This finally occured on March 19th, for Patrick's 24th Birthday party.
Here is what I saw:
Dad and I got up at around 6:00, and we left at 6:34. Right around the time we were leaving, I heard X500 releasing the DTC Blocks in Lansing. We missed him at Trowbridge because we needed gas, but fortunately for us, the speed limit on the Plymouth Sub is 40MPH while the Highway is 80MPH, and we beat him to Fowlerville.
Here's X500 passing the old PM depot and elevators at Grand Street in Fowlerville:
Also took this just before he came by:
We also tried to get X500 at Brighton, but we went the wrong way and missed them.
Note, next time turn right instead of left 
Anyway, we're done with him, so down to Ohio we go. We got down to Toledo and started fumbling around looking for Vickers before we finally gave up and continued south. Along the way we saw a northbound C&O train just south of Risingsun, which we later learned was Q200. Then finally get into Fostoria, and from a distance we see a stack train go blasting through the crossings on CSX. We fumble around again and then finally get to the Amtrak parking lot, where we met the rest of the guys already there, and gave Patrick his Birthday present, a Canon Powershot A520 Digi-cam. Then there is a lull for about 35 minutes while we all stand and chat at the B&O station. Finally the NS decides to send something our way.
NS Train 218, an eastbound piggyback train, crosses the CSX B&O line and Main Street at the Amtrak station, with NS 9845 on the point.
And now the fun begins!!
Head back to the station, and CSX almost immeadiately begins to heat up. Head down to the west side of the B&O/NKP Diamonds for the first CSX train of the day, Q390[?]:
We all head back to the station, and then run over to the C&O to watch N804(?) fly past at Columbus Avenue. No photo of that train since I was in the backseat of the car.
Then we head back to the B&O/Nickel Plate for the following:
First up is this eastbound N859 with MY FIRST BNSF SWOOSH!!!
And yes, for those who still have not seen it, it does look a lot better in real life. I still like the old one better though...
Anyway, next up is another first for me, My first 5200 GEVO on CSX:
I wasn't as impressed with this as I could have been. Less than a year old, and it already looks like another dusty AC4400
Also this train had one of only two Conrail B40-8s as the second loco back from the leader, although I didn't know this until Patrick let me know later.
The next train up is something I rarely get to see, in fact prior to this, I had only seen six other trains like this in my whole life, a CSXT Double Stack/Intermodal train. This one I remember was Q159-19:
This next one nearly nailed a Black Pickup truck at Main street because the crossing signals were malfunctioning. Q388 rolls eastward with CSXT 8018 on the point:
Next up is NS train 15E with a mix of Ex-UP and current UP locos all Elephant style westbound. Sorry about the roster shot, I was in a really bad spot to be taking pictures.
After this there was a short lull, which ended when we saw another headlight on the B&O. By this time I am getting tired of getting the same angle over and over at the station, so Dad and I head over to Columbus Avenue to watch this one, which turned out to be a good choice because he turned north to Toledo just after we got him. We were also joined here by Kate (Railgal) and two other people who I won't Identify. BNSF 6860 & 534 lead this soon to be Northbound train (Q391?) west under the signals at Columbus Avenue:
Also took a picture of F Tower around this time too:
After this we head back to the station to find everyone gone....I wasn't in the mood to look for them at the moment and Dad was kind of hungry, so we went back into town to grab a snack and find a restroom. When we get back, we find the station area empty still, so I called one of the guys to find out where everyone went, and then went over to the "Bone Yard" where the C&O and Nickel Plate cross each other, and meet the rest of the gang there, and also see this southbound freight train on the C&O, with CSX 8470 and 8132:
Also included in this train was this big transformer thingy:
No more trains on the C&O/Nickel Plate for a while, so back to the station we go.
And now for some Diversity, here's Q110 heading east at Main street on the B&O:
Another view featuring Patrick:
Q393 pulls up to say Hi about two minutes later, while making a set out in one of the yards:
Q110 clears, and almost immediately we hear yet another horn on the Nickel Plate, so whilst everyone else races over to that darn wall next to the parking lot, I run over to the NO TURN signal and take the following, NS 146 with NS SD60 #6551, nice P5 horn:
Just after taking this I noticed I lost the antenna on my scanner. I was just about to freak out (like this:
) When I saw Nate waving at me to let me know he had it. I started to walk towards him, but then I saw a flash of Orange right behind him, so I leap back a step and get this shot of NS 277 roaring by with the second Swoosh of the day:
Scott's quote,
With both NS Trains past now, CSX sends another one our way on the B&O: HLCX 6209 leads Q342 past Main street as Patrick and Nate photograph it:Didnt even know this guy was coming until he rounds the corner
After this most of us left for a while to go have lunch at Pizza Hut, while Scott and Nate stayed to watch what we missed. For additional reading see Scott's report, located HERE.
Anyway, after lunch we come back and are treated to two more NS freights right off the bat, both with NAKED GE locos leading them.
First one is westbound #217 with NS 9904:
Followed shortly by Eastbound 272 with NEW NS GEVO #7538, shown here passing the whole gang on the wall here:
I have another shot of the train coming towards me, but I can't post for while due to the fact that there is someone in the picture who asked not to be shown or identified.
