Teen Railfan Place

Trains.com General Discussion (Trains.com)
2601

Warning, the following post will be very long! LOL!

We’ve had three more derailments this week. The first was a UP train dumping a couple cars in Grant Park, unfortunatly it turned into a haz-mat situation. The second one has a CP train derailing on the BRC on the west side of Chicago. The third was a derailment in Brookfield on the BNSF/IHB connection.

Alex, from what I have heard the Gary Railway should get the NW2, the SW1500, half of the SW1200s and half of the slugs, and all the rolling stock except the flatcars will go to the Gary Railway and other USS Roads like the Union RR and the Birmingham Southern. I’m not sure if any of the engines that are supposed to go to Gary RR will go to URR and Birmingham Southern, but it’s possible. The SW1001s I have heard rumors about CN and about Gary RR getting them, but nothing official. Judging by the fact EJ&E SW1001 446 was painted yellow I’d guess they’ll also go to Gary RR. Basically the yellow EJ&E scheme is actually the paint scheme for the Gary Railway, so anything yellow will likely go to them.

Regarding the SD38-2s being repainted, they were just rebuilt anywhere between 2-5 years ago so they won’t need to be overhauled. Basically I think they should stay orange until they suffer a mechanical failure like DM&IR 212 did, and at that point CN will either retire it or repaint it. CN still has hundreds of engines left in IC paint and dozens of GTW blue engines left so they really aren’t in any hurry to repaint stuff. 703 will hopefully be shopped quickly and ready to go, as one day if it doesn’t fail (which is doubtful) it could be the last J engine.

You are basically right about the Gary RR. It will get all the trackage in the Gary steel mills. Unfortunatly this means the railway will basically be behind the gates of USS and will hardly ever venture into public view, and don’t even dare trespass on USS property to get it,

2602

Ok well thanks for all that info Robby!

I don’t really have too much info on the NRHS 2010 convention because I’m not a member yet, and two I guess they are concentrating on the one in Duluth coming up this summer. No, sorry that one is a little too far away for me… A year or so from now when I can drive alone, and maybe those kind of trips will be fun, especially if you can bring some other railfans along.

But check out their website Ty, good amount of information there:

http://www.nrhs.com/

It’s a really good price for students too, only $16.00 per year.

2603

Traveled through CP territory over the last couple of days, so I was able to catch some CP action for the first time.

First up, CP AC4400 9337(I think that’s the model. Personally, I can’t tell the difference between the AC4400, ES44AC/DC, or the Dash 9)

Next up, ES44DC 8889

And ES44DC 8795

And at last, a shot of all three together

2604

my head already hurts…lol

2605

I’d like to join the NRHS as it seems like a good group, but the problem for me is that the local chapters are all a good distance away. One is in Milwaukee and the other in Rockford, IL, both around 2 hours driving. Both have some nice members and I’ve been told the slide shows are really interesting, but it’s hard to justify the time and expense. And for some reason, pre-planned railfan events never quite trip my trigger like just going out and railfanning at my local main line does. Not to say that I wouldn’t mind going up to Duluth for something like the NRHS meet this year, but with a trip in the works to the LS&I in June and another possible “circle tour” of a few railroads in Minnesota and the Dakotas planned for later in the summer, a third trip to Duluth is hard to justify.

Robby, I hope the CN does keep a good portion of the EJE stuff around in orange. Hopefully it’ll be like the Missabe, where things survived for several years before they began to repaint and retire en-masse. Wish I had more opportunities to get down and shoot the J.

Noah

2606

I did not attend to catch a train at this spot on this day here in Neenah at Shawano/Fox River Jct…But when I was just shooting around this area and when I was walking back to the the truck I heard a canadian horn…So I waited and this is what came about:

According to Brent…This is train 198 here at Shawano/Fox River Jct

2607

CP only has ES44AC’s, and the one in the middle is an AC4400CW.

And nice shots Mr. Trane!

2608

Thanks…I was hoping to catch more action…But had to get back up town…

2609

Well, this is it, it could very well be the final day of the EJ&Es 121 year existance. It’s sad to even think about this fact, but it is the fact. Another historic railway is about to fade into history. Another interesting short line is about to be lost to CN.

I did manage to catch what may be the final State Line coal train to run under the EJ&E name. I also shot it at two places I haven’t shot the J before.

