Paid To Railfan (Proof Read)

Paid
to Railfan
A Drivers Railfan Adventures
A BNSF loaded crude oil train rolls along TRRA Trackage in North St. Louis.
Jim Tiroch
Proof Copy: Not optimized for high quality printing or digital distribution
Paid to Railfan: A Drivers Railfan Adventures

(c) 2016 Jim Tiroch
Published with Blurb.com
All photos and text by Jim Tiroch unless noted
No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or part without written
consent of the author.
Dedicated to Amy Tiroch, my loving and supporting wife who has been
there for everything.
Special thanks to the following for making this book possible for helping
with showing me locations, editing, information and giving me the loads:
Aaron Gonthier (The Rail Channel)
Jack D. Kuiphoff
Mark and Mike Mautner
Mike Johnson
Mike Roth
Kelly Dunlap
Terry Redeker
Bob Gallegos
Jonathon Pulling
Steve Berry (Railfan and Railroad Editor)
Michael C. Kelly
David Gehrke
As well as my dispatchers Mike, Stephanie and Jason at First Capitol
Courier
A CITX SD8943MAX, On
lease to the Evansville
and Western sits under a
sanding tower in Mt.
Vernon, IN in 2013
Union Pacific SD40-2 #9899 sits on the

approach to McArthur Bridge, awaiting a
signal to enter the Mill Creek Valley Yard in
St. Louis, Missouri.
Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................................8
St. Louis Area......................................................................10
Chicago Area.......................................................................26
Rochelle..............................................................................36
Kansas City Area.................................................................48
Single Picture Trips............................................................62
Louisville Load...................................................................74
Boston Load........................................................................84
Pennsylvania......................................................................100
Dallas Load........................................................................118
Kansas Load......................................................................128
Central & Southern Illinois...............................................138
Locomotive and Car Shops...............................................150
Live Steam Load...............................................................168
Reflections and Friends....................................................180
A westbound Union Pacific

freight crosses the Kate
Shelley bridge near Boone,
Iowa in July 2016. Photo
edited by Jonathan Pulling
INTRODUCTION
All my life, I have been fascinated with trains. There is just
something about them that soothes and relaxes me. To me, just sitting
along the tracks and watching the parade of trains on a busy mainline
railroad fascinates me, just like people who love going to car shows, go
fishing or play sports. It is what I like, and no one can ever take that
away from me.
As for being a driver, and I state the word "driver" because I have
been a commercial driver in all sorts of vehicles, I happened to go into
that career by accident, when my mom told me to go apply for a job at a
trucking company that her now-ex-husband worked at. I applied, and
the very next week I started delivering food supplies to Chinese
resteraunts for New Mei Dong International Trading Company based
out of the old Nestle Tea Plant in Granite City, IL.
I worked for New Mei Dong for about a year and a half, except for
a month when I decided to deliver the cooked food for a New China
Resteraunt in Chesterfield, MO. I was let go when they were bought out
by St. Louis Wholesale Foods, and found that I was not a real asset to
the company due to the frequent language barriers.
I was not unemployed for long, and a few weeks later I was on a
Greyhound bus from St. Louis to Salt Lake City, UT to start training on
how to drive 18-wheelers for Central Refrigerated Service. After 6
years of training, I was let loose, driving a Kenworth W-900 over the
road. It was hard work and I enjoyed it immensely, but the photo
opportunities during that time was limited. You can't just go park a 72
foot long, 80,000 pound 18-wheeler along the tracks and watch trains! I
stayed with Central until early October 2008, when I decided to leave
for personal reasons. It was a good choice, as a month later, my high
school sweetheart and fiancee passed away after a bout with cancer.
Since then, I have worked as a courier, driving a 24 foot Hino Box
truck to my own car, and now a Ram Promaster Sprinter Van. I spent 9
months with JS Logistics in south St. Louis. I got that job through a girl
I was dating at the time thanks to her dad. I then found a company on
Craigslist that I am still contracted with today (First Capitol Courier out
of O'Fallon, MO). I managed to get that girl's dad with FCC after I
joined, and even though I never speak to his daughter, he is now my
dispatcher - and a very good one at that! I have stuck to the last 5 years
of driving, as this is when I got most of my pictures.
The purpose of this book is to share my photos that I have taken
while out on the road, both on long trips, and as well as around the St.
Louis area. I will also show photos that were taken while I was not at
work to add some interest.
In my travels, I have photographed everything from operating
steam in Texas, to 100 mile-per-hour passenger trains in the Northeast,
from high-priority intermodals and doublestacks on the BNSF Transcon
line in Illinois, to 15 MPH shortlines with a few cars for local customers.
I really enjoy my job, and as long as I am able, I will keep on driving and
keep on photographing!
10-4 Good Buddy, keep the greasy side down!
St. Louis
Area
Being based out of the St. Louis area, and working as a courier, it is
obvious that I have done a lot of shooting in the area. With a diverse
group of railroads to photograph, including several shortlines and two
terminal railroads, as well two locomotives rebuilders, there is always
something interesting moving through the area.
The biggest player by far is the Union Pacific, operating five
different routes into the area, all of them former Missouri Pacific. BNSF
has 4 routes into the area. Norfolk Southern and CSX combined have 4
lines. The TRRA and Alton and Southern do all the classification of
trains in the St. Louis area
Opposite Top Left: TRRA SD40-2s preapre to

cross over Illinois Route 3 heading back to
Madison Yard from Wiggins.
Opposite Top Right: The KCS East St. Louis
Local returns to their yard adjacent to Alton
and Southern's Gateway Yard.
Right: NS Train 223 waits for a signal at
Grand Ave in North St. Louis.
as well as provide service to local customers.

When it comes to shortlines, there are three. The Central
Midland Railway, based west of downtown in Overland,
operates the former Rock Island as far as Union, MO.
Respondek Rail Corp. has its largest operation at America's
Central Port in Granite City, IL, and has a variety of motive
power. The newest shortline started up in December 2015 in
the West Belt Railway, which is operated by Patriot Rail; it
serves customers along the former TRRA West Belt line that
connects with the Central Midland Railway in Overland.
If you ever get a chance
to vist the St. Louis area to
railfan, you will not be
dissapointed. Although not
as busy as Chicago and
Kansas City, the area has
some really good railfanfriendly locations.
Opposite Bottom: One of the two
Alton & Southern road units
await a signal at Gratiot.
Top:A Former Santa Fe CF7 calls
North St. Louis home at the
ADM silo; note the horn
placement.
Right: Respondek 2064, still in
full Milwaukee Road paint leads
a short cut of 3 gondolas heading
for storage.
NS Train 223 rolls south past the

Proctor and Gamble plant,
preparing to cross over Grand Ave.,
then the Merchants Bridge into
Illinois. The train is pulled by NS
ES44AC #8105, one of the 20
Heritage Units on the roster, this
one is painted to honor the
shortline, The Interstate Railroad.
This really caught me by surprise. The

Norfolk Southern A-B-B-A set of Funits back towards the Mechanical
Department in Luthar Yard. Not
knowing they were in town, I turned
around on in a parking lot and
doubled back to get this shot.
NS #1071, the Central of New

Jersey Heritage unit, sits in Granite
City, IL waiting for a crew change.
While not my favorite heritage unit,
the bright colors did catch my eye
when I passed by the gas station
behing me. Also a surprise, I was
deadheading back to the Missouri
side of the river at the time.
The Erie Heritage unit works as a
DPU, about a mile from where the
CNJ unit was shot. This actually
shot about 5 minutes after I shot the
CNJ unit shown above, the only
time I ever photograph two heritage
units, on two different trains, on
the same day.
While technically not working, I

actually took an hour or so off
work so I could catch the arrival of
Nickel Plate Road #765 arrive in
Berkeley, MO in October 2012. The
local, on its way back to Luther
Yard, meets the special, that had
both the Illinois Terminal and
Wabash units in tow.
I was not at work when I shot

this image. Taken on a Sunday,
the NKP 765 rolls west towards
O'Fallon, MO with an employee
special along Banshee Road in
Hazelwood, MO.
Also taken during a short break

from work, Union Pacific #844
storms south out of Dupo, IL on
its way to Little Rock, AR on the
Little Rock Express.
In May of 2015, the National

Museum of Transportation in
Kirkwood, MO lent out their
Norfolk and Western Y6b #2158
on a 5-year loan. In return,
NMOT got an FT-B to go with FT
#103 (Very first F-Unit built)
and a new paint job for DDA40X
#6944 in Altoona, PA.
One of the customers I got to

deliver is the Smurfit-Stone
Container plant in Chesterfield,
MO. During one delivery, I shot
HLCX #1523, on lease to the
Central Midland Railway, switching
the plant. The former Appalachia
Northern unit soon left the railroad
after this shot was taken.
So new that you could still smell the
paint - literally! BNSF ES44AC
#8244, on its maiden voyage, leads
M-TULGAL past the Produce
Market in North St. Louis.
Whenever I am in the area and I am
told to "hang loose" by my
dispatcher, I like to sit here and
watch trains.
I had just made a delivery to Boxes,

Inc. in St. Louis when I shot TRRA
SD40T-2 #3001. She was leading
the Madison turn back to the TRRA
from BNSF's Lindenwood yard.
The 3001 is one of only two units
still in the solid red scheme and is
also the only tunnel motor out of 3
not retired or scrapped in 2014.
Union Pacific train AASFX rolls west

through Kirkwood, Missouri. I am
standing on the Barrets Station
Road overpass. Behind me is the
National Museum of Transportation.
I saw this train go through
Maplewood about half an hour
before, and raced to this location
after making my delivery, a few
blocks away.
Manufacturers Railway #253, an

ALCo S3 re-engined with an EMD
567 prime mover by MorrisonKnudson, switches out the ASF
Keystone (now Amstead Rail) in
Granite City, IL. When FTRL took
over the MRS, the locomotive was
sold to an oil refinery in Tulsa, OK.
A leased Canadian Pacific

AC4400CW waits for a signal to
enter the Mill Creek Valley yard.
Now, I am a safe driver, and this
was shot from my car, but in my
defense, I was at a stop light
behind 3 other cars, and took this
shot on a wim.
Two Kansas City Southern

ES44ACs sit along Madison Ave in
Madison, IL, having just arrived
with the steel train from Louisiana.
This just so happens to be the first
image I recorded with my new SLR
camera, that replaced a point-andshoot that I had been using.
In Overland, just east of Interstate
170, TRRA GP38-3 #2005 switches
out a cement plant on a shortsurvivng section of the West Belt
Line. This customer is served only
once a week, and is only served by
the TRRA, even though the trackage
is part of the Central Midland.
Today, the West Belt Railway serves
this customer.
About to duck under the US-67

overpass, and crossing over the
foot of Lindbergh Blvd, a
northbound (timetable west) gets
underway after getting
permission to go past a red board.
Not the best lighting, but this is a
shot I had always wanted to get.
In a view no longer available since
the new Stan Musial Veterans
Memorial Bridge opened up, the
Madison Turn heads south along the
TRRA bound for the BNSF
Lindenwood Yard. I am not sure who
owns the large dome or what it is
used for, but I thought it made a
really nice backdrop in the industrial
section of North St. Louis.
An empty BNSF crude oil train sits
just south of Kingshighway a
quarter mile south of Interstate 44.
This is the Union Pacific DeSoto
sub. The main traffic on this line is
Amtraks Texas Eagle, oil trains
and a local. All other traffic uses
the Chester Sub on the other side
of the river.
The newest railroad in St. Louis is
the West Belt Railway. Operated by
Patriot Rail, the road operates the
former TRRA Trackage from E.
Carrie Ave. in North St. Louis to
Overland, MO, where it connects
with the Central Midland Railway.
In Spanish Lake, MO, a

southbound loaded coal train sits in
the hole waiting for a new crew. I
had just helped deliver a brand new
72" TV right down the road, and
decided to get a shot. The perfect
lighting and the fresh snowfall
helped bring out the orange on the
lead unit.
Again at the Produce Market, one of
the 5 daily northbound St. LouisChicago Amtrak trains rounds the
curve before ducking under the
former Illinois Terminal bridge. One
of the reasons why I like sitting here
is because its public property, and
this is one of the busiest lines in the
area.
Next to the A&S Gateway yard is

the KCS yard. Sitting along a
public road, you can always count
on that you can get some great
pictures of KCS motive power
sitting alongside the road. Two
GP38-2s sit alongside the road,
waiting for their next assignment.
Coming across the diamonds at
Valley Junction, a Dupo-bound
intermodal train is only 6 miles
away from its destination. While
this is a public grade crossing that I
am at, the area junction is not a
good one, and it is not
reccomended to go there without a
companion.
The NS local heads east across

McDonnell Blvd, heading back to
Luther Yard. The building in the
background was once part of
McDonnell-Douglas world
headquarters (now part of Boeing).
It should be mentioned that the
Boeing Aerospace Corp. actually
has a company funded Model
Railroad Club.
At the Kirkwood, MO Amtrak
Station after making a delivery to a
pharmacy, I photographed train IDUSEX (yes, you read that right,
an extra section from Dupo to
Seattle) as it rolled west, with an
EB coal drag on the other track.
Another spot that I like to sit at is

along the riverfront, south of the
McArthur Bridge. A local train
heads west across the bridge
heading to theMill Creek Valley
yard. The track that splits off at
the signals runs south to UP's
Lesperance Street yard.
I remember the date of this
picture, very well: June 26th,
2014. Less than 48 hours later, I
would be getting married. I was
on my last run of the day, and as I
was crossing the McKinley
Bridge, I spotted NS 6920 on the
point.
Before they were retired, I was lucky

to catch exactly half of the TRRA's
SW1500 fleet being used to work the
Granite City Steel job. These units
lasted over 30 years without a major
rebuild on the TRRA, and (wouldn't
you know it) after being sold to a
leasing company, 6 of the units were
damaged in transit when they
derailed while on CSX.
Norfolk Southerns A.O. Smith
transfer job crosses over IL Route
3 in Brooklyn, IL. This is one area
you do not want to be in after
dark, unless of course, you have a
companion. This crossing actually
only sees 1 or 2 trains a day, all of
which are transfers from A. O.
Smith yard to the TRRA Madison
Yard.
FTRL #252, an SW1500, sits at the
former Manufacturers Railway
engine house in South St. Louis.
This was the final, unpatched
Manny engine and has been since
sold to GMTX. The engine shop is
now owned by Metro East
Industries for use as a light repair
and paint shop.
The BNSF Local moves off the
mainline and onto an industrial spur
to switch out a chemical plant in
Valley Park, MO. This plant is
usually served once a week, and
used to extend a mile and a half.
Today, the line only extends 3/4 of a
mile, and only 1/4 of a mile of the
trackage is still in use today to serve
the chemical facility.
In East St. Louis, a pair of KCS

SW1500s run light through East
St. Louis. This was one of those
grab shots (I was lost at the time)
that actually turned out excellent.
My only complaint is the pole in
the way of the lead unit.
After making a delivery in to St.

Louis Screw and Bolt at America's
Central Port,I caught him with
Respondek 1800 pulling cars out of
Abengoa Energy. This unit formerly
worked on the Alaska railroad, and
was used in the 198's movie
"Runaway Train" as the third unit
in the consist.
At WR Tower in Granite City, a TRRA job
sits on a stub track waiting for a new crew
to take the short train back to Madison
Yard. This section of track used to run by
the old Nestle Plant 1/2 mile away. In the
background, a southbound Union Pacific
train bound for Dupo, IL rolls past the
Amstead Rail facility.
Sometimes being stuck in standstill traffic has its benefits. A bad

accident caused the westbound
lanes of I-64 to be backed up for 6
miles, and while stopped, I
photograph both A&S road units,
the 2000 and 2001, sitting in the
Mill Creek Valley yard.
A down on shot of a pair of TRRA

SD40-2's, one a former BN unit, and
the other a former MKT, shove a cut
of cars over the hump at their yard
in Venice, IL. The yard is actually
not named for neighboring town of
Madison, but for the county the yard
is located in, Madison.
Back in Valley Park, the BNSF
local swings off the Cuba
Subdivison to switch the chemical
plant. The Cuba Subdivision is a
lightly used line that sees about a
dozen trains a day. During the
Flood of '93, this was the only line
in the area that was not flooded,
creating a glut of traffic.
A Kansas City-bound autorack train
comes through North St. Louis on
the Norfolk Southern. For a short
section, the line runs along side
North 2nd Street, making it
possible to get some shots of trains
running between buildings in this
heavy industrial area.
In Pontoon Beach, I caught this
southbound Union Pacific train, led
by a third of the road's Heritage
fleet, the 1982 (Missouri Pacific)
and the 1988 (Missouri-KansasTexas). The train has just entered
Alton and Southern property
(northern most point on the
railroad) and is destined for
Gateway Yard.
After delivering an envelope to the

