The Trains Of Ashland Train Day 2025, Part II: Train Day

#train #railfan #travel

While it was surrounded by sunny days in the forecast, the predictions for Ashland Train Day itself were not so rosy, with the event bookended by multiple showers and thunderstorms. Undeterred, I arrived early and steeled myself to run the weather gauntlet.

0:00 - Amtrak 52, Auto Train
Vendors and Train Day volunteers buzzed about as the northbound Auto Train cruised through town behind ALC-42s 352 and 357.

3:08 - Northeast Regional 82
The station platform was beginning to fill with railfans as Northeast Regional 82 conducted its business, led by ALC-42 343.

5:09 - Northeast Regional 88
Train Day preparations continued down Center Street as Northeast Regional 88 arrived 13 minutes later, led by ALC-42 364

6:57 - Northeast Regional 65
The departure of 88 masked the approach of Northeast Regional 65, led by P42 159. 65 stopped short of activating the England Street crossing on arrival, so its departure was a slow one until the gates were fully lowered.

9:05 - CSX I032
CSX finally got a turn as CM44AC 7217 and AC4400CW 395 rolled I032 past the gathering crowd. The 395 still sported its original YN2 paint.

11:09 - Northeast Regional 194
Wawa mascot Wally Goose was out to greet Train Day attendees as Amtrak's Northeast Regional 194 arrived behind Phase II heritage P42 130.

12:37 - CSX M407
Train Day was in full swing as the crowd lined the fences to watch the passage of M407, led by ES44AH 936 and AC4400CW 147, the latter still decked out in YN2 paint.

14:54 - Amtrak 89, Palmetto
P42 181 led Amtrak's southbound Palmetto through the Train Day crowd to the accompaniment of liberal blasts from its horn.

15:30 - CSX I031
Even the sun came out to see CSX's Monon heritage unit lead intermodal hotshot I031 through town, assisted by sister unit ES44AH 3217.

17:07 - Northeast Regional 153
Amtrak's Northeast Regional 153 was next in line for the Train Day hero treatment, with Phase VII P42 87 on point.

18:47 - Amtrak 80, Carolinian
Amtrak's northbound Carolinian was led by plainly-dressed Phase V P42 77. At least for this trip, it looked as if the Carolinian was using Amfleet II coaches, a la the Palmetto.

19:57 - Virtual Railfan Group Wave
As many people attend Train Day in person, many more watch the event through ‪@VirtualRailfan‬'s three livestreaming cameras. As has become tradition, ‪@VirtualRailfan‬ viewers and moderators in attendance - and anyone else who wanted to join in - gathered on the platform to wave to the moveable camera located on the side of the station roof.

20:29 - Amtrak 41, Floridian
The shadow of P42 48's numbering was barely visible on its flank as it led sister unit 40 and the southbound Floridian past the station.

21:09 - CSX M416
There were enthusiastic greetings all around as monster manifest M416 made its way north behind ES44AH 3185 and ET44AHs 3281 and 3305, with GP38-3 2018 in tow.

25:24 - CSX X370
Train Day was officially over, but the railfanning rolled on - in spite of increasingly threatening skies. It seemed like CSX and Amtrak were trying to squeeze in as many trains as they could before the rain began. Just 10 minutes after M416, southbound manifest X370 rolled by behind ES44AHs 3160 and 948.

27:58 - Northeast Regional 158
No one could say we weren't warned. The camera's rain cover was deployed for Northeast Regional 158's appearance, with ALC-42 325 on point. There was just enough time for the going-away shot before squeezing in under the station roof with the rest of the crowd.

29:54 - CSX M415
The difference a half-hour makes. EMD got in on the horn show act as M415 roared through behind SD70MAC 4525 and ES40DC 5329.

33:35 - Amtrak 90, Palmetto
ALC-42 356 led the northbound Palmetto through town under skies that hinted we weren't out of the woods just yet weather-wise.

34:11 - Northeast Regional 195/Amtrak 40, Floridian
Cloudburst Number 2 was on deck as Northeast Regional 195 arrived behind P42 19. The northbound Floridian slipped past as 195 resumed its journey to Richmond. As I packed away my gear to head to dinner, the skies opened up once again. The camera bag stayed dry, the tripod and I did not. One more story for the 'Remember that time when' history books.

36:26 - Outro
Few signs of the chaos of Train Day remained as a small group of waited out the last light of day at the station. The radio was silent and the last Amtraks of the night kept getting later, so I called it a day. The weekend was not over just yet.