NS Conway yard trip report...

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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Well, on saturday, my mom and I decided to check out conway yard near pittsburgh, PA (53 miles away according to MapQuest). She had no problem spending the day there, she is a beggining railfan (and my only form of willing transportation this weekend.) The ride went quick, maybe because I was so happy about going.

Well, while driving down the main road in Conway, PA we see the yard. Wow! So many trains! But, no real place to camp out and set up camp (camera, tripod and cooler). So, maybe there was a bridge. There was, but it was the main entrance to the yard office and such, so we would probably been booted pronto.
Well, I rembered about some old foot bridges… All boarded/fenced, and obviously off limits.

Second pass driving by to find a spot: [:(!]

Third time driving by: [:(] No spots.

Fourth time: Wrong turn, we’re headed over the river twards a small CSX yard/strage area, caught one train there, a CSX train lead by a BNSF executive loco (Thats the green, whiteish/creamish scheme right?) and a UP loco, guess CSX is owed some HP hours.

Once we found our way back to the conway yard side of the river, we tried to sit on a blue suspension bridge (overlooking the main that goes into the yard). Too hot! 97F Up there! That may not seem much to people who live farther south, but come on, its pittsburgh, we expect it to rain up hill! So, we walked off the bridge back to the car… Well, need less to say, right as I went to shut my door, guess what? Missed a train…

Ticked off at our trip, we stopped at a crossing not to far from the yard, saw a idling coal train, then a west bound Intermodal heading into the yard (going a tad to fast may I add, they layed on the brakes, you could almost smell and see the brake dust!).

So , we headed home, stopping at good ole’ Max & Ermas for some burgers.

This leads me to a question…

WHERE CAN YOU GET A VIEW OF THE YARD LEGALY!?!?! ARGH!!

All in

2

then a west bound Intermodal heading into the yard (going a tad to fast may I add, they layed on the brakes, you could almost smell and see the brake dust!).

And how do you know? Do you know they were going too fast? Do you know they were violating. That’s like an accusation based on what? Or maybe I’m just sensitive to remarks like that one.

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Is it possible, in this forum, for anyone to say anything without someone else taking offense to it? I’ve been wondering about that for a long time and finally decided to ask. I’m not trying to start something, but I just had to get that out!

4

Why must you take offence to that?

I had a scanner with me, and I could hear the crew talking to that yard, one thing they said was that they were coming in a bit fast possibly because of an electrical problem and we’re requesting someone to check the speedomiter and the braking system.

Some people… [V]

5

Some of us work there and when we read “going a tad too fast”, we have to wonder what qualified you to make a statement like that. It wasn’t experience so you must’ve either done it by visually determining it yourself or as you’ve explained. Being as they’re working for NS, a outfit very sensitive to speed violations, and who knows who reads these boards and sits around figuring out what is what, yes, it drew a response out of me. Some people, indeed. But, I’m really not trying to be difficult or disharmonious, but I was really wondering what made you write that.

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a crew said over the radio that they where coming in to fast? i find that one hard to belive…not saying that you didnt hear it…but as a railroader i would never say anything like that over ther radio where anyone with a radio on can hear me… your basicly telling on yourself and if a RFE or TM heard that…it wouldnt suprise me if they didnt meet that train as soon as it stoped and Downloaded the engin to see exactly how fast they where going and if they where in any vilotaion of signal and speed rules…
as far as viewing the yard …thier is no place anymore…from what i understand… they even chace people off the road bridge that crosses the west end of the yard… at least that was stories i have heard…
csx engineer

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Somewhere I seem to recall a highway bridge over a yard had a new fence with some small openings for viewing and photography by pedestrians on the sidewalk. I thought it was Conway and maybe it was before 9/11. Anyway, if they keep public pedestrians off the bridges, you’re coming in to fast and you see someone on the bridge holding something that LOOKS like a camera, I think you’re… (What’s that word that is impolite and inappropriate for a family forum?)

Jay

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You may be thinking of Enola near Harrisburg.

About the only non-trespassing location for Conway Yard is to pull off PA 65 at Freedom and view what parts of the yard you can see from there.

Dale

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I think your right where you said that they probablt wouldn’t annonce that theywere going too fast, but I think they were worried about a runway. THe train did stop in the yard, and didn’t come out with the same locomotives, so there may have actually been a electical failure. But I don’t belive that they went into emergancy, so maybe it was just that they were expecting to gain speed, not that they actaully were.

But, if I was in thier seat, I think I would have warned the yard, there is to many people too risk having a derailment… [:0]

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i find it hard to believe that they would still say the where coming in to fast…even if they lost they DB…they still have the air… and if it was a tech-no-toster and they lost all the electnics… it should have put the train in a penelty aplication…and bring it to a controlled stop as soon as the lost of the onboard air brake computer happend… i have had trains where the DB was lost …but in that situation…i went for the air right now to bring the train under controll ASAP… worry about trying to finger out the problems with the DB as soon as i got the train stoped… and if it was a runaway… thier is always the manual emergancy dump handel…
csx engineer

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cnw4001

I believe you are correct. Thanks.

Jay

12

when we went to pennsylvania we did go by conway too.there is a road bridge east of the main yard(not the yard entrance). but yes ns has the rest of the overhead bridges blocked or chained off.wouldnt mind going back and exploring when we have more time.
stay safe
joe