Wheeling & Lake Erie in Western Pennsylvania

Описание: One of our other targets from our trip to Western Pennsylvania was the Wheeling and Lake Erie. The Wheeling and Lake Erie, the modern day edition of it anyway, has been around 1990, and owns 575 miles of track, plus whatever trackage rights they run over, with most of the track being purchased from Norfolk & Western, and the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad. Our focus on the trip was the Rook Subdivision and the Pittsburgh Subdivision, with our hotel being right around the corner from Rook Yard in Green Tree, PA, the former headquarters the P&WV. The railroad carries a few different commodities, with a huge majority of the business coming in and outta Rook Yard in Green Tree, PA being Natural Gas, Stone and sand for Connellsville. The railroad has quiet the diverse roster, with a lotta SD40-2s painted in the railroad's corporate Rio Grande inspired livery plus the paint schemes of various former leased locomotives, like FURX, CITX, CEFX and others, plus high hood geeps, tunnel motors and other stuff... Anyway...

Starting along the W&LE Rook Subdivision in Bridgeville, PA on day one of the trip, July 10th 2021, we start out with train 643, which operates outta Rook Yard and heads down the railroad's Westland Branch to the namesake town of Westland, bringing empty tanks to Markwest Energy to be loaded with with natural gas. The 643 zooms around the curve, passing Bridgeville's 84 Lumber with a trio of SD40-2s, two tigers 6354 and 6353 plus grey 6993, along with the train's consist and SD40-2 6386 on the rear, a former KCS motor. Down the line, we see the train begin down the Westland Branch in Southview, PA, now with the 6386 leading, and the conductor riding the locomotive to protect the shove down. After catching the train in Southview, we head along Hornhead Road outside of Westland for one more shot of the train drifting downhill into Markwest, passing a vast field and some farm land.

Later on, after checking into the hotel, we return to Rook Yard to see the Wheeling's 610 crew positioning engines for the evening's 618. A killer trio of SD40-2 units, former CEFX yellow 6996, tiger 3049 and former FURX green 6991 are brought by the camera towards the yard office. Later on, we see the 618 finishing up their work at Rook, before we started the chase. Finding ourselves in Castle Shannon, we see the 618 shredding down the Pittsburgh Subdivision, part of the former P&WV, as they cross the Port Authority light rail. Afterwards, we see the train crossing the very tall Mingo Creek Viaduct, where the train is seen passing under the even higher PA-43 bridges. Afterwards, we see the train crossing the Monogahela River over the massive Speers Trestle into Belle Vernon before getting another quick video on the other side of town of them gunning uphill...

July 12th, 2021, we started out morning out near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border in Avella, PA at State Line Tunnel to await the Wheeling's Brewster, Ohio to Rook Yard road train, 218, and give them some chase. A few hours into our chill time at the tunnel, we heard horn entering the western portal of the tunnel, and the train emerged from the thick fog with another former FURX green and silver leader, SD40-2 6985, plus tiger 3067 with a huge train of tanks for Rook in tow. After catching them in the tunnel, we caught a grab of the train passing through Rea, PA along PA-50 before catching them one more time storming outta Hickory Tunnel.

July 13th, after checking outta the hotel, we caught one more Wheeling movement at Rook Yard as crew 610 shuffled tanks around with the ex KCS SD40-2 and yet another green and silver, 6386 and 6988... What we got of the Wheeling and Lake Erie, was quite worthwhile. Til next time!

Enjoy!