Eastern Railroad Discussion > A few from today

Today wasn't the best for train watching; dull gray with a drizzle at times, but I did a bit of it after church. (passenger train pictures are on 
the Passenger board, with another "coincidence".) 
1. NS 19G was led by an SD70ACC unit rebuild from a standard cab SD70.  
2. Interesting set of numbers on the AC44C6M engines on 20K. 
3. Tail end of the H-10 light engines going from Rutherford to the Harrisburg fuel pad for fueling. Brings up the question; wouldn't it be more 
    economical to set up a fuel facility in the Rutherford yard? Would save on crew costs.  Also is there still a fuel facility in the Harrisburg yard? 
    It would seem advantageous to use that instead of tying up the main line while fueling a string of locomotives. 

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WRT to setting up a fuel pad at Rutherford, here is a recent photo of what Norfolk Southern's Bevier St Binghamton "fuel pad" looks like. It's the area just north of the I-81 overpass directly in front of NYS&W SD60 departing north with Binghamton-Syracuse train BH1. This location is on the so-called "Buffalo track" connecting D&H main to EL Southern Tier main is referred to by Yardmaster / crews as "Universal". Two to four times each day, a tank truck of fuel from Usher Transport pulls up to the track and fuels 2-3 locomotives pulling intermodal/auto trains 22K, 23K, 205, and 206. Note the lack of a track diaper or any other infrastructure suggesting it's a frequently used fueling facility.

The NS SD40 -2 is handling Binghamton local K84 using the "Binghamton track" (connects D&H main to East Binghamton yard across the Susquehanna River) to switch out Thoroughbred Bulk Transload facility that primarily unloads frac sand for distribution to Pennsylvania's northern tier gas wells (frac sand is likely the largest commodity handled on the Southern Tier trains these days with NS having transload terminals at Scranton, Binghamton, and Horseheads, as well NS delivering frac sand to NYS&W, Lehigh Raileay, and Wellsboro & Corning for transload, too).

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