Trestle Tales: Heritage on Steel

In the past decade, Ed Ribinskas has considered tracking Norfolk Southern heritage locomotives to be one of his many everyday chores.

If an H unit was leading a train that would pass through Painesville, he would grab his camera and head over to the Riverside Drive grade crossing if he could.

The Nickel Plate heritage locomotive made an appearance on March 30, 2013. Others that have passed by included the Southern H unit on April 26, 2014, the New York Central H unit on May 27, 2015, and the Erie H unit on April 10, 2016.

After construction of the new bridge over the Grand River got underway in March 2017, Ed sought to be a little creative in his photo composition by working the construction activities into his image as can seen above.

Some examples included catching the Erie heritage unit on July 15, 2017, the Savannah & Atlanta H unit on June 2, 2018 and the Central of New Jersey H unit on Nov. 25, 2018.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Never Weary of Seeing the Erie

The Erie heritage locomotive was one of the last of the series of Norfolk Southern heritage locomotives that I saw and photographed. It eluded me for nearly two years before I finally caught it in late December 2014.

It was the last of the 20 H units that I physically saw, but was the penultimate one that I photographed.

I don’t see the Erie that often, but I have managed to catch it a five times since that late 2014 sighting.

I got a text from fellow Akron Railroad Club member Todd Dillon that NS 1068 was leading Norfolk Southern train 22K.

I was expecting the 22K to come through Olmsted Falls in late morning but it was just after 2 p.m. before it finally arrived. Here is sighting No. 7 of the Erie heritage unit.

Date That Almost Lived in Infamy

June 18, 2017, started as a typical Saturday. We were busy at work. My phone chimed that I had a text message around 9 a.m.

Too busy to check it at that time, I continued working. It wasn’t until I got the next vehicle in and was in the process of texting the mileage to our secretary that I read the message.

“Erie leading 25T, 9 a.m. at Johnstown.”

“Holy Cow!”

The 25T usually comes through the Cleveland area in the mid to late afternoon. Today it had the Erie heritage unit leading, one that I have not yet seen, much less photographed.

I texted the Bro back and suggested he keep me informed about its progress.

Work wrapped up and while having lunch at home, I texted Robert for an update.

“At Conway changing crews.”

I had a few errands to run this afternoon that couldn’t wait, but the yard work could. So by 3, I was ready to head trackside.

The last report was Enon Valley at 1 p.m. It would be a family affair to see the Erie today. My nephew Henry and the Grif (his son) were also going along.

Since we had a “tot” with us, we went to the Tot Lot in Bedford. It is located on Palmetto Avenue between the crossings at Grace and Glendale.

We set up here and waited. Norfolk Southern had something happening in the vicinity of CP 86.

Eastbounds were stacked up on both mains waiting to continue east. Our westbound would not be in the picture for a while.

As we waited, Henry got a phone message that the Central of Georgia H unit was coming east on a 66W oil train. It was by Amherst.

It was trailing however, so trail equals fail. But it is still one of the H Units I have yet to see or photograph. This would be a GREAT day if I could get two in one day.

We shot eastbounds for just under three hours: 20E, 20R, 24W, 24M, 18N and a couple of more that I don’t remember the symbol on.

The low man on the pole, or the crew with the most time left to work was M4N. It was sitting at a red board at CP 110 on Track 2 for the entire time we were there.

Grif entertained himself on the slides and ladders of the Tot Lot, stopping only to watch a train go by. He made three new friends who were there with their grandmother.

When the slides became old hat, they took one of Grif’s toy trucks, one a little bigger than a Matchbox, for those who remember Matchbox Cars, and were throwing it over the gym sets.

The first one to get over, under or around to the other side and find the truck got to throw it back over, and the race was on again . . . until they got the truck stuck in the tree.

About now the other kids had to leave. It was pushing 6 p.m.

Henry was convinced that the 66W was the next train but each time he was wrong. Still, he kept insisting.

“Cleveland Terminal to M4N. OK to start heading east; you’ll cross over at CP 107 after one more eastbound.”

The traffic jam was finally subsiding. We had not gotten any more updates about 25T since Enon Valley. Where was it?

As the M4N clumped by and 18N shot past him, Cleveland Terminal cleared up the situation.

“25T, take it easy down to CP 107; got an eastbound crossing over ahead of you. As soon as they clear, you’ll get a light to go west.”

“Hot &%$#”

We loaded up Grif’s toys and his bike that he brought with him and were ready for 25T. We were going to shoot it here and head to Olmsted Falls for another view.

