Trackside Log for Monday, July 31, 2006

Vacation 2006 Day Three

I headed out into the fog for the morning with the promise of sun. A variety of shortlines were on my route for the day and the first opportunity for photographs was the Tennessee Southern. I got lucky and arrived just as the crew was lifting their train and after the fog lifted.

• 0802 CDT Mount Pleasant, TN - Tennessee Southern northbound - CSXT 3163-CSXT 3170-CSXT 3148

I continued eastward in search of the Walking Horse & Eastern. On my way through Shelbyville I noticed that the track was packed with TTX piggyback flats.

• 1009 CDT Shelbyville, TN - Walking Horse & Eastern power - WHOE 1585

I followed the line to the junction with CSX in Wartrace.

• 1030 CDT Wartrace, TN - L&N caboose 6162

The Louisville & Nashville caboose was the only item of interest so my journey continued.

• 1136 CDT McMinnville, TN - Caney Fork & Western power - CFW 2345
• 1258 CDT South Pittsburg, TN - Sequatchie Valley power - SQVR 9833
• 1259 CDT South Pittsburg, TN - Sequatchie Valley caboose

While photographing the slug I heard a locomotive horn. The Sequatchie Valley was returning. The timing was perfect.

• 1305 CDT South Pittsburg, TN - Sequatchie Valley northbound - SQVR 1210
• 1544 EDT La Fayette, GA - Chattooga & Chicamauga power - CAGY 102

While looking for the Eastern Alabama in Sylacauga I noticed freight moving in front of me. Presto! I was shocked to see two New England Central GP40's though.

• 1857 CDT Sylacauga, AL - Eastern Alabama power - AGR 4005
• 1859 CDT Sylacauga, AL - Eastern Alabama westbound - NECR 4048-NECR 4049

It was getting dark so I drove to the Best Western in Hope Hill, Alabama for the night.

Trackside Log for Sunday, July 30, 2006

Vacation 2006 Day Two

The plan for the day was to drive west across Kentucky and then start back east through Tennessee. Unfortunately the day started off poorly. It was foggy and the first several railroads offered me no photo opportunities. Bardstown, Kentucky however yielded R.J. Corman's "My Old Kentucky Dinner Train" and its F's.

• 1004 CDT Bardstown, KY - My Old Kentucky Dinner Train - RJCX 1941-RJCX 1940

After an abandoned line in Clay, Kentucky (the Western Kentucky Railway) and an inaccessible Paducah & Louisville in Princeton I turned my attention to Tennessee. On my way through Fulton, Kentucky I stumbled on an Illinois Central yard. Alas, the WC SD45, ex-LMS C40-8W and all the other power were inaccessible.

• 1600 CDT Union City,TN - GM&O 2618 caboose

I was looking for the Tennken Railway in Dyersburg, Tennessee but also found an Illinois Central engine.

• 1656 CDT Dyersburg, TN - IC power - IC 9567
• 1700 CDT Dyersburg, TN - Tennken power - TKEN 9434
• 1701 CDT Dyersburg, TN - Tennken power - TKEN 9435

Continuing east I found myself in Bucksnort, Tennessee at dusk. I checked into a motel. The next day would begin with a short drive to Centerville, Tennesse.

Trackside Log for Saturday, July 29, 2006

Vacation 2006 Day One

This was the first day of my vacation. Well, actually I did drive to West Virginia yesterday, but that was a six hour non-stop drive with no trackside time. Because Watco pulled out of the Appalachian & Ohio since my last visit in March I decided to start in Buckhannon. The new opperator, Paducah & Louisville, had a slug set on the property.

• 0721 EDT Buckhannon, WV - A&O power - AO 2102-AO 2105

Since there wasn't much to see in Buckhannon I left for Gassaway. On the way I noticed something I was hoping to find, two CEFX SD90MAC's parked in the Burnsville wye.

• 0817 EDT Burnsville, WV - A&O power - CEFX 130-CEFX 125

With that goal accomplished I continued to Gassaway.

• 0853 EDT Gassaway, WV - Elk River Railroad power - ELKR 1-ELKR 3-ELKR 2-ELKR 5
• 0906 EDT Gassaway, WV - Elk River Railroad power - ELKR 4

My primary goal in Gassaway was to get a decent photo of Elk River 5 that was hidden in March. Having met that goal as well I was off to Thurmond. First I was shocked to find a work train running the line.

