Heavy Train, Two Sections. Seven Years Ago Today!

Seven years ago today, I saw a most unusual occurrence (to me at least) with 

Norfolk Southern Train D49. I'm replying to the original post I made to the 

group but with a link to video I shot of the action.

My original comments about this from the PeoriaRails Yahoo! Group on September 15, 2010.

I set out early Wednesday morning to see if I could catch Norfolk Southern's 

departing D49D train. When I arrived at East Peoria about 6:45am, it had 

already left the TZPR yard. So I raced east on I-74 to Bloomington-Normal. A 

drive by Good Yard revealed I'd beat the train (as with earlier adventures 

with the same train).

Where was it? As with most of these adventures, I drove Rt. 150 expecting to 

see it roll through Carlock, forcing a quick turn around and then a race 

back to a good location offering time to set up my tripod/video. But no D49D 

as I drove through Carlock. It hadn't been through Congerville either, when 

I drove through there.

I was getting to wonder what happened? Was there a derailment? Surely not. 

And as I waited at the Rt. 117 intersection in Goodfield about 7:50am, I 

heard C40-9W 8989's horn blowing through town. I saw two motors, Caterpillar 

high-wides, tank cars, etc. I had to turn around, quickly!

I got on I-74 and raced to Carlock where I set up with the cool old elevator 

as a backdrop. Shortly, a 40-car D49D came through. As usual, it slowed to a 

crawl - possibly due to the condition of a bridge on the east side of town - 

before racing the final leg to Good Yard. I gathered my equipment, got back 

on Rt. 150 and found a good spot on 1950 N. County Road (I went first to E. 

1800 North Rd., but decided there were too many obstructions to getting a 

good shot of the nine Caterpillar high-wide loads just behind the two 

locomotives.). I waited and waited, then I headed toward Good Yard, only to 

find both locomotives having already dropped their train, running westbound! 

Per radio chatter, the crew said they were going to get the rest of their 

train, and it would be awhile.

I had seen the train at Goodfield, so I figured they had a heavy train and 

stalled coming out of East Peoria. I followed the engines past N. Main 

Street (Morton), west of which they had left another 31 cars. By 10:00 they 

were on their way, climbing up to Crandall, where they stopped briefly to 

get a green signal. At 10:15, they crossed the TP&W's Morton Industrial Spur 

and raced eastward with their second section.

I managed to get a shot of them going through Goodfield (where I first 

noticed about half of the elevator track has been removed) and then waited 

at Carlock to repeat the shot with the first section.

Interestingly, the need to break the train on the climb out of East Peoria, 

and make essentially make two trips required the crew to work until their 

entire Hours-of-Service, which ended at 11:00am. The crew tied up at Yuton. 

That afternoon, D47D would pull it in to be classified.

- David P. Jordan