Reading & Northern’s NRFF splits the former CNJ searchlights at Barnesville, Pennsylvania with a freshly outshopped SD40-2 leading north.

QNSL's freight heads north out of Sept-Iles - I was pretty excited to get standard cabs and something other than an ore train here!

The birds perched on the ledges of downtown buildings in Orange, Virginia have decided that three Southern SD40-2’s roaring through town with a northbound train constitute a threat, and have taken flight. One holdout remains on the roof of the onetime Sanitary Grocery Company.

Union Pacific SD40-2 3445 leads an APL stack train east on the Portland Subdivision along the Columbia River and across the mouth of the John Day River east of Rufus, Oregon with the John Day Dam in the distance below Mt. Hood on August 3, 1989.

A Canadian Pacific run-through on the NS Chicago Line rolls west at sunset at New Carlisle with a respectable consist.

A CP Rail SD40-2 and a pair of CP's former Soo Line SD60s were chasing the sun on the way to Bensenville.

Northbound Q342 rolls under the B&O signal bridge at South Deshler with two SD40-2's and 170 cars at the drawbar not long after sunrise on a pleasant summer morning in NWO.

Skirting the Juniata River, a westbound Conrail TV train approaches the community of Newport, Pennsylvania. The presence of two SD40-2’s on an intermodal train was somewhat unusual, as four-axle units were the predominate power on these trains.

Early SD40-2's and an SD45 barrel west through town with 112 cars.

The CTC signals are a leftover reminent of a Northern Pacific siding.

BN 6334-6325-C&S 870

9-12-72

WIDE VIEW: CP RS18u-1848, SD40B-5483 & SD40-2-3254 are leading S/B train 556.

Your eyes don't deceive you! The UP Computer system sure didn't believe that the GTW 5937 had made its way onto the LMC40 for the second consecutive day, but it sure did!

This engine came into town with another CN unit, the 5773, presumably on an HNTP, the power got split up, and reallocated for other purposes. I can count on exactly one hand how many times I've seen foreign-road power lead this local over the years, and to make it a good looking SD40-2? Yes, please!

For the record, this non-dynamic 40-2 was built in 1975 as the MP 3196, so it's very likely spent plenty of time in the Sunflower State in the past.

NS H76 crosses the curved bridge over the Delaware River that separates Easton, PA with Phillipsburg, NJ on its way north to Portland. Today's train has a quartet of SD40-2 variants and a healthy consist for DL interchange.

With a quartet of orange SD40's on the point, the Buffalo & Pittsburgh's SIRI is on the move south of Bradford, Pennsylvania, rolling past a swamp on a beautiful fall morning. The train is cruising along as it begins its run towards the grade over Bingham Hill.

====Info====

BPRR Main Line Sub

Bradford, PA

BPRR SIRI (Manifest; Salamanca, NY to Riker, PA)

BPRR 3328 SD40-2 Ex. OHCR 3328, WC 6940, CN 5138 SD40 Blt. 1970

BPRR 3342 SD40-3 Ex. WC 6913, GCFX 6046, CN 5194 SD40 Blt. 1971

BPRR 3343 SD40-3 Ex. KCS 3129, KCS 3139, CN 5089 SD40 Blt. 1969

GEXR 3394 SD40-2 Ex. GSCX 7369, GATX 7369, MP 3186 Blt. 1975

CSXT SD40-2 #8048 leads Fairburn, GA - Crandall, GA local train C710 across the high fill at 'River Holdout' near Cartersville, GA on a sweltering hot Spring afternoon.

A southbound Southern Railway manifest works past the small yard in Lynchburg, Virginia on a hazy July day.

Q500 makes the turn from the Toledo Sub to the Garrett Sub in the last light of a chilly Sunday evening behind two former L&N SD40-2's. I've hardly touched my camera this year, so it was nice to shoot a pair like this in a time where CSX continues to become less and less interesting.

It's a few days after a monster snowstorm blanketed the area in over a foot of snow and the rising temps have already begun to melt it off, though there's still plenty from the plow piles on McClelland Ave in Erie, Pennsylvania. GEXR 3393 blasts through the drifts as it leads the Buffalo & Pittsburgh WAER into town and heads towards the transload siding and then to the CSX interchange at OD Yard.

====Info====

BPRR A&E Sub

Erie, PA

BPRR WAER (Local; Warren, PA to Erie, PA Turn)

GEXR 3393 SD40-2 Ex. GSCX 7362, GATX 7362, MP 3176 Blt. 1975

BPRR 2178 GP38-2 Ex. NS 5653, GMTX 2626, CSX 1975 GP38, CR 7878, PC 7878 Blt. 1971

By the mid-1970s, EMD's SD40-2 locomotive and its variants could be found toiling in the far corners of the United States. The 3000 HP diesel-electric workhorse was reliable, versatile, efficient, and popular with American Class I railroads. A quartet await assignment in Provo, Utah the morning of May 21, 1988.

Four SD40-2’s are digging into the grade as they bring a westbound manifest out of Altoona at Slope. It is most likely that the lead two units are helpers.

As storm clouds build to the west, a pair of BNSF SD40-2's lead a local freight down the Wichita Falls Subdivision and are about to head into BNSF's North Yard in Fort Worth, Texas. The train has just crossed over Blue Mound Road and is taking the diverging route to head into the yard and sort out their train.

====Info====

BNSF Wichita Falls Sub

Fort Worth, TX

Unknown Symbol

BNSF 1724 SD40-2 Ex. BNSF 6884, ATSF 5156 Blt. 1980

BNSF 1690 SD40-2 Ex. BNSF 6819, BN 6819 Blt. 1973

The Norfolk Southern C62 local makes its eastbound run back towards Conneaut after completing work in North East and is cruising through downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, running on the section of the NS Lake Erie District that shares the grade with CSX, built as part of the bypass of the former section of street running on 19th Street. The sole power on today's train is SD40-2 3452, a snoot nose SD40-2 originally built for the Union Pacific and part of a group of CEFX SD40-2's that NS purchased in 2011.

====Info====

NS Lake Erie District

Erie, PA

NS C62 (Local; Conneaut, OH to Erie, PA Turn)

NS 3452 SD40-2 Ex. CEFX 3162, UP B3431 UP 3431 Blt. 1978

Southbound at Watseka, IL, in early spring 1995.

With a matching trio of Ohio Central's ex-UP SD40-2's, all still in armor yellow, NKPA crests the grade as it approaches Outville, Ohio with a train bound for Columbus and interchange with CSX.

====Info====

CUOH C&N Sub

Outville, OH

CUOH NKPA (Newark, OH to CSX Parsons Yard - Columbus, OH)

OHCR 3308 SD40-2 Ex. UP 7882, UP 3649 Blt. 1979

OHCR 722 SD40-2 Ex. NECR 722, FEC 722, PRSX 3756, UP 3756 Blt. 1980

OHCR 3329 SD40-2 Ex. UP 3329, UP 8059 Blt. 1976

A pair of Norfolk Southern SD40-2's lead Alabama Division local A43 back west towards Anniston, AL as they duck under the cantilever signals at Tallapoosa, GA. October 2014.

Four Burlington Northern SD40-2's take a manifest south at Academy, CO on June 4, 1988.

505 coal train westbound at Peabody, IN. January 1994.

CSX local F752 led by an EMD SD40-2 enters Charleston's Bennettt Yard limits in near darkness.

A pair of ITSX SD40-2's pull autoracks across a bridge as they drill the yard at the automotive unloading facility that is part of BNSF's Alliance Yard complex in Haslet, Texas. This units are operated by In-Terminal Services, a switching contractor that provides switching for the automotive and intermodal yards here.

====Info====

ITSX Alliance Yard

Haslet, TX

ITSX 299 (Yard Job; Alliance Yard - Haslet, TX)

ITSX 1736 SD40-2 Ex. PRSX 1736, ONT 1736 Blt. 1974

ITSX 6995 SD40-2 Ex. BNSF 6995, BNSF 7335, CN 5069 SD40 Blt. 1968

Finally getting one of these on camera, an RCPE SD40-2 leads a NS C44-9W on 470 working out of Bensenville Yard.

An E/B Union Pacific freight is crossing the Weber River next to Interstate 84 in the Echo Canyon. UP SD40-2-3140 is leading five Southern Pacific units (SD45-9095, SD40T-2s-8551, 8514, SD40R-7349, & SD45T-2-9198).

CSXT 8845 leads W029-16 south on the KD Sub by searchlights at Singleton.

Two Southern SD40-2's have just escaped from the EMD plant with their paint barely dry. They're sitting in Yard Center at Dolton, IL back in late May, 1979. They were part of the last order of SD40's for the Southern Rwy. The 3322 is sublettered for the Central of Georgia while the 3326, which I mostly managed to avoid in this shot, wears the INT for the Interstate railroad, one of the Southern's neat "quirks."

