T.G.'s Photography Blog

On Christmas Eve morning, we woke up to snow on the ground. After the youngsters played in the snow for a few hours, my oldest and I ventured out to find some trains on CSX's Rochester Subdivision before the snow melted. We wound up at Memphis, New York, where I could safely park at a trailhead along the Erie Canal Trail, and the little one could watch safely from the car. Throughout two short visits to Memphis, we saw five trains. Memphis, New York Located about ten miles west of Syracuse, New York, Memphis is a hamlet in the Village of Van Buren, New York. Memphis is one of ten locations along the Rochester Subdivision with defect detectors. Both Track 1 and Track 2 have detectors at QC302.6, just to the west of Bennetts Corners Road. Both tracks have hotbox detectors (HBD) and dragging equipment detectors (DED).  The Rochester Subdivision was part of the old New York Central Water Level Route. When the NYC and Pennsylvania Railroad merged, the line became part of the Penn Centra...

With a fresh coating of snow on the ground, from an overnight snowfall, my youngest and I headed out to see if we could find any trains on CSX's Rochester Subdivision . We heard train I017-23 call out that it had a clear signal at control point (CP) 290, which is in Syracuse, New York, on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision . We were at Warners, New York, about ten miles ahead of I017-23 , so I decided to go to Memphis, New York, to catch the train. CSXT 3325 leads I017-23 west at MP QC302 of the Rochester Subdivision. We arrived  at the Bennett's Corner Road crossing (MP QC 302.54), in Memphis, New York , and s oon saw the headlight of CSXT 3325 on the point of I017-23 in the far distance. I017 is a daily priority intermodal train that runs from Worchester, Massachusetts to Bedford Park, Illinois.  I017-23 disappears into a cloud of snow to the west of Bennett's Corner Road. Moving at a speed of 56MPH (per the defect detector at MP QC 302.6) I017-23 came roaring through th...

CSXT 426 & CSXT 43 sit at MP 126 on the Garrett Subdivision.  Back in September of 2015, I was on a road trip and passed through Garrett, Indiana. During my brief visit to the town, I was able to photograph a parked coal train sitting to the east of town, at the Country Road 19 crossing. There I found CSXT 426 and CSXT 43 sitting parked with a loaded coal train at milepost (MP) 126 of CSX's Garrett Subdivision. The train did not have a crew at the time. The Garrett Subdivision runs from Deshler, Ohio, (on the east end) to the neighborhood of Willow Creek, in Portage, Indiana (on the west end).  It is part of CSX's Chicago Division and was formerly a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. At Deshler, the Garrett Subdivision meets the Willard Subdivision. At Willow Creek it meets the Barr Subdivision, and there is a junction with CSX's Porter Branch line. Photograph taken on September 19, 2015, at Garrett, Indiana.

 Back in November of 2015, I made a short trip up to Guthrie, Kentucky, following CSX's Henderson Subdivision from north of Nashville, Tennessee. I didn't catch much along the line that day, but I happened upon CSXT 6918 on the point of a yard job at Guthrie. CSXT 6918 is on the point of a yard job at Guthrie, KY. At Guthrie, KY., CSX has a small rail yard along its Henderson Subdivision . The rail yard sits just to the northwest of the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The Henderson Subdivision and yard has an interchange with a rail line used by R.J. Corman, via a wye connection just to the northeast of State Street. I caught CSXT 6918 (an EMD GP40-2) and another locomotive sitting on the southern leg of the wye. The cantilever signal bridge behind CSXT 6918 is along the Henderson Subdivision. Photograph taken on November 17, 2015, at Guthrie, Kentucky.

With a bit of snow still on the ground from a late-November snowfall, I went to Kirkville, New York, to see what the railroad action was like . There I photographed CSX trains Q363-29 and Q368-27 on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision . CSXT 3013 leading Q363-29 CSXT 3013 leading Q363-29 west at Kirkville, NY. CSXT 822 leading Q368-27After arriving, I saw Q368-27 working on Track 4 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. I also noticed the control point (CP) signals at CP280 were on. Usually, the signals for Tracks 1 and Track 2 are not on when only a train is working on Track 4. Soon a headlight far to the east appeared, and a few minutes later train Q363-29 , led by CSXT 3013, came west on Track 1, passing alongside Q368-27. Train Q363 runs daily from Selkirk, New York, to Avon, Indiana.  CSXT 822 leads Q368 east on Track 4 at CP280 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. Photographs taken on November 29, 2021, at Kirkville, New  York. After Q363-29 was gone, I went further e...

One day last month I was sitting in my dining room helping one of my kids with schoolwork, when I happened to hear what sounded like a woodpecker pecking. I glanced out the window of the dining room and saw a pileated woodpecker couple perched on opposite sides of an ash tree at the edge of the forest behind my house.  A male (left) and female (right) pileated woodpecker pair, perched on a dying ash tree. According to Cornell University's All About Birds website , pileated woodpecker pairs stay together year-round, and are territorial, except for in the winter. During the winter they will share their territory with other woodpeckers. I've seen these two flying around at the edge of my forest but didn't realize that I was most likely seeing the same two birds each time. A female pileated woodpecker pecking on a dying ash tree. The male and female pileated woodpeckers are similar in size. The easiest way to differentiate between a male and female pileated woodpecker is the re...

AMTK 704 leads train P284 east at MP QC298. On a dreary, rainy day, AMTK 704 leads  Empire Service Train  284 east on Track 2 of the Rochester Subdivision, at milepost (MP) QC298. The train is nearing the Pottery Road crossing, which is at MP QC297.76. The block signals in the distance are the automatic 298 block signals between CP296 and  CP300 . Out of sight, and just behind AMTK 704, is the old  New York Central MP 298  marker. Photograph taken on November 18, 2021, near Warners, New York.