Yorkrail / NS weekly coal 510, 511

10/07-09/2011: This weekend's train has three catfish on it: D8-40CW 8440 led the 510, with D9-40CW 9615 following elephant-style, and D9 9795 trailing and facing rearward. 9795 should lead the 511, barring any kind of issues. 9615 is in older NS stripes, and the others have the horsehead paint. As has been the practice for some time now, crew 1 has the 510 leader while crew 2 is operating the other pair.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Update: 10/07-09/11 As of Monday morning, 10/10, the empty hoppers- or at least what seemed like most of them- were sitting in York's Windsor Yard. The train was cut in two sections that I could see, one beginning near the west end of the west wye leg that runs near Poorhouse tower and extending up to the crossing at Windsor St., and the other section near the crossing and continuing up to the Rt. 30 overpass. There was no power attached and no road power in Windsor Yard. After having watched this train roll by countless times, it seems that there were less than 100 cars present.

It was suggested that Monday being Columbus Day might have had something to do with it. But, where did the power go? It would still take a crew to run deadhead power...

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

10/14-16/11: This weekend's train arrived during what may be the peak of fall colors in the area! Unfortunately, there is an abundance of black walnut, oak and evergreen in this locale. The walnuts lost their leaves weeks ago without any color change (as usual), the oaks turn brown for the most part with very few varieties showing some yellows and reds, and the evergreens- well they're forever green... There is one small weed tree near Railroad Rd that usually shows nice reds and yellows, but it is bare- perhaps the victim of this wind and the downpours of last week. Perhaps the best grouping of trees for color, albeit all earthtones, is not trackside but rather several hundred feet from the right of way. This is to the northwest of the Colonial Valley crossing. With some distance between your camera and the tracks, these trees can be worked into shots as a nice backdrop. This weekend, of course, the brilliant blue sky and the lower sun angles really helped with the colors. Now if only NS had helped out some...

This week brought a 510 with three black units. On the bright side, the leader was an older standard cab: D8-40C number 8308. Following, but facing rearward, were D9s 9301 and 9498. Barring any problems through the weekend (of which I'm unaware), the 9498 should have led the 511 out of town.

The 8308, while not the cleanest or shiniest unit on the NS roster, nonetheless made a decent portrait/roster shot with the aforementioned clump of earthtone colors. While not too many railfans seem to frequent this gem of an operation, I was happy to run into an old acquaintance, Tom

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Update: Oct/21-23/11; I can't verify if there was (or wasn't) a train this weekend. I was out of town and also received NO heads-ups one way or the other. Likely no train.

Update: Oct/28-30/11; as with the previous weekend, I have no data whatsoever supporting there having been a 510. Shame, too, as Spring Grove received over 6 inches of heavy crystalline snow. This would have been a SWEET deal for me but a sucky one for any Conductors working outside. I was prepared to go out- tire cables at the ready, but with electricity flickering constantly I stayed home and prepared for an outage. Good thing, since at around 11:45 A.M. power went out and stayed out for over 29 hours. Sure it got cold in the house, and sure it was 'fun' cooking with a camp stove on the dining room table and sleeping in our above-20-degree bags. Sure, packing coolers full of snow is cheaper than buying ice should we lose power in warmer weather. Sure, it was tragic losing about eight mature trees due to the snow gathering on the leaves of weak limbs; on the bright side, I had an excuse to buy a new Craftsman 18" chainsaw- although I had to order online then drive to Baltimore to pick it up since all chainsaws in the State of Pennsylvania had already been sold. But no train chasing. I didn't hear any scanner talk, but with snow falling I likely wouldn't pick up much even if there was definitely a train in the area.

Update: Nov/4-6/11; Question: WHEN DOES A PAIR OF ACEs BEAT THREE 9s? Answer: when it's a pair of SD70ACEs instead of the usual trio of D9s !

Yep! The wait is finally over, although it hasn't been a very long wait at all...Thanks to RK for an email heads-up, although to be fair to my own efforts, I didn't know of the HU until I sat down tonight to write about this big event. This weekend's 510 came east and into Enola with ACEs 1022 and 1008, back to back.

