T.G.'s Photography Blog

 The kids wanted to go and see an Amtrak train, so we headed out to East Syracuse, NY., to catch Empire Service Train 284 at DeWitt Yard. The morning was heavily overcast, but we the outing sounded fun, so off to DeWitt Yard we went. We had been to DeWitt Yard once before, a few days previously, but didn't have much luck seeing any trains. Today's outing was a bit better.  AMTK 713 leading Empire Service Train 284   After waiting about 15 minutes at the Tractor Supply parking lot, at the east end of East Manlius Street, AMTK 713 (a GE P32AC-DM) came around the curve at the west end of DeWitt Yard and led Train 284 through CP285. CP285 has a part A and a part B. The two sets of block signals are at CP285 "A" (MP QC285.97). Just to the west is CP285 "B" (MP QC285.98). Empire Service Train 284 at CP285   The train is traveling east on Track 2 of CSX's Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. Track 2 and Track 1, the main through tracks, are on the south side of the y...

 After visiting DeWitt Yard's western side a few days earlier, the kids and I decided to head over to the western side again and catch Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited at CP285. Priority intermodal train Q004-29 Very shortly, after arriving at the yard, priority intermodal train Q004-29 made an appearance. On the point is CSXT 3222,  leading its train of double stack containers east on Track 2 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. The block signals in the background are on the eastern edge of CP285. On the right side of the photograph you can see one of the control shacks with its satellite dish for CP285. CSXT 3222 leads Q004-29 east at DeWitt Yard The kids love seeing all of the colors on the intermodal trains, and like to shout out the colors of the containers as they roll by on the trains.  Double stacks on Q004-29 CSXT 3120 was the distributed power unit (DPU) on the rear of Q004-29. Below, the train is passing under the I-481 overpasses. CSXT 3120 is the distributed po...

Lake Shore Limited  A couple of photographs from the past few days. The first photograph is from August 23, 2021, and iis of Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited , being led by AMTK 46 and AMTK 183. The train is traveling east on Track 2 of the CSX Rochester Subdivision, at Pottery Road (MP QC297.76). AMTK 46 & AMTK 183 on the Lake Shore Limited AMTK 46 is painted with an emblem stating, "Connecting America for 50 years." Aside from the emblem, both AMTK 46 and AMTK 183 are painted in Amtrak's Phase V paint scheme. Both locomotives are General Electric P42DC models. Per their entry pages atRRPicturesArchive.net, AMTK 46 was built in January 1997, and AMTK 183 was built in June 2001. Empire Service Train 284 Next up is a photograph from today (August 26, 2021). I picked up a new lens, and wanted to head out and try it out real quick. The kids and I headed out to Pottery Road, but there was a track crew working there, so we couldn't park. We instead headed down to Herman...

 Yesterday, the kids and I had to run a few errands, which took us in the direction of Pottery Road, in Warners, NY. So, we decided to time our outing with catching Empire Service train 284.  Empire Service Train 284 About fifteen minutes, after we arrived at the Pottery Road crossing on the CSX Rochester Subdivision , I saw the headlight of train P284-24 (as it was known by CSX). Led by AMTK 703, the train was heading eastbound on Track 1, today.  Passing the 298 mile marker While trains can use either track, typically, the eastbound trains use Track 2. However, with the New York State Fair underway, Empire Service trains are making an extra stop in the Syracuse area at the New York State Fairgrounds, and the fairgrounds stop is on the north side of the tracks. Track 1 of the Rochester Subdivision is the northern track. AMTK 703 AMTK 703 is a General Electric P32AC-DM, and, according to rrpicturesarchive.net, it was built in June of 1995. The locomotive is painted in Amt...

To Pottery Road We Go Over the last 48 hours, Central New York has received 4-6 inches of rain, leading to lots of flooding across the region. With no reports of flooded roads in my immediate area  I decided to venture out and try to catch a train on CSX's Rochester Subdivision. With kids in tow, we headed quickly over to Pottery Road. On our way to where Pottery Road crosses the Rochester Subdivision, the rain actually stopped for a short amount of time. However, shortly after arriving at the crossing, the rain started again. Oh, well. CSX Q004-18 With the rain starting to pick up, I spotted the headlight of Q004-18 a couple of miles away. Q004 is a priority intermodal train that CSX operates daily from Bedford Park, Illinois, to South Kearny, New Jersey. Normally, Q004 would be hustling across the Rochester Subdivision, but due to the heavy rain falling for the last few days across the region a lot of slow orders had been issued. It took Q004-18 about an hour and a half to get ...

I saw that AMTK 46, one of Amtrak's 50th anniversary commemorative locomotives, was leading the eastbound Lake Shore Limited today. I decided to load up the kids in the car and head out to try and catch it. We went to what is fast becoming our usual spot at Pottery Road, along CSX's Rochester Subdivision. After waiting for about ten minutes I saw the headlight of AMTK 46, a few miles away as the train was passing through the heart of Warners, NY. Soon, the block signals to the west of Pottery Road came on and the crossing gates went down. Lake Shore Limited approach Pottery Road I was hoping that the lettering on the side of the locomotive would turn out better, but the way the light reflected off of the side caused it to not be as readable as I had hoped. A tighter view of AMTK 46 The Lake Shore Limited was moving fast, making up some lost time on its scheduled arrival into Syracuse, NY. In addition to the photographs, here's a  link to a video  I captured with my phone as...

While out driving some errands, I made a quick detour to Warners, NY., to see if there was any railroad action happening on the CSX Rochester Subdivision. After waiting for a bit at Pottery Road, I decided to head west a few miles to Herman Road, on the eastern edge of Warners. As I drove down Herman Road and crossed the tracks I spotted that the block signals to the west of Herman Road were on.  After a few minutes of waiting, the headlight and ditch lights of train Q162-15 became visible in the far distance. Train Q162-15 was creeping along very slowly, so it took it a few minutes before it got near to the crossing. Below, CSXT 3163 and CSXT 477 lead the train as it approaches the Herman Road crossing, at mile post 299.12.  Q162-15 nearing Herman Road After the locomotives passed through the crossing at Herman Road, the train neared the signals to the east of the crossing. The high green had Q162-15 cleared into Slovay, NY., where the Rochester Subdivision ends and the Syrac...

After watching Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited roll east on the Virtual Railfan camera at Fairport, NY, I  decided to head out and try to catch it near Warners, NY. I had a bit of time to wait before heading out since the train was at least 45 minutes away still, and the location I had picked out at Pottery Road was only 10-15 minutes from where I was at. CSX Train Q017 Soon after arriving, the block signals west of Pottery Road came on indicating a westbound CSX train. As luck would have it, I had the possibility of catching two trains, as long as the westbound cleared in time for the Lake Shore Limited. After a couple of minutes CSXT 842 and CSXT 3249 came around the curve, heading west, leading intermodal train Q017-12 on the Rochester Subdivision. CSXT 842 leads train Q017-12 west at Pottery Road. Below, the locomotives had passed through the Pottery Road railroad crossing (milepost QC297.76), and in the distance the signals giving the train the all clear can be seen. Train...

  Cloud rotation As my family was driving down one of the local roads I looked up at the storm clouds and noticed a funnel cloud trying to form right above us. We were stopped and stuck in traffic so we couldn't quickly drive and get away. I kept watching it and, thankfully, the funnel cloud quickly broke apart. This photograph shows the residual rotation left in the cloud after the funnel cloud broke up.  What a welcome to New York!  Photograph taken on June 30, 2021, near Syracuse, New York.