Trains in the Snow on the Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line on Thanksgiving

• published: 29 Nov 2014
• views: 31

Several inches of snow fell on Thanksgiving Eve, making it the first snow fall during the fall of 2014. The temperature was just above freezing, which caused the snow to be very wet and heavy, which made it difficult at times to keep the snow from falling into the lens. We caught several trains in that snow storm, and then returned trackside for part of the day (morning and afternoon) on Thanksgiving. The train information and time stamps for each train in the video is listed below in the description. Other videos on this line in the snow that I shot in previous years: http://youtu.be/jDQH0EI97pA http://youtu.be/I4x7e5ePuJ4 http://youtu.be/RLvJ2opPFNw (Hold CTRL and Click to open in a new window) On November 26, 2014, Thanksgiving Eve, the heavy and wet snow fell during the day, which accumulated to only 3 or 4 inches. The snow was so wet and heavy, that it was almost impossible to to keep it from falling into the lens (despite having an umbrella). Also, every time a big chunk hit the camera or microphone, you can hear a little tick. I apologize for that noise—I never had that problem before! 0:00 - Intermodal train 21M races past the K&K; feed mill in Richland. 1:35 - 16T heads east through the rock cut at Richland, as it enters the center of town. This train was cut short due to too much snow accumulation on the lens. 2:45 - A rare empty rail train makes an appearance as the snow flakes become the largest, heaviest, and wettest of the day, giving the camera a good whack despite my best efforts of cover. 3:55 - A nice pair of SD70 variants lead empty automotive cars west around the curve at Milepost 76.7. 5:15 - Back at Richland, snow is still falling at a heavy rate as priority mail train 20W emerges from the snow-covered rocks as it enters Richland. This scene was cut short because a lot of snow blew into the lens as the train passed. November 27, 2014, Thanksgiving Day, many trains were running in an effort to play "catch up" due to high freight traffic volumes currently traveling on the rails. Union Pacific locomotives seemed to be popular on this day as well, seen leading three of the seven trains we caught on Turkey Day. Much of the snow had melted by the later part of the day, but that made for a really cool reflection shot at the end of the video. 6:00 - Priority train 24K passes through Richland on a nice sunny morning with there still being plenty of snow on the ground. I cut the scene short because the fire siren went off during the video. In my 7 years of railfanning there, I never had that happen! 7:15 - An 11,000' long 34A heads west over the Ramona Road crossing with a variety of locomotives and railroad cars. I show all of the train except for a chunk of boring autoracks I cut out at the end. 10:00 - Shortly after 34A passed, a short 16T heads east under the 81 signal bridge with a Union Pacific SD70M leading. 11:15 - 24Z rounds a curve as it emerges from the rock cut just east of Richland. 12:30 - With the sun somewhat shining, a nice SD50 rebuild leads empty autoracks past an industrial scene of various mills as it enters the city of Lebanon. This was some of the same power we caught on the 20W yesterday. 14:45 - A long 10N heads east at Prescott as the sun sets. The leader, which is a recent rebuilt SD60 from Altoona, has a rare breed of horn, a Leslie RS-5T. Unfortunately, it is not in tune. 17:00 - Intermodal train 211 is reflected by a pool of snow-melt as it passes under the 81 signal bridge just after sunset. A lot of geese were flying around, and I made an effort to keep the tapes rolling as they flew overhead, as the video fades out to 211's horn blowing as it enters the city of Lebanon. Thanks for Watching!!! Feel free to leave a comment if something stood out to you. Don't forget to subscribe if you are new to this channel, because many videos will be uploaded like this one, and 100's more already exist on this channel. Please share this video so that other railfans can find this channel.