Fanning way back when in the Deep South usually meant dirty diesels, but not so much on Southern, and this image shows why - GP38 2819 getting a high-pressure bath at Pegram.

Two SD9s and Southern's (and Central of Georgia's) only SD7 drag a transfer from SL-SF past the Southern Crescent and the pitiful remnants of Terminal Station.

Two Southern SD45s and a Chessie GP40-2 bring a train from Atlanta through the bare field that once was site of tracks for Terminal Station.

Members of the two long-range locals (46 is working just around the curve west of the depot) mingle at the depot, and a few hit the Coke machine in the old waiting room. If I recall, the sodas (d... (more)

It is still hard to believe that the Southern Crescent had to call at this pitiful remnant of Terminal Station. Built in 1909, and torn down in 1969 (just 5 years before this photo), Terminal Sta... (more)

In the early 1970s, the GP38 was the dominant loco type on the old Central of Georgia main through Opelika. Boxy, black, turbo-less 2,000hp - not very exciting. Anything else was a relief, but S... (more)

I am about to run out of light on a December afternoon as a westbound train enters Sylacauga behind a GP38-2, two GP30s and a GP35.

In 1974, the Southern/Western Railway of Alabama crossing in Opelika was still first come, first served. On this spring day long-range local 45 gets their man to the crossing first, so WofA local... (more)

Southern's tuxedo color scheme looked good on a lot of models, but I always thought it worked best on high-nose GEs, like U23B 3942, seen here trying dodge the Georgia sun by squeezing under the o... (more)

Maybe 9,500hp worth of GP30s and 35s is not the ideal set-up for unit coal service, but it worked for many years for Southern.

Arguably the best train-watching spot in Macon was the area behind Terminal Station where the main from Atlanta joined the former CofG lines from eastern Georgia at a spot called Macon Junction. ... (more)

The late afternoon sun blows up the Scotchlite numbers and letters on 3994 as it crosses above Jackson Avenue. A couple of noteworthy structures are included in the photo. In the distance is Cam... (more)

I played 'catch the sun' all weekend on one of my few trips to Tuscaloosa way back when. As the Crescent rolled in from Birmingham, it was overcast as heck. A few minutes later, a brief sweet sp... (more)

A Precision National Leasing SD24, still in Southern paint, leads five other units on a Milwaukee Road train at Bensenville, Illinois. This was during the power shortage after bankruptcy and a m... (more)

Newer, more powerful EMDs and GEs were around by 1985, but I bet this crew was still pretty happy to see that their ride would be a trio of SD40-2s. Here, they are slowing to a stop to allow a tr... (more)