The J heads light through Liberty in Aurora to pick up the state line. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1463500

What will likely be the final EJ&E State Line coal train heads east through the curve at Normantown Road heading into Plainfield. Next trip it will probably be called U something, not the State Line. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1463499

Tommorow may very well be the end of EJ&E, or is it? The fact is while the trains won’t be the State Line or Line trains, and the line will probably not be the Western Subdivision, things won’t change overnight. L whatever, formerly JSW1, will probably have a pair of SD38-2s, the yard switcher will be a pair of SW1200s, all the signs, engines and cars will still say EJ&E on them. How long will this last? Nobody knows, so it’s game on to get as many EJ&E photos as possible!

2610

Not even regarding the EJ&E (but it pretty much only helps my point), plain and simple Class 1 railroading officially blows. I saw some nice stuff last monday (7 SD40-2’s, all solid sets of 2 and one of 3) but its getting so dang hard its ridiculous. BNSF just ordered 350 new engines! Well, there goes the remainder of the SD40-2’s, the rest of the Oakways, and anything else they can get rid of. Soon Gensets will be picked up in hordes and will replace the BN’s GP28Ms,GP38-2’s,GP39V’s,E’s, and the former Santa Fe GP30’s and GP35’s. Then you will have literally no chance to see any standard cab leading a train ever again, and even older widecabs. Did I mention the BN has stored around 10 or so SD60M’s at Northtown?

Sorry for my rant, but the future of railfanning is sad to think about. The economy is only speeding change up too. I dont think there has ever been a time in history when things got to be this boring, the only thing to come remotely close was when all of the railroads were buying F Units.

Alec (Railfanning from 2002-2009, not sure how much longer…)

2611

NJT is getting rid of their old stuff too. 5 GP40FH-2s have been rebuilt into MP20B-3s. 5 are in Canada on lease to AMT. 1 is stored OOS, probably being used for parts. That leaves only 4 still operating (here in Jersey), but I haven’t seen one in a while, I’m not sure what line they’re on. Actually, I’m not even sure if they’re in the Hoboken or Newark Division.

I’d give the GP40PH-2s (ex-CNJ, they were in Locomotive 2008) only about 2 or 3 years. Sad, they had a long life (this is 41 years) and they are some of my favorite units.

Almost all CIs are gone. However they are all around the country, still rolling on. All comarrows (CIBs) are gone except for the 14 in Canada. There is talk about the CIIIs either getting phased out, hopefully they’ll just give them a rebuild, they only came in 1990.

There is a lot of change going on, and there’s no way to stop. But stuff gets old and needs to be replaced. Sure, it’s sad, but everything has to go sooner or later. But change isn’t always bad. Heck, I love seeing the PL42ACs and CVs, they look pretty good.

2612

That’s too bad about the GP40PH-2s… I spent exactly one day railfanning NJT, and these locos were by far my favorite locomotives I saw… The roar of those EMD’s accelerating from idle to Run 8 in 15 seconds left a lasting memory in me… I’ll remember that for a long time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6qUQeatEs

Alec: That’s most people’s reaction to change. Back when the SD40-2s were introduced, everybody hated them, except for possibly some of the crews… Now an SD40-2 on a mainline train is the highlight of the day for many railfans. It was the same thing with the F units. Change is a part of life, we all hate it sometimes, but it keeps on happening… Soon enough the Dash 9s and AC4000CWs will be a rare sight, and the ES44s and SD70MACs will come eventually as well.

2613

Yeah, things are getting horrible here too. EJ&E is going, going, GONE, Iowa Interstate uses GEVOs for almost everything, and BNSF has been gettimg lamer and lamer every day. Heck BNSF is using wide-nose B40-8Ws for LOCALS here now! UP never uses any older power here anymore and CN is storing everything it seems.

I did manage to catch one more J train during the day, 659 with a light power move. I can’t believe that was probably my last real EJ&E train, it is very upsetting to even think about that. Trust me, despite tha rather orange day, this is not a good day seeing a 121 year old railroad that was one of the reasons I started railfanning get taken over by CN. The scanner has been dead since, looks like the J is going to die quietly tonight… Anyway, here was probably the last real EJ&E my camera will ever see… http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1463811

We’ve all head that change is impossible to prevent, but lets face it, most of the time in railroading changes are for the worse these days. Heck my SD38-2 paradise is being taken away because of it.

2614

Well, that’s just my guess based on what I’ve heard, but nothing official yet. Probably when the dual modes come. And the 2As and 2Bs I think will stay, only the 13 ex-CNJ units will go.

I see that you fixed the title to say Convent STATION[:P]

And yes, there’s nothing like those EMD engines. Listen to this EMD 710 in a PL42AC.

2615

Of course most railfans will miss the locomotives we all consider interesting, and bring so much diversity to our trips. But maybe this will lead to railfans having to be more creative in their photography skills than ever before, to make the endless amount of GEVOs something impressive to look at.

