Sunset over Rockville - Sunset on the Rockville. Recently I have found myself photographing more of the shortline railroading around the country. Usually you are relegated to working with the weather or lighting that occurs when that operation has their 1x per week move, but when you spend any time at the well known Rockville bridge outside of Norfolk Southern's hub in Enola, PA you can expect ample moves and opportunities. This fall evening found an eastbound container train drifting across the bridge after making its trip down the Pittsburg line. The timing provided a perfect opportunity for a soft sunset and silhouette as it continued its journey into the evening.
Railroad
Norfolk Southern
Class
AC44C6M
Road Number
NS 4039
Line/Subdivision
Pittsburgh
Location
Marysville, Pennsylvania, United States
Date Taken
October 12, 2023
Date Uploaded
January 08, 2024
Views
329
Favorites
Railfan's Choice
Hot Shot
300 Views
Sunset over Rockville - Sunset on the Rockville. Recently I have found myself photographing more of the shortline railroading around the country. Usually you are relegated to working with the weather or lighting that occurs when that operation has their 1x per week move, but when you spend any time at the well known Rockville bridge outside of Norfolk Southern's hub in Enola, PA you can expect ample moves and opportunities. This fall evening found an eastbound container train drifting across the bridge after making its trip down the Pittsburg line. The timing provided a perfect opportunity for a soft sunset and silhouette as it continued its journey into the evening.
Former railroader who escaped and is back to enjoying the industry. I try to share unusual views or tell the story of what its like to work for the RR through my photographs.
AC44C6M
The GE AC44C6M is a refurbished Dash 9 locomotive from GE Transportation Systems that has 4,400 horsepower (3,300 kW) of AC-traction. Since September 2015, GE (now Wabtec), American Motive Power, Inc., and Norfolk Southern Railway's Juniata and Roanoke Shops have been doing AC44C6M rebuilds. The AC44C6M replaces the Dash 9's DC traction motors with alternating current GE 5GEB13B7 traction motors while keeping the 16-cylinder 7FDL-16 prime mover that was previously used in the core locomotive. The rebuilds still contain the original Dash 9 units' underframe, engine, and radiator compartments, but they have new wide-nosed cabins, a new front hood section, and a new inverter cabinet. The cost of converting a vintage Dash 9 locomotive into an AC44C6M is only 50–60% of purchasing a brand new Tier-4 Compliant locomotive. In comparison to an un-rebuilt Dash 9, the AC44C6M is found to have an improvement of 17% in fuel efficiency, 30% improvement in reliability, and a 55% improvement in haulage capability according to Wabtec.
NS 4039 is a class AC44C6M and is pictured in Marysville, Pennsylvania, United States. This was taken along the Pittsburgh on the Norfolk Southern. Photo Copyright: John Fry uploaded to Railroad Gallery on 01/08/2024. This photograph of NS 4039 was taken on Thursday, October 12, 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Excellent photo! Nice work John.