A scene that's been repeated thousands of times at this very location, albeit with different equipment, was replayed once more today. An export unit coal train is being assembled at St. Nicholas (a small "Patch Town" just west of Mahanoy City) with very Autumn looking skies above. In this scene, three of R&N's EMD locomotives are slowly pulling south on the M&S Branch to allow the Conductor to double check his orders for the pickup at Blaschak Coal (the loaded cars in the foreground will be added to the train). Once doubled up, the crew will complete their brake test before making the long 3+ mile climb up to the Mahanoy Tunnel. Once through the tunnel, the battle with gravity will be over. The SDNR-25 crew can then relax as they make their downhill descent all the way to Reading (After a brief stop at Clamtown to pickup more coal!).
