Your best of 2012!

Forum Admin · January 01, 2013, 06:05:50 PM

2012 was a great year for the fans of the NS. Steam trips, Heritage units and so much more!

Here is your chance to show us your best of the year. Feel free to show what you consider to be your 5 best NS images from 2012. This is NOT a contest, just a way to take a look back at an exciting year.

Your 5 personal favorite or best images....lets see them!

Badhorse79 · January 01, 2013, 08:49:20 PM

Only have one "REAL" pic rest are models! !!

8100 in Lockland Ohio headed south to have a few mods done to the numbers and stripes

MotoLinz · January 01, 2013, 09:12:17 PM

I don't take pictures for the same reasons most of y'all do, so don't expect any fancy, well-lit, focused, and composed artsy fartsy anything from me. Half the time, I'm taking pictures with my cell phone. But, here are some fun moments from last year...

The 630 at City Yard in downtown Knoxville, a random freight while we waited for the Savannah & Atlanta unit in Morristown, two pictures from our usual spot in Farragut, and...even the dog will watch a train. (Bonus points to anyone who can correctly guess her breed.)

thpbears · January 02, 2013, 08:08:26 AM

Those are some nice shots. Maybe the future CEO's of railroading here ? Take care and Happy New Year.

E.M. Bell · January 04, 2013, 06:15:48 PM

With a year like 2012, its pretty dang hard to pick just 5 images. I have been working on doing my year end clean up the past couple of days, getting caught up on processing (and I am not even close) and getting stuff backed up to the external drives. A quick calculation shows that I shot almost 9700 frames this year, and trust me, thats a lot of work!

Here are my 5 picks for the top of 2012, and I cant wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

February 19th, 2012 at Parkers Lake, KY Southbound 223 struggles to get on the move again, after meeting a Trio of Northbounds at Cumberland Falls. This was one of those days that you felt lucky to make it home alive..and well worth the trouble.

March 20th. The NS OCS crosses the TN river at Chattanooga after a fast run down the CNO&TP with a directors special. I have had some great luck shoot the F units over the past few years, but Tenbridge was a shot I wanted, and after trying 4 times, I finally got what I wanted!

April 19th. My first heritage unit catch. Conrail 8098 leads NS 251 South at Bowen KY. The sweet light and horse make the shot for me.

July 14th. Southern 630 leads a trip across the TN river at Knoxville TN on the K&A branch. We shot a lot of steam this year, but this was my favorite shot of them all. The new steam program is about more than just the trains, and I thought this shot told the story well.

December 7th. NS 275 holds the main at East Waddy, KY as 77J takes the siding. It was dark, pouring rain and cold as could be..proof that you dont always need a sunny day..

mbgphoto79 · January 06, 2013, 08:29:16 PM

Didn't get out much this year except for the Heritage Rush and of course 630. The family kept me either at work or at home for the most part. Got lucky a few times and caught some once in a lifetime trains so who can complain?

A night portrait of NS SD40-2 #1630, the yard power at Pomona in Greensboro, NC. This unit is still drilling the yard every day as we speak. 12 MAR 2012.

Two ex-BN SD40-2's have P61 down to 5 mph on the Yadkin Hill at Five Row in Spencer, NC. The sound was incredible as they passed 15 feet away! 24 MAR 2012.

Linwood bound 11R is adorned with three glossy heritage units as they race around the bend and into the grade at CP Cox in Greensboro, NC. 20 JUN 2012.

For the first time in at least 18 years steam power visits the K Line in Greensboro, NC. This trip powered by the venerable SOU 630 ran from Salisbury, NC to Greensboro then west on the K line to Winston-Salem. 23 JUN 2012.

Finally, NS 349 stops to work Pomona Yard in Greensboro, NC with the INT heritage unit leading. This was taken with a borrowed point and shoot balanced on a fence post. JUN 2012.

Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR · January 07, 2013, 07:43:42 AM

Well I caught most of the heritage units this year, still need about six or eight I think to have seen them all, my accidental Erie catch stands out as exciting, here's some stuck together in a very homemade looking collage, and I actually caught a sd40 on our local which is so rare it isn't even funny, I didn't get any killer shots of it since it only stayed a day or two but it was nice to see.

Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR · January 07, 2013, 07:53:59 AM

Here's the rarity

Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR · January 07, 2013, 10:39:29 AM

I had forgotten about catching this rare move when the exhibit car traveled thru here and I caught it at my favorite spot, with eclectic power to boot

butch · January 08, 2013, 09:06:32 AM

You know me, I love a good tunnel picture-or at least some "hook" to make it interesting. And it's as much about the journey as it is the picture. So five of my 2012 favorites might not be the best quality pix, but they certainly were fun-and chasing NS 8099 out of Norton didn't even make the cut [sorry Ron].

First up is the 630 excursion in Knoxville. I spent the day chasing with Emmett [and a lot of fellow JREBers] and this shot of the third trip heading across the river has an art deco feel to it that I like.

Next is NKP 765 coming back from turning on the Buchanan Branch Wye at Ought One, WV; it's blasting out of the near-side Hatfield Tunnel near Matewan, WV in the only place the Pokey goes through KY.

A shot that I've always wanted was a SB passing the abandoned portal of CNO&TP Tunnel 19 and I got that a couple of months ago.

