JREB.org

Friday was a great day. I caught a run that got off at 6:42 pm on Thursday instead of the wee hours of the morning. My sister gave my dad tickets to Thursday night's Dayton Dragon's minor league baseball game, he called me and I was able to make it up to Dayton in time to see all but a couple innings due to rain delay working in my favor. Before the ballgame I was able to go home, here in Cincinnati, and get some stuff to stay at my folks place in Dayton. The weather was great, opened up the windows to hear both the CSXT trains across the Miami River whistle for Nicholas Rd and the closer NS for Main St (Sellers RD) only a few blocks from my mom and dad's house they just got last year. My mom probably got the house because the C & L E interurban right of way goes through the backyard, seriously. It's what I get to wake up to, up there. Friday morning I caught up with a friend I hadn't been able to get in contact with for months. Dad and I then went to downtown Dayton and got to see the unexpected unveiling of the new Dayton RTA paintscheme. Later I chased some trolleybuses around. All pure luck, everything fell together nicely. All in all a good day. But wait! There's more!

1) New RTA paintjob with trolley bus in background. This already made my day.

I had just got some great shots of the Rt 8 trolleybus on detour and got onto I-75 south from Monument. I figured at West Carrolton I would follow the former Conrail to Cincinnati a little. While approaching Springboro Pk I observed an eastbound grain train but did not see the units. So off at the exit to head back to the Miami River bridge between Sand Cut and CP 209, one of my favorite places to get pictures in Dayton. I figure I had some time because the train was slowing to a stop, probably for a meet. I backed in a the Dayton Power & Light substation and through the fence realized I was not looking at any known units. I was looking at two TFMs, then came the high nose SD 40-2. With some hysterical laughter I took a few shots, then attempted to run on the bike path under the bridge to the sunny side. Dispatcher must have changed there mind because my waycool train started accelerating away before I could get up on the levy and shoot the train with the distant Dayton skyline. So I ran back down the hill under the bridge and up the steps and even threw a shoe (really, lost a flip flop) seconds lost to put that back on. Cleared CP 209 around 6:42 pm. I forgot my scanner buit learned this was train 57Z from another forum.

2) The two TFMs get out onto the bridge, still running slow.
3) Second shot, with the SD 40-2, at this point they are starting to accelrate.
4) Just couldn't run fast enough up the grassy levy to get the desired shot

Flip flop on and into the car and onto the freeways.

5) East of Fairborn and I-675, around 7:00 pm. That is the former Erie main on the right.

I ended up going all the way to London, Ohio. I wanted a good landmark in at least one shot. The station in London. The codeline poles were for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

6) Quite happily I beat a different eastbound there. Two NS a CR and two more NS units. Around 7:40 pm.

Not quite twenty minutes and the train with the TFMs came past, 7:58 pm. I picked the station curve at London also because the track from Springfield to London would put the sun almost directly behind the train otherwise. London is where the Dayton District shifts from Big 4 to PRR rails.

7) The PRR had a signal bridge on both sides of the interlocker. The position light signals remained until the single tracking of the PRR from London to Afton in the early nineties by Conrail.
8 ) Now the line has NYC type G signals until around Afton.