Eastern Railroad Discussion > All day to go south from Dayton

I had most of the day today to return home from Dayton.
1) I started from my mom and dad's house and heard CSX J783 passing the detector at Wakefield and guessed that I could get a picture of it in West side of Dayton. This is shot that no one gets too often as the area is not one to hang around in but the scene is of interest. The small roadway to the left of the tracks is actually owned by the Greater Dayton RTA. It was used to short turn trolleybuses when they fell behind schedule crossing both the Conrail, former NYC mainline and the former Baltimore and Ohio that the train is on. In 1988 or 9 the Rt 8 trolleybus actually had new overhead strung to avoid crossing both mainlines at Miami City Junction and the route changed. The Rt 9 was delayed so often that sometime around 1988 or 9 the routes were restructured and the Rt 9 was replaced with diesel buses that could be deadheaded around blocked crossings or when it got too far behind. The little road is unused and blocked and the overhead wires have been removed by someone but it provides an unusual photo prop. Just don't go here and hang around for any duration.
2) I had been listening to the NS 169 switching in Moraine Yard, in fact I had drove past it going to the first photo. I happened to be at the right place to get up on the overpass across the tracks on Dixie Drive and take this shot of them backing into one of the set-off tracks. While getting positioned for this shot I saw an RTA bus with a circular Hoopla sign and went out to find a couple with these signs. Dayton hosted the first games of the NCAA tournament.
3) After Noon I headed toward home and missed the NS 304 leaving Moraine. I made it to Middletown where they went completely into the elusive Mid-Reed Yard before I could get there. I heard CSX K 620 calling signals heading North and got the shot at the north end of Carlisle. Carlisle is where the New York Central's Cincinnati Northern crossed the B & O approximately where the tall poles are in the shot.

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After the shot at Carlisle I headed back to Yankee Rd which is the first crossing RR West of the west leg of the Mid-Reed Yard wye. Mid-Reed Yard is built on the end of a wye with the tail being the former Pennsylvania Railroad Middletown Branch off the C & X Branch. I got there a little before they came back out. Today they actually took their complete train into the yard on the east leg of the wye and reversed the direction of their units coming back out. 
4 & 5) NS 304 came into Middletown with more cars but came back out with eleven. All those clouds ended up working against me as they blocked the sun when 304 finally came out.
6) On the big fill across Ohio State Route 63 in Monroe. They got held out at Tylersville RD and I came on home, finally.

Thank you for looking!

Jim

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What really strikes me about your last four photos, is how well you captured the drama of the sky/clouds. Thanks for sharing!

Matthew