November was a very busy month, so I hope to start off December with this entry and plans to add new entries more frequently! The day after Thanksgiving I was out running an errand, and while driving down Vickery I spotted a flash of unfamiliar colors in the distance at the west end of Davidson Yard. Quickly donning my personal protection equipment I made a closer inspection and found the UP 5543 West leading a merchandise train tied down at the west of new bypass number two with no one around. As this was supposed to be a quick errand I had left the DSLR at home, but wisely slipped my Canon Point-and-Shoot in my pocket before leaving the house.
Making my way down the paved inspection road I found the two strangers to be a pair of new NRE 3GS21B-DE Gensets with dynamic brakes painted in RailAmerica’s paint scheme for their California Northern Railroad comprised of ex-SP Nothwestern Pacific lines north of San Francisco.
The first unit was the CFNR 505. In this side view you can see how the body style is different from the UP and BNSF 3GS21B’s since this unit has dynamic brakes. The smaller tank to the left of the main fuel tank is new to me also.
Right behind it was the CFNR 504 that I was able to get in a better view with no poles.
With the mystery solved in only a few minutes and no other train movements in evidence, I headed on to finish my errand with no one at home the wiser…..