KCS yard office, I snapped this
shot of a grey AC4400CW with 2
Southern Belle units behind it, and
a former CN GP40-2W in the
background make up the contents
of this image. The GP40-2Ws have
since not been seen in the St. Louis
area since I took this image.
With a setting sun and a hard
working coal train working up
Kirkwood Hill, I consider this
image one of my favorites. The
Cora, IL bound train had just
enough power to crest the
summit a 1/4 mile east in front of
the Kirkwood Amtrak station.
Norfolk Southern's A.O. Smith
Yard in Granite City is the base of
operations for local trains on the
Illinois side of the river. On any
day of the week, one can find NS
power sitting in the yard waiting
for their next assignment. Here, NS
SD40-2 1635 sits with GP38-2
#5229.
In early March of 2016, the Port
Harbor Railroad in Granite City
recieved two new locomotives.
The MP25AC in the foreground,
is former Milwaukee Road 436
(UP bought it from CP), while the
2nd unit is an MP15 that was
built as Southern Pacific 2698.
A place that I have never took a

picture at before is in Belleville, IL
at the Route 159 crossing. The fact
that the train was being led by one
of the first 10 SD70M's purchased
by NS was the reason why I took
the picture; otherwise, with the
poor lighting, I would have kept
the camera put away.
Normally, I would not stop to take a
picture in Venice, IL at night, due
to it being a rough area. At the
time, I was practicing night time
photography. A 15-second exposure
resulted in this image of two
SD40-2s shoving a cut of cars over
the hump. The tracks on the right
are used to store locomotives
waiting for their next run.
Also in Venice, but in daylight

hours, a Union Pacific frac sand
train rolls north. The train has
just passed the former GM&O/
ICG engine servicing facility and
intermodal yard.
Dupo, IL is the intermodal terminal

for the Union Pacific in the St.
Louis area. Dupo was a major point
on the Missouri Pacific, boasting a
double track hump, roundhouse
and other steam servicing facilities.
Here, the yard crew shoving a cut
of containers into the intemodal
yard.
Port Harbor Railroad SD40-2 #3086

works hard with 46 loaded DDG Grain
Hoppers. This ex-Chicago and
Northwestern unit has since been
renumbered to 2301, and is now
lettered for the Illini Terminal.
Chicago
Area
Everyone knows Chicago. Chicago is the railroad capitol of the
world. But, unfortunantly for me, my time is always limited whenever I
make a delivery in the Windy City, so I do not have many pictures from
the nations railroad capitol. Then again, in my defense, there is no real
place to park my van to sit and watch trains without the police coming to
bother me. I actually have more photos from the Rochelle park than I do
in the Chicagoland area, mainly because I can camp out in the van and
sleep without anyone actually bothering me. The Rochelle photos are in
the next chapter.
An inbound Metra Commuter train
arrives in Elmhurst, IL for a stop.
Opposite Top Left: Metra's Operation

Lifesaver F40PHM departs Chicago Union
Station
Opposite Top Right: A veiw of the Sears
Tower dominates the Chicago skyline in
this veiw of Amtraks engine shops
Right: At Homewood, IL an outbound
Metra Electric train with former Illinois
Central Gulf Highliners makes its station
stop.
Top: A Westbound Union Pacific

train rolls through Elmhurst, with
illuination from another UP
westbound.
Right: An eastbound BNSF Oil
train rolls through Naperville on its
way to New Jersey. Naperville is
my favorite location in the greater
Chicagoland area.
In Bensonville, a set of Canadian
Pacific road power comes out of the
yard and into the Metra Station. A
Classic SD40-2 leads the consist and
will back into Bensonville yard to
pick up its train. My Delivery on this
particular run was literally right
across the street from the the Metra
station, so talk abt convience!
Amtrak NPCU #90219, rebuilt

from F40PH #219, from the first
order of F40's that eventually
replaced the troubled SDP40F,
trails a St. Louis bound Lincoln
Service train in Joliet.
As they say, always expect the

unexpected when railfanning in
Chicago. Case in Point is Amtrak
6404, a Pacific Surfliner car
trailing the Southwest Cheif in
Naperville. The car was heading
back to California after getting
some minor repairs done at
Amtraks Beech Grove, IN shops.
Amtrak Dash8-32BWH (Or
B32-8WH) #517 is on the point of
the Carl Sandburgh Zypher as it
makes it station stop in Naperville.
Amtrak had 20 of these units, that
were based on the B40-8W's
delivered to the Santa Fe. Once
found on a of a majority of trains,
they are used mainly as yard
switchers today.
In Elmhurst, Metra F40PH #172

eases an outbound train, while
an inbound train stops to load
and discharge its passenger
before continuing on to Chicago
Union Station.
A perfect daylight pan shot east

of CP's Bensonville yard on the
Milwaukee District of an
outbound train, doing a good 60
miles per hour as it races towards
its next station stop on the other
side of the yard, Bensonville.
In Aurora, a classic blue and

yellow Santa Fe geep sits next to
the yard office on the mainline.
The unit is on the point of the
local, and once a new crew is
aboard, will head back to Eola
yard.
An F40PHM-2 "Winnibego" leads

an outboud train into Naperville.
Metra, along with VIA has one of
the largest fleets of F40's, and
they even bought one from a
museum and placed it back into
everyday service. The newest
member of the fleet was built in
1988, 28 years ago!
At the end of the BNSF West line
in Aurora, F40PHM-2 #189 gets
ready to depart back to Chicago
Union Station. The temprature is
a bone chilling -9, and one can
imagine how cold it would be
outside when the train is moving
at track speed.
The only peice of equipment

belonging to the Belt Railway of
Chicago that I have ever
photographed was this "shoving
platform" converted from an old
wide vision caboose. Since the
caboose was replaced with FRED's,
the only cabooses remaining on the
majority of railroads these days are
used as shoving platforms.
Within walking distance of
Lombard Hobbies, an out bound
Metra commuter train nears nears
races west with another train load
of commuters during the evening
rush hour. I had a delivery the next
day in Cicero, but left after my
pickup earlier in the day in order to
catch some railroad action.
On a blistery cold morning, and
photographed from the warmth of
my van, an inbound commuter
train kicks up the snow as it races
towards its next stop 1/2 mile
away. This is a popular place to sit
and photograph trains entering,
leaving and switching Canadian
Pacific's Bensonville Yard.
Shot on the same day as the picture
above, Amtraks Phase II heritage unit,
#66, backs its train out of Chicago
Union Station after arriving with an early
morning arrival from St. Louis with one
of the Lincoln Service trains. Unit #66
has since been involved in a grade
crossing accident that bent the units
frame, causing it to be retired.
The only good picture I ever got

at Blue Island was this west
bound CSX manifest about to
arrive at its termination point of
Indiana Harbor Belts Blue Island
yard. This was the only time I
have ever visited the busiest
junction in the Chicagoland area.
In Lombard, the last westbound

Union Pacific freight rolls
through town before the evening
rush of Metra commuter trains
start to wiz by during the
evenings rush hour.
In November 2015, Amtrak P42 #42,

in a special paint scheme to honor
America's Veterans, waits for its next
assignment. This is one of two units
in this paint scheme, the other being
a Siemens Electric locomotive used
on the Northeast Corridor. Its
number is 642.
Taken from the 18th street bridge,
another day of railfanning ended for
me with this shot of the Amtrak
engine facility south of Union
station. This is a classic shot, that
everyone seems to do, but this is the
only one that I have ever found in
the fading light of the day. Would
you believe I took this picture with
my cell phone!?
Shoving an inbound train back to

Union Station on the Milwaukee
West District, F40C #611 throttles
up to get up to track speed. Two
F40C's were kept on the roster
after the rest were retired to be
backup power for the newly
delivered MP36's. However, the
two units, the other being 614,
continue to rack up the miles.
In Homewood, a GTW GP38-2
works with a former EJ&E SD38-2,
making up an outbound train. On
the next track, a CN Manifest gets
ready to depart for Memphis on the
former Illinois Central. During this
time, CN was busy scrapping former
IC SD40-2's. The EJ&E SD38-2's
then got the trucks from those units.
A BNSF Coal train rolls down the
racetrack with an SD70ACe on
the head end through Naperville.
I had a 2 PM deliver in Joliet that
day, and got up early to view the
action at the station. This is one
of three freights I got during my
three hour visit.
Working the Metra coach yard just
south of Union Station, a BNSF
GP39-3, pulls a coach out of the
yard to be put into the shop for
minor repairs. The former Santa Fe
unit looks sharp in the Black and
Orange BNSF scheme, but it is just
not the same as its original yellow
and blue warbonnet colors.
A classic Santa Fe Warbonnet

C44-9W leads an intermodal past
Joliet Union Station. The paint job
is rough, and the AC box is from an
orange BNSF unit, hence ruining
the classic red and silver scheme.
Warbonnets are getting scarce
these days, and seeing one on the
point of any train is a real treat.
An afternoon outbound train, led
by one of the lines MP36's, awaits
the highball from the conductor,
as passengers rush by the engine
on their way home, oblivious to
the photographer taking the
picture. Railfans are a common
sight in Naperville, and no one
gives them a second glance.
An inbound Metra electric train
arrives in Homewood with some of
the former ICG Highliners. Built in
the 1970's, the Highliners are now
retired and replaced. Several sets of
the cars have been donated to both
the Boone and Scenic Valley
Railroad in Boone, IA and the
Illinois Railway Museum.
An outbound Metra train arrives
at its final stop on the old Santa
Fe line in Joliet, IL. After
discharging its passengers, the
train will proceed south of the
diamonds, then back into the
holding yard east of the station,
on the former Rock Island.
In our final Chicago shot, an inbound

meets a westbound at the Elmhurst
station on the Union Pacific. The
inbound is just throttling up to get back
underway, as the outbound waits for
the highball from the trains conductor.
Rochelle
The Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, IL is well known among
those in the railfan hobby. It was the first park in the in the nation to
dedicated solely for the rail enthusiest. Opened in the late 1990's, the
park became a big hit, drawing enthusiests from all over the country, and
even the world. People from over 100 countries have visted the park
since its opening. The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and
no matter what time it is, there is always someone there!
My first visit to the park came in 2007, when a buddy of mine took
a weekend trip to visit the Galesburg Railroad Days, the Illinois Railway
Museum,
Opposite Top Left: A BNSF ChicagoNorthtown, MN autorack train cruises

through town in perfect afternoon light.
Opposite Top Right: The Railfan Pavilion
at Night.
Right: The FRE Inspection train crawls by
the park, inspecting the track for defects
and smoothness.
and Rochelle. It was my first time visiting all three locations. In 2015, I
did a number of loads to Rockford, 30 miles to the north, and S. Beloit,
on the Wisconsin Border. Each time leaving shortly after midnight. Each
time, I ended up with a backhaul to St. Louis, giving me time to railfan in
Rochelle. Each time, I slept in the back of my van. The weather was nice,
and each time, I slept with the doors open. I enjoyed the nice breeze, but
the sounds of trains usually woke me up, not all of them, but a few of
them.
Rochelle is one of my favorite locations outside of the St. Louis area.
I have visited the the park more than some locations in my hometown! I
have made
several new friends, including a
guy from Switzerland. The lady in
the gift shop even knows me by
name!
Opposite: An FRA
Inspection train caught me
by surprise on my 2nd of 5
trips to the park in 2015
Above: A night shot, the
train was a single light
engine heading to Global 3
a mile away.
Right: A room with a veiw!
Not only is it free, but has
the best veiw a railfan can
want!
If you ever get a chance to

visit, I recomend that you do! The
action is pretty much non-stop, and
there is always something
interesting going by.
Oil train movements are common

through Rochelle, and the majority
of them are ran by BNSF, and half
the time, the trains are lead by
Norfolk Southern power, since the
trains are interchanged to the NS
near Chicago Union Station. ES44AC
#7501 leads a loaded train under the
now retired signal bridge.
An empty oil train is veiwed from
inside the railfan pavalion. This
image was the result of me being
too lazy to get up to get a picture,
since I was visiting with a good
freind at the time. During my
overnight stays in Rochelle, the
majority of the trains I saw on the
BNSF were lead by NS locomotives.
The weekly "Monster Freight",
powered by an SD70M, C40-8W,
MP15 and AC4400. All four units
were actually under power,
including the MP15! This was
actually the very first time I have
seen an end cab switcher being
used on an over the road freight.
An SD70ACe and an SD70M lead a
North Platte to Chicago manifest
that consisted of mainly boxcars.
The covered hopper and two
autoracks seen in this train were the
only cars that were not 50' boxcars.
It is nice to see full trains of
boxcars, because who knows what
obscure shortline you might see!
Besides BNSF and UP, there is one

other railroad in town. The
Burlington Junction Railway has a
contract to switch out the city owned
industrial trackage, serving cold
storage facilities. Here, we see one
of the SW1500's pulling a cut of
sand cars to be interchanged with
the BNSF.
Another NS bound loaded oil train,
this time lead by the Lackawanna
Heritage unit, thunders past the
park in the rapidly fading light.
When I had arrived at the park
earlier at the day, the train was still
in Iowa, and took its time to
Rochelle. Sometimes, we railfans
think dispatchers do this on
purpose!
After interchanging cars with the
Burlington Junction west of town,
three former Missouri Pacific
GP15-1's slowly progress towards
Global three, where the Rochelle
local is based out of.
Besides oil trains, most of the

trains that come through Rochelle
are intermodals. With the Global 3
intermodal facility a mile west of
the park, stack and piggyback
trains are always departing or
entering the yard, blocking the
diamonds and preventing BNSF
from crossing.
An empty BNSF frac sand train,

returning from the Balkan Oil
Feilds, rolls passed the park
doing every bit of the the track
speed. This is the only time I saw
a frac sand train during my stays
at the park.
Another empty oil train heads

west for another load of crude oil
from the Balkan formation. I saw
at least 20 other oil trains
through Rochelle in 2015, but I
did not photograph them all, after
all, they are like coal trains, long
and boring!
A Chicago bound rack train ducks
under the bridge as another
Railfan, this one from Quebec,
takes his own picture. Rochelle
seems to be a railfan magnet, and
the city has embrassed that. The
City of Rochelle is truly a railrans
town.
Heading to Cicero, this double stack
train ducks under the traditional
CB&Q Signal bridge. Behind it, you
can see the new signals that were
placed in service in late 2015.
During my visits, there were
speculations that BNSF or UP might
donate one of the signal bridges to
the park for display.
UP Train Z-G1G3 sits at the signal

at 11:30 PM waiting for a signal to
enter into the Global 3 facility. This
picture is one of my favorites,
mainly because I actually got a
readable number board, and the
beams of light coming from the
headlights n the unit. This is a 30
second exposure.
A brand new ES44AC leads a
loaded coal train through town, in
the final glimpses of the day.
Moving at 25 MPH, I managed to
get a very decent pan shot, a first
with a train doing more than 1
MPH! The unit is very clean, and
may be a month old when this was
taken.
In good afternoon sunlight, a

Warbonnet with BNSF lettering,
known as a fake bonnet, leads a
comon C44-9W and two former
Soo Line CEFX SD60's on a
northbound manifest heading
towards the Twin Cities.
A Norfold Southern ES44AC rolls

west with a manifest bound for
Northtown. I was actually in
position to photograph an on
coming UP train passing under
the signals, since replaced, when
this train came into vew.
On my last trip to Northwestern

Illinois, I made a delivery 30 miles
west of Rockford to an ALDI's
being remodeled. The Union
Pacific was doing some work at the
park, and this UP owned piece of
equipment was in the worst
possible spot. I ended up gettin
this shot in the evening.
The next morning from the photo

above, and the last train I
photographed in Rochelle thus
far, a Wisconsin Power and
Electric loaded coal train crawls
through town, as the work crew is
back at work.
Another of the fake bonnets leads a
Heritage 1 and Heritage 2 C44-9w's
with another oil train. These trains
seem to have people scared, News
reports having called these trains
"Toxic Rail Cars" and other things that
they are not. There was even an online
petition to ban all tank cars from the
railroads....it obviously failed.....
Union Pacific SD70M #4501 runs

west to the Global 3 terminal a mile
west of the park. These single
engine moves to and from Global 3
are quite common, sometimes
happening two or three times a
day.
My van and bedroom whenever I

am in Rochelle. If you ever see
this van in Rochelle, you will
know it is me.
Oh, the engine was on a coal
train....
With the signal bridges in Rochelle

being replaced at the time of my
visits, My goal as to photograph
them in all their splendor before
retirement. In the late afternoon
sun, a west bound rack train
passes beneath one of the bridges.
The park can be seen in the
background behind the trees.
This is one of the most popular
shot types at the park, of the trains
passing over the diamonds from
the pavalion. The only down side to
this shot are those telephone poles.
Rumors for years have persisted
that they will be coming down, but
so far, nothing has been done about
them.
With its replacement already in
place and signal masts turned,
the old bridge is spending one if
its last nights guarding the
diamonds. With a yellow over red
on the close track, a westbound
BNSF train is approaching, and
already has clearance to occupy
the diamonds.
Another railroad subject I like are

freight cars. Not all freight cars
interest me, but I do like the ones
that catch my eye, like TCMX
44497, a covered coil gondola. This
is something that I have never seen
in St. Louis, so for that reason
alone, I went ahead and took this
shot.
Brand new John Deer tractors

ride on a eastbound manifest just
west of the park. The farm
equipment is heading to New
Jersey for shipment to Europe.
and they ride aboard a Trailer
Train 60' flat car.
For now, these two containers are
safe from any sort of destruction. I
say that because SWIFT
Transportation has the highest
amount of reportable crashes and
incedents. Ask any trucker what the
name means, and more than likely
they will respond with "Sure Wish I
Finished Training"
It seems like everytime I am in
Rochelle, I see one or two hoppers
of Reading, Blue Mountain and
Northern coal hoppers. Here,
RBMN 7521 heads west with sister
7529 on the Union Pacific. I have
never figured out why they come
this far west.
Normally, Well cars are used for

containers. Here, Florida East
Coast 70798 rolls east on the
BNSF with two YRC 28' pups on
board. The well cars are called All
Purpose Wells, and they are
usually able to hold 2 28' pups or
a single 53' trailer.
Ever wonder what happened to all
those Amtrak Boxcars that used to
be on the end of their trains? Well,
they are now ownd by CMHX and
are used in the general boxcar
pool. From riding in style at 90
MPH, to being in the middle of an
everyday mixed freight and
covered in graffiti, they are now
just another boxcar.
An ACFX Center Flow hopper,
leased to Incobrasa Industries
rolls east on the UP. I do not now
anything about the company
leasing the car, but from what I
understand, it is one of many
leased to the company.
One thing I really like about the

piggyback trains going through
Rochelle is that they usually have
brand new trailers on them. Take
this one, a Costco Tri-Axle rides
west on the BNSF heading to
Seattle for use in the Pacific
Northwest and western Canada.
BNSF ES44C4, leads two other

ES series units and a fake bonnet
C44-9W on the Z-CHCSEA
intermodal. This is the hottest
intermodal train on the BNSF
line through Rochelle.
Kansas City
Area
Kansas City, a city that straddles the Missouri-Kansas Border, is
the nations second busiest rail hub. Located 3.5 to 4 hours away from
St. Louis on I-70, I have done numerous trips to the city famous for
BBQ. I got my first taste of KC Railfanning with a former freind in 2005,
who showed me me some of the busiest places to railfan. So far, on my
own, I have found about 3/4 of them since visiting on my own.
By far, the busiest place in Kansas City, and one of my favorite
locations is Santa Fe Junction. Pretty much every railroad that comes
into the city, go through the junction. With BNSF's Argentine Yard
about a mile to the west, it is a no brainer that they have the biggest
presence at thi location. It should also be mentioned that the junction
Opposite Top: A former Illinois Central Caboose

now in the employ of Kansas City Southern sits
just east of the KCS Yard
Opposite Right: Switching out Privatly owned
passenger cars, a Kansas City Terminal SW1200
puts them in order for departure in a few days.
Left: KC's Home Road is the Kansas City
Southern, here, a pair of their units sit at BNSF's
Murray Yard in North KC
sits on the border of Missouri and Kansas. The state line is actually at
the diamonds underneath the bridge.
A couple other favorite spots that I like include Kansas City Union
Station and the pedestrian overpass. With Santa Fe Junction about 3/4
of a mile away. the action is just as busy here. Kansas City Union
Station has a really nice model railroad display inside, and is also home
to the city's science center. The other location I always check out when I
am in the area is Mid-America Car in North Kansas City. Being a
locomotive shop, one never knows what to find at the shop. For the
longest time, the shop has been home to a couple of former Rock Island
E-Units, an E8 and an E6. I
have included a few shots
from MAC in this chapter,
but a whole chapter on
shops is later in the book.
Not as bust as Chicago,
Kansas City is still worth the
visit. Check it out sometime!
Opposite: Rolling through Santa
Fe Junction, the two Kansas City
Terminal "Bananas GP35's lead a
transfer to the BNSF.
Top: Former Burlington
Northern GP50 leads a Former
Santa Fe SD40-2 and two BNSF
ES44AC's through the Bottoms.
Right: Taken from the
pedestrian bridge at Kansas City
Union Statin, an empty BNSF
grain train heads east towards
Chicago.
The tain is in Kansas, I am in

Missouri. This is one of the most
interesting facts about Santa Fe
Junction. Here, a set of NS power
rounds the curve towards the NS
Yard in North Kansas City after
making a delivery to the Union
Pacific's Armordale Yard.
Heading into Argentine Yard on
the flyover, Three BNSF C44-9w's
are about to terminate their train
from Chicago. This is the daily
Chicago-Kansas City intermodal.
To access this point, the trains
must be in fully dynamic when
arriving, or in notch 8 when
departing due to the severe grade
to the highline.
With the city in the background, a
BNSF Coal train heads into the
bottoms. I am still at Santa Fe
Junction, and the train is down
the road. This is an Empty
heading back to the Powder River
Basin.
In this shot, the train in the

background snuck up on me as I
was focused on the train in the
foreground. I managed to get this
picture just in time before the
lead unit became obscured. This
is the Red Rock Coal train,
heading to Oklahoma.
The tower at Santa Fe Junction still

stands, but is no longer manned.
Today, it is used by BNSF's signal
department. Operated today by
WATCO, the Kansas City Terminal's
entire roster is leased from WAMX.
Here, a GP35 runs light past the
tower, about to cross over the
diamonds into Kansas.
The bridge just to the west of the
junction is a double decked rail
bridge. To be honest, this is the
onle bridge that I have encoutered
in my travels that is set up for rail
on both levels. A loaded Union
Pacific Coal train, headed to
Sauget, IL in the St. Louis area,
heads west on the upper leverl of
the bridge.
An early 3 piece wundsheild
SD60M, sporting the BNSF swoosh
logo looks really sharp as it leads a
former Santa Fe GP38-2 heading
towards Argenine Yard. The BN
had 100 of these SD60M's, with
with first 50 having the early 3
peice windsheild.
A month later, and the same
locomotive as above, but this time
having been renumbered to make
room for another order of
ES44C4's, the 1426 leads a
transfer run out of Argeninte
Yard with a rebuilt GP30 trailing.
Both units look really sharp in the
Orange and Black BNSF Heritage
4 scheme.
Backing into the bottoms, two BNSF

SW1001's are about to tie up for the day
in January 2014.
The one train everyone looks forward to

seeing is the Wichita, KS to Seattle, WA
manifest. This is the train that hauls
Boeing 737 aircraft. This particular
train has bodies 3 new Southwest
Airlines craft and a body for an
American Airlines craft. All 4 planes are
now in service. One of the Southwest
planes became their "Missouri One"
BNSF 2931 rolls east behinf a B40-8

heading across the Missouri River. This
is a one of a kind unit on the BNSF is in
an experimental paint scheme. One of
three painted right after the merger,
there was a Blue and Yellow Warbonnet
version, and an SD60M #9297 that was
in the Green and Orange Version of the
BN SD70MAC's, with two different
stripping patterns on on either side.
BNSF SD75M #826, built as ATSF 826,
then renumbered after the merger to
8226, the unit again wears its original
number. Once assigned to the hot Santa
Fe intermodal trains they were built for,
the unit leads a transfer run out of
Argentine bound to the BNSF Murray
Yard. The SD75M model is now on the
endangered list on the BNSF, and I may
be wrong, but all may be retired now.
In the Bottoms part of Kansas

City is the old warehouse district.
Now mostly shops and small
industry, a rebuilt Union Pacific
SD40-2 with the snoot nose leads
a KCS transfer past Docs Caboose
Model Train Store. This is one of
the best hobby shops in the area.
The Kansas City Southern and
Canadian Pacific share the yard
near Mid America Car. Here, a
recently retired Canadian Pacific
GP9 sits awaiting shipment to a
new owner. One of the last GP9's
on the roster, the Canadian Pacific
was one of the last Class 1 railroads
to have them in service
A fun delivery I made to Kansas
City was to the Zoo. What makes
this zoo so interesting is that it is
split in half by a former Missouri
Pacific line that runs south of the
city. Spanned by a pedestrian
bride, a Southbound Oil Train
rolls through the zoo heading to
Houston.
One other picture I got at the zoo
was one of the CP Huntington
type park engines. Powered by a
diesel, the engines pull visitors
around the park, with a guide at
the end to point out all the
landmarks in the Zoo. It should
be noted that all the trucks are
EMD Bloomberg Style.
Sitting at Kansas City Union

Station, the Phase 2 Amtrak
Heritage unit takes a rest after
arriving with a special train of
Private Passenger Cars. That train
can be seen on the first page of
this chapter as a KCT SW1200
switches them out.
In an industrial area to the

northwest of the city, a location I
have not found again, a pair of
rebuilt SD40-2's sit by the yard
office waiting for the switching
chores the next Monday morning.
In Overland Park, Kansas, a

northbound waits for a signal to
proceed north. The train is bound
for the Murray Yard in North
Kansas City. I am not sure if this
was a road freight or a transfer
movement, but more than likely,
it was a transfer.
Along I-470, there is a lumber yard
that at one time had rail service.
Today, it gets all shipments in by
truck, and the owner of the yard
has found an interesting way to
make some extra money, by
allowing locomotives to be stored
in the yard, like these former BNSF
SD40-2's.
On the other side of the street

from the Norfolk Southern Yard
is the Shippers Car Line. Mostly
handling tank cars, the small
facility is switched by this little 25
ton GE critter. By looking that
wheels where they meet the rails,
the unit is used pretty often.
Again in an industrial area on the

north side, this GE 65 Ton critter
is used to switch a grain silo. The
center cab engine makes it a
popular engine for industries like
this, as there is a good veiw on
either side of the engine.
With I-435 less than a 1/4 mile

away, sits a scrap yard that is
served by this old SW1, believed
to be of Rock Island heritage. I
forget the name of this industry,
but it was a nice find.
West of BNSF's Argentine Yard is

a freight car scrapper Erman.
They use this GE 44 tonner to
spot the cars in order to meet the
cutters torch. Everytime one
visits railroad equipment
scrapper, you will never know
what you will find awaiting its
final fate.
In North Kansas City is Mid

America Car, a contract locomotive
shop and dealer. Taken from a
levee across the road, lines of
locomotives wait their turn in the
shop, or waiting for a new buyer.
BNSF power dominates this shot
with EMD Products. The
Warbonnet, an SD75M, is retired.
One of the services provided by
MAC is painting. a Brand new
Union Pacific ES44AC has just
arrived the day before to be
painted into the Armour Yellow
and Harbor Mist Grey. The unit
was sent to MAC for painting due
to the GE plant in Erie being
overworked
San Louis and Rio Grande E9Am
#520 has called MAC home for the
past few years. Once a museum
peice at the National Museum of
Tansportation in Kirkwood, MO,
the unit was sold to Ed Eillis for
use on his SLRG in Colorado when
the museum downsized its
collection.
Mid America's switcher is an
eldery SW1. The unit is used to
move the equipment in and out
of the shop and into the storage
tracks. MAC not only works on
locomotives, but they also do
Rolling Stock repair as well.
Down in the Borroms, a pair of

Union Pacific MP15's work an
industry. As noted before, Union
Pacific has recently retired all
their end cab switchers due to
their inflexibilty to be used as
road power when needed.
Waiting for a new crew with its

prime mover sitting silent, KCS
4361 sits east of the KCS yard.
This was the only time I have ever
seen a train sitting on this spur.
A Kansas City Southern SW1500

has just delivered the GATX units
in the background for Mid
America to work on in
preperation to be leased to
another railroad. KCS is the only
railroad that services Mid
America Car.
Sitting in the dead line in BNSF's

Argentine yard is TEBU #BN52.
Burlington Northern rebuilt these
units in the early 1990's from
EMD SD7's and EMD SD9's to be
used as hump slugs across the BN
System.
Ready to head south to the Red

Rock Powerplant in Oklahoma,
an ES44AC sits next to the BNSF
Murray Yard main gate. This was
taken from a public road, and
there is always a train at this
location waiting to depart the
yard.
During the end of the Recession,

BNSF still had locomotives stored
under special shrink wrap tarps.
Mainly C40-8W's and C44-9W's,
the units wait for another
upswing in traffic to warrent their
return. Each tarp is marked
BNSF and then the road number
below it.
An ES44AC gets its 90 day FRA
inspection inside the small shop
at Murray. Anything that requires
more than light repairs or
inspections will require the unit
to be transferred to the shops in
Argentine.
Normally, I don't take front
coupled shots. But I took this one
mainly for the way the unit is
numbered. The former BN
SD40-2 had its road number
painted over in black, and its new
number spray painted on. This
would be an interesting unit to
model!
At the western most edge of the

Norfolk Southern system, a
former Southern Railway GP38-2
works the one time Wabash yard
in North Kansas City. NS is the
only eastern railroad to go past
the Mississippi River.
BNSF 942, a C40-8W is on the

Murray -Argentine transfer,
heading to the shops to be placed
back into service. The unit is one
of the lucky C40-8W's to not be
sold to Canadian National.
However, the first unit to recieve
the new BNSF logo, was sold to
them.
A former Milwaukee Road
MP15AC and a former Missouri
Pacific GP15-1 team up to work
the north side of UP's former
Missouri Pacific yard on the
Kansas Side. The new MP15AC
has since been retired, while the
older GP15 still earns its keep.
One last shot from the overpass at

Kansas City Union Station shows
an eastbound Manifest rolling
past the signals on its way to
Chicago.
Two coal drags wait for fresh crews at

Murray yard. One is heading to the Red
Rock Power Plant, while the other one
will be heading down the Kansas City
Southern towards Arkansas.
Single Photo
Trips
On more than one occasions, there have been many trips that resulted in
only one or two photographs. There are a number of reasons for this. I am in an
an area with only a few trains a day, or I am due back in St. Louis for another
load or other commitments. Some of these places I wish to return to someday to
explore more.
Some of the places that I intended on shooting more include the New
York City area in New Jersey and New York. I have always wanted to shoot
action on America's busiest commuter railroad, the Long Island.
Eventhough I have been to Indianapolis more than once, I am never in the right
Opposite Top Left: Somewhere west of

Wichita, a Union Pacific grain train sits in the
hole for a meet with a westbound coal empty.
Opposite Top Right: While stuck in traffic on
I-95 in Newark, NJ, I managed to get a
somewhat decent shot of a NJT train heading
towards Newark
Right: In Terre Haute, IN, a CSX Grain Train
has just come to a stop just north of Interstate
70.
place or right time to catch a train, or I pass one and there is no way to turn
around. The only good place that I have actually got more than one photograph
in Indy is at Amtraks Beech Grove shop.
While it is true that most of the locations have only a few shots in them,
there is alot of varity here. From Commuters to Class 1 freight to shortline
Operations. I was hoping this section would be longer, and I scanned for hours
to search for these photos from my thousands of pictures, and these are all the
good ones that I was able to find, and those that I did find, I consider my top
picks.
Single photo trips can be
rewarding too, especially if you
are in an area that you have
always heard of, but never been
too, and the reward is even
greater when its a seldom run
line and you happen to catch a
train in the 10 minutes that you
are there.
Opposite: While on a trip to a

lead mine 2 hours south of Cuba,
Missouri, a BNSF manifest heads
west to Springfeild, MO in
Burboun, MO on the Cuba Sub.
Top: During the one hour it took
to drive 1 mile to the George
Washington Bridge in New York
City, I got to railfan the New
York City Elevated.
Right: In the western suburbs of
Indianapolis, a CSX local heads
out to work some industries a
short distance away.
Marion, IL is home to the MODOC

Railroad Acadamy, formerly located in
California, and the Crab Orchard and
Eqyption Railroad, famouse for using
steam power in its early years on all
moves, including piggyback loads.
Steam left in the 1980's after a boiler
failer, and the road is now operated
with two former MoPac SW1200's.
One can also railfan along the
interstate! Heading east along I-70
near Knob Nooster, MO, a oversize
load with a Kenworth W900 hauls
a brand new subway carbody west
towards California for final
assembly. The car is now at work
for BART in San Fransisco.
I forget where this location is in

north central Missouri, but a
homemade Kansas City Southern
bay window caboose sits with a
former BN wide vision on an
isolated section of track on
display.
In Effingham, IL, a Northbound CN

train heading to Bloomington is lead
by a former British Columbia
C44-9WL with a three peice
windsheild. The all blue scheme
replaced BC Rails Red White Blue
scheme right before the road was
leased to the Canadian National.
A Grand Trunk Western GP38-2

sits somewhere in Southern
Illinois on the line the leads to
East St. Louis. It has been quiet a
while since I have been through
here, so I have forgotten the
name of this location, please
accept my apologies.
East of Dodge City, Kansas, at a
grain elevator, sits two rare birds.
The brown unit is a Norfolk and
Western rebuild of a GP9,
designated a TC10, while the
trailing unit is a very rare former
Burlington Northern GP9B unit.
These two units work together
during the harvest season.
Columbia, Missouri, half way
between St. Louis and Kansas
City is the home of the Columbia
Terminal Railroad. The roads
only unit unit sits with power
from the now defunct Columbia
Star Dinner Train. The Dinner
train ran for only 3 years before
shitting dowin in 2014.
Working a short section of former
Nickle Plate Road trackage in
Vandalia, IL is the Vandalia
Railroad. The road sees light
traffic, and the roads SW9 is the
more then enough to handle the
work. The unit is sitting at the
roads office on a cold November
night.
On a different trip to
Indianapolis, I made a delivery to
a small machine shop across the
street from the main yard of the
Indiana Railroad. The backlit
shot is the only one I managed to
get that day.
While on a long haul from St.

