Eastern Railroad Discussion > W&LE Westland Branch 11/11/12

Hi all,
After a hectic few months finishing construction work for our new home, work stress, and moving into the house, I *finally* had some free time to do some local railfanning with PittsburghMike and my oldest daughter Sarah. After breakfasting at Dunkin Donuts, we checked out W&LE's Rook Yard where Sarah suggested we head towards Hickory (quite a surprise to Mike and I). Interestingly, we'd planned to do just that anyway in order to see the new Westland Branch mentioned elsewhere here on TO.

We explored a bit around George (junction with the main line) and then heard the track warrant for the Westland Job, which we met near Cecil and chased back to the branch. We diverted back to Cecil when we heard the westbound Mingo freight (assuming train 213) which we shot at Cecil and again at Hickory Tunnel. After that, we returned to the Westland job which was about to leave with a long train of propane cars. We chased that back to the main line, and then made haste to Taco Bell for lunch. Not bad for a morning!

A few photos follow...

1. WE 301 bringing spacer cars and a lot of power westbound near Cecil.
2. "Over" at George
3. "Under" at George, now headed towards the gas facility at Westland

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4. The westbound 213 with two high hood GP35's!
5. Again at Hickory
6. and then Brown's Orchard in McDonald (these two photos are in the wrong order, whoops)

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7. Back to the Westland Branch, the WE 301 is headed down the grade.
8. Westland ish
9. Back at George, next to the Montour Trail

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10. Last one. Going back to the main line, calling the Brewster Dispatcher for permission back to Rook.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
-Alex

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Beautiful images. They make me want to go there next spring. The "Under at George" really captures my imagination.
Bob

Very nice!

Posted from BlackBerry

It was a pleasure meeting you and Sarah. Thanks for letting us tag along with you and Mike.We chased the other train over to Mingo and got crossing the Ohio River.Randy

Nice series of pictures Mr. Lang. Glad you had a good day.
John

Just curious is that trackage along the Montour trail, is it new?? i biked on the montour trail a few years ago and dont remember seeing this trackage. i do remember riding under that truss bridge or one that closely resembled it.

heres the pic i took of the bridge in 2009 , is this the same bridge?

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Yes, I think that is the same bridge. This branch was rebuilt within the last year or so.