BNSF Yard Job Y-BIR102 works East Thomas Yard ( BNSF’s Birmingham Terminal ) at Control Point North Thomas.

The Ohio Central's NKPA freight pulls out of Newark, Ohio and begins its trip toward Columbus and CSX's Parsons Yard for interchange, taking the diverging track at the diamond on the west end of the yard. A trio of former UP SD40-2's, all still in armor yellow, are the power for the day's train.

====Info====

CUOH C&N Sub

Newark, OH

CUOH NKPA (Newark, OH to CSX Parsons Yard - Columbus, OH)

OHCR 3308 SD40-2 Ex. UP 7882, UP 3649 Blt. 1979

OHCR 722 SD40-2 Ex. NECR 722, FEC 722, PRSX 3756, UP 3756 Blt. 1980

OHCR 3329 SD40-2 Ex. UP 3329, UP 8059 Blt. 1976

Four SD40-2's make easy work of a 120-car loaded sand train east into Bolivar at sunset on the first day of June 2021.

A trio of Ohio Central SD40-2's in a variety of paint schemes drift downgrade through an s-curve in Hanover, Ohio as they bring a loaded grain train west towards Newark from Coshocton over former PRR trackage.

====Info====

CUOH Pan Sub

Hanover, OH

CUOH CNL1 (Coshocton, OH to Newark, OH))

OHCR 3306 SD40-2 Ex. CP 5591 Blt. 1972

OHCR 3305 SD40-2 Ex. CP 5673 Blt. 1973

OHCR 4029 SD40-2 Ex. OHCR 5855, CP 5855 Blt 1978

A beautiful spring evening in Rochester finds L279 roaring across the bridge over High Falls behind a matched pair of former Seaboard System SD40-2's.

One of these days, I'll run out of old signal pictures to post. But for now, here is Q384 at Longley on the Pemberville sub with an old veteran SD40-2 earning its keep. This signal was taken out of service about a month ago.

Wheeling and Lake Erie train 218 is at the end of its journey as it crosses over I-376 and into Rook Yard on Pittsburgh's southwest side. I spent most of the morning sitting on CSX waiting for a local out of McKees Rocks to move south out of the yard. Shortly after I got a shot of them, I heard WLE 218 asking for permission to enter Rook Yard. I quickly made my way over to this trestle and setup for the shot, and made it just in time.

A quartet of SD40's smoke it up as they start SIRI out of Salamanca, New York in the early morning hours. The crew will pull down and pick up cars that were dropped by the WNYP to take south.

====Info====

BPRR Main Line Sub

Salamanca, NY

BPRR SIRI (Manifest; Salamanca, NY to Riker, PA)

BPRR 3328 SD40-2 Ex. OHCR 3328, WC 6940, CN 5138 SD40 Blt. 1970

BPRR 3342 SD40-3 Ex. WC 6913, GCFX 6046, CN 5194 SD40 Blt. 1971

BPRR 3343 SD40-3 Ex. KCS 3129, KCS 3139, CN 5089 SD40 Blt. 1969

GEXR 3394 SD40-2 Ex. GSCX 7369, GATX 7369, MP 3186 Blt. 1975

A quartet of Wheeling & Lake Erie SD40's pull east of the Mott Road crossing in Carey, Ohio as they put together train 712 with stone loads bound for Akron. It would take almost five hours for the crew to work the quarry here, switching the tripling their train before they would depart east.

====Info====

WLE Carey Subdivision

Carey, OH

WLE 712 (Stone Loads; Carey, OH to Akron, OH)

WE 7005 SD40-2 Ex. WE 6358, MMA 758, BCOL 758 Blt. 1980

WE 7002 SD40-2 Ex. WE 7638, NREX 7368, GSCX 7638, GATX 7638, MP 3201 Blt. 1975

WE 5412 SD40T-2 Ex. WE 5391, DRGW 5391 Blt. 1971

WE 7004 SD40-2 Ex. WE 6317, CEFX 3172, UP 3740 Blt. 1980

After being surprised by southbound manifest near Covesville, Virginia, the northbound we were waiting for showed up. A coal train led by three Southern SD40-2’s came before the southbound had passed in a running meet.

After completing their work at the Timiron Transfer located on the Valley Subdivision, the Wheeling & Lake Erie 218 makes a shove back up to Pittsburgh Junction in Hopedale, Ohio where they left the rest of their train. The quartet of SD40's are about to disappear into Nemeth Tunnel, which passes under the Ohio Central Cadiz Branch.

