Norfolk Southern Local Switching with a Caboose!

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• published: 27 Jun 2015
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In 2015, a Caboose on a mainline could be considered an uncommon sight, but on June 25th 2015 NS B73 is out and about switching on the Norfolk Southern Wabash line with an ex-Norfolk and Western Caboose. This little red caboose brought up the rear of the local freight which would later use it for a couple mile shove into the Rawsonville Spur. This was a neat operation to watch as the caboose is a dying specialty car. In this video we follow them from Romulus Michigan to Belleville and end up at Rawsonville. First view is B73 coming off of the Romulus industrial track with its fresh Operation Life Saver GP38-2 pulling long hood forward. They have 3 empty center beam flats that will be left on the end of the spur for retrieval later. This spur was recently reactivated by NS, which is why the currently flag the crossing. It had likely been years since trains crossed this road, so the locals may be surprised to see the trains rolling over it again. This spur also includes a very tight curve to get back onto the mainline. After watching them pull out of the spur I headed west to Belleville Michigan to get a shot of them rounding the classic curve past the Feed and Pet supply building. Here we get a view of the caboose trailing on the mainline. We then arrived at the Rawsonville spur where we watched them pull up and stop before starting their back up move. We ventured down to Rawsonville road to watch the Caboose lead the shove with a little bit of class. The caboose is banged up and tattered, but its little air whistle was still music to my ears. We finish up with a shot of the nice sunset as B73 continues to shove into the Rawsonville plant. Overall it was an enjoyable night on a perfect evening. The sun cooperated towards the end giving the caboose a nice look as it passed. Please rate, comment, and subscribe!