4/19/08 - A very late 37Z made a late afternoon westbound run on the Port Road today. The train, powered by a single SD60M (in Conrail paint, too!!) went into emergency at COLA around noon. The train was getting recrewed there anyway. The new crew taxied up from Perryville, and had to walk the entire train, thus buying a little bit more time for the sun to get in a better angle. Here's the pics (all from off of the Route 462 bridge).
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
4/6/08 - An early 62A made an eastbound run in evening light today. The train featured 59 cars of CaseNH & John Deere combines. Youtube video link is here. A hi-res video is on the Washington Boro Tour page.
3/31/08 - NS's Track Geometry Train made a trip down the Royalton Branch today. The train made it to CP SHOCKS around 4PM or so. The train went through SHOCKS, onto the Port Road, then reversed direction and headed back to Harrisburg. With no way to turn the consist around, the Geometry cars actually led the 2 diesels back to Harrisburg. Video links here and here.
3/30/08 - Daylight barrage: 7 trains made a daylight appearance this morning. In order: 13N, 685, 37A, 591, 12N, 33A, and 515. The 33A and 12N met at CP CRES around 11:30AM. The 685 is a rare coal move that features Reading & Northern QIT (Quebec Iron & Titanium) coal hoppers. This train only runs 6 to 10 times a year.
3/29/08 - An 052 train dropped off a Schnabel car loaded with a transformer at the Columbia MOW yard this morning. Then that evening, a single GP38-2 came down from Enola and picked it up (along with two buffer cars) and took them west to Perryville.
3/27/08 - M.O.W crews have been busy laying new ballast on track 2 in the Columbia area. From what I can see, they have gone from CP CRES to CP SHOCKS.
3/21/08 - Last night's 650 featured two SD80MACs. The second unit was still in Conrail paint. NS's SD80MACs spend most of their time out west on the South Fork Secondary, however they have been roaming down the Port Road recently on coal trains from South Fork.
3/14/08 - Conoy Township OKed a plan for an ethanol plant to be built alongside the Lancaster County incinerator. The site is just north of the Shock's Mill Bridge, along the Royalton Branch. This ethanol plant has been talked about for quite a while, and has met a ton of opposition. Link is here: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/218212. While not mentioned in this particular article, previous articles mentioned the access to the railroad, via a spur off of the NS Royalton Branch, which would have to be built. Ground breaking won't be for a year yet, so don't look for ethanol trains anytime soon!!
3/2/08 - NS delivered a welded rail train to Amtrak at Lancaster today. The train, probably from Steelton, PA, rolled down the Port Road this afternoon, then took the Columbia Secondary east to Lancaster. The train was dropped off at CORK interlocking near the Lancaster Amtrak station. The train was symboled 949. Youtube video link is here.
2/19/08 - Loram Railgrinder RG-306 made an appearance on the Port Road this past weekend. The grinder was parked a the MOW yard in Columbia on Friday night. Saturday morning RG306 headed east to CRES and started grinding westbound on track 2. They went all the way to Enola, and then onto the Pittsburgh Line. Video clip links: Washington Boro, Columbia. Photos here and here.