====Info====

WLE Valley Subdivision

Hopedale, OH

WLE 218 (Manifest; Brewster, OH to Rook, PA)

WE 6350 SD40-2 Ex. CITX 3055, GCFX 3055, CP 5659 Blt. 1973

WE 6386 SD40-2 Ex. LTEX 668, KCS 668 Blt. 1976

WE 3073 SD40-3 Ex. WE 3073 SD40, WC 3073, UP 3073 Blt. 1966

WE 6996 SD40-2 Ex. CEFX 2814, CN 5196 Blt. 1971

Though this is over a year ago, J783 can still be seen with SD40’s pretty common. Though this October morning was early and cold, great friends make this hobby awesome.

Csx J783-31

CSXT 8319 SD40-2

CSXT 6032 GP40-2

A trio of SD40's are hard at work as they pull a 96 car loaded grain train westbound out of Coshocton on the Columbus & Ohio River Railroad. The former PRR Panhandle Line crosses over the Muskingum River on a three span truss bridge here in Franklin, Ohio.

====Info====

CUOH Pan Subdivision

Franklin, OH

CUOH CNL1 (Grain Loads; Coshocton, OH to Newark, OH))

OHCR 3306 SD40-2 Ex. CP 5591 Blt. 1972

OHCR 3305 SD40-2 Ex. CP 5673 Blt. 1973

OHCR 4029 SD40-2 Ex. OHCR 5855, CP 5855 Blt 1978

Norfolk Southern SD40-2 #3270 leads local job P76 around the wye from the Greenville District to the Atl South End on their way from Chamblee to East Point with a hefty 100+ car train. Atlanta, GA, January 2014.

The ex ACR SD40/40-2's looked pretty good in full WC paint and it was sure a rarity to find a RR where SD45's outnumbered SD40-2's by about 20-1 in the year 2001. 6006 leads a pair of SD45's on XNSFD at Valley on June 23, 2001. A rescan from back in 2016.

A trio of former lease SD40-2's take headroom on the trestle over I-376 as the Wheeling & Lake Erie 610 yard job puts together cars for the Westland Turn at Rook Yard in Rook, Pennsylvania.

====Info====

WLE Rook Sub

Rook, PA

WLE 610 (Rook Yard Job)

WE 6997 SD40-2 Ex. UP 4757, SP 5310 SD39 Blt. 1968

WE 6991 SD40-2 Ex. CITX 3068, GCFX 3068, GTW 5929 Blt. 1970

WE 6990 SD40-2 Ex. CITX 3065, GCFX 3065, CN 5050 SD40 Blt. 1968

After getting a recrew at the junction, Wheeling & Lake Erie 430 is on the move towards Brewster Yard with cars from Lima. As the train departs from Spencer, Ohio it is now on the Brewster Subdivision and rolling through rural Ohio as the farmer's harvest season is in full swing.

====Info====

WLE Brewster Subdivision

Spencer, OH

WLE 430 (Manifest; IORY - Lima, OH to Brewster, OH)

WE 7003 SD40-2 Ex. WE 6319, WE 7356, NREX 7356, GSCX 7356, GATX 7356, GATX 6356, MILW 190 Blt. 1974

WE 7019 SD40-2 Ex. WE 6382, EMDX 6382, SOO 6382, MILW 176 Blt. 1973

With a train of empty salt hoppers in tow, the Ithaca Central Railroad's 101 job heads north behind a trio of EMD's as it rolls alongside Cayuga Inlet north of Stratton, New York as dusk settles in. The train is returning from the interchange with Norfolk Southern in Sayre where they dropped loads and picked up these empties to take back to the mine.

====Info====

ITHR Ithaca Branch

Stratton, NY

ITHR 101 (Salt Empties; NS - Sayre, PA to Ithaca, NY)

WAMX 4241 SD40-2 Ex. NREX 2713, UP 2713, SP 8637 SD40, MJCX 628, KCS 628 Blt. 1971

WAMX 4247 SD40M-2 Ex. ILSX 1314, CEFX 2796, UP 2796, UP 4746, SP 9097 SD45 Blt. 1969

WAMX 4248 SD40M-2 Ex. ILSX 1315, CEFX 2799, UP 2799, UP 4749, UP 8 SD45, UP 3608 Blt. 1968

A one year old Western Maryland GP40-2 leads a B&O SD40-2 of the same vintage and a one-month-old B&O GP40-2 westward on WM’s Dutch Line west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.