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Title: ~*~PLEASE COMMENT!~*~ *MUST SEE* *EXTREME RAILFANNING ON NOVEMBER 3RD, 2009!* View count: 483 Rating: 4.793103 (29 ratings) Description: ~*~PLEASE COMMENT!~*~ *MUST SEE* *EXTREME RAILFANNING ON NOVEMBER 3RD, 2009!* I woke up to a sky full of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. I gathered a few things together and was off to the tracks. My day started off in Lockport, along the BNSF Chillicothe Sub. My goal was to catch a westbound in the nice, morning light. I had timed it perfectly, as a westbound headlight appeared about ten minutes after I arrived. It was the daily UP autorack train, orginating in Hammond, IN. A pair of UP SD9043MAC's are in charge, one at the front and one at the rear. Amtrak's northbound Lincoln Service 300 was due soon. I headed up to the CN Joliet Sub. I heard the engineer report over the scanner what time he departed Joliet, which gave me the heads up that he was a few minutes away. Under the watchful eye of Abraham Lincoln, the train barrels through town, with double ended P42's. Had some things to do in Rochelle. Afterwards, we stopped at the railroad park. Surprisingly, the BNSF got the diamond and was the first to run a train. ATCS Monitor showed him coming up to town and shortly after, we heard the horn. A pair of GEVO's are leading this westbound intermodal. The second unit is a brand new 6300 series ES44DC. They'll only look that clean once! Filmed on the BNSF Aurora Sub. UP got the diamond next and ran a westbound autorack train. A pair of SD70M's are in charge. As common as they are, any EMD's are fine by me. Filmed on the UP Geneva Subdivision. When leaving Rochelle, we decided to head over to the IC&E line (now CP), a short ways away. We were hoping to start at Davis Junction and make our way east to intercept the westbound 271 train. We got as far as Kingston, IL., when we saw a westbound headlight. As it got closer, I could tell that it was an ethanol train, and not 271. We ended up getting more than what we bargained for. Six SD40's (DM&E SD40-3 6080, DM&E SD40-3 6097, DM&E SD40-3 6072, CP SD40-2 5727, IC&E SD40-2 6456 and IC&E SD40-2 6457) lead this train west. Wow. Now, in Kirkland, we see the six SD40's rolling right along. The ground was literally shaking as this train rattled down the jointed rail. Here, in Fairdale, the six SD40's notch it up a bit. I should add that all six of the units were online and running. A neat little location, with the IC&E logo on the crossing box. We were greeted by sweet, late evening light in Monroe Center. The six SD40's rolled through at the right time. Got to love the sound of jointed rail. The six SD40's head west across the diamond in Davis Junction, crossing the Illinois Railway Rockford Sub. Just to the west of Davis Junction is the town of Stillman Valley. Well clear of the diamonds in Davis Junction, nothing stands in the way of this train. Stillman Valley was where we called it quits, but as we were arriving into Byron, the gates began to lower. A bonus shot! In full throttle, the six SD40's prepare to pick up speed. Most of the trackage west of Byron is 50 MPH. I'm hoping to explore west of Byron soon. It was a successful and fun day! ~*~PLEASE COMMENT!~*~ Tags: 2009!*, Author: NicTrain35 |
