Remembering the NS F Units

Norfolk Southern decided sometime earlier this year to sell its distinctive F units and bids were due this past Wednesday.

At this writing the winning bidder has not been identified but that information is likely to be revealed at some point.

As it turned out, I photographed the F units of Norfolk Southern 12 times.

They didn’t operate that often and when they did make it through Northeast Ohio I often was busy with other activities and couldn’t make it out to photograph them.

All 12 times that I caught the F units were at locations within Ohio with nine  of those being in Northeast Ohio. Five times I bagged the F units in Olmsted Falls.

The last time I photographed the F units was in June 2018 in Oak Harbor on the day of the Akron Railroad Club’s longest day outing to Fostoria.

I also photographed the F units in Amherst during the picnic of the Forest City Division of the Railroad Enthusiasts.

My first photograph of the F units was made in June 2008 at Brady Lake when the executive train was en route to Bellevue.

A few days later I was in Bellevue to watch that train arrive at the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum as part of a retirement party for a high-ranking NS executive who had begun his career in Bellevue.

It would be the only time that I made static photographs of the NS F units.

NS is not selling its executive fleet. Presumably it will continue to operate with a power car and freight locomotives.

Perhaps the executive train will some day operate with one of more of the NS heritage or tribute locomotives on the point.

It won’t be the same as it was with the F units, but it will still be worth capturing.

Some railfans have lamented on social media that they didn’t photograph the F units more often.

That is a commonly heard refrain when something of value is about to vanish or is already gone.

Do I wish I had gotten out to photograph the NS F units more often? My answer is “yes, but.”

In the abstract there are numerous trains I wish I had photographed or photographed more often, but I understand why that didn’t happen.

I’m satisfied with the opportunities I did have to photograph the F units and the images I was able to make.

That includes the photograph above, which one of my favorites.

It is mid October 2013 in Olmsted Falls and the executive train is headed westbound on Track 1 of the Chicago Line. The trees are about to reach their peak fall colors.

It is a reminder of how good we had it and how nothing lasts forever.

Chasing Down the NS OCS Train

Back in May Norfolk Southern ran its executive train on the Fort Wayne Line through Northeast Ohio.

I chased it to get some new views and as many old Pennsylvania Railroad position light signals as I could.

I also went out because NS has repainted and renumbered the engines so they wouldn’t conflict with new diesels they had bought.

My first photo location was the curved bridge in Massillon.  It’s probably the most famous spot on the line and a must have photo.

Next was Wooster but the train was going through just as I pulled up.  I then went to Lucas, which is just east of Mansfield.

After a crew change I got it passing under a signal bridge in town.

My final stop was North Robinson passing an intermediate signal.  This ended the chase as it was getting dark then.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

 

UP Special Saunters Through Northeast Ohio

The Union Pacific passenger train that ran to New Jersey and New York to help a bank celebrate its bicentennial, came back through Northeast Ohio Monday night.

By the time it reached Cleveland, it was dusk or getting to be dusk.

Operating as Norfolk Southern symbol 066, the train was led by UP 1943, the Spirit of Union Pacific.

It made good time on the Cleveland line after a crew change at Conway Yard near Pittsburgh.

The train was reported at Leetonia at 7:22 p.m., Sebring at 7:43 p.m., Alliance at 7:48 p.m., Rootstown at 8:05 p.m., Hudson at 8:18 p.m., Garfield Heights at 8:40 p.m. and Berea at 9:33 p.m. It had reached Chesterton, Indiana, at 6:19 a.m.

Photographers who ventured out to see the special got a bonus. Train 65E ran nearly a half-hour ahead of the passenger train with the Virginian heritage locomotive in the lead.

The 65E was through Hudson at 7:20 p.m., Macedonia at 7:35 p.m. and Bedford at 8:05 p.m.

On its way east, the UP special slipped through Cleveland in darkness on May 31. In both directions, the best place to catch the special was in central Pennsylvania.

UP OCS Came Through at 0 Dark 30

That Union Pacific business train that we talked about at the May Akron Railroad Club meeting did, indeed, pass through Northeast Ohio on Norfolk Southern rails, but under the cover of darkness.

It was reported in Berea at 3:45 a.m. and in Macedonia at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday en route to New Jersey operating as NS symbol 066-30.

The train had originated in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Wednesday and arrived at UP’s Proviso Yard in Chicago about noon.

A report on the Trains magazine website indicated that the OCS had locomotives ES44AH No. 2752 and SD70AH’s Nos. 1943 and 9082 from Council Bluffs to Chicago. No. 2752 was removed at Chicago.

UP had equipped Nos. 1943 and 9082 in Council Bluffs with NS cab signal equipment so that No. 1943, which has a livery honoring the U.S. Armed Forces, could lead on NS rails.

No. 2752 led from Council Bluffs to Chicago because it had UP cab signals.

The OCS is expected to depart Croxton, New Jersey on June 4 to return to Council Bluffs.

NS OCS Passes through NE Ohio

On Wednesday the Norfolk Southern office car special came through Northeast Ohio. I caught it at Alliance. I was about to head home when I heard a report that the Central of New Jersey heritage unit was leading NS train 15V. This train takes the Fort Wayne line at Alliance. I went to Louisville where I got him at the MP94 signals which are still a Pennsylvania Railroad design.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

NS Executive Train Passes Through NE Ohio

This past Tuesday the Norfolk Southern office car special came through northeast Ohio on its way to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. The railfan community was out in force to document this move.

The top photograph was made in Alliance. The weather wasn’t great so I did mine in black and white. Next is the special at Canton in a photograph made by Michael Punzalan.

The final photograph was made at Lucas by Matt Arnold.

Article by Todd Dillon

NS OCS Travels Through Northeast Ohio

This past week the Norfolk Southern office car special came through Northeast Ohio. On Monday it deadheaded to Cleveland and on Wednesday it took officials to New York via the former Nickel Plate Road and Southern Tier routes.

I got these photos at Cleveland on Wednesday morning. Aside from the two views of the OCS, I also found an interestingly painted RTA car being used on the Red Line.

Photographs by Todd Dillon 

The Class Ended Just in Time

I had a rules class scheduled at Rockport this past Monday before I found out that the Norfolk Southern business train was going to pass through Cleveland.

Rules classes can go on all afternoon, so I had little hope of catching this move. As luck would have it, the class ended early so I checked on the progress of the OCS and saw that I had enough time to get Bridge 1 in downtown Cleveland. The first two photos above are from that location.

I knew there would be a crew change so I headed west in hopes of catching the OCS in another location. I went with Eastland Road for my second location to catch it passing under the old New York Central MP 192 signal bridge.

Billboards have sprung up like so many mushrooms after a rain in the Brookpark area, including one right behind the signal bridge.

I rarely alter my photos much other than the usual “tweaks,” but I felt compelled to eliminate the obnoxious lettering and make the photo a grayscale image to tone down that corner of the billboard. With two locations in the bag I headed home.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee