Exciting development on the line that goes by my house (as in I can see the trains from my bedroom)!
It's a single track line, operated by the Indiana Rail Road (a Class II line). They usually run a handful of trains a day, with the only consistent one timewise showing up at about 4-4:30 pm. They have a
very eclectic locomotive roster, though all we see here are SD90MACs (including the Silver Anniversary unit) and an occasional Geep. Trains are never more than 100 cars long and usually less than 50. It's a cool line, especially because they keep their locomotives spotless and the scheme is beautiful presented as such, and although there is never foreign power as there aren't really many tracks in this part of the state, the 1-of-1 anniversary unit is always nice to catch. The line doesn't have that much action, though, with the 4-5 INRD trains a day being the only thing that comes through.
However, last night at about 3 a.m. I heard a horn in the distance from my house per usual, but to my ear it sounded very different from the normal INRD horns, which are always B major chords (I'm a musician, so the pitches are one of the ways I identify train horns). I was awake and about, so I decided to sprint to the nearby gate to catch it. (The nearest gate is at the top of a hill near my house, and if the train is going eastbound as this one was, it has to go through a few gates before it gets to mine, and if I hear the first horn I have just enough time to sprint full speed from my house and catch the train as it reaches the gate.)
I get to the gate just in time and what do I see?
Two back-to-back CSX GEVOs pulling a very clean matched consist of black hoppers. No INRD power in sight, and I've never seen those hoppers before on the line either (the INRD uses Bethgon gondolas). In addition, the INRD doesn't usually run at 3 in the morning. Looking at the
most recent Indiana rail system map, there are CSX lines all around where I live (Bloomington), but they're all at least an hour north, south, or west of here. The nearest line is the Indiana Southern Railroad line that goes through Martinsville.
Has CSX signed a deal with INRD to share trackage rights for the line through Bloomington, as a different route to move trains between Indianapolis to their north-south line at Sullivan? If so, is it temporary or permanent? Either way, I'm hoping this means Bloomington is about to get more rail action. I have been noticing a lot more night running than before lately, but haven't been home or awake to catch them (just hear them from elsewhere in town) until last night. Will update if more happens!