About this blog

So, what is this blog about? Well basically it’s a compilation of the notes I’ve taken while out fanning. I carry a mini tape recorder with me, primarily to shout out engine numbers as trains pass, but also to note anything of interest that I see in the way people, places and things. At the end of the day I type it all up as a permanent record of the day’s adventures. Over the years these notes have grown to fill about twenty three ring binders of various sizes, but about the only people who have gotten to see them were a few friends along with a occasional posting to various Yahoo groups. With this blog I hope to share this information with you.

To me railfanning is not just a collection of photographs, it’s also the trip itself and the places I’ve been. I’m hoping that thru this blog you can enjoy the trips that I’ve taken as much as I have. You’re going to hear about the my successes and my failures. You’re going to hear about the towns I’ve visited and the people I’ve met. I hope that you will have as good a time reading about these trips as I’ve had taking them. So join me as I share my adventures along America’s railroads where hopefully there’s always a train on the horizon.

Photos displaying poorly?

It might be your browser. Last year while in the midst of setting up this blog I switched to Google Chrome as my default browser and ran into enormous problems with the photos displaying in a faded, washed out manner. It was quite a while before I stumbled across the answer, and a switch back to my original browser brought the pictures on my monitor back to life. I bring this up now because I recently read that Chrome is now the leading browser, so if you're wondering why I'm putting up such horrible looking photos you might consider trying an alternate browser, it's easy to have more than one on your computer.

Recent posts

Of dogwood and diesel
Photos from the afternoon of May 13, 2013 I got a heads up from a friend that Q NYCLAC, a hot intermodal off the NS, and normally a denizen of the Chilli sub, was being detoured over the Chicago and Mendota subs today due to track work at the IHB crossing in McCook. Sounded kind [...]
Dodging the weather Part II – Afternoon OCS
Photos from the afternoon of May 2, 2013 I was back at the house after a very successful capture of the NS’s Nickel Plate heritage unit in the morning, and quite frankly I was ready to set a spell. I’d done a fair amount of running around, plus the weather, which had been verging on [...]
Dodging the weather Part I – A Nickel Plated morning
Photos taken on May 2, 2013 It’s said that what goes around comes around, and that definitely applies to the NS heritage units on the BNSF. If they come in on an oil train, they’ll eventually go out on an oil train, and so with a little luck I’ve got two chances. Today I had [...]
This, that, and other things
I bet that everyone is wondering if I’ve fallen off the face of the Earth or something since I haven’t posted in quite a while. Honestly, I’ve just been slammed with stuff to do and every time I get close to launching a new post a fire springs up that I have to put out. [...]
Not quite quick enough
NS 8100, the Nickel Plate heritage unit, made a surprise visit to the Racetrack today; it had been sitting for days out in Stanley ND, and then all of a sudden it was passing thru St Paul heading on a loaded oil train! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try for it since 1) [...]
A double heritage day – Part II / NS 1066
I was back at trackside after a trip home to grab a bite to eat, download the morning’s photos, and check the web. I had been hoping for some good news about the NYC train parked out by Belmont, but it still looked like it was hung up until at least 2 p.m. Pfffffttttttttt…… All [...]
A double heritage day – Part I / NS 1071
Big day today, I caught two NS heritage units! It was a bizarre and sometimes frustrating visit to trackside; the weather was all over the place and the BNSF made some dispatching decisions that left us scratching our heads, but in the end it I got what I was after so I’d call it a [...]
NS 8100
Well it’s time for the the raincoat, another NS heritage unit was paying the area visit, and as per usual it was dark and stormy. I guess that it just goes with the season, April showers and all that, but it sure would be nice to have some sun! Originally it looked like I might [...]
Three minutes to spare
I was at home puttering around (I seem to be doing a lot of that lately) when I got a heads up that an empty oil train was headed my way. Go? Don’t go? The big question was the weather, after a morning of rain and gloom the sky had opened to broken clouds, a [...]
Catching some sun – Part II
After a pit stop at home I was now back at trackside, more or less against my better judgment since I wasn’t feeling all that good (too much running around at Belmont), but fair weather and a report of an outbound oil train were my siren call. This time I was at Westmont, I just [...]

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