NS 68Q and Port Reading

The amount of Ethanol coming into NJ is just amazing. Caught PR8 pulling empties & spotting loads in Sewaren with one train, then saw PR19 turning the power on their train to get ready to shove down to Motiva later in the day.
Wolfboy was right.....they don't call it the 'Chemical Coast' for nothing..........

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1858474
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http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1858486

Not to mention that USDG at Tremley Point does a unit train a day also. A few days this week Motiva unloaded two trains a day.

A real treat this past week, as elder statesman NS 3430 (built 10/66 as KCS SD40, later CR SD40-2 69??) visited the Chemical Coast leading a 68Q train.........
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1868040
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1868043

A few from January on the Chemical Coast line...........

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1912525
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http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1929470

A few pics to pass another cold winter night.........

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Yet another western visitor on this mornings NS 68Q (BNSF and UP units have been fairly common on this train for the last several weeks)....

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1944498

And now for something completely different....this train set off the 'excessive height' detector at CP-PD! This was a first for me at Port Reading; the crew and dispatcher theorized that it was exhaust smoke from the second unit (a 25 year old SD60) that tripped the beam, as the detector barked out "axle 3-4-0" of 346 total. You could hear the surprise in the voices on the radio.......

Wait, No, I am not trying to hog this thread! (Really)

Something truly special today, though...............
A reliable source indicated that an "unrepatched ex-Southern Pacific unit" was on todays NS 68Q. Yeah, right, I thought, but I figured that I would get wet & check it out anyway; except for a couple of Armour Yellow compartment covers, this source was dead-on.................

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1954551
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1954570

And a couple of 'catfish' from this morning as well.....

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=1954493

Sometimes cloudy, gloomy, rainy days turn out OK after all................

Nice shots!

I passed by this engine on the Turnpike yesterday and my jaw dropped, the other side of the engine had no evidence of being a UP engine and was completely gray. Too bad I couldn't get a photo.

Wow, what a week for great lashups on the 68Q. UP, SP, BNSF and today KCS! This train has been almost a week getting here (I think its symbol was 68Q-20) after several delays enroute. This is not the best image I've ever recorded (terrible light in Carteret this morning!), and I think there were a few other fans out today as well.....anyone have some better photos of this killer lineup??

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1959142

An epic lashup today, spanning four decades of locomotive production. An ex-CR SD60I still in blue leads a CSX ES44DC, followed by an ex-L&N SD40-2, an ex-Chesapeake & Ohio SD50, and a very faded BNSF C44-9W. Very tight photo angle here; walking any further up the track would greatly increase the risk of getting arrested! I did the best I could & hightailed it outta' there........

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2049019

What if..............CSX & Norfolk Southern merged??

Might look something like this...........

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2068712

Usually the CSX takes the foregin power off at Selkirk. That is a good catch. The NS doesnt seem to care about the Run-thru power much, they just add a cab siginal leader out west.

My favorite colors...........Blue & yellow, with a splash of grey...............


http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=2098368
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Another very colorful morning on the Chemical Coast Secondary, including 2 extremely rare midwestern units from the IC&E..........

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2168992

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