T.G.'s Photography Blog

  CSXT 1973, the Chessie System heritage unit at Weedsport, NY.  CSXT 1973, CSX's Chessie System heritage unit, leads M364 east on the Rochester Subdivision at Weedsport, NY . CSXT 1973 is one of twenty (currently) specially painted locomotives honoring railroads that have become part of CSX. In 1973, the Chessie System was created from the merger of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway. The Chessie system scheme was used on the railway's locomotives up until 1980, when the Chessie System merged with the Seaboard Coast Line under the CSX Corporation.  Photograph taken on October 4, 2024, at Weedsport, NY.

CSXT 5112 leads S955 west at Auto 311 on the Rochester Subdivision at Weedsport, NY.  Last week CSX ran a special movement that originated at the Portsmouth Navel Shipyard at Portsmouth, NH. The train carried spent nuclear fuel on specially designed railcars with casks. I caught the train as it came through Weedsport, NY on its slow journey west. The railcars, including the caboose, are owned by the Department of Defense (DOD). The reporting mark of the railcars is DDOX. Per its website, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard maintains the Navy's nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet, including Los Angeles and Virginia class submarines.  DDOX railcars with casks carry the spent nuclear fuel on train S955. Photographs taken on February 16, 2024, at Weedsport, NY.

CSXT 3191 leads I020-23 eastward through the rain and fog at East Syracuse, NY., on Christmas Eve.  No white Christmas for Syracuse, NY., this year. The closest the area got was rain and fog on Christmas Eve. Here, CSXT 3191 leads priority intermodal train I020 (Bedford Park, IL., to Worchester, MA.) east through rain and fog at East Syracuse, NY. The train is passing through CP-286 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision . I020 would cross from Track 2 to the North Runner and head into CSX's DeWitt Yard . Photograph taken on December 24, 2023.

  CSXT 3206, and five GECX locomotives lead M368 east among the fall foliage at Canastota, NY.   Yesterday, while bike riding, I caught CSX's M368-29 at BeeBe Bridge Road at Canastota, NY. M368 had a group of five GECX locomotives (ex-BNSF) trailing behind CSXT 3206. M368 was photographed as it came around the curve to the west of BeeBe Bridge Road, where the tracks intersect with the old Erie Canal, which is out of sight to the right of the photograph. This location is milepost (MP) QC271 of CSX's Syracuse Terminal Subdivision . The five locomotives are GECX 4528, GECX 4827, GECX 4933, GECX 4851, GECX 4923. A going-away photograph of the five GECX locomotives on M368-29 at BeeBe Bridge Rd. Photograph taken on September 29, 2023.

  CSXT 1976 and CSXT 489 lead M363-01 west on the Rochester Subdivision at Weedsport, NY. CSX's heritage locomotive , CSXT 1976, made an appearance today on Conrail's former Chicago Line. 1976 is leading M363-01 west through Weedsport, NY., at Auto 311 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. Conrail was formed out of the ashes of many bankrupt and failing eastern railroads, one of the biggest being the Penn Central. In 1973 the Regional Rail Reorganization Act (3R Act) was signed into law, paving the way for Conrail. Under the 3R Act the United States Railway Association (USRA) was tasked with creating and implementing a plan combining rail lines from the eastern railroads. In 1976, the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act was signed into law, which included the USRA's final plan for Conrail. In 1998, with Conrail being a success, the railroad was split up and merged with CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS). Both railroads formed the railroad, Conrail Share...

   At CP-282, CSXT 3261 is the rear DP on westbound intermodal train I157-05. In the background the Fremont Rd. bridge (1.4 miles to the west) is mostly obscured by the wildfire smoke.   On Tuesday, June 6th, and Wednesday, June 7th, Syracuse, New York, and the surrounding Central New York (CNY) area were blanketed with smoke from wildfires in Nova Scotia and Québec, Canada. Initially, early Tuesday morning, the air just looked to have some moderate haze and smelled of smoke. By midmorning, at times, it was difficult to see structures beyond a mile and the air at times had a yellowish cast to it.  Looking west from the  "Green Bridge" at Minoa, NY. , yellow tinted smoke surrounds CSXT 4090, which is stopped in the distance on the North Drill Track at DeWitt yard.     Compared to some parts of the Eastern US and Canada, the Syracuse area didn't get the worst of it. The Air Quality Index (AQI) considers good air quality to be in the range between 0 to 5...

