Usually when a train crew has bad shenanigans it translates usually to equally bad luck to the railfan as well(delays, power swaps, etc). Yesterday was a rare case in point where a train meltdown was actually beneficial to the photographer. When 23K developed mechanical ills to its former NS Black Gevo leader, a power shuffle at Mechanicville Yard led to the NS 8114 heritage unit leading the stack train south for Binghamton. However, the trains gremlins weren’t done and the middle Dash 9 also conked out enroute south leaving both trailing units dead and stranding the train in Delanson(one unit would not be sufficient to surmount the grades ahead with the tonnage of the train). The 23K would eventually outlaw and a new crew sent and boarded. However, by afternoon no additional power was readily available to assist the 23K until near dusk when a “borrowed” Pan An former CSXT dash 8 was finally scrounged up by 11R some 12 hours later. This all interpreted to a beautiful post card like portrait of a canned stack train on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon stranded on the mainline at Gage Road all day long.
