I had checked the ATCS Monitor before leaving the house and it showed loads of Norfolk Southern westbounds (compass north for NS), but, of course, they had all filed through while I was waiting, hopelessly, at the post office. I waited for quite a while, with no trains, but I did hear a G-series CSX train on the Columbus Subdivision across town. About 20 minutes later, I began hearing a CSX crew calling off signals on the former Conrail Columbus Line. When the train reached the Milepost 125 signal, I managed to make out that the train was headed east (compass north for CSX). I hopped over to Piatt Road in order to broadside the train, which would be lacking nose light if I shot it from Cheshire Road.
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I returned to the Del-Co Water, water tower and began thinking; it was such a nice day (at least for being the day after Christmas in Ohio!), the sun was out, and I really didn’t have anything better to do. With all of this in mind, I decided to head up to Marion. Along the way, I began hearing NS 44V calling off signals. That train was at South Marion when I was just getting off Route-23. I rushed over to park at the Farmers Co-op grain elevator and set-up for a shot with the train next to the grain elevator’s Plymouth switcher. The small locomotive is even equipped with a rope, allowing the operator to activate the uncoupling lever from inside the cab.
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While trudging through the weeds, on my way back to the car, I heard “You look good at the marker grain train” come over the scanner. This indicated that there was yet another train coming, but in the opposite direction. It was waiting for 44V to clear the single track at Troyton. The train soon knocked down the Troyton signal and called it off as 376. With the sun in the completely wrong spot, I had to get creative and managed to compose a decent shot with the grain loader in the foreground.
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After this, I continued up the final stretch to Marion and upon arrival, I realized that I had actually beaten 376 to the station. The train called off an advanced-approach signal aspect at AC because the train would have to wait at the next section of single track for 218 and 18M.
Before those trains would come into town, CSX Q634 would make its appearance with a single SD70Ace leading the long mixed freight.
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At this point, I was not hearing anyone call off signals, so I drove up to the Norfolk Southern yard to photograph the high-hood GP38-2 and former Conrail caboose.
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When I arrived back at the depot, I heard train 218 call off a clear signal at Harvey. Very soon after that he called off OBL, which has always been my indicator to get set-up when there’s a train coming in this direction. The train was long and had a diverse assortment of containers, trailer, and bare-tables: a typical 218.
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After that, I heard 18M calling off signals, but didn’t realize he only had an approach aspect at OBL. I wasn’t paying attention to CSX Q358 calling off signals on the Mt. Victory Subdivision, so that train caught me by surprise when I was standing next to the N&W-styled CPL near Silver Street. I managed to get a shot of it; nicely composed, but definitely not properly lit.
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I was expecting 18M to be the next train to come through, but NS 233 was actually about to make an odd daylight appearance in the area. I’m not sure if this train was that of the previous day or what, but either way, it was a welcomed sight.
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233 met 18M just around the track’s curve to the north. The train had a bright and shiny pair of SD70Ace’s up front, making for a nice treat. The train had a lot of steel coil cars and a large cut of loaded ethanol tank cars, which made up the majority of the train.
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For the next train, my friend Matt Podas let me borrow his 17mm lens. I attempted to get creative, but while experimenting with a different angle, the train rolled through, not allowing me to get the shot I was looking for. The train was CSX Q136. It was made up of all single-stacked containers, which made for a very, very long train.
It was then time for the Mt. Victory Sub to get active. We began hearing trains call off in both directions. Q377 was heading west and Q366 heading east. First up was Q366, which we drove out to Campbell Road to catch.
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Soon after that, we began hearing the horn of Q377 to the east and we knew it was going to be something good. The train called off CP 101 with Union Pacific 9374 leading. The train turned out to have the Dash 8-40CW, an SD9043MAC, a SD70M, and the biggest treat of all…CSX 997: a brand-new GEVO painted in their boxcar logo.
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Q348 was on its way into town, after that. It was going to have to make a set-out at Marion Yard, so Matt and I shot it at the Route-95 crossing just west of the station. The clouds were rolling in and I didn’t get any shots worth posting. The clouds also got me on NS 217, which, just like 233, made an odd daylight appearance.
The Mt. Victory Sub continued to stay active as we returned back at the station sight. CSX K400, a loaded ethanol train, was the next train to head through town.
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Q348 was getting ready to head up towards the “Marion Connection,” which connects the Mt. Victory and Columbus Subdivisions. That train raced Q268 to the Route-309 crossing to the west. The autorack train was going at a high rate of speed as it flew up, alongside Q348 and I managed to photograph both trains with Matt in the foreground, all in one shot.
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The Mt. Victory Sub died down at this time, giving the north and south lines to have a chance to run trains. NS 57K was first up, with an SD70M leading.
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CSX G900 was next up, with an HLCX SD40-2 leading. I tried shooting the train with a pair of strobes, but the second strobe was unable to recharge before the train came, ruining the shot. G900 met Q636 just south of where I was, giving me another chance to get that shot. The train also had an SD40-2 leading and the crew gave us quite a show on the horn as it passed by.
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The train was continuing on through as a loud whoosh of air caught our attention…The train had lost its air. The train was blocking two crossings: Silver Street and the much busier Center Street (where we were). This was the last train I wanted to shoot and, of course, I was trapped on the opposite side of the tracks from the car. Center Street motorists found creative ways to turn around and a sea of car horns soon filled the night air. Being a typical Marion night, there were a lot of wanderers lurking around the tracks and many began to climb over the train. The conductor began walking the train and soon found the disconnected hose somewhat close to the train's head-end. While the train sat there, a pair of Norfolk Southern westbounds went through: 170 and 189. I tried shooting both, but didn’t get any good results. Back on Q636, the engineer re-loaded the air, the conductor boarded the SD40-2 and the train was once again underway with minimal delay.
That concluded the day’s adventure and it was time for a much-needed Burrito at Chipotle! The end…
