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 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...

 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. 

  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.

  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.

  P048-24 passes the old West Shore RR bridge abutment on the south side of the Rochester Subdivision.   Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (P048-24), led by AMTK 95 and AMTK 118 rolls east past an old West Shore bridge abutment to the west of Bonta Bridge Road . This abutment is on the south side of the tracks. The abutment on the north is also still standing but is hidden by trees from the road. The West Shore RR tracks crossed the NYC on a northeast-to-southwest alignment.  Photograph taken on January 24, 2023, at Town of Brutus, New York.

S609-07 is westbound passing under Oakland Rd. bridge on the western side of Weedsport, NY.       CSXT 5102 and CSXT 3032 are leading CSX train S609-07. S609 is a special movement carrying military equipment from Fort Drum at Fort Drum, New York, to Fort Polk, in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. CSX will move the train to Rose Lake, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri, where it will then be handed off to Kansas City Southern (KCS). KCS will take the train the rest of the way to Fort Polk. Fort Drum is home to the US Army's 10th Mountain Division. Fort Polk is home of Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), as well as the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division.  The end of S609-07 is seen here, with the train stretching west through the area known as Centerport. Photographs taken on February 7, 2022.

CSXT 5312 leads M364 east through a snow-covered landscape at Memphis, NY.   Back on January 23, a fresh blanket of snow covered Central New York. I took the opportunity to head out and capture M364 coming east through Memphis, New York. In addition to the snow-covered landscape, M364 featured Canadian National (CN) 3177 working as a distributed power unit. M364 is a daily manifest train that runs from CSX's Avon Yard in Avon, Indiana, to Selkirk Yard in Selkirk, New York. Avon, Indiana, is on the western edge of Indianapolis, Indiana.  Manifest train M364 is eastbound in this view from above. In the left-lower corner, through the trees, the old tow path of the Erie Canal can be seen.  In this view, CN 3177 is the mid-train distributed power unit on M364-22. Photographs taken on January 23, 2023, at Memphis, New York.

  With fresh snowfall, the Lake Shore Limited rounds the curve at Oakland Road.   With a coating of fresh snow on the ground in the Central New York area I caught Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, led by a trio of locomotives. AMTK 108 , Amtrak's Phase VI 50th Anniversary schemed locomotive was leading the train, followed by AMTK 107, and AMTK 94. Here, the train is eastbound on CSX's Rochester Subdivision, rounding the curve at Oakland Road at Weedsport, New York. This area is referred to as Centerport by the railroad. Centerport was an old port on the Erie Canal that sits between Port Byron, New York, and Weedsport, New York. Photograph taken on January 23, 2023, at Weedsport, NY.

  Yesterday, I caught CSX's intermodal train I017 at Weedsport, New York, on its daily trek from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Chicago, Illinois. CSXT 3436 is leading I017-10 west at the Oakland Road bridge at milepost (MP) QC 313.1 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. A half mile west of Oakland Road is a defect detector at MP QC 313.7 and a little further west is  Control Point (CP) 313  (MP 314.0). CSXT 3436 leads I01710 west under the Oakland Rd. bridge at Weedsport, NY.    The area is beteween Weedsport, New York, and Port Byron, New York, is commonly called Centerport. Centerport and Port Byron were old ports on the Erie Canal before the canal was moved north to the Seneca River. Centerport isn't a town or hamlet, and the area is part of the Town of Mentz, New York. The area is on the west side of Weedsport and northeast of Port Byron. CSXT 514 is the distributed power unit on I017-10, in this view looking west. The front of the train is at CP 313 and is passin...

  With snow on the ground, CSX train M364-14 is eastbound along Clinton Road at Pump Road.   With a couple of inches of snow on the ground, I caught CSX manifest train M364-14 as it came eastbound at Brutus, New York. CSXT 3256, CSXT 8842, and CSXT 6143 are leading M364 alongside Clinton Road, at Pump Road. This is milepost (MP) 309 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. The old New York Central milepost 309 marker still stands here on the south side of the tracks, just west of the Pump Road railroad crossing (out of sight, bottom left). The train will soon pass-through Control Point (CP) 308 (MP QC 308.6) and enter Jordan, New York. This side of CP 308 is known as Jordan, as well. However, officially the train is the Town of Brutus, New York. Photograph taken on December 15, 2022, at Brutus, New York.