Skies were partly cloudy, so sun wasn’t guaranteed. We had to rub our rabbit’s foots and four leaf clovers to, hopefully, get some luck.

“25T, Clear, CP 107”

Show time was just a few minutes away. We each picked out our spots. As the gates went down at Grace Street, the sun popped out. It would be a sunny shot.

The Erie roared past with its intermodal train in tow. We were off as soon as the last cars cleared the Glendale crossing. Olmsted Falls, here we come.

There had been no further updates on the 66W and we didn’t hear anything about it on the scanner, so what happened to it?

Did it go east on the Nickel Plate to Ashtabula and turn south for Conway there? Is it still around Rockport waiting for a fresh crew? We speculated as we drove west.

As we passed Rockport Yard and the Chicago Line, our questions were answered. They spun the power and the Central of Georgia was now on the lead.

I was hoping for a miracle now, two never before seen H Units in one day . . . wow! We got to the Falls, parked across from the depot and set up shop. We were ahead.

The 25T would be the only train we would see. It came past about 20 minutes after we arrived.

Going back toward the brother’s house, Henry suggested I stop on I-480 and shoot the 66W from the bridge. It would take a long telephoto, but I might get lucky.

Traffic was heavy on I-480 and I couldn’t get over fast enough to pull over on the bridge. They were still sitting there. Not a word was said about the 66W, so how long they were going to be there was anyone’s guess.

I dropped off the rest of the clan and headed home for dinner.

After dinner I had an idea. I needed to go to the airport post office, so I thought I’d check on the 66W’s progress, or lack thereof.

This time I would come up onto I-480 from the airport freeway, making the pull over onto the bridge over the Chicago Line much easier.

The 66W was still sitting there, but they were sitting short of the signal bridge at CP Max and the shadow of the signal bridge was on the C of G and they were a little too far away for my 300mm lens. It was a good idea that fizzled.

The radio finally crackled with chatter about the 66W. A fresh crew was aboard, but they were having trouble getting their marker linked up to the 8101 and other assorted problems.

They would not be departing any time soon, and the sun was now getting pretty low in the sky.

I called it a day at this point, happy about the Erie, but frustrated by the C. of Ga. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck next time.

Article by Marty Surdyk

Erie Heritage Unit Leads 22K

I saw on Saturday morning that Erie 1068 was on 22K. I had things to do and got home about 2 p.m. and, luckily,  it wasn’t by yet. I got it at 3:20 p.m. at the Painesville trestle. Each week it will be a different view with all the construction of the new bridge underway.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

That Erie H Unit, DC-AC 4000 Conversion Unit Combination Made a Grand Sight in Pennsylvania

You mentioned on the Akron Railroad Club blog the Erie Heritage unit of Norfolk Southern and DC to AC conversion unit No. 4000. My girlfriend caught the two together on Sunday. An engine train must have made a power swap between you and Cresson, Pennsylvania. The ethanol train you photographed was now being led by the Erie unit with the 4000 trailing.

Article by Jack Norris, Photographs by Starlene Van Dunk

Labor Day Wanderings: Part 1

Most of my railfanning moves on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend were done in pursuit of NS 80xx, the Southern heritage locomotive, which I’ve seen just once before.

Many guys take advantage of the Labor Day weekend to make an out of town railfanning trip. I got out of town during the holiday weekend, but not for an overnight adventure. I spent two days railfanning in my “backyard.”

The plan for Saturday was to pick up my friend Adam and head to Alliance. He needed to be back by 3 p.m. to take care of child care duties and after than I would head down to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for the final day of operation of the Saturday-only bike train.

Adam and I had talked on Friday about going over to southwest Pennsylvania to find DC to AC conversion unit No. 4000, which on Friday morning had been reported on HeritageUnits.com as being in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

But by early Saturday there had been no updates on the 4000 and traveling to Pennsylvania seemed risky because the 4000 might have moved on in the middle of the night and no one had seen it.

There was a report on HU about the Southern heritage locomotive of Norfolk Southern heading west on the point of train 740. Another report said the Erie H unit was in the motive power consist of an eastbound 64T going through Lima.

They would both pass through Alliance so that was the place to be. We were going around Ravenna on Ohio Route 14 when Adam’s phone dinged with an update from HU reporting that the Southern H unit had just passed through Alliance. Now what?

I’ve seen NS 8099 just once and Adam thinks it is one of the more attractive NS heritage units. It had been out of service for several weeks due to mechanical issues.

