With just 3 cars to take back from Townsend today, the Helena Local runs around its train via the house track at Townsend. The town's seed mill stands in the background.

MRL 840 Local (Helena Local)

MRL SD40-2XR #252

MRL GP9 #109

Townsend, MT

May 4th, 2022

Minty's first photo of the year is just a backyard shot fresh from a playdate. She has some nice dog spit on her ear and side of the face. She loves meeting up with friends and having a good runaround at the park.

Something a little different for this F-unit Friday. My dad, aka the Road Warrior, patiently waits for the appearance of Maryland Midland F7A No. 100 completing its runaround at Highfield MD, interchange point with CSX, on 29 June 1990. The 100 is the former C&NW No. 409 as is mated to GP9 No. 200. The elderly pair will bring the coal train down the old Western Maryland main line to Union Bridge.

A66 runs around its consist at Southern Cross station before heading light engine into Dudley Street yard to stable for the day.

Thursday 24th May 2018

Colas Rail Freight Class 56 No. 56049 runs around its train in Alsager GL with 6K35, the 09:20 Stapleford – Pinnox Branch Esso Sidings on 11th October 2021.

Thanks to Gavin Bland for tipping me off about this working.

with my sweet wife Désirée

C503-C501 hauls 8L00 down empty LVR heritage transfers special from Ettamogah Rail Hub arrives for runaround before proceeding to form 8L01 up LVR "C Class Raw Power" heritage special to Cootamundra at Albury, taken on Saturday 20th September, 2025.

Here is another look back shot to 2019 from my first time catching Pan Am out on the end of the Hillsboro branch. This was the caption I wrote at the time:

How about another from last Friday's outing with two friends and Pan Am local NA-1 on the far reaches of the old B&M Hillsboro Branch.

Despite the wrong lighting this time of day I just loved this scene as the lone GP40 trod gingerly west (railroad north) at MP16. Pan Am's ownership ends at the far end of the runaround about 1/3 of a mile ahead beside the old Wilton passenger depot.

I like the bucolic small town scene with the tracks on the fill adjacent Main Street and the relatively uncommon engraved concrete milepost with the "N" denoting the distance from Nashua and the junction with the old Northern Mainline.

Wilton, New Hampshire

Friday September 6, 2019

Conductor of train 610 lines the switch to make runaround move to get their buffer car to take back to Rook Yard.

The large slate dump has some interesting erosion patterns.

Conway Scenic Railroad's Mountaineer excursion has reached the end of its 30 mile run from North Conway and the locomotives have just run around through the siding at Fabyan beside the former Maine Central passenger station. With two units (GP9 1751 on the west and GP35 216 east) on the train they have to nose out on to the truss bridge over the Ammonoosuc River to clear the switch. This is MP 89 from Portland Union Station on the former Maine Central Mountain Subdivision.

Fabyans

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire

Sunday October 11, 2020

After completed 8L02 down LVR "C Class Raw" heritage special from Cootamundra then runaround afterwards earlier:

C503-C502 hauls 8L03 up empty LVR heritage transfer special to Ettamougah Rail Hub for stable, seen awaits path at Albury in night pic, taken on Saturday 20th September, 2025.

IC 1038 pulls south through Griffith on the CN Matteson Sub in afternoon light. February 2023

After runaround earlier:

A62-A66-N452 hauls a late #8173 down 707 Ops "The Grainlander" heritage special to Quambatook seen awaiting for a path on platform 3 at Southern Cross Station, Docklands (with a "Welcome back A62" headboard on it) in night pic, taken on Friday 21st February, 2025.

An empty ethanol train bound for western Iowa pulls out of the yard at Waterloo. The train is in the runaround which by-passes the yard to the north. This power will spot this empty and then will get on L570 to Ackley where it will be dropped to pull a loaded train from Iowa River in a couple days. This time of year power usually doesn't sit around much cause with failures there is never enough.

This shot was taking by me on my way to the U.S !

This song below ''say hello and wave goodbye'' by David Gray .. pretty much explains it self, therefor I quoted some of the lyrics , hope you like it ..

Standin at the door of the pink Flamingo cryin in the rain,

It was a kind of so-so love and I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen again,

You and I had to be the standing joke of the year,

You were a runaround, a lost and found and not for me I feel,

A pair of GTW geeps have had a hold down on the Fond du Lac locals this spring and it certainly hasn't gone undocumented. On this day 515 is just following orders as they spent almost the entire morning locked away downtown on the Agriland Spur. What should have turned into an Eden chase these guys were instructed, instead of just shoving the 2 miles into the yard, to shove out of the spur, pull south past Valley and do their runaround in 130 track. You can't make this stuff up.

