NS chase thru the Finger Lakes

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 07:51:49 PM

This chase documents the one and only Class 1 RR to operate in the heart of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY. While CSX and CP (via trackage rights) skirt the edges, Norfolk Southern's Corning Secondary is active right in the center of the region. Indeed, NS runs two locals on the line. One local is a unit coal train to service a power plant on the shore of Seneca Lake in Dresden. It normally departs Gang Mills late afternoons on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule and returns during the night. The other local, H06, was the subject of my chase. It usually departs Gang Mills late afternoons on a Sun-Tue-Thu schedule, interchanges with the Finger Lakes Railway in Geneva and returns during the night. On occasion, H06 will operate during the day on Saturdays when traffic warrants.

Let's begin with H06 coming off the Southern Tier mainline just a few miles down the track from the Gang Mills yard.

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010 in Corning, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 07:56:23 PM

H06 is entering the Corning Secondary, which was the Corning Branch back in the days of the New York Central (and Penn Central, too).

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010 in Corning, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 07:58:22 PM

The power for this train was a pair of SD40-2s:

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010 in Corning, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:01:18 PM

These 3 tracks are remnants of what was a much bigger yard for NYC once upon a time. H06 would drop the boxcars at the head end of the train just a few miles up the tracks.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 in Corning, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:04:14 PM

Looking back towards the rest of the consist:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 in Corning, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:08:15 PM

There is a pretty decent grade north of Corning, so the EMDs were smoking as they lugged the train uphill.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 in North Corning, NY. This shot was taken shortly after H06 had dropped off 10 or so boxcars at the head end of the train.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:15:18 PM

H06 rolling through the valley in Hornby, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:17:23 PM

The SD40-2s led H06 north through farming country:

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010 in Hornby, NY.

Matt L · June 29, 2010, 08:20:48 PM

H06 passing fields of hay in Hornby, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday afternoon 6/27/2010. I hope to resume this series in a day or two. Until then, I hope you enjoy what I have posted.

butch · June 30, 2010, 07:46:10 AM

Sounds like a good time.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:24:08 PM

Quote from: butch on June 30, 2010, 07:46:10 AM
Sounds like a good time.

Oh, it was a GREAT time! I'd been wanting to chase the Corning Secondary since I was a kid... and I finally got my wish. This is a challenging line to chase. Trains often leave Corning in the neighborhood of 5:00 to 6:00 PM, so they run under cover of darkness during much of the year. The long days of late spring/early summer are the best time to chase H06, because the days are long enough to provide decent light for good photos for most or all of the northbound trip.

Resuming the chase, I caught up with H06 right as it passed under Route 414 in Post Creek:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:29:02 PM

A decent portion of HO6's consist was covered hoppers... which isn't a surprise, as they would be handed off to the Finger Lakes Railway for a couple of salt mines.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 in Post Creek, NY.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:33:10 PM

NS does a decent amount of business by interchanging with the Finger Lakes Railway in Geneva (about 40-50 miles up the tracks), so HO6's consist of 50+ cars is pretty normal.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 in Post Creek, NY.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:38:32 PM

Running through the hills near Beaver Dams, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:40:02 PM

Approaching Cooley Road near Beaver Dams, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:41:29 PM

Crossing Cooley Road in Beaver Dams, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:43:36 PM

The end of the train clearing the Cooley Road crossing near Beaver Dams, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:45:15 PM

H06 running along side Route 414 in the Town of Dix:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:47:26 PM

H06 heading north in Dix, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:56:56 PM

Route 414 and the tracks part directions just a few miles from the location of the previous two photos, so I took the highway into Watkins Glen for a quick dinner break. I guessed H06 was probably travelling at a speed of 20-30 mph and it was easy to get ahead of the train for a rest stop. It began to rain in Watkins Glen so I decided against intercepting the train in Dundee (where it stopped to drop a car or two) in favor of setting up further north at Himrod. It was a good choice, as I was out of the rain... for a while anyway!

This is an old mile post on Corning Seconday... which dates back to the days when this line was NYC's Corning Branch.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 at the Route 14 crossing in Himrod, NY.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:59:04 PM

Looking southwest at the Route 14 crossing near Himrod, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010. The Finger Lakes Railway uses this line via trackage rights. too... but this would be the first time I saw NS on the line.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 07:59:52 PM

Looking northeast at the Route 14 crossing near Himrod, NY:

Photo taken by me Sunday evening 6/27/2010.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 08:04:15 PM

The train took longer to arrive than I expected. The rain and the hilly terrain may have slowed it down. Perhaps it took a while to make the stop in Dundee, but I am not sure of any of those things. At any rate, I did not see H06 again until after 9 PM.

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 at the Route 14 crossing near Himrod, NY.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 08:06:15 PM

H06 crawling up to the crossing:

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010 at the Route 14 crossing near Himrod, NY.

Matt L · June 30, 2010, 08:12:17 PM

Number 3477 leading H06 through the crossing at the Route 14 crossing near Himrod, NY

Photo taken by me Sunday 6/27/2010. By this point, darkness was upon me... so it was getting too difficult to take useful pictures. I decided to see if I would be able to take a picture of H06 entering Geneva under the city lights... but the rain came north and I decided to call it a night. I look forward to chasing under better conditions next year. Until then, enjoy the fruits of a fun chase that I have posted here!