  With snow falling, M561-18 is westbound on Main 2 of the Rochester Subdivision at Memphis, NY. Yesterday with some mid-morning snow falling, I caught CSXT 214 leading M561-19 (manifest train, Selkirk, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio) at Memphis, New York . The train is westbound on Track 2 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. In the distance, obscured by the snow the train is passing through Control Point (CP) 300 at Warner's New York. M561-18 is stopped at CP 306 as a crew member works to find the train's issue.   A short time after the train passed through Memphis, it made an emergency stop at  Jordan, New York , due to a loss of the computer display screens in the cab. The problem was a loose battery knife switch on the lead locomotive that caused the unit to lose partial power. Photograph taken on December 19, 2022, at Memphis, New York. 

  Heading east, the Lake Shore Limited is rounding the curve at Oakland Rd. Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (train symbol P04815), led by AMTK 124 and AMTK 90, is eastbound on CSX's Rochester Subdivision at Weedsport, New York. The Lake Shore Limited is coming around the curve at Oakland Road. This is milepost QC 313 of the Rochester Subdivision. CP 313 and the Centerport defect detector are about half a mile west of this location, hidden by the trees.  Photograph taken on December 15, 2022, at Weedsport, New York.

Under an overcast sky, B725-12 is eastbound on Track 2, passing by the Jordan Industrial Lead.    On a dreary fall day in Central New York, Canadian Pacific (CP) 8000 added pop of color to the landscape. CP 8000 and Norfolk Southern (NS) 4334 are leading loaded ethanol train B725 -12 east on CSX's Rochester Subdivision. The train was handed off from CP at Bensenville, Illinois. CSX will take the train to Sewaren, New Jersey. Once the train was unloaded it came back west through Central New York as train B726-17, on November 19, 2022. Photograph taken on November 14, 2022, at Jordan, New York .

  The Lake Shore Limited, with two private rail cars behind the engines, heads east at Savannah, NY.   While driving to see what fall colors remained in Central New York, the timing worked out to photograph Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited at Savannah, New York. I caught the train as it headed east through Control Point (CP) 320 of CSX's Rochester Subdivision. CP 320 is on the eastern edge of Savannah, along the Seneca River . In addition to the train, a group of CSX maintenance of way (MoW) equipment is parked in the siding at CP 320. CSX has had crews working most of October on the Rochester Subdivision.   Today's Lake Shore Limited had the private passenger cars Hollywood Beach and Cimarron River trailing directly behind the Amtrak engines. Hollywood Beach is a former Seaboard Air Line car. Cimarron River is a former Frisco Railroad car. Photograph taken on October 28, 2022.

 In August 2022, I was in Memphis, New York, waiting on M367-23 when I heard Amtrak train P284-23 calling signals. M367 is a westbound manifest train, while P284 is one of Amtrak's eastbound Empire Serice trains. It sounded like they might meet close to Memphis. M367-23 in the distance at CP 300, is westbound on Track 1 of the Rochester Subdivision.   The first train to show up was M367, led by CSXT 343 and CSXT 5450. Above, M367 is passing through CP 300 at Warners, New York. Within a minute, the train was thundering through the quite hamlet of Memphis, New York. M367-23 approaches the Bennetts Corners Road crossing near milepost QC 302.5.   From the west came P284-23, led by AMTK 703 , passing alongside M367-23. Rolling at or near track speed (80 MPH), P284 passed through Memphis quickly. A short time later P284 will be arriving in Syracuse, New York , before continuing on its journey to New York City. P284 passes a string of empty BNSF grain hoppers just west of the c...

  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.