Summer vacation 2012

[Matt L]

I took a few days off from work last week to spend time in the southern Finger Lakes... where I grew up. At least part of each day was spent trackside.

Day #1 was spent at CP Cass. Owing to a couple of unforeseen delays, I missed a pair of westbound trains early in the morning, but I did catch 3 more as the day progressed. Joint NS/CP 38T arrived late in the morning.







The next train was 13T, which arrived in the early afternoon.







My final sighting was 12T, which was lit by the late afternoon sun.







All photos in this post were taken by me Wednesday 8/22/2012 in Hornell, NY.

[Matt L]

Day #2 included a trip to a brand new facility on the Bath & Hammondsport RR at Coopers Plains, NY. Owing to the demand for water and sand used in gas drilling in northern PA, the B&H has recently erected a transload facility and enginehouse just a few miles west of the interchange with NS.







After that, I stopped by the yard at Gang Mills, NY... which sits on the Southern Tier Mainline. Westbound 12T was departing.







A few EMDs were idling near the east end of the Gang Mills yard.







All photos on this post were taken by me Thursday 8/23/2012. 

[Matt L]

I was hoping to catch the B&H in action on Day #3, but that didn't happen. I did find NS H77, sporting a string of empty tank cars, at the yard in Gang Mills, NY. The fog is very typical for late summer and fall in river valleys in this area.



Further east, I saw CP's tank train 614 for the first time. This is a relatively new unit train of crude oil that runs from North Dakota to a refinery in New Jersey, using the Southern Tier Mainline for part of the trip. It was heading eastbound at Wellsburg, NY.







All photos in this post were taken by me Friday 8/24/2012.

[Matt L]

I also spent part of that day with NS local H12 as it switched the former Lehigh Valley RR yard in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania.



















All photos in this post were taken by me Friday 8/24/2012 in Sayre, PA.

[Matt L]

Day #3 ended with 12T heading west yet again. I caught the train preparing to pull out of the Gang Mills (NY) yard:



The generous clearance on the former Erie RR (built as 6' gauge double track in the 19th Century) may have played a factor in the route chosen for transformer as it headed west... although I'm not 100% sure, to be honest. This location is Erwin, NY, on the Southern Tier Mainline.



I chased 12T deep into the Canisteo River valley that afternoon, with my final shots coming at the County Route 110 crossing in Cameron Mills, NY. 







All photos in this post were taken by me Friday 8/24/2012. There is a speed restriction on the Canisteo River Road just west of this crossing, so it was a logical spot to end the chase and head home. I had a good vacation... and I hope y'all enjoy these shots, too. 

[thpbears]

Looks like you had a nice time. Nice photos.

[Matt L]

Thank you. I am going to try to catch the B&H and NS interchanging the new traffic when I'm there during the fall.

[Matt L]

Update: the CP crude oil train uses symbol 614 on CP rails, but it is called W8T when operating on NS iron.