Tony the Tiger's Railroad Blog

[TonytheTiger]

Video of NS trains 19G and 33A passing by Cornwall Junction on the west side of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. 19G is smoking like a badly fired steam engine, and 33A has lots of extra units destined for yards east of here.

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=7834

[TonytheTiger]

I spent the afternoon at Cove, Pennsylvania (a few miles west of Harrisburg), yesterday, and it was pretty busy. Below is a pair of videos of the nine trains that passed by between 2:00 and 4:30pm.

Cove Volume 1
http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=7868
NS 60R - Westbound empty slab train
NS 507 - Westbound empty hopper train
NS 26T - Eastbound intermodal train
NS 20V - Eastbound intermodal train
NS 20W - Eastbound intermodal train

Cove Volume 2
http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=7869
NS 07T - Westbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian
NS ??? - Eastbound coal train
NS 501 - Westbound empty hopper train (passed behind the above coal train)
NS 36T - Eastbound manifest train

[TonytheTiger]

I have just not kept up with my miscellaneous adventures trackside, so this trip report is a bit late. Back on January 23rd, it was a brilliant sunny day, and I was all caught up on my honeydo list, so I couldn't miss this opportunity to go out and take some photos.

Many Saturdays I make a quick trip to my office to swap the backup tapes on the servers, so that was my excuse to get out of the house. My route to the office takes me past (actually under) the Rutherford Intermodal Yard on the east side of Harrisburg. I had my scanner on and heard southbound NS intermodal train 203 tell the yardmaster that they were departing. This train would be heading down the Lurgan line to Hagerstown, so that meant it would cross the Susquehanna River on the Reading bridge next to downtown Harrisburg.

I had been wanting to get a good full length photo of a train on that bridge from a Lemoyne vantage point, so I skedaddled to a spot I had scouted out a while back. At first it looked like I would be blocked by trees, but I found a dirt (actually mud) road that took me to a higher vantage point. Good thing I now have a Jeep!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=313232

Upon closer inspection, it looks like a new NS road slug, 711, is heading south . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1934648

I decided that I would head to Cove to hang out with the other railfans that gather there. From Lemoyne, your route to Cove will take you past Enola yard. On the east end of the yard I spotted a Conrail blue unit on the point of a train of combines that will be heading to the port of Baltimore . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1934646

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1934647

I could hear the dispatcher sending a couple of trains west towards Cove, so I quickly continued on my way. I arrive a few minutes before the parade started. I already chronicled the series of trains that passed by Cove that day with a video . . . .

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=7868

. . . . but I also took a few stills while I was there . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=313234

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1934645

It was an excellent day for railfanning, not only because I got some good photos and video, but also because I met, and had a wonderful time with, a few new railfan friends.

Yesterday we got socked with 18” of snow, and today, the sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue, so, hopefully trains are moving too . . . .

[TonytheTiger]

With 18" of new snow and bright sunshine, I headed out to see if I could get some action photos in the snow. I headed to one of my favorite spots at the Harrisburg fuel pad and found it very busy. A pair of eastbound intermodal trains were departing almost simultaneously from the fuel pad. They ran through town side by side. The fuel pad crew was preparing additional power for a number of intermodal trains that were scheduled to depart Harrisburg yard after the big snow storm of the past two days . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1935926

33A called the dispatcher to tell him that they were ready to leave Enola. Their lineup included nine units on the head end. I repositioned from the fuel pad a half mile or so west to catch it. As it was passing, Amtrak zipped by on the other mainline in the opposite direction . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1935925
http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1935924

From here, I headed to Aqueduct in hopes of catching a fast train kicking up a lot of snow. It was only a few minutes wait for NS eastbound Triple Crown train 262, with 132 trailers, to come speeding through on its way to the Rutherford Triple Crown terminal on the east side of Harrisburg . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=313350

There were so many Triple Crown trailers that a second section, NS 242, followed this train with a bunch more, but I just missed it as it passed through Bailey.

