Did a 24-hour jaunt to the Mohawk River Valley to watch trains along US 5 from Amsterdam to Herkimer NY. Stayed in a converted D&H caboose on Thursday night in St. Johnsville which was within earshot of the tracks (MP206). Just before sunset Amtrak came by heading west featuring a heritage engine (#145 "1971-2011") and it had 2 historic cars on the end - Pacific Island Pullman and New York Central Hickory Creek observation car. Don't blink watching it as the trains fly along US 5.
Went for a bike ride this morning along the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern line. Now Canadian National.
This train was sitting quite awhile with a red light waiting for the oncoming train to pass.
Here is a custom car opportunity.
The rest of the train was broken up into 2 sections so as not to block streets while waiting for the green light. Once he got the green light he had to backup and reconnect the train.
These tracks are known as the “Chicago Outer Belt Line”. It historically connects class 1 lines from the east to class 1 lines to the west. It starts in Gary Indiana and then goes in a big arc up to Waukegan Illinois by the Wisconsin border. It also moves steel out of Gary/south Chicago.
Good catch, Steve! I see those CN red-white-black diesels here in Butler, Pennsylvania now that they took over the former Bessemer & Lake Erie. I don't know modern diesels, but I know they are newer and more powerful than the B&LE ever ran.
@Mark Boyce posted:Good catch, Steve! I see those CN red-white-black diesels here in Butler, Pennsylvania now that they took over the former Bessemer & Lake Erie. I don't know modern diesels, but I know they are newer and more powerful than the B&LE ever ran.
Same on knowing the newer engines. They do use helper engines in the middle or end of the train a lot too. Which is cool to see.
It doesn't get much better than an early morning rise with a fresh cup of coffee and the sunrise on the French's Hollow trestle in Guilderland, NY not far from the popular Voorheesville train watching platform. When standing on the walking bridge the swallows darting around the falls will keep you busy while waiting for the next CSX freight to venture through.
I'll be traveling tomorrow, so here are mine for this week -
Dobbs Ferry, NY -
La Fox, IL -
Ashland, VA -
Blue Island, IL -
Excellent photographs as always, Chris! That first one on the Hudson River raises a question. I’ve seen lots of train photographs along the Hudson. They all seem to have a rocky shore. Does the river ever flood to the level of the tracks? That sure can happen here in Western Pennsylvania.
Beautiful Christopher. You sure do travel a lot, thanks for sharing your journeys through rail fanning.
@Mark Boyce posted:Excellent photographs as always, Chris! That first one on the Hudson River raises a question. I’ve seen lots of train photographs along the Hudson. They all seem to have a rocky shore. Does the river ever flood to the level of the tracks? That sure can happen here in Western Pennsylvania.
Mark,
I did take notice of how close the river sits to the tracks. There are a couple of platforms on the NY bound side which sit right on the shore of the river. You can see here from a photo on Metro North's website that flooding is definitely a problem
@coach joe posted:Beautiful Christopher. You sure do travel a lot, thanks for sharing your journeys through rail fanning.
Thank you! I always try to find some railfan spots when I travel. It's nice to see trains in different parts of the country 
@Christopher2035 posted:Mark,
I did take notice of how close the river sits to the tracks. There are a couple of platforms on the NY bound side which sit right on the shore of the river. You can see here from a photo on Metro North's website that flooding is definitely a problem
Thank you!!
Took a bike ride on a recently finished 4-5 mile stretch of the SNETT (rail trail) between Bellingham and Franklin MA. This trail is on the New Haven's "Midland" route which was pulled up west of Franklin MA in the late 60s. Portions of it in Massachusetts have been converted to a nice rail trail with the remaining still being gravel. In Franklin it was nice to see homage being paid to railroading days with a telltale and info sign (that the vandals havent gotten to yet...)
Rochelle
Rochelle
Rochelle
IRM! 8-)
Train and Traction ON!
