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[WCfan]

Ah yes, the Tiger Stripe. I'm kinda fond of that scheme. Even though it looks odd. Have you guys ever heard of the White Tiger Stripe schemem that BN had? It was orange and white stripes, not the Black and orange. I've seen one picture of this scheme. But it was in the back ground.

[Noah Hofrichter]

I would think if it's not in too bad of condition that IRM might still try to get it operating (is that the LSRM's plan too Max?). Otherwise it still wouldn't look terrible being used like their DD40, simply for the cab and being pushed by another deisel. I'd rather see it operating though...

Noah

[EJE818]

I have an update on the Homewood deadline situation. I have been by there recently and 7525 was not in its usual spot, and I didn't see it at all. I'm not sure if that means it is now at IRM, or if CN just moved it to another spot. There are several new engines in the deadline, including DM&IR 209, DM&IR 4018, WC 7514, WC 3006 (I don't know why), a repainted WC SW1500s, another WC SD45, and a couple IC SW14s. They have been in a deadline for a bit but they are now sitting in the infamous spot on the south side of the shops where numerous WC SD45s and BC Rail GEs have been scrapped in the past. I at least hope CN doesn't take the numberboards off 7525. I think engines look terrible without numberboards, DM&IR 209 looks terrible without numberboards, and I remember that was the first DM&IR engine I ever saw in Homewood operating back in 2005. At least the 214 (formerly EJ&E SD38 655), my favorite DM&IR engine despite the fact I have never seen it, is still in service. Maybe IRM should try getting the 214 when its time for retirement comes, of course I am getting ahead of myself now, but you never know. I have a feeling some day we will be seeing 7525 operating even if CN stripes it. They just got Minnesota Transfer 200, which had been sitting unused for over 20 years operating over this summer.

[WCfan]

Hummm, I don't know why WC 3006 is in there eather. I think she was in storage a little while ago because of fire dammage. I'm really not sure. Also, do you remeber the number of the SW1500?

I also hope they do keep the number boards on her too. I agree, locos with out number boards don't look the greatest.

[B.Erdmann]

i think the SW1500 could of been 1565 which is up in fond du lac right now. it had a toasty night in stevens point & it had to get repaired. & likley cn put it in its own scheme.  as of 3006 idk whats up w/ that one. 6006 left markham las night but no update where. well i dont have any new pics but il share some ones i never posted before ill start off w/ my first rf trip i ever took. in stevens point.  on december 3rd 2006

well first see 2500 commin back from the Mill bad shot. i was talkin to the conductor at the time i shot this. & i took a farther back shot.

well go to the engine line see SD45 7515 & IC 6264  their were some GTW grey ghost but i was only intrested in wc's at the time.

well i saw a CN gtw repaint w/ a slug i have a later pic of it.

go to the other side & find another SD45 7501

took pics of the wc sand tower & i went on county materials property for this one oops, well good thing they wernt workin.

Next trip was when i accidently found the fond du lac yard on new years day

stopped by the "Old Caboose"

Saw GP38-2 2003 workin.

then  i see  CN GP9RM &  A WC SW1500 combo first SW1500 i ever seen.

 now on Jan 7th i go back to point

first See WC 6005  their were some IC's here too

heres that gtw repaint

 then 3002 is here as well

next trip is another point & im glad i went, it was a day off of school kinda slow the gtw repaint was their & so was a UP building america unit

first i see WC 7531 SD45

then IC 6001 on A407 up to wausau.

 

this is gonna be it for now i got more commin up

[Lord Atmo]

aw what the hey. it's time i posted pics of my fanning adventures too! sure beats whining! that and i remember noah saying he looked forward to hearing about my adventures when i announced i was gonna lighten up. so here we go!

yesterday was, but, a normal day. i went to altoona in the morning to see if i could catch anything. and i caught this interesting, albeit painful consist:

yes those units are both ex-CNW. UP 2749 was once CNW 904. the flared radiators survived the rebuild i guess. some of the other SD45s werent so fortunate. but moving on.

so i was in class at my college right by the mainline. and i heard what sounded like an S-3L. i went to look at the crossing and found the roadrailer moving through. i knew something unique was leading and gave chase! i made it to elk mound ahead of the roadrailer and quickly set up for the shot. i was right. something unique WAS leading:

*sniifffffff* i smell blue! i cant tell you the last time i saw connie up here. in fact this may be the first ever for all i know! aside from the days of the GP40s on CNW that hailed from CR! but this was a very awesome sight to behold! i was literally yelping with excitement!

and a lovely catfish in tow (no sarcasm here. i LOVE NS!)

that was it for that day. then came today when yet another interesting train was in Altoona. the front was pretty meh:

 

 

but here's where it all mattered! behold:

 

 the almighty SD40-2Ts! the tunnel motors i usually get here are just SD40T-2s, but THIS was awesome to see! i hope this wont be the last i see of them either!

well that's it for now. lots of pics from my voyage to the mississippi tomorrow though! stay tuned! 

[B.Erdmann]

well as i promised more pics

 

another trip io made to fond du lac on a day off of school. March 16th 2007

 

CN 9402 & CN 4704 on the yard switch

GTW 6420 i took 2 shots of

CN 9576

2 WC grey ghost they had 3 freshly primed SD70M-2's on the back but i didnt tae a shot

& last the 2nd shot of 6420

next trip was into neenah on April 2nd 2007

WC 2500 working here

CN 5747 leads a intermodal through Neenah

next trip another neenah  on April 16th 2007

CN 2622 leads a train through neenah

IC 3140 & WC 3007 working the yard

now i took a trip to green bay on a half day of school now i did see more but the sun was bad so i only had 2 shots at the old norwood yard of WC 3024. this was May 2nd

the engineer was kind enough to talk to me as well.

 now some trains in New London

WC truck on the rails

now CN 9530 comes by i wish i would of shot it the other way.

 a quick stop in neenah on May 21st

IC 6122 comes through i think it was A407

back in new london

didnt have my camera but my cell phone worked

CN 9402 on the train

now i was out in Black River falls WI for a few days. i could of had more shots but i missed a few UP trains i cae across one when i was commin back from 4 wheelin.

the first shot is a bad hsot up UP 3061

2nd shot of SOO 6035

& i think thats it of what i posted cause the next trip was a Fond du lac milwaukee.

 

[EJE818]

Well, I'm back from IRM and I have nothing but good news! 7525 is not at the museum yet but for a good reason. From what I heard at the museum today, it is currently at Woodcrest shops getting a rebuild before it goes to IRM, where it will be put into service upon arrival there. The timeline for it to first operate will be next year if everything goes right, as there isn't enough time this year since the museum is only open through October. I am assuming that there could have been some cash involved for the rebuild that CN is giving it. The engine was stripped right after it was taken out of service and the parts used for other engines, so it sounds like CN is going to replace those parts as it is rebuilt. Also, I did not hear anything about it getting repainted, so it looks like it will be operating in WC paint. I didn't hear anything about CNW 4160 as that is need of some major work. No 7525 today but plenty of other action from IRM's other diesel and electric engines made for a busy day. As they usually do during showcase weekend, they ran some of their more rarely seen electric equipment as diesel days has seemed to turn into the premier day for the most rarely seen diesels is. Hopefully by next year's diesel days 7525 will be operating. By the way, great pics everyone! I'll have my pics from IRM today a bit later.

[coborn35]

Must be nice to have that deep of pockets.

[Lord Atmo]

7525 preserved in WC colors? AWESOME! that makes every last SD45 i can think of preserved! CNW aside (cuz MK removed their uniqueness anyway). now we got WC living on forever!

but yesterday though...oh my lord. there's not been a greater day than yesterday in my fanning life! i started off by pulling into Winona and met with other fans eagerly waiting for the doubleheader. it wasn't due to arrive for a while, so i took a pic of the yard power:

then a CP road freight arrived southbound:

 

i stood on the tracks hoping that the steam was next, but the next train around the bend was not the steam:

 

after that train, we saw smoke in the distance and got excited. and soon a train appeared from around the bend. still not the steam, but rather unique to me anyway:

interesting to see an SD40 and a DME unit. shadow of things to come i guess.

