2023 Prototype Photos Thread

[SimRacin14]

A bit late to the party, seeing as it's basically March as I type this, but I haven't been inactive when it comes to being trackside.

RJC MR25, Auburn,KY 1/6/2023 (1) by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
RJC MR25, Auburn,KY 1/6/2023 (2) by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
RJC MR25, Russellville,KY 1/6/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 167/168, Waddy, KY 1/19/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
RJC Z544-09, Bagdad,KY 2/9/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
CSX M573-18, Sonora,KY 2/19/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
RJC Z545, Bagdad,KY 2/21/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 219, Waddy,KY 2/21/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
CSX B637-18, Paris,KY 2/23/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 279, Fisherville,KY 2/28/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

[Tim R]

I caught a couple of trains in Chester, SC, today. First is NS 15R with a BNSF engine leading.



It made a pickup from the L&C, including a bunch of gondolas of spikes.

While 15R was getting their paperwork straightened out, CSX M582 came into town. 15R was still blocking the crossing, so it was delayed slightly.

[Jugtown Modeler]

RJC Z544-09, Bagdad,KY 2/9/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

That is a colorful consist.

[Siegmund]

We had a little bit of excitement a few miles from my house this morning: the local short line ran into trouble with ice at a grade crossing. An eyewitness (not me) reported seeing it ride up onto the ice and skate sideways before settling back onto the ties.

Only the first two axles derailed so apparently it did break up the ice as it passed over it, well enough that the rest of the train stayed on the track. No official word what their plans are from here. It is probably the sort of thing you could rerail with a ramp and engine power, if you had the ramps on hand to do it, but I suspect they will be having a BSNF crew come up from Whitefish to help them. (The accident is on the Mission Mountain Railroad, the stub of what used to be the Great Northern main line until 1970, bypassed when the Flathead Tunnel opened.)

In the 3rd of the 4 photos you can see the marks in the snow from the dragging wheels.

If you are wondering about the unusual color scheme on the locomotive -- yes, the railroad repainted it with the local high school's colors and logo about 5 years ago, in celebration of the football team taking the state championship two years in a row.

[SimRacin14]

Chased the P&L coal train yesterday for the first time in awhile.
PAL LG1, Clarkson,KY 3/7/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
PAL LG1, Millwood,KY 3/7/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
PAL LG1 DPU, Steff,KY 3/7/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

[SimRacin14]

A CSX ethanol train on the CC Sub at Kenton,KY yesterday.
CSX B637-10, Kenton,KY 3/11/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

[SimRacin14]

Today I drove up to Louisville to a train show. I'd brought the camera but hadn't really thought about taking any pictures as the weather forecast called for cloudy skies. I found out that there was a southbound NS train out of Cincinnati late morning with a BNSF "Fauxbonnet", and with nothing else to do today, I decided to make the 80 mile drive east to Danville/Burgin. I also shot 179 which had a Tier 4 ST70AH from Union Pacific leading. Not a bad day despite the extra 150-200 miles of driving!

NS 179, Burgin,KY 3/18/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 54V, Burgin,KY 3/18/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 54V, DV Tower, Danville,KY 3/18/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 54V, Danville,KY 3/18/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
NS 54V, Milledgeville,KY 3/18/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

[badlandnp]

A beautiful winter sunset over the frozen Yellowstone, as the train heads my way,

[Army-Gandydancer]

Only the first two axles derailed so apparently it did break up the ice as it passed over it, well enough that the rest of the train stayed on the track. No official word what their plans are from here. It is probably the sort of thing you could rerail with a ramp and engine power, if you had the ramps on hand to do it, but I suspect they will be having a BSNF crew come up from Whitefish to help them. (The accident is on the Mission Mountain Railroad, the stub of what used to be the Great Northern main line until 1970, bypassed when the Flathead Tunnel opened.)

Normally a derailment crew will be called in. This is done for several reasons which are due to training and safety. The derailment crews are properly trained to retrial equipment which in and of it self can be very dangerous. Plus the derailment crews are fully trained in MOW and will inspect and repair the tracks as needed.

I still cringe to this day thinking about how we use to derail equipment. We would use retail plates (ramps) and usually had st stack spike plates under them to get them up to the correct height. Those spike plates could and would shoot out like rockets when a locomotive or heavy car rolled up onto them. I worked on tracks and derailments only on military bases and back then most bases were limited on how big of a locomotive they could run. Even retailing a 45 or 90 ton switcher is a scary proposition with plates.

A neighbor of mine worked MOW for BNSF and was on several derailment crews in the Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa area. He can tell some scary stories too.

[badlandnp]

It is interesting to rerail them. Working at LRC in Livingston, we did have to put a few back up. There we had a pile of oak wedges we used to build a ramp back up to the rail. Those tend to just split and break, rather than spit out to the side. Using those and chocking chains we would get the axles back in place. Fun and dangerous stuff.

[SimRacin14]

I drove over to CSX's CC Subdivision today to chase B637-24, a loaded ethanol train. A few minutes after arriving at Winchester, a light engine move appeared and headed south back into Patio Yard. Don't know if he had a symbol, and I'm not familiar with the symbols locals use over here.
CSX Light Power, Winchester,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
CSX B637-24 was the train I wanted a photo of at the searchlight signals in Winchester. The light was good...CSX didn't stick one of their own locomotives on the front this time(3rd out instead)...and the train runs the wrong main through town. This shot would've looked so much better if he'd been on the other track!
CSX B637-24, Winchester,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
After Winchester, I headed south to get more shots of B637. The CC Sub has plenty of tunnels, and I thought about maybe shooting the lead units popping out of one, but I opted for this shot at Berea,KY (taken above Tunnel No. 9 I think). There's not many places around here where you can get an entire 98 car ethanol train in one shot...but you can here!
CSX B637-24, Berea,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
I sped off down US 25 south of Berea, hoping to maybe get a ground level shot of B637 again along the long stretch between Conway and Wildie. I pulled into a gravel lot off a side road just as the gates were coming down, and managed a quick shot of the train as it passed here near Wildie, KY.
CSX B637-24, Wildie,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
B637 ran out of time before the crew could make it to Corbin, and the train tied down at Pittsburg, Kentucky, just north of London. I'd gone further south to wait for the train but made it back up in time to see the Crooked Hill helpers rolling up to the head end of the train.
CSX B637-24/Crooked Hill pushers, Pittsburg,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
After leaving the CC Sub, I headed west to Norfolk Southern and the typically active CNO&TP. The first train I ran into was 123 at Science Hill,KY with a BNSF/UP pair along with several high/wide loads.
NS 123, Science Hill,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr
My last train of the day, 223 rounding the curve at Palm, north of McKinney, KY. Several northbounds ran but I didn't hang around. I wanted a 64Q that was in Danville's yard with a pair of Union Pacific locomotives on it, would've given me five different railroads for the day. I still had a good day today though.
NS 223, Palm, McKinney,KY 3/26/2023 by Jeff Wagoner, on Flickr

[Tdjr]

Great photos as always!