IC, CP and an All Day Wait for NS 1074

Achieving my first objective of the day was easy. A Canadian National train with three Illinois Central locomotives showed up shortly after I arrived in Conneaut.

Last Sunday didn’t get off to a good start. I got up later than I expected or wanted.

I had toyed with the idea of leaving at 5 a.m. and trying to catch the eastbound Lake Shore Limited in Conneaut or North East, Pennsylvania.

But with the weather looking iffy, I didn’t want to get an early start only to have mostly cloudy skies. Catching No. 48 can wait for a better day.

Shortly before 7 a.m. someone posted on Heritageunits.com that the Lackawanna heritage locomotive of Norfolk Southern was leading the 14M at Wampum, Pennsylvania.

A quick online check of NS train symbols showed the 14M to be a Conway to Buffalo, New York, train.

How long would it take to get to Conneaut? I figured it to be a manifest freight that might work in Youngstown and even in Conneaut. Somewhere along the way it would need to change crews.

I didn’t get away until about 8:30. As I drove on I-90 past Carson Yard on the NS Youngstown Line south of Ashtabula I looked to see if the 14M was there. It wasn’t.

Once in Conneaut I headed north on Mill Street but nothing was sitting in the yard other than the usual yard power.

I got stopped at the CSX crossing by an eastbound ballast train. I parked in the lot for the Conneaut Historical Society across from the CSX Erie West Subdivision tracks.

I had three objectives for the day. Catch a train on Canadian National – the former Bessemer & Lake Erie – get the 14M and bag a pair of those Citirail units that CSX has been leasing of late.

There was no guarantee the Bessemer would be operating today from Conneaut, but there was  a good chance that it would and that it would have Illinois Central motive power.

The 14M looked like a good bet but bagging the Citirail units would be a long shot.

I set up my antenna, checked the frequencies on my scanner and waited. Less than two minutes later I heard a transmission on the B&LE channel. A train was working in the yard.

Over to the Main Street crossing I went. The B&LE channel got quiet for about 10 to 15 minutes before the switching moves resumed.

By now NS 316 had arrived in town and was working the yard. In the process they discovered they had a loaded car destined for Bellevue. Should they leave it in Conneaut or take it to Buffalo?

“Take it with you,” was the response of the Youngstown Line dispatcher.

It was getting to be late morning when Illinois Central 1034 and two sister IC units came out of the yard and poked their noses out beyond the NS trestle over Conneaut Creek.

The crew was wrapping up putting together its train. I was hoping to get the lead unit of the NS 316 crossing the trestle above IC 1034, but it was not to be.

The CN train had left town by the time the 316 ambled eastbound with Canadian Pacific No. 8917 on the point.

Under normal circumstances, I would have chased the CN train into Pennsylvania. But today I still had unfinished business. I returned to the historical society parking lot next to the CSX tracks.

It was about noon when I heard the Youngstown Line dispatcher make radio contact with the 14M.

The discussion occurred on the Youngstown Line frequency so 14M still had yet to reach Ashtabula.

Eastbound traffic on the former Nickel Plate Road mainline through Ashtabula was heavy, so the dispatcher agreed to recrew the 14M at Carson.

In the eastbound parade were intermodal trains 22K and 206 along with auto rack train 28N.

I didn’t bother to seek out the 22K or 206. Instead I focused on CSX for awhile.

An eastbound rail train came through around 12:30 p.m. that was followed by an eastbound stack train.

Shortly thereafter, a westbound monster freight, the Q393, slowly made its way through town with all 15,000 feet of it making all of 30 mph.

Welcome to the world of E. Hunter Harrison’s precision scheduled railroading.

I later heard the IH dispatcher tell another train he would do his best to get that train around the Q393, but it would be difficult.

Around 1:38 p.m. the Youngstown Line dispatcher talked with the 14M again. The new crew was on board and the train was on the move.

It must have moved slowly because by mid-afternoon it still wasn’t out of Ashtabula. It would follow train 310.

In the meantime, another story began playing out on NS. I had heard the dispatcher periodically tell the crew of westbound 287, an auto rack train, that it would be waiting in yet another siding for yet another eastbound.

The 287 must have been in and out of every siding between here and Buffalo.