Louis, MO to Pharr, Texas on the
Mexican border, I encountered
the BNSF yard in Waco, Texas.
On the return, I put the hazard
lights on, and took this picture
from the passenger side of the 26'
box truck I was driving.
In Tulsa, OK, two SD40-2's pull
hard to get a cut of cars out of the
BNSF yard in order to shove
them over the hump for
classification. The two old
workhorses sounded as good
now, as the did when they were
brand new in the 1970's.
On a load to Boyton Beach,
Florida, a load that took me from
12 degree weather in St. Louis to
80 degree weather, not only made
me sicker than a dog, but also
affected my railfanning, as such,
this one picture of a Tri-Rail train
is the only picture I took on that
trip.
Having just completed its run over

the Chillocothe Subdivision across
Illinois from Chicago, a hot
intermodal waits for a signal to
proceed on to Kansas City of the
Marciline Subdivision on the
former Santa Fe Transcon line.
Marciline, MO, while small, was
the boyhood home of Walt Disney.
In Camden, Ohio, a westbound

autorack train heads through
town. Not much else is known
about this location, but I would
like to come back here someday.
In Chillocothe, Ohio, two former

L&N, CSX GP40-2's, sits at the
office near the end of track,
waiting for the next work day.
This was at one time the mainline
of the B&O Washington D.C. to
St. Louis mainline, now
abandoned west of town.
Taken during Rush Hour in
Nashville, TN, a L&N GP sits on
the Museum grounds east of
downtown. I am not sure which
museum this is, but I do not
think it is the TVRM, but then
again, I could be wrong.
Two Nashville and Eastern GE

units sit in their yard east of
downtown Nashville. The N&E
operates what remains of the
former Tennessee Central
railroad. While looking good in
their Santa Fe colors, no doubt,
the units will be repainted in the
near future.
In Mexico, Missouri, two units
belonging to a shortline (I forget
the name at this time) sit and
wait for their call to action later in
the day. I have delivered to the
warehouse behind them
numerous times, but this was the
first time I had seen both of the
roads power.
Another photo from the Pharr,
TX trip resulted in this shot of a
Fort Worth and Western Genset.
I was forced off the interstate by
an idiot driver in a Ford F-350,
and while trying to find my way
back, I stumbled upon this nice
shot.
A different Tulsa trip resulted in

this very beautifully lit shot of
Frisco #4500 in the Meteor
scheme. By far, this is the most
beautiful steam locomotive paint
scheme on an engine that was
never streamlined.
In Topeka, Kansas, two rebuilt

GP38-2's wait for a signal in
order to enter the yard. This is at
the Topeka Amtrak Station.
I forget the location of this

picture (I should start writing
these things down), a Evansville
and Western train with power
picked up from NRE in Mt.
Vernon, IL gets underway afer
making a setout.
In Big Cabin, Oklahoma, a loaded

grain train of nothing but
Ferromex cars race south on the
former Missouri-Kansas-Texas
Main line. This location is about a
mile south of I-44.
Morristown, NJ is the home to

the all ALCo powered Morriston
and Erie. The main engine shop is
located below a grocery store
parking lot that gives the
photographer a nice overveiw of
the shops. The two passenger cars
are privatly owned.
On a trip to Pittsburgh, I came

across this very sad sight. The
locomotive once worked at a steel
mill that was located at this
location, and is supposed to be on
display to remember those days.
The sad thing about it is how it is
displayed. The unit is vandalized
with broken windows and missing
parts. The saddest part of all is
where the engine sits. The
locomotive sits on bare ground and
not on any type of track. One would
think of at least putting the
locomotive on a section of track,
but the developers probably
thought that it would be cheaper if
it sat on the bare ground.
Every once in a while, I have to
figure out how to photograph
through a chain link fence. Thats
what happened on a load to
Columbus, Ohio, and this shot of
the Camp Chase Industrial. Shot
from a gap underneath the fence
resulted in this damatic image of
the two former SP SW1500's
An unkown EMD switcher sits a

large grain elevetor south of
Lousianna, MO along State
Highway 79. This location is on
the BNSF K-Line that runs north
from St. Louis. This unit is only
active during the harvest season.
A trip to Decatur, IL was worth

while, not only because I got a
backhaul to St. Louis, but also in
these Leaf gensets owned by
ADM. Here, the pair work a cut
of cars to be loaded at one of the
many ADM facilities in Decatur.
Another shot from the Pittsburgh

trip was of the Union Railroad
backing a cut of cars from the
URR mainline down to the Edgar
Thompson plant. This was the
only time I ever saw the Union in
action, as from what I can tell,
they do not like railfans.
This shot and the shot below were
both taken in Paris, IL. Located
on the eastern edge of the state,
the small town has many
industries served by CSX. In the
first shot, a local train works the
grain silo in the background, with
a former NS GP38-2 trailing. The
unit was on a year lease to CSX
to CSX right after they were
retired from NS. Another large
facility, also for grain, ships out
mostly by truck, but also ships
out by rail. Here, another local
job prepares to drop a single car
to be loaded.
Another shot from the Indianapolis

local job. Both units started out on the
Louisville and Nashville railroad.
Louisville
Load
When I was working out of my car for a while, I rarely got out of town.
However, in 2013, I lucked out on getting a load of two small rolls of copper wire
bound for a power plant in Louisville, KY. The load was a hot one, and I did not
have time to stop at all to do any shooting, but on the way back, I took my time
and worked my way back to get shots of mainly shortline. Along the way, I met
with my buddy Terry Redeker, who was in the area on business.
I stayed in La Grange that night, mainly because thats where I would start
my days activities and start working west back to St. Louis. I met with Terry in
Booneville, IN on the Squaw Creek Southern operation of Respondek. From
there, Terry and I worked our way north to shoot the Indiana Southern, a recent
addition to the Genesse and Wyoming shortline facility after the roads previous
owner, Rail America, was purchased by G&W. We were after the new SD40-2's
Opposite Top Left: Indiana Southern 4043

rolls back towards the yard in Petersburgh, IN.
Opposite Top Right: A CSX autorack train is
about to enter the two blocks of street running
in La Grange, KY.
Right: A recently delivered Indiana Southern
SD40-2 in G&W Corporate colors slowly inches
forward at Sommerville Mine.
and the roads pre-Rail America paint scheme. We ended the day in Mt. Vernon,
IL with night shots of the Evansville and Western. This was my first experience
with night shots, and with Terry's knowledge on how to use a flood light, we got
some excellent shots of EVWR power.
I would love to revist some of these locations again, especially La Grange,
Kentucky. This was my first experiance with Street Running. The town has
embracced the fact that mainline trains run down the middle of the street, and
they are very freindly to the railfan community. One resteraunt that I saw while
there, though not open at the time of my visit, even has a sandwich called the
"CSX Burger"!
This was one of my more
memrable trips that I made,
even though my Dispatcher
told me I had a 7am pickup the
next day, I still managed to get
5 hours sleep once I got home
at 1 AM. Well worth it in my
opinion!
Opposite: One of the night shots
that I took on the Evansville and
Western in Mt. Vernon, IN.
Top: Terry Redeker takes a
picture of one of the newly
delviered Indiana Southern
SD40-2's in Petersburgh, IN.
Right: RJ Corman SD40-2's sit
in Lousiville, KY with a string of
RJ Corman gondolas. This train
is the "Sandman".
The same Autorack train seen on the

previous page has entered the street
running trackage. Street running was
once common across America, but
today, it is hard to find thanks to towns
wanting the tracks out of their streets.
La Grange, however, embraces the idea,
mainly because the visiting railfans
spend their money in local shops and
hotels.
With my Chevy HHR sitting to the side,

the same CSX Autorack slowly passes
by. I had this car for a little over two
years before I decided to trade it in
because of parts constantly failing.
However, this is one of my favorite
pictures from La Grange.
A manifest heads south through

La Grange on the opposite end of
street running. That is my car
again, with my "I am the Stig"
decal. I wish I could have stayed
longer, but I had promised to
meet my freind Terry later on the
day, so I had to move on.
In the Lousiville city limits its self, I

captured this local lead by a GP38-2/Slug
set. The only down side of railfanning in a
city that you are not familiar with is that
you miss alot of the action, not knowning
where to go and where it is safe to railfan or
not. Lousiville is such a case with me. One
of these days, I want to return with more
knowledge on where to railfan in this great
city.
RJ Corman has an operation in

Lousiville as well. Operating from a
sand operation along the Ohio River, RJ
Corman runs a solid gondola train
called "The Sandman". Two o f the
roads SD40-2's sit at the origination
point waiting for its next run that
evening.
I finally met up with Terry near

Booneville, Indiana. This is the
Yankeetown Dock operation of
Respondek, operated by their Squaw
Creek Southern. Of all the locomotives
that YDC operated, all but one was
leased to Respondek. That unit is
SD38-2 #21, bought new from EMD.
The unit sits in Booneville in its original
YDC paint scheme.
One of the rarest locomotives I have

ever photographed was Respondek
#11, a former Seaboard Coast Line
EMD SDP35. Purchased by
Yanketown from CSX, the unit is
used to spot coal hoppers on the
dock for unloading into barges. The
SDP35 had been rebuilt by the
Seaboard system to be used as a
yard hump engine.
Our next stop was in Somerville,
Indiana and a visit to the
Somerville Mine, were we caught
an Indiana Southern train
loading for a power plant 36
miles to the north. The power
consists of 3 newly delivered
SD40-2's and a former Southern
Pacific SD40T-2.
The former Southern Pacific

SD40T-2 is in near full SP paint.
If it did not have the GECX
lettering below the road number,
the unit could be considered a
true SP unit. Since the railroad
disappeared 20 years ago, finding
SP power in near perfect paint
has become a rare site.
One last shot at the Somerville
mine as the train passes under a
public road bridge. With over 3/4
of the train filled, the crew will
soon disembark and a road crew
will take the train on to its
destination, 36 mile up the line.
After getting permission from the

yard master at ISOR's Petersberg
yard, we were allowed to drive to
the south end of the property to
shoot what we thought would be
the only ISOR painted
locomotive. Our efferts were
thwarted when we discovered the
unit was blocked by a boxcar.
The AEX reporting mark is owned by
the Andersons Company. This EMD
SW1200 displays the AEX reporting
mark, and a 6 digit road number. In all
of my travels, this is the only time I have
ever seen a locomotive with a 6 digit
road number. From my understanding,
the unit has such a number so it would
match the 6 digits displayed on their
covered hoppers.
A former Chicago and Illinois Midland

SD20 is assigned to the ISOR. The C&IM
purchased four of these units, #80-83,
right before the road was bought by
G&W. The units were in the employee of
the pre-G&W C&IM for exactly 7 days.
The road was renamed the Illinois and
Midland to reflect its operating territory,
since the railroad never did reach
Chicago.
An overview of the Petersburg yard

shows 5 units in 4 paint schemes. the
AEX SW1200, 2 recently delivered
SD40-2's, a TP&W SD45T-2 still in
Southern Pacific Paint, and the former
C&IM SD20. I would like to thank the
people of the ISOR for allowing us onto
the property to take these images.
After gassing up the car, Terry and I were

quite surprised when we heard an air horn
in the distance. Since the gas station was
right across the street, we quickly got into
position. Much to our delight, it was a light
engine move with the Indiana Southern
#4043. Our hopes of getting a true ISOR
unit was achieved with this surprise.
In Evansville, IN, ADM operates a

decent sized grain elevator. The unit
assigned to the plant is this former
Manufactures Railway ALCo s2. Since
repainted from the classic MRS colors,
the unit now wears a grime coat of gray
and light blue. The unit is at rest as a
CSX manifest rolls by in this 30 second
exposure.
Our last stop before I headed home was

in Mt. Vernon, IL. EVWR SD40-2
#6001 sits at the yard office with the
moon rising in the background. This
shot was taken without any lighting
assitance, and was done all with the
natural ambient light.
Another shot of the 6001 with

assistance from Terry's flood light
resulted in this exposure . The EVWR
operates the former CSX/B&O
Louisville-St. Louis line as far as
Oakawaville, IL, where the line is now
abandoned from there to East St. Louis.
The busiest part of the line is from
Evansville to Mt. Vernon.
After Terry showed me how to use the

flood light to paint the engines, I gave it
a try. Even though I was not
experienced in this form of
photography, I would have to say that
my first attempt was pretty decent. Not
the best, but I was satisfied with the
results.
Two more EWVR units wait for their

next assignment the next day. Done
with all natural ambient lighting, the
units look really nice with their lights
softly glowing in the dark.
At the time of my visit, the EWVR was

leasing a number of CITX
SD9043MAC's. Here, one of them sits
under the sanding tower, its headlight
on dim. Even though the light looks
bright, it was in fact dim. The Long
exposure intensified the light. This was
a 10 second expure.
A dramatic 30 second exposure of the

6001 was created by just placing the
camera on my arm rest in the car. This
is one of my favorite shots that I took
during the night shoot.
One more shot of the 6001 with its

headlight extinguished
The final shot of the EWVR was out on

the mainline, waiting for a crew to be
taken out towards Oakwaville the next
day. Before this day, I had absolutely no
luck in catching the Evansville and
Western. One day, I would like to return
to see if they are operating some of the
former CSX SD70MAC's.
This ISOR shot is my favorite from the Somerville Mine.
Boston
Load
On Memorial Day weekend in 2015, I got a nice little load going to
Boston, Massachusets. I had 4 days to drive the 1,400 miles, and I took
this opportunity to do as much railfanning as I can during this trip,
mainly because I have no idea when I will get out there again. Sleeping in
the van on most nights saved me nearly $600 in hotel costs.
My first night was spent in Fostoria, Ohio and the Iron Triangle.
Thinking it would be like Rochelle in action, I decided to camp out in the
park overnight. This turned out to be a mistake, since the action here is
heavier than Rochelle, and I was constantly awakened by the train traffic
through the park.
After a hard nights sleep at the Iron Triangle, I drove on to
Binghamton, New York, making numerous stops along the way, taking
the back roads whenever possible to get the most out of the trip. On the
Opposite Top Left: Vermont Railway 201 rolls

south bound for White River Junction.
Opposite Top Right: Buffalo and Pittsburgh
locomotive shops in Butler, PA
Right: A Mass Central GP9 in the process of
being repainted into a Boston and Maine
inspire paint scheme.
third day, I ended up at my freinds house in Windsor, VT. Aaron

Gonthier, owner of TheRailChannel.com was a great host, and together
we chased a train on the Vermont Railway line that runs to White River
Junction, VT. One of the best chases I had in a long time.
After delivering in the Boston area the next day, I took my time in
getting back to Windsor by checking out some of the rail action in the
area. Stirking out on the P&W was made up with getting some decent
shots of the Grafton and Upton Railroad.
On the return to St.
Louis, I only made a couple
of stops, mainly because I
was anxious to get home
after a long trip. Shooting
only 3 pictures on the way
back.
I really hope to return
to the area, as I find the rail
action there to be supurb.
Opposite: a CSX C40-8 races
through Fostoria, Ohio with a
manifest in a perfect pan shot.
Top: A Delware and Lackawanna
C425 that was used in the movie
"Planes, Trains and
Automobiles" sits in Scranton,
PA still in its movie paint
scheme.
Right: A NYS&W SD60,
previously an Oakway Unit, sits
at the west end of the
Binghamton, New York yard.
I made my pickup in Granite City.

The first train that I saw on this
trip was actually the Norfolk
Southern Granite City Steel job. I
took this as a sign that this would
be a very rewarding trip
photography wise. I was right as
the following pages can show.
The last train I photographed

on the first day was this CSX
eastbound passing through
the Iron Triangle. In a near
perfect Pan shot, the slow
moving train looks like it is
racing along at track speed.
After a rough night of sleep thanks
to the constant train traffic, my first
train that I caught on the 2nd day
was a NS manifest rolling east. The
lighting here is perfect for
eastbounds during the morning,
and westbounds during the
afternoon and evening hours.
The final train captured in
Fostoria was a Westbound NS
grain train heading to Decatur,
IL. The two common NS Dash-9's
get underway after getting a
signal to cross the two CSX lines
that make up 2/3 of the Iron
Triangle.
The next stop was MacDonald,

Ohio to check out the dead line of
locomotives at Larry's Truck and
Electric. These images were taken
on a public road overpass that
leads to several industries on the
other side of the tracks.
Once used in the hauling of Iron

Ore in the Missabi range of
Minnisota, Former DM&IR
SD38-2 #208 sits in the deadline
at LTE. This was one of at least a
dozen DM&IR units sitting on the
property.
On the west side of the bridge,
switchers from various owners languish
in the weeds in the company of former
BNSF and NS GP15-1's and Butte,
Anaconda and Pacific GP9's. Some of
these units are nothing more than
hulks, having been parted out for reuse
on other LTE units or sold to other
customers for their own locomotives.
Only the cab and frame remains
of this unknown EMD SW1200,
and it looks like it has been sitting
here for many years, as trees have
started to grow all around the
unit, and into the cab of the
derelict locomtive. More photos
from LTE can be found in a later
chapter in this book.
A visit to Akron, Ohio resulted in

the only image I have taken on
the Wheeling and Lake Erie.
SD40-2 #6385 sits with other
units in the background waiting
for their next assignment. With
this being a Sunday, the units will
not return to work until the next
day.
In Youngstown, Ohio, two Ohio
Central geeps sit waiting for the
next call to duty. The Ohio
Central is now a Genesse and
Woming operation, however,
only a few of the locomotives
have been painted into the G&W
Corporate colors.
Butler, PA is home to the
locomotive shops of the Buffalo
and Pittsburgh railroad, another
of the G&W properties. Sitting
under the bridge is this former
Conrail GP40. The unit retains its
Conrail paint with only minimal
B&P lettering.
A shot of the engine house shows
an SD40-2 about to be pulled out
of the shop and added to a lashup
on a Northbound train heading to
Buffalo, New York. I came across
Butler yard purely by accident,
mainly because I was trying to
avoid the Pennslyvania Turnpike,
as I am not a big fan of toll roads.
The Buffalo and Pittsburgh was

started up by the G&W in the late
1980s after purchasing the route
from CSX. When the railroad was
started, its roster consisted of
mainly GP9's that were included
in the sale. Today, SD40-2's like
this one are the railroads main
power.
Stopping in Altoona, PA for a visit
to the Juniata shops was a must.
The first picture I snapped was of
Union pacific DDA40X #6944, a
museum peice belonging to the
Museum of Transportation in
Kirkwood, MO for a cosmetic
restoration, part of the agreement
for letting the VMT borrow N&W
2158.
A big surprise for me was Norfolk
Southern SD60E #911. The unit was
released from Juniata in this special
paint scheme honor America's first
responders the week before. I had
expected it to be be out on the road by
the time I had arrived, but was
plesently surprised when I saw the
unit sitting out in the yard. It left the
next day on a special.
Recently, Norfolk Southern has
been purchasing alot of
locomotives from the second hand
market. Among those picked up
were former BNSF SD75M's and
SD60M's. Here, one of each sit at
the turntable on the east end of the
facility, waiting to get a complete
overhaul and repainting. Both are
now in system wide service.
An overveiw of the Juniata Shops

at the turntable area shows
various locomotives in the shop
for maintence, repair or complete
rebuilding. It has been the main
shops forPennsylvania, Penn
Central, Conrail and today, is the
largest shop on the Norfolk
Southern.
A recent addition to the Norfolk Southern
is this SD80MAC. It came to NS in a trade
with CSX for SD40-2's. It was the first
unit to be repainted. It sits in the
company of a GP59 and an SD70M-2.
With only 30 units built, the SD80MAC is
a rare bird. All were sold to Conrail, and
with the trade with CSX, all but 1 are now
together again. The one that did not
arrive was wrecked and scrapped.
One of the former Burlington Northern