The 510 ALWAYS gets a third 6-axel unit in Enola, even if the first two are 80MACs. Until Friday. This pair did not receive a third unit (unless Yorkrailway is hiding a third ACE up their sleeve...), and the train was sent on to Spring Grove as-is. This marks the FIRST time ACEs have come to town, and perhaps even been put on a 510 at all. As noted above, this is also a day of another FIRST, as only TWO units brought the train to Spring Grove! Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and lots of good chasing was accomplished!

Operationally, as usual, 30 loads were brought into the mill at around 7 A.M. Saturday. Crew One operated the 1022 and crew Two had only one unit instead of their traditional pair:the 1008. Since there was a switch being worked on inside the mill, cuts would be limited to 9 carlengths today. I'm not sure how the first string of 15 was divided, nor how crew One ran around and dumped them, but crew Two took 6 cars to the dumper, came out and retreived the other 9, then backed all 15 in and dumped the rear 9. Crew Two had waited on a pocket-track with 1008 and their first 6 cars while Crew One was working. Perhaps this was to keep 1008 out of the way while 1022 dumped their string as two smaller cuts. This would have allowed room for half of Crew One's cars to sit on the main (with half of crew Two's cars) while they dumped their other half. Nine car lengths was apparently the space limit east of the shaker to the trackwork. Crew one brought in only 9 cars from the main as their second turn, while crew Two was working.

Of note, fall-colorwise: the rich earthtones near the Colonial Valley Rd crossing are mostly gone, with some lingering deep yellows and browns clinging to the oaks. Over in town at Railroad Rd, the one 20-foot Sugar Maple has finally changed from green to gorgeous peachy-oranges, and made for quite a nice shot in the low sun.

The 1008 is set to lead the 511 westbound out of Spring Grove Sunday morning or afternoon. Due to delays unloading today, several cars may still need to be unloaded Sunday A.M. As of 11:15 P.M. Saturday (NOT adjusted for Daylight Savings Time), there are still about 16 loads remaining. Only time will tell if these will be left for the morning. In my (too many) years of paying attention to this operation, I've never known crews to go beyond 11-11:30 or so, although it is now MIDNIGHT (not adjusted yet) and the crew is shoving cuts of empties out near Colonial Valley. I still believe that about 16 loads remain...

When the 511 does leave town, it could get an NS crew promptly in York and roll to Enola or even straight through, OR it could sit in York only to sit in Enola and not roll west until Monday. Not much of a heads-up, I'm afraid.

Another observation from today, other than just being happy to finally see ACEs down here: I'm not big on the horns on these units. They both had the same horn, and it's like a minor chord with some flat notes or something like that... And, its' a very deep tone with no high notes. Not really pleasing to MY ears...

Will update tomorrow or so,

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2



PS- Please don't forget to set your clocks BACK an hour, and replace batteries in ALL smoke / carbon monoxide detectors!

Well, after a verrrry long night unloading the train on Saturday, radio chatter ended shortly after Midnight! Sunday morning came, and while most of America was going to Church or otherwise tending to their Sunday routines, the YRC crew was busy finishing up their work. Horns were heard at a crossing somewhere in town, but a quick drive-through showed that the train was not yet ready to leave. So, off to Church! Returning to town about 12:30, I was dismayed to see the train had left without me. Not the end of the world, I suppose, since pretty much EVERY photo location for an eastbound would have been looking more-or-less directly into the sun at this time of year

I followed the tracks into York and found nothing until Windsor Yard. Here, the train had been split into three sections: a string on the western-most track from the Poorhouse wye up to Windsor Street, a string from the north side of the crossing up to the end of the yard at the Route 30 overpass, and a third string of at least 12 cars on the eastern-most track over near where the regular yard power is kept. On this string of cars, at the north end, was the pair of ACEs: almost impossible to see from anywhere but the 'slow' lane of the northbound I-83 bridge that crosses the yard. As of about 4 P.M. Sunday, the train was still there. On Monday, I drove over the yard around 3P.M. and the train was gone. I'll go out on a limb here, and assume the two ACEs handled their empties all the way west (and with great ease).

