HiDef: SOO, DME, CITX, CN, and Lots of Action on the Mohawk Sub. 7-15-11.

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• published: 05 Aug 2011
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I tried a new location for this Friday evening of railfanning; it's a Route 5 pull-off, overlooking one of the locks on the Mohawk River. Offering a half-mile view down the tracks in both directions, as well as a clear look at the CP 173 signals, I will be spending more time here in the future. I'm just getting tired of the station attracting more and more people; plus the wheel chair lift is a handicap (no pun intended) for those trying to get a good shot of westbounds. Train 1 - 5:42 P.M. I just had enough time to plop the camera on the roof of my sedan and capture K645-15 headed west with a S00 SD60 trailing and a nice crew. This appeared to be two ethanol trains combined into one, and the units were laboring to keep it moving. CSXT ES40DC #5419 (K5LA horn) SOO SD60 #6056 Train 2 - 5:52 P.M. 10 minutes later, K698-13 cruises east with a loaded ethanol train and an awesome DME-CITX lashup. DME SD40-2 #6370, "City of Arlington" CITX SD40-2 #3079 Train 3 - 6:07 P.M. Up next is potash train K534-14 slowing to a stop at Milepost QC 171. He would sit there for the next 3 hours waiting for traffic to clear. Unfortunatley the train was almost 2 miles long, and he stopped right in front of me. The dispatcher came on and told him a bunch of trains had to get around him. Time for me to move! Note some of the interesting cars; lots of fallen flags. CSXT C40-8 #7491 CSXT C40-8W #7686 Train 4 - 6:26 P.M. I'm now at Quist Road; Q386-12 is seen heading east with a nice trio of standard cab units. He's rolling by at a slow pace because the dispatcher has him going 1 to 2 at the next signal,CP 173, to get around K534. CSXT SD40-2 #8836 CSXT C40-8 #7560 CSXT SD40-2 #8867 Train 5 - 6:37 P.M. Next is Q114-14, also slowing down for the crossovers. Nice wave from the conductor. This was a surprise lash-up; check out the SD40-3! CSXT ES40DC #5358 CSXT ES40DC #5377 CSXT AC4400CW #116 CSXT AC4400CW #102 CSXT SD40-3 #4003 (ex. CSX #8127) Train 6 - 7:00 P.M. Amtrak 64, the eastbound Maple Leaf, flies past the crossing over an hour late. I was very happy to finally be able to get an approaching shot of an eastbound, now that the sun had gone in a little. P42 #90 leads it. Train 7 - 7:38 P.M. By now, K534 had moved up about half a mile, so I was able to return to my original location. Q162-15 breakes a 30 minute silence, cruising east. He is crossing from track 1 to track 2, getting around K534. CSXT ES40DC #5329 CSXT C40-8 #7578 Train 8 - 7:47 P.M. The classic NYC signals show a high green for Amtrak 49, the westbound Lakeshore Limited, as he heads off into a beautiful sunset. Amtrak P42DC #189 Amtrak P42DC #49 Train 9 - 8:16 P.M. I heard the Q112 calling signals coming eastbound via a radioreference.com link on my Droid so I decided to stick around. What came next was a big surprise. S620-15 heads east with an awesome lash-up and an awesome crew. CN C40-8M #2416 CSXT AC6000CW #579 CSXT SD40-3 #4006 CSXT GP40-2 #6959 (DIT) CSXT Road Slug #2359 (DIT) Train 10 - 8:30 P.M. Under an amazing evening sky, we see the Q112-14 in dynamics, slowing for the crossover at CP 171. He was being run around the K534, crossing back over to 1 for the ride down the Selkirk Branch. CSXT SD70MAC #4501 (one of a few YN2 MAC's) CSXT ES40DC #5451