Here's another from my annual day out following one of the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad's fall foliage trips from Meredith to Plymouth on this otherwise rarely used segment of the old Concord and Montreal Railroad, later Boston and Maine's White Mountain Division Mainline now owned by the state of New Hampshire.

The crew graciously left the headlights on for the return shove allowing for several decent going away views like this. Winnipesauke Scenic GP7 302 shoves three demotored Budd RDCs across the 400 ft long three span through truss bridge over the Pemigewasset River and enters the town of Ashland from Bridgewater here at about MP 47.7 as measured from Concord. The first rails were laid here in 1853 when the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad pushed their line north from Ashland to Wells River after having arrived in the former four years earlier.

302 was blt. Aug. 1950 as Rock Island number 438 and came north in 1985 when the start up New England Southern acquired it from the bankrupt ROCK's estate. It hauled freight on all the remaining ex B&M lines north of Manchester as NEGS 302 until 1998 when it was sold to the Plymouth and Lincoln, who promptly chopped the nose and repainted it maroon and silver.

In years past the locomotive led north and while the passengers enjoyed their lunch at the Common Man Inn the crew would perform a runaround at the siding in downtown Plymouth next to the station before bringing the train back up to the Common Man and staging it for the return trip. But new owners Patriot Rail have chosen to do things differently and all trains now operate push pull with the conductor protecting the shove on the return trip south from the vestibule of the lead coach.

Bridgewater, New Hampshire

Saturday October 18, 2025

Dessie romper - Scandalize

Po shoes - Blueberry

Runaround Sue handbag - Belle Epoque

Cynthia necklace - Avaway

Isolde gypsy boho earrings - Gossamer Jewellery

Ginerva hair - Truth Hair

Summer fun gacha nails - Alme

Mara eyeshadow - SlackGirl

Sparkle and shine lipstick - Pink Fuel

Picture me pose - Di's Opera

After dropping cars for EMR Train 505-16, NBSR Train 506-16 heads back to the Saint Stephen runaround to rearrange their train.

With this section of track being very close to the Saint Croix River, the railroad is prohibited from spraying the right of way so vegetation creeps in quick. Unfortunately for railfans, the railroad recently cut the brush and dumped ballast here, so at least for a few years the overgrown look is gone.

New Brunswick Southern Railway

Train: 506-16

6/16/2023

Saint Stephen, New Brunswick

NBSR Saint Stephen Spur

After stable overnight at McIntyre Sidings earlier:

B74-A66 with #8396 empty SRHC carriage transfer from McIntyre Sidings for runaround before to form SRHC "Captain's Choice" private charter pass special to Warrnambool arrives into Southern Cross Station, City taken on Wednesday 7/4/2021.

CLF1-GM27-CLF2 work 7775V empty SSR grain has completed unloading from Geelong Grain Loop earlier seen crawls at Anakie Rd Loop in Bell Park for runaround before proceed to form 3MC7 to The Rock taken on Tuesday 26/7/2022.

NECR 608 prepares to head south from Franklin after dropping the KofKoff loads on the runaround, to be spotted later.

Affectionately referred to by employees as 'The Sisters' Conway Scenic Railroad's ex Canadian National FP9s (6505 & 6516) built in 1954 and 1957 respectively passed from CN to VIA Rail in 1978 before being picked up by the Conway Scenic in 1995 when they expanded into Crawford Notch. 6505 & 6516 would become PAR 1 & 2 when traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216.

Here they are running around the Notch Train beside the former Maine Central Fabyan Station (just out of sight to the left) at MP 89 as measured from Portland Union Station via the Mountain Sub. After 27 years calling New England home the famous duo departed for Waycross, Georgia lately for an uncertain fate for their new owner CSX Transportation. It will be interesting to see what their next chapter brings.

Fabyans

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire

Sunday September 21, 2008

At Thompson, Utah (Thompson Springs on highway maps), the OCS will meet Amtrak No. 5 before the two units run around the train for westward movement. At 6:54 p.m., the units are headed to the ESS on September 24, 2025.

BEEM 115, 113 and 114 sit together on the Engine House Runaround at the Alexander Shops as the DGVR Crew works to complete a Brake Test on the Old 113 before removal from Beech Mountain Property.

