Pardon if this is on another thread.
I want this to be a place where people can share favorite railroading or railfanning memories.
Mine would have to be when an empty passenger train pulled by a DMIR SD18 blew by me in notch 8.[wow] Makes you appreciate the power of diesels more[:D]
First, I’ll give you my favorite railfanning DOH!!!
A group of people had gathered in Duplainville, WI (part of Pewaukee, a suburb? of Milwaukeesha – that’s Milwaukee and Waukesha) to watch, videotape, and photograph the CP 4-6-4 2816 going by. As it approached, so did Amtrak #8, the Empire Builder! Everyone’s view of 2816 was blocked by #8, and I think we all said a collective “Awwwww …”
Fortunately, I caught up with the train at Portage, and got more good pictures than I could have imagined. Pics are at:
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken/TC3-CP2816.html
One of my favorite railfanning moments was just a few weeks ago. I decided to take a ride down to Janesville, WI to see what I could find in Wisconsin & Southern’s yard. As I was shooting a picture of a couple engines by the roundhouse, the JH (Janesville-Horicon) train popped out of the yard. I headed north a couple streets and got some pictures of the train, then headed north of town and waited, getting several more excellent pictures, then chased it to Milton Jct., and got more pictures. But the best was yet to come, as I waited on the east side of Milton, where I got to see the two SD40-2s switching the industrial park! Those big engines sure squealed around the tight curve leading into the park (which is currently just one industry, but it’s cool nonetheless).
Anyways, back to J-ville, where I caught UP’s local switching an industry on the south side of town, with an old CNW caboose! It was the perfect end to an awesome day.
And one of these days I’ll get pics of it on my site as well.
I have quite a few, but here are some off the top of my head.
Seeing UP Challenger 3985 in the desert west of Gerlach,Nv. at speed with a full train in tow. One of the best things about this was there was nobody else there. Just me (and my dad). I’ve chased steam trains before. The hords of people that usualy follow are a big turn off for me. That time it was just me, the desert, and the train.
Another time also involved the 3985. I was east of Cajon Summit about 4 Miles. This was to be a typical trainwaching day, or so I thought. I stared in shock down the track as 3985 came into view heading twards me. I had no idea it was even comming out west. Unbelievably it came to a stop right in front of me!!! Then unloaded passengers for a photo run by. Right in front of me !!! I tore up 2 rolls of film on that one. Way Awsome.
Another one would be when I got to take a cab ride over Tehachappi. Unfortunatly it was at night so I didn’t get any pictures. I don’t know what symbol it was but it was a very hot train. almost every siding was full and we never stopped once. It wasn’t till after I got off (they stopped just to drop me off) that I realized how long it was. It must have been 7500-8500 ft. long. and lead by 4 8100 series C44-9Ws. I rode in 8179 (SP).
There was also the time I got a personal tour of Lorams rail grinder RG-8. I spent several hours on Tehachappi railfanning and talking to this guy. I had no idea who he was. As he was leaving he told me he was the boss on the railgrinder crew and invited me to meet him later and take a tour. You bet I would. I still have the Loram hat he gave me.
Most of my favorite railfanning “moments” take a few hours to unfold–like days I remember at Blue Island, Dolton, or Calumet Park where we’d go for hours on end without a break in the action, with moving trains in sight at all times.
If you want a “moment”, though, it’s hard to narrow down. How about any time a freight blows by you at track speed with mixed power–you hear the steady sound of EMDs coming at you, and the chugging of GEs going away.
Or, something that’s thrilling and frustrating at the same time–when the railroad decides to demonstrate in front of me why it does need all three of those tracks in its main line (and the train I’m watching for neat equipment is never the nearest one).
I’m hoping that my most thrilling moments are yet to come–when I can show some of this to visiting Forum friends (such as Nora, who’s already been here), or inoculate my granddaughter (who’s now too young) with the train-watching bug and watch those bright blue eyes open wide!
In my case it happened before the SP/UP merger. I was railfanning with some friends at the west switch at Sylmar. Early in the afternoon the 1JRCIP2-10 (first section of the James River to City of Industry on the Saugas Line on the 10th of the month) was heading east towards Los Angeles. He had 8 units on the point of this lumber train with 70-80 cars. Two thirds of the way back he had a 9 unit set of helpers to cut out at Sylmar, CA. Talking to the helper crew, this train had something like 15,000 tons. Impressive. For sure a favorite moment.
CShaveRR – just how young is “too young”?
My daughter, just under age 2, opens her eyes very wide and solemnly imitates 611’s whistle (as heard via RealAudio) while looking intently at pictures of 611. Gets very excited, and recognizes locomotives and trains, both on screen and when in the car. We had a fun time in Germantown, TN a week or so ago watching intermodals on the ex-Southern main.