I moved on to the long speedway at Thompsontown for more high speed snow kicking photos. First was 11G with a Conrail blue unit on the point . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1935927

As it headed away, westbound, the light of the low afternoon sun lit up the snow being kicked up into a glowing halo, so I decided to wait for an eastbound to see if I could capture the effect. Within a few minutes, NS eastbound intermodal train 20G showed up . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1935923

The sun was getting lower, and my copilot needed a pit stop, so we headed back to the Sheetz at Cove for some refreshments. We spent the last half hour of daylight watching an eastbound and westbound intermodal train speed through Cove.

One odd thing about this day. The double stacks that had not left Harrisburg before the snow storm had several inches of snow on top of them and were setting off the high car detectors at Banks and Beaver. The dispatchers were waving them through, but it was a hassle when the detector tied up the radio as it called off each car, and during the summary and the repeat of the summary.

[TonytheTiger]

This last October 3rd was the annual Railroads Illustrated Day in North America, and I was determined to go out and take some photos to submit. I had delayed writing up this trip report until the actual Day in North America issue was delivered because I didn’t want to post any photos that were published. One of my photos is featured on the top half of page 37 of the February, 2010, issue.

I will now share some of the rest of the photos I took on that day.

The day began early, and Central Pennsylvania was socked in with thick fog as I picked up another railfan. He was new to the area, so he deferred to me as to where to go. The Norfolk Southern Harrisburg mainline can often have foreign power in the mix, so we headed for Hershey.

This would be my first time participating in the Day in North America, and I was going to spend the entire day, and some of the night, taking photos. However, it ended up that my published photo was one of the earliest ones I took that day. It featured the Hershey shifter heading out to West Hershey with one empty tank car and the regular Conrail blue bay window caboose. The actual first photo of the day was of the Hershey shifter pulling away from the small yard at Derry Road . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937402

The fog was getting thicker as NS westbound intermodal train 21E came speeding by. I was trying a low view angle using the fold out view screen on my camera, but the fog was so thick that I had difficulty seeing anything in it, so I shot too early. It amazes me that these trains go so fast when they can’t see where they’re going . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937447

After 21E disappeared around the bend at the main Hershey Chocolate plant, the Hershey shifter was given permission to enter the mainline to begin its trip to West Hershey. Shortly after it departed, NS eastbound intermodal train 212 came speeding through. The fog was still pretty thick . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937410

Thinking that the fog looked thinner to the east, we left Hershey for Lebanon. On the way, we heard NS intermodal train 22V on the scanner. It was following the 212 east, and we stopped at Palmyra to catch it. The fog wasn’t any thinner here . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=307795

From here we continued on to Cornwall Junction on the west side of Lebanon. We didn’t have to wait long until NS westbound 34A chirped up on the scanner. The sun was still low in the east, so I didn’t take any photos as it passed by us. Soon afterward, NS eastbound 14G approached. I was set up for both video and stills, and I really wanted to get a good photo of an eastbound passing under the signal bridge here, but trying to do two things at once resulted in getting neither.

Frustrated, I suggested that we go downtown to check out the two old passenger stations in town. The morning light would be perfect for the 1885 Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad station, and it did look terrific when we arrived . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937408
http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937409

This station is now used as a law office and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Across the street is the old Reading station, but it is not photogenic in the morning light. Here is a photo I had taken on a previous afternoon . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937663

It was for sale, if you’re looking to buy a railroad station. The scanner was quiet, so we decided to take a pit stop. As soon as we got back in the Jeep we heard an eastbound on the scanner. Prescott was not too far away, so we headed for there to catch it with the signals. Eastbound NS intermodal train 20V came through with a pair of BNSF units behind the thoroughbred leader . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937404

We had had enough of the Harrisburg line for the day, and my copilot had an appointment in the afternoon, so we started back for Harrisburg. As we were passing back through Lebanon, we heard an eastbound approaching. It would be close, but I really wanted to get that eastbound train under the signals photo at Cornwall Junction. Our timing was good, and I got my photos of NS unit ethanol train 68Q . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937407
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=307797

Under the signals and foreign power, what else can I ask for??

