The Intricate Detail of NS 9-1-1

NS 9-1-1 on display at Central Union Terminal in Toledo for National Train Day. 2016.

I had seen Norfolk Southern 9-1-1 once before. It was pulling a Safety Express train and fellow Akron Railroad Club member Peter Bowler and I chased it from Bellevue to Bedford.

Since then, the first responders tribute locomotive has been through Northeast Ohio several times, but never when I was able to go trackside.

Some might say that when a locomotive is on display as the NS 9-1-1 was in early May at Toledo National Train Day, it is an artificial environment because the train is not really working.

Maybe so, but such displays enable the photographer to hone in on details you might miss when it zooms past you at track speed.

Although not a heritage unit per se, the 9-1-1 is an honorary member of the heritage locomotive family because it doesn’t look like your run of the mill NS engine.

It’s nose is about as colorful as any locomotive snout gets on any railroad with its bright red accented with white stripes, which creates a striking appearance.

The red is so dominant that it is easy to overlook the fact that most of the unit is actually painted black and the nose and cab have as much white as they do red.

NS 9-1-1 is one of those rare locomotives that also must be seen from the top down as from a bridge in order to truly appreciate the all-encompassing nature of its livery.

Presented here are a series of images showing various facets of the NS 9-1-1, including detail that might otherwise escape a trackside viewer.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

A view from the rear forward nicely shows the detail of the flanks.

Hundreds of images were made of NS 9-1-1 during the Toledo National Train Day festival.

A reminder of who is being honored with this locomotive.

A chance to see the rear of the unit uncovered.

At Last, I ‘Landed’ Amtrak P42DC No. 156

Amtrak No. 156, the Phase I heritage locomotive, led a train of a Viewliner baggage car, an Amfleet II coach, an Amfleet cafe car and a Viewliner sleeper.

Until early this month, I had seen Amtrak P42DC just once. That occurred as I was leaving Chicago Union Station aboard the eastbound Capitol Limited and I got a glimpse of the 156 sitting in the coach yard south of the depot.

My memory is that it went out later that night on the point of the eastbound Lake Shore Limited.

I’m one to think that Amtrak’s Phase I livery was its best. In particular, I liked how it looked on the SDP40F locomotives, but the E and F units looked nice in the “pointless arrow” scheme, too.

The Phase I livery did not look so good on GG1 electric motors, but I never saw any of those other than in photographs.

No. 156 has been all over the country, but our paths have never crossed. I’ve seen scores of photographs of it, including some made in Cleveland.

Some guys I know in the Akron Railroad Club have caught No. 156 more than once. I, though, never even had as much as a near miss with the 156.

I didn’t know that it would be in Toledo for this year’s National Train Day event until Friday afternoon before the event when I saw a posting about it on Facebook. Needless to say, that had me quite excited.

My friend Adam and I arrived in Toledo just after 8 a.m. and there was, at long last, the 156.

Yes, I took a lot of photographs of it. To be sure, it was just sitting there, providing hotel power for an Amtrak display train.

But that didn’t matter. It’s nose was open and it looked like it was pulling a train.

Now that I finally have it, the next challenge is to catch it actually leading a train on the road. That might take some time and a little bit of luck as well.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Of course I made a roster shot of Amtrak 156.

The nose needs a little touch-up painting to cover some scratches and dings from life on the road.

The passenger side of the platform with the display train.

If the fuel outlet is where the edge of the “pointless arrow” is supposed to go, no problem. Just paint over it.

Roger’s Take on Toledo National Train Day

Among the first responders who posed with Norfolk Southern 9-1-1 were a Toledo Fire Department Truck . . .

. . . an a Norfolk Southern police vehicle and officer.

The former BNSF speeder that I rode.

The far east end of Toledo Central Union Terminal as seen from a speeder.

NS 9-1-1 and Ann Arbor 3879 lined up for display.

An Amtrak Thruway bus features the Amtrak logo as well as the markings of its owner/operator.

Greyhound now serves Toledo Central Union Terminal.

I stayed overnight in Toledo on Friday and then spent Saturday at the annual National Train Day festival. Here is a selection of special photographs that I made.

BNSF No. 336 is the speeder I rode. The station photo showing the old platforms  at the east end was taken from the speeder.

Photographs by Roger Durfee

NS 9-1-1, Amtrak 156, Ann Arbor Heritage Unit Shine Under Friday Night Lights at Toledo C.U.T.

