Top photos from June 24th, 2006

June 24th, 2006

I took Kevin, Steve, Brian, and Laura down to the US for Kevin and Steve's first taste of American railfanning. We worked our way along the coast of Lake Erie all the way to North East, Pennsylvania, stopping at Angola, Dunkirk, and Westfield. Our total haul for the day was around 38 trains, including several that we saw without shooting as we travelled. BNSF's lone "vomit bonnet" led NS #310 through Angola, among other interesting catches.

Angola, New York

(map) In the township of Evans, New York are the towns of Angola and Derby where the CSX Chicago line parallels a somewhat quieter NS track between nearby Buffalo, NY and Chicago, IL. A great spot for shooting both of these is at Sturgeon Point Road, with plenty of warning from talking defect detectors, CTC signals and headlights.

Dunkirk, New York

(map) The former Conrail Buffalo-Chicago now operated by CSX runs along the coast of Lake Erie through the town of Dunkirk, outside which is an excellent photographic overpass for the CSX line. The nearby Nickel Plate, now NS, line is a bit further South.

Westfield, New York

(map) Westfield is along the NS and CSX lines between Buffalo and Chicago near the border with Pennsylvania.

North East, Pennsylvania

(map) The town of North East is the home of an excellent museum of preserved railway equipment, including a weird GE-built "little Joe" Russian electric locomotive that was never delivered to the former Cold War adversary. The museum is on the web here. The museum is built around a well-preserved station on the busy CSX Buffalo-Chicago line and encourages railfans with a scanner blaring over the platform and a clear view of both the CSX and NS lines.