Eastern Railroad Discussion > A Pair of NS SD80MACs on a Triple Crown at Danville KY

Since NS acquired the former CR SD80Macs in the merger, they seem to have been for the most part "stuck" around Southfork PA, and the coal branches of the area. They have made it out of the that area a few times, but it has been a rare thing.

For reasons only known to the NS, a pair of the big MACs, NS 7207 and 7202, found themselves on the point of Triple Crown Train 251 yesterday headed South. I tried to keep up with 251's progress yesterday at work, and it became apparent that the train was running a little later than normal. I had no hope of catching them I thought, but luck was on my side. Due to heavy Southbound traffic, they didnt make out of Cincinnati until late afternoon, giving me the chance to make it to Danville (KY) after work to shoot them.

It was well after dark, but I did what I could with them while they sat at Perryville Street to refuel and change crews. The lighting is mostly sodium vapor, which is not all that great for time exposures, but with a little help from my RAW program and photoshop, I was able to get these to a somewhat usable condition. I would have preferred to have had them in full sun on a weekend in a more scenic location, but this will have to do.

If you like EMD"S, you gotta like these. It just makes you wonder when the last time these Two had the chance to get out and sprint at 60 mph with something behind them besides coal!

As always, bigger, badder, high resolution versions of these can be found at this link.. http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/nscs1eb

#1 and 2 NS 7207 gets its fuel topped off during a crew change at Danville KY, 01/04/11

#3 NS 251 and 123 set side by side at Perryville Street, Danville KY Besides the rare appearance of the 80MACs, the sight of Two Southbounds setting side by side at this location is also not something seen very often.

E.M. Bell , KD4JSL
Salvisa, KY
Jreb.org NS group



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/11 16:51 by EMBell.

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NS 251 orginates in Sandusky, Ohio. the logical point for me (and yes I lived in Sandusky for about 3 years) is that these 2 MAC's came in on a coal train headed for the Sandusky Docks, then were put on NS 251.

Emmet,
nice catch on the big brutes.
Mark Mautner

Wow, I dig it. Lookin good. Thanx for posting.

Q: Where were you located when you took these pix? Is it permissible to take shots from there? Looks like a very interesting spot. Thanx!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/11 04:31 by schmo.