pjkaz177
L031 // Cargill Animal Nutrition, Batavia, NY
Evening Rochester local L031 ties onto a handful of empty covered hoppers at Cargill Animal Nutrition in Batavia, NY about ten minutes after sunset on a damp May night.
Formerly known as Batavia Agway, and still referred to as such by railroad crews and dispatch alike, this customer is somewhat hidden along the mainline between Buffalo and Rochester. The siding to access the the customer is located on track one just west of CP 406 at QC 406.8. 406 is also the west end of Batavia Yard where interchange with the Depew, Lancaster & Western takes place three times a week. Typically L031 will drop cars for DLWR on M/W/F while Cargill is a Tu/Th switch with other days as-needed. The siding and spur has existed for at least 40 years, being listed in Conrail ZTS maps from the 1980s as Agway Feed. The procedure to work here is pretty simple. The local will tuck in the controlled siding starting at CP 402, cut away from their cars at the west end of Batavia Yard, use one of the few remaining yard tracks to run around, then shove out at 406. The shove move from the runaround point to the Cargill switch is about two miles. Some days the crew will use the caboose from Goodman Yard in Rochester as a shoving platform if it's available. On this occasion however they did not have it with them. Once the switch on the main is lined and locked normal, it's another tenth of a mile to get to the customer switch. This is where things tend to slow down for the crew even on a good night. While most of the time CSX crews can easily switch on their own terms with only a derail, locked gate, or both separating them from the customer cars, Cargill is in full control of the spur here. A blue work flag protects the start of the sour before it splits into two tracks, and only a Cargill employee may take the flag down to allow CSX to begin their work. From what I was told by Doug the engineer and his conductor Tony that night, the majority of the time they're made to wait for lengthy periods of time while trucks load/unload, or the trackmobile finishes moving empty cars back onto the interchange tracks. In fact, it's uncommon for them to even make it here in daylight most nights, making a shot here really only possible during the summer months or the rare daylight run. Seldom as it is, one of the daytime locals L033 will sometimes make a morning run out to Batavia if absolutely necessary. There was one day in August recently when they ran out to switch Cargill on L031's regular service day, and L031 still switched them again later that same day. That's pretty good customer service in this day and age of class 1s shedding their small customers.
Another factor contributing to the difficulty of the shot is the fact that the spur tracks point directly into the sun (if it were still light out when switching began). Not knowing that they needed Cargill's permission to work prior to my attempt, I aimed for a cloudy day to avoid sun interference altogether. It had pretty much rained all day around Buffalo and the surrounding towns, but stopped in time for my lengthy walk out to the siding from the nearest road crossing. Having to walk along the main was the only sketchy part about this, with the possibility of fast moving road trains spotting me and becoming concerned. Around Buffalo, the vast majority of customers are located on branches and industrials, which helps keep shooting them more low key. The only customers really located on the mainline like this would be Metalico Buffalo near 437 on track one, and 84 Lumber in Depew, although the spur is long enough and spaced away from the main that it's never been a concern in that instance. So really just Metalico is the only real mainline customer on CSX in Buffalo. By contrast, from Batavia to Syracuse most of the customers are directly located off of the mainline, with a couple having small handthrow sidings, and a couple with their own signaled sidings. Suffice to say, mainline switching has taken a little getting used to, after being pampered with industrial branches galore around home, but I like a good challenge and a walk. (That's not to say there aren't lengthy walks around Buffalo either, just not along busy mainlines.) With this being my first true encounter with L031's crew, they were very friendly guys and thankfully didn't try to shew me away. We exchanged pleasant conversation and I gained some insight into Rochester ops while waiting for Cargill to let them in. Fortunately, it was right around sunset when they finally came out to take the blue flag down, and contrary to my initial worries the sun would have never been an issue even if it had been out. With the loads still on the head end, they shoved in to pull a string of 15+ cars out, setting a few over to the siding, then stashing the rest back inside. By the time they shoved in the clear to get the elevator tower in view, it was going on ten minutes after sunset. Nothing I wasn't used to from previous experience. Incredibly I didn't think to bring either of my low light lenses with me, but was able to make it work on my wide lens being in close proximity. The rest of the elevator facility can be made out a bit between the hoppers and behind the tree line. I wish it was a little more visible, but you work with what you're given. The fact I had any light at all to work with was a blessing, and in the end I'm quite content with how this one came out. Not to mention having an engine facing east for once on a Rochester job is another major win. Fittingly 2504 has stuck around for both of my L031 triumphs this summer. All things considered, not bad for a one and done at Cargill.