I turned south on Ohio Route 44 and headed for Interstate 76. The new plan was go to Massillon to catch the 740 and the 34T and 740 at Mace from Cherry Road NW bridge.

I had shot the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit from this bridge on the day of the Akron Railroad Club picnic this past July.

We made good time cruising westward and managed to avoid delays in the construction zones in Akron.

Adam had just gotten his phone during the past week and no sooner had that happened, but the manufacturer issued a recall because of the danger of the phone catching fire.

That led to a lot of joking about how Adam’s phone would blow up in his hand, the flash of light would momentarily blind me and I’d crash into something. And we would miss the heritage units.

Few of that model phone have actually caught fire and those that did did so while the owner was recharging the battery. So long as Adam didn’t try to charge the battery we were safe.

An online report indicated that the 64T was following NS train 170, which had gone into emergency west of Orrville.

The Fort Wayne Line is single track between Mace and Orrville and we played guessing games as to whether the 740 would meet the 170 at Orrville or at Mace.

We also learned that the NS 4000 was in Conway and planned to lead a coal train west on the Fort Wayne line. That looked to be an afternoon move. The New York Central heritage unit was leading a train eastward on the Sandusky District. So, the day was filled with colorful possibilities.

The 170 was going through Mace when we arrived and all I could manage was an image of the rear of the train passing the PRR position light signals.

Railfan Matt Arnold arrived not long after we did. I’d never met Matt before Saturday, but had long admired his photographic work of the Wheeling & Lake Erie. He is a talented young photographer who often railfans with his Dad.

Matt said the 740 was moving slowly, which suggested the 64T would go through Mace first.

That plan was confirmed when an R.J. Corman northbound unexpectedly showed up and keyed up the Pittsburgh West dispatcher.

To our surprise, the dispatcher said the Corman train would go through Mace south to north immediately after the 64T passed through.

The Erie H unit was second of two units, trailing a Union Pacific locomotive. The R.J. Corman train had two units.

I’ve photographed Ohio Central trains a number of times on the former Baltimore & Ohio line in Massillon at Mace, but gotten the Corman there just once while chasing an OC train during the ARRC picnic at Warwick Park.

After the Corman train cleared Mace, the westbound signal for Track 2 went to clear, which is only the second time I’ve seen that indication at that signal.

Although I’ve been to Mace several times over the years, I’ve rarely seen an NS train there. I was never there during the Conrail era.

The Pittsburgh West dispatcher called the 740 crew and said he was ready for them at Mace.

It took awhile but the 740 came into view with NS 8099 on the lead. The lighting was not favorable for a westbound coming into Mace, but I did what I could with what I had to work with.

After getting the train coming image, I dashed across the road and got a side shot and a couple of going away views.

We still had some time before I had to take Adam home. It was at this point that things started falling apart.

Matt had received a phone call from a contact saying the Corman train was going to drop its cars and go to Wooster.

But I neglected to ask him where the cars were going to be dropped. I presumed it would be in Massillon, but it might have been Warwick.

I decided to chase the 740 to Orrville and figured the Corman train would be behind it.

The route to Orrville was slow going and the 740 easily got ahead of us. I ducked down a country road to a grade crossing but nothing was in sight.

I heard the 740 call a clear signal in Orrville and realized we were too late.

We waited in Orrville for about an hour but the Corman train never showed up. Either the information about going to Wooster was incorrect and/or they had gone to Warwick first.

We also learned that the NS 4000 was bad ordered in Conway with flat spots. Either those got worked out right away or the report was in error.

As it turned out, the NS 4000 became the trailing unit on the 64T, the UP unit was removed in Conway and the Erie H unit became the leader.

I felt rather dejected as I took Adam home. Had I gone to Warwick we might have caught the Corman train leaving there. It has been a good five years since I’ve photographed the Corman.

I had better luck on the CVSR later in the afternoon. Aside from photographing the last run of the Saturday bike train, I was curious as to what motive power was running on the CVSR these days.

It turned out that the Scenic train had Horizon Rail 8420 on the north end and the Baltimore & Ohio 800 on the south end.

The bike train had the newly repainted 6771 on the north end and the 1822 on the south end. I was glad to see the 6771 because I like the spiffy new livery adorning it.

I got both trains at Indigo Lake and caught a break when the Scenic had a longer than usual dwell time in Peninsula.

The conductor had told the engineer of the 8420 that there might be several people in wheelchairs in Peninsula and if so the train would need to follow a special operating plan.

As I drove north with the intention of getting the bike train at Jaite, I saw the Scenic sitting at Boston Mills station.