• 1040 EDT Thurmond, WV - R.J. Corman northbound - RJCX 1804
• 1050 EDT Thurmond, WV - R.J. Corman northbound - RJCX 1804

Next I was surprised by word of a coal train coming shortly. I was unaware that R.J. Corman was hauling coal on this line. In fact this was just the fourth such train.

• 1140 EDT Thurmond, WV - R.J. Corman Z259-112 west - CSXT 245-CSXT 7585
• 1156 EDT Thurmond, WV - CSX eastbound - CSXT 665-CSXT 414
• 1219 EDT Thurmond, WV - R.J. Corman Z259-112 east - CSXT 7585-CSXT 245
• 1339 EDT Thurmond, WV - CSX westbound - CSXT 8637-CSXT 8645-CSXT 4609

I should mention that the old Chesapeake & Ohio depot is beautifully restored by the National Park Service. Inside are some nice exhibits. I encourage people to visit.

Well, it was starting to rain and I had accomplished my goals for Thurmond. My vacation was supposed to start in Kentucky so I set out for the Courtyard hotel in Lexington where I had reserved a room using my Marriott rewards points. Two years living in a hotel does have some benefits.

Trackside Log for Sunday, July 23, 2006

Today Thomas the Tank Engine was in St. Thomas. I tagged along with Pam, Andy and their son Sean. First we stopped by the yard to see what power Norfolk Southern had parked in town.

• 1107 St. Thomas - NS 327 power - NS 8691-NS 8780

We then headed over to the former Michigan Central shops for our day out with Thomas. Our 1200 departure was significantly delayed because one of Thomas' coaches was derailed. At approximately 1330 our train pulled in.

• 1331 St. Thomas - Day Out with Thomas - Sodor 1
• 1351 St. Thomas - Day Out with Thomas - OSRX 183

After our ride we drove over to see Thomas' next trip.

• 1448 St. Thomas - Day Out with Thomas - OSRX 183

We all had a good time. Sean's day was fun but busy and he zonked out on the way home.

Trackside Log for Saturday, July 15, 2006

I was at bridge 5 of the Welland Canal this morning photographing the Pochard but still keeping an ear on the railways. While waiting for the Pochard the CN NI dispatcher informed Via train 97 it would be operating on the north track in Grimsby. Based on this information train 97 would be approximately an hour late thanks to the derailment of CN train 435 at Mimico the day before. After the Pochard finally arrived I moved to bridge 6 and waited for 97 to arrive. Eventually I heard the derail close and noticed that both tracks were aligned indicating two trains.

• 1055 Thorold - CN 421 east - CN 5641-CN 9590-CN 4125
• 1101 Thorold - Via 97 east - AMTK 701

It was nice to see a P32AC-DM return to the Maple Leaf. It was turning into a hot, muggy, oppressive day so I headed back home to get out of the sun.

Trackside Log for Saturday, July 8, 2006

It was to be a sunny but hot day so I planned to go trackside in North East, Pennsylvania. I got up and drove straight there. While grabbing a quick breakfast an eastbound blew by but I didn't need to wait long for another train.

• 0939 North East, PA - CSX Q167 west - CSXT 5327-CSXT 4781
• 1005 North East, PA - CSX Q393 west - CSXT 773-IC 6135-HLCX 6248
• 1011 North East, PA - CSX Q114 east - CSXT 5302-CSXT 5398
• 1037 North East, PA - NS 310 east - NS 9522-NS 9072
• 1130 North East, PA - CSX Q363 west - CSXT 413-CSXT 7301
• 1132 North East, PA - CSX Q140 east - CSXT 5301-CSXT 5317
• 1142 North East, PA - CSX Q156 east - CSXT 5319-CSXT 8476
• 1152 North East, PA - CSX 112? east - CSXT 8782-CSXT 8762
• 1216 North East, PA - CSX Q378 east - UP 9590-CEFX 7084
• 1326 North East, PA - NS eastbound - NS 8201-GMTX 2621
• 1331 North East, PA - CSX Q377 west - CSXT 7653-CSXT 8875-CSXT 7567-HLCX 6521
• 1346 North East, PA - NS 206 east - NS 9514-NS 7502
• 1415 North East, PA - CSX Q364 east - CSXT 8859-CSXT 8079-HLCX 9028
• 1430 North East, PA - CSX Q116 east - CSXT 584-CSXT 5311
• 1432 North East, PA - CSX westbound - CSXT 615-CSXT 5227
• 1459 North East, PA - CSX Q159 west - CSXT 4775-CSXT 677
• 1508 North East, PA - CSX Q117 west - CSXT 675-CSXT 672
• 1510 North East, PA - CSX Q164 east - CSXT 4735-CSXT 4760
• 1517 North East, PA - CSX westbound - CSXT 5243-CSXT 5260-CSXT 7901

The sun was pretty much down the tracks so I decided to make a move. By the time I was able to get to Lake Avenue the sun would be good for trains in both directions. As luck would have it NS train 309 arrived just as I was leaving. Oh well.