I007-28, led by CSXT 1982 and CSXT 877, is slowly passing under the westbound absolute signal at CP-286 in East Syracuse, NY.   Last week CSX's Seaboard System heritage unit, CSXT 1982, made an appearance in Syracuse. CSXT 1982, along with CSXT 877, led intermodal train I007-28. I007 is a daily train runs from North Bergen, NJ., to Rose Lake, IL., (just outside St. Louis, MO ). Along the way I007 stops to work DeWitt Yard in East Syracuse, NY. The train also stops to work at Avon, IN.  CSXT 1982 and CSXT 877 sit at CP-286 waiting to reverse and shove east toward DeWitt Yard. In the background are the steeples of St. Matthews Catholic Church.   CSXT 1982 was the third heritage unit to be painted at CSX's Waycross, GA., paint shop. The number 1982 signifies the year that the Seaboard System came to be, from a merger of the Seaboard Coast Line and the Louisville and Nashville railroads. According to CSX's website, "the Seaboard System was the first step under the CSX Corp...

 CSX's latest heritage unit , CSXT 1973, commemorating the Chessie System, made an appearance in Central New York (CNY) on July 4th. The locomotive was leading intermodal train I157-03. With the family in tow (and for some reason my wife deciding to come along with us) we headed to Savannah, New York, to see it.  I003-04 rolls west under the cantilever signal bridge on the western edge of CP-320.   Shortly after arriving at Control Point (CP) 320 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision in Savannah, NY., the first train to make an appearance was I003-04. I003 was making it's daily trek from South Kearny, NJ, to Bedford Park, IL. Bedford Park is a suburb of Chicago, IL. X363-03 rolls under the EAS cantilever signal bridge at CP-320.   Amtrak's Empire Service train P281 was next, but I skipped photographing it. Then came X363-03, led by CSXT 3410 and CSXT 5350. X363 is an extra (X) M363 . X363 was running M363's normal route from CSX's Selkirk Yard in Selkirk, NY., to Avon...

  CSXT 3330 reflects in a pool of water with chunks of ice along the tracks at Weedsport, NY.   CSXT 3330 is leading intermodal train I009-17 west under the Oakland Road bridge at Weedsport, New York. Train I009 runs daily from Port Newark, New Jersey, to Bedford Park, Illinois. Bedford Park is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois . Days before, the surface of the pool of water was frozen solid. Most likely a railroad utility truck drove through and broke the ice up.  Photograph taken on January 18, 2023, at Weedsport, New York.

X368-11 comes around the curve along Oakland Rd. at Weedsport, NY.    At Weedsport, New York, in the area called Centerport by the railroad, CSXT 954 is leading X368-11 east on the Rochester Subdivision. In the background, just beyond the curve, X368 is passing through the Centerport defect detector (DD) (milepost (MP) QC 313.7) and Control Point (CP) 313  (MP QC 314.0). X368 is an extra M368 that originated at Chicago, IL., and is destined for CSX's Selkirk Yard at Selkirk, NY. Photograph taken on March 11, 2023, at Weedsport, New York. 

  M364-17 is eastbound passing the block signals at CP-285 on the west end of DeWitt Yard.   Led by CSXT 3121 and Canadian Pacific (CP) 8770, M364-17 is eastbound on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at Control Point (CP) 285 . CP 8770 is an unpatched Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railway locomotive. CP-285 is on the west end of CSX's DeWitt Yard. M364 is a daily manifest train from Avon, Indiana (near Indianapolis), to Selkirk, New York.  Photograph taken on May 18, 2023, at East Syracuse, New York. 

  CSXT 5273 leads I001-24 west on the CSX Rochester Subdivision at Pump Rd.   CSXT 5273 and CSXT 992 lead the once-a-week priority intermodal train I001 (North Bergen, New Jersey, to Bedford Park, Illinois) west at milepost QC 309 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. I001-24 is passing through the Pump Road crossing just west of Jordan, New York. The end of the train is passing through CP 308 (MP QC 308.6), which is east of the railroad crossing. At this location, I001 is about 300 miles into its almost 1,000 mile journey.  Photograph taken on January 24, 2023, at the Town of Brutus, NY.

  With snow falling, M363-25 is stopped on Track 1 at CP 286 waiting for I009-24 to clear ahead of it.   On January 25th, on what had been, up to that point, a rare snowy day, I caught M363-25 at East Syracuse, NY. Due to priority intermodal train I009 departing as M363 passed by DeWitt yard, it had to stop at Control Point (CP) 286 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. M363 got back underway after I009 had gotten enough of a head start.   Led by CSXT 3057, M363-25 is back on the move, passing under the westbound signal bridge at CP 286. Photographs taken on January 25, 2023, at East Syracuse, New York.

