Railfanning the Decatur, AL Area with the NS Jersey Central Heritage Unit & a Loram Rail Grinder!
605 views · Published 15 September 2018 · 50:03 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: freebrickproductions · 2018 · Science & Technology
A few days ago, on 9-12-18, I had the day off from work so I decided to head on out railfanning to try and get a few of the upgraded crossings in my area recorded. However, on my way out as I heard there was a rail grinder on the NS near Decatur, so I raced on over there instead. In the first clip, we see a Loram Rail Grinder segment (that was trailing the Loram Rail Grinder and a hi-rail water truck) head west into Decatur Siding behind the grinder and water truck to meet NS 362. This segment wasn't actually grinding (even though it appears to be capable of it), as it was likely used to make sure that no fires had started behind the rail grinder, despite all of the water they were spraying down. While passing through Decatur Siding, NS 362 came to a stop part way through due to PTC messing up on their leader. Once they got that sorted out, they once again had to stop and wait at the east end of Decatur Siding for the 2nd Shift dispatcher to come in and finally give them track warrants all the way to Elko, stopping to meet one at Irvington in the process. However, once they got those track warrants, all they had was just a short wait for CSX to clear up going across the Tennessee River and then they were able to continue one with an NS SD70M-2 leading the Jersey Central heritage unit (an SD70ACe) and two more NS SD70M-2s. However, once 362 finally passed, the rail grinder wasn't allowed to continue just yet, as at least two locals (NS A82 and NS AD01) both needed to get into the Decatur Yard at about the same time. As such, the crew had to go a bit deeper into the siding as to allow both locals the room they needed to enter the yard and do some switching. Once these locals did what they needed to do, the rail grinder had to wait on one more train: NS 265. As I was leaving a nearby Raceway gas station, I heard NS 265 call the signal at River Junction, so I quickly got over to the AL 67 bridge, where we get to see NS 265 trundle past the NS Decatur Yard with an NS Dash-9 leading an NS SD70M-2 and two BNSF Dash-9s. Finally, after 265 passed, the rail grinder was given a track warrant to back out onto the main and grid all the way from Memorial Drive (just east of East End Decatur Siding) to MP 268 (just east of Trinity, AL). After they got to about MP 268, they shoved back into the Decatur Yard and tied down for the evening. As the rail grinder was heading back to Decatur, I went over to Seneca Drive in Trinity, where a loaded coal train was waiting just west of the crossing to head east. After a little while of waiting in the hot Alabama afternoon sun, the coal train got permission to head east from Trinity, with a BNSF SD70ACe leading a CitiRail ES44AC and two BNSF ES44ACs as the DPUs. Finally, after the coal train passed, I was heading back to Decatur when I saw one of the Decatur yard jobs heading to switch a small spur on the west side of Decatur with a pair of NS SD40-2s (one of which was NS 3499 in the NS Operation Lifesaver paint scheme), so I went over to the crossing on Ipsco Street to watch them. The spur, which, according to the FRA, is called the "NS Industrial Lead" (real creative name, huh?), serves two businesses on the opposite side of Ipsco Street from the NS main line: International Paper and Air Products. The local was only switching the International Paper facility though pulling out three empty box cars and replacing them with three loaded ones. However, in order to be able to do this, they have to leave the loaded box cars on the lead to Air Products's part of the spur, which blocks the crossing in the process. Shortly after they put the loaded box cars there, an 18-wheeler pulled up with a very impatient driver who blew their horn several times at the box cars sitting on the crossing, as if that would magically make them move... Anyways, after the local finished up switching and shoved back into the Decatur yard, I hit the road once more and headed on back home for the evening myself.
