bubbajustinWell, good there not going into ore scervice. But explain to me what a T-bird is. Is it a high priority intermodal for CN?
Sorry, but that was just really funny...
A T-bird is an ore train on the DM&IR... Not high priority intermodel at all!
T-Bird is derived because they are crude ore trains that run between the Thunderbird Mine and a taconite facility a few miles away. Essentially they are a conveyor belt from the mine to the plant.
Actually, those EJE SD38s would do pretty well in ore service I would think. I still won't be surprised if they end up there eventually, though like Robby says word on the wires is that it won't happen right away anyway.
I actually have some pictures to share again. Apparently yesterday was my lucky day. We headed to Stoughton, Wisconsin for my cousin's grad party. As we were headed along the beltline on the south side of Madison towards Stoughton, and as we rolled over the Wisconsin and Southern railroad tracks and I looked to the south as I've often done without seeing much of anything. Normally the trains in each direction on this line between Madison and Janesville, WI run in the early morning or late at night. However, this time much to my surprise I saw a moving train! It appeared two of the WSOR's fairly new MP15s had a decent size MAJ (Madison-Janesville) type train in tow, and they were moving. It looked like a stop in McFarland, between Madison and Stoughton, was in order!
Yess! More photos from Noah!
I really love that head-on shot of the oncoming MP15s... Really allows you to see the exhaust and heat coming from the locomotives!
Noah, you never cease to amaze me with your photos! Great shots! Last year I had to go down to my Cousins’ Graduation in Slinger, and that is when I chased that WSOR train from Horicon-Slinger. That was pure luck too. It was a great chase that I’d love to do again!
Alright, Friday June 19th is when I go on my Iowa/ICE trip. Here's the plan;
Day One:
I hope I don't shock anyone by this, but I'll be leaving Wausau around 2am Friday. Yea I'm crazy aren't I? Well that puts me in LaCresent around 5-6 in the morning. My Dad figured it would save us some money instead of staying the night at a Hotel at LaCresent. Well you might be thinking, “Why do you want to get there so early anyway?” Well the MSPKC gets a call in Saint Paul around 12am-4am, so I figured I wanted to be in LaCresent Early. Well, hopefully we'll pick up the MSPKC at LaCresent in some nice light (I’ll keep my fingers crossed) and chase them south into Marquette IA. This is where they get a fresh crew, which I've been told arrives around noon. If I can I'll chase another train south of Marquette to Savanna I will. I would chase the MSPKC, but I've been told that they leave Marquette pretty late. Once we get to Savanna, we'll check into our hotel and call it a day! A possibly 18 hour day at the most!
Day Two:
Day two we'll wake up early, and head to the Savanna yard in hopes that an East Bound Local will run that day in the Morning. We'll chase that all the way to Davis Junction. After DJ, I'll probably head down to Rochelle and see if I can meet up with Robby. I'd like to leave Rochelle around 3pm, which gets me home around 6.
There are ALOT of variables in this trip, this trip by far is one of those that may go well, or may crash. There is a lot riding on train times, and if trains don't come when they are expected to come, things might not go so well. Noah, you should give me some of your luck! Oh and, I forgot to ask this from the guy I talked to, but do you have any idea when that East Bound Local leaves Rochelle? Or even a guess? Any other information would be helpful too!
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Boy I was sure wrong. I was about 500,000 mi. off! Thanks for explaning what a T-bird is. Exelent shots Noah as always!
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Noah, does 487 usually run right after Amtrak 7 through the Dells? I know 486 runs rather early in the morning and would require waking up quite early I'm hoping to catch at least one IC&E powered train this trip and also am hoping it is a little bit busier than my last trip there. I certainly can't get much slower than last trip! I'll probably go for the Empire Builder at least one time from both directions and hope there are freights following them.
Thanks guys.
Sounds like a decent plan to me Jordan, assuming the trains follow the typical patterns. To be honest I haven't been keeping close track on the ICE schedules down the River, though I do know that at least a week ago the local is still running out of Savanna to DJ on Saturday mornings (I've been meaning to get down there and catch it too). Hopefully you'll find a MSPKC (now train 170 I think) to chase. Be forewarned that "chasing" will be harder to do between Marquette and Savanna than between Marquette and La Crescent (the road doesn't follow right along the tracks south of Marquette), but I think I mentioned that before.
I'll admit I'm confused on your question. I don't know much about locals around Rochelle if that is what you meant, as I've never really kept track. But if you mean the eastbound ICE local that becomes a westbound at DJ, I think he leaves somewhere between 7-8am out of Savanna and depending on the amount of work and traffic he has to meet he leaves between noon and 2pm to head back west.
And 2am is nothing. A real railfan never sleeps, and just drives all night between locations!