After traveling 29 miles from North Conway to Fabyans and completing a double runaround, the 470 Club charter is now on its return trip back east. The nine car train was lead by the club's pair of F7s with Conway Scenic owned ex MEC GP38s 252 and 255 on the rear for braking. They are seen here curling thru the steep rock cut at the Gateway near MP 85.5 on the old Maine Central Mountain Subdivision as they begin the descent from the 1900 ft summit at the top of the notch that will drop them down 1400 ft via grades as steep as 2.2%.

Both units are owned by the 470 Railroad Club and are original Boston and Maine locomotives wearing their as delivered EMD designed scheme. 4266 was built in Mar. 1949 and was acquired for preservation in 1981 off the Billerica deadline. Restored a couple years later, she has called North Conway home ever since and has been operational off and on for the past four decades.

4268 was built in Oct. 1949 and ran for the very first time in almost a half century in early 2022. I'm not sure when her last run was, but I can find no photos of her in service after about July 1974. She languished for a decade behind the Billerica shops after being stripped of all major components including prime mover, main generator and traction motors. In 1986 she finally left Billerica by truck after being acquired by George Feuderer who displayed her in a field in East Swanzey, NH until acquired by the 470 Club and trucked to North Conway in October of 1991.

She received a cosmetic restoration in 1993 and had been prominently displayed at the Conway Scenic in the company of her operational sibling ever since. After years of planning, the club began restoration in earnest in 2018 with the full support of the railroad and its shop using ex New Hampshire Northcoast GP9 1757 (ex PRR) as a major parts donor for the four year long restoration project.

Addendum: thanks to Carl Byron for supplying the fascinating historical information below that I'd never read about before.

The 4268A was actually built in March, 1949 as Engineering Test Dept Locomotive #930. Used for high altitude component testing on the DRGW's Soldier Summit among other locations. It spent some of that summer masquerading as a CB&Q locomotive leading their passenger car display at the 1949 Chicago World's Fair. It was then was cleaned up, re-engined, and made into to a standard F7A and offered for sale at a 'slightly used demo' price. The B&M bought it and it was renumbered and painted into the B&M livery and shipped east, so while the builders plate may well say 10/49 but it certainly had a prior interesting career.

Crawford Notch State Park

Harts Location, New Hampshire

Saturday October 28, 2023

Feed train 48K splits the signals at Hannel with four Union Pacific motors on the point. The train is heading into the siding to be runaround by 255.

UP 2712 - ET44AC

UP 8369 - SD70ACe

UP 4453 - SD70M

UP 8111 - ES44AC

Hannel CP - Arnold, IL

July 7, 2020

RJ Corman's handsome FP7's 1940 and 1941 depart Bardstown, KY with the weekly "My Old Kentucky Dinner Train" bound for the runaround point in Clermont, KY, roughly 14 miles to the west. On most Saturdays, Corman runs an earlier "Lunch Train", always departing Bardstown at 11:30 sharp.

The train takes passengers through beautiful Kentucky scenery, but it also takes them through the heart of the region's pride and joy, bourbon making. To the right is one of the many rack houses in the area used to hold barrels full of distilled bourbon.

SDQA unhitches from their train that they had just brought up from Gilberton to make a runaround move and leave the last two hoppers in the runaround for loading. Reading Anthracite's Girardville shaft can be seen on the left in the background. Reading Anthracite, America's largest anthracite miner and producer, is one of RBMNs largest customers across their system.

The Iowa Northern's Cedar Rapids to Waterloo job makes a later appearance in Vinton as they work back to Bryant Yard in Waterloo. The crew would have to go out on the Dysart Branch to spot and pull cars. That required 2 trips thru town and a double runaround. This job would spend all day getting back to Waterloo with work at Palo, Vinton, and LaPorte City.

After bringing loads down to the runaround and shoving empties back up to spot at the loadout on the Wells-Lamson Spur, the WACR returned back downhill light engine and have just coupled up to their train on the west end of the 900 ft siding here at MP MP 10.9 on the Montpelier and Barre Division. They are getting ready to carefully shove seven loads (the maximum permitted by rule) down the steep grade to the lower switchback, where they will reverse direction then continue the descent off Millstone Hill into the city of Barre. The assigned power on the line is green GMRC 804 (a GP9r blt. Oct. 1955 as NW 13) and red VTR 206 (a GP38-3 206 blt. Oct. 1969 as SOU 2718 and originally a high nosed straight GP38).

