Around Indianapolis on 5/9

[CSXIndyLine]

National Train Day 2015 started out kind of cloudy. Around noon, I received word from a friend that a very late P051 had made it to Connersville. He started enroute to my house. He got here about 30 minutes later and we took off. Didn't take long before some radio chatter indicated the "Red Bird" was in the area. We exited I-465 for US 52 to head for Julietta. more chatter indicated the train was already past our location at Franklin Road (didn't make it far from 465). In fact, he was already in the shed waiting for the recrew. We took off on 465 and cut through town on I-70. As we passed the depot, P051 received permission out of the shed and through IJ after N540 passed. We raced west to Brownsburg and set up in the park with about 5 minutes to spare as P051, The Cardinal, was not wasting any time.

1358- P051: AMTK 18 Brownsburg
http://csxindyline.rrpicturearchives.ne ... id=4185085

The Crawfordsville did not have much more to offer so we headed down to Avon for some lunch. It started pouring for only a brief moment there. After driving around Avon trying to see if anything was in the yard, we headed to the American Legion to wait for something. The hump job came down and backed up and then we decided to head west. Heard Q374 talking and Q007 preparing to leave. Made it about 1/4 a mile from Pontiac Road when we saw freight cars heading east. A quick U-turn put us at the County Road 300 E. crossing by 84 Lumber just as the gates were coming down. Q007 was flying west and met Q374 just shy of the crossing. Q374 later parked their train I think in the Kraft Runner.

1514- Q007: CSX 5386/642/107 Danville
http://csxindyline.rrpicturearchives.ne ... id=4185088
1514- Q374: UP 4433/4986 Danville
http://csxindyline.rrpicturearchives.ne ... id=4185089

More waiting revealed that nothing was coming into the yard. We met
a friend and hung out for an hour. After we parted ways, we moved to the south side to see if we could find any ISRR power sitting around. Sure enough, we found ISRR 3371 sitting on a spur near Kentucky Avenue. He was being refueled so the only opportunity for a photo was during some "car trouble" on the side of 67. Car issues were quickly resolved after a couple photos were snapped.

ISRR 3371 Indianapolis
http://csxindyline.rrpicturearchives.ne ... id=4185083

We moved over to the INRD to see if anything was happening there. Things were looking bleak. Nothing around the yard or staged south of the yard. We figured SAHW had already ran. We moved down toward IPL to see if anything was parked on the wye and nothing was. Seeing some hoppers in Dixie Siding, we moved down there to see if anything was tied on to the cut. Nope. But as we were crossing the Epler Avenue crossing, the radio crackled to life with a warrant for INRD 9011 South from MP 3.3 to Linton. We scurried down the Edgewood Avenue and parked there. Thinking it would be a while with INRD being slow through here, we just sat waiting. 10 minutes after arriving, INRD 9011 popped under the 465 bridge and was definitely not moving at 10mph. He cruised by us probably between 30-40mph. A lot different then the last time I saw a train here in 2013, creeping by at 10mph. This area has changed a lot with increased track speed and cantilever crossings.

1739- SAHW: INRD 9011/9007 Indianapolis
http://csxindyline.rrpicturearchives.ne ... id=4185079

We moved back in to town to try to locate anything. K947 was doing something on the Crawfordsville and L348 had just left Avon. We cruised around downtown for a bit until they called CP before moving over to the St. Clair crossing. Not 5 minutes before L348 came did it start pouring. It was just a pair of GEVO's.

1845- L348: CSX 5284/869 Indianapolis.

For lack of anything better to do, we gave chase along Massachusetts Avenue before being overtaken at Franklin Road. And that concluded our National Train Day. Not a lot of trains but saw a couple of unique things. Thanks for reading!

[AARR]

I enjoy reading your post as much as seeing the pictures. There was a good article in Trains Magazine about INRD's intermodal traffic. They're averaging around 50 containers per weekday.