Back on the road, we retraced our steps of the early morning in case something showed up. At Derry Road, in Hershey, a short pause resulted in a pair of eastbounds. First was NS loaded autorack train 18N, followed by manifest train 33A. The sun was bad for eastbounds, but a Conrail blue leader and an SD40-2 trailer on 33A begged me to try a parting shot . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937406

It was really tempting for my copilot to skip his appointment, but we got back on the road toward Harrisburg. I spend my lunch hours trackside at several locations in Hershey, and I took my copilot to most of them along the way. At Brownstone, a westbound popped up on the scanner. I missed the train number, but since we saw every train on the Harrisburg line so far today, it may have been the 23M heading for the Harrisburg Intermodal Terminal . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=307799

I took my copilot to the east end of Rutherford Intermodal Terminal at Beaver, and then to the west end at Ruth, where NS eastbound intermodal train 22A was lined into the yard. The light was bad for photos, but my copilot wanted to end his day with one more photo, so we waited for it to pass by.

I returned to where we started to drop off my companion for this part of the day, and then I headed for Enola to see what I could find. Before I could check out the yard, I heard a lot of activity on the Buffalo line on the scanner, so I headed up there instead. I was attempting to catch up with NS northbound train 12R, but it was too fast for me. When I arrived at Clarks Ferry, southbound train 11R was departing, so I quickly backtracked to find a place to get a photo. I didn’t have much time, so I dropped off of the highway at the first exit and got set up. The lighting was not the best, but I could not pass by the chance to photograph an old style C40 on the Buffalo line . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937405

The dispatcher was telling 12R that it would be meeting a southbound train at Millersburg, so I decided to try to get a photo of the southbound crossing the Wiconsico Creek bridge on the south side of Millersburg. I didn’t have long to wait . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937403

I jumped back onto the highway to see if I could chase this train to Enola. I passed it and caught it again north of Halifax . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=307801

The winding two lane highway from Halifax to Clarks Ferry spends a lot of time far from the tracks, whereas the railroad has a shorter run along the Susquehanna River. I‘ve never been able to beat a train to Clarks Ferry from Halifax, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came down the hill to the tracks at North Ferry and saw the train in my mirror. It was slowed down by northbound 31T entering the siding. I was able to catch southbound H3W as it met the marker of 31T at Clarks Ferry . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=313490

I crossed the river to check out the Shermans Creek bridge on the Pittsburgh line. The shadows were too deep, but there was a train coming in both directions, so I stayed to watch. From here I went to the Sheetz, at Cove, for a badly needed pit stop. Returning to my Jeep, I heard an eastbound on the scanner. I wanted a low sun photo, so I dropped down to the road crossing below Cove and waited. It wasn’t long before the last daylight train of my day passed by . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937414

The shadows were getting too long and it wasn’t dark enough for the night photos I wanted to take, so I just took it easy for a while and watched as eastbound NS empty unit trash train 64Q, and westbound NS manifest train 19G passed by. A full moon was rising and the signals at Cove were still lit after the passing of 19G, so I quickly moved down and got set up. Of course, as soon as I got ready, the signals went dark . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937413

I moved over to the water treatment plant next to the Rockville bridge to get another moonlit night photo . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937412

For my last photo of the day, I had planned all along on getting a photo of the hump with the Harrisburg skyline in the background. I spent a lot of time here trying to get things timed just right. I tried several shutter speeds and apertures, and lots of timing points of where to start the exposure, until I got what I was looking for . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1937411

That was it for my Day in North America. For 2010, the official Day in North America is April 17, and I plan on doing this again. I just have to figure where I want to go to this time.

[rlrnr53]

Rob, I really like your shots of the stations, and the night shots. What kind of camera do you use?

[TonytheTiger]

I use a Fuji FinePix S9100.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/fujifilm/inepix-s9100-zoom/fujifilm-inepix-s9100-zoom-review.html

Until I can afford a good Canon. Costco had two great combos over the Christmas holiday, but I couldn't afford either one, just yet. I'm beginning to sell some of my photos, so it may happen next Christmas.