FINALLY i heard a very familiar whistle and before long, 2816 emerged from the corner and steamed onward!

look! there's no genesis behind them! total steam! and what mighty beasts these were!

i then went to the BNSF only to see a southbound intermodal when my camera failed me. bummer. but i still saw a BNSF crash 9.  (er, 2 of them)

ah it's been too long since i had such a great trip! long live the steam! 

 

[Noah Hofrichter]

Was a great day indeed yesterday. I've got lots of pictures, though none of them are edited (yet). One of the things that got to me though that that there were a couple of people leading the pack of railfans pacing the steam train, and they would never pull out of the way to let others by! So basically chasing was almost impossible thanks to a couple of idiots...

I also screwed up the best shot of the day, but I won't bother to go into details. Still got a lot of nice pictures, but that one was the money shot. Let's just say I'm not happy....

Noah

[EJE818]

Yep, it sure sounds as if 7525 will be in WC paint when it gets to the museum. Good to hear yesterday went well for the doubleheader. Great shots! The idiots pacing it reminds me of the crazy behavior for the Chinese QJ/261 tripleheader last year. I didn't go on that day, but I heard that the behavior was crazy. I guess that what you have to expect during any steam excursion. When I was on the train I really didn't see anyone pacing the train but I did see people pulled over right in the MIDDLE of busy streets getting photos and videos. The funny thing about that is people who weren't railfans driving along pulled out their cell phones and were taking pics on their cell phones! Pics from IRM coming later today.

[trainboyH16-44]

That's the nice thing about how it used to be here. 2816 made so many unadvertised trips, and you could catch her without a soul around! Damn you, Fred Green....damn you....

[EJE818]

As promised, here are photos from IRM yesterday.

Usually the South Shore little joe is coupled to a bunch of engines, but since a lot of engines were out operating, the 803 was open for shots.

Wisconsin Electric steeplecab L4, one of the more rarely run engines that was running during showcase weekend, get prepared for its runs.

It may be showcase weekend, but IRM is always working on something no matter what weekend it is. Here the MTA cars are being worked on.

Another rarely run eletric engine, Illinois Terminal boxcab 1565, gets prepared to head out to the mainline.

One of the most well-known eletric cars to IRM workers, Indiana Railroad 65, gets prepared to run as well. This car is significant to the museum as it was the first piece of equipment to be restored to operating condition a long time ago by the museum.

SP 1518 takes 6 cabooses and a photo freight down the mainline. The 6 cabooses were open for people to ride in. It would later drop off the freight cars.

Two of IRM's recent repaints, Joy Whitcomb 2 and BN U30C 5383, as well as the SP 1518, meet near the locomotive shops.

[EJE818]

Couple more from IRM.

Relocating to a grade crossing just east of the museum, the pride of the IRM fleet, CB&Q E5 9911-A, passes by with the 4 car trainset used in the movie Flags of Our Fathers. These 4 cars are substituting for the Nebraska Zephyr trainset which is still under repair in Wisconsin.

CTA car 41 highballs down the mainline heading for the end of the line a few miles ahead.

Back at the museum, CNW 411 waits for its runs later in the day in Yard 5.

UP DDA-40X sits near Barn 9 with a colorful line of engines, the rarest of which is the MN&S 21 3rd in line, which is the last Baldwin Centercab in existance. 

Sand Sorings Railway trolley car 68, one of the more rarely ran trolley cars, passes by one of the three operating Wig-wags at IRM.

In all, it was a great day yesterday, with quite a variety of diesel and electric engines operating, which really accomplished the museum's mission of Showcasing their equipment on Showcase weekend. Probably the best show they have had at Showcase Weekend the last few years. I'm looking forward for next year's Showcase weekend, as well as Diesel Days, which I still feel is the best weekend all season at IRM, especially with the annual parade of diesels each day during the weekend. I'm hoping 7525 will be able to participate in the parade next year, but we will see! I'll probably be there once again for Diesel Days and Showcase weekend, probably on the Saturday date of each event. I'm planning on hopefully going to see some EJ&E trains this week. Haven't seen many of those recently and with all the CN take over rumors, it makes me realize I should go see the EJ&E more than I have and take advantage of it being a couple minutes away (I still don't think CN is going to get it this go around, but it or UP is a possibility in the long term), as nothing lasts forever and you never know how long it is going to last.