View allAll Photos Tagged LEADS
IC 6251 leads taconite ore pellets from Utac south along the Missabe Sub.
My plans to catch this train in some great afternoon sunlight would be squashed by some serious cloud cover and a trio of northbounds that would have them hold the siding at Alborn. Luckily, the fall color here added some character to a fading light shot.
Eventually, they would continue their southbound journey to Proctor Yard and then prove to be elusive for me over the following days.
Something about the white safety stripe on the IC 6251 makes this more appealing that the yellow stripers.
CN 2976 leads a colourful intermodal train east along the shores of the Athabasca River at mile 205 on the Edson Sub. With the whistle board being right below the cliff I was standing on, the engineer was kind enough to delay his horn sequence for the tunnel and avoided blowing my ears out.
56104 opens up through the platform after picking up 47596 at Dereham en route to Derby.And then presumably 47596 going forward from there to the North Yorkshire Moors Railways Diesel gala.
Conrail 6586 leads BUOI along the Canisteo River and around the big curve at Saunders Road near Rathbone, NY on August 18, 1985. It was a challenge climbing that steep hillside for a high vantage point. I later cleared out the small trees and got some other trains here during the next couple of years.
Mass Coastal's ex CDOT FL9s 2026 (blt. Sept. 1957 as NH 2007) leads the Cape Cod Central dinner train here at MP 54.9 on the MassDOT owned and MC operated Cape Main.
The loco is seen on the approach span on the south side of 544 long lift span crossing the Cape Cod Canal. Built by the Public Works Administration, it opened in December 1935 and at the time of its completion was the longest vertical lift span in the world. The classic EMD cab unit is very much at home on these historic ex New Haven Rails where she may have led the Day Cape Codder or Neptune during the summer months in the early 1960s.
Having traveled north from Hyannis the train ran across the bridge an hour earlier to Buzzards Bay as far as Cohasset Narrows before crossing back south to head down the Falmouth Branch so the passengers could enjoy their dinner in view of the gorgeous beaches and inlets. While they were on the branch the northbound MBTA/MassDOT CapeFLYER that left Hyannis one hour behind them passed by headed back to Boston.
As soon as the Flyer cleared they were line up off the branch at Canal Junction and pulled north just far enough to clear the circuit so the switch could be lined and they could start back south down the mainline to Hyannis.
Bourne, Massachusetts
Saturday July 9, 2022
BNSF #9669 leads N800 north (east) through Bangor. The train is seen here passing the restored former Pere Marquette station, which now houses the Amtrak station, a coffee shop, and some other small businesses. Amtrak's Pere Marquette makes daily stops here, morning and night.
BNSF SD70MAC #9669
BNSF SD70ACe #8756
130 cars
Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine
If you are interested in specific locomotives, trains, or freighters, please contact me. I have been photographing trains and ships for over 15 years and have accumulated an extensive library!
Sometimes things going wrong leads to a situation being more than you intended. For a degree assignment, I needed to convey a sense of 'journey' in a set. One of my 'stops' on a route was here, at a long-since abandoned petrol station. There was a specific place I wanted to stand, but couldn't. Whilst I felt pretty depressed immediately, having an explore of the little area was unexpected and I ended up with a much better view than I had planned.
I wonder if this is what 'the apocalypse' would feel like. Standing in somewhere so 'dead' that was once constantly interacted with and visited by people.
I reached out to one of the rusting pumps, felt a cobweb and scurried back to the safety of the car.
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CSX 8027 leads Q241 south under the soon to be extinct "modern" B&O CPL Gantry at Hamilton, OH.
With easy access and over 40 trains a day, Hamilton is a popular spot to view trains, made even more desirable in recent years thanks to its cluster of active B&O era Color Positioning Lights.
CSX over the course of several years prepped the area for eventual signal conversion. This week's visit proved to be somewhat depressing, as signal crews laid electrical wires and prepositioned machines to hoist new signals into place. Hamilton may remain a popular spot, but the "classic" feeling will no doubt be long gone.
BNSF 8207 leads a repainted sister SD75M west with empty coal through the trench and under a wooden vehicle bridge just east of Hawley, MN. This location on the Staples Sub was always a favorite as the shooting possibilities were numerous.
This particular day was meant to be spent in the Lake Park/Hawley areas, but I found myself stuck in the Fargo-Moorhead area shooting all the action. I've already uploaded a couple of other shots from earlier on this particular day, one of a Warbonnet SD75M and one of a Bluebonnet B23-7:
www.flickr.com/photos/chris_paulhamus/46990884232/
www.flickr.com/photos/chris_paulhamus/10700288665/
The mid-2000s was a great time to be out by the tracks in the northern plains!
