Richard's American Train Adventures
- Thread starter richard carr
- Start date
adrian
Flying Squad
Thanks for the photos - I spent many hours in my youth down at Stapleford Miniature Railway with their fantastic 10 1/4" Berkshire
Berkshire
New York Chicago and St Louis Berkshire classDesigners: Richard Coleby and Neil SimkinsBuilt Stapleford, 1970/71Wheel arrangement 2-8-4 BerkshireCylinders (2) 4 1/2" x 7 1/2"Driving wheel diameter 1' 1"Engine and tender 18' 9"Width over footplate 2'Chimney to rail lever 3'Weight 2 tons
fsmr.co.uk
richard carr
Western Thunderer
The morning in Elkhart just continued to deliver
Next we had this, another manifest going into the yard
With this as the DPU
The boys had gone off to try and find some more coffee, which took quite a bit longer than expected. They managed to miss the local to Goshen, and unfortunately I was too busy with the video camera to get any stills. You will see it on the video good old 5126 a GP38-2
Next a couple of road railers came through on main 1
Then it was the turn of the Grand Elk, this time with 3 SD40 style locos on the front
4225 was originally a Southern Railway SD45, converted to an SD40M-2 by Southern Pacific in the 90s.
Next we had this charging round the corner
A freshly painted SD75, but I can't find it on the CN roster, so I'm not sure exactly what it is. but the number suggests an SD75IACC.
And that was it for Elkhart, we started the journey back to Chicago, with a first stop at Ogden Dunes.
Next we had this, another manifest going into the yard
With this as the DPU
The boys had gone off to try and find some more coffee, which took quite a bit longer than expected. They managed to miss the local to Goshen, and unfortunately I was too busy with the video camera to get any stills. You will see it on the video good old 5126 a GP38-2
Next a couple of road railers came through on main 1
Then it was the turn of the Grand Elk, this time with 3 SD40 style locos on the front
4225 was originally a Southern Railway SD45, converted to an SD40M-2 by Southern Pacific in the 90s.
Next we had this charging round the corner
A freshly painted SD75, but I can't find it on the CN roster, so I'm not sure exactly what it is. but the number suggests an SD75IACC.
And that was it for Elkhart, we started the journey back to Chicago, with a first stop at Ogden Dunes.
mickoo
Western Thunderer
CN 8331 is indeed a rebuilt SD75I and converted to AC drive, it's only a few weeks old from what I can gather.
NS 4002 is also another DC to AC conversion, logically as it says so on the side. The paint scheme is common called 'Sonic Bonnet' which is a twist on ATSF Warbonnet scheme.
NS 4002 is also another DC to AC conversion, logically as it says so on the side. The paint scheme is common called 'Sonic Bonnet' which is a twist on ATSF Warbonnet scheme.
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Thanks Mick
8331's paintwork was immaculate just like a model straight out of the box.
After Elkhart we got to Ogden Dunes about 90 minutes later. It wasn't long before the first train arrived, not really a train just a light engine, probably heading into NS's Burns Harbour yard about a mile further east.
Next came this short freight with BNSF power, it pulled up a few hundred yards further along the track
Next we had another NS manifest
We were about to move on and go to the cliffs steel works further north by the casino when the barriers went down on the Southshore Lines.
Thinking it was just another electric service I was packing the video camera up when it turned out to be this.
We got in the car and followed after the train, it wasn't going too fast and we soon caught it up, then we past it by and headed to the steel works.
You can park a car on an over bridge on the road into the casino from where you can see the yard just outside the steel works
The industry to the south.
After this we drove past the casino and into one of their car parks where we saw a GP38 doing some switching then a train came out of the industrial buildings to the west. So we went to investigate and headed to Michigan Avenue East Chicago
We found this yard, this coil train was waiting to depart, but before it went a stack train came through. This departed with several cars running in front of the train with the gates down. Two even did it after the train started to move off, it's all on the video !
Once this had gone we headed to Whiting seafront park, plenty of good parking and it doesn't look like you are about to get robbed, it did a bit on Michigan avenue.
