Western Railroad Discussion > Weekend IHB Action, LaGrange, IL

I managed to start and end the weekend seeing IHB trains through LaGrange, IL. Friday evening (7/29), I headed out after dinner to see if I could catch the NS-powered coal empty I had spotted on the train ride home. It was not to be as a fatal pedestrian accident at Naperville had messed up the latter portion of the Metra rush. Not knowing this at the time, I followed the tracks east towards LaGrange. The signals at Congress Park were lined for 2 eastbounds and I could a westbound Metra train approaching Brookfield. I figured a quick check of the IHB at 47th Street was in order and I crossed the track, the gates started to come down. Parking the car, I quickly realized that I had one shot from the middle of 47th Street. I managed to work my to the north side of LaGrange in time for a second shot just as the sun set,

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I managed to end the weekend with an IHB train as well. After watching the detouring BNSF ZSTPCHC back up the connection between the IHB and the BNSF (see: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2529472 ), I spotted a headlight to the north. After patiently waiting at the Lincoln Street grade crossing, I was rewarded with four IHB locomotives leading a very long train. Of note, the first three engines were in reverse numerical order and the last engine was one of the soon to be retired SD24. SP fans will note the 4010 is an ex-SP GP40P



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/11 15:08 by kevink.

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More IHB.

BTW, as I have noted before, catching trains on this section of the IHB is a mtter of timing. Sometimes you can see 3 to 4 trains in an hour or so. Other times, you can sit for hours and see nothing which is what happened to me Saturday afternoon.

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Would those white things with a bubble above the headlight be cameras?Just wondering.

msdgbar Wrote:
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> Would those white things with a bubble above the
> headlight be cameras?Just wondering.


I believe so.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/11 15:23 by kevink.

Neat stuff! Any routine operating pattern to catch IHB powered trains?

Oakway Wrote:
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> Neat stuff! Any routine operating pattern to
> catch IHB powered trains?

Thanks. Most of the trains on this end of the IHB use power from the mainline roads. The best bet for getting IHB power is to hit the areas around the yards (and do it without trespassing...). I've been lucky the last couple of weeks and managed to get three different trains with IHB power in the LaGrange area.

Nice shots Kevin! Your right about this part of the IHB being hit or miss. 47th street is a tricky spot to shoot too. I usually wait in the park if I have time.

Marc Malnekoff

kevink Wrote:
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> I was rewarded with four IHB
> locomotives leading a very long train. Of note,
> the first three engines were in reverse numerical
> order and the last engine was one of the soon to
> be retired SD24.

2924 is officially classified as an SD20. IHB has six of them and all are IC rebuilds of SD24s and SD18s. IHB leased them from NRE and then bought them outright a few years ago. They won't be retired any time soon. The Harbor has ordered four six-axle gensets from NRE (model 3GS21C) that will probably be delivered in early 2012. They will replace four of the SD20s.

And yes, the "dimple" above the numberboards is a camera.

Anyway, nice photos.

Oakway Wrote:
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> Neat stuff! Any routine operating pattern to
> catch IHB powered trains?


The first thing to do is to PM me and make sure I'm nowhere near Chicago at the time, and you will probably see IHB trains out the wazoo! :) Sometimes you have to laugh, even when you don't want to.

Does CP still run their Michigan trains across the IHB?

If not, then coupled with the decreased amount of traffic off the CN (WC), I can see why the northern part of the IHB can be hit or miss.

Tom

Only one in every four road trains on the IHB main is a Harbor train, and some of them typically use foreign power. That's why IHB-powered trains are hard to come by.

However, from my experience mornings at Blue Island Crossing offer the best chance to see IHB movements.