Nice photos Robby! Maybe I'm getting stuff mixed up, but is IR 3500 CAT powered? It looks like it might have been one of the old Peoria and Pekin Union Railway's GP35CAT's, or maybe I'm just getting things totally mixed up!
Alex
I don't think 3500 is CAT powered, I think it's a real GP45. It sure didn't sound CAT powered! I think the P&PU units are still laid up somewhere in Illinois. The new owners of the P&PU, now called the Tazwell & Peoria didn't want them for some reason.
I also got N21 with a full EJ&E consist today.
Nice pictures guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYubpuIe3cw
Wow...all I can say is wow...
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
Jordan, that video is pretty amazing... And when the tank car hit the engine and dumped cars into the river near the end of the video - wow!
TrainManTy Jordan, that video is pretty amazing... And when the tank car hit the engine and dumped cars into the river near the end of the video - wow!
When that tank car came, wow, that came out of no where...
That was pretty crazy!I found some photos of that accident, not the greatest but...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qnuts86/sets/72157604518596751/show/with/2755602294/
Heres my report from yesterday. decided it was time to put a full morning in. kinda slow to start out i head to my spot in weyauwega until these guys showed up,
i figured i didnt come here to watch them so i made the move, well first i checked the NB lights on the rd before mine sure enough NB is comming up the "hill"
well then i decided to head west a bit then them guys ask for track & time well rtc says well i got a north bound at Wolf ( S of Oshkosh), 416 getting ready to leave point & 198 at Auburndale. so call me after 2 southbounds & a north, well i headed that way anyway, that NB met the 416 at Nelsons & i was just south of there to get the 416
at first i thought this made my day, wrong wait for the next NB
that NB that was meeting them at weyauwega, so i head to the bridge, i figured they were gonna meet 198, nope but i wanna bring some 5 gallon buckets next time
well heres 119 what made my day.
well i decide to head back down, i stop in waupaca as i wanted to try this one rd i found while driving home from work one day but i decided ill wait another day so as i get into wega i didnt realize 198 was behind me so i rushed on down to river rd, where i had that good shot from this winter. them K5LLA's sure do echo good.
another good unit
well i heard on the scanner them guys ask for time, rtc " well i got another SB & another NB yet to get by call me after that.
i head back there to get the 346, i wanted to get a better angle but i figured them guys would yell at me if i did my usual angle
they are meeting the NB 301 at anton so i go back to the dead end
& then the 301 comes, this made my day better
this tree is going next time im comming
then them guys get there time 6 hours later & all they needed was a hour so i head home.
That is a scary video indeed! I can't quite imagine what it would be like to have been the crew on that train.
Interesting to know where the WC 3004 ended up; it was part of a power set that made a trip to Sault St. Marie and back on Sun/Mon, including leading on the way south. Not sure what train(s) it was on, but we caught it both days on our way to and from the U.P.
Speaking of the U.P. we had a pretty good two day trip. The weather wasn't the best, but the LS&I was running a number of trains each day, included two sets of GEs and one mixed set with one of the new EMDs and a GE. Much better than I thought we might do! Purely by luck we also caught a working Baldwin out and running on the E&LS, a pretty rare to find in 2009!
I haven't got around to processing all my pictures yet, so it'll be a few days before I get a full trip report together. But right now I'm planning a trip to ride and shoot the UP OLS train tomorrow...
Noah
Can't wait for the photos Noah! I have been meaning to get up there...but things haven't worked out yet! Also, are you going to catch SP 4449 going down the BNSF on the 18th? I'm trying to find some shots without and rail fans (Or very little). I think I found a shot out in the middle of the marsh. There is this access road to a building out by the BNSF tracks (not owned by BNSF). It looks like you can get a nicely lit Morning shot there. I'd like to just go down that way a day in advance to see what shots would work...
The LS&I was really busy the latter end of this week; they had three boats schedules in two days there on Wednesday/Thursday! Of course, other days they've had no boats in for a week or so. Seems to be the luck of the draw.
Well, recent developments make it sound like the 4449 might take the usual CP routing after all. A friend who received their trip itinerary with their tickets said the itinerary has a stop in Milwaukee scheduled, which implies a CP routing.
If it does end up going down the BNSF though, you should be able to find a shot somewhere along the River without fans in the way. There are many places where the railroad runs too far from the road for railfans to wander in next to the track. I'm not really sure if I know the specific shot you mean, as there are several locations like that. What town is it near?
I'm looking at doing one of several shots between Stoddard and Genoa that you can shoot by pulling off to the side of Highway 35, and I'm not too worried about getting railfans in any of them. Hopefully he makes a servicing stop at LaCrosse, as then it would be easier to do a shot north of town and still get ahead of him. Otherwise chasing on Highway 35 is going to be darn near impossible with all the people that will want to pace the train the whole way from LaCrosse to Prairie Du Chien...
If it does take the CP, then we have a whole chase sequence planned, as with a four lane interstate it might be easier to keep up. I guess we shall see what routing they really take.
If it does take the CP I most likely will not shoot in on the 18th due to Diesel Days. Call me crazy to blow 4449 off, but it's running on the 19th too. Light for photos probably won't be very good on the 18th no matter what line 4449 takes since it'll probably arrive at Union Station sometime in the evening. It leaves on the 19th at 8AM which is perfect for photos. It'll take the NS through Hammond, Gary, and Poeter. It'll split onto the Amtrak main at Porter and head for Battle Creek where it will jump on CN. It was originally going to be a all CN routing (which might've put 4449 on the J) but not surprizingly it sounds like CN wants it on their rails as few miles as possible.
I really hope it takes the BNSF as another problem is the CP line it is taking is very far from here, maybe two and a half to three hours away, while the BNSF is less than a half hour away, quite a difference. 261's site still says it'll be taking the BNSF. If they changed the route, I would think they'd change the site. It says No. 4449 will had from Minneapolis to Chicago via BNSF on their site.
I really don't know anymore which way the 4449 will go. Like you said, all public information seems to indicate it'll be down the BNSF, though the map on the Trainfest website has the CP route drawn on it. And, as I mentioned, at least one person who received their tickets says the itinerary includes a stop in Milwaukee on the 18th. I'm no longer sure, but hopefully we'll get some more information in the next two weeks. My gut says it'll really be down the BNSF like they've been advertising, but I wish I knew for sure.
My dad came up with an idea, maybe they'll be going down the BNSF along the river, but at Grand Crossing/Lacrosse they'll switch over to the CP. I don't know how plausible that is, as why wouldn't they just run it down the CP in the first place? I'm not sure at all either...
Only problem with that is that the interchange track is in the wrong quadrant to make that a smooth transition. It's in the northwest corner, so they'd have to run down the BNSF, across the River to LaCrescent, wye the train, and then run back over the CP. It's doable and certainly a possibility, but a lot of extra moves and time.
Rumor has it the 4449 can't get into the north end of Chicago Union Station and would have to go into the south end. This would explain why 261's site says it's running down the BNSF since that would put it into the south end of Union Station. If it were to run down the CP, it would have to take a lengthy detour down the UP and BNSF to get into the south end of Union Station. I have been checking 261's site each day, and there has been no change to the routing so far. A good idea would be the call the Friends of 261 as they are in charge of the trips between Minneapolis and Durand.
Also I heard that the train consist behind 4449 may not be what you see come through the midwest. Sounds like most of the private cars are only going to Minneapolis, and others only to Chicago. The train should have mostly 261's cars, which would actually match the 4449 better than what is on it now.
Also, CNW 6847 is sitting on the west wye at IRM showing green numbers, it may be running!