I would get both of them at Jaite. With that objective accomplished I headed for home and made plans for another day of holiday railfanning on Sunday.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

The last cars on train 170 were tank cars. The train is moving onto track No. 1.

The R,J. Corman train approaches the Cherry Street NW bridge. It had a red board at Mace.

Here comes the 34T with a UP in the lead splitting the PRR position signals at Mace.

A closeup of the Erie heritage locomotive. Yeah, it’s trailing, but I don’t get to see it often.

I’ve always like the sight of uniform looking unit trains, particularly when they are snaking through switches and curves.

The two units of the R.J. Corman train are on the move.

The Corman train has the signal at Mace. I’ve never seen an indication like this. One light is green and other either amber or lunar.

The Corman train is about to briefly the NS Fort Wayne Line and move through a pair of switches.

Going south to north at Mace.

At last the 740 made its way through Mace. Seeing four trains here in just over an hour was unusual.

Horizon Rail GP10 No. 8420 is back in service and the blue loaner unit has apparently returned for assignment elsewhere. It was nice to see while it lasted.

Reflections of a CVSR coach in the waters of Indigo Lake.

CVSR 800 at Indigo Lake station.

The 1822 was the south unit on the bike train on its last day of operation.

Boarding the bike train at Indigo Lake.

As much as anything, I made this image to get the old truck waiting at the grade crossing for the northbound Scenic.

A B&O “heritage unit” passes the former B&O train order office in Jaite.

Another photo op with the new look CVSR locomotive livery, this time at Jaite.

The last scheduled bike train of the season is on the last leg of its last trip to Brecksville.

 

Erie Heritage With the Erie H Unit in Cleveland

The Erie Railroad heritage unit has been assigned to Norfolk Southern intermodal trains 22K and 23K for about a month now. Sometimes it leads, sometimes not, but until today (April 30), I had not been able to catch it.
One challenge in chasing H units is to somehow work in the actual railroad the heritage engine represents.

Catching the New York Central on the NYC or the Pennsylvania on the Pennsy is like a double bonus. Getting the Erie on the Erie is difficult to do in northeast Ohio.

But the 22K, which the Erie lea today, traverses the former Nickel Plate Road east of Cleveland and it passes former although now abandoned tracks that the Erie used.

The Cleveland Union Terminal hosted passenger trains from the NYC, Baltimore & Ohio, NKP and Erie.

This is appropriate as the Erie heritage is based on the two-tone green colors of Erie passenger engines and trains.

Another Erie connection is the Terminal Tower complex seen in the background. Passenger trains ended their run here but Erie also had its headquarters located in this complex.

The Erie at one time was a Van Sweringen road. The Van Sweringen brothers owned a consortium of railroads including the Nickel Plate, Erie, Chesapeake & Ohio and Pere Marquette.

They were also responsible for building the massive Terminal Tower complex, a Cleveland landmark.

Their intent was to merge these holdings into a giant rail system. Alas, these plans fell through and while Pere Marquette did merge with the C&O, the Nickel Plate and Erie went their separate ways.

I wonder how today’s rail network would look had this merger happened. It would likely have been a dominant player in the rail scene.

Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon

My Only Snow Shot of the Season Was the Erie Heritage Locomotive on Painesville Trestle

On Sunday after I got home from church I checked HeritageUnits.com and saw that Norfolk Southern 1068 — the Erie heritage unit — was on the 22K.

Here are my shots at 11:20 a.m. at the Painesville trestle. Actually, these are my only snow shots this season. Also, the trestle is much more visible at this time as compared to mid-summer like when Nickel Plate Road 765 came through last July.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

In This Case, Trail Equaled Triumph

Of the thousands of photographs that have been made of the Erie heritage locomotive of Norfolk Southern, the three appearing on this page will not rank among the best.

In fact, they are likely to rank in the bottom quartile because they violate the cardinal rule of photographing NS H units: Trail Equals Fail.

Not only is NS 1068 trailing it is the middle of three units. That is about as desirable as sitting in middle seat on a long flight between two burly men on each side of you.

No way would I post these images on Trainorders.com.

About the only thing these images have going for them is that they are sharp, exposed well, feature nice composition and were made on a sunny day.

But these images having something that no other images of NS 1068 have. They are mine. They are the first images I’ve ever made of the Erie heritage unit.

Until this past Monday, NS 1068 was one of three NS heritage units I had not photographed and one of two that I had not seen.

The closest I’ve come to seeing the Erie H unit was an HO model pulling a train on a layout at the Berea train show this past October.

