NorthEast Ohio Railfanning, April 2015
(click on each image to see a larger version -- approx 1024X768)
| Day 1, April 3 | Day 2, April 4 | Day 3, April 5 | Day 4, April 6 |


April 3, 2015, Berea, Ohio

Friday was a rainy day in Berea, but I was there to watch trains so that's what I did!

1:38pm


It was a busy day with a lot of the usual stuff like this Eastbound oil train.

1:51pm

We had word of something special, a heritage unit to be specific, and one that I would have a personal interest in. The Katy was our girl growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, but it never looked anything like this!

2:12pm

2:24pm

2:26pm

 

2:31pm


2:49pm

About mid-afternoon the weather decided to stop playing with us and open up for good.  Photography was pretty much out of the question but I tried this anyway, sheltered under the Front Street overpass.

5:06pm

April 4, 2015, Berea, Grafton, & Olmsted Falls, Ohio
The next morning dawned clear and bright but a bit chilly with a persistent wind that kept the day slightly less than comfortable.

8:57am

The morning was another busy one with a lot of action to keep us happy!


9:37am


11:09am

Pretty much a typical Saturday crowd, kind of hard to keep them out of my shots.

11:20am


The growing crowd of railfans prompted us to move to another spot where we saw this smoky visitor from the North.

12:12pm

12:28pm
I've never seen a rail grinder this clean, in fact this one looks to be fresh out of the factory!

...more oil...

12:44pm

1:26pm

1:37pm

Most of the unit tank trains we see now are carrying crude oil but I believe this one was Ethanol.

1:41pm


...add a COKE train to the mix!

2:07pm


2:15pm

 

2:22pm


3:04pm

3:04pm

3:10pm

3:29pm

I always joke about Union Pacific's paint scheme generally being the same sane 1934, but I have to admit that it really is pretty when clean and well-lit.  It was a shame these units weren't leading!

3:30pm


We heard a heritage unit might be heading our way but a bit of incorrect information lead us to believe it was running on CSX rails.  In search of a good Westbound shot we went to Grafton, Ohio where this colorful stack train met us.

4:28pm

Checking the Heritage Unit Website we discovered our error and headed back to Olmsted Falls for a parade of Westbounds.

6:42pm

7:00pm

7:18pm

7:30pm

7:43pm

Finally it appeared.  NS #1070, an EMD SD70ACe in Wabash Railroad colors.  The light was practically gone but I got my shot anyway!

7:56pm

April 5, 2015, Bellevue, Olmsted Falls, & Mansfield, Ohio

Sunday we got an early start and headed to the modern Center of Norfolk Southern's system: Bellevue, Ohio.  The morning was a bit warmer but the Sun never really broke out and worst of all, NS didn't run many trains past our vantage point across from the Mini Plant signals.

8:16am


Eastbound Triple Crown (road-railers)

9:02am

 

9:15am


On my previous visits to Bellevue I've always caught a Wheeling & Lake Erie train coming into the yard.  This time the only movement was a crew using the connection tracks as a wye to turn their power.

9:49am
On the East side of town The Wheeling has a holding yard where we can usually see examples of their varied paint schemes.

At lunchtime we gave up on Bellevue and headed back toward Cleveland, stopping in Olmsted Falls.  After watching this Eastbound go by we heard of something a bit special and headed off again, hoping to get lucky.

Olmsted Falls, Ohio
1:26pm

In Mansfield we caught a heritage unit that none of us had seen previously.  The Sun was out brightly and the angle was pretty good for this Westbound coal drag.  The reflective vest caught in the nose door and the water bottles cooling on the hood add a bit of "interest" to the shot.

Mansfield, Ohio
4:23pm
I usually don't show going-away shots but these CPL signals are probably something soon to be history.

In one end of the Mansfield yard we saw this guy posing for us.  Not quite a heritage unit but almost!

April 6, 2015, Berea & Alliance, Ohio
Going to bed Sunday night we expected to wake to rain.  It held off a short bit and the Sun even appeared for a short time early!

7:46am

By the time the Eastbound "Salad-Shooter" passed the bits of blue sky had been replaced with solid overcast.  No rain yet, however...

9:06am

9:20am

9:34am

9:49am

As I was shooting this the occasional drops changed to a light but steady shower.  Okay, enough for this weekend!

9:56am


12:24pm
Shortly after leaving Berea the rain on my windshield stopped so I set my GPS for Alliance, Ohio where I caught this Westbound grain train headed across the diamond on the Ft Wayne line.

Road-Railers headed around the curve toward Cleveland.

12:29pm


12:49pm
This coal drag is the first I have ever seen in Ohio with pushers.

 

1:06pm


1:20pm
On my previous visits I never seen much traffic onto the Ft Wayne line.  That gave me an easy way to include one of the CPL signals in the shot!

Light engines headed West toward Cleveland.  Does this mean they have a surplus in the East or a shortage out West?  Hmmmmm...

1:25pm

I have to go back to Alliance and make a point to shot the CPLs.  For now, including them in the shot of this Eastbound will have to do.

1:42pm

As much as I'd like to stay another day, I have to get home to go to work tomorrow!  Oh well, another time...

1:57pm

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Proud to be an American!
Mack Muir