Not only did they deliver Bob's gorgeous shot, but they helped Sean (who many of you know) and I out with a decidedly less pretty situation.
We decided to take a day off on Tuesday to just goon around Philly and see what we could see. The day started out with a trip to John's Roast Pork, home of the best cheesesteak in the world, hands down.
Then we headed up north, with our first stop was the Ann Street facility in Port Richmond. They're not blue, but it's a cool location:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387736887324482Next stop was Frankford Junction. As we were pulling into the area we saw the tail end of NS's 39G leaving. Not being intimidated by the city, we drove on west along the NEC, and bagged the power crossing 17th street in North Philly.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387725433514578Having no scanner, we had no idea what was going on anywhere, so we decided to head over to South Jersey to try our luck. Again, not being afraid of the city, we headed to Pavonia yard in Camden. On the way over, we were discussing the possibility of their being an unrepainted former CR unit in the area, but it's 92 day inspection was coming up, and it was likely that it was on its way to Altoona for painting.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387764599837138See anything interesting in there? Something blue maybe? Yeah. Noticed how its headlights are on, and the door's open? So did we. So after looping through the hood a number of times, we decided to park, press our luck, and wait for it to move. As it came out from the pit we noticed something else blue behind it, ANOTHER blue unit. Despite the rain, we stuck around and got this before we were reminded that the lot we were in was private property, and had to move on. However, being the awesome CR employees that the crew was, they told us where they were going.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387781975171330Not to be deterred by the weather, we headed north to Cove Rd, where we waited for an eternity. After a while I left Sean there (in the rain, a testament to his fortitude when waiting for something truly rare) , in case they came by, and I scouted out the River Line station. Luckily there was a view into the yard, and I could see them poking around. I went back, picked him up, and we waited in the station for them to show up.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387804732676002
It was somewhat disappointing: they split up the pair of units, so while there was a blue one on both ends, we only got the one peek of them both together. However, it did mean that it was worth shooting the end of the train too.
Then I put all 5 cylinders and the turbocharger to use and we beat him up to Cove Rd. He pulled up and stopped, waiting for a signal. We stood out in the cold rain waiting for the right moment. However, that gave us a chance to shoot him a bunch of times.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387920087519266And the going away shot.
We got rolling, not knowing where he was heading, and figured we were done for the day. But we were wrong. As we were leaving, we saw him crossing over River Road, which meant the chase was on again. He was headed down the Atlantic City Line, and there was grade crossing access.
Here we are at Westfield Ave. Again, in the rain.
https://picasaweb.google.com/103328750375507168249/122711PhillyRailfanning#5691387970375646738And the trailing unit. He sat here for a while, just idling. It was glorious.
After that, we headed back to Philly and up to Holmesburg Junction. We sat there for a while watching Amtrak and SEPTA, including the offensively ugly Silverliner 5s, and then, lo and behold, the CSAO local shows up. It was way too dark to get photos, but it was awesome catching freight on the NEC twice in one day.
We headed back south to Delco for some CSX Philly Sub action, with a small side trip to drive down South Street listening to the Always Sunny theme song. We bagged two more CSX trains that night, but nothing would beat the rainy, cold afternoon braving the hood.
