...of raking leaves, I wanted to spend some of this sunny morning trackside and see what was running along the Lehigh Line. Prior to going, I checked the internet to see if anything special would be coming eastbound. One website had mentioned that CP 38T had passed through Phillipsburg at 6:54. Since it was 7:05 when I saw this post, there would be sufficent time for me to drive down and photograph it at the Roycefield Road grade crossing. Around 7:30, a train horn could be heard blowing faintly for a grade crossing. A few minutes later, there appeared a headlight off in the distance. This one proved to be a false alarm as the headlight belong to NS 8819, the leader on NS 212 and not the train I was waiting. Fifteen minutes after 212's passing, another headlight appeared off in the distance. Sure enough this headlight belonged to CP 9654, 38T's leader along with CP 8797.
After I snapped a photo or two of 38T, I thought briefly about how far railfanning has come over the years. Prior to the age of railroad oriented websites and cell phones, spending time trackside could be likened to playing cards. Sometimes a person would win and other times come up empty. Today, with and assist of the internet, I came up with a winning hand.