I don’t know how many times the Erie H unit has been through Northeast Ohio, but it is several. On none of those occasions was I able to get out to photograph or even watch it.

I never lost hope that someday I’d be in the right place at the right time and/or be able to get there.

But having hope and seeing what you wish for come to fruition are not the same thing.

My breakthrough came in an email message this past Monday saying that the NS 1068 was at Toledo at 7:30 a.m. on the 206, an intermodal train that takes the ex-Nickel Plate route east of Cleveland to Buffalo, N.Y.

It was a rare sunny day and I had time to get out. So off to Olmsted Falls I went.

It took the 206 a while to show up. Around 11 a.m. I thought I heard a radio transmission that said in part “NS 206.”

I made my way to the other side of the tracks and waited.

Until I actually saw it I couldn’t know for sure that I hadn’t missed it.

Like so many things in life, you want something for a long time and it seems as though it will never come or is out of reach.

Then one day when you are not expecting it the opportunity comes along.

I kept glancing down the tracks until finally a headlight appeared. Minutes later I could see green between the two black NS units. I was not going to be denied.

Months of frustration vanished into thin air. I saw and photographed the Erie heritage unit.

I wasn’t expecting to get a great shot. There is a reason for the “trail equals fail” bromide and there wasn’t anything I could do in Olmsted Falls to transform an average photo into a stellar one short of taking extraordinary methods that would require resources that I don’t have.

The 206 was really moving so my glimpse of the NS 1068 was brief.  I only saw it through my camera’s viewfinder.

Of course, I now want to get this thing leading a train. But who knows when that opportunity will come if it comes at all.

But I now have the NS 1068 in my collection. That leaves just the Central of Georgia and Conrail H units on my list of “yet to photograph.”  I’ve seen the former, but not the latter.

Five of the 18 H units that I’ve photographed were trailing so I only sort of have them.

There will be more missed opportunities and frustration in the pursuit of the final two and getting all of the “trailing 5” onto the lead.

But that is for another day. I want to savor the sweet taste of success at finally corralling the Erie H unit.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

The Great Locomotive Chase

It was cloudy, but there was no way that I was going to not make this image of the Erie heritage unit leading Norfolk Southern train 11K at CP Wing.

No, not the one of Civil War fame, but Saturday’s Norfolk Southern train 11K with the Erie heritage unit leading.

Considering the fact the Erie is (was) a hometown road in Akron, it remains my favorite of the 20 NS heritage units.

Once word filtered out about a daylight run west of Altoona the plan was set. I knew where I wanted to catch it first, the curves at CP Wing (Wilmerding, Pa.) with the town of Pitcairn in the background.

The one unknown was the weather. It would be a tough thing to time any sucker holes in the mostly overcast sky with the train, so multiple locations would be the plan in order to up those Vegas-like odds.

After my arrival at CP Wing, several other trains that were ahead of the 11K passed, then the 1068 showed up.

I was not even close on having sun, but even an overcast photo has some interest at this location so I fired away.

A quick run through downtown Pittsburgh got me ahead of the train. Leetsdale was the next location choice.

Of all things, I was hoping for a little overcast on that one due to backlighting, but the sun was out when it passed under the classic ex-Pennsylvania Railroad signal bridge.

A crew change at Conway Yard allowed me another to leap frog to Rochester and get photos of it departing Conway and approaching the Rochester home signal showing a “clear to Ohio” aspect.

My next stop was East Palestine just inside the Ohio border. This would prove to be the best light of this long chase.

Salem was next with the sun playing peek a boo as the train passed. Despite the long train this 11K rolled right along at track speed and would beat me to Alliance.

Weather reports from guys in the field indicated a few breaks in the clouds up in Cleveland, so, hey, why not? So off to Rockport Yard I went.

Cleveland had its usual backlog of trains but things were starting to move out. Radio chatter indicated a crew change at Rockport.

By the time the crews swapped out and an inspection was done on the units, what little sun there had been was gone.

I settled for a few photos from up above CP Max of the crew change and the train before it departed west. All in all a long day but an enjoyable one following the Erie.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee

Passing the iconic PRR position light signals at Leetsdale, Pa.

Rolling out of Conway Yard with a new Crew, the 11K is rumbling through Rochester, Pa.

At Rochester, the 11K received a “clear to Ohio” signal indication.

A touch of sunlight splashed over the Erie H unit at East Palestine, Ohio.

Passing through Salem, Ohio.

Wrapping up the chase by getting the crew change at Rockport Yard in Cleveland.