In June/July of 2011, I caught Norfolk Southern GP38-2 #5347 switching cars in Jackson, along the Michigan Line. It was a great experience being one of the last few to capture big blue on her last, “hoo-rah,” that summer. Not only did I film #5347, but I also captured #5346, #5273 (both are also GP38-2’s) and Conrail #24039 (a bay window Caboose) all in one place! At this time of the year, the big blue locomotives we were so used to for over 22 years here in Michigan, were nearly gone. With only forty some units on Norfolk Southern, and about ten or so on CSX still in blue, I was among the lucky buff’s to get timeless images of Conrail, that we’ll hopefully never forget.
The first time I ever fully captured one of these big blue units, was in early June. Norfolk Southern #5346 was in the yard, ready to haul train B16 from Jackson to Albion, Michigan and back. I had just got out of Driver’s Ed. and headed out with a buddy to go catch the train. We first filmed the Amtrak trains (#350 and #353) from the Yard and from the Amtrak Station, which happens to be the oldest continuously used passenger rail station in America. After the two Amtrak trains, we filmed B16, lead long hood forward by the GP38-2 (also a treat). We lost the train for awhile, but found her again in Albion. There she was, shiny and blue, even though she hadn’t been washed in years. She was waiting for train B34 to pass, lead by a Geep 38-2 and a High Nose SD40-2 (also a very rare catch along this neck of the woods). We watched her switch Aderson’s at Albion and headed back to Jackson to film her by the depot. It was a momentousness day, to say the least.
Here’s the video for that catch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad-lo5RDJZQ&list=UUqpvHYdGIEk3SEVpAWsLGCg&index=42&feature=plcp
The second time I encountered an, “ex-Con,” was also in Jackson. They’re rather, “blue-collar units,” if you know what i mean (Ha-Ha). As I said previ