Of note here, is that the handover from YRC to NS seems to have changed; maybe for convenience or maybe for security. See the post from October 12, which also notes that the train was split and sat in Windsor until Monday. On that weekend, perhaps the power was also present but hidden (That time, I did NOT have the opportunity to look down from the I-83 overpass). I'm thinking they may no longer be switching crews at FLOUR, where the train could be left unattended for periods of time. Honestly, the last time I attempted to shoot a 511 at FLOUR was back in May, when the CR blue SD60I 6718 was the leader. This operational change could have began way back in the early summer.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

UPDATE: Nov 11-13-2011 No train.

UPDATE: Nov 18-20-2011 No Train. Highly unusual, as there will NOT be one on Thanksgiving weekend, making it THREE weeks without. This might not be a 'first', but it's certainly been a looooong time since the mill has gone four weeks between trains.

UPDATE: Nov 25-27-2011 Happy Thanksgiving!

UPDATE: December 2-4-2011 Happily- No, Quite happily, there is a train as expected. Extremely happily, there are again TWO ACes on it! This weekend's 510 was led by the brand-spanking-new 1044, with the still-in-wet-paint 1046 trailing back-to-back. No doubt, the 1046 will lead the 511. With any luck, it could be a daylight run Sunday at least to Windsor Yard in York. As per the previous post, crews have been leaving the 511, broken into several sections, in Windsor until perhaps Monday. The power will be out of reach from cameras (and people), burried far from any legal vantage point. Of note again is that NS has put lots of faith into these ACes by supplying only two for a train that has almost always warranted three units- even when one or more has been an 80MAC. This could be the new trend, although I'd rather see three units with one or more in COLOR

Of extreme importance to any prospective railfans/photographers, hunters and fishermen: the woods along the edge of the soccer fields are now plastered with NO TRESPASSING signs, placed there by Glatfelter! Not sure if there have been problems in the woods or not, but after going back on the trails for the last 7 or 8 years with no problem whatsoever, I'm a bit shocked- and certainly saddened- that it has come to this In my haste today to get back to the lake to shoot the units on the WM bridge, I naturally did NOT see the signs. Upon leaving- and searching for my breakfast banana that had apparently bounced out of my vest pocket - I found that banana and, looking up, I was face-to-face with a crisp, new NO Trespassing sign. Looks like my years of scoping out these trains by the lake are presumably over... Note that while on the trails I startled a HUGE buck with about 4 points. Hunters: please re-read this paragraph.

On the lighter side, I met an older gentleman/railfan today, Jake, at the Colonial Valley crossing. He luckily arrived just in time to catch the 1044 running light back to the east side of town to fetch another 15 loads off the main. We both went to Railroad Rd and had a nice conversation while waiting for the 1044 to come out of the woods with her loads. Nice meeting you, Jake!

Later, as I ate my partially squished banana and reviewed my shots from today, I pondered the future of this unofficial blog as observation locations become increasingly scarce and my availability may soon be severely limited due to a new job. The next few weeks will tell.

At any rate, look for some pictures of the November ACes in the upcoming January 2012 issue of Railpace.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Many thanks to RK and AJK for updates on Monday's 511 westbound. The train left Enola in the morning and was through CANNON around 10:30 A.M. Due to unknown delays for this low-priority train, it was not through the Conemaugh/Johnstown area until after dark- about 4:45 P.M. And yes, ACe 1046 led 1044!

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Well, it seems that our two brand-new ACes from last week have been quite popular on the regional Yahoo groups, as they have been traveling quite a bit this week. They apparently were interchanged onto CSX out near Shire Oaks after having delivered the 511. Rumors are that they have been testing between there and Baltimore (and possibly farther east) via the Cumberland Sub and Sandpatch. Without checking the groups myself, that is what I've been told.

Update 12/09-11/11: While I personally am not aware of a 510/511 this weekend, a late report on the Altoona-Johnstown group indicates that a 510 did roll east on Friday 12/09/11. I didn't put out any grand effort to look for a 510 since, as of about 9:30 A.M. Saturday, I did not hear any scanner chatter on NS. To me, dead airwaves on a Saturday A.M. indicate that there is no train in town: on with my day! Time to take the family out to cut a fresh Christmas tree Perhaps, as has happened in the past, the train had a late arrival into town. I can usually hear horns at Colonial Valley crossing from my home, but maybe the brisk winter winds muffled the sound that day. If anyone knows what the power was (or what the delay-if any-was), please let me know.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Update for this weekend, 12/16-18/2011: A heads-up from Josh H. says that a 510 came east past the Cresson webcam about 3:45 P.M. on Thursday 12-15, with two nondescript NS units. An anonymous spotter tells me that the 510 is -as of about Noon today- sitting in the south end of Enola Yard with only two units: 8447 and 2618. Another unit should be put on as a leader, since only SD70ACes have ever been put in charge without a third unit. We'll see what happens.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