Around 3 p.m. the dispatcher told the 287 it would have to go into the siding at PA for the 310 and the 14M. The latter was just now coming around the Buffalo connection in Ashtabula.

The 287 crew reminded the dispatcher it had been on duty since 5 a.m. But his brushed that aside saying they needed to take that up with the first trick dispatcher who was on duty “when that baby was born.”

I also learned that the 14M would be dropping off a locomotive at Conneaut. Less than 15 minutes later the dispatcher, his supervisor or the NS computer program that makes train dispatching decisions had a change of heart.

The 287 would come into Conneaut for a recrew. But the new crew would have the same experience the old crew old had, having to wait for opposing traffic. In this case it would mean waiting at the west end of Parish siding for the 310 and 14M.

It was getting to be late afternoon and I was getting impatient. Where was the 14M?

I decided to go look for it. I drove out to Parish Road on the west side of Conneaut, parked and walked up onto the bridge.

But there was no sign of the 14M and the signal at the west end of the yard for eastbounds was red. A CSX westbound passed by but I didn’t pay it much mind.

I noticed that the connecting track from NS to CSX, which I’ve been told was put in during the Conrail era and once hosted a detour of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, is still in place, but overgrown with weeds.

NS has altered the switch so that it now appears to act as a derail yet it is no longer possible to move a train into the connection track to CSX.

As I waited for the 14M, a large bank of clouds moved in and covered the sun. It had been sun and clouds for most of the day, but the weather was taking a turn.

I was about to give up and go back into town when I heard a horn to the west. Maybe that was the 14M.

Soon a headlight popped up on the horizon. The signal at the west end of the yard was still red and the train was moving slowly.

A glimpse through my telephoto lens confirmed that the Lackawanna H unit was on the point.

The 14M stopped but it didn’t last long because the signal turned to an approach indication.

I got my photographs and drove back to the historical society. Shortly after arriving, the heavens opened and we had an intense, although brief, shower that produced small hail pellets.

I listened to the 14M on the radio as it worked in the Conneaut Yard. During the process I got a CSX westbound freight that was a mere 300 plus axles. I guess those cars wouldn’t fit on the Q393.

By now it was apparent I wasn’t going to get any Citirail units leading on CSX today.

The 14M finished its work and I drove over to the Main Street crossing of the B&LE to photograph NS 1074 on the trestle over Conneaut Creek.

It was nearly 5:30 p.m. and I needed to head for home. It had taken all day, but I had finally got a heritage unit, the first one I’ve photographed since January.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Looks like it is going to be a nice spring day.

IC 1034 and its train will be leaving town shortly.

Looking west down Main Street.

NS train 316 had a Canadian Pacific leader and a loaded car that was supposed to have been routed to Bellevue.

The W021 has a load of rail bound for some eastern work site.

The ATVs racing along side this eastbound CSX stack train were not part of the original plan for making this image.

Trying to show Q017 along with a pair of flowering trees.

The crew of NS train 287 was relieved to hear the dispatcher say there had been a change of plans and they would come into Conneaut sooner rather than later.

A black locomotive and a bright red garage.

At last the 14M is approaching Conneaut with the feature attraction of the day on NS.

Coming into Conneaut on an approach.

After the rain came a short by today’s CSX standards manifest freight.

The last image of the day was one I waited several hours to get.

Easy Catch in Conneaut

I had a hankering to see some Illinois Central motive power so, naturally, I went to Conneaut to find it.

It didn’t take long. I had parked opposite of the former New York Central passenger station along the CSX Erie West Subdivision.

I turned on my scanner and the first radio transmission I heard was a Canadian National crew making switching moves in the yard of the former Bessemer & Lake Erie.

So off I went to the Main Street crossing to wait. Within 15 to 20 minutes IC SD70 No. 1034 and two other IC sister units pulled down by the Norfolk Southern trestle.

It would be the easiest catch of the day.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Bessemer Orange Fading to IC Black

My first glimpse of an Illinois Central SD70 on the Bessemer & Lake Erie came in Albion, Pa., on a northbound train.

I photographed my first Bessemer & Lake Erie locomotive on Nov. 12, 2005. It was a beautiful late fall day with warm weather and blue skies.

Ed Ribinskas and I had ventured to Conneaut to photograph Norfolk Southern trains on the trestle over Conneaut Creek.