BNSF 7555 leads an early morning eastbound empty grain train as it begins its descent from the top of Marias Pass.
CN 3023 leads CN M336-81, a 104-car mixed manifest, through Barrington, Illinois, on a rainy December 28th with temps hovering around 55 degrees. The train is operating on the Canadian National Railway Company Leithton Subdivision, a corridor that once served as home rails for the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway. Fittingly, 3023 wears EJ&E heritage colors, paying tribute to the line’s history prior to its acquisition by Canadian National in 2009.
BNSF 7161 leads a southbound light power move down the Hillsboro Sub and on its way out of Grand Forks, ND. The larger wagon wheel nose logo was always welcome on these H2 SD40-2s
I was about 1 month into ownership of my Canon Digital Rebel XT. I was still trying to figure out not just how to best use the thing (and its kit lens) but also trying to figure out the lay of the railroad land as I was still new to the area. As such, I have no idea where this power move was headed...best guess would be to the grain facility in Alton.
But, more than 17 and a half years later, we can look back and see what became of each of these EMDs:
BNSF 7161: Built as BN 7161, became BNSF 7161, then HLCX 7161, then GAVX 7161 (Gavilon?), and finally TDCX 7161 (The DeLong Company, parked as best I can tell in Avalon, WI).
BNSF 8015: Built as BN 8015, became BNSF 8015, and as best I can tell, is still on the roster as BNSF 1666.
NS 5404: SD50 built as CR 6708, became NS 5404, and was rebuilt as NS 6321 (SD40E).
BNSF 4141 leads ethanol train K477-02 through the control point at CH Cabin on CSX's Big Sandy Subdivision. Three BNSF units sandwich UP 1988, the MKT heritage unit, as they pass an array of C&O era signals still in service on the 125-mile long line between Catlettsburg and Elkhorn City, KY.
43066 leads a northbound Midland Main Line express into Leicester, 15th June 1983. Midland Main Line HST duties commenced with the October 1982 timetable change using eight seven car sets (five from the Western Region and three new sets that were originally for Cross Country) allocated to Neville Hill. Over time the power cars used would be any from the Eastern Region fleet.
Locomotive History
43066 was built at Crewe Works as part of HST set 254006 for East Coast Main Line services and entered traffic in October 1977. Following the completion of ECML electrification in 1992 43066 was one of thirty one Class 43 power cars allocated to Neville Hill for Midland Mainline services and pounded up and down to London St Pancras from the East Midlands and South Yorkshire for twenty eight years. Since the end of Midland Main Line HST duties it has been used to power the DATS overhead line test train during 2021 43066 has been fitted with a Paxman VP185 engine in lieu of its original Paxman Valenta.
Canon AT1, Agfacolour CT18
Gollum leads Sam and Frodo towards a treacherous path into Mordor.
Hope you enjoy this next vignette of our series! If you haven't seen the first books yet make sure to check the profiles listed down below.
New scene every Monday and Thursday!
The Lord of the Rings series:
•Book 1: Xenomurphy
•Book 2: Jonas Kramm
•Book 3: Jonas Kramm
•Book 4: Marcel V.
•Book 5: ForlornEmpire
•Book 6: Grant Davis
18th July 2021 - Rail Operation Groups 37608 Leads 57312 (DIT) After failing earlier during the day with a rake of Mix match Ex Greater Anglia & Arriva Wag MK3's with 37884 trailing DOR. Working was 1Z89 Lichfield City - Buxton. The tour was around 130 minutes late by this point owing to the failure of 57312 at Castle Donnington.
KCS #4029 leads a southbound manifest past McHattie siding on the 2.5 mile-long UP Rosenberg Sub after getting off the Sunset Route at Tower 17. The south end of the siding is where line ownership changes from UP to KCS.
As of May 2020, 4029 is apparently the final operating SD70ACe in grey ghost paint, likely to be painted into Belle very soon.
Rosenberg, TX 2/4/2018
66415 leads the delayed 6Y14 12.59 Shenfield - Whitemoor Yard L.D.C. GBRf with 20 autoballasters and 66512 on the 23 February 2020. 66415 was named 'You Are Never Alone' at Ipswich on 21 November 2019.
This was my first encounter with an Orange liveried 66 and not sure I could have asked for better conditions.
BNSF 9242 leads a southbound coal train down the grade and out of Palmer Lake, CO.
I initially set out on this morning to catch northbounds out of Palmer Lake in the Greenland Open Space, but when I heard the chugging of a southbound battling the grade, I thought to myself that I would give chase if it was rare power or an ACe...turned out it was this ACe.