UPDATE 12/17/2011: The 510 picked up a third unit as expected. Tucked in to the trailing position behind 2618 is Dash-9 9756, also facing rearward. Guess which will be the leader on the 511... Very Good! Looks like someone has been paying attention.

Weather in Spring Grove today: Started out around 30 degrees and very gloomy with a light but steady breeze. Around Noon we hit close to 40 degrees and bright, with very thin high-level clouds and the same breeze. Currently at 4:30 P.M. it is back around 32, very grey and gloomy with light snow flurries blowing in a steady northern breeze. Not the best weather to be a Conductor, but certainly not nearly as bad as it could be.

All for now, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year without a 510/511 either weekend. See you next year ,
Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Hi gang- HAPPY NEW YEAR!

UPDATE: January 1 2012; WE HAVE A TRAIN!

This morning, after only a three-hour 'nap', I was awakened by what sounded like a beautiful
4-chime horn at the Rt. 116 crossing at York Railway's MP 2.2. HUH? It was
only 6:47A.M. - way too early for an RJ2 weekday local....wait a minute: it's not a weekday and that's not a horn on
any of the YRC GP-16s.... hey, it's New Years morning...and it's Sunday!

A quick check on the scanner -now that I'm WIDE awake 8-), indicated power being
turned on the Porters wye. Since its still "Oh-dark-thirty" in the morning,
plus everything I already mentioned above, I failed to mobilize- choosing instead to
lie awake in bed and wait to hear the nice horns echoing through the valley on the
return trip which occurred around 07:13 A.M.

Around 11:30 I went into town, stopping by the Colonial Valley crossing just in time to see the power on the second cut. Both units were facing forward. I dropped by the soccer field complex, and without even leaving the car I took a zoom shot across the fields and through a small gap in the leafless trees along the lake. The unit that was working cut three- the leader of the 510- was now facing 'rearward' and would now be the leader on the 511!!!

This last 510 of 2011 / first 511 of 2012 has a trio of D9s: 9703, 9267 and 9548. The 510's leader, 9703, was the unit
turned this morning at Porters. This makes for
a very rare scenario:the 510 and the 511 will have the same leader. Usually, when Enola sends all units facing forward, the third unit is the one to be turned. Perhaps 2012 will bring more surprises

As of about 10:30 P.M., the scanner indicated that the EOTD was armed. I figure that despite the Conductors having a mixed-bag of weather, ranging from a mild and sunny morning to windy snow showers and an hour or so of heavy rain, they were able to make good time! I'll go out on a limb and assume that the train left under the cover of darkness, although for all I know it could still be sitting on the main in Spring Grove. What I'm sure of is that I DID NOT HEAR an RJ2 local this morning; perhaps the crews were given a hard-earned day off.

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

UPDATE: As expected, there was NO train this weekend.

I'll take this opportunity to give an update on the status of units still painted in Conrail colors, be it CR, CRQ or LMS markings, as it relates to the 510/511 coal trains.

It seems like 'the thing to do' lately: report how many units remain in blue, on an almost-daily basis. I did it here, back at a number around 125 remaining, then at more benchmark numbers including 100(last week in April 2011) and then around 50 (actually 44) back in September. I believe I skipped the 75 mark... Per Chris R Toth's NSDash9 website (which is likely where everyone gets their numbers), as of this past Friday there were only 26 blue units remaining. I'll consider that close enough to the 25 benchmark and get on my soapbox now. Note that at the 100 mark, the majority of blues were small GP units such as GP-40s and GP-38s; these would Never be used as road power on a 510 based on horsepower. At least once, however, there was a rare occasion when a unit based in York's Windsor yard was added for the trip to Spring Grove due to snow/ice conditions.

