Railfanning around Binghamton

oh- i forgot, on the way home on Rt.17, i was slooking out my dad's window, and saw headlights! i think this may have been the 2 NS units 8931 seperated from, the GE leading long hood forward. Now im done...Or am I? [says in Dr. Evil voice, and puts pinky to mouth like Dr. Evil] I think it was 13T.

Anybody have any reccomendations for the What's Updates? Good things? Things i should change? Things I sould Add? (im PROBABLY getting a scanner for my birthday in September)

Perhaps you could report the # of cars in the train (i.e. the length) and the general type of train (autorack, merch, stack, TOFC, unit coal/grain, etc.).

Hmm. Okay, i just won't be able to count the cars, because they are usually moving.

I'll admit it can get pretty hard to count if both you and the train are moving fast (especially in opposite directions) but I find it easy if I'm standing still, esecially if the train isn't moving really fast. That's why I could count the train I reported in the LAL thread yesterday- it was decellerating on a curve as it approached the Genesee Jct Yard, while I was watching from the edge of a parking lot.

Try it! Feel free to yell at me if my advice doesn't work out. Basically, I'm curious as to the type of trains you're seeing. Locos are my favorite part, but the rest of the train is interesting, too.

Sure- i'll try it out if we go out later. We're supposed to be getting a rain/snow mix this weekend, so i dunno if i'll be making the trak to 224.2...

Do articulated well cars (or anything else articulated) count as 1 car, or the number of units? i.e. MAXI-III stack with 5 wells, is that 1 car, or 5.

I count 'em as 5 because they can be separated, if necessary. BTW, I promise to provide a count from any train I see tomorrow- it will be a railfanning day (before the rain arrives).

To go from 80 degrees to snow in just one week- only in upstate NY!

But the railroads count each set of 5 platforms as one car and determine train length in feet the old standard of "car lenghts" (based on 40 fot box cars) is long gone.

I never knew the railraods counted 5 units as 1 car. I counted them separately 'cause that's how they did for TOFC back in the pre-Conrail era when I was a little kid.

I also didn't know that RRs used to count train lengths based on 40 foot boxcar standards. It's good to learn something new every day...

OK folks, it's gonna be kinda scrawny because i was REALLY tired (getting promoted in the military is NOT easy) i had been doing PT for an hour, passed the test, and now on to the stuff you all REALLY want to hear.

On the first pass, trains were backed up, there were 2 trains with CN power, 2 NS locomotioves by the Yard Office, and NYSW 3020.

On the way home, the CN was still by the stadium, and a NS had pulled forward to the Court st. bridge.

On RT.17, i was looking over at the signals heading west, and noticed they were showing a red aspect, telling my dad this we sped up. But i now have the 3 fundamental Bohman laws of Railfanning:

1.) Traffic lights are NOT your friends

2.) Every other car on the road is now powered by gravity.

3.) EVERY sheriff's deputy from the surrounding 3 cities WILL be on the side of that highway, making sure you don't go above 60 MPH.

It turned out to be 205, we caught up with it just before the signal at MP 219. WE never caught up with the front, as we hit town. I MIGHT be going for a bit of a hike tomorrow to a "place"

I have basically figured out that 205 is laid out as- 75 Containers up front, then TOFC's bringing up the rear 50 cars.

We went to Sayre today, before going to see a pond place in Spencer. Anyways, We saw a long string of 100ish Somerset Railroad hoppers. Some were coalporters, the rest were just regular hoppers. We noticed head lights going along the tops of the cars, and it turned out to be 3 NS units that im guessing had just set the FRED. We pulled up to a pullover area, where a crew van was. The 3 units were as folows (in order)

NS

SD60M 6793 ex. CR
D9-40CW 9298
D9-40CW 9213

They then went up past the Original Italian Grille. A few minutes later, they came back, and coupled to the front hopper with a loud BANG! The engineer then put it into a high notch, and started pumping the air. After a few minutes of watching this, we left for Spencer. Tomorrow i have no school, and my dad's taking me to his office in Bingo, so im hoping to railfan during his lunch break.

OK, had my son on the Chenango Street viaduct today watching the clogged yards. Lots of cars, little action. Both tracks next to the old Lackawanna station were full. Is that the "Johnson Runner"?

Suddenly, one starts moving. This was around 2 or 2:30. HUGE long train- couldn't see either end of the train when it started and close to 50 must have passed beneath it headed toward Conklin. Included were some boxcars marked for FGLK. Never knew they had boxcars. What do they originate? Also included were some construction debris cars and several flats with black metal chassis-looking things stacked on them. Any idea what they are/were?

Finally, would that have been a NS or CP train? Didn't see powerso no idea.

The tracks to the left all looked full- that I assume is the NYSW yard? And Bevier street was packed pretty tight with a long train also sitting up on the D&H along the Brandywine.

It was probably a NS train. CP doesn't run west of Bingo anymore. If it was a mixed freight, it could have been 38T or 11T. I'm probably going to be down there lunchtime ish tomorrow.