The Thanksgiving where Chessie came to visit

Give us a run down of what you saw, post pictures if you'd like...any info is welcome.
GP30M4216
Saver of all History
Posts: 4800
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:35 pm
Location: Feel the Zeel, MI
Contact:

The Thanksgiving where Chessie came to visit

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

They say a cat has 9 lives. Twelve years ago today, on Thanksgiving Day of 2006, Chessie came to visit. The venerable cat was retired as an active predecessor paint scheme on CSX until 2003 when GP40 #6854 was retired. But a year later, the cat was back, when three former GP40s were re-activated as unpowered RCPHE4 units, wearing the cat scheme. #9120, #9121 and #9122 all saw service in Michigan, both at Rougemere and at Wyoming Yard, in the 2005-2006 era. It was fun to see the federal yellow in the distance when visiting the yards and, in the case of #9121, the classic B&O reporting marks showing their legacy.

On Thanksgiving Day, 2006, #9122 was at the engine terminal at Wyoming Yard. In the weak November sun, the yellow was a sight to see. Not only the cat, but the last Seaboard System predecessor unit, GP38-2 #2667, also happened to be visiting, a true late-era C+S X lineup twenty years after the merger.
CC9122 Wyoming Shops.jpg
CC9122-2667 Wyoming.jpg
The cat lived on until 2008, when the RCPHE4 class, never as successful as Remote Control "drones" as they were meant to be, were retired, and later converted into a new series of Road Slugs. Had the cat left for good? From Wyoming Yard, perhaps. But in early 2017, Federal Yellow appeared again, as the CSX Huntington Locomotive Shop repainted a retired B30-7 of C&O/Chessie heritage back into the original Chessie cat scheme, where it rolled north on a CSX road freight to NE Ohio and its new life in the collection of the Lake Shore Railway Museum. She's not dead yet!

Nowadays of course, the Wyoming Yard engine house is pretty much shut down. Power rarely lays over there. In fact, at one point locomotives weren't even being refueled at the yard, although that may have changed.

But back to 2006. Also on this particular morning, Q326 made its regular appearance, along with a D802 eastern coal load heading for West Olive.

Here's a shot of D802 getting underway near Ivanrest:
Image

And Q326 minutes later heading into the yard at Ivanrest:
Image

A fun Thanksgiving, and certainly memorable (for more reasons than just stuffing and pie)!

User avatar
SD80MAC
Ingersoll's Mr. Michigan
Posts: 10430
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:59 pm
Location: Grand Rapids

Re: The Thanksgiving where Chessie came to visit

Unread post by SD80MAC »

The engine house is completely shut down now. Engines are fueled via truck, usually in the Mickey Mouse yard.
"Remember, 4 mph is a couple, 5's a collision!"
http://flickriver.com/photos/conrail680 ... teresting/
Image

Post Reply