View allAll Photos Tagged doubletracking
An empty hopper train heads west into the setting sun from Rochelle, Illinois on the UP-Geneva Subdivision
The original line over the Sierra is Track Number 1, that descends steeply here before it briefly joins the same grade as Track No 2 through Tunnel 18 and into the town of Newcastle. A cold, overcast fall day keeps the steam in the air as the GS-4 descends on the point of the Freedom Train with three diesel units on this long train to assist in dynamic braking. The arch of the only double track tunnel in use on the Hill frames the scene as a fellow fan stands in the bed of his pickup truck to capture big steam action in the lower Sierra Nevada foothills.
ATSF SD75M 250, the last locomotive delivered to the Santa Fe Railway, exits the only doubletrack tunnel on the Santa Fe Transcon, located on the Seligman Subdivision in Nelson Canyon at MP 457.5 with train 9-698-03 on October 5, 1996.
Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 ED-IF, Kodachrome 64 slide film, scanned on an Imacon 949.
ANPRA makes the run across the north side of Milwaukee as it closes in on Butler Yard. Sometimes you get wrapped up in a chase and think afterwards, that was probably overkill. Not the case here. I chased this one from FDL to Butler with as many sets as possible in between. It was a great day, one of the best. December 16, 1995.
Now that I'm up to date and thinking of spring it's back to the archives. Spring 25 years ago at Prescott, IA. DENGAL is making a morning run across southwest Iowa on the old CB&Q. The H-1 Dash 9 still counted as "new" power then, ably assisted by ATSF 337, a GP60B. Visiting again with Streetview from my desk chair reveals that the old overpass remains to provide a viewpoint but other significant changes are evident.
Most evident is the absence of the Q-era signal bridge spanning the tracks. Gone too are the code line poles. Rather than opening up the view it seems this has allowed the trees to creep closer to the tracks. Even the "skyline" of Prescott itself looks a little different these days. The old water tower has been removed and replaced by a new, taller version farther from the town center. April 11, 1998.
A trio of UP's finest lead a Green River, Wyoming to North Platte soda ash train up Archer Hill as they depart Cheyenne.
MBFNPS 01
UP 5340, 8848, 6311, & 5330 roar up the east side of Sherman Hill as they pass some of the windmills near Borie.
ZG2LT 01
286 waits at Duplainville while 281 flies by. On account of problems with 198 ahead, 286 died here on the doubletrack.
NS 16T heads north through Arcadia entering the Arcadia to Solitude doubletrack. Replacements are up for the old N&W CPLs here.
With the plow work train working on the south track, the RTC has routed an empty grain train, with solid KCS power, over the north track between Divide and Lake Louise. The North Track with it's lesser grade is typically used by the heavier westbounds, but with a parade of eastbounds and no westbounds in the area the RTC made the most of the doubletrack.
Entering the final months of its current boiler ticket, 5305LA's Ex-LMS Stanier Black 5 45305 makes light work along the Quorn straight of the 1515 Local Parcels from Loughborough.
The locomotive carrying a floral tribute to the late GCR driver and former BR Nuneaton fireman Cliff Perry who recently passed away
Just another frame from this scene focusing more on the power than the depot cause who doesn't love this classic scheme under the big Florida sky.
The Florida East Coast Railway is for the most part a flat, straight, and decidedly boring railroad with the exception of a few notable water crossings. Elsewhere you have to work to find some visual interest. In this case the clouds were certainly a bonus adding beautiful texture without causing the dreaded shadows. Additionally the old combination passenger and freight station at right provides a bit of visible interest. Built around 1955 when the FEC was modernizing its facilities it sits directly on the line between the cities of Cocoa and Rockledge in Brevard County. Passenger service ended with the start of the 8 year long strike in 1963 though returned under court order in 1965 only to end for good in 1968. Since then it has continued to be used as a freight office and provides a direct historic link to the road's past. The small yard here remains busy as a transload terminal for customer Matco Industries but this train won't stop.
Hot southbound 105 is about about halfway through their fast 350 mile run from Bowden Yard in Jacksonville to Hialaeah Yard in Miami. They are sailing across Rosa L. Jones Blvd. at 60 MPH passing the old depot at about MP 173.3 on the Flagler Subdivision. The new trackage here is for the Orlando extension of Brightline which has resulted in the re-doubletracking of the railroad. For the first time in 55 years passenger trains will soon be running through here on the extension north from Brightline'd current terminus at West Palm Beach. About 3 1/2 miles north of here they will peel off to the west on an entirely new right of way paralleling FL Hwy 528 to the Orlando International Airport.
The train is led by LNG powered GE ES44ACs 800 and 805 built in Nov. 2014 and spliced by their custom LNG fuel tank car. Originally diesel powered the entire GE fleet has been retrofitted to run on LNG as detailed in this article: files.chartindustries.com/FEC-LNG-FloridaEastCoastRailway...
Cocoa, Florida
Tuesday March 28, 2023
With a perfectly clear and still evening, Ivatt 2 46521 coasts into the night with The Charnwood Forrester first class dining service on the approach to Quorn and Woodhouse on the Great Central Railway
Driving west through Ohio, on my way to the west coast I spied this tower sitting in the middle of a field. Recognizing the uniqueness of this structure I doubled back and caught both a DT&I and PC movement across the diamond. This was in a pastoral setting in south-central Ohio. I have never seen any other images of this site, but I'm sure they exist somewhere. This Penn Central GP9 and about 20 cars was heading toward Dayton from Columbus crossing over the DT&I at this location - and was receiving orders from the operator on this day.
A westbound South Shore commuter train works its way through the street in Michigan City, on a hazy summer morning. The street running here is soon to be history (within a day or two of me posting this), as NITCD embarks on a massive doubletracking project that will eliminate all of the street running in town.
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!
OM System OM-1
Olympus 14-150 f/4-5.6
A short segment of the Olympic Gravel Circumnavigation bikepacking route (formerly the GCOR).
Olympic Peninsula, WA. 2025.
A Blackburn bound Northern Franchise Class 150 DMU is seen at Rainford Junction Station having just left the singled line from Kirkby. The junction is no longer a junction and the line which would originally have run into Liverpool is now severed at Kirkby with Merseyrail operating the Kirkby - Liverpool section of line. In operational terms that's about as daft as the similar set up on the line from Liverpool to Ormskirk and Preston where that line is severed at Ormskirk. Here's a bit of history of the line in this photo c/o Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainford_railway_station
UP 6378 (ex-SP 311) is fourth out on the MPCNP 31 as it drops down Sherman Hill at Granite. This gorgeous unit was one of only seven AC44's left in SP paint (at the time), and I gladly drove all the way up from Colorado to catch it :)
While UP 5305 & 8514 pull into Cheyenne with the ITAG3 27, UP 5340 & 8848 roar past them with the ZG2LT 01.
A high priority trailer train bound for the Willow Springs terminal in Chicago picks up speed after exiting the serpentine passage of Abo Canyon and is back on double track. One of the major bottenecks on the former Santa Fe Transcon was removed with the doubletracking through the Canyon in 2012 that involved major earthworks. Note the middle Dash 9 remains in an unfinished state with striping and BNSF logo waiting to be added. Sods law of course that the newest example on the roster is the rear unit though.
Neither of the two mainlines between the Chippewa Valley and the St. Croix River are particularly busy, yet with a little luck you can make a day of working your way in one direction then the other. Luck was on my side this day. Once I'd followed LTS82 down the Chippewa Falls Sub, ALSS was at the west end of Altoona preparing to depart. It's hard to beat that for timing. I had just enough time to pick up some lunch and eat here on the west bank of the Chippewa while I waited for them to reach the bridge. Unfortunately, many of the vistas from here are obscured by brush and trees. Winter does allow for better visibility and there is just enough of a clear view to feature the train starting across the double track bridge.
January 20, 2025.
C612 is on the roll out of Loyall and coming to the end of doubletrack at Wilhoit. While shooting C820 at Creech I heard this guy leaving Loyall, but was just a little too late to snag the shot with the signals.
UP's Chicago to Stockton, California intermodal train grinds up the east side of Sherman Hill on its trip across the Overland Route.
ZG2LT 01
Another frame from the last frieght I got in the street and a nice bonus at that. Not sure if I'll ever get another chance, but sure was glad I got to see this a few times.
Racing ahead to one last spot I where got my final shots of this bonus final South Shore Freight of the trip. This little 7 car AF1 freight crew is headed east for Carroll Ave. behind GP38-2s 2004 and 2007 both bought new by the South Shore in 1981 during the Chessie ownership era.
Taken half mile east of this shot: flic.kr/p/2mc7abj but still in the middle of 11th Street, we see them climbing up the grade from the Cedar St. curve here at the 11th and York Street intersection near MP 33.6 on the South Shore mainline.
Alas scenes like this are on borrowed time which was my impetus for returning so soon. If you want these iconic shots you better come quick because a massive nearly half billion dollar project to double track the line all the way to Michigan City in order to shave 30 or more minutes off transit times and allow greater train frequencies is supposed to start construction soon. This will lamentably lead to the end of street running and the removal of nearly all the homes and structures on the south side of 11th street and the straightening of this curve. In fact, many more than last year were already bought up and either already demolished or boarded up with big no trespassing project signs on them. And of course the downtown midstreet passenger stop on 11th street has already closed so the line already felt different than 11 months prior. To learn more check out the project web site and the detailed PPT presentation on the project: www.doubletrack-nwi.com/images/DT_PRS_DTVirtualOpenHouse_...
But change is the only constant in life, and the CSSB has been modernizing and rebuilding since the Insull era. In fact in 1956 the long section of street running in East Chicago was bypassed and in 1970 the street running into downtown South Bend was abandoned...so I suppose this is just a continuation of what has come before.
Michigan City, Indiana
Tuesday July 6, 2021
After stopping to let a westbound cross over in front of them, the ILTG2 30 with the Katy heritage unit on the point rolls through the signals at Hillsdale.
The days are getting shorter and I'm getting the itch to shoot more. I went out on this fine early August evening on information that a pair of freights were following each other on the Drummondville subdivision and would be in my neighborhood in good light. I caught 401 in the corn fields just east of Sainte-Madeleine with a pair of toasters (3109 and 2882) leading an healthy train. About 15 minutes behind him was Halifax-Toronto intermodal 121 with some 724 axles and 16,000-ft of trafic, but I messed up my shot.
A pair of factory fresh Dash 9s bring 2nd train 15 over Marias Pass near Java, Montana. The orange of the trees looked great in the afternoon light as did the clean Heritage 1 power. October 8, 1996.
An eastbound CN grain train destined for the port of Trois-Rivières (via QGRY) is rolling through Sainte-Madeleine with 97 cars. These Trois-Rivières trains ran exclusively via CP for years, but CN has gotten some of the business in recent years. They certainly take the scenic route. Consist : CN 3069, CN 5642, CN 5715.
We had spent the entire day hiking full Blue John Canyon in the Robbers Roost area of Utah. We exited via Horseshoe Canyon right at sunset and noticed a storm building strength in the distance. As we began driving back, the storm kept moving in our direction. The only problem is that there is absolutely nothing out here on "The Maze" Road for good foreground. Eventually, we just settled on using this doubletrack road for our subject. The storm cell was so active that it provided nice evening entertainment. When the antenna on our vehicle started buzzing with with blue surges of electricity, we decided to pack it up.
BR Standard 2 No. 78018 + LMS Black five No. 45305 are pictured round the curve, at the famous location of Kinchley lane on the Great Central railway. The pair were working a Loughborough-Leicester north service.
This mtb ride takes you to the top of a mountain pass (beside Tombstone lake) and back again. Hard work but fun coming down!
Almost done with painting, enjoyed this reward:) This place was so beautiful, I have never been here before! Going back here soon!
UP 2677 & 6633 roll lite down Archer Hill on Main 2, having just passed the MNPPTX 02 which is waiting to get to get into Cheyenne on Main 1 in the distance.
Eastbound Erie train #6, the "Lake Cities" approaches the County Line road overhead just east of Palmer, Indiana in March of 1959, C.L. Coates photo. This view is looking W/N/W towards Crown Point, Indiana. The small hamlet of Palmer would be about 1 mile ahead on the right. It looks as though there is an intermediate semaphore signal attached to the bridge Mr. Coates is standing on, as seen at the extreme right-hand side of the photo. The Erie's mainline was straight at this angle between Crown Point and Kouts.
Whenever someone on the east side of the state reports Q329 has a CN leader, I always take interest. CN, arguably, has the most diverse roster of locomotives of any class 1 railroad anymore, in terms of models and paint schemes. Alas, on this day it was just a lowly ex Santa Fe C40-8W. Beats a CSX C40-8W, at least.
CN C40-8W #2139
CSXT ET44AH #3025
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!