There are/were the following still in blue on Friday: ONE GP38-2, THREE GP40-2s, ONE SD-38, FIVE SD40-2s, NINE SD50s, THREE D8-40s in LMS paint, TWO D8-40s in CR paint, and TWO SD-60Is. That's five GE units and 21 EMDs.

Based on horsepower and braking requirements for the grades on York Railway's former Western Maryland York Sub's line, only SEVEN of these 26 units could possibly show up on the 510: the FIVE D8-40CWs and the final TWO SD-60Is. My money is on SD-60I 6718 to be the final Blue unit, period. By winning, my prize would be that 6718 is the final blue unit... This is my favorite only because I love the tapered nose on the EMD units and that this particular unit is the Conrail unit I have personally photographed the most. The second-to-last time for me was in February 2011 out on the West Slope in a trio of SD60Is with two in blue (and these same two -now as then- were also the final two blue 60Is almost one full year ago!). The last time I saw her was in May 2011 when we were rewarded by her presence on the 510. At that time, there were still 95 units in blue. She led on the 511 and I got my shot published in Railpace This was also the last time we had a blue unit on our train. Again: 95 were in blue. Today, with only 26, the odds of seeing one in Spring Grove again are slim-to-none, and 'Slim just left town', as the old saying goes...

When all is said and done, we will be more than happy to have ANY blue show up on our train. Dear Friends in Shire Oaks and Enola, are you listening ????

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

UPDATE: weekend of 01/13-15/12 There is a train. This week we have three black NS units: 9176 and 9700 both facing forward and 8322 facing rearward. I had no heads-ups and I didn't actually see the train arrive so I can only guess that the 9176 led the 510, as crew one (using channel one) was operating this unit. 8322 should lead the 511 westbound as it is facing the correct way.

For the model train operators, I'm not sure what happened first thing Saturday morning, but when I drove through town around 9:30A.M. there were six empties out on the main near the warehouse. A little reconnoitering found that crew one was currently dumping a cut of 15 and pulling them through with 9176 on the eastward end. This means that the burners were fired-up to thaw out the frozen loads. The burners are geographically west of the dumper and the power cannot sit over them to dump the lead cars- therefore the power must be to the east. When this cut was done, 9176 shoved the cut out and coupled to the original six then shoved west to the usual drop-off point. Meanwhile, the 9700 had been waiting at PLANK with it's cut of 15 and proceeded to PULL into the mill when clear to do so. I couldn't say for sure if 36 cars were initially brought in off the main, or perhaps any other numerical scenario. You modelers can come up with your own orders for this week 8322 had been set-out on the siding just east of the Fast Freight Line bridge and likely just waited all day while it's sisters did all the work.

As an update on last week's ramble on the status of Blue ex-Conrail power, I have received very sad news: one of the TWO remaining blue SD60Is, 6723, has been spotted in the paint line at JBS in Altoona. While the actual count has not changed from 26 in the last week(a relatively long time for no repaints...), in a few days it should be 25. Or less At least my favorite, 6718, continues to hang on!

Ted G
WM York Sub MP 2.2

Greetings, Folks!
After about a year's absence from this 'blog', i'm taking time out from my new career to do some Spring Grove railfanning! The occasion, you ask? Why none other than the first appearance of an NS Heritage unit on the 510! And LEADING, no less! Short and sweet: the READING unit NS 1067 is leading NS 7538 and 95 cars as we speak. While still west of Cresson and the Horseshoe Curve, she'll likely make it to Enola tonight and down to York Friday evening. A third unit should be added in the trailing position in Enola, but this cannot be guaranteed. Indeed,neither can the 1067 making it to Spring Grove at all be guaranteed either. Spring Grove may find her in very early twilight- although with this east coast storm coming, it'll be gloomy and extra dark for any morning shots. Scan the earlier posts for the best viewing spots to visit throughout the day Saturday. And, GOOD LUCK!
Ted G

Good to see you back on here!

While I live nowhere near your area, it seems the "Heritage Units" are resurrecting a lot of
people back into railfanning and I am certainly glad--it's a great hobby!

The 1073 "Penn Central" unit is heading westbound on the "Southern Tier Line" toward Buffalo
from Allentown as we speak. I spent 4 hours waiting on "East Attica Hill" waiting and hoping to'
get a few photos, but it was behind schedule. Oh well.

Anyway..........good to see your reports back on here!

Charlie