• 1648 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q164 east - CSXT 4735-CSXT 4760
• 1657 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q264 east - CSXT 7356-UP 5464

While sitting on CSX, NS train 15M passed by. I elected to just watch it from afar. The leader was NS 2726 with two other black engines.

• 1815 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q161 west - HLCX 7168-CSXT 8766-CSXT 7719
• 1837 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q119 west - CSXT 8872-CSXT 4770
• 1850 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q118 east - UP 4988-UP 3942
• 1905 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q169 west - CSXT 5308-CSXT 5005
• 1920 Blasdell, NY - CSX Q110 east - CSXT 588-CSXT 7714-CSXT 321

Well, I was getting rather tired so I decided to pack up for home. It had been a very good day so I'm not about to complain.

Trackside Log for Tuesday, July 4, 2006

As I left work today I heard CN train 329, a Norfolk Southern detour, talking to the NI dispatcher about leaving Robbins. I immediately changed course for Cook's Mills.

• 1714 Cook's Mills - CN F329 west (NS detour) - NS 8646-NS 9364

The CN crew were going to wye the power in Port Robinson so I drove home, got my gear, and made for the old swing bridge in Thorold.

• 1806 Thorold - Via 98 west - AMTK 68
• 1845 Thorold - CN F329 west (NS detour) - NS 9364-NS 8646

It's quite difficult to photograph a freight crossing the swing bridge in good light so I'm happy to have accomplished it.

Trackside Log for Monday, July 3, 2006

It was a hot, muggy day but I decided I needed to get out. I ventured to Merritton for Via train 92 and to see what the shipping traffic in the canal was like.

• 1435 Merritton - Via 92 west - VIA 918
• 1612 Thorold - CN 330 east - CN 2582-CN 2593

After 330 I photographed two more ships and returned home.

Trackside Log for Sunday, July 2, 2006

After yesterday's disappointment I wasn't in a hurry. I left home at approximately 1130 and shortly thereafter heard from the CN NI dispatcher that CP train 256 would be meeting a westbound at Robbins. I drove directly there without realizing that the westbound was a Norfolk Southern detour train.

• 1200 Robbins - CN F329 west (NS detour) - NS 9748-NS 2552

Crazy! I spent all day Saturday hoping for a detour and managed to fluke onto one the next day. Train 329 was pulling into the yard at Port Robinson so I figured I could catch it pulling in.

• 1225 Port Robinson - CN F329 west (NS detour) - NS 9748-NS 2552

I waited around for a while for train 329 to leave the yard but it took too long. I made my way to Binbrook.

Trackside Log for Saturday, July 1, 2006

Happy birthday, Canada! This morning was rather nice with plentiful sun and reasonable temperatures. I decided on Fort Erie for some photography and possible detours from either CSX or NS. Flooding of the CSX former NYC, the NS former Erie, and the D&H in upstate New York was creating havoc. Several detours through Canada had already run.

• 0836 Fort Erie - CN 339 east - CN 2633-CN 2444-CN 5378

After an hour and a half switching tracks 99 and EE01 339 returned to its train, backed clear of the signal, and parked.

• 1000 Fort Erie - CN 339 east - CN 2633-CN 2444-CN 5378
• 1137 Fort Erie - CP 256 east - CP 8503-CP 9555-CP 9611
• 1317 Fort Erie - NS 369 west - NS 9699-NS 9101-NS 2775

After dropping its train at Duff NS 369 returned to the east end of Fort Erie to lift its outbound freight from track 99, most of which was left by the still parked CN 339.

• 1405 Fort Erie - NS 369 east - NS 2775-NS 9101-NS 9699

Clouds were rolling in and I was getting tired. CN train 333 was coming but I decided to leave anyway. Train 333 was to combine its train with the still parked train 339 and leave the entire train parked on the main. The day turned out to be rather lousy with few trains and no detours.