Unincorporated Websterville

Barre Town, Vermont

Friday August 1, 2025

The KCS Local makes a quick pose with one of the Illinois & Midland's unique distant signals before heading back north to grab its pickup at Shops Yard.

KCS 2956 - GP40-2

KCS 2844 - GP40-3

Moffat Avenue - Springfield, Illinois

March 1, 2023

#23. Sunset/Sunrise (100 Pictures)

Ontario Midland #3 does a runaround move past an old Conrail hack at Sodus, NY. Was pleasantly surprised to come across this today. 9/21/21

3Z01 Wick to Inverness. Class 37s in Colas Railfreight livery head south on the FNL with the UTU consist and a friendly wave from the front cab. Seen here between Muir Of Ord and Beauly. With 116 failing up in Wick they had to push the UTU consist forward with 421 all the way to Georgemas jn where 421 then ran around to lead the failed loco south hence the double header as its always Top and tail or DBSO and loco. With the runaround option in Wick not available due to points not working due to lack of maintenance and use or even possible locked out.

After an issue at Bendigo earlier:

B75-T386-B76 leads a very late #9094 up loaded SSR grain from Piangil/Bendigo Yard (stable earlier) to Tottenham Yard/Allied Mills, Kensington (viia Arrivals Rd for runaround), slowly rounding the curve past Golden Square, taken on Friday 10th November, 2023.

After completed unloading the grain and runaround earlier on:

CLF1-C501-44223 (ex 442s5) & CLF2 seen reversing towards the grain for coupled up at Appleton Dock taken on Sunday 18/9/2022.

After striking out looking for Amtrak 606 I heard CSXT on the radio so before calling it a day I swung over to the runaround by the west (railroad north) end of the Middleboro Subdivision where I found CSXT local L007 switching on the south end of the runaround by MP 0.7 with three GP40-2s. After doing a bit of switching they will shove north to Currier and call for permission from Amtrak's NHV Line dispatcher for permission out on to the Corridor on Main 4 to shove down to East Junction to work a few customers.

The Middleboro Sub is strange in that it is owned by MassDOT and dispatched and maintained by Mass Coastal, but CSX still operates it and serves the customers as the direct corporate successor of CR, PC, NH, and all the way back to the Old Colony. In fact this particular segment of line was built in 1871 by OCRR predecessor New Bedford and Taunton Railroad.

While everyone knows of the recent MassDOT rail purchases from CSXT that were consummated in 2010, 2012, and 2015 dramatically changing the freight rail scene in eastern Mass this route is a bit more interesting. The state actually acquired this line way back in Dec 1982, but Conrail and successor CSXT operated, dispatched and maintained it for another three more decades. The state spent money to rehab the line shortly after purchase that permitted the return of seasonal passenger service and to that end, from 1986 to 1996 Amtrak's Cape Codder left the corridor at Attleboro and traveled this route to Hyannis on weekends in the summer. After that ended the line fell into disrepair and in 2015 MassDOT assigned maintenance and dispatching responsibilities to Mass Coastal. However, CSXT is still the exclusive holder of freight rights on the line and consequently Mass Coastal crews can only operate maintenance trains here.

Attleboro, Massachusetts

Friday August 26, 2022

On track two, nearing the switch with track one, No. 90 is at Leamon Place Junction in Paradise, Pennsylvania on the Strasburg Railroad. On this day, I happen to be your engineer.

S317-T381 leads #9193 down empty SSR grain from Allied Mills, Kensington/Arrivals Rd (for runaround) to Murray Basin approaching Sth Kensington, taken on Wednesday 8th february 2023.

Here's a little Station Saturday bonus photo that I never in my wildest dreams would have expected I'd ever be able to take. Crawford Notch station with a train in the dead of winter....

Back when I was younger the Conway Scenic Railroad was a strictly seasonal operetion and would largely shut down during the winter months. In recent years however it has become a year round operation running trains to Conway all winter long and for the first time this winter running trains through Crawford Notch in the snow. Not wanting to miss out on the chance for some snowy winter shots along the old Mountain Sub I made the trip up on the long President's Day weekend to try for some snowy images.

Alas the Saturday trip featured just CSRR 255 solo with five cars meaning the return trip which is the better chase photographically would be long hood forward which just didn't interest me. Regardless, I did make the trip up through the Notch for a few signature shots such as this as at the end of her run at MP 85 on the former Maine Central Mountain Subdivision where she has cut away to runaround to the east end for the return trip. At 1900 ft Crawford depot is the summit of the line and they have climbed some 1400 ft in the 25 miles since leaving North Conway grades of up to 2.2%.