Eventually this turned up, thats the oil refinery in the background.
and then Amtrak came along
By now it was 4:30 and sat nav said it was almost a 2hour drive back to the car hire place, it wasn;t wrong but it did take along some interesting places from a railroad point of view, including all the Blue Isle bridges, I'm not sure stopping would have been a good idea though.
We then met Jim for a curry in Elmhurst, a good end to a great trip.
8331's paintwork was immaculate just like a model straight out of the box.
After Elkhart we got to Ogden Dunes about 90 minutes later. It wasn't long before the first train arrived, not really a train just a light engine, probably heading into NS's Burns Harbour yard about a mile further east.
Next came this short freight with BNSF power, it pulled up a few hundred yards further along the track
Next we had another NS manifest
We were about to move on and go to the cliffs steel works further north by the casino when the barriers went down on the Southshore Lines.
Thinking it was just another electric service I was packing the video camera up when it turned out to be this.
We got in the car and followed after the train, it wasn't going too fast and we soon caught it up, then we past it by and headed to the steel works.
You can park a car on an over bridge on the road into the casino from where you can see the yard just outside the steel works
The industry to the south.
After this we drove past the casino and into one of their car parks where we saw a GP38 doing some switching then a train came out of the industrial buildings to the west. So we went to investigate and headed to Michigan Avenue East Chicago
We found this yard, this coil train was waiting to depart, but before it went a stack train came through. This departed with several cars running in front of the train with the gates down. Two even did it after the train started to move off, it's all on the video !
Once this had gone we headed to Whiting seafront park, plenty of good parking and it doesn't look like you are about to get robbed, it did a bit on Michigan avenue.
Eventually this turned up, thats the oil refinery in the background.
and then Amtrak came along
By now it was 4:30 and sat nav said it was almost a 2hour drive back to the car hire place, it wasn;t wrong but it did take along some interesting places from a railroad point of view, including all the Blue Isle bridges, I'm not sure stopping would have been a good idea though.
We then met Jim for a curry in Elmhurst, a good end to a great trip.
JasonD
Western Thunderer
Memory patchy so forgive me, but I think Stapleford's just delivered Nickel Plate Berkshire was the centre of attraction at the model engineer exhibition in the Seymour Hall in London's West End in the early '70s.Thanks for the photos - I spent many hours in my youth down at Stapleford Miniature Railway with their fantastic 10 1/4" Berkshire
Glorious to see the full size version.Berkshire
New York Chicago and St Louis Berkshire classDesigners: Richard Coleby and Neil SimkinsBuilt Stapleford, 1970/71Wheel arrangement 2-8-4 BerkshireCylinders (2) 4 1/2" x 7 1/2"Driving wheel diameter 1' 1"Engine and tender 18' 9"Width over footplate 2'Chimney to rail lever 3'Weight 2 tons
Gorgeous.........
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richard carr
Western Thunderer
I see we are back but my last post or 2 are gone.
I won't be adding them back in I'll just move on to the next one.
Richard
I won't be adding them back in I'll just move on to the next one.
Richard
richard carr
Western Thunderer
So where did I get to, I think I had just left Sterling IL and headed over to Morrison IL.
There a nice place to park by the tracks just behind main street but of course it was a case of still no trains.
At least I manged to fill the time by chatting to Emma for half an hour.
Next I moved on to Acker Road, about 8 miles west of Morrison, a left turn of US 30.
There's a grade crossing about 200 yards up the road and a bit further over you can see the bridge that the BNSF line uses to go over the UP mainline. I even got a train !
It's not a great view but it was a train and you could hear it coming a good minute before it got there.
In the distance I could see a train on the UP line, but it wasn't moving.
You can see the signal on the right at red, so I assumed that this train was waiting to be overtaken by something on the other line.
Then that signal turned to green, so definitely something coming from the east. It turned out to be this stack train with 4 locos on the front, I was too busy filming to get stills as it came flying through.
Then it was the turn over the train in the distance but not before a second hopper car train went over on the BNSF line.
Yes it's a different loco, this time in BNSF heritage green livery
It's an ACe on the UP train
I was bit slow with this photo but that is a southern pacific lettered boxcar.