With three M7 EMUs behind CSXT 255 and CSXT 396, M367-06 passes under the Empire State Trail bridge on the southern end of Onondaga Lake.   On Monday and Wednesday this week, two movements of former Long Island Railroad (LIRR) M7 electric multiple unit (EMU) railcars passed through Syracuse, NY., on CSX manifest train M367 . On Monday, three M7s came through Syracuse on M367-06. Then on Wednesday, another set of three came through on M367-08. The cars had been stripped of most of their components and were just the railcar bodies bound for a scrapper.  M367 on the North Runner with three M7s on the head end passes through CP 286 at East Syracuse, NY.   The M7s were built by Bombardier and were used on both the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad (MNCW). Delivery to the railroads began in 2002. The MNCW's version was known as the M7A. The M7A differed due to the different electrical system the MNCW uses. The M7s were used in pairs and each car contained a set of controls. LIRR 7...

  I001 passes by the old NYC coaling towers between CP 285 and CP 286, near DeWitt Yard.   With snow on the ground and more still falling, I001-28 (North Bergen, NJ., to Chicago (Bedford Park), IL.) is westbound, passing by the old New York Central steam locomotive coaling towers. The coal towers sit along the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision between Control Point (CP) 285 and CP 286 . To the left is manifest train M560-27 on the North Runner heading east into DeWitt Yard. I001 is led by CSXT 7030 and CSXT 5115.  Photograph taken on February 28, 2023, at East Syracuse, New York.

  Intermodal train I017-02 is westbound, passing under the Oakland Rd. bridge and by snow-covered fields.   With a few inches of snow still on the ground from the last snowfall I headed to Weedsport, NY, to catch I017 (Worcester, MA., to Chicago (Bedford Park), IL.) as it passed by the snow-covered fields on the west side of town. Here, CSXT 3240, leads I017-02 west on the Rochester Subdivision, under the Oakland Road bridge. I017-02 is about a half of a mile east of CP 313 at Centerport.  Photograph taken on March 2, 2023, at Weedsport, New York.

  M621-26 is passing the westbound CP signal bridge for the siding and Departure Lead at CP 285.   M621-26, led by CSXT 5459 and CSXT 4574, is arriving at DeWitt Yard via Control Point (CP) 285. M621 is eastbound, coming off Track 1 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision to the controlled siding, which runs between CP 285 and CP 283. The siding sits between Track 1 (to the south) and the Departure Lead (to the north). M621 runs south from Masenna, NY., to Syracuse, NY., before going east to Selkirk, NY. Between Masenna and Syracuse the train uses CSX's St. Lawrence Subdivision to CP 291 (west of DeWitt Yard) where it gets on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision and comes east to DeWitt Yard. M621-26 rolls east on the south side of a snow-covered DeWitt Yard. I009 is westbound in the background. Photographs taken on January 27, 2023, at East Syracuse, New York.

  Looking northeast, CSXT 3106 leads I017-14 west on Track 2, under the Oakland Rd. bridge.   Last week I was out at the Centerport area, between Weedsport, New York, and Port Byron, New York, where I caught I017 heading west on the Rochester Subdivision. I017 was making its daily trek from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Bedford Park (Chicago), Illinois.  I017-14 crossed from Track 2 to Track 1 at CP 313 (MP QC 314.0) .  Stretched over a mile and a half across the landscape, I017 crosses to Track 1 at CP 313.

  As rain falls, CSXT 966 passes a MoW truck at CP 286 in East Syracuse, NY.   With rain falling, CSXT 966 leads intermodal train I004-16 east on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at CP 286 , while a maintenance of way (MoW) crew takes a break in their truck. I004 is on Track 2 (Main 2). In the background is the eastward absolute signal (EAS) bridge for CP 286. I004 runs daily from Bedford Park, Illinois, to South Kearny, New Jersey. Bedford Park is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Photograph taken on January 17, 2023, at East Syracuse, NY.

  W003-15 with CSXT 9969 sits on the Peat Street Lead near the west side CSX's DeWitt Yard.  CSX geometry train W003 made an appearance in Central New York this week. The consist of W003 is comprised of CSXT 9969, a rebuilt EMD GP40WH-2; Hocking Valley, a crew quarters car; and TGC3, the track geometry car. CSXT 9969 is always paired with W003. W003-14 came east from Buffalo, New York, on February 14th, and then tied down overnight in East Syracuse, New York. The next day W003-15 went north from East Syracuse to Massena, New York. CSXT 9969 is shoving W003-15 west on Main 1 through CP 286 next to the old Spano Rail facility (left).   Before going north to Massena, W003-15 had pull east off of the Peat Street Lead to the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at Control Point (CP) 285 (west side of DeWitt Yard). It then shoved west from CP 285 to CP 291. CP 291 , in Syracuse, New York, is where the St. Lawrence Subdivision to Massena starts. At CP 291 W003-15 tested both legs...