It sounds corny, but that’s what will happen in my opinion. Nobody’s going to want to look at that plain old wedgie shot anymore, we’ll all have to get as creative as Matt! [:P]

2616

Finally got a slideshow from the 2008 Santa Claus Special. I also have a video, but I can’t find the wire to connect the video camera to the computer… But hopefully it’ll be up soon.

The train ran between Port Morris and Hackettstown, making stops at Netcong and Hackettstown, and was sponsored by the Tri-State Railway Historical Society. It was pulled by 2 PL42ACs, 4007 and 4021, and had nine coaches, consisting of 7 CVs and 2 CIVs. Included in the set was M-N 6007, a Comet V cab car that runs in pool service on the Hoboken Division.

Enjoy!

2617

There is definately no question that so far, most all changes related to the industry suck. New work rules, new engines, and not just new engines added to the fleet, but they are replacing about 2, sometimes 3, older units a pop. Plain and simple, change will happen, but if you just look at something really quick here you’ll see what I mean.

In the last 5 years, how much has your neighborhood/town changed? Pretty much the same right, maybe a new store or two, and someone got a new addition added to their porch.

Now, how about the last 5 years on the railroad. Well, 5 years ago there were still 80 plus WC SD45’s running, straight SD40’s in DWP colors on the CN, over 500 SD40-2’s (plus FURX’s) on the BNSF, the CP still had a few SOO Line SD40-2’s in the states, and the CSXT had about 1/3 of its road roster as lease engines. Not to mention that the BNSF still had SD9’s leading trains from Northtown to Willmar, and the SD60M’s and a few Oakways were still in coal service.

I could go on for days, but what Im trying to say is that if we werent in this hobby, we wouldnt notice to much in terms of short term change. And as much as all of these crap engines will maybe make us better photographers, forget about the picture. What about the excitement from seeing something cool, or the will to wait in freezing weather to shoot something? There will be nothing, natta, worth waiting for besides maybe a foriegn unit to the area (and even then it will just be another GEVO, just a different color from the same junk that you will see everyday). Variety is the spice of life they say, well, that definately will take railfanning out of the “things to do” bin.

The thing Im going to miss is the excitement the most, and I already feel it going away. It sure says something when Id rather stay home sometimes than venture out, which would have been crazy talk up until a few months ago. Seeing a former C&O SD40 and a

2618

I feel your pain, man. I remember two years ago when I went to college. I scored an apartment near the BNSF line on the Staples Sub. Living near the BNSF Brainerd Sub all my life, I knew I’d feel comfortable somewhere where the trains were easily heard. On top of that, the traffic is so much different than on the Brainerd Sub, and I wasn’t aware of that, so talk about an awesome surprise. I go from nothing but coal and the tri-weekly local on the Brainerd Sub to twenty to thirty trains a day of all sorts on the Staples Sub. Intermodal, manifest, auto rail, Amtrak, you name it. Engines of every sort. SD40s, 50s, 60, and of course, the 70s, GEVOs, and even a Dash 9 here and there. On top of that, seeing a rare engine was always a sight to see, such as a Dash 8, a Soo unit, an ACE(rare at the time, anyway), and even a few CN units(albeit the craptacular striped ones). And that’s in edition to the regular BNSF, NS, KCS, and CSX stuff that was there every day. I was even able to see some switchers, and a few slugs. That brought me back into the realm of railfanning, and since having to move out of the area once again, all I’ve had to look forward to is the occasional trip to the Missabe territory(where I’m moving to this spring).

2619

You. Have. No. Idea.

Pitstopping in here just to gloat about my top shot of a GEVo on railpics. How bout that, eh?

Anyways, some rejects.

2620

Yes, it’s Convent Station now, not Garden…[:-^] That 710 sounds great!

I can still remember when I got a great lashup on CSX: GP40-2, GP40-2, SD40-2 in West Boylston, MA, as run-through power on Pan Am’s Worcester-Ayer line. I also get some AC6000CWs there occasionally. And of course the SD60I/SD40M-3 in Washington, DC…

GP40-2/GP40-2/SD40-2 #1

GP40-2/GP40-2/SD40-2 #2

AC6000CW/GP40-2/GP40-2

SD60I/SD40-3M

I can get a GP40-2 or something anytime I want (if I get lucky and pick a day they’re running 'cause they run whenever they need to, not on a schedule…) I live within biking distance of the CSX Leominster (MA) branch, which is restricted to GP40-2s…

That said, it would be nice to get some run-through power around here… Maybe some BNSF, NS, or UP…