If April Showers bring May flowers then we are getting a bath here in NE Ohio and should be expecting and a abundance of flowers this year no excuses, with all this rain somethings gotta grow.
Monday Began a bright sunny day due to me trying to lurk around my usual spot I almost missed the rock train but caught it anyhow (talk about favor) and shot this Dramatic shot of the W&LE#4003 that was to lead the stone train that day.
4003 on the connection track after shoving up the hill
After grabbing him I scooted off to work for the day. Tuesday brought me hearing them moving light power to go up to the interchange to the CSX to go pick up the empties with Jeremy at the throttle. Here is Jeremy and one of the main reasons I love this hobby `~ Cool guys like him.
Jeremy looking cool
After the conductor tossed the switch they moved up the interchange I knew Fred would catch him at the office me I decided to do the Deja~vu and catch him in my spot I caught Chuck (Jeremy's teacher) almost a year earlier.
Almost the same shot, Almost a year later
Well like Chuck, Jeremy and his conductor headed off to do the work I did the same that afternoon was slow do to a tamper and regulator working on washouts and mud-pumps ( areas of track water sits under the ties) the only one I netted was Q226 running reverse main to get around our work crew mixing cement a few miles east for a washout. I was able to get in my words one of the best cloudy day shots ever of the Q226
Q226 rolling East
After that I went home and stayed in till Thursday Morning I was at the office when I heard the Wheeling coming in with the rock train for our local ABC crew After shooting it I headed to work once they tied onto the other end but with the Sun Shining it seemed God had been smiling on me and this next pic just does not do that morning any justice but never the less here it is
The conductor get the switch under a beautiful Sky
Friday came and I was at my usual spot when I heard the dispatcher talking to none other than my Buddy Chuck telling him he has a narrow window to move his train or he is sitting for a couple of hours, Chuck took to the track and said we're on the move oddly enough that is when Q359 decided to crop around the corner well hoping I wouldn't get snagged by this West-bounder. Thankfully I did not due to the engineer getting on the move once he got to the speed sign a few hundred feet from me. Just as his tail end cruised past me I heard Chuck call out Z641 clear Firestone I knew then I would catch him as he came by he gave a shave and a haircut on the air horn as he passed by on the opposite track on his way to be reversed to get to the connection. Here is Z641.......
Z641 with 10 Cars in Tow
As this wrapped up my week of train chasing but it did not end there I learned where the term shave and a haircut came from was a little song apparently barbers used to sing. As I wrap up this week I hope you enjoyed and remember God is still on the throne and is still in control and here is something new I am leaving you with a Video of the Z641 with the Horn action
With summer being in full swing and a lot of us in travel mode we often times can ignore the dangers of summer weather. While perfect sun and lots of trains make for a railfans delight they also can set the stage for a perfect storm of trouble in more than one way or another. With hot weather one of the first things I want to talk about is thunderstorms, they can sneak up on the unsuspecting railfan and can bring about some nasty surprises such as hail, flash flooding, and even tornadoes Here is a couple of screenshots from my computer of what is considered a Bow Echo type of thunderstorm. A pretty nasty storm If you noticed the storm had not reached me yet, but the dark clouds were ominous and within a few minutes I would be surrounded by high winds and rain. Not only high winds and rain but lightning and thunder as well. Another type of thundershower As you can see from the above this thunderstorm brought lot of rain around 2am that morning. Now you maybe...
It was the last Saturday in July of 2013 I remember the day vividly. The weather and the trains was less than desirable, for most of the day it was a cloudy, drizzly mess. The CSX was slow except for a eastbound coal drag and me and my buddy Dave was waiting out if the ABC crew was going to move the Buckeye Lady ( a Wheeling Executive car of some kind) back to the Wheeling. Well as it would Have it we hear the Z641 call out to the CSX IO dispatcher and ask for permission to the W&LE connection off the CSX at MP128.9 After getting permission the crew began to make the move (unknown to us at the time) with the Buckeye Lady in Tow. Our Eastbound Coal Drag Now before I continue about our special move I would like to give you a little background into the Z641. This is a usual local move made by the Akron Barberton Cluster Ry or (ABC Crew) from their yard in Barberton over the CSX to the Wheeling and Lake Erie (W&LE) connection and up the W&L...
Here in Akron we have a local stone train operated by the Akron Barberton Cluster Rwy, it use three W&LE SD40-2's for power in this blog post we will follow a typical day in the life of the crew that operates this train. The stone train moving the empty's back For the most part if you are not a morning crooner, chances are you will miss this train. For me the morning starts out with my alarm going off at 3:00 am I get up get my coffee going, Pray, turn on the scanner feeds and see what is going on. Between 3:30 and 5:30 usually is when the train is brought in on the Akron sub by the wheeling crew and tied down in the siding. 5:30am Wheeling crew putting the train away For the most part I have seen every oddball combo of power on the point so this can be a daily crap shoot for railfans. After the Wheeling crew ties down the train it is a little while then our ABC crew arrives. Then the fun begins the crew usually does their inspection of the train and doing th...
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