SD60M's suns itself after getting a new
paintjob. The unit has the early 3 peice
windsheild that indicates it was from
the first order of the model that
Burlington Northern Received in the
early 1990's.
Norfolk Southern SD90/43MAC

7299 sits away from the other
units, getting ready for a full
rebuilt. The unit is one of 100
SD90's that the NS purchased
from the Union Pacific. The unit
has since been completly rebuilt
to SD70ACe standards with the
new EMD cab and nose.
The all ALCo powered DelawareLackawanna railroad operates

several shortlines in New York
and Pennsylvania. This RS11 is
letter for the Depew, Lancaster
and Western railroad in New
York. The unit is sitting in
Scranton, PA outside the gates of
Steamtown USA.
Another D-L ALCo, this one an

RS36, sits in the same lashupat
Steamtown. Behind the unit is a
restored Lackawanna ALCo RS3,
part of the collection of
Steamtown.
Seen before at the start of this

chapter, is a better, telephoto
shot of the Susi-Q SD60.
Binghamton has a small
locomotive shop here at the other
end of the yard, but other than
trespassing, there is no way to
actually get shots of the power at
the shop.
The previous day, I shot NS 9-1-1,
unit honoring America's First
Responders. On the next day in
Binghamton, NY, I got NS SD60E
#6920, the Honoring our
Veterans unit. The unit is suitable
for this day, as it is Memorial Day,
the day were we salute those in
our Armed Forces.
Once in Vermont, Aaron and I

ventured out along the former Boston
and Maine in attempt to catch the
southbound Vermont Railway train to
White River Junction. We first
encountered the train north of Fairlee,
VT. With VTR 201 on the point and
one of the Green Mountain units
trailing, the train is rocking and rolling
through the Vermont Hills.
In Fairlee, We caught up to the
train as it was slowing to a stop so
the crew could get an Ice Cream at
a local stand! The Vermont
Railway is one of those railroads I
had always wanted to visit, and
thanks to Aaron, I had a really
good chase, with many different
shots taken.
Once stopped in Fairlee, Aaron
and I walked up to the engine to
talk to the crew. The visit was a
breif one, and pretty soon, the
train was rolling south again,
with the crew enjoying their Ice
Cream!
Rolling through the backyards of

North Thetford, VT, the train rolls
along the uneven tracks at a brisk
35 MPH. Even though the tracks
are uneven and joint, they are in
really good shape for trains to roll
along at this speed. To my right is
the river that is also the state line
with New Hampshire.
A few miles down the line in East

Thetford, the engineer lays on the
horn and throttles up, attempting to
give us a really nice and dramatic
shot. However, the units did not
smoke like he wanted to. The image
can't convey the sound of the two
units working up the slight grade or
the sound of the train rolling along
jointed rail.
With the water in New Hampshire
and the train in Vermont, Aaron
and I caught the train rolling
through a sweeping curve in
Norwich, VT. This was taken from
the side of the road that pretty
much parralels the railroad for
much of the way to White River
Junction.
A couple of miles later, still in

Norwich, but not as a dramatic
shot as the one above, the crew
enjoys a nice breeze from the
mild spring time weather through
the open windows of the cab.
Arriving in White River Junction,

the crew will contine on down the
line for another mile to drop their
train at the New England Central
interchange before coming back to
the station to tie up for the day.
The White River Junction station
is one of the most photographed
stations in the Northeast.
After dropping their train at the

interchange and tieing up for the
day, I was able to finally get a nice
uncoupled nose shot of the Green
Mountain Unit.
A New England Central Power set,

with a former Florida East Coast
GP40-2 sit at the White River
Junction Station. The FEC unit
came to the NECR during the short
time the two railroads were owned
by RailAmerica. RailAmerica had
since been purchased by the
Genesse and Wyoming.
The Claremont-Concord Railroad
was a shortline living out its final
days when this picture was taken.
A few months after my visit, the
railroad was purchased by the
Genesse and Wyoming and
merged into the New England
Central and the roads two ALCo
switchers were retired.
After making my delivery in the
Boston Area, I struck out at trying to
get shots of the Providance and
Worcester railroad. However, I did
get some decent shots of the nearby
Grafton and Upton railroad in near
by Grafton, MA. The 1500 is a
former Santa Fe Railway CF7 road
unit, that was rebuilt from one of the
Santa Fe's F-units during the 1970's.
A former Santa Fe GP9 with a

Topeka cab sits on the storage track,
apparently waiting to get some
minor work done before entering
service. The G&U is one of the few
railroads that actually has active FUnits on the roster, but despite a
search of the area, I was unable to
locate them.
Another GP9 sits behind the GP9,

coupled to a CSX ballest car. Also
waiting for some minor work, the
unit suns itself in the morning
sun.
Upon closer inspection of the unit

seen above, I noticed the engine
has a small 700 gallon fuel tank.
This type of tank was an option
on all early EMD GP series
locomotives for railroads that did
not have a large operating radius,
such as shortlines and terminal
operations.
In Palmer, MA, Another NECR
unit sits after a days work. Palmer
is a junction with the former
Boston and Albany railroad, now
operated by CSX, and the New
England Central and the
MassCentral railroad.
With a cut of cars bound coming

off the MassCentral, three CSX
GP40-2's comes out onto the
B&A to drop the cars in the small
CSX yard just to the east of the
diamonds. The lead unit wears
the new Boxcar logo that had
been introduced a couple of years
before.
After dropping the cars in the

small yard, the units come back
towards the junction to go to
work some of the local industries
in town. During my 2 hour visit to
Palmer, this was the only moving
train that I saw.
In Ware, MA, I photographed the
rarest locomotive of the trip. The unit
is a rare EMD NW5 that looks like an
ALCo RS3. Basically an SW9 on an
extended frame and road unit trucks,
the model was designed for mixed
train use on branchlines. Only 13 of
the units were built, and this is one of
the few survivors.
Rolling downhill at a high speed,

this image is not on a real
railroad, but on Aaron's
Millbrook Railroad. Aaron has
been busy building his 7.25 inch
railroad for the past several years.
After doing some trackwork at the

end of the line, I am seen shoving
the work car back up the hill. Aaron
decided to snap this picture of me as
I pushed the car up the steepest part
of the railroad... This was actually
harder than it looked since the car
weighs about 125 pounds.
Aaron Gonthier Photo
On my return to St. Louis, I only

stopped a couple of times. The
first time was in Owego, New
York to shoot the power of the
Owego Harford Railway. The
railroad rosters this former
Conrail B23-7 and two elderly
EMD Switchers.
Ready for shipment to South

America this ES44AC sits outside
the General Electric Erie, PA
plant. This locomotive ended up
following me to St. Louis on its
way to the Port of Houston for
shipment.
The final picture of 5 day trip was

in Decatur, IL. Three Decatur
Junction locomotives sit north of
I-72 resting after a days work,
either switching in Decatur or
running out to the end of the line
in Cisco, IL.
One type of image I like to shoot, with

permission of course, is head on shots.
The two units that were on the train
Aaron and I were chasing sit at White
River Junction after being shut down
for the day.
Pennsylvania
In 2014, I made 3 seperate trips to western Pennsylvania. Thanks to
my good freind Jack of West Newton, I managed to get some really nice
shots. Other locations I found on accident, and some others I had to find
on my own. The Juniata shops was one of them that I had to find on my
own, even though JK and I had come with in a few miles of the shops but
had to turn around due to a bridge being rebuilt.
The main subject during the 3 visits it seems was the Norfolk
Southern Pittsburgh line that goes over Horseshoe Curve. I did not
venture to the curve, because I did not feel like having to pay to go get
pictures that a million others have shot before me. Instead, I sticked to
less photographed locations.
While staying in PA, I stayed with Jack, as he has a home that I
envy. His front porch is less than 40 feet away from the closest rail from
Opposite Top Left: A recently retired GP50

sits at the Juniata Shops waiting to be
rebuilt into a GP38ECO
Opposite Top Right: A CSX Oil train rolls
along S. 5th street in West Newton, PA.
Right: A Pittsburgh and Ohio Central
switcher sits in McKees Rocks. POC was a
subsidary of the Ohio Central.
a busy CSX Mainline, The line that goes up and over Sand Patch Grade
in Maryland.
I have since lost touch of JK, but the 3 times the two of us got
together to railfan resulted in some of the best pictures I had taken up
to that point. With out him, I would not have been able to experience
the action properly on the Pittsburgh line, or any other location in
Western PA.
Even though the Pittsburgh line is shot over and over again by
many a photographer, I still enjoyed myself. At first, I though the line
was really over rated, but
after three visits to the line,
I have changed my opion.
These trips are the
main reason why I wanted
to write this book, so you
can enjoy what I enjoy day
after day while driving.
Opposite: A Nofolk
Southern oil train rolls west
through Torrance, PA.
Top: A switcher in an
industry in Mckees Rocks. I
forget the name of this
railroad, and which
industry this is.
Right: A CSX empty
intermodal train rolls
though West Newton, PA
heading to Pittsburgh.
Starting off in West Newton, a

CSX manifest rolls east towards
Hagestown, MD with a
AC6000CW on the point. The
line rolls down South 5th Street,
splitting the neighbor in half.
A westbound train with 3 Union

Pacific GE's trailing head west
with an intermodal train. At the
time of my visit, the route could
not handle double stacks, so all
the well cars were loaded with
only 1 container.
The local train that rolls through

town is usually lead by SD40-2's or
GP/Slug sets. The train works over
Sand Patch serving the numerous
industries along the route, mainly in
the Hagerstown and the Pittsburgh
Area. In this shot, the train struggles
through towin with a two SD40-2's
and a GP/Slug set and 89 cars.
Taken from a back alley, a two
digit CSX AC4400 rolls east. The
hill in the back ground is across
from the Youghiogheny River. On
th rivers edge at the base of the
hill is a hiking trail that used to
be a Pittsburgh and Lake Erie
branch line.
One of the 20 SD70ACe's on the

CSX Roster leads a 213 car
manifest east through town. This
is the first time I had seen one of
these Pre-Production units. In
recent years, CSX has been
puchasing only from GE, so for
EMD, getting CSX to agree to test
the units was quite a victory.
Another west bound is about to

split 5th street in half as a
manifest heads east through town
enroute to Baltimore, MD.
In downton West Newton, an

empty oil train lead by a CEFX
Citirail ES44AC. This was the first
time that my freind was able to
get a good sho of one of these
attractive leasing units. Currently,
the entire fleet of Citirail units are
leased to the BNSF.
West of town, we were able to
catch up to the train, doing
everybit of the 45 MPH track
speed. Leaning out of the
window, I snapped this pacing
shot. This turns out to be the first
time I actually got a perfect
pacing shot from a moving car.
Rolling along the former

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, a loaded
coal train heads north. Once it
reaches the Sand Patch line, the
power will uncouple from the
train and run around it before
heading east. The train had just
departed from one of the mines
just south of here.
Just south of Interstate 70, the
train as seen above rolls along the
river through Belle Vernon, PA.
While not the perfect picture
because of the lighting. When I
am out chasing trains, I always
stay on public property, and that
can be a big challenge when the
lighting is not the best.
Another shot along the former

P&LE, the same coal train seen
above enters a short section of
street running. I do admit, I hate
to admit, but I have forgotten the
name of this town.
Sitting in the sitting at P&LE

Milepost 36, a loaded coal train
sits in the hole waiting a new
crew. On the otherside of the
tracks is the Monongahela River
and the Norfolk Southern's
former Monongahela Railway on
the opposite bank of the river.
In a break between heavy

showers, a Newark, NJ bound
intermodal races through McKees
Rocks, PA.
An eastbound CSX Autorack train

with a pair of Canadian Pacific
AC4400's sit east of Connelsville,
PA. This location is next to a gun
club and required a short hike
down a hill to get to the tracks.
After making a set out at the
Connelsville yard, the train will
continue east to Baltimore.
West of Connelsville, PA, a set of
light units run west to Pittsbugh
to pick up its train. The lead unit
is a former BNSF/Santa Fe
C40-8W, while the trailing unit is
a former Union Pacific/Chicago
and Northwestern C40-8W
standard cab.
Run through power on the CSX line
over Sandpatch is pretty common.
A BNSF ES44 leads an autorack
train down South 5th Street in
West Newton, PA in 2014.
This train could be heard for miles
thanks to the tracks following the
river through the hills, causing an
echo effect.
In Latrobe, PA, An Amtrak Dash

8-32BWH ducks under classic
Pennsylvania Railroad Position
Light Signals as it travels east
along the Pittsburgh line.
A Lone GE P42 has the 7

Superlines running at track speed
as the the train, the Capitol
Limited to Washington DC,
approaches Dawson, PA., passing
under the Wheeling and Lake
Erie's massive bridge.
A SWP light engine move crests

the grade near Woods Road in
Ownnsdale, PA., after ducking
under the Wheeling and Lake
Erie north of Connelsville, PA.
The power will tie up a few miles
to the north at the railroads shops
in Scottdale, PA.
SWP GP38-2 #4001 trails the
same light engine movement seen
above in Owensdale, PA. Still
wearing previous owners Kansas
City Southern grey paint scheme,
the unit had just recently arrived
on the SWP, after getting
shopped and blue carded by
Metro East Inudstries of East St.
Louis, IL.
Sitting in the Wheeling and Lake

Erie's Rook Yard outsite Pittsburgh, I
came across this AVR SD40-2,
rebuilt from an SD45. Not being
familiar with the area's railroads, I
am left to wonder if the AVR also
uses Rook Yard, or if the unit is
waiting for an AVR crew to take it
and the train to their own yard.
In Derry, PA, two cabooses are on
display next to the Norfolk
Southern Pittsburgh Line. One is
a PRR Northeastern style
caboose, while the one pictured,
is a former Erie Lackawanna Bay
Window caboose.
While Cresson, PA is better known as
a helper terminal on the the
Pittsburgh line, RJ Corman's
Pennsylvania lines does have an
operation based in town on the north
side of the shops.
An RJC SD40T-2 sits next to the
scrapper that recently been scrapping
retired NS B40-8's and C40-8's
East of the tracks in Cresson is

one of the many PRR cabooses
displayed along the Pittsburgh
Line.
In Youngwood, PA, home to the first

Hump Yard in the 1800's, a small
industrial critter sits with its cab
boarded over. I am not sure who owns
the unit, as it has no markings.
Youngwood was the site of the worlds
first humpyard, that was built in the
1800's to serve the steel industry.
A former Duluth, Missabi and Iron

Range SDM (Rebuilt SD9), is now
privatly owned and is shown here
switching coal hoppers at the
Conemaugh Generating Station
along the Conemaugh River.
A night shot of the Altoona Shops

taken through a wrought iron
fence shows the various power on
hand for either maintence or
complete rebuild.
Any given day will find plenty of

power on hand at the turntable. An
Ex-BNSF SD60M with the 3 piece
windsheild, and a former BNSF/
Santa Fe SD75M, mingle about with
some standard NS power in this
2014 shot.
The EMD GP50 is now extinct from

the Norfolk Southern roster. One of
the final units active of the fleet,
that was delivered in full Southern
Railway paint, was NS 5074. Since
this photo was taken, the unit was
completely stripped down to the
frame and was rebuilt into a
GP33ECO with a 710 prime mover.
SD40-2 #3503, former the 3496,
has had its old cab removed and
is being prepped for the
installation of the new NS
designed "Admiral Cab."
The picture below shows sister
unit 3502 just about ready to
enter the paint shop.
Norfolk Southern SD40-2 #3502
is nearing the end of a rebuild
that saw its original cab and nose
replaced by a NS Design called
the "Admiral Cab". Before the
rebuild, the unit wore nmber
3495, and upon release from the
Juniata paintshop, was still in the
full Operation Lifesaver paint
scheme
Standing outside the shop
enterence is the iconic billboard
that portrays the front end of an
EMD locomotive. Erected by
conrail, the "unit" was originally
in Conrail paint, but was painted
into NS colors shortly after the
Conrail split up in 1999.
Working as manned helpers,

Norfolk Southern SD40E's 6301
and 6304 are just along for the
ride at the tail end of a Chicago
bound intermodal, doing a good
45MPH through Westmoreland,
PA.
In Wilmerding, PA, SD70M-2 #2680

heads west with a former C40-8. The
facility in the background is
WABTEC, the corporate successor
wo the Westinghouse Air Brake Co.
It was at this facility the the majority
of Air Brake systems were
manufactured at the turn of the
1900's.
Coming the other way a few
minutes after the 2680 passed,
ES44AC #8004, the 5th unit in
Norfolk Southerns initial ES44AC
order, leads an SD70, an SD60E
and a SD70M-2 passed the
WABTEC facility in Wilmerding,
PA., splitting the PRR era position
light signals.
Back in Latrobe, a short manifest,
led by C40-9W 9725,
SD90/43MAC 7299 and an
unidentified C40-9W races west
passed the Amtrak Station, and
over a high class Italian resteraunt
situated below the tracks in the
former station waiting room.
Passing the ruins of the Westmoreland

Glass Company, an Eastbound
doublestack from Chicago races past in
a perfect example of Modern Day
meeting the past. After walking down a
1/3 of a mile from the nearest road to
obtain this shot, my freind and I were
accompanied by an NS employee who
allowed us to shoot at this location,
SD70ACe 1118 and a former
Conrail Dash 8 wait for a signal
to cross over the to the next track
in order to proceed into the yard
with its loaded coal loads The
coal in the train is destined to be
turned into coke at this location,
otherwise known as the Clairton
Coke Works in Clairton, PA.
In what I think is my all time favorite
Pittsburgh line photograph is this shot
of the helper station across the tracks
from the public viewing area.
This photo was taken in full automatic
mode, and thanks to all the bright
lights in the shops, the photo turned
out near perfect.
A former Conrail SD60M leads a

