFX 1034-CP 9558

Nope...  It was beautifully sunny right up until the train got to me.  I was partially clouded out.  The photograph turned out merely OK.

Trackside Log for Saturday, September 6, 2008

Once again I had the scanner on in the background at home. During the day I heard two trains approaching and, seeing as it was a nice day, headed out to photograph them.

• xxxx Fenwick - CP 246 south - CP 9765-CP 9589-CP 9824
• xxxx Fenwick - CP 426 south - CP 8897-CP 9590

Trackside Log for Thursday, September 4, 2008

I was heading to St. Catharines after work today and the timing was good to see Via 95.  I headed over to the recently completed bridge replacement in Merritton and waited.  It was pretty dark, but I managed to photograph the train with my digital.

• 1928 Merritton - Via 95 east - VIA 905 (photo)

After the photo I continued about my business.  How convenient!

Trackside Log for Monday, September 1, 2008

While at home today heard Canadian Pacific train 247 approaching so I popped out for a photograph.

• xxxx Fenwick - CP 247 north - CP 9512

And that was about it for the day.