Getting a B&LE train that day was a bonus. It wasn’t much, just a yard job coming out of the yard for head room.

B&LE No. 868 had its nose against a cut of hopper cars, but I didn’t care. That orange and black unit looked sharp in the autumn sun.

Over the next nine years I made occasional forays to the Bessemer, sometimes with Ed, sometimes with Marty and sometimes with others.

It always amazed me that the orange and black motive power on the B&LE remained for as long as it did.

There always seemed to be rumors about replacement locomotives being sent to the Bessemer, but those never seemed to show up.

Reportedly, locomotives painted in parent Canadian National colors worked on the B&LE, but I never saw one nor did they last for long.

Fast forward nine years. I’m again in Conneaut with Ed. There is a yard job working and doing a lot of talking on the yard channel.

At one point someone says there is an inbound train that is expected to arrive around lunch time.

We head for Albion, Pa., where the signal that you can see from East Pearl Street displays an approach indication.

We also hear the detector south of town announce that a northbound train has passed through.

We parked and walked to the east side of the crossing. A fresh coating of snow covered the ground and some of it clings to the rails. At least the sun is out.

In recent weeks, the railfan cyber world has been talking about six Illinois Central SD70 locomotives being assigned to the Bessemer Subdivision. Being that the IC is my favorite railroad, I consider this to be fantastic news.

The opportunity to see an IC unit is what prompted me to call Ed and suggest that we go to the B&LE on Saturday morning.

The gates go down at Main Street and a locomotive nose comes around the curve. It has the famed IC “deathstar” on the nose. I’m quite elated.

I see orange behind the two IC SD70s, Nos. 1032 and 1034. Then I see red. That is not so good news. It means that a CN unit will be leading when the train leaves Conneaut.

At least it is bright red and looks good, unlike the other two CN units on the B&LE that all but scream to be repainted.

Ed and I chased the train back to Conneaut, getting it from the U.S. 20 overpass as it comes into town off the horseshoe curve.

As the train makes its way into the yard, I hear a locomotive horn on Norfolk Southern and a longtime dream of mine of getting an NS train over a Bessemer train finally comes true.

Later, Ed and I are sitting in my car by the Old Main Street crossing waiting for the road crew to finish its work in the yard and head out of town.

We talk about past outings that we’ve had on the Bessemer. Ed tells of the time that he and Robert Surdyk, walked along the tracks toward the yard to photograph two F units sitting there.

I reminisce about an April 2007 outing I made with Marty Surdyk in which I chased a B&LE train out of Conneaut for the first time.

As Ed and I traded stories, it dawned on me that today represents the end of an era for railfanning on the Bessemer.

The B&LE that I had come to be quite fond of was going away. No, the railroad itself will still be there and I’m still excited about the prospect of seeing motive power consists of all IC black and white.

As much as I like the IC, those locomotives will always seem a little out of place on the Bessemer.

The B&LE was a boutique operation that hauled iron ore pellets and limestone for the steel miles of Pittsburgh.

If the Bessemer hauled any other freight, I never saw it. There is a siding at Conneautville, Pa., that could, presumably, be used to deliver agriculture products.

But I never saw a boxcar or a manifest freight on the Bessemer, only hopper cars.

Last year the B&LE started handling coal and that was the commodity that Ed and I saw being pulled on Saturday out of Albion.

With centralized traffic control, well maintained rail and searchlight signals, the B&LE had the look and feel of a big time railroad even if, relatively speaking, it wasn’t that large and had a low level of daily traffic.

The B&LE will continue to have those things and it will continue to cater to the needs of the steel industry.

It was, after all, once owned by U.S. Steel and its reason for existence has not changed. We won’t be seeing intermodal traffic on the B&LE anytime soon and probably never.

A lot of B&LE fans are upset that the orange and black SD40Ts are being taken away and that motive power with Bessemer orange will become rare if not nonexistent.

I’m thankful that I took the time to photograph the Bessemer when it still had its B&LE character.

But now a new chapter is about to be written and I’m going to make sure that I get over there to document it.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

The nose of IC 1032 is battered and bruised and the unit looks like it could use a shower to wash away the road dirt and grime.

 

The full consist is on display as the train leans into the curve on the north side of Albion, Pa.

