Breaking a Year Long Drought

I should have left for home more than a half hour earlier. The sun had sunk below the tops of the trees and shadows enveloped the tracks of the New Castle District of Norfolk Southern in its namesake city in Indiana.

But I wanted to get “one more” even though I knew the images I might make would be marginal from a lighting standpoint.

That “one more” was not an ordinary train. It was NS train 282, a container train operating from Simpson Yard in Jacksonville, Florida, to Landers Yard in Chicago, with ES44AC No. 8102 on the point.

You might recognize that as the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage locomotive. An added bonus was that I would be catching the 8102 on rails that once had been the Pennsy’s primary passenger route between Chicago and Cincinnati.

It wasn’t like I haven’t photographed the 8102 before. I’ve caught it several times, including with such Pennsy artifacts as position light signals at CP Mace in Massilon and a bridge with a PRR keystone logo still painted on it in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

Getting the PRR heritage unit in and of itself, though, wasn’t what was keeping me trackside.

It had been a year and two days since I had last caught an NS train with any heritage unit leading.

For that matter it had been more than seven months since I landed an NS train with a heritage unit trailing. My luck has been that bad.

I had known for several hours about the 282 having the PRR heritage locomotive. There had been reports on HeritageUnits.com from Kentucky and in Cincinnati.

The last of those, at 12:40 p.m. reported the 282 was moving north in the Cincinnati terminal after having worked in the yard.

An unanswered question was how long it would take the 282 to get up from Cincinnati to New Castle. There had been no more reports on HU.com of en route sightings.

By late afternoon I knew the 282 was tantalizing close. The dispatcher had contacted the 282 crew to give it a 25 mph speed restriction. And I had heard a voice say the 282 was on the approach, whatever that meant.

Two trains, the 122 and the 174, were ahead of it and I photographed both in the nice late day light of late autumn that I was hoping would linger long enough for the passage of the 282.

As each minute ticked away the sun got a little lower and the shadows moved a little further over the rails. Sunset would be at 5:22 p.m. and it was now nearly 5 p.m.

It was shortly after 5 p.m. when I finally heard what I had been waiting to hear. The detector went off at milepost 95.3. The 282 was about five miles away.

Several minutes later came the sound of a locomotive horn blowing for grade crossings I couldn’t see. Then around a curve came a headlight.

Looking looked through my telephotos lens I determined that – yes – the nose was Tuscan red with gold pinstripes.

Two of the several images I made were decent enough to show, especially after I processed them in Adobe Photoshop. Still they are grainy and feature a dark locomotive in shadows.

I hope my next heritage unit on the lead sighting won’t take a year to get and that it will be in better lighting. But who knows.

There is a lot of luck involved in finding heritage and tribute locomotives. It is the proverbial being in the right place at the right time. Some places tend to be more right than others.

All I can do is get out there and hope the sun, the stars and the moon are all in alignment.

In fact, last Friday, when I made the images of the NS 8102 was a full moon day. You don’t think . . . nah, that can’t be it. Or is it?

Pair of Pennsy Keystones

It’s one Pennsylvania Railroad keystone rolling over the top of another Pennsy keystone in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. NS No. 8102 is leading westbound stack train 21Q, which is passing an eastbound stack train on the Fort Wayne Line.

Last Saturday my friend Adam Barr and I headed for Pittsburgh for a morning of railfanning Norfolk Southern in the steel city.

We had been in town about a half-hour when an an online report popped up that the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit was headed west past Manor, Pennsylvania, with a load of sea cans. That turned out to be stack train 21Q.

Manor is east of the Pittsburgh where the Pennsylvania Turnpike crosses over the NS Pittsburgh line between Pittsburgh and Altoona, Pennsylvania.

We headed for California Avenue with the idea of getting an image of the locomotive paying tribute to the PRR on a structure that was built by the PRR, the Ohio Connecting Bridge that today carries the NS Mon Line.

