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.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY.
CP has been in the habit of letting older EMDs lead their trains in upstate NY and I certainly don't mind!
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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.
Between the red CP unit and the leased EMDs trailing her, the power for 38T was an explosion of color.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY on the Southern Tier Mainline.
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!
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Linden, NY.
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.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.
A GP38-2 was shuffling cars at Bison Yard.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.
There were some loaded intermodal cars tacked onto the end of the consist at Bison Yard.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.
A pair of widecabs were also moving around on the other side of Bison Yard.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in Cheektowaga, NY.
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...
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
This area is known as the Bison Runner, as it links Bison Yard with SK Yard and Buffalo Creek Junction (Tifft Street).
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
About half the consist for the intermodal train went eastward into Bison Yard.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
The rest of the intermodal freight was left behind, sitting next to an idling local powered by a leased GMTX unit.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
After a time, a westbound freight did come out on the Bison Runner, powered by the two widecabs I'd seen earlier.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
The westbound mixed freight meets the idling local.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
The tail end of the westbound mixed freight on the Bison Runner.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
With the big symbol freight out of the way, the local (possibly H1J) headed eastward on the Bison Runner.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
The leased SD60 certainly looked good crossing this old Erie bridge.
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Photo taken by me Saturday 6/4/2011 in the city of Buffalo, NY.
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.
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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.
The sun was popping in and out of the clouds while I was in the Southern Tier, which made for some interesting lighting conditions.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
A rare appearance of a CSX unit on the Southern Tier Mainline.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
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.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
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.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY. There was also a second NS train heading eastboun on the passing siding.
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.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
Norfolk Southern H06 approaches the High Street overpass.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
The Dash 9s lead H06 through Baker Street Yard.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY.
I have to say, the consist looked pretty impressive for a local... and I didn't even have a car count yet. I'd get that number further north, because at this point I was heading back to the Saturn to kick the chase into high gear.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Corning, NY. I hope to resume this series tomorrow. Enjoy!!!
Let's resume the series from where I left off. Just north of the Baker Street Yard, the Corning Secondary begins to rise. In fact, it has an average grade of 0.85% between North Corning and Dundee, with a ruling grade of 1.0%. Six axle power is a must for H06.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in North Corning, NY.
This looks like a flat valley floor, but H06 is grinding its way up the grade here. I could hear the Dash 9s straining to accelerate, even though they were about mile away.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Hornby, NY.
Up to this point, the horn(s) of the lead Dash 9 had been silent, because there are no grade crossings on he Corning Secondary between the wye at Corning and Post Creek. Even private crossings are rare here.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Hornby, NY.
H06 finally encountered a couple of grade crossings in Post Creek, so the horn blasts helped me keep tabs on the train's progress. I had plenty of time to set-up by the time H06 approached the State Route 414 bridge.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Post Creek, NY. Note the different number boards on the nose of NS #8440.
Those Dash 9s were really working hard as they trudged up hill.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Post Creek, NY.
The consist looked very impressive- the GEs seen in the last shot had already passed under Route 414, but the majority of the train had yet to cross under the bridge
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Post Creek, NY.
H06 passes through a wooded area in the Finger Lakes region.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Beaver Dams, NY.
H06 approaches the Cooley Road crossing around 7:00 PM.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Beaver Dams, NY.
The tail end of H06 heading up the grade on the Corning Secondary.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Beaver Dams, NY.
After H06 cleared Beaver Dams, I drove ahead to Watkins Glen for a brief "pit stop" which included fluids for my Saturn and myself. After that, I drove head to Himrod. This town has been a railroad junction for well over a hundred years.
NS and the Finger Lakes Railway form a large X on a map, right in the heart of the Finger Lakes. To visualize, NS's Corning Secondary (the ex-NYC Corning Branch) forms the lower left and upper right legs of the X. The Finger Lakes Railway (ex-Pennsy Elmira Branch) forms the lower right and upper left legs of the X. The two lines meet at Himrod. FGLK maintains a small yard there but H06 does not stop in Himrod. Instead, H06 will make its drop at the main FGLK yard in Geneva, with FGLK utilizing trackage rights between Geneva and Himrod to reach its ex-PRR line... which is isolated from the rest of the FGLK system.
This hopper was in the yard, but I have no idea where it was headed (if anywhere).
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Himrod, NY. When I resume this series, we'll take a look at something I'd never seen before. ;)
Matt, It looks like you had a great time. Thanks for the pix.
Quote from: butch on June 15, 2011, 08:20:31 AMMatt, It looks like you had a great time. Thanks for the pix.
You're welcome, Butch. I was really enjoying myself that evening.
Resuming where I left off, H06 came through the junction late in the day.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Himrod, NY.
Last year, I attempted a chase of H06 which was cut short by rain and darkness. My luck was much better this year, with H06 hitting the Route 14 crossing at sunset.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Himrod, NY.
Added bonus: N&W hoppers in the consist!
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Himrod, NY.
After H06 cleared the Route 14 crossing, I could hear the brakes squealing as H06 headed downhill on a 1.1% grade between Himrod and Dresden. North of there, the Corning Secondary flatted out and runs along the shore of Seneca Lake most of the way to the city of Geneva. This was the first time I saw a train on this line... ever.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Benton, NY.
The Corning Secondary ROW sits between State Route 14 and Seneca Lake north of Dresden.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Benton, NY.
There are also a number of lakeside cottages along the ROW, so it must be interesting when NS (or the Finger Lakes Railway) rumbles
through the area.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Benton, NY.
I don't know if I'd park my vehicle that close to the tracks... but it was a common sight along the western shore of Seneca Lake.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Benton, NY.
Daylight was quickly fading... so the pictures became more challenging in the growing dark, but I got as much as I could.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Benton, NY.
My final shot before heading north into the city of Geneva.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the town of Geneva, NY.
Great pictures. But those units on H06 are both Ex-CR Dash 8-40CWs, not Dash 9s.
Paul
H06 arrives in the city of Geneva under the cover of darkness.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in Geneva, NY.
The Finger Lakes Railway yard is inaccessible (without trespassing), so I was content to shoot from a parking lot near my hotel.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
H06 approaches the Lake Street crossing.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
Thank goodness for the street lights, or else I wouldn't have gotten anything this long after dark. As it was, I ended the chase shortly after taking this final shot at 9:40 PM and headed yto my hotel (which was jut a few hundred feet away). This stands as my latest chase of all time.
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Photo taken by me Sunday 6/5/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
Sure, I couldv'e gone home... which was about 45 minuts away. However, I wanted to get an early start on the next day, so I slept in the local Hampton Inn... which is within sight of the Corning Secondary and a Finger Lakes Railway branchline.
Sure enough, FGLK GY1 was working on the Corning Secondary the next morning.
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
FGLK #2201 sports a Lehigh Valley inspired paint scheme, since LV did own U23Bs (though not this one) and because FGLK does operate a couple stubs of the LV mainline.
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
A line of small trees has been planted next to the highway... which makes photographing any NS or FGLK action north of Lake Street a challenge. I was forced to shoot into the sun in order to capture GY1 coming off the Corning Secondary.
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in the city of Geneva, NY.
After GY1 passed, I headed south along Route 14 to see if I could catch any FGLK action. Along the way, I stopped in Himrod and watched these guys inspect the NS bridge.
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in the town of Himrod, NY.
I did find FGLK local HW2 drilling one of the salt mines at the south end of Seneca Lake. This mine and another one nearby are a strong source of traffic for FGLK, which is in turn interchanged with NS.
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in Watkins Glen, NY.
FGLK brought down the MOW gang, so that halted local freight operations at the mines for the rest of the day. That was OK, because the "critters" used for track work were pretty interesting...
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Photo taken by me Monday 6/6/2011 in Watkins Glen, NY.
This concludes my epic 3 day weekend. I hope y'all have enjoyed it.
Quote from: Matt L on June 13, 2011, 05:38:19 PMIn fact, I saw this same SD40-2 (#6036) leading 39T westbound on the Southern Tier Mainline during Easter weekend.
Correction: I didn't see this SD40-2 on Easter Weekend. I actually saw #6036 on the Southern Tier mainline several years ago.
One more thing: I have found 2 maps which will help you see where I was during my chases of NS and FGLK.
http://www.fglkrail.com/files/2010%20EmpireLink_Attention%20Shippers_MAP%20ONLY_final_October%2021-2010.pdf
http://www.fingerlakesscenicrailway.com/files/FGLK%20Passenger%20Map%20Final.pdf