TJY Productions

10/09/2025

For anyone interested in following along on my freelance model railroad journey, I created a page for the railroad I created last year: the Nebraska Midwestern.

Welcome to the public page for the Nebraska Midwestern Model Railway! We hope you enjoy following our progress as our HO scale freelance railroad continues to grow!

The Nebraska Midwestern Railway network spans 5 states, with over 1600 miles of track, and interchanges with all of the Class I railroads in the United States and numerous other shortlines. NEMWs carload volume consists primarily of agriculture products, with emphasis on bulk grain and bean trains, due to Tate and Lyle and ADM plants in Decatur and Cedar Rapids. Direct access to the Powder River basin allows easy access for unit coal trains to both Decatur and Cedar Rapids ADM plants, as well as other offline customers. Numerous ethanol plants are found along the NEMW mainline, as well as plenty of grain elevators. Across the eastern half of the system, many steel manufacturers can be found. The rail network around the St. Louis and Peoria areas enable commodities to be transloaded to barges, as well as interchange with all the Class I railroads and various shortlines. Aggregate products and bentonite are primarily moved from the Black Hills and the eastern Wyoming plains. Intermodal (COFC) is transloaded in Decatur, Blue Island, and Council Bluffs, primarily consisting of corn and beans for export overseas.

12/20/2024

All accidents are preventable. If your vehicle gets stuck on the tracks, look for the little blue sign. Exit the vehicle and call the number on the blue sign IMMEDIATELY. Give the operator the XING number so they can identify your exact location and hopefully be able to warn approaching trains to stop and avoid a collision. The signs are small but every crossing in the United States has one, and knowing to look for it could save your life or the life of the train crew approaching. Only AFTER calling the number on the blue sign, call 911 and get assistance removing the disabled vehicle from the tracks.

Thoughts and prayers go to the Union Pacific brothers who lost their lives in yesterday’s tragic accident in Texas. 💛

12/20/2024

Look. Listen. Live. If your vehicle gets stuck on the tracks, exit it immediately and look for this blue sign and call the number on it right away. This will alert the railroad control center of a problem and they can likely notify trains to stop early enough to avoid a collision. Only after reporting it to the railroad should you call 911.

Yesterday in Pecos, Texas, a Union Pacific freight train collided with an oversized tractor-trailer load stuck on a railroad crossing. As a result of the accident, two rail workers lost their lives.

Every railroad crossing in the United States has one of these Emergency Notification System (ENS) blue signs that has information on that specific railroad crossing.

If a vehicle gets stuck on a railroad crossing, exit the vehicle immediately, move away from the tracks and call the phone number on the ENS blue sign to inform the railroad of the obstructed railroad crossing number. Then, if needed, call 911.

Our thoughts are with the victims and their families impacted by this accident.

For more information about how to drive safely around railroads, visit: oli.org/safety-near-trains/driving-safely-near-tracks

Image courtesy of Operation Lifesaver Inc.

07/01/2024

More MRL Moments.
2 MRL SD70ACes appeared in Alliance, NE this afternoon.
C-NRMARB0-17A was being shoved by MRL 4301 and BNSF 9378 and departed Alliance around noon today.

C-NRMMHS0-05A was seen at Angora with MRL 4316 second out while the K-BRGBRG1-01A helpers pushed them over the top of the hill around 13:30 today.

05/19/2024

Last Friday across northern Illinois. Davis Junction to Linroth on the BNSF Barstow Sub to Savanna and back east to Rochelle along the BNSF Aurora Sub.

05/10/2024

The Empress passed through northern Illinois on this gloomy and soggy afternoon, and we enjoyed a good chase from MP 112 near Harper to Savanna, followed by lunch and chasing BN trains back towards Rochelle. What a fun day! Descriptions included on each photo

04/30/2024

Feeling blue in the sand hills. BNSF “Smurf” 2042 trails on an H-LINCAS9-30A bound for storage in Alliance. On my way east to intercept it, I saw the Swepco center cab switcher moving a cut of hoppers around the loop, and then I met an E-CEBBAM0-35A and a G-GDNTAC9-27A at Antioch. I caught the LINCAS at Ashby and followed it west to Antioch after it met a C-EBMMHS0-40A at Lakeside.

04/28/2024

That’s a funny looking shade of orange. EJ&E heritage unit CN 3023 makes an appearance in western Nebraska on the H-GRWLIN3-26A, as seen near Bayard and Angora this afternoon. Also pictured is the E-PAMBTM0-37A at Atkins with Chimney Rock across the river.

02/12/2023

Warmer temps make it more enjoyable to be trackside! My truck recorded 48° down in Bridgeport, NE, and the sunshine made for perfect conditions as a unique J train made its way north this afternoon. More details in the caption of each photo.

12/17/2022

For the first time in about a decade, the Alliance, NE based rotary snowplow unit BNSF 972559 and rotary snowplow power plant BNSF 972572 lead a southbound W-ALNALN2-16B, seen stopped at MP 21.1 on the BNSF Angora Subdivision at Angora, NE with BNSF 8796 and 8490 shoving on the north end. Multiple attempts to clear the hill between Dalton and Bridgeport remain unsuccessful, as deep snow drifts and high wind speeds continue to challenge the crews working to clear the line.

2 trains were parked side by side at Dalton early this week, and the train in the siding was drifted in by snow so badly, it couldn’t move even after adding extra locomotives, and Hulcher was called to dig it out once roads reopened. A Jordan spreader was sent south from Alliance Thursday night, where it too fell to the mercy of the deep snow, and the plow separated from the locomotives when they backed up to get another run at the drifts, and the snow had built up under the pin lifter and wouldn’t recouple. State highways have been shut down since early Tuesday morning, further adding to the challenges of keeping rail traffic moving.

09/08/2022

An E-CXCBTM1-17B and a G-SWEFRS3-02C between Hemingford and Berea, NE yesterday morning on BNSF’s Butte Sub. The CP script motor was a pleasant surprise.

08/25/2022

Yesterday marked the last time a Joppa, IL bound coal train climbed over the hill in Crawford, NE. The power plant in Joppa is counting its final hours online, and one last load of Powder River coal is enroute. Yesterday was a nice day for a chase from Crawford towards Berea.