When I think of railroads in Pittsburgh, structures such as this come to mind. I also think of the former Pennsylvania Railroad.

We were able to get ahead of the train and catch it at CP Leets in Leetsdale. Although I had my scanner on, we didn’t get any warning of the train approaching because I didn’t pick it up calling any signals.

Our “heads up” was another railfan bolting from his car and running toward the bridge over the tracks that carries a road leading into an industrial park. I was barely able to get the shot I wanted of the Pennsy heritage unit passing former Pennsy position light signals.

We weren’t sure if we could beat the 21Q to East Conway because it was moving along at a good clip. But it turned out the stacker would have a long wait there because of traffic working in Conway Yard that needed to come out to East Conway for head room as well as the need for the 21Q to change crews.

Our last photo op of the 21Q was planned for the bridge over the Beaver River in Beaver Falls. But things did not go according to plan because Adam, who was driving, could not find a parking spot in a timely manner.

He dropped me off at the east end of the sidewalk of the bridge and I walked as fast as I could toward the river. I wouldn’t make it.

The 21Q had already called the signal at the Brighton and I could see its headlight illuminating the sides of the containers of an eastbound stack train that was slowly making its way toward Conway.

I noticed the Fort Wayne Line bridge had an old, but faded Pennsylvania Railroad keystone and decided to make that the focal point of my last photograph of NS 8102, thus ending my chase of the 21Q with an image of a pair of Pennsy keystones.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Coming at you on the OC bridge.

When I think of Pittsburgh I think of massive bridges and the Pennsylvania Railroad. This is as close as I can come to recreating the golden age of the PRR in the steel city.

For the second time in 2016, I caught the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage locomotive passing by former PRR position light signals.

With a new crew on board, the 21Q gets underway at East Conway.

A roster-type shot at East Conway of NS 8102.

Chasing the PRR H Unit on the ex-Pennsy

Last Sunday the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit led Norfolk Southern train 12V across the former Pennsy mainline via Bucyrus and Alliance.

With our club picnic being held in nearby Warwick Park, four ARRC members were out in force to catch this move.

My first stop was Mace interlocking in Massillon where the PRR crosses the former Baltimore & Ohio from Warwick.

Myself, Craig Sanders, Steve McMullen and a few others were there to witness its passage.

I also found out that a 66Z with Canadian Pacific motive power was following the 12V. I didn’t stick around for that as I wanted to catch 12V at some other spots.

Next up I went to Wandle crossing in Canton. Jim Mastramatteo and Ron McElrath were already set up.

After that I went to Fairhope which is the east end of Canton yard. The 12V was doing some switching there and I caught a meet with a westbound coal train, the NS 776.

Next was Beech Road at Maximo where Don Woods and Dave Shepherd were there waiting. They had a slight scare as the NS 169 showed up right before 12V, but it was on the opposite track and all was well.

It had been overcast and even raining but here the sun came out, which made for some nice photos.

Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon

Double PRR Heritage at Mace

From a train watching perspective, the highlight of the 2016 Akron Railroad Club picnic was the passage of the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit in late afternoon.

Of course, I had to drive to Massillon to see it because it was leading Norfolk Southern train 12V, a Bellevue to Conway (Pittsburgh) manifest freight that works in Mansfield and Canton en route.

I’ve only seen NS 8102 trailing and each time it was behind Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765.

So here was my chance to get it leading and get it on former Pennsy rails to boot.

I chose to set up at Cherry Road NW just south of Mace interlocking. I wanted to get it coming past the PRR position light signals there.

That called for a straight-on shot and I thought I could move over and get a three-quarter roster type shot.

But the 12V was moving faster than I expected and I couldn’t move fast enough or get set in time to get that other image.

But I’m satisfied with this one even if the lighting wasn’t the greatest. Call it a double dose of PRR heritage.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

‘Family Tree Week’ Continues at Rockport

It was family tree week at Rockport Yard in Cleveland last week with the Pennsylvania ,  Penn Central, Conrail and, of course, NS locomotives making an appearance.