For the astute, you'll recognize this road number. BNSF 9242 used to be the unique, Greenface SD60M until the railroad decided to renumber those units to the 8100-series in 2007-2008. I was lucky enough to catch that unit a few times in my railfanning career, but at least it's road number is carried on by an ACe!
47828 leads 47805 on the RHTT through Weeley down to Clacton. Both Locos still reasonably clean on a great Autumn day.The vegetation stopped me getting the full consist in could do with a Chainsaw next time!
43159 leads through Toton yards on Sunday 29th October 1995 with 1V52, 09.40 Newcastle to Exeter, diverted down the Erewash Valley line due to engineering works.
In the background can be seen (L-R) Toton Centre signal box, the Upside hump control tower, and the wagon shops, all of which are history now.
Of note is that 43159 was the rear power car, with 43102 on the front, that created the world diesel speed record of 148.5 m.p.h. in November 1987, which still stands today.
43159 is still operational with 'The 125 group'.
©Dave Peachey.
An ex-Pennsy SD-45 leads a westbound freight through Canton for "Flare Friday", with the assistance of a Santa Fe GE and a blue CR EMD. This CR patch job is actually "more" of a PRR patch job than a PC one. While the unit had been patched with complete PC lettering and herald, it still wears it's PRR number, and I'm pretty sure it's also still wearing the PRR Brunswick Green for the most part. That engine is really that not dirty and I noticed numerous ex-PRR units where the Brunswick Green weathered into that brownish olive color that looks like dirt.
UP 8401 leads a SD70M and stacks west near Cheyenne, WY.
I skipped work and headed up to Cheyenne to catch UP 3985 coming home:
www.flickr.com/photos/chris_paulhamus/47660853652/
www.flickr.com/photos/chris_paulhamus/8634181404/
During the wait, I was able to catch a handful of westbounds. In addition to UP 8401 here, I was also able to catch UP 8014 (a SD9043MAC):
www.flickr.com/photos/chris_paulhamus/51411642396/
Not sure what the chances are of catching two separate locomotives with the same set of 4 numbers, but I thought that was pretty cool. Also pretty cool? Non-coal trains fronted by EMD power!
37254 leads 37099 with 3J51 East Yorkshire and Wold Coast RHTT through a tree enclosed section of the Derwent Valley at Crambeck just above Kirkham Abbey on the 21st of October 2025.
Nikkor ED 300mm 1:2.8
SD45 6553 leads SD9 6191 and B30-7A 4074 out of Northtown with train TCM (Twin Cities - Memphis) on September 30, 1984. This was one of the handful of trains at this time that was still carrying a Frisco inspired train symbol.
Up on County Road 122. The road that leads to the King Mansion. It's the only maintained road I know of in Winona County that dead ends. You can go right and see the defunct Watkins Experimental Farm (I know, weird name) or you can go left and it leads you past two turrets down a long gravel road about a half a mile that opens up to a view of sprawling French country style manor. That would be the King Mansion.
King was a local bank owner and safari goer in the early 20s. We've been on the estate twice. It's huge. It has a swimming pool with an underwater viewing window. Tennis court with an enclosed viewing area and shooting range. A former grounds keeper told me it has an underground cistern large enough that you could float a ship in it. I'm dubious but still I like the story.
A lot history there. A suicide. An car injury that left one of the inhabitants in a wheel chair (you could still see the lift that lowered her into the pool), and extravagant parties (I heard that from a former maid). There is a mansion below this house. I guess it wasn't good enough for King's daughter when she married into the Watkins family. They built her this one, but it was done on the cheap because of WWII. It's amazing that it was even built during that time, but money talks.
A lawyer owns it now. He took us up the second time we saw. Terribly run down. He talked about demolition. That was about 8 years ago.
I wonder if it still stands.
This road is like a portal for me. I have something for it--or it has something for me. I'm not sure if I even believe in that stuff. It's the road--the place I thought about most when I moved away from the area. I can daydream about it for hours. All those people and all that life packed up on that bluff, looking over the valley.
NS ES44DC 7588 leads westbound BNSF Intermodal train Q-ATGLAC across the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway bridge at North Amory, Mississippi. Unfortunately due to my terrible flash placement there's a big shadows across the back of the locomotive. Oh well, at least it's a rattle box leader that drove my foamer self out.
Pere Marquette 1225 leads its first ever photo freight south past the Carland elevator on Great Lakes Central rails back in the spring of 2007. This event marked the first time since its initial restoration that 1225 was returned to its late 1940s in-service appearance with no white striping, flying number boards and visor-less headlight. The white flags signifying "extra" were a cool touch, too!
Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine
If you are interested in specific locomotives, trains, or freighters, please contact me. I have been photographing trains and ships for over 15 years and have accumulated an extensive library!
CMQ 9024 leads Job 1 along the shore of Moosehead Lake. The three former CP SD40-2F's and leased GP38 had no trouble moving the 70 car train along. While slightly more overgrown than it used to be, Moosehead lake can still be seen through the trees.
A stream leads from the base of Bridalveil Falls in Winter at Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about 7.5 miles long and approximately 3000-3500 feet deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River, and a multitude of streams and waterfalls flow into it, including Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America, and is a big attraction especially in the spring when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is renowned for its natural environment, and is regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors from around the world.
BNSF 2697 leads the southbound Pikes Peak Local in Colorado Springs, CO with a sister Geep and 3 covered hoppers.
I had a spare few minutes before I had to head to work, and when I looked at ATCS to see if anything was coming, I saw a SB coming out of Monument. When the train hit Academy and fit between the sidings on the ATCS display, I knew it was the PPL. Unfortunately I didn't have the greatest sun angle here at Woodmen Road, but I'm not going to pass up the chance to shoot a standard cab unit in this day and age!
BNSF 3183 leads M-SUPSUP4 under the abandoned Missabe at Alborn, MN on the morning July 10, 2015. BNSF runs these Superior to Superior trains up the Casco Sub. for Kelly Lake occasionally to handle extra Iron Range traffic, like chips and fines.
This train had plenty of taconite chips from Keetac and the three Geeps and SD40-2 were really laboring to move the over 100 car train that was 12,000+ tons. Full engine consist was BNSF 3183, 2124, 1832, and 2921.
PC 1783 leads Cedar Hill-Oak Pt turn GB-2 through Noroton Heights CT on a gray day in the early 1970's.
The transition period from NH to PC is a special time for me as I was developing my own interest in trains aside from what I inherited from my father.
This year January 1 2025 would have been my fathers 99th birthday.
I chose to post this picture because on similar gray day my father, my brother Don and I chased an almost identical lash up on I-95 North from New Rochelle NY, were we first observed the train coming off the Hell gate Line.
Many of the local NH fans weren't enamored of the PC at all, so there are not as many photos of this period, when hand me down F7's and GP9B units were based in Cedar Hill.
I also remember seeing them run north on the Hartford Line as well as into NYC.
In the early post-merger NH days before the inception of the Metropolitan Region, there was still a fair amount of local freight being gathered up in the Bronx, Bridgeport and the towns along the line to NH.
GB-2 would not only forwarded this freight to Cedar Hill , on the weekends it also ferried local yard power to and from New Haven resulting in monster lash-ups on Saturday morning and Sunday evening.
The train also ran reliably in midday ...until the Metropolitan Region focus on passenger operations pushed it to an over night -early morning schedule.
Special thanks to Rob Pisani for providing me a copy, and Jim Bruno for taking this amazing shot and preserving a version of a core childhood memory
for me.
Noroton Heights Main Line New Haven Line -New Haven Division Northeastern Region PC
USED WITH PERMISSION
BNSF 752 leads an auto train westbound at Maine, AZ on BNSFs Seligman subdivision in Jun of 2000. From 1997 to 2001 I was stationed at Luke AFB in Phoenix and spent all my time in Northern AZ. Now that I am back at Luke AFB I truly wish I would have ventured further then I did then....I miss those signal bridges!
The last of the 44 class in revune service, 4497 owned by Qube departs Junee leading 1431 on the shuttle to Harefield on 3-10-22.
With a new intermodal facility about to open at Bomen, north of Wagga Wagga operational are likely to change and could be the last few months of 4497 operating
43027 leads 2P13 11.50 Penzance - Plymouth at Burngullow Junction on 11 August 2023. This power car was exported to Mexico in May 2025.
With the usual Sunday treat (0Z70) being a disappointing single loco yesterday, here's a shot from a couple of months ago.......
Colas' 37219 'Jonty Jarvis 8-12-1998 to 18-3-2005' leads BR blue liveried 37610 past Colwick East working 0Z37, the 13.46 light engine move from Crewe TMD to Derby RTC via Nottingham and Colwick.
Storms move east over the Continental Divide in the background as BNSF C44-9W No. 5273 leads a 4 hour and 50 minutes late California Zephyr with two Amtrak P42DC's trailing as the train heads west out of Granby, Colorado along Union Pacific's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision on September 4, 2016. Three Iowa Pacific Private Cars bring up the rear of the train.