Robby, last I knew 486 was still running through in the morning and 487 was late afternoon, often just ahead of or behind Amtrak, at least into Portage. However, that's variable like anything. The other day I caught 486 into Portage about 1400, and I didn't see a 487 by 1900. It seems like 487 is often running quite a ways behind Amtrak, to the point where he doesn't make it to the Dells area in shootable light. But, other days he comes through mid afternoon. The point of this whole paragraph is it's really all left up to chance and the train conditions on a particular day, and you are right on the general guidelines.
CP traffic as a whole is generally is about the same. Some days can be moderately busy, other days you can go the whole morning with only a train or two...
Good luck to both of you!
Noah
Opps, looks like I didn't proof read my post very well. What I ment to say was if you knew what time the local from Savanna leaves. I also screwed up on the dates too, I'll be going Saturday and Sunday the 20th and 21st. I'll assume that the local from Savanna to DJ doesn't work on Sunday. I have been told that it isn't a 7 day a week job, and I know that it's going to be very hard chasing after Marquette, but the spot I really want to hit is Bellevue IA.
Bellevue is a nice spot all right. I still never have gotten the shot from up on the bluff, but now that I'll be at UW-Platteville next fall I'm hoping I'll actually get the chance.
My understanding is that you are correct; the DJ local doesn't work on Sundays.
Looks like my summer trip plans are starting to fall in place as well. I'm heading to da U.P of Michigan, (eh?), on the 28-30 of this month, hopefully to find some GEs on the LS&I. Then at the end of July I'm going to make a Twin Cities/southern Minnesota tour and hopefully shoot a few shortlines and regionals. There are also plans in the works for a trip to Cajon Pass and Tehachapi Loop next spring too, though dates aren't final yet...
This morning, I caught a PL42AC (didn't know the number because it was hiding underneath the bridge) and 3 Comet Vs (at least one M-N CV) WB at Lake Hopatcong... What else is new?
I'm also starting to plan out my summer. A few things I'm thinking of are a System-Wide Ride on NJT, possibly an ACES ride, a few Bay Head and Point Pleasant Beach RFing trips, and maybe a few rides between home (up north) and the shore. Really, only the last two are probably going to happen. The first two, I'll just keep dreaming...
Once school gets out (tomorrow) and I go down the shore (sometime next week), I'll be able do actually do some railfanning. And even more in just over a year, when I start driving
Also, I'm talking to my parents on going out to Strasburg sometime in the fall. Just a weekend trip (it's about a 3 hour drive from here). Haven't been out there (or seen operating steam power) in years...
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Everyone is planning out their summer!
My family might be going on vacation in New Hampshire in late July, with a visit to Boston, so hopefully I'll get a few hours of railfanning in somewhere (it isn't too popular with my sisters, they get bored really quick). So hopefully I can ship them off to a few museums for the day, then me and my dad can grab a few shots here and there. We'll spend a day at Mount Washington for sure.
I'd really like to go to Owosso, MI but with those dates fast approaching, I doubt that will be happening.What else... I want to do a railfanning trip out West, Alberta, British Columbia etc, but I won't be doing that until I can drive alone. So that won't be for another few years.
Things look more promising next summer, with the trip to Steamtown!
Alex
Railfan Alex but I won't be doing that until I can drive alone. So that won't be for another few years. Things look more promising next summer, with the trip to Steamtown!
but I won't be doing that until I can drive alone. So that won't be for another few years.
Same. I get my permit a year from tomorrow, but I won't be able to drag someone with me every time I go railfanning... But the year after that, I get my license, so I'll be able to drive on my own.Steamtown is great. I was there in December, but we kinda rushed through there. I still have those pictures to upload... I want go go back since it's less than 2 hours away...
Alright...well now we might move the trip to a Sunday-Monday trip instead of a Saturday-Sunday trip so we can get that local east from Savanna. I'll guess that the MSPKC is a 7 day a week job, and will run on Sunday. Does the local from Savanna run on Monday?
Also, I have the money now to buy a DSLR camera! I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations.
ns3010 Same. I get my permit a year from tomorrow, but I won't be able to drag someone with me every time I go railfanning... But the year after that, I get my license, so I'll be able to drive on my own.
Same. I get my permit a year from tomorrow, but I won't be able to drag someone with me every time I go railfanning... But the year after that, I get my license, so I'll be able to drive on my own.
Well I'll be able to drive in a month from tomorrow, but I won't able to drive on my own for another 8 months. Not that bad I guess, but it still feels like a long time!
Railfan Alex ns3010 Same. I get my permit a year from tomorrow, but I won't be able to drag someone with me every time I go railfanning... But the year after that, I get my license, so I'll be able to drive on my own. Well I'll be able to drive in a month from tomorrow, but I won't able to drive on my own for another 8 months. Not that bad I guess, but it still feels like a long time!
Nice. Here in Jersey, it's permit at 16 (you need someone that has a license w/ you, and you can only have one non-family member in the car, and you can't drive past midnight) and license at 17(again, no driving past midnight), and all restrictions end at 18. I just hope they don't pass Kyleigh's Law (pushes everything back one year, and if you're a minor, you have to put a sticker on your car)...