Costco Christmas Specials

Canon EOS Rebel T1i
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens
Around $900

Canon EOS Rebel XSi
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF III USM Lens
Around $600

Check your local Costco (if you're a member) and see if they still have any. They're not advertising them on their website any more.

[rlrnr53]

Those are too rich for mybudget. I got a Canon Powershot SX10IS last year that does a good job. It has a 10MP and a 20x optical zoom. So far I haven't had any complaints. about it but the battery life. I started using lithium batteries, and try to keep at least one extra set with me.

[TonytheTiger]

As I was heading in to work this morning I heard NS 214 depart Rutherford Intermodal Yard (on the east side of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). They were calling out their train using a UP engine number, so I had to take a look. Before I could get close, however, it got caught by the high car detector had had to stop. The high car was the first one after the engines, so a quick check showed that it was a chunk of ice (this has been very common since last Saturday's snow - it has to be driving the dispatchers nutz!).

After it was cleared to move on, I frantically searched for a spot to get a photo. All of my usual spots in Hummelstown are under 2'-3' of snow! I climbed up on a pile left by the plow to catch this . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=313878

BTW, 20E departed right behind the 214, and was also caught by the high car detector! While I was waiting for 20E to get cleared to proceed, 213 sped by with UP 7413 as the trailing unit.

[TonytheTiger]

A week or so after the big snow storms last month, I set out late on a Saturday afternoon to shoot some video. I ended up at Richland, where I caught a westbound set of light engines and westbound NS 19G. It was quiet for the next couple of hours, but as I was heading home, I stopped at Clenoa to catch eastbound NS 506 coming out of the sunset.

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=8242

[TonytheTiger]

Yesterday, I had to make a trip to our State College, Pennsylvania, office. For the three years that this office has been open, and I have travelled to it, I have stopped by in Lewistown to see if I can catch one of the North Shore (Juniata Valley) shortline locomotives out of the engine house. Until yesterday, I was unsuccessful . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1992447

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=318389

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=318408

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1992450

On my way home, I again stopped by, but the enginehouse was buttoned up tight. However, I did get to watch two NS eastbounds go by (20A and 10G), and NS westbound 501 was lit up just right for a photo . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=318390

[TonytheTiger]

During my lunch break on St. Patrick's Day, I witnessed the westbound NS Track Geometry train passing through Hummelstown, Pennsylvania . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=1992449

[TonytheTiger]

I conducted a little tour of CSX's old B&O mainline along the Potomac River a couple weekends ago with a couple of friends. I switched back and forth between still photo and video, and here's the results of that day.

An eastbound coal train waiting for a crew at Brunswick, Maryland. The derailment on the Old Main at the Fredrick/Howard County line was probably why this train was not moving . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=319582

There was almost an NS/CSX meet at Shen, they crossed about 10 minutes apart . . . .

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=2005360

http://rgkitchen.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... id=2005371

Approaching Martinsburg, West Virginia, I caught an eastbound autorack train passing the Byrd crossovers . . . .

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=319585

After lunch, we headed west along the mainline stopping first at Cherry Run, for three trains . . . .

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=8339

Then Sleepy Creek for two more . . . .

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=8340

Train chasing was more like fishing for the next couple of hours. We went as far west as Paw Paw, West Virginia, but found nothing until we came back and stopped again at Great Cacapon . . . .

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=8341

One thing I discovered that I would like some more information about. I used the railfan guide from the MTNSUB.ORG <http://mtnsub.org/> website, but when I turned onto the old roadbed at Paw Paw to head east, there were CSX No Trespassing signs all over the place. The railfan guide states that this old roadbed can be used as the "hard way" to railfan from Hancock to Paw Paw. Is this still the case? I did go east as far as the west end of the bridge at Graham Tunnel. I also found an old cemetery on the south side of the track at that bridge. Was there a town here at one time?