View allAll Photos Tagged Tier4
Don't usually get Starlings on my woodland feeders, not enough cover but today I had two (one had a ring) I think they are beautiful birds, equally striking in their winter plumage.
Red Listed Birds
What got me out in the first place on this day was catching this EMD Tier IV leader rolling over Santa Fe Junction on the Virtual Railcam feed. Thanks to some helpful mid-day updates from the rest of the Kansas Sub intel gang, along with an assist by the MOW who were effectively single-tracking the line, the train didn't leave Topeka until after my work hours.
With work being particularly stressful for me on Wednesday, it was great to be able to get out to photograph some trains, providing a few hours of mindlessness; something completely divorced from work. It sure was nice for the Railfan Gods to present me with not just one, but TWO good looking leaders on back-to-back afternoon westbounds. Thanks, world.
Regarding the train itself, the 3076 is leading a cut of Schneider 53' double stack containers on the IG1LC, indicative of the shipping company's recent traffic shift to the UP from the BNSF. The switch was to be finalized by January 1, 2023. More on this move can be found here: www.up.com/media/releases/schneider-intermodal-service-nr...
From today (20th December 2020) London is now in Tier 4. Effectively it means that we are now in Lockdown and Christmas is cancelled.
This shot was taken at lunchtime 5 days before Christmas. The High Street is virtually deserted.
Thanks for visiting.
Take care out there......
Yeah all two of them, with a steady glow of light pollution from and neighboring warehouses and factories as well as the largest offender BNSF's A and B yards further up the road. BNSF 3750 sits quietly waiting for a crew to take it west out of Rana.
There was an April snow storm moving in, but I wasn't about to pass up CN A402 with a C40-8M leading.
As the CN C40-8M fleet continues to shrink seeing them in the lead is always a treat.
Pictured is 2443 leading A402 over the Grand River at Caledonia.
SD70ACeT4 UP 3054 leads empty windmill tower train SWSAM 19 (Wolf Siding, KS - Amarillo) through Woodcarver Curve the morning after a snowstorm blanketed the Rockies with a coat of glistening snow.
Miles to Termination Zero, Union Pacific 2717 eases off the mainline at the south end of Guadalupe as the train arrives at it's Destination after a five hour run up the California coast line. With the Conductor off to the left waiting for the train out enter the siding so the switch can be throw back, the leader catches the last bit of sunlight before the clouds covered up the skies over the Santa Maria Valley.
Here, the BNSF 3696, a very clean ET44C4 is at Tecumseh, KS on the home stretch of its trip with the O-BIRTOP. This is on the east side of Tecumseh, at Shadden Rd., which is the first town east of Topeka.
Video of the train can be seen here: youtu.be/OKx43-L6aXg
I don't normally post roster shots over here, but when an engine looks this good, you kind of have to take a shot of it. The unit is a year and a half out of the Wabtec plant in Fort Worth, but it still looks to be (about) as fresh as the day that it was released.
Here, the BNSF 3695, a Tier IV GEVO suns itself outside of the Topeka Shops after having come into town on the point of the O-LACTOP1-12.
CN 3150 as the tail end remote on 419-19 during the rainy evening on July 19, 2022. CP Leduc Subdivision
On an otherwise very quiet Boxing Day east of Montréal, CN's daily Toronto-Halifax box train rolls east through Saint-Hyacinthe station.
October 9, 2021: Something I've never seen on these old rails; a Brightline high speed rail train is being moved to Miami, Florida via the CSX W&A Subdivision, seen here passing a rural countryside farm in Kingston, GA. Shown here is the rear end of the train featuring a Cummins QSK95 Tier 4 engine, along with several of the passenger coaches. The train is being pulled by a Union Pacific engine (out of view). This train attracted many railfans from around the area, along with curious passer byes.
An evening manifest bound for the Michigan border is running near Paris, On. led by two Canadian National ET44AH. (7/2/16)
Un lungo convoglio misto diretto verso il confine con il Michigan attraversa le campagne dell'Ontario occidentale nei pressi del posto di movimento di Paris, al traino di una coppia di ET44AH Canadian National. (2/7/16)
A pair of fresh EMDX SD70ACe-T4s lead KCS train M-KCVN through Hartford, IL on UP's Springfield Sub. This train represents one of the first, if not THE first, well-lit runs of these leasers on KCS, which will reportedly get a total of 30 units through early 2020.
