The past Two days (Friday 08/30/13 and Saturday 08/31/13) have been good ones for fans of EMD and the NS Heritage program here in Central Kentucky.
On Friday, the Erie heritage unit, NS 1068, was the leader on Westbound train 22A. I had figured that I would be totally out of the game for that one, as 22A "normally" is a morning train into Louisville, and I had to work. Thankfully, with all of the traffic and congestion that NS has been dealing with on the CNO&TP the past few months, 22A was running several hours behind its "Normal" schedule. Thanks to a few folks keeping me up to date on the trains progress, I was able to leave work and make a quick trip over to Waddy in time to get a couple of decent shots in some perfect light! I had not shot this one out in the wild yet, so it was good to cross another one off the list..
Saturday morning, Carmon and I got up early and headed out to run a few errands, and to go pay our respects to a old N&W veteran that is spending its last days of a 42 year career in work train service. Thanks to some good info from Mr. Owens, we made our way over the Shelbyville to find NS 4148, one of the last N&W GP38AC's still in active service, and shoot a few rosters shots. There are only 2 of these unique engines still being used on the NS, and it was great to get it before it becomes a "core" for a rebuild project, or scrapped.
Later in the day, Fridays 22A's power made the usual turn back to Norfolk on train 23G, which places the 1068 as the DPU for the trip back East. I decided to hang around the house for the afternoon, and head back out when 23G got close. By the time the train made it out of Louisville, the weather had taken a rather nasty turn and we had to deal with a strong thunderstorm, but still came away with a good shot..
The 3 day weekend is not over yet, as we still have the Virginia 1069 leading 22A for Sunday, and who knows what else might show up. For now, here are a few shots of Erie 1068 on 22A and 23G, and also a couple of the 4148. You can find the whole set of new images in high res at this link, if you care to take a gander! >>>>>> http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/ls13eb (http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/ls13eb)
08/30/13
Erie 1068 brings Westbound 22A up the hill at East Waddy, Ky. There where a ton of folks out shooting around Waddy, but somehow I ended up being the only one at this spot..
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Ferie1068_Eastwaddy_083013_1.sized.jpg&hash=ea3889556906b4948da2f03e73fd5cb147f65b49)
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Ferie1068_Eastwaddy_083013_2.sized.jpg&hash=f7a7738b37d69b5015e54232ade3657fe794cf10)
With 22A following a pair Westbound trains and moving slow, I was able to run down to the West end of the siding for another shot.
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Ferie1068_westwaddy_083013.sized.jpg&hash=30796febf2c4ed9190c27ecaef6e10890b4679e3)
08/31
The 1068 is shoving hard on the bottom of Eastbound 23G as the train snakes through Harrodsburg, Ky during a brief but intense summer storm. The looks of the folks waiting at the crossing watching me stand out in that deluge with lightning popping all around was priceless, but getting soaked (again) was well worth it I think.
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FErie1068_Hburg_083113_1.sized.jpg&hash=6d74c8ca88c39b44dbf10259755f8ed4eb164283)
NS 4148 tied down at Shelbyville Ky for the weekend. She has been on a work train for the last few days, and it was nice of them to leave her sitting in a good spot for some pics. I will be surprised if this one is still in service by the end of the year..
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Fns4148_shelbyville_083113_1.sized.jpg&hash=83660a147436f07f64ca8cc279deaea5c192f509)
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Fns4148_shelbyville_083113_3.sized.jpg&hash=961204532f29b5a7b955b8f82f7c495c8f8e2437)
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2Fns4148_shelbyville_083113_4.sized.jpg&hash=59aac15b0dfe5e2fbf9ace7d3f77eb326e43119d)
I was going to point out which photos were my favorites, but I got through the entire list before I could find a "not favorite." I still love those Waddy shots, and who doesn't like a good 'ol GP38AC? Great job!
-Chip :)
Around Pittsburgh, we are still seeing a lot of the GP's and SD's do their thing on the locals.
Great shots again! The Erie had eluded me so far, can't wait to see it.
As for the GP, I love it!
PA Dan
Thanks fellers.. I hate to say it, but I think the 4148 was my favorite stuff from the day. That engine is a lot more rare than anything else we saw..including the Erie!
You gotta gettem while you can...there are no second chances in this hobby. I have learned that the hard way.