Railfanning CSX

in the Beaver Valley

	ENDANGERED but not yet extinct… the C30-7 fleet of ex-Family Lines units is slowly heading for scrap. Many have already been taken off the CSX roster. But we still seem them passing The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B from time to time. Here is CSXT C30-7 7055 photograhed from our Porch with a standard 35mm. lens. You can capture an endless series of ‘roster shots’ without ever leaving our property.
	One of the never-ending fascinations of railfanning CSX is the parade of lease power seen on a daily basis. First lettered for ‘FURX’ (First Union), these SD40-2’s are now carrying ‘GFCX’ reporting marks in an eye-catching silver and green paint scheme and pass The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B almost daily. Run-through ‘foreign’ power is also common.
	SOUTH HEIGHTS is on PA Rt. 51 which parallels CSX for many miles heading toward Pittsburgh. By turning east (toward the Ohio River) at the Creswell Water Authority building, one can park trackside and shoot CSX undisturbed.
	NEVILLE ISLAND is just that–an island in the Ohio River just a few miles north of Pittsburgh. It’s loaded with incredible industry–oil distribution centers, steel-related manufacturing, and lots of interesting freight cars. The southern access to Neville Island is from PA Rt. 51, and by parking your vehicle in a lot next door, you can walk out onto the public sidewalk of the bridge over the CSX Pittsburgh Sub. The signal bridge is huge–a remnant of P&LE days when this was a four-track mainline. The look-down angle is perfect in the afternoon sun. And we’ve already discussed the mushrooming growth of CSX freight business. It’s a perfect railfanning situation, and you’re only about thirty minutes from The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B at this location–something to consider along with room rates for ‘Pittsburgh hotels.’ A CSX SD70 and a leased GFCX SD40-2 lead a freight under the former P&LE signal bridge at Neville Island, PA. The photographer is standing on a public sidewalk on the bridge over the CSX mainline.
	Photographed from the Porch of The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B–one of three CSX AC4400’s in the ‘Diversity’ scheme. The close proximity (about 100 feet from the mainline) of our Porch makes 3/4 ‘look-down’ shots possible even with a simple point-and-shoot camera. For videographers, automatic night floodlighting of CSX trains permits 24-hour coverage of the CSX Pittsburgh Sub.
	Since The FALLSTON FLAGSTOP Railfan B&B is private property, you are not limited to our Porch as a camera platform. Walk right down into the backyard and shoot CSX ‘up close and personal.!’ The crews are accustomed to seeing railfans with cameras and camcorders on our Porch and in our backyard. A whistle and a friendly wave are frequently offered up. We want you to railfan SAFELY, but there is no restriction against being trackside.
	At BEAVER FALLS, PA is an interlocking plant where s double-track section of the Pittsburgh Sub becomes single track. There is a virtually unused grade crossing here, complete with an audible crossing bell. While modern diesels are plentiful on CSX, older units including the GP30 Road Slug seen trailing in this 2001 photo, are still being operated. ‘Stealth’ and yellow nose paint schemes pass through daily.

CSX TRAIN DESIGNATION CODES:

The train designation consists of several parts:

-The leading alphabetic letter is the ‘train identifier’ representing
the type of train.
E-Empty hopper trains
G-Unit grain trains
K-Bulk commodity unit trains
L-Alternate schedule of of regular scheduled merchandise trains (e.g.
L173 operates with either a different schedule or a different blocking
scheme than Q173).
N, T,U, V: Unit coal trains.
P-Passenger trains
Q-Regular Scheduled merchandise trains
R-Rerouted merchandise trains (Curfew reroutes, emergency or disaster
related. Follows Q train numbering scheme.)
S-Advance section of regular scheduled merchandise trains. (Assumes the
number and date of the ‘parent’ Q or L train).
W-Extra unit trains
X- Extra merchandise trains
Y- Yard engine
Z-Foreign trains

The remaining letters are assigned to Division trains (inspection
trips, wreckers, helpers, locals, etc.). At one time, a specific
letter was assigned to each division (e.g. A for Atlanta, B for
Baltimore, etc.). However, the first character (letter) of division
trains does not necessarily correspond to a specific division any
longer.

-The next three digits is the train number. Each train identifier type
has its own logic
For Merchandise trains (Q)
100 series is intermodal through freight
200 series is automotive through freight
300 series are Northern East-West Corridor
400 series are Eastern North- South Corridor
500 series are Western North-South Corridor
600 series are Cross Corridors

For Passenger trains (P):
001-199 AMTRAK
200-299 Commuter Trains (MARC)
300-350 Commuter Trains (VRE)
370-371 AMTRAK
600-699 Commuter Trains (FDOT)
900-999 Passenger Extras, including circus trains

For Bulk Commodity Unit Trains (K):
100-199 Iron Ore
200-299 Chemicals
300-399 Coke
400-499 (Open?)
500-599 Steel, Metals
600-649 Paper
650-699 Food & Consumer
700-799 (Open?)
800-899 Potash & Sulphur
900-999 Aggregates

Grain, extra unit trains, extra merchandise trains, yard engines,
foreign train numbers, and division trains have their own numbering
logic.

-The two digit number (after the dash) at the end of the train
designation refers to either:
For a regularly scheduled train, the scheduled origination date,
For a second section: The scheduled origination date of the train’s
first section,
For unit coal trains, the projected loading date, or
For all other non-scheduled trains: the date the train is ‘ordered’ at
origin