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The DREI seems to be full of friendly crew, on both of my recent trips to the WATCO owned Decatur and Eastern Illinois Railroad I was treated to polite and friendly crews, one of which tossed a water out of the cab window which helped me later on down the road as I almost had to cut out of a chase to pick up more water (Hot day). Anyways... DREI job 300 moves light after working the Charleston branch with an unusual amount of power, a grain train ran down the Charleston sub where this set tied down and ran up the next day, lucky me!

WSOR L867 (Baraboo, Wi- Reedsburg, Wi) makes its way through Rock Springs. This once double track mainline was C&NW's route from Chicago to the Twin Cities. Large sections of the once bustling mainline are now gone, the rest is now operated by either UP or WSOR, the C&NW shifted most of its trackage to what is now the UP Adams sub, built for greater speed in 1910/1911.

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.