Last Sunday February 08 2009

[tq-07fan]

The NS New Castle District south of  New Castle Indiana was formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad Richmond Branch. Not included in Conrail it was aquired and totally rebuilt by Norfolk and Western. At that time it became a link from Danville Illinois and Ft Wayne to the original N & W Peavine to Portsmouth and east. Today the New Castle district is busy, well over two dozen trains a day. Of course almost all that traffic has come off the CNO&TP since the Peavine was put out of service in 2003. After the Conrail split CSXT and NS started directional running from Butler Street (Hamilton Ohio) to Winton Place (Cincinnati). Generally Northbounds on CSX and Southbounds on NS.

Mosler / Gilmore Rd
1) CSXT Q-339-08 Excersing Direction Running Rights.
2) Passing the Controlled Signal. N & W used NKP style signals instead of CPLs when they rebuilt the line.

MP 29 in Hamilton, Ohio. Iwaited here for over an hour after I heard a second southbound was headed for Cresentville.
3) NS 177. NS 2634 an SD-70-2M in the lead.
4) I know all skipped the first picture to see that ultra-rare (for NS) D9-40-CW passing the signal.

[tq-07fan]

The Dayton District was formerly the Conrail Cincinnati Line, part of the New York Central's CCC&Stl / Big Four. I'm originally from Dayton, and proud of it. I've seen this line go from almost nothing in late the 80's to pick up again in 1990's. After NS took over the line has errupted with traffic to the point of possibly adding a siding northeast of Dayton where the line was single tracked back in 1990. Unfortunately part of the traffic on the Dayton Distrcit came off of the Peavine / Cincinnati District after it was put Out of Service. Of course the traffic levels will change for the worse with the closing of GM Moraine Assembly back in December.

Middletown is home of a big shipper on the line AK Steel, formerly Armco. It is on the other side of the tracks on the next two shots. This is inbetween CP 228 (actually MP 229.5) and CP 231 (MP 230.6). Location accessed by going behind Save-A-Lot on University Ave.
5) I'd just missed getting an Armco coke train crossing Oxford State Rd. Instead I just got behind the Save-A-Lot to get NS 117.
6) Two BNSFs and six D8-32-Bs and GP-38-2s. Locomotive numbers BNSF 9206, BN 9413, NS 3548,3541, 5530, 3524, 5560, 5525.

I attempoted chasing. I had to chose between county roads or I-75. When I got on I-75 traffic was stopped for no apparent reason.
7) Stop and roll down the window. Not quite the shot I was wanting passing through the Proctor and Gamble complex before getting on CSX at NA Tower.

Thank You for Looking
Jim

[ssmith1627]

With the short trains we have running on the A line these days, that sure looks like a monster.   Our daily trains seem to run with just a few locomotives now.   I've never seen anything with that much power at the head.   We don't see much BNSF power here either.

Thanks for the text along with the pictures.  Makes it an interesting read.

Steve