C40-9 Standard cab through
Torrance, PA. This was taken from
the Torrance Road overpass. This
is one of four trains I captured in
15 minutes at this location.
I honestly forgot the name of this

control point location, but an east
bound Harrisburgh manifest waits
to cross over to track 1 as a
westbound double stack races by.
This was photographed from the
top of a former Penn Central coal
hopper that had been converted
into a retaining all....
About a mile from the

Conemaugh Generating station, 2
sets of SD40E's split the signals
heading back to Altoona after
assiting a couple of trains all the
way into Pittsburgh.
A Grab shot from a moving car

resulted in this near perfect shot.
Location is unknown to me as I
was guiding my tour guide with
navigation in order to catch up to
this train.
In a special move from Altoona,

PA to St. Louis, MO for National
Train day the next week, SD60
6823 leads the NS Exhibit car
through Cassandra, PA.
I fell in love with Cassandra. This

shot of 4 SD40e's rolling east
back to Altoona shows the broad
curve very well. Thix can be a
very busy lcoation, since the
triple track section of the line
ends a few miles to the east in
Cresson.
Other then the exhibit car special,
the only movements I
encountered at Cassendra were
eastbounds, but with this being a
mountain railroad, most trains
get helpers. Another pair of the
ubiquitous SD40e's shove
another eastbound manifest up
the hill towards Cresson.
Looking west from the very old

wrought iron bridge that crosses
the tracks in Cassendra, three
GE's lug a long doublestack up
the hill, maintaining a respectable
35 MPH up the grade.
More SD40E's with an eastbound

Manifest sitting in the
background just north of the
Juniata shops in Altoona, PA.
The helpers were shut down, and
the eastbound has just arrived,
and will be getting new power.
NS C40-9W #9303 seems to be

having some trouble with its fuel
injectors as it gets under way again
after coming to a complete stop in
Cresson, PA.
The Smoke continues to pour out

of the 9303 as the train starts to
gain speed.
Still smoking.......
Without stopping in Cresson to

set out the SD40E helpers, a hot
manifest, with my guides son at
the throttle, races through the
west side of Cresson, making
track speed of 55 MPH.
Tunnel Hill, PA is one of the more

photographed spots on the Pittsburgh
Line. Until the early 1990's there were
two tunnels in use at this location for 3
tracks. However, during a project to
permit double stacks, the older bore was
abandoned and the double track tunnel
was made bigger to accomadate the
larger cars.
Two SD40E's arrive in Altoona after

rounding the famous Horeseshoe Curve.
Not seen in this picture is the 2nd to last
locomotive, a Canadian Pacific GP38-2,
#4438, that was built for the Soo Line.
Not sure where it was headed, but it was
quite odd to see a Local CP Unit on a NS
road freight.
Taken from the road overpass at the

north end of the Altoona yard, a road
freight under goes a crew change with
one of the NS Heritage Units, 8102,
painted for the Central of Georgia.
Unfortunantly, the unit was not leading.
NS 9774 still retains in "White Face"
that predates the current "Monobrow"
that you see today.
SD70M-2 leads two former British

Columbia C44-9WL's as it prepares
to back onto an originating west
bound train destined for either
Chicago or St. Louis.
I was dissapointed that neither
were in the Red White Blue BC Rail
Colors
Yup, Still smoking....
Dallas
Load
The Metroplex of Dallas-Fort Worth is one of those areas that has seen
the number of railroads in the area stay about the same. In the 1970's, at
least 6 different railroads served the metroplex. In 2016, if you include
Amtrak, the number still stands at 6. I could be wrong, however, so don't
take my word for it! Today, served by BNSF, Trinity Rail Express, Kansas
City Southern, Union Pacific, Fort Worth and Western and Amtrak,
railroading in the area continues to draw railfans from around the
country.
Not only does the BNSF serve the Metroplex as a large scale, but on the
north side of Fort Worth is the railroads World Headquarters. A visit to
the headquarters is worth a side trip, as the complex does have a visitors
center where 4 business cars are on display, all of Santa Fe Heritage.
Open on weekdays, the railroad encourages the public to visit and learn
more about the largest privatly owned railroad in North America.
Opposite left: A Union Pacific SD70M leads a

manifest north of Tower 55
Opposite Right: BNSF Power waiting for a new
crew North East of Dallas
Right: The Grapevine Heritage Railway's GP9u
at the tail end of a steam excursion on the
FWWR
Shortly after I got married, in July, 2014, I took a load down to Dallas,
an overnight Hotshot of aircraft parts. Needless to say, I was exhausted
and the day was really hot, but I managed to get some railfanning in.
Some, not alot, because on a whim, I decided to check out the
Grapevine Heritage Railway. I visited at the right time, as they railroad
was getting ready to break in their ex-Southern Pacific 4-6-0 that used
to be the main stay of the Tarntula tourist trains.
I spend several hours in Grapevine, photographing the engine inside the
shop, and getting ready to
depart on its excursion to
Fort Worth.
The following pictures
show only a small sample of
the railroading action in the
DFW area. One thing I
would like to try and catch
next time is the FWWR at
work!
Opposite: An ex-UP SD40-2
now in the employ of the Fort
Worth and Western at their
yard in Dallas.
Above: One of four retired
BNSF Business Cars on display
at the BNSF World
Headquarters in Fort Worth.
Right: The Grapevine Heritage
Railway's ex- Southern Pacific
4-6-0 simmers in the roads
engine house before pulling out
for an excursion
When the TRE Commuter rail

operation started, trains were
operated by venrable 1950's era Bud
Rail Diesel Cars purchased from
various sources, but most came
from VIA. While the cars are still on
the roster, they are not used as
much as they were when the line
first opened in the mid 1990's.
One of the 9 locomotives that TRE
has, the 121, is at the West Irving
station. This is a Saturday train,
with only 2 cars, and is one of only
2 sets that operates during the
weekends on the TRE. The 10 stop
line operates with these F59PH's
and the more streamlined
F59PHI's
The other set during my visit was

shot at the Dallas Union Station,
the eastern end of the line. The
train would head west back
towards Ft. Worth after a 15
minute layover here.
Other than TRE and Amtrak, the

other operation serving Dallas
Union Station is the DART Light
Rail System. Served by the Red
and Blue lines. The low level cars
run in sets of two or three,
depending on the the route the
set is currently on.
Two Red line trains meet at the

west end of the platforms. The
train on the closest track
originated at the Parker Road
station, while the train going
away started at the
Westmoreland Station.
On the southwest side of Ft.

Worth, along US 67, a BNSF local
switches out one of the industries
along this former Santa Fe line
that leads into Cleborn, where the
Santa Fe converted its F unit fleet
into the ugly road switcher
dubbed the CF7.
The hometown railroad is the
Fort Worth and Western.
Operating over former BN, UP
and South Orient Trackage, the
railroad operates 150 miles of
trackage, all within the state of
Texas. Three former Union
Pacific SD40-2's await servicing
at the roads main yard in Dallas.
Two venerable SD9's highball a
baretable train along the BNSF
mainline towards Kansas City. I
wish! These two Omnitrax units
are assigned to the BNSF
Alliance, TX intermodal yard
and are used to assemble
outgoing trains and spot empties
on the pad.
Grapevine, Texas is home to the

Grapevine Vintage Railroad. The
museum has 3 locomotives,
including this former Southern
Pacific (T&NO) 2-8-2 Mikado on
display in the parking lot next to
the shop.
I visited the railroad on a whim, and
I was surprised that their SP 4-6-0,
known by locals as the Tarantula,
was being steamed up for a trip to
the Fort Worth Stockyards. Still in
the shop building up pressure, the
2248 shares shop space with a 2 foot
guage 2-4-2 undergoing restoration.
This was the 2248's first run after

an extensive rebuild to fix a
cracked saddle. After being
turned on the turntable, the 2248
struts back and forth testing out
the reverser before pulling out
and coupling onto the train in the
background.
Slowly moving out of the shop

area, the 2248 moves out towards
the mainline in a but of parking
lot running. Of all the pictures
taken on this day, this one is my
absolute favorite!
The train is seen as it loads

passengers at the Grapevine
depot, getting ready for its break
in run to the Fort Worth
Stockyards.
With the 2248 coupled on the end

of the train, we veiw the train as
the roads primary locomotive, the
2199, pulls the train down
towards the Grapevine depot.
This was shot from tower B-17
across the road from the depot.
The primary excursion

locomotive for the Grapevine is
this ex-BNSF, Santa Fe GP9
Rebuild with the Topeka cab.
UTLX 78520 is a tankcar design I

have never seen before. It looks
like a shortened version of the
standard DOT-111 model that is
seen on crude oil trains. It looks
like that this car as been on
property for quite some time.
North of Fort Worth along I-35W

is the BNSF Corporate
Headquarters. Built by the BN in
the 1980s when the BN moved its
HQ from the Twin Cities to Ft
Worth, the campus is friendly to
the the general public and has a
small museum and gift shop on
the property.
Four retired buisness cars make

are used as meeting rooms
outside the visitors center. All of
the cars are former Santa Fe, and
were fully restored before being
put on display.
The Cyrus K. Holiday is the more

famous of the Quartet on display
at the visitors center. It is named
after the founder of the Santa Fe
Railway.
The four cars on display at the

visitors center look to be well
maintained, and look like they
could be stuck on the back of a
train at anytime, if they were not
isolated from the rail network
that is....
Near the new Fort Worth GE

plant, a South Bound BNSF Red
Rock coal train heads south after
meeting a North Bound. I can not
remember the name of this
location.
Once very common on hot

Burlington Northern trains, stuck
between locomotives, the BN Fuel
tenders are now used to transport
diesel fuel from areas with low
fuel costs to areas with high fuel
costs. This car was originally
BNFT 32.
A three way meet between three

Union Pacific Trains, on two
different Union Pacific lines,
north of Tower 55 in Dallas.
Tower 55 is the hottest of the Hot
Spots in the area, but is strictly
off limits to non railroad
personel.
Union Pacific 5026 leads a

northbound past one of the all
glass skyscrapers at Dallas Union
station. This was the only freight
I actually encountered during my
two hours at the historic station.
TRE 120 as seen from the Amtrak

Platform as it readys for another trip to
Fort Worth.
Kansas
Load
Ask any driver which state he thinks is the most boring, and you will
get one of three answers, Wyoming, Nebraska or Kansas. If you asked
me, my answer would be Kansas! While parts of the state have beautiful
rolling hills, like the Flint Hills in the eastern part of the state, the rest of
Kansas is nothing but field afer field of corn.
Between the 450 miles between Topeka and Limon, Colorado, there
is only one twon of any size, and that is Salina. Salina is also where there
is a huge rail served grain elevator, and a decent sized yard. With three
different railroads in the town, BNSF, UP and the K&O, you can get a
variety of shots of different motive power.
Topeka is home to a former Santa Fe Locomotive shop, where the
famous "Topeka Cab" applied to GP7 and 9 rebuilds were designed.
Opposite Left: A Santa Fe Rotary Snowplow

at the backshops in Topeka, Kansas.
Opposite Right: a DeBruce Grain SW1200
sits under the loader in Abiline, Kansas.
Right: The old Santa Fe station in Abiline is
today used by the BNSF Railway as a
maintence base.
While not used as a heavy rebuild shop today, the complex is still used
for wreck repairs, general maintance and inspections. On one side of
the complex, a shop building is now used to maintain and repair the
railroads extensive fleet of buisness and executive cars.
In 2014, a few months after getting married, I had to over night a
shipment of steel stampings to La Cross, Kansas. This small, one traffic
light town sits about 45 miles south of Hays, which sits on Interstate 70.
After making my delivery at 7:30 AM, I started working back home,
stopping to catch a K&O train in Bison, and for photos in Salina,
Manhattan, Topeka, Abilene
and Santa Fe Junction in
Kansas City before heading
back home.
While in terms of
scenery, Kansas is boring, in
terms or railroad action, the
action cam be colorful and
very interesting!
Above: The former Union
Pacific station in Manhattan,
Kansas
Opposite Bottom: A Standard
cab SD60 is a welcome site
from the ubiquitous ES44's
and SD70's.
Right: A Blue and Yellow
Santa Fe SD40-2 switches
Argentine Yard in Kansas City,
KS.
After making my 7AM delivery in

La Cross, Kansas, I started to work
my way home. Following the
former MoPac, in hopes of catching
a train of the current operator, the
K&O of Watco. I lucked out in
Bison, KS as a former CN GP40-2W
heads west to with 26 empty
covered Hoppers.
Since no further trains were
expected on the K&O, I worked
my way towards Salina, KS. The
largest city on I-70 west of
Topeka. A Local train, led by an
SD40-2, SD60 and GP40-2 put
together their train in the former
MoPac yard.
The SD40-2 continues to live on
the Union Pacific. Union Pacific
SD40-2N #1633 (Built as Union
Pacific 3456) is on the point of
the local seen above. The unit
sports the 118 inch snoot nose
that was used to hour Locotrol,
an early version of DPU.
Also in hand at the UP yard were

these two GATX Units. The unit
in foreground last worked on
CSX, and was built as B&O 4800,
while the 2135, was originally
built as Rock Island #4326.
South of the Union Pacific yard is

a series of industrial buildings
that were once served by rail.
This picture depicts the only time
I have ever seen a diamond in the
middle of a grade crossing
However, both tracks are
abandoned.
A former Rock Island boxcar sits

forelonely alongside a former
Rock Island industrial spur.
The same boxcar as seen from the

other side shows the very faded
Rock Isand logo.
A BNSF grain train sits at the

huge grain elevator north and
west of Salina, Kansas along I-70.
The train is being loaded for
shipment to a Texas port. This
photo was taken from a public
grade crossing.
In Abaline, Kansas, a moderatly

sized grain elevater is served by
this SW1200 in an attractive Red,
White and Blue paint scheme.
The unit was half buried in the
building and I did not thing about
looking at who owns the unit. A
mistake on my part.
Abiline is also home to a BNSF

local. The day I was in town, a
former Santa Fe and former
Burlington Northern GP38-2 set
works on switching out the cars
in its train before heading west.
to work the industries.
The Abilene and Smokey Valley

railway is a tourist railroad. This
ALCo S1 that came from the
Hutchinson & Northern is the
normal power, but the railroad
also has Ex- Santa Fe 4-6-2
Pacific #3415 available for special
occasions and charters.
In Manhattan, Kansas, home to
Kanasas State University, a Union
Pacific loaded coal train races west
on the former MoPac. This line is
normally used by the UP as an
overflow, as most traffic is usually
routed across the Overland Route
further north in Nebraska.
Arriving in Topeka, I stopped by

the Amtrak Station that is served
twice daily by the Southwest
Cheif. Sitting in the yard was this
two car inspection train. The
train ended up rolling south into
Texas the next day.
Also sitting in the yard was the

local power. Two BNSF GP38-2's
with the Swoosh logo keep an exBN GP38-2 company in the yard,
waiting for the next days
assignments.
Coal train power sits west of the

Amtrak station, having arrived
earlier in the day for their 92 day
FRA inspection.
Many people do not know that

Topeka is home to the BNSF
Business car fleet, and the former
locomotive shops are now used to
maintain, rebuild and repair the
former Santa Fe and BN
executive cars.
In the back of the shops, a now

retired SD75M sits after getting
work done to its front end. When
this photo was taken, the unit had
a year and a half left on the active
BNSF roster.
Also sitting in the backshop,

taken from a road through the
employee parking lot, was this
C44-9W that was damaged in
some sort of wreck. To me, it
looks like it hit a very low bridge!
LUGO (Laid Up Good Order)

power sits north of the shop
awaiting reactivation. Taken from
an overpass.
A former BN loco shoves a former

BN SD70MAC Executive
SD70MAC into the shop complex.
Its destination in the yard is
unknown.
On the east side of the yard, a

manifest with 8 units is about to
have the lead 3 units cut off. This
is the most units I have seen on a
single train through Kansas.
After cutting off the train, the

three units will head towards the
shops for refuel and light running
repairs if needed. This was the
last shot I took in Topeka.
Arriving in Kansas City a good 45

minutes later, the first thing I saw
was this GP39-2 switching a
couple of loaded coil cars into a
customer. The unit the returned
light to Murray Yard in North
Kansas City.
The final train I witnessed on my

trip was this inspetion train at
Santa Fe Junction. Rolling
towards Murray Yard from
Topeka, the train would then
head north towards Iowa through
St. Joseph, Missouri.
BNSF 8239 arrives at Argentine

Yard with an Eastbound
Intermodal from the Port Of
Long Beach heading towards
Chicago, IL.
Central & Southern

Illinois
Southern and Central Illinois is home a diverse group of railroads.
Several shortlines can be found between Decatur and Marion, as well as a
museum the houses an operating steam locomotive and the very first
EMD SD40 model, considered to be one of the most succesful locomotive
models ever designed.
Never really having visited the Monticello Railway Museum (even
though my wife has family in Monticello), I did get to shoot there in the
evening when the museum was closed. In doing so, I got the Illinois
Central 6071 (the aformentioned SD40), and one of the two steam
locomotives on display.
By far the biggest player in Central Illinois would be Norfolk
Southern, who's former Wabash lines split in Decatur to head to both
Opposite left: ADM Genests in Decatur, IL

