Edit: nothing like getting in a year after the fact, lol
Regardless, the ops info is still valid, and the four motors are still working daily.
Knowing this was coming, I did four trips in 2019, giving me roughly three weeks of coverage (plus one week on the BLE, because why not?). Even more glad I did because with the border closed I won't have a chance to do so this year. Shot the Meadville - Falconer job on one day, but concentrated on the operations out of Olean. I got a ton of good material, and combined with visits in 2009 and 2011, my coverage isn't too bad (2009 saw them go to Hornell, which they've long since stopped doing). The only line I've not shot them on is the Oil City run.
They only go to Machias for ballast, making it incredibly hit or miss.
Olean - Cuba is as required.
Olean - Turtle Point is as required.
Olean - Emporium is as required. This one may or may not be running because the sand traffic there, once responsible for the majority of their sand, is now sporadic. In 2019 they cleaned it out and I was told by train crews that the terminal operator was 'done for now' and that the traffic may return, but Turtle Point was going to be taking over (no need to go over Keating Summit, and the reason why the Farmers Valley does work in Port Allegheny now as the Emporium usually did work there... but so does the DFT). Again, this was in 2019, subject to change.
Farmers Valley is generally in afternoon M-W-F, but only four axle.
The Meadville - Falconer turn, and the Olean - Falconer Turn normally operate on Tuesdays.
Olean - Salamanca Turns (called 'The Sally' by crews) are usually timed to the Farmers Valley operation, meaning that you can expect them to run M-W-F in morning. The wax cars come off the B&P. Used to be off NS at Meadville, but the twice weekly service of WNYP on the slow track to Meadville to Salamanca was such that supply to the Farmers Valley plant was unreliable, so now the cars go NS to Buffalo, B&P to Salamanca, WNYP to FV, and the Falconer Turns are now once weekly. It is important to note that The Sally may not run on any given MWF due to of all things crew availability, or they can run five in a week depending on inbound frac sand traffic. One Sally I shot had 68 cars, mostly sand loads, and two M636's... that was a good, if all to brief, chase.
Interestingly, Driftwood sees trains of NS, WNYP, B&P, and NBER, but you have to get lucky of have info to catch any of them.
They also have an Olean yard assignment that (in 2019) was ordered for 0500 weekdays and was the RS-3 / RS-18 combo.
Great RR, got to know some of the employees, very glad I made the effort to overdo it last year, lol.
PS, DO NOT attempt to chase anything through Olean... you'll be disappointed as the trackage south out of town is fast and the one lane thoroughfare isn't! Like the Trains article said, figure out whet they're doing at the yard early and then get down to the Portville area and wait. If they leave light power it's probably a Driftwood going to Turtle point to lift empty stone cars to take south. If they leave with frac sand it's a Turtle Point or Emporium Turn. If they grab a refer or two it's Cuba. IF they grab beaten up ballast hoppers / side dump it's Machias. If they tie on power at west end of yard it's The Sally (or Falconer).
Personally, I'm a Microtel man, which is also 5 seconds from the yard.