After all that excitement I continued the westward journey to Clinton Iowa.
There a nice place to park by the tracks just behind main street but of course it was a case of still no trains.
At least I manged to fill the time by chatting to Emma for half an hour.
Next I moved on to Acker Road, about 8 miles west of Morrison, a left turn of US 30.
There's a grade crossing about 200 yards up the road and a bit further over you can see the bridge that the BNSF line uses to go over the UP mainline. I even got a train !
It's not a great view but it was a train and you could hear it coming a good minute before it got there.
In the distance I could see a train on the UP line, but it wasn't moving.
You can see the signal on the right at red, so I assumed that this train was waiting to be overtaken by something on the other line.
Then that signal turned to green, so definitely something coming from the east. It turned out to be this stack train with 4 locos on the front, I was too busy filming to get stills as it came flying through.
Then it was the turn over the train in the distance but not before a second hopper car train went over on the BNSF line.
Yes it's a different loco, this time in BNSF heritage green livery
It's an ACe on the UP train
I was bit slow with this photo but that is a southern pacific lettered boxcar.
After all that excitement I continued the westward journey to Clinton Iowa.
Jordan or Plymouth Mad
Mid-Western Thunderer
We seem to be missing posts and PMs from 5th July onwards at present; who knows, they may yet be restored at some point.
mickoo
Western Thunderer
For the anoraks, it's BNSF H1 (H for Heritage) scheme which is a nod to the GN that BN absorbed before BNSF they have a GN stylized circular shield on the front. The other scheme is H2 and a nod to the ATSF warbonnet scheme with the cigar band on the front.
I don't think I've actually seen a H1 scheme myself, they're quite old now and thin on the ground I believe; H2 are more prolific and still kicking around.
Of course there are still some original ATSF red and silver units badged up as BNSF (fake bonnets) kicking around but like H1 getting thin on the ground.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
So are we to be denied news of your visit to Ashtabula?
And the answer to my question as to the location where you were filming the Ashtabula video?
Rgds, Graham
Brian Daniels
Western Thunderer
What livery would this be? Think they ran out of transfers, like we all do midway through a project.
BNSF 4741+BNSF 4714+BN 7908+EMLX 6429+BN 7020+BN 8016 Mesa 09-09-98
BNSF 4741+BNSF 4714+BN 7908+EMLX 6429+BN 7020+BN 8016 Mesa 09-09-98
mickoo
Western Thunderer
That's interesting, looks like a GN or MILW unit, I wonder if it's one of those trial units they did, I dimly recall they tried several schemes and pick the best two. It looks a bit like H1 but 4741 never carried H1, only H2 so I suspect like you say they didn't have time or have the final decals to stick on.
Fake bonnet behind and both have gull wing roof profiles.
Brian Daniels
Western Thunderer
Saw a couple like this. I recall they had trouble getting the reflective decals. BNSF 4838 Sprague 09-09-98
Mike Walker
Western Thunderer
It was during a period when operators were desperate to get new power into service so both GE and EMD delivered locos in part finished livery such as these BNSF units. Around the same time, NS got some GE's in pale grey undercoat which they later painted themselves.
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Hi Graham
Here goes then, I'm stood by the diamond at 32nd street in Ashtabula.
Then for the GP40 footage we move to the Ineos plant 2 north on Middle Road.
Richard
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Here's the latest video
At about 24 minutes in you see the bloke run across the tracks in front of a moving train
RIchard
At about 24 minutes in you see the bloke run across the tracks in front of a moving train
RIchard
richard carr
Western Thunderer
So the next stop was Clinton Iowa on the west bank of the Mississippi.
The rail bridge is the low one in the distance.
Looking north
There is a fair amount of industry here, ADM has a very large plant, they produce food ingredients and industrial alcohol at Clinton.
This is the plant
Although this mainly UP territory I also stumbled upon this
and these
These freight cars were parked by the roadside
So here are a few detail shots
The rail bridge is the low one in the distance.