L031 // Cargill Animal Nutrition, Batavia, NY
Evening Rochester local L031 ties onto a handful of empty covered hoppers at Cargill Animal Nutrition in Batavia, NY about ten minutes after sunset on a damp May night.
Formerly known as Batavia Agway, and still referred to as such by railroad crews and dispatch alike, this customer is somewhat hidden along the mainline between Buffalo and Rochester. The siding to access the the customer is located on track one just west of CP 406 at QC 406.8. 406 is also the west end of Batavia Yard where interchange with the Depew, Lancaster & Western takes place three times a week. Typically L031 will drop cars for DLWR on M/W/F while Cargill is a Tu/Th switch with other days as-needed. The siding and spur has existed for at least 40 years, being listed in Conrail ZTS maps from the 1980s as Agway Feed. The procedure to work here is pretty simple. The local will tuck in the controlled siding starting at CP 402, cut away from their cars at the west end of Batavia Yard, use one of the few remaining yard tracks to run around, then shove out at 406. The shove move from the runaround point to the Cargill switch is about two miles. Some days the crew will use the caboose from Goodman Yard in Rochester as a shoving platform if it's available. On this occasion however they did not have it with them. Once the switch on the main is lined and locked normal, it's another tenth of a mile to get to the customer switch. This is where things tend to slow down for the crew even on a good night. While most of the time CSX crews can easily switch on their own terms with only a derail, locked gate, or both separating them from the customer cars, Cargill is in full control of the spur here. A blue work flag protects the start of the sour before it splits into two tracks, and only a Cargill employee may take the flag down to allow CSX to begin their work. From what I was told by Doug the engineer and his conductor Tony that night, the majority of the time they're made to wait for lengthy periods of time while trucks load/unload, or the trackmobile finishes moving empty cars back onto the interchange tracks. In fact, it's uncommon for them to even make it here in daylight most nights, making a shot here really only possible during the summer months or the rare daylight run. Seldom as it is, one of the daytime locals L033 will sometimes make a morning run out to Batavia if absolutely necessary. There was one day in August recently when they ran out to switch Cargill on L031's regular service day, and L031 still switched them again later that same day. That's pretty good customer service in this day and age of class 1s shedding their small customers.
Another factor contributing to the difficulty of the shot is the fact that the spur tracks point directly into the sun (if it were still light out when switching began). Not knowing that they needed Cargill's permission to work prior to my attempt, I aimed for a cloudy day to avoid sun interference altogether. It had pretty much rained all day around Buffalo and the surrounding towns, but stopped in time for my lengthy walk out to the siding from the nearest road crossing. Having to walk along the main was the only sketchy part about this, with the possibility of fast moving road trains spotting me and becoming concerned. Around Buffalo, the vast majority of customers are located on branches and industrials, which helps keep shooting them more low key. The only customers really located on the mainline like this would be Metalico Buffalo near 437 on track one, and 84 Lumber in Depew, although the spur is long enough and spaced away from the main that it's never been a concern in that instance. So really just Metalico is the only real mainline customer on CSX in Buffalo. By contrast, from Batavia to Syracuse most of the customers are directly located off of the mainline, with a couple having small handthrow sidings, and a couple with their own signaled sidings. Suffice to say, mainline switching has taken a little getting used to, after being pampered with industrial branches galore around home, but I like a good challenge and a walk. (That's not to say there aren't lengthy walks around Buffalo either, just not along busy mainlines.) With this being my first true encounter with L031's crew, they were very friendly guys and thankfully didn't try to shew me away. We exchanged pleasant conversation and I gained some insight into Rochester ops while waiting for Cargill to let them in. Fortunately, it was right around sunset when they finally came out to take the blue flag down, and contrary to my initial worries the sun would have never been an issue even if it had been out. With the loads still on the head end, they shoved in to pull a string of 15+ cars out, setting a few over to the siding, then stashing the rest back inside. By the time they shoved in the clear to get the elevator tower in view, it was going on ten minutes after sunset. Nothing I wasn't used to from previous experience. Incredibly I didn't think to bring either of my low light lenses with me, but was able to make it work on my wide lens being in close proximity. The rest of the elevator facility can be made out a bit between the hoppers and behind the tree line. I wish it was a little more visible, but you work with what you're given. The fact I had any light at all to work with was a blessing, and in the end I'm quite content with how this one came out. Not to mention having an engine facing east for once on a Rochester job is another major win. Fittingly 2504 has stuck around for both of my L031 triumphs this summer. All things considered, not bad for a one and done at Cargill.