In a previous blog entry we saw the Conrail and the Penn Central H units. In this entry the PRR is featured at Rockport.

This colorful duo was power off the 11J that was heading for the Knob to spin. The PRR would be cut away after the turn and added to an eastbound as its cab signal leader.

The 7239 would then take the 11J solo to Fairlane Yard. I was happy to catch the ex-Union Pacific big EMD with a clean nose. These units are usually coupled to NS units due to the ex-UP units not being cab signal equipped.

Article and Photoraphs by Roger Durfee

Bad Luck = Missing NS 8101 Yet Again

The 24W has completed its work at the Maple Heights intermodal facility and it heading eastbound in Bedford, Ohio, on Sunday, Aug. 25.

Before I left home on Sunday morning for the Akron Railroad Club outing to Alliance I saw online that the Central of Georgia heritage locomotive was leading an eastbound train that was sitting at the fuel pad in Elkhart, Ind.

I felt a surge of excitement. Of all the Norfolk Southern heritage units that I’ve yet to photograph, No. 8101 is the one I would most like to get.

The report did not say what train the 8101 was leading. Chances were good that it might be bound for Conway Yard near Pittsburgh or beyond. If so, I had a shot at capturing it during the Akron Railroad Club outing in Alliance.

Shortly after I arrived in Alliance, fellow ARRC member Paul Tait checked Heritage Units.com on his smart phone and determined that the Central of Georgia H unit was leading the 14N, a train that would pass through Alliance.

That got me even more excited. Today was going to be the day.

You see I have a history with the 8101. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend 2012, the 8101 led a train westward through Cleveland during the afternoon.

I drove to Olmsted Falls to catch it, only to miss it by a few minutes. In early November last year I was in the Kent-Brady Lake area when the 8101 led a westbound grain train through the area around the noon hour.

I was less than a mile away from the NS tracks, but had no idea that the 8101 was in the area. Not long after that miss, I was driving home on Chester Avenue in Cleveland when I spotted the 8101 from a distance. It was a trailing unit and I didn’t have my camera with me, not that I could have gotten a photo of it given the situation.

The 8101 has been through Northeast Ohio a few other times, but I was either working, tied up with other commitments or it came past during the nighttime hours.

Paul continued to monitor the progress of the 14N as we watched trains pass through Alliance.

The 14N moved rather slowly. It was reported at Toledo at 12:44 p.m., but didn’t get out of there until nearly 2:30. The Chicago Line was congested and the 14N would not reach Berea until 5:39 p.m. It had to change crews and work at Rockport Yard.

Just before 4 p.m., fellow ARRC officer Marty Surdyk suggested that we would have a better chance of getting the 14N and the 8102 at Bedford.

Marty learned from a source that the new crew for the 14N had been called for 5 p.m.

So we trekked up to Bedford, ending up at the Willis Picnic Area of the Bedford Reservation because the “tot lot” was full when we got there.

We had no sooner parked when Marty got a text saying the 14N didn’t have a conductor. The next available crew for the 14N was called for 7:40 p.m.

Even in a best case scenario, the chances of the 14N passing our location during daylight were pretty slim. A few NS trains ran past us until we decided about 7:30 to go to dinner.

There was barely enough sunlight peeking over and between the trees to illuminate the power of the 24W, which turned out to be the last train that I photographed on this day.

It is a nice photograph but not of equal value to what I missed out on. I went home that night feeling sharply disappointed.

Marty and I had failed in the sense that we had not achieved our objective. That doesn’t mean, though, that we were failures.

We didn’t do anything wrong or in an incompetent manner. We had a good plan, but things just didn’t work out as we had hoped. Circumstances beyond our control were just not in our favor.

I’m still disappointed that I missed the 8101, but I also understand that there is an element of luck involved in photographing heritage units, including circumstances being in your favor.

