Railfanning Western Pennsylvania
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DGS 56149 Wustermark Rbf - Ingolstadt Hbf
(Sdl.)
Extrem rar macht sich die HVLE 185er. Noch seltener dürfte sie an der NSS zu sehen sein.
Es gibt zwar noch 2 weitere HVLE 185er (640 und 641) aber die haben das Rübeland seit Jahren nie verlassen.
Bei meiner Ankunft in Zaandam machte ich mich sofort auf an die Südseite des Bahnhofes, wo ich auf einen Schnellzug wartete. Nachdem dieser bildlich festgehalten werden konnte, ging es zurück zum Bahnhof. In der Ferne konnte ich eine V100 erkennen, welche sich näherte und vor einem roten Signal zum stehen kam. So wartete ich noch eine kurze Zeit und schon ging die Fahrt weiter. Es handelte sich um die RF 24, welche einen Bauzug gen Süden beförderte.
A former L&N SD40-2 leads empty rack train M580 south into the sweeping curve just outside of downtown Colbert, GA along the Abbeville Subdivision. In a land of GEVO's, it sure was nice to get a pair of EMD's leading a road freight for a change.
The EJ&E Huuuritage unit leads B758 across the Lake Wabamun Causeway on CN's Edson Sub. DJI's recent software update didn't play nice with my drone, causing some back focusing issues on this day, once again proving nothing is easy!
You don't see many photos from this stretch of the Alaska Railroad since the closest road is about nine miles away. The only way to get here is a paddle up the Placer River in summer or a run over the snow and ice via snow machine or dog team in winter....or a ride on the ARR. While I've never paddled in I have snow machined here and ridden the train a few times. Here is a gorgeous late summer day that I road the Glacier Discovery out to the Spencer Whistle Stop. While hiking around out toward Soencer Glacier I decided to get this view of a southbound cruise train headed to Seward with SD70MAC 4317 leading the train over the Placer River bridge at MP 54 here in the heart of Chugach National Forest. In the background rising steeply from the glacier fed waters is 4400 ft Tincan Peak in the Kenai Mountain Range.
To see this same bridgd a few months earlier in slightly whiter conditions check out this shot: flic.kr/p/2o7CZvR
Spencer, Alaska
Sunday September 6, 2009
BNSF 1464, still proudly wearing BN paint, takes the lead of a very colorful lashup on M GALGAL at Rio, IL.
A Union Pacific MOW train with 61 cars cruises through Larkspur, Colorado heading northbound during the late afternoon.
A pretty crazy 661 local heads west into Bristol on the Appleton Sub, running 5x1. Originally, I was planning to shoot this with the bonnet duo leading, but that changed when a rock train was combined with the local in Webster. I guess if it had to be anything else leading, an ACe isn't the worst thing in the world...
Not being a morning person, railfanning before work is something I rarely (never) do. But on one of my after work trips I found a spot that I just knew would be excellent in the early summer morning light. The light here is only good in the early early morning (sunrise to 7 AM) so it required taking the 5 AM train to the end of the tarrif zone then a short 15 minute bike trip. I was rewarded with back to back freights before the traffic completely driend up around 7, leaving plenty of time to get to work by 9. May have to wake up earlier more often....
Railfanning the Overland Route is challenging. Defect detectors do not talk unless a defect is found, signals are approach lit, and crews don't call signals unless it's a less-than-clear indication. So many of my photos are of the "drive until you find a train, then turn around and drive back to the first neat spot."
Case in point is this empty coal train. While on U.S. 30 west of Ogallala, we spotted this set of signals and active code line. No signals were lit, so we continue east. Not five miles later, this train soars around a curve on the west side of town. An immediate U-turn in the highway and we hightailed it back to the signals for this shot. All in a day's fanning...
Two images from my short chase of PCBCY with UP's newest commemorative unit on the point. The foam was so thick going after the UP1616 that it was not unlike a UP steam chase with visitors driving 12 hours to get the Abraham Lincoln unit. This deadhead move is taking equipment to Cheyenne for the Big Boy's roundtrip to Denver this weekend, it's only scheduled outing in 2025.
This locating is in front of the Arlington grain elevators.
The sun had set at Hornell, NY on April 30, 1978, the end of one of those banner days of railfanning. The railroad had been very busy all day and this Conrail Westbound pulled into the crew change at dusk. I did not have a tripod yet, but tried a few time exposures - nothing great came out of it, but these many years later I like this image. A GP40, ex EL GP35, and a GP30 pause under the glow of the yard lights. The Eastbound signal displays red about 5 cars back, and the caboose of an Eastbound is alongside the 3069.
Just another wider take on a favorite moment from 2019 that I'm adding to Flickr that was long ago shared on FB. If you missed the original story you can find it with this shot: flic.kr/p/2hTWB9V
Norfolk and Western Class J 4-8-4 611 leads a regularly scheduled excursion west on the Strasburg Railroad main approaching the Black Horse Rd. grade crossing at MP 3.3.
Ronks, Pennsylvania
Sunday September 29, 2019
Lancaster and Chester EMD SD60M #8782 is on the point of Train 12 in Richburg, South Carolina as the crew shuffles cars around the yard there. In this shot, the train is stretched beyond Faddis Concrete Products.
