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The Pee Dee River Railroad is a shortline that operates an old Atlantic Coast Line branch from a connection with CSX at McColl, SC down through Tatum, Bennettsville and on to the Willamette Paper mill just south of Marlboro SC. The railroad is owned by the Aberdeen & Rockfish and has a quartet of ex-Seaboard Coast Line GP16s painted in this snappy orange/white livery, plus a CF7 in a blue-white scheme. This train was photographed on a perfect autumn day shortly after the cotton harvest between McColl and Tatum. |
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A feast to the eyes and ears of any true Alco lover are the two C415 locomotives used by the Ohio River Terminals facility in Huntington, WV. For the geeks amongst us, the pair are the ex SP&S units with the medium height cab and hi-ad trucks. For the non-geeks, they're a rare running pair of Alcos that make Alco dust and that wonderful Alco sound. |
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Pulling away from the station in Cary, NC is Amtrak 17 with Train 80 on a wonderful spring day. Looks like 17's had an altercation with something along the way.... |
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Going back a generation in Amtrak's GE power we have P30CH number 724 leading a very late northbound Autotrain out of Acca Yard in Richmond VA. A derailment at Elm City, NC had forced this train on a torturous detour and lead to the late running of the train. |
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Still wearing its labor-management decal, this ex-Conrail B40-8 is heading Train Q616 in Hamlet. Q616 is a Birmingham - Hamlet train and often as not has UP power on it. |
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A renumbered Conrail white-faced SD70MAC leads another SD70MAC east out of Hamlet on train U34726. Translating the train symbol, it's Train U347 that departed its originating terminal on the 26th day of the month. This one is a train from Damron Fork, KY bound for the power plant at Pennyroyal, SC. |
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Looking tired and dirty, this C30-7A is fighting up the hill with Train 349 on the double track between Raleigh and Cary. On the right is NS mile marker 75, while on CSX this same spot is between markers 162 and 163. Just ahead is Cary and the junction at Fetner and a nice long grade down to Morrisville NC. |
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Stranger in a strange land...Wisconsin Central SD45 6614 showed up this day leading NS Train 349 west out of Glenwood Yard. And the wonder was the weather was decent, the sun was out, and I had a camera with me...a rare confluence of events indeed. |
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NS 4603, a rare GP49, is leading Train 350 eastward in Raleigh on a stinking hot humid day in June. The train is on the joint trackage, a favorite place for the NS dispatchers to meet trains as the double track is long enough that neither train will have to stop if it's timed right. |
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And here is such a meet...350 meeting 349. Train 349 has been creeping up the grade out of Boylan to avoid stopping at the home signal around the curve seen behind 350 in the photo above. |
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After meeting 350, 349 opens up the throttles, proceeds through Cary and Fetner and now Vader 9093 is positively barreling down the grade into Morrisville. The track speed limit is 49 mph here...wink wink. |
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Another Train 349, this time with 9166 in charge. The train is easing through the junction at Fetner and is about to cross Academy St and Harrison Avenue in beautiful downtown Cary NC. |
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Top Hat 8815 has brought the James E Strates Shows train to Raleigh this day. After Amtrak Train 80 passes (photo below) the work will begin to set the train out on the fair siding. The fair starts in three days so they'll be busy getting the pig races and fried dough stands set up. |
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Passing the fair train (visible in the background) Amtrak 825 accelerates Train 80 past the safety speed zone. |
More photos here on page seven.