Opposite Right: Power for the CN Local
crosses the NS at the WABIC Diamonds in
Decatur, IL
Right: North of I-74 in Decatur sits a
Decatur Junction GP20. DJRY operates a
former IC Branch east towards Monticello.
Kansas City and St. Louis. CSX also has a small branch into town, and
both serve the huge ADM complex. ADM has their world headquarters
next to the NS yard.
CN, BNSF and UP also have a huge presence this part of the state,
with CN having the former IC North/South Lines, and the two western
giants running coal train after coal train towards the Ohio River.
I seem to be in Illinois all the time, always going to the Northeast
or to one of the small towns the line the interstates, so it is no big
surprise when pictures from this region dominate my archives.
There are a few places I
would like to get back to,
including Gorham, where I
have never actually
photographed a train, and
back to Metropolis, which
sits across from Paducah,
just so I can say I shot a
train in Supermans
hometown!
Above: Norfolk Southern 301, an
NRE Genset, one of two on the
roster, sits at the NS Engine
Facility in Decatur
Left: Archer Daniels Midland
(ADM) has its world
headquarters in Decatur.
Outside one of the many facilites
is this ALCo S2
Right: The very first SD40 built,
test bed EMD 434, calls the
Monticello Railway Museum
home in Monticello, IL
A lone Union Pacific AC4400CW

sits outside a power plant in
Pawnee, IL on the Illinois and
Midland railroad, a G&W
operation that was known as the
Chicago and Illinois Midland
railroad before the G&W
purchase.
A westbound CSX manifest

rounds a corner after ducking
under Interstate 70 a few miles
east of Vandalia. This line was
previously the Conrail St. Louis
line, and before that, was owned
by Penn Central and the
Pennsylvania railroad.
A Southbound grain train rolls
alongside Interstate 57 north of
Matoon, IL. Portions of the
former IC mainline can easily be
seen from I-57, including a
former interlocking tower near
Kankakee.
Looking east from the WABIC

diamonds in Decatur, we vew the
small CSX yard with a former
Chessie GP40-2 and the vast
ADM grain processing facility.
The Eastern Illinois Railway

operates east of Neoga, where it
connects with the Canadian
Nationals former Illinois Central
Mainline. From here, the railroad
runs east to Metcalf, IL. The 53
mile railroad rosters 3 GP9's, a
GP10-2 and a rare EMD GP28.
EIRC 1040 is one of the two
GP9's on the roster. The
locomotive was previously owned
the Chicago and Northwestern
railroad, and came to the CNW in
the merger with the Minneapolis
and St. Louis Railway. Under
MSTL ownership, the unit wore
the number 707.
Two General Electric C40-8M's
lead a northbound freight south
of Neoga. Until 1999, this line
was the Illinois Central.
Techincally it still is, as the IC
currently lives on as a subsidary
paper railroad of the CN.
Norfolk Southern GP60 #7126

works the small ex-Wabash yard
in outside Springfield, the State
Capitol. NS is one of 4 railroads
that serve the city, the others
being the Union Pacific, Kansas
City Southern and the Illinois and
Midland.
Burlington Junction Railway

8352 sits in the small yard in
Quincy, IL. 8352 has the
distinction of being the very first
GP10 that the IC Paducah shops
turned out from a GP9.
In Peoria, IL, a former C&IM

SD20 (now I&M) sits in the
former Peoria and Pekin Union
yard. The C&IM SD20's 80-84
arrived on C&IM property a mear
6 days before the G&W buyout in
the late 1990's. All four came
from the Illinois Central via NRE.
Until recently, the CSX line in to

Decatur was strictly 4 axle power
due to bridge strengths and
jointed rail on the entire line. 4
units of Chessie and Seaboard
heritage wait for a crew to head
east to Indianapolis the next day.
The fourth unit in the consist see

above was CSXT 2667, still in full
Seaboard System paint. This
happened to be the final
locomotive on the CSX roster to
bear the fallen flags scheme. She
has since been repainted into the
current CSX paint scheme.
The CN Decatur local power has

come to the aid of a stranded
manifest outside of Bethany, IL
on the Matoon-Decatur.
Decatur Junction GP16's wait for

their next assignment at the end
of their line in Cisco, IL, 5 miles
west of Monticello.
Illini Terminal (Respondek) 2064

sits in America's Central Port in
Granite City after a days work.
The locomotive came to railroad
from the Canadian Pacific, still
Milwaukee Road/Soo Line
"Bandit" paint.
Decatur used to be home to the

Wabash locomotive shops. The
shops have since been drastically
reduced and today serves NS as a
service and inspection facility.
Outside the shop, an SD40-2 and
C40-9W await their next call.
Illinois Central 6071, ex-GM&O

950 and before that, EMD 434, is
the worlds first EMD SD40, built
on an SD35 frame. She was also
the very first EMD to be equipt
with the 16-645 prime mover. CN
donated the historic locomotive to
the Monticello Railway Museum in
2012.
A Lincoln Sand and Gravel side
rod connected Whitcomb
switcher calls the Monticello
Railway Museum home. She is
one of 6 locomotives (3 of which
operate) to call the museum
home.
Also at the Monticello Railway

Museum, is this 0-6-0 that
operated for Republic Steel at one
of their many plants.
A former Southern Pacific diner

sits on industrial trackage
belonging to the Effingham
Railroad in Effingham, IL.
A KCS GP38ECO sits for the night

in Roodhouse, IL, where the KCS
mainline rounds a direction
changing curve from Northbound
to Westbound to head across the
Mississippi River and towards
Kansas City. This is also the
location where the Springfield
branch departs the main.
South of Litchfield, IL, a BNSF
C44-9W adds contrast to the
otherwise black and white snowy
scene. A few hundred feet to the
south, the train will cross over the
Nofolk Southerns St. LouisDecatur mainline at grade.
Respondek 4348, a former CNW

GP9, sits in Litchfield shortly
before being sold to a cement
plant in Mexico. This operation is
currently in limbo since the pipe
plant, the operations biggest
customer, closed down.
In Tiskilawa, IL, Nickle Plate 765

charges west on the Iowa
Interstates former Rock Island
line. The train was operating for
Railfest in the Quad Cities in
2012. This all day excursion ran
to a point a few miles to the east.
EMDX 1201 wore a special

Caterpiller inspired paint scheme.
The unit is seen in New Baden, IL
pulling a high wide special of
Caterpiller heavy equipment. She
was later sold to the Arkansas and
Missouri railroad, breaking that
railroads all ALCo roster,
surprising alot of railfans since the
A&M was an all ALCo railroad.
A few years before the 1201 came

through town, a westbound is
sitting in the hole east of New
Baden waiting to meet an
eastbound.
Salem used to be a very popular

spot to railfan. Until a few years
before this book was published, you
could sit on the side of a public
road and watch the action on the
south end of the road. Now, there is
no parking signs all along the
section of road that runs along the
tracks.
In Salem, IL, a Korean Rail
(KORail) SW1001 rides on an 8
axle flatcar towards Mt. Vernon,
IL. The unit was purchased by
NRE from Korean National
Railways. The unit has since been
rebuilt and is currently on lease
to a grain elevator in Texas.
A former Southern Pacific SDP45 sits

outside the gate at NRE in Mt. Vernon,
IL. The unit came to the Southern
Pacific from Conrail, who acquired the
unit on start up from the Erie
Lackawanna, who purchased them
specifically for their large fuel tank.
In Vandalia, IL, the very small,

3/4 mile Vandalia railroad
operates a short segment of
former Nickle Plate Road trackage
to serve two industries. The
railroad operates on an as needed
basis and interchanges with the
CSX just south of this location.
Centralia is served by BNSF, Norfolk
Southern and the Canadian
National. 4 tracks run through the
heart of town, two belonging to
Canadian National and the other
two jointly owned by NS and BNSF.
Here, a couple of BNSF units lead a
southbound coal drag, heading to a
Southern Illinois Power Plant.
A very small, one locomotive

operation, with less then 2 miles
of trackage is the Effingham
Railroad. This operation is very
railfan friendly, and they operate
5 days a week.
Locomotive
Shops
During my travels, I have had the opportunity to visit several
different locomotive shops, either being privatly owned, like National
Railway Equipment in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, or railroad owned, Like
Amtrak's former New York Central shop in Beach Grove, IN.
Photographing these shops presents a challange in itself, having to get
good shots through fences and finding safe places to park.
The results are usually rewarding. The opportunity to photograph
locomotives from little known shortlines or industries, or getting the first
photos of a newly released, specially painted locomotive are always a
possibility, as well the possibility of being the very last person to
photograph a condemed locomotive about to be scrapped.
Over my travels, I have visited several shops,with Juniata being my
Opposite Left: A former Soo Line MP15

at Metro East Industries former
Manufactuers Railway Shop in St. Louis.
Opposite Right: A Former BNSF SD75M,
now owned by NS, sits at the roads
Altoona, PA Shop.
Right: The remains of a CSX GE cab sits
at Gateway Rail in Granite City, IL.
personal favorite. Everytime I am in Pennsylvania, I always manage to

fnd an excuse to swing by the shops, even if I am a hundred miles away.
It is funny that with all the times I have been to Altoona, I have never
actually visited nearby Horseshoe curve!
The dead lines at these shops can bring both excitement, and
somberness. Seeing a rare locomotive being the exciting part, and then
instantly being brought to somberness by the fact that it may never run
again, and instead, be scrapped. That is how the railroad industry
works, the old is constantly being replaced by the new, and there is no
sentimental value to rare
locomotive models that are
considered orphens. One
day, even these new
locomotives will succumb to
a new wave of locomotives
10 or 15 years in the future.
That is a fact all railfans
have to face.
Above: Various units sit
around the NRE Shop in
Mt. Vernon, IL
Opposite: Brand New
Union Pacific ES44AC tier
4 credit units sit inside the
fence at Mid America Car in
Kansas City, Mo
Right: Lines of retired
locomotives in various
states of repair outside LTE
in McDonald, Ohio.
EMDX 82, originally built as a

one-of-a-kind SD89MAC with a
12 cylinder version of 265 Engine
sits at Mid America Car in
January 2014. The unit was at
MAC for equipment removal. She
has since been returned to EMD
and is being used to test Tier 4
equipment.
Retired SD75M's, Dash8's and

MP15's along with a wreck
damaged CSX AC4400CW
around waiting for either a buyer
or rebuilding for further service
in June 2014
A tagged up BNSF AC4400CW

#5024 shares its track with a
Kansas City Southern ES44AC
and a GP39E on the same day as
the photo above. This was taken
from a levee across the road from
the shop entrance.
Before being leased out to BNSF

in 2013, CREX 1205, painted in
the attractive Citirail paint
scheme, sits at the entrance to
shop in 2012. All Citirail units
were leased to BNSF in the
coming month and a half.
The shop switcher is this venrable

EMC SW1. She is seen here
switching a CITX SD40-2 into the
shop. The unit built August 1947
as Southern 2010.
CSX AC4400CW #72 has been at

MAC for quite a while, waiting for
wreck repairs. It is unknown why
it has taken so long for the unit to
be put into the shop for rebuild.
Ed Ellis's San Louis and Rio

Grande E9AM #520 sits along the
fence on the west side of the shop.
The locomotive had been sitting
at the shop since Mr. Ellis
purchased the unit from the
National Museum of
Transportation in Kirkwood, MO
in 2012.
The attraction of Mid America car
is that it can be accessed by
public roads and one can easily
photograph the units on hand.
Here, a pair of SD70MAC's, still
on the active roster, sit next to a
newer, bt retired, SD75M and an
ex Soo Line MP15.
Quality Rail Services in Granite

City can not easily be
photographed, and can only be
accessed when official business on
property is conducted, such as a
pick up or delivery. Here, several
CN units, along with a former EJ&E
SD38-2 and DM&IR SD45T-2 sit
outside the shop in March 2016.
Union Pacific SD70M 4895 has

just recieved a new coat of paint,
as evidenced by the card board
sheets still covering the cab
windows in 2014.
Retired Union Pacific C40-8's,

originally delivered to the
Chicago and Northwestern, sit
behind the shop. These units are
now owned by Canadian
National, and are waiting to be
cycled through the shop before
being delivered.
DM&IR SD38-2 #211 sits in the

back of the shop in pieces. THis
was one of the two final DM&IR
Maroon units that was active on
the CN Roster, while a wreck
damaged UP SD70M waits for its
turn into the shop.
An unknown centercab
locomotive sits with a former
GTW GP9R at the back gate to
the shop complex. The pair was
photographed in 2014, and upon
my 2016 return, the two
locomotives had not moved an
inch.
In 2016, one of the surprises at

this locomotive shop was this
former EJ&E caboose. It appears
that the caboose at one time had
a coupola.
Another shot of the 211 shows

that unit has been pretty much
gutted.
In 2016, CN SD70M-2 #8847 is

in the middle of getting wreck
repairs alongside the shop after
rolling over the previous year.
At the National Railwayy

Equipment shop in Mt. Vernon,
IL, Indiana Southern #4039 sits
outside the paint shop. With the
railroad being owned by the G&W
family, it is assumed the unit was
getting ready to be repainted.
A week before my wedding, I

actually made a pickup AT NRE.
Sitting next to the shipping and
recieving dock, CSX GP40-2
#6635, still in full B&O/Chessie
System paint, although heavily
rusted, waits for a call to duty
that may never come.
Southern Pacific TEBU #1608 is

an oddity. The SP rebuilt these
road slugs/fuel tenders from
retired U25B's TEBU stands for
Tractive Effort Booster Unit.
1608 is one of two at the NRE
shop, with the other being 1600.
Built by EMD in La Grange, IL,

this locomotive is once again on
American Soil. NRE purchased
this G12 from the Saudi Arabian
Railways in 2009. At the same
time, other G12's from New
Zealand were also being
purchased.
Ferrocarrilas Nacionals de
Mexico (FNM) G12 #5864 has
not turned a wheel in service
since the Mexican Government
privatized its railways in the late
90's. 5864 still wears its full FNM
two tone blue scheme in 2014.
This SD40-2 was on hand during

my 2014 pickup at NRE. I am
unsure of the units owner, but it
appears she has some sort of
wreck damage.
A primered GP38, a bare frame,

another one of the Saudi G12's
and a host of other units sit
outside under a large, open air
work area in 2014.
Locomotives from Santa Fe,

Union Pacific, Canadian National,
FNM and several industrial
operations mingle in the dead
line along the back fence of the
shop in 2014.
The former Pensylvania Railroad

shops in Altoona, PA are now
owned and operated by Norfolk
Southern, who obtained the shops
in 1999 with the Conrail split.
Here, a GP60 shares space with 3
other units in various phases or
rebuild, including an SD80MAC.
The turntable area of the Altoona

shops, known as Juniata, is a
favorite place for railfans to
photograph units in the shop.
These photos were taken through
a wrought iron fence next to a
public, dead end road.
This image was taken during my

2nd visit to the shops. An exConrail SD60I, that was built in
these very shops, sits with an
array of motive power, including
a locomotive frame from a Union
Pacific SD40-2 that became a
Yard Slug for NS.
SD70M #2619, from the roads

second order for the model,
displays its as delivered White
Face paint scheme. This scheme
was short lived, as the white face
was modified to only cover the
area around the number boards.
An EMD SD40-2 rebuilt with the

Admiral cab keeps a retired
C40-8 company outside the
shops. The SD40-2 was placed
back into service while the Dash 8
was scrapped, a testimony to the
endurance of EMD products.
Only the frame, hand rails and

small section of the cab remains
of GP50 #7091. The unit was
stripped down to the frame and
was rebuilt as a GP38ECO with a
710 engine replacing the 645
prime mover.
NS 7218 is a former Conrail

SD80MAC, and this was the very
first one I had seen of this rare
model. Conrail bought all 30 that
were built. in 1999, the roster was
split, with 13 going to CSX. The
remaining 12 came back to the NS
in 2014 in a trade for a like
number of SD40-2's
SD60E 6962 sts outside the shop

after getting some minor work
done. The locomotive was built
for the CNW as an SD50 and
came to the NS in 2012. She was
rebuilt with a new cab in 2013.
Indiana Harbor Belt 8829 sits

with a former Canadian National
SW1200RS and Butte, Anaconda
and Pacific GP9 at Larry's Truck
and Electric in McDonald, Ohio
in 2015.
It looks like LTEX 2000 will not

be going anywhere for a while, as
she sits on a dead end track, and
with the frame of a derelict
switcher having trees growing
through the frame. She was
painted a year before America
became patriotic again with the
9/11 attacks.
So many locomotives, nearly all

of them built by EMD in La
Grange, Illinois, from many
different time periods makes LTE
a one of a kind location.
LTEX #20 is a GP9. I have not

been able to indentify its previous
owner.
The BN GP15's in the center of

this shot were built for the Frisco
a few years before the Merger
with the BN in 1980. They are
kept company with several other
former BNSF roster mates on the
next track.
Switchers dominate in the

background while an F40PH
keeps some former BNSF units
company.
Power from Biringham Southern,

