and any engine I’ve never seen
- Tie of Steam and Amtrak
- Locals with old, small power at 70 mph (sometimes unpatched SP locomotives)
- TOFC/COFC at 70 mph
- Manifests
- Any new locomotives
Pretty much anything besides coal.[zzz] Some of the freights that come in and out of here are pretty interesting.
I like to see intermodal, because it is something I don’t see much. I would like to see a RoadRailer, but I don’t live around NS.
My favorite types of trains to watch, the ones I savor from front to rear are the manifest and Amtrak, the Amtrak gets the attention just incase there is some private car bringing up the rear.
Jim
A bit of history about the Oil Cans is in order here. The original Oil Cans ran from Saco to the Shell refinery in Carson. In 1992 (I think) Shell closed that refinery. At that time Union 76 leased or bought part of the refinery and started receiving crude oil by rail. In 1996, they started piping the oil from the Bakersfield area fields to a new terminal at Mojave. That same year Mobil started shipping oil via another Oil Cans from its San Ardo area fields (loaded at Wunpost) to the Unocal refinery at Carson, it then goes by pipeline to Mobil’s (now ExxonMobil’s) refinery at Torrance. In 1999 (if I remember correctly), a pipeline was built over the Tejon Pass (Interstate 5) forming a new connection from the southern San Joaquin Valley oil fields to the LA area refineries, rendering the oringinal Oil Cans obsolete. The Mojave terminal was subsequently sold to Paramount Petroluem for asphalt storage.
These days my favorite train is any with an unpatched Southern Pacific locomotive. I do enjoy seeing the Oil Cans when I can, however since I am as much (or almost as much) a freight car fan as a locomotive fan, mixed freights/manifests are second behind a train with an SP locomotive.
I prefer freight trains as passenger trains in Britain are fairly sanitised these days. I also like loco hauled trains and specials, especially steam hauled.
In Ireland they still have a variety of carriages some still steam heated although all their locos are now GM. But then there’s also the narrow gauge peet bog railways. You wouldnt believe the size of some of the trains they run on these lines - often all you see of the track is the two rails sticking out of the grass!
I thought you now had variety in passenger trains in the UK! From London to Manchester aren’t there now two competing services, the higher-priced one high speed electric and the other modern diesel mu equipment, two different operating companies and two paint schemes?
I like to see intermodal trains (non-doublestack) being pulled by
GP40-2s, GP50s, GP60s and of course, Red and Silver GP60Ms. [8D]
Mail baggage and express trains at speed. Like the Fort Pitt on the Pennsy. Four E units, a ton of baggage cars, 2 working RPOs and two coaches followed by a string of express box cars and refers, some more baggage cars and a cabin.
Then of course there’s the Maple Leaf on the Grand Trunk. Two torpedo boat geeps, an RPO baggage, a parlor-diner and 3 coaches at 110mph.
Mitch
Here are my favorites in no order
Manifest freights…find the TOFC/COFC boring
Work trains, espically Amtrak’s on the NEC
Special duty trains ie: Indiana Harbor Belt Molton Steel train throught Dolton, IL
Ukraine (former Soviet republic) trains both freight & passenger
On the BN Q-racetrack, eastbound loaded coal trains because they often have SD70MACs and come screaming by with the diesels reved up and the dynamic cooling fans still howling. There’s a depression over a river just west of a favorite spot so they’re using the dynamics downhill, but the fans continue to run even though they are notching them out going back uphill.
On the UP/C&NW at Lombard or Glen Ellyn, I like trying to figure out where the eastbound manifest trains came from. A lot of lumber cars probably means the PacNW. The mix of UP motive power there is usually a lot more interesting than the parade of orange Dash-9s on the BN.
At Joliet on the BNSF Transcon, I enjoy watching anything that comes along.
- Manifests, you never know what might be mixed into the consist.
- When I get the chance, Steam.
- Passenger trains
- Also, there is a local I see sometimes. It usually has a caboose.
As long as its a steel wheel on a steel rail, its good. Having said that, nothing beats seeing a live steam engine running. And to see a BIG steam engine running? Pure magic! 844 comes to town this week! Yeah baby!
As a rule, I’ll take anything on flanged wheels and steel rails but I do have some preferences.
- Flat switching by a capable crew, such as Ed’s
- Mail and express trains, most recently the Chicago-Philly Pennsylvanian
- Suburban trains, expecially in afternoon rush
- Unit coal trains
I like em’ all.
But I get a rush out of having a doublestacker slam past at 70+ mph. Especialy at a grade crossing where the train makes the ground move like an earthquake. Every railfan should experience this at least once. A couple weeks back I caught a hot westbound UP train overtake a manifest at Gerlock,Nv. at the crack of dawn. That thing was going so fast the well cars looked like they were getting airbourne as they few over the crossing. Each axle sent out a shock wave that was clearly visible, even in the dim light of daybreak.
(Jeff Spicoli voice:) AWSOME,TOTALY AWSOME !!!
There were for a short time. While the West Coast Main Line from London Euston was being rebuitl for 125mph titlting trains, Midland Main Line were running their classic 125mph High Speed Trains (diesel) from St. Pancras. But this has now stopped as St. Pancras is being rebuilt for when the second section of the high speed channel tunnel link opens in 2007. Not only wlll this cut the London - Paris journey time to just over 2 hours but St. Pancras is much better sited than Waterloo, and is easier for people who live north or west of London to get too. One down side to this from the variety point of view is that GNER will no longer be using the Eurostar sets on the Kings Cross - Leeds run though they may use some of the class 90 electric locos re-geared for 125mph instead.
Probably the greatest variety of loco haulage is in Scotland. The Fort Willaim sleepers are still worked by the English Electric class 37’s , other sleepers by the GM/Alsthom 125 mph class 67 diesels freight trains by examples of those classes plus the occassional DRS Sulzer 47 or 33 and on the electrified lines by all classes 86, 87, 90 and 92 electrics. Anglia are still using a couple of the venerable 86’s on passenger trains from London Liverpool St. to Norwich. Despite their age they’re still more reliable than any diesel loco!
Like I said…Amtrak…I like them because they are a break from the old, rusty freight cars sometimes. Soo shiiiiiiiiiiiiny…
Moving trains!! Mixed freights have a little more of that railroad feel than trailers bound for trucks, a competitor, but I’ll still watch 'em.
James[C):-)]
I like the NS Roadrailers.