On the morning of March 24, 2017, Southbound freight Q401 had a little whoopsie at AY Interlocking in Richmond, VA, putting 4 cars on the ground at a point that blocked the main route in and out of the southern end of Acca Yard. The resulting backup created a ripple effect in the flow of rail traffic that was still evident when FFV Junior and I headed to Ashland the next day. On the bright side (at least from a railfan's perspective), the delays in routing around the cleanup created an opportunity to see a few trains that normally pass in the early morning darkness.
Track 2 was tied up north of Ashland by the present day's Q401 awaiting its shot to enter Acca, leaving the rest of the day's trains to funnel through town on a single track. I imagined the crossovers at Elmont and Doswell were getting quite the workout. We had enough time to finish our breakfast after arriving around 7:30, and then the dispatcher at the BD desk got to work in earnest:
0:15 - 8:10 am - Northeast Regional 82 had a little extra power this morning, with P42s 52 and 6 coupled back-to-back handling the usual consist.
2:31 - 8:41 am - P42s 195 and 79 led a late-running northbound Silver Meteor. The dining car 'Annapolis' is the first Viewliner II diner delivered to Amtrak, built to replace the aging Heritage diner fleet.
3:14 - 9:03 am - Time for a southbound as Northeast Regional 65 arrives behind P42 132. As the train sits in the station, the Tiger Trot 5K run gets underway in the distance.
4:29 - 9:48 am - The sun showed up in time for the arrival of Northeast Regional 88, led by P42 152. Q401 is visible in the distance, waiting patiently on track 2.
6:02 - 9:56 am - P40s 830 and 832 hustle the late-running northbound Auto Train through town.
7:50 - 10:10 am - The dispatcher had time to fit in a couple of freights before the next Amtrak. First up was northbound stack train Q135, led by ET44AH 3374 and AC4400CW 257.
10:02 - 10:29 am - Q135 was followed by UPS hotshot Q034, led by ET44AH 3404 and ES44AH 941.
13:04 - 10:43 am - Northeast Regional 194 was a little off the advertised as it made its stop, led by P42 20.
14:26 - 10:55 am - With the morning slate of regionals out of the way the dispatcher unleashed a monstrous Q416, 164 cars led by ES44AH 3199, AC4400CWs 386 and 392, and SD40-2 8454.
17:52 - 11:49 am - The southbound Palmetto cruises through town behind P42 162.
18:23 - 1:05 pm - Pocket-sized intermodal Q193 had ample power in the form of ET44AH 3287 and AC4400CW 49. This was the last time I would see this train before it was abolished during Hunter Harrison's control of CSX.
19:00 - 1:30 pm - Q401 continues to wait as the southbound Carolinian passes through town, led by P42 40.
19:37 - 2:37 pm - Southbound UPS train Q031 hustles past the station behind ET44AHs 3262 and 3450.
22:29 - 2:53 pm - Close behind Q031 was Q141, led by ES44AH 920 and AC4400CW 22.
25:43 - 3:08 pm - P42 207 leads the northbound Carolinian past the admiring throng on the station platform.
26:15 - 4:48 pm - After waiting most of the day at the North Ashland signals, Q401 finally gets underway. ES44AH 3096, AC4400CW 41, and SD70MAC 4773 had their work cut out for them getting their 177-car train back into motion.
30:57 - 4:57 pm - The Silver Star was the first of the southbound evening Amtrak trio through town, led by P42s 99 and 203.
31:44 - 5:41 pm - The consist that went north in the morning as Northeast Regional 82 now returns south as Northeast Regional 195, with the P42 pair in reverse order.
33:16 - 5:39 pm - Like 195 before it, the morning's northbound Auto Train returned south with the P40s in reverse order.
35:01 - 6:13 pm - Things were probably still clogged up closer to Richmond; the northbound Palmetto remained on track 3 as it headed through town behind P42 202.
35:40 - 6:29 pm - Following close behind the Palmetto, a very late northbound Silver Star rolled through town behind P42 173.
36:29 - 7:20 pm - The first northbound seen all day on track 2 was also the last train I captured before heading home - Northeast Regional 66, led by P42 132.
24 фев 2018
