Tim Stockwell
"Make The Gas Train Great Again" Monday
As many of you know, CP Train D45 (which on some days is symbolled D48) is the most recent incarnation of the daily CP (D&H) turn job that runs between Saratoga Springs, NY and Kenwood Yard in Albany, NY. This train carried many different symbols over the years (263/264, 514/515, 250/251, 450, 414, and D45/D48), and its traditional nickname is "The Gas Train" due to the fact that--until recently--it used to transport a TankTrain set out of Albany that was destined for Vermont Rail System at Whitehall.
For years, "The Gas Train" was a staple for railroad photographers in New York's Capital Region, departing southbound from Saratoga Springs in the late morning and returning northbound from Kenwood Yard in Albany in the mid to late afternoon. This meant generally-favorable light for the southbound (especially in the winter), and great light for the northbound between Mechanicville and Crescent (Clifton Park).
Unfortunately for daytime photographers like myself, when CP changed the symbol from 414 to D45, they also changed the schedule. D45 departs from Saratoga Springs in the wee hours of the morning under the cover of darkness, then heads back north out of Albany in the very early morning. This means that the light is typically only good for the northbound at a handful of spots between Albany and Waterford.
However, last Thursday, for whatever reason D45 did not run, and a D43 crew was called for 0930 in Saratoga to handle the traffic. Suddenly, the train was back on its old schedule!
Thursday was a "prep day" for me for work, and being fairly caught up I was able to duck out for an hour to shoot the southbound at Menands and Albany. Later, on my way home, I was able to jump ahead of the northbound and wait here at Coons in Halfmoon. When the original Mechanicville Yard still existed, Coons was just west of what was known as "Mechanicville West." For years during the late 1990s and 2000s, there was just a single track between here and CPF467 in Mechanicville. However, for the new Mechanicville Yard, a new interlocking--CPF470--was built. That's what you see here, with the Avenue Running Track (a.k.a. "Avenue Runner") diverging to the left to head for the yard.
With only an hour of daylight left, at 4:24 PM D43 rounded the curve into the sweet, late afternoon sun, making for the scene you see here.
Oh, and I'm still going to keep using the #MakeTheGasTrainGreatAgain hashtag until this train somehow, miraculously goes back to this schedule...
CP Train D43
Coons, Halfmoon, NY
February 11, 2020
"Make The Gas Train Great Again" Monday
As many of you know, CP Train D45 (which on some days is symbolled D48) is the most recent incarnation of the daily CP (D&H) turn job that runs between Saratoga Springs, NY and Kenwood Yard in Albany, NY. This train carried many different symbols over the years (263/264, 514/515, 250/251, 450, 414, and D45/D48), and its traditional nickname is "The Gas Train" due to the fact that--until recently--it used to transport a TankTrain set out of Albany that was destined for Vermont Rail System at Whitehall.
For years, "The Gas Train" was a staple for railroad photographers in New York's Capital Region, departing southbound from Saratoga Springs in the late morning and returning northbound from Kenwood Yard in Albany in the mid to late afternoon. This meant generally-favorable light for the southbound (especially in the winter), and great light for the northbound between Mechanicville and Crescent (Clifton Park).
Unfortunately for daytime photographers like myself, when CP changed the symbol from 414 to D45, they also changed the schedule. D45 departs from Saratoga Springs in the wee hours of the morning under the cover of darkness, then heads back north out of Albany in the very early morning. This means that the light is typically only good for the northbound at a handful of spots between Albany and Waterford.
However, last Thursday, for whatever reason D45 did not run, and a D43 crew was called for 0930 in Saratoga to handle the traffic. Suddenly, the train was back on its old schedule!
Thursday was a "prep day" for me for work, and being fairly caught up I was able to duck out for an hour to shoot the southbound at Menands and Albany. Later, on my way home, I was able to jump ahead of the northbound and wait here at Coons in Halfmoon. When the original Mechanicville Yard still existed, Coons was just west of what was known as "Mechanicville West." For years during the late 1990s and 2000s, there was just a single track between here and CPF467 in Mechanicville. However, for the new Mechanicville Yard, a new interlocking--CPF470--was built. That's what you see here, with the Avenue Running Track (a.k.a. "Avenue Runner") diverging to the left to head for the yard.
With only an hour of daylight left, at 4:24 PM D43 rounded the curve into the sweet, late afternoon sun, making for the scene you see here.
Oh, and I'm still going to keep using the #MakeTheGasTrainGreatAgain hashtag until this train somehow, miraculously goes back to this schedule...
CP Train D43
Coons, Halfmoon, NY
February 11, 2020