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Chased the Norfolk Southern's Central of New Jersey-painted heritage unit, No. 1071, on the Canadian Pacific east out of Portage in January. Unfortunately, it was already afternoon before the expedition made contact with the unit, and the daylight was all too short.
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In early April, I made my second trip to the Northeast Corridor, focusing on the Maryland portion of the route with a healthy look at the famous Susquehanna River bridge at Havre de Grace.
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May found me in Europe for a Trains Magazine tour, and I spent a lot of time on the Irish rail network. Here, our excursion celebrating the 40-year-old EMD Class 071 locomotives shoves around the connection at Limerick Junction.
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June took me back East for the Amtrak AEM-7 farewell excursion and another pass at the outgoing MARC HHP-8 electrics.
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I spent the long July 4 holiday weekend around Chicago, including a look at the new Matteson railfan park.
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In August I returned to Western New York to volunteer at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum for a weekend – and inspect the railroads of the area.
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Steaming loads were the theme of my late September trip to the Iron Range.
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The C&M Sub is more fun from a dutch door, which I learned on a weekend trip to Chicago in November.
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November taught me to wait it out to the very end, exemplified by No. 7 along Pewaukee Lake.