Thanks to SS for the heads up and Troop 94 for concluding their flag-raising ceremony in a timely fashion. Me and the kid were able to intercept this train at Godfrey, then beat him to this overpass just north of Lenox tower. Unfortunately, he went into deep hiding at Venice yard and no further shots were possible.
CN 3221, one of their 100th Anniversary ET44AC's leads a westbound through Topeka's Calhoun Bluffs on its way towards the Golden State Route.
CP ET44AC 7500 leads CPKC train 357 westbound at Midland West on the River Subdivision during the inaugural run of these units from Wabtec’s Fort Worth plant.
When I saw this train out in the wash at Keenbrook BNSF 3722 looked like it was still in perfect shape but once I setup at the super tight, super elevated curve at the southern end of Swarthout Canyon Road. I saw that this engine that was not even on the BNSF for a year was already done for. Working the LA Basin to Barstow manifest pool left this still shiny locomotive an easy target for all the taggers and if you've seen a 7700 series motor it will only get worse.
Youtube Link: youtu.be/wY-LmNXu82Q
EMDX SD70ACe-T4 7205 leads the MKCVN into Sauget, IL, across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis. In moments, it will cross TRRA's Illinois Transfer and enter KCS East St. Louis Yard.
Note the KCS Veteran's unit #4006 in trail. This pair was a fixture between Kansas City and St. Louis for weeks. We're now back to cruddy old Belle power.
When I got done with work yesterday, I ran by the UP yard in Topeka, and was thrilled to find an eastbound KCS grain train working to head out of town. Even better, it had one of their relatively new (blt. late 2019) Tier IV GEVOs on the point, a class of unit I've photographed rarely, if at all.
As such, I ran out to Midland, where Lucas and I waited on its arrival, as a parade of westbounds ran towards the Capitol City. With KCS' impending merger, I'll take any opportunity that I can to shoot these guys in good light.
Video footage of this, and the train it met can be seen here: youtu.be/BkOwQTASqQU
BNSF 3769 leads a northbound manifest into the Greenland Open Space just north of Palmer Lake, CO.
Looking forward to the vantage point this little evergreen tree gives me in 20-25 years! Bob Ross would be sad...this happy little guy doesn't have any friends near by!
In the middle of my run on the elliptical today, I got a text that this super clean Tier 4 EMD was leading a manifest my way, and well, the workout can be split into two halves, right? Well, it might not be the best thing to do, but I managed to get the shot AND I went back and finished my run!
Here, the UP 3012 and C44ACM (AC60) rebuild no. 7053 lead a westbound manifest (MDMHN, possibly?) from Main1 through the crossover at 67, and onto the Topeka Sub at CP Z068, aka "SJ Jct."
Autumn paints the landscape at Rossport, Ontario, in a rich tapestry of colour as CPKC’s premier transcontinental hotshot, no. 101 from Toronto to Vancouver, races along the rugged North Shore of Lake Superior behind a gleaming GE ET44AC.
The first of UP's two daily transfers from Houston to Coady Yard in Baytown rolls through Jacinto City on a beautiful Saturday morning.
LHO49 04 (Local- Houston to Baytown, TX)
UP SD70AH #3026
UP C44ACCTE #6607
Jacinto City, TX
March 4th, 2023
OK, among the standard, non-hurrrrritage road power that UP currently rosters, these Tier 4 EMDs are the coolest possible leaders to shoot, right? The fresh ACM rebuilds are great, but deep down, you know they're GEEZ, don't you?
Regarding this particular train, the 3076 is leading a cut of Schneider 53' double stack containers on the IG1LC, indicative of the shipping company's recent traffic shift to the UP from the BNSF. The switch was to be finalized by January 1, 2023. More on this move can be found here: www.up.com/media/releases/schneider-intermodal-service-nr...
This is just about a mile west of Valencia, KS along the shores of the Kansas River on UP’s Topeka Sub.
UP 3095, an apparently fresh SD70ACe-T4 posed for a few minutes just east of Kansas Ave. in North Topeka on the point of the MTPHN. This train had been put together in the Topeka yard, shoved east of SJ Jct., and paused here, before proceeding west towards Herington.
The unit has been on the property since at least December 2018 (rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5065965), but this is the first that I've seen of it in service, and it sure looked fresh! A number of these had remained in storage, awaiting warranty work from EMD (www.thedieselshop.us/UP.HTML).
A recently painted CPKC ET44AC leads empty ethanol train B634-30 south down the CSX Abbeville Subdivision, a nice way to end the month of May.
BNSF 3754 sits on main track two with a Manifest going from Watson, CA to Barstow,CA (WATBAR) as it waits for the clear signal to proceed east. The small cluster of orbs around the second motor was caused by yours truly having a lens filter on while doing night photography.
Following the CPKC merger, there's been an influx of KCS power north of the border. Like here, this CPKC grain empty has a KCS Tier 4 GEVO up front as it rolls down the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies outside Exshaw. In the distance is 8,878 ft Grotto Mountain.
CPKC Empty Grain Train
KCS ET44AC #5015
(Mid-Train DPU) CP AC4400 / DRF-44 #9820
Exshaw, AB
August 26th, 2025
Earlier today, I got word that this BNSF business train was heading north on the Ft. Scott Sub, heading towards Topeka. Fortunately (for me), DS104 ran an LRT coal load down the line in front of it, which slowed its progress tremendously, allowing for the clouds to part, and to get some great, late afternoon light on it.
Here, the BNSF 3696, a very clean ET44C4 is in Topeka, KS at the 2nd St. Interlocker with the O-BIRTOP.
Video of the train can be seen here: youtu.be/OKx43-L6aXg
With a pair of the cleanest units on the CP/CPKC roster, an empty grain train from Mexico approaches Chaney Jct just west of Downtown Houston. This train was the first to cross CPKC's new Ottensmeyer Bridge at Laredo after the ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 6th.
These two Tier 4 ES44's are part of a set of eight ex-Baffinland Mining units CPKC purchased in 2024. The locomotives were built as Tier 4 demo units for GE/Wabtec and had been leased & repainted for Baffinland Iron Mines for a new railroad to be built on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. However, due to project delays the mine opted to end their lease of the locomotives and GE then sold them to CPKC.
CP 7432 was built as GECX 2030 in December 2014 and became BIMR 7003 before being sold to CPKC in 2024.
CP 7437 was built as GECX 2022 in April 2013 and became BIMR 7008 before being sold to CPKC in 2024.
G391 005 05
CP ET44AC #7432
CP ET44AC #7437
Houston, TX
February 9th, 2025
Rather glad I went out in the cold and fog back in the old Tier 4 days as not supposed to go this far from home in Lockdown 3.
Norfolk Southern's ET44AC class unit leads the 256 Roadrailer past the old grain elevator at Dawson.
NS 3600 - ET44AC
Dawson, Illinois
October 12, 2021
Poking out the south end of Settegast Yard as it puts its train together, UP 3029 sits on Main 2 of the East Belt at Interstate Jct. This is the first of two daily transfers that run from Settegast Yard in Houston to Coady Yard in Baytown.
LHO49 04 (Local- Houston to Baytown, TX)
UP SD70AH #3026
UP C44ACCTE #6607
Houston, TX
March 4th, 2023
Another telesmash from Adams Street looking west towards the Searchlight guarded crossovers at Arlington. I had went out to try to get a another late Southwest Chief only to find out that it fell even further behind, and well I was here and so was BNSF 3933 going east with COSCO China Shipping containers out of West Basin.
BNSF 3930 leads a northbound manifest through the Greenland Open Space in Greenland, CO while a majestic Pikes Peak looks on from ~25 miles away.
Well, this is it. This is the shot my Canon 70-200mm f/4L was taking when it died after 15 years of service. It fired off a sequence of three shots; this was the second frame. And that's all she wrote. It threw the "Err 01" code, but the contacts are clean (and it threw the code of two different bodies). I think the internal wiring/electronics of the lens just gave out after a decade and a half of use. Depsite not being an ACe, not a bad image to go out on.
Beyond the still image here, I also whipped out my video camera for the first time in more than 5 years to shoot video of this train. You can here my lens die around the 1:09 mark in the video:
When you live in a sea of black and white horses like I do even a trio of GEVOs is a welcome sight when they are painted in blue and yellow.
Here a CSX stack train races east through Erie, PA past another set of export locomotives fresh out of the GE plant that will eventually make their way to Pakistan.
Tier 4 ET44C4 3926 leads the Empire Builder At MP 331 near Kellogg MN running 5 hours late. Thanks to SRG for the heads up.
After having come into Topeka the previous night on the KCS "Chicken Train," the power got pulled down to the west end of town and parked in UP's Ruby Yard. This was taken just after a brief rain storm, 90 minutes or so after sunset, and the lighting was provided by an adjacent pet food manufacturer. Regardless, these new EMDX 'Nanners are BRIGHT!