Memorable moments include:
A meet on the EL’s Northern Branch between a C424 and a U-boat, both in EL colors
A night near Culpeper, Virginia… half the sky spangled with stars, the other half filled with lightning and thunderheads, the field I was standing in alive with fireflies. Southern Railway at high speed.
Watching the last two MP54s I ever saw running heading south from Princeton Junction after being replaced by a Silverliner – sunlight hitting their sides, and their gears singing, running faster than I would have believed they could go – you don’t miss them as much when they leave with such panache.
3985 and train stopped a few miles north of Bernie, MO on the way down the Cotton Belt – with the setting sun spotlighting the train at low angle.
Riding the rear cab of the UA Turbotrain from New Haven back into NYP
Riding the “cab” of assorted Metroliners between New York and Philadelphia – who needs a reserved seat??? Especially fun with R.J.Russell telling stories about running PRR steam and classic diesels…
4800 ‘rivets’, in Bicentennial paint, pulling Reading MU cars (with pans up!) during the SEPTA strike
lets see
seeing the 611-J in continental ohio
matts 3rd birthday as the 2816 came into and stopped in defiance
or yesterday when matt put on his boots and says daddy gotta go see trains!!!
more good times to come!
stay safe
Joe
So far, seeing the 3985 in New Braunfels, Texas years ago before I really knew anything about the 3985, or even thought about being a railfan or knew what one was.
But…My favorite moment will be when my son finally brings my 5 month old grandson over and we all three get to go railfanning together!
mike
MOST NOSTALGIC. Mom, Dad, sis and I were riding southwards along 5th St. in Milwaukee one warm Saturday evening in June 1962. A light spring shower was falling from the sky, but my window of the nearly 40-year old Jewett, Cincinnati, or Pullman-built motor was wide open. People were sitting on the front steps of their two-flats drinking Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, Miller (or what have you) and having a nice family get together. My birthday dinner enjoyed at Karl Ratzsch’s was digesting nicely, the trolley wire was sparking overhead from time-to-time, and I knew at that moment that I’d be a traction phreaque for life. An Electroliner would have never seared that memory as well as the old coaches, rain, and people outside did.
AWESOME & SCARY. One Saturday during the summer of 1971 I had to deadhead a Santa Fe company truck from Barstow, Calif. to division headquarters in San Bernardino. After turning the truck in, I caught a quick trip home riding the head end of “The Super C,” then the world’s fastest regularly scheduled freight train. Riding the lead motor, ATSF 5942 (now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum), this FP45 painted in the classic red/yellow/silver Warbonnet scheme and her three sister units (mixed FP45s and F45s - all equipped with passenger geared trucks) had no trouble at all lifting the 1400-tons we had up the ramparts of Cajon Pass. At 10-horsepower per trailing ton, the train roared up-grade at speeds approaching 55-mph.
As The Super C topped out at Summit, Calif., a Form 19 train order that the crew had really cut in. It read, “Trains nos 99 and 100 assume passenger train speed not to exceed 79mph.” Well, given the fact that we had “No. 1” on the engineer’s seniority roster in charge of the throttle that day, we were given to high spotting in a few places. Now here’s the scary part: as we slammed through Victorville on a slight downhill grade with horns blaring, right-of-way dust flying everywhere, and a speed recorder needle pinned on 82-mph
Overmod–Katelyn is only two months old; I think that might be a little early (two years should not be a problem, based on her mother’s experiences!).
(You only need four more posts for that fourth star–get busy!)
I think my favorite moments,would have been when I saw
2101 pulling the Chessie Steam Special;and also being
able to see 614 running.
I have many like the UPRR bullet team flying by in notch 8 but my favorite was at Daggett CA one early morning a UPRR WB military train was entering the BNSF, on the middle track came flying by WB Amtrak & on the south track a EB BNSF TOFC train also doing speed came thru. The end results was for some seconds all 3 tracks at Daggett where I stood were occupied with moving trains. It was quite a thrill. [:o)]
The most memorable railfan moment for me was when I was13 and hung out at the local depot in my hometown in Connecticut. I was a pest there, but for some reason the station master tolerated my presence. I had already been given a green notebook sized time table for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad, and right after school I would ride my bike down to the station.
The New Haven was a sorry excuse for a railroad and was about to be consumed by the Penn Central, but it was the only game in town for me. Around 3:30 PM (and it was a big “around”) I would go out onto the ground level station platform and sit with my back to the wall of the station. The main line for the New Haven- westbound- was maybe ten feet away, and there was a faded yellow line beyond which passengers were not supposed to step.
