Buffalo & Pittsburgh - 10 Engine RISI and Other EMD Lash-ups

Описание: On the cold, dreary, windy Friday that was April 6, 2018, my friend Bruce and I once again ventured into western Pennsylvania to find ourselves in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, also known as Groundhog town to find ourselves chasing the Buffalo & Pittsburgh around. After arriving in town, we received a heads up that a light power move was returning from the Homer City Power Plant in Homer City to Punxsutawney via the Homer City Branch, after bringing a loaded coal train in overnight.

We find ourselves along the branch in Rochester Mills, PA, where the lite power move, symbolized as HC-1 appeared with a quartet of units, BPRR SD45R 457 (former SP), P&W SD70M-2 4301 and SD40-3s 3331 and 3330, both former CN units. We chase them through a couple locations along the branch before capturing them arriving back at Riker Yard.

Then the fun began as RISI, the Punxsutawney to Salamanaca, NY road freight called BP Dispatcher for permission out of Riker Yard with a gigantic set of EMDs for power, including the four off HC-1, three more SD45s, 3064, 462 and 458, SD40T-2 3301 (Ex KCS), GP38 2001 (Ex L&N) and SW1001 1002, a former Reading/Conrail SW1001 still in blue which was icing on the cake, with a big train in tow! We catch them on the main leaving Riker Yard, at three road crossings outside of Punxsutawney as they observe a speed restriction, Sykesville and DuBois before they entered Dubois Yard to work, after which we continued north...

After making our way up the mountains into the town of Wilcox, where the snow from the morning remained on the ground, we stumbled upon SIRI, the counterpart to train RISI as they head southbound across Rasselas Road with a quartet of orange SD40-3s, 3332, 3345, 3342 and 3343 with another big mixed freight, we catch up to them again going downgrade before heading to Johnsonburg.

Once in Johnsonburg, we meet up with RISI and its big train again as they pull into town for a crew swap with SIRI, after which we see (and hear) them screaming up the hill at Wilcox and catch them at Glen Hazel Road and Rasselas Road (which crosses the BP main three times) before heading back south as the weather deteriorated and the train picked up speed.

We then caught SIRI one more time in Brockway, PA at a spot known at McMinns Summit before they entered DuBois Yard to work and we headed for home.

Thanks for watching!