June 24th, 2006
I took Kevin, Steve, Brian, and Laura down to the US for Kevin and Steve's first taste of American railfanning. We worked our way along the coast of Lake Erie all the way to North East, Pennsylvania, stopping at Angola, Dunkirk, and Westfield. Our total haul for the day was around 38 trains, including several that we saw without shooting as we travelled. BNSF's lone "vomit bonnet" led NS #310 through Angola, among other interesting catches.
North East, Pennsylvania
(map) The town of North East is the home of an excellent museum of preserved railway equipment, including a weird GE-built "little Joe" Russian electric locomotive that was never delivered to the former Cold War adversary. The museum is on the web here. The museum is built around a well-preserved station on the busy CSX Buffalo-Chicago line and encourages railfans with a scanner blaring over the platform and a clear view of both the CSX and NS lines.
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CSXT #Q363 heads West with a DME-painted rental unit.
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A CSX westbound passes through the station at North East.
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Another CSX westbound heads through the station.
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An unhealthy sounding horn marks the arrival of a Conrail unit on a CSX eastbound.
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A UP-powered eastbound passes through the station.
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A CSX intermodal train passes a CSX autorack train at the platform.
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A CSX intermodal heads east.
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A rental unit trails on a CSX eastbound.
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NS #384 crosses through the station with 2 NS SD70M-2s for power.
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An HLCX unit leads westward on the CSX.
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An NS train heads through North East.
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Three BNSF units run fast and light westbound.
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An eastbound intermodal passes through the station as the light begins to disappear.
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An intermodal train passes under a bridge near the PA-NY border.
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A CSX TOFC train passes westbound, wrapping up a very successful day.
December 26th, 2019
Leaving family near Buffalo, we continued westward, stopping for three eastbounds at the museum at North East. We found the Bessemer and Lake Erie with a rare BLE leader in the yard in Conneaut but could not get a good shot from the one forested vantage we found across the valley, and finished the day with a stop at the Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad, a railroad with the dubious distinction of being known for its rather exceptional lack of maintenance.
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We caught three eastbounds in quick succession at the museum in North East, with my wife and daughter each shooting them.
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We caught three eastbounds in quick succession at the museum in North East, with my wife and daughter each shooting them - this is my 5 year old's video!
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We caught three eastbounds in quick succession at the museum in North East, with my wife and daughter each shooting them.
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We caught three eastbounds in quick succession at the museum in North East, with my wife and daughter each shooting them - this is my 5 year old's video!
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We caught three eastbounds in quick succession at the museum in North East, with my wife and daughter each shooting them.