I’ll keep watching for the 8101. I might even have another outing or two where I miss it. I’d like to think that I’ll get it someday but that is not guaranteed.

One thing is for sure, though. Catching up with this locomotive is higher on my wish list now than it was before Sunday.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

And There Sat the Interstate H Unit

This past Sunday we went to a train show in Michigan.  We were hoping to catch the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit at Clay Center, where it had been since last week.

Upon exiting the Ohio Turnpike at Milan, we were surprised and shocked to find the Interstate heritage unit leading an ethanol train (65T) sitting on the U.S. 250 overpass.

After bagging the 8105 we continued to Clay Center and caught the 8102. That’s not bad for a mornings work.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

2 Heritage Units Sunday in Cleveland

Sunday, Dec. 22 was just a nice day to be out. A rare bit of sunshine and hanging out with some friends made for a good day.

The appearance of two Norfolk southern heritage units didn’t hurt either, the Pennsylvania Railroad unit on a coke train and the Wabash on No. 316.

A local (BR92?) got the call to take the PRR powered coke train down the hill to Campbell Road Yard.

Once that task was complete, the power was split and the PRR unit headed back up the hill solo to grab stone empties at Shelly Materials in Linndale.

In a bit of perfect timing, the 316 had pulled up and stopped in preparation to set off a long cut of cars at Rockport just as the PRR unit was pulling up to Linndale yard.

The result was the PRR meets the Wabash just west of CP 490 on the Cloggsville Line in Linndale (Cleveland).

Earlier in the day at Campbell Road Yard, the PRR unit is shown pulling up to the yard office then parked with the steel mill in the background.

In the fading light of the day the PRR unit sits tied on to empties at Linndale. Note their ex Lehigh Valley U23B off to the right and the Keybank building in downtown Cleveland on the left.

I had stopped earlier to bag the BX01 departing Campbell Road Yard. The first view is waiting for permission up the hill.

The second view if of the second one departing. The diamonds under No. 3401 are the crossing of the ex-Baltimore & Ohio’s CT&V Sub.

The diamond just ahead of the train is the former B&O CL&W Sub. Both lines are now owned by CSX.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee

Chasing 765 in Pennsylvania

I went to catch Nickel Plate Road No. 765 on Saturday (May 18) in Pennsylvania.  Here are some of those pictures.

Our first goal was to get the train at MG tower but apparently Norfolk Southern police were not letting anybody in there. So we went to second choice of Bennington curve.

After getting the 765 here and at the Slide on return trip, we then headed to the Cassandra overlook for a few hours catching several NS trains. The best catch was a 64R oil tankers train with new tank cars.

Next it was off to Gallitzin to catch the afternoon trip at Tunnel Hill.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

Sunday with the NKP 765

The day and chase began at Rocky River when I got the shot of the outbound train arriving on the trestle. It was worth the wait of an hour.

Steamin’ and chuggin’ past the east end of Vermilion.

About to pass beneath the Ohio Route 4 overpass in the NS Yards at Bellevue. We ran into “The Griff” here along with his uncle, Marty Surdyk.

Slowly making its way to the stop at Bellevue.

Sunday’s Rocky River to Bellevue trip was like going back 25 years. We ran to basically everybody and their brother. The crowd at Bellevue (shown here) was like the old days.

Marty’s favorite Norfolk Southern heritage unit. I’ll bet he used a whole roll of film on this baby alone. He probably wished he still had Kodachrome.

An unexpected treat. The Southern Railway heritage locomotive leads a coal train at Kimball.

The Southern heritage unit was nice, but this is the “real” reason why we were camped out at Kimball on a Sunday afternoon in mid May.

Back to where we started at the trestle in Rocky River.

Another view of the NKP 765 on the trestle at Rocky River. I wonder how many times the 765 crossed this bridge decades ago pulling freight when no one was watching, let alone photographing.

Whenever there is a steam train, chances are a foamer will also be there to get into at least one of your photos, even if inadvertently.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas