Special K for lunch
Heading out to CSX at Edinburg at lunch time can be hit or miss. With only about an hour for lunch, the 10 minute run leaves only about 45 minutes to catch trains. Usually, 2 trains is a good day, anything more is great...zero unfortunately is all too common. Monday Apr02 2012 wasn't too bad. With a 90 minute lunch, it was tempting to go to Enon Valley instead. I'm glad I didn't. Soon after I leave the office, I hear a K311 departing New Castle...should be able to beat him to Edinburg...considering the slow order at the Rt224 construction site. Within a few minutes CSX 608 and CEFX 1048 roll by with 102 loads of coke from U.S. Steel at Clairton destined for their Gary Works. Signal work around mp64 had two track occupied with MofW trucks. The dispatcher announced that as soon as K311-01 clears the interlocking at Haselton, an eastbound would cross over and run one track to New Castle. As 2 o'clock approached, it looked as if this extra long lunch would yield only one train.
As I packed up the tripod a horn to the west gave a sense of relief. In a few minutes another K train, comes east billowing a fine white cloud as it passes. K904-01 is all stone from National Lime & Stone at Carey, OH destined for their distribution yard on the AVR at Glenwood yard near Pittsburgh. As soon as his 60 cars pass, its pedal to the metal back to the office (just a little late).