You would hear the Yankee Clipper long before you saw it. The rails would begin to hum and jingle. If you looked east, you would catch the headlight coming. As the train approached, you would notice an odd sideways rocking; at that time, the roadbed has not been worked on for a long time, and some tie plates had an enigmatic “36” on them. Then the train would boil by at probably 40 miles an hour. The noise was deafening and you braced yourself against the feeling that the train was trying to suck you into the trucks. A few seconds of watching silver flute sided cars and older green cars flash by… and then it was gone.
I did this dozens of times, and I now realize it was probably not the safest thing to do. But in 1968, there wasn’t the fear of liability issues (my father was also a railfan and heartily approved of my activities) and it was OK to hang around the local depot.
When I look back at 30 plus years of hanging around trains and their people, the noise and smell of the Yankee Clipper- and the rocking of the red, white, and black NH locomotive- stands out in my mind.
Erik
Have several that are equal on my “Super Cool” scale:
During the late 70s-early 80s-------
Cab ride on a Seaboard Coast Line U18B.
Cab ride on a SCL GP7.
Cab ride on an Amtrak SDP40f.
Cab ride on a GP38-2 during an Operation Lifesaver special in 1981. I was a member of the NRHS, Tampa Bay Chapter. Enginner took photos of me at the controls while the train was stopped.
Amazing what good manners and a camera can help get you access to!
I’ve said it so many times that nearly all SCL employees I met were so cool and down to earth. I was saddened to find out that when CSX was formed in 1986, many of these guys were given incentives to “hurry up” and retire early. SCL was indeed gone.
Man! Back then I remember modelers and fans alike complaining that things were declining for railfans! Too bad we couldn’t see the future and realize that we actually had it made back as many of us could still just walk on to most yards, chat with railroaders and shoot photos.
Well, since I’ve always had a great interest in the early days of railroading, I suppose my most memorable railfanning moment was back in Sept. 1981 when I got to ride behind Camden and Amboy’s “John Bull” in an original coach from the 1830’s, (1836 if I remember correctly). It was during the 150th anniversary of the Bull’s first steaming in America that was celebrated by the Smithsonian Institute on the B&O’s Georgetown Branch in Wash., DC. I’d originally intended to just go for the ceremony and observe but I got there quite early and was able to ride on one of the “test” runs along the branch. It was pretty much a “you wanna ride along?” type situation so I took full advantage of it. I won’t say I felt like I was in the 1830’s but it was close with the wood burning, saturated engine pulling us and a coach whose amenities could best be described as BASIC. Of course I stuck around for the ceremonies and, after quite a few successful runs along the branch, have the engine break down, (throttle stuck because of scale deposits), just as the news cameras were rolling. I’m glad Murphy waited until after I’d had my ride.
Well if cab rides are considered rail fanning then my cab ride that the DHRR gave me on there sharks from Newark NJ to Philly via the Reading mainline has to go down as another thrill.
Oh, boy. Too many to think about.
In no particular order:
“foamer events”
“work related”
-90 mph FL9 test
-overtaking move (at 10 mph over track speed) on Buffalo line
-ride quality testing on CR8 and CR9’s maiden voyages, including 90 mph on Harrisburg line jointed rail
-sleeping in CR20 on the Boston Line
-E60 cab ride on NEC
-multiple Sekirk to Cleveland intermodal train cab rides (ride quality tests)
I can’t pick which is the best - you’re asking too much!
The IC use to go through my hometown of Mt. Olive, Illinois. I was born in 1975 and the line was not pulled out until 1982. However, the line had not been used–in favor of the former GM&O/Alton Chicago-St. Louis line–since my ability to remember.
Anyway, in 1980 or 1981, I was coming home from church with my Dad, and there was a train on the line. First and only, I had ever seen (other than the wrecking trains). It was haunting, like seeing something alive that wasn’t supposed to be alive.
The NS, ex-Wabash line is right next to it, and recieves plenty of traffic. But seeing that IC (actually ICG) was like watching Babe Ruth come out of retirement to hit one last home run so the next generation of baseball fans would have something to remember him by.
Gabe
A Baldwin Shark?! Wow! Now that’s an “E Ticket” experience! [4:-)][tup]
I heard years back that there is one D&H Shark still in existence. I hope this is true!
…Experience was a real railroad trip but due to my extreme interest in raliroading at an early age, it has to be my experience passing through…{changing from Pennsylvania RR to Long Island RR in {the great late Pennsylvania RR Station in NYC}, and having a bit of layover time gave time to take in the awesome presence of that mightty structure and filled with people, {many military}, as it was during WWII…From my eyes as a youngster it was an awesome experience that is still fresh in my memory…Even the part of stepping outside briefly and getting a view of the Empire State Building.