That chair strikes me as being a neat place to sit and watch some CPKC trains go by in the afternoon. For this vantage point I had to fly up with my little bird to frame up a shot with the fake Eagle though. Down below, CPKC 576 is in the middle of its journey from Hardisty, Alberta to Port Arthur, Texas with tar crude loads. The Norbert F. Beckey Bridge spans the Mississippi River in the background and the shadows are starting to get long on this beautiful May day. Muscatine, Iowa 5/11/2024
Passing the grain elevator at Tokio, WA on a cool Friday, September 26, 2025 morning, a BNSF train comprised of coal loads from Wyoming heads west on the Lakeside Subdivision.
Amtrak 8 heads east on the River Sub after departing Winona. My first time shooting a charger, believe it or not. Can't say they've grown on me at all.
Wood County, Ohio
On an early slightly foggy morning, autorack train CSX Q241-18 heads out of the Walbridge Yard for a journey south down the former C&O Line.
Sadly, the old C&O signals were replaced with new PTC signals, and the old pole line supporting the signaling circuits (code) and 440 volt power circuits were no longer needed and taken down.
13Z flies south through the Main 1 at Pkin with 23 Cars and plenty of Horses for the trip to Knoxville.
CP 2816 South storms past the remaining wooden elevator at Leduc Alberta during an October 2023 test run.
The southbound Lhoist road freight pops out of the eastern bore of the Willet Hollow Tunnel as the train nears the interchange point with Norfolk Southern in Rockwood, TN.
I was bummed that I couldn't give chase to this one: endangered species SOO 6053 leading Norfolk Southern train 30T to Enola Yard. My only chance to grab the train came at the end of its journey as it pulled up to a stop signal at CP Wye, waiting north of Harrisburg on its turn into the yard across the river. Like a tourist I pulled up to the side of US 22/322, grabbed this quick frame from the car and away I went.
DiB 01/05/2016
T21 is seen here crossing the Tennessee in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee with the sun right in the crews face they make there morning run to Alcoa to switch for a few hours.
An insanely cool catch that we managed to get completely by accident.
Luke, Jasper and I were on our way from Chicago to Kansas City, when I spotted a headlight down the tracks on UP's Springfield Subdivision just south of its namesake town. Upon further inspection, we realized we had stumbled upon an incredible train: UP's MBNAS with a gorgeous standard cab SD60 on point. We had known prior that this train would occasionally get the specially painted Alton and Southern SD60s, but had confirmed earlier that they were still in St. Louis. Due to this, we never even thought about the fact that it could potentially have a regular UP paint 60. After sitting in the siding for a northbound intermodal, the extremely friendly engineer put the pedal to the metal and went faster than any manifest any of us had ever seen before. They topped out at 65 miles per hour and we couldn't even manage to get another shot of them due to not being able to catch up (despite Luke driving over 100 miles per hour in some stretches of highway). Despite that slight misfortune, the fact that we even were able to shoot it to begin with is nothing short of a miracle.
CPKC Work Extra 6055 heads South on the Red Deer Subdivision near Crossfield Alberta. The veteran SD40-2 may look ragged, but it still earns its keep 40 odd years after rolling off the assembly line
Wisconsin Central train FDNS was rolling south through the northern Chicagoland suburb of Prairie View in 2000.
WC SD45 6531 (built by EMD in 1971 as Burlington Northern 6531) led Norfolk Southern SD40-2 3283 (built by EMD as Southern Railway 3283) had the Fond du Lac to Elkhart freight well in hand.
A pair of Union Pacific's former Chicago and North Western C40-8s had an eastbound through Elmhurst back in 2005. A BNSF ES44DC and a UP EMD were helping out.
The 9035 is now working for the Canadian National as their 2011. The number 9035 is now occupied by a SD70AH on the UP roster.
Re620 is a Swiss build retro locomotives which are currently getting replaced and scrapped, this shot is special due the construction works on the Hauenstein line (Sissach-Tecknau-Olten) thats why the train went through the older one Hauenstein line (Sissach-Läufelfingen-Olten) so all Northbound trains from west Switzerland or from Lötschberg were driving here, and all from Gotthard went via another line, Bözberg line.
De treinen die in Bornheim werden vastgelegd waren allen niet voorzien van de gehoopte locomotieven. Ook de fraaie Wetron-shuttle, welke in mijn ogen één van de mooiste KLV-treinen is langs de Rijn, had eveneens een Beacon tractieleverancier. Het geheel is afkomstig uit Gekkengraaf waarbij de 193 662 dienst doet vanaf Venlo naar Gallarate. Bornheim, 2 mei 2024.
The conductor of Q327 gives the highball to Amtrak's eastbound Pere Marquette as the two trains meet in the doubletrack at Ivanrest in Grandville. In those days, you could almost set your watch by these 2 trains meeting in this spot, night after night.
Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo? 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!
An SD40-2 leads an AC4400 through the falling snow on Q329 with dynamics howling. The heavy train is slowing from 40 mph to 25 mph for the remainder of the journey into town over the Grand Rapids Terminal subdivision. Pretty cool to see unmolested SD40-2s like #8096 leading a train on a Class 1 in 2019!
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!