Eastern Railroad Discussion > Trains, Planes and an Automobile

Olmsted Falls, Ohio, is one of those railfanning spots that is well known by many locals, but which tends to be overshadowed by the better known and "patronized" Berea a few minutes away. The advantage of going to Berea is that you get CSX traffic as well as the Norfolk Southern's Chicago Line.

But I like Olmsted Falls because there tends to be fewer people there and you can easily get on both sides of the tracks to take advantage of whatever lighting conditions may exist. There is a restored railroad station on the south side that is owned by a model railroad club and a city park that runs for a very long block on the north side.

It is a nice place to go and just hang out and let the trains come to you. Last Sunday, I went to the Falls to catch a very late running Amtrak No. 49. While there I got "bonus coverage" when NS 8100 (the Nickel Plate Road heritage locomotive) led the 20W past. I covered both of those trains in earlier coverage.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3471923

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3471926

This post is devoted to a few other trains that I captured while waiting for Amtrak No. 49. I begin with three images of an eastbound coal train. Although not as flashy or "glamorous" as a passenger train or a train led by an H unit, I thought this train reflects the heritage of the Norfolk & Western of hauling coal from the West Virginia mountains. I converted these photos to black and white because the flat lighting conditions resulted in muted colors. But I also did it because, well, certain trains just seem to call for being in a black and white world. A coal train is one of them. As I watched car after car roll past with the term "high top" on them, I kept thinking about high top sneakers, which were popular in my younger days. If I recall, those were black and white.

If memory serves me correctly, this train carried symbol 412. There always seems to be an outlier in every group and so it was with this train. Photo 2 shows the only "low top" hopper car in the consist. It was toward the rear of the train, but as Photo 3 shows, it did not deprive the train of its uniform appearance.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 03:50 by SDP40F600.

---

---

---

A while after the passage of the 412 came another coal train, this one carrying symbol 417 (Photo 4). This train had a BNSF "Grinstein" as its trailing unit. The Toledo East dispatcher had told this train to pace itself going west because it would soon come to a halt behind a 15N that was stopped ahead. NS was single tracking for 18 miles west of CP 218 and the 417 would spend several hours waiting for a route and be passed by at least one train, which was carrying a load of empty crude oil tankers.

(Photo 5): The motive power lash up, er, I mean motive power CON-sist, of this eastbound stack train featured an array of colors and ownership.

(Photo 6): I've always enjoyed photographing the uniform profile of unit trains. The 65R rolls westward although not for long. This train would later be routed around the 417.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 02:59 by SDP40F600.

---

---

---

Another feature of Olmsted Falls is that it lies beneath the final approach path of runways 6R and 6L at nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. When air traffic is landing on those runways, as it was on Sunday, you get nice close-up views of the planes. Air traffic in and out of Cleveland isn't what it used to be following the closing this year of the United Airlines hub that had been built by Continental Airlines. United still, though, operates the most daily flights from CLE.

(Photo 7) Delta 1474 from Atlanta has MD88 equipment.

(Photo 8) United 1092 from Fort Myers, Fla., arrives with a 737-900.

(Photo 9) I think you can figure out which airline this is. It is flight 520 from Denver and features an Airbus 319. Frontier has been picking up some of the markets abandoned by United earlier this year. I'm old enough to remember an earlier rendition of Frontier, which was based out of Denver and whose early jets (727s and 737s) were called Arrowjets. That Frontier was also known for its meal service.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 03:08 by SDP40F600.

---

---

---

I was standing by my car between trains and planes when I looked over and saw two small convertibles following each other northbound on Brookside Drive. I wasn't in a good position to photograph both of them with the zoom lens I had on my camera at the time. The best I could do was this going away shot of the second of the two. I don't know what make or model this is, but I'm sure this guy enjoyed toolin' around town in his toy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 03:03 by SDP40F600.

---

The car is a 63 Corvette (give or take a year). Always wanted one of them. IMHO the best looking vette ever
Love the aircraft shots and to keep things "on topic" for the critics, 737s start their life long journey on a train.
Nice shots!

rfprr

SDP40F600 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was standing by my car between trains and planes
> when I looked over and saw two small convertibles
> following each other northbound on Brookside
> Drive. I wasn't in a good position to photograph
> both of them with the zoom lens I had on my camera
> at the time. The best I could do was this going
> away shot of the second of the two. I don't know
> what make or model this is, but I'm sure this guy
> enjoyed toolin' around town in his toy.


Corvette Stingray maybe, not sure of the year. 1962 or 63.
John

Nice work Craig. I like the B&W pictures. I may be wrong but I think those hi-tops are for coke. I am a retired aircraft mechanic from USAirways and enjoyed your photos of the aircraft.
John

jmbreitigan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Corvette Stingray maybe, not sure of the year.
> 1962 or 63.
> John

63 or 64 Stingray roadster.

Bob

Just for jmbreitigen here is a USAirways Airbus 319 coming in from Charlotte. John, did you work on any of those before you retired?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 11:09 by SDP40F600.

---

SUPER pics!!! Thanks for sharing.

SDP40F600 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just for jmbreitigen here is a USAirways Airbus
> 319 coming in from Charlotte. John, did you work
> on any of those before you retired?


Thank you Craig. I worked on many of the airbuses. 319, 320, 321 & 330 which flew over to Europe until they stopped international flights at Greater Pittsburgh International airport. I remember when we moved into the new airport. We had 50 gates plus 3 international gates. Now it may be down to 3 or 4 mainline gates.
John

The car in question is either a '65 or '66 Corvette.

This body style ran from 1963 through 1967, but only '65 & '66 had the three vertical fender louvers. The easiest way to tell a '65 from a '66 is by the vents on the B pillar (no vents on the '66). But since this is a convertible that's no help. You can go by the grill, but since we can't see the front that's no help either. You can also tell the difference by the rocker moldings, but this one has side pipes so no luck there either. I think that blue and those turbine wheels were offered both years, but I'm not certain. After that I'm tapped.

That 'Vette looks a lot better than the ones that ended up in the sink hole at the National Corvette Museum. They're suppose to restore them. I think they'll start with the lug nuts and radiator caps on some of them and build around that. Look at the picture and see what you think. The second is me and that's what I brought back with me when I went to the museum. (The picture, not the car.) Oh well, I guess I can dream.

John

---

---