Trackside Log for Saturday, May 21, 2011

Today was to be the sole sunny day amid two weeks of rain. I had to make good use of it so I decided to head to New York and Pennsylvania where the CSX and Norfolk Southern trains vastly outnumber anything Canadian Pacific or Canadian National can muster. After a thirty minute wait in queue at the Peace Bridge and a thirty second interview with the border guard I drove directly to the railfan park at North Gale Street in Westfield, New York. Moments after I arrived NS train 145 blew through town. Unfortunately I was unable to really see it. But the benefit of going there is that you usually don't have to wait long for another train. CSX didn't fail me.

• 1043 Westfield, NY - CSX Q164 east - CSXT 4776-CSXT 201
  
• 1055 Westfield, NY - CSX eastbound - CSXT 5330-CSXT 5261-CSXT 7571
  
• 1100 Westfield, NY - NS 309 west - NS 6661-NS 6585
  
• 1117 Westfield, NY - CSX Q378 east - CSXT 7349-CSXT 5445
  
• 1131 Westfield, NY - CSX westbound - CSXT 5442-CSXT 801
  
• 1238 Westfield, NY - CSX V831 east - CSXT 5004-CSXT 603
  
• 1248 Westfield, NY - CSX K662 east - CSXT 5423-CSXT 8351
  
• 1311 Westfield, NY - CSX Q160 east - CSXT 9033-CSXT 7656-CSXT 312
  
• 1317 Westfield, NY - CSX Q281 west - CSXT 8440-CSXT 8354
  

From the railfan park I could see a CSX train parked down by the New York Central station. A local informed me that it was a rail train and that the Baltimore & Ohio 175th anniversary caboose was on it. Nice!. When I deemed it time for lunch I swung by to check it out.

• 1324 Westfield, NY - CSX rail train - CSXT 6489-CSXT 2232 w/ caboose CSXT 904000
  

After consuming lunch back at the railfan park I decided upon a change of scenery. After purchasing fuel in Pennsylvania for 44¢ per gallon less than in New York I made my way to Remington Road in North East, Pennsylvania. Just after my arrival I heard the Norfolk Southern dispatcher inform a westbound that it would be meeting train 22K at Ripley, New York. After a short wait I could hear both 22K and a CSX westbound approaching simultaneously.

• 1514 North East, PA - CSX Q109 west - CSXT 5323-CSXT 5476-CSXT 8885
  
• 1515 North East, PA - NS 22K east - NS 9016-NS 9126-NS 9273
  
• 1541 North East, PA - NS 287 west - NS 8935-NS 9891
  
• 1609 North East, PA - CSX Q122 east - CSXT 8776-CSXT 8718-CSXT 7567
  

Once the sun had crossed to the north side of the tracks it was getting more difficult for photography so I headed back eastward in search of better angles. This brought me to the back of an old abandoned industrial building in Ripley, New York where I waited for about two hours.

• 1701 Ripley, NY - CSX westbound - CSXT 606-CSXT 7548
  
• 1741 Ripley, NY - CSX Q161 west - CSXT 7692-CSXT 4571-CSXT 5393
  
• 1746 Ripley, NY - NS 206 east - NS 7623-NS 2523
  

Things were starting to get pretty quiet on the former New York Central and Nickel Plate Road mainlines. Then it occurred to me that the light would be on the opposite side of the rail train in Westfield now. I drove back in order to obtain photographs of the other side of the 175th anniversary caboose.

• 1806 Westfield, NY - CSX rail train - CSXT 6489-CSXT 2232 w/ caboose CSXT 904000
  

It was starting to get a bit late so I continued wending my way back home. I didn't get very far when I could hear CSX train Q119 calling out signals. I stopped off in Brocton, New York to check it out.

• 1848 Brocton, NY - CSX Q119 west - CSXT 5387-CSXT 150-CSXT 5361
  

Shortly after the train passed by the clouds started encroaching on the sun in earnest and I was getting pretty tired. I called it a day and headed for the Canadian border. When I got there only three of the ten open booths were occupied. I drove straight up to booth 13 and was back in Canada in no time.