On Saturday, Geoff, Shawn, and I ended up in Marion. Before we made it to the station we stopped to catch a few trains around the Marion and Delaware County Border. The first train we saw was CSX K002 in Meredith with a single HLCX SD40-2 leading…
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As we prepared to leave, one of the area’s old-timers struck a conversation with us. Luckily, he kept us long enough to catch T921 at the same spot…
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We crossed into Marion County after that and caught 48K north of Waldo along Benzler Road…
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We drove for a bit and soon heard 218 getting clearance through Marion AC. We hustled back to that same spot, but instead of shooting it broadside, Geoff dropped me off at the Owens Road crossing…
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NS 234 was following close behind 218 and we tried to get back into Waldo to photograph it by the Farmers Co-op grain elevator. We got stuck behind a piece of farm equipment, but we still made it to the spot with time to spare. That’s the elevator’s two-axel Plymouth switcher on the left side of the photo…
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We finally got a chance to head up to the Marion Union Station after that. It took quite some time, but the first train to appear was CSX Q348. The locomotives and a small portion of the train came forward and then backed into the yard, until it was out of site. The first train to actually pass the station site was the second section of Norfolk Southern 116: M16. The fourth locomotive in line was painted in the Operation Lifesaver scheme…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6295195649/
After a short time, NS ran another westbound through. It was 19M with BNSF, GMTX, and of course, NS locomotives leading. I tried to get a creative shot with a funky cloud formation in the background, but it didn’t turn out as I had hoped…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6295244611/
It was CSX’s time to run a train through on the Columbus Subdivision and it ended up being a short ballast train being led by a lone SD50…
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Norfolk Southern kept the westbound coming, as 376 crossed over Center Street minutes later…
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Another lull fell over the area until a CSX autorack train on the Mt. Victory Subdivision broke the silence…
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The sun continued to set as NS sent an eastbound hopper train (885) over Center Street…
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Night soon fell over the area and it was time to bust out the tripod to shoot some long exposures. The next train to show up was yet another NS eastbound hopper train; number 863. You can’t tell, but it actually had a pair of BNSF locomotives, one of which was still in the BN “Executive” paint scheme (with BNSF lettering :/ )…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6295217327/
Before that train cleared, the Sandusky Dispatcher lined up 379 on track two. It called off the OBL signal and about 5 minutes later, it showed up at the Norfolk and Western CPL, too…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6295821424/
We heard CSX Q136 call off a signal to the north (railroad west), and sure enough; a headlight was coming down the line…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6295727624/
The last train of the night would be NS 47K. It had a single Union Pacific GEVO leading the train. I was able to shoot it hand-held with my “nifty fifty” lens…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47491339@N04/6293217503/
That’s it…Thanks for reading…
The end!
- Brandon T.