Railroads: Locomotives, Bridges & More
November 12, 2013
November 10, 2013
November 6, 2013
November 3, 2013
And the Track Goes...
This afternoon on our way back from out near Elkton, VA, USA, we stopped near the railroad tracks that run parallel to US 33 in that area. Here are three photos from there. We were close to Penn Laird when I took the pictures.
Norfolk Southern Tracks Looking East, Near Penn Laird, VA, USA (12-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
The one above is looking east, and the two below are looking west.
Norfolk Southern Tracks Looking West (I), Near Penn Laird, VA, USA (12-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Norfolk Southern Tracks Looking West (II), Near Penn Laird, VA, USA (12-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Please vote for which of the two looking west you like best.
November 10, 2013
A Video and More
On Wednesday (November 6) when I stopped by the Harrisonburg Norfolk and Southern yard, I was able to capture engine NS 8955 in motion moving gran cars around.
Locomotive NS 8955, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (6-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
The video is on YouTube and accessible through this link..
Just over a week earlier, there were two engines connected to one train at the same locatin. The second one was new to me--NS 9819.
NS 9819 as the Second Engine of a Train, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (29-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
The Train had Grain Cars and Two Gondola Cars, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (29-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Several days later on the track across from R. S. Monger & Son, I saw a flat bed car with an interesting load on it. I have sent some questions to others to try and find out what it is, but I still do not know. Anyone have any ideas? Might it be crew quarters?
Flat Car with Unidentified Load, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (4-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
At the same time as I caught the video of NS 8955, I also photographed NS 8807 sitting still on a parallel track. I had first seen and photographed this locomotive on October 19 and posted photos on November 3.
NS 8807 Connected to Several Boxcars, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (6-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Close-up of Locomotive NS 8807, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (6-Nov-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
As usual I am amazed at the variety of engine numbers and rolling stock I see here in Harrisonburg.
November 6, 2013
"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
To complete the discussion of engines NS 6771 and 9819 begun in my post on November 3, here is a panoramic view of the train they were pulling toward south southwest.
Train with NS 6771 & 9819 as Engines, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (29-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
The previous day and just a little further north on the track was NS 8955 pulling a grain train.
Train with NS 8955 as an Engine, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Close-up of NS 8955 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Re-Building a Rail CrossingA couple of weeks ago, my good friend Gordi Shantz alerted me to the "maintenance of way" work that the Norfolk and Southern crews were doing on a crossing at Acorn Drive near the northern edge of Harrisonburg. I did not capture any of the work being done, but below are photos of the results.
New Rail Crossing on Acorn Drive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (25-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
New and Old Ties and Rail Sections at the Acorn Drive Crossing, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (25-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Another View of the Old Rail Sections, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (25-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Since I could easily get close to this maintenance section, I thought the pile of old rail spikes was interesting.
A Pile of Old Rail Spikes Removed from the Repaired Tracks, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (25-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
One Spike by Itself, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (25-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Next time I'll try to capture the Norfolk Southern workers busy on the job.
November 3, 2013
Three Engines, Seven Rail Cars, and One New Video
A few days ago, I was able to visit the Norfolk Southern yard here in Harrisonburg and found an idling NS 6771 locomotive. According to the "Norfolk Southern Diesel Locomotive Roster" maintained by Chris Tothis, this is a EMD SD60M engine built 20 years ago (01-1993).
NS 6771 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
And for those who enjoy video even better than still photos, here is a link to a short video of this engine idling in the yard.
- Locomotive NS6771 Idling (wmv, 1.66 MB)
- Locomotive NS6771 Idling (mp4, 1.80 MB)
As can be seen from the video and the photo, NS 6771 is connected to another engine. It is 9819. Again referencing the "Norfolk Southern Diesel Locomotive Roster" maintained by Chris Toth, one can discover that this is GE Dash 9-40CW built in 03-2004.
NS 9819 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
In the Harrisonburg rail yard (under the Cantrell Ave. bridge) were more boxcars with graffiti painted on them.
A Graffiti-painted Boxcar, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (I) (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Graffiti-painted Boxcar, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (II) (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Graffiti-painted Boxcar with Open Doors, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
An Older Graffiti-painted Gondola Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
One piece of equipment that fits the category of "maintenance of the way" used in keep the tracks in good order is a rail crane. Below is the view from the back and the front of one that was in Harrisonburg a couple of weeks ago. It has the old NW (Norfolk & Western) designation on it.
The Back View of an Older Burro Rail Crane (Model 40), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Front View of the Burro Model 40 Rail Crane, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (20-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Below is a photo from the front of the NS 8807 locomotive. And according to the "Norfolk Southern Diesel Locomotive Roster" maintained by Chris Toth, it is also a GE Dash 9-40CW and was built in 01-1995.
NS 8807 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Below is my first photo of a flatcar. It was next to R. S. Monger & Son in Harriosnburg.
A Flatcar, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
More on the theme of old depots or loading docks, this photo shows the former Wetsel Seed Co. building, now used for a variety of buildings but which surely had a loading dock for its bagged seeds. I am not certain what the building across the tracks was originally, but it is now used by the language software company, Rosetta Stone.
Building Formerly Having Loading Docks, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
When I turned around from photographing the above scene, I could see a grain car resting on the siding track.
A Grain Car Sitting Alone, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
A tank car sat near R. S. Monger & Sons. I'm not certain what it was carring.
Tank Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (20-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Close-up of Tank Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (20-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
And my photographing of trains continues with lots more to learn about railroads.
--©2013, Richard L. Bowman
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