Junk Rescuing Junk

ccaranna · 11-01-2005, 03:22 AM

Made a one-day road trip on Sunday, and it turned out to be ho-hum until I decided to head home.

Marion, OH was the destination. Got there a little late, and didn't see a whole lot. First train was the shortest 287 I've ever seen in my life...3 auto racks behind an ex-CR dash 8-40CW. Next up was westbound 17M, with new SD70M-2 #2651 third in the consist.

http://ccaranna.rrpicturearchives.ne...ns2651.17m.jpg

Finally, 851 came through with a spartan dash 9 in the lead.

The excitement came on the way home, however. Around MP 26, which is about halfway between Columbus and Marion, I heard the dispatcher in communication with westbound 319 which had a disabled loco. The plan was to obtain an extra unit off of 305.

I pulled off the road and sat and watched the maneuvers which resulted in 319 snagging NS SD40-2 #3293 from 305 to add to their stunning lashup of weatherbeaten NS GP50 #7005 and broken NS D8-32B #3526. It made me wonder what the crew on 319 did in a former life to deserve such a punishment as to have a lashup whose 3 units combined ages are old enough to receive social security.

305 continued on solo with UP 4641.
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Here are a few shots of the events...(pardon the somewhat below average quality on most of them; the light and shadows were horrible.)

First, 218 smoked by and cleared-

PhotoID:
Photograph ©

305's head unit pulls off and clears out of the way-

http://ccaranna.rrpicturearchives.ne...05.troyton.jpg

319 just clearing the switch to back onto the spare unit on 305-
(on the second shot you can see the UP unit on 305 waiting in the distance)

http://ccaranna.rrpicturearchives.ne...5/IMG_0896.JPG
http://ccaranna.rrpicturearchives.ne...19.troyton.jpg

And finally 319 pulling up with the extra unit from 305 to back onto its train.

http://ccaranna.rrpicturearchives.ne...19.troyton.jpg

By the time everyone was situated and back on their respective manifests, I had already left. It was getting a bit dark at this point, and I wasn't going to be able to get much more in the way of photo ops anyway.

Thanks for looking, and YES, that's a female conductor! Incidentally, she asked me if I was having fun as she passed by; to which I replied with an emphatic "YES!"