If you have a new phone, join in. Here are the rules: Do not trespass (or violate any other laws in the pursuit of photos or videos). Be safe (and legal). All photos must be taken during the period of the thread (i.e. now through April 30, 2013 for this thread). Photos should be taken with your smartphone (or other similar mobile device) and uploaded. Let's see what kind of interesting rail action you can catch on your mobile device this month! You never know what you will see.
Woodchip train today in Calais, Maine. This train would have crossed from Canada just minutes earlier.
Charlie, what railroad is that? The loco's color looks like Pan Am blue, but I didn't know that B&M or MEC had track in the Calais area.
I think it's part of the Guilford operation. I'm not really sure. The only tracks we have in the area is this line that runs from the Canadian border (connecting with the NB Southern) to the mill at Baileyville, Maine. It's just about 6 miles from the border. As far as I know there are no other connections as there is no other rail traffic anywhere around here. This train runs a couple of times per week and just hauls a few cars to the mill. I regularly see interesting NB Southern locomotives (complete with a caboose) at the border but I don't have chances to photograph. Charlie
Thx, I'll see if old B&M and MEC maps might show the line's ownership from 100 years ago. Edit - A B&M/MEC map from 1898 shows the CP serving St. Stephen and possibly crossing the river to Calais, though that's unclear. The "ST. C & P" goes southwest from Calais for a number of miles before dead-ending with no town identified. Baileyville is not identified.
Took this shot from my iPhone 5 this morning. This UP crossing is across the highway from my house in Wolf Lake, IL. The work train is stopped and the cars are loaded with welded rail. Some lengths of new rail are laying on the ground beside the tracks further down the line. I'll try to get a pic of the rail replacement if I'm able to catch them doing it. Right after I took this shot the locos uncoupled and sped away.
So I'm out in my front yard a few minutes ago (Wolf Lake, IL, Union Pacific mainline) when I hear not one but two train horns so I know there's going to be a meet. I just managed to grab this shot of the southbound BNSF train of tank cars about to meet the northbound mixed pulled by two lease units and an ex Cotton Belt locomotive. I think the flooded Mississippi River has rerouted some more BNSF trains over here. I don't know for sure.
Sorry, but this Luddite refuses to purchase a device that is more intelligent and capable than he is...so there.
I got this a few weeks before the start date, but I'm still going to include it. It was an "oh crap, I need my camera"-scramble-shoot moment, and I'm very pleased with the results.
OK, so technically this was on May 1st but there hasn't been a thread started for May yet. I also have some more from today but this one TRULY was in the spirit of the thread...struck in traffic, and the chances of catching a train here is practically one in a million... This was taken from the ramp from the Bush Turnpike ramping north to the Dallas North Tollway in Plano, TX. The train is KCS's UPS Piggy on former ATSF rails, heading east after picking it up from BNSF near their Alliance intermodal yard.
OK, here's one that's actually from April... This was taken about a mile north of the diamonds in Saginaw, TX on BNSF's Wichita Falls sub. Taken on April 15th while on the way to lunch.
