Time to get the Weekend Proto Fun started. While on site this week at one of our facilities to conduct some training, I discovered that this little gem was parked on the back lot. No idea of the history or heritage of this unit but it sure is cool. Henderson NC - Feb 2022
February 24, 2011. UP was still rostering lots of patched locomotives acquired during merger mania. Crew change south of Hearne on the old SP line.
Google is my friend. http://www.solrswat.ca/1_EquipmentR...del/GE_70_Ton_End_Cab/70_Ton_Roster_30000.htm
From 01/08/2022 at the south end of the Camden, SC siding, new CSX train 784 moves south on the former SAL main. In a welcome reversal of PSR, CSX has restored a daily Hamlet, NC => Cayce, SC =>Hamlet, NC turn. Having to cover 225 Miles out and back, while working a few locations and meeting a local, the train sometimes laws out en route.
About ten years or so back, the Essex helpers shuttling down the hill to Whitefish, where they'll be on the rear of an eastward "S" train and shove it up over Marias Pass, Montana. Here crossing over the entrance to Glacier Park at Belton:
This is the beginning of the last wholly GE-powered Empire Builder trainsets on 8 Feb before the first Chargers were set to lead. PTC issues prevented them from leading, but was still worth the shot to document the veterans. CP 498 rumbles through Soo Tower in the alpenglow of pre-dawn blue hour:
Oooooo... that VGN unit is sure purty... Those vintage paint schemes are timeless. They look good in any era.
The VGN is a personal favorite, kinda looks like a big ol' Lionel. Great shot @Sepp K ! I've not seen any updates on the SOU (8099) which was damaged in a derailment some months ago.
A large number of them run through here after dark or in trailing positions. Unfortunately, it seems that they're not being maintained as well as they once were.
I really like the nose herald on this unit, I think it makes the paint scheme pop. I haven't heard any more about the Southern, either, after its encounter with the rockslide. It was headed this way and I was hoping to get a picture when its journey was interrupted.
Before retirement, I had access to NS's computer tracing functions as part of my work and it was also handy for tracking the 20 HUs. I continued to enjoy access after retirement until rabid fans somehow gained access through shared passwords and began to trace thousands of NS units. This volume soon attracted NS attention and they responded by requiring password resets and eliminating locomotive tracing by shippers. I now use https://heritageunits.com/ It's a useful website, but it's powered by fans and many movements go unnoticed.
That's what I copy also. I have the NS Harrisburg Line close by for viewing, and am about 45 minutes' drive from the Keystone Corridor for Amtrak heritage action.
