I work about a hundred yards away from the tracks that lead north from NS's John Sevier Yard in Knoxville, TN. The tracks are hidden behind large patches of wooded areas, so I can usually hear a train long before I can see it, but there are a couple of places where I can see the trains very well. Today, I heard a train coming, but it didn't sound right. It was a totally new and different sound than any other train I have heard. I ran outside, and noticed it had a very pronounced "whining" sound. When it came into view, it was a loaded coal train with one of the new SD70M-2s on the point ( with a couple of the usual Dash 9s following ), which are still pretty rare on the NS. Since the train was loaded, I knew it would have some DPU power on the tail-end, so I hung around outside to see what kind of power was on the end. As the end of the train neared, I heard that same whining sound, and low-and-behold if there wasen't ANOTHER new SD70M-2 (along with a Dash 9) on the rear of the train. Those new units look and sound pretty awsome. They can never be confused for any other loco., either by looks or sound. Has anyone else seen any "in person", and noticed the distinct sound they have?
P.S. This may seem pretty trivial to some, but it was pretty neat to me!
P.S. This may seem pretty trivial to some, but it was pretty neat to me!