This unit is right at home here having been built in November 1966 for the Maine Central Railroad as part of an order of 13 of the model which were the first batch of second generation diesel locomotives purchased by the road. She came to Conway Scenic in 2022 and still wears her Vermont Rail System red paint from her nearly two decade second career as Clarendon & Pittsford 203 after having being sold by MEC successor Guilford Transportation in the early 1990s.

The splendid little Queen Anne style station was built in 1891 sixteen years after the opening of the railroad. It's primary purpose was to serve the Crawford House Hotel that had been built nearby in 1859 (for the second time) and was the largest of all the great 19th century New Hampshire resort hotels at the time it was erected. The Crawford House outlasted most of the other grand White Mountain hotels of that era, but it ultimately closed in 1975, nearly 120 years after the building was constructed. It was destroyed by a fire two years later, on November 20, 1977, and the property was subsequently acquired by the Appalachian Mountain Club, which constructed the Highland Center on the site. The depot, which had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, was also acquired by the AMC and serves as a visitor center, small museum, and gift shop.

Crawford Depot

Carroll, New Hampshire

Saturday February 15, 2025

Hi everyone!

Do you feel anxious in social situations? Downright rather not be there? Would prefer the earth swallowed you whole? You are not alone!

Give thanks this season, but with a twist!

Our new mainstore release - Thanksgiving is a group pose and comes with a pie and a pizza props included, however the pose is pretty flexible to fit just about any preferred meal you already have on you!

We also created a selection of social bubbles - for photography only - please note they do not move with your avi.(Instructions included) - they will ALWAYS face your camera and will require minimal adjustment for the perfect angle every time.

Please note: they are BUBBLES for photos, they are not animated, they do not animate you, they are not interactive in any way.

They were created as an addon for a fun twist to your photos or for our Thanksgiving pose ONLY.

Four sets of social bubbles available - awkward (shown), social, bitchy and bratty. Discounted actions fatpack is also available.

A bonus Avi diamond is also sold in a set of 4 colours (good, tense, flirty and awful moods).

Available now @ the main store, just in time for the festivities.

Paste this directly into your viewer's address bar for a quick taxi -->>

FOXCITY/180/69/21

For credits:

unfortunately this is a predecorated house and not a set/backdrop and it is not available for sale.

from left to right

pOOnsh - Edison Jeans

NOVA. Xiomara

Palette - Callie Sweater

[Gos] Eva Combat Boots

Belle Epoque { Runaround Sue } Handbag (Yellow)

{COLD-ASH} VALKYRIE SNEAKERS

{COLD-ASH} HOLLOWAY Ripped Jeans (RollUp)

{COLD-ASH} RAPHAEL Shirt UNBUTTONED

Vango. Spencer

NOVA.Faye - S {Creator} [head]

Rosary. Coziana . Jumper

B80-T386-B75 leads #9195 down empty SSR grain from Allied Mills, Kensington (via Arrivals Rd for runaround) to Nullawil, rounding the curve past Bacchus Marsh, taken on Sunday 12th November, 2023.

S302-T381-T386 with an empty SSR grain to Nth Melbourne for runaround before proceed to form 9197 to Quambatook at Kensington (14/2/2018).

I do miss this job some mornings.

CSXT's ex Am Railways Boston based local BO-1 is pulling a big cut along the busy and cluttered Everett waterfront with GMDD GP40-2LW MEC 507 (blt. Jul 1974 as CN 9472) behind the Lineage Logistics cold storage warehous. After shoving over the Mystic from Yard 21 in Somerville with three scrap loads, they temporarily dropped those up at the 'coke works' before running down light to pull these cars from Ciment Quebec and Schnitzer Northeast. After taking these up to the runaround, they will set them over and then pick up their three scrap gons and return this way to spot them before making their fourth and final trip along the waterfront light engine to head straight back home to BET in Somerville and call it a day and a weekend!

Everett, Massachusetts

Friday July 28, 2023

L133-16's pair of exCON GP38-2s are in the "tail" of a runaround move that takes place on the grounds of the Rappahannock RR Museum at Fredericksburg Va. While the engines are certainly old enough to be displays themselves, they still have plenty of life left in them as the crew works to pull and spot the last active customer in this mid-size industrial park. I wish I took my camera to work more often.

Seen here doing a run around from one end of the train to the other, 3237 is well used to running around. In its 78 years of revenue service, from 26 February 1892 to 1 November 1971, 3237 ran a total of 2,225,224 miles.