My 3 day weekend in upstate NY

[Matt L]

Finally, it's really starting to feel like spring in upstate NY. The weather is warm (for a change) ...and there's this funny yellow ball shining in the blue sky. I could get used to this stuff, but I know better. Clouds and that 4 letter s-word will return before we know it... so NOW is the time for me to get out on a chase. Fifteen hour days certainly help, too.

With that in mind, I took 3 days last weekend to railfan across western and central NY. (I also attended a pretty cool concert by Great White in Buffalo... but that's another story for another day.) The chase began with a trip to the NS ROW that is nearest to where I live. An unusually late 38T arrived in mid-afternoon.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY.

[Matt L]

CP has been in the habit of letting older EMDs lead their trains in upstate NY and I certainly don't mind!



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY. In fact, I saw this same SD40-2 (#6036) leading 39T westbound on the Southern Tier Mainline during Easter weekend.

[Matt L]

Between the red CP unit and the leased EMDs trailing her, the power for 38T was an explosion of color.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY on the Southern Tier Mainline.

[Matt L]

A couple of fellow railfans arrived as 38T approached and they let me in on a secret- the train was late in departing Buffalo because CP held it for a couple of dome cars that were apparently headed to a new shortline operation in the eastern Adirondacks. Lucky me!



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY.

[Matt L]

The Southern Tier Mainline often has a "lull" on Saturday afternoons, so I headed west to catch some action in the Buffalo area before the concert. Bison Yard seemed like a logical choice.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.

[Matt L]

A GP38-2 was shuffling cars at Bison Yard.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.

[Matt L]

There were some loaded intermodal cars tacked onto the end of the consist at Bison Yard.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.

[Matt L]

A pair of widecabs were also moving around on the other side of Bison Yard.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.

[Matt L]

When it became apparent that it would be a while before any trains left Bison Yard westbound, I decided to out to Tifft Street (another location that's excellent for watching NS) but I never made it there.  Why? For starters, this NS intermodal freight (which may have been 14M) was moving along William Street...



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

This area is known as the Bison Runner, as it links Bison Yard with SK Yard and Buffalo Creek Junction (Tifft Street).



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

About half the consist for the intermodal train went eastward into Bison Yard.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

The rest of the intermodal freight was left behind, sitting next to an idling local powered by a leased GMTX unit. 



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

After a time, a westbound freight did come out on the Bison Runner, powered by the two widecabs I'd seen earlier.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

The westbound mixed freight meets the idling local.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

The tail end of the westbound mixed freight on the Bison Runner.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

With the big symbol freight out of the way, the local (possibly H1J) headed eastward on the Bison Runner.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

The leased SD60 certainly looked good crossing this old Erie bridge.



Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.

[Matt L]

After the local cleared the Bison Runner, I headed to the Great White concert. The following day, I drove to the Southern Tier (of NY) for a chase of an elusive local called H06. Before I caught that train, I happily snapped up shots of westbound freights on the Southern Tier Mainline. This mixed freight was probably 12T.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY. The track diverging to the left is part of the wye leading to the Corning Secondary, while the siding to the right of the main continues westward for a couple of miles to the yard at Gang Mills.  

 

[Matt L]

The sun was popping in and out of the clouds while I was in the Southern Tier, which made for some interesting lighting conditions.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.

[Matt L]

A rare appearance of a CSX unit on the Southern Tier Mainline.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.

[Matt L]

I have no idea what symbol the second train was using on the Southern Tier mainline. It could have been 39Z, 205 or possibly even  an extra 12T. 



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.

[Matt L]

And now... the main event! Everything else was just a warm-up for elusive local H06. This puppy normally runs from Gang Mills to Geneva (and return) on a Sun-Tue-Thu schedule, to interchange with the Finger Lakes Railway. Here's the kicker: H06 normally pulls out of Gang Mills between 5 PM and 7 PM. Therefore, the best chance to catch the local is in June or early July, when the days are 15+ hours long. On this occasion, H06 came off the Southern Tier Mainline and onto the Corning Secondary around 6:15 PM EDT. 



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY. There was also a second NS train heading eastboun on the passing siding. 

[Matt L]

Business has been very active on the Finger Lakes Railway (even during the recession), so the consists on H06 are often quite heavy. On this occasion, H06 had 52 cars in the consist and a pair of Dash 9s for power. The GEs would be put to the test on the trip to Geneva.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.

[Matt L]

Norfolk Southern H06 approaches the High Street overpass.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.

[Matt L]

The Dash 9s lead H06 through Baker Street Yard.



Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.