Tim Stockwell
"How I Spent My October Vacation": Part 2
For at least a few years now, I've been taking the week of Columbus Day off from work for a combination of enjoying Fall activities and the foliage with the family, as well as railroad photography. As in years past, the highlight for the week was going to be my now-annual October trip to the Scranton, PA area. Based on the weather forecast, I eventually settled on making that trip from Wednesday to Friday. Nevertheless, I hoped to catch some more local action, too.
Whereas Monday I had a relaxed / late start with a late finish, Tuesday was the opposite: an early start and an early finish (so I could finish getting packed and rest up for the trip to Scranton).
As many of you know, SMS Rail Lines operates local service over the former D&H Albany Main between the Northeast Industrial Park in Guilderland, NY and the NS interchange at Delanson, NY. This is the same line that's supposed to see the return of bigger trains in the form of a pair of NS intermodal trains between Chicago and Ayer, MA, but the start date keeps getting pushed back
For now, SMS runs the only trains on this line, which is typically one round trip per week. A round trip run was planned for Tuesday, and while one of SMS's ex-Santa Fe B23-7s normally makes the run, this run was to feature SW14 #1424. That was enough to convince me to chase these guys on an overcast day! Furthermore, the cloudy forecast meant that the chase from Guilderland to Delanson would be more doable (normally, one would be shooting directly into the sun on this chase). Unfortunately, however, after extensive switching in the industrial park, the 1424 ended up running light out to Delanson.
The train would indeed have a few cars for the return trip, however, and with a little bit of Fall foliage by the Route 7 overpass in Duanesburg, I decided to set up there for my first shot. NS replaced the D&H-era stick rail on this line with CWR and did other work as well, so track speed is now 25 MPH on this line. Seeing and hearing this little switcher climb the grade here was a nice treat on this otherwise dismal day! Also, the Reading-inspired green and yellow seen here would be a preview of the next couple days in the Scranton area...
SNY Train NE-1
Duanesburg, NY
October 14, 2025
"How I Spent My October Vacation": Part 2
For at least a few years now, I've been taking the week of Columbus Day off from work for a combination of enjoying Fall activities and the foliage with the family, as well as railroad photography. As in years past, the highlight for the week was going to be my now-annual October trip to the Scranton, PA area. Based on the weather forecast, I eventually settled on making that trip from Wednesday to Friday. Nevertheless, I hoped to catch some more local action, too.
Whereas Monday I had a relaxed / late start with a late finish, Tuesday was the opposite: an early start and an early finish (so I could finish getting packed and rest up for the trip to Scranton).
As many of you know, SMS Rail Lines operates local service over the former D&H Albany Main between the Northeast Industrial Park in Guilderland, NY and the NS interchange at Delanson, NY. This is the same line that's supposed to see the return of bigger trains in the form of a pair of NS intermodal trains between Chicago and Ayer, MA, but the start date keeps getting pushed back
For now, SMS runs the only trains on this line, which is typically one round trip per week. A round trip run was planned for Tuesday, and while one of SMS's ex-Santa Fe B23-7s normally makes the run, this run was to feature SW14 #1424. That was enough to convince me to chase these guys on an overcast day! Furthermore, the cloudy forecast meant that the chase from Guilderland to Delanson would be more doable (normally, one would be shooting directly into the sun on this chase). Unfortunately, however, after extensive switching in the industrial park, the 1424 ended up running light out to Delanson.
The train would indeed have a few cars for the return trip, however, and with a little bit of Fall foliage by the Route 7 overpass in Duanesburg, I decided to set up there for my first shot. NS replaced the D&H-era stick rail on this line with CWR and did other work as well, so track speed is now 25 MPH on this line. Seeing and hearing this little switcher climb the grade here was a nice treat on this otherwise dismal day! Also, the Reading-inspired green and yellow seen here would be a preview of the next couple days in the Scranton area...
SNY Train NE-1
Duanesburg, NY
October 14, 2025