For this week's video, here's a somewhat-rare operation. Galvtech is a division of Steel Dynamics, with a rolling mill located in the Streets Run valley just west of Homestead, PA. They lease a switcher from LTEX (in late 2022, this SW-8, as of now, a SW1500) to switch cars brought in by CSX and the Allegheny Valley Railroad. The narrow valley creates some interesting track geometry, including this tail track that juts into the facility's parking lot. I stumbled upon this former Stelco of Canada, nee-Southern Pacific unit after watching AVR deliver some coil cars using the tracks at right (in an earlier, linked video).
Last week, I was in Fort Worth and Abilene on a work trip, and had a few hours before my flight home. I took advantage of the recent expansion of TexRail to the airport, and rode one of their Stadler FLIRT DMUs to Fort Worth Central Station, where I railfanned the Trinity Railway Express trains before catching a train back to the airport. I read online that this is a former Rock Island main line bought by the state a while back, and now used solely for Amtrak and the commuter trains.
Took this picture this morning on my way to work. Light wasn’t at a good angle, but it was starting up, so may be gone by this afternoon. It’s at the Richmond ACCA yard and they’re setting up event tents and carnival rides also. My guess is an employee appreciation event. 
@jstraw124, ah yes ACCA yard. I remember it from when I worked in Richmond and then Fredericksburg in 1976-78 and ‘85-93. I’m glad it’s still an important part of the system!
It was still parked when I left work and grabbed some better pics. It’s been idling all day, wonder if it’s for the AC in the car on a really hot day. Also saw the train simulator for the upcoming festivities.
This week, I have a grab-bag of some CSX coal trains around the Williamsburg, VA, area, and a flashback I probably posted before, but a little over a year ago, I took one of my favorite photos to-date, of a Maryland & Delaware freight northbound from Roberts to the junction at Massey.
Here are mine for the last 2 weeks -
Romney, WV -
Altoona, PA -
Queens, NY - Howard Beach/JFK -
Tyrone, PA - 
New York, NY - 14 Street/Union Square -
Strasburg, PA -
Gordonville, PA -
Gallitzin, PA -
Perth Amboy, NJ -
Strasburg, PA -
Brooklyn, NY - 50th Street -
Deshler, OH -
My family vacationed in the Finger Lakes region of New York this year, specifically the area around Seneca Lake. I used a few mornings to follow around trains operated by the Finger Lakes Railway, which operates a cluster of former Lehigh Valley, New York Central, and Pennsylvania Railroad lines centered on Geneva, NY.
I started my week chasing local train HW-2, which runs from the hamlet of Himrod (a PRR/NYC junction) to Watkins Glen on the former PRR Elmira Secondary. At Glenora, the train crawls over a large waterfall located on private property. This is, admittedly, not my best work, largely because I relied on autofocus when I probably should have used manual for a composition this cluttered.
Leading the train was B23-7 2304, a former Southern Railway 4016 which had its high hood chopped sometime before or during its stint on the Great Miami Railroad in Ohio. Here, the locomotive is shoving back as it works US Salt (obscured by the tree at right). I'm standing on a set of stairs that descend from Salt Point Rd. to the Tiki Bar on Seneca Lake.
Later in the week, I had planned to chase train HG-2 from Himrod to Geneva and return, but wasn't adequately prepared. Once I got to Geneva, I found that the last unit wearing its Conrail blue (and original number) was leading the GC-2 from Geneva to Canandaigua. I chased the train northwest for a bit, until I had other obligations. Here, the unit is on a portion of the former NYC Corning Secondary, picking up its train for the run north. The device on the front is a controller for a belt pack allowing the single crew member to operate the locomotive remotely while uncoupling cars.
I’d call this one heavily weathered.
@pittsburghrailfan: Dan, cut yourself some slack! This is an outstanding photo, and perhaps you may have been able to improve it, but I don't know how. Sometimes we can be our own worst critic. But in this case, IMHO, improving on perfection is not an option. Lots of times, great photos boil down to a discerning eye and most of all being there! Don Francis
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