Anyways, we get another break for a while until Q367 pulls in and takes the wye towards Columbus, OH. We all head over the C&O Yard for this one, and catch him passing a GP38-2 Slug set sitting in the yard:
Q367 presents yet another first for me, an AUTO-MAX train, but I'm not as impressed as one might think. There's something about Autoracks that I find kind of boring, but that's probably because I see them all the time at home. Oh well, at least this looks a little different:
A couple of other views showing the slug set and B&O Caboose sitting in the yard:
THE Class unit GP38 for CSXT:
We all head back to the B&O to see this Helm 7167 on this westbound Q389
:
And next up we head over to the Norfolk Southern's Blair yard on the Northeast side of town to see CSX Local train H795 returning back from the Fostoria Vehicle Mixing Center to home CSX Rails, with CSXT 2517, seen here passing the NO TURN signal at Town Street:
So why is the signal saying No Turn in either direction?
Probably because at almost the exact same time, a westbound NS Coke train is fast approaching the crossing, and here it is blasting beneath the signals at Peltons, with H795 still moving away in the background to the right:
Here we see the same train kicking up a ton of dust as it bangs over the C&O:
After this Scott and Nate took me around and showed me some sites along the C&O on the northside of town, including an old NYC Tower, and the C&O Depot. While riding around with them, we run into Q290 with a SANTA FE BLUEBONNET SD40-2 and a "Furbee" heading south:
We head back to Peltons/Blair Yard, and catch another eastbound NS train flying by. I took pictures but they came out bad so I'm not posting them. We also saw CSX V980 heading east on the C&O just after this, but that shot came out horrible as well, so no picture of that either. I will present you with this VIDEO that Patrick took of this train however.
Back with Scott again, we head back by the Bone Yard to catch Q353 taking the Northeast connection and heading for Toledo, passing under the old C&O Cantilever here:
Next up is this Q368? at another C&O Cantilever just a little ways north of the Bone Yard. First a shot of the signals, with all the guys in the background:
And next up is the auctual train:
And look who's along for the ride! It's Port Huron's Baby!
I think it was right after this train that We (Scott Nate and I) went and had some fun with Mike H...Scott tell everyone what we did. The look on his face was priceless!
Anyway, back to the B&O line and next up is this 12,000 HP set speeding west with more Piggybacks and double stacks in tow:
And next up is this Q375? westbound by the station with CSXT 7721:
And 10 minutes later is this Q137? west at Poplar Street:
After this one was one of the more memorable moments of the day:
While the train is still moving, I walked down to the crossing to talk with the others who were with me at that point (Mr. Tops, Scott & Nate) and then we started walking back to the station when the train left. Mr. Tops was walking ahead of us looking at the pictures he just took, and I am doing the same while talking to Scott and Nate. Mr. Tops stops to look at his pictures while I keep walking, not knowing he is right in my path. Well I walked right into him! I leap back a step or two, and Mr. Tops, thinking that I am auctually Patrick, turns around with a really funky expression on his face. Scott sees this expression, and collapses on the ground laughing.
Now back to the trains, we all jump in the cars again and head over to the Bone Yard where Q396 is approaching, with a freshly painted SD40-2 in the lead, and some other stuff tagging along:
At the time this was taken, the 2645 had been working around Michigan for a few months, most of the time it was in Lansing where I saw it a few times.
Also had this neat switcher tagging along as well:
Also took this shot of the Track looking south just before they came by:
After this some of the others went back to the B&O but Scott and I stay around and snap some pictures of this NS, YES NS, #261 ROADRAILER train waiting for a green at Blair Yard to head west through town:
After waiting for Q200 to cross at the Bone Yard, 7592 gets the green and takes off:
TRAFFIC JAM!
This one had a really odd sounding Three chime horn, but I kinda liked it.
You can hear the horn in this video Mr. Tops took west of town, which also shows the whole train: Click HERE
After this I was going to have Scott take me back to the station because it was getting time for Dad and I to leave, but we hung around to watch one last train come by, a train that I am used to seeing up here:
CSX 733 & 735 lead N914 under the signals at the bone yard on their way to Grand Rapids with loaded coal:
Another pic:
And going away:
Finally we go back to the station, where Scott & Nate head home. Dad and I were about to leave too, but CSX had another green light, so we stuck around for a while.
While waiting for them, I took the following:
Sunset on the Iron Triangle:
And now finally we get what we were waiting for: UP 4525 leads Q156 over the Nickel Plate in the sunset:
After this we left, despite the NS having a green light. But we did get to see one more train on the way home.
When we got back to East Lansing, we had to stop at Quality Dairy, across the tracks from the Amtrak station, to pick up some groceries. While waiting in the car, I heard a horn, so I bailed out and ran over to the tracks just in time to see UP 7003/UP 6181(?) breeze by light heading back to the yard in Lansing.
Then finally came home and went to bed.
More pictures that I took, including numerous going away shots, are available HERE.
Before I forget, here is the official Group photo of everyone who came, Taken by Mr. Tops. I am the person in the yellow coat, standing second from the right:
For additional reading, you can see the people who made this day so fun, HERE.
And this concludes my first trip to Fostoria, Ohio.
I hope you all enjoyed!