Norfolk Southern, DM&IR and
BNSF seem to make up most of
the stored power. The two BN
GP15s were built for the Frisco
while the two NS units were built
for Conrail as part of a 100 unit
order.
Four intact switchers from a like

number of former owners sit
along the back of the facility with
the remains of scrapped switchers
in the foreground.
The former Manufactures railway

engine house near the A-B Brewry
in South St Louis is now owned by
Metro East Industries. MEI bought
the shop from AB when they shut
down the beloved "Manny" in
2012. FTRL 257 is an ex MRS unit
they acquired when they took over
the Manny's operations.
Retired Green Goat Gensets were

cycled through the shop, being
rebuilt by MEI in 2014 and 2015.
MEI uses the shop as an overflow
for its main shop located on the
other side of the river in East St.
Louis.
Another retired Green Goat

genset awaits its turn to be
rebuilt. The rebuilds where then
placed back into service in Texas
and California after being rebuilt.
UPY 2615 is sitting outside the

shop, halfway through the
rebuilding process. The MVPX is
a former LMX B39-8E that was
once leased as Power-by-theHour to Burlington Northern and
BNSF.
A better shot of the B39-8E

shows that the white patch over
the LMX lettering is starting to
wear away, revealing its previous
owners. 100 LMX B39-8E's were
built to be used by the BN, who
was only charged when the
locomotive was actually being
used, hence, Power-by-the-Hour.
An early 2015 shot from the foot

of Arsenel street shows a line up
of Green Goat gensets, stored coal
hoppers and an FTRL SW1500
that once belonged to the MRS.
An EMD SW1500 from an

unknown owner sits outside one
of the shop doors. MEI has
graciously kept the Engine House
Lettering that was applied by the
Manny when they built the shop
in the early 1900's.
FTRL 1206 came to the railroad

from Respondek. She was built
for the Illinois Terminal, and was
one of the first locomotives
acquired by Respondek, whos
owner worked for the IT during
his career.
What a mess! Amtrak P42 #8 was

on the point of the Wolverine
when the engineer ran a red
signal and rear ended another
train in Chicago, IL in 2008. She
is retired and is slowly being
parted out at Amtraks Beach
Grove, IN shops, a former NYC
facility.
Not all locomotives at Amtraks
Beach Grove shop are wrecks,
most units are intact, waiting be
serviced and inspected before
going back out on the road, The
shop also stores the roads retired
locomotives.
P42's #60 and 141 wait their turn

to enter the paint shop. Looks like
the 141 suffered an engine room
fire and the #60 looks to have
been tagged up. The units behind
the 141 are P40's and are retired
from the active roster.
Dash8-32BWH (or B32-8WH,

whichever you prefer) #518 sits
coupled to a couple NPCU (NonPowere Control Units) rebuilt
from F40PH's. The one closes to
the camera is 90200, rebuilt from
Amtrak 200, the very first F40PH
built.
A string of 8 retired P40's sit

awaiting disposition. The 800's
are basically B40-8's inside a full
width carbody. A small number
of the 800's have been rebuilt to
P42 standards and returned to
service, and a few others have
been sold to commuter
operations.
Not all the F40PH's have been
disposed of, case in point is
Amtrak 407, a former GO Transit
F40PH, stored along with some
more of the retired P40's. It is
ironic in that the P40's spear
headed the retirment of the
F40PH's, and now, they are
retired as well.
More retired 800s, including

800, 801 and 802, the first three
of the model built by GE in the
early 1990's.
On the other side of the shops is

where Amtrak stores and rebuilds
wreck damaged passenger cars..
Here, we see an Amfleet car with
severe side swipe damage and
graffiti, waiting for a chance to be
rebuilt if funding could be
obtained.
A New Zealand Tranzrail

G12 sits with a Saudi
Arabian G12 at NRE's Mt.
Vernon, IL shops in 2014.
Live Steam
Load
In July 2016, my friend Bob hooked me up with a load from his

friend Dave, who builds 7.25 and 7.5 inch guage live steam equipment.
This load was actually one of two loads that I delivered for him, the first
to Comanche, Texas, and then a two part load delivering to Northern
New Jersey and Bowie, Maryland. Not much was done shot on the Texas
trip, but I did take full advantage of the second trip.
Revisiting several locations that I had been to before like the
Juniata Locomotive shops in Altoona, and the Diamonds in Waukasha
where Canadian Pacific's former Milwaukee Road main line crosses over
Canadian Nationals former Wisconsin Central (Soo Line) main and
Union Pacific's Butler Yard.
New locations were also visited, including the only helper district in
Opposite Left: CN ET44AC's roll through

the diamonds in Waukasha.
Opposite Right: A Southbound rolls past
the quarry in Pewaukee along Weyer, Rd.
Right: A Northbound heading to Fon Du
Lac, WI rounds a slight curve near
Richfield, WI.
Wisconsin, Byron Hill, and my first encounters with the Northeast

Corrider and the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad made
this trip a good one.
Other than having 2 flat tires on the trip, (including one where the
roadside assist did $1,200 in damage to a brand new rotor), I made
good time, and made several new friends. One of these new friends was
the tow truck guy who took me to a dealer to get my tire fixed at no
charge, who happened to be a HO scale modeler as well.
From the time I left the house until the time I returned home was
a full seven days. Unlike
most of my other trips, I did
not sleep in the van due to
the size and value of my
load. I never knew live
steam locomotives cost so
much!
To date, this has been
my last long distance run.
Opposite: Union Pacific's WP
Heritage unit works its way
through Butler Yard outside
Milwaukee.
Above: Amtraks Empire
Builder blasts its way towards
Milwaukee, about to cross
over the CN in Waukasha.
Right: A departing train
leaving Butler Yard.
Handheld night shot to boot!
The GTW Operation Lifesaver

unit does some work in Pewaukee
before heading south towards
Waukasha.
A Southbound from Vancouver,

British Columbia rolls past the
Boneyard Pub & Grill in Sussex,
WI. This line was originally Soo
Line, then the Lake States Railway
before becoming Wisconsin
Central in 1988. It became part of
CN in 2001 with the WC Merger
with CN.
A Canadian Pacific train led by a

pait of CSX GE's just crossed over
the CN and Duplainville Road
and comes along Marjean Ln that
leads into the R&D Industrial
Park.
A few minutes later, another Cp

westbound comes by, this time
lead by a CSX SD40-2 and CP
ES44AC. This location is the
hottest railfan location in the
Milwaukee area. There is also a
great resteraunt on the other side
of the tracks called The Station Bar
and Grill.
Back in Sussex, the first of two

intermodals blasts its way south
with an ES44AC/SD75I combo on
the point.
The 2nd of two intermodals races

south a mere 5 minutes later led
by an SD70M-2. The large
building in the back ground
belongs to Quad Graphics, who
prints all issues of TRAINS
Magazine, who is based in nearby
Wakausha.
One last stop near the CP/CN

Diamonds nets another CP
westbound with a pair of CP
AC4400CW's on the point. This
Autorack/Intermodal took 20
minutes to clear as it was moving
at a pure crawling pace.
Rolling towards Fon Du Lac, a

Northbound Intermodal rolls
through the marshland in
Theresa Station, WI. Theresa
Station is a small hamalet along
the line, but they do have a rail
served industry in the very small
community.
The same train seen at Theresa

Station, now rolls down Byron
Hill passed the iconic red bard.
A southbound led by a former

Oakway SD60 crests the summet
of Byron Hill on its way to
Chicago.
Another shot of the train seen

above in a well timed shot
crossing a county road.
In Ackerville, WI, the daily

Wisconsin and Southern turn
rolls back towards its own yard
after doing some work in town.
A lone ES44CW swings around a

curve with a short stack train in
Slinger, WI. Just behind me, the
train will cross over the WSOR
mainline that heads into
Janesville.
A Brand new GE ET44AC brings

its train to a stop to meet a
northbound Vancouver bound
intermodal near Richfield, WI.
The Vancouver bound train

comes into view and splits the
signals at the southend of the
siding.
Tom and his 7.5 inch guage N&W

switcher rolls a work train around
the Milwaukee Light Engineering
Societies track while hunting
down a small piece that fell off a
locomotive I was picking up
during testing.
Inside one of the car barns at the

Milwaukee Light Engineering
Socity, including the Frisco
H-12-44 belonging to my friend,
Bob Gallegos.
After making my pickup, Bob,

myself and a friend of his, Ed,
went out to catch some action.
The first catch was the Butler
Local with a pair of freshly rebuilt
SD40-2N's.
A cable laying machine used for

laying fiber-optic and other kinds
of cable calls Byron, WI home
when not in use. The contraption
is built on the frame of a retired
Chessie System U23B.
A northbound, Twin Cities bound

Manifest rolls down Byron hill
behind the usual set of CN GE's.
Byron Hill used to be dominated
by Maroon and Gold Wisconsin
Central SD45's before the CN
Merger in 2001.
While we were hoping to catch a former

B&LE Tunnel motor being used as a
helper on Byron Hill (that we did not see
at all), we did catch this Steam Generator
car being sent south. Previously ownd by
Algoma Central, the car had been bought
from the Rio Grande who used it on their
Ski Train. The car is actually rebuilt from
an ALCo PA B-Unit.
After leaving very early the next
morning, I was avoiding the toll
roads through Northwestern
Indiana, and happaned to catch a
westbound South Shore Line
freight heading towards the
Indiana Dunes station. THis was
my first experience with the
South Shore Line.
Stopping off in Michigan City, IN

for fuel, I also caught one of the
South Shores commuter trains
making its way down the city
streets and passed a local church.
An overview of the South Shore

engine facility in Michigan City
shows the two recently arrived
ex-Iowa Interstate SD38-2's and
a couple leased CITX GP38-2's
mingling with the roads original
GP38-2 fleet.
My next stop for fuel and food

was in New Haven, IN. Swinging
by the Ft. Wayne Railroad
Historical Society, I got a nic shot
of the society preparing their
pride and joy, NKP Berkshire 765
for a series of trips in Chicago for
Metra.
That night, I stopped in Altoona,
PA. Being extreamly tired from
the days drive, I spent only a little
time at Junita. The only worthy
photo taken was this one of 2
former Union Pacific
SD90/43MAC's being readied for
rebuild into SD70ACEu's.
In Bowie, Maryland, after

delivering both to Northern New
Jersey and Bowie, I spent an hour
photographing trains on the
Northeast Corridor. A New York
bound Acela speeds by the station
doing track speed of 130 MPH.
Another New York bound train,

lead by a new ACS-64, the AEM-7
replacements, blasts by while a
diesel powered MARC train heads
towards its final stop at
Washington Union Station.
After leaving Bowie, Maryland, I

stopped for the night in
Cumberland, Maryland. A CSX
coal train leaves town heading
towards Lake Erie, ahead of it is
the famed Sand Patch Grade.
The lead drivers of C&O 1309, a

2-6-6-2 being restored by the
Western Maryland Scenic
Railroad, sits in front of WMSR
2-8-0 #734, a former LS&I
locomotive at the railroads shop
outside Cumberland.
Two SD40's and a GP9 belonging

to George's Creek Railroad also
call the WMSR shops home. All
three units are ex-Western
Maryland, and the black units
had recently been rebuilt and
repainted into full WM paint by
Metro East Industies in East St
Louis, IL a couple of years before.
On the final day of the trip, I

caught an Ohio Central coal train
in Zanesville, Ohio heading north.
Not being familiar with the area, I
am not sure where this train was
heading or where it came from.
Another ACS-64 Cities Sprinter

races south towards Washington
Union Station past the Bowie,
Maryland Station.
Reflections,
Friends and
Hobbies
When I first got into the trucking business, alot of people thought I
was crazy. Until then, I had only worked in fast food, at places like Arby's
and White Castle. Everyone thought I would get a job with the railroad.
That was 10 years ago, and I am very happy I never looked back. My
proudst achievment in my career to date happened in May of 2016, when
I hit the 1 Million Safe Mile mark! In todays world of truckers who are
trained for only 2 weeks, people my age rarely, if ever, hit that mark, and
I proudly display the fact that I have hit the 1 million mark with a special
marking on my van.
Along the way, I have met many different people, and have made
many friends. With current and former railroad employees, magazine
Opposite Left: Three people watch

trains at the Pacific, Missouri Railfan
Center:
Opposite Right: Aaron Gonthier of the
Rail Channel visiting from Vermont for
my wedding in 2014.
Right: Roy Groat Jr of Oklahoma City
and Bob Gallegos of Milwaukee, WI and
I railfanning in 2014
columnists, video producers and model railroaders of every walk of life.

Two of the even attended my wedding in 2014 when I married the love
of my life, Amy. Bob Gallegos, the transit new columnist of Railfan and
Railroad magazine, and Aaron Gonthier, owner of RailChannel.com and
Black 5 Productions drove down.
Aaron, who is from Vermont, returned the favor by letting me stay
at his place when I was doing the Boston load. He also provided
invaluable assistance when putting together that chapter with locations
in the captions and for showing me around the White River Junction
area.
Bob Gallegos and I met
on Facebook, and first met a
year later when he drove
down to St. Louis to attend
the model train show I host
to benifit my wifes church.
Since then, he has come
Above: Long time
railfaning partner Kelly
Dunlap keeps an eye out for
the next train
Opposite: Aaron Gonthier
inspects a former CP GP9
now owned by Respondek.
Right: Jack has been an
invaluable asset to my
Pennsylvania visits. Here,
he shows off his layout
based on the Penn Central.
at least 3 or 4 times a year, and was

basically adopted by my family.
When it comes to railfanning, his
method of "Precision Railfanning"
helped me big time during my short
stay at his place when picking up for
the live steam load seen in the last
chapter.
Besides railroading, I have several other interests. I love Anime,
my favorites being the Gundam series, City Hunter, and yes, I do
admit, I still secretly watch Pokemon. But then again, you tend to
never forget the things you really enjoyed as kid.
My Anime collection is small, containing only a few complete
series, Gundam Wing, Gundam 0079 and the first two seasons of
Pokemon (after which I loose interest). Gundam being my absolute
favorite, I did manage to obtain some 1/144 scale mobile suite models
from the series and have
actually placed them on my
N Scale layout!
I am also a fish
breeder, concentrating on
live bearing fish like
Swordtails, Platies, Mollies
and Guppies.
Above: Having friends can
have benifets. Thanks to
knowing Aaron Gonthier, I
managed to get a short cab
ride on the Vermont Railway
during my visit in 2015.
Right: Some people.....We
drivers have to face idiots
like this on a daily basis.
Opposite: Terry Redeker is seen

shooting the Indiana Southern Coal
train seen earlier in the book.
Right: Not only do I love to photograph
trains, but I also love to breed fish!
Here is a Red Micky Mouse Platy that I
bred and raised.
I have succesfully bred and raised all 4 species, but I don't do it for a
profit, I only do it as a hobby.
While driving, I have to deal with idiotic drivers everyday, and
sometimes, have had some pretty scary things happen. I have had high
speed chases race by me, have had a chase end in front of me, with spike
strips thrown and guns drawn, trailers coming off Semi-tractos and
avoiding collisions with idiots. I sometimes wonder to myself how these
people can get a license.
Then there are the people
who cant park, how hard is
it to place a car between two
lines? Why do people with
junk cars have to take up 2
or 4 parking spots? My only
reasoning for that is that
they were never taught to
share.
Above: My dog and riding
partern Jarvis, named after
the computer from the Iron
Man movies and comics.
Right: I am also a model
railroader. A couple of my
locomotives run around my
dresser before getting
married in 2014.
I have been asked many times if I

given the opportunity if I would do it
all over again. My answer is always a
resounding YES!
Not only do I get to travel,
something I love to do, but I also get
to railfan areas that I have only read
about in books and magazines.
While being able to railfan is only a small part of my reason, the
biggest would be the friendships. As I stated earlier in this chapter, I
have made several really good friends who I can not imagine being
there for the rough times I had recently. Their support for me and what
I do has been tremendous!
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into what I do for a living and the
benifets of being a railfan driver. Its not a job for anyone, but I am one
who stuck with it and I plan on sticking with it until I am forced to
retire! I part with this
common trucking phrase...
"Keep the greasy side down
and the bears off your ass,
10-4!"
Thanks for reading.
Top: A photo taken by a
friend of mine from my
Mobile Strike team.
Middle: Aaron, Bob and
Myself at my wedding
reception on June 28th,
2014. These two guys are my
best friends. Amy (Right)
has been my biggest
supporter of my hobby, here
we are on our wedding day.
Jim Tiroch (in the Hat)lives in Florissant, Missouri with his wife,
Amy, their son, Hudson James (not named after the 4-6-4, mind
you) and their dog, Jarvis.
A Life long railfan, the driving career he choose gave him the
opportunity to get paid to do what he loves, to railfan, and loves to
share his stories with anyone willing to listen!
It should be noted that this photo was taken 3 hours before his
wedding to Amy. (Mark Mautner Photo)

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A Drivers Railfan Adventures

Paid to Railfan: A Drivers Railfan Adventures

Union Pacific SD40-2 #9899 sits on the

A westbound Union Pacific

Opposite Top Left: TRRA SD40-2s preapre to

as well as provide service to local customers.

NS Train 223 rolls south past the

This really caught me by surprise. The

NS #1071, the Central of New

While technically not working, I

I was not at work when I shot

Also taken during a short break

In May of 2015, the National

One of the customers I got to

I had just made a delivery to Boxes,

Union Pacific train AASFX rolls west

Manufacturers Railway #253, an

A leased Canadian Pacific

Two Kansas City Southern

About to duck under the US-67

In Spanish Lake, MO, a

Next to the A&S Gateway yard is

The NS local heads east across

Another spot that I like to sit at is

Before they were retired, I was lucky

In East St. Louis, a pair of KCS

After making a delivery in to St.

Sometimes being stuck in standstill traffic has its benefits. A bad

A down on shot of a pair of TRRA

After delivering an envelope to the

A place that I have never took a

Also in Venice, but in daylight

Dupo, IL is the intermodal terminal

Port Harbor Railroad SD40-2 #3086

Opposite Top Left: Metra's Operation

Top: A Westbound Union Pacific

Amtrak NPCU #90219, rebuilt

As they say, always expect the

In Elmhurst, Metra F40PH #172

A perfect daylight pan shot east

In Aurora, a classic blue and

An F40PHM-2 "Winnibego" leads

The only peice of equipment

The only good picture I ever got

In Lombard, the last westbound

In November 2015, Amtrak P42 #42,

Shoving an inbound train back to

A classic Santa Fe Warbonnet

In our final Chicago shot, an inbound

Opposite Top Left: A BNSF ChicagoNorthtown, MN autorack train cruises

If you ever get a chance to

Oil train movements are common

Besides BNSF and UP, there is one

Besides oil trains, most of the

An empty BNSF frac sand train,

Another empty oil train heads

UP Train Z-G1G3 sits at the signal

In good afternoon sunlight, a

A Norfold Southern ES44AC rolls

On my last trip to Northwestern

The next morning from the photo

Union Pacific SD70M #4501 runs