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Okay totally was blown away to see a CN locomotive at the wyoming terminal. Don't know if I'm missing something or CSX obtained this engine. Wish I could see the engine number. I heard on the scanner 211 clear to leave. So I don't know. Anyone have an Idea?

Came in as foreign power on Q326. CN 3211 should be leading Q327 today back to Chicago.

Righto - Tom posted about it on the CSX train location update thread when it went east by Bangor on Q326 yesterday: viewtopic.php?p=456729#p456729

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

Yeah. I think last CN unit to Peaker was in 2019?

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

Once in a while. Not like it used to be, PSR has the railroads scrambling to return foreign-line engines ASAP to incur as little cost as possible. I guess I forget that some of the newer railfans weren't around when foreign power was a common occurrence.

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

Having foreign power in Grand Rapids is rare. In the 5 years I've lived in West, MI this is a first for me. The BNSF foreign power does go to West Olive for the coal trains to the power plant.

Foreign power was actually pretty normal say about 10 years ago when CP made an appearance up here. Grand Rapids Terminal was decently busy and the wyoming yard itself was full of train traffic. Of course this was way before I came out this way.

~Z~ wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:43 am

Righto - Tom posted about it on the CSX train location update thread when it went east by Bangor on Q326 yesterday: viewtopic.php?p=456729#p456729

Yeah I must've skipped over that when looking things over. I appreciate the link to the post.

G-Root Liska wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:38 am

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

Having foreign power in Grand Rapids is rare. In the 5 years I've lived in West, MI this is a first for me. The BNSF foreign power does go to West Olive for the coal trains to the power plant.

You've missed a crap-ton of foreign power then!

It has been fairly rare recently, but even up through 2019 I'd say we had at least one foreign road unit per week in Grand Rapids, on average.

K546, April 2020
Rail Train by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, March 2020
Rebuilt Dash 9 by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, February 2020
Q329 in the Snow by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, February 2020
Sunny Thornapple by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q328, November 2019
Armour Yellow by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, April 2019
I Must Be CN Things! by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

W001, May 2019
Reflections by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, April 2019
Armour Yellow by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, March 2019
Junk Power by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, March 2019
Can't Think of a Good Title by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, March 2019
CN in Clarksville by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, January 2019
Snowin' & Blowin' by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, November 2018
CP Rebuild by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q329, June 2018
Backlit Belle by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Q327, May 2018
Colorful Q327 by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

And those are just the ones I went out to shoot.

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:36 am

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:08 am

I guess it’s been a while since we’ve had foreign power up here, huh?

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

Once in a while. Not like it used to be, PSR has the railroads scrambling to return foreign-line engines ASAP to incur as little cost as possible. I guess I forget that some of the newer railfans weren't around when foreign power was a common occurrence.

True, lol. My railfanning started when I was about 9 or 10 years old, just didn't realize I was a railfan back then. My dad got transferred down to Three Rivers and the house we moved into was right by the tracks. I had my own full-scale train set in the back yard

Anyway back in the mid-80s to about when I headed off to college and moved out of the house, 1994. I don't think I remember ever seeing foreign power on the Conrail line. Then it seems like at some point in the 2000s I started to notice foreign power on the railroads I would watch (the late 90s to early mid-2000s I started railfanning Conrail in the Wixom area).

Now I don't see it as much. The only foreign power I see now on that line I grew up on is the occasional stone train with NS locomotives or the rare NS locomotive in the Grand Elk consist, which I'm guessing is most likely being transferred to the Michigan Line via Kzoo. However, that last one seems rare.

Edit: ok SD80MAC's last post. Maybe I need to get out and catch some other railroads than just the Grand Elk, lol. Guess I'm just lazy when I can just look across the street with a great view. Guess it is filling my needs for now

One of my first railfanning memories was when that SP unit came thru Lansing on Q328 during the day. I think it was Charlie Whipp that caught it in Lansing as it crossed over Saginaw HWY. I’ve only been doing this since 2018 lol

LansingRailFan wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:09 pm

One of my first railfanning memories was when that SP unit came thru Lansing on Q328 during the day. I think it was Charlie Whipp that caught it in Lansing as it crossed over Saginaw HWY. I’ve only been doing this since 2018 lol

Nothing wrong with that. Pretty cool that it was an SP unit also!!!!!

Funny story (now), when I moved down to Three Rivers, I think that was the first time I ever saw a train, other than maybe on tv. My first night sleeping in the new house. The train came through in the middle of the night and woke me out of a dead sleep. I always heard a tornado sounds like a freight train, I was a young kid. So I thought it was a tornado, I came screaming running out of my room and down the stairs. There is a 90 deg turn and a window at the bottom of the stairs.l then after the turn two more steps. My dad realized what was happening and caught me before I got to the bottom of the stairs. I could of gotten hurt pretty bad had I gone through that window. It was a really old home. Had those really narrow steep stairs.

Up until the abolishment of Q329 and 328, there were weekly BNSF units that went to West Olive from Essexville. Brief period though, when CSX won the coal contract over CN to the LSRC.

CSX and LSRC still have the coal traffic. The power just doesn’t come this way anymore.

The two CN units have returned on today's Q32601

Saturnalia wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:46 am

G-Root Liska wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:38 am

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

It's a spy unit from the CN Borg. They're looking to take over

Do the BNSF units make it up there or are they shuttles in and out of West Olive?

Having foreign power in Grand Rapids is rare. In the 5 years I've lived in West, MI this is a first for me. The BNSF foreign power does go to West Olive for the coal trains to the power plant.

You've missed a crap-ton of foreign power then!

It has been fairly rare recently, but even up through 2019 I'd say we had at least one foreign road unit per week in Grand Rapids, on average.

Yeah I guess I have. In 2019 I was very busy with school and other life stuff. Besides I was living in Holland at the time so didn't spot much in Grand Rapids.

Lately now that I've been getting out more it just seems odd.