Staying on the Rathole, this time the new Tunnel 22, I combined shots of each portal taken the same day. While not technically great photos, they both earn Combat Railfan vest patches for the effort required to get the shots from the ridge above the original Tunnel 23 and from above the cut overlooking CW Tower.

And #5 is the Lackawanna Heritage unit which the JREB posse chased just before the year closed, seen here emerging from Tunnel 24 at Nemo.

I hope everyone else had as much fun this year as I did.

Butch

Matt L · January 09, 2013, 08:00:47 PM

My selections are based mostly on the seasons.

Favorite shot from winter- NS yard job @ Gang Mills, NY on Mon 1/30/2012:

Favorite shot from spring- catching NS local H06 heading northbound on the Corning Secondary next to Seneca Lake @ Benton, NY on Mon 6/10/2012:

Favorite shot from summer- NS local H12 works the yard next to an ex-Lehigh Valley RR depot @ Sayre, PA on Fri 8/24/2012:

Favorite shot of fall- eastbound NS/CP 38T passes across the Letchworth bridge on the Southern Tier Mainline @ Portage, NY on Sun 10/7/2012:

Favorite non-NS shot of the year- the former Erie RR Rochester division. The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville local, powered by a pair of pristine Alco Centuries, heads southbound @ East River Road in Henrietta, NY on Fri 11/16/2012:

SOU4501 · January 10, 2013, 07:30:31 PM

2012 was definitely a great year to be a fan of NS.

Here is something I never expected to see here in NC ever again. Chattanooga yes,Spencer no...

...and a few Heritage motors...Pennsylvania...

...and Virginian...

...and an original SOU Heritage motor at Spencer...

...and I doubt this is the "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow,but I was lucky enough to capture this image a few miles down the road from my home near Linwood,NC.

Scott Ridenhour

CQDX018 · January 10, 2013, 09:07:24 PM

Here are I think my rememberable shots of 2012. Hope you enjoyed as much as I did taking them!

1. Southern heritage # 8099 sits third out on NS 749 on 09-25-2012 in Henderson, IL.
2. Erie heritage # 1068 on NS Q0E coal passes the Conrail heritage # 8098 on NS 91E with a Southern gondola in the industrial lead in Donnellson, IL on the old Nickel Plate line on 10-21-2012.
3. Steam Excursion NS # 055 led by NKP 765, IT 1072, & Wabash heritage loco's # 1070 head through Litchfield, IL on 09-06-2012.
4. NS 055 turns the curve through Bartelso, IL on 10-25-2012.
5. Conrail heritage # 8098 passes through Litchfield, IL on 924 work train as a Litchfield police officer poses on 10-20-2012.

NSMoWandS · January 15, 2013, 11:06:03 PM

After much back and forth...

1)June 1st, 2012 NS's 30th Birthday I got to see my first heritage unit, PRR 8102.
2)My first heritage unit actually moving! CNJ 1071 rolls along the NEC in Elkton, MD in September.

NSMoWandS · January 15, 2013, 11:09:55 PM

3)In October I shot Interstate 8105 on the PD District. It blends in well with the Autumn's colors.

NSMoWandS · January 15, 2013, 11:15:50 PM

4) In December in Harrisburg, PA... I took an over exposed night shot of a mixed freight waiting on the old Reading Railroad Lurgan Line Bridge. This shot was taken at 2354hrs.
5)And 12 hours later in the Harrisburg area... I am standing in the falling snow shooting an intermodal speeding along in Cove, PA.

Hope you enjoy! Dan

thpbears · January 16, 2013, 06:46:59 AM

Those are two nice closeups of the Heritage units Dan.

Matt L · January 16, 2013, 08:04:28 PM

Dan, those bridge shots are pretty cool IMO.

NSMoWandS · January 17, 2013, 10:55:25 AM

Thanks Bears! I was able to get very up close and personal with the PRR unit! And saw the CNJ unit waiting to get on the NEC at Newark, DE...so was able to drive south 7 miles to set up for it! Thanks Matt! I have a thing for bridges (like we all do! LOL!) If you ever get down to Mullens or Bluefield, WV... follow the PD District... lots and lots of different bridges. And you can follow the road past most of them! Dan

Matt L · January 19, 2013, 09:33:53 PM

Quote from: butch on January 08, 2013, 09:06:32 AM
Next is NKP 765 coming back from turning on the Buchanan Branch Wye at Ought One, WV; it's blasting out of the near-side Hatfield Tunnel near Matewan, WV in the only place the Pokey goes through KY.

Nice job with the Berkshire! I've always like that locomotive class- the NKP and Erie both had large fleets of 2-8-4s. (I think this nay have been a result of the Van Swearingen brothers owning both RRs during the 1920s.)

butch · January 19, 2013, 09:53:45 PM

Thanks Matt-can't go wrong with steam and a tunnel.

jhicks7 · January 19, 2013, 10:45:12 PM

Here are my top 5!

1) NS 098 is led by a nice looking ACe with 12 tarped engines for export to Rio Tinto in Australia through Charlottesville, VA. 3/18/12
2) A shot of the steam excursion somewhere west of Roanoke, VA on very hot summer day. 6/30/12
3) NS 68K bound for Selma, NC with loads of ethanol through Moneta, VA. 7/23/12
4) The LV 8104 leading an empty PGNX hopper train west to the coal fields through Moneta, VA. 8/23/12
5) NS 48Z with a solid set of matching NS covered hoppers filled with grain through Moneta, VA. 12/23/12.

Josh