Before I begin, what is the correct way to indicate the plural of “Dash 8” or any locomotive? I believe it should be “Dash 8s”, but that looks wrong to me.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we visited relatives near Watertown, NY. Of course, my first question was could we take a day trip down to Syracuse to railfan. Fortunately some of the family was up to it, so at 8:14 we set off south. We arrived in Kirkville just before 9:30. Although we missed train Q621 by about five minutes, we were just in time for Q157 arriving in Syracuse.

I turned around to see a fire truck going down the road, making a nice going away show.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, Amtrak 284 blasted through, the detector reading 79 MPH. That’s right, track speed…

Assuming (and being mostly correct) that there were no more trains coming on the east end of Dewitt yard, we relocated to the west end. While the rest of the party went into Aldi’s, I watched Q367 depart with a YN2 unit leading and a Dash 8 trailing, the first we would see today.

While Q367 was departing, Q157 made some switching moves.

Once the crew was done at Aldi’s, we moved up to the Syracuse Pen & Trophy Center to watch the next couple trains. Q157 continued to switch in front of us.

Watching the Fairport, NY train log, I knew we had 2 eastbounds coming: The Amtrak Lake Shore Limited, and Q368 with a nice pair of Dash 8s, the leader being in the YN2 livery. The Lake Shore blew around the curve with three P42s, something fairly unusual for this train.

Fun fact: Starting the day after we railfanned Syracuse, the Lake Shore and many other Amtrak long-distance trains would resume their pre-covid daily schedule. Next up was Q368 with the Dash 8s, going into Syracuse yard to work.

For many it’s hard to tell the difference between a Dash 8 and more modern GEs. To be honest, it’s not easy for me, but ET44s are distinctly the different ones.

At this point it was noon, so we headed off to find a family favorite- Jreck Subs. Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of Jreck, but everyone else in the car was, and the majority wins. Unfortunately Jrecks (now renamed Patty’s at this location) was closed for the holiday weekend, so we found a Wendy’s… Right next to the tracks! It was a good thing too, because I got to the sidewalk just in time for Q363 to blast through. No pictures sadly, but Q157 left the yard and I was able to shoot it from the sidewalk while the others ordered food inside.

After Q157 left (and good riddance, as I had shot that train twice already), Q004 rolled into town with- you’ll never guess- another Dash 8 trailing!

After lunch, we made our way back to Kirkville to catch some afternoon action. First up was Q004, departing the yard after a quick stop. The “Amazon Express” can’t be delayed for long!

After waiting a while, Q007 “James Bond” blasted through with a typical short consist.

We started to leave, but I heard a couple more trains on the radio so we quickly came back. Q205 was stopped at CP 170 (ten miles east) waiting for Q368 to depart the yard. Q003, the westbound Amazon Express was also due. Q003 blasted in not long after, not stopping in Syracuse.

On Q003 were a few flatcars with trailer bases on them. I’ve seen this on the NS before, but never on CSX.

Not 30 seconds after Q003 vanished into the distance, Q368 departed the yard. Following the Dash 8 pair was another locomotive, I assume deadheading to Selkirk.

Although we could’ve waited another 20 minutes for Q205 and Q162 (which had come into Syrcause while we were in Kirkville), it was time to head back north. Overall, 12 trains is not a bad total, and probably one of my highest.