Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Pic of the Day (Q-110-13)
No, this isn't Fostoria; but it is as close as this blogger got to being there on this sunny-but-cold February afternoon. Q-110-13 (Chicago/TOFC, IL - N. Bergen, NJ intermodal) is making its daily appearance, running a little behind schedule as most trains on the former B&O seemed to be doing on this day. Power for today's train is CSXT ES44AC # 5292, AC4400CH # 534, and AC4400CW # 456, seen here plying the rails eastbound and heading towards Fostoria. The location? Deshler, Ohio, another of Ohio's many rail "hot spots." The Toledo Sub's geographically north-south line is in the foreground, with the southeast connection that takes trains toward Fostoria seen curving towards Q-110. On this day, two trains (K-802-08 and Q-500-13) were waiting just south of the diamonds to head west once Q-110 has cleared.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pic of the Day (Q-135-19 and N-841-19)
Well, here it is....
CSX train Q-135-19 (Chambersburg, PA - Chicago/Bedford Park Yard, IL intermodal) is racing down B&O main # 2 westbound out of Fostoria at Adams Street on Thursday afternoon. This is a case of the train looking nicer than the power pulling it, as "splotchy"/faded CSXT C40-8 # 7543 is in the lead, with a little better attired AC4400CW # 390 trailing.
Meanwhile, N-841-19 (Cicero, IL/BNSF - Trenton, MI Powder River coal loads) is moments from taking off eastbound on B&O main 1, after which it will head into town and around the northwest transfer to go north. N-841 was stopped for close to an hour and a half waiting on other train traffic to clear in the Iron Triangle. BNSF AC4400CW # 5630 is on the lead, and is paired with SD70MAC # 9437.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Pic of the Day (Q-136-19)
It is almost two weeks since the first running of the "new" Q-136 (Chicago/Bedford Park Yard, IL - Chambersburg, PA intermodal), and this blogger has finally caught a good photo of the train in Fostoria! Today's edition had CSXT ES44DC # 5431 on the lead and ES44DC # 5320 trailing and is seen here on B&O main 2, crossing the NS diamonds and passing the B&O depot.
I've seen both 135 and 136 on many of the days they've run since their inception on September 6th/7th, but if "it wasn't one thing it was another" that prevented gaining a photo of these welcome new trains, both of which run in daylight hours. Q-136 is like clockwork (so far!) out of Chicago, through Fostoria between 8:15 and 8:45 am each day, usually running just ahead of or just behind Q-164. Q-135 seems to have a normal time of around 4:30 to 5:30 pm, an hour or two ahead of the usual evening parade of westbound intermodals, Q-161, Q-137, Q-117, and Q-109. However, 135 has been making excellent time (again, so far!) and has showed up as early as 12:45 pm. Hopefully that train will make it on here for tomorrow's Pic of the Day!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Site Update # 8
New additions/updates since 8/4/2007, as of 9/18/2007:
*Added Google video capability and new post category, "Vid of the Day." The initial video quality was below average, although with a bit of tweaking I feel it is up to average standards. Perhaps someday they or another free video host provider will allow for better video resolutions...
*Updated CSX Local/Yard Power on the sidebar.
*Added photo of NS 3317, a new addition (since June) to the NS "Fostoria fleet" of high nose SD40-2's (which also includes Fostoria "veterans" NS 3320-3328).
*Added a handful of trains to the Fostoria Train Schedules page....I am hoping to add more as soon as possible. As I have had time I have busy tracking down trains for which I don't yet have photos. I also plan on added a couple of more levels of detail for each train, such as typical motive power seen on each train, etc...any suggestions are appreciated and can be e-mailed to Fostoria Rails!
*Updated header photo and caption information.
*Added photo and information to the sidebar about Sunny Farms Landfill in Loudon.
*Update on "24 Hours+ Trackside in Fostoria" post: This has taken a LOT longer than I originally planned! In the future I will know how I want to do this and will be able to post much more quickly. All of the photos and videos are edited, uploaded, and ready to post. I just need to finish writing the story...
*Added a links section on the sidebar for "related sites" that have useful, similar, and/or additional information, photos, videos, etc, from or about Fostoria.
*There has been lots of news here lately, and even more rumors regarding railfanning in Fostoria. I will post about this in greater length in the next news update. For now, I will say that the vast majority of what I have read or heard regarding railfans in Fostoria, whether or not we are welcome here, where we are welcome, and by whom, is either NOT true at all or has been GREATLY exaggerated. There apparently ARE some things going on, but as one who has lived in Fostoria for 2-1/2 years and makes it down to the Iron Triangle most days, even if only for a few minutes while passing through on other business or to and from work, I have NEVER had a problem or run in with Fostoria police or with CSX or NS employees of any kind.
