Train I017-21 passes train I009-20 at DeWitt Yard in East Syracuse, NY.

Once again, while out running errands, I made a detour to CSX's DeWitt Yard to see what was happening there. When I got to DeWitt Yard, at CP285, I saw that Track 2 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision was lined for a westbound. I also saw the headlight of a train switching in the intermodal yard beyond I-481. I decided to park and see what was coming from the east.

I017-21 and I009-20

CSXT 982 leads I0117-21 west past I009-20 at CP285.

The train that was switching in the intermodal yard was I009-20, led by CSXT 505. Soon I009-20 started to pull west toward CP285 on the outbound lead tracks. While it was slowly moving west, the headlight of CSXT 982 leading intermodal train I017-21 appeared on Track 2 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. It looked like the two trains were having a race. I017-21 gained quickly on I009-20, and passed it at CP285, a control point that sits on the western edge of DeWitt Yard. 

CSXT 982 and CSXT 764 lead train I017-21 through CP285 at DeWitt Yard.

I017 and I009 are both priority intermodal trains destined for CSX's intermodal terminal at Bedford Park, Illinois. I017 originates at Worcester, Massachusetts, and I009 originates at Port Newark, New Jersey.

A note about the "I" designations

Until recently, these two intermodal trains used to run as "Q" trains. CSX created the "I" train designation for the railroad's intermodal trains, and instituted its use on October 18, 2021. 

Photographs taken on October 21, 2021, at East Syracuse, New York.