Cool Trains on a Crappy Day...

     

Typical January weather in western PA means overcast and maybe snow if your lucky.  January 23rd was typical...except for some of the trains...for a symbol geek like me.  First up, NS M0R-22 is my first catch of an extra section of Kankakee, IL to Conway, PA train 10R that was recieved from the BNSF at Streator, IL and forwarded to Kankakee on local B90.  This train is known for it's abundance of former ATSF boxcars full of California wine and canned goods.  Today's train has many loads of wine from Modesto Colony, CA going to the Kane Warehouse in Scranton, PA.  Back in the Santa Fe days it originated at Modesto, CA as a 952 train (aka "the wine train") to Streator, IL for Conrail, which ran it as a SFEL to Elkhart, IN and then connections east.

Normally this is not the weather that finds me trackside.  But, my new found friend (Photoshop) has given me new reason not to pass up some of these oddball train symbols.  Next up, I decided to make use of the overcast and shoot from the other side of the tracks for westbounds.  NS 21G-23 is another train with a BNSF relationship.  This train is built from connections at Harrisburg, PA and is delivered to the BNSF at Corwith yard in Chicago, usually continuing west as a Q-NSAFTM for Ft. Madison, IA eventually to be combined with a Q-NYCLAC for Hobart yard in Los Angeles, CA.

     Following close behind is a relatively new train.  NS 31E-23 originated at Conway yard and is destined for UP's Proviso yard in Chicago.  It's primary reason for running is to return empty 2-bay covered hoppers that brought Wisconsin frac sand east.

     Another train that got me trackside is next.  NS 10X-22 is an extra running from the recently expanded yard at Bellevue, OH to Enola, PA.  The train originated off the CN in Chicago (with mainly loads out of Alberta) and ran as a 326 to Bellevue.  Besides a covered hopper and a few cars of lumber, the whole train was tanks...the first half with refinery cracking stock (interestingly non-hazmat) and the last half all gas oil (1993 placards).

Bringing up the rear was another new train for me.  NS 66J-22 is a secondary origin train of crude oil from Stampede, ND for the Phillips 66 refinery at Linden, NJ.  While the primary source for Linden are the 66Z trains off BNSF that load at Berthold, ND;  66J originates on CP.

All in all not bad for less than 2 hours trackside!