I can only think of two times I have ever even drawn a railroad employee's attention: Once I had someone ask me about what I was doing, and that was a unique situation where an off duty NS employee was interested in my activity, and, although I wasn't on railroad property, I could see why he stopped me to inquire. I probably would have done the same thing if I were a railroad employee.
The other incident happened this summer when an F Tower operator (who had never worked the day shift here until recently, and perhaps was unused to daytime railfan activity) somehow got the impression that a group of us were not behaving safely near the tracks. He simply alerted an uncoming train to watch out for our presence and to be careful. I (and everyone else I railfan with, including the group I was with that day) play it smart and don't do stupid things anywhere near the tracks (I save my stupidity for elsewhere!); but I know that unfortunately not everyone does this!
I will save the rest for the news update, but I've been getting e-mail inquiries and wanted to set the record straight: Please do NOT stay away from Fostoria because of anything you have heard or read about recent events here. If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me, and if you have any additional, CREDIBLE AND VERIFIABLE information as to what has been going on, please do the same. Thanks!
*Added Google video capability and new post category, "Vid of the Day." The initial video quality was below average, although with a bit of tweaking I feel it is up to average standards. Perhaps someday they or another free video host provider will allow for better video resolutions...
*Updated CSX Local/Yard Power on the sidebar.
*Added photo of NS 3317, a new addition (since June) to the NS "Fostoria fleet" of high nose SD40-2's (which also includes Fostoria "veterans" NS 3320-3328).
*Added a handful of trains to the Fostoria Train Schedules page....I am hoping to add more as soon as possible. As I have had time I have busy tracking down trains for which I don't yet have photos. I also plan on added a couple of more levels of detail for each train, such as typical motive power seen on each train, etc...any suggestions are appreciated and can be e-mailed to Fostoria Rails!
*Updated header photo and caption information.
*Added photo and information to the sidebar about Sunny Farms Landfill in Loudon.
*Update on "24 Hours+ Trackside in Fostoria" post: This has taken a LOT longer than I originally planned! In the future I will know how I want to do this and will be able to post much more quickly. All of the photos and videos are edited, uploaded, and ready to post. I just need to finish writing the story...
*Added a links section on the sidebar for "related sites" that have useful, similar, and/or additional information, photos, videos, etc, from or about Fostoria.
*There has been lots of news here lately, and even more rumors regarding railfanning in Fostoria. I will post about this in greater length in the next news update. For now, I will say that the vast majority of what I have read or heard regarding railfans in Fostoria, whether or not we are welcome here, where we are welcome, and by whom, is either NOT true at all or has been GREATLY exaggerated. There apparently ARE some things going on, but as one who has lived in Fostoria for 2-1/2 years and makes it down to the Iron Triangle most days, even if only for a few minutes while passing through on other business or to and from work, I have NEVER had a problem or run in with Fostoria police or with CSX or NS employees of any kind.
I can only think of two times I have ever even drawn a railroad employee's attention: Once I had someone ask me about what I was doing, and that was a unique situation where an off duty NS employee was interested in my activity, and, although I wasn't on railroad property, I could see why he stopped me to inquire. I probably would have done the same thing if I were a railroad employee.
The other incident happened this summer when an F Tower operator (who had never worked the day shift here until recently, and perhaps was unused to daytime railfan activity) somehow got the impression that a group of us were not behaving safely near the tracks. He simply alerted an uncoming train to watch out for our presence and to be careful. I (and everyone else I railfan with, including the group I was with that day) play it smart and don't do stupid things anywhere near the tracks (I save my stupidity for elsewhere!); but I know that unfortunately not everyone does this!
I will save the rest for the news update, but I've been getting e-mail inquiries and wanted to set the record straight: Please do NOT stay away from Fostoria because of anything you have heard or read about recent events here. If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me, and if you have any additional, CREDIBLE AND VERIFIABLE information as to what has been going on, please do the same. Thanks!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pic of the Day (V-990-12)
It is Friday afternoon and Fostoria is a busy place, as usual. Traffic was especially heavy this day and evening off of the C&O coming north from Columbus. One such train was V-990-12 (Lick, WV - Conneaut, OH coal loads), which normally runs on the ex-Conrail route from Columbus to Cleveland via Crestline and Greenwich, OH, but today is using the C&O to Fostoria, and then the B&O to Greenwich via Willard, to get back on to its usual route there. Here, CSXT AC4400CW #'s 486 and 277 pull their coal loads of mostly BLE hoppers (with a few IC and CN's mixed in) around the southeast transfer and onto the B&O to head east.
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