Rails, Rain, and Radio


The best thing one can do when it's raining is let it rain 
~H.W. Longfellow 

This past Friday I was able to finally get a day off from work and while the weather was not the most opportunistic for trains or amateur radio it was a great day to be trackside. I packed a few sandwiches and drinks and headed off to meet my buddy under the bridge in his car ( our default rain location) while I was there only a few minutes I heard the Q216 call Firestone signal knowing he would be there in a few minutes.

Q-216 with a SD40-3 leader passes by a piece of construction equipment 
After the Q216 I set and shot the bull with Dave and within about a half hour we hear the Q015 as it cleared a few signals away. What I would see next would not leave me disappointed.
Q016 with a lone Horse? 
What appeared around the corner was what seemed to be a lone horse leading a long line of double stack containers. Was this real? had CSX lost their minds?,  no absolute way should this be working. In the End (literally speaking) would show how this was made possible. As the tail end of Q015's train come around the corner there was another locomotive attached pushing the train from the opposite end much like a helper. Now to say I was surprised by it would be lying for months now CSX has been experimenting ( I use this term lightly) with DPU power. But before we get to the purpose as it was explained to me here is a picture of the DPU locomotive.

The DPU 3002
So to my understanding of how DPUs are being used is that they are supposed to even out the power in the train so the locomotive does not work as hard and is supposed to use less fuel. (tongue in cheek) on that statement. The second purpose makes a little bit more sense but only a little. During the cold months air does not go as far and with the longer trains a second unit added in the middle or on the end could help keep air on the train and make it be on time more ( this is only in climates where the weather is not always 75 and sunny) As the DPU passed my location I was getting ready to tune up for our weekly 2 meter Rail net. I decided to operate this net trackside mobile for a little while just for effect. As I was getting the radio ready I hear the garbage zephyr local the D751. Call a few signals out.

The D751 the last train of the day 
Now as the D751 passed the rain began to let up and we drove up to our normal spot and began the net. Now most of the time I try and prepare for trains during our net and this night I caught a break with no more trains on the radar. Sadly I had only a handful more of check-ins than I did of trains but after I closed the net I decided to go home somewhat pleased with the night I had. If you are ever in the Akron area on Friday night around 7pm and are a licensed ham feel free to check in on the net the Frequency is 147.270 and a PL tone of 110.9. You might hear me operating trackside mobile. I hope you enjoyed me sharing my evenings events with you and remember God is still in control and until next time take care 73'



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radio Call

Image
The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. ~Thomas Paine ~         After a long and much needed sabbatical I am back, to say I was at my wits end when I posted my last post before Christmas would be an understatement. I walked away from almost every aspect of railroad photography and photography in general. To say I was fed up with the hobby in general,  plus having people back in my  life who did not approve of my hobby and set out to make my life a living hell and it would eventually affect my health. I decided to just stick to watching trains in the morning and a few trips while I pursued my new hobby of amateur radio obtaining the highest class license available. Now it is rare that I would ever find what would happen next, but I wound up finding my way back to the tracks. One of my few after work catches Now last summer I joined a local ham radio club but I mostly kept quiet about about my passion for  tr
Read more

The Life Of a Urban Railfan

Image
My name is Elmer and I am a freelance railroad photographer. Most of my work involves trains, however as a railfan in an urban environment. I  write about my days and some of the different things I do here in my blog. As a photographer I try to include the environment in which the train  operates. Being in a urban setting provides plenty of opportunities as well as challenges. Opportunities like being able to Photograph various backgrounds including the sky and city scape along with the trains. Some of the challenges I face are having to shoot from odd angles, bridges, publicly accessible parking decks and various odd places that not only are difficult to get to in a urban environment but also present some limitations to my equipment  things such as fences, trees, and other structures.  Early Morning Coke Train For the most part I have learned to stay in my lane meaning stick with the one thing I have known about, and that is trains I have done photo shoots for parties and
Read more

Running from the night

Image
          This week began on this past Saturday, trains  have been thin this week but I had the chance to get some great photo opportunities. One of the best pictures I feel in my opinion never even had a train in it. On a way to a friends house I cross the same set of tracks they bring the stone train in on. (for more on the rock train read A blues brothers morning ) while on the way I began to notice how the sunset was taking shape and when I arrived at the crossing the sky was perfect.  The Sunset Saturday I stopped and got my camera out, using my large 55-250mm lens in manual mode I was able within a few minutes capture the shot. Mind you I was pressed for time but made it on time to my destination with a few minutes to spare. As Saturday evening came to a close I reflected on the just what I had taken a picture of.  Sunday afternoon had it's own challenges after church while I was out scoping shot opportunities on the same track in a oddly 53 deg rainy afternoon. I cro
Read more