T.G.'s Photography Blog

   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...

  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.

  CSXT 4014, an SD40-3 rebuild, is switching a block of intermodal cars at a snow covered DeWitt Yard.   Back in January of this year, CSXT 4014 was switching blocks of intermodal cars at CSX's DeWitt Yard. CSXT 4014 is pulling a cut of cars west down the Departure Yard Lead from the Departure Yard. The Departure Yard sits east of the I-481 bridge in the background. Almost all of the intermodal trains that pass through DeWitt swap blocks of intermodal cars there. In addition, the yard itself is designated as an inland port and trailers and containers are dropped off and picked up there by customers. Below, I009-26 , one of the intermodal trains that works DeWitt Yard daily, is departing DeWitt Yard via the South Runner . I009 runs from Port Newark, New Jersey, to Bedford Park, Illinois, in the Chicago area. With fresh snow on the ground at DeWitt Yard, CSXT 4014 is pacing I009-26 west at DeWitt Yard.  Photographs taken on January 27, 2023, at East Syracuse, New York.

CSXT 7214 leads I009-18 west on the Inbound Lead at CP 286 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision.   Back in October 2022, I009-18 was working DeWitt Yard using the South Runner and when the train was ready to depart it got lined out of the yard via the Inbound Lead to Control Point (CP) 286. The Inbound Lead leads to Track 1 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at CP 286. CP 286, along with CP 285, control movements into and out of the west end of CSX's DeWitt Yard. The end of I009 clears the curve at CP 286, revealing M621 coming slowly east on Track 8.   After I009 had cleared CP 286, the dispatcher lined manifest train M621-18 (Massena, NY., to Selkirk, NY.) off of Track 8 to Track 2 at CP 286. CSXT 3041 led M621 quickly off of Track 8 to Track 1, and then to Track 2 to continue its journey east to Selkirk. CSXT 3041 leads M621-18 east off Track 8 to Track 1 at CP 286. Photographs taken on October 19, 2022, at East Syracuse, New York.

  CSXT 3294 leads I009 west at Bonta Bridge Road in Brutus, NY.   In early March this year, with winter winding down and the last bit of snow melting away in Central New York, I ventured to Brutus, New York. At Bonta Bridge Road , I caught priority intermodal train I009-10 cruising west on the Rochester Subdivision on its way to from Port Newark, New Jersey, to Bedford Park, Illinois. Beford Park is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.    This part of Brutus, New York, is referred to as Jordan, New York, which the rear of I009 is still in. However, I009 is stretched across the Onondaga County-Cayuga County line, and the head of I009 is in Brutus, New York, which is in Cayuga County. The county line intersects with Control Point (CP) 308  to the east of Pump Road in the distance. Photograph taken on March 11, 2022, at Brutus, New York.

CSXT 3066 and CSXT 942 lead I009-14 west on the Departure Yard Lead at DeWitt Yard. While I waited for Amtrak Empire Service train P284 (Niagara Falls, New York, to New York, New York) to come east at DeWitt Yard, CSX intermodal train I009-14 rolled westbound on the Departure Yard Lead. I009 had just arrived at DeWitt Yard and was beginning to work the Departure Yard before continuing on west. Long trains working the Departure Yard often need to occupy part of Track 1 of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at CP285 in order to make their setouts and pickups. Led by AMTK 711, P284-15 rolls east on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision passing by I009. I009's headend is at CP285. Photographs taken on July 15, 2022, at East Syracuse, New York.

  Usually, when I catch I009 working at DeWitt Yard, the train is working on either the Departure Yard Lead or the controlled siding on the south side of the yard, to the north of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. Last Friday, I spotted I009-09 working the Departure Yard using the South Runner and Middle Connection track. DeWitt Yard's South Runner I009 shoves back on the South Runner and Middle Connection track into the Departure Yard.   The Souther Runner at DeWitt Yard runs lengthwise through the middle of the yard. It has the name South Runner because it runs south of the North Runner. South Runner runs between the New Lead at CP285 on the western end of the yard, and the eastern end of the Classification Yard, near the Yard Tower. The Middle Connection runs between the South Runner and the Departure Yard Lead on the east side of the I-481 overpass. CSXT 980 and CSXT 3417 are on the point of I009-09 on the South Runner. In the background is the intermodal facility and Mo...

 With fresh snow on the ground from an overnight snowfall, my youngest and I headed out to catch a train or two while running errands yesterday. We wound up along the CSX Rochester Subdivision at Pump Road in the Town of Brutus, New York. Brutus, New York, is in Cayuga County, to the west of and across the county line from Jordan, New York, in Onondaga County I009-02 led by CSXT 728 and CSXT 7018 From about 190 feet above ground level, CSXT 728 and CSXT 7018 hustle I009-02 west on Track 1 at CP308. After arriving at Pump Road, I heard the defect detector (DD) at milepost (MP) 302.6 go off and report to the train's crew that there were no defects. This DD is located about six miles to the east in Memphis, New York . Soon, the headlight of CSXT 728 appeared to the east beyond the NY Route 31 overpass (MP 307.84) in Jordan, New York. Within a few minutes, I009-02 was quickly rolling through CP308 (MP 308.7). CP308 is a control point just to the east of Pump Road (MP 308.95). The ...

 With fresh snow on the ground, the youngest and I headed out to Memphis, New York, to catch the Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, and any other train that might come along on CSX's Rochester Subdivision. I009-17, led by CSXT 7914 After arriving at Memphis, New York , I saw the control point (CP) signals to the east at CP300, in Warners, New York, were lined for the eastbound Lake Shore Limited (LSL) on Track 2. However, before the LSL showed up the headlight of CSXT 7914, leading priority intermodal train I009-17 (Port Newark, NJ. to Bedford Park, IL.), appeared to the east of CP300 (milepost QC 300.7). Memphis is at milepost 302.6.  CSXT 7914 and train I009-17 kick up a cloud of snow at Memphis, NY. Less than two minutes later, I009-17 (the 17 is the date the train originated on) came hustling through town at 59MPH on Track 1, kicking up a cloud of snow. Within seconds of the locomotives passing, the scene became engulfed in the cloud of snow. Below, about one hundred feet in fr...

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...

 Earlier this week I was over at the western end of CSX's DeWitt Yard. I noticed that the signal for the northern most departure lead track was green for a westbound train, so I parked near CP285 and waited. Soon I saw the headlight of CSXT 3010 to the east of the Interstate 481 overpass, about a half of a mile east of CP285. While slowly pacing a CSX work truck, CSXT 3010 and CSXT 7868 lead train I009-01 through CP285. CSXT 3010 (YN3b scheme) & CSXT 7868 (YN2 scheme) lead I009-01 west at CP285. Train I009-01 was on its way to Bedford Park, Illinois, from Port Newark, New Jersey. I009 (formerly Q009) is a daily intermodal train , and always stops to work DeWitt Yard . When I took this photograph I009-01 wasn't ready to depart yet, but due to the train's length, it needed to pull west past the signals at CP285 in order to push back into the intermodal yard.  Photograph taken on November 2, 2021, at East Syracuse, New York.

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...