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On February 12, 2020, it was another in a seemingly LONG line of gray and cloudy days in Cincinnati, Ohio. I took my lunch break trackside by the NS Dayton District at CP 246 in the Cincy suburb of Sharonville, just around the corner from where I work. I did get one train going east from the yard, but it was still mostly just gray and blah. But, by the time I departed work at 5pm, it was raining nice and steady, so I figured a stop somewhere was in order to try my luck. A quick scanner listen found NS Dayton District local freight T97 waiting for a signal at nearby CP 248, holding for two opposing moves that would shortly be by. T97 usually has older EMD power, so he was a good target. I set up near Milepost CJ 250 in nearby Lockland, where there is a nice curve behind a steel plant, along with a seldom used spur into the plant. I wore two coats, a hat, and a hood to keep myself and my camera dry, and waited. I attempted a shot with one of the moves that went by before T97, but it didn't turn out due to some unfortunate lens flare. I chalked it up as part of the learning experience, and waited for T97's turn. I set up at a different angle to minimize the lens glare issue, and waited. Within 15 minutes, with the light slowly fading into "blue hour" and the rain still coming down steadily, NS GP59 No. 4617 (now gone from the roster) glided by with one tank car for the large Proctor & Gamble facility in Ivorydale on the drawbar, and I came away with the exactly the kind of moody and interesting shot I had in mind.

On August 2, 2021, Norfolk Southern local freight T97 highballs down Main 1 of the NS Dayton District, hustling through the curve behind the Sawbrook Steel Castings plant in Lockland, Ohio at Milepost CJ 250 on a beautiful Summer evening as they head for some former N&W industrial trackage at an area known as Ross Estates. NS 5338 is running on old home rails here, as it was formerly Conrail GP38-2 No. 8171 before being rebuilt with an Admiral Cab, and the Dayton District was formerly Conrail's Cincinnati Line until going to NS in the 1999 Conrail split.