Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

Give us a run down of what you saw, post pictures if you'd like...any info is welcome.
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GTW Dude
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Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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Yesterday, I finally left my basement and drove out to Ohio to photograph some pretty interesting stuff to say the least. My day began with a stop at Flat Rock to give a status update/new photo of an original 50' DT&I boxcar still being used in Flat Rock. as for what it's used for? i have no clue. While we first pulled up there was an IC Death Star duo which was later identified as L572 making up its train. I was unable to pull my camera out before i could photograph the duo shoving behind the Flat Rock shops. Other than that, I watched the yard crew do some movements with CN 5634. Just as I was about to leave, some of the shop workers pulled out one of the old GTW Trackmobile/Carmovers from the shops which i thought was pretty interesting.

Later that day, after crossing the Michigan/Ohio border i took a trip down to what looked to be almost abandoned Toledo Union Station. There basking in the sunlight was former Algoma Central FP9A 1755 along with 3 other passenger cars being used for a new movie starring Tom Hanks. What was really neat is while I was first coming into the station i noticed a couple of 40-foot boxcars on a siding being used for storage by NS MOW crews. while i didn't dare venture into the small yard littered with "No Tresspassing" signs i still got some decent shots of them. I won't lie, i really loved the Toledo Union Station setup. While it's so darn hidden, it's right off of the Maumee River, it's not too big and is only around 5 -7 tracks of engine sheds, and still retains most if not all of the original fixtures from the 1970's/80's Amtrak takeover. Not only that but the station still had original "Track B and C" porcelain signs with Amtrak pointless arrow signs all over. It felt like i was living in the Amtrak rainbow era!

After regrettably having to leave, we drove out to Swanton OH. Traffic for the afternoon on the Chicago line was surprisingly active but due to drizzly weather my camera and myself began to get wet as I watched two NS freights pass by each other. Could have sworn i smelled a burning smell coming from my Nikon afterwards Lol!

As we came back north from Swanton, we ended up passing through the town of Blissfield, MI. Last time I had traveled through Blissfield it was pitch black and no good for photographing the Old Road Dinner Train but this time i could finally get my photos.

We continued onward towards Ypsilanti along this Michigan line. As we paralleled the tracks along Michigan avenue i noticed a few shiny silver-ish cars through the trees only to realize it was Amtrak! My grandfather who at the time was driving the car swung into a dead-end road leading up to the tracks. As I climbed out of the car and climbed through the brush onto the railroad grade, I began walking up to the front of the locomotive to see why they had stopped. As it turned out, the train i was looking at currently was 355 Chicago bound which was waiting for Amtrak 352 to clear Ann Arbor. as I looked behind me towards the signal bridge miles down the track, I realized that 352 had been given clearance through Ypsilanti. Just as I made it up to 352's locomotive to grab a few photos the engineer had been given clearance to move up closer to the signal. The two blasts of the horn nearly scared the crap outta me as I fumbled my phone since my cannon camera was practically dead.

I went back to the car, only to realize that we were being kicked out because some guy was using the road to store cars for his auto shop. We moved our spot down the road waiting for 352 as the sun set in front of me. Finally, around 20 minutes later i saw the LED headlights of a Siemens Charger round the curve and cruising by was 352. I hopped in the car thinking it was the end of my railfanning day for sure. That was until we were driving through Wayne, MI where the tracks begin to parallel the road and my grandfather happened to mention "I think i heard a horn" i kind of laughed and brushed it off. There was no way we had caught up to 352 moving that fast... Wait. Is that an amfle-oh sh*t. We had in fact caught up to 352 and began placing him down Michigan Avenue blowing for each crossing with a fouled horn. as soon as we got far enough down the road, we whipped the car into an open lot and filmed him passing through. there were 5 stops left, Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak, and Troy (Birmingham), and finally Pontiac. We decided to hook it onto Woodward and raced up to the station to film 352 coming in. As the lights shined down on Pontiac, the Charger finally rounded the curve and pulled slowly into the station. Making an end to the days trip. Defiantly one to remember!
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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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Photo Lot from the trip continued:
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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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Swanton, OH.
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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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More from Swanton.
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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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Current state of the dinner train.
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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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The chase from Ypsilanti:
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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Sounds like a very foamy day! Good stuff Gabe!
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NS3322
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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GTW Dude wrote:
Sun May 01, 2022 12:38 pm
Current state of the dinner train.
They actually never used any of that equipment for the dinner train...I wonder where that consist is as it is usually parked on the siding by the office in Blissfield.

#1755 is a parts source and the "Riding Mountain Park" dome car has been for sale for years ($255k asking price).
https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/railEq ... itemId=607

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GTW Dude
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Re: Michigan/Ohio RR Odyssey 4-30-22

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NS3322 wrote:
Sun May 01, 2022 1:25 pm
GTW Dude wrote:
Sun May 01, 2022 12:38 pm
Current state of the dinner train.
They actually never used any of that equipment for the dinner train...I wonder where that consist is as it is usually parked on the siding by the office in Blissfield.

#1755 is a parts source and the "Riding Mountain Park" dome car has been for sale for years ($255k asking price).
https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/railEq ... itemId=607
I never posted the photos of the actual train. oops...

Here is the other photos i meant to post:
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