Photography by Richard L. Bowman

March 11, 2017

At Last, More Trains!

Due to my back and hip pain and surgeries, I have not posted on this blog for a year and a half. So I hope you enjoy what I have included below. Share the link to this blog with others.

NS 8414 locomotive

NS 8414 Locomotive in Harrisonburg, VA, USA 31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS 2772 locomotive in Harrisonburg, VA

NS 2772 Locomotive in Harrisonburg, VA, USA (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS 2772 & 8414 connected together

NS 2772 & 8414 Connected and Ready to Pull a Grain Train (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Then sitting by itself was this low gondola car. I did not get to see what cargo it was hauling. I have also included some close-up photos of the official markings on the car.

a gondola car

TILX 35050 Gondola Car in Harrisonburg (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the TILX number

Close-up of the TILX 35050 Numbering and Weight Limits (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

commercial metal company logo and car size

Commercial Metals Company Logo and Dimensions of the Car (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

August 31, 2015, presented me with a load of possible photos. Note that all of the above were taken at the main Norfolk Southern yard in Harrisonburg. Then just a bit further north in the city, are two feed mils next to each other. There are actually four feed mills in Harrisonburg(or right next to the city lines if not inside). The map below shows their locations. Click on each for a larger version.

May of Four Harrisonburg Feed Mills (© Google.com; modified: 4-Mar-17, Richard L. Bowman)

May of Two Harrisonburg Feed Mills Next to Each Other (© Google.com; modified: 4-Mar-17, Richard L. Bowman)

The next five photos were taken at or near the Cargill feed mill in Harrisonburg.

grain cars waiting to be filled or have already been

Grain Cars Lined up at the Cargill Feed Mill (looking north from W. Gay St.) (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

tracks coming together south of George's feed mill

Rail Tracks and Switches (looking south from W. Gay St.) 7 (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS 8796 coming to connect to grain cars

NS 8796 Coming to Connect with Grain Cars (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

close-up of cab of NS 8796

Close-up of Cab of NS 8796 (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

engine pulling grain cars

NS 8796 Connected to and Moving Grain Cars (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Moving to George's feed mill, I found a grain car, the Trackmobile 4000TM railcar mover, and a semi.

grain car, railcar mover, and truck at bays at George's

Grain Car, Railcar Mover and Semi at George's (31-Aug-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

The next photos take us back to the main Norfolk Southern train yard near R. S. Monger lumber yard.

three boscars in a line under the bridge at the NS yard in Harrisonburg

Three Boxcars Connected Together (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

first boxcar in the line

First Boxcar Belongs to Western Central (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

middle boxcar in the line

Second One, an Excess Height Car, Belongs to BNSF (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

third boxcar in the line

Third One, also an Excess Height Car, Belongs to BNSF, too (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

long view of the 3 boxcars from the other end

A Long-view from the Other End of the Three Boxcars (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Three days later I was back taking more photos.

engine pulling two boxcars

NS 9306 Engine and Two Boxcars (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

That day on another track, three engines had been conneccted to a longer train.

the engine connected to some boxcars

NS 8359 Locomotive--One of Three Engines on This Train (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the miiddle engine

NS 2772 Locomotive--the Middle of Three Engines on This Train (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the lead engine

NS 8414 Locomotive--the Lead of Three Engines on This Train (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

this train as it is made at this point

The Long View of This Train (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Now here are some close-up views of various features on the NS 9306 locomotive.

NS 9306 lettering

NS 9306 Numbers Show It Is a D9-40CW (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

close up of the bell on the end of the fuel tank

The Bell Fastened to One End of a Fuel Tank (2-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the truck under the engine

Close-up of the Truck under the NS 9306 (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the fuel tank

The Whole Fuel Tank (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

the fuel fill cap

The Location of the Fill Cap on the Fuel Tank Is Labeled (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

close-up of the fill cap

Close-up of the Fill Cap, from Snyder Equipment Company (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Since a car's wheel are a fixed distance apart on an axle and the rails on the tracks are a fixed distance apart, it does not take a very large ddvise to stop a car from rolling beyond a given point. This manual derailer is such a devise.

manual derailer in place

A Manual Derailer Sits in Place to Stop If It Movess Beyond This Point (5-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

On September 15, 2015, I was back looking at more of the engines in the Harrisonburg Norfolk and Sounthern yard.

NS 8791 by itself

NS 8791 Standing by Itself (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

front view of NSS 8791

Head-on View of NS 8791 (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

side view of NS 8791

The Broadside View of NS 8791 (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS7714 connected to a train

NS 7714 Connected to Some Cars (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS2772 leads a two-engine train

NS 2772 Leads Its Train (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

side view of NS 2772

The Broadside View of NS 2772 (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

NS 8359 is the second engine

NS 8359 Is the Second Engine of the Above Train (15-Sep-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

front view of NS 8359

A week later and several days after that, I was out getting more train photos beginninng with some boxcars. The first two are between Black's Run and Chesapeake Ave. near R. S. Monger's lumber yard.

boxcars near the small stream

NS 8791 along the streams edge

Then over against James Madison University housing as seen from near Chesapeake Ave. I captured a two-engine train and its locomotives.

view of two engines ready to a train of cars

view of the two engines and their train of cars

just engine NS 8777

engine NS 9753 by itself

On an adjacenet track were two locomotives. One was NS 2772. The second engine is NS 83??. I am fairly sure it was NS 8359 since those two were connected together in my photos from September 15 and 22.

NS 2772 in need of a washing

Along the road by the side of the Pilgrim's Pride feed mill in Harrisonburg, I again photograqphed their GE 747 80-ton centercab locomotive used to move grain cars from rail sidings through the feed mill operations.

GE 747 centercab

GE 747 rail mover and grain cars

grain cars on the bend at Pilgrim's Paride feed mill

a board view of the grain cars and rail mover

The next day was a rainy day, but I still photographed the NS 8777 in the Harrisonburg yard on Chesapeake Ave.

NS 8777 on a rainy day

A few days later, NS 8777 was on the otherside of Chesapeake Ave. between the street and Black's Run.

NS 8777 between street and stream

NS 8777 from the opposite side

These 50-some photos were taken from the end of August through the beginning of October, just a few day more than one month, in 2015. Hope they were of interest to you my readers. In the weeks ahead I will bring us up to the present, hopefully.

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