Looking north
There is a fair amount of industry here, ADM has a very large plant, they produce food ingredients and industrial alcohol at Clinton.
This is the plant
Although this mainly UP territory I also stumbled upon this
and these
These freight cars were parked by the roadside
So here are a few detail shots
richard carr
Western Thunderer
The next car is interesting from a weathering point of view
notice the lines of weathering above the trucks in line with the wheels
It appears to be very dark above the trucks, but no where near as dirty in the middle
The UP yard is a couple of miles south of the town there is an access road that runs down the side of it but you can't see that much.
I found these 2 GP60s being used as switchers at the south end.
then at the north end of the yard these were parked up
The CP line runs down the other side of the road
Here's the yard itself
with another GP60 doing some switching
Another loaded coal train was waiting to depart
It blew it's horn and started to move off, so I headed back to the bridge to film going across the Mississippi.
notice the lines of weathering above the trucks in line with the wheels
It appears to be very dark above the trucks, but no where near as dirty in the middle
The UP yard is a couple of miles south of the town there is an access road that runs down the side of it but you can't see that much.
I found these 2 GP60s being used as switchers at the south end.
then at the north end of the yard these were parked up
The CP line runs down the other side of the road
Here's the yard itself
with another GP60 doing some switching
Another loaded coal train was waiting to depart
It blew it's horn and started to move off, so I headed back to the bridge to film going across the Mississippi.
richard carr
Western Thunderer
So that was it for Clinton, although I did manage to get a bit closer to this CP GP20c ECO
I was staying the night in Davenport about 30 miles further south where the old Rock Island line crosses the Mississippi, it's now the Iowa Interstate short line but only a few hundred miles long.
The CP line along the Mississippi also passes through there and there is interconnectors between them in the city. CP also has a yard there that still has it's round house and turntable, and there is another railway bridge off the CP line to cross the river.
The hotel was close to the river and the railway with a view of the Rock island bridge, the railway is on the upper deck and there is a roadway on the lower deck, this one is free to drive over. This is the rock Island bridge.
The line continues through the city on bridges, but there are a couple of grade crossings.
The CP line splits about a mile north of the RI bridge and climbs steeply away from the river
This then disappears into the city and ends at a transhipment site on the outskirts run by the Davenport Industrial Railroad.
I didn't have the best nights sleep as at 3am the first CP train passed by then another 20 minutes later and then another not long after that, I'm sure it woke everyone up in the hotel !
The good thing was that I could see the line from my room in the hotel, so about 9:45am I heard the horn, not the usual horn, it turned out to be a CP local heading north with a short train of hoppers. The problem was where was it going, would continue up the river as there's a fair amount of industry up there or would it take the branch, and where on the branch there are lots of spurs on the map and quite a few that feed into the John Deere factories.
I grabbed all my stuff and set off in pursuit.
I was staying the night in Davenport about 30 miles further south where the old Rock Island line crosses the Mississippi, it's now the Iowa Interstate short line but only a few hundred miles long.
The CP line along the Mississippi also passes through there and there is interconnectors between them in the city. CP also has a yard there that still has it's round house and turntable, and there is another railway bridge off the CP line to cross the river.
The hotel was close to the river and the railway with a view of the Rock island bridge, the railway is on the upper deck and there is a roadway on the lower deck, this one is free to drive over. This is the rock Island bridge.
The line continues through the city on bridges, but there are a couple of grade crossings.
The CP line splits about a mile north of the RI bridge and climbs steeply away from the river
This then disappears into the city and ends at a transhipment site on the outskirts run by the Davenport Industrial Railroad.
I didn't have the best nights sleep as at 3am the first CP train passed by then another 20 minutes later and then another not long after that, I'm sure it woke everyone up in the hotel !
The good thing was that I could see the line from my room in the hotel, so about 9:45am I heard the horn, not the usual horn, it turned out to be a CP local heading north with a short train of hoppers. The problem was where was it going, would continue up the river as there's a fair amount of industry up there or would it take the branch, and where on the branch there are lots of spurs on the map and quite a few that feed into the John Deere factories.
I grabbed all my stuff and set off in pursuit.