One benefit of winter is that the trains are easier to see when coming through a forest.

A wide perspective of the B&LE train grinding and twisting its way through the valley of Conneaut Creek.

Think of all of the history that has been seen out of the windows of that house on the hillside overlooking the B&LE tracks in Conneaut.

Heading into the yard where there is plenty of work to do.

Bonus! Norfolk Southern train 145 crosses over the top of the inbound B&LE train. It is the first time I’ve gotten an over and under image of these two railroads.

Words that are quite pleasing to me, even if they seem out of place.

The classic image of a B&LE train along Conneaut Creek. In this case, though, the train is backing into the yard.

CN 5422 leads the train out of the yard for good. Conneaut Creek is to the right and few people are fishing in it today.

It might be the last B&LE SD40T that I ever photograph in action. It is trailing CN 5422 at Pond Road.

 

IC ‘Heritage Units’ on the Former IC

My first glimpse of IC 1027 came at Paxton, Ill. My eyes must have lighted up at the site of the IC “death star” logo on the nose.

I don’t know how many locomotives still exist that wear the Illinois Central’s Spartan black and white livery with the “deathstar” logo, but judging by what I read on railfan websites that number is small and shrinking.

The IC was acquired by Canadian National in 1998 and a year later CN began integrating the IC into its network. For awhile the term “CN-IC” was used in daily operations, but that term seems to have fallen by the wayside and it’s just CN today.

You might think that the former IC mainline between Chicago and New Orleans might be a good place to be if you wanted to see former IC locomotives still wearing IC “colors.”

But that is not necessarily the case. On my last couple of visits to the former IC I saw nary a locomotive in IC “colors.” I put the word “colors” in quotation marks because, truth be told, there is nothing colorful about the IC locomotive livery.

But the IC is and always will be my favorite railroad so those locomotives look beautiful to me. But fact I rarely get to see, let alone photograph, them only makes me covet them all the more.

Earlier this month I made a pilgrimage back to my home state to do some research and get in some railfanning along the former Mainline of Mid-America.

I could have chosen a better time. The weather was lousy nearly all the while that I was there with overcast skies and frequent rain.

But I did get lucky in one regard. I would see two locomotives still wearing the IC “deathstar” livery.

I was sitting at Paxton, Ill., listening to the scanner when the Desk 2 RTC Homewood dispatcher spoke with a southbound about to leave Gilman. The conversation revealed that the lead unit was the IC 1027. That got my attention big time.

So when that train came through Paxton my eyes must have widened at the sight of the lead unit with the white “deathstar” logo on the nose.

I thought that would be the end of it with the 1027, but later that day I was pulling out of a Culvers in Champaign when a southbound went past with the 1027 in the lead. The chase was on.

I managed to get this train at Pesotum and Mattoon. The latter happens to be where I grew up and hence getting an IC locomotive passing the former IC passenger station was special, very special.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

About to cross beneath the foot bridge in Paxton.

Part of the passenger station at Pesotum is visible at right. This is a nice place to hang out and watch trains the former IC.

The southbound is passing beneath the Richmond Avenue bride in Mattoon on Track No. 2. Note the remnants of the passenger platform in the lower right-hand corner. The New York Central’s St. Louis line use to cross over the IC on a bridge that used to be in the foreground of this view.

IC 1027 and train pass the former IC passenger station in Mattoon, which is still used by Amtrak. This was the money shot of the sequence in my view.

The IC 1004 was the third unit in the motive power consist but for me there is no “trail equals fail” when it comes to IC locomotives. It is shown in Neoga, Ill., the day before I captured the IC 1027.

Just Sitting There for the (Picture) Taking

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve managed to catch a small selection of NS heritage units. The Reading unit spent a good bit of time sitting in a siding just east of Bucyrus with a damaged traction motor.

This “sitting duck” allowed me to check out a few different angles along with the standard roster view.

Another sitting duck was the Interstate unit on Easter Sunday at Freshly Road a little west of Alliance on the Fort Wayne Line. Someone, a “PC” fan from the looks of it, put the PC logo in the nose dirt.

The New York Central unit led an empty oiler west past work last week.

While not NS, this Illinois Central unit can sure qualify as “heritage” in my book. It was the middle unit on the circus train power in Youngstown last week.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee