Got my first pic of a high-hood 40 running short hood first. Was accelerating out of the yard in Fostoria, OH. I have always loved the look of these locomotives. Later in the day got a freshly painted ex-Conrail Dash 8 just north of Siam. Wow, these babies look great in fresh paint. If NS would add a few red pin stripes to their paint scheme, it would look totally rad! 8)
--Steve
Nothing beats a good 40, running in EITHER direction if its a high hood, but I guess I am biased. Kinda makes you wonder if folks will be sitting around in 20 or 30 years reminiscing about Dash 9's
8) E.M, you might just get to see that...
I remember when the Dash-840C came out, how they remind me of a cherried-out ALCo C-630, eventually replacing older power on the L&N in the coal fields.
They maxed-out the horsepower to the highest rating the engine could stand, the Dash-9's picked up the slack by improved tractive effort through software.
I've seen these from a bridge on Hwy-53 in Rome, GA pulling an empty NS 709 NB up the Forrestville Yard lead in the foggy night, long hood forward...quite a memorable moment...I took a chance parking on the bridge at 2:30AM to see this...
I don't mind change, I still see an all SD40 consist from time to time & I know the crews like these more than those.
When I was young(er), I 'd hardly walk across the street to shoot a 40. They were everywhere--boooooring. :-\ But now--yikes! I run to shoot them. I'm sure the same will happen with the 9s someday. Those batwings on the Dash 8s look great when they run out front.
For me, though, shooting HIGH HOOD 40s is a new experience, one I've always craved. We had none out West. These machines just ooze power and meanness by their look. I love 'em!