Amtrak’s Phase I heritage locomotive was on the point of a four car display train that mimicked the consist of the Lake Shore Limited.

Here is a selection of the night photos from Toledo’s National Train Day festival that were made on Friday night.

The engineer is Engineer Steve, one of the main driving forces behind the National Train Day in Toledo and the one who set up the equipment. Lighting was provided by David Patch, a transportation reporter with The Blade of Toledo.

Photographs by Roger Durfee

Norfolk Southern’s
first responders tribute unit looks spiffy. Behind it is Ann Arbor GP38 No. 3879.

Watco brought out its Ann Arbor heritage locomotive, a GP38.

Engineer Steve poses at the controls of SD60E No. 9-1-1 on display at Toledo Central Union Terminal.

Engineer Steve climbs aboard Amtrak P42DC No. 156 as he “goes to work.”

NS 9-1-1 and the photographers that captured it under the lights.

 

Highlights From National Train Day in Toledo

 

The New York Central heritage locomotive was right at home in a train station built by the railroad that this H unit honors.

In recent years the National Train Day event in Toledo has been one of the country’s largest as well as earliest. The Toledo organizers recognized early on that if they wanted to have Amtrak equipment on display they couldn’t go head to head with such events as that held in Chicago.

So, Toledo holds NTD a week early and this year that was May 3. There was much going on that day, too. Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 was pulling a Norfolk Southern employee appreciation special between Elkhart, Ind., and Bryan, Ohio.

Perhaps the “star” of the Toledo NTD event was the New York Central heritage unit. It arrived Friday nght, a little later than expected, but it still got there and took its place at the far west end of an equipment display on Track No. 1

Also on display was an Amtrak P32 locomotive, and three Superliner cars. Those included a coach, sleeper and diner. NTD visitors were welcome to board the exhibit train and get a glimpse of Amtrak accommodations.

The three cars must have felt at home as they probably have been through Toledo many times on Amtrak’s Capitol Limited.

Also on hand were locomotives from the Wheeling & Lake Erie and the Great Lakes Central, a Michigan based regional carrier.

On Saturday morning as I visited the NTD before going on in pursuit of the NKP 765, a group of Boy Scouts were getting a presentation about how diesel locomotives operate. The Scouts were working on the requirements for the railroading merit badge.

Although officially scheduled to open at 9:30 a.m., visitors began arriving well before then. The concourse level of Central Union Terminal was filled with model railroad displays and tables from various railroad groups, including passenger train advocates and railroad unions. Entertainment was provided for the crowd as well.

It was my first visit to the Toledo NTD event and I just might find myself returning next year.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

The lineup of exhibit equipment on Track No. 1 at Toledo CUT on National Train Day.

Another view of the concourse area of Toledo CUT. This is just inside the street-level entrance.

Amtrak P32 locomotives are not normal visitors to Toledo as the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited usually operate with P42 locomotives.

Visitors disembark after touring the Amtrak exhibit train.

Track car rides were offered on a siding at the east end of the station. These tracks are sometimes used to store private passenger cars.

Model railroads and display tables lined the concourse area of Toledo CUT. At one time passengers were board trains from here by descending stairways to track level.

The Conrail Historical Society table featured models of Conrail locomotives.

The Amtrak equipment display wasn’t the only tribute to Amtrak at NTD. This model layout had an Amtrak train with an eclectic consist.

Cannonball Paul serenaded the early morning attendees of the Toledo NTD event.

 

 

Toledo Train Day Event Called Success

Officials with the sixth annual National Train Day in Toledo on May 4 said thousands of participants attended the event, including Toledo Mayor Mike Bell. Toledo holds its National Train Day event a week before the national date to ensure display equipment from Amtrak.

Amtrak showed off a three-car Superliner set that included a coach, sleeper and dining car. Leading the consist was P42 No. 142 and on the rear were two private cars owned by Charter Steel. Those were not open for tours.

Norfolk Southern brought GP38-2 No. 5337 and the TRANSCAER hazmat training cars. The Wheeling & Lake Erie brought GP40-3 No. 305.

One NS heritage unit, SD70ACe No. 1073 in Penn Central paint, led an eastbound crude oil train passed the depot while the festivities were being held.

There Will be a Toledo National Train Day Event

Turns out there will be a National Train Day celebration in Toledo this year, but it won’t be the same day as the date set by Amtrak.

The Toledo National Train Day will be observed on Saturday, May 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Toledo Amtrak station. Most National Train Day events will be held on May 11.

Further details about displays and events will, presumably, be announced later.