As most of the rest of the country gets hammered with frozen water, (thundersnow WITH HAIL yesterday in Chicago) we in NC are sitting at 65F and the trains are running. My days off are lining up nicely with the nice days we have been getting lately. I had some business to take care of this morning but as soon as that was done I was trackside, 5D in hand!
Pomona Yard is just a few blocks from the house so I usually head there first to see what's going on. 213 had just stopped at the south crossover to let the conductor down. On the point was NS 8454, one of the last 8 ex-LMS units left in the twice patched Conrail blue. As a bonus the 5429 was paired up with the 8454. I think this was maybe the third time I have seen a SD50 through here in several years. Not much was going on besides that at the moment so I headed over to Beef Burger to pick up a "Special with Cheese" and a Cheerwine. If you are ever in the area I suggest paying this Lee St. landmark a visit.
I am always looking for new vantage points for shooting and I had one place in mind so I headed down to Merritt Dr. The railroad crosses Merritt Dr. on a super-elevated curve just south of CP Pomona. Belly full I climbed the hill up to the right of way to catch the southbound Amtrak Piedmont and try the view for 213.
The radio was active as the Greenville dispatcher worked the congestion caused by 213 working off main 1. 204 had the momentum and got the go ahead around 213 in front of Amtrak, 213 the signal indication to roll down to Cox and meet Amtrak. The first shot shows 204 blasting out of the hole at CP Cox. Next is 213 coasting downgrade past the end of 204. The next shot shows 213 again on the curve with it's two "endangered species".
I wanted to catch 213 again as I knew this may be the last time I saw one of the LMS units in blue. I raced down to CP Cox as 75 left Greensboro station.
I have been trying to catch the new F59PH's on the point of the Piedmont but have not been so lucky. Today that changed when the 1859 popped out from around 213. I am a big fan of these units and think they look infinitely better than the F59PHI's. After 75 raced by, 213 dug in for the hard climb out of the hole. With only two units it was a sight seeing them lift the 90 car train out!
All this time P30 had been working the yard at Pomona and had been waiting for a break in traffic to jump over to the K line back to Winston Salem. I made a run for Guilford College Rd. to try another new vantage point. The last shot shows them on the move parallel to Market St.
That's a great mix there. I don't care if it's GE -- I shoot anything I can in blue ! haha I have yet to catch a single Amtrak train so I envy you there.
Is there this regular amount of traffic on the line ? I've only chased to the southwest of you -- Gastonia, Kings Mountain. I've dragged my 73 year old mom out a couple of times and we had some pretty good luck. I hope to get over there again soon.
Thanks for sharing those. Keep em comin !
Steve
That line sees a good bit of action. The most action on the line is around Salisbury where all the S line traffic merges in along with traffic off the traffic from the main as well as what came off the R line in Charlotte. You also have the counterparts going in opposite directions.
Salisbury is great but I don't get down there as often as I'd like. Greensboro offers good action in the morning and early afternoon, Pomona Yard sits between where the K and H lines come into the main. The parking lot at Pomona yard is a great place to sit and watch, good views of the trains coming from both directions and a view of the southbound signals. It's on Oakland Ave. off Holden Rd.