 |
The Aberdeen, Carolina & Western is a short line that runs a good chunk of what was the original (ie grey) Norfolk Southern's main line plus a long branch from Star to Aberdeen, NC. On a simply gorgeous April morning, AC&W 3803 rests in downtown Aberdeen. |
 |
On that same long stretch of tangent track mentioned on page 1, ex Conrail SD60I 8723 cruises down a grade with Q400. At Pembroke he'll turn north for Cumberland, Maryland. To see the new friend we made while waiting for this train, click here. |
 |
On the old Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac main line, Amtrak 838 leads Autotrain over Aquia Creek. Autotrain is the world's longest passenger train, with 20-22 bilevel Superliner cars and as many enclosed automobile carriers behind them. It's a very impressive train. |
 |
A short time later Amtrak 70 leads The Silver Star south across the Aquia Creek bridge. This is a wonderful place for springtime afternoon railfanning, with super scenery, lots of trains, and the marina store behind you for soft drinks, munchies and The Necessary Room. |
 |
A sharp pair of CSX SD70MACs lead an empty coal train east out of Huntington WV, ducking under the US 60 overpass before crossing the Guyandotte River. |
 |
A real surprise to find prowling the coal fields of West Virginia, a pair of BNSF SF70MACs lead a coal train across the Tygart River and into the yard at Grafton. |
 |
In the far southwestern end of Virginia, we find CSX's AC4400 No 56 doing what generations of steam and diesel locomotives have done on the Clinchfield - moving coal. This train is southbound through McClure heading up to Sandy Ridge Tunnel. |
 |
CSX 2676 and friend lead empty coal hoppers across the 110 feet high Pleasant Creek Viaduct on the old Baltimore & Ohio in West Virginia. We chatted with the crew at Grafton before they left. The engineer gave us explicit directions to find the viaduct...we were quite grateful to say the least! |
 |
CSX 7637 leads train Q491 past Warmac Junction on the east departure track from Hamlet Yard. He'll turn east at the Hamlet Station, proceed about a mile then head southeast at East Junction to Dillon, South Carolina where he'll pick up the Atlantic Coast Line south to Charleston, Florence, Jacksonville and Tampa. |
 |
Formerly a Southern Pacific engine, UP 5631 is heading west from Hamlet station with train Q615 bound for New Orleans. Trains like this make one wonder just whose railroad one is watching... |
 |
Coal train N801 is popping out of the trusswork of the bridge over the Big Sandy River. This is Ceredo, West Virginia...the rest of the train is still in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. |
 |
Leaning into the turn at Contentnea past the detrius of a tie gang, hastily restenciled LMSX 709 pulls train Q410 northward. This train originates in Waycross, Georgia and terminates in Selkirk, New York. Not visible in this view but soon to visible in any shot here is a new set of highway overpasses guaranteed to spoil this view. |
 |
Looking imposing running hammerhead style, this train is in fact the local Raleigh switcher making a run out to the local Cargill facility with boxcars, empty tank cars and a cut of covered hoppers full of soybeans. It's the steady diet of soybeans this plant requires that gives these runs their nickname - bean runs. Norfolk Southern runs whole unit bean trains into Raleigh occasionally for Cargill. |
 |
I photographed this C39-8/D40-8C pair on Train 350 working in a pouring rain at the north end of Raleigh's Glenwood Yard in April, 2000. I was grateful to have the old warehouse awning under which to stand; the crew had no such luxury. |
 |
South of the station at Fredericksburg, Virginia on the old Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac, Virginia Railway Express 21 has made his last stop on the run from Washington DC south and is heading south to lay over or to return and head back north. |
 |
Some fun with a Peleng 8mm fisheye, made in Belarus... |
 |
More fun with the 8mm fisheye... |
More photos here on page four.
