Norfolk Southern's "Savannah & Atlanta" heritage unit (SD70ACe #1065) and CSX ES44AC #3110 leads CSX train Q61409 through "The Gulch" at control point Spring in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. CSX utilizes trackage rights over the NS mainline between this location and East Point, GA. This train originated in New Orleans and is bound for CSX's yard in Hamlet, NC. The big building in the background is the former Southern Railway headquarters, located on Spring Street, and is still owned by Norfolk Southern, but is no longer used on a daily basis. It does still serve a purpose, though, as it is often used by movie production companies for all sorts of movies and TV shows. It is probably most recognized from AMC's "The Walking Dead". The telephone pole behind the S&A unit points up to where Merle was handcuffed to the roof in the first season of the "Dead". From 1905 through 1970, the Spring Street tower was the main control point for movements into and out of Atlanta's Terminal Station, hosting famous passenger trains such as the Southern's Crescent and Ponce de Leon, Central of Georgia's Nancy Hanks and Man 'O War, and Seaboard's Silver Comet (just to name a few). Each arch of the Nelson Street bridge seen here used to span several tracks that fed into Terminal Station, which was located out of the scene to the left. There are nowhere near as many tracks in place today, but the location is still an important junction on the Thoroughbred network, as well as a vital link to CSX's system. Photo by Casey